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[Steel Samurai]

Tell me, wanderer, tell me of your journeys. Tell me of the days before this one, the days of the road, of battles and of dragons. Speak your tale, and I will listen . . .


The mammoth horse plodded along slowly down the city street, its brown flanks heaving after the gallop across the countryside. Its rider, a young man of less than twenty years, yawned and looked at the sun. There was definitely enough time to reach the next village, and he could always sleep in the open if he needed to. His stomach growled, rather loudly. Well. There could be no harm in stopping at an inn to eat. A quick tug on the reigns and the brown stopped. The young man dismounted, and led the big horse over to the stable beside the inn. The stablehand gawked at the man and his horse for a moment, but quickly pulled on his cap and hurriedly led the horse away when a silver coin flew in the air towards him.

A small gasp escaped those in the common room who were looking as the door swung open and a man stepped in. The innkeeper looked up from the drink he was mixing, and his mouth began opening and closing in astonishment. The man was close to six and a half feet tall, with the broadest shoulders anyone in the room had ever seen, and, though he was dressed in a simple blue tunic and rough canvas trousers, the way he moved bespoke of muscle to match his frame. This, in and of itself, would have been enough to catch the attention of those in the inn, but the massive sword hanging on his back had every eye in the room glued to him. He sat down on one of the barstools and rested his sword against the counter. The innkeeper gulped nervously, staring at the counter as he asked if he could get anything for the young master.

"Roast beef. With potatoes, please." The young man's accent told the innkeeper that he was not from around here. The man was tempted to try and cheat the boy, but another look at the sword-thing leaning against the counter made him change his mind. He looked up at him, getting a close look at his face for the first time, and barely stifled another gasp. His face itself was fairly unremarkable, it was smooth and boyish, but his eyes . . . One was Green and one was Blue, and both were piercing in their innocence and purity. The young man glanced down at the innkeeper, and the man immediately dropped his eyes.

"Yes sir, comin' right up sir. Beg pardon sir, but what might your name be?"

"Wil. It's Wil."

The innkeeper hurried off, and Wil gazed at the bottles in front of him, his eyes not really seeing anything as he thought. I'm on my way. It's finally over. It won't be long now . . .

* * * *

Several Weeks Earlier

The smooth granite flagstones were cold against Wil's bare feet as he walked slowly down the hallway. Men in white armor surrounded him, their faces obscured by black helmets. Wil was naked save for a small loincloth, his long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, just as it had been since it grew long enough to do so. They reached a stone arch and passed through it into a small chapel. It was very plain, unadorned save for several rows of hard wooden pews in front of a small platform, on which stood a man dressed as those which surrounded Wil, save that he had no helmet. Wil reached the base of the platform and knelt. The men around him fanned off, forming a semi-circle behind him, and stood, each holding a lance in the "at attention" position. The man in front of him drew his sword and with one clean motion, severed the tie holding Wil's hair back.

"Wilhelm von Schlieffen of Jut, you have now gained the right to wear your hair as you please. By the powers bestowed upon me by the High Council, I begin your transition from Apprentice of the Dragon to Knight of the Order of the Dragon." The men behind him drew their swords and each traced a long scratch down Wil's back, only just deep enough to draw blood. "You must leave this place of learning and travel to Kinaancha, where the rites shall be completed." Wil nodded silently, as was protocol, rose, and left. The apprentices in the pews rose silently and bowed towards him, knowing they would not see him again until their own times for the transition had begun. Wil returned to his room, put on his clothes, grabbed his sword, and walked down to the dock. Goodbyes had been said, supplies had been loaded. He glanced back at the Fortress Dvorec, his home for 12 years, once more, and then turned and stepped on the ship.

* * * *

Wil finished his roast beef quickly and mounted the brown mare, which he had affectionately dubbed Dinga. The horse trotted down the cobblestone street and out of the small town. Wil pulled his map from the pack on his back. It should only take a nother week or so of riding before he reached the shores of Lake Cha. Then he'd need to travel south to reach Cha'Firen, and take passage from there to Kinaancha . . . but anything could happen between here and there . . .

[JRPomazon]

There was a bright light, a disturbingly bright light shining through the opening of the rocky shelter. Stretching his arms and legs, this man got to his feet and began his day with a few bed sores from sleeping in a cave. However, the sores didn't seem to bother him, his face was solemn and showed no signs of pain. He crept out of the cave and entered the light of the day, emerging into the world once again to live another day. The cave was not his home, in fact he didn't have a place to call home. He merely planned to stay the night and leave when he felt like it. His faded brown clothing glowed in the sun, which was approaching noon about this time. However, the time also meant nothing to him and he continued on his way.

But where to? Where was he going? Ah, but that was the marvelous thing about vagabonds. There was no set destination, no time frame to get there and certainly no repercussions for not arriving. He moved lazily to the road as he scratched his head, his shaggy gray hair being tossed by his fingers. He looked up at the sky, partly cloudy with blue sky. He continued on the road, with no destination in mind whatsoever. Little did the man known as Gate Baal by the few people who remembered him know, he would be at the shores of Lake Cha in a matter of days if he stayed true to the route he had begun to take.

Edited by JRPomazon, 27 July 2008 - 12:48 AM.

[Goose]

Snoogyfoofie was walking around. The sun was hot. He was thirsty. He was hungry. He was angry. He was very angry. Snoogyfoofie saw a man with water over there.



....

Snoogyfoofie wasn't hungry or thirsty anymore. The man was a suitable meal and his water was nice to wash it down.

Snoogyfoofie looked at the mans map. It looked funny. He could read it and see that the man was trying to get to a place called Lake Cha.

Snoogyfoofie headed in that general direction.

[Tseb]

It was late evening as Shamus departed the small village of Fantrio in the Fenti Planes. His lighter-than-air flyer silently lifting into the dwindling sunlight. He loved flying by night, everything always looked amazing at dusk or under moonlight. However, now was not the time to be admiring the scenery. He had a delivery to make, a large one to be precise. The shipment was stored below deck on his flyer. Shamus was to deliver the shipment to a small shack at the head of the Dragon Delta. The trip would take him several days and from their he would either find some other means of employment. He reached cruising altitude and started up his engines propellers. Now he could return to watching the sunset.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

The last sliver of the waning moon hung in the air over a frontier town out on the edge of the Doorana Wasteland. Almost everyone had gone to sleep except for two souls. One of them, a young farming girl in her late teens hung her head sadly in the night.

“So, you're leaving?” she asked, not wanting to believe the words of the second soul.

“Yes,” a heavily accented, ambiguous, though similarly young voice answered.

The second soul, one dressed in tribal, loose garbs stared out into the distance from the hill the two were sitting at. The young girl simply stared at the grass.

“Lotus, I... Why?” the young girl spoke, fumbling with her words, “Why are you leaving now? Why ever leave? Everyone just started getting used to you. You've helped us out with so much, protecting us from those other Mogili, helping our crops grow, and... and... I...”

Lotus looked at the young girl and after a few seconds, smiled.

“My Good Friend Karathen should not worry,” he spoke, patting the other on the back, “The many fights were stopped. They promised, and kept. The many lessons were taught. They learned, and now do. A need of me is something you no longer have.”

