Chapter 11: The meeting

Takamichi soaked his pants in the water again, slowly rinsing the reeking puke out of it as well as he could. Thankfully, he had bought a spare pair in Nyandom and now he could clean up somewhat. Takamichi wasn't in the mood for thinking about his bloody pants however, what concerned him now was Asuna.

Takamichi didn't dare to hope that this was the end, it seemed as if he did that fate would inevitable spit on her again. They had woken up early the next morning when Asuna had started screaming. He had shot out of bed, only to see her wildly flailing on the ground, clawing at the gravel like she was possessed and screaming incoherently. Yet as soon as he had touched her Asuna had flung herself into his arms, incoherently sobbing Negi's name before she vomited all over his trousers.

After that the girl had returned to the distant state, yet this time it was a new kind of distant and Takamichi was only getting more and more tired of it. Asuna was currently sitting by the fire, Kagetarou doing his best to spoon-feed her some watered-down porridge. The girl seemed as if she had cracked, like even the barrier of coldness had broken inside her and everything that flooded out, sweeping all her strength with it as it did. She had become as lifeless and fragile as she had been cold. She sat apathetically by the fire, staring into it as if she was a doll.

It was... Takamichi was no expert on psychology, but the best way he could describe it was as if she had lost all strength. Everything that kept her together now seemed to be the fact that nobody touched her. The faintest wind seemed as if it could topple her, the faintest stress render her catatonic.

He didn't dare to wish for anything more. Any more travels would break Asuna, any more stress would be her undoing. As it was now she had to get somewhere safe, somewhere where she could rest. She needed a calm place now, a place to pick her mind together again. Takamichi realized that he had picked up a small rock and ground it to dust with his hand in frustration. A place of peace, and he was running around here, in the god damned Pyriths of all places!

What the hells was he meant to do to give her even a modicum of peace, sell his soul?

Either way, he was done with his pants and stood up, making his way up to the camp again. A few dozen feet up from the river the other three of the small group sat. Asuna was sitting on a log, wrapped in a blanket, her eyes empty and her fingers wrapped in small bandages. She had torn off almost every single nail when clawing at the gravel and the blood had streamed down her fingers. The bandages she wore now was the only thing they could have done for her. On her right side the beast lay, the animal looking as if it had let Asuna down or something, the misery evident in its posture. On the left side Kagetarou sat, the man gently manoeuvring the small spoon in his hand back and forth between her mouth and the small bowl of porridge.

At least she ate... Takamichi gave her a weary smile, even if she didn't look at him, and ran his hand along her cheek.

"That looks great Asuna-kun." he said kindly, "You're almost done." he probably sounded like a moron but these kind of small, gentle encouragements was all he could do for her right now. Asuna didn't even react though.

He gently sat down next to the beast, putting a hand behind its ear and beginning to scratch it. If only this damn mutt could perk up a little, animals usually had a positive effect on depression. Yet, he couldn't act annoyed towards this animal, it was only an animal after all. After some consideration Takamichi took Asuna's right hand and placed it on the beast's neck, hoping that the warm fur could grant some peace.

Asuna didn't seem to object, she let her hand remain on the beast and slowly ran it across the soft fur behind one of the ears. Takamichi couldn't help but being relieved by her actions. They remained seated like that, Kagetarou eventually finishing spoon-feeding her and rising up to wash the bowl.

"Well done your highness." he said quietly, softly rubbing her shoulder before he caught himself. The man glanced as Takamichi, who noticed his uncertainty. Takamichi nodded though, etiquette could take a hike as it was, Asuna needed people close to her now. Kagetarou bowed his head slightly and rose up. "I will clean this up and scour the surrounding areas." he said quietly, "maybe the resistance passes through here."

"Good idea." Takamichi said before he got up and took the now free place by Asuna's side. About five minutes later Kagetarou had left, disappearing with blinding speed as he moved to search the surrounding area. Asuna sat silently though, slowly petting the beast behind the ear. She took great care to use only her palm though, given the state of her fingers, and it was done with an almost sleepwalker-like attitude.

