Chapter 16--The Parting of Ways
Tea, Joey, and Tristan sat inside one of the Raasha Clann's numerous rounded tents, made of hides stretched over wooden frames. The entire settlement resembled a collection of sandcastles due to their color, although they were plain and unadorned. After timidly asking one of the Clanner whether or not Kaiba would live, they had received a cryptic answer, at least to their ears.
"Man, do I wish dese people spoke English! How can dey understand what they're sayin' to each other when dey're all speakin' gibberish?"
Tea sighed exasperatedly. "That's their language, Joey. It may sound like gibberish to us, but they all understand it. Only a few of them speak any English," she said before standing up and leaving the tent, saying she was going for a short walk; she needed to do something before all of the waiting drove her crazy.
She stepped outside, looking into the slate-gray sky. Would they ever find the Key with Necro Clann hounding their footsteps? Although the journey had been difficult, she had never thought that any of them might die. Vice had told them that they would see true war and death if they sought the other half of the Key. Tea had believed that she and her friends could overcome she have been wrong?
How can we fight the Necro Clann, or anyone for that matter? If we were all together, I know we could do this! But now...
Yuugi and Matt had journeyed to another World to seek their half of the Key of Aramas. How could they find both halves before time ran out when they were split up? Tea looked down. Frith, as she now called him, had decided to follow her. She sighed.
"Poor Frith. You did your best to beat Kiendra, but we still couldn't stop her. She'll be back, I'm sure of it. And if there are only three of us to fight her next time..." Frith looked sad. "I know, Frith. You're worried about Kaiba. If he dies, his little bother will never forgive us. And we'll probably never get the Key. You're the one who beat Kiendra both times we faced her. Without everyone together, how can we hope to survive next time she attacks? When we started on this journey, I knew we would see war and death. It's just...I thought it would be other people's deaths. Other people's wars. We seem to have been dragged into the middle of this, and there may be no way out. I only hope we'll all get home safely......."
Kasha-sen of the Raasha Clann was actually very optimistic about Kaiba's chances of survival. Speaking fluent English, she related this to him. "You are extremely fortunate. If the Necro Clanner had used a true throwing knife instead of this assassin's blade, you would be dead right now. It is never healthy to have a blade pass through a major artery, but although my healing magic is limited, I have fully repaired the jury; you'll live to fight another day. All the same, your news is not hopeful. If the Necro Clann has followed you into our territory, there is far more at stake then any Clann feud. I fear that they have sided with our greatest enemy--the Overlord. You must find the Key quickly if you wish to return home alive. The Clanner threw this tiny blade in anger. When they attack you and your companions in hate, you will truly know the meaning of war. In any case, you are free to go."
She began cleaning the small, blood-covered knife she had found on the battlefield. "Here's some advice," she called after him. "Never pull a blade from a wound. It makes them bleed."
Completely ignoring this, and also refusing to thank Kasha-sen, Kaiba left. After walking a few feet, he was knocked over by the exuberant Frith, who slammed into him with surprising force. Tea, Joey, and Tristan came running in the hare's wake. They all stared at him.
"You're not dead?" Joey asked incredulously. In truth, he was really very happy to see Kaiba back on his feet--he was on their side even they weren't exactly friends--but he was too surprised to show it.
Another Clanner walked up behind them. "So surprised? My Clann weilds protective magic, including healing. You may all travel onwards today, with our blessing."
The four reunited travelers turned to him. "Actually, we were wondering if you could help us," Tea said politely. "Shou-lao told us to find you."
The Clanner nodded. "I am Rakan. You have come to us seeking the Seal of Light, have you not? It is one of two Gate Seals, used to Seal the Shrine of the Key. We formerly possessed the Seal of Light; the other Seal, the Seal of Shadow, is held by the Shiirai Clann--Clann of the Bearers of the Shadow. To the lasting shame of our Clann, we lost our Seal to a powerful demon who still dwells in the mountains; we had not the strength to overcome the creature then, nor do we now. To obtain both Seals, you must defeat the demon and reason with the Shiirai Clann. Neither task will be easy. You are fortunate to be accompanied by the hare's of Shou-lao. She does not give gifts lightly. They can sense the aura of the Seal of Light, and will guide you to it, although they cannot find the Seal of Shadow. May the blessings of the Raasha Clann go with you, travelers. Fair fortune on your road."
