Akranon Mission Log

[ironwood]

Characters: Bucky Barnes (trainwrecked), Hellboy (histruename), Hal Jordan (animosus), Natasha Romanoff (chernaya), Saint Walker (burnseternal), Zelgadis (gathersnomoss)
Date: Now.
Location: Akranon, the vast desert.
Situation: A small group has been tasked by the emperor with exploring a new land. Is this the place where Malicant originated? Or is it just a false lead?
Warnings/Rating: Possible violence, adult language. Will edit as needed.

Magic will only take one so far. The swift transport from the edge of Asti's shell to the beach in the east takes less than four hours, but to cross the desert...that will take determination.

And water.

At the edge of Akranon, the beach is littered with shells, and the carcasses of dead animals, crawling to the sea to die. Sun-bleached bones are scattered across the endless sands, the only grave markers they get. One walks with caution here, in this place. The emperor was blunt, in his orders regarding this place.

Anything you find, even if it seems inconsequential, bring it to me. We must have more information.

The sun burns overhead, so close and so oppressive. How can anything exist in this place of fire and sand? What can be found in this empty landscape?

Comments

[histruename]

Guess they found the source of the stink. The hot buzz of flies around the thing is almost deafening. Hellboy crinkles his nose as they pass by, teeth bared in an apish grimace. "Probably not a bad thing," is all he has to offer.

The desert is flat and bright, and it's easy to see that this body isn't the only one of its kind. Bones are scattered across the sand like bleached white sticks, and the dark mounds heaped here and there in all directions gives him a bad feeling.

He's been in deserts before. Enough to know that this isn't normal. Desert animals are usually tenacious little things, so adapted to the dry and heat it's mind-blowing. But in their desperate attempts to crawl toward the sea, these guys just weren't.

For now, he holds onto those thoughts and just keeps trudging on toward the blazing horizon, his mouth set in a hard line. The sun weaves oily mirage patterns in the sands far ahead, making false promises of water.

It's hot and dry as Hell, but Hellboy doesn't even break a sweat.

[burnseternal]

Saint Walker's eyes rove over the carcasses that litter the desert, growing increasingly more concerned for the state of this place's wildlife by the minute. If he's not mistaken, this shows that something in this place has changed, whether it's the death of some form of necessary vegetation, or an oasis that has dried up. He clicks his tongue lightly as they pass yet another, and gazes out into the seemingly endless desert in front of them.

Now, he thinks, is as good a time as any to check in on Hal Jordan and Zelgadis' progress, if not only to ensure that Hal's ring hasn't malfunctioned, leaving them stranded in the middle of the desert. He curls his hand into a fist and brings it up to his mouth, speaking directly into his glowing ring.

"Hal Jordan, how do you and Zelgadis fare?"

[animosus]

Hal's voice sounds nasally as if he's speaking with a peg on his nose to block out the stench of pollution and decay. The heat makes the smell worse and he's pretty sure he's going to throw up unless he moves away soon.

"Well I thought I found an oasis where everyone could replenish their supplies, but I'd recommend against drinking the water here."

He transmits an image of what he's seeing to Saint Walker. A dirty, grey lake and the temple can be seen.

[gathersnomoss]

Zelgadis is using his own magic to change the air currents, but he's still holding his own nose. "How far away are they from us?"

[vdova]

She doesn't wait for anyone else. "The Oasis sounds as good as any. Let's go."

[trainwrecked]

"Better'n aimless, definitely."

Not tarrying more than necessary sounds like a good idea to him, under the glaring sun.

He almost brings up the point that, if anyone needs a break, they should call it and stop, but it occurs to him that he's the most likely to need it first, or maybe Natasha - though he doubts that. Which only makes him more determined to do this right, not become someone to slow the others down.

"Y'all think we should just walk to it, or try to be cautious once we start approaching?" Bears discussing, he figures, even if saving breath - moisture - is also wise. Evaluating the potential for danger.

[histruename]

"It'll be at least a few days' walk from here. If the magic's holding up, I'm starting to think we should probably talk to Flyboy about conjuring up something a little less conspicuous to get us the rest of the way."

Even suggesting they use magic to get them there sets his teeth on edge, but Hal's magic is a resource they shouldn't ignore, and the idea of walking days in the blistering heat is making him yearn for an easier mode of travel.

"We'll let them know we're coming. If anyone has a problem, we'll deal with it."