“Damn you Lotus, it's not just that! I don't care about that stuff! I want you to stay here!” Karathen burst out in an angry fit.

Lotus recoiled for a moment, startled by the other's outburst. Karathen, realizing what she had done, returned to her sulking.

“I... I just... I've grown so used to seeing you around here. Everything about you... you're so polite, even when someone is practically spitting in your face, yet you also stand up for what you believe... I just... I always wanted...” the young girl spoke, tearing up.

“My Good Friend--” Lotus started comforting.

Karathen reached over pulled Lotus into a tight hug, which he soon returned.

“My Good Friend Karathen, I have never had intention of stopping forever. I cannot be still. I must move, and grow. That pain of a thorn in My Good Friend's chest is something that will go away in time.”

There was a still silence in the air, the bright stars shining down in the cloudless night.

“My Good Friend, if this humble one were to promise to return again someday, would My Good Friend be willing to say goodbye?”

Karathen stopped for a moment.

“Yes.”

“Then this humble one, Lotushendranae, promises to return to you.”

* * * * *

It had been a number of weeks since that night, and Lotus had since traveled a long way through the wilderness of the northern nations. Lotus knew well enough of the attitude of the people of the north towards people like him, the Mogili. He wished he had the opportunity to explain the difference between the South Wildfire Clan which they were familiar with, and the North Thunder to which he belonged, but he knew few would give him the chance to speak. Karathen's town hardly gave him a warm welcome, what with all the weapons pointed at him. It did not help that he did not know a single word of their language. It was only by Karathen's intervention that he was spared.

Because he knew the uproar he would cause, Lotus had kept to the forests, plains, and rivers where civilization did not thrive, avoiding others. He had no idea how far he would have to travel until it was safe enough to be seen in public, but he hoped it would not be far.

Lotus's androgynous frame hiked briskly, barefoot, stopping only when in need of sleep. He had gone somewhat soft in the year that he had spent at Karathen's town, so he was getting tired more often than was comfortable for his nomadic mindset.

It was on one particular day that Lotus needed to feed himself. The nearby mushrooms looked suspiciously like poison ones he knew of, so he steered clear of them. Eventually however, he came across a wide, heavily treaded path. He cared little if anyone was nearby, he just needed to eat a little. He had been fasting for the past couple of days, only drinking water in hopes of toughening himself up. However, he was becoming hungry.

Immediately, Lotus noticed a few plants on the other side of the road in plentiful amounts. He approached them, kneeling at the other side of the road, considering two particular greens. Neither of them had substantial stems or leaves, but...

Lotus grabbed one plant and plucked it from the ground, looking at the onion-like root. He tore off a piece of the root and chewed a little bit before spitting it out.

“Trakoit,” he muttered in his own language as he kept spitting out some extra juices. Poisonous.

Putting the plant back, Lotus turned to the other plant, uprooting it to reveal something that looked like a cross between a beet and a carrot. He took bite, chewing it around in his mouth. After thinking it over, Lotus swallowed it.

“Kait, easnga e,” Good, it is edible.

It was bitter and tough, but it was something to eat. Lotus took another bite, chewing away at the brown-white root.

[Steel Samurai]

Night fell. The road was broad and Dinga a relatively clever horse, so Wil leaned back in the saddle and looked at the stars. The constellations shone down on him, Doren the Thief, Kirlon the Archer, Siroth the Dragon . . . They were like old friends, the only things that didn't change no matter where he went. They danced their dance in the skies above, always predictable, always steady, unlike this land around him, so flat and . . . boring. It was so different from the greenness and eternal twilight of the Dol Enol Forest, or the harsh, craggy cliffs of Dvorec. Wil hoped he would not have to travel through much more of it. Traveling alone was monotonous at the best of times, but this was quite possibly the most boring thing he had ever done. He looked back at the path, arrow straight for miles ahead. It would be a long two weeks. His eyelids began to droop, and his head began sinking onto his chest. Wil yawned and pulled up Dinga. He dismounted and led her over to the side of the road. Time for sleep. He unrolled his bedroll and put a nosebag on Dinga, then lay down, and drifted off into the realm of dreams.

[SL the Pyro]

The blonde-haired man grinned, sickeningly. He looked at the surrounded thieves with a savage glee... his former band of thieves, which were surrounded by imperial knights who were just waiting to get their swords bloody.

"Wh...WHY!?" the youngest of the thieves wailed.

"Because, Unknown, times are changing," the man said. "Empires are growing stronger, factions are gaining power... you all might be content as a band of thieves, but I want to be a part of that new world."

"You're insane..." one of the theives spat.

"HAH! Maybe so, but you won't have to worry about that for very long." the grinning man said, running his thumb along his neck.

This was the signal for the men to charge. The next couple of minutes was a cacophony of screams of pain and agony, and the smiling man only laughed. When the blood stopped flying and the screams died down, only the boy remained, soaked in that blood. "N... no...!" he sobbed, his body shaking.

"You don't have to suffer their fate, you know... you can come with me." the man offered. "You'd be a great help..."

The boy offered no answer for a while... in fact, he didn't ever hear him. His mind was filled with sorrow; he'd lost his family... again... and it was because of someone that was a part of that family no less...

No... he wasn't a part of their family anymore... he was a traitor...

"Traitor..." the boy said with venom, his voice no longer shaking with sobs, but with intense hatred.

"Oh, don't be like that..." the man said. The knights levelled their bloodied swords at the boy reluctantly.

"You... betrayed us... people who were like family to you..." the boy said, gritting his teeth.

"Ha! HAHAH! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the man said, bursting into a fit of laughter. "FAMILY!? Oh please... I never thought of them like THAT... I only needed their help for a while, and once they weren't useful anymore, they got what they deserved."

"You... heartless... demon..." he said, venom dripping from his voice with each word.

"One more chance! Join us, or die." the man said forcefully.

An uneasy silence followed, the boy's hands twitching. Slowly he looked up at the man, his eyes narrow and filled with nothing but rage. "You first..."

When the silence broke, the sound of a swords leaving their sheathes was heard. Faster than anyone could believe, the boy roared a war cry as his swords had left the sheathes around his waist, his body spinning a complete 360. Surprised and agonized screams from the soldiers that had surrounded him echoed through out the large room before their bodies crumpled pathetically. Everyone in the the room gasped in shock and horror. Everyone except the blonde man. He growled and said, "You stupid kid... you've just started a fight you can't possibly win..."

That was the only words said before a large portion of the remaining soldiers in the room charged. He used the skills he had learned over his years of theivery, what he was tought by his family... he leapt into mid-air just before the guard's blades struck, backflipping and then landing on the metal of their swords, kicking them into the ground to disrupt their balance. This small window of opportunity was all he needed to lash out at them with his red swords, after which he turned his attention to the other bewildered soldiers. A shower of scarlet flew around the room, accompanied by the pain screams and gurgles of the dying men around him. They deserved no less, they had been just as brutal with his family, and he would show them no less mercy.

Noticing the rapidly-dwindling numbers, the blonde man turned around and ran for the exit in the back of the room. The boy tried to follow him outside, but was headed off by some of the surviving soldiers. They didn't stay in his way for long; he beheaded them within a few seconds. As he found himself outside of the building, however, he saw the blonde man on a horse... already far away. Before he could even try to give chase, the remaining soldiers attacked. They suffered the same fate as the second wave, getting their weapons kicked into the ground and them sliced in a shower of their blood.

