After a deep breath, Nita smiled. "It would be nice for it all to end. I probably don't have much longer before it's no longer an issue." She said this with good humor, but she knew deep down, it was probably true. But it would still mean freedom in a way, not having to worry about petty thoughts or even survival. Really, it couldn't be so bad being insane. Death would be better, but insanity's close enough. It really was a comforting thought to her, a fact she soon caught on to and shivered.

It wasn't long before they reached the bottom of the cliff. The sand stung Nita's face. She convinced herself it would be worse if she hadn't been dead already, but she was sure it would make that fact show more if she didn't cover her exposed skin. She let go of her claws and hooked them to her hips before reaching into her bag and pulling out her fur hood, a scarf, and some gloves. After putting them all on and pulling the hood down so only her eyes showed through the netting over the eyes of the bear it was made from, she nodded to her traveling partner and her new group. "I'm sure if the lady has guided you to these lands, she knows where she's going. I would assume she'd plan ahead."

Shirley frowned, "Oh, don't say that, even in jest, Nita. I don't think going insane would be as much of a release as you think...besides, where would I be without you?"

When the sand hit them, she got some of it in her face before she could pull her wide sleeve up to cover her face. The sand stung, especially where her skin had peeled away. "Well..." she said as she walked, "I suppose I should be glad I can still feel something."

She nodded, and glanced at Emilia, "Yes, I assumed you knew where you were going, too...you don't seem lost, but what would bring you into this desert?"

Emilia knew that this journey would provide problems that they need to take care of. The desert in front of them was vast. There was sand to all three horizons and the cliff to their backs. Stepping forward, the Firekeeper took deep breaths. "It will be my duty to protect you, Nita. Your curse will not take the best of you, nor will it take your friend down the same path. If there is really a cure to the Darksign, then I shall find it with you."

She looked at Thalesin and waved him over. "We have the guidance of the Lords. They have bestowed us with a very valuable gift to bring us through this hellish place." She grabbed a small bag from her sash and opened it, revealing a glittering orb, not larger than an apple. It shimmered like stars in a dark night, but the lights moved. She handed over the orb to Thalesin. "This should lead us to our destination. The brightest star is leading the way in the night's sky and so shall it guide us with this."

She had seen the star inside the orb already. It was leading away from the cliff, towards into the unknown sands. "I have the suspicion that these lands are not made for mere men. I would make haste... I am afraid that we will meet more beasts like the one of the cliff."

"Is anywhere safe for mere men this day and age," Thalesin mumbled looking at the orb ",Well then this shall help I guess but I do not trust your Lords, I shall leave my faith in those I know."
When he had joined this expedition few knew he was from another realm entirely, across the ocean. The undead plague was as rampant there as it was here when he arrived. He spoke little of his home realm, not wishing to discuss the events that tragically lead to it's corruption and by now its demise. He looked out across the sands of the desert. If this was truly his task and purpose he would aid in getting them across. He might of been pessimistic but he had hope that they would make it, faith in his own Gods and Lords that they would make it.
"Faraam, keep us safe," he said to himself before handing the orb back to Emilia ",and let those seeking to destroy us, have a grizzly fate in store for them."

Nita nodded forward, toward the desert. "Now's not really the time to be doubting anything." She re-clawed her hands and held one of them out. "Now, we should be following the one you were hired to protect. Or did I misunderstand your mission?" She smiled, but she knew no one could see it. "That mission is what we should concern ourselves with, regardless of our individual goals. All will derive what they will from this journey. I, for one, hope that none work against us. Those that do shall see mercy in death. And for their sakes, I pray that it is the last time they have to see it."

She walked slightly ahead of the others, stopping before they were out of her sight. "If we don't go, there is no journey. If there is no journey, our time is wasted. We must move."

Shirley blinked at the orb. "Ok, but....how do you know it's right? What is that exactly? I mean how do you know it's not just pointing in a random direction or even pointing at all? How do you know it's not just a decoration? I think we should stop for a moment and explain to us what you know about that orb..."

She followed right behind the rest, bringing up the rear, but not by much. She didn't want to get separated. "I pray you know what you're doing Emilia. You could easily be walking us to right our dooms...forever lost in the sand..."

Shirley frowned and shivered, "And if we run into more of those...things. We should probably devise a plan to take it down. We probably won't have the convenience of a cliff to push it off of...."

Of course, Emilia was aware of the doubtful and foggy information given to her by the Lords of Lordran. She was aware that the orb was something that was not very trustful, yet she believed in the words that were bestowed to her. She placed the orb back into the back, once Thalesin had examined it. Upon Nita's words, Emilia began to wander towards the direction the orb had guided her. Yet, after few steps, there was doubt. Shirley, the priestess, the companion of Nita, spoke her concern about the journey.

