Chapter 22--Bargains and Battle
"What do you mean, we have to retrieve it? I thought you guys had the Seal!"
Joey and Tristan were disappointed and annoyed. They had assumed that Shin-ka and his Clann were in possession of the Seal, and now they discovered that it would have to be "retrieved."
Shin-ka raised a hand. "Peace, travelers. My Clann does indeed possess the Seal, but we knew when we received it that it could be unsafe to keep it here. We therefore gave it to one among us who would protect he. His hermitage lies north of here; it is he you must convince to give you the Seal. Be warned--living alone for so long has made him rather...eccentric."
Joey and Tristan, grumbling under their breaths, set out for the hermitage. This time, however, they did not have to trek through marshland. Instead, they were in a semi-swamp scrub forest. It was an eerie place; the trees dripped with moisture from the humid air, and everything was viewed through a green haze created by the thick, diseased- looking foliage. It was not a cheerful place, and it was certainly the last place they would ever have wanted to go under normal circumstances. Despite this, they continued to trudge resolutely forward, trying to refrain from complaint. After nearly half an hour of this miserable journey, they reached the hermitage.
It was unlike any building they had ever seen. They were amazed that it was standing at all; it was crooked, made of odd parts, covered in dirt and weeds, being pulled down by vines, and generally falling apart in every way possible, and some ways they hadn't even realized existed. Staring at it in shock, they jumped in surprise when a voice spoke from behind them.
"Heeheehee! I see you like my humble abode! Yep, I'm Karas the Hermit, and this is my hermitage. Say--you two don't look like Clanners. You remind me more of humans...what are you doing here?"
Turning, they saw an old man dressed in an odd assortment of rags. He had a long, dirty, gray beard, thick, bushy eyebrows, and surprisingly sharp blue eyes. He smiled at them benignly, a very unClanner-like thing to do. They stared back at him. Several moments passed in silence before Karas the Hermit cleared his throat politely, in an attempt to bring them back to reality, if they had indeed left.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. You have the Seal, right? Would you...give it to us? Please?"
Karas laughed softly. "Ahh, my friends, you amaze we with your frankness. Yes, I do indeed have the Seal. I suppose you have already spoken to Shin-ka? Yes? Hmmm...he has obviously found you worthy, or you would be dead right now, but...I still won't give it to you for nothing! Yes, yes...it would be a great service to you if I were to give you the Seal, so why don't I ask you to do a favor for me in return? Yes...now, what shall I ask...what shall I ask...ah-ha! I've got it! You see, this is a very peaceful swamp. Oh, I know it sounds odd to outsiders like you, but for we natives, everything goes along just fine. Now, just recently there has been talk of a new arrival--a sea serpent, no idea how he got here, I suspect he's one of Tethys, but no matter--the point is, it's an awful nuisance, he doesn't belong here, and if you would kindly get rid of him for me? For all of us? Bring back one of his scales as proof, and I will give you the Seal. Agreed?"
Joey and Tristan groaned. Fight a sea-serpent? In a swamp? "Aw, man! Well...I guess we don' really 'ave a choice, now do we? Ahh, all right, we'll do it. Fine. Just point us in da right direction, okay?"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"'ere it is. Dat's da shadow-monsta place."
They were standing outside a gaping hole in the mountain. It was a tunnel leading straight down--straight into a demon's lair. Tea and Kaiba were hoping very much that Lona was mistaken, but they knew she was not. There was no other way--they had walked for miles, fought off Clanners, and faced death to find the Seal, and they could not stop now, even if it meant jumping into a deep, dark hole from which they might never return. Both of them would much rather have turned back, but they would never admit that. Lona looked at them quizzically.
"Whatsa matta? Came all this way, not gonna go now? Not gonna kill da shadow-monsta? Lona come, me 'elp, we c'n do it!"
Some people, Kaiba among them, become very sarcastic when facing something very dangerous that they are afraid of. "Oh, that's just great. Now that we have a half-cat who can't speak English on our side, we can't possibly lose."
Lona nodded, unperturbed. "Me not say dat, we could get deaded, Lona still 'elp, me notta 'fraid. Some fings worth getting deaded for. Yeh?"
Tea swallowed hard. "Well...I guess we should go then..." she said, shivering. She was very glad she wasn't in this alone, even if her companions were Kaiba and a crazy Darkling.
There was an awkward silence in which everyone, with the possible exception of Lona, wished to turn back and nobody said anything. Then they slid carefully into the hole one by one, hoping that they wouldn't break any bones when they landed.
Amazingly, they had a soft landing. They were not comforted long, however--they had landed in a pile of what were apparently leftovers from other travelers who had dared to entire the demon's lair. Whatever the demon had not wished to devour, or perhaps had found indigestible, was left behind.
This venture was not off to a pleasant start.
Shuddering, Tea stepped away from the assorted mangled body parts and looked around. There was little to see; was little light shone from above illuminated only blank rock wall.