He searched the building for any form of transportation that he could use to pursue the traitor, but there was nothing. He let out a scream of rage. As he wandered back into the building, he saw the brutalized corpses of his band of thieves... his family for so many years. With a sob, he fell to his knees beside them and began to cry...

For a half-hour he let his feelings out, until there was nothing left to let out. He got to his feet, saying only these words before leaving, "I promise... you will be avenged for what Xervan did to you tonight..."

------------------------------

Shadow opened his eyes to the waters of Lake Cha. Even after all of these years, that night and that goal still remained fresh in his mind. He changed in many ways in the days that followed. He had been doing anything he could to learn about the traitor Xervan's whereabouts, doing whatever he could to survive. He became an assassin, the two goals mixing quite well with that occupation... he had quickly became one of the most feared assassins in the land, better known as "The Scarlet Devil."

He had been to many places, seen many people. And only now after all these years of searching has he found information about Xervan... who was trying to become a Knight of the Dragon. The mere thought of that sickened Shadow; a man as vile as Xervan, a Dragon Knight? He didn't even think it was possible... the men who had given him those soldiers that knight must've put in a good word for him.

But whatever the reason was, it didn't matter to Shadow. He had only one goal, and that was to make the man suffer for what he'd done. After learning that Xervan was trying to become a Dragon Knight, Shadow had learned everything he could about them. This included the fact that they had to travel to Kinaancha to finish their rites. And there was no way that Shadow was going to let Xervan finish his rites, he wouldn't even live that long.

To get to Kinaancha, he would have to come through this path. It was simply a matter of heading in the opposite direction and crossing paths with him. Lifting his bag of supplies over his shoulder and adjusting his black, western-style hat, Shadow set off down the path...

[CID Farwin]

Sighing, Sondin Vertrym sat against a tree, staring at the waters of Lake Cha. So much water in one place made him uncomfortable--any amount of water larger than a puddle made him uncomfortable--yet there was some odd beauty in it. Something soothing in the sound of it. He didn't have to go in it, just watch.

Lake Cha. It had been months since he had first heard the rumors of Vampiri at Lake Cha, but so far he hadn't found any real leads. Depending on who he asked, there were as many as fourteen, others said 3, and still others said that an army was massing. By the descriptions, most of these people clearly had no idea what a real Vampir was. Or what they looked like.

There definitely was at least one, somewhere, but all he knew now was what he knew at first. It was somewhere at Lake Cha. Once he got close to the lake they had gotten more specific, and realistic; At every place he dared to ask, there had always been something at the next village, the next town over--they had always said it was west, at least--and he was wondering just how far he was going to have to go to find him. Or her. Or them. Sondin would gladly circumvent the entire lake if he had to, if it meant he could get the information he needed.

But oh was it getting dull. The same routine at each village he went to. "I heard there was an attack the next village over," and when he got to that village, "Oh, no, that happened four towns away from here." Sondin sighed again. At least there was the occasional group of bandits to keep him occupied, and fed. He wished something, anything interesting would happen.

Tiring of his water-gazing, Sondin got to his feet and, starting in a somewhat westerly direction--following the shore--told himself what he must have said a hundred times already, "Maybe there really will be something at the next one."

Edited by CID Farwin, 30 July 2008 - 03:53 PM.

[Shekey the Green]

Adrasteia sat happily eating an apple in a tree. Her left leg swung up and down. Her tail flicked up and down in content. As she munched happily, she listened to the murmur and gossip of the trees and wind around her. Most of their gossip was useless. But every once in a while, Adrasteia heard a name pop up, or an organization come about. A new city here, a forest gone there.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against the tree. A nap sounded like an excellent idea. She'd been traveling constantly. She had made her way all the way around the lake. Something had drawn her to the lake. She just didn't know what.

She closed her eyes and drifted into a sleep.

She awoke after night had fallen. Most of the trees still whispered in the night. Their conversations bringing news of distant lands; a bit more serious than it was during the day. War was brewing. She could smell it in the air. Empires that grew and gained power quickly were now greedy and full of hate for each other. The trees whispered of its impending darkness. Innocent lives were at stake.

Balance must be maintained.

She drew out her maps of the world. Her political map was old and tattered, but still legible. She knew she was in a forest just south of Cha'Gor. Where should she go? The Imperial city of Kinaacha? Or Tal? Or maybe go north of Lake Cha? What would she do though? Her ability to integrate socially did not exist. Her home was nowhere and everywhere.

Hell, she wasn't even sure if she remembered how to talk to anyone anymore.

She took another bite of her apple, which was now brown and slightly dry and continued to study her map.

She then found it useless and put it back in her satchel. She looked up at the tree, asking it for its guidance.

Dragon Knights were the only words that came to her instantly. This tree was old, and hollow inside. About to perish. This could take a while. The phrase sounded familiar. She'd heard it in the forests north of Lake Cha.

She continued to meditate upon the tree. Patiently waiting for guidance.

Then the forest went quiet. Vampiri! The tree sounded urgent. She looked around quietly. She heard a rustle of leaves and several things moving in her general direction. Then they stopped.

Adrasteia looked down. There were three of them. They stopped a few trees away; eying in her general direction suspiciously. She had nothing to defend herself against them.

Eventually, they shrugged off their suspicions and continued West. Whatever is on their minds was more important than a cat in a tree.

Immediately the trees began to gossip amongst themselves once more, except for the one she was standing on. She turned around and looked up towards the top.

Imperial...City. Be...Careful.

That was it. The tree had told her what she needed to know. She thanked it. She knew where she needed to go She swung down and landed on the ground noiselessly. She decided to travel East, to the City of Cha'Dek and find passage to the island, making her way to the Imperial City.

[Goose]

Snoogyfoofie farted. A little bubble came up out of the water as the gas searched for oxygen to set it free. It was as if the water couldn't handle the stench of the fart and wanted it gone as soon as possible. He'd made it to the lake. He grabbed a stick and went fishing.


Fishing. Very quiet sport. Not much to say really. He sat there for a bit.


And a bit longer.


hummed a song.


Farted again .

Sat there.

..bored...



Thats pretty much it really. Nothing amazing about it.

[nameless]

" There it is Lake Cha, which means I'm headed in the right direction, little more to go but ill stay here the night suns setting soon." Nameless ran down the hill that he had been standing on down towards the lake. "This looks like a good spot" he thought as he set his bag down next to one of the trees nearish to the lake, and started getting out his bed roll when....

*Gurgle......*

"Food....." Nameless started frantically rummaging through his bag looking for food. "Crap I ate all my supplies already, I'm bad at this game......" Then a thought sprung to mind "Waaaaiit a minuet...,Lake equals fish, fish equals food. and food equals happy stomach yay." Nameless got a stick and made a misshapen fishing rod, and walked over to the lake. "Right now for some fish"

******************

Three hours later.

"CURSE YOU STUPID FISH!!!, BITE THE FREAKIN BATE." The fish seemed to be in the mood to torment travelers, they had been swimming all around his rod, but they wouldn't bite. "RIGHT!, you wanna play that way well eat this." Nameless pulled his revolver and aimed it at the biggest fish, BLAM!, he hit the fish floated to the top a gapping hole in its middle. "Finafreakinly, now to eat this retarded fish."