"Clairvoyance is not bestowed unto many men. Even the greatest magicians have lost themselves upon journeys. They forged jewels that should enlighten the mind and the sight. In loss, such jewels would bring you back on the right path." Her hand wandered to the small bag in which the orb rested. It was indeed one of those sacred relics by the mages. "And a prayer is indeed worth in this time of need. I, too, pray that I am following the right path."

Their surroundings began to shift into a mass of brown and yellow, inconsistent of any detail that could bring any sense of direction. Now and then, one could distinguish one of the rock formations that this desert was plagued with. They appeared like claws that grasped for the skies. From these rocks, the wind gave a howling sound, like a child weeping for their parents, a young love calling the lost partner. It was a very cold, dark tone compared to the otherwise warm environment. Even in this harsh world, Emilia walked with steady feet. She knew the direction and rarely had to look at the orb to see whether the group had fallen off the path or not.

"If such a beast is lingering these lands, we have the space to circle it. Spears to the sides of the beast and swords to the front. Cut off the tail, if you dare to be brave." These were her words, when Shirley expressed her fears of the beast they had fought at the cliff. She was afraid to meet such a beast as well.

"Ah if only my comrades were here," he mumbled to himself as he walked with the others through this realm of cold and darkness despite it being a desert. He reminist on those old days where he fought along side a band of might warriors, all with skills of there own, one being his own lover. Those had been the days before the curse had found its way to his realm, a time of peace and celebration, a time where the king was wedded and won a great war against mighty foes across the oceans that lied at its borders. That peace though only lasted for so long until things went downhill. His friends he knew not what happened to them besides that they were blown to all directions of the realm to help defend it, before he traversed here for his own quest. He hoped to return one day, but deep down he knew it was too good to be true to hope for there safe return, the realm was all ready lost before he left seeking a cure for his plight. If the others lived he doubted they would remain there.

He shook his head to get out of his trance. There was no time to worry on the past, only the here and the now. To complete his duty."Quiet true, another beast would be tough here but at least now we know what we are up against in these lands. This journey was never going to be an easy one we knew that when we started and we know that now," he replied ",We must have courage to fight, must have courage to survive and move on."

Shirley shrugged, "I'd rather avoid any combat if possible...more of those...things in particular." she sighed, "Sometimes I wished I'd have spent more time studying sorcery, I bet one of those high level spells could take it down no sweat. Or perhaps one of the stronger lightning spears...." she shook her head, "Let's just hope the next one, if there is one, doesn't have any army of skeletons by it."

She covered her face with a sleeve as she followed behind Emilia. "I can't see a thing with all this sand....Isn't there anything we can do to make this a little...easier?"

Finally content now that she was moving, Nita smiled a little. "Avoiding battle would be best for us for now. We have not the resources for long combat. And my friend will mar her beautiful face. None of us would want that." She wasn't sure whether she meant that as a serious statement or sarcasm, but she didn't have to worry about interpreting it. "And I don't suspect sorcery would provide that much more power than the gods give us. At least not without cost to our sanity. Or morals. Speaking of that, have you considered using what you have for divine magic to hold it off a little?" She let out a small laugh, and moved back to her original traveling partner to shield her with her own hands; she hoped the claws would have some additional protection for her friend, though she doubted the difference was enough. "Does that help?"

Everyone was afraid of meeting one of those beasts again. There was no blame, since that beast was an abomination of monstrous size and it was capable of easily killing, from what it appeared to be. Amongst them all, Emilia was most afraid. She was sure that she could not withstand a fight against any of her companions, especially those that can come back from death.

Listening to them talk calmed her down, though, even if they all spoke of strategy. It meant that they were capable of defending themselves. First, her eyes followed Shirley and how Nita supported her through the sandstorm. "Nita is right. Magic is only helpful until the caster is not falling to it's struggle." Sighing, Emilia continued the way, not being helpful to the priestess. There must be a way to evade the sandstorm. Perhaps they could settle in one of the rock formations and wait for it to end. A caring gaze was given from Emilia to Thalesin. "Your companions must be brave warriors, my friend. What happened to them?"

The walking continued, even with Shirley's discomfort. Emilia kept following the path provided by the clairvoyant orb that she carried. After a while, another rock formation appeared. It was taller than most of the ones the group had seen and it was directly in front of them, towering ever higher the closer they appeared. Once in it's massive shadow, the sandstorm subsided around the group, under the protecting hand of the rocks. In front of them stood another person in armor. A woman without a doubt. She wore no helmet, only horns braided into her hair. She was leaning against the rocks, next to a bonfire, it's ashes cold and no fire. Emilia looked at the person, not wanting to ignite the bonfire before they knew for sure who the woman was.

