THE LAST ONE PART 1: THE BEGINNING
Story by: Malus Wolfe
Edited by: Davey Rootbeer
Produced by : Your Mom
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Chapter 4: A Shadow's Dream
“So nice to see you again…” growled a low, deep voice.
Across time and space, an imposing lair sat in total darkness. A single candle illuminated a small figure, sitting in a chair of stone. A bulky, strong man emerged from the shadows. His eyes seemed to be illuminated with a dark red essence. His countenance could not be seen, due to the low light, and the black cloth covering his face.
“The pleasure is all mine, my lord.” He grinned. This man had a strange aura. His body did not generate energy by itself, he had other power sources. Only the dead are unable to generate energy. “The spirits are getting restless; do you want me to take care of the matter?”
The small, dominating figure in the chair seemed to burst out with anger. “As long as you do take care of the matter Khant!” He boomed, jutting up from his seat. “I gave you your life back! I can sure as hell take it back when I choose to!!! Now, be gone! I have much to strategize.”
“Don’t worry; I have just the guy…” Khant chuckled, disappearing into the shadows, and out into the wind.
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“What exactly are we doing here again?” I said, impatiently. Davey had dragged me away from my training without warning and, much to my dismay, insisted we went to a local bar to get some drinks. I wanted to get some sleep back at the inn, but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“Making sure we don’t get killed, for one. Do you really think the youkai orbs are unguarded?” said Davey in his mysterious tone, “We’re here to gather people to help us.”
Our waitress suddenly brought over two drinks, without us asking. She was a dark-haired woman with tan skin, medium height and stature. She was very beautiful, and she threw Davey a wink as she set the drinks down. I looked at Davey to see if he was blushing, but his visage stayed as calm as ever. My attention then diverted to his drink, and then to mine. His drink was glowing blue, not unlike the color of chi. I assumed chi was put into common practice, everyday life activities in Yamakai. Looking at my own, I let out a half-scream.
“What the hell is this?” I questioned. My drink looked like a mix between caviar and vinegar. It was clear at the bottom, with black chunks floating around the top. It was completely devoid of any blue glow.
“Only kid’s drink we got, sugar! It’ll help your chi get big and strong!” Said the cute waitress, laughing at her comment. “The usual for you Davey!” “Thank you Serena, but bring him something more akin to my drink, he’s old enough. Has anyone stopped in looking for an adventure?”
She had a puzzled look on her face. “Just that guy, over there!” Serena motioned for another waitress to bring be over a drink. It was the same as Davey’s, glowing blue. It tasted like sugar water, very sweet and energizing, but a bit tasteless. Must be a local delicacy…,”Well, what do you think?” Serena said, interrupting my thought.
I turned my head around. To my surprise, it was the man from the other night, at the nightclub, the blue mage! Focusing my eyes, I got a good look at him for the first time. He was a man with medium height, although slightly short. He was adorned with blue robes, with gold trimming in places. His hair was blonde, and completely messed up. His face was rough, but had a childish aspect to it. He seemed to be depressed, sitting back in his chair, deep in thought.
“Well? He’s no planeswalker, but he should do!” The waitress winked at me. I felt my cheeks getting red. “Aww, isn’t he cute!”
“Heh…heh….” I laughed, still blushing. In an attempt to shield myself from embarrassment, I decided to expedite our encounter. “Let’s go ask him, Davey.”
“Sure thing, boss” Davey chuckled with an unusual tone, a smile spreading across his face, like I had suddenly assumed power. It was a very odd situation, and I was feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. “Lead the way”
Stumbling away from the table, I walked over to the man. I was starting to turn sour, with Davey and Serena making fun of me. The man was sitting backwards in his chair, with a pair of dice in his hands. “Um…hello?”
“Go away,” He growled. “I don’t deal with kids.”
I my anger exploded, and I slammed my fist down onto his table. “Look buddy! If you have the nerve to just brush me away without even listening… waa?”
To my surprise, he started to laugh hysterically. He curled over in his chair, gripping his stomach. “I was only rattlin you! I knew by the look of you that you didn’t like being called a kid. Man, you’re too easy!”
“Tch!” I brushed him away. I went and sat down at my own table, taking another sip of my drink. “Asshole.” I muttered, under my breath.
Davey laughed. “I heard you were looking for an adventure. Lucky for you, we’re going on one. We’re searching for some artifacts, ‘doing some archeology’, you in?”
“What exactly makes you think I’ll want to go with you?”
Davey looked surprised, as if the man were to understand a code. “Well…uh…Ben, show him your hands!” He motioned for me to come over, but I stayed put in my chair. I pulled off my gloves and held my palm in the air, toward the mage. I made sure to pull my hands back just after he got a look.
“Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse? My name is Asylus, Asylus Otapis. Hey boy!” He shouted.
I tilted my head over my shoulder, throwing him some attitude. “What do you want?”
He grinned. “Easy now, don’t get hostile on me, do you like girls? ‘Cause I see two cuties over there with your name on them!”
