Kyras steps forward, still towering over the others, and floats into the air. He crosses the river by flying about ten feet above it, scanning the water and the area on the other side. About halfway through, he reconsiders and flies back. He touches Azami with his huge hand, itself larger than her head, but with a gentleness as he touches her cheek (and most of the rest of her head). His hand lingers a bit longer than it has to as he pulls forth the magical energy and channels it into her. He grabs her by the hand and flies upwards, dragging her up with a bit of a protest, then lets go. Azami does not fall to the ground, her feet dangling a few feet above. "Just don't think about it. Imagine that you're walking and you'll go where you need to." Without giving her a chance to acclimate to the strangeless of magical flight, he flies over the river again to try to find something to get their small army over.
Tokine secures the glaive across her back with straps on her pack. She then reaches up to the blade of the weapon at rest above her head. A light flick against the steel of the blade and a blueish light erupts at her touch. "Let me see what can be found on the other side."
She then carefully climbs up the wall and continues across the cavern ceiling and down the other side. Peering into the opposite tunnel she looks for any material or mechanism that may aid in crossing.
Before they reach the River
Azami stares as the door slams shut, wondering why her family symbol was even for a moment to be found down here, of all places. It has been years since she's seen it. When was he ever in Lanzhu? Or, for that matter, connected with anything like those constructs?
There's no time to think about such odd things.
She pulls a red cloth from her pouch, scrubbing away the blood from around her eyes, nose and mouth, leaving the rest of her face and matted hair for when there is more time. Following the mass of soldiers through the musical door that is pushed closed behind them, she plods along behind, doing her best to shake off the limp she's gained from the myriad wall-bashings. The history and dungeoneering lesson from Envoy-6 does not go missed - they are pieces that might lend to strategy later on, information of exactly what forces they could be dealing with. Again she wonders where this little metal man came from and how he befriended Tokine.
The red-headed guard slows a bit as she walks the decorated halls. Unlike the Advisor, Azami sees no arcane purpose in the murals save as art - beauty and inspiration from nature and people and perhaps even gods. This she can understand and appreciate. Any message or magic in them is lost on her. Azami doesn't even notice the part of the artwork that is being erased until Sera Zhongyi points it out; the loss evokes nothing more than a shrug from her. Who would be looking at such things down here anyway? Certainly not goblins or constructs.
Arriving at the river, she presses forward through the troops, stumbling once or twice, to the front to see exactly what they are facing. It's in this time when she feels the cool touch of Tokine's magic slide through her veins and seal wounds across her flesh, causing her to shiver in the sensation.
At the River
"Kyras, whaaaa--" Azami's question turns into an alarmed sound as he jerks her upward and then lets go. The incredulous note in her voice is impossible to entirely hide, despite her wish to not appear surprised by first, the touch, and second, being caught wrong footed--both literally and figuratively. A glance downward is swiftly reconsidered as Kyras zooms back to the other side. "Don't think about it. Right."
Taking a moment to get her footing, or lack thereof, she glances between the mass of people from whence she came and the other shore. Then, she reaches towards Wei and Chu. "If I'm going over, I might as well take someone with me to help."
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Chu shudders at the as Tokines healing magic washes over him, the feeling of his bones and scales being set right gives him a short moment of euphoria. He barely restrains himself from hissing in a pleased way as he focuses on the place and people around him. When Azami offers to carry someone across he nods. "I will go." He hoped to stay ahead of the gaijan force and ensure that they didn't get to anything important before lady taking did.
When she lifts him into the air his mind entertains the thought that his fate was quite literally in her hands. He thoughtful his joke earlier and hoped Azami hadn't taken offense...
Khangzhi nods towards Chu and says to Azami, "Please, take my friend. He has had a bit of a laborious time, with elementals and shoving open magic doors. Though if I'd have known you were so strong, my friend, I would have attempted to get you over to the temple for training," and grins humorously.
After watching his friend float off, he peers intently across the river...
...and thinks better of it. It does us no good to have just three on the other side. There is still a regiment here that needs passage, and I doubt the sorcerer can cast that many fly spells.
"I will take a moment to meditate on the solution,
" he thinks out loud, and assumes a lotus position.
