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Nadirah bolted upright. Her dark russet fur glistened to a near black, slick and wet with a thick layer of bitter-scented sweat. Tears poured from eyes that could only see an image that was no longer there, dilated pupils making them appear as black as her coat. Her chest heaved in desperation for breath, but no matter how much air her lungs took in, it was never enough.

"You will never know peace." The words repeated ceaselessly in her mind like an endless echo. A lifetime seemed to pass before the words finally faded away and Nadirah was released from the crushing grip of the nightmare.

She blinked several times before bringing up a hand to wipe away the wet trail of her tears. As if a switch had been flipped, the tenseness immediately left her muscles, replaced by a wary readiness. Her eyes flicked around rapidly, scanning her surroundings for any threat, but finding none. What she found instead was a filled water skin at her feet and an empty clearing. Terresya's words echoed up to her from memory, the threat of being left behind with nothing but a flask of water.

Nadirah was not surprised and wondered only how long she had been gone. She looked up through the scant cover of the foliage to judge the hour. The plants had not grown nearly so thick as they had at the previous oasis and she was able to see the sky with little trouble, deciding she had at least an hour before the sun would set low enough to allow her to travel safely.

Her hand fluttered longingly at her hip for a moment as she wished for the return of her lost drink flask, but she did not mourn its absence long before rising to her feet. The stale and sour stench of sweat was clogging her nostrils, and her skin felt soiled and clammy. A short distance away, a pile of abandoned supplies rested unguarded but for the stretched skin of some predator in the hopes that its smell would keep any curious wildlife away.

"I could really use a drink." She muttered unhappily, nudging the water skin with the tip of one hoof. "A _real_drink." The thought was then abandoned as she turned her attention toward more immediate matters.

The spring that fed the oasis was much smaller than the others she had seen, consisting of little more than a shallow puddle surrounded by a thin ring of small plants. There were no large animals that she could see and almost no cover for any that would care to take up residence so close to the salt flats. There were several small reptiles and a few large insects that skittered shyly across the foliage and disappeared as she approached. The water was cloudy and full of silt, the heavy scent of minerals in the air, but Nadirah decided that it would do well enough for a bath.

She waded in slowly, the icy water swirling around her ankles and her split hooves sinking down into the soft loam as if trying to swallow her down. With determined struggle, she made her way deeper into the frigid water until she was up to her knees, then knelt down carefully to bathe. She clawed at her fur with the thickened tips of her fingers as it was splashed with water, scratching away the thick layers of silt and sweat. Having learned her lesson, the worn leather she wore was pushed aside but not removed, allowing her to clean most of her coat before she finally stood back up again and shook herself, sending droplets of chilled water flying in all directions.

She had just taken her first step toward shore when the hidden predator struck. Slimy and cold as the water, she did not immediately feel the tentacle as it coiled around her ankle, tightening its grip before giving a hard, upward jerk. The world suddenly seemed to spin out of control as Nadirah was lifted into the air by her leg and held dangling over the pool.

"The hell is this?!" the confused warrior shouted out, kicking with her free leg as she tried to struggle free, but the brown tentacle continued to coil further up her leg unabated. Growing furious, Nadirah reached for her sword and had just pulled it free when she felt a slight prick in her thigh. A leaden numbness swept across her body with the speed of fire consuming straw and the sword dropped from her suddenly unresponsive fingers, tumbling down before finally landing in the shallow pool and disappearing from sight.

Unable to move, Nadirah could do nothing but watch as the tentacle carried her across the water back to shore, where a large, gelatinous blob waited, a single long tentacle coming from the top of its quivering mass. The blob seemed to writhe and shiver, unable to hold a solid shape and lacking anything that constituted a head. As Nadirah's paralyzed body was brought closer, the grey blob began to bloat and stretch until it split open, folds peeling back like the petals of a disgusting flower to expose the black hollow throat of the monster.

Nadirah tried to struggle once more, but the numbness was creeping into her mind and she was slowly losing the ability to care that she was about to be devoured alive. Her body felt leaden, refusing to follow the desperate commands that were growing weaker and weaker the closer she got to the waiting gullet of the creature.

The hatchet spun by just inches from striking her nose, appearing suddenly as it passed in front of her vision then disappearing again. Nadirah could not muster up the curiosity to wonder about the origin of the object, nor the intended task of its trajectory. A second later came a solid thump followed by a squelch that brought a soft spray of warm liquid across the suspended doe's face.

