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[Selena]

ooc: Yar, I tweaked and started something. Most of my posts probably won't be so... wordy, in the future. Maybe.

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The atmosphere in Ikana Canyon was dark and depressing - more than normal, anyway. It had been a great domain of warriors, both the undead from ages long ago and the living exiles of the current age. Despite the Canyon's fearsome reputation, they'd returned from a conquest empty handed, and ultimately broken. Selena's plans to conquer the other two domains in the Alliance lands had failed, and perhaps her mind was having a hard time registering that. As she looked over her domain from a balcony of the ancient royal castle in Ikana, she could see her great halls and the Canyon's other structures that had been dealt massive blows by the Lost Woods soldiers when they'd sweeped through the area and pillaged the settlements under her control. They were cracked and broken, some ruined beyond repair by catapults and powder kegs.

But never the less, things could have been worse, and she tried her best to drive that point home to all those who remained under her protection. The castle was still there, and the Stone Tower, and most of their homes. Those things that had been destroyed could easily be rebuilt by stoneworkers and craftsmen, and she saw her workers scurrying about below, most people pitching in to help with the reconstruction efforts. She wouldn't let the Woods have the upper hand for long, that was for certain!

Life in Ikana was gradually returning to normal, perhaps in part because Selena had used her dark arts to return many of her fallen warriors from the hall of Valhalla itself. Friends had returned, and because of this, many Ikana dwellers had received a much needed boost in morale. Some whistled while they worked, while others still spoke in friendly tones to one another, smiling wide despite the destruction surrounding them. And that was how she knew things would be just fine in a few short weeks or less. Her soldiers were on guard, and her workers and civilians were too busy to be bogged down with too much crippling angst.

"Ma'am?" Came a hissing voice from behind her. Selena turned away from her view of the Canyon and back towards the inside of her chambers, seeing an undead aide of hers there, his skin gray and blue, tightly clinging to the bones underneath.

"Yes?"

He stiffed a bit, and saluted her. "Scouts have reported a convoy moving in from the west, with Alliance markings."

She raised her eyebrows in interest. Not only would that be fun and provide some much needed distraction, but it would also fetch them some supplies if the raid went well. Assuming they were carrying anything valuable, anyway. Khuffie didn't dare move anything too big through the desert. It was probably food and other necessary supplies for Plentrich. "Go on. How big, and how many escorts?"

"Five wagonloads, with Alliance soldiers guarding each one. Did not appear to be heavy infantry or elite troops, but there were at least thirty men in number," the aide weezed out, his rotted lungs straining to push air up through his neck.

Selena adjusted the robes on her body and smiled, almost like a teenager ready to go out and cause mischief. "Well, then, that sounds almost productive! Let's get a team together and head out!"

Yes, the Canyon nearly destroyed or not, she was quite sure that the citizens there would come together with the happy intention of looting something. Her soldiers needed to keep in shape, for that matter, if she hoped to one day start up another conquest to get her revenge. Selena walked into her chambers, and opened a small closet which stored her clothing, and most importantly of all, her armor. She ordered her aide out, and exchanged her dark robes for form fitting leather and steel armor. She then ducked her head back inside, and look around in vain.

"Now where in the hell did I put my scythe?" She said with a sigh, and began to dig through her belongings. Boots. Clothes. Several things she'd stolen from Chikara and had yet to return to her. But her weapon of choice was nowhere to be found. Maybe it was in the armory. But, first things first, anyway.

She left her room and headed down the castle's main stairs, and walked through the halls until she reached the outside, the heat from the sun pounding down above nearly enough to make her start sweating then and there! Damned sun and natural light. She was an ex-Labyrinth member, not an ex-Desert of Mystery sand rat. With a sigh, Selena walked down to the main part of the Canyon, and shouted to gain everyone attention.

"Hey! Listen!" She called mockingly, and several people turned around in fear by that phrase alone. "The Alliance had the balls to try and send another convoy to our 'buddies' in Lanasach. Anybody wanna have some fun and go on a looting field trip with your dear, sweet leader here?"

She then scrunched up her face in annoyance. "As soon as I find that damned weapon of mine, anyway."

[Hana-Nezumi]

Krystal poked his head out from the back of the wagon he had sneaked on. He looked in awe at the beatiful shades of orange and red in the Canyon. Of all the places he had been in his life, he had never been anywhere like this. Suddenly, the wagon hit a bump.

"Eeeek!" Krystal screamed on reflex, "Oops."

"Who was that?" "I dunno." "Did someone sneak on?" The Alliance soldiers started in a ruckus. Krystal knew that if he got caught there would be trouble, so he jumped out the back and tumbled onto the ground.

