The collapse of the sand-drake's trap gave Quilla just the chance she needed. A quick twist provided leverage and her heel struck the guard holding her chain hard in the groin. As he collapsed, breathing raggedly, she noted that the woman she was chained to had reacted almost as quickly, striking the other guard on the side of his head hard enough to knock him down. As if planned, which it had not been as the two had not exchanged a word since being chained together, the pair ran across the sand at an angle to the path the caravan had followed.

Fortunately the sand-drake and the other slaves kept the rest of the guards busy until the women were over the hill, once out of sight most spells become difficult. Just beyond the dune, they found the remains of a previous meal of the drake's. Doubtless it had been uncovered by the last sand-storm. With one accord, the women reached for the bones. Quilla grabbed a curved rib, tisking at how dry and inflexible the bone wns. The other woman sorted out a heavy hipbone and tried to fit it under the collar around her neck.

Quilla reached out and took the bone. "You will break your neck before this steel that vay. Try here." Quilla moved the bone point to where the chain is welded to the collar and motioned for the other woman to hold the collar still.

Using all the force in her out-sized frame, Quilla twisted the bone against the chain. With a loud SNAP!, the bone broke. Quilla growled and placed one hand on the other woman's collar, and the other on the chain. With a jerk that bruised and bloodied the hand on the chain, Quilla pulled mightily on the chain. With a sound of tormented metal, the chain pulled free.

Quilla snorted, "Slaver don't think women have any strength. The strongest men may be stronger than the strongest women, but not that much."

The other girl put her right hand to Quilla's collar and her left hand to the chain, then jerked the chain free with less apparent effort. Quilla was surprised to note the finely scaled skin of the other girl's hand was undamaged. Quilla picked up her dropped rib and gestured for the other girl to drop the chain, "Leave it, we can hope the magic-silencing spell is on the chain, not the collars." The other girl dropped the chain and grabbed a slender bone.

No More Distractions

As the two started around the next dune, a cry warned them that their distraction was over. Despite having shorter legs, the other girl soon outdistanced Quilla.

Quilla leaned into her run and dodged to one side as instinct told her a net was flung; it barely missed her. There was a flash of light and a crackle, quickly interrupted by a painful scream. "How about that," commented Quilla to herself. "the Triton is a mage." She also noted the spell WAS on the chain, and continued her charge near the edge of the spell field.

The triton' s hands glowed as she gathered the ethereal energics and cast them. The ball of light shot forward and past Quilla. This time it apparently missed, as no scream followed. Quilla knew instantly when she left the spell, her muscles were flooded with energy. She leapt with force, and a net passed under her trim legs, to bounce off an invisible barrier before the triton. Good thing the spell only turned off permanent enchantments and not removed them Quilla thought.

Landing lightly in the sand, Quilla swept up the net, spun, and threw. It entangled the legs of the horse ridden by the first slaver, and the two fell. She grabbed the rider's bow and came up with a knife. She snagged the hilt by reflex.

Quilla gestured, "Come on!!" With that she ran. The triton completed a final gesture and followed. Behind them, the wind abrutly gusted, raising clouds of sand. The slavers were engulfed and blinded. After the pair collapsed to the sand panting, several dunes later, Quilla commented, "Nice work."

The other girl cupped her hands and made a drinking gesture. Quilla pointed, "The oasis we left this morning is that way. I just bet you are thirsty, Agua has no deserts." Quilla touched the base of her throat, "Quilla."

The other girl did the same, "Dara." Quilla said, "Well, at least you can speak. Do you speak Haraki?" Dara responded with a flurry of liquid notes.

"I guess not. Let me see," Quilla frowned as she struggled to remember the silent language understood almost everywhere. She signed clumsily: (Do you know hand talk?)

Dara smiled sadly, {Yes. I fear they will expect us to make for the oasis. If I do not reach water by tomorrow I will be unable to move. Tritons dehydrate easily.}

{It doesn't matter,} signed Quilla once she had figured out what Dara had gestured. {They caught me by surprise the first time. This time I will be ready.}

Dara looked askance, {How? You only have a knife and a bow, no arrows, no armor. My magic will weaken as I do.}

Quilla gestured, {I have some magic of my own. It will help see us through.}

Dara looked skeptical, but rose to her feet and signed, {Let us get started again. We are both faster on our feet than the slave train, I want to reach the oasis as soon as I can.}

As Quilla rose and they set out, Dara gestured, {I almost hope they come after us, they took my spell books when they captured my caravan I saw it in a slaver's hands last night. I doubt they would have destroyed it.}

Dara was proved right; they were in sight of the oasis in only a third of the time it took for the caravan to cross the same distance. The two of them looked down from the highest sand dune at the oasis. Quilla noted, {It is hard to tell from here, but I think some of those tracks are leading in, and fresher than the others.}

Dara responded, {I think I see one of them in the trees, but there are sure to be others. How do we handle this?}

Quilla signed, {How are you at being bait?}

Bait

Shortly a bedraggled figure staggered over a dune and fell down the slope, her robe bloody and torn, then began crawling toward the water. She sank down aRer covering half the distance, apparently to gather strength.

