CHAPTER 15
With one foul slash; an Astorian Gaimeleth is cut down, steam exploding from its destroyed Energist. With great fluency, Akuma moves Shadowbain into a summersault, crashing down into his enemy's harpoon gun. Soon Escaflowne and Hades join him and the trio decimate their enemies around them.
" I can't believe the speed and flexibility of that new Gaimeleth." Nivani grits through her teeth as her Sky Dragon smashes away a Trian Gaimeleth. Ulysses comes up behind her.
" We can't win the way things are going now. We need to get rid of Escaflowne and the two Generals."
" I know, but how?"
Ulysses blocks a blow from a liquid cannon, kicking it down with his foot.
" I'll have to get back to you on that one!"
**************************************
Riana pulls on her new clothes, placing her old ones carefully in the bag they had bought. Rushing out of the room she had snuck into to change, she finds Luanda who has an impatient look on his face.
" I've bought a horse." Luanda confesses.
Riana frowns and asks how much it was. A sheepish look forms on his face. Cringing, he answers her.
" It cost 4 silver pieces..."
" WHAT?!"
Luanda quickly explains before she starts shouting at him.
" Riana, I need to go back to Rynntopia. If it's being attacked, I want to help!"
Riana frowns again.
" Why? I thought we were supposed to hide from Tristen, not march right into one of his battles!"
Suddenly, Luanda losses his temper, grabbing Riana angrily.
" HOW DARE YOU TELL ME TO HIDE FROM THIS!"
Seeing Riana's eyes widening with fright, Luanda lets her go and apologises. Riana rests one hand on her friends shoulder, reassuringly.
" I'm, I'm sorry Luanda, if it's important to you, we can go."
Luanda looks at Riana with shock. He hadn't asked her to go with him, but here she was, risking her freedom and possibly her life!!
" Riana..."
" I'll go with you to help, and don't try to change my mind. I'm as stubborn as they get!"
Smiling, realising he couldn't win, Luanda leads Riana towards a ranch just outside the village. Luanda calls for the owner and soon a plump lady walks out of the ranch house, two small children clinging to her apron.
" Oh, you're the lad who bought that horse! Welcome, I'll show you to its stable and you can take him right away."
Luanda thanks the woman and follows the lady behind the house leaving Riana to wait for their return. Looking around, Riana's eyes come to rest on a huge penned field. Walking up to the fencing, Riana catches the eye of two four legged creatures that look like a mixture of a camel and a horse. The two beasts trot up to her curiously, and start to nuzzle her hair.
" My best racing horses seem to take a fancy to you, Miss!" The woman says, walking back from the stables with Luanda close behind, who is leading a similar black beast by its reins. Riana turns around with a frown.
" These are horses? That can't be right, they look like camels without humps!"
Luanda halts his horses and explains to the confused Earth girl.
" No, theses are horses! Are horses different where you come from?"
Nodding, Riana explains that horses where she comes from have hoofs, not toes and their heads are different. Feeling sure that the girl was a bit of a loon, and wondering what on Gaia a camel was, the woman thanks Luanda again for buying her horse and heads back into her house, her children running after her.
"Ok, lets mount! We need to get there as quickly as we can." Luanda turns to Riana curiously.
" Since I've only got one horse, you're going to have to climb on the back and hold onto me. Is that ok?"
Riana laughs at Luanda's reddening face.
" Of course its ok, silly!"
Luanda climbs on first and pulls Riana up behind him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, Riana asks him how far it is to Rynntopia.
" It's north of this Forest." Luanda says, looking around to get his bearing.
" I think if we ride in a gallop for about an hour, we'll reach the Rynntopian Blue Lake. After that, Rynntopia is only a few miles away."
" Well, we'd better hurry then!" Riana says, tightening her grip to ready herself for the long gallop ahead. With a swift kick to the Gaian horse's side, the beast explodes into a gallop, out of the ranch and into the forest.