I looked over to where he was pointing. Sitting at a table drinking the blue, glowing drinks were two adult females. Neither was human, but both were very beautiful. I knew both the races from a description Davey had given me on our walk to the bar. The first woman was an elf, a race that lived in the forests of south Yamakai. She had long, black hair that wrapped around her pointed ears and seemed to glimmer in the bar’s dim light. She wore a long, white robe over her tall form, bound simply with white thread in places. Her feet were covered with travel-scarred leather walking boots.
The other one was a Mu’Alkirk, a beastlike people inhabiting the plains in western Yamakai. Davey didn’t know why they evolved their traits; he said it was long forgotten. She looked like a walking cat girl. She was short and strong looking, but didn’t look gaudy in the least bit. She had war-paint on her face, and a black tail, which seemed to flow and twitch, but didn’t seem unnatural. Her short hair was autumn, stopping with a curl over her ears. She wore leather or hide as armor, completely covering her arms and body, all the way down to the legs, where she had brown pants. The hide armor looked very heavy, but it had a manner of inexplicable elegance. Both of them were gorgeous. I suddenly saw a third figure, walking over to meet them. I slapped my head in laughter as I realized it was Asylus.
“Hey babe!” He said to the cat girl, with a smirk plastered over his face. “What do you say we get out of here and I’ll show you what blue magic is really about…”
The girl smiled, her tail twitching. “Come a little closer and I’ll tell you my answer…” Asylus was grinning like the dumb fool he was. Right as he got within a close distance, a glimmer of light lit up the table. In a quick burst of speed, the cat girl had drawn two long daggers and pinned his robe to the table. She then proceeded to spit on him. “Fool.”
“Watch yourself now.” Chuckled the elf, drawing a katana. “We aren’t your average ditzy women here.” She took the katana and skillfully lifted the daggers up. Asylus staggered up and turned his head away.
The cat girl closed her eyes and turned her head, letting out a cruel laugh. “What’s the matter? Tough-guy get beaten by a girl?”
The elf giggled. Asylus looked like he was ready to explode, and he slammed off, sitting in the table adjacent to that of the two women. Davey laughed. “Don’t mind him. My name is Davey, and these are my companions Ben and Asylus. What are your names?” The mention of his name seemed to snap both girls into attention.
“Picc’elo, of the wood elves. Pleased to meet your acquaintance.” The elf said, with a small curtsey. Her black hair flowed with her every movement, as if it was a sea of black obsidian. I was mesmerized by her hair, until she turned and smiled at me. I looked down, and felt my cheeks go red.
“Cougar, Demon Cougar, of the Mu’Alkirk war clan.” Murmured the cat-girl, looking down. Even though she seemed to know of Davey’s name, she wasn’t paying the situation much heed.
“We’re going on a journey very soon, archeology.” Said Davey, getting to the point. “Would you two like to join us?”
“I would, where are we going?” said Picc’elo.
“Some old ruins, on the outskirts of the Akivari desert.” I recited, as Davey had instructed me on our destination beforehand.
“Akvari." Asylus corrected, standing up. He waved to the girls, and seemed to be much calmer. I turned my head in embarrassment at his correction, and even more so when Picc’elo giggled.
“He’s very cute, I’d love to join you two. Are you interested, Cougar?
“What’s in it for me?” growled Cougar.
Davey smiled and said, “You get to deal a blow to the Tendo king, if that’s any consolation. Also, the ‘bones’ we’re going to dig up are rumored to make one very strong...”
A trigger went off and Cougar finally eased up. We all sat at a larger table, and ordered more drinks. The rest of the night was spent talking. Davey told the story of my origins and our quest. Picc’elo was listening intently. Asylus was drunk and was cracking cheesy one-liners to the women. Cougar was just staring off, seemingly annoyed at Asylus. Serena occasionally dropped by to give us more drinks. She always gave me a wink. It was the first night I was actually able to unwind. As the hours passed, Davey announced that he and I had to go. We all agreed to meet in front of our inn the following morning.
As we were leaving, a soothing voice greeted us.
“The hawk, ever watchful, guides the shadow to its destiny. The threads of fate grow ever longer.” The voice said, coming from behind us.
I spun around, and saw the figure of a man standing on top of the bar, his long black hair being caressed by the wind. He was very tall, and wore spiky black armor, with pieces of hard leather sewn into the weaker parts, such as the elbow joints. He wore a blue cape around his midsection, but the middle part was cut out in a trapezoid shape, creating two long, thin blue strands draping over his back. “Who’re you?” I asked.
“Jubei Tamadashi, I am a rune knight. I have foreseen the path of your journey, and will be joining you tomorrow, if it’s alright with you?” The latter part of his statement was addressed to Davey, who had a look of suspicion across his face.
“Sure, the more the merrier, but, why do you want to come with us?”
“You will find out soon enough. Have a pleasant sleep…… you’ll need it.” The man said as he disappeared in a blue flash.
Davey pushed me along, nudging me to walk. “Hurry now. We need to get to the inn shortly, the hours are growing smaller. You’ll need all the rest you can get; tomorrow will be a tough journey.”
I nodded, and walked swiftly with my head down. I liked everyone we met tonight; I was looking forward to being with them more. I started to scare myself, though. Why was I so accustomed to Yamakai? Why don’t I think about home often? Why don’t I care that I’m stuck in this strange world?
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