Kage Chapter 13 and Grenseal Chapter
9 When the group reached the giant monolith at the end of their exhausting trek, no one was quite sure of how to proceed. The whole dead end wall was carved out of some type of crystal-like stone that none of the men in the band of mercenaries was familiar with. Intricate carvings covered every inch of the foreign landscape; Kage tried his best to decipher what the pictures were warning the interlopers of, but the beautiful artwork had been corrupted by time, decaying like rotting fruit. He saw people cowering from something powerful, the look of fear unmistakable on their stone faces. What was causing their terror was an enigma, as it, like most of the frantic peasants, had been eroded past the point of any type of recognition. There was an exceedingly large, sixteen foot plain granite door that seemed to clash with the overall motif of the beautiful design of the backdrop that resided right in the center of the mysteriously crafted wall. Kage had immediately inspected the door upon their arrival, and he had found that it had nothing to open it. No knob, no handle, nothing. Not that having something to turn, push, or pull would have made any difference; the door didn't have any hinges to help it turn open. At about eye level, in the center of the door, was an inscription that was again foreign in nature to all of the armed travelers. Below it were two small holes, each no more than three inches in height. One was in the shape of a diamond, the other in the shape of a circle. Kage ran his fingers over the indentations and a cold chill instantly coursed through his body. He didn't like this place one bit. "Well this is just great" Trine's voice exploded throughout the endless catacombs, pulling Kage out of his thoughts. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?" "We wait" came the simple reply from Jonas' mouth. "What do you mean we wait?!" Trine exclaimed "I mean just what I said, we wait. Any group that makes it through the mines is to meet up here" Jonas stated coolly. "You mean to tell me we're the first ones here?" Trine asked skeptically. "There's no way, with all the crap we had to go through?" "So what are you saying then, Trine?" Grenseal asked, making his way into the two man conversation. "I'm saying I think they're all dead, and that we will be too if we do nothing but wait around here" he explained. Grenseal shook his head and was about to say something when Jonas made himself heard once again. "We wait, that's final" He said in a commanding tone. "Fraunces' group was just as good as ours, and he had the better numbers. They'll be here." Not wanting to be humiliated in front of the men who supposed to be his subordinates again, he turned his attention to the silent ninja who was standing up against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "And do you have a problem with my decision, Lord Kage? "The stoic mercenary wanted nothing more than to slit Jonas' throat at that point; but he restrained himself. Without bothering to even give their "fearless leader" a glance, Kage stated in his smooth voice, "I don't care whether you stay or go, that is none of my concern, but I was paid to perform a duty, and I will see my contract through until the end". "Good" Jonas replied, feeling as though he'd won a major victory. He sighed deeply and walked to the nearest wall. As he began to sit down, he realized he had reopened the wounds on his chest. Feeling there was nothing better to do, he decided to re-bandage his cuts. The others who had been wounded in the last fight with the hellhounds soon followed Jonas' example, and began tending to their own wounds, changing bandages and cleaning their wounds. Kage looked at the merry band of warriors. Himself, Grenseal, Gilbert, Trine, Jonas, Gunn & Darby, Sydonia, and the bandit they had taken prisoner--Trine had been right in his calculations when he said the second bandit wouldn't make it through the night, he had barely survived the next hour. Kage knew this group contained nothing but superior fighters, but he silently wondered if any of them truly knew what they were getting into. He doubted it. For some reason, he didn't think the worse had begun yet. There was something wrong about this place. All the protection, the treacherous journey, this place was meant to be left alone, and now here they were, violating that wish of whomever had put this down here. There was a tingling in his bones that said whatever was behind this well guarded door was evil, plain and simple. He drifted in and out of his thoughts as the minutes were absorbed into hours with still no sign of Fraunces and his group. People were getting impatient, that much was obvious. Trine had begun pacing nervously, Sydonia had started carving things into the wall with his dagger a while back, and now had damn near a whole mural plastered on the wall. Gunn and Darby didn't let the wait bother them as they started training together, and had gone non-stop at it for the better part of two hours. Kage continued to stand against the wall with the door on it; arms still crossed over his chest. Waiting was not a new thing to the ninja, it was all you did when you scouted locations, people, etc. Waited, watched, and listened. Ever vigilant. He paid close attention to his teammates, waiting to see if any of them cracked, he would not hesitate to put them down, they would have no time to hurt anyone else. Trine looked the closest, but Kage had been with this man for almost a week now, and he saw how Trine was. It would take a lot more than this to get him to crack. However, beneath the arms that hid his hands, were two shurikens...just in case. It was another three hours before they heard human voices besides their own. As the voices crept closer, each of the men got to their feet. Sure enough, Fraunces and his men, minus four warriors who Kage guessed hadn't been very lucky, strolled into the new cavern. "Well, well, well, it looks like they made it after all" Fraunces said, turning back to his men with a smile on his face. Behind him, Kage saw two men exchange some money, they had obviously had a bet. Fraunces turned back to Kage's group and said, "I see you have had some bad luck, it appears not all of you made it down here" He laughed, and Grenseal wondered what could have been so funny about it, death was never a laughing matter. "Well, I could have foreseen as much." He sighed, "How about the rest of you? Are you men alright? "Now that you mention it," Grenseal responded, "do any of you men happen to