Takamichi thought that perhaps he should try to occupy her with something. It was a silly suggestion but after a while he cleared his throat.

"Have you... have you thought for a name for him?" he asked carefully. It was a strange thing to talk about given the circumstances but anything was better that she just sitting still, staring into nowhere. Asuna didn't answer though, the girl only keep looking into the fire. After a while Takamichi decided to try again.

"For the... the dog I mean." he said, hesitating before he gave the beast such a harmless title. Yet it was the best name he could find so that would have to do. Asuna still didn't answer though. Yet after a while of silence.

"Kotaro." Asuna said quietly, the beast perking up at the name, its head turning to look at Asuna and the mouth opening ever so slightly.

"It seems like he likes the name." Takamichi said, surprised by the dog's eager response. Didn't these things usually take weeks, to accustom dogs to a name?

"No." Asuna said, "It is his name, he is Kotaro. Negi's friend."

"What?" Takamichi found himself unable to answer Asuna's insane statement. Had she become crazy? This animal couldn't be Kotaro, even if he knew that the hanyo was a skilled shapeshifter he couldn't imagine something like this, to live in the shape of a beast like this. And his eyes, Takamichi saw only bestial instinct in them, nothing of Kotaro's wily intelligence.

"I'm not crazy." Asuna said, now beginning to speak a little more normally, if still subdued. "I... I saw a vision. Negi... when he died he took the taint away from Kotaro... he said..." Now Asuna fell silent, staring into the fire. Takamichi realized that she was shaking and quickly wrapped his around around her. "he said..." Asuna's voice quivered and Takamichi tried to calm her.

"It's okay Asuna-kun." he said soothingly, "I understand, his name is Kotaro."

"No!" Asuna almost yelled this, "I have to tell you..." she continued with a whimper, her voice becoming more and more stressed out, "Negi said...." she begun, a sob slipping out of her, "he said that I had to live. Anything but my death. Anything but what... what he did to me. he.... He told Kotaro to protect me no matter what. He turned him into that beast, but I don't think he meant it, he said he couldn't...." that was all Asuna could get out of herself before she broke down and begun to cry again. Takamichi gritted his teeth and he held Asuna close, gently rocking her as he comforted the desperately crying girl.

"There there..." he whispered, the words that meant nothing but were the only things he could say as comfort to her.

"I love him..." Asuna cried in pain, the girl trembling in his arms as she sobbed, "I love him... I can't take this.... I love him..."

Takamichi was unable to respond, still trying to get the images of Negi he had in his head into one coherent picture. The young man arriving at Mahora with serious eyes. The cold and angry young man who had verbally assaulted those high school students when his girls were harassed. The hard-working mage. The monstrous black mage out to destroy all. The desperate person with the rune blazing on his forehead, trying to undo what he had wrought and, when betting everything, managing to win in the end.

All Takamichi could do was to be quiet and let Asuna keep on crying and eventually, when she had cried herself to sleep, gently put her down and make what bed he could for her. As the girl lay by his feet, sleeping restlessly, but at least soundly, Takamichi looked at the beast... at Kotaro. Was this really Kotaro?

True enough, the eyes were kind of similar, Takamichi remembered that Kotaro had always had small specks of red in his yellow eyes. Nothing much, only barely there, but this beast had that as well. Checking the beast's neck, Takamichi found a scar going at the base of the neck up to the shoulder. Kotaro had been proud over that scar last time they had met. It seemed to support what Asuna had said, and it answered to the name too. Too many coincidences for Takamichi, it seemed as if Asuna was correct.

"So... Kotaro-kun..." he said quietly to himself, looking at the beast. There was nothing in its eyes that made it seem as if it understood what he said. Yet it... he... paid attention to Takamichi. "I guess neither of us can reconcile the Negi we saw with the one we knew... or the one he became." Kotaro only looked at him though, confusion evident on the beast's face. Now Takamichi smiled a little bit, a weary yet genuine smile.

"So, want to help me protect her, no matter what comes?" he asked, "If so, shake." he put up one hand in front of Kotaro and the massive beast immediately responded, putting a huge black paw in Takamichi's hand. A small chuckle escaped Takamichi.

