Chapter 6
Disclaimer; I do not own Naruto or Legend of the Seeker
They got there in the afternoon. 'We are there' walking towards an unassuming hedge in the forest, towards two trees with little space between them, Naruto turned towards the rest.
'Where is the house? Can't see any house in this surroundings' Richard asked him
'That's because it's hidden' Chase told him
'c'mon don't let's keep her waiting' Naruto said to them, entering the hedge, a stout house built with wood faced them, an old woman was in a garden in front of the house, she was of average height, had high cheekbones and was blind, her left leg had been amputated from the knee down and she used two crutches to support herself.
'Don't let her blindness fool you, she can see better than most people' Naruto warned them
'What do you want with me now, you never let me rest' scowling at Naruto she asked them
'This is Kahlan and Richard, the old man is Zedd, you already know chase' pointing at each in turn Naruto introduced them.
'The old woman...' Adie interrupted Naruto by pointing at herself
'I be Adie and I be blind not dumb' she told them
'What do the seeker and a great wizard want with me hen, but first come inside, I not be good host by keeping you outside' nodding at them she entered into the building.
The first thing Richard noted as he entered the house was that it was fool of bones, many bones, all the surface of the house was covered in bones, thinking to himself Richard wondered if that was why she was called a bone woman, some of the bones were in circles of chalk, while some were just disorganised in a corner. There were some on the walls which were organised with care, an almost complete skeleton stood to one side, it didn't look like the skeleton of any animal he knew. some of the bones were inscribed with tiny runes. Richard felt as though he was in a beast.
Looking towards Kahlan, he noticed she was speaking with Zedd and Adie in a language he didn't know, Naruto and chase were off to one side with Naruto occasionally nodding at what was being said. Richard felt left out but he noticed chase didn't also seem to understand what was being said
Naruto scowled when Kahlan told Adie that she had no intention of telling Richard she was the confessor as of yet, Adie had recognised the white dress of Kahlan and the length of her hair, after greeting Adie had asked if Richard knew about her being a confessor, she had shook her head and told her that she would tell him in her own time, Zedd had tried to convince her to tell him but she said to drop it.
Shaking her head Adie turned towards Richard 'you be a good man and a good seeker, I feel righteous anger burning inside you but you have control over it. What be stronger the teeth or the tongue?'
'well obviously it's the teeth so i'll choose the tongue' Richard replied
Smiling at the answer Naruto watched as Adie scowled at Richard, 'keep your tongue still' she commanded him.
Embarrassed Richard shut his mouth. 'the magic of the sword be the teeth, strong for tearing, ripping, the teeth can't give solace nor can it make men fight for what they believe or don't believe in, the tongue be the magic of words, it be stronger than the teeth, it not need touch to act but it cuts just as quick, they be but two types of wizard magic'
'I hate riddles, how many types of magic are there? I know darken Rahl uses additive and subtractive.
'There be many parts of magic than I know, but those two be the main part. 'Adie told him
Nodding at what Adie said Zedd asked him 'do you want to become a wizard'
'No I hate magic and you know it, I was just curious' Richard said
'That's enough, we came here for a reason, I think we'll stay here for some days before we leave for midlands' Naruto told them.
'I don't have room for you all, three can stay but two would need to stay out' Adie replied
'No worries chase is heading back home and I can sleep outside, ill also want to keep lookout so it is not bad' Naruto told her.
'Can't chase wait till tomorrow before he leaves, it would be dark soon and I don't want him on the track this night' Richard argued
'he won't be alone, ill escort him until we get to his house, but we can leave tomorrow, the horses need rest and chase also needs his rest' Naruto told him
'Don't you need rest yourself, we've been travelling for three days without much rest' Kahlan asked him
'Remember I am not like you people, I can go longer without rest than you, my body has being trained for it 'Naruto told her
'What type of training did you do for it' Richard asked him
'Huh I didn't really train for it, it's like an acquired skill, do it for long and you notice you don't need much rest, though I won't advice you to try it.'
' ha' Zedd said as he sat at a table while Kahlan brought some soup that Adie cooked and bread for him, the others sat at a small round table, Naruto and Richard sat in a space cleared of bones on the floor.
'this is great soup, not like the one Richard cooks, I wish I had such a good cook at my house, then I won't have to eat what Richard cooks as soup for me' handing over his plate for a second helping the others laughed at him.
A bone rolled of a pile towards Richards plate, picking it up he asked Adie why she kept all the bones around her
'the bones be the source of my magic, and they keep me safe from the beasts of the pass, the bones make them think I be one of them so they don't attack me, though if you stay in one place for too long, they get a feel of you and notice you are not one of them, that's how I lost my leg, I got too confident and a gripper attached itself to my leg, I cut it so it wouldn't suck all my blood.
'oh ok what animals do u get the bones from' Richard asked her
'They be the bones of the pass beasts, which bones did you think they be dog, goat, do heart hounds avoid dogs or goat? Young man you be the seeker, think before you talk' Adie told him.