Fire started, fish frying, and stomach gurgling, Nameless sat waiting for his food. The moon rose, and the stars twinkled in the heavens staring down at a strange little man eating a fish.

[Tseb]

Shamus was approaching his destination. It was a cool night with a bright almost full moon, Shamus looked over the railing of his ship and began his careful decent to a small open field close to the shore of Lake Cha. It was one of the simplest drops Shamus had had in a long time, and he thanked the gods, or fate, or what ever cosmic power had given him an easy job.

After several hours of moving large boxes from the small cargo bay of his flyer to a tool shed on the edge of the field Shamus had finished making his delivery. He walked back out of the shed and the shadows seemed to part before his eyes as a cloaked figure stepped towards Shamus. The figure carried a gun discouraging any resistance or sudden movements from Shamus.

"The Jinta family thanks your for you assistance." The voice came out as barely a whisper.

"A pleasure as always, give my regards to father." Shamus returned using a pass phrase he had become very accustomed to in recent years.

The cloaked figure receded into to the shadows blending flawlessly, and Shamus knew he was alone. A small sigh escaped him, no matter how many times he worked for The Family they always appeared at just the right time to scare the hair of your back. He returned to the helm of his ship and found a small envelope awaiting him.

Kinaacha. Three weaks.

That would be his next job. The payment for this job would also be waiting there for him.

Shamus had spotted a small fire along the shore line before he had begun his descent and decided that he might as well try and find some sort of company if he had three weeks of free time.

Shamus brought his flyer in low and close to the fire.
"Mind some company?" Shamus called to the young boy seated by the fire.

Edited by Tseb, 31 July 2008 - 01:29 PM.

[nameless]

"Mind some company?"

Nameless jumped up at the sound, tripped over his bag and fell face first into the remains of his fish.
As he got up he said."AH sorry about that I kinda zoned out and didn't hear you coming, Sure i could do with some company, that is if you don't mind hanging out with a kid." He looked at Shamus, He was taller and looked a few years older than him self, But he didn't mind. He looked at the flyer with utmost interest."Amazing machine you got there umm may I take a look at it, I'm a bit of a tinkerer myself and i haven't been able to take a close look at a flyer yet, Do you mind?" He walked closer to the flyer.

"Oh pardon me i forgot to introduce myself, I'm Nameless nice to meet you" He smiled at Shamus and extended his hand.

[Tseb]

Shamus landed the flyer near the fire, and tied it down to some nearby trees, He then walked over to the dwindling camp fire.

"You can take a look at her but don't change anything." Shamus told the boy. "Nice to meet you I'm Shamus" He took the offered hand and shook it.

The lake looked like glass under the moon. As Shamus looked out over the lake, eating some of the supplies he had packed for his journey, he thought he caught some movement along the shore a few hundred yards to the east. He watched. Nothing moved. He decided it must have been an animal.

"What brings you to lake Cha" he asked Nameless. "Oh and don't mess with anything in the main cabin it's organized" He added, though organized was not realy the word most people would use. An image of mounds of wind charts held down by large cogs spread over a too-small-to-fit-it-all desk came to mind. Most people would call that unorganized but Shamus always could remember where he left whatever it was he needed, while also managing to make it almost impossible for others to fathom his method of organization.

Edited by Tseb, 31 July 2008 - 02:39 PM.

[JRPomazon]

The road Gate took was far longer than he had originally thought. It was full of ups and downs, making walking a hell of a lot more annoying than it should have been. He turned slightly to the right, a tree branch cut his cheek across. The blood began to bubble from his face, but he continued to walk forward. The cut wasn't just a scratch, it was bad, but the gray-haired vagabond didn't pay much attention to his wound. He didn't feel it. When he noticed blood dripping down his face, he simply bent down and covered the wound in dirt. After that, he was on his way. Eventually, the road bored him and he decided to take his own path through the woods that surrounded the dirt road.

The weather was getting rather chilly, Gate's breath becoming visible to the naked eye. He took out a scarf and draped it over his shoulders, the fabric stood tall enough to cover his mouth and most of his neck. He trekked throughout the woods, passing through a massive amount of brush and vegetation that he had to stomp down to travel past. It was a whole new kind of boring. As the night grew darker, he made good progress through the brush. He saw a clearing up ahead, perhaps a new road or something else.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Lotus offered a small prayer of thanks for the plants as he finished his small meal. However, he began to grow concerned when he heard the sounds of underbrush being broken, and the sounds were becoming louder. He did not want to the run the risk of being in unfriendly territory just yet, so he thought quickly. Lotus looked around and spotted a small tree that he could easily hide under.

Lotus sprawled out underneath the tree's low hanging branches, grateful for what little protection they could provide. His clothes were already of earthly colors, so he would blend easily. He pulled in his walking stick in such away that all of the bright feathers and beads on it were hidden beneath him.

Lotus maintained almost absolute stillness as he saw the source of all the noise come into his sights.

Unblinking, Lotus continued watching, wondering if maybe this new individual had seen or heard him yet.

Edited by Ken the Wandering Soul, 02 August 2008 - 10:28 PM.

[Steel Samurai]

Wil's head was nodding, even though it was only noon. The clip-clop of Dinga's hooves on the road, paved for the past few days, was almost hypnotic. He shook his head attempting to clear the haze. He was still not used to his hair flipping around like that though. The hot sun shone down on him. Wil was incredibly glad he wasn't wearing armor. That would've made things rather intolerable. It was already much hotter here than he was used to; Dvorec was always cooled by the sea breezes. He plucked a head of grain from the field beside him, studying it intently. Oats? So it seemed, but these were much plumper and fatter than those grown around Dvorec. He pulled one of the seeds from the head and chewed it experimentally. Definitely oats, but with a slightly different texture than those in Dvorec. He reached out and fed Dinga the rest of the head. They passed a stone Kinnaani mile marker on the side of the road. Most of them had been destroyed in the years of Chaos, but this one was still just legible. 5 miles to the Lake. Oh. That was nice. The information didn't really sink in until Dinga mounted the crest of a small hill, and there it was, the blue water gleaming like a sapphire in the sun. A small fishing village lay at the end of the road. Wil would need to take passage to Cha'Firen from there, as none of the ships in that particular village were large enough to venture out into the deeper waters of the lake.

Half an hour later, the pungent aroma of fish assaulted Wil's nose as Dinga trotted into town. The first thing to do would be to find a small boat to take him to Cha'Firen . . .

[JRPomazon]

Gate passed through the clearing and moments later found himself falling off a rather inconvenient cliff. Like a rag doll, his arms and legs were smashed into the stone surface of the precipice. During the experience, Gate felt no fear or anxiety. All falls have to end sometime. A few seconds later, his fall had ended. As fate would have it, he fell next to a band of Blood Dwarves who had made camp by the edge of the cliff. As the dust from the fall settled, the dwarves looked at the fallen man, then looked at each other.

"Lucky day." One of the horde said, still baffled by what had just transpired. He didn't need to know the details, all he knew was a fleshy present had fallen from the sky.

