[RP]Obake Blade

[JasraLantill]

"Well, if they don't, it's their own fault," Aya added with some conviction. "The brothers here are always more than accommodating to everyone, no matter what their needs."

 

She gave a quick glance at Mags, knowing full well that it was difficult for her to leave the kindly monks and the monastery where she had lived most of her life. "And I daresay the brothers will enjoy having new pupils to train." A wink. "It'll keep them busy."

 

She motioned for Maggie to put her rucksack on top of Bob's pack, then grinned. "I left some room on him up top for your gear. No sense carrying stuff when Bob can carry it for you."

 

Bob snorted and nodded his head up and down, almost as if he were confirming Aya's statement.

 

"See?" Aya said. "Not a problem."

 

After Maggie's rucksack was secured, and with everyone present and accounted for, Aya gave Bob's lead a tug and started to head out the monastery's gates. "Wagon's ho!" she said, then turned around to the group, grinning especially at Kyo. "Not that we actually have any wagons in our small caravan, but I've always wanted to say that. Even though I'm not our 'official' leader."

 

As Bob's hooves clopped rhythmically on the ground, Aya began to hum a mindless sort of tune. Then she suddenly stopped. "Does anyone know any good traveling songs?"

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo shook his head, smirking at Aya. "Wagons-ho indeed." he murmured, his thumb hooking under the strap of his backpack. Turning towards the gate, he looked over his shoulder to take one last fleeting look at the monastery before the group departed for good.

 

With a deep breath, he turned to face the wilderness beyond, his glinting green eyes examining the country side as if he could see every inch of the land that their journey would take them to. They were off - on the true quest for the Obake Blade.

[JasraLantill]

Aya walked on for a bit. No one was talking, or singing for that matter, and so Aya started a song of her own. She knew that it was not a particularly great song, but it was easy to sing and keep in rhythm with Bob's hoofbeats.

 

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me

Oh, cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C....

 

She paused a bit, and then took a breath, ready for another chorus.

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Aya!"

 

Kyo's voice was sharp and clear, but when he turned to look at her, a grin had curled across his lips, his eyes flashing with an annoyed amusement. C is for cookie, that's good enough for me? "Don't you think you could have chosen a more...intelligent song?"

 

It sounded like a song that a child would make up while working on gathering berries from a field, out of nothing but pure boredom. It set a rhythm for their steps, and broke up the pressing silence of their traveling, true, but...even so. It was quite annoying, hearing the same words over again.

 

"Perhaps our bard could find a song for us?" he asked, his green eyes turning to Takumi. "If for nothing but to save our sanity?"

[Jae Onasi]

"Perhaps our bard could find a song for us?" he asked, his green eyes turning to Takumi. "If for nothing but to save our sanity?"

 

Takumi cleared his throat a moment, and hummed a few notes to warm up his voice. Then he burst into a loud song:

 

"99 bottles of beer on the wall,

99 bottles of beer,

You take one down, pass it around,

98 bottles of beer on the wall!"

 

He ducked as someone threw a piece of apple at him, and then grinned to the group. "You'd prefer something else, I take it?"

 

There were exclamations of "Yes!!" from nearly all in the group.

 

"Well now, let's sing 'Will Her Love I See?'--it's a good traveling song. I'll sing the verses and everyone can join in the chorus.

 

Westward to the mountains go,

Leaving my love behind,

Summer meadows and alpine snow,

Through the forests I wind.

 

Will she wait by the fire,

Will she wait for me?

When I return to the shire,

Will her love I see?

 

Into the sylvan glade I tread,

Longsword at my side,

Before my eyes, a dragon red,

Evil and fire-eyed.

 

Will she wait by the fire,

Will she wait for me?

When I return to the shire,

Will her love I see?

 

Swiftly does my longsword flash

And I face the dragon's flame,

As all around me turns to ash,

I call on my lover's name.

 

Will she wait by the fire,

Will she wait for me?

When I return to the shire,

Will her love I see?

 

The name of my love fills my heart,

Gives me strength in the fight,

From our combat I could not depart,

and we battle throughout the night.

 

Will she wait by the fire,

Will she wait for me?

When I return to the shire,

Will her love I see?

 

The dragon lands a furious blow

and flames rush over me,

The dragon thinks I've been laid low,

and alive I must not be.

 

Will she wait by the fire,

Will she wait for me?

When I return to the shire,

Will her love I see?

 

New life into me breathes my love,

It is her voice I hear,

As the dragon towers up above,

with her I have no fear.