have a water rune? We do have a few injuries that need servicing, he finished looking into the crowd with only two known faces looking back, those of Trine's friends, Three and Rooster. "I do" came an unfamiliar voice. A man stepped forward, holding up his right hand, revealing the rune. He was in his mid-thirties, right around six feet tall and two-hundred pounds. His face was covered with a thick brown beard that, like the hair upon his head, held tiny streaks of gray in them. One of his eyes was covered with a black eye patch, and there was a rather large scar that appeared from beneath it , stretching all the way to the base of his temple. He walked over to Grenseal and held out one of his hands, which the knight shook firmly. "My name is Eloute" he said. "Grenseal" the Toranian Knight responded. "I kindly thank you for your services". Eloute nodded his head in reply. "We've got three" Grenseal stated, pointing to Sydonia, Trine, and Jonas. "I'm on it" Eloute said, walking over to Sydonia first and quickly taking care of him before moving to the next victim and taking care of him. "Well...while he's doing that, I guess I should get this door o-" Fraunces began to say, before cutting himself off upon seeing the lanky bandit standing in the corner. "Who's he?" he nearly screamed, the anger clearly evident in his voice. "Um..." Jonas began to say, coughing to clear his throat. "He's, uh, a prisoner, sir. We know he helped slaughter one of the other teams down here, so we took him captive to see what you wanted us to do to him". Fraunces stood there for a moment, sighed and nodded, then continued on his way. He had walked a few steps when he suddenly stopped again. "Who the hell are they?" he growled, this time not trying to contain his anger as he pointed to Gunn and Darby. "Them...well, ha-ha, they, uh, they were two survivors of the team that the bandits slaughtered" Jonas smiled as he said this, but upon seeing that Fraunces didn't find this amusing or funny in the slightest, he was quick to point fingers. "It was Kage's idea that we bring them along" he said, a tense chuckle following. Kage, who had been listening to this transpire, continued to stand against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. "Lord Kage, do you wish to explain your actions to me?" Fraunces asked. "I owe you no explanation" Kage stated, never looking up. "I beg to differ" Fraunces replied. "I didn't hire you to recruit people, I hired you to-" "You hired me to perform a job, how I perform that job is none of your concern, so long as the job gets done. I will complete the task you hired me to do the way I see fit, if you have a problem with that, don't go out of your way to hire me next time" the ninja said, getting off of the wall. Fraunces wanted to say something to the deadly ninja, but found himself at a loss for words. He scoffed, shaking his head, and finished walking over to the stone door. "Heh. Not even the head honcho will stand up to him. That's funny." Sydonia whispered to Grenseal and Gilbert, whom were standing next to him. "Why does he command so much respect?" Gilbert asked. He had been curious about the ninja for quite some time now. If what Kage had just said was true, and Gilbert had no reason to believe it wasn't, then Fraunces had gone after him specifically, and the ninja had undoubtedly been the only mercenary to get paid upfront. It was obvious that he was skilled at his profession, but Gilbert had never heard of the man, and he was intrigued as to why Kage received such treatment. Grenseal let out a light chuckle and answered the question for Sydonia. "Let's just say that Kage crosses the lines no other sane man would ever fathom crossing". Gilbert nodded, and watched Kage carefully for a second, then turned back towards Fraunces who was asking for everyone's attention. "Okay men, I'm about to open the door. We have no way of knowing if there's something on the other side or not, so be prepared." he said. "Shouldn't we wait to see if any other groups make it?" Grenseal asked, drawing his sword. "It was made perfectly clear that any group that wasn't here by the time I made it here would forfeited their shares. I don't care if the men outside of this room live or die, they are no longer my concern." Fraunces replied seriously. "I see" Grenseal responded, his voice tapering off at the end, filled with sorrow for the lost souls still inside the main portion of the mines. "So is everyone ready?" Fraunces asked. Some men nodded, but others didn't bother. When it was evident everyone was ready, Fraunces turned back towards the door. He pulled two items out of his pockets, and placed them into the holes in the door. He folded his hands, bowed his head, and began some foreign incantation. Kage listened to the words carefully, and watched his contractor closely. Fraunces looked as if he were in a trance as the words stumbled out of his mouth. They were spoken slowly at first, the spectators around Fraunces able to hear every letter of every word, then they began to pick up speed, then they suddenly stopped, and Fraunces opened his eyes. The whole cavern began to shake, beginning with the floor, causing more than a few of the men to lose their balance and fall down. Fragments of the ceiling began to crumble away, falling from the sky like rocky shooting stars. "Uh...Lord Fraunces? Are you sure you did that right?" asked Rooster, speaking for the first time since the two groups merged. Fraunces didn't answer, instead, he stood
like a statue in front of the Kage waved his hand in front of his face, trying to clear the dust from in front of him. What stood before him and the other men was nothing more than pure beauty. It was what every mercenary waited their whole lives for. The unattainable dream whose quest had put many a warrior into an eternal sleep. It was the truth to the old legends of "infinite treasures" that men told their kids about. It was the end all and be all of contract as far as any of the men in the cavern were concerned. "Jackpot..." the words were spoken in barely more than a whisper, as if it had been said any louder, everything in the next room would just up and disappear. The men sheathed their swords and ran into the next room; to the treasures that belonged to them. Kage hesitated though, certain that it must have been some sort of elaborate trap--and it would have been a good one too. After nothing happened after five minutes or so, Kage deemed it safe to go in as well, slipping in slowly, making sure to take in everything he could about