Chapter two: Boys of Lampdragon
Location: Mount Lampdragon (Flashback)
---
I dunno' why. I just feel like whatever it is I'm supposed to do, it's just plain wrong. I mean, why do I have to rob from all these traveler's when I could be doing something that would help all these guys out?
And now, I'm just sitting here; behind some trees and rocks, getting ready to ambush some fat, wealthy, stupid Tinto traveler...
"Koyu! Get into position! The carriage is coming through!" Yeah, whatever; should I really care? They're like almost every other traveler... They're rich and they're stupid... And how the hell did they get rich? I'm sure it wasn't because of hard work or anything like that. Sister Lo Wen says that it's all 'cause of... explo... exploitation or something like that. Maybe that's why brother Gijimu enjoys stealing from the Tinto people... Because they're just too dumb for their own good.
"Koyu!"
"Sorry!" Damn, thinking sucks. I'm probably gonna' get blamed if this fails... Time to hide...
* * *
The carriage slowly wheels in through the rocky mountain terrain, dozens of eyes watching its slow movement. Koyu watches closely from behind several trees, his breathing so weak that it seemed that he was holding it perpetually.
The carriage was a dull, reddish-brown; it's only form of beauty being in the gold and platinum which adorned its sides and doors. The horses were equally beautiful and obviously owned by one who owns a considerable amount of potch. But other than the quasi-splendid vehicle, the only thing that seemed to distract Koyu was the amazing amount of guards that surrounded this obviously good source of potch.
(Just a little more... A little more...) Koyu thought. They couldn't get past the guards and they surely couldn't defeat them if they took them head on. How many were they? We've got only about only four mountain bandits against nearly two-dozen soldiers? What would an axe do against their crossbows and military-use weapons?
They now had to rely on Fumi completely... And Koyu had full faith in his friend.
Fumi was another of the bandits that he treated like family. He was kind, intelligent and a strong warrior. Both he and Gijimu were like rivals but seemed more like friends than two people on opposing forces. Gijimu was a fearless warrior while Fumi was one of the few that were gifted in the arts of the runes within the Lampdragon bandits.
Fumi was now all they had if they wanted any chance of breaking through the soldiers... And they all waited patiently for any form of magic to occur.
Koyu looked up and saw Fumi in the treetops, his eyes closed and his left hand glowing weakly crimson. He seemed to be in deep concentration and Koyu made it his business to protect him if anyone noticed.
Someone did, and arrows started flying.
"FUMI!!!" Koyu yelled as he ran into the fray. He couldn't stop the arrows in mid-flight but he could try to stop the ones shooting them.
***
"Shit!" Fumi cursed as he jumped down from the treetops, the glow in his right hand fading as quick as a candles flame against the wind. An arrow whizzed past his ear, scratching the unprotected skin.
"Damn you all!" Fumi yelled as he ran through the massive amount of soldiers, pulling out a dagger from his back; his forehead glowing a slight green. Fumi had three runes throughout his body and the one that decorated his forehead didn't need concentration to work with. Both he and Koyu share the same rune and this probably was the reason why the two of them were faster than almost every other bandit. Blood spurted all over Fumi's shirt as he stabbed a soldier in the neck, bursting his jugular vein. The crossbow he carried fell from his hands and unto the left hand of Fumi, who swiftly whirled around and accurately let loose the single bolt lodged in it's chamber. It cut neatly through the air and plunged itself in another soldiers wrist, forcing him to drop his carried weapon. The soldier screamed in pain but his scream was cut short as Koyu's axe created a nice gap in the soldier's skull. Kicking the Soldier in the chest, Koyu's axe freed itself and he immediately placed himself near Fumi.
"Fumi! We need some kind of fire spell! Both brothers Joshua and Grey were already killed! I'll cover you!" Koyu valiantly deflected several arrows with his axe, only to feel the sting of one in his shoulder.
"What the fuck are you doing?! Let's find some cover!" Fumi picked up Koyu and quickly ran back into the woods, soldiers only several meters behind.
"What were you thinking?!" Fumi yelled out loud as he dodged a crossbow bolt while running through some foliage. "Trying to be some kind of martyr?! Just keep quiet and don't move." Fumi placed down his dagger in front of him as he tried to concentrate on casting a spell with his right hand. Koyu pulled three throwing daggers out of his breast pocket with his left hand and threw several of them back, hitting two soldiers in the legs. Even though he was injured, he believed that he should still fight in anyway he can...
"...Thunder crashing through endless storm, let your spawn rip apart the land with undying anger! Earth will yield to the fury that you bear and let loose upon its breast! Thunder runner!" Fumi whirled around and faced his palm towards the soldiers that gave chase, the golden insignia of the lightning rune hovering high above his head. Lightning suddenly flashed from his hand and trailed the soil in a clear line three meters wide and up to fifty meters long. Koyu shut his eyes from the blinding light and clutched his shoulder when it suddenly throbbed with intense pain.