 

Will she wait by the fire,

Will she wait for me?

When I return to the shire,

Will her love I see?

 

Her loving strength flows through my blood

and my longsword finds its mark,

The dragon ichor becomes a flood,

and his eyes go slowly dark.

 

Will she wait by the fire,

Will she wait for me?

With dragon hide I returned to the shire,

and it is her love I see."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn finished singing the last verse along with everyone, then stretched his long arms up over his head. "That was rather nice," he commented, nodding at Takumi. "Though if a traveler's song portends their future endeavors, I would take the cookie song, because I think we've all had our fill of dragons."

 

They came upon a wide open meadow, beautifully picturesque, as if it had been taken from a painting. Carwyn smiled and breathed the fresh air as it breezed around his face. He'd learned to savor tranquil moments such as these very much over the past few days. Striding ahead of the rest of the party, he surveyed the land, taking in all its natural beauty. As his eyes traversed the landscape, they alighted upon a small patch of darkness against the otherwise vast sea of green. Curiosity got the better of him. He turned and caught Kyo's eye. "I'll be right back," he told the blonde warrior, then took off at a sprint.

 

As he approached the dark spot, his keen eyes confirmed his speculative thoughts: it had been a campsite. Grass had been flattened to the ground, indicating a body had lain there, and the blackened ash and soot a few feet away were indicative of a fire. It was not unusual in and of itself to find such a site, since travelers did often hunker down for the night, but for some reason, Carwyn had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He crouched down and studied the blackened ground a bit closer. Nothing unusual... except for... He reached down and picked up a thin piece of dark wood, just longer than his finger. He sniffed it carefully, then frowned. "This is Valinesti wood," he muttered to himself. Valinesti wood was a firestarting material used by rangers of the West like himself for small campfires. It was excellent kindling material, but was only suitable for small, one-person fires, since if more than one stick was used, the fire would blaze out of control. Carwyn didn't know of any other rangers out this far North, though it was certainly feasible to think that one would be around. Still, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling in his stomach...

 

Making one last sweep of the campsite, Carwyn turned and headed back to his friends, the Valinesti stick still clutched in his hand.

[JasraLantill]

"Though if a traveler's song portends their future endeavors, I would take the cookie song, because I think we've all had our fill of dragons."

 

"Yup, I'd have to agree with that," Aya said to the ranger. "And speaking of cookies, I think I could use a snack about now." She stopped, then started to rumble through one of Bob's packs. "I think I packed some peanut butter-chocolate-oatmeal-raisin-toffee bars that Brother Miklos made for.... Ah! Here they are!"

 

She removed a small bag that contained the cookie bars. They were smallish, brown, and sort of sticky, and didn't look all that appetising, and she was just pulling them out of the bag when Carwyn spotted the remnants of the small fire.

 

"I know they don't look like much, but they're really tas...."

 

"I'll be right back," Carwyn told the blonde warrior, then took off at a sprint.

 

"...tee." The cookie bars held in her hand, Aya frowned as the ranger darted away. She gave a look to Kyo, and then the others. "They are," she said somewhat dejectedly, and then took a bite to prove it.

 

When Carwyn returned, she was licking off her fingers. "Whas dat?" she said, her mouth sticky from peanut butter and toffee, and she pointed to the piece of burnt wood in Carwyn's hand.

[ForceFightWMe12]

Just as Carwyn returned to the group, Kyo's green eyes glittering with curiosity as he followed the ranger's progress across the clearing, the wind shifted in such a way that caused the ranger to be downwind, the rest of the company upwind - meaning that the faint scent of the charred stick traveled the few inch's distance to Kyo, who frowned faintly as he recognized the scent.

 

"What is that?" he said, reiterating Aya's question as a faint frown creased his brows. "It smells like...Valinesti wood. But what would a piece of Valinesti be doing way out here? It only grows in the West."

[Quist]

Maggie, who had been relatively quiet and subdued up to this point as she was wrapped up in her own thoughts, leaned forward onto her walking staff as Carwyn returned to the group. "Valinesti?" she echoed. "I've heard the brothers mention it a few times before, but never really in detail." She shifted her feet, waiting for the ranger to speak.

[Jae Onasi]

"I once started a fire with some of that wood," Takumi said. "I used a little too much, and caused a bonfire the likes of which had not been seen in that town in quite some time. Fortunately, there were lots of marshmallows, ale, and dancing beauties to take the sting out of some of the burns. It took awhile for my eyebrows to grow back, however."

