Ambush

The sand caught up Devrim and Mairwen in its fearsome grip and pushed them forward. The Emperor held onto the princess's hand as long as he could, but the sand worked its way between their hands and wrenched his grip free.

"Mairwen!" the grey-eyed man tried to call out, but his mouth filled with gritty particles. The wave had captured them and there was no room to even breathe.

Instincts kicked in, and Devrim swam with the sandy current to crest the wave and receive a life-giving lungful of air. He dove below once more to try to find his daughter and anyone else who might be drowning in the sandy depths. Whether it was sand or water stealing air, the end result was death. Devrim had to help however he could.

The Emperor caught hold of an odd arm and leg, pushing the owner upward however he could. Devrim was blind inside the sandy mass, however, and he was not sure if his efforts were doing any good.

Devrim pushed himself to the surface for another gasp. His arms and legs were so weak that he was immediately pulled back below the billowing tide. This time he did not have the strength to swim and merely floated along in the sandy current. His eyelids felt heavy as everything went dark.

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The Emperor heard shouting but it seemed far away, like a dream. He was not even sure from which direction the sounds were coming. Multiple voices. He did not want to wake up. The lovely dream of his wife giving him a sweet, long-lasting kiss was too lovely. Devrim would stay in the dream world forever.

But the voices persisted and the Emperor tried to move his hands to his ears to cover them. He met with resistance. It was as if sand was preventing his movement.

Sand!

Devrim's eyes popped open only to be greeted with gritty darkness filling his eyes. He was able to shake his head slightly and clear some of the discomfort from his eyes.

It seemed that his head had somehow managed to stay above the sand while his body had been buried. Thankfully it was not the other way around, or he would have been dead.

Devrim wiggled around but was unable to free himself. "Help," he called with the little bit of air he could get into his lungs. If he stayed like this too long, the sand would suffocate him by tightening around his rib cage.

He caught a glimmer of a light reflecting the setting sun and looked towards it. Behind the flash, Mairwen appeared.

"Over here!" She screamed, beaming with delight. "I found father, but he is mostly buried!"

Quickly, Junayd, Eira and many others appeared to begin the long process of digging. They were all covered in sand and clearly exhausted, but they showed no signs of slowing down.

"We will take care of him, Your Highness. I encourage you to look for the next survivor," Junayd said gently.

The girl stopped digging and realized he was right. She stood and wandered off behind a dune.

"Why did you send her away?" Devrim asked. It was clear the general had singled her out.

Junayd looked at the others who were digging. "I can take it from here. He is very nearly uncovered. The rest of you go see who else you can find."

The general waited until they were alone before addressing Devrim's question. "That daughter of yours is truly amazing. She found me and almost everyone else. I assume she is using that…what's it called?…that Seeker necklace of hers to find people, but no one has actually seen her do it. Everyone just thinks that she is a walking miracle."

"They aren't wrong," Devrim chuckled.Then he winced as Junayd dug around the man's waist.

"You will have to take it easy, Your Majesty," the general admonished him. "You have a lot of bruises."

"I am not surprised. I had the odd kick and punch as I was trying to keep others afloat in the tide."

The burly soldier came behind the mostly uncovered Emperor and gripped him under the shoulders and around his chest. He attempted to pull the grey-eyed man free, but instead they both screamed in pain.

"Your shoulder is still bothering you," Devrim observed.

"And you need to be uncovered a little more before I manhandle you again," Junayd answered. Then he saw the Emperor's sidelong glance. "I will get someone to help me, Your Majesty."

With Okan's help, the two men were able to hoist Devrim from his sandy prison. In the true form of a leader, the Emperor took a few gulps of water that were offered to him and then stood to search for others that were buried.

It was well after dark when the last of the party was accounted for. Miraculously only four died during the tsunami. Were it not for Mairwen's seeker, the casualties would be much higher. A small funeral for the dead was given before the group settled down to for the night.

There was almost no food. The little bit they had was caked in sand and basically inedible. The weary travelers passed around the little bit of water they could salvage as they fought the hunger in their empty bellies. They were sore, sunburned and sleepy.

Having no firewood, they were happy for the bright stars and full moon overhead. It was one of the few blessings they had. As the sand cooled, the people were forced to huddle together for warmth.

"What will we do now?" The princess inquired. "The fort is gone, and we have no idea what happened to the soldiers there."

