and discovering other peoples' weaknesses.
Getting Morli back to his family had been relatively easy once she’d managed to get the boy out of the arena. Thanks to her hoverdisc, she didn’t have to worry about running into any other ruffians or people attempting to follow them. The boy didn’t say much during the trip, and all he could do when they arrived at his home was sob in the arms of his parents. Mercury only stayed long enough to get her payment and to assure the family that the arena had been destroyed. The last she had seen of the place, it looked like Vandrad had basically nuked it. The family invited her inside, almost pleading with her to stay for a day or two, but knowing the confrontation that lied ahead she declined. The best thing she could do for these people was leave before her partner found her. As she hopped back onto her flying craft and took off, Mercury wondered where she should go. Frankly, she wanted nothing more than to take a bath. She was absolutely caked with dirt and grim from several hours of traveling through the desert, and while it wasn’t the dirtiest she’d ever been it still was enough to make her skin feel like it was crawling. Finding a desert town with an inn would be perfect, but she had a feeling that Vandrad wasn’t planning on just strolling through the door before he started throwing punches. No, it wouldn’t be wise to linger in any populated area. Better to find a wide open space out in the open desert where they could both duke things out without reservation. So, she just made a quick stop at a stall to buy a couple things before wandering deeper into the barren wildernesses. There had been an oasis a ways out that they had passed on the way in that seemed to get little to no foot traffic. That seemed like a good place to sit and wait. She managed to find the place quickly enough. It was a fairly wide open space and easy to spot since it was the only place in the horizon that had any amount of green vegetation to it, including grass, some bushes, and a few trees. The trees weren’t entirely enough to block the afternoon sun, but the water at least cooled the place down a bit. Landing down on the ground, she took a quick glance around with her eyes and her sensors to make sure no one was there. Once she was certain she was alone, Mercury used her magic to create a shelter of sorts. A structure made of pure black steel popped into existence, with three walls and a roof that blocked out the immense heat of the sun while leaving a wide open space that would let in the cool breeze as it flowed across the water. Mercury set her pack down in the corner and took a hand towel out of it, wetting it in the oasis and using it to wipe the dirt off of her face and hands. When that was done, she went back inside and laid a blanket down on the grass so she could sit without getting any more nature on her than she already had. Pulling Mercy out of her holster, she swapped it into sword form and ran her fingers gently down its edge, sharpening it to a razor fine point. It wouldn’t take long for Vandrad to find her, not with the tracking device she’d slipped him. Mercury was a lot of things, but she wasn’t without a sense of honor. At least, toward those she respected and liked. If Vandrad wanted to kill her, which she didn’t blame him for, she would let him have his fair shot. But if he truly intended on taking her life, she didn’t plan on going down without a fight. |