[RP]Obake Blade

[JasraLantill]

"Yeah," Aya agreed, although thanks to Toa's spice she was feeling wide awake now. "G'Knight, Tellis."

 

Aya laid there for a moment, thinking about the events of the past few days--the bone dragon, the journey out of Ryuu-Tokai, Wolf and his toll collectors-come-soldiers, having arrows raining down upon her from the cliff tops. If it hadn't been for the frying pan she had grabbed from....

 

"Bob!" Aya sat bolt upright. "I was so tired I totally forgot about Bob!" She whipped off her bedcovers and got up. "I'll be right back, Tel. I've got to make sure Bob's okay for the night."

 

Aya left her tent and headed for where she had staked out Bob in a small patch of grass by the start of the canyon. It was well away from the tents and the fire, but Bob needed to graze. Besides, if anyone was planning on sneaking up on them from the canyon trail, Bob would alert them rather quickly.

 

Approaching the pony, Bob greeted her with a soft whicker and she stroked his neck in return. "Sorry, boy. I totally forgot about checking on you." She ran her hands over his legs one at at time, checking for any strains or possible problems with his hooves. "Wish I could take this pack off you for the night, but we're leaving so early... I don't want to chance it. And it's not that heavy, especially with Tellis' medical kit in the tent now."

 

She looked up at the stars. She could see the outline of Dovetail Peak silhouetted in the pale moonlight. She sighed, then placed her hand over the bulge in Bob's pack that was her father's urn. "Looks like we've run into another delay, father," she said apologetically to it. "Hope you understand."

 

Still not feeling sleepy, she removed a brush from the pack and began to brush down the parts of Bob not covered by the pack.

[Rexraptor2000]

As everyone made themselves comfy, Toa subtly began to raise the air temperature in the general area to a more comfortable degree, in response to Tellis's warning about the cold night. After that, he settled back into his arrangement and began to star gaze.

 

Toa had never seen stars before he had left the West. He had never even seen a clear sky before, just smoke and clouds. He had heard stories and such about skies that were filled with bright dots called stars, but he had never believed it until now. Of course, it was also the first time he saw the sun and moon, but that wasn't what he was focused on now. Just the endless expanse of stars.

 

Hedri was still guarding over Aya. This annoyed Toa somewhat, but not too much. Aya did save his life twice, so it was the least Hedri could do at the moment.

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo pulled a blanket off from his bed roll, pulling it about his shoulders as he sat with his legs crossed, looking out across the night. The land was mostly flat, giving him extensive views of the surroundings. However, everything was quiet. Only insects stirred.

 

The peacefullness of the night was too much for Kyo. Combined with the fatigue from the fight earlier that day, the humming of insects lulled him to sleep.

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

Kyo woke with a jolt, having not realized he had fallen asleep. Well, a moment after waking, he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. THere was a lot of light for it to be night...

 

Perhaps he had slept longer than he had originally thought. The sun was up, and the sky was clear. A perfect morning, for sure.

 

Stretching a bit, the swordsman packed his blanket away, grabbing up his back and heading back towards the main of camp. Everything was just as it should be. The men were scattered about on the ground, sleeping peacefully, the women and Katsuro doing the same in their tents. In about half an hour or so, they would all be up, and they would again move on.

[Rogue Nine]

"My question still stands."

 

"You want an answer?" Aya asked, rising from her chair and moving towards him. "Fine." And with that, she took his face in her hands and kissed him hard on the lips. "There," she said, with some finality, although she didn't move away. "Satisfied?"

 

"Maybe..."

 

****

 

"Maybe what?" Tellis asked as she shook Carwyn's shoulder a bit harder. "Carwyn, wake up."

 

Carwyn squinted up at the healer, the morning light making it hard for him to fully open his eyes. "All right Tel, I'm up," he groaned, wriggling himself into a sitting position. He'd flopped onto the ground overnight, owing to his body's nighttime restlessness. "It's mornin' already?"