It throbbed once more and he shut his eyes, the world going into darkness.
***
"Ungh..." God, my eyes hurt...
I wake up to see myself surrounded by trees and sunlight. Although I know I'm in a forest, I can't hear any of the animals that I would normally hear... Sitting up, I feel a throbbing sensation in my shoulder.
I remember... At least that ugly arrow is gone and now all I see are bandages.
And now those trees are gone. Now replaced by the ugly, charred ground that Fumi seemed to have made.
"Fumi?" I hold my shoulder in pain and walk around these forests looking for Fumi. Now that we've lost Brothers Joshua and Grey, that brings our total down to only 14 bandits... Brother Gijimu is getting more and more of us killed... Why won't he stop even for a month? And for what? Money? Is money worth the lives of all that have died?
Fumi's there... Kneeling over the bodies of both our lost comrades.
"Thank you Fumi... I know that it hurts you to always have to be the one that buries the dead..." Fumi is silent, only kneeling in prayer. He always does this, burying our friends. I know he cries when he does this but he knows that they deserve a decent burial. Even though there is no coffin, he just doesn't want to leave the bodies just lying there in the sun to rot.
"Koyu... The carriage didn't even have enough money to supply all the bandits for two weeks worth of food. Now that that piece of Crap, Gustav, is starting to mine the mountains to death, all the trees are suffering. Slowly, they're dying... And with them gone, so are the animals... If only I killed that jerk when I had the chance, then the entire mountain and all of us wouldn't be suffering!"
"We all know that it's their fault but what can we do? We just can't go and kill Gustav, right? The rest of the city state would have us killed!" I know you understand... And I know how you feel, but I don't think that that's the right thing to do...
"I guess so... Let's get back home Koyu. I'll carry the Potch and whatever else. Just pick up your axe and hurry on to the village."
"Are you okay with that Fumi? I just can't leave you here?"
"You're wounded and I'm not; it's only logical that I carry it. Just go and don't stop. It was an official carriage and they might ask for back-up soon."
"Yeah... you're right. I just hope that we're doing the right thing..."
But then again, what would bandits know about the right thing?
-End chapter two-
Location: Mount Lampdragon (Flashback)
---
I dunno' why. I just feel like whatever it is I'm supposed to do, it's just plain wrong. I mean, why do I have to rob from all these traveler's when I could be doing something that would help all these guys out?
And now, I'm just sitting here; behind some trees and rocks, getting ready to ambush some fat, wealthy, stupid Tinto traveler...
"Koyu! Get into position! The carriage is coming through!" Yeah, whatever; should I really care? They're like almost every other traveler... They're rich and they're stupid... And how the hell did they get rich? I'm sure it wasn't because of hard work or anything like that. Sister Lo Wen says that it's all 'cause of... explo... exploitation or something like that. Maybe that's why brother Gijimu enjoys stealing from the Tinto people... Because they're just too dumb for their own good.
"Koyu!"
"Sorry!" Damn, thinking sucks. I'm probably gonna' get blamed if this fails... Time to hide...
* * *
The carriage slowly wheels in through the rocky mountain terrain, dozens of eyes watching its slow movement. Koyu watches closely from behind several trees, his breathing so weak that it seemed that he was holding it perpetually.
The carriage was a dull, reddish-brown; it's only form of beauty being in the gold and platinum which adorned its sides and doors. The horses were equally beautiful and obviously owned by one who owns a considerable amount of potch. But other than the quasi-splendid vehicle, the only thing that seemed to distract Koyu was the amazing amount of guards that surrounded this obviously good source of potch.
(Just a little more... A little more...) Koyu thought. They couldn't get past the guards and they surely couldn't defeat them if they took them head on. How many were they? We've got only about only four mountain bandits against nearly two-dozen soldiers? What would an axe do against their crossbows and military-use weapons?
They now had to rely on Fumi completely... And Koyu had full faith in his friend.
Fumi was another of the bandits that he treated like family. He was kind, intelligent and a strong warrior. Both he and Gijimu were like rivals but seemed more like friends than two people on opposing forces. Gijimu was a fearless warrior while Fumi was one of the few that were gifted in the arts of the runes within the Lampdragon bandits.
Fumi was now all they had if they wanted any chance of breaking through the soldiers... And they all waited patiently for any form of magic to occur.
Koyu looked up and saw Fumi in the treetops, his eyes closed and his left hand glowing weakly crimson. He seemed to be in deep concentration and Koyu made it his business to protect him if anyone noticed.
