Chapter 261: She Ends up Elsewhere
'Robin? What is it?' Jasmine asked, surprised. 'Aren't you coming back soon? The sandstorm is almost here!'
'A bandit was discovered. There are sandstorm bandits that will strike with the storm. I'll be protecting the caravan outside. I just wanted to let you know so that you wouldn't worry.' Robin informed.
'Isn't that dangerous!? What if you get lost!?' Jasmine asked.
'I am connected to Skye. I may not know where to head outside, but I can always find you so long as I'm connected.' Robin replied.
"You're not going to inform your comrades?" the Lone Traveller asked, observing Robin.
"They already know." Robin replied, putting on a pair of gloves.
"A telepath? ...Can you add me to the connection? It would help immensely to communicate without having to talk." the traveller asked.
'Skye, can you connect to the female next to me?' Robin asked.
'Of course I can!' And just like that, the connection was made.
'No need for names, swordsman. My main weapon is my bowstaff, my secondary weapons are throwing knives and hand to hand combat.' the lone traveller said.
'Understood, staffman.' Robin replied. 'My main weapon is the sword. By coincidence. I also like to use hand to hand combat.'
'Oh? We should have a friendly spar later then.'
And with that, the sandstorm was upon them.
WHOOSH.
The Blast of wind struck first. It felt like you were being pelted with multiple tiny pebbles; it was not enough to cause any internal damage, but annoying like sandpaper. The wind roared out with its ocean of sand as visibility dropped to almost zero. Winds battered from all sides, making it difficult to tell which direction was which.
But that didn't matter as the sandstorm bandits were here, too. Robin ran electric energy down the blade as she slashed behind her. She smacked the flat of her blade into the head of the person getting ready to backstab her. The man was rendered unconscious, and fell to the ground.
'One down. How many more of these?' Robin wondered, as she wielded both her blade and scabbard against her next opponent.
'No idea. With the winds like this, it's hard to tell much.' The other woman answered. 'Are you killing them or debilitating them?'
'Isn't there a bigger bounty if they're captured alive? I think the guide association will pay to take them off our hands.' Robin replied.
'So you did this for the reward?' the other woman asked.
'No. This is for myself. I haven't killed a man yet. And I don't intend to, anytime soon.' Robin replied, dodging an attack.
'There are some that would say that leniency to your opponent is being harsh to yourself.' the woman noted, whacking two assailants out with her staff at the same time.
'Indeed some would say that. But you're doing the same thing I am.' Robin pointed out, pulling a bandit into the way of another one's well aimed club.
'I never said I would say that, after all.' the woman replied. 'just mentioning it in passing....in fact, I quite approve of how you're handling things right now.'
The two of them easily dealt with the bandits, and began tying them up properly. Altogether there were about forty. Once the minions were secured, Robin moved to tie up the bandit leader as well. The other woman guarded from the side as Robin secured him properly with a rope. Once he had been placed with the others, Robin contacted Skye.
'Skye, patch me through to Jasmine again.' Robin requested.
'You owe me two snake treats!' Skye replied.
'Remind me later.' Robin chuckled. 'Jasmine, we've dealt with the bandits out here, so everything's fine. I'll keep an eye on them until the sandstorm blows over, so the caravan can rest assured.'
'Are you sure, Robin?'
'Sure. If I open the carriage door, there'd be sand everywhere in there. and I'm all dusty right now, so I kind of want to clean up first.' Robin nodded. Behind her though, one of the bandits coughed out a sphere which rolled towards Robin on the sand, and began to glow red.
'Robin, watch out!' The woman called out, jumping in her direction to shield her from whatever the sphere was. But it wasn't an attack sphere.
A circular space about the two was lit up with a complicated geological symbol. The woman suddenly realized what it was.
'It's a teleport-' The two of them disappeared into thin air, along with the vanishing light.
----
Splash! Both Robin and the woman fell into the crystal clear waters of a desert oasis. Robin quickly swam up and stuck her head above the surface, pulling off the scarf about her face, with a gasp.
The other woman also emerged from under the waters. She removed her face mask, and lifted her goggles up to drain the water out of them. Her hood had slipped backwards to her shoulders, exposing the brilliant royal blue hair that shone under the sun.
"Ah, really! When I said I wanted to take a bath, I didn't mean like this!" Robin exclaimed, in frustration.
"Pfft! Ha ha ha...Ahahahahah!" The staff fighter woman suddenly found the situation incredibly funny. Robin glared at her helplessly.
"I'm glad at least ONE of us is amused." Robin sighed, before noticing a set of particularly familiar long pointed ears. "You're an elf?" She asked, in surprise.
"That I am." the Elf smiled, her blue eyes glimmering with mirth. "And you're..." Her eyes drifted down to Robin's throat, where there was the distinct lack of an Adams apple. "..A female."
"Geh! Well, guilty as charged, I suppose." Robin said, sheepishly.
"With time comes experience. I've encountered several so far." the elf shrugged. She slapped the water like it was a solid ground and pulled herself into a standing position. then she reached down to pull Robin up.
"Would you care for a light stroll, Milady?" The elf tilted her head as she asked, jokingly.
"Hahah, what 'Milady'!" Robin laughed before grasping the outstretched hand. "The name's Robin."
"And you may call me Briar." the elf replied with a nod, pulling Robin to her feet. It felt odd, being able to walk on the water like this. It was like suddenly Robin's feet had become buoyant, like a boat.
The two walked to the shore before Robin looked around. The sun was shining down from a perfectly cloudless blue sky, and there was a tiny breeze blowing through. Robin took out her map to try and guess where they were.
"Don't bother. most small oases like these aren't noted on normal maps, as they can easily be buried in a sandstorm." Briar said. "We should be...outside of the sandstorm."
"Why do you say that?" Robin asked.
"The air is humid, and not with an 'oasis evaporating' smell. It's the smell after it has rained." Briar said. "I was unsure, but if you need proof, look over there." She pointed to a small plant that looked like a cactus version of a shamrock.
"A three leafed cactus?" Robin asked.
"This only grows after a sudden rain, and has been known to save lost desert travelers lives countless time." Briar said. "It was only one leaf when we emerged from the water a while ago."
"Isn't it just taking in water from the oasis?" Robin asked.
"You would think that, but this little plant is picky. it only grows with rain water." Briar shrugged. "Not that I'm going to complain."
"Is that so?" Robin asked before she felt a sort of tugging sensation in her mind.
'.…Skye?' Robin asked, responding to the tug.
'...thank goodness!' Skye's voice that was about to cry came through. 'You disappeared so quickly! it was scary!'
'Sorry about that. We got hit with a teleport from some bead that dropped from one of the desert bandits. It looks like we're outside the sand storm area right now.' Robin replied.
"Can we get back to the caravan?" Robin asked Briar.
"That... would be difficult." Briar said. "We would have to go back through that sandstorm, after all."
'Looks like we can't make it back right away. I'll figure out where we are before we try to head towards one of the rest stops, okay?' Robin told Skye.
'Kaay. I'll tell Jasmine.' Skye replied, audibly relieved.
"Looks like your little familiar was able to contact you. That's impressive for one so young." Briar noted.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone