DustCloud

The midday sun shone down on the houses of the town of Zand. Anyone with half a brain was inside, taking refuge from the heat. Since it was always unbearably hot in the glass blower's workshop, they worked on through the hottest hours of the day and stopped earlier than other workers to cool down. 
Maimoun twirled the metal rod in his hands until the glowing blob of molten glass had a symmetrical shape and then he blew gently into the tube to cause the glass to expand. While controlling his breathing, he shaped the bottle into it's final form: wide at the bottom with a smaller bulge in the neck. Before the glass cooled and set, he sprinkled metal shavings over the surface which would cause the glass to sparkle even more in the light. 
He set the vase down and checked the clock. There wasn't time to start another large project, but a couple of small paper weights with the leftover glass were certainly possible. Maimoun knew Taahira was itching to get her hands on all the different coloured sands and sparklies so he called her over.
"Ready to get creative?" he asked her, "I'll take over the shop if you want to play with the leftover glass."
Taahira looked up, her dark hair tied back and her body covered in a multitude of colours. She wore a bright green dress, a yellow vest, a pink shawl and blue shoes. Compared to her, Maimoun's white dress and emerald green shawl looked almost drab though he would prefer to use the word "subdued". 
"Already there!" Taahira jumped up and smiled.
Her brother really didn't have to let her experiment, she was certain he could probably do something much more fitting with the leftover glass, but giving her this opportunity was just like him. After their parents had died a few years ago he had been the one to put in the hard work to keep their shop and workplace open. He had supported her as she got her feet back under her and learned to sell their glass wares. After a few months he'd even taught her the basics of glassblowing. 
Maimoun watched his sister go and was amazed again by how much she'd grown. He'd always been slated to take over the shop so he'd been schooled from a young age to make the glass items their shop was known for. But Taahira, who'd suddenly had to give up her dreams, had wholeheartedly thrown herself in managing the shop and now made amazing little works of art. Statues, paperweights and gazing stones, and other types of knickknacks nobody else had made before. She had really put them in the spotlight. 
Taahira let her fingers roam across the case of additives. Today she would go for purple and red, like the desert sunset. She mixed the colours into the molten glass, making the lines of colour swirl and mingle. starting with the orange and then adding red and purple made the inside glow. Taahira could just imagine people gazing into the coloured glass and losing themselves in the desert sunset. Maybe she would make a few more, she always had a hard time parting with the items she made. 
For good measure she also added a few blue and green ones to mimic the ocean where the inside was black as the night and the cool colours lay on the surface. 
"Are you done? It's about time to stop for the day." Maimoun asked.
"I'm done." she said and only then felt the heat and exhaustion. She'd been doing this for an hour and she felt like she'd worked an entire day. She didn't know how her brother did it. Taahira just wanted to take a shower and go out in the cold night air. Though it would be a few hours until the night was cool enough to help her cool down. 
"Do you have plans today?" Maimoun asked.
"A shower and then going out with Rahma." she said, "We're going dancing."
"Do you want me to come too?" he asked, worried like the older brother he was.
"I'm not an innocent child anymore. I can take care of myself. And what could ever happen here?"
"I don't know. Lately I've heard stories..."
"They're probably told to scare girls from having too much fun. Don't worry. I'll just be at the tavern."
"Just in case I might just come for a drink myself."
"Just make sure you don't cramp my style." she grinned, "Or do you need an excuse to talk to Rahma?"
"I'm just worried about you. You're all I have left."
Taahira winced, she knew he meant well but she wasn't about to be swallowed by a sandstorm or disappear into thin air. 
"You can come drink and walk us home like the gentleman you are." she gave in, "But no sooner than After Watch!"
After Watch was considered late and most people would be in bed by then. But Zand had a lot of fires out at night to scare away wild animals. It wasn't as dark as some other areas could be. The bars closed at Midnight and Taahira did find it comforting to know someone would walk her and her best friend home. 