Someone did, and arrows started flying.
"FUMI!!!" Koyu yelled as he ran into the fray. He couldn't stop the arrows in mid-flight but he could try to stop the ones shooting them.
***
"Shit!" Fumi cursed as he jumped down from the treetops, the glow in his right hand fading as quick as a candles flame against the wind. An arrow whizzed past his ear, scratching the unprotected skin.
"Damn you all!" Fumi yelled as he ran through the massive amount of soldiers, pulling out a dagger from his back; his forehead glowing a slight green. Fumi had three runes throughout his body and the one that decorated his forehead didn't need concentration to work with. Both he and Koyu share the same rune and this probably was the reason why the two of them were faster than almost every other bandit. Blood spurted all over Fumi's shirt as he stabbed a soldier in the neck, bursting his jugular vein. The crossbow he carried fell from his hands and unto the left hand of Fumi, who swiftly whirled around and accurately let loose the single bolt lodged in it's chamber. It cut neatly through the air and plunged itself in another soldiers wrist, forcing him to drop his carried weapon. The soldier screamed in pain but his scream was cut short as Koyu's axe created a nice gap in the soldier's skull. Kicking the Soldier in the chest, Koyu's axe freed itself and he immediately placed himself near Fumi.
"Fumi! We need some kind of fire spell! Both brothers Joshua and Grey were already killed! I'll cover you!" Koyu valiantly deflected several arrows with his axe, only to feel the sting of one in his shoulder.
"What the fuck are you doing?! Let's find some cover!" Fumi picked up Koyu and quickly ran back into the woods, soldiers only several meters behind.
"What were you thinking?!" Fumi yelled out loud as he dodged a crossbow bolt while running through some foliage. "Trying to be some kind of martyr?! Just keep quiet and don't move." Fumi placed down his dagger in front of him as he tried to concentrate on casting a spell with his right hand. Koyu pulled three throwing daggers out of his breast pocket with his left hand and threw several of them back, hitting two soldiers in the legs. Even though he was injured, he believed that he should still fight in anyway he can...
"...Thunder crashing through endless storm, let your spawn rip apart the land with undying anger! Earth will yield to the fury that you bear and let loose upon its breast! Thunder runner!" Fumi whirled around and faced his palm towards the soldiers that gave chase, the golden insignia of the lightning rune hovering high above his head. Lightning suddenly flashed from his hand and trailed the soil in a clear line three meters wide and up to fifty meters long. Koyu shut his eyes from the blinding light and clutched his shoulder when it suddenly throbbed with intense pain.
It throbbed once more and he shut his eyes, the world going into darkness.
***
"Ungh..." God, my eyes hurt...
I wake up to see myself surrounded by trees and sunlight. Although I know I'm in a forest, I can't hear any of the animals that I would normally hear... Sitting up, I feel a throbbing sensation in my shoulder.
I remember... At least that ugly arrow is gone and now all I see are bandages.
And now those trees are gone. Now replaced by the ugly, charred ground that Fumi seemed to have made.
"Fumi?" I hold my shoulder in pain and walk around these forests looking for Fumi. Now that we've lost Brothers Joshua and Grey, that brings our total down to only 14 bandits... Brother Gijimu is getting more and more of us killed... Why won't he stop even for a month? And for what? Money? Is money worth the lives of all that have died?
Fumi's there... Kneeling over the bodies of both our lost comrades.
"Thank you Fumi... I know that it hurts you to always have to be the one that buries the dead..." Fumi is silent, only kneeling in prayer. He always does this, burying our friends. I know he cries when he does this but he knows that they deserve a decent burial. Even though there is no coffin, he just doesn't want to leave the bodies just lying there in the sun to rot.
"Koyu... The carriage didn't even have enough money to supply all the bandits for two weeks worth of food. Now that that piece of Crap, Gustav, is starting to mine the mountains to death, all the trees are suffering. Slowly, they're dying... And with them gone, so are the animals... If only I killed that jerk when I had the chance, then the entire mountain and all of us wouldn't be suffering!"
"We all know that it's their fault but what can we do? We just can't go and kill Gustav, right? The rest of the city state would have us killed!" I know you understand... And I know how you feel, but I don't think that that's the right thing to do...
"I guess so... Let's get back home Koyu. I'll carry the Potch and whatever else. Just pick up your axe and hurry on to the village."
"Are you okay with that Fumi? I just can't leave you here?"
"You're wounded and I'm not; it's only logical that I carry it. Just go and don't stop. It was an official carriage and they might ask for back-up soon."
"Yeah... you're right. I just hope that we're doing the right thing..."
But then again, what would bandits know about the right thing?
-End chapter two-