Kingdoms' Plague

A Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors story

"So what are we doing, again?"

"The majesty told us to go here and retrieve this treasure that he says he found the location of."

"Why can't he just do it himself?"

"Don't you know anything? Thats not the way royalty works, Zu Cai. They send the insubordinates to do their dirty work. They use armies to get what they want. Creator forbid, they get off of their pampered arse to do anything themselves."

Zu Cai fell silent.

"I don't like it here." A man from behind the two spoke, tentatively, something he rarely did. He grasped a golden amulet slung around his neck with nervousness. "Something just doesn't feel right."

One of the men turned back to him. "Still superstitious, huh Zhou Chan?" He said, using a tone which obviously showed he didn't feel the same. But, Zhou Chan showed no responsive expression, his gaze focused ahead to the corridor. He nodded slowly, before replying, "Don't waste your breath, Dei Chao."

The three were traveling with amongst a rather small amount of people than they were usually around. They were part of a thirty man force, sent under the command of Emperor Dong Zhuo to retrieve a treasure that was supposedly stored within the depths of an abandoned temple. Of course, the fat man could simply not resist the thought of finding great riches to add to his already excessive wealth. The man craved power and complete domination. He was closing in on that goal.

They hadn't been traveling long, though the outdoors that had provided them with light were already far behind them. Several torches had been lit, illuminating wherever the small force went with a dancing orange light.

The group rounded a corner, into another lengthy hallway. It seemed as if they were traveling a an endless labyrinth for quite some time, before one member shouted, "Over here!" The rest gathered around as best they could within the confined space to find that the man had spotted what seemed to be a slit in the wall, as if a hidden doorway had not been completely closed. He gestured his torch towards it, stepping away a bit. "Someone help me get this open."

Their strongest men soon managed to slide the door open enough for them to gain entry, single-file. They piled in. Inside, they found a room showing majestic beauty, a shaft of moonlight shown through a slice in the roof, directly upon an ornate chest that stood on a stone pedestal in the center. The chest was, apparently, the only thing in the room, its gold linings glinting against the pale illumination above.

One soldier dared approach the storage device, reaching out his hand, slowly. Finally it reached the cold surface of the chest, sliding his palm slowly, feeling its texture.

Pop! Suddenly, the lock jumped open at the front of the chest. The man jumped slightly in surprise, gasping as if he were about to be struck by an arrow, or acidic mixture of some type that may have been a trap set to protect the treasure. But, nothing of the sort occurred and, slowly, while he peered in, the man opened the chest.

The room exploded in a flash of ghostly blue light, sparks and other arcane projectiles launching from the depths of the storage device, searing through the torsos of men who tumbled to the ground shortly after. These missiles seemed to hunt the soldiers, who now began to scramble away in fear. Some yelped in surprise, others screamed and yelled as their comrades fell.

Zhou Chan didn't give himself time to think. Just as soon as he'd heard the first cries and the frantic movement within the room ahead, he turned and ran, not bothering to look behind. All that came were more sounds of sudden death and horror. A blue missile whizzed passed him, something hit him from behind and he fell to the ground. Before unconsciousness grasped its calm embrace on him, and before the sounds all around him had become too distant to recognize or hear, he witnessed Dei Chao collapse down next to him, knocked from awareness or dead. Soon, all he knew was black.

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Author's Note:

This is the first chapter of my first published story here on . Critique is welcomed, just don't cross the boundaries towards flaming, please. In the future, let me know if there are any discrepancies between the history of Dynasty Warriors/Samurai Warriors that is not correlating what I am writing and I will attempt to fix it. I may not be as well acquainted with its stories as others may be.