"Greetings, tra-...", the swordswoman began, but the stranger in front of them barked a laughter and interrupted with "Forget your customs, wench. It looks like Maelstrom was not as convincing as he thought he'd be. I would say 'leave' to you, but you have crossed the desert without any harm. You must truly believe in yourselves to come this far. You are lucky, I give you that."

Shirley frowned at Nita. She should know that was a sensitive subject for her now, "I'm pretty sure it's already marred, Nita..." she sighed, then smiled. "...And that does a little, but I'm not going to make you walk with your hand in front of me the whole time. It looks silly and your arm will get tired in no time. I suppose a Force or maybe a Magic Barrier might be able to keep it off, but I'm not sure how I'd make it effect everyone and for so long....no doubt I would tire shortly after starting it."

She rose an eyebrow at the strange woman against the rock, "Oh, great another one....we've come here for a reason and we aren't leaving until we see it done....Unless you know of some other way to cure the Curse."

With a shrug, Nita reluctantly dropped her arms. "Too much longer and you can borrow my hood." She didn't really want to leave the topic alone, but given how long it took her to accept her fate, she couldn't blame her companion for worrying about it. She spent a full year just accepting that her wounds wouldn't heal, and the other two worried about not hurting herself further. By the third, she'd decided not to concern herself with her actual appearance and took her new persona, which eventually led her to finding her current cause. "I doubt you-"

She stopped speaking when she saw the stranger on the rock. She waited for the others to speak, and she hoped they wouldn't make things worse. Then again, it could get worse for all of them at any moment regardless of their actions. She'd stopped trusting people with horns long ago, but she wanted to at least give them a chance to speak. She wasn't above hoping for change. "We hope our mission doesn't interfere with yours, and the same for yours interfering with ours. Maelstrom was the wanderer with the weapons? I assume that means you share his mission. As I told him, we mean no disrespect with our passage."

Thalesin walked in silence. Besides the last few times he had spoken, he had been up until that point a silent traveler as well. He felt like he had little in common with the others, he came from a place over seas, they were different from him yet one in the same. Seemed the curse stretched farther then just one land. He had been in his own head when the new stranger on the rock appeared in front of him. They seemed though not to care much about them like the man before who apparently must of been called Maelstrom. He didn't pay much attention to the conversation. Unless there was a fight going to happen he had no need to worry about someone new who seemed to just give the same warning as others. Turn back, it was always the same. Never going to find a cure, never going to survive. Over and over again it was the same thing others would say in there quest from those they had met. He had learned to tune them out quite well. If only he still had his fellowship from his homelands.

The woman's lips curled in a wicked smile, listening to the words that came from both Nita and Shirley. "Oh, I feel so relieved that you do not wish to interfere with our mission... Yet you are the mission. We are the guardsmen of these lands. Maelstrom should have mentioned that to you." She stepped forward, her boots digging into the dirt, as if she wore the weight of two giants. If her feet would remain on the sand's surface, she would easily tower above most of the people present. Now, she was reaching the same height as Emilia, who only eyed the woman with distrust, given the way she had only been of negative attitude.

"Priestess, there is no curse in these lands- Don't even think of opening your mouth, wench. Your fires were the reason the Darkness cannot leave it's grasps from our beloved King." She directed her gaze and a pointing finger at Emilia, who in fact was trying to explain their reason. She felt dumbfounded, attacked by the way the woman was still acting. In a way, the woman's voice was threatening, even feisty.

She would have continued her approach and her onslaught of threats to the group, but another beast rose from a slumber. The ground shook a moment, shifting the sands a little, as a worm beast burst out of the soils not too far away. Given it's size, it could leap at a dog and eat it whole. "Perhaps you can prove yourself at least handy. Kill the Wyrm. Maybe then I would see you as worthy." She walked over to the bonfire and sat down, refusing to let anyone touch it.

Emilia sighed, turning to the group. As it appeared, the beast was not hostile for now, simply dashing through the sands in a fashion similar to a snake. Sometimes, it would submerge into the sands and leap out of it, the maw of the worm creature splitting open like a blossom, revealing razor teeth halfway into the gaping jaws. It appeared to be slow, as in people being capable of following the beast without trouble. "I don't see a reason to kill a beast that is not trying to harm us", Emilia spoke to the woman at the bonfire. As response, the Firekeeper received another crooked smile, but nothing more.

