Sandstorms were one of the most dangerous natural occurrences in the desert. In the past, there had been many traveling groups who lost their lives by being buried underneath the sand. Even if one survived through it, it wasn't rare for travelers to lose sight of their location within the sandstorm, and thus wandering aimlessly through the desert until they eventually ran out of water. Cities always had large walls surrounding them, in order to avoid the danger of half the city being buried underneath the sand flood.
However, the desolate village Corwyn and Teo were currently fighting in had no such protective measures. There might have been walls in the past, but without maintenance, they most likely had broken down years, if not decades ago. In other words, there was nothing here that could prevent the sand from entering. They probably had not much time left until the village got completely enveloped by the storm.
Corwyn was still thinking about what actions he should take, when the wind was already blowing against his body and the first grains of sand reached his hair. The sandstorm was only three or so minutes away from hitting them. They needed a plan, and fast, or survival would become all but impossible. He thought and thought, but nothing grand came to mind. The pressure slowly started to weigh down on him, as he scratched his head repeatedly with both hands.
Teo still seemed to have preserved his calmness, although he too must have been aware of the seriousness of the situation. Unable to watch the frowning Corwyn any longer, he pulled on one of his friend's arms while shouting:
"We need to get cover, and fast! It won't be long anymore until it catches us! So stop thinking and get into action!"
Corwyn twitched. He removed his hands from his head and turned his face towards Teo. It was filled with anxiety and nervousness as he shook his head slowly.
"No, it won't work. No matter where we hide here, none of these houses have thick enough walls to keep out the sand. We will be buried either way! Trying to escape is also useless, running against the storm is a sure way to get ourselves killed. And running away will only result in us losing sight of where we are!"
It really was an unfortunate situation. Corwyn had thought about waiting out the storm inside a building as well, but just like with the village's walls, time had taken its toll on the houses as well. They were in no condition to provide sufficient shelter.
"But there has to be a way..."
Teo was still unwilling to give up yet. He looked around fervently, searching for a solution to their predicament. But no answer occurred to him. Meanwhile, the sandstorm was getting closer and closer to them. They had to make up their minds soon. Just as Teo was about to give up, his gaze fell onto the young woman with the black hair, still lying on the ground.
"Hey, you there! You are living in this downfallen village, right? So do you know of a place where we can wait out the storm?!"
The female bandit raised her head slightly, looking Teo in the eye for a second. However, she averted her gaze just as quickly, saying nothing. Teo was furious at her reaction, but there was nothing he could do. He knew from their interactions a few minutes ago that threatening her would not work. It seemed like she indeed knew something, but as it stood, the woman apparently preferred to drag the two of them to death together with her over cooperating with them.
Teo racked his brain over some kind of argument he could use to persuade the bandit. But Corwyn was faster than him and joined into the conversation, if you could call it that.
Crouching down opposite to her, Corwyn began to speak slowly, in a calm voice.
"Look, I already understand that you have resolved yourself to die here. But should you really give up on your life that fast when there is a chance to survive? Before, you called your life "miserable", so my guess is that you are not a thief out of choice."
At his last words, the woman finally raised her head and faced him. Those dark eyes of hers showed many emotions at once. Antipathy, astonishment. Pain and resolve. But most of all, sadness. This one emotion was clearly visible among all the others. She was quick to hide it though, as she was already looking on the ground again. It was enough of a reaction though that Corwyn knew she was different from the other outlaws.
"I don't know who you are, and what has happened to you. But I know that I don't want to fight you unless it's necessary. So how about this? You tell us about the safe spot you are obviously hiding, and in turn, we will let you live and tend to your wounds. Is that acceptable to you?"
Corwyn, as well as Teo, were observing the young woman closely after Corwyn made this proposal. Everything would depend on her answer. Whether they would have a chance at survival, or find their grave in this village.
The female ability user was seemingly in conflict, not being able to decide what to do at the moment. Silent, Corwyn and Teo watched as she wrung her head right and left in inner turmoil. They felt the amount of sand in the air rising rapidly.
Finally, after an intense internal battle, the woman seemed to have made her decision. With a long sigh, she stood up unsteadily and faced both of them. The animosity in her eyes had still not disappeared, but she probably discerned that survival had to come first. Anything else could be dealt with afterward.
"Near the center of the village, there is a small warehouse with a cellar underneath. The building itself is ruined like the rest, but the cellar is still in good condition and has an airtight door. We can take shelter there!"
"Alright!"
Corwyn was about to run back to the plaza and get the rest of his companions, but before he even got to make two steps, her voice cut him off sharply.