He hid behind a large rock until the rest of the convoy had passed. He got up and brused the dirt off his clothes.

"Wow, it sure is hot!" he exclaimed to himself, looking around. "I wonder if they have any ice cream here..."

[Goose]

"Did I here looting, your worthyness?" Goose said as he popped up behind her. He loved to surprise people like that, and he was quite good at it.

"You know I love to loot. They might have some scrolls with some fancy spells on there for me."

Goose was bored with sitting around all day, and even though he didn't need new spells, something to do was something to do. Better than staying around here and trying to entertain the troops, the only thing they found funny was "Rock hit Bard on head, that funny." Here he was, an ex royal bard, and now he was having to put up with that.

And the chance to get out into the sun was a chance not to be missed. He was a Sand rat, meaning that before he did die, he wandered round and round, and found himself in the dessert of mystery, where all you could eat was pancakes. So to be out and about again, well, it would feel nice, and chance to move his weary bones.

"I'm following your lead, your vileness." He said as he made a mock salute.

Edited by Goose, 11 April 2006 - 10:05 AM.

[ninja kitten]

Meanwhile elsewhere in the castle...

Waking with a start and quickly rolling off the bed, using it for cover, the suddenly alert Shiima held still, daggers in hand ready to strike. After a few moments, a cold sweat on her brow, she gently placed her daggers upon the bed and stood up slowly. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly she forced herself to relax. "My stay in Valhalla was not kind to my body" she mused to herself. "Had that been a real attack I would've perished."

Walking across the floor, she approached the full-length mirror standing in the corner of the stone chamber. The room's decorations were fairly simple, containing only a handful of possessions from Shiima's past. Not being the sentimental type she often discarded the trinkets and gifts without feeling.

Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, still unable to shake the feeling that she wasn't alone in the room, Shiima paused in her steps. Taking a deep breath and silently wishing she hadn't left herself unprotected she continued forced herself to continue towards the mirror. "I'm such a pansy. If only my master could see me now. He'd fall to the floor in tears." She continued her muttering as she finally approached the mirror, letting out a loud shriek as she finally caught a glance of herself in the reflection.

[Rhiannon]

Rhiannon was working outside with the others trying to rebuild the homes that had been damaged in the recent war. There were workers everywhere, some rebuilding houses like herself, some fixing up the castle, others looks after the tower and lastly, some digging up the awful trees those Woodies had left in their earth after their invasion.

The unbareable heat was no help in the matter either. She was so used to the deep damp chamber that coming out here in the sufering dry sun was not fun. The sun's rays shone down in such an unbearable way that the Boners lifeless flesh began to stink of rotten intestines. t didn't help that the sun's heat rays beating down on their lifeless flesh made her and her fellow Boners drip with melted lifeless flesh and a stench that was more than unbearable.

Rhia continued building, grumbling about the heat, the war and her so called "mentor."

"Why doesn't she ever come down here and help? All she ever does is sit up in that castle demanding things! The little..." Rhia's thoughts were suddenly interupted with the shrieks of the very person she had been complaning about in the first place, "Hey! Listen! The Alliance had the balls to try and send another convoy to our 'buddies' in Lanasach. Anybody wanna have some fun and go on a looting field trip with your dear, sweet leader here?"

"Eee! A raid! Ahhh I've been waiting for this break all day," she screamed. Rhia quickly grabbed a hold of her master's scythe and ran off towards the ever-growing group of exctied Boners.

Edited by Rhiannon, 15 April 2006 - 09:49 PM.

[Hana-Nezumi]

Maybe jumping on that wagon wasn't such a good idea... Krystal thought to himself, after walking for what seemed like forever and finding nothing but a few destroyed houses and ruins. Just then he saw a Boner run by enthusiastically shouting something about looting.

"Oh my... the living skeletons of Ikana Canyon. I had read about them, but I never thought I would see one in the... decomposing flesh."

He looked at where the Boner was running off to so fast, and saw the large crowd gathering. Being extremely curious about what was going on, but afraid of obviously being noticed as an outsider, Krystal decided to diguise himself. It would be a simple spell, he would just have to make his outer layer of flesh invisible. So he held on tightly to his invisibility charm, concentrated his power on the outside surface of his body, and in a small flash of light, transformed.

"Oh my GOD, ew!" Krystal reacted when he first saw his new form, "I look AWFUL... Well, I guess that means it does the job..."

He checked to make sure everything was in place with his new ensemble, then continued on to the crowd.

[Selena]

Selena glanced around at the 'crowd' forming around her... which really consisted of just a handful of people. She sighed. Where was the Ikana pride now, eh? Well, fine. It'd work. It'd just take longer. Goose, some random undead person, and Rh- there was her scythe! Selena stalked foward to Rhia, and pried the weapon from her apprentice's grasp.

