Chapter 2:New Company
Linea woke up before anyone else. She yawned, and sat up right in her bed. She rubbed her eyes gently. Trett and James were still asleep, so she decided to hurry up and dress before they woke up. She had on her clothes, and a couple minutes after she got on her boots, James and Trett woke up.
"Morning," Linea said. James and Trett, too tired to say anything, just nodded. "I'm going to go downstairs and buy some stuff to eat. You two get dressed before I get back." She left to downstairs and went to the bar to buy food and drinks. "Can I have some bread and water, please?"
"3 silver and 1 copper," replied the bartender, reaching under the counter for bread and water. Linea handed him the money, and took the bread and water.
"Thank you sir," She said politely, and with that she walked upstairs. She knocked on the door to make sure they were done dressing. James opened the door for Linea, taking a slice (or two) of bread. "Pig," Linea taunted. James stuck his tongue out.
"YUCK! James, that's gross," Trett said. James smiled playfully. "So, where do we go now?" Trett reached for some bread and water.
"I'm actually not quite sure, Trett," Linea admitted, taking some water and bread also. They ate, talking about stuff every few seconds. When they finished eating Linea packed the leftover food and water in her bag, and took out a map. "Let's see… I think we should go to the Temple of Fire first. We'll have to stop at the large City of Koran," Trett looked over Linea's shoulder at the map.
"Okay," James said, wiping his mouth on his long-sleeve shirt. They walked downstairs and loaded their horses outside. "Ready for a long journey FlameDemon?" James gently asked his horse, petting it nose. Trett and Linea mounted their horses, and James did after petting it once more.
"Well, let's be going!" Linea said with a smile. She led the horses down a path that went through a forest.
James yawned. "Are we there yet?" Trett asked. Linea shook her head. Trett sighed.
"I might as well fall asleep sit--," He was cut off by a strange sound in a bush. "What the heck was that?"
"I don't know," Linea said, jumping off her horse and looking behind the bush. A young man, about twelve, jumped out, with a staff in hand. "Who are you?" Linea asked, stepping back. The pre-teenager didn't say anything, but pointed his staff at Linea.
"Duel me." He said simply. Linea hesitated, stepping back more. He repeated to duel him. Linea grinned evilly.
"As you wish," Linea said. She was waiting for something exciting to happen, and she wasn't about to turn this down. Immediately, the young man started to battle her, staff to staff. He swung his staff under her feet, but she jumped in time to keep herself from tripping. She swung at his head, which he blocked as quickly as a fox. Their staffs were joined in the middle for a second, both blocking one another.
"My, you are quite well," He said, grinning. She jerked him away by pushing her staff forward. "For a princess," He added. This really upset Linea, knowing someone knew her identity. She whacked at his head, he blocked. His hip, he blocked again.
"Who are you?!" Linea yelled out. The young man stopped. He propped his staff upright against his hip.
"I only wish to join you," He stated. Linea looked at James and Trett. They shrugged at her, not knowing what to tell him. "Let me join, and I won't have to take you back to the castle of Sidhe." Linea stared into his dark brown eyes. She felt like she could trust him, somehow.
"You may join us," Linea said. "If you tell me your name." He bowed deeply.
"I have no name to give you, call me as you wish," He replied, matter- of-factly. "Some call me Kashiko."
"Okay, that is what we will call you," Linea concluded. Kashiko bowed again. "Were you the one following us?" Linea asked suddenly. Kashiko smiled. Linea found that his smile was quite charming.
"Yes, I was the one following you three," Kashiko said. "I meant no harm."
I believe we can trust him. I usually get vibes off of people we cannot trust. SilverWing told Linea. Linea nodded, and mounted her horse. Kashiko whistled, and a strangely silver horse, with a black mane, came riding up. Kashiko mounted it and pet its neck softly.
"Good girl Nimoshan," Kashiko said to the beautiful, glowing horse. The horse neighed in affection. Linea grinned at the lovely horse.
"Does Nimoshan mean something?" James asked curiously. Kashiko nodded, turning the horse to face Trett, James, and Linea.
"It means 'Too Beautiful'," Kashiko said. Kashiko turned to Linea to ask a question. James looked at Trett and laughed. Linea glared at them and they stopped.
"At least he's not being rude like you two," Linea said to them. James looked up and shook his head.
"You got that right," Trett said to James, as if reading James' mind.
"So, where are you three going?" Kashiko asked, trotting his horse up next to Linea.