The small and bearded creature was the first to leave the hearth of the campfire and approached the lifeless corpse. As he approached, Gate slowly got to his feet. The dwarves stood in awe as the presumably dead person got to his feet. Gate noticed that his shoulder didn't feel right and raised his other arm to discover the cause for his abnormality. His shoulder was dislocated, possibly broken. He pressed on the wounds and applied pressure. His grit his teeth a little and after a short time, a loud pop echoed throughout the surrounding area. What was more surprising was that he did that all with a straight face. All of the dwarves looked on in shock.

"Nice trick you got their." The dwarve closest to gate said, his figure outlined by the glow of the fire at the camp.

"Now I can have a little evening fun. It's been far too long since I've gotten to kill a man."

The dwarve branded an axe, an impressive piece of equipment that was almost the same size at the 4 foot dwarf that wielded it. The others looked on as they watched their comrade approach Gate. They all looked excited to see some action, it was apparent these folk enjoyed killing other living beings for sport. Much like Gate, they appeared to be nomadic.

"6 dwarves, equiped with axes and possibly maces on level terrain." Gate said.

The Blood Dwarves looked confused as the man spoke.

"Hostility is present. Negotiation impossible. The logical option is to retaliate."

He raised his faded green eyes to the dwarf in front of him, his scarf shrouding everything on his face from his nose down. The ambient light from the fire made his gray hair shine with an amber glow and gave a light to his eyes. The dwarf before him didn't care about the appearances of the man in front of him, all that was running through his head was how he was going to kill him. Gate could feel the blood lust practically emanating off the creature.

"Your hide is mine!" The Blood Dwarf shouted, his polished axe falling on Gate like a hammer.

Gate sidestepped to the right of the incoming weapon, shook his arm to loosen a dagger which was covered in dry blood and slammed it into the back of the charging dwarf's neck. Blood dribbled out of the dwarve's mouth as he went limb and fell. The other Blood Dwarves slowly realized that in the brief amount of time that had gone by, their comrade was killed by what appeared to be a blur. Gate stood in front of the other dwarves, not continuing to attack but staring right at the horde with his cold and lifeless stare.

One of the dwarves reached for his mace, which was right next to the fire he was sitting at. Gate swung his arm, throwing two more uncleaned daggers from the sleeve of his ragged and torn shirt. The projectiles made new holes in the shirt as they were thrown into the arm and neck of the second dwarf. It was clear to Gate that the remaining four Blood Dwarves would make an attempt to kill him. The time for giving quarter was over, the others would die for the transgressions of the previous two. Gate moved fast, traveling like a passing breeze by the other dwarves. By shaking his arms a little, weapons stored inside the sleeves of his shirt were loosened from their kept places and dropped down. To the dwarves, it appeared as though he conjured the knives like magic.

Gate moved the dwarf closest to him, slit his throat with a swing of his arm. He followed this movement with throwing the same dagger into the chest of the dwarf farthest away. It was happening all too fast for the other Blood Dwarves to realize. Gate passed through between the two last dwarves and placed the daggers in each of his hands into the back of their unguarded skulls. Like a mathematic calculation, each strike was precisely executed in perfect form. When it comes to fighting to survive, there was never room for error.

Gate didn't bother to pick up his weapons, he had plenty more on hand. He stood for a moment among the fallen dwarves, his clothing splatter with streaks of blood. His face was solemn, lifeless and cold unlike the expressions of eternal agony on the Blood Dwarves faces. He took out some bandages and wrapped up his shoulder in order to make sure it healed properly, he would apply some herbs later to help with the healing. Although he could feel the pain just as well as any other creature, Gate never showed any emotion on his face. As he looked back on those he killed, he felt no remorse to killing them. In his mind, it was their fault they died.

"Fools. Blame your weakness for your deaths, not I." Gate said.

After applying the first set of bandages, he continued on the road he landed near. It would not be a long trek to the shores of Lake Cha.

[SL the Pyro]

As Shadow silently marched down the dirt path, he had time to think. He was wandering down this road in the hopes that he would find Xervan, although it was likely that he wouldn't considering the other scenarios that could be present. For all he knew Xervan could still be training to become a full-fledged Dragon Knight, or he could already be one. If he did not find him along this path, then he would learn about his whereabouts and occupation from the knights at Fortress Dvorec.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Shadow stopped, completely unmoving. From behind a tree on his path, a man in raggedy clothing emerged. His hair was long and black, he was sweating... a drunk. Although he didn't need to look at him to figure it out, he could smell it from here. "It's not safe to be out here all alone, you know..." said another voice. Another man came out from behind a tree on the other side of the dirt path, considerably healthier-looking than the first man but in the same kind of clothing. "You could get hurt."

Shadow's eyes shifted back and forth as more men came out from behind the trees. Looking around with a completely stoic face, he saw that there were no less than eight men. Hiding behind a tree in wait of ambush; the tactics of the average thief. He had been cut off by a band of thieves.

Such people had no use to Shadow. His voice was low, calm and commanding. "Get out of my way."

As Shadow attempted to simply walk past the men and continue down the path, however, the drunken thief lunghed at him with a pocketknife. Well, if he was so eager to die, he would oblige him. Shadow slipped to the side to avoid the knife and gave the drunk a hard knee to the stomach, making him throw up bile. It would be the last thing he tasted; with a flick of his wrist, a knife of his own flew down his sleeve and into his hand, the blade completely covered in dried blood. He brought the knife down at the back of the man's head, jamming it into where the skull connected to the spine. It had all happened in one quick, swift motion.

Without so much as a scream, the man fell to the ground, dead with blood pouring out of his neck wound. This was how Shadow made the majority of his kills; striking the back of the head where it connects to the neck granted the victim a quick, painless death. "STANLEY!" three of the men shouted in shock and horror. Shadow turned his eyes to the men, devoid of any and all emotion. They were a cold, lifeless black. One of the men was about to remove a sword from its scabbard and charge; he didn't even get the chance to grab the hilt, as Shadow brought a knife into his other hand and threw it into his forehead with amazing precision and speed. He fell to the ground in a heap, dying a slower death than the drunken man.

Most people who had been in this situation with Shadow would had given up and ran away now to save their lives. But these people were real fools; they each drew their weapons. Shadow let them do it, standing perfectly still with his arms at his sides. With a yell of rage the men charged at him from all sides. Still, Shadow waited...

...until the men were within striking distance of him. Quickly his hands reached under his cape and found his longswords, removing them from their sheathes. He spun around with his swords hung out, moving no more and no less than 360 degrees in a blur of scarlet. He was greeted with a shower of blood and screams of agony from the men, who fell to the ground pathetically.

What fools. Shadow sheathed his swords and retrieved his bloody knives from the first two corpses, not even caring that they were soaked in fresh blood, nor that his clothes were covered in the remaining six men's blood. Putting his knives back into their proper places in his sleeves, he continued to walk down the path.

After a few minutes, he found himself at the entrance to a town. A fishing village, judging from the literally fishy smell. Good, perhaps these people would be able to give him some information. And maybe he could get someone to clean the blood off of his clothes.

Edited by Shadow_Link, 01 August 2008 - 10:46 PM.