his new surroundings. There really wasn't much to take in though, just some walls, a small turn that led to nothing but more walls, and a tunnel out to the right. He watched the men as they hungrily picked up the tons of gold, and rare jewels that littered the ground they walked on. Rare armor and weapons, crafted with the finest steel or most luxuriant silver one could find, could be found spread throughout the riches, and were promptly picked up and tested by their new owners. Kage turned a passive eye towards them, and a sharp one on the things that didn't move, for they usually housed all of the troops in places like this. "Kage...Kage..." the voice pulled the ninja from his focus somewhat as he shifted his two cold, gray orbs towards the source of the words: Trine. "Hey Kage, aren't ya gonna get any of this? There's more than enough, ha-ha" he said, stuffing a handful of jewels into one of his pockets. Kage's eyes lingered on Trine for less that a second, then it was gone, like the tender snow flake that lands on a blade of grass, and disappears into blissful anonymity. "I have already been compensated for this contract" the words were an arrow from a sniper, quick, precise, deadly. That was all that needed to be said. Trine gave a startled look, daunted by Kage's confusing answer, then shook his head as if to say the ninja was an idiot. He turned his head over to Grenseal, who was slowly sneaking up beside them, and asked, "what about yourself, Grenseal?" The Toranian Knight's answer was a duplicate of the ninja's, albeit a lot more courteous. "I am not a mercenary, I am simply doing this to repay a favor". Trine shook his head again, perplexed. "You're as crazy as him" he said with a sort of half smile on his face. "I guess that just leaves more for the rest of us" he finished, turning and running to pick up more riches. Kage didn't bother to greet Grenseal, he simply walked away, winding his way towards Fraunces, who was standing motionless his eyes stone, staring at something against the far wall. The man didn't blink, like he was in a staring contest with a fish, and he was determined to win. As Kage slithered closer, he could make out every crease by the wealthy man's eyes; he could see how tense his muscles were as he inhaled and exhaled his shallow breaths; and as Fraunces raised his hand to touch his face, perhaps in an effort to make sure he wasn't dreaming, the ninja's trained eyes could see his hands shake in breathless anticipation. Kage was intrigued to what could put a man into such a trance, and when he reached Fraunces, it didn't take him long to see what was so enthralling. Partially hidden, placed inside a tiny nook in the wall, was the rune Kage had been hired to make sure Fraunces got. "My job is done now" Kage said flatly. But Fraunces wasn't paying the ninja any attention. He was completely under the rune's spell, totally oblivious to anything else in the cavern. Meanwhile, the other scavengers had taken notice of the rune, and a small group had formed behind the ninja mercenary and Fraunces. Kage turned back towards Grenseal, who was standing next to Gunn and Darby, and walked over to talk to them. When he reached the three men, he simply said, "I'm leaving, you coming with me?" Gunn and Darby looked at each other, then nodded. Grenseal did likewise. "Room for one more?" the question arose from a surprising source; Jonas. "I don't like it in here, there's something not right". Grenseal shrugged, and responded, "There's safety in numbers I guess, but I think we should inform Fraunces before we leave him shorthanded". "Yeah, good idea, I'll go with you" Jonas said, and the two walked away towards the hypnotized contractor. Fraunces continued to stand there, admiring his new rune from a distance, and listening to it as it talked, it's voice so melodic. It wanted him, needed him to be it's new owner. The rune was going to help him, give him what he needed. Come to me... Come to me... I can give you the power... "Yes, YES!!" Fraunces muttered enthusiastically, causing Grenseal and Jonas, who were now no more than five feet away, to jump back, startled at the sudden outburst. They looked at each other, shrugged , and then continued towards the confusing, rich man. Yes, I can give you the power... But the others... They crave me for themselves... They want to steal me from you, Fraunces... They want my power... But you and I belong together, Fraunces... "What should I do?" Fraunces whispered to the rune. You must kill them... You must kill them or they will kill you... "I understand" he said with passion, his right hand slowly pulling a small dagger from it's sheathe.
Fraunces lunged at the two with the ferociousness of a wild animal. Grenseal, whose fighting reflexes were as acute as ever, dodged the attack easily. Jonas, however, wasn't as trained or skillful as the knight, and paid the price for it. Fraunces hit him with a quick left hook to stun him, then grabbed him by the back of the hair, and roughly yanked his head back, placing the blade of the dagger against Jonas' throat. "Ha, ha, ha" he cackled madly, " you didn't think I'd know didja?! You thought you could take it from me, didn't ya! But I knew! Ha, ha, ha, ho, boy did I ever know!" "He's flipped!" Grenseal screamed, backing away from the lunatic. "Back away, all of you! Get out of this room or I'll kill him!" Fraunces yelled. "Oh please don't, please don't kill me!" Jonas pleaded, a large, wet stain accumulating in the front of his pants. Kage looked around, taking in the situation. Grenseal had his hand on his weapon, but hadn't drawn it yet. Gunn, Darby, and Trine kept their blades halfway out of their sheaths, not ready to attack. Gilbert, Three, and Rooster all had their weapons drawn and were tucked into a defensive stance, ready to retaliate should anything go bad. Sydonia stood against the opposite wall from where Fraunces was, a smile on his face, thoroughly enjoying the show. The others, nameless, faceless, were in a bewildered state of confusion, unsure of what to do. "That's the problem with people" Kage mumbled, shaking his head,"they overestimate the value of human life." He drew his sword, and then he was gone. He reappeared just a second later, right in front of Jonas and the madman. Before Fraunces had any chance to react, the ninja brought his blade up and pushed it through Jonas' chest. He continued to drive the sword through Jonas' body, until it exited his back and entered Fraunces' chest. A shocked look of amazement came over the man's face as the dagger