Lona sniffed the air cautiously, whispering, "Somefing bad is 'ere....", but they needed no help to determine that.
There was a strange, almost inaudible sound, like some great beast breathing. The silence was otherwise oppressive, and the darkness was terrifyingly impenetrable. None of them wanted to step away from the narrow circle of light coming from the surface, but they felt that they should. The moment they had left the light, however, they were plunged into total darkness. Lona took out her handy lamp and squinted at it again, but it lit only a tiny circle; just a few feet in front of them it stopped. It seemed not so much that this was the limit of its light, but that the darkness swallowed it up...
In short, it was terrifying.
After walking for what seemed like hours, although it was probably only a few minutes, they saw something ahead, or rather, they did not see something--it seemed that the darkness had grown darker in front of them, although this was impossible. Suddenly, to their complete horror, a voice spoke. The underground chamber magnified it horribly, making it echoed all around them.
"So. You have come for the Seal. I can see it in your very souls, you thieves. Now you must die..."
Lona glared at the darkness, raising her tiny lamp. To their surprise, the dark entity before them seemed to recoil slightly.
"Put it away! PUT IT AWAY!!!"
Tea thought quickly. It doesn't like light--we need to light this place up! Hmm...my Elf's Light card would do the trick! "I Summon--Elf's Light!" The card glowed, then faded. "Huh? Why didn't it work?"
"There is too much energy here for such simple tricks to harm me. You have not the strength to call your magic into being. You have not harmed me, thief, but I am afraid that you must die for this."
Tea was thinking again, as was Lona. Kaiba, however, never believed anything from anyone immediately. "Why shouldn't our cards work? I Summon- -"
The moment he said it, however, he was sorry. He nearly collapsed in pain as the demon turned toward him.
"Fool. You shall die first for daring to attack me when I had warned you of the consequences. Prepare to feel the full force of my power!"
There was no chance of survival; being hit with a demon's energy is not something one takes lightly. But, just as the demon reared back its head and blasted its magic outwards in a projection of its evil, Lona sprang in front of it. The Darkling had grown very attached to her friends, especially Kaiba, and was not about to lose them without a fight.
"No! Not 'urt me's frens!"
Lona was thrown backwards by the force of the demon's blow; she slammed into the wall of the cavern and crumpled to the ground like a broken doll. Her small lamp flickered and went out, hiding the pitiful remains of its owner from sight. The demon's hateful laughter echoed around them in the all-consuming darkness. Now what would they do?
"What do you mean, we have to retrieve it? I thought you guys had the Seal!"
Joey and Tristan were disappointed and annoyed. They had assumed that Shin-ka and his Clann were in possession of the Seal, and now they discovered that it would have to be "retrieved."
Shin-ka raised a hand. "Peace, travelers. My Clann does indeed possess the Seal, but we knew when we received it that it could be unsafe to keep it here. We therefore gave it to one among us who would protect he. His hermitage lies north of here; it is he you must convince to give you the Seal. Be warned--living alone for so long has made him rather...eccentric."
Joey and Tristan, grumbling under their breaths, set out for the hermitage. This time, however, they did not have to trek through marshland. Instead, they were in a semi-swamp scrub forest. It was an eerie place; the trees dripped with moisture from the humid air, and everything was viewed through a green haze created by the thick, diseased- looking foliage. It was not a cheerful place, and it was certainly the last place they would ever have wanted to go under normal circumstances. Despite this, they continued to trudge resolutely forward, trying to refrain from complaint. After nearly half an hour of this miserable journey, they reached the hermitage.
It was unlike any building they had ever seen. They were amazed that it was standing at all; it was crooked, made of odd parts, covered in dirt and weeds, being pulled down by vines, and generally falling apart in every way possible, and some ways they hadn't even realized existed. Staring at it in shock, they jumped in surprise when a voice spoke from behind them.
"Heeheehee! I see you like my humble abode! Yep, I'm Karas the Hermit, and this is my hermitage. Say--you two don't look like Clanners. You remind me more of humans...what are you doing here?"
Turning, they saw an old man dressed in an odd assortment of rags. He had a long, dirty, gray beard, thick, bushy eyebrows, and surprisingly sharp blue eyes. He smiled at them benignly, a very unClanner-like thing to do. They stared back at him. Several moments passed in silence before Karas the Hermit cleared his throat politely, in an attempt to bring them back to reality, if they had indeed left.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. You have the Seal, right? Would you...give it to us? Please?"
