If things couldn't get any worse....
"It sure is hot here. I think I'm going to lose all my feathers to this heat." Sizrit nestled his head into his wings for shade. The desert was as vast as it was hot, and the barren sands didn't help situations in the sweltering, unmerciful sunlight of the Desert Amn. Razorhawk flew over the endless dunes soaring effortlessly on the thermals rising from the desert sands.
"Quit squawking, Sizrit, you'll get used to the heat." Yenir was riding Razorhawk without his shirt and robe, catching the sun on his already bronze skin. He basked in heat such as this and loved every moment of it while Sizrit found inventive ways to avoid the searing light. Yenir was muscular for a wizard, having spent most of his years out in the world adventuring. His body glistened in the light of the desert.
"An oasis, sir. There, on the horizon." Twik pointed. Yenir sighed and looked where he was pointing.
" So it is. Sizrit I think you'll get your respite from the heat today after all." Yenir cast a spell and let his vision drift over the oasis. The oasis itself was much larger than it looked in the distance and seemed to have a bustling town and trade market within it's trees. His gaze drifted above the town and he could make out a beautiful temple made of sand bricks and gold. Two massive winged, black cat statues sat vigilantly proud on either side of the gates to the temple. He could make out the unmistakeable symbol of Sharess above the temple gates, a cats eye adorned with rainbow wings. His gaze returned and he directed Razorhawk towards the oasis. They landed just outside of the town.
" This place is wonderful. It feels cooler already" Sizrit lifted his head to catch a cool breeze that seemed to pass out of the town. They made their way into the oasis . The ground below them became grassy and cool as they passed into the town, the sands of the desert seemed to stay to the outside of the oasis' boundaries, letting the oasis have it's lush grass. The buildings of the town were little more than palm thatched pavilions draped with flowing silks of various colors as walls. The breeze seemed to be coming from the direction of the temple.
"I will take care of Razorhawk, Sir." Twik grabbed the lead and walked over to the crystal waters of the oasis' large pond.
"I really wish he would stop calling me 'sir' " Yenir remarked.
" He's just being polite." Sizrit answered. Yenir scowled,
"Don't you start calling me sir or I'll turn you into Griffin food."
"Yes, Sir" Sizrit saluted with his wing and Yenir laughed. They made their way through the bustling caravan market in the center of town. Merchants draped in silk tunics peddled there exotic foods and wares to the towns folk while street performers entertained others. Yenir caught sight of a fire-eater and scoffed at the simple magic the man had secretly cast to make the flame change into an array of scintillating colors. Sizrit was staring off towards the temple. Now they were close enough to see that the breeze did, in fact come from the temple itself, creating a pleasant atmosphere in the otherwise arrid desert.
" Yenir, look there. It looks as if we've come for a celebration." Sizrit saw a procession of women marching out of the temple. They were dressed in feathers that were a vibrant red, green, gold and purple. They were carrying great palm fans painted with the symbol of Sharess. People all over the market stopped to watch the procession as it made its way into the square. Yenir noticed that some of the priestesses were wearing next to nothing, save for sheer silks and veils that showed little more than shadows of their naked, shapely bodies. One such of these priestesses stood at the back of the procession and was taller than the rest. She was draped in silks and all that you could see of her dark tan skin was through an eye slit in her veil. Yenir was struck nearly dumb by her eyes as they met his, a nearly cat-like vivid green.
The procession stopped and made way for the last priestess, who Sizrit surmised was the High Priestess of the temple, to take her place in the center of the square. People had gathered to see the congregation and were now crowded in a circle surrounding the square. They all waited in anticipation for something. She turned to the temple and raised her hands to the cat statues. A great hush fell over the crowd. The priestesses surounding her began to hum in unison. A harmonic drone that seemed to reach through the High Priestess and up to the cat statues whose eyes now started to glow with a divine green light. Suddenly there was a boom like a deep bass drum and without warning the priestess threw her flowing silks into the air and let them swirl around her as she spun and danced around the square. She was strikingly beautiful and wore purple silks over her chest and waist but was other wise naked. Tiny bells hung from her midriff and jingled as she twirled and danced. The other priestesses began to join the dance, one by one stripping their silks and holding them high into the air as they danced.
"Your drooling." Sizrit stated to Yenir who was completely enthralled by the erotic display of faith. Yenir shook his head and tore his eyes from the dance.
" I suppose that would be our priestess." He said. " I'm not one to believe in love at first sight but, I think I'm in love."
"No, that's just because she's naked and you didn't have to do anything." Sizrit joked.
"Sir!" Yenir cringed and turned around to see Twik running for them through the crowd. "SIR! We have a problem."
" Well, out with it little one." Yenir said and all Twik could do was point. Yenir squinted in the direction he pointed and saw a line of dark dots on the horizon, gaining fast. Twik took out a small amulet in the shape of a bat's wing that was glowing bright white.
" Dragons." Was all he said before the whole of the oasis was plunged into night. The sun had been blotted out and all that was there was a ring of light.
"An eclipse? This is strange magic to blot out the entire sun." Yenir said. At this point people were panicking and running into the temple. The prietesses stopped their dance and began ushering people to safety. The High Priestess was looking at the eclipsed sun and was scowling like a child that just lost her favorite toy. Yenir pushed through the crowd to reach her.
" Selena is it? It looks like we found you at the right moment. It seems your celebration has some particularly fowl and uninvited guests. I am Yenir Wayrac and I'm here to help." He pointed at the line of dragons that were now moments away from the oasis.
"Well, Yenir, it is a pleasure meeting you. It's Selena." She said, correcting his pronunciation. With that she turned to the statues and raised her hands again to them. " Great guardians of Sharess! I beseech your aid!" her whole body began to glow with intense light and the statues mirrored the glow. The whole ground began to shake as the statues slowly came to life. One of them stretched like a waking cat and yawned. Yenir just stared at the goliath constructs and smiled.
" Lets hope you have a few more of those tricks up your sleeve." He turned towards the now visible purple deep dragons and prepared for battle...
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