Cinder and Ash

"Well, my life certainly isn't as adventurous as yours, not until today that is. I'm 22 years old and an architechture sstudent at the College of Rhode Island. My father was a biochemist from London who moved to the U.S. when he married my mom. He passed away two years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's ok." I say. I'm wondering if I should tell him anything of the black void or the strange building I arrived in, and later escaped from, when he suddenly stops walking.

"What's wrong, Don?"

"I smell smoke."

He grabs my hand and takes off at a flat run, I am barely able to keep from falling as he pulls me along. "Don, please, you're hurting my arm!"

"Sorry, Harry." He says, releasing me and slowing down, still walking brisky, though. "Something's wrong. That smoke's not from a regular fire. I can tell by the smell." I notice it too now. "The outpost should be right over that dune." He points ahead.

As we reach the top of the dune, I let out a gasp. The outpost has been reduced to ashes! The blackened shells of several small buildings stand, smoldering. a couple of fires still burn dimly, but are mostly extinguished. Don and I grimly descend the hill. We pass the charred remains of several traders. The sight and smell makes me feel ill, and I grab his arm for support. Looking in the burnt out shells of the buildings, we find more of the same.

"Who could have done this?"

"Artazian raiders, most likely. See, you can see the tracks from their horses."

"Why would they do this?"

"The Empire of Artazia is a vast land to the east of Lalaria. They are expert riders and well adapted to desert life. 20 years ago, there was a great war when their leader, Sultan Artaz IV, invaded Lalaria with his armies. I was just a child at the time, but I remember well the carnage when they came to our village. My older brother Cedric was amongst those killed."

"I'm so sorry." I say, biting my lower lip to keep from crying.

"After 2 years of war, we finally prevailed. We gained a vast amount of territiory, mostly sparsley inhabited deserts, as a buffer between our empires. This includes the very land we stand on now. But the Artazians still launch these small raids from time to time."

1. Don notices something amongst the ruins.
2. The raiders return, surrounding us. Don draws his sword and prepares to fight
3. Something moves by the river. A survivor?

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