[center][h3]Dalani[/h3][/center]

As the desert sun scorched the dusty streets of Qadir, Dalani found himself more and more being a lone Ayralite on an increasingly desperate search. This old, beaten up mad had not exactly looked like someone having an easy time to hide, but either Dalani's eyes were deteriorating rapidly in the heat or the traces they tried to follow decayed much more quickly than he had hoped for. He ultimately ran out of further clues just a few hundred steps out of the tavern where the unfortunate events had taken place.

What should he do now ? Just standing there, dumbfounded like a pillar, and letting the few passer-bys who dared to confront the blazing heat openly just watch the crystals on his head glisten in the intense light did not sound like a good choice. It certainly didn't feel like it either as Dalani could already sense some serious buildup of sweat on his skin. The Ayralite retreated into the shadows, saddened that he had not been able to find the one he had been trying to follow.

Qadir deserved being left behind. Maybe there were people who happily lived assuming that an earth Ayralite had to think of a desert as a paradise because there was no other place where their element was so blatantly and ubiquitously visible, but Dalani could only disapprove. The sand irritated the eyes, the heat put a constant strain on one's body and last but not least there were those Tawran people who constantly mistook themselves for a weird sort of slaves who had to obey and serve for some axiomatic reasoning. Time to start packing!

Dalani happily left the heat outside to its own devices while he found retreat in the small, halfway subterranean room he had rented for the anticipated duration of his stay. A quite clever construction he had to admit: Far down enough in the earth to benefit from its temperature-stabilizing and cooling effect, yet at the same time with its ceiling a tad above ground level so to let in some light through small windows -- enough to illuminate stuff once the eyes had adjusted, but also not enough to introduce additional warmth. It really wasn't like a high ground water level was an issue with the cellars here after all. The Ayralite packed his stuff with just barely enough care and precision so not to make things fall out of their bag on a rough journey and, of course, not to damage anything. That included his armor, simply because wearing that heavy, dark stuff would provide at least as much discomfort as it would offer protection.

One question of not so negligible importance remained however: How to make some solid distance once outside the gates ? Horses were expensive, especially if one probably needed more than one in order to get one's not so little self and gear hauled around, but joining a caravan would be much cheaper while possibly also being safer! Just... where to find one ? It wasn't like there was a strict schedule of arrivals and departures or any kind of market where free spots where sold, was it ?

So, somewhat oblivious towards what might be the best approach, Dalani headed out with his back covered in bags, clothes and his weapons. Maybe the city gates were a good place to start indeed for everyone had to get in and out that way.