Azami speaks low to the mage in her arms. "I know nothing about magic - perhaps there is something hidden on the other side that you can see that I cannot. A way to turn off this river that was turned on, somehow? For certainly if it was a trickle yesterday, then some manner of magic is about."
@Tokine and @Chu and @Azami: You cross over the churning broil of rapids and over to the other landing. As soon as you cross the threshold of the landing, everything goes completely, utterly silent. You can no longer hear the river, the soldiers, or even your own breath. Landing on the stone embankment you see that the gloom of the cavern is near-total, though Tokine's magic seems to mitigate that somewhat. Just inside the entrance, hidden from view by the other side by a combination of the towering, furious rapids and the utter darkness in the cavern mouth, are two ancient statues. Each one seems to have some writing on the chest, but you can't make out what it says from where you stand , but that is due more to the awkward positioning of the statues than the darkness; not even Chu, with his ability to see in the dark, can make out what is written.
The cavern mouth, which is made of worked quarry stone, narrows quickly. The walls angle in at roughly 45 degrees until the opening is just 10' across, and inside the cupola there is a 10' wide wooden door, barely visible in the gloom. The ceiling is a mere 10' high, claustrophobic compared to the much more open space of the river chamber in which you are currently standing.
Statue on the left looks like this.
Statue on the right looks like this.
@Wei: Your companions have scarcely reached the other side when there is a muffled booming sound from the hallway behind you. The Black Orchid and the silver-armored gaijin alike vault into action, some of them hustling back and throwing their weight against the door while others pull out short bows and crossbows and ready arrows.
A field marshall barks a report back to the Sera General. "Zhongyi-san! Something is trying to break through. This door will not last long!"
He has scarcely finished speaking when there is a voluminous, ponderous groan, like that of millstones turning, or an immense beast waking from slumber. It echoes throughout the river cavern, but you see no source for this sound. There is a wet slapping noise, but though it is heavy, it is extremely quick, and you cannot see what might have made that sound, either.
Neither Chu nor Azami nor Tokine nor Kyras seems to take notice of any of these things, but then they are barely visible over the wild tumbling and turning of the frantic rapids before you.
Kyras gestures at the statues while looking at Chu. "Maybe they'll open with your magic flute, too."
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He listens carefully to Azami and awkwardly nods in agreement, made more awkward by how she chose to carry him across. Thank the gods Barusama won't know about this, he never hear the end of it. "I could teach you if you wish to know, understand magic. Even basic's can save your life. As for this river the Six did say that this place changes, perhaps this is a new change and unless there is a gate we could lower there will be no way to stop a river of that magnitude. Not without magic beyond my ability..."
Once they were on the otherside Chu looks around and then narrows his eyes at the statues, his intuition was telling him something was amiss. A trap perhaps? Magical, Mechanical or animated in nature? Hard to tell without getting closer. He looks to Kyras, rolling his golden eyes at the warbanians amused expression. Correcting him would take too much time and Chu wasn't about to waste his breath. "At least we didn't have to see your two left feet Kyras, thank the Emperor for that. I'm going to step forward, prepare yourselves while I see what is written upon these statues." If no one protests Chu checks his wards and allows the others adequate time to prepare, heal and cast wards before stepping close enough to read what is written on the statues chests. If he is unable to stand somewhere roughly between them then he will take the statue on the right.
When there is no sound at their landing, Azami glances around with a new wariness.
Both of the statues look garishly extreme in their emotional states; she takes a few steps towards them before Chu signals for them to stay back.
After taking in the statues and the doorway, the guard turns back to look across the water at the people there, and the roiling water between them.
She points towards Envoy-6 and gestures from the construct to this silent side, wondering if it might be sensible to bring him over as he knows the cavern better than they.
Considering the depth of the old man's mystery and confidence, the young Shoto determines not to press his fortunes. He pauses just long enough before his reply.
I will keep to this arrangement. Tell me the place and the Scarecrow will be delivered unharmed immediately. I've little doubt you can verify that the man I took and the man I deliver are the same.
"Hmm... Perhaps something is coming to offer us a ride across?"
It is like a dream; a terrible, terrible dream, the kind from which one awakes drenched in sweat and glancing nervously at twitching imagined shadows that cavort just beyond sight.
