A Wu-Jen in the Desert

[Dracos]

*earlier part lost in crash*
Shairthewm: Mei Ling stood up from where she had stumbled into the pile of socks, all left sided.
Carthrat: Mei-Ling summons a ball of fire to light the surrounding area, kicking away the doubtless-smelly socks.
Shairthewm: She was in a small clearing, the light giving mere feet of visibility in the heavy mist that filled the woods.  Her senses felt almost a mystical presence of lost permeating the woods.
Carthrat: Mei-Ling tries to press through the fog, contemplating a wind spell to disperse it somewhat.
Shairthewm: The wind flowed through the mist, making it easier to walk and see the path directly where she was pointing it, but little else.
Carthrat: Mei-Ling tries to summon another forest wisp to her side, to better guide her way.
Shairthewm: She does as she finds the mist fading....
Shairthewm: Continuing to walk, she found herself only able to see the path before her, no trees, no forest, no night breeze, nor even stars above.
Carthrat: Mei-Ling walks along, growing concern establishing itself across her features. No Wu-Jen would willingly reside in such desolation.. unless he planned to fix it, or some such.
Shairthewm: She sensed as she walked along a steadily narrowing path that something was watching her.
Carthrat: Keeping the forest-wisp hovering around her hand, Mei-Ling can't help but feel a sense of desolation come over her. Her eyes flicker back and forth, and she tries to sense where this entity is looking at her from, using all six senses.
Shairthewm: From her left...no above her...no to her right...

No, definitely behind her.  Right behind her.  Something ancient beyond reckoning.
Carthrat: Mei-Ling whips around, ready to press a hand to the earth and summon.. something to defend her.
Shairthewm: She just barely avoids falling off the path as she finds her feet right at the edge of an abyss.  She could see just barely a hint of something far, far below her reflecting the light of her spell just barely as if made of crystal.  The path she had walked mere seconds before gone.
Carthrat: "What?!" shouts Mei-Ling to empty air. Carefully, she takes a step back from the abyss, then another step, before glancing over her shoulder at what lies ahead in that direction.
Shairthewm: The path lay ahead...though if she looked closely, she could see tiny bites slowly disappearing from the edges.
Carthrat: Steadying herself, Mei-Ling turns back to the edge of the abyss, peering down as far as she can. Float down? A possibility, no matter the distance. Get back up? Likely not happening, and it would not do to end up somewhere.. unpleasant, in the pursuit of shiny things.
Shairthewm: Whatever it was she had felt, it was down there.  Her light spell seemed to be fading as she could no longer see the crystal, almost as if it was being sucked into the abyss behind her.  Whatever it was, it didn't feel natural at all, almost as if it was the opposite of such things.
Carthrat: Mei-Ling backs away from the abyss in fright; such a thing was anathema to her. She turns around to try and follow the path.. or what was left of it.
Shairthewm: She would have to hurry, she could see, even as she marched upon it, the path shrinking, threatening to drop her down into that dread abyss.
Carthrat: She summons wind to boost her speed, rushing after the path in great, magically-powered leaps.
Shairthewm: Running and running, she was soon dashing along almost a thread of sand, falling into nothingness behind her, her light having abandoned her as she ran.
Carthrat: A brief moment of sorrow for the spirits that are lost to darkness is all Mei-Ling has time for. Flight, though, is now all she has on her mind.
Shairthewm: Her consciousness strained a moment...and then she hit something...Hard.

Very hard.

It was hours before she awoke, a dull pain in her face and a sting in her nose, hot sunlight bearing down upon her.
Carthrat: Lying there for a moment, Mei-Ling rubs her face a little. That might be the most serious pain, but her entire body aches. Perhaps not a physical pain, but she does not feel... well. Pressing her hands against the ground, she pushes herself up to her knees, and kneeling against the hot surface, checks her surroundings.
Shairthewm: She felt sand against her hands, hot and a bit painful as she pushed herself up.

Standing up, she saw before her a massive tower of black stone, rising up into the sky out of the desert stands, from this side, she could not see a door.
Carthrat: 'How?' is the predominant thought on Mei-Lings mind. She scoops up a handful of sand, and watches it sift between her fingers, incomprehension plain on her features. Painfully, she stands up, commanding the dust, dirt and sand to slide off her body, leaving her completely clean.
Shairthewm: While she was here and clearly away from the darkness, she could still feel it.  Somewhere nearby...

Dracos
Pick up from here.

[Carthrat]

Mei-Ling gets to her feet, and involuntarily takes a few steps back away from the Tower of Darkness.

Confusion plain across her features, she takes stock of her surroundings. The words of her old mentor spring to mind...

"Ah, the deserts! They are never truly empty, you know. Spirits of the sand, sun, and the ice- yes, the ice- roam the desert, and they are a capricious lot. Though it shall not be difficult for you to find water and food, be wary, for others will share in your search, and may horde their resources jealously.

"Nonetheless," mutters Mei-Ling, extending her senses. "Survival is paramount. Investigation can take place.. later." Reaching out, she tries to determine the nearest source of water.

[Dracos]

She's lucky she has some on her, because her magic indicates that the nearest source of water is a couple days travel to the south.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

Mei-Ling bites back a curse. Water, she had, and rations, she had a little.. well, it would have to be enough.

To conserve her energy, she decides to head to the water the mundane way. One slow, lingering step after another. She reasoned that she could ration her small supply out over two days...

[Dracos]

Heading south, it is a long two days, the sun beating down as she spots a little town in the distance.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

Despite meditation techniques designed to cool the body, and her own small supply, by the time Mei-Ling can reach the town, she's really not feeling so good. Her pace picks up when she sees it, though, and she makes sure she's immaculate before she reaches the town.

[Dracos]

Coming in from the north, she could see a number of small buildings, a little factory towards the side with a river running to it, and what looked to be an inn in the middle.

Dracos

[Carthrat]

As she draws closer to the town, Mei-Ling slows down her pace, eyeing the... things that this town is made of.

"Black and grey metal... the sound of iron upon iron," she murmurs, her eyes straying towards the larger metal shed. "There's nothing natural here. This place.. is clogged with metal spirits above all else. Metal and fire." Not unheard of in human towns, certainly, but for such a concentration...

She heads towards the.. inn.. if that's what it really is.