Simon looked up at the figure but his vision was blurred by the sun's brightness. He dropped the half deer toy in the sand to block his eyes. He wondered if he should run, but where? There were no boulders, trees, or buildings. Just the vastness of the bright orange sand in every direction.
Instead, he shoved the items he had back in the bag. When he was finished, he noticed a stick in the sand. He started pulling on it and realized that it wasn't moving with his subtle tugs. So he started digging around it. He found a staff about the same height as he was.
Good, at least I can defend myself if I need to. He stood quickly and took what he imagined would be a stance that was defensive and imposing. Who am I kidding? I have no idea what I'm doing. Think, Simon. Think!
"Hey, kid, what're going to do with that? Hit me?"
Simon looked up from his thoughts to face the figure in front of him. She was taller than him, lean and strong wearing a deep green cloak. Her voice was enchanting and instinctively Simon didn't trust her.
She lowered the hood from her head revealing eyes that were blue like a cloudless summer sky and long straight hair the color of the Caribbean Ocean. Simon's jaw dropped and he straightened from the pathetic stance he was trying. Though he continued to hold onto the staff, just in case.
"Smart move, kid. I know I don't look like much but I've beaten a dozen guys your size in 10 minutes." She waited for Simon to respond. He didn't and couldn't.
"Talk much?" That was when she noticed the staff. Simon watched her look at the staff and he tightened his grip.
"Not much," he responded eyeing her and watching her eyes to see what she would fix on next.
She looked back at his face and tried to ease the tension in her face with a smile, "My name is Lanix. What's yours?"
"Simon."
Her face contorted into a question mark as if he'd said something peculiar. "Where are you from?"
Simon thought for a minute and couldn't quite figure out how to answer that question. It was possible that he ended up in a desert somewhere on earth, but somehow he knew that wasn't the case. So was he on another planet? He settled on saying, "I guess that depends on where I am."
Lanix shrugged and moved on, "Have a plan for that staff? Besides trying to bash my head in?" She berated herself for being too anxious, but she hadn't seen her staff in decades and she was more than eager to have the familiar piece of wood returned to her hands. In truth, she hadn't really known what to do without her staff, and her hands physically pained for the smooth grip of her staff once again.
"I don't know. I really don't know much right now." He could barely form the words. He was beginning to realize that with the growing brightness of the sun and the heat he felt on his face that he was definitely not dreaming and was most likely not in a coma.
"Well, here's something you can learn imminently, that's my staff and I'd like it back." Her face hardened again. Her patience, which was never extensive on a normal day, had already run out.
"Answer some questions for me first." Simon had found some amount of leverage and as he struggled to grasp that this may indeed be reality, he needed answers to be certain.
"Fine. You get three questions. I'll answer what I can."
"Where am I?"
"Mizrain, but more specifically the Desert Maze."
Simon didn't reply immediately, he wasn't really sure how to. "That doesn't really mean anything to me."
"Mizrain is the name of the land where you are. It's divided into regions. The Desert Maze is one of the regions. I'm from the Swamps of Ix. There are others." She had, perhaps, offered more information than necessary, but somehow she knew that he wouldn't follow anyway.
Simon wanted to ask what the others were but wanted to save his questions. He thought more carefully about the next question, "So, if this is a maze, how do we get out?"
Lanix smirked out of the corner of her mouth, "Flight."
Simon's eyes widened, "How do we do that?"
Lanix's smile broadened as wings appeared on her back. She started laughing when Simon saw them. "Where did those come from?"
"Sorry, kid, you've used up your three questions." Then the wings faded away. "No, they aren't real, otherwise I wouldn't be here still." Exasperated, Lanix sank into the sand. "Sit, kid. Do I get my stuff now? Look halfway down the shaft, my name is carved into the wood. L-A-N-I-X."
Simon looked at the staff and saw the name carved into the wood surrounded by small intricate carvings that looked like the bird that had given him the bag. He handed the staff to Lanix and sat in the sand facing her. He looked at her with wondering eyes, "So what then?"
"Depends on what you have in your bag."
Simon hesitated.
"Listen, kid. I've already been out here a long time. This sun won't kill me, but I'm going to guess that you won't last quite so long. So you can show me what's in your bag or I can leave you right now. It creates a hiccup for me, but a big difference for you." Lanix raised her eyebrows and waited.
He passed the bag to her, still uncertain, but out of options.
Lanix opened the flap. She pulled out the canteen, opened it, sniffed the contents, and took a drink. She instantly looked refreshed. "Thanks for that." Next, she pulled out the leather hide and tossed it to the side. She slowed as she got to the final object. She did a terrible job at concealing her excitement. Simon did a terrible job at concealing his confusion.
She held the deer rear in her hands, looked up, and smiled at Simon.
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