A number of things happen in this dream, and they are all unpleasant except for one.
Everyone is able to see Chu step forward just a bit -- perhaps 15' -- into the dim threshold of the cavern. Just enough to be able to make out the writing on the guardians without clearly endangering himself. As he is reading the characters on the statues, the eyes of both statues very slowly open, emitting neither light nor sound as they do so. As such, the Loyal Shadow continues to read, unaware that the statues are regarding him with their stone eyes.
Everyone also sees that as he reads, two massive doors begin to slide shut, one up from the floor and one down from the ceiling, like obscene wooden jaws. They move silently and swiftly, far too swiftly.
Wei and Envoy-6 and Sera Zhongyi see a bizarre underwater aberration rise out of the river at the rate a feather falls. The thing seems to have no body, but is instead an endless tangle of hair's-breadth filament tentacles that whip and snap through the air, extending to an alarming 20' reach all around it. With neither eyes nor head, it is unclear what the creature's intent is, but the four companions on the north embankment are utterly unaware of its presence.
The three leaders on the south embankment also hear a collossal *FBOOOOOOOM* from the corridor behind them, followed immediately by strange metallic clacking sounds, animal snarls, and the screams of wounded soldiers. "General Sera! The door is breached! The door is breached!" comes the call.
The single pleasant thing among all this, is that as he meditates upon their troublesome situation, Wei notes a pair of cleats on the north embankment wall. These two wood pylons were well below the water level, and are only now visible because the tentacle-thing has caused even further undulations and water displacement. The cleats are visible but for a moment, but in that moment Wei notes heavily-waterlogged rope attached the cleats. Perhaps there was a bridge here once, but said bridge is now submerged beneath the roaring river?
Perhaps "pleasant" is too strong a word...
Khangzhi springs quickly to his feet and shouts, "To the north wall! There may be a bridge!" He dashes towards where he saw the cleats, doing his best to stay out of reach of the monstrosity in the water. "Mind the subterranean water horror, if you can. And somebody get those oblivious fools attention. Surely someone has a bow?"
He looks into the water and reaches beneath, hoping to grasp rope.
"Someone get our oblivious friends attention! One of you must have a bow!" shouts Khangzhi, as he rushes to the opposite side of the river from where he saw the cleats.
"Someone assist me, there may be a bridge submerged over here," he says, attempting to look into the water.
"And bring me some rope!"
Tokine is peeved as the silence was clearly meant to slow their solution to finding a way across. She noticed it immediately as she picked her way across the ceiling, once the roaring of the river was quieted. Now they relied on simple mimes and gestures as Adviser Chujitsuna moved forward.
It was dark in the alcove but her little bit of light shed some details, more for her companions benefit as her eyes, another gift from her father, could see well enough in these tunnels...something that surprised the Dwarves she used to travel with.
But it is movement that catches her eye...the statues...again they move. No obvious way to signal Adviser Chujitsuna, who seemingly does not see them. Her magic at a loss her, she pulls on one of the other gifts of her father....she states up at the weeping statues and wills Daylight to erupt from its visage, hopefully serving as a beacon to alert the good Adviser of his danger.
Thinking on gifts, she reaches into her pocket in search of the odd bell she was gifted by Baslav Meriko. She pulls it out wondering if its odd resonance could be heard in this silence.
Azami's mouth opens in a silent cry of alarm, rushing forward and leaping to wedge herself between the closing doors and try to hold them open.
The troops around Wei look at him as he shouts orders, not quite sure what to do. They look from the monk to their leader, General Sera. She is already drawing her shortbow and gives an irritated shake of her head as she barks "Do as he asks! Aid him! We have to get out of here!" She lets loose an arrow at the same time Azami vaults into action and Tokine uses her Light magic. The general grits her teeth as she watches the crimson-haired ronin execute a perfect longjump only to have her hand slip on the jaw-like door, causing her whole upper body to slip between the doors as the hammer down on her torso. The pain must be excruciating.
A half-dozen troops run up to Wei, each with at least 50' of good, strong rope. They bow. "Great Master, what do you need of us?"
Meanwhile, Tokine and Kyras see Zhongyi's arrow and are able to notice the River Kraken and everything happening on the south bank. Azami, however, is busy trying to keep from being crushed.