"There it is!" She declared happily, and rested the weapon against her shoulder. Lena then reached up and messed up Rhia's hair like a parent would to a child. "Thank you, Rhia. I think I'll let you out of your cage tonight."

She then looked back to Goose. "As for you... well.... you work on your salute. But after. But come on. Just you two? I tolerate you and all, but we need a little more than that! Where's that ninja who thinks she a cat? She always wants to fight. Ah, hell."

Selena then glared at this newcomer, and although something inside her was telling her that this... felt strange, she supposed random help was better than no help. They were undead, after all. Definitely a Canyon dweller. She then smirked a bit.

Pointing at this undead newcomer, the dark ruler said, "You! Go find the one called Ninja Kitten. Or Shiima. Whatever she's calling herself at the moment. Klutzy smartass with double daggers. Escort her back here and then we'll set off!"

[ninja kitten]

After a few moments of recovering from the sudden shock of her dreadful appearance, Shiima decided that it was time to start taking care of herself once more. Discarding her clothes, she climbed into her warm bath, wincing as the water stung her cuts and bruises.

Braiding her still wet hair, she wandered off in the direction of the kitchen. "I wonder where that silly cook is. Been awhile since I've had any decent food," was all she could mutter, her mind completely on her stomach.

As she turned the corner just down the hall from her room, she let out another loud shriek, tripping over the rug. Blushing a deep scarlet and darting glances back and forth, she quickly jumped to her feet, praying desperately no one saw her embarrassing fall.

To her dismay, she saw someone appear at the next corner.

[Hana-Nezumi]

What have I gotten myself into this time?, Krystal wondered. He thought might as well play along, maybe he would manage to pillage enough money to buy an exotic outfit and some rare magic items from here. And it wouldn't hurt to get on the good side of the leader...Selena, did he hear her name was? He looked at the girl who had just gotten up. She definitely fit the "klutzy" description, judging by her fall.

"Uhh... Shima?" Krystal inquired. "Selena told me to come get you." She was quite torn up, but still cute, he thought. And then he was reminded of his own current appearance. Disgusting. But this was not a place for running around like a tourist in shorts and a tube top, as he now saw.

"We'd better get going, she kind of scares me... Oh! I haven't properly introduced myself! My name's Krystal, I'm new." Just then Krystal realized how he slipped up again. He probably shouldn't have told her his real name, but it was too late now. It's not like he was famous enough for his name to be known anywhere, anyways.

Edited by enchantedtoast, 20 April 2006 - 05:21 PM.

[ninja kitten]

"Lena wants me?" Shiima asked. Blushing furiously, her still empty stomach forgotten, all she wanted to do was return to her bed. However, once summoned by the leader, there was no return until the task was finished.

Sighing and straightening her skirt, she asked, "Well, Krystal was it, you don't happen to know what she wants?" Waiting for a response, she took this time to study the stranger, mentally noting his obvious discomfort and the lack of death in his aura that hovered around most members of the canyon. Other than the occasional raid Lena sent them on and in the recent war, it wasn't often she'd been around someone who was still living. "I suppose you wouldn't. You're obviously fairly new. Let me go grab my gear and we'll go meet her." Turning quickly and dashing back to her room she prayed nothing more embarrassing would happen.

After several minutes, she finally emerged from her room, dressed for battle. Daggers in hand and setting down her bag, she glanced around for the stranger. "Where'd he go? I had better service in Valhalla." After checking her still oozing wound and tightening the bandage around it, she muttered to herself, "Screw it. I guess I'll just have to report by myself." With that Shiima picked up the bag she was going to have Krystal carry and headed for the front gates, grim and prepared for whatever it was Selena would ask of her.

[Rhiannon]

Rhiannon walked in circles around the crowd, which only consisted of Goose. Grumbling to herself she would start jogging, then running, then walking again. Around and around the Goose she went until she became dizzy and fell down.

"Why does she always take so long?" complained Rhia. Kitty always needed that extra bit of time. Rhia couldn't even remember the last time she was on time.

"You know if we keep waiting much longer then whatever you're planning on going after will be gone. We could be re-building houses right now! I bet that new weird one never even got to the castle! He probably doesn't even know where it is!" She started doing situps. Rhia was restless, finally a raid arises and they can't even leave. If only she had Selena's scythe back, then she could practice.

She had been working very hard to please her teacher, but nothing was ever good enough. I'll show her, she thought. Ever so gracefully Rhia pictured Selena's scythe in her mind. Every scratch, every stain came up, ever so slowly she began to slip the scythe out of Selena's hand. Unfortunately, her teacher was no fool.

