Stepping through, Norbert squinted his eyes as the light assaulted him. Blinking his eyes, Norbert looked around, avoiding the mass of people huddling around the portal. He shakes his head to get the sickness out of him, hears those around him unable to fight the battle, and releases the contents of their stomach on the ground.
Walking through the puddles on shaky legs, the amount he travelled in that single jump the furthest he had ever gone in a single moment. He looked at his two companions, giving them both a pat, confirming that they also had no accidents after the trip.
Seeing the blue light snap closed, Norbert turned around, smiling as he saw Count von Count walking towards him; before walking past, Norbert watched where the vampire was walking following behind him, the vampire now all covered up as he wrapped a piece of cloth over his face.
"I'm not going to leave you that quickly." His buddy said, Norbert just continuing to grin as he patted Count von Count on the back, sending the vampire stumbling for a second before regaining his balance.
Walking through the people, most have recovered by now, only hearing the dry heaving as Norbert looked at where they found themselves. Surprised not to be in a building but an open square, along him were sandstone buildings. As he stood there, spinning around, trying to grind himself, sand blew against his face.
Reaching into his pack, Norbert slapped his mask over his face. Instantly, the sand blown by the wind no longer bit his face. Looking around the sand city, Norbert stared at those in the city all on the square roofs of the buildings around them.
All were standing on guard, some relaxed and talking to each other, while others Norbert could feel breathing down his neck. Giving one of these guards an eye as he breathed out, making his mask flash red even during the day.
The guard did not give him the time of day at all, as Norbert dismissed them from his mind, walking towards the centre of the crowd, trying to blend in. Everyone stepped away as Count von Count followed behind him, wrapped up in his clothes.
As the two made it to the centre, Norbert looked around, everyone giving a one-meter berth from him, sighing at his plan of blending in utterly destroyed before it could adequately set in. Norbert tapped the hilt of his dagger as he waited for something to happen. He was moving the straps on his back into a more comfortable position, as he hadn't been able to dial the backpack into fitting as comfortably as his last one.
Still waiting, Norbert felt the time slip past him. Looking up towards the sun, shielding his eyes as he tried to remember if the sun had even moved from where he was before. Not remembering the sun's position while in the Halls, Norbert shrugged at the thought.
As they continued to wait, those around him started to whisper to each other, slowly spreading like a disease throughout the entire crowd; Norbert just turned to the vampire, surprised that Count von Count hadn't started flapping his jowl the first chance he had.
Looking around once more at the people around him and the guards on the rooftops, sighing once more as he waited for something to happen. After several moments, feeling the fox scurrying around, he turned to see what it was doing.
He was getting hit by a wave of sand. Norbert turned his face around and felt his hand around. Norbert opened the flap, feeling the fox scurrying inside before it closed behind it. Obsius also disappeared from his shoulder, knowing she was his backpack without checking.
Like this, the group stood there, the sand blowing around them; after some time, the idle chatter died down, and no more new topics could be discussed as they started to notice the time dragging longer.
With their patience finally broken, one individual decided to speak up, "Oy, how much- AGH!"
Norbert turned his head, looking at the commotion in front of him as the group held their breath, everyone reaching for their weapons as they looked around. Norbert noticed the blood shooting up into the air from the impact out of the corner of his eye, watching the vampire by his side. The only response was Count von Count's slight head turn to Norbert, who could almost see the grin behind the cloth.
The person being impacted stiffened their cry as they held an arrow above their head, the blood quickly drying in the hot air. Following the direction, Norbert saw one guard on the rooftop placing a new arrow in their bow before resting it on their leg and continuing to talk to their comrades.
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Everyone's eyes went wide as restlessness started to move through the group, everyone becoming increasingly twitchy. Norbert turned to Count von Count, believing the vampire would have interacted with this group.
The Count was looking as ever, ready for action but not on high alert, knowing he wouldn't need to unsheathe any weapons. Norbert continued to rest his hand on a dagger, waiting for the time to tick by.
As the sun started to move lower on the horizon, Norbert heard rustling from his backpack, the sand still blowing, his hands shoved deep in his pockets to protect them from the sand that still blew, surprised that it was still going so constantly.
The idea pickled inside his mind as he started counting to himself; the wind stayed the same. Norbert leaning over to the vampire, "Is the wind always constant here?" He asked the vampire.