Chu has straightened up, but takes notice of nothing around him; not the arrow, the Light, the doors, nothing. Each of the statues has slowly begun to animate, though they have remained on their bases. They open their mouths wide, unhinging their jaws so they drop to terrible depths, mouths opening too wide. There is the impression of screaming. Perhaps this is the reason for the magical Silence?
Each statue then turns to look at Chu, and shoots a pair of energy beams out of its eyes, hitting the advisor square in the face. Instead of falling or defending himself, though, Chu seems to soak up the energy, and then shoots it forward out of his own eyes, to strike the double doors in front of him, which now start slowly to open.
This seems to agitate the river kraken, which begins to move towards the north bank.
Tying the rope about his waist, Khangzhi speaks to the ranking officer among the soldiers. "If you could, please hold on to this rope, and get ready to pull when I tell you. We may need more, and some grappling hooks might be required as well. Beyond that, pray I don't drown."
Khangzhi gives a quick bow, and jumps into the water.
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For a moment, Kyras freezes as Azami silently jumps forward only to find herself in mortal danger. None of it matters in that moment - not the Undercity, Rhon, the Plum Blossom, or the army of ninjas, crazed golems, and a kraken at his back; his erstwhile companions matter little, whether Chujitsuna about to be incinerated, Wei, or even enchantingly beautiful Tokine; even the Emperor's orders, Kalaroth's grip on his soul, and the quest to recover Bethany and prevent the Great Confluence seem to be of any importance to him.
Only Azami.
Kyras is a strong man, almost unbelievably so. Capable of feats of truly prodigious strength, his strength stands above and beyond almost all men. Whatever the source of his strength, be it his Warbanian heritage or Kalaroth's foul influence or the fuel of anger and rage that wells deep within him, it is nothing compared to the sheer desperation and terror he feels in the moment that it looks as if Azami may be crushed by the mouth of the gate. Kyras moves ahead faster than he might seem thanks to his enlarged size and starts to pry the gate apart with his bare hands. Silently, he shouts something to Tokine as he strains to save Azami.
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Chu stood there, unsure at first what to do as the statues open their mouths wide, too wide. He braced for a coming attack and almost staggered when he was struck in the face by the duo's energy beams. For a long moment he was blinded by the brilliance of such raw energy cascading through him and out of his on eyes. When he finally saw what affect it had on the doors he braced himself, making sure that he wasn't suddenly pushed back and accidentally strike the stone ceiling instead...
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Chu was relaxing after a particularly brutal night of performing before the masses when his daughter surprised him with a visit from her worthless. No magical talent, whatsoever!, boyfriend. His forked tongue curled in distaste of the boy's loathsome and useless company.
"Oh~, Father!" Mammals were not subtle when they wanted something and sadly his daughter always wanted something.
He set down his Shamisen and rolled his eyes at her as she entered. Whispering in her mind. ::Why do I have to entertain him? While you do your hair. I'd rather keep an Ox company, they are about the same intellectually...::
She rolled her eyes at him and glared. ::Bite your tongue and be nice!::
Chu rose up in the seat, no longer lounging comfortable, especially as he had to sit like a human and act the part. ::I Wish I could then I wouldn't have to speak to him.:: He allowed his magic to fade just enough so he could waggle his forked tongue at her in annoyance.
She responded in kind and he smiled at the fact his tongue was superior. :You better get used to him, I may just wed him yet!:
Chu glared as he responded in words this time. "Not if he mysteriously bur... Hello Tian-su-San you grace our humble house with your presence."
The boy smiled and bowed in reply to Chu's greeting. "The privilege is mine honorable Tatsuo-San."
Tian-su's smile made Chu want to eviscerate the little cretin on the spot, something about him made his skin crawl and for a serpent that said volumes. Despite his ill-feelings he returned the cretins smile with one of his own, hiding the fact that it never reached his eyes as he barely nodded to the young man as was the strange custom of this land. Baru was old enough now that perhaps she didn't need his guidance as much and with her skills she would be able to protect herself from one man...
How wrong he had been...