Edited by Rhiannon, 21 April 2006 - 10:34 PM.

[Goose]

Goose was bored. It was funny watching Rhiananon be stupid, it reminded him of when he was young and stupid, about 5 mins ago. Now that was over, he was making a new start. There was no longer going to be any practical jokes, no casting spells that put warts on peoples faces, no jumping around, no, he was over that. Rather, he was going to be serious. He had brains, and he was going to use them. He was going to give up all this foolsishnness, but that was after he cast a spell to remove Rhiananons clothes. I mean, give him a break, he had to have some fun. He just needed to figure out the best way to do it.

[Selena]

Selena was adjusting the straps to her armor, patiently waiting for her other soldiers to show up. But the tapping of her foot on the ground and her constant movement betrayed her inner worry that if they didn't hurry up they were going to miss the convoy all together! Wehn she requested people there, she meant that very minu--

She turned her head to the left, noticing Rhiannon's... peculiar behavior. The deep, longing stare. Then she noticed that that stare was not at her, but at her weapon. Although somewhat relieved that her apprentice was not 'hot for her bod,' she still couldn't tolerate such a thing.

"No!" Selena shouted, and whacked Rhia in the leg with the handle of her scythe, making sure not to actually injure her before a battle. "Bad Rhia! Bad!"

She was tempted to repeat the action with Goose, but there were more pressing matters to attend to. That being, of course, getting Shiima and that new guy ready to go. And then, finally, she saw the ninja cat walk through the gates of the castle. But now the new guy was gone! Selena slapped her own forehead, but tried her best to ignore it.

"Shiima, over here!" Selena said, raising her arm up to get her attention. With that, Selena turned towards a slightly cracked building, and increased the volume of her voice to the point where she was shouting, hoping to get Krystal's attention. "Newbie, come on already!"

Seeing her veteran soldiers there, at least, she opened the gate to a fenced in area, containing several horses. Several of them were already saddled up and ready to go, the attendants having heard Lena's orders when intially shouted. The leader of the Canyon climbed up onto a black steed, and waited for the others to follow.

"Enough waiting. If we don't move soon, we'll lose our target. We'll ride out of the northern passage of the Canyon and head to the northwest over the dunes as fast as possible. If we're lucky, we won't have to stop until we reach the convoy," Selena explained. "When we get there, you can fight on horseback or on your feet, whatever works best for you. Now... let's go!"

She kicked the side of her horse, and the animal cantered out of the stables and off towards the northern entrance of the Canyon, and she trusted that both her veteran soldiers and that newbie would follow as ordered, along with anyone else who decided to finally get their act together.

[Hana-Nezumi]

Relieved, Krystal finally emerged from the castle.

"I can't believe I got lost in there!" he said. "Now where did..."

And then he had just noticed that everyone else was already charging to the Canyon entrance. He stood there dumbfounded for a second, then realized he wouldn't be able to catch up just by running. He looked around for some kind of vehicle or bike, and something caught his eye: A beautiful white horse. "Perfect!", he exclaimed. He jumped on the horse not giving any thought to what kind of horse it was or who it belonged to, and took off.

[Goose]

Goose would've loved to say that he had control of his pony, but he didn't. His pony was the boss in this relationship, no matter how hard he tried to get the beast on side. If the pony wanted to walk while everybody else was running, it did so. If the pony wanted to gallop when all the others slowed down, it did so. Goose just went along for the ride.

Fortunately, today the pony was enamoured with the leaders horse, and as horses do when they try to impress eachother, it was showing how much disipline it had. So Goose was actually with the group. That was nice.

When Goose had first met his mount, he'd laughed at thing a bit, while everybody else had been given nice big war horses to ride, Goose had a pony with an attitude. He wanted to go over to his almighty leader and complain, but before he could get the chance, the darned thing kicked him in the head and he was knocked senseless. That was a lesson he only needed to learn once. Since then, he quite liked his pony.

All the other horses had names like Starchaser and windfox, but pony had a simple name, a name that described him perfectly; Tinkabell. When Goose first found this out, he laughed, and the thing kicked him in the head again.

So Tinkabell was keeping up with the leader, and that was fun. People were surprised that such an old and scraggy looking pony was able to keep up with such a beast, but Goose knew that bell, for short, could do whatever pleased him at the time.

"YEEEHAW!!" Goose shouted as his mount rode forth.

[ninja kitten]

Initially not much of a horse person, Shiima had grown quite close to hers, a beautiful chestnut named Star Shadow. With the recent excitement of the war and then her short stay in Valhalla, Shiima was very grateful at the opportunity to ride her mount once more.

