Chapter 26--To the Shrine!
At last, after long and difficult days of searching, Joey and Tristan had obtained the Seal of Shadow! Now all they had to do was get it to the Shrine of the Key. After everything they had been through, they thought this would be the easy part.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
Joey and Tristan had no idea where they were, no idea where the Shrine was, and no idea how to get