She hadn't returned and was hours late before the rain set in. The city of mists, it would have been more aptly named for the city of rain. But the cold rain was the least of Chu's worries, Baru wasn't home yet. Normally this wouldn't bother him but she had left with that cretin for their usual hangout. With little recourse Chu tossed on his finest cloak and stalked off into the night after his missing ward.
It took a little under fifteen minutes for him to find the hangout spot, as he had followed her one day out of curiosity. What he found there wasn't what he expected and his scales flared at the sight before him. Baru was on the floor of this ramshackled building, her clothes were torn and she was surrounded by Tian-su's thuggish friends. Who all appeared to be having a great ball at her expense. Chu saw her chest rising and falling ever so slightly, at least it was an indication that she was alive. That was until Tian-su kicked her in the side with the tip of his hardened boot; which elicited a sharp groan from Baru and put Chu in a killing mood.
They had left one guard outside. Too bad for him really, falling asleep only made it easier for Chu to gag him with his scarf as he slit the thug's throat. With him dealt with Chu moved quickly and unnaturally quiet around the building, blocking all routes of escape as he made sure that tonight would be the last night he dealt with Tian-su's lies. With his preparations complete he opened the door and stepped into the small run down warehouse. He closed the door with none being the wiser and his movements were easily hidden by the flashes of lightning and roar of thunder from the heavens above. Did the City of Mists want vengeance or was it just his imagination...
He raised his crossbow and waited until a thug made his way towards his ward before putting him to sleep with a bolt between the eyes. Three left. Before they had time to react Chu made the guttering lamps around the room explode in a display of blinding lights and choking smoke. While the thugs ran for exits, finding them barred and panicing, Chu made his way to his downed ward and pulled her to the side. He drapped her in his fine coat and strode back off into the darkness to deal with the wretches that remained. He wasn't an assassin, not by nature or experiance, but he did relish killing these particular humans. These dregs of humanity who died by bolt and claw that night until only that bastard Tian-Su remained. He wouldn't die quickly, he made sure of that. Poisoning him enough that he laid there in agony, unable to move, his muscles like stone and only able to lay amid the savaged bodies of his gang members crying as the burning smoke stung his eyes.
When he had made sure Baru was still breathing, he returned to deal with Tian. He tied the boys hand's firmly and dragged dragged his pitiful, crying wreckage to a sewer drain and shoved him in. The human wasn't worth bloodying his claws, he would however do some good in death as the rats of the lower city were always hungry. Chu was out his favorite scarf but in comparison to his ward's life it was more then easy to give up. After shoving the other thugs into the sewer as well, he sealed it shut and placed a ward on it so it remained sealed...
He picked up Baru with a grunt as he carried her home, he wasn't as strong as he wished to be and she was heavy, especially when soaked by the insistent rain. With his form returned to that of the minstrel known as her father, she sobbed quietly into his chest and slurred her words as all her fears poured out to rest on his scaled shoulders. She was bruised and some of her bones were fractured but yet again the savageness of humanities lower class had harmed his ward in ways that would take years to repair. Again he would protect her, again he would savage those that sought to harm her and he was unsure why out of all of these humans he cared for her so...
As he trudged through the streets he hummed her a lullaby, he sang it until he placed her in bed that night and watched over her as he sent word for a healer. She slept for three days, three of the longest days in Chu's life. He swore to never again see her that way, to do whatever it took to make sure she stayed safe and kill whoever dare lay a hand on her...
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[spoiler=Bump]
Baru was nineteen now, far too old for marriage in the eyes of many but somehow she had found a man worthy of her. This one was a simple man, came from a humble family of merchants who had prospered in the lower districts of the Capital City. This man also didn't make Chu's scales itch, he was also a quiet and intellectual sort. Finally, Chu had someone he could enjoy speaking with or simply sit in the park drinking tea and watching the cherry blossom's bloom.
In fact Chu had no real complaints about this man, he wasn't arrogant nor overly bold and was well practiced in the niceties of the empire without being overly... courteous. How his family wasn't higher up in the merchant's guild surprised even Chu, perhaps they weren't ruthless enough. Yet another aspect of politics he didn't know nor care to understand. They had however given Baru a job at their shop and it had opened a new world for his wayward child.