Through one of the valleys that lay between the great mountains that made up the pyriths a squadron of small ships were flying. Five all in all, the ships were all light grey in colour and adorned with the heraldry of the Megalomesembric fleet. They were flying in wedge formation, soaring above a large forest of hardy black pine trees and throwing their shadows upon the deep green leaves. A small rumbling, almost imperceptible, could be felt in the earth below the fast ships, all of them light, agile strike craft. Moderately armed and lightly armoured, they compensated for it with speed and agility.

"Watch your spacing Peregrine five," a signal came from one of the ships, a telepathic burst that went from the lead ship to the one flying at the left end of the wedge. "You're starting to break formation."

"Roger that lead." a signal came from Peregrine five, "compensating now." and soon the ship had sped up slightly, perfectly moving in synch with the other ships. Upon the bridge of the lead ship an officer in a decorated robe stood at the front window The man's sharp, hawkish face was contemplative as he looked down on the forest below the squadron.

"Has the scanners picked up anything?" he asked with a hoarse voice after a while, glancing back at one of the robed crewmen. Said man was sitting in front of a large, floating orb, holding his hands a few inches over the surface. Small shapes were dancing across the surface of the orb, creating a panel made out of pure light where numbers and letters were rapidly being displayed along with a 3-D map of the valley they were flying through. The latter was flickering intensely though, poor reception making the image incomplete and hard to read. The robed man's face flickered in the light from the console.

"Nothing sir." the robed man said eventually, "We still can't get a clear signal, best I've gotten this far is thirty percent reception. The background magic only seems to grow stronger the further we get into the mountains."

"No estimates whatsoever?" the hawkish man asked, provoking the man by the console to shake his head.

"No sir," the man said, "for all I can make out they could right on top of us."

The officer sighed at the man's words. He was right, they were flying blind through these mountains. As it was the scanners would be lucky to pick up ships, picking up individual people would be impossible.

The entire thing was absurd anyhow. Until now high command had aimed to stay out of the mountains as much as possible, yet now his squadron of strike craft was out here, patrolling some of the most dangerous places on earth without any way of actually pacifying the place. To make it all even worse they were out here alone, instead of supporting heavier ships as they were supposed to. This mission was like diving with sharks, dangerous and pointless.

"Do we have any contact with mission command?" he asked, looking to the other side and the communications officer who was sitting by another ethereal console. This man shook his head in response.

"Nothing sir." he said, "If we re-route all available power to the telepathic transmitter I might be able to sent a burst transmission though."

"That would be like yelling "here we are, come and get us" to everyone within twenty miles with the least magic sensitivity." the officer said. "Without a cruiser here I'm not..." whatever the man was going to say was interrupted when a bright flash shone in through the outside windows. A second later a loud boom echoed through the air, muffled but still loud. It shook the bridge and made the man stumble. "What the hells?!" the officer exclaimed as her regained his balance. "Status report!"

"Sir!" another crew member yelled. "Peregrine four just dropped off the grid!" the officer's face became a visage of shock before he threw himself against the window and peered as far to the left as he could. What he saw made him pale.

To his left, about a kilometre away and diagonally beside the ship, an entire strike craft was engulfed in fire. Blue, blindingly bright fires were raging all around it, as if it was a large bonfire. Yet even through the fires the officer could see that a large section of the ship's front was torn open.

"By the nine..." the man said, his mind freezing for a moment at the sight. What the hells had happened!?

"Sir!?" Someone yelled behind him but the officer found himself unable to act. They had done it... they had come into one of these mountain-living psychopaths' minefields! "Sir!" the voice yelled again, "Peregrine two just got hit as well! Some kind of metal spears!" the officer snapped back to attention as the scream echoed through the telepathic net.

"...pierced th... ull!..burning.... heat is... syst... ailing!" the desperate voice of the usually unflappable captain of Peregrine two snapped the commander back to reality.