When she was first introduced to Star Shadow, Shiima had fallen instantly in love with the quiet peace of the animal. Deathly afraid, and only with much encouragement from the stable hands, Shiima mounted for the first time. Squeezing her eyes shut she expected to find herself painfully on the ground in a few moments and she braced herself for an impact that never came. After a bit of blushing and timid giggles, the helper handed Shiima the reigns and using a lead rope, took her on a short ride across the beautiful sands of Ikana Canyon.

Coming back to the present, Shiima marveled at how calm Star Shadow still was. Not one to be spooked easily and yet a fierce animal to behold in the heat of battle, it was interesting to see the two sides of this beast. Reaching down and patting the horse's neck, Shiima began to focus on the task at hand, becoming once more Ninja Kitten.

[Selena]

The group of desert raiders galloped out of the Canyon and into the deserts beyond. It was midday, and had they been walking, they surely would've been beaten down by the intense heat. Luckily, the speeds they were travelling at kept them fairly cool for now. At least as cool as possible. The winds were up, as was common in midday. As they rode, Selena had moved to cover her face with the hood she had stealed away, shielding her face from the rapidly moving grains. How those Desert of Mystery folks got used it, she would perhaps never know.

It took the better part of two hours to catch up with the Alliance convoy, but when Selena spotted it, she quickly led her horse behind a fairly large sand dune, signaling for the others to follow her. She brought her horse to a quick stop, and once the others gathered around her, she turned her steed around so she could face them.

"Right, the wagons are just over the dune," Selena explained. "Five wagons, with six guards each. But they're just grunts from their regular infantry. We'll have no problem if we divide and conquer. If one group cuts them off at the front, we can stop the convoy. If the rest of us attack from the rear, we can stop the wagons from retreating."

She took a quick look at the Ikana raiders that had decided to go on this little raid with her, quickly determining, based on their abilities, who should fight with whom. Shiima was quick and aggressive. Rhia was a bit reckless at times, but fought with her head. Goose was... silly, but packed enough magic to take folks out at long range. The only wildcard was this newcomer, Krystal.

"Shiima, I want you to come with me. We'll cut them off initially and take out the guards at the front of the convoy. Rhiannon, I want you to take Goose and the rookie, and attack the guards at the back. Approach quickly, on horseback, and once there you can either fight on your steed or on the ground, whichever you're most comfortable with. Do you all understand?"

Selena didn't take the time to wait for an answer, anxious to get to the convoy before it got out of range. "Good! Shiima, follow!"

She took off at a gallop, trusting the other raider to follow suit as ordered. Now if Rhia, Captain of the Ikana Guard, could just get those other two knuckleheads to follow orders, the raid would be as easy as a drunken hobbit in the Red Room.

Selena held her scythe at the ready, keeping it up high so that she could strike as needed, killing any and all Alliance members who dared to oppose her.

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ooc: Kay, kitten's apparently AWOL for the summer. If she posts, great. If not, work your posts around her absence. For the moment, I'll see if I can't keep her in the game using some subtle references. I hope kitten won't mind when she gets back. Better than stranding her in the desert.

Also, you guys can feel free to attack without me making the first move. Kill. Maim. Destroy. Or run away, if you want. But don't do that, 'cause my character will kill you.

[Goose]

Goose was trying to remember the word to get horses to stop, but he coudn't think of it. He tried. "STOP DAMN IT. WE"RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!!" but that didn't seem to work. But it was all better, because now bell was in love with Rhinanons horse and was chasing after it with renewed vigure. Now Goose just had to find a way to dismount, because his magics would be kinda pointless on the pony.

He stood up, while his mount was galloping after the captains mount, and was able to stay kind of balanced, if by balanced you mean standing on one leg trying not to swear too loudly. As the pony went faster, Goose was just able to stay on the mount somehow, but he knew that he had to take a flying leap eventually, so once he'd gotten up enough courage, and they were close enough for his magic to take efffect on the alliance, he jumped in the air...

and landed on a cactus.

[Selena]

Selena and Shiima both cut off the convoy in the front, causing the soldier escorts to shout out in alarm and draw their weapons. The two Ikana warriors split ways, Selena breaking to the left. Her scythe at the ready, she lashed out at the first two Alliance soldiers in her path, the edge of her blade cutting through their bodies and armor with ease. When they dropped, she darted her head up to check to see if the Ikana forces in the back were doing their part, and...

....there was Goose, his arse impaled on a cactus. She sighed.

But her brief pause in the fight had come and gone, as the left side Alliance soldiers guarding the second wagon sprinted towards her, angry over the death of their brothers in arms. One fired an arrow from a pre-loaded crossbow, and Lena, with a bit of a gasp, ducked behind the wheel of the wagon she was next to. The arrow sank inside the wood with a loud 'clunk!' and then she charged out before he could reload.