[Rogue Nine]

"For good reason, Master bard," Carwyn told Takumi. "Valinesti wood is powerful stuff, and if used improperly, can be quite dangerous. Even rangers of the West use it with the utmost caution, so it's not something that one sees all too often." He scrunched his face up in thought. "I don't know of any rangers who would have come this far East, however. I'd've heard about it, one way or another."

 

"There's a first time for everything," Aya said cheerfully, biting into another bar of toffee.

 

Carwyn grinned slightly at her. "I suppose," he mused as he pocketed the stick. He was probably just being overly paranoid, but there was something about this that didn't sit right with him. He just hoped that his hunch was wrong. "Say, what's that you've got there?" he asked the merchant, changing the subject.

[JasraLantill]

"Oh, nothing," Aya replied casually. "Just peanut butter-chocolate-oatmeal-raisin-toffee bars." She bit into one. "Sh'bit shewy," she tried to say, as the peanut butter and toffee stuck to the roof of her mouth, "but nummy." She tossed him one to try.

 

After a brief moment of lip smacking and tongue wrangling, she was finally able to talk properly. "Got to keep up our energy if we want to make it to the foot of that little hill before it gets dark." She pointed toward the west.

 

Carwyn turned, then shaded his eyes with his hand to see better. It didn't look like anything special. Sheltered, yes, but there were plenty of other places nearby that were more so. "Why that hill?"

 

"Because, that's where we'll find fresh water," Aya said plainly. She tugged on Bob's lead and started forward.

 

Carwyn exchanged looks with Kyo, then looked at the hill in question again. "How do you know it's got fresh water?"

 

Aya just grinned slyly. She and Bob headed in the direction of the late afternoon sun and the foothill in the distance.

[ForceFightWMe12]

The hike to the foothill took the better part of the rest of the day, the group ascending to the summit just in time for dinner. Though they had kept an eye out, there had been no other sign of passage by anyone that could have left the Valinesti wood behind. Whoever had done so had either passed quite a long time ago - contrary to what they had believed - or else somehow knew how to cover their tracks so skillfully that neither the ranger nor warrior in the group's midst could find them.

 

By the time the tents had been pitched and the group of travelers were settling down to bed, the Valinesti wood had all but entirely faded into the back of their minds. Dinner had been prepared and eaten, the friends retreating to bed with full stomachs. Kyo, as always, had volunteered to stay up to keep watch. Settling down in front of the low-burning fire, he pulled out another block of wood and his small blade, beginning to whittle away the time.

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn lay on his bedroll, eyes closed, but not sleeping. Ever since he found that piece of Valinesti wood, he'd been on a constant lookout for any other signs that a Ranger of the West had been through the area. So far, he'd not seen anything, leading him to conclude that the piece of wood had been left there on purpose, as if to leave him a clue.

 

His eyes fluttered open, staring up at the twinkling stars. "Or to taunt me," he whispered to himself. A scratching-flicking noise came upon his ears and he turned his head in the direction it was coming from. Kyo sat by the fire, whittling away at a piece of wood as he kept watch. Carwyn shook his head at the stoic warrior.

 

Raising himself up, he scooted the few feet over to sit directly across from Kyo. "Do y'know you whittle loud enough to wake the dead?" he asked.

[ForceFightWMe12]

"Do you know you have all the ability to hear as a wide-eared flagron?" Kyo returned, making mention of a relatively large rodent that relied entirely on their acute ability to pick up almost every sound in the area to survive. His green eyes flashed up from the wood his knife was whittling away, a small smirk on his lips as he eyed the ranger.

 

"Having trouble sleeping?" he asked, glancing at Carwyn's hair. Even that constituted that he had been tossing and turning quite a bit. "I could stop, if you'd like."

[Rogue Nine]

"No, that's all right," Carwyn said, waving Kyo off. "I've gotten enough sleep these past few days anyway." He yawned, then ran a hand through his tousled hair. "And yeah, I'd like to think my hearing's halfway decent. Kept me alive more times than I can count."

[JasraLantill]

A low, rumbling sort of growl echoed through the campsite. It wasn't like any creature Kyo or Carwyn had heard before... and it sounded like it was very, very close by.

 

The snorting growl sounded again, and this time Bob snorted in alarm. While Kyo took a more aggressive hold on his knife, Carwyn's hand reached for his dagger.

 

And then Aya, in her bedroll on the other side of the campsite, turned over in her sleep. She murmured something unintelligible which included the words 'Carwyn' and 'tickles', let out a small sort of giggle, and then snuggled deeper into her blankets.