Nadirah was shaken roughly from side to side the tendril holding her released it's grip and she began to fall. Unable to handle the spinning of the world as she tumbled toward the ground, Nadirah did the only thing she could, she closed her eyes and waited for impact. Her breath was knocked out of her lungs as she was caught in strong arms, causing her rescuer to give a harsh grunt with the exertion. The splashing of hurried steps came to her ears, lulling her into a venom-induced sleep.

She came awake suddenly, thrashing and fighting, and was furious to find herself tightly bound. She tried to yell, but heavy cloth had been wrapped around her short muzzle, holding her mouth closed. Her arms and legs were securely tied with roughly woven cords that dug painfully into her flesh as she struggled.

"Calm down, already." A voice spoke up from somewhere just beyond Nadirah's vision. "The rope may not be enchanted, but it's still plenty strong enough to hold you." Nadirah stopped her struggles and turned her head in the direction of the voice. It tickled a vague memory and she tried to remember where she had heard it from before. "Of all the things for the great Wolfcaller to fall prey to, I never would have guessed a simple abomination would be among them. Especially with that friend of yours hanging around."

The crunch of heavy footsteps on loose soil reached her ears moments before her captor stepped into sight, smiling down at her. 'You!' she tried to say, but the word came out as a muffled grunt.

The ork laughed heartily, throwing back his head and wrapping his thick arms around his chest. Nadirah was unamused but did not try to talk again as she waited for him to regain his composure. After a while, the laughter finally faded and the ork stood over the bound tarin, panting heavily as he caught his breath. "So." He said, squatting down beside his captive and ignoring her burning glare. "Where did your little friend go, anyway? For a bit there I was afraid I'd have to go chasing you two across the flats. You're fortunate I caught up with you when I did, you know. You two never would have survived out there. To be honest, I'm surprised you made it as far as you did, leaving town like you did. I suppose I shouldn't have told everyone that you were a spy for Malthalmus. Oops."

Unable to offer a proper response filled with expletives and threats, Nadirah merely snorted in disdain, causing the ork trapper to laugh again. "Well, you're wanted dead or alive, but I'd prefer you alive." He grinned and reached out to grab her chin, lifting her head as he leaned in closer. "It would be such a waste to kill a pretty thing like you. Pretty ugly I mean."

Enraged, Nadirah tossed her head, pulling free of his grasp and lashing out with her horns. One pointed tip managed to slash a shallow cut across the ork's cheek before he was able to jerk back out of range. The ork gave a grunt of surprise as he fell on his rump, one hand rising to his cut cheek and pulling away with blood on his fingertips. After the shock passed, he looked back up at her and grinned again, purplish tongue snaking out of his mouth to lick away the blood. "Pretty and feisty. I like that." He then rose back to his feet and gave his fingers one last, slow lick before suddenly slapping the tarin across the face. "But we don't have time to play right now, little cow."

Nadirah gave a muffled groan as her head snapped to the side from the force of the blow, her neck giving a loud crack in protest. She had to blink several times to clear her vision before turning her head back to glare at her captor, but he had already turned his back on her. The ork busied himself with putting a bridle on a pack horse several feet away before removing the ropes that hobbled its forelegs. When he finally returned to Nadirah, reins in hand, he did not it her the chance to fight him again. One meaty hand grabbed one of her horns, holding her head still while he bent over and wrapped his other arm around her waist, lifting her onto his wide shoulder. Nadirah tried to kick with her tied legs, but all she struck was open air. Her muffled curses were silenced as she was roughly dropped onto the waiting horse's back like a sack of grain, the air knocked from her lungs and leaving her coughing, unable to breath for several desperate seconds before she was able to get it under control again.

Taking advantage of her inability to fight him, the ork tied her to the back of the pack animal, "That should hold you." He said as he gave her upraised rump a slap. "And watch those horns of yours. If you hurt my horse, I'm going to be very upset with you, little cow girl."

Nadirah's furious curses once again came out as a muffled growl and she tried to struggle free from the ropes that held her. Her struggles only caused them to bite deeper into her flesh without giving her an inch of freedom. Finally accepting the hopelessness of her situation, Nadirah sighed deeply and went slack, deciding to wait until a better opportunity presented itself.

"That's a good girl." The ork praised patronizingly. The tarin's eyes narrowed angrily but she offered no further resistance. Seeing that the fight was out of his captive, the ork turned away from her and let out a long whistle. Almost instantly came the loud crash of something large hurrying their way through the heavy foliage of the oasis. Nadirah glanced at the ork before returning her worried gaze in the direction of the coming noise, taking comfort in the fact that he was calmly smiling, indicating that whatever was making such a disturbance was expected and welcome.