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Rahma sat at a little table on the outside terrace of bar Mirage. It wasn't the only bar or cafe in Zand, but it was definitely the best for dancing. The inside was one big wooden dance floor. Benches were mounted on two walls, the bar was on the third. the building was usually opened up during the evenings but during the day they boarded the front wall to keep the sun out. Glass oil lamps hung from the ceilings  and maybe it was a good thing that he building was open because the smoke really needed to escape or the atmosphere wouldn't be healthy. Most of the patrons didn't mind the smoke though, they just enjoyed the good drinks and the opportunity to stay out during the cool evening. 
Taahira arrived and sagged down in the other chair.  She'd been looking forward to this all day. 
"Have you been here long?" Taahira asked Rahma.
"Half an hour maybe? I had fun people-watching though."
"Who did you watch?" 
Rahma motioned for Taahira to come closer and she whispered:
"Don't look, but there's this crazy lady behind you. She's been eating spicy food non stop since I got here and she's been sweating like a pig. I think she must be on some undercover mission because she is so noticeable no-one would suspect her."
"Maybe she's a decoy." Taahira giggled.
Rahma nodded. Kidding aside, she was always trying to determine the motives of people and trying to predict what they'd do. She actually thought the woman was doing something akin to drowning her sorrows but she'd let her to her own devices. Tonight she was out to have fun with Taahira, a thing her friend excelled at.
"Want to go dancing or have a drink first?" Rahma asked her friend.
"Something cool to wash down. I worked in the workshop today and I feel like my throat is sandpaper."
Rahma ordered another round and they talked some more while they waited for their drinks to arrive. They tried to meet up at least once every week but they never ran out of things to say. Though as darkness fell and the tempo of the music picked up, talking got harder.
"Let's dance." Taahira grinned and pulled Rahma to the dancefloor. 

Dahmura had walked into town earlier that day. He was a wanderer, a man for hire. He stayed for a while doing odd jobs and then usually took to the road again. He hadn't been able to find lodgings for the night. The town of Zand was small and quaint. The community was small but there were a lot of tourists and merchants that came for the artworks the residents created. All of the available rooms had been booked. But Dahmura didn't mind spending the night outdoors. The village would be safer than the desert he'd traversed. Not that the desert here was anywhere as big as the one on the mainland.  
But before he'd turn in for the night, he wanted to have a meal and a cool drink. Some comforts he did miss when he was out on the road. There were a number of establishments but bar Mirage was the one that was still open. The place felt lively but friendly and both the service and the food proved to be good. While he ate he watched the crowd and noticed two young women dancing. One was tanned and dark-haired with a lively demeanour and bright clothes. The other one was smaller, pale and blonde but just as lively. They caught a lot of the male attention but didn't seem to be intent on letting the men join them. Dahmura didn't mind just watching, he wasn't staying after all. But some of the men seemed to have darker plans. 
Deciding he didn't have anything better to do anyway, Dahmura decided to wait a bit and see what would happen. The night cooled to a pleasant temperature but the dancefloor heated as more people joined. Music from a local band had started out slow and intimate but was now growing more rapid and frenzied. Nobody seemed to mind that this wasn't music for couples. Dahmura liked that a lot. He tapped his foot in time with the rhythm but wasn't about to join the dancers. He could do a lot of things, but dancing wasn't among them. Watching the young adults enjoy their evening was more satisfying anyway. He'd just traversed a desert, he could do with some rest. But maybe it wouldn't be bad to make friends with one of the local girls. That would beat sleeping outside.
His eyes were drawn again to the two lovely young women he'd seen earlier. The one with the bright clothes seemed to have a love for life that made her shine. As it was nearing midnight though, they seemed to be getting ready to leave. They deftly declined a couple of offers from people who looked out of place and were most likely tourists. As his eyes followed the two across the dancefloor he noticed the man that was waiting for them at the door. Both women gave him a small kiss on the cheek that made Dahmura's stomach knot a bit. But then they went out. They would have left his mind if he hadn't seen the three men 
follow them out. Now that was bad news. His instincts kicked in and made him get up and follow the two groups though no-one else seemed to be as worried as he was. Maybe the guy they were with was crazy strong but three to one seemed a bit much. 