Seeing the slightest shake of his head before the hairs on the back of his neck prickled, before he could realise, Norbert saw a bolt sticking out of him. Looking at it coming from his right side, the closest one that the vampire wasn't blocking, Norbert pulled it out of his body, happy that it didn't hit the bag, as he looked inside, confirming that the bird and the fox weren't hurt.
"It might get a bit bumpy soon," Norbert whispered to them, the arrow still sticking out of his body. People in the group turned around as they looked at him; without even making a sound, Norbert ripped the arrow from his body, blood spurting out in a line before it quickly healed over.
Watching the one that shot him as he shook the arrow between his fingertips, using it as a teacher does to scold a student, Norbert watched his reaction, surprised as it stayed the same.
Nodding his head, Norbert brought the arrowhead up to his face, seeing three inverted barbs coming out designed to tear and rip flesh if it was removed. As he looked at the blood splatter on the ground, quickly drying, the mystery of the reason so much came out.
Grabbing the arrow, holding the end with his pointer finger, Norbert chucked it at the guard, extending his finger to give it more force and direction. Norbert watched as it didn't have as much power as he thought, idly spinning in the air end over end before clattering against the guard and dropping to their feet.
"Well, that didn't go as I thought," Norbert said aloud to nobody.
From his left, Norbert saw out of the corner of his eyes another guard release their arrow; able to see it this time, Norbert swiped it out of the air, unable to hold onto it fully before it punctured his chest, thoroughly poking through, the hole in his clothing it tried to create as Norbert dropped it to the ground, not caring about throwing it back from the lousy attempt that last happened.
The others now turn around in the group, looking toward the turn. Taking his backpack off, Norbert handed it to Count von Count, "Can you hand it for a second?" Wincing slightly, the arrow appeared in his gut.
The vampire, looking down at his blood for a second, splattered onto the floor before giving himself a shake and taking the bag off Norbert. Giving Count von Count a smile and a thumbs up as he removed the arrow from his body, the vampire walking into the crowd. Nobody caring that Walker was around them now cared ping the arrow to the floor, joining its buddy Norbert. Looking around, that join of guards now watching him. "OK, who's going to be the next one?"
Hearing two twang’s from opposite directions Norbert letting them both impact him before, Norbert taking them out again, healing himself up as if nothing had happened. Dropping them to the floor, as he started to look at his clothes, and the holes that it was creating.
“You know, if this continues I expect you to pay for a new set of clothes!” Norbert shouted, waiting for the guards responses
TWANG
TWANG
TWANG
TWANG
TWANG
TWANG
TWANG
Hearing the eight arrows launching together as he waited, peppering his body as one scratched against his mask, the eighth arrow slamming into the unprotected back of his head.
Going to the ground as his back of his neck was impacted by the arrow. Unable to control the lower half of his body as he looked down at the ground. Pushing any to his wound, Norbert felt it try to close up over the arrow.
He felt nauseous as it mended around him. Norbert quickly grabbed it and ripped it out; Emery grabbed and ripped himself up, which was already localised in the area.
Dropping his arm to the side, Norbert let it rest there as he waited, wondering if anything else was coming for him. He felt nothing as he mentally checked and felt no pains in his body. Able to wriggle his fingers and toes, Norbert slowly came up to his feet, looking at the barbed, and approached the piano. He looked and felt the back of his head, confirming that there wasn't even a hole there as he wondered if the hair also grew back or if he just now had a bald spot in the back of his mind.
Looking up at the guards around him, seeing them now have a worried look on their faces, scanning through them, wondering which one was the one that shot him in the back of the head. Unable to pick it up, Norbert shouted, " But seriously, how long until someone 's here?"
Instantly, Norbert could see them raise their bows, pulling them back and releasing them, not even focusing on it. Norbert jumped into the air as high as he could go, a couple of arrows pelting into his legs, but most of them were missing.
As he rose into the air, Norbert looked around, reminding himself of the Arabian city in Aladdin, with the sandstone, flat rooftops and buildings everywhere, low and squat to the ground. Ribbons of colour of flaps and awnings appear around the city. As he looked around, he saw a massive stadium. The square they were currently in was connected to it by a path.
As he looked around where he was seeing several more of these squares dotted around in the perimeter of the city. As Norbert started to land others pointing towards him in the sky. Crashing to the ground on top of all the broken arrows Norbert crossing his legs as he sat down, knowing that these people would stop playing whatever game they were playing with holding everyone up when they deemed it necessary.
And not a moment earlier.