Abashed Richard went back to his meal.
Richard woke up the following morning with stiff muscles, yawning as he stretched he looked out the window, he saw it was still dark out he guessed it was dawn, Naruto stuck his head in and greeted him, answering him Richard looked towards the room where Adie and Kahlan were sleeping
'They woke before you' Zedd told him from where he sat on his bed pack on the floor, 'they are cooking out back, Naruto and chase would soon be leaving'
'Why didn't you wake me up earlier' Richard asked him
'You were more stressed from the journey than anyone else, we thought you needed more sleep' Zedd answered him
'Ok' heading out he saw chase preparing three horses with Naruto sitting on a branch above him.
'Why are you taking three horses, what do you expect us to use to cross the boundary, and where did you get the horses, I thought all our horses were dead' Richard asked chase
Pointing towards a mountain behind the house, Naruto beckoned him, 'there is a village not far from here that has a warden garrison, that's where we got the horses from and do you see that mountain, that's where we have to pass to get to midlands, not over the mountain, but inside the mountain, some places are so small that you can see the boundary on both sides of you, at least that's what Adie says, so you see we don't need horses.'
Pointing at the last horse Richard asked who it was for
'it's Zedd he is not going to midlands with us, he said he had a plan and he has to stay here a bit longer than us before he can carry it out, so it's the three of us going to midland, that is if I get here early from Hartland, we've decided that you and Kahlan leave for midlands tomorrow because we never know when Rahl would get the last box.'
'what, when did you decide that and why didn't you wake me up when you were deciding, I don't know anything about midlands, but Zedd does, what plan does he have that would make him not to follow us' Richard blurted out
'calm down, Kahlan is an influential person from midlands and knows midlands better than Zedd, I know you already suspected that, and Zedd won't tell us what the plan is, lets head inside I think the food is ready.'
After the meal everybody went out to see them off. Hugging chase Richard thanked him and told him that if he needed him he'll make sure to send for him.
'and please tell my brother about the boundary going down and tell him to prepare his army to defend Westland from Rahl, and tell him I love him'
Promising to deliver his message and wishing them good luck, Naruto and chase headed out.
'What do you think of Kahlan' Naruto asked from chase as he rode alongside him, he had decided to ride instead of run
'She's a good woman although I think she is keeping a big secret from us'
'No, not us only Richard, I think she is falling in love with him and doesn't want him to find out she is a confessor' Naruto replied him
'What! A confessor, do you know what that means, we have to go back'
'Go back and do what, chase her off? You know the reason she is here, and besides do you want to risk her ire?' Naruto shut him up
'But...' chase stammered
'But what, she is a good person and she is doing what is right for her people' Naruto told him
'Very well, if you say so' changing the topic chase asked him if he could get them home faster
'yes I could teleport us to my house and you can get home from there, I never bothered to place a teleport marker in your house but I got one in Zedd and Richards house' Naruto told him
'I should have expected you to have a way, your powers shouldn't surprise me anymore yet it still does, very well if you can do it'
Jumping down Naruto indicated him to bring the last horse towards him, 'I have to be in contact with all passengers before it can work or do you want us to leave the horses?'
'No, the horses are wardens property and are not mine to misplace but how can you touch all three at once' he asked him
'Shadow clone no jutsu' Naruto murmured, there were two puffs of smoke and when they cleared, three Naruto were present
'I know about this your technique but how can it help us' chase asked him
'Whatever I can do my clones can also do, so they can each teleport a horse and I'll take you' Naruto responded as he grabbed him by the arm
'Teleport (I don't know what hiraishin means in English)' Naruto and his clones muttered and they all disappeared.
'Why won't you tell me your plan' Richard asked Zedd, Naruto and chase had left some hours ago and it was around 11 in the morning, Richard had been asking Zedd about his plan for an hour but Zedd kept ignoring him
Tired of his questions Zedd told him, 'it's a secret plan, if I told you, it won't be a secret anymore and would not work, you and Kahlan have to be ignorant of it or it would not work'
It wasn't really like that but Zedd wanted Richard to stop pestering him, 'why don't you ask Adie how you would cross the boundary'
Scowling at the way he changed the subject, Richard headed towards where Kahlan and Adie were sitting, Adie was happy that she was able to meet someone who could speak the midlands language as she hadn't spoken it for a long time even if the person was a confessor, noticing Richard headed towards them, she smiled and turned towards him
'This your woman be smart girl' she beamed at him
Spluttering and blushing Richard and Kahlan said at the same time 'she is not my woman/I am not his woman'
Both Zedd and Adie burst into laughter at their expression 'I only be joking, so what did you want' Adie asked him
'huh how do we cross the boundary' Richard fought the blush down
'Very simple, I give you bone of boundary beast and you cross' she beamed at him, 'but some spaces really be small so you have to be careful, one step from the path on either side can mean death, but you no need bone, you be protected'
'Looking towards Kahlan she said 'I knew your mother, I gave her a bone necklace to protect her unborn child and to enable her to cross, when I talked about the power of the tongue I was talking about you, there be magic which only mother confessors can teach their daughter, I know your mother didn't teach you so the power be lost, but it still be there so be careful.