"Uh…we're going to the Temple of Fire," Linea said. Kashiko grinned at Linea. "I wonder if we can really hope to find the Ultimate Power."
"You'll never know," Kashiko stated. "Until you try." Linea stared into his deep, rich eyes. She felt a sense of security lying in Kashiko, and trust. The falcon shifted on Linea's shoulder.
You sound all confused. SilverWing said. VERY confused, like you don't even know you're acting all nervous.
"Who said I was--," Linea started. Then she realized Kashiko was listening.
"Huh?" He asked, scratching his head confused.
"Er…" Linea paused. "I was… talking to SilverWing, my falcon." Linea looked away, somewhat embarrassed. To her much surprise, Kashiko smiled, and pulled his bag in front of him. He opened it, and pulled out an ocarina. He played a small tune, and a wolf came riding up out of nowhere.
"Hey Tyran," Kashiko said. Linea ducked to dodge a branch from hitting her in the head. "Levitation!" Kashiko said, aiming his staff at the wolf. The wolf suddenly floating at the height of the horse. Linea smiled.
"We're almost to the city," Linea said, taking a left dirt path. "We won't get there until noon tomorrow. We'll be there by sunset.?" The group nodded.
Occasionally Trett would ask about the spirit animals, and how he would find one. Linea only knew that when Trett was ready, he would find his spirit animal.
What do they know about us animals? A voice said.
"Who said that?" Trett said out loud.
"Huh? I didn't hear anything, Trett," Kashiko said. Trett scratched his head.
"What did you hear?" Linea asked. Trett shrugged looking around.
Trett, the horse! MACE! The one you've had for 4 years straight. The voice said. Trett gaped, nearly falling off the saddle.
"MACE?!" Trett exclaimed. The horse seemed to nod. "Oh my Goddess Kysta! It's Mace!" He pat Mace on the neck cheerfully.
"I'm not much of a religionist, so, who is Kysta?" Kashiko asked. Trett smiled at Mace, who seemed to be talking to him because Trett would blurt out something every now and then.
"Goddess of the Night, most powerful of all," Linea replied. "She guides lost souls in the night to Rayjah, as legend is said." Kashiko knew what Rayjah was. It was the home of the spirits, to rest for eternity.
"I see then," Kashiko concluded. "Interesting. Is there more of the type?" Linea nodded.
"Hundreds of Gods and Goddesses," Linea said, smiling. "Many favor the Goddess Dynatra. Goddess of Life and Peaceful Death. Old elders would pray to her every day, to wish for a peaceful death, without pain, to go to Rayjah. Mothers, or soon-to-be-mothers, would pray for their children." Kashiko nodded.
"Hey, Linea," James spoke up. Linea turned to face him. "If we keep calling you 'Linea' people will get suspicious." Linea thought about this, and nodded.
"So, what should be my 'new name'?" Linea asked. James and Kashiko thought. Trett was still rambling on to his horse, though… "I think I like Kaneko," Linea concluded. James and Kashiko smiled.
"I like that name," James said. James bopped Trett on the head.
"OW!! What was that for?!??!?!" Trett yelled out, scaring FlameDemon.
"For not listening to this whole important conversation!!" He yelled back. "From now on, you have to call Linea Kaneko, because if we keep calling her Linea, people will get suspicious!" Trett rubbed his head, glaring at James. "Sorry, but you just kept rambling on to Mace, we were starting to get annoyed."
"There's the town," James said, pointing ahead of them. The town was huge, with shining pillars of white color. Linea gasped silently at it beautifulness. They took the horses to the inn, but this time bought a 3- bed room, and a 1-bed room. The 3-bed was for the boys, and the 1-bed for Linea.
"Good night you 3," Linea said before walking in the room and curling up in her bed to sleep.
"Hey Kashiko," James started. Kashiko faced him. "Do you like Linea?" He said with a sly smile. Kashiko fell, face first. (Anime style, ;o)
"She doesn't know it, but she knows me, from a while back," Kashiko stated. "I had changed my name to Kashiko. We were good friends, until I moved."
"So then, why did you chase us?" Trett curiously asked, why sitting back up in bed.
"That's my business…" Kashiko stated, blushing, but the night's darkness hid the redness in his cheeks. "My name was Selryam."
"Are you… well, going to tell Linea?" James asked, putting his hands on the back of his head. Kashiko shrugged.
"Eventually... Eventually." Kashiko whispered simply, pulling the covers over himself, and fell asleep.