"Evasive action!" he yelled, "All units, disengage, get out of here now!" It was the only thing to do, he knew enough about the mountain-tribes that they were most probably screwed already, only a quick dash away would be able to save at least some of them. Looking out of the window again, the commander was met with the sight of peregrine four with several large metal spears actually piercing its armour. Each of the spears was as long as the strike craft and seemingly two feet wide. They had punched cleanly through the vessel and were glowing white hot. Already Peregrine four was starting to fall towards the ground, its hovering buoys having given up, and Peregrine two was starting to reel as well. Two strike craft taken out in ten seconds, this was even worse than he had thought! Fear started to make its way into the man's heart now.

"Sir!" the scanning officer yelled, "I've got movement, tons of it! Below peregrine three!"

It was as the officer had guessed, while the enemy was pinned down in this minefield small groups of those psychos would come crawling out of the woodwork, moving to engage the ships too busy to look for other mines to shoot back at them as they tried top breach the ship hulls and capture them.

"Tell three to drop its payload, now!" he commanded, thankfully they had at least some surprises for the psychos.

"Yes sir!" a swift mental command echoed through the aether and soon, only moments later, peregrine three acknowledged and acted upon its command. A series of holes opened up on the belly of the ship and several glowing orbs were dropped from the ship. The blue-glowing orbs, each about three feet across, impacted with the ground and tore the forest apart. Large pulses of energy blasted the forest apart, sending shockwaves across the ground and ripping up a large hole in the forest.

With his heart still pounding, the officer couldn't help but smile as he saw the detonation. He'd like to see those madmen survive that. Three had gotten a few moments now at least. The smile froze only a second later. As if some cruel god had planned it; out the smoke created by the blasts several large, hooked spears shot, these attacked to long, heavy ropes.

In front of the officer peregrine three was captured, almost as if it was a giant animal. With immense speed the hooked spears shot over it and flew down on the other side. They didn't fall, they were propelled by magic to spin around the ship and being firmly wrapped and hooked onto it before anyone knew what had happened. The strike became wrapped in the thick ropes, large parts of its hull covered now. What was worse, the ropes started to be pulled back, something actually managing to pull the small ship down with brute force.

"Tainted hells!" the officer heard the scanning officer swear, "They're everywhere, the entire ground is boiling with movement!"

"Tell five to drop low-intensity payload and to sweep fire through our ground-level perimeter," the officer yelled, trying to improvise. They had to work together, by keeping the enemy out of their respective underzones, the areas under the ships, they might get out of here.."Gunners, ready to sweep theirs!"

"Yes si..." the men's affirmative was cut short when another explosion tore through the sky, this time right next to peregrine five. "Shit!" someone yelled as the other ship was obscured by fires and smoke. The officer had seen it though, a large, egg-shaped thing had shot out of the ground, coming to a stop right next to the ship before it detonated. GTS, Ground-To-Sky, mines, mines hiding in the ground and shooting up into the air whenever the enemy triggered it. But those things were high-tech! How the hells did these barbarians have that kind of stuff!?

Thankfully, peregrine five survived the detonation, it came into sight again, tumbling to the right from the explosion and with patches of its metal hull on fire, but still intact. Yet, the reeling was severe enough that the ship was sent crashing into the mountainside, impacting with a steep, high mountain wall.

Parts of the rock was smashed out of the wall as the heavy steel ship crashed into it, yet it was the stone, not the ship that took the worst beating. What came next, however, changed that. The entire mountainside gave away. Seemingly as if on cue, the over five hundred meters high wall gave away and was sent raining down upon the ship. Over four hundred meters' worth of huge boulders crashed down on the ship, sending it to the ground along with its kin and burying it in a deep grave of boulders, dust and gravel.

Upon the bridge of the sole surviving ship silence now reigned. They had all been taken aback by the massive collapse and unable to do anything but stare helplessly as their fellow soldiers were buried alive. The massive tidal wave of dust that had been kicked up, furthermore, hit the ship with devastating effect. Along with the dust came immense amounts of background magic and the entire ship died. Scanners, communications, engines, steering, everything except for the hovering buoys, was overloaded and died.