Karas laughed softly. "Ahh, my friends, you amaze we with your frankness. Yes, I do indeed have the Seal. I suppose you have already spoken to Shin-ka? Yes? Hmmm...he has obviously found you worthy, or you would be dead right now, but...I still won't give it to you for nothing! Yes, yes...it would be a great service to you if I were to give you the Seal, so why don't I ask you to do a favor for me in return? Yes...now, what shall I ask...what shall I ask...ah-ha! I've got it! You see, this is a very peaceful swamp. Oh, I know it sounds odd to outsiders like you, but for we natives, everything goes along just fine. Now, just recently there has been talk of a new arrival--a sea serpent, no idea how he got here, I suspect he's one of Tethys, but no matter--the point is, it's an awful nuisance, he doesn't belong here, and if you would kindly get rid of him for me? For all of us? Bring back one of his scales as proof, and I will give you the Seal. Agreed?"
Joey and Tristan groaned. Fight a sea-serpent? In a swamp? "Aw, man! Well...I guess we don' really 'ave a choice, now do we? Ahh, all right, we'll do it. Fine. Just point us in da right direction, okay?"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"'ere it is. Dat's da shadow-monsta place."
They were standing outside a gaping hole in the mountain. It was a tunnel leading straight down--straight into a demon's lair. Tea and Kaiba were hoping very much that Lona was mistaken, but they knew she was not. There was no other way--they had walked for miles, fought off Clanners, and faced death to find the Seal, and they could not stop now, even if it meant jumping into a deep, dark hole from which they might never return. Both of them would much rather have turned back, but they would never admit that. Lona looked at them quizzically.
"Whatsa matta? Came all this way, not gonna go now? Not gonna kill da shadow-monsta? Lona come, me 'elp, we c'n do it!"
Some people, Kaiba among them, become very sarcastic when facing something very dangerous that they are afraid of. "Oh, that's just great. Now that we have a half-cat who can't speak English on our side, we can't possibly lose."
Lona nodded, unperturbed. "Me not say dat, we could get deaded, Lona still 'elp, me notta 'fraid. Some fings worth getting deaded for. Yeh?"
Tea swallowed hard. "Well...I guess we should go then..." she said, shivering. She was very glad she wasn't in this alone, even if her companions were Kaiba and a crazy Darkling.
There was an awkward silence in which everyone, with the possible exception of Lona, wished to turn back and nobody said anything. Then they slid carefully into the hole one by one, hoping that they wouldn't break any bones when they landed.
Amazingly, they had a soft landing. They were not comforted long, however--they had landed in a pile of what were apparently leftovers from other travelers who had dared to entire the demon's lair. Whatever the demon had not wished to devour, or perhaps had found indigestible, was left behind.
This venture was not off to a pleasant start.
Shuddering, Tea stepped away from the assorted mangled body parts and looked around. There was little to see; was little light shone from above illuminated only blank rock wall.
Lona sniffed the air cautiously, whispering, "Somefing bad is 'ere....", but they needed no help to determine that.
There was a strange, almost inaudible sound, like some great beast breathing. The silence was otherwise oppressive, and the darkness was terrifyingly impenetrable. None of them wanted to step away from the narrow circle of light coming from the surface, but they felt that they should. The moment they had left the light, however, they were plunged into total darkness. Lona took out her handy lamp and squinted at it again, but it lit only a tiny circle; just a few feet in front of them it stopped. It seemed not so much that this was the limit of its light, but that the darkness swallowed it up...
In short, it was terrifying.
After walking for what seemed like hours, although it was probably only a few minutes, they saw something ahead, or rather, they did not see something--it seemed that the darkness had grown darker in front of them, although this was impossible. Suddenly, to their complete horror, a voice spoke. The underground chamber magnified it horribly, making it echoed all around them.
"So. You have come for the Seal. I can see it in your very souls, you thieves. Now you must die..."
Lona glared at the darkness, raising her tiny lamp. To their surprise, the dark entity before them seemed to recoil slightly.
"Put it away! PUT IT AWAY!!!"
Tea thought quickly. It doesn't like light--we need to light this place up! Hmm...my Elf's Light card would do the trick! "I Summon--Elf's Light!" The card glowed, then faded. "Huh? Why didn't it work?"
"There is too much energy here for such simple tricks to harm me. You have not the strength to call your magic into being. You have not harmed me, thief, but I am afraid that you must die for this."
Tea was thinking again, as was Lona. Kaiba, however, never believed anything from anyone immediately. "Why shouldn't our cards work? I Summon- -"
The moment he said it, however, he was sorry. He nearly collapsed in pain as the demon turned toward him.
"Fool. You shall die first for daring to attack me when I had warned you of the consequences. Prepare to feel the full force of my power!"
There was no chance of survival; being hit with a demon's energy is not something one takes lightly. But, just as the demon reared back its head and blasted its magic outwards in a projection of its evil, Lona sprang in front of it. The Darkling had grown very attached to her friends, especially Kaiba, and was not about to lose them without a fight.
"No! Not 'urt me's frens!"
Lona was thrown backwards by the force of the demon's blow; she slammed into the wall of the cavern and crumpled to the ground like a broken doll. Her small lamp flickered and went out, hiding the pitiful remains of its owner from sight. The demon's hateful laughter echoed around them in the all-consuming darkness. Now what would they do?