dropped from his hand and hit the stony earth with a loud Clink!. Kage forced his blade out of the two men's bodies, and watched Jonas' lifeless form fall to the ground first. Fraunces slumped to the ground soon after, his hands covering his wound, his eyes far away and vacant. Then they came to life, with only a crazed look residing within them. "I give my life for you!" he screamed to the rune, holding his hand out. "Give me your power, I beg you!" Just then a black light enveloped Fraunces from the rune. Kage could hear the man's screams faintly as the blackness grew, causing the ninja to back up a few steps. The human screams gave way to a roaring, the source of which was definitely not human. As the black light faded away, Kage saw what the pictures outside were trying to warn them of, and he also saw why. Not a sound could be heard, save the two words that barely escaped Trine's lips, "Oh. Shit." Each one of them, no matter how brave, strong, careless or emotionless were pulled off guard as Fraunces finished his hideous and painful transformation. The rune had now taken it's place in Fraunces forehead where it directly controlled his frail human mind. Fraunces has already grown long claws from each of his hands, long razor sharp talons from his feet. His muscles had increased several times in size and his once light skin had become a green-brown color. His head had been transformed so much, any shred of humanity in him was quickly wiped away by the transformation. His eyes had become hollow and empty, his teeth long and jagged, and all other features replaced with scaly skin and spikes on the back of his head. But it went on from there, he wasn't 'complete' yet, he sprouted two bull-like horns where his ears once were. Painful pops and crunches could be heard as his physical stature was altered from it's original design. His spine became as hard as steel with hard sharp spines sprouting from his skin. From his rear, a huge tail tore through the skin and landed on the ground, temporarily limp. And then, the beast that was formerly the rich aristocrat, Fraunces, fell to the ground lifeless. "The heck... is he dead!?" Three exclaimed in horror. Everyone, save Kage and Sydonia, glanced at each other questioningly, as if one might have some sort of explanation for why he just suddenly died. One of the mercenaries, a short plain man stepped up to Fraunces' corpse to inspect it. Seeing no breathing, movement or anything he decided it truly was dead. And to prove it, he kicked it and turned around the the others, "He's dead or else my name ain't Coradain!" As he looked at his fellow mercs, Coradian soon realized something wasn't right by their fear-struck faces. Behind him the creature was struggling to stand up, it's once hollow eyes letting out an eerie red light. Sydonia, who was standing right behind Gilbert at the time, suddenly vanished and reappeared behind the creature with dagger in hand. Before the creature could react Sydonia plunged his knife in it's back, causing it to leak a green ooze. However they creature hardly noticed, so Sydonia plunged his knife towards the head, but it barely penetrated the skin as it hit Fraunces' hard skull. Seemingly annoyed by Sydonia's actions, Fraunces raised his arm and smacked Sydonia away into a pile of rubble and stones. "Hee hee... HA HA HA! At last... I finally I have the power!" Fraunces cried in an inhuman voice. By now everyone had their weapons ready and in a defensive stance, the bandit had been freed and given a weapon, and like in the last battle, Kage immediately vanished. Coradian was still in front of Fraunces, staring in horror at the beast who stood above him. "Now... I shall exterminate you mortals! Then none shall dare oppose me!" Fraunces announced, to prove his point, he quickly drove his claws into Coradian. The claws hit his left shoulder, right of his chest and his other shoulder as well. The creature quickly pulled his claws out, letting the mercenary collapse on the ground in pain. Trine sized Fraunces new form up and then gave a half hearted grin, "He can't be to tough, those hellhounds were a lot bigger than he was". When Grenseal realized that the mercenary was going to launch an attack, he attempted to stop him. But it was to late, Trine had already began charging at the creature, with a sinister cackle the creature raised it's hand towards Trine. Thinking nothing of it, the mercenary raised his sword above him and prepared to slice the hand in two. Before the sword connected, the hand released a blast of wind knocking Trine away and on to the ground. "And so it shall be said, all who dare oppose us, shall crumbles beneath us!" Fraunces exclaimed, "And from this day... we became supreme rulers over this terrestrial planet!" "He's cracked" Gunn whispered to Darby, "What do you think?" "I think so too, we better take him down before he recovers anymore" Darby answered quietly. Grenseal had been determining the situation, unlike the last battle where there was plenty of room for battle. In here it was closed in, littered with treasure and all of them wouldn't be able to battle Fraunces at one time without being massacred. Almost every fighter fought with close range weapons, a few others like Kage, Sydonia and another mercenary used shurikens, throwing knives and a crossbow. By now, Gunn and Darby had been using their signature attack on Fraunces. Hacking and pummeling Fraunces as much as they could. As far as Grenseal could tell, their rich 'employer' possessed superior strength, but not any fighting skill in the least. Fraunces you fool.... "What? What do you mean?" Fraunces suddenly screamed aloud. You possess no strength, no skill, merely your precious money. I have no need for your petty riches, I shall take over now. "No! I found you... you are mine! You will obey me! AND ONLY ME!" Fraunces yelled out, clutching the rune on his forehead and attempting to rip it out. He glanced at his claws for a long period of time and bellowed again. "You tricked me! I wanted an endless life, not to be a beast!" Fraunces started thrashing around, plowing anyone who stood in his way as he made his way to the wall where the rune was found. He then began slashing, clawing, biting and slamming into the wall uncontrollably. Finally the wall collapsed on top of him knocking him out once more. So that was it... a desire for power had corrupted Fraunces, he had no regard for life. Every life, every man killed by those hellhounds, bandits and Fraunces himself, all of it for power and money. And to think Grenseal