Author's Notes: This little idea bit at me while I was interstate and simply wouldn't go away. Now that I have more time to write, installments should be more regular (should being the main word xD). I'll be trying something different (yet again) with this one, but I hope you enjoy it ;)

Disclaimer: I'll say this once during the whole fic. I don't owe Ragnarok Online.

--

Ragnarok Online

The Spectres of Amatsu

Chapter One

--

…And the great samurai roared, cursing us as he tried to find a way through the barrier. We backed away, praying that the barrier would hold. And hold it did. The samurai slashed at it with his swords, only to have them disintegrate. He attempted to cross the seals we placed over the Tatami Maze, only to have his spectral shape burned away. Finally he withdrew, swearing an oath that every single person who entered would join him in death. He would build an army of undead followers, until one day he could take revenge. With little else left for us to do, we left the Maze, our job here in Amatsu done. But the price of sealing the samurai was high; we had lost many fellow brothers and sisters, and Amatsu no longer had an heir to the throne.

- Aleran Lizray

--

"I swear we've been here before."

"That's because we have. Seriously Cairn, your skills as a pathfinder are distinctly sub-par."

"I'd like to see you do better, girl-man."

Lise tried to ignore the argument that was flying from the head of the party to the tail. Raile, their knight, gave her a 'what-can-you-do?' shrug as the assassin in front argued with the hunter bringing the rear. Lise did not personally know these three, but it seemed that these kinds of arguments were common between the assassin and hunter. Cairn, as good as his senses were, could not compare with the sharp hearing and eagle eyes of Haneul (Han for short), their hunter. But in turn, Han could not move nearly as stealthily as Cairn, making the assassin a better scout. However, Lise had underestimated just how confusing Amatsu's famous Tatami Maze really was. As a result, the party was well and truly lost, going around and around in circles as they were lead by an equally confused scout.

Lise had to admit that the trek through the Maze was not much of a chore; the Tatami Maze was as beautifully designed as the city that housed it. The translucent papery walls were decorated with various artworks. Calligraphy, paintings, carved doors, the beautiful living miyabi dolls, they were everywhere. Lise couldn't help but feel bad when the party ruined the tatami mats and walls in battles as they passed through. But she took some comfort that the miyabi dolls would somehow repair them to their old beauty. The dolls and traditional artwork that were part of the Maze hailed from a time so long ago, a time Amatsu wished to restore. In the recent years, the royal family of Amatsu had publicised the secret they had kept hidden for centuries. The throne wanted to use the lower floors of the palace known as the Tatami Maze, but did not have the resources to clear it of its undead and demons. As a result, the royal family requested for adventurers looking for excitement to help clear the Maze of its monsters. They had also warned of a being within the Maze called the Incantation Samurai, but no one had ever seen the Samurai. As a result, the Incantation Samurai was shrugged off as a mere myth.

Which was exactly why Lise was in the Maze.

Even though she was a priestess of the Pronteran Church, Lise had no interest in clearing the undead; she had come to Amatsu with the sole purpose of finding the Samurai. She had been interested in myths and legends from the very beginning. As a child, she had wondered if there was a grain of truth in all the stories she read and listened to. As a priestess who had served the Pronteran Church faithfully for fifty years, she now had the knowledge, the expertise and the resources to chase those stories. However, with the way things were now, she doubted Cairn could even find the entrance to the Maze, let alone Incantation Samurai. It was a good thing she could always warp the party out if they needed to return to the city.

The sounds of the argument grew louder. "Even the ugliest of pockmarked mermen has a better looking face than you."

"Oh really? Well, you can shove that fancy bow of yours right up your–"

Lise sighed, running a hand through her auburn hair. Maybe hiring these three had been a bad idea. So far they hadn't come across anything she couldn't handle herself, and these in-party quarrels occurred on a too-frequent basis. The trio had come with a rather large recommendation by the Pronteran Church, but she should have realised they weren't as good as their paperwork said they were. She should have known there would be undead, undead and more undead in Amatsu. After all, that's what was advertised. She was more than experienced enough to take out the undead that made the Maze its home. Of course, she wanted back-up just in case they ran into Incantation, but then again, it was also called 'Samurai Spectre' by the locals. Logically that would mean it was a ghost, an undead, meaning she could handle it alone. Undead and demon killing were the priest class specialty after all, aside from supporting others.

"Put a sock in it you two," Raile interrupted irritably, his naturally calm face disturbed. His voice was low and hushed in fear. "Do you want to bring the Incantation Samurai on our heads?"

Lise watched the assassin roll his eyes and fold his arms. Han, however, raised a delicate eyebrow. "Raile, I was under the impression we were hired to find the ol' Amatsu myth."

"There is a big difference," the knight snapped, the shadow of terror flickering across his face, "between sneaking up on the Samurai, and having it unexpectedly jump out at us."

"Oh come on, you're so superstitious." Cairn flapped his hands dismissively. "I doubt it even exists anyway. If it did, someone would have spotted it already. I bet the royals were just bullshitting about it to attract more tourists to the city. Incantation's just a load of bullshit in my opinion."

"Have you ever thought that the reason why no one's seen it is because no one lived to tell the tale?"

Lise felt an unconscious shiver run down her spine. Something felt wrong, but she wasn't sure if it was Raile's horror story-esque predictions getting to her, or if there was genuinely something dark out there stalking them, watching their every move. Han seemed to sense it too, suddenly getting the sleepy-eyed look that belied his actual alertness. Noting their sudden alertness, Cairn and Raile silently drew their weapons, their eyes scanning the dark corners of the Maze. Lise had to admit the party worked well when they weren't fighting each other. Several tense moment passed, but there was still no sign of anything, living or undead, in the Maze. Lise was about to call it quits and suggest they all go back to Amatsu when Han suddenly barreled into Cairn, knocking the assassin over.