Maimoun felt the welcome chill from the night as they left bar Mirage. How Taahira and Rahma could stand being in there for more than a few moments was beyond him. Especially when Taahira had worked in the forge today. He wouldn't be spending his free time in a hot and sweaty bar. He preferred reading a good book on his porch. 
As he glanced back, his eyes caught Rahma as she slipped a wayward lock of blonde hair back into place. His heart skipped a beat and he quickly averted his eyes lest she caught him staring. Taahira teased him about his crush and insistently asked if she should set up a date for him but Maimoun wouldn't hear of it. There really wasn't time for him to date anyway. But luckily Rahma also didn't seem to be looking for love, so maybe the future would prove to be fruitful.
It was Rahma who noticed they were being followed. Carefully she took hold of the other two, nearly giving Maimoun a heart attack without noticing it in the current situation, and whispered:
"There's three people following us."
Maimoun tensed and looked back. As Rahma winced she knew that the three thugs would take the opportunity to start a fight. And she was right. They closed in soon and made their intentions known:
"You pretty ladies could do way better. Come with us and we'll show you a good time."
"No way." Taahira blurted out before Rahma or Maimoun could stop her.
The thug closest to them seemed to be the leader of the group and he stepped closer, looking very dark and menacing.
"Then your boyfriend here should prepare to fight for you."
Rahma nearly giggled. Maimoun was not a fighter. She doubted he could even throw away something that was broken. She knew for a fact that his shawl was one he'd had for 10 years. And Taahira had told her he still had the first thing he'd ever made, even if he'd dropped it and it was cracked. No, she was the one they needed to worry about, but not even the surprise effect would help her defeat all three. 
Maimoun stepped forward and put up his fists, intent on defending the girls even if he knew he could only really act as a decoy. "Ready when you are." he taunted the thugs, acting confident while his knees quivered.
Two of them stepped forward, not risking it, while the third circled round to cut off any chance of the girls running away. As the first thug hurled his fist, Rahma dropped down and twirled her leg around, using the momentum of her weight to sweep him off his feet. She couldn't do anything about the second thug though. 
"Duck." she called and hope Maimoun would be able to avoid his fists, but somehow they never connected.
A dark-clothes stranger had the second thug in a choke hold. The third thug came closer but the stranger turned to him and drew a knife while still holding the other thug contained. The third thug decided it wasn't worth the risk and he ran. At this point Taahira raised hell and people started looking out of their homes. A few minutes later the local Sherrif and peacekeepers were around to take the two thugs they'd contained into custody.
As the officials did their job, Maimoun turned to the stranger that had helped him.
"Thank you." he said, "I think you saved our lives."
Dahmura shook his head, "You had things." he told Rahma, impressed by her move.
"I couldn't have taken on all three of them." she admitted, "We were lucky you happened to be here."
"I saw them follow you out." Dahmura admitted.
"So you were watching us too." Taahira flirted a bit.
"You did set the dancefloor on fire." Dahmura responded with a compliment.
"My sister and I are in your debt." Maimoun added.
Dahmura felt a bit taken aback that he was so relieved to know that he was her brother. Feeling lucky he decided to take a gamble: "About that, I arrived late and I don't have a place to stay..."
"Of course you can stay with us." Taahira said, "we have plenty of room.

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Morning arrived with an unusual visitor. An middle-aged man with greying blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes stood in front of their door. The man, dressed in an ensemble that was very inappropriate for the hot desert weather, straightened his pinstriped suit jacket and patted some dust from his dark trousers.
"Good morning, my name is Twan and I have some questions." he told them.
"About our glasswork?" Maimoun asked, "We'll be opening in two hours..." he said.
"Not quite." Twan interrupted, "I'd like to ask about last night."
Alarmed, Rahma, who also stayed over, and Damura readied a few things they could use as weapons.
"I'm with the Castle and we've been hunting down these bandits for a while now. I understand there was a third assailant? If possible I'd like to get more information about that one." 
Rahma and Dahmura relaxed a bit and carefully set down the heavy pieces of glass they'd grabbed a hold of. Taahira grinned and cordially invited the man in.
"Welcome to our home, Twan. I'm Taahira. I got a good look at the guy so I can definitely help you."
"That would be very helpful."
All four of them gave their impressions and Twan dutifully noted them down. When they'd finished he stood up and asked something unusual: 
"Would any of you have something the guy touched or did you pull something from him?"
"If we had anything like that we would have given it to the police." Maimoun said.
"Actually," Taahira interrupted, "I did find something in the street but I'm not sure if it's his."
"If I could take that item? We could try to track him with it."
Taahira went to her room and returned with the strip of fabric she thought she'd recognised as the bandit's bandana. Since she hadn't been sure and didn't know what the police would gain from it, she'd just taken it from the street, thinking she'd better throw it away. 
Twan thanked her as he got it and went outside where a silver-gold drak awaited. 
"Merilka will try to see if she can find some traces of scent on there." 
The drak dipped her nose in the fabric and took a deep breath. As she came up, she closed her eyes and seemed to wait a bit. Maybe letting all the scents gather. 
"I sssmell the forezsts, they're definitely the ones we ssseek. Also szand, which probably came from the road and a shalty ocean fragrancze. I don't think it's sssweat, it lacks the shourness that humansz produce."
"We'll let the others know to sweep around the beaches and islands." Twan nodded.
"Alszo, I think thesze people might pair well if given the chanssce."
"Would you want to try and pair?" Twan asked
Taahira nearly screamed with excitement, already nodding her head before she produced sound. Maimoun had his doubts, but he would not let his sister go alone. Dahmura didn't mind travelling anyway and if he didn't pair he could just move on from there. Rahma didn't want to be left behind. Having a drak would also mean she could visit smaller villages to teach children. Or she could teach the children at the Castle.
"I'll send someone to come and get you." Twan let them know, "We'll divide you over the castles. It's to ensure the diversity of draks in the different castles. You are free to return to DesCas after pairing but you're just as free to stay where you are or travel to other castles. You'll be taught what you need to know while you wait for the clutches to hatch."

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[STORY]  .  [MAIMOUN]  .  [RAHMA]  .  [TAAHIRA]  .  [DAHMURA]

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Lantessama Isle