She slammed the end of her scythe into the charging swordsman, knocking the wind out of him, and continued on, slamming the blade into the crossbowman, taking him out immediately. She turned back, then, and finished off his still stunned friend. Selena sighed happily. This was such a good way to relieve stress.

The Ikana leader looked to the right side of the wagons, seeing Shiima entangled in her own fights, and then checked on Rhiannon's group. After all, the rear guards were still there and concentrating on them! Lena put her hand to her mouth, and took a deep breath.

"Rhia, get it together!" Selena screamed to her disciple.

[Goose]

Goose was in pain, but he needed to get up and fight. This was not a good situation to be in, there were guards everywhere. Goose knew that if he didn't do something cool, he'd have to die again, and that was just a bore. He looked over at Rhia, but she was busy in combat. He looked at the newbie, but she was busy staring down an enemy, as if they werent worthy of her even getting out her blade.

So now that Goose was up, and there were five men storming at him, he did the only thing that he could think of. Using a spell that he'd learnt in his early days, so as to get his voice heard he shouted. "YOU SHALL NOT PAA" when stopped in mid sentance by an enemy ignoring him and running straight through, Goose decided on a different tactic.

"If you wanna play it that way, then lets play" he said as he charged up a fireball in his hands. "This is for the banishment!" he remarked as he threw the ball through the air and hitting his target on the back of the head, causing his hair to set on fire. The man writhed around in pain, but it was too late, after 30 seconds he was dead. Goose was stunned, that had never worked before.

But there were still more men heading towards his captain, and Goose knew that if they got there, she would be overwhelmed. So he used an attack that he knew he could pull off, as it was his signature move. He looked at the group of men rushing towards her, and shouted at the top of his lungs "And the flashlight, movement, lightning, thunder explosion!"

With that, the sky grew dark and clowdy as if there was a massive storm coming and in the middle of it was a storm, headed straight towards the men. On Gooses command of "Um.. Go!" Lightning struck from the sky, down onto the 5 men, launched them into the air and then back onto the ground, where they landed, dead as a doornail. Goose cheered, it worked.

Goose took a breath, that spell always took it out of him. He'd need some time to recover. But it was now up to Rhia to take care of the rest, and the newbie, if she even bothered to move.

[Steel Samurai]

Steel lay prone on the sand dune, watching the carnage below him. He had been assigned by DJ to watch Ikana Canyon while the regular spy was on vacation. Shiima's senses had not been completely decieved, there was indeed someone watching her. Steel had been clinging to the wall just outside her window using special claws developed by the Laz for such an occasion. He watched now as Shiima and Selena chased after the last of the convoy members. That fool Goose had used a telekinesis spell to build a sand couch for himself while he watched Rhia continue the rout. The newcomer was obviously not a boner, if Selena and Rhiannon had not been so busy with preparations for the attack they would have noticed the telltale distortions around his body which bespoke a lowlevel invisibility spell. Steel sighed and rolled over. He had best return to his hideout before someone saw him.

[Hana-Nezumi]

After surveying a couple of wagons and finding nothing but ammo, Krystal finally saw something worth his time. Poking out of the flap of material on the back of the wagon in front of him was a shining golden staff. That was something he was sure he could either use in battle or sell later, and he thought there was probably even more gold inside. Still on the horse, Krystal looked and saw three soldiers guarding the wagon. He pulled out a frying pan that he had grabbed while he was at the castle and starting spinning it in his hands violently. He chanted something in latin until the frying pan started to glow with magic. He jumped off the horse and striked at the soldiers. One by one, he knocked them off to the side with the frying pan in a blast of light, so that he could continue on. He climbed into the wagon as fast as he could so not too many people would notice the scene he was causing. Once inside, what Krystal saw was better than he had expected. Almost the whole wagon was filled with gold and silver treasures. He hurried and grabbed as much as he could to put in his magical storage space.

Suddenly he heard someone shouting, "He's in here!" and Krystal had a strong feeling of deja vu back to when they nearly caught him in the back of a wagon when he first arrived in the canyon. But this time he would not run. Two soldiers came into the wagon which was now nearly empty. They were obviously shocked at how everthing was missing and he was the only one there, but they drew their swords nonetheless.

"Oh, sorry, I don't have a sword right now..." Krystal remarked, "Would you mind if I used a hammer?"

He pulled out his signature Piko Piko Hammer and held it straight out from his body. He spun the hammer around him quickly and soon a pink tornado formed around him which expanded and tore apart the wagon. The pieces of the wagon were send flying outwards from the center in all directions along with Krystal and the two soldiers. Fortunately, Krystal landed on a soft sand dune. But he had a problem. In the explosion, his invisibilty charm had fallen out of his pocket. The spell would ware off soon if he didn't find the charm FAST.

