Phantom Oasis

[Zet]

Common Difficulty: Unknown

The oasis to the west of the Dead Lands. None have been able to trek through the wasteland recently to investigate, so information about the place is relatively scarce. For it being called an oasis, it can be compared to a lake or something otherwise larger, spanning a good seventy feet wide and long, being who knows how deep. With the patches of sand surrounding it, it has to have earned it's name somehow after all.

[Phen]

[70x70 is not a lake, not even close]

'What an interesting place to find in Alofirma'

Blur thought this as he slowed down, still moving at relatively high speeds for one on foot, but more like a jog to Blur. He moved along the coastline, looking over the oasis. Unsure of what he'd find here, he decided it might be best just to wander around, maybe find something to do. Keeping his roughly 15 mph jogging speed, he made his way around the lake itself.

[Wraith]

As Blur began his jog around the oasis, he came to find that it was oddly enough longer than he first saw. It seemed to span even wider at that too, living up to it's name after all. Considering the Dead Lands not far from here, this place made for a rather mysterious find indeed. Just how big was this place in truth considering the sudden change?

[Phen]

'Well that's interesting'

Speeding up to move at about 40 mph, Blur ran along the coast, looking not ahead of him, but out into the ever expanding body of water. Blur found it odd for such a phenomonon to occur. Looking forward now and then, Blur kept watch over the lake, wondering what might lurk within its depths.

[Wraith]

Blur possibly ran a good twenty minutes before it finally stopped expanding, the area itself even larger than what met the eye. The desertic lands of sand expanding far greater than anyone cared to believe, the oasis far from an actual oasis. Though after Blur's jog in his case, the same electricity from before sparked over him. He was oddly enough feeling tired now, despite this being a basic event for him daily. Just when things seemed like they couldn't become even more mysterious than they already were.

[Phen]

Slightly winded, Blur looked at the electricity that sparked around him. It was clear this was not electricity from power he had, and it did not seem to be coming from anything nearby... It was a restrictive power... almost as if whatever was causing it was trying to slow him down. As he walked back the way he came, he began to ponder about what could be causing such a phenomena.

'Either this lake is alive... or theres runes here that are trying to restrict my movements and tire me out... This land is known for its dark magic so.... this lake is probably like a giant trap. Or it could be a large source of dark magic itself... hmmmm....'

[Zet]

*Blur figured out what was happening to him relatively fast at the least. He wouldn't be living up to his name otherwise if he hadn't. Suddenly, bubbles began to surface up from the water on Blur's walk back. To go along with it, the sand started to move as well, footprints appearing in them here and there too.*

[Phen]

Blur looked casually to the side at the bubbling water, watching as his thoughts of this place take form. Then, looking to the sand, he saw it move as well, surprised, he unfolded his arms and raised his guard, preparing for what was likely a battle in his area. As footsteps appeared in the sand, Blur's eyes widened, aware of what he may be dealing with.

'Shit!... It's invisible.. I just hope it can't fly. Otherwise I'm screwed.'

[Wraith]

A 'phantom' of the oasis, so to speak. It seemed as though Blur got no rest for the weary. Of course, that was to be expected in this case. When in the Land of the Fallen, only those who can survive constant and endless abuse step into the wasteland. Of course, no one ever investigated the oasis until now, so that could have possibly been a sign of better things. The footsteps continued forward, no longer in the sand. Guess he'd have to fight blind, literally.

['Stalking Menace']

[Rain]

That was rather simple to finish off. Brushing his hands off of one another before looking to the oasis. It certainly deserved the name 'Phantom' for sure. After all, the oasis itself was a phantom along with what lurked here apparently. He despised fighting invisible opponents, though the enemies here didn't pose much threat to him it seemed. After all, he doubted that it would give him any real trouble unless they fought him in a group. It would become a nuisance since they would each be able to stop an attack at a different timing. If he wanted to investigate here, that meant fixing that issue before it began by fighting fire with fire. Or rather, numbers with numbers.

"I doubt it hit you all that hard. You alright?"

[Phen]

"Tch! This is nothing, It just caught me by surprise is all."

Blur stood up, brushing himself off and walking just slightly past the one who just helped him. He didn't want to show it, but his pride had taken quite the blow from that.

"We'd best be leaving, I'll admit my curiosity got the better of me coming here. There also seems to be something else going on here, almost like a stasis field...."

[Rain]

Jack thought back to when he came here. He had to admit, it did seem as though 'something' was set up. He noticed it himself when he was checking around. Of course, he had gotten caught by whatever it was too.

"Might be too late for that. We can probably leave, but considering the name of this place, it was more than likely a trap of some kind we ran into. Better to assume the worst than just some kind of basic misconception."

[Zet]

*Jack wasn't far off of the truth, neither was Blur in a different kind of sense. Once again, bubbles began to flow from the water. But this time, more than one had done so. Seemed as though it would still be in their best interest to leave if those were some more of what they had just run into but moments ago.*

[Phen]

"I hate the idea of it, but we'd best run away. How fast can you move?"

Blur knew he would tire faster than normal from the field, regardless he knew he could still outrun the phantoms. The best idea right now was to get away from the Oasis, maybe not the area itself, but at least away from the coastline.

[Rain]

Jack nodded to Blur's words. He had to admit, the aspect of running annoyed him. Though the aspect of dying annoyed him even more. Of course, from Blur's question he had to consider the options. He wasn't slow by any means, but of course he wasn't anywhere as fast as the person with him right now.

"Probably not as fast as you. But I doubt outrunning these guys is all 'that' difficult unless they decide to humor us and are stupidly quick on their feet."

[Zet]

*Various footprints formed in the sand, not moving afterward. Instead, the footprints began to disappear altogether. They weren't going back where they came from, but they were definitely no longer where they were. An explanation to this was actually rather obvious, but at the same time might have been confusing for the ones there. This continued for some time until at last, none of the footprints remained. Now came the question of, where exactly had they gone?*