Dark Hunters
Warriors In Search of the Light
Written by Kurai Hane
Edited by: Himegimi, and Animé_chick111
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As you may have quessed, very few of the characters in this story belong to me. They are Ouji, Jade, Dark Wing, Fang and Claw, and their pets. The rest are owned by Glen Cook and Akira Toriama. They are used without permission in a way that is not meant to make any money. This story may only be reproduced if no profit is made, and all the text is left intact.
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Prologue:
An Explanation
I am Ouji, captain of the third generation of the Black Company after the Plain of Glittering Stone. We are not the only Survivors, but we lost contact with the others some time during the second generation. Croaker, who still rests at the center of the un-named fortress, tells us that the others are alive and well, but to join with them could bring destruction to the Company. When we asked why, he would not tell us.
We have spent the last fifty or sixty years living in the style of our first remembered Brethren. As mercenaries for hire, we have had honest employers and not so honest employers. The one tradition that we let slip was perhaps the most important. The events of the past years have not been recorded in the annals like they should.
For that reason, I have returned to the Plain to ask for the help, and forgiveness, of Croaker. He is now the oldest and wisest brother of the Company. After trading places with the golem, after the destruction of Kina, he gained the ability to relive the past in all its detail. For this reason, I have enlisted the help of the last Stone Soldier to produce the First Book of Ouji.
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Chapter: 1
The Confrontation
It was a typical pub, a dimly lit windowless room with well-worn rough hewn benches and tables; a large counter with a cracked and spotted mirror and a floor covered in sawdust and spilt drinks that reflected the dusty almost forlorn looking half empty bottles. The room was filled with the sounds of drunken laughter and the smells of unwashed humanity. The scene was just like every other night except for the small crowd gathered around a large man dressed in black and two small time card-sharks. They were trying to make names for themselves by beating the living legend of Tonk sitting across from them. It was just another night in the Hog's Ear outside the city of Gyrdon.
After another humiliating defeat the more hot tempered of the two leapt to his feet. A slight sway betrayed how much he had had to drink.
"You bastard! How could you? That's the ninth time in a row that you've won!" screamed the short man, gesturing wildly.
The bartender shook his head and repeated the warning he had given with every drink.
"I told you not to try, he's never lost, to anyone."
The man rose, gathered his winnings, and the crowd parted in silence to let him pass. It wasn't till he had gotten out of sight that they let loose loud cheers and cowed the losers into backing out with what little dignity they had left. They saw the victor fading away into the distance as two large falcons lit upon his shoulders. He reached into his black, flowing cloak, and gave each bird a small piece of meat. The two men watched him with a critical eye and then disappeared back into the night.
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Down the street, a thin woman sat at a bar. She was dressed in a black, skin-tight outfit. The image of a jade dragon wrapped itself around her body. As she drank her wine, a dirty man with a foul mind approached her.
"Hey, baby, how 'bout you and me go upstairs?" asked the man, with a sneer on his face.
"Hey, buddy, you wanna stay alive, you leave her alone," warned Sam the barkeep.
"Yeah! Whatcha gonna do 'bout it?" growled the man.
"Nothin', it's her you gotta worry 'bout," said Sam almost comically.
"Yeah right. Let's go," the man scoffed. As he reached for the slender woman's shoulder, he saw the jade dragon on her clothes begin to swell. The serpentine beast lifted its small head from the woman's shoulder and growled menacingly at the man. As the snake-like creature rose into the silenced air, the man tried to scream, but it was much too late for that. He was frozen solid by a blast of icy breath.
"I'm sorry 'bout that miss Jade ma'am. He was a real slime ball." As the barkeep spoke timidly, the dragon wrapped itself around the young woman's body and flattened back into its former resting place.
The woman paid the barkeep and walked out the door. Out in the street, she met with the man dressed in black. They exchanged greetings in subtle hand signs.
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Further down the street, a short man sat at a dark table on the first floor of an inn. As he drank his warm beer from a stein that dwarfed his head, he fingered an amulet hung around his short neck. The amulet was in the shape of two snakes wrapped tightly around a cross.
On the other side of the room, standing in front of the blazing fireplace, a similar man warmed his hands. Around his neck was an amulet of a lizard. He turned from the fire and spoke, "It's time to go." The two men walked out the door. They met with the other man and woman already walking up the street. They nodded to each other and continued walking up the darkened street.