With one foul slash; an Astorian Gaimeleth is cut down, steam exploding from its destroyed Energist. With great fluency, Akuma moves Shadowbain into a summersault, crashing down into his enemy's harpoon gun. Soon Escaflowne and Hades join him and the trio decimate their enemies around them.
" I can't believe the speed and flexibility of that new Gaimeleth." Nivani grits through her teeth as her Sky Dragon smashes away a Trian Gaimeleth. Ulysses comes up behind her.
" We can't win the way things are going now. We need to get rid of Escaflowne and the two Generals."
" I know, but how?"
Ulysses blocks a blow from a liquid cannon, kicking it down with his foot.
" I'll have to get back to you on that one!"
**************************************
Riana pulls on her new clothes, placing her old ones carefully in the bag they had bought. Rushing out of the room she had snuck into to change, she finds Luanda who has an impatient look on his face.
" I've bought a horse." Luanda confesses.
Riana frowns and asks how much it was. A sheepish look forms on his face. Cringing, he answers her.
" It cost 4 silver pieces..."
" WHAT?!"
Luanda quickly explains before she starts shouting at him.
" Riana, I need to go back to Rynntopia. If it's being attacked, I want to help!"
Riana frowns again.
" Why? I thought we were supposed to hide from Tristen, not march right into one of his battles!"
Suddenly, Luanda losses his temper, grabbing Riana angrily.
" HOW DARE YOU TELL ME TO HIDE FROM THIS!"
Seeing Riana's eyes widening with fright, Luanda lets her go and apologises. Riana rests one hand on her friends shoulder, reassuringly.
" I'm, I'm sorry Luanda, if it's important to you, we can go."
Luanda looks at Riana with shock. He hadn't asked her to go with him, but here she was, risking her freedom and possibly her life!!
" Riana..."
" I'll go with you to help, and don't try to change my mind. I'm as stubborn as they get!"
Smiling, realising he couldn't win, Luanda leads Riana towards a ranch just outside the village. Luanda calls for the owner and soon a plump lady walks out of the ranch house, two small children clinging to her apron.
" Oh, you're the lad who bought that horse! Welcome, I'll show you to its stable and you can take him right away."
Luanda thanks the woman and follows the lady behind the house leaving Riana to wait for their return. Looking around, Riana's eyes come to rest on a huge penned field. Walking up to the fencing, Riana catches the eye of two four legged creatures that look like a mixture of a camel and a horse. The two beasts trot up to her curiously, and start to nuzzle her hair.
" My best racing horses seem to take a fancy to you, Miss!" The woman says, walking back from the stables with Luanda close behind, who is leading a similar black beast by its reins. Riana turns around with a frown.
" These are horses? That can't be right, they look like camels without humps!"
Luanda halts his horses and explains to the confused Earth girl.
" No, theses are horses! Are horses different where you come from?"
Nodding, Riana explains that horses where she comes from have hoofs, not toes and their heads are different. Feeling sure that the girl was a bit of a loon, and wondering what on Gaia a camel was, the woman thanks Luanda again for buying her horse and heads back into her house, her children running after her.
"Ok, lets mount! We need to get there as quickly as we can." Luanda turns to Riana curiously.
" Since I've only got one horse, you're going to have to climb on the back and hold onto me. Is that ok?"
Riana laughs at Luanda's reddening face.
" Of course its ok, silly!"
Luanda climbs on first and pulls Riana up behind him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, Riana asks him how far it is to Rynntopia.
" It's north of this Forest." Luanda says, looking around to get his bearing.
" I think if we ride in a gallop for about an hour, we'll reach the Rynntopian Blue Lake. After that, Rynntopia is only a few miles away."
" Well, we'd better hurry then!" Riana says, tightening her grip to ready herself for the long gallop ahead. With a swift kick to the Gaian horse's side, the beast explodes into a gallop, out of the ranch and into the forest.