[Selena]

Selena was running closer to the rear of the convoy while Shiima was left behind to watch the front, in the hopes of helping out the forces in the rear. As she neared the battle, she skidded to a halt and put her hands up over her head as the rear wagon exploded entirely. A plank or two of wood sailed passed her head, and she whistled in relief after seeing just how close she came to receiving the worse sliver of her life.

The two soldiers landed to her left, unconscious, while Krystal seemed to have landed in the opposite direction. Well. Hopefully there hadn't been anything important in there, or there would be hell to pay. Lena looked to he others, Goose having taking out the other group of Alliance soldiers, and Rhiannon next to him... curiously quiet for a usually outspoken warrior.

Guards gone, Selena rested her scythe back up against her shoulder and trudged forward to the convoy. Although on her fourth step, her boot hit something that felt far harder than sand. She lifted her leg up and looked back down, seeing a small charm in the sand. Selena bent down and retrieved it, holding up against the sky to examine it. She twirled it in the light, reflections bouncing off it.

"What a peculiar looking trinket," Selena said to herself. She contemplated tossing it back where she'd found it, but who knows. Perhaps it would fetch a decent price, or at least make for an addition to the treasury. She pocketed Krystal's charm without a second thought, and then continued towards the first wagon in the convoy. At least the horses hadn't made a run for it in the chaos.

She climbed into the back and crouched down, going through various boxes. Pulling off the cover to the first box, she noted that it was filled with weapons of various types. Long weapons. Spears and halbreds, with a nodachi or two in addition to that. The second box held swords. The third, packages of arrows. She raised an eyebrow. Usually the Alliance just sent food and medical supplies out here. Weapons? This was somewhat suspicious.

She rummaged around further, finding a small lockbox in the corner. She grabbed the lockbox and attempted to pry it open using the edge of her scythe. But alas, it wouldn't budge. She'd have to just take it back to the Canyon and hope she could find a lockpick good enough to get it open. Maybe the Order had some spell that could break open locks. In either case, they could sit around here for too long. Who knows when another patrol would come by.

Selena, box in hand, headed back towards the others. She tilted her head back to the first wagon. "Weapons in there, if you're in need. Pole arms and swords, mainly. Arrows if you're in need of them. Looks like they're building up for some military operation, perhaps? Then there's this box, but I can't get it open. We'll deal with it at home."

She passed the second wagon, but didn't see it move slightly, as if someone was moving inside...

"Anyway, let's check the other wagons and see if they don't have any other goodies we can take back immediately. Gold, food, supplies, that stuff. Although I have to say, I'm a bit sur--," Selena began to say, but stopped when she heard a loud crack followed by two large, clanking thumps behind her.

Raising an eyebrow, she turned, and then stared on in wonder. There, stepping out of the second wagon, was a large man. Seven feet tall. All muscle. He was covered head to toe in armor, a helmet covering his head. Lord, he must've been hot in all that tin. But instead of the usual axe, in his hands a large, spiked mace. Was that... an Iron Knuckle? She dropped the lockbox onto the sand, kicking it out of the way, and readied her scythe again.

"Everyone get over here, now!" Selena yelled. "Goose, support with attack magic and heal when needed. Rhiannon and Shiima, flank him! Rookie! You just stay out of the way unless you think you can manage!"

Well. An Iron Knuckle might actually be entertaining for a change. Better than the usual grunts Khuffie sent out here! The Iron Knuckle gripped his weapon and swung it about his head, building up the mace's momentum. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying straight towards the group...




---

ooc: Wee, boss fight?

[Goose]

Goose jumped. That thing was huge. So he began preparing a spell that might have a little effect on the dude. He was metal, so the lightning was out, he was metal, so fire would have little effect. He was metal, so, maybe, just maybe, he would rust.

"BATH TIME!" Goose shouted at the beast. The only problem was, where was he going to get water, from the dessert. There was water around, and he realised where it was. He pointed at the cactus, and like magic, A fountain of water burst out of it, and up into the air. So the water was up into the air, all he had to do was direct it at the beast, and as that was pretty simple, the beast was soon soaked in water.

[Steel Samurai]

Steel heard the commotion behind him and turned around to see what was happening. Goose's water spell seemed to be working. Steel laughed under his breath. It was time for him to return to the Forsaken Fortress and report to Dark Juno. It seemed as though there was nothing brewing in Ikana Canyon, for the moment. crept back to his cave. He pulled a scroll out of his pack, and slit his forefinger with one of his razor sharp daggers. Once enough blood had pooled on the tip of his finger, he wrote a strange symbol on the scroll. He spread the scroll on the ground and drew a circle around it in the sand of the cave floor. A mystical looking portal appeared. Steel jumped into the portal . . .