What came out of the oasis, trampling the foliage beneath enormous paws, first looked like a large red bear to the confused tarin. Short, pointed ears rested on a squarish head. A short, boxy muzzle held large, sharp teeth. The beast's short neck extended from powerful shoulders, the muscles creating a hump just before the sway of the beast's back. Each of its large paws were tipped with sharp claws that seemed to tear at the ground as it walked. The animal's short tail wagged excitedly like that of a dog as it approached, laying down in front of the waiting ork.

"There's my good girl." He said and patted the beast on the head, making its tail sway even faster. "Don't worry, she won't eat you." He said over his shoulder to Nadirah, who stared at the unfamiliar beast. "So long as you behave, anyway." The doe merely gave a snort, her eyes never moving from the giant beast.

The ork grabbed the pack horse's reins before climbing onto the large carnivore's back. Nadirah was surprised that the pack horse followed so calmly, approaching the other animal without even a twitch of its ears, and decided that the pair must be an old team and well used to each other. She, however, remained suspicious of the beast.

The sun had still not touched the horizon when they set out, and the moment that the shadow pulled back, the warrior felt inescapably exposed to the relentless heat. Her coat darkened instantly with sweat, and her head began to throb painfully, worsened by the swaying movements of the horse and the blur of passing ground. She wanted to fight, to struggle free of her bonds and kill the one who'd her in them, but all she could do was close her eyes and stoke the fires of her hatred until the heat of her fury burned more intensely than even the two suns.

She didn't know how long they traveled or where they were heading, but she knew that they had not left the badlands when the ork finally stopped. Instead the trapper had chosen a small oasis that dotted the desert-like region to rest, just as Terresya had done. She didn't know if it was an oasis she had been to before or not, however, as they all looked the same to her. Dismounting from the massive carnivore he rode, the ork patted the animal's shoulder before leading the pack horse into the broad-leafed foliage. Released, the beast bolted off in another direction, presumably to hunt.

"We're stopping here for the day, cow girl." He finally said as they reached the center of the oasis and the sound of bubbling water reached her ears. Nadirah gave a single disdainful snort in response. She wanted to tell him to stop calling her a cow, that her people bared only the smallest likeness to the human beasts of burden but it was purely coincidental and they had no ties to each other, but even if her mouth had been left ungagged, she knew it would be a futile effort. She was being taunted intentionally during her time of helplessness.

The bindings securing her to the horse were roughly untied and the doe was allowed to slide from the horse's back and collapse to the ground, her fall slightly cushioned by a carpet of moss and wide-leaf fronds. The pack horse was carefully tended before being hobbled and let loose to graze on what scant grass it could find. Only then did the ork turn his attention back to his captive.

"Here." He said as he tossed a flask on the ground in front of her. Nadirah just looked down at it a moment before looking back up, a single eyebrow raising in unspoken question. "It's water. I know you need it so drink up." Nadirah glanced down at the flask once more, then back up at the ork, her face registering no emotion. "Ha! Not even going to try are you? Fine." He finally conceded. "Deny an old brun his fun. But don't bother trying to run. I'll find you easily enough."

The knot holding the warrior's muzzle shut was undone with a single tug, the rope uncoiling itself and falling away. The rope holding her hands took longer, but as soon as her wrists were unbound she began flexing her nearly numb fingers. "Got anything stronger?" She asked weakly, rolling her stiff shoulders.

The ork laughed again. "You don't need anything stronger, cow girl. Now drink up. We've still got a long way to go before we're out of the badlands."

Nadirah's eyes glanced briefly to the flask, then away. "No." She said simply.

"Hmph." The ork snorted in irritation. "When you get thirsty enough you'll drink it. You won't hold out for long out here." He started to turn away but Nadirah stopped him by speaking again.

"You're Rotuk, aren't you?" She asked casually.

The trapper turned and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "What of it?"

"You hunt a lot of dangerous animals, do you Rotuk?" She asked as she began to flex one of her sore wrists, clenching and unclenching her fingers.

Rotuk's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he continued to regard her for several more moments, searching for any hidden threat in her gestures, any preparation to attack, but found none. Finally he squatted down in front of his captive. "I've taken on plenty, sure." He boasted. "The most dangerous creatures fetch the best prices. Especially from those that can't take them on themselves."

Nadirah finally looked up, meeting his gaze again, her eyes flashing a warning before she had even spoken a word. "Then you know exactly what will happen when I get loose." She said coldly.

The ork rolled his upper lip in a snarl. "Are you threatening me, girl?" he asked harshly, voice lowering to an angry growl.