There was a flash of steel a split second later where Cairn's head had been.

Quickly chanting, Lise let a Kyrie Eleison barrier fall over the whole party. She nearly passed out when she saw her powerful barrier shatter under another sword strike. The only thing that saved Raile's life was his quick reflexes, parrying the second strike with his sword. Rolling onto his feet, Han shot into the darkness, but fell back when the barrier over him shattered as well. Cairn pulled out a small orb and threw it to where the attacks were coming from, bathing the whole Maze in light. Lise replaced the shattered barriers over Raile and Han, rather than blessing them and increasing their agility. She knew that if she didn't replace the Kyrie, they would quickly be two party members short. But she didn't finish her chant when she realized what exactly they had been fighting.

The huge spectral shape of Incantation Samurai loomed over them. A giant of a samurai, Lise could almost smell the undead stench on it. But that was what scared her. She couldn't hear its approach, she could barely feel its ghostly presence and the smell associated with the undead was not there. Its black lacquered armour only added to its fearful appearance. The two swords it carried were currently crossed over its chest, the steel glinting maliciously in the faint light. The empty skull under its helmet seemed to grin as the samurai let its red-eyed gaze rove over the fear-stricken party.

"Ah, fresh meat."

Lise squeezed her eyes shut and screamed when the Samurai swung its swords at Raile, realizing she hadn't completed her barrier spell. There was no way she'd be able to finish it before the swords met Raile's neck. But instead of hearing a sound like a knife cutting through sashimi, she heard a clash of metal on metal. Some choice words in the Amatsu language soon followed. Cracking open an eye in curiosity, she saw the Samurai facing a ghostly man.

"You again!" Incantation Samurai hissed between clenched teeth, completely ignoring the party. "Why can't you ever let me kill in peace?"

The ghost grinned and held up his dagger. "I live to annoy, you should know that by now, you fat tin-can."

With a frustrated bellow, the Samurai slashed at the ghost. Laughing, the ghost danced just out of range. Incantation and the ghost were almost blurs as they fought each other in a flurry of movement. Lise couldn't help but be captivated by the flashes of steel as they dodged and parried attacks from each other, dancing in perfect harmony. Their forms continuously shifted from solid to translucent to invisible and back again, as if they were trying to gain an advantage over each other by doing so. She nearly cried out when one of the Samurai's swords came nail-bitingly close to slicing the ghost. But instead of turning the attack aside with a glancing blow from his dagger, the ghost grabbed onto the blunt side of the sword with his free hand. In the blink of an eye, the Samurai was sent stumbling backwards from a powerful kick by the ghost. It was the first blow that had landed since they had begun.

In the moment of reprieve, the ghost turned to face Lise. Frowning, he yelled, "What the hell are you doing? Run!"

Not wanting to question her party's good fortune, Lise gathered the others and ran and ran and ran, running until she thought her lungs would explode. Pausing when they had run far enough, Lise clutched her side where she thought she could feel a stitch forming. Cairn and Han flopped over, panting heavily while Raile kept an eye out, chest heaving. They remained silent, trying to catch their breath. Chanting, Lise quickly opened a warp portal to Amatsu. The other three tumbled over each other to get to the warp, quickly disappearing as they reached the portal. Lise was about to enter it herself when the ghost suddenly appeared before her, inciting a gasp of surprise from her.

Now that she could see him up close, Lise realized the ghost looked quite young, maybe in his late teens or early twenties. He had dark, untidy brown hair with a lock flopping over his right eye. The remaining eye gleamed a bright gold, the strangest she had ever seen. His lean frame was marred by a garish wound to his side, still pouring ghostly wisps of blood. As she watched, the blood disintegrated the moment it touched the floor. Lise unconsciously took a step back as he approached her, his one visible eye examining her. She squirmed under his gaze, not liking the appraising look he gave her, as if he was mentally undressing her to see what was underneath. She breathed an inward sigh of relief when he stopped his approach, a frown creasing the ghost's brow.

"Shit," she heard him whisper. "For a moment I thought…" He trailed off. A shadow seemed to pass over his face. His visible eye narrowing, he snarled, "Get the hell out of this place, priestess! I don't ever want to see you here again!"

"What? Who are you?" Lise demanded, reflexively clutching the rosary she wore around her neck. The terror from her close encounter with Incantation and the unease she felt around the ghost was transforming unto her usual post-stress anger. The ghost's harsh words clashed with something inside her with a horrible screech.

The ghost glared at her. Lise felt her red-hot anger drain away, quailing under his angry gaze. "I'm a fucking idiot," the ghost snapped before disappearing.

--

Author's Notes: I'm getting lazy with chapter names, so they'll just be called chapter 1, chapter 2 etc. etc. What Cairn was referring to when he called Han a girl-man is that Haneul (하늘, 'heaven') is a type of name usually given to girls. Man, I hope Lise doesn't become as flat (personality wise) as my other female characters. And I've just realized I've stretched my timeline again…

I've personally never made it through the Maze. I went there once, got so annoyed at the invisible walls and the walls that aren't really walls that I bwinged out. Pity, I should have explored more. I'll give a cookie to the person who gets what's referenced in Incantation's first words. As always, comments and criticism welcome (chants to self, "Must catch up on fanfiction I missed out. Must read. Must review.")