 

"Yes it's morning," Tellis replied. "And we have a problem."

 

The ranger opened his left eye wider to better peer at her. "Oh? What's that?"

 

Tellis folded her arms across her chest. "Aya's gone."

 

These were the magic words. "What?!" Carwyn said, nearly shouting as he stood up quickly. "What do you mean she's gone?" he asked the healer, gripping the sides of her arms.

 

Tellis' delicate features were worried. "I mean she slipped out in the middle of the night and left."

 

Carwyn couldn't believe what he was hearing as he released Tellis from his grip. "Are you sure? She's not just away somewhere washing or something?"

 

"I'm sure," Tellis replied, nodding solemnly. "When I woke up, she was not next to me. I got up to look for her, then noticed Bob tied to a stump." She shook her head. "The urn with her father's ashes is missing from his pack."

 

Carwyn's eyes widened as she realized what her words meant. "Oh no," he mouthed softly, his eyes darting over to where Bob was standing, nickering petulantly. He turned back to face Tellis. "Does Kyo know about this?" he asked.

 

She shook her head again. "You were the first person I saw."

 

"Go tell him, then gather the others," he told her, then started towards the pony.

 

"I will," she agreed, making her way to where the swordsman was approaching.

 

****

 

Carwyn skidded to a halt next to Bob. The pony cast a baleful stare at the ranger with his big brown eyes. Carwyn reached out and patted Bob's shaggy mane. "Hey buddy," he said soothingly as he untied Bob's lead from the stump. "You know where Aya ran off to?"

 

Bob whickered, then neighed loudly as Toa's tiny hydra Hedri sprinted into view. It hissed slightly, then sat down on the ground. The horse stamped his hooves agitatedly, then tossed his head in the direction of the entrance to Rock Snake Canyon.

 

Carwyn sighed exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair. "I was afraid you'd say that."

 

 

(( NB: Guys, for plot purposes, nobody, I repeat nobody saw Aya leave the camp at night. There is a reason for this and FFWM, Jasra and I would appreciate it very much if you would play along in order to better advance the plot. Thanks. ))

[Jason Skywalker]

Akira wasn't in his tent. While he should put pression in his left arm, he went for a walk just nearby, armed with his sword. He carefully unsheated it and then looked at it. It was as beautiful as he would ever get. The edge, the handle, everything perfectly molded. Yet, it was a good consequence of a terrible happening.

 

"I hate myself and i want to die," He mumbled, "There is nothing else for me."

 

A tear rolled out of Akira's right eyes as the transparent drop ran down through his cheek, yet his face still seeming determined. He started thinking about his parents, but he just couldn't remember their faces. Akira brought his locket up and looked at some thing. He had noticed there was something that would open it or so. But he didn't know. He took his sword at there and pressured it's point at it as it opened, two pictures inside it. One of a man with Akira's long black hair and hazel eyes. His father. But then he looked at the other picture. It was a woman with mousy brown braided hair. Her eyes, an innocent blue with some sort of dusty and poor bandanna over her head.

 

"After all these years, you still remain beautiful mother," He said, but then he noticed something.

 

"Maybe there still is something to live for."

[Master_Archon]

Xan had remained awake the entire night, his eyesight fading as he lay staring at the stars, almost to the degree that he might have been sleeping with his eyes open, only he was aware, concious. As his eyesight deminished, his other senses flourished, he could hear things, feel things through the earth, and smell and even taste the night, knowing the movements of the group, even as they went to sleep, and tossed in the night.

 

But during the late hours he had gotten up, moving quietly away from his spot, he had taken a walk, heading nowhere in particular. He found the swordsman, asleep, then moved on, walking east a ways, finding a secluded spot, he sat and spent the rest of the night meditating on his thoughts.

