Hahgo rode on his horse through the sands of the Xhaasan Desert. He and his crew of 2 others were prolific highwaymen. They had remained active even during the Xarban War- or as the nobility insisted on calling it, the Xarban incident- which had been devastating to most highwaymen groups with the large presence from armies of the Dukes of Xhaasa and their supply lines. The Highwaymen were easy targets and provided them with more supplies and weapons, as well as making the armies popular with local communities. Of course, after the fighting stopped, Highwaymen had slowly gotten back to work in their harassment of expeditioners and trade caravans. Hagho and his crew, however, were some of the, if not the most experienced and well-armed highwaymen on the sands. Hagho himself was armed with an omran’irr- a weapon that used sunstone to fire a bolt of pure solar magic. This weapon was so powerful that since he had aquired it, he rarely had to fight any of the groups that he “taxed.” If he did have to fight, it didn’t last long. His allies were armed with bows, spears and swords, giving them the option to fight whichever way was most convenient for the situation.
Today, they braved Iyanala. Most highwaymen steered clear of them since the Xarban War- Duke Caes had never been light-handed on the issue of highwaymen, but since the war, veterans from the supply lines and ones discharged from service had found work as patrolmen on the sands, rounding up and capturing groups of highwaymen. This. however, was just a quick operation- expeditioners with artifacts. They would simply scare them and take some of their artifacts- or kill a few, if need be. It wouldn’t take much time but would easily net them a small fortune, which would be enough to sustain them for several weeks if not more.
The hooves of their horses made muted thuds on the sand as they rode up to the expeditioners. They readied their weapons for intimidation. It didn’t take long for the expeditioners- apparently seasoned- to notice them and draw their weapons. It looked like there was going to be a fight.
But then, before they even reached them, they were blindsided by people they had not seen, wearing amulets of some sort. Before any of the three of them could react, they found themselves knocked off of their horses and incapacitated.