Chronicles of Dras

Chapter 12: A Dawn Awakening

The first sensation that struck Dras as he woke was the splitting headache that pounded through his skull like a relentless drum. His eyes flickered open to find Alia and a stranger bending over him, their faces etched with concern.

Dras blinked at the unfamiliar face hovering over him. "Who are you?" he mumbled, his voice barely a whisper.

The woman offered him a reassuring smile, her hand soothingly pushing back a few strands of hair from his forehead. "My name is Lioa," she introduced herself, her voice soft yet firm. "My squad and I... we fell into the hands of those bandits. We thought we were finished until you and your squad showed up."

Dras squinted, struggling to process her words through the fog clouding his mind. "What happened... during the fight?" he managed to ask, wincing as a wave of pain washed over him.

It was Alia who answered, her hand on his arm a source of comfort. "We managed to fend off the bandits, Dras. Lioa and her squad, we saved them," she said, a note of pride in her voice.

Dras's mind reeled back to the fight, the tumult, the bandit he was duelling... and then an abrupt plunge into darkness. "How did I... get knocked out?" he murmured.

Alia and Lioa exchanged a glance before Alia sighed, choosing her next words carefully. "Joren... in his attempt to attack a bandit, he... he accidentally hit you, Dras," she revealed, her voice filled with regret. "You need to rest now. We'll take care of everything else."

The camels the bandits had been riding were laden with supplies. Food, water, blankets, even some weapons - a cornucopia of essential items that promised their survival across the remainder of the desert.

As the first rays of the sun pierced the horizon, they began dividing the supplies. Lioa's squad, consisting of herself and five other women - Nara, Selene, Kira, Mira, and Zara, collaborated with Dras's team. The usual competitiveness between squads seemed to dissolve in the face of their shared ordeal. They were all survivors, their fates intertwined in this ruthless terrain.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see a camel," Joren muttered, running a hand along the rough fur of one of the animals. His typical arrogance seemed slightly deflated, the reality of their situation finally sinking in.

"Let's just hope they don't decide to spit on us," Maris replied, grinning. Despite their dire circumstances, the squad was finding reasons to keep their spirits high.

With their packs refilled and morale slightly bolstered, they readied the camels for the journey ahead. The sturdy animals seemed unperturbed by the change in their riders. They obediently knelt down to be mounted, their large humps acting as reservoirs of fat to sustain them through long stretches without food or water.

They set out once the sun had fully risen, casting a warm, golden light over the sandy expanse. The direction was unchanging - southwest, always southwest. The camels' steady, rhythmic pace allowed them to cover a significant distance. By midday, they had travelled more ground than they had in the past two days on foot.

As the desert landscape flowed past them, they remained vigilant. Their encounter with the bandits was a stark reminder of the dangers that lurked in the desert. But for now, they moved unhindered, their path lit by the bright desert sun, their spirits buoyed by the prospect of reaching their destination. They were survivors, and they would make it through, together.

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As the sun climbed to its zenith, the squad came across a group of weary travelers taking shelter beneath the sparse shadow of a towering dune. The other squad was a diverse mix of warriors, mages, and archers, their faces etched with exhaustion and loss. Their squad leader, a man with a steely gaze and an air of command, rose to greet them.