They had been together a little over a year before he came to see Chu one day. Surprisingly he hadn't brought Baru, he had also brought some new tea leaves and some type of sugary treats as well. What exactly was he planning?
Chu leaned back, still in his human guise, watching as the man quietly went about making the tea and setting the table. When he was finished Chu finally asked. "What is the occasion for such a fine setting Kagini."
Kagini didn't pause as he warned the tea pot and continued to ready the tea. "I was hoping you would humor me by listening to a story."
Another surprise. Chu found himself intrigued but tried not to betray it when he replied. "Is it an old story? Perhaps I have heard it before?"
Kagini nodded as he started to heat the water. "It's not old and I am sure you know this one Tatsuo. It's a unique tale about a 'Child and a Serpent.'"
The room stilled in that moment, Chu's heart seized and before he could help it his first thoughts went to Baru. Was this a ploy? By who? I never suspected... He paused as Kagini raised his hands defensively, apparently Chu's reaction had been graver then he realized.
"Please forgive me, I am not subtle and I could not think of another way to present it. Baru wanted to come with me but I insisted I do this myself. It is only right." The young man looked like he was about to start sweating, he was far more nervous than Chu had noticed before.
Only Right and Baru knew of this?
Chu sat back, waving for Kagini to continue, watching as the young man sighed quietly in relief and went back to preparing the tea. By the time he was finished Chu was back to a reasonable, calm state. Once the water was heated Kagini poured the hot water delicately, ensuring that the tea leaves were evenly heated and covered just right by the water. Once everything was ready he handed Chu his tea cup and waited until he had tried the first sip before relating a story passed to him by Baru. The tale of how a serpent saved a child in the slums...
A stranger came, wearing faded robes while also being quite tall and inhumanly gaunt. It towered over the two men that bickered over what to do with the little girl they had caught in the alleys of Lanzhou. They hadn't noticed the stranger, they though of only the gold they would soon acquire when they sold her to the black markets. They never saw the pair of golden eyes that looked down upon them, the same eyes that looked to her as well and seemed to be searching. She didn't pity the pair when the stranger lashed out with claw, bolt and fang. Ending their existence before they even had known he was there.
It ended the pair with as much thought as one would when crushing vermin and yet, when they both lay dead, the stranger merely continued walking past. That was until she took hold of their hand and in that moment they stopped, the same golden eyes looking back. Searching. For what she wondered?
'Thank you Gaijin-Sama, but where is it you are going?' she asked.
The stranger watched her, their serpent eyes were strange. Almost frightening. It's voice though was quiet and calm. 'I don't know, far away. Far enough that I cannot be found.'
She released its scaled hand as she pointed to the mists that clung to Lanzhou like a protective shroud. 'One cannot be found here in the Empire of Mists not unless they want to be. So... why not stay here?'
'Empire of Mists? Is this where I am now?' He looked to the skies then, towards the heavy mists that surrounded the city. 'How would you know if it is safe to be here? You are but a child.'
She thought for a moment and then shrugged as she spoke simply. 'It worked for me until now; today I wanted to be found.' The last part she said with a broad smile.
The stranger pulled back their hood before arching a golden scaled eyebrow, a note of disbelief in their voice as they spoke. ‘Yet you found trouble…’
Her smile broadened as she replied simply. ‘But you found me as well~‘
The stranger shook their head, pulling up their hood as they turned away. ‘I am no good for you, go back home child before worse befalls you.’
She stood there, looking at their back as they began to walk away. She barely had the voice to speak but somehow she found the strength to whisper. ‘I have no home…’
The stranger stopped and turned back enough to look at her once more. ‘What could you give me if I stayed…?’ Their voice was searching, asking for the name she did not have to give.
She took hold of the small hope they would stay with, perhaps with her. ‘I could teach you about Lanzhou…’ She stopped as it turned their full gaze on her, still waiting for the name she didn’t have. She couldn’t help but fidget under that intense gaze and this time she didn’t have the strength to tell them she had no name as well.
Somehow though the serpent understood, they strode back over to her and kneeled while looking her in the eyes. ‘I have traveled far, far enough perhaps and if you can teach me of Lanzhou I will stay. First you will need a name though. For without a name we are forever lost… Now… How do you say Innocent in this land.’