Inside the gigantic, grey cloud of dust the now blackened ship seemed like a tomb. Momentum meant that the ship was still flying but now it did so with eerie silence, no rumbling from the engine, no sounds, nothing. The men all looked around them, their heartbeats forming a chorus that to each solder seemed deafening, like the footsteps of a grim reaper that was coming at them at a full sprint. With the exception of the dimmed light coming from the window the darkness was as complete as the silence.

Then, chaos. The windows all around the bridge was smashed seemingly effortlessly. The inch-thick armoured glass cracked and was blasted inwards, raining over the bridge crew in countless, jagged shards. Amongst the six men on the bridge only the captain managed to parry the razor-sharp onslaught of glass with a spell, meaning that only he saw what came now.

With preternatural agility armed figures launched themselves through the window. In the chaos it was impossible to see from where they had come. They could just as well have come from below, having jumped all the way up to the ships, as above, having waited on top the ship all this time, and just as well straight on, having flown into the windows. No matter where they came from though, they were here.

A dozen figures all in all, their features hidden by the light streaming in from behind them. Only the eyes were even possible to see. Those eyes however, was already more than what the man, for one instance finding a moment of stillness during which he could perfectly see his attackers, wanted to see. They seemed to glow, an inhuman, merciless light shining in them. Spears were tightly gripped in their hands, spears with long, thick, elaborately decorated heads and with short leather bands with decorations at the ends dangling from the necks.

It was only for a single split-second, this moment of seeming stillness, a trick played on the man by his own mind, before the attackers were upon him and his crewmen. Flashing in the darkness, shimmering spears moved with immense speed and accuracy. The officer was impaled before he knew what had happened, one word ringing in his ears, a word screamed by each of the attackers. .

"Sylgja!" the hoarse cry, uttered with voices thick with blood-lust and utter lack of mercy, echoed through his head even as his vision went black and his life ended.

Kagetarou leaped up on the ridge with a swift instant movement, coming to overlook the valley beyond it. It was yet another valley, this one filled with trees. Expansive and wide, it seemed to be one of the more fertile one if the greenery present was any cue. Yet, What Kagetarou came to notice wasn't that. Below his mask his brow furrowed at what he saw in the large valley.

"Takahata-dono!" he yelled, looking backwards down the slope he had dashed across only a few seconds ago. About a hundred meters down that slope Takamichi was walking right next to the massive beast, Kotaro. Kagetarou had been told of the beast's true nature, something that had unsettled him deeply. What kind of mage had the power to fundamentally change a being? He had heard only whispers of what had happened at Mahora in the old world at first, however he had gotten the full picture from Takahata as he had told him of the princess' vision.

Said princess was now riding on Kotaro. Too frail to be able to walk on her own, the young girl was near collapse and Takahata had made the beast carry her. It had worked better than expected, the beast had enough intelligence to realize what was going on and had moved with the utmost care during the last two days, being as gently as it could to keep the girl on his back to stay there. All the tree of them were wearing an extra layer of clothing, having discovered that the winds here were merciless and that the temperature steadily dropped.

Takamichi looked up at Kagetarou as he heard him yell. Kagetarou pointed out across the valley on the other side of the ridge. Takamichi started to pick up the pace and got up within a minute. Well there he looked out across the valley as well.

Tell-tale signs of a battle were spread all over the valley. Large swathes of burned ground spread across the valley, sections of ravaged forest where the trees had been crushed, a massive rock-slide far away.

"Looks like we're getting close." Takamichi said as the best came up by his side, carefully carrying Asuna up on the ridge. Relief could be heard in his voice. They had journeyed for two days in the mountains, looking for whatever signs they could of the resistance. This battlefield was the only trace they had seen this far. Kagetarou wasn't too relieved though.

"If we an see this the bergafolk has most likely spotted us." he said, "Let us proceed carefully from here, I do not think they would hesitate to attack us." in Kagetarou's voice anxiety, not relief, was heard. The man did not relish what would come now, knowing the area was help the battle, any fighter worth his salt knew that, and this was the bergafolk's back yard. He couldn't help but feel they had entered a viper's nest.

