Desert Kings

Shifting Sands

"WHO ARE YOU!" Nya barked waking up a startled Lloyd. The person in front of her stood perfectly still with their hands up eyes wide toward Nya.

Honestly she really couldn't tell how human this person was, they were wearing too many clothes for her to know. They had for the most part fading tan and brown cloths wrapped all around them with some splashes of red, orange, and sun faded blues.

"I could ask you the same thing." A new voice boomed from behind her and she was now noticing that Lloyd had backed into her grabbing her wrist.

Nya slowly turned her head to look behind her making sure to keep the other person in her visuals.

Her hopes were quickly dashed. They were very, very outnumbered.

It was an entire caravan of people. At least 50 of them all staring and not that there were some wearing less coverage Nya could see their features better. They were very close to looking human actually they were almost exactly like other humans but there were some key differences. Their skin was white like snow and they all had black hair. They also had markings on their faces and around their eyes like baseball players used to have.

They all began to slowly flow out of their wagons and flock toward the two surrounding them. Sheet white faces and began to get closer and Nya got more on edge. Finally a younger one jumped toward Lloyd and Nya snapped. Suddenly all the people were jumping back as a thin border strip of water made a ring around the two outsiders.

Finally the same person from earlier spoke up. "ENOUGH ALL OF YOU! MOVE AWAY FROM THE HUMANS STOP CROWDING THEM!"

Nya figured that was the leader because suddenly all the others were scrambling away to make room.

The person that walked up to them was taller then her and pulled off their purple hood wrapping to reveal puffy hair dragged down into a strained ponytail. They wore a purple scarf/hood with tan wrappings like the others and another purple skirt that almost covered the bandages that wrapped around their legs like shoes and pants.

"Now, what are you outsiders doing at the Northern Wupatki Outpost, first marker of the Blue Dune King?" the leader ordered more than asked.

She thought about it. If these people were more hostile then if she didn't give them an answer they might attack, still they hadn't done much yet but she couldn't put all her hope into that. They had a caravan and they knew the desert so they couldn't fight or run their way out, then they could just run them down. Maybe if they-

"Uhhhh WE WANT TO SEE THE BLUE DUNE KING!" Lloyd shouted out from behind her. She threw her hand over his mouth but it was to late.

Shock ran through the entire caravan. Gasps and incoherent murmurs of the blue dune king struck up and now the leader was looking at them with a sterning gaze.

Another one of the people came up to the leader and they both struck up a lovely conversation.

"We can't bring them!"

"We have too!"

"What if they have bad intentions?!"

"You know the rules as well as I do."

Nya fake coughed into her hand to catch their attention. The leader immediately stiffened and turned toward them.

"We will take you to the Blue Dune King. But if we find that you intend to cause harm we will not hesitate to bring you to violent justice."

Cries of protest rang out from the rest of the caravan.

"SILENCE! You all know the Red Sand King's rule: anyone who asks to see him must be taken to the Blue Dune King."