actually agreed to help him with this task to repay the favor. It made him sick to think of the things he had done, he had allowed since leaving Toran. Killing 'weak' bandits, plundering an already poor suffering town, breaking out of jail, manipulating Seth, a victim of his own wrongdoing and now having allowed all of those mercenaries to be left behind to die when he could of done something to prevent it. Now all the mercenaries had their eyes locked on Fraunces, expecting him to make a move like last time. Some thought him dead for good, others figured he was unconscious, Grenseal wasn't sure what to think. He could now spot Kage standing in a shadowy corner watching silently, apparently he had been expecting this. Or at least something similar to Fraunces lashing back once they arrived. One of the men gasped, the creature had begun stirring and struggling to get up. Through the black hole it had made with it's thrashing, several red beams of light shone through, followed by several high pitched screeches. 'Fraunces' then shrieked himself, "Finally... free, that pathetic fool is no more. Come my children... once again we can be free!" Several little creatures lurked out of the hole, they appeared to be miniature version of the new 'Fraunces' only smaller and slinkier. Each one bearing sets of sharp fangs and claws and short tails with a poisonous barb at the end. They seemed slightly dazed for awhile, but as soon as they saw the mercenaries they began to squeal with delight. With deadly speed they scampered towards the mercenaries aiming for their throats. Most were able to defend and throw them off, Darby and another mercenary weren't as lucky. The mercenary was knocked down and bitten by the creature. The bite left him immobile as the creature continued to slash through him. Darby was jumped on, managed to prevent being bitten but his arm was caught by the creature's poisonous barb. Allowing they toxin to enter his bloodstream and go throughout his body. Most of the tiny assailants were quickly knocked off, and it didn't take long for the band of mercenaries to regain their composure and mount a counterattack against the small demons. The room suddenly flashed with light, two runes had been activated and were casting a spell. One of the demons was struck with a deadly thunderbolt, charged by a sprinkling rain that soothed the wounds of those hurt. The little creature died quickly and crumbled into dust. Grenseal rubbed his right arm, he had used the last fourth level spell on his rune. He and Eloute has both cast their strongest rune spells, which was named by runic expert's as 'Thor'. It didn't do the dead mercenary or the poisoned Darby any good, but it killed one demon and fixed up all the cuts and scrapes on everyone else. Everyone now was occupied with the little demons, Gunn was in front of the weakened Darby protecting him from the two demons attempting to get to their prey. Sydonia seemed to be 'amusing' himself by constantly appearing around a set of three demons and waving his dagger at them but not actually making contact. Grenseal was occupied with four of his own, completely on defensive struggling to avoid their sharp fangs and toxin-filled tails. They had managed to get several shallow wounds on the knight's legs and waist from their claws. He knew if they were to get behind him it would be all over, so he tried as hard as he could to keep them from doing so by constantly turning and waving his sword at his side. Since he could only keep one sword on one side, he managed to acquire a silver sword from the treasures to help. Although he wasn't particularly skilled at double sword combat, he was able to prevent the creatures from getting the better of him with them. One leapt towards his neck, with the middle edge of his rusty sword he cast it off with a meager wound. Another went for his leg, which he swiftly prevented with a sharp kick into it's head. A third was going for his back side, so he steered it away with his silver sword and managed to inflict a deep wound to the creatures right leg. The fourth was in the process of ramming it's tail barb into Grenseal's waist. But the attempt was cut off as Grenseal removed it's tail with his rusty sword while the knight's silver sword knocked the fifth one into the ground. Taking advantage of the fourth one's shock he rammed his sword into it's waist, killing it while quickly pulling the sword out to ward another one away. He could hear that one was edging behind him, with a swift jerky movement he swung back and sliced the demon in half. One of the others took advantage by sinking it's teeth into Grenseal's left leg, it's teeth nearly reaching bone. Crying out he threw his sword down on the demon removing the head from it's body. Desperate to rid himself of the other three, he cast his lowest level spell to electrocute the three remaining. Killing one and paralyzing the other two long enough to be cut down by his sword. Successfully killing the five, he kneeled down to dress the wound until he could get Eloute to heal it or acquire some good medicine. Trine, Rooster and another mercenary was facing off against Fraunces, but was not fairing well against him. The transformed version of their former boss was far to fast and strong for them to actually get in a good attack. They had been edging back barely evading his sharp talons. It wouldn't be long until they reached the wall and would be cornered in. In another part if the room, Eloute, Three and the bandit were busy taking care of a set of seven demons. Although they didn't know each other and used different weapons and techniques, they were able to ward them off effectively. It didn't take long before all the lesser
demons had been destroyed or scared away leaving only
Fraunces who was still unscathed. Most of the mercenaries
were tired out, injured and some even dead. Darby was in
terrible condition from the poison, Gunn was just about