She thought for a long moment before answering, trying not to let her excitement mar the moment. ‘Baru…’
’Baru you shall be then, now let us find a new place. Together.’
Chu had enjoyed the tea very much; the sugary treat had been a delight as well and when Kagini became silent he nodded his head and swirled the tea around in the small cup as he spoke carefully. ”I see Baru has been telling you of some of her great stories…”
Kagini set his tea down as he quietly spoke. ”She told me of the time she nearly died and was saved by this same serpent…”
Chu stopped swirling the cup, instead he looked to Kagini more intensely then before. ”Let us speak simply. Now, I have enjoyed this tea very much, the setting is quite satisfying as well. Besides knowing these tales what is it you wanted today Kagini?”
Kagini bowed his head humbly before saying. ”I want to make Baru my Wife, that is if you will trust me to protect her Tatsuo.”
Chu nearly dropped the teacup in surprise; thankfully Kagini’s head was bowed so that he didn’t see his loss of composer again. As Chu thought of something he could say he just shook his head, at a complete loss for words at this development. Human’s were so interesting at times and yet so very unpredictable. He couldn’t help but smile as he spoke. ”If she can trust you with her secrets, then I can trust you. You have my blessing, Kagini. Now please sit and lets enjoy this beautiful setting before the tea cools.”
Kagini raised his head, smiling and nodded as he quickly picked up his cup. "Arigatou, Tatsuo-Sama, to long life." He raised his cup in salute to Tatsuo (Chu).
Chu raised his cup and nodded solemnly as he responded. "To long life..." As he sipped the tea he thought of that day. The rain and the ragged child he had come to adore. Perhaps... even to love.
Was it I who saved Baru or did she save me? I wonder...
Kyras glares at his sister over the cup of cafe she ordered for him. Being in Stormfare always makes him somewhat uncomfortable with the smug, comfortable academics looking down on him. His bronze skin and sizable stature make him stand out amongst the people of the city. "You're practically completely Stormfarian." He knows that it irritates her when he uses the silly made-up title of the citizens of Stormfare, but he does it anyway. Intentionally. "What's the difference?"
"I can use the gift of long life to research and grow in knowledge. Taking work as a mercenary will likely cut it short," she says.
Kyras puts the cup down, strongly considering finding a real drink to slip inside of it. "It's not really part of my plan to get killed out there. Fighting is just as honorable a trade as researching, and probably only slightly more dangerous." He is being disingenuous, trying to alleviate her worry - and her judgment - and they both know it. "It will only be for a few years. Five, at the maximum. You know that I wouldn't leave you for long. You're all I have left, Bethany. You can pick your friends-"
She interrupts him quickly. "You don't have any friends."
Kyras continues undeterred. "-but you're stuck with family forever. I promise that I will come back for you. Maybe even use some of my talents and treasure to help fund your research. We've got many years together. A few given up now won't hurt for too long in the big picture."
Bethany still seems quite wary. "Any amount of time is too long, Kyras. Besides, I don't want you to end up like him. I couldn't stand such a thing." She doesn't have to say their father's name or speak directly about the hurt she felt when he left without much warning, but Kyras doesn't need to hear her say it. "Maybe you'll return, but it's too risky. Please don't go." She pleads with her brother, her only family.
"Try and stop me." Kyras grins that cocky, self-assured grin that always gets under her skin. He isn't going to miss out on an opportunity like this, and he knows he'll be back to his sister in a few quick, short years.
With the help of the soldiers, Wei is able to raise a bridge and get the others across. The Loyal Shadow's strange encounter opens the inner door and after a bout of strange staredowns with the guardian statues, the outer door re-opens. Azami is shaken but resolute.
As all of you -- Tokine, Kyras, Wei, Azami, and Chu gather, you hear a slicing noise in and amongst the din of the river kraken's strange and mewling roar, and the sound of steel-on-steel coming from the unseen battle down the hall. Sera Zhongyi has just sliced the rope bridge her men painstakingly put up, cutting off escape, but also cutting off any means of following you.
"Go, my friends! We will hold off the attackers here at this bottleneck. They shall not follow you, this I swear on my House." With that, the brave general vaults into the air and lands on the river kraken, slicing it open with her katana and distracting it from your progress.