 

He found himself staring into the darkness of night his mind ceasing to work, he seemed to blank out, so-much-so, that when he snapped out of this state, he was surprised to find his open eyes staring at a chipmunk sitting on his folded hands, chewing on something, but that was not what truely surprised him, it was the fact that it was out in the night, except, it wasn't night, it was day.

 

Xan got up, the chipmunk fleeing in terror as the presumed rock suddenly got up and began to move. He returned to camp, finding most people still asleep, he wandered about, until he came upon a the frantic ranger talking to the merchant's pony.

 

He approached, wondering what the dilema was. "Something wrong there fella?" He asked the ranger suspiciously.

******

The lizard was mildly annoyed at the lack of a welcome, or surprise, or even wonderment from the kid, he would think he would say something more....cheerful, at the least.

 

But the lizard just stared at him after awhile, quietly spending the night with the poor mind-reader, as he forced himself to stay awake, the lizard's purpose only that of company during the lonely night.

 

As daylight broke, the lizard turned to the boy, chirping, it scampered over to the horn, cralling onto it, it gave him a serious, and distinc glare, as if to say, 'Next time, use it.'

 

With this it seemed to smile once more, chirping cheerily at him it skimmed out of the tent with due speed, and dissapeared in some tall grass, a raven flying off moments later, soaring upwards until it was only a dot in the sky.

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn turned to look at the stocky warrior approaching him. "Aya's missing," he said. "She up and left in the middle of the night." He tugged at one of Bob's straps, tightening it. "We need to go after her. She's in the canyon."

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo - who had been totally at ease only moments ago - now had his brow furrowed, his mind working in overdrive. Tellis had just told them of their plight.

 

Aya was missing.

 

"And I'll give you one guess where she went." he muttered, his green eyes calculating as he gazed at Rock Snake Canyon. Looked like they would be trying the trecherous passes, regardless of what he wished.

 

"Get everyone up." he told Tellis, "The sooner we're packed and move, the better chance we have of catching up to her before she falls into some sort of trouble."

 

As the healer took off, he looked up at the canyon, his fists clentched. She was so stupid! Rock Snake Canyon was called such for a reason - and with all of the strange things that had been happening around her lately, he had no doubt that the canyon would live up to its name. Not to mention the dangerous routes and fake trails. She could get easily lost - or worse.

 

"And to think I drove her to do this..." he muttered. And with that, he turned on his heel and became a cyclone of motion as he hurried to help pack the camp.

[JasraLantill]

“How... could I... have thought… I could have… done this… in a … couple … of hours?” Aya’s forearms shook as she struggled to pull herself up the cliff face to the next landing. It had been difficult to navigate the narrow, rocky trail in the dark—a feat she somehow managed to do without that much difficulty since she knew the way—but deciding to save time by climbing up the rocky cliff face to Dovetail Peak instead of taking the easier but more time consuming trail that wound its way up the other side was not one of her brighter ideas.

 

Now she was about three-quarters of the way up the face, too far up to go back down, yet still quite a bit away from the top. And having the metal urn with her father’s ashes strapped to her back wasn’t helping the situation. It seemed to be getting heavier and heavier by the moment. Still, she was stubbornly determined to reach her goal.

 

As she pulled herself up to the next landing, she looked up to the sky. The sun had already risen, casting long narrow shadows on the canyon floor beneath her. “I sure hope Bob didn’t eat my note,” she said outloud, as she looked upwards to plan her next move. “That rice paper might have been too much of a temptation for him.”

 

After a moment of thinking and rest, she started upwards again. The rocks were getting smoother, for some reason, and she started to worry that she had chosen the wrong route up. But a quick glance at how far down the bottom of the canyon was convinced her that up was definitely the way to go.

 

At the next landing however, she discovered a horrible truth. She had taken the wrong way. And so had someone else… a very long time ago.

 

Her scream echoed in the canyon as she came face to face with the skeletonized remains of one who had tried this path before her. And never made it to the top.