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn blew out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Silly Aya... he thought as he shook his head and slipped the dagger back into his sleeve. Turning back to Kyo, he regarded the warrior with a serious expression. "Kyo, I've been thinking about that piece of wood I found earlier," he said. "I think it might mean trouble for us. At Kyo's arched eyebrow, Carwyn sighed wearily. "I think it means my sister is following us."

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo's eyes narrowed slightly, his brows pulling together as he regarded the ranger. Hadn't his sister been among those that had attacked them at the port in Ryuu-Tokai? He could have sworn that Carwyn had mentioned that...

 

"Why would she be?" he asked slowly, studying Carwyn's expression, "And if she is...why would that mean danger? I would assume that she would be looking for you, wouldn't she?"

[Rogue Nine]

"I didn't tell you back then because it didn't really seem relevant," Carwyn started, a lump in his throat. "But remember back in Ryuu-Tokai, when we get attacked by a bunch of ninjas as we were disembarking? My sister was among them."

 

Kyo's brow knotted even more. "One of the ninjas?"

 

Carwyn nodded. "She came straight for me and I managed to subdue her without killing her." He locked his blue eyes on Kyo's green ones. "I'm pretty sure if she'd gone for you or anyone else, she'd be dead." He blew out an exasperated sigh and looked up at the starry sky. "Chrys is the only person who knows how to use Valinesti wood and be out here. My bet is whoever she's working for wants to get his/her/its hands on the Obake Blade and has her shadowing me."

[Jae Onasi]

Snort...Valinestri...tickles--ha, ha, ha...Ninja!...Ninja hydra!!

Takumi had to fight the Ninja before it killed his friends. He grabbed his sword and ran through the tent flap and into the cool, starlit night, brandishing his weapon and swinging at anything that moved...."You won't survive my mighty sword!!"

 

"Takumi!! Takumi!!" Carwyn shook the bard, who finally blinked away the sleep-look. "You're sleep-walking, my good bard."

 

Takumi's eyes focused on the ranger, then on the flute he had gripped tightly in his hand like a weapon. The cool night air ruffled his hair just enough for him to feel it. He ran his hand over his hair, and then he looked down in the direction of his feet. "Oh, dear! It seems I have misplaced a sock...."

[Rogue Nine]

Carwyn looked down towards Takumi's feet, noting that he did indeed only have one sock on them. However, he was also able to locate the bard's other sock, as the green cloth made a rather stark contrast against the whiteness of Takumi's bare legs. "Er, Takumi? Why don't you have any pants on?"

 

The sleepy bard looked down at his legs. "Oh, so I don't," he agreed, then noticed his 'missing' sock. "Ah! There it is!" he exclaimed, and started to reach for it.

[JasraLantill]

Roused from her sleep from all the shouting, Aya sat up in her bedroll and rubbed her eyes. In the flickering firelight, she saw Carwyn, his back facing her, standing in front of whom she guessed was Takumi, as she saw a flute being held in one hand.

 

"What's going on?" she asked sleepily.

 

Carwyn quickly spun around, as if startled to hear her voice, and now her view of Takumi and his odd sock was clear.

 

Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped. And although she uttered a tiny squeak, all she could do was stare.

[ForceFightWMe12]

Kyo simply shook his head - how in the name of the almighty blessed gods had he been matched with such a strange, lopsided group of travelers? A hardened Ranger from the West who ate twice his weight in cookies in a month, a merchant who was hardly older than the pack mule she tagged along, a fighting maiden from the Northern Monastery, and now...a bard who slept nude. Wonderful.

 

Speaking of, his gaze shot across the fire to where Aya was now just sitting up in her bed roll, rubbing at her bleary eyes before focusing in on Carwyn and Takumi, emitting a small squeak. He sighed. Why couldn't they just have a normal, peaceful night every once in a while?

 

He stepped over to Aya, kneeling as he put his gauntleted hands over her eyes, blackening her vision of the nude bard. "Mr. Takumi, if you could please either step back into the tent or put some clothes on, it would be greatly appreciated..."

[Rogue Nine]

"Uh oh," Carwyn muttered as he watched Aya's eyes grow wide. He quickly stepped in front of Takumi again, shielding him and his offending sock from Aya's view.

 

Kyo moved over to distract Aya. "Mr. Takumi, if you could please either step back into the tent or put some clothes on, it would be greatly appreciated..." he said calmly.

 

"I think that's a good idea, Takumi, don't you?" Carwyn agreed, guiding the confused bard back to the tent, making sure he kept his body between Takumi and Aya's sight.