Warriors In Search of the Light
Written by Kurai Hane
Edited by: Himegimi, and Animé_chick111
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you may have quessed, very few of the characters in this story belong to me. They are Ouji, Jade, Dark Wing, Fang and Claw, and their pets. The rest are owned by Glen Cook and Akira Toriama. They are used without permission in a way that is not meant to make any money. This story may only be reproduced if no profit is made, and all the text is left intact.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prologue:
An Explanation
I am Ouji, captain of the third generation of the Black Company after the Plain of Glittering Stone. We are not the only Survivors, but we lost contact with the others some time during the second generation. Croaker, who still rests at the center of the un-named fortress, tells us that the others are alive and well, but to join with them could bring destruction to the Company. When we asked why, he would not tell us.
We have spent the last fifty or sixty years living in the style of our first remembered Brethren. As mercenaries for hire, we have had honest employers and not so honest employers. The one tradition that we let slip was perhaps the most important. The events of the past years have not been recorded in the annals like they should.
For that reason, I have returned to the Plain to ask for the help, and forgiveness, of Croaker. He is now the oldest and wisest brother of the Company. After trading places with the golem, after the destruction of Kina, he gained the ability to relive the past in all its detail. For this reason, I have enlisted the help of the last Stone Soldier to produce the First Book of Ouji.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter: 1
The Confrontation
It was a typical pub, a dimly lit windowless room with well-worn rough hewn benches and tables; a large counter with a cracked and spotted mirror and a floor covered in sawdust and spilt drinks that reflected the dusty almost forlorn looking half empty bottles. The room was filled with the sounds of drunken laughter and the smells of unwashed humanity. The scene was just like every other night except for the small crowd gathered around a large man dressed in black and two small time card-sharks. They were trying to make names for themselves by beating the living legend of Tonk sitting across from them. It was just another night in the Hog's Ear outside the city of Gyrdon.
After another humiliating defeat the more hot tempered of the two leapt to his feet. A slight sway betrayed how much he had had to drink.
"You bastard! How could you? That's the ninth time in a row that you've won!" screamed the short man, gesturing wildly.
The bartender shook his head and repeated the warning he had given with every drink.
"I told you not to try, he's never lost, to anyone."
The man rose, gathered his winnings, and the crowd parted in silence to let him pass. It wasn't till he had gotten out of sight that they let loose loud cheers and cowed the losers into backing out with what little dignity they had left. They saw the victor fading away into the distance as two large falcons lit upon his shoulders. He reached into his black, flowing cloak, and gave each bird a small piece of meat. The two men watched him with a critical eye and then disappeared back into the night.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Down the street, a thin woman sat at a bar. She was dressed in a black, skin-tight outfit. The image of a jade dragon wrapped itself around her body. As she drank her wine, a dirty man with a foul mind approached her.
"Hey, baby, how 'bout you and me go upstairs?" asked the man, with a sneer on his face.
"Hey, buddy, you wanna stay alive, you leave her alone," warned Sam the barkeep.
"Yeah! Whatcha gonna do 'bout it?" growled the man.
"Nothin', it's her you gotta worry 'bout," said Sam almost comically.
"Yeah right. Let's go," the man scoffed. As he reached for the slender woman's shoulder, he saw the jade dragon on her clothes begin to swell. The serpentine beast lifted its small head from the woman's shoulder and growled menacingly at the man. As the snake-like creature rose into the silenced air, the man tried to scream, but it was much too late for that. He was frozen solid by a blast of icy breath.
"I'm sorry 'bout that miss Jade ma'am. He was a real slime ball." As the barkeep spoke timidly, the dragon wrapped itself around the young woman's body and flattened back into its former resting place.
The woman paid the barkeep and walked out the door. Out in the street, she met with the man dressed in black. They exchanged greetings in subtle hand signs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further down the street, a short man sat at a dark table on the first floor of an inn. As he drank his warm beer from a stein that dwarfed his head, he fingered an amulet hung around his short neck. The amulet was in the shape of two snakes wrapped tightly around a cross.
On the other side of the room, standing in front of the blazing fireplace, a similar man warmed his hands. Around his neck was an amulet of a lizard. He turned from the fire and spoke, "It's time to go." The two men walked out the door. They met with the other man and woman already walking up the street. They nodded to each other and continued walking up the darkened street.