[ForceFightWMe12]

The sound came reverberating across the stone walls, making Kyo's heart plummet. He recognized the voice.

 

"Oh no." he muttered. Looking to the others, he started off at a run. "C'mon! She can't be too far ahead if we heard her that clearly!"

 

Skirting patches of loose stones and jumping across uneven plots of land, the swordsman sprinted down the valley until he caught sight of a black dot on the side of the canyon wall. As he drew closer, it took the form of a woman - or a person, at least.

 

"Aya!!" he shouted.

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn heard Kyo's shout reverberate off the canyon walls as the group made their way though the rocky path. It had taken just a few minutes for everyone to get packed at the camp and they had all jogged into the canyon, determined to catch up with their runaway merchant.

 

The ranger grabbed Kyo's arm and pulled up alongside him as they ran towards the sheer cliff face. "Keep those pipes in check, Kyo," Carwyn warned him. "Wouldn't want to cause a rock slide now." He peered ahead at the huge rock structure rising out of the ground. Aya was pretty far up, given that she had had all night to climb. At that height, a rock slide would definitely be fatal.

[Grace]

"I could get up there," Takara said thoughtfully. "But in the return trip, there'd be a definite rockslide... I could only guarantee the safety of Aya and myself."

[JasraLantill]

After her fright, Aya quickly got herself together. “It’s only a skeleton,” she said aloud to herself. “Just bones of someone long past.”

 

She hauled herself up to sit on the ledge, and it was then that she noticed something odd about the skeleton. Tentatively, she reached out and ran her finger across the bones. They didn’t feel like bones. They felt like rock. “Wow. You really are old,” she said to her bony companion.

 

Then she noticed something else that was odd. A ring on the skeleton’s finger. It was thick--a man’s ring, embedded in the rock that used to be finger bones, but the design on it was quite clear. She lifted her father’s coin from around her neck and compared it to the ring. “Oh… my… gods,” she said under her breath. The symbols were the same.

 

“Aya!”

 

“Kyo.” From her tenuous perch, Aya scanned the canyon floor, then squinted. She could just about see Kyo’s tiny figure scrambling through the twists and turns of the narrow trail she had taken earlier. “He looks like an ant from up here,” she murmured. She looked around. The rocks were loose in some places and she was slightly concerned that they might tumble down on top of the group below. Nevertheless, she had to respond. “Kyo!” she shouted down to him. “I’m up here!” She waved, but then frowned as it seemed that the rock she was sitting on had moved slightly. She waited a few seconds, and as the rock seemed to remain steady, she shouted again. “I need a rope! I’m sort of …!” The rock shifted again, and this time tiny pebbles trickled down the cliff face. Again she paused, and waited. When nothing happened, she shouted down again. “I’m sort of stuck up here!”

 

The rock she was on didn’t just shift this time. It bucked. And then slid. Sideways.

 

It was only then that Aya realised why the rock was moving. Glowing orbs hovered just above her. Snake eyes. Aya wasn’t sitting on a rock ledge. She was sitting on a rock snake’s tail.

 

Aya took a deep breath. And then screamed in terror as a giant rocky tongue flicked out in her direction.

[ForceFightWMe12]

A silent oath rolled off Kyo's tongue. A rock snake. By the gods, a real rock snake!

 

"No time to worry about rockslides anymore, Takara." Kyo said, already unsheathing his blade, "Get her down from there. Now."

 

The snake continued to groan and shift, shaking sediments off itself as it slowly pried itself from the cliff face. After a moment, it took notice of the extra weight on its tail. Using its now-free head, it shifted around towards Aya, its tongue flicking in and out as it sensed for her scent.

 

As Takara moved to rescue the merchant, Kyo looked over his shoulder at the others, opening his mouth to begin organizing them. However, at that exact moment, the rock snake finished twisting and thrashing. It was no longer stuck in the cliff face - and so zipped down the wall of rocks to the ground below, causing a great, booming crash and tossing up clouds of dust and stone.