Linea woke up before anyone else. She yawned, and sat up right in her bed. She rubbed her eyes gently. Trett and James were still asleep, so she decided to hurry up and dress before they woke up. She had on her clothes, and a couple minutes after she got on her boots, James and Trett woke up.
"Morning," Linea said. James and Trett, too tired to say anything, just nodded. "I'm going to go downstairs and buy some stuff to eat. You two get dressed before I get back." She left to downstairs and went to the bar to buy food and drinks. "Can I have some bread and water, please?"
"3 silver and 1 copper," replied the bartender, reaching under the counter for bread and water. Linea handed him the money, and took the bread and water.
"Thank you sir," She said politely, and with that she walked upstairs. She knocked on the door to make sure they were done dressing. James opened the door for Linea, taking a slice (or two) of bread. "Pig," Linea taunted. James stuck his tongue out.
"YUCK! James, that's gross," Trett said. James smiled playfully. "So, where do we go now?" Trett reached for some bread and water.
"I'm actually not quite sure, Trett," Linea admitted, taking some water and bread also. They ate, talking about stuff every few seconds. When they finished eating Linea packed the leftover food and water in her bag, and took out a map. "Let's see… I think we should go to the Temple of Fire first. We'll have to stop at the large City of Koran," Trett looked over Linea's shoulder at the map.
"Okay," James said, wiping his mouth on his long-sleeve shirt. They walked downstairs and loaded their horses outside. "Ready for a long journey FlameDemon?" James gently asked his horse, petting it nose. Trett and Linea mounted their horses, and James did after petting it once more.
"Well, let's be going!" Linea said with a smile. She led the horses down a path that went through a forest.
James yawned. "Are we there yet?" Trett asked. Linea shook her head. Trett sighed.
"I might as well fall asleep sit--," He was cut off by a strange sound in a bush. "What the heck was that?"
"I don't know," Linea said, jumping off her horse and looking behind the bush. A young man, about twelve, jumped out, with a staff in hand. "Who are you?" Linea asked, stepping back. The pre-teenager didn't say anything, but pointed his staff at Linea.
"Duel me." He said simply. Linea hesitated, stepping back more. He repeated to duel him. Linea grinned evilly.
"As you wish," Linea said. She was waiting for something exciting to happen, and she wasn't about to turn this down. Immediately, the young man started to battle her, staff to staff. He swung his staff under her feet, but she jumped in time to keep herself from tripping. She swung at his head, which he blocked as quickly as a fox. Their staffs were joined in the middle for a second, both blocking one another.
"My, you are quite well," He said, grinning. She jerked him away by pushing her staff forward. "For a princess," He added. This really upset Linea, knowing someone knew her identity. She whacked at his head, he blocked. His hip, he blocked again.
"Who are you?!" Linea yelled out. The young man stopped. He propped his staff upright against his hip.
"I only wish to join you," He stated. Linea looked at James and Trett. They shrugged at her, not knowing what to tell him. "Let me join, and I won't have to take you back to the castle of Sidhe." Linea stared into his dark brown eyes. She felt like she could trust him, somehow.
"You may join us," Linea said. "If you tell me your name." He bowed deeply.
"I have no name to give you, call me as you wish," He replied, matter- of-factly. "Some call me Kashiko."
"Okay, that is what we will call you," Linea concluded. Kashiko bowed again. "Were you the one following us?" Linea asked suddenly. Kashiko smiled. Linea found that his smile was quite charming.
"Yes, I was the one following you three," Kashiko said. "I meant no harm."
I believe we can trust him. I usually get vibes off of people we cannot trust. SilverWing told Linea. Linea nodded, and mounted her horse. Kashiko whistled, and a strangely silver horse, with a black mane, came riding up. Kashiko mounted it and pet its neck softly.
"Good girl Nimoshan," Kashiko said to the beautiful, glowing horse. The horse neighed in affection. Linea grinned at the lovely horse.
"Does Nimoshan mean something?" James asked curiously. Kashiko nodded, turning the horse to face Trett, James, and Linea.
"It means 'Too Beautiful'," Kashiko said. Kashiko turned to Linea to ask a question. James looked at Trett and laughed. Linea glared at them and they stopped.
"At least he's not being rude like you two," Linea said to them. James looked up and shook his head.
"You got that right," Trett said to James, as if reading James' mind.
"So, where are you three going?" Kashiko asked, trotting his horse up next to Linea.