A slaver rose a moment later and walked up to stand between her and the oasis. She glanced up, and then collapsed. He kicked her, but she seemed unconscious. He called out, "She's passed out from the heat," and another eame out of hiding. "Let's carry her to the water and put the chains on her before we put her in. Then she can tell us what happened to the other one." said the second slaver.

The first slaver opened his mouth to answer, and vanished in a flash of heatless flame. The second slaver turned to run for cover; but fared no better as a second fiery shaft struck him. Dara jumped to her feet from her feigned swoon and sprinted to the shore; hitting the water in a long dive. She sank deep in the pool and breathed the refreshing waters. She realized that her magic was gone, aside from that of her nature, and hoped that Quilla could handle the remaining slavers until she could think of something to help.

Quilla was changing positions, confident that the Slavers would have seen her position after the first two shafts. A mounted slaver came charging around the dune in front of her. Quilla drew her empty bow and a shaft of light appeared as she released. The rider was struck and collapsed; Quilla slit his throat to be sure he Was dead. She grabbed the mount, whose species she was uncertain of though it appeared to be a hoofed mammal of some tvpe, and slung the body over it. She led the beast away around the next dune and searched the body and the saddle. She as pleased to find a full quiver of hunting arrows, a skin of water, rations, a rope, another knife, and a scimitar. She tied the beast's lead to the body and took the weapons, food, and water, plus took a length of sand-colored cloth.

Moving through the confusion of tracks from the slave train, she travelled a short way away from the oasis, then rounded a dune and climbed the back until she could just glance over the ridge. She took a single taste of water and a small bite of food; she would not put it past them to poison it in case she found it. She waited, scanning the area with as little motion as possible. Not feeling ill, she took a larger swallow of each and waited again. The meat was leathery and salty, but it was food.

She caught a glimpse of motion along her back trail and pulled out a shaft and nocked it. She relaxed when she realized that it was a scavenger, looking at the body she left behind but not daring to approach the steed.

Dara, in the mean time, had searched the bottom of the pool. For the most part it was shallow, with little in it besides reeds and rocks. The Slavers didn't seem inclined to enter the water after her. Probably for fear of Quilla's shafts; wherever she got those. Dara dug up an edible root and waited. While she waited she considered; trying to figure out where the spell restricting her magic was based. It occurred to Dara that the Slavers must have travelled light to reach the pool before her and Quilla. They would doubtless have to return for water eventually. All she needed to do was be patient. She settled into a deep notch and began dozing, sure she would awaken at any disturbance of the surface of the pool.

Waiting Game

Quilla knew this was a waiting game as she lay on a dune not far from the oasis. She had pulled the sand-colored cloth about her and partially buried herself in the sand. Concealed this way, only sudden movement or a careful search would reveal her. Doubtless the others were similarly concealed. The first to blink loses, she thought ironically.

Also, they could probably withdraw safely if she misses the slightest move. She heard a sound and froze. Carefully she looked around, and noticed a slight ruffling of the sand. She had dragged her cloak over her tracks twice, once while she walked, and again using a grappling shaft. The slight breeze had finished the job; so there should not be anything visible. She very carefully drew her bow, arrow ready, and considered. Finally she released the shaft.

The sand flew in a plume as the magic exploded silently from the point of impact. Not so silent was the scream of the invisible slaver, now visible as his concentration broke. A shaft of pure power finisfed him and Quilla froze again under her cover. The sand rained down and made her cover even better. The others, she was sure, would either come investigate, or have been watching. If the latter, she was in trouble. If the former....

She heard footsteps in the sand, and carefully set an arrow to her string. If I were them, I would have one move stealthily to watch, and another move loudly to draw my attention, Quilla thought. She watched as a slaver walked around the dune; glowing faintly with a wooden staff in his hand. Ah, she thought, shielded. They think they are smart. Well, let me see, where did the other one hide?

Knowing her other opponent was probably invisible, she thought carefully. She finally decided. He was probably almost in arm's reach. She took careful aim at the target below, moving as slowly as possible. She thought, as she released the shaft.

The arrow flew and she rolled before seeing the result. A knife cut her lightly as she barely evaded the thrust of the slaver. She dropped her bow, and with the other hand drew the knife she had taken before. She smiled and parried the blow of the slaver's scimitar. She attacked with such force the blade was knocked from his hand, and then cut him from navel to breastbone. He collapsed as the knife pierced his heart. She pulled it free and glanced at the other.

The other slaver was transfixed on her arrow, the shocked expression frozen on his face. She commented, "Sorry. that one I spelled to go through shields and armor of all types. No offense I hope."

She added to herself, I only counted six sets of hoofprints leading back on the trail. I think that is all of them.

Feather and Fin: Part II

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