to collapse from Kage came up behind the monstrosity formerly known as Fraunces quickly, and without incident as the demon's attention was currently diverted by Grenseal and Sydonia. The ninja leapt high into the air, grunting from the physical exertion, and held his left arm outstretched, waiting for the shurikens to bolt out from under his wrist. They never did. So as the ninja began his descent, completely defenseless, only one thought crossed his mind, Deven, when I see you, I'm going to kick your a-, but he didn't get to finish that single thought, as a vicious backhand from Fraunces collided with his face. He went sailing back through the air, and crashed into the wall. He slumped to the ground in a daze. He slowly crawled to a corner to recuperate, and, when he got there, he rolled up his left sleeve, and wasn't surprised to see that the small device fastened around his wrist was indeed jammed. He cursed silently to himself, as he rolled the sleeve back down. He blinked heavily, trying to block out the incredible pain that had erupted in his head. He tried to get to his feet, but fell right back down. Damn that guy packs a wallop! he thought to himself with something that resembled humor. He sighed deeply as he watched Gilbert and the man Rooster take their shot at Fraunces. Kage tried to get up once again, remembering the words of his father. There is no such thing as pain. Pain is but an illusion; non-existent. Those who give in to pain deserve to die, for those who give in to something that doesn't exist, are nothing but cowards. He was standing in time to see Gilbert's chest cut open by Fraunces' claws, then knocked to the ground, only to be dragged away by Trine before the demonic aristocrat could do any more damage. Sydonia appeared from above, and dropped down onto the monster, but only got a shallow cut on Fraunces before he was sent back from whence he came. Kage heard a faint "Whoa, heh" from the bandit before he hit the ceiling and came flying back down. He landed safely in the arms of Grenseal, who had dropped his sword and shield to catch his ally. The demon then tried to press an attack on Gunn, who had picked up Darby's sword and fought with the two blades rather than just the one. Kage was amazed watching the kid; he was just as good with two swords as he was with one, if not better. Whoever had trained the boy had done a spectacular job. Kage continued to look on as Gunn, with tears thick in his eyes and pouring his cheeks for his wounded friend and comrade, parried every attack Fraunces could muster, never letting the creature near the fallen Darby. Fraunces continued to press on, but Gunn held the defensive effectively, and when it looked as though the boy would collapse from exhaustion, Rooster came to his rescue, sliding in from the demon's side so they could begin their own two man tango. Gunn took a moment to catch his second wind, then looked ready to give it a go with Fraunces again, but it was obvious he was reluctant to leave his friend's side. This is no time to let emotions impede your better judgment, boy Kage thought to himself as if the boy could hear him. Sensing that Gunn would let his feeling rule him in this fight--and knowing full well they would need his talents if they planned on leaving the cavern alive--Kage swept around the demon's left flank, sticking to the wall so as not to be seen--not an easy accomplishment in the small chamber--he continued around the circumference of the room, until he came up behind the young mercenary. Gunn whirled around in surprise, ready to strike. "What are you doing, boy?" Kage asked, his tone scathing. "Wh-what are you talking about?" Gunn questioned, clearly flustered. "Get into the fight, you are doing no good sitting here" the ninja replied, just in time to see Rooster hurled by Fraunces into Trine and Three. "I-I can't just leave him here!" The young man exclaimed, pointing one of his swords at the poisoned Darby. "You can't help him, I can, so go" "How?" Gunn asked, skeptical of the ninja. "I don't have time for questions and answers, boy. How I help him is none of your concern, just leave it to me" Gunn remained indecisive for a second, leery of Kage's words. He glanced at Darby, then at the ninja. Letting out a frustrated sigh, more from his inability to help his friend, rather than any sort of discontent with Kage, and took off towards Fraunces, who was currently being held at bay by Grenseal. Kage watched him go, then looked down at Darby who was currently spasming on the ground. He knelt and unfastened the sides of the young man's armor, allowing him to remove the breast plate. He pulled out a small dagger sheathed on his ankle, and cut open the thin, cotton undershirt Darby wore under his armor. Underneath the shirt, Kage could make out the red lines of the poison, making it's way towards his heart. It wouldn't be long. The ninja knew that whatever poison this was, it wouldn't be cured by simple and primitive antitoxins. But he hadn't lied to Gunn when he said he would help Darby. Lifting the young man's head off of the ground, the ninja placed a hand on the child's chin, the other at the base of his neck, and took another look at the boy's wide open and vacant eyes. When he snapped Darby's neck, Kage felt no pain, remorse, or guilt, just the emptiness that the mercenary had felt all of his life. Placing the child's head back on the ground, he gently ran a hand over Darby's face, closing his eyes for eternity. Unsheathing his sword, the ninja got to his feet and went to join the fray. Gunn was still going at it, but the man Eloute had taken the place of Grenseal, who had to fall back with a bad cut across the arm he held his shield in. It was obvious after only a few seconds that Eloute's talents were suited more for magic than physical fighting as he struggled to match up with the superior demon. Fraunces charged with a left hook that grazed Eloute's chest. Meanwhile, Gunn attacked with a vengeance, cutting the creature several times with quick, smooth strikes from his blades. But Fraunces hardly seemed to notice, as he considered the child only a minor nuisance. Fraunces' tail whipped around like a whip, smashing into Gunn's side, one of the spikes splitting the boy's armor and digging into his flesh, causing Gunn to cry out in pain. The tail continued it's attack on the youngster, wrapping him up like a snake and it's prey. Gunn tried to break out, yelling for help from his friends, but the demon moved before any of the other mercenary's could react to the young man's pleas. The demon's tail raised the boy high into the air, and repeatedly slammed him into the wall. Fraunces released the boy, and Gunn slumped to the ground in tormented agony. With that minor hindrance out of the way, the demon continued it's barrage upon the unfortunate Eloute. Fraunces came with a quick series of attacks, the last one carving up the mage's thigh and leg. Eloute stumbled to the ground and dropped his weapon, clutching his wounded appendage. The creature came at him again, only this time he reared back his head and released a putrid black smoke from his mouth. The dark cloud soon cloaked the magician