Shirley frowned at the strange woman, "Manners are a nice thing to have when asking a stranger for a favor you know... Also, how? The...Wyrm, you said? could just hide underground whenever we attack it...." it seemed like a pointless task to her. There weren't many people in the desert, so it's not like this thing was dangerous to them. The strange lady just wanted it dead.

However, it seemed like the bonfire was unreachable until they slew the beast. She frowned at Emilia, "What should we do? It doesn't look like she's going to let us touch the bonfire until we kill it."

The newcomer made Nita smile. "You are the guardsmen? Yet we are the mission? If that was a threat, you'd have gone after it. It seems you would like us to either do your work for you, or merely be too distracted to do our own." She held her arms out to the side, though not in a directly offensive way, even with her claws out. "Or do you wish us to be distracted so you can take us out while we fight it?" She crossed her arms behind her. "Because I have no urge to fight it. Nor do I have an urge to fight you. I would request you let us continue our mission. Unless you have a higher purpose? If you have a greater mission, I would like to hear it to weigh in on which serves the greater good."

She hadn't meant to make what she said sound like she was going to betray her companions. She had no urge to fight them, either. She just couldn't let a single goal stop her from completing something that could be even better for them, too. "We only ask for safe passage for now. Please allow us to use the bonfire, then continue on our way." She kept her arms behinds her back, but readied them in case this woman readied for combat. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, but she could easily be as insane as the dead she'd been fighting for years.

Watching the group entertained the woman, as she remained sitting at the bonfire. She pointed at the Wyrm once more, the beast still slithering through the sands like it was water to a fish. "It must breathe, like any other creature. If you-", she tried to explain, but she stopped the moment she heard Nita speak. Sighing, the swordswoman got up. "Allow me to explain it once more. We protect this realm. These lands belong to the King of Valkyries and you are intruders, especially those that carry the plague with them."

The Wyrm screeched in a high-pitched scream, leaping out of the ground once more. It's body crashed against a rock, making the beast stop in it's track for a moment. Wiggling on the rock and thrashing it's body, the beast snapped around it. The harsh movement pushed the body off the rock quickly, allowing the beast to roam through the sands.

Emilia listened to the woman and watched the beast with discomfort. She thought that this realm was swarmed with beasts and cutthroats that were trying to kill the group on each and every step. This was a different ordeal. Creatures that were not hostile and guards to a lost kingdom that only tell them to leave. Turning to Shelly, the Firekeeper frowned. "I believe so..." She drew her blade and watched the beast moving. The Wyrm was already a good distance away. Catching up to it would be easy, but tiring. "What if we don't fight it?", Emilia asked the woman. Her response was clear. "I will force you to leave this realm, then." Turning to her group, Emilia was looking for an answer to the question inside her head; whether to slay the beast or not.

"Well we didn't come this far for nothing so we might as well slay it shouldn't we?" Thalesin said ",Or we kill the wench I don't really care which but we've come to far to give up now and be turned back by some insignificant warning and threat."
He didn't give no care to the bonfire protector, hell he wouldn't of mind killing her and the beast but better to not make enemies in unknown lands. How she refereed to those cursed though sickened him and made him somewhat want to shove his axe into her skull. She made it sound like they had a choice with this curse, that they got it willingly. She knew nothing if she thought that and was a fool. He hoped perhaps one day she was afflicted by it and driven hollowed, an unspeakable thing to say but to think it didn't seem so bad.
"To never cast aside hope, for hope is what we flourish from. For what else could stop an undead besides his lack of will to continue?" Thalesin said, a motto of the covenant that he had followed in his homelands.

Nita sighed. She hadn't wanted to fight either one. However, the woman in front of them had given more of a reason for her to fight than the creature did. This woman also seemed like she'd be more of a challenge. But she wasn't acting on her own; she had orders to follow. It seemed the leader of the group chose to fight the wyrm. She would acquiesce. It could be deemed a threat, and maybe even prove an interesting challenge. One thought stayed at the back of her mind, though: Would this woman honor this agreement? Or would she attack them while they were distracted by the wyrm? It could be a trap. But it wasn't her place to suggest it, and the woman hadn't shown any sign she was going to aid the creature. She had to wonder if all the big creatures they had to slay from this point forward were going to be accompanied by these people, however.

"So we fight the beast?" She spoke to Emilia, but turned to Shelly for approval, as well. It didn't appear anyone was particularly sure about what to do. She considered charging the beast, but she had no urge to be eaten while the others stood their ground in fear...or whatever emotion it was they felt. Uncertainty.