[JRPomazon]

Gate continued to walk the road he stumbled upon, heading towards the shores of Lake Cha. A change of scenery would be nice, perhaps something there that would be different. To Gate, there was no pleasure gained in travel. The only reason he bothered to travel from place to place was because he hoped that the next place he would visit would be different from the other areas he wondered through, some unique quality or trait that would shatter the monotony of life. The large road became a dirt path, meaning civilization was closer. On that small dirt road, Gate stumbled upon several dead bodies lying about the ground. Gate knelt down and discovered the blood to be fresh. It appeared that bands of thieves and murderers ran rampant during these times and all of these creatures were all fools. They didn't seem to understand what it meant to survive.

Gate got to his feet and continued on his way. No sense being around a bunch of corpses. Shortly after, he found his way into a fishing town by the lake. The pungent smell of fish was carried throughout the air and as he wandered into town, he realized there was nothing special in this place. Just another establishment of men filled with worthless people. As he looked on, although his face unchanging, a feeling of disgust grew inside him. There was no doubt he would be leaving this place soon, but forced himself to remain for a little longer. After all, it took him long enough to reach this place. As he walked throughout the town, the loud sound of a horse crying out resounded nearby and shortly after a horse and its rider passed Gate on the streets. Gate looked up briefly at the man riding the horse out of curiosity. There was something uneasy about that youth, something that emanated from his very being that made him so hard not to notice. He was heading towards the shore and docks, it couldn't hurt to see where he was going. Anywhere would be better than staying in this mundane town.

[Steel Samurai]

Wil reigned Dinga in at the pier and dismounted. Though not exactly bustling with activity, the dock was by no means deserted, the men of the village mending their nets on the rocks beyond the pier or sitting in little circles smoking pipes. Most of the fisherman glanced up at him, and then glanced back down. Foreigners were by no means unusual here, and though giants were rare, they were by no means worth stopping work for. One aged fisherman though, with piercing eyes that shone out from a crinkled, weatherbeaten face watched Wil intently as he sat on one of the piles and smoked his cob pipe, though Wil seemed unaware of the fact. The collection of ships anchored was really rather dismal. The only one that looked capable of anything further than a short fishing trip was a small, well-kept schooner at the far end of the pier. A couple of children burst out from one of the ramshackle huts bordering the dock, kicking and biting each other. Wil glanced in their direction, and stepped towards them.

Julin felt the sun suddenly disappear, its warming rays no longer hitting his head, and looked up. His brother Dulin apparently felt it too, as he ceased his attempts to cannibalize his sibling's hand and looked up as well. A giant man loomed over him, blocking out the sun. Julin and Dulin scrambled to their feet quickly and looked at their toes.

"Can we'm be helpin' you sir?" Julin said. As the oldest, by all of 9 minutes, that was his duty.

The giant squatted in front of them and put his hands on their shoulders. Julin hesitantly looked up. The giant was smiling at him. He had funny eyes, but his face was kind, and Julin, in the way children have, instantly trusted him.

"Well why don't you tell my why you two were fighting first?"

Dulin spoke up "It w's 'is f'lt sir. 'E sn'tch'd m' boat fr'm m'"

Wil had to listen closely to catch their accent.

"'T was m' boat! You t'k 't fr'm m' first! Da gave th' boat t' me!"

"No 'e din't! 'E gave th' boat t' me!"

They looked at Wil expectantly. He stroked his chin. It was rougher than normal, he hadn't had an opportunity to shave in awhile.

"Hmm. Can I see the boat?"

Julin sheepishly produced a small, intricately carved wooden boat from somewhere within his clothing. Wil took a moment to admire the craftsmanship, and then looked at the bottom. It said To Julin and Dulin, the finest two little sailors on Cha.

"Can either of you read?"

"No sir, we'm be b't 5 y't."

"Hmm." Wil stroked his chin again. "Your Da wanted you both to have it. Wouldn't it be best to do what he wanted you to do? Tell you what, why don't I cut it in half, and then you can each have one piece?"

"NO!" The two boys yelled in unison.

"No? It'll be a nice clean cut, I promise. That way you'll both have something." Wil had read that trick in an old book about ancient kings.

"NO!"

"What's so special about it anyway? It's just a little piece of wood."

"Da . . . Da gave 't t' 's. B'fore 'e l'ft." Julin said.

"Wh'n I h'ld 't, I f'l Da closer t' me." Dulin added.

Wil nodded slowly.

"Your Da wouldn't want you fighting over something he made to make you happy though. Besides, it's just a piece of wood. You love your Da, I'm sure. And you know what happens when you love someone? You don't need anything to make you feel closer to them, because they're already with you, in here." He tapped his chest. "If you try, you can feel him now."

Both boys closed their eyes for a moment, squinching them shut, and then opened them and looked at Wil.

"Your right! I c'n f'l 'im!" Julin said

"Now, why don't you put the boat on a shelf or somewhere where you can always see it, and then you can look at it and remember how much your Da loves you, and how much you love him, without feeling." The two boys nodded vigorously. Wil handed the boat back to them and ruffled their curly brown hair, and turned back to the pier walking towards the proper looking boat on the far end.

CRACK.

Wil looked down. A rather tough looking oak stick had just hit his shins with considerable force. The pain was . . . excruciating. Wil followed the stick back to an old, wrinkled hand holding it, and up the arm attached to the hand to the face of the old fisherman who had been watching him previously.

"Ow. That was rather painful."

The old man cackled and stood up. He seemed surprisingly spry for one his age.

"I b'n st'dyin' you s'nny." Wil was getting used to the accent. "Now, I figger y've come 'ere t' t'ke passage t' Cha'Firen, ey? An' I als' figger y' t'k one look at th' boats o'er y'nd'r an' figgered th't that'n thar," He made sharp jabbing motions with his walking stick towards the boat on the end of the pier "'S th' m'st lake worthy boat 'n the t'n. An' thar," He peered into Wil's eyes without starting. "Is whar y'd b' wrong. M' own sh'p, Th' Lucy Marie b' the b'st sh'p in th' 'arbor." He jabbed towards a small boat which barely looked worthy of a paddle in a small pond. Wil raised an eyebrow.

"Now, I know w't y're thinkin'. Sh' d'n't l'k l'k m'ch, b't sh's th' best'n 'ere. That thar Diren Sok," He spat the name out "B' owned by a lazy lout wh' cn't sail fer n'thn. 'Is boat's pr'tty, b't sh's g't m're 'oles b'low th' w't'rline than y' c'ld sh'k a st'k at. I w'z g'nna j'st l't y' f'nd out fer yers'lf, b't th'm boys b' m' grandchildren, and th'r m'm, m' d'ter, bl'ss 'er s'l, dun r'sed 'm mostly b' 'erself s'nce 'er 'usband w's l'st d'rin' a storm."

Wil looked intently at the old man, and made his decision. "Alright. I'll sail with you. When do we leave?"

The old man cackled again. "S'n 's th' tide t'rns . . ."

[SL the Pyro]

"I asked you a simple question. Can you not answer it at least?"