@Imuri: The old man smiles faintly. "Please. The Silent Crane teahouse in one hour. We will make our exchange."
She can still feel the blade in her guts some days; now, with the unfathomable pressure of the stones grinding her center to paste, Azami recalls the pressure of the foot on her abdomen as the attacker wrenched the weapon free, finished with his grisly purpose and certain of her end. He certainly did not expect her sword in his neck shortly thereafter as she fought to continue to defend the compound.
Her body is failing, trapped in between stone jaws in this underground city, just as it was that day - the familiar sensation is all consuming, and the two experiences begin to melt together in time as flashes from the slaughter fill her skull.
She'd managed to cut down another assailant, but not before she heard the screams of the children dying, causing her insides to churn in horror, propelling her against a wall where she began to slide down in the combined ichor of blood and waste escaping her, her sword clattering to the ground.
A haze rises up in her eyes, painting the whole world in gauzy disarray and making it impossible for her to determine her sword among the mess. Azami manages to pull herself up before she slides to the ground where she knows there would be no rising again, twisting muscles that already scream for her end.
It is only in the entryway of the compound after she stumbles over Juro's body, the light gone from his eyes, that she succumbs to the blood-soaked tatami floor. Prone and surely dying, the shame of failure and horrified loss combine with the weight of gravity on her core, pressing the life out of her. Azami reaches out for her dead husband's ancestral blade, hoping to end her existence...
...and finds her arm gripped by Kyras, who pulls her from between the stone teeth moments before he releases the massive weight in a terrible crunch. The relief from the crushing is perhaps even more intense than the pain itself, and tears form at the corners of her grey eyes at the shock of another survival.
"Friends, we must hurry so that the General's noble act is not wasted." Motioning towards Azami, he continues. "We should get away from here quickly, so that we may tend to the young warrior's wounds safely. I should take the lead, with Chujitsana-san. Old friend, your intelligence and learned wisdom is clearly as useful as anyone's strength in this place."
With Azami pulled to safety, Kyras checks her over. The look of care on his face nears a tenderness that seems entirely out of place amid his grins and flirtations, yet wholly natural. "Azami, are you all right? Tell me that you're all right. Please, I need you to be all right." He almost has tears well up in his eyes, though he suppresses them. He quietly whispers, more to himself than to her, "I need you."
Tokine pauses a moment...seeing Kyras's tenderness with Azami...how can a man so full of rage still have such a soft heart?...
She leans in gently, her bells giving the faintest of tinkles, to lightly place her hand on Azami's arm. She quietly transfers a surge of raw strength that these emotions have moved within her... and then sorry for having intruded on such a moment, silently steps back and away so as to not come between the two.
Before Azami gets a chance to respond to his impulsive confession, he groans and falls to the ground. He growls, clawing at the ground as his claws grow and recede. In his head, he dimly feels the others looking at him, wondering if he will return as Kalaroth. In truth, he wonders himself. He can feel his draconic power increasing, though he doesn't know if it is because of what happened earlier, his recent surge of adrenaline to save Azami, or even him gaining some inner insight as to his own feelings regarding the red-haired warrior. He feels the hearts of the others racing, even though his own eyes are closed in the agony. He can feel all of them, where each one of them stands - even though he cannot feel them.
He breathes in deeply, trying to maintain control. In each hissing breath, he emits a bit of flame. Even as all this occurs, he can feel his own physiology changing, making his skin and body even more resilient. He continues his breathing, knowing that he can regain control of his body. After a few long, tense moments, he breathes out nothing but air. "I'm okay. I'm okay. Just some growing pains."
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Chu eyes Kyras for a long moment, his still glowing eyes turning to slits as he tumbled each action and reaction through his minds eye. It took Wei's words before he finally looked away and refused on he task at hand. "Agreed, we'll need your strength old friend if we are to press forward." He looked to Azami then and then back to Kyras his voice carrying the weight of one used to command but not demanding obedience. "I assume these pains won't stop you from carrying her? Then please do so until she can walk on her own. Lets press forward nowand end this quickly." He swept forward his magical wards gleaming in he pale light of he cavern while looking untroubled by the sacrifice of he noble samurai mere yards behind them.