[b]Earlier that day...[/b]

[i]I knew I shouldn't have gone the way I did, now I'm stuck in Plegia's desert under the sun,[/i] Thought Tihlas once again as he crested a small dune and more or less slid down the other side, [i]Didn't have the luxury of time to choose, though. I ju-[/i] "Agh, damn it!" He shouted out as some sand gave way beneath him and sent him rolling down another dune, this one larger on the other side than he thought. He was a knight, knights wore heavy armor, wearing heavy, metal armor was not all that good to do when traveling alone through the desert. But he was too stubborn to leave it all behind, or carry it in a bag, that would've been even harder to get across the dunes.

He laid there for a bit before slowly getting up and grumbling, "Has to be sand, couldn't have been large hills, huh? Now I got sand in places I would never want it..." The complaints continued on throughout the day until he stopped to rest in what little shade he could get next to a dead tree. Things weren't really looking good for him, he still had cuts from when a few blades managed to hit the gaps in his armor and he had run out of water earlier in the day, and the sun had just gotten half way across the sky. This is why he didn't like hot weather and deserts, it always made you want to drink more and more water and even made you hallucinate at times, luckily it hadn't gotten that bad for him. However, there was no mistake that the heat was starting to get to him, he found himself taking deep breaths and sweating quite a bit, again the thought of removing his armor crossed his mind, and again his stubbornness got the better of him. Sighing in irritation at the hot day he'd been having, he continued on his way.

After somewhere between one or two hours he spotted something in the distance, it looks like a city. Finally seeing some chance, and half doubting it was real, he picked up the pace in an effort to get closer. At the top of another dune, by which he was a little dizzy and his vision had faded around the edges, he was able to confirm that he did indeed see a city, a walled off one that was large enough that it may be Plegia's capital. Problem for him was, he didn't have the strength to go much further, and as he took a couple more steps, his vision went black.
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[b]Now...[/b]

It was dark and warm, there was something cool on his forehead and he was in a bed. [i]Wait...[/i] Tihlas shot straight into a sitting position, launching the the wet rag on his forehead across the room and at the wall. It took him a bit to get his bearings, and once he did he looked around the room. His armor and lance were in the corner, next ext to the cracked window, the bed smelled... Well, it wasn't too bad, and there was a woman sitting in a chair a few feet from the bed. The woman, an older one, quietly stood up and went to collect the rag before Tihlas spoke, "What happened? And where am I?" The woman sat down and answered, "We found you passed out and half covered in sand a ways from the city while we were coming through. You are lucky we found you when we did, wouldn't have lasted much longer."

A few moments of silence passed before footsteps were heard and a young man entered the room with a bucket, he set it down next to the bed before saying to the woman, "Alright, grandmother, we took care of him until he awoke. He should be fine now, and we should be going. Only came here to deliver a shipment of feed for the mounts, let us go to a more proper inn until tomorrow." The grandmother nodded and told him she'd be right down, to which he sighed and left. The woman looked to Tihlas once more, "I wouldn't do anything strenuous for the rest of the night, at least. The heat got to you and all I could do was cool you off." She smiled before moving to put the rag on the bucket's rim, adding, "I managed to get my grandson to pay for this room for you and enough for you a few nights and to have a few meals to eat. I must be going now, please do not travel in the desert alone in the future." As she walked out, Tihlas said in a somewhat quiet tone, "Thank you..." He didn't know what else to say and, sensing this, the woman stated, "It is what good people do."

Then, he was alone once more as he laid back to get some more rest. He couldn't help but think about whether other Shephards survived the... He didn't know what to call it, as there he felt that he may be the only one left. He was taken out of his thoughts when his stomach growled. He sat back up and got out of the bed, taking note that he had even been bandaged up where he had been cut, though they still stung quite a bit for some reason. He got fully dressed using the spare clothes that were in the pack tied to the back of his armor and made his way out of the room.