Shade and Water
36th of Ymiden 720
It'd been a long ten trials, but she finally thought she lost the gang of Qais in the streets of Nashaki. Nobody had recognized her in the new outfit, mask, and goggles that she'd since purchased. Nobody expected the main squeeze of the lowlife thief to be wearing armor and desert gear, like a proper nomad. And besides, they had their eyes peeled for red hair in every crowd. They would not find her unless she let her guard down. She was careful when going to bathe in her inn rooms, not to reveal her hair color to anyone. It was an easy way to track her down, as there were few enough red-haired women in Nashaki. Fewer still that roamed free, not in chains or enslaved to the Tower of Flesh.
The stars began blinking into view over the spires of Nashaki as Demda made preparations outside of the limestone walls of the city. The city had nothing left for her, and she wished to join the Hotlands Caravan to avoid retribution by Qais' gang. There would still be a danger, and doubtless death before they reached the points they meant to hit before returning to Nashaki. Demda wasn't confident of her ability to prevail over the elements, not alone, so she arranged to join this caravan. She couldn't make it out of Nashaki alone, that much was certain. The land was harsh and wanted to kill one as often as sustain.
She wore her own personal armor. Apart from the padded leather garment coif and goggles, she had just some padded leather and sand-colored desert wool armor, over her regular clothing. In place of the black hood that would protect the skin around her desert mask, she wore a padded leather coif. Then of course the hooded cloak, that was the color of sand.
As she exited the gates, she made ready to meet with the captain of the Caravansary, preparing herself mentally for the shift in expectations and etiquette. She wasn't going to be a slave, or the squeeze of some low-life thief. She wanted to joint a Caravansary. And she'd paid her way, offering coin pilfered from Qais' home for camping gear, a horse and two camels.
This trip would be part of a proving ritual, part training. If she succeeded, if she survived, she'd be a part of the trader's clan. If not, then the wolves would feed and the Caravansary would roll on without her. It was a bleak duality of fates, but there was no turning back now.
Dimza Nil was overseeing the organization of the Caravan. Shouting and muttering in Umaya to some servants and eunuchs, as they scrambled to follow his orders. When Demda approached him, his tune changed quickly enough. "Shade and Water, sister. You must be the new member of our little band?"
Demda looked around at the operation of the Caravansary and wondered at the colorful tents and rich saddle packs that the camels were being loaded with. She thought she spotted an odd breed of the horse here or there among the tents, as they lie on the ground. "Yes, that's me." She glanced at his horses and other animals, which were situated beneath a tent. "I heard you have a ride arranged for me."
Dimza followed her eyes to the thorned horse, and nodded excitedly, "Yes yes, that will be your animal. I trust you can ride... If not some of our hands can teach you along the way. We won't be making much speed as we go along through the Yaralon road. But a thorned horse, only a camel is a surer traveling companion. They require very little in the way of water and sustenance but can keep you shaded even as you ride."
He gestured for her to follow in step, and so she followed. They made their way toward the animal. Up close, it looked entirely different from a typical horse. Covered in thick, almost reptilian scaley hide, it truly earned its name. The Thorned Horse also had a tail that extended, and curved upward to protect its rider. She looked at this tail, walking around the back of the animal while Dimza Nil's eyes followed her.
"This fan on the back, it acts as a parasol of sorts I've heard."
"Ahhh yes, but if you're unskilled and the horse gets jittery... It might use it to whack you until you fall off. But my horse is well trained, I assure you." Dimza scratched his chin for a moment, then winced, "But you won't have any trouble, ahah. So long as you take lessons from one of the caravan animal masters... I'd teach you myself, but, the overall success of the Caravansary requires my attention."
Demda was settling in with her new animals. She put most of the baggage on her Bactrian camel, who would serve as a pack animal, while the dromedary would be used to aid in pulling the train of wagons that consisted of the caravan. She thought that she had never seen a caravan put together in such a way, with a literal train of wagons connecting one to the other via catches and leather straps and leads, but here they were. It was an interesting construction.
She was putting the last of her baggage onto the Bactrian (who she'd taken to calling Nasty for his tendency to bite and spit.), when a tap on her shoulder alerted her to the presence of another. She turned around and lifted her goggles to get a good look at him. The man was dusky-skinned, thin, and wiry musculature. He stood at 6' tall. His hair is black and straight, falling at shoulder length. His eyes were dark black. He has but a few scars, and scorch marks doubtless earned by a lifetime of hardships suffered wandering the badlands. Despite these blemishes, Demda thought he was rather handsome.
She almost blushed at him, before he barked out the next few words, which sounded more like commands, "Wah min. You ridah?" His common was atrocious, but that could be worked around, she thought as she sized him up. He was asking her if she could ride, she thought. And the woman shook her head. "No, I haven't ridden before. Could you... Could you help me into the saddle?"
The man, whose name was Khorog Ulema, simply glowered down at her for a few moments. A trill later, his face broke into a fit of mocking laughter. She blushed for true this time, but not because she was taken by his charm. He thought she was some kind of joke?
"You ridah in to sandstorm, come out bones and blood. Ah ah ah!" He snickered, thinking her lack of experience was obviously the most funny thing he'd heard of.
The woman, stubborn to a fault when she had her mind set on an objective, scrunched her face up beneath her goggles, trying to frown at him, but it seemed to amuse him only further, and he continued laughing.
Finally, Demda lost her temper, and shoved him a little. He barely budged. Instead, he grabbed her wrists, and shook his head, suddenly very serious, "No." He shook her by the arms, and lightly slapped her wrist. "No, you lis san. I show how ridah"
And so, for better or worse, Demda was paired with the man known as Khorog, who could barely speak a lick of common but was awfully expressive when it came to physical instruction. The man knew his business when it came to riding and dominating animals. He kept the chatter to a minimum as they made final preparations to set off with the caravansary. Even as he helped with the baggage, loading up trinkets, baubles, and finished trade goods that they'd bring to foreign lands over the north and west, he took time here or there helping Demda to acclimate herself to the horse she had purchased.
The thorned animal was an ideal desert mount, a bit thickly built with a propensity for retaining water, and going without sustenance for long periods of time. Its eyes, face, and nostrils had specially bred traits that allowed them to resist the devastation of sandstorms.
When at last Demda was reasonably comfortable, and Khorog insisted, with no small amount of amusement, that she ride side-saddle at first, if only for ease of getting off without killing herself. Otherwise, she was like as not to catch her foot in a stirrup and get dragged to her death.
"You follow. Jumpeh offuh if horse get wi-yald." He bantered, making sure she was secure in the saddle of the horse. He then went to attach a lead to the saddle of the thorned horse, to her Bactrian camel with all of her worldly goods and camping equipment.
"You sacowt? Keep eye for turrubble and yell when finding." Were his final instructions to her. Then he went ahead to his camel, mounting it with one swift pull of his body onto the beast's hump. Then he took its reins and began riding ahead. Demda tested the control of her own horse, tapping its side with her heel, and was almost thrown off by the momentum as it began driving forward, after Khorog.