"Still," Takamichi said "It's not like this journey was risk-free anywhere. Let's just get going, worrying won't help." With seeming impunity, Takamichi touched the giant canine beside him, motioning for it to follow him as he made his way down the ridge. Kagetarou was surprised by the man's fearlessness, the man seemed to not even consider any of the threats that lay ahead worthy of worrying about.

Kagetarou didn't know what to make of it. This courage, this... supreme confidence the men of the Crimson Wing showed, it was something not of this world. Weakened after his near death at the world gate, Takamichi now seemed to come into his true self, the titan who had stood by the thousand master's side. Yet again Kagetarou felt insignificant compared to this man, this giant. He hurried down the slope to catch up with Takamichi, feeling truly grateful for the man's confidence.

Takamichi, however, was wishing he could be as confident as he guessed he had seemed. There was only one way, forwards, so he tried to not hesitate needlessly, but that didn't mean that he wasn't nervous as well. He knew little to nothing about the bergafolk, one of the few things he knew was that Jack Rakan had many times talked about going into the mountains to test his skills against this people, thinking they'd be "a fun time". It was only the fact that he didn't know if they had any "good beer and hot chicks" which stopped him.

Rakan didn't have fun unless there was a real danger to his life and if his idea of a "fun time" was testing himself against these people... Takamichi got the feeling that this might very well be one of the most lethal situations he had ever been in.

Still no point in hesitating though which was why Takamichi kept going down the slope, glancing up to look at Asuna who sat limply on the back of Kotaro. Being careful and being fearful wasn't the same thing, delaying for no other reason than apprehension belonged in the latter category. Also, the sooner they reached the end of this journey the sooner Asuna could get some place to rest.

The four made their way down towards the forest that covered the valley below them, moving across the rocks with great care. Thankfully the ridge was quite low and therefore didn't lean that much. Asuna, who was still sitting on Kotaro's back, only barely clung to the beast's back. Had the ridge been steeper she would most probably fall off.

As they got down to the forest Takamichi couldn't help but be amazed by it. Almost all of the forest here consisted of black pine trees, a tree he had never seen before. The trees' gnarled roots crawled over the ground, weaving together and apart across the forest floor. On the ground the thick moss that lay on the ground and even on the many large rocks spread across the ground had created a thick, deep green, white and red carpet that gave way as they walked across it. The oily needles still on the trees created a glimmering roof above them, reflecting here and there in large globs of resin that had formed on the trees. The result was a dark forest that nevertheless glimmered in the sunlight. An ancient forest, primeval and raw. Not a lush paradise, but a true wildscape.

"Asuna..." he said quietly, touching the girl's knee where she rode on Kotaro beside him, "Look."

Asuna glanced up from Kotaro's back and looked ahead.

"Oh..." she said with a quiet voice before she looked down again, too broken to care about the sight before them. Takamichi gritted his teeth at this, desperately wishing they'd get there soon. Something in the back of his head taunted him, saying he didn't even know where this "there" would be. Takamichi pushed the voice down though and started to make his way into the forest, Kotaro carrying Asuna beside him and Kagetarou walking on the other side of the massive canine.

Making their way through the forest, the group was silent. The occasional shrill song of a bird was the only sounds that accompanied their journey, the thick moss making their footsteps inaudible. Takamichi found the feeling almost eerie, like walking in a dreamland. Part of him became worried by the silence given by the moss, it meant that it would be easier for anyone trying to sneak up on them. Glancing around, he couldn't see anything but that didn't mean they wouldn't be there.

Yet, with the massive Kotaro beside him he didn't feel too apprehensive, from what he had seen the senses of this animal was sharper than most natural beings'. Anything that tried to sneak up on it... him, would be given away swiftly. Combined with Takamichi's and Kagetarou's well developed sixth senses it shouldn't be an issue... hopefully.

"It truly is a magnificent place, this forest." Kagetarou said beside him, the shadow-user having something reverent in his voice. "I never expected to find a place like this in these mountains."

"I know what you mean..." Takamichi said quietly. Despite the strange black trees and their gnarled limbs, despite the harsh feeling of the forest and the globs of resin on the trees, the forest was still beautiful. Or perhaps it was because of it. The trees' needles seemed to almost glow and the resin globs occasionally sparkled. Takamichi found himself more and more fascinated by the forest.