Devrim looked at Junayd for advice. The general thought for a moment. "We could head to the next closest fortification, but that would require crossing the collapsed area we left behind and possibly seeing the gnomes…"

"That does not seem like the best option," the Emperor said. "What about the desert people? Can we locate them?"

"Possibly. It would be much easier if I knew where exactly we were. That sand wave left me without any bearings," Junayd admitted. "The people of the Drifting Dunes Desert are not easy to find."

"We will have to figure out what we can when the sun rises," Devrim shrugged. There was not much they could do in the darkness. "Hopefully the Drifting Dunes Desert will not be too hard to navigate."

"That is a funny thing to call a desert," Eira commented after hearing the name twice in a row. The personal guard was pressed close to the princess to keep her warm. "How did it get such an alliterative name?"

Even in the starlit darkness, the twinkle in Junayd's eye was clear as he stood to begin his tale. Even before Junayd spoke, Mairwen could see the resemblance between the general and the entertainer Hanna had pretended to be. They both looked like they were sharing a delicious secret. As such, she took what he was about to say as a work of fiction, not fact.

"Once this was a beautiful land flowing with fruit and sweet water. Like a garden of myths, this land flourished in happiness and harmony," Junayd began. He pretended to eat and drink the delicacies of the forgotten land and smiled at the thought of the paradise.

"So, what happened?" one of the listeners asked on cue.

"Wolves invaded the land. They tore apart the garden and its inhabitants in their quest for meat. When they were finished, nothing had survived."

"How terrible!" murmurs of distaste rippled through the crowd.

"The Fates thought so too. They descended on the wolf pack and put a curse on them. They would forever be confined to the desert they created and forced to live beneath the sand. To make sure they would never escape, dunes were attached to each wolf's back to weigh them down. Now to move and search for prey, they must drag the dunes around the desert with them. Most gave up, but a few determined creatures still drag the sand with them. It is said if you watch closely, you can see the dunes move slowly across the skyline, and once in a while, you can even hear a wolf scream as it searches in the night," Junayd smiled wide as he finished his tale. His teeth looked like fangs in the night, causing the listeners to shiver. Even Mairwen was caught up in the story despite her efforts.

Only Devrim remained unmoved. "That is a good story, my friend. However it is far easier to explain the desert as a lack of rain and the sounds you hear due to the wind. The dunes shift and move due to that same wind. It is easily explained."

The company relaxed a little. The Emperor's explanation made far more sense. But as the group was preparing to sleep, a strange moaning sound pierced the air. Those with swords stood and drew their weapons. A lone rider-less horse came from behind a dune not far off.

"It must have gotten caught up in the sand wave with us," the Emperor noted with pity. "It is lost like we are."

The horse wandered past them at a distance and kept moving. As it crested a dune toward the edge of their sight, the steed suddenly let out a cry. It disappeared below the surface of the sand with a strange howling sound and the entire dune shifted and caved in as it enveloped the horse. The people watched the spot where the horse should have been in horror. Only an indention in the sand remained.

"What was that?" many wondered.

"Not a desert wolf," Devrim asserted with more confidence than he felt.

They all watched for a long time, but nothing else happened. It seemed like the show was over.

"Everyone should get some rest. We will investigate in the morning when we can see better. The master storyteller and I will take first watch," The Emperor announced.

As everyone finally grew quiet, Devrim and Junayd took their places to patrol the area.

"Next time, I will not tell a ghost story," Junayd mused. He walked along quietly contemplating.

"That would be good," Devrim agreed.

"I mean if what I am going to say comes true, I should use those powers for good. Maybe I should tell a story about a magnificent feast!" Junayd's mouth began to water.

"It would be better to tell of being found and rescued. We will all bake tomorrow in the scorching sun, and we have almost no water left." Devrim sighed.

Junayd nodded eagerly. "All right. I will think of a magnificent tale of rescue. It will be glorious!"

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The next morning, Devrim felt the pinch of cold steel against his neck before he even opened his eyes. When he finally looked, he saw that they were surrounded by men whose heads were wrapped to protect their face and head from the sun. Each had his sword drawn and pointed at them.

"Junayd!" Devrim yelled in frustration.

"This is not my fault!" the general protested. "I made a story about a rescue, not an ambush!"