Edited by Steel Samurai, 21 May 2006 - 07:18 AM.

[ninja kitten]

Hearing the cry of her captain, Shiima responded instantly, dropping off her mount and sprinting around the wagon. As she rounded the corner of the first wagon she skidded to a dead stop, kicking up a small cloud of dust. "Daaangit," was all her mind could muster as she caught a glance of the large enemy. Glancing down at the daggers in her hands, she knew they would be useless against such a large foe. Placing them back in her belt for easy access, she grabbed the back of the wagon she was near, launching into it and glancing around for a weapon she could use. "Yeish!" All the weapons were far too large for such a small girl to use, but they'd have to do anyways. Grabbing one she dragged it to the back of the wagon thinking crazy thoughts about trying to throw it at the giant's head.

[Rhiannon]

Rhia looked around hesitantly. She wasn't sure what to do. Before her mind was set, no interruptions, she just kept going at the same rhythm but this, this was something she had never delt with before.

What would Lena do? she thought. So many things came to mind at once she didn't know what to choose. Lots of them Lena hadn't taught her yet. If only she had kept that scythe hidden better.

Goose was doing a marvellous job of slowly the giant thing down. Since when did the Alliance send such things out? Rhia went to find some sort of sharp object in the wagons yet found nothing... but a blowtorch. Raising an eyebrow Rhia cocked her head and smiled... this should do fine.

[Selena]

What would Lena do? Lena would get the hell out of the way of the angry Iron Knuckle, that's what Lena would do. While Goose distracted the armored warrior with a water blast, Lena leapt back and out of harm's way. And, in hopes of giving the other two women time enough to arm themselves better, Selena then moved in quickly and slashed out with her scythe, aiming at a weak point at the Knuckle's knee where there was a gap in the armor.

Her blade sank in, and the Iron Knuckle howled. But, naturally, he was pretty pissed off by that little move. He clutched his mace tightly, swung it over his head, and Selena took that time to jump back. The spiked mace slammed into the ground, sand particles flying up on either side. He lurched forward after the Ikana ruler, and she held her weapon up, quickly going through a list of things she could possibly do.

Selena had mastered the dark arts during her tenure with both the Labyrinth and the Canyon, as was fitting for the evil ruler, but was still primarily a physical fighter. That was her forte. But, looking at the behemoth running towards her, she realized that a little black magic might go a long ways. But before she could summon one up, the Knuckle attacked again. Selena ducked under the mace as it swung horizontally towards her head, narrowly missing it. Once it had gotten out of the way, she held her hand up, and...

...a dark wave rippled away from Selena and with amazing force, it slammed into the Iron Knuckle. The Knuckle knelt down to absorb the blow, but was tossed back onto his side. Lena let out a long breath, the spell winding her a bit. Now the consul of Ikana just hoped that the other members of her team would attack it quickly, before it could get up again!

[ninja kitten]

Losing her balance, in typical Shiima style, she toppled out of the wagon. Watching the heavy sword bounce away, she let out an angry growl. In an angry burst she gathered all her magic and gritted her teeth against the pain, flinging a fireball at the newly fallen foe. The fire having hit a weak point in the armor, quickly dealt a small amount of damage.

Rising to one knee, wincing through the pain of reopened wounds, she quickly went into her signature move. Drawing the daggers from her belt, the sword forgotten, she began a chant that caused them to glow, steadily becoming what appeared to be two balls of fire. Rage having consumed all her attention, she savagely leapt onto the Iron Knuckle, completely oblivious to anything else. The daggers left huge melted trails marking their eccentric path across the foe’s armor and singed his flesh weakening him further. Unfortunately Shiima could feel her power quickly leaving her, the rage having drained her of all her energy. Sliding off she struggled back toward the wagon seeking refuge.

[Goose]

Goose was getting a little irritated. Their spells were better than his. He couldn't let this be. He looked deep inside himself, searching for seomthign that could be of use. He remembered being a young squire, being taught his first spell, how to move a feather, he remembered that time where he accidentally created a demon from another dimension, which went around killing things on command. He remmebered... wait, that demon, he remembered that spell. Now he was stronger, the beast would be stronger.

He foucused his mind and said one of the most evil things that ever existed in some distant world. "This is the song that doesn't end, yes it goes on and on my friends..." With that, a little demon popped up out of thin air. It was a small sheep, the size of a puppet. It looked quite innocent and cute, but it was anything but. "Go my creature go, and destroy that beast!"

And so it went, and began to send that poor little creature, who a second a go was trying to kill them, into an eternal hell.