[Jason Skywalker]

Akira made his way back to the camp to find everyone gone.

 

"Well, what happened here?" Akira asked himself out loud as he continued to search.

 

He then turned into someplace. Rock Snake Canyon. Akira's confused face turned onto a serious one. Clutching his side, he got his bow and quiver from his tent. Strapping it around his waist, he grabbed his bow with his right hand. Even though it would be tough to shoot. Even though, he knew he had to help.

 

And he would help alot when he knew who he had to help.

 

(Sorry, late, my brain ain't working straight. Also, no, since he had been out.)

[ForceFightWMe12]

((Hey Jason...Carwyn untied Bob and took him with the group. Akira also would be with them.))

[Rogue Nine]

"Greaaaat," Carwyn groaned as he nocked an arrow into his longbow and trained it at the rock snake. "Why couldn't it be a naked molerat snake? Or a key lime pie snake? Or something that arrows will work against?" He drew back and loosed, hitting the snake's body. As expected, the arrow glanced off and stuck itself in the ground. Carwyn grimaced as the snake crashed into the ground with a large boom and kicked up a giant cloud of dust in the process. It raised its craggy head and emitted an earth-rumbling roar.

 

"I definitely should have stayed in bed today," Carwyn muttered as he drew another arrow from his quiver and dashed for cover.

[JasraLantill]

As the giant snake slithered off the cliff face, Aya was rocked off its tail. She clung to the calcified bones embedded in the rock face, hanging on for dear life as she scraped her feet against the crumbly surface to find footing.

 

Her grip failed, and she fell a few feet, sliding down until she grabbed hold of the small trunk of an ironwood tree growing out of the cliff face.

 

"Oh....!" she grunted. The stunted tree's roots ran deep into the rock, but the awakening of the monstrous rock snake from its slumber and its subsequent movement, had weakened it's hold in the cliff. The tree was slipping--its long roots slowly being stretched by the extra weight of the merchant as she tried to use it to climb to get a more secure foothold. "Why couldn't I have flying powers now instead of glowy sp...."

 

The main root suddenly snapped.

 

"RIT......!" Aya fell again, this time a bit further, but again managing to grab hold of another ironwood tree on her way down. This tree was more secure, but Aya was now dangling from it in such a way that it was impossible for her to move to any nearby ledges.

 

She swung a leg over the trunk, and feeling more secure, she quickly looked down. The rock snake was now moving towards the group, it's blazing eyes focused on them intently.

 

"Oh no!" she wailed. She suddenly recalled the legend of the rock snake that her father had told her. "Be careful!" she called down to them. "Its bite will petrify you!"

[ForceFightWMe12]

"It's bite can do more than that." Kyo muttered, taking a few steps back, his sword still held ready as he watched the snake slither its giant body closer and closer with each passing moment.

 

"Get ready," he called, "Here it comes! Archers, keep firing - if nothing else, your arrows will distract it. Takara, get Aya down from there, we need her!"

 

((Go ahead and start attacking, guys!))

[Rexraptor2000]

The Rock Snake briefly reminded Toa of a fire snake he had encountered once. It was larger, and faster, than this snake, but it still had very striking similarities. Oh course, if it weren't for the fear of Aya's in his mind, he would have probably given more thought to summoning a fire dragon to fight the snake in the narrow canyon. He could not help himself however, and the roar of a Fire Dragons met that of the Rock Snake's.

 

There were many differences to this dragon though that one should take into account. Though larger, it had a smoother, and less bulky, build. It also had longer claws and larger wings. The last thing one would have noticed, and the most noticeable thing at that, was the array of symbols that now covered its body. The dragon charged smoothly into battle.

[Master_Archon]

Xan was quite surprised to see a rock snake, why it had awoken was beyond Xan, but that really didn't matter right now, right now, he had to help kill it.

