Perspective, pt 3

The saloon doors swung open and Tanner swept through, holding the princess close to him. "Stay near," he muttered to her, smiling, "the worst scum in the world hang out here, and I don't want you to get hurt."

She just walked beside him, she seemed oblivious to the chaos and noise that engulfed them. He put her in a dimly lit booth in the back and asked the gap-toothed and battle scarred waitress for whiskey. She sauntered off, wiggling her veined, blue cheese colord hips at the patrons she passed. Tanner grimaced and prayed for strong liquor.

After two shots he looked at his watch. His contact was supposed to have met him by now. Tanner looked around the bar nervously. Something was up.

Upon completing that thought the saloon doors slammed against the inner wall as a man went sailing through them. A group of heavily armed men in royal red ponchos walked in after him. Their leader, idenified by a gold braid on his shoulder quickly scanned the room and pointed at Tanner.

"Oh bugger," Tanner muttered to himself as the group plowed through the bar to him.

"I am Captain Ace Irlvin of the Red Knights. By order of the Family of Vesta, you will release the princess to me at once and submit yourself to the Scourge and Hammer of Justice," The lead man ordered.

"You'll never take me alive!" Tanner shouted as he pulled his pistol. The last word croaked out his throat as his lungs filled with blood. The patrons of the bar didn't seem to even notice.

Captain Ace reholstered his pistol and motioned for a man to grab the princess.

"I didn't intend to."

Perspective, pt 2

This was a long time ago:

"Do you swear to serve and protect the family of Vesta, even at the cost of your own life?" The kings question echoed through the hall.

I stared into his eyes as he asked me this question. They were a deep blue, serene as the ocean. He wept nobility. I could not refuse him.

"I do swear," I said

"Then rise, my Thobas, rise as Sir Novault, son of Rek."

And I rose, because that is what he asked of me.

But that was a long time ago.

Buzzards circled overhead as Thobas' horse plodded across the orange sand. Thobas walked alongside it as the princess rode. She now wore a faded red poncho that he had cut down to size to fit over her. It looked more like a drapery than a dress, and Thobas could remember a time when she would have refused to wear such a rag. She would barely speak to him now, much less complain.

He looked up at her. The princess' face was dirty, and she didn't seem to focus on anything in particular. She just sat.

Union was ahead of them, nestled among the dunes. Thobas could only see the smoke and steam that rose from the city as it busied itself in preparation for the arrival of the Great Train.

A shot rang out. And Thobas fell to the ground. The noise and the motion startled the horse briefly, but it did not bolt.

Tanner, self-proclaimed Master Bounty Hunter hid on the ridge of a dune, watching the man bleed into the orange sand. Another pair of men ran forward to grab the girl from the horse, but he shot them down quickly.

"Before they even knew what hit them." He muttered to himself. He waited another minute, scanning the horizon for any signs of movement. When he was satisfied that no one else was around he walked down to the girl and began leading the horse to Union.

Behind him he could see a faint cloud of dust, but it was too distant to catch him before he got to the security offered by the laws and guards of Union.

"In a day, Princess, we'll be on our way to the other side of the desert. And you're gonna make me a lot of money..."

Perspective, pt. 1.

There was no wind. Orange sand extended in every direction. The sky was dark and oppressive, as though a great seal had closed up the world.

Nothing moved on the desert. Then, on the horizon, there was a puff of dust. In the middle of the puff there was a single black dot. The cloud grew steadily larger as the dot came closer. After a while the roar of the dot's engine became apparent, and the dot grew to become a sand buggy.

"It's a six-seater with plating and two gun turrets," Thobas muttered to himself as he watched the buggy through his scope. "Not much considering what is inside."

Eventually the buggy came to a stop and the occupants climbed out. Five men, one small girl. Several of the men stretched as though they had been travelling for some time. One looked like he was saying something to the girl.

Chow-chow-chow-chow-chow. Blood poured into the sand and turned into a ochre mud. He could hear a single scream. Thobas reloaded his rifle.

As he walked over to the girl he pulled back his orange hood so she could see his face, but she clearly didn't remember him. She shrank away from him as he approached. She began to climb back into the buggy, but Thobas grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her down. She struggled, but he held her tight.

"Princess," He said, "I've come for you."

The sound of his voice calmed her, and he put her down onto the ground, avoiding setting her in a pool of blood. He looked around. The whole scene stank of iron, death, and the dirt. The sand always stank when it got wet, and it was especially bad considering what was mixed in it.

He produced a small orange fruit from his bag. "Have you eaten?" He asked her.

She shook her head.

He peeled the rind off with a knife and held the fruit out to the girl. "Eat this, it tastes like dirt, but it will keep you alive."

She wrinkled her nose at the fruit, but her hunger gave in and she began to eat ravenously. The juice ran down her face and mingled with the blood that stained her dress.

Thobas stared out across the desert, wondering if he would be able to get the Princess to the rendezvous point in time. He only had three days before the Great Train would stop in Union, and if he wasn't there by then the two of them would be stuck on this side of the desert for another three years.

This side of the desert was not where he wanted to be.

SO FAT

He's so pretty...

I'm more pretty than he is.

Ambient Cultural Knowledge

You know the Bible 72%!

Wow! You are truly a student of the Bible! Some of the questions were difficult, but they didn't slow you down! You know the books, the characters, the events . . . Very impressive!

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BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Gaggeth me unto a spoon.