Then, before they had time to say anything, he turned on his heel and vanished back into the settlement. Now the travelers were faced with a choice. Which way should they go? As with every other decision the group tried to make, it was difficult to solve anything due to frequent arguments.
"I say we should go find this demon guy first. That's the hard part!" Joey said, shivering as he thought of fighting a demon. Joey would face anyone in a straight fight without fear, but things that he couldn't understand terrified him.
"No, we should go to the Shiirai Clann first. The demon is already in the mountains, so we can fight him on our way to the shrine," Tea argued, trying to figure out a way to complete their task as quickly as possible; their journey would only increase in danger as time went on.
"How will we even find the Shiirai Clann? We don't know where they live!" Tristan said in frustration; he wanted to help Vice, but this mission looked like it might be too difficult for the group, and Tristan hated letting a friend down.
"I say we give up right now. This is impossible," Kaiba said coldly; being stabbed had given him an even more pessimisstic outlook on their quest, if that was possible.
"No it isn't! We can't give up. We told Vice we'd get that Key, and we will!" Joey said firmly, refusing to admit defeat. He had learned from Yuugi that the way to win was to never give up, no matter how hopeless things seemed.
Finally Tea, who had already seen this problem coming when they found out that there were two Gate Seals, spoke up. "There is a way. We just have to split up. Two of us go find the Seal of Light, and the other two go find the Seal of Shadow. I know it sounds dangerous, but if we don't split up, we'll never find the Key in time. There's no other choice."
Reluctantly, the others agreed. Now all that remained was to divide themselves into two groups. Surprisingly, this was relatively simple. Joey, having thought about this for a few minutes, came up with the answer. "Okay, me an' Tristan will go find da Seal of Shadow while you two find da Seal of Light. Got it?"
Tea and Kaiba, both upset with this arrangement, shouted at the same time, "Why do I have to with him(her)!?"
Tristan sighed. "Look, you two have the hares, right? So that means that you two are the only ones who can find that Light thing. And since we're splitting into groups, that means me and Joey have to go get the Shadow one. Personally, I'd rather go fight a demon than try to convince a bunch of Clanners to give us some Seal, but there's just no way. You have the hares, you find the Seal of Light."
This was also agreed to, although with even more reluctance, if that was possible. The travelers, now splitting into pairs, got ready to depart. The hardest stage of their journey was about to begin.
Tea, Joey, and Tristan sat inside one of the Raasha Clann's numerous rounded tents, made of hides stretched over wooden frames. The entire settlement resembled a collection of sandcastles due to their color, although they were plain and unadorned. After timidly asking one of the Clanner whether or not Kaiba would live, they had received a cryptic answer, at least to their ears.
"Man, do I wish dese people spoke English! How can dey understand what they're sayin' to each other when dey're all speakin' gibberish?"
Tea sighed exasperatedly. "That's their language, Joey. It may sound like gibberish to us, but they all understand it. Only a few of them speak any English," she said before standing up and leaving the tent, saying she was going for a short walk; she needed to do something before all of the waiting drove her crazy.
She stepped outside, looking into the slate-gray sky. Would they ever find the Key with Necro Clann hounding their footsteps? Although the journey had been difficult, she had never thought that any of them might die. Vice had told them that they would see true war and death if they sought the other half of the Key. Tea had believed that she and her friends could overcome she have been wrong?
How can we fight the Necro Clann, or anyone for that matter? If we were all together, I know we could do this! But now...
Yuugi and Matt had journeyed to another World to seek their half of the Key of Aramas. How could they find both halves before time ran out when they were split up? Tea looked down. Frith, as she now called him, had decided to follow her. She sighed.
"Poor Frith. You did your best to beat Kiendra, but we still couldn't stop her. She'll be back, I'm sure of it. And if there are only three of us to fight her next time..." Frith looked sad. "I know, Frith. You're worried about Kaiba. If he dies, his little bother will never forgive us. And we'll probably never get the Key. You're the one who beat Kiendra both times we faced her. Without everyone together, how can we hope to survive next time she attacks? When we started on this journey, I knew we would see war and death. It's just...I thought it would be other people's deaths. Other people's wars. We seem to have been dragged into the middle of this, and there may be no way out. I only hope we'll all get home safely......."