in it's embrace, and cries of agony escaped the mercenary's trembling lips. "I can't see, I can't see! I'm blind! Someone, PLEASE!!" he bellowed in horror. He tried to get to his feet, but the ground below him, covered by the limitless riches, was shaky at best, and the gold and jewels gave way under his weight, causing him to fall right back down. Fraunces, seizing the opportunity that presented itself, shot out a clawed hand at Eloute, gripping the top of the mage's head. With his superior strength, Fraunces easily picked up the human, and with a laugh that could have frozen ice, the demon ripped Eloute's head clean off. As Kage watched this unfold, he couldn't help but feel like the foolish samurai. There was little room to navigate here, at least, little room to move and remain unseen. And it was that nakedness that made him feel like those moronic warriors, who lived their lives by an idiotic and misguided trust in something called honor, and died because they were to stupid to tilt the playing field in their favor. In the class system of warriors, from ninja to magicians to martial-artists and archers, there was nothing lower than those retarded samurai who were too dumb to fight with any sort of intelligence. And as this feeling crept through the ninja's body, he was certain he had never felt anything worse in his entire life. He moved in from the side while Grenseal and Trine, although both wounded, attacked from the front. Kage struck quickly and ferociously, his blade connecting with Fraunces' solid flesh several times. But the sword merely scratched the demon's frame, and would have been equivalent to the ninja receiving paper cuts. Kage continued the assault however, dealing the creature several more cuts to it's back, and a final kick to the head. Meanwhile, Grenseal and Trine performed admirably despite their injuries. The Toranian knight charged first, blocking an attack from Fraunces with his shield--letting the pain from his wounded hand filter throughout his body as his defensive weapon was hit--then brought his sword clean across the monster's stomach. Not yet done, he flipped the sword straight up, and attempted to drive it through the creature's chest, only to have Fraunces dodge to his left, causing Grenseal to catch only the demon's right shoulder. Trine matched his comrades fury, blasting in beside the knight's side. He drove his blade into Fraunces thigh, then, pulling it out, he brought the shimmering weapon in a streaking arc, connecting with the side of the demon's thick neck. The green ooze leaked out slowly, wetting the blade with it's presence. The three seemed to be making progress as they continued to press on, but Fraunces only let out a sardonic laugh at the pitiful humans. The rune on Fraunces' forehead glowed a bright yellow, and the demon stretched his arms out. A giant gust of wind flew out from under his outstretched arms, picking the three warriors up like grains of sand, and throwing them through the air, each landing some ten feet from where they were powerfully uprooted. The ninja toppled to the ground, but was back on his feet in a matter of seconds, as were Grenseal and Trine. But the haunting laughter from the monster that was formerly Fraunces persisted, and the demonic rune shone once more, causing the earth to tremble in fury. Not a moment later, large stone spikes rose from the ground, Kage jumped against the wall he had been hurled at, and used the natural barrier to help propel him into a single back flip, allowing him to leap over the spike that rose from the ground higher than the average elf stood. Some of the other men were just as skilled and got away fine, but there were also some who weren't as lucky. Grenseal was smart enough to simply react to the occurrence rather than trying to outsmart Fraunces. As the large spike rose up on his left, he allowed the rocky weapon to carry him some, then he just rolled off to his right. Sydonia, in the bandit's true form, disappeared as soon as the spike meant for him shook the earth. He reappeared in midair and dropped safely to solid ground. Gunn and Trine also avoided the attack, the boy by a far more unconventional method. Driving his blades into the apex of the spike, he flipped himself into a straight vertical position. He then tore one of his blades out of the spike, balancing his whole body on just the one hand. Next, he took the free sword and punctured the rock with it once again, only this time in something that resembled a fort-five degree angle. Gunn let go of the blade standing erect, and his body, seeming to defy every law of gravity there was, swung down to his second blade, and once there, used his momentum to send him into a flip, where he landed unscathed upon his feet. The attack however, was quite devastating to the band of mercenaries. The rising of the earth actually threw the man known as Gilbert, instead of marring him fatally, and his sword, out of it's scabbard for the fight, actually penetrated his own stomach, running through the side of his torso. The wound didn't look fatal, but it looked as though it was enough to keep him out of the rest of the fight. For Three, the wound which was inflicted upon him was not only enough to keep him from doing anymore good in the battle, but would definitely be fatal if not treated soon. The spike charged up right in front of him, and tore through the length of his chest. Currently he lay on the ground, writhing in pain, screaming at the top of his lungs. Finally, for Rooster, the assault made certain he would never fight again; he was dead. It rose up from under him, just to his right, tearing his leg off at the groin. He was just about to fall to the ground when the spike rushed through his chest, hanging him from it like a piece of clothing. Kage looked around at the rapidly diminishing group of mercenaries. When this fight had begun the ninja had like the odds very much; them being close to 20 to 1. But now it looked as though twenty mercs wasn't enough, the odds falling to about 13 to 1, and out of those thirteen, only four or five were completely healthy. Grenseal and Trine were himself was fine--just a little headache--as were Gunn and Sydonia. There were others who were still perfectly fine, like the bandit they had taken prisoner, who were to scared to draw their weapons and cowered in their corners hoping the demon wouldn't come after them next. Kage readied his blade and prepared to strike; only, something held him back. In his mind he knew this creature from hell could not be defeated. He knew