 

He pulled out one of his throwing axes, hurling it with great force, it barely lodged into the skin of the creature. Xan took out his second, then thought better of it, he might need it for later in the battle.

 

He pulled his warhammer out, it was the best weapon for fighting the hard, stony creature. But he held back as a fire dragon suddenly errupted into battle against the giant snake.

 

'Not a good idea, no matter how small, or lithe the dragon is,' Xan thought, though he wished he was in someway magic, then he could be of greater help, he felt kind of useless as he was prevented from battling the snake for fear of being crushed by one or the other, or insinerated by the fire dragon.

 

Xan pulled at the collar of his cuirass as the heat from the dragon began reverberating off, and absorbing into the canyon walls increasing the tempurature to levels that could cause the group exhaustion, or even death.

 

"You're cooking us you fool! Call it off!" Xan yelled over the battling creatures at the pyromancer, pushing towards him, repeating his words, "Call it off!!"

[Grace]

Takara ran forward, lifting off the ground as she went, soaring up toward Aya's difficult perch. For a moment, her sudden, swift movement distracted the snake, but as she rose higher, it dismissed her as a prey that would be too difficult to reach. In only a few seconds, Takara was next to Aya on her branch.

 

"Let go of the tree, Aya," she instructed. "I have you."

 

Hovering in midair, Takara was quite the sight to see. Wind was her only support and her hair drifted lazily, much like it would look underwater; her eyes were pure white.

 

"You're supported, Aya," Takara encouraged, her voice soothing. "Trust me. Let go of the tree."

[Jason Skywalker]

Akira looked amazed at the thing. A rock snake, he was looking at a rock snake in live. He immediately shook it off and painfully lifted his bow with his left arm, pushing back the arrow, as he pointed at the eye, and let it go. Hopefully, it would do something.

[Rogue Nine]

"Who needs distractions when you've got a giant flaming dragon?" Carwyn muttered as he nocked another arrow into his longbow, safely behind a large boulder. The two great serpents were having at each other, but neither seemed to be gaining an advantage over the other. Fire could only do so much against solid rock, while the rock snake's bites proved ineffective against the dragon's fiery skin. Wiping a bead of sweat off his brow, Carwyn set his feet again, searching for a chink in the rock snake's formidable armor. It was no small feat as the stone serpent writhed and snapped back and forth in its battle with the flame dragon. Well, if you can twist and turn, beastie, then that must mean you've got something flexible in there. He aimed carefully at what he guessed to be the rock snake's neck. As Toa's dragon swiped a claw at the snake's head, it turned to the side to glance the blow off the side of its face. At that same instant, Carwyn loosed, his arrow finding a small opening between the snake's plates. It howled in pain, tossing its head back and forth.

 

"A-ha, so you aren't invincible," Carwyn said, glee evident in his voice as he reached for another arrow.

[ForceFightWMe12]

As the serpant did battle with the dragon, both came dangerously close to slamming a part of their body into the canyon wall - which could cause a major and deadly rock slide. Sweat beading on his forehead, Kyo cried to Toa, his voice melding with Xan's.

 

"Call it off!" he shouted, "It's too dangerous! There's not enough room! Call it off--"

 

There was no need. With a deafening slap, the rock snake's tail hit the side of the canyon, knocking a hail of rocks and boulders loose. The rockslide came carreening down the cliff face, miraculously missing Takara and Aya. It came slamming down on top of the dragon, forcing it to the ground and extinguishing its life under the onslaught of earth.

 

The group waited for the dust to clear before they caught another glimpse of the snake. With a hiss, its head rose above the new pile of rock, its mouth open and fangs gleaming as its tongue hissed out, searching for their scent. That's when Kyo's idea came about.

 

That's it!

 

"Carwyn, Akira, keep shooting!" he shouted, stepping closer to the monster, little by little. "Xan and Kai, attack it from the sides! Keep it distracted!"

 

C'mon... he thought, looking up to where Takara was busy shifting Aya down, We need her powers...