"No." Nadirah replied calmly. "I don't make threats." Her hand came up with an unexpected swiftness, and the ork barely moved in time to avoid it clamping down on his throat. Whether by bred instinct or learned reflex from long years of dealing with dangerous creatures, the trapper was saved by a quick backwards jerk, nearly falling over while his own hand snapped forward to grasp her wrist.

The two locked eyes and stared at each other unblinking, Nadirah's eyes cold and hard, the ork's wide with surprise and a slight bit of amusement. "So..." He finally said, not releasing his grip on her wrist. "I suppose you think yourself clever, don't yah, cow girl?" Nadirah said nothing, but her arm continued to strain against his grip, her fingers slowly curling inward like the talons of some great claw, their target just out of reach. "I think that's enough freedom for one night." He finally said, reaching down to find the rope and loop it back around her wrist before pulling up the other to join it. He then grabbed the flask and held it up to her mouth, but the bound tarin turned her head away. "Drink it already!" He demanded sourly.

"No." She replied simply, her voice soft but giving no room for argument.

"Fine." He said, and retied the rope around her muzzle before straightening up and walking away.

Having found it pointless to struggle against her bindings already, the captured warrior closed her eyes, conserving her energy until another opportunity presented itself. The smell of roasting meat made her open her eyes again some time later. The darkness was like a heavy blanket and even the moon was hidden. The red-orange glow of the fire drew her eye and she could see the shadowy form of the ork moving at its fringes. Suspended above the fire was the cleaned carcass of one of the large flightless birds that inhabited the badlands.

"Getting hungry are you?" The ork said laughingly as he caught her watching. Coming closer to the fire, he pulled his own dagger from his belt and speared the roasting bird, making a thin stream of blood and juice flow from the meat. It sizzled furiously as it spilled into the hungry flames and filled the air with its scent. "Want some?" He asked her with a grin, jerking on the handle of the short blade to carve a sizable piece of meat from the bird.

Despite the rumble from her empty stomach and the flood of saliva that filled her mouth, Nadirah looked away, refusing the offered meal. 'You're being a damn fool, girl.' a harsh voice drifted up to her from the deep well of memory. 'Take what you're offered and keep your strength. You'll need it.' Nadirah gave a disdainful snort and shook her head, refusing the advice of her past. 'Stubbornness like yours gets you killed.' The voice chided. 'And dead you're no good to anyone.'

She gave one last glance at Rotuk, who was taking a bite from the chunk of carved bird, grease drizzling down his face and bare chest, then lowered her head and closed her eyes. She would accept nothing from her captor, regardless of the consequences. All she could hope for was another mistake. They always made mistakes, if she could just wait long enough.

Nadirah groaned as she was lifted from the back of the pack horse and allowed to sink to the ground. Her entire body was sore and she felt weak from the heat. "Ready for that drink yet, cow girl?" Rotuk asked tauntingly, dropping the flask of water at her feet before leading the horse away.

The captive doe stared at the flask but made no move to touch it. She was badly dehydrated and her sensitive nose was sunburned, her throat was badly parched and her tongue felt as if it had been coated in glue. She needed water, and she knew it, but she would continue to refuse anything the ork gave her.

"You've got to be thirsty by now." He said as he walked back over to her some time later, squatting down to untie the rope from around her muzzle. "The devil's own brood wouldn't last long out here without water." Picking up the flask, he pulled out the stopper and held up the end to the tarin's lips.

Nadirah turned her head aside, rejecting the water. "Don't... want..." She said, her voice scratchy from the dryness of her throat, her gummy tongue sliding out to lick her lips without any effect. "Your...water." She finally finished.

Rotuk roughly grabbed her bottom jaw and jerked her head back around, thrusting the flask to her lips again. "Drink, you damn fool!" He urged, pouring the water into her mouth.

The liquid was warm yet still refreshing, and the tired warrior longed to swallow every drop of it to quench her thirst, but instead she closed her dry throat and spit the entire mouthful into the face of the anxious ork as soon as he lowered the flask. "I said... no." She wheezed angrily.

"You idiotic heifer!" her captor screamed angrily. "Do you _want_to die?! Is that it?!" Once again he poured the water into her mouth, then quickly clamped her jaws closed with his strong fingers to keep her from spitting it out. He then slid pinched closed her nostrils, hoping to force her into swallowing so that she could breath.

Nadirah tried to struggle and pull away but the heat had sapped away most of her strength and she could do nothing to free herself from his grip. Finally she leaned her head back and gulped loudly. Smiling in satisfaction, the ork released his grip and pulled his hand away, only to receive yet another jet of water to the face.

Infuriated, Rotuk gave a roar and swung his hand, smacking the doe so hard that she was thrown to the ground and slid several inches across the hard-packed soil. "Stop wasting good water you worthless waste of flesh! I swear on my life that if you die on me, I will skin your hide and use it for a loincloth! Do you hear me, you ugly cow?!"

