-The Forgotten Deserts, one hour later-
Leona had been walking through the Forgotten Deserts in search of her target for the past hour and had not come across any signs that anyone had traveled through the area. There were no tracks on the sand that led either in or out of the region. Leona also did not see any tents in the distance to suggest travelers making camp the night. So far she had seen no one else around.
She figured that if the target was still in the Forgotten Deserts they would be somewhere deeper in the region, but how deep into the region they had traveled was a mystery. Leona kept putting one foot in front of the other as a light wind blew and kicked up a small cloud of sand in front of her, causing her to put her left hand over her mouth and nose to keep the dust out. As she walked she listened out for anything that suggested trouble like gunfire, the sound of running on the sand, or screaming. She was not hearing anything just yet, so she kept walking through the desert while listening for trouble and looking for signs of life.
-The Forgotten Deserts, one hour later-
Leona had kept going through the desert and had still not come across anything to suggest that people had been traveling through this area. She felt the wind pick up and looked at the sand in front of her, noticing how whenever the wind picked up it moved the sand. Perhaps the wind had been erasing the tracks of anyone who had been through the area. There was no way to confirm or disprove that hypothesis, so the Wizard Saint kept going deeper into the desert.
As she walked she listened out for anything that could indicate that people were in the area... talking, singing, playing musical instruments, a campfire burning in the distance, anything like that. Leona was not hearing any sounds of human activity nor was she hearing sounds of animal activity. Then again, this was the first time Leona had ever traveled through here at night. She was not sure what animals the region was home to, so she did not know what to listen for.
Oh well.Leona stopped and took a brief break to catch her breath before she continued. When she paused she felt the cold wind blow and shivered a little. She was glad that she had worn long sleeves and bike shorts because had she not worn them the cold wind would have made travel more uncomfortable than it was now. Thanks to her choice in clothing she was only mildly inconvenienced by the cold wind, but she still wished that it would let up soon.
After a five-minute break Leona resumed her journey deeper into the Forgotten Deserts.
-Two hours later-
Leona had been walking for a total of four hours and she had not seen anyone else. She was beginning to wonder if the stranger was even in the Forgotten Deserts anymore. She was going on information that was several hours old and it was possible that her target had left the region long before she had left Silver Wolf Guild Hall. Leona was not going to give up just yet, not while she still had desert to search.
Leona saw someone standing in the distance about 100 meters away and paused for a moment. She was not sure if they were her target or not, so she refrained from drawing her Scout Laser Pistol just yet. Instead the Wizard Saint cautiously approached the individual and kept her eyes on them. They did not do anything until she got to within five meters of them. When she reached that distance the person looked at her; she immediately noticed that the person had glowing red eyes and the upper part of their face was shrouded in shadow.
"
Howdy, stranger. I've been waitin' for you." The person said to her in a gravely male voice.
"
Who are you?" Leona asked the stranger while slowly backing away.
"
I normally don't talk to dead people, but I'll tell ya anyway 'cause I'm feelin' generous. I'm Mordecai." The stranger gave Leona his name. He then smiled at her in a wide smile that exposed his gleaming white teeth.
"
We've done enough talkin', Blondie. It's time to fight!" Mordecai challenged her and produced a double-barreled shotgun from underneath his long black coat. Leona drew her Scout Laser Pistol and faced the stranger. The two looked each other in the eyes and sized each other up. A cold wind blew and kicked up a small cloud of sand that drifted between them and dissipated only two meters later. A tense silence filled the air as both duelists waited for their opponent to make the first move.
- Mordecai:
Credit for the image used goes to RainArcanjo of DeviantArt.
[Post Word Count: 806]
[Total Word Count: 1,386/10,000]