Then they were everywhere. Out of nowhere, seemingly having stepped out of the air, dozens of men surrounded them. Above them amongst the branches, on the ground all around them, they appeared.

Takamichi started, adrenaline and fear surging through him as his hands instinctively shot down into his pockets. He found himself starting to mould kanka without thinking, shocked by what had happened. Beside him Kagetarou and Kotaro had both similar reactions. Kagetarou had both hands raised and had readied two shadow lances while Kotaro had hunched slightly, baring his teeth in and explosive growl. Only Asuna didn't react, the girl still sitting limply on Kotaro's back.

Yet the figures around them didn't move. They were clothed in heavy felt coats and trousers along with boots which were tied to their shins with long leather straps, clothes perfectly designed for enduring the cold winds here. The people around them were all veiled, wearing a felt cap along with a large scarf wrapped around their faces so only their eyes showed. In their hands, which were buried in felt gloves, heavy spears with adorned blades were gripped. All Takamichi could see of their bodies was their eyes, eyes that on each of the people around him seemed to glow with a predatory light.

For a few seconds things became still, neither of the two parties moved, the veiled men not budging and the small group of travellers still shocked and surprised by their appearance. Takamichi specially was tense, he hadn't felt a thing, not the faintest thing! And Kotaro... despite his powerful senses neither had he. By the fates.. what were these people?!

As if on cue, a mocking laugh came to echo through the forest, seemingly bouncing off the trees. Somewhere around them, none of them could place the sound, a person was laughing. A deep bass voice laughed at them, somewhere close but somewhere none of them could sense. Takamichi found himself looking around, sweat starting to appear on his brow. Behind him Kotaro slowly took a step back, sinking deeper down and being ready to pounce. Conversely, stepped forth slightly with his hands still raised.

"No, wait." Takamichi said, trying to calm down. These were the people they had come here to meet after all. Despite their foreboding appearance and the gleaming steel spears they carried, Takamichi knew this was the most positive development they had seen this far. He just hoped that the resistance really had allied with these people. Kagetarou glanced at him as he heard Takamichi's words, however he didn't protest. The man lowered his arms and Takamichi removed his hands from his pockets.

"I apologize for intruding on your lands, men of the bergafolk..." Takamichi begun before he was cut off. A pair of explosions ripped through the air right behind Takamichi and Kagetarou, shockwaves pulsing through the air as both the men struck backwards instinctively, one with his kanka and the other with his shadows. Both attacks had collided in mid air with something and the men both spun around, ready to strike again. But the massive presence that had suddenly exploded behind them was gone.

Then it appeared again, right beside them, Takamichi's head snapped to the side only to see something vanish in a blur of motion. He could follow the movement but only just as whatever it was dashed to the side, then upwards, then right next to Kotaro, who roared as he snapped to the side only to clamp his jaws around air. Back, forth, up, down, left, right, the shapeless figure kept dashing and Takamichi could only just keep up. Kagetarou wasn't able to do even that and had ended up staring in all directions, as had Kotaro.

After a good while of the cat-and-mouse game that had started the figure dashed high into the treetops and this time stayed there, Takamichi, whose heart was pounding, first now getting even an unclear look of the figure. Hunched over on a branch high up amongst the trees, a shape was now standing. Takamichi couldn't determine even if it was human, the shadows it hid in obscuring everything that would have identified it. Yet he could feel the eyes, whoever, whatever, this was, he was powerful, the gleaming eyes spoke of great power.

"This is the first time..." a heavily accented voice, the one that had laughed, said from above, a glee was present in its voice, an almost sadistic such. "The first time one can follow my movements. So who are you? Champions sent by your masters to kill us? Are you here to pray for mercy with that girl as an offering? Speak!" the figure now snapped, his voice like a hammer, "You've earned that at least, you'd be dead had you not managed to follow me."

Takamichi found himself almost choking on the bile that welled up inside him at what the figure had said about Asuna, yet he pushed it down, knowing that it was now or never.