The world was a spinning blur for the tarin and she had to blink several times to clear her vision, but the ork's rage only served to fuel her own resolve. "I am not..." She muttered softly, shaking her head to clear her dizziness. "A god... damn... cow!" Her voice was still hoarse and each word made her throat feel as if it had been lined with sand. "And you... are no... warrior." The ork stood still, confused by her proclamation. He offered no assistance as she wriggled herself back into a sitting position, but he didn't stop her either. "Do you... feel brave, h...hitting someone who... can't... fight back?"

Rutuk's face suddenly seemed to writhe and contort as fury and shame warred across his features. He seemed to tremble with barely contained violence for several seconds before he finally charged her, fist upraised. Nadirah did not flinch or even look away, but merely sat where she was, staring at him accusingly as he came.

The ork snarled angrily, his raised arm hovering in the air, but he could not seem to bring himself to lower it. The seconds passed as the two stared each other down, neither willing to be the first to look away in submission. Finally, however, it was Rotuk that broke, turning his back on his captive with a dismissive snort. "Fine. Die then." He said with an angry grunt, his raised fist uncurling and turning into a shooing wave. "They'll still pay me for your corpse, and I'll find some way to deal with the stench of your decaying carcass." His anger spent, he walked away, leaving her alone.

It was a small victory, but it was enough. The ork desperately wanted her alive, and the longer she thwarted him in his efforts to keep her that way, the better the chance that he would make a mistake that would grant her freedom. She glanced at her empty scabbard, which her captor had seen no need to remove, and longed for her lost sword so she could cut through the cords. She had thought about using her teeth, especially since her mouth had been left untied, but the ropes used were strong and fairly new, and she doubted that she would be able to chew very well in her condition.

The effort had also cost her heavily. Her available energy was almost completely used up, leaving her feeling drained as the boost of adrenaline faded away. Wearily, Nadirah began slumping over until finally she was curled up on the ground, then fell into a much needed sleep until she was again awoken by the smell of cooking meat.

When she looked up wearily, expecting to see another bird hung over the fire, she was surprised to instead see the tail of a false dragon, it's thick skin seemingly untouched by the flames that lapped at its scales. A short distance away, the ork's large riding beast feasted happily on the rest of the animal, its short, powerful jaws crunching easily through the thick bones of the reptile.

Nadirah curled her upper lip in a sneer of distaste. 'I didn't know falsies were edible.' she thought to herself in disgust.

"Only the tails are any good." Came her captor's voice, as if he had been reading her thoughts. "The rest is only tasty to a hyolf. But if you cook them right, fake dragon tails are quite tasty. Succulent and juicy with just a little peppery flavor. And fortunately, I know just how to cook them." He chuckled and stepped closer to the fire, entering Nadirah's limited field of vision. "Hung over a hot fire while still wrapped in their own fire-proof skin. Then set in the coals for a while."

The young warrior looked away and gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. She would no more accept the ork's food than she would his water, no matter how much her stomach cramped from being denied precious nourishment, worsened by the sounds of chewing and cracking bones as the hyolf ate its own dinner a short distance away. Closing her eyes again, the warrior turned her thoughts to other things, trying to block out the sounds and aromas around her, until she finally drifted back into an exhausted slumber that was plagued by nightmares.

A sharp kick brought Nadirah back to consciousness as Rotuk's booted foot struck harshly against her ribs. "You still alive, cow girl?" he growled at her irritably. Nadirah blinked tiredly up at him, but as soon as she opened her mouth to argue, he lifted the water flask and poured it onto her face, hoping to force her into swallowing a mouthful or two. The doe began coughing as she choked on the water, her body beginning to convulse as it tried desperately to expel the liquid from her lungs, her empty stomach roiling to also send her into dry heaves as she choked. "Swallow, you idiot!" The ork screamed irritably. "Swallow the damn water!"

But she couldn't. Even if she had wanted to drink, her body was already trying to reject it. Nadirah's lungs began to burn with the effort to breathe while she coughed and sputtered, her vision beginning to fade as it was replaced by spreading black spots that seemed to gather in clusters to overwhelm her. Even her coughing began to fade as the last of her strength ebbed away, replaced by the heavy smothering darkness.

A splash of cold water in her face washed away some of the darkness, but it was short lived. When she tried to pull air into her lungs, she began to cough weakly again, and even a second splash of water could not stop her eyes from rolling back into her head. Rotuk's violent curses even began to fade away as she plummeted into the darkness.