Kasha-sen of the Raasha Clann was actually very optimistic about Kaiba's chances of survival. Speaking fluent English, she related this to him. "You are extremely fortunate. If the Necro Clanner had used a true throwing knife instead of this assassin's blade, you would be dead right now. It is never healthy to have a blade pass through a major artery, but although my healing magic is limited, I have fully repaired the jury; you'll live to fight another day. All the same, your news is not hopeful. If the Necro Clann has followed you into our territory, there is far more at stake then any Clann feud. I fear that they have sided with our greatest enemy--the Overlord. You must find the Key quickly if you wish to return home alive. The Clanner threw this tiny blade in anger. When they attack you and your companions in hate, you will truly know the meaning of war. In any case, you are free to go."
She began cleaning the small, blood-covered knife she had found on the battlefield. "Here's some advice," she called after him. "Never pull a blade from a wound. It makes them bleed."
Completely ignoring this, and also refusing to thank Kasha-sen, Kaiba left. After walking a few feet, he was knocked over by the exuberant Frith, who slammed into him with surprising force. Tea, Joey, and Tristan came running in the hare's wake. They all stared at him.
"You're not dead?" Joey asked incredulously. In truth, he was really very happy to see Kaiba back on his feet--he was on their side even they weren't exactly friends--but he was too surprised to show it.
Another Clanner walked up behind them. "So surprised? My Clann weilds protective magic, including healing. You may all travel onwards today, with our blessing."
The four reunited travelers turned to him. "Actually, we were wondering if you could help us," Tea said politely. "Shou-lao told us to find you."
The Clanner nodded. "I am Rakan. You have come to us seeking the Seal of Light, have you not? It is one of two Gate Seals, used to Seal the Shrine of the Key. We formerly possessed the Seal of Light; the other Seal, the Seal of Shadow, is held by the Shiirai Clann--Clann of the Bearers of the Shadow. To the lasting shame of our Clann, we lost our Seal to a powerful demon who still dwells in the mountains; we had not the strength to overcome the creature then, nor do we now. To obtain both Seals, you must defeat the demon and reason with the Shiirai Clann. Neither task will be easy. You are fortunate to be accompanied by the hare's of Shou-lao. She does not give gifts lightly. They can sense the aura of the Seal of Light, and will guide you to it, although they cannot find the Seal of Shadow. May the blessings of the Raasha Clann go with you, travelers. Fair fortune on your road."
Then, before they had time to say anything, he turned on his heel and vanished back into the settlement. Now the travelers were faced with a choice. Which way should they go? As with every other decision the group tried to make, it was difficult to solve anything due to frequent arguments.
"I say we should go find this demon guy first. That's the hard part!" Joey said, shivering as he thought of fighting a demon. Joey would face anyone in a straight fight without fear, but things that he couldn't understand terrified him.
"No, we should go to the Shiirai Clann first. The demon is already in the mountains, so we can fight him on our way to the shrine," Tea argued, trying to figure out a way to complete their task as quickly as possible; their journey would only increase in danger as time went on.
"How will we even find the Shiirai Clann? We don't know where they live!" Tristan said in frustration; he wanted to help Vice, but this mission looked like it might be too difficult for the group, and Tristan hated letting a friend down.
"I say we give up right now. This is impossible," Kaiba said coldly; being stabbed had given him an even more pessimisstic outlook on their quest, if that was possible.
"No it isn't! We can't give up. We told Vice we'd get that Key, and we will!" Joey said firmly, refusing to admit defeat. He had learned from Yuugi that the way to win was to never give up, no matter how hopeless things seemed.
Finally Tea, who had already seen this problem coming when they found out that there were two Gate Seals, spoke up. "There is a way. We just have to split up. Two of us go find the Seal of Light, and the other two go find the Seal of Shadow. I know it sounds dangerous, but if we don't split up, we'll never find the Key in time. There's no other choice."
Reluctantly, the others agreed. Now all that remained was to divide themselves into two groups. Surprisingly, this was relatively simple. Joey, having thought about this for a few minutes, came up with the answer. "Okay, me an' Tristan will go find da Seal of Shadow while you two find da Seal of Light. Got it?"
Tea and Kaiba, both upset with this arrangement, shouted at the same time, "Why do I have to with him(her)!?"
Tristan sighed. "Look, you two have the hares, right? So that means that you two are the only ones who can find that Light thing. And since we're splitting into groups, that means me and Joey have to go get the Shadow one. Personally, I'd rather go fight a demon than try to convince a bunch of Clanners to give us some Seal, but there's just no way. You have the hares, you find the Seal of Light."
This was also agreed to, although with even more reluctance, if that was possible. The travelers, now splitting into pairs, got ready to depart. The hardest stage of their journey was about to begin.