that this thing would kill each one of them if they continued to stand here. His eyes were drawn to the two doors that led out of the room. One, the door they had entered from, a long and treacherous journey to the surface behind it. The other door, like the ninja himself, was cloaked by darkness and mystery. It taunted the mercenaries with it's presence, it's shadows containing secrets that no mortal man had beheld since the catacombs inception. Kage's eyes found their way back to Fraunces, then once again back to the two distant exits. He could make it, of that he was certain. He could use the other mercenaries as a diversion and bait--not that he really needed them anyway--and escape. After that he could make his way back the exact way his group had come; there would be the least amount of danger that way since his team had done a large amount of house cleaning on their way in. No bandits, no hellhounds, no problem. He was capable of doing it by himself. So why the hell wasn't he doing just that!? Why was he just standing here, thinking like an idiot? Let these moronic warriors suffer the fate they had brought upon themselves. They were foolish, you were not, his mind screamed, you knew something like this would happen, you were prepared. Now get out of here, your job is complete! The voice was relentless. It continued to pound the question inside his head, and the question haunted him. Why are you still here? He pondered the riddle. Kage was a level-headed man, while not incredibly intelligent academically, he knew enough to get by. But on the battlefield...that was another story; the ninja was one of the smartest warriors one could ever meet. And so him standing here, fighting for a futile cause, waiting to be killed, made no sense to him. Was it guilt? Did he somehow feel responsible because he helped release this creature? Was it pride? The ninja had never lost a fight since he had left Rokkaku, did he want to keep that streak in tact? Or was he too scared to try and leave? Kage didn't know, he had no comprehension of those frail human feelings and emotions. Perhaps once he did, but no longer, and because of that, he had no logical explanation of why he was still standing there. But he knew one thing for certain, he wanted to see this demon's eyes as it died by his hands. He sprung into action, taking Fraunces by surprise from the side. He thrust his blade into the monster's side, where the kidney would have been, had the aristocrat still have been human. Breen ooze spilled from the fresh wound, and Fraunces roared in fury. It took a clumsy swing at the ninja, which Kage easily dodged. Then the blade was back up, catching the creature's elbow. The cut was just a scrape though, not even enough to draw blood. Kage pressed his attack, flailing out at the monster with every available limb. He brought a lightning round-house to Fraunces' back, then, as that foot landed, he drove the knee of his other leg into the creature's chest. Bringing the foot back down, he quickly lashed out with the leg again, this time connecting with the side of Fraunces' knee, forcing it to buckle and bring him down some. Never letting a second pass, the ninja drove the pommel of his blade into the monster's gut, then in a beautiful display of fighting ability, the mercenary seemed to levitate, driving his elbow into the demon's jaw. Still suspended in midair, Kage began a back flip, leaving his right foot extended collide with Fraunces' face, starting at the monstrosity's chin and up to his nose. Kage landed the dismount perfectly, ending in a crouch. But the assault gave minimal damage to the demon, a fact which left the ninja slightly dismayed. Fraunces looked at him through cold orbs which resonated with power, and began laughing once again. "You are a worthy opponent, human" the creature roared with a certain amount of respect, "but your efforts are in vain, for I am eternal." the rune on his forehead glowed, and the walls began to shake and rumble. The ninja looked around in uncertainty, when a boulder, about twice the size of the mercenary's head, struck him in the side. Kage dropped his sword as he stumbled to his left, where a second rock, bigger than the first, hit him in the chest and sent him flying. He slammed into the ground, where he wasn't sure he was going to get up from. But he did. Despite how hazy everything seemed, and how cluttered his mind felt, he knew he had to get his blade back, and he quickly reeled it back into himself. He staggered into a fighting stance, unable to keep himself still. Everything appeared cloudy, unclear. His eyes attempted to focus, but everything was vague, like it was veiled by some impenetrable mist. He saw Sydonia leap--at least he thought it was Sydonia-- launching an attack at Fraunces. But the demon was too fast for even the speedy bandit. He turned, raised both hands high in the air, and the rune shone brightly yet again. Giant rocks again exploded from the walls, only they didn't strike the bandit like they had the ninja. Instead, they collapsed around him, encasing Sydonia in a stone tomb. The statue plummeted to the ground, the rock sealing shattered upon impact with the earth, leaving Sydonia unconscious on the ground. But it was at that time that the fog lifted from Kage's mind, and he saw as clearly as one could on a cloudless summer's day. The answer had been so simple, yet it had eluded him all this time. How? He had no idea, but he knew what had to be done now. His father's voice, angry and cold, came back to him. When all else fails, a ninja must attempt to cut the source of his enemy's power, when that is done, victory is within grasp. A ninja's first priority was to strike in secret; in silence, to kill before their enemy could defend himself, for that was the true nature of stealth. But there were times when not even the human shadows could attack undetected. If that were to happen, and the ninja had to engage in battle, then they would go right for their combatants jugular, immediately exposing their attackers weaknesses. But on extremely rare occasions, a weakness was extremely difficult to find. When that were to happen, the ninja should try and cut the enemy's power, if they were quick and agile, take out the legs; strong, the arms; intelligent, then take them away from what they knew. How this had escaped his memory for so long would forever remain a mystery to the ninja, but it mattered not now, because now he knew. "Grenseal," he shouted, surprised by the strength of his own voice, "go after the rune!"
|
|||||