Shadow loomed over a fallen old man, who had backed up and tried to run away when he caught sight of the blood on his clothes. He had quickly identified the Scarlet Devil, since being covered in the blood of his victims was one of his trademarks. Unfortunately, when the old fool tried to run away, he ran straight into the wall of a house. It was a fortunate turn of events for Shadow, however, as three other people he had interrogated actually had a place to run and wasted no time using it. Now Shadow had cornered someone at that house wall, and merely wanted one question to be answered:

"Have you seen any big warriors with blonde hair?"

The man quivered and clattered his teeth, scared out of his mind. From his viewpoint, the sun made Shadow look like a black and red silhouette. "Y... y's... b'g g'y, d'wn at th' p'rt..."

Shadow narrowed his eyes, trying to discern his words. From what he could tell from the accent, he had seen a big man down at the port. "Much better," he told the man before turning around and walking in the direction of the port.

----------

The man he found at the port, however, could only possibly be Xervan if he had both nonstop gym excercises and plastic surgery. The old man was right, he was blonde and huge, but he had the face of a young adult. From what Shadow remembered, Xervan had a scar on his left cheek, and no evidence of that was present on the man's face. He was probably younger than Shadow.

No, there was no possible way this could be Xervan. Somehow Shadow knew he wouldn't be that lucky. Well, at least he found a place to wash his clothes... since most of the people in the village were going to run or cower in front of him anyway -- if the previous four people he'd met in the village were any indication -- he decided to wash the blood off of his clothes himself. Crouching down on the side of the dock, he removed the knives from his cape, then started washing the blood off of it and his hat in the seawater...

Edited by Shadow_Link, 02 August 2008 - 10:00 AM.

[JRPomazon]

Gate passed by the docks, noticing the large blond haired man that was riding his horse earlier. It was impossible to fathom why this particular man seemed so strange to him. Was it his size? No, it wasn't something as superficial as one's appearance. Then what was it about him that was so interesting? It could of been how he managed to cheer up those children with their wood toy. Ugh, such sentimentalism was only sickening. Sure the boys would get along because of his invention, but something else would create more conflict between them and most likely over something far more useless than a toy.

"People are all hypocrites. Sheep one second, then lions the next." He said to himself.

The people who had over heard Gate gave him a strange look. He lowered his head, not giving anyone he passed eye contact. Gate decided to dismiss his thoughts on the large man at the dock, it wouldn't serve any greater good to spy on him or indulge his curiosity. Then there was the case of the other individual washing his clothes in the water. They were covered in a dark red, most likely blood. Was he really stupid enough to try and clean off blood in the open like this? Thinking back, there was the incident outside the town with several slaughtered men lying about. He must have been the culprit.

Speaking of murder, he frisked himself to see how many knives he still had after the incident he had before. Ten in his front, Five in each of his sleeves and four in his pants. Seemed he was alright as far as supply was concerned and his ragged clothing seemed to be holding up just fine. Cha'Firen was his new destination, but getting there would prove to be difficult. Perhaps he could hitch a ride with the large blond man. Gate approached the dock and headed towards the old man.

"Excuse me, is it possible to catch a ride to Cha'Firen?"

[Shekey the Green]

"What? Is a kitty afraid of water?"

Snapping to reality with these words, Adrasteia found herself clutching to an object nailed to the ship's floor. She looked up and saw an elf looming over her with a rather charming smirk on his face. The captain of this ship was the only person she was able to understand. Most of the other sailors talked with such a strange accent that she just nodded and continued on.

Clenching her teeth, the only words she could muster were, "I just don't like it."

He nodded his head and knelt down.

"We're almost to the Cha'Firen. So don't worry, eh? Dwell on something peaceful. Like...being out of the water."

"Heh. Easy for you to say."

The man smiled and stood up.

"I'll let you know when we dock. I wish I could take you to Kinaacha, but you'll have to find your own way after this."

"You've been kind enough to take me this far. I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

A bell rang on the ship. "Come, let's have lunch."

And they ate fish.



========================================


It was midday when Adrasteia came up to the City of Cha'Dek. Her cold war-striken eyes gazed at the city with wonder and delight. This would be her first interaction with society in a long time.

People stared and glared at her as she made her way through the city. Very few people helped her with directions, for no one would associate with a Neko. As obvious their point was, Adrasteia moved on towards the docks. She didn't realize that docks were just wood over water. It seemed stable enough.

"My faith in these...'people'...has dwindled from nothing to less than nothing," Adrasteia muttered as she found the docks. Huge floating things sat on the water. You could get lost underneath the amount of cloth held up by giant wooden sticks. Her heart began to race. Her breathing stopped. Fear was taking over her body. She began to back away slowly when she bumped into someone and he stepped on her tail.

Hissing, she turned around, her hand aiming to cut the face of the person when he grabbed her arm and stopped her.

Several people turned towards the commotion and looked to see if the situation would spiral downward towards a fight or end the boring, peaceful way.

The man threw her down and said, "Watch where you're going."

Adrasteia landed painfully on the hilt of her claws. "You should watch where you're stepping," she retorted.

"Come again?"

"You heard me." Adrasteia stood up. Her hands ready to slide in the arms of her claws.

"And there you are!" Someone grunted. A dwarf was walking hurriedly over to her opponent, well, as hurriedly as dwarves could walk.

"Not now, Kilgore. I'm about to kill me some cat. How does Neko sound for dinner?"

"Mmm...kitty." Whatever Kilgore wanted with the man, he quickly forgot. Now, a roasted Adrasteia was on their minds for dinner. People of all races and sizes gathered around in a huge circle around the three.

"You two fools are too slow and slobbery to even think about eating me for dinner. Go on with your business, otherwise your business will be the least of your worries tonight, if you have any worries." Her hands slipped into her claws. She pushed the buttons in her claws and felt the wrist cover fold over her wrist, locking them into place.

The man drew his sword, and the dwarf had his axe out. They began running towards her, readying their weapons to cut into place. Adrasteia stood, unmoving, when law enforcement stepped into place and stopped their weapons from hitting her. She pushed the buttons again, releasing her arms from her blades and folded her arms.

"Back! Back!" The guards shouted. "You're under arrest. The both of you."

"What 'bout her? Gerrof me!" Kilgore screamed as the guards wrenched his weapon from his hand.

"She did not engage in any attack. Her hands were at her side." The man and the dwarf were taken away. One of the guards turned to her and said very sternly, "we're keeping an eye on you. Anything else happens around you and you will be sharing a cell with them."

The guards moved away. Adrasteia, feeling very lucky she didn't get arrested as well, turned towards the docks. She walked up to a rather short and chubby man standing in front of a giant floaty thing.

"Top o'the fter'noon to yeh, lassie."

"Uhm...yeah. I was wondering if I could get passage to the Imperial City of Kinaacha."

"This 'ere ship n't for passengers like ye'self."

"I'll take it from here," a melodic voice sounded out from behind her.

"Yes Cap'n." The chubby one nodded and walked away.

Adrasteia turned around. A rather handsome elf stood in front of her. His long, straight hair glistened slightly red in the sun. Odd, for an elf.

"Quite impressive," he started. "You didn't move a muscle as they ran towards you. Why not?"

"I could have easily taken them out had the guards not stepped in. I never attack unless I'm being attacked."

"Fair enough. My name is Merlond. Unfortunately, I can't take you to the Imperial City. I can take you as far as Cha'Firen. You'll have to find your own passage from Cha'Firen. For such a lovely Neko as yourself, I'll do it for no charge. The trip will be overnight."