"We are neither." he said, trying to calm down. Idly he noticed that during this entire event the people still surrounding them hadn't even moved an inch. "We came here to bring this girl to her people, the Vespertatians, who fled to these mountains." he indicated Asuna, "There is no way that they'd be able to live in these mountains without your knowing, would you tell us where we can find them?"

"Haha!" the figure laughed, "So you've come all this way, into these mountains, to bring that to them? A limp little doll who doesn't even notice we're here!?" the figure burst into laughter again and now the other men joined him, a low murmur of chuckling spreading around them. "Stop lying." the figure suddenly said, the laughter dying in a second and the tension rising again, "You'll need something more convincing before..." after this the figure fell silent for a second. "Lift her face." the figure said, his voice more subdued, "Let me see her features."

Takamichi decided to oblige, a faint hope starting to spire in him at the man's tone. Gently taking Asuna's jaw in his hand, he coaxed her head upwards, giving the figure a look of her features.

The man now said something in another language, Takamichi couldn't understand it but it sounded like a curse. Snorting, the figure looked away from Asuna before he yelled something. This time the men all around them reacted, they stepped back, mirroring the movements with which they had appeared, and suddenly they were gone again. No blurs of motions, no discharges of magical energy, they just vanished. All but one. A lone figure standing on a branch above them remained.

"This is Kaun." the shadowed figure said as the sole remaining of the veiled men leapt down from the branch, landing in front of them with superb agility, "He knows your language and he'll take where you need to go. Now go, these places aren't places for you." Kaun pulled down the scarf covering his face and revealed a face much younger than any of them had expected, he seemed to be below even twenty years old. Despite his youth, however, his face was weathered and worn and had a grim look on it. That, coupled with the large, red tattoo of what looked like a dog-animal of some kind that covered one of his cheeks gave him a truly unnerving aura. Looking up again, Takamichi saw that the figure on the branches had vanished as silently as the other men.

"The lowlanders are to the east." Kaun said as he pulled the scarf down, his voice extremely hoarse. Takamichi couldn't help but notice that scar that started on his chin and went downwards. The throat was hidden but Takamichi got a feeling that the scar would be covering the throat as well. "One week from here, " the young man continued, "Can you windwalk?"

"Windwalk?" Takamichi asked, not knowing what the word meant. Kaun nodded before he relocated back up to the branch again in a blur of motion.

"Windwalk." he said as an explanation, Takamichi understanding they meant what he called shundo.

"We can." Takamichi said, "But I'd rather do that, the girl won't be able to hang on." he indicated the limp Asuna again.

"Tie her there." Kaun offered as he got down again and pulled a leather sheath over his spear, "The masked one has ropes around his wrists, use them." he said as he fastened the sheath to the neck of his spear with a leather string. "With windwalk it will take one day, otherwise a week. If we can't run from the beasts we'll have to fight them. Is that better?"

Takamichi thought to himself that it seemed like the bergafolk didn't like to mince words. Looking towards Kagetarou he silently asked the man the question. Kagetarou looked down at his shadow bands and eventually nodded. Walking over to Kotaro, he gently took Asuna's hand and begun to wrap it in the bands. Speaking soothing words to the girl, he carefully tied her to Kotaro's back, her legs and arms being thoroughly wrapped along the sides of the animal. She ended up lying down on the beast's back, her torso tied against the fur as well. The girl didn't even seem to notice though, sinking deeper and deeper into apathy with every passing moment.

"Don't worry Asuna." Takamichi gently said to the girl as she lay on Kotaro's back, almost like a slab of meat. "We'll let you off there soon." He wondered what in the fates he was doing to her as he turned around and looked at Kaun. "Let's go." he said and Kaun nodded.

"Follow me." he said, turning around and beginning to run into the forest. Takamichi, Kagetarou and Kotaro all followed the man as he went from a slow run to a super speed dash, flying through the forest and going east, deeper into the mountains.

A/N: So, yeah. New chapter and now I intro one of my biggest projects in this fic. Just to clarify, the Bergafolk are completely made up by me and not in any way affiliated with Akamatsu Ken or Negima. I hope they'll fit well into this world though and as always. Let me know if something doesn't work.