The East Nihilian city of Ka'ata is one of its most prominent trading districts. It's a two-story city with walkways and marketplaces suspended between buildings that are all interconnected by wooden roadways on both floors. Sandstone columns peak above the height of the tallest building, supporting the second floor of the city with a web of steel that chimes in the desert winds.

As D'aliah and Kalan are escorted through the city by a horde of bandits, or whatever they are- D'aliah realizes the streets are filled with shoppers and residents. She tries peeking into some of the buildings, their glowing lights in the shadowy daylight engage her curiosity. She's been able to spot a few stores, presumably selling clothing, food, and whatnot. As well as a few bars and augmentation shops. They look so dingy and… Unlicensed. Why would someone get augmentations here?

They arrive at a locked door somewhere in the town. The one-eyed man steps in front of his goons and plugs one of his mechanical fingers into the keyhole, then rotates his hand to unlock it. D'aliah is pushed into the store by one of the assailants, she and Kalan we're never handcuffed or subdued in any way besides their presence in numbers. She presumes this has to do with what Kalan was mentioning, that they wouldn't hurt us. She didn't realize it at first, but that's most likely why they didn't put up much of a fight when they surrounded them at the dune- They let her kick their asses so they don't hurt her.

"Where are we?" She barks at the one-eyed man, frustrated at each of the bandits around her for their mockery.

The man chuckles, switching on the lights to reveal a store filled with… Junk? Metal scraps are scattered across the walls of the store and shelves reaching the ceiling are packed with different shapes, sizes, and colours of scraps. He keeps escorting D'aliah and Kalan, through the library of shelves towards a backdoor. The bandits fan out, some didn't enter the store and those who did, head through a door with a sign that says 'brake room' on it. One of the bandits turns to speak to the one-eyed man, "We are waitin' for payment 'ere,"

"Alright," The one-eyed man responds, gesturing to Kalan and D'aliah to follow him inside before he places a finger on his lips and winks his only eye. It catches D'aliah off guard, leaving her briefly wondering what that was about. A threat? A joke? But then it hits her- He's not paying them, is he?

Her heart spikes, there's like fifty of these guys. How could he possibly get away with this? She grabs Kalan's hand and clutches it with all her strength.

"Ow," Kalan grunts, seemingly unaware of the situation. She gulps down a large swap of spit before clenching her jaw in anticipation.

They enter the abyssal backroom and soon after, the door slams shut. And lights flood the room. D'aliah's momentarily blinded by the sudden illumination that slowly fades, revealing a strange vehicle in the center of the room. Her eyes gaze beyond the vehicle, to the wall across the room, and notice the metallic sheeting of it. Her eyes drift back to the vehicle that is fashioned like a small boat with a large fan of sorts on the back, a mast, and a sail in the center, extending at the height of a person. Two metal sheets protrude from the bottom, at the front and back, similar to the glidin' shoes he'd mentioned before.

About five people could probably fit in this thing, with the pilot seated right at the back to steer the vehicle using a rod that extends from the fan. It looks as though the fan would pivot, enabling the pilot to change directions.

"Get in, then," The one-eyed man murmurs as he steps over to the sheet metal wall and tugs a rope that starts lifting the wall, revealing the outside of the city… The desert.

"What?" She asks, skeptical until Kalan steps right past her and has a seat in the boat.

"You can't be serious?" She asks Kalan, surprised by his lack of concern.

"No other choices, my dear." He responds.

She glances up at the one-eyed man, pointing to the door behind her- "And when they realize what you've done?"

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"It will be too late for 'em," The man responds, stepping into the back of the vehicle.

A sea of skepticism floats within her eyes, sharpening them at the one-eyed man as her mind simulates the situation. She glances over at Kalan in his relaxed state, feeling like she needs to give him a smack over the back of the head so he starts thinking straight. But at this point, she figures he's thinking as straight as he can.

"Fine," She murmurs, stepping into the vehicle. "So there was never a highborn client?"

"Oh, there be a highborn," The one-eyed man answers.

"Then why not pay them for their services?" She asks.

The one-eyed man glances over at Kalan, with a confused look in his eye. "She wantin' to know 'er worth?" He chuckles with Kalan, before looking back at D'aliah. "How you think the rich be stayin' rich girl?"

The fan-like engine at the back of the vehicle sparks to life with a roar as the sail unravels itself into a tight flag. He turns a knob to adjust the angle of the sail and tosses over the two pairs of goggles. "I'll be sure to pay the nice gentlemen next time," The one-eyed man giggles. His accent changed. Her mind notes in a flurry of concern. Now in a weird variant of this Nihilian accent mixed with a Valatian accent. He must have been putting it on in front of the others. Or is he putting this one on?

His metallic hand grips the rudder of the vehicle, locking itself in place before he heaves it upward. The boat jostles as it heaves upwards and onto a ramp, sliding towards the sands.

"Strap in," He yells over the grinding of the boat and rumble of the engine.

D'alaih looks down to see two ends of a seatbelt that she straps around her waist and tightens. She glances back at Kalan, contemplating the safety of the vehicle and the validity of the seatbelts. If this thing crashes, the belts won't be doing much… Unless they're made for the ride. Before she can think any further, the vehicle launches into the desert, glidin' along the ripples as it keeps gaining speed. The bits of her untied hair whip around her face as she reaches to cover her eyes with the goggles. Like a jet boat in the ocean, the vehicle shoots through the shadowed pink and orange sands as particles flurry in the wake of the automobile. The distant sun sets halfway through the horizon and casts the last remnant of warmth amongst the cooler dusk air.

She tilts her head up to the darkened regions of the sky, already seeing the sea of orbs above the clouds, glistening like a distant nation in the looming night. They never shine this bright in Valantis, the unnatural light of Valantian infrastructure drowns the view of the night sky. But something about that fact feels wrong, as if she's then them in all their glory before, in Valantis. Her head whips to Kalan, as though she wants to say something… But isn't sure what.

"Is this familiar to you?" He says before she does, his head propped up to the sky as well. The vehicle's become much quieter after reaching what she assumes is the max speed.

"I… Don't know," She sighs as her mind scans through her memories, straining itself as it struggles to identify the source of this familiarity.

"Only in the far regions of Valantis will you find an evening sky such as this," The one-eyed man says. "In Nihil, it is common,"

"Am I to trust a man who changes with the closing of a door?" D'aliah bites.

"You're free to leave whenever you'd like," the man chuckles, gesturing his available arm to the rapidly passing sands. "Though, I won't be stopping for you to do so,"

"Who are you exactly?" Kalan asks, showing some sort of interest for the first time.

"I thought you'd never ask," The man smiles, "I started thinking you prefer to travel with strangers,"

"More non-answers," D'aliah scoffs.

"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot, girl." He extends his available hand to her for a handshake, looking her in the eyes before introducing himself with a smile. "The name's Karv'er,"

She hesitates for a moment, but extends her hand to shake his in response, "D'aliah," She says.

Karv'er reaches his hand to Kalan, extending the same greeting. "Kalan," He responds.

"Nice to meet the both of ya'," Karv'er says, "I've been sent by Ms. Shay'an to make sure ya' don't get yourselves killed,"

"Do we know her?" Kalan asks.

"No," He laughs, "But, she knows you."

"Nihilian technology fashions efficiency and simplicity- The sands are not intended for technology to thrive. But where there is life, there is a way." - Prophet Zeng