'You knew my mother, and what power' Kahlan asked tearful
'I remember your family name and her green eyes, they not be easy to forget and they be just like yours, and I don't know the power.'
'I had a bone necklace, my mother gave it to me, and I buried it with Denee when...' a tear rolled down her eye
'Yes, I be the one who gave your mother the necklace, she be pregnant then, I gave her so the child be strong and I see that you be strong' she smiled at Kahlan
'Thank you' Kahlan hugged her, holding her crutch with her left hand, Adie rubbed her back with her right hand in genuine sympathy, rubbing her eyes and disengaging from the hug, she sat down.
Naruto sat cross-legged in a ying yang circle he had drawn in his sitting room, his right knee and arm was in the ying part while his left knee and arm were in the yang part of the circle, two energy orbs were in each of his hands, a white orb in the ying part and a black in the yang, Naruto was trying to increase his control of both parts of his chakra
He has gotten to where he could use both energy for his rasengan, sighing he made both rasengan dissipate, after arriving, he had wanted to teleport back to Adie's house but since it was the following morning they were leaving for the pass, he had taken the time to perfect his rasengan.
Standing up he took a rag and cleaned the circle from the floor, heading toward his kitchen, he prepared some dinner, eat then went to sleep.
The sun came up as Richard and Kahlan were preparing their gear, they had been told the journey would take them a day and half of the other day and that they were not to sleep on the way
'Zedd, did you notice the cloud that has been following us since we left home' Richard asked Zedd
'huh yes, it's a tracer cloud, if I do anything to it darken Rahl who I suspect placed it on you would know and that might not be a good thing' Zedd answered him
Looking at the snake like cloud Richard asked him 'isn't there anything you can do to it, like obscure it or something'
'Well I could pull other darker clouds to it, but that would make it rain anywhere you go, and he would still know the vicinity of where you are but not accurately' Zedd answered him
'We can handle a few rains, it won't bode well if Rahl can tell exactly where we are, the few minutes he'll need to find us if you obscure it might be our saving grace' Richard told him
Removing a smooth stone from his pocket, Zedd put it on the floor and started to roll his hands around it, little blue sparks jumped as the stone spun faster and faster, with a pop it became his cloud stone
'Isn't that your cloud stone' Richard asked him
'No, it's my wizard stone, not cloud stone, now drop that pack and get on the stone' Zedd ordered him
Climbing atop the stone, Richard was overwhelmed with the peaceful feeling he got 'wow' was all he could say
'Now imagine how it would feel if you were naked' Zedd told him as he threw some wizard dust above Richards head
Sparkling the dust rose into the snakelike cloud, blue lightning flickered in the cloud as it got bigger and darker, soon rain began to fall
'It's done, you may get down' Zedd told him
After Richard got down Zedd spun his hands around it and as it spun, it popped and went back to the small size
'Am I late' Naruto asked as he appeared from the road
'No, you are just in time Naruto, help me tighten the strap of this buckle' Richard told him
'No problem' Naruto responded as he tightened the straps
'Why is it raining? It wasn't supposed to rain and I can't find the snakelike cloud that has been following us' Naruto said
'How did you know it wasn't supposed to rain, and the rain was caused by the magic Zedd used to obscure the snake like cloud' Richard answered him
'I can read the weather just like Zedd' Naruto told him
'I see that you still have the sword I gave you' Naruto nodded at the sword at Kahlan's waist
'It's an heirloom so I'd like it if you don't misplace it' Naruto told her
'If it's an heirloom, why don't you have it back, I don't really know how to use a sword, I've had some lessons but I usually stick to a knife' Kahlan told him as she unbuckled the sword from her waist
'I didn't say I wanted it back and besides if I collected it from you what will I use to train you' Naruto smiled at her
'You are going to train me? But you use kunai not a sword' Kahlan asked bewildered
'not only you, am going to train Richard too, although he is not too shabby with a sword, he still has room for improvement, and I can use most weapons, don't forget I am a ninja, ninjas are trained in the use of most weapons' Naruto answered her
'Be careful of the dead, they can come to you in many forms, it can be that of your parents like it be for Richard or other forms, I do not know if it really be them' Adie said
'I do not believe so' Richard answered her
'if that's all, I'd like it if you left now so you don't spend two nights in the pass, and when you get to the narrows, the place I told you where the boundary walls are close, you be extra careful there' Adie told them as she handed a bone necklace to Kahlan and Naruto
'You kids be careful and good luck, when I finish with my plan, I'll come meet you in midlands' Zedd waved to them as they left.