"We don't have much time left until the storm is here. When that happens, it will be impossible to discern the warehouse from the other buildings! If we want to go there, we need to go now!"
He nearly tripped when he heard those words. He should just go and abandon his comrades, who trusted him and followed him into battle? Corwyn nearly threw up at the thought of doing so.
"I can't abandon them! What are you saying!?"
But she didn't even blink as she replied coldly:
"Either we go now and leave them behind, or we go back and die together with them! I don't care what choice you make, but don't think I will stay here and wait. If you go back, then good luck, but I'm out of here!"
Corwyn couldn't believe how cruel she sounded when she threw those words at him, but deep inside himself, he knew he couldn't blame her for acting like that. Just a few minutes ago, they had been bitter enemies trying to kill each other in battle. It was only logical that she wouldn't risk her life for someone else's companions. But his heart was unable to accept that fact.
He was about to sharply refute, but before the words could leave his mouth, a hand grasped his shoulder. Bewildered, he stared at the man the hand belonged to, Teo. His friend wore a grim expression on his face as well, but in contrast to Corwyn, he said nothing and merely shook his head slightly. The message he was trying to express through this motion was unmistakable though.
"..., Teo, you can't mean we...?"
He didn't finish the whisper. Corwyn simply stood as though he was rooted to the ground, unable to do anything but looking at Teo silently, grief in his eyes. The reason behind Teo's choice was obvious. Although he too greatly cared about the other expedition members, he cared for Corwyn more than anyone else. Letting his best friend sacrifice himself was not an option for him.
Having balled up both of his hands into fists, Corwyn gritted his teeth as his inner turmoil reached its peak and he was about to explode. He managed to hold it in though, somehow. Perhaps, deep within himself, he had accepted that this was the only choice he really had. No matter what he did, the other members of his squad were fated to die. If he went back, he would merely die with them. If he followed the female puppeteer, he would live, but the others would still die. No matter how he decided, there was no saving them.
No words left Corwyn's lips. He just stood there like a stone for about three more seconds, until he finally turned around and walked towards the path the female bandit had indicated. From the side, Teo could see tears flowing out of his eyes. He too gritted his teeth, but refrained from making any comment and turned towards the young woman.
"Show us the way!"
There was no sort of politeness in his words as he practically spat them out. The rogue didn't seem to mind though and simply turned around, walking off along the small street, slightly hobbling as she held her wound with one hand. The two young men were following her closely behind.
Like this, the three of them made their way through several streets and alleyways, getting closer and closer to the center of the village. Meanwhile, the amount of sand flowing through the air had risen to a frightening degree. It was already quite hard to make out what was what anymore. In maybe one or two minutes, vision would become completely obscured. They had to hurry.
Fastening their steps as much as possible, it didn't take them long to reach the village's main plaza. The young woman stopped for a moment, looking around frantically for the building in question, but soon resumed her run towards one particular house.
It was a fairly large building for a simple village. But since it used to be a warehouse, its size was not all that surprising, considering the fact that most likely tons of goods had been stored here once.
As soon as they arrived, they opened the large, metal door and immediately went inside. It was shut just as quickly. Only after they were sure the sand wouldn't enter for some time, did Corwyn and Teo allow themselves to look around and inspect the warehouse more closely.
The inside of the building was basically one big hall, as it used to contain large numbers of wares. There was obviously not much left of it, however, Corwyn still spotted some boxes on the right side of the room. Just like all the other buildings in the vicinity, the house had many cracks and ripples in its walls, with the occasional hole in between.
Judging from their condition, the boxes looked like they had been brought here only a few weeks ago. The Red Vipers probably stored away some weapons or food inside them.
"Get this box over there, on the end of the wall, and take it with you! I'll open the entrance to the cellar meanwhile!"
Their female companion gave out orders while she moved towards the center of the hall. Corwyn and Teo didn't dawdle and immediately went to get the crate. It was actually quite heavy. The two took a look inside, and as Corwyn had guessed just a moment ago, it was filled with different kinds of food and some bottles of water. With one fell swoop, they lifted the box up and carried it towards the middle of the hall.
When all three of them reunited there, the woman had already shoveled some sand away, and a large trap door got exposed to the surface. With combined power, they managed to lift the massive door up, revealing a narrow staircase. The stairs went actually quite deep down, as no end was visible from up above. Corwyn and Teo were still carrying the crate in their hands, so their new companion took a small torch out of her pocket and lit it. Once everything had been prepared, the three of them went down the staircase, not forgetting to close the door above them after all of them had entered.