The Oasis

[greatcleavage]

What the heck was he doing here?

Beneath the shade of the palm fronds, Roy stared out at the desert that stretched out in every direction. Somehow he'd found himself here, against all logic. A weird sidequest? A dream? Maybe he was dead again and his spirit had been hijacked.

Well, what could he do but wait and see what came along? The oasis showed signs of being used by travelers, so he wouldn't be stuck here forever anyway...

Comments

[najaran]

"If we're still on my world, they will," Najaran said. "And jail cells rarely have yummy food. Last time Altia had to break me out and steal my cards back for me."

[greatcleavage]

Having been to jail himself despite his rigid attempts to be Lawful, Roy let that comment pass without incident. "If we're anywhere I know, they won't. And we may be somewhere strange to both of us entirely."

[najaran]

"So we're taking a chance?"

[greatcleavage]

"I don't see another viable option." Low on food and with no resources...

[najaran]

"Alright then, but if we get arrested, you're getting us out."

[greatcleavage]

"If we get arrested I will do what is in my power to navigate our release through the system," Roy corrected. "Unless the authority is illegitimate."

[najaran]

She frowned back at him confused. "How can authority even have parents?"

Gooligan gave a double mustached face... um.... mustache.

[greatcleavage]

"'Illegitimate' has a broader meaning than that," Roy said, his mind going relatively numb.

[najaran]

"Grandparents?" Some days she was as bad as Elan.

[greatcleavage]

"A meaning not tied to the concept of family."

[najaran]

"Oh." she turned to face forward again but not before he caught the hint of an impish grin.

[greatcleavage]

"I wonder how badly it would count against me to leave you in jail longer than is necessary," Roy grumbled.

[najaran]

Naja tossed back her head, laughing. "I am glad we're friends now!" He was fun!

[greatcleavage]

"I'm so glad I can contribute to your delight and enjoyment of life."

Why did this keep happening to him?

[najaran]

"And hopefully I can towards yours!"

[greatcleavage]

"Stranger things have happened," Roy said with a shrug, "albeit not often."

We should figure out what they'll find, lol.

[najaran]

"Hey, why would that be strange?!"

[greatcleavage]

Roy chose to ignore that question.

"Hey, look on the horizon. I think I see something."

[najaran]

She looked up and squinted. "What is that?"

[greatcleavage]

"Looks like civilization of some sort." At this distance, heat shimmer made the true size of the town, or city, or outpost, difficult to distinguish.

[najaran]

"Great! I hope they have loads of great places to eat! I'm hungry enough to eat a room full of mushrooms!"

Gooligan made a small distressed whimpering sound.

[greatcleavage]

About to comment, Roy paused.

"That's oddly specific," he said after a moment.

[najaran]

She grinned a bit. "Oh it was great! the more we ate the more they grew!"

"They were trying to suffocate us to death, it was one of the tests of the gates. But ancient magic was apparently no match for Najaran's stomach," Gooligan said wearily.

[greatcleavage]

"Hold on. I want to actually hear this story with context." It sounded almost interesting, if he could manage to get a solid answer out of them.

[najaran]

Najaran grinned. "Okay, but it's a bit of a long one," she warned. "So, remember how I said one time I was arrested for being a Cepter and Alta had to bust me out?"