"Uh…we're going to the Temple of Fire," Linea said. Kashiko grinned at Linea. "I wonder if we can really hope to find the Ultimate Power."
"You'll never know," Kashiko stated. "Until you try." Linea stared into his deep, rich eyes. She felt a sense of security lying in Kashiko, and trust. The falcon shifted on Linea's shoulder.
You sound all confused. SilverWing said. VERY confused, like you don't even know you're acting all nervous.
"Who said I was--," Linea started. Then she realized Kashiko was listening.
"Huh?" He asked, scratching his head confused.
"Er…" Linea paused. "I was… talking to SilverWing, my falcon." Linea looked away, somewhat embarrassed. To her much surprise, Kashiko smiled, and pulled his bag in front of him. He opened it, and pulled out an ocarina. He played a small tune, and a wolf came riding up out of nowhere.
"Hey Tyran," Kashiko said. Linea ducked to dodge a branch from hitting her in the head. "Levitation!" Kashiko said, aiming his staff at the wolf. The wolf suddenly floating at the height of the horse. Linea smiled.
"We're almost to the city," Linea said, taking a left dirt path. "We won't get there until noon tomorrow. We'll be there by sunset.?" The group nodded.
Occasionally Trett would ask about the spirit animals, and how he would find one. Linea only knew that when Trett was ready, he would find his spirit animal.
What do they know about us animals? A voice said.
"Who said that?" Trett said out loud.
"Huh? I didn't hear anything, Trett," Kashiko said. Trett scratched his head.
"What did you hear?" Linea asked. Trett shrugged looking around.
Trett, the horse! MACE! The one you've had for 4 years straight. The voice said. Trett gaped, nearly falling off the saddle.
"MACE?!" Trett exclaimed. The horse seemed to nod. "Oh my Goddess Kysta! It's Mace!" He pat Mace on the neck cheerfully.
"I'm not much of a religionist, so, who is Kysta?" Kashiko asked. Trett smiled at Mace, who seemed to be talking to him because Trett would blurt out something every now and then.
"Goddess of the Night, most powerful of all," Linea replied. "She guides lost souls in the night to Rayjah, as legend is said." Kashiko knew what Rayjah was. It was the home of the spirits, to rest for eternity.
"I see then," Kashiko concluded. "Interesting. Is there more of the type?" Linea nodded.
"Hundreds of Gods and Goddesses," Linea said, smiling. "Many favor the Goddess Dynatra. Goddess of Life and Peaceful Death. Old elders would pray to her every day, to wish for a peaceful death, without pain, to go to Rayjah. Mothers, or soon-to-be-mothers, would pray for their children." Kashiko nodded.
"Hey, Linea," James spoke up. Linea turned to face him. "If we keep calling you 'Linea' people will get suspicious." Linea thought about this, and nodded.
"So, what should be my 'new name'?" Linea asked. James and Kashiko thought. Trett was still rambling on to his horse, though… "I think I like Kaneko," Linea concluded. James and Kashiko smiled.
"I like that name," James said. James bopped Trett on the head.
"OW!! What was that for?!??!?!" Trett yelled out, scaring FlameDemon.
"For not listening to this whole important conversation!!" He yelled back. "From now on, you have to call Linea Kaneko, because if we keep calling her Linea, people will get suspicious!" Trett rubbed his head, glaring at James. "Sorry, but you just kept rambling on to Mace, we were starting to get annoyed."
"There's the town," James said, pointing ahead of them. The town was huge, with shining pillars of white color. Linea gasped silently at it beautifulness. They took the horses to the inn, but this time bought a 3- bed room, and a 1-bed room. The 3-bed was for the boys, and the 1-bed for Linea.
"Good night you 3," Linea said before walking in the room and curling up in her bed to sleep.
"Hey Kashiko," James started. Kashiko faced him. "Do you like Linea?" He said with a sly smile. Kashiko fell, face first. (Anime style, ;o)
"She doesn't know it, but she knows me, from a while back," Kashiko stated. "I had changed my name to Kashiko. We were good friends, until I moved."
"So then, why did you chase us?" Trett curiously asked, why sitting back up in bed.
"That's my business…" Kashiko stated, blushing, but the night's darkness hid the redness in his cheeks. "My name was Selryam."
"Are you… well, going to tell Linea?" James asked, putting his hands on the back of his head. Kashiko shrugged.
"Eventually... Eventually." Kashiko whispered simply, pulling the covers over himself, and fell asleep.