Adrasteia smiled. "They call me Adrasteia. Thank you for the passage. You're too kind."

==================================================================

"Stand up, Neko. And look at the beautiful city of Cha'Firen!"

She stood up and looked over the ledge of the floaty thing. Everything in the past few days had happened so quickly, she wasn't sure if she was remembering everything correctly.

"Do you see it?" he asked.

"It's kind of hard to miss, Merlond."

The city looked exactly like Cha'Dek to her. As they docked, she thanked the elf again for the passage he gave her at no charge, including the two meals and the soft bed he gave her. He smiled his charming smile.

"I wish you well, Adrasteia."

"Same to you, Merlond."

They shook hands and she turned around. Looking at the docks. she wondered who she'd talk to for passage to the Imperial City.

[nameless]

Nameless awoke feeling refreshed and hungry again. He and Shamus had talked for a while and then slipped off to sleep."Hmm time to find some breakfast, I guess it will be fish again...". He grabbed his fishing rod and walked over to the lake again. "Kets hope the fish are bitting today.

Twelve fish later Nameless was feeling quite happy, He wondered why they were bitting better today."Ah well who can know the minds of fish." After he had fried them and eaten two he went to look at the flyer. "Wow this is amazing, such refined mechanics, I wish i had the resources to do this." He thought as he kept exploring.

After his explorations were finished he came out into the sun again. He looked around, father down the shore line he thought he saw another figure shorter than himself. "Was that a Dwarf?, I didn't think they came around here much, hmmm, Ill find out later. More things to be done."He started packing up to get ready to leave.

[Goose]

Snoogyfoofie saw people fishing in the distance. He'd caught a lot of fish, but this was HIS lake, not theirs. He walked up to the strangers and looked at them.

"Excuse me. This is MY lake, so those are MY fish that you caught. you can either pay me for them, or give them to me"

He put on his meanest face.

[SL the Pyro]

Well, the blood was off of his hat now. He was about halfway done the cape when he started to think about what his next move should be. For someone who usually calculates every scenario to the last detail, it was a bruise to his pride that he overlooked one simple fact; there could be enough blonde Dragon Knights to populate 3 full cities for all he knew. And the only other trait he knew about Xervan's appearance was the scar on his left cheek; save for that, his build could be very different now. For all Shadow knew, he could even be a full-fledged Dragon Knight by now; it had been over a decade since he's last seen him. Such a mistake... why is it that he could do everything expertly and to the letter on a mission, but make such a simple mistake on his own personal endeavor?

Putting that in the back of his mind, Shadow considered his options. He obviously needed more information about Xervan than that he was simply a Dragon Knight, and there were two places where he could find this information; from Dvorec Fortress, where the Dragon Knight training begins, and Kinaancha, where their training is completed and they are officially brought into the Order. Not only was Kinaancha closer in terms of distance and time, but he would find out much more reliable information from there; if they knew nothing, Xervan wouldn't be an official Dragon Knight yet, and if they did, they would know where to find him. His destination was set. Now he simply needed a mode of transportation.

"Excuse me, is it possible to catch a ride to Cha'Firen?"

That name hung in Shadow's mind; if he recalled correctly, Cha'Firen was en route to Kinaancha. And the giant... it was possible that he was a Dragon Knight; he certainly had the right build and compassion towards others for the job, if his act towards the children was any indication. Although he was slightly unnerved by the other person who had came onto the scene shortly after; he was calm and collected... and he had a murderous vibe from him. So much like himself. This interested him.

He finished washing the remaining blood off of his cape. Now he needed a place for his clothing to dry... but first, to business. The old man seemed to be offering passage to Cha'Firen; perhaps now that he wasn't covered in blood, these people would be more approachable. "You are offering passage to Cha'Firen? I do not mean to impose, but I require transportation, as well." he told the old man. He only wished he could use a voice that didn't sound murderous, but it was just how he spoke nowadays.

Edited by Shadow_Link, 05 August 2008 - 10:22 PM.

[Ken the Wandering Soul]

Lotus had spent a long time traveling down the path, and was soon in the vicinity of a rather big lake, one that was larger than any he had seen before. He could not even see the other side.

Lotus considered continuing on without making contact, but his eyes spotted something in air over the lake. A flying machine! From the looks of it, it was heading to the other side of the lake. In that moment, Lotus considered taking the safe path and going around, but it then occurred to him that sooner or later he would have to take the leap of faith. It was time to go in and see what his presence meant to these people.

As it turned out, Lotus's gamble was worth it. He got some odd looks for his loose, traditional Mogili clothes, but otherwise no violence or threats. The pulse of nature was less than in the forest, but Lotus had come to expect that from a settlement like this. After some going around, Lotus found out that the flying machine was a ship that belonged a company which did business from a city in the center of the lake. After a little more looking around, Lotus found the man to go for to travel to this city.

“Eksakyoos meh...” Lotus started, his speech warped by his own accent.

“W't? Y' need t' go t' Cha'Firen too? Y' might 's well, y'r lucky I got 's much room 's I do.”

After much talk and clarification of what the other just said, Lotus was ready to go.

Lotus looked to the others who were waiting for the venture to get underway as well. A fascinating group to be sure, though Lotus did not wish to form an immediate impression of these strangers.

[JRPomazon]

A man practically covered in black stood in front of the group. The boat's owner, who seemed to only want to give the large man alone a trip appeared quite smothered with all this attention. Two is a company, three is a crowd and four is something else entirely. He was rather rude to of intruded like this, now there was far too many people for Gate be around. All of them were headaches. He looked over at the newest addition to the group, his eyes spelling out disgust in one glance.

"You reek of blood, you repulsive grunt." He said the man in black.

He pulled up the collar of his shirt, which encompassed the lower half of his face, ending halfway up Gate's nose. It wasn't like a skin tight mask, but it good enough to blot out the smell. Such was the curse of a good sense of smell. And such was the curse of having to deal with other people. But what of the other man who arrived at that dock? He was completely different then the man in black. Everything about him practically screamed "inner peace". As long as this one kept out of Gate's way, the two of them might have a chance of getting along nicely. Might however, wasn't a guarantee. It seemed that this boat trip would be far more trying on him than he originally thought though. Once the damn thing was done, he would head off and leave this nuisances behind.

Edited by JRPomazon, 06 August 2008 - 01:05 AM.

[CID Farwin]

The monotony continued, and so did Sondin.

A few days ago, from the best he could tell, Sondin had passed from Kor'Gathok into Guardan. Talk with only people in small villages made the exact border somewhat ambiguous, but every village he passed now held loyal citizens of Guardan. The directions of the supposed Vampiri had turned more northwest with the lake, and Sondin was now a week--give or take a few days--away from Cha'Firen.

Sondin had long since determined that if he got to Cha'Firen, and there was no proof of Vampiri there, that he would try taking passage to the Isle of Cha. He had no intention to get all the way around the lake only to find that those who he sought were there on the Island. He supposed that it was possible for Vampiri to live undetected in Kinaancha, big as it was.

But Sondin had already made up his mind. He would at the very least stop for a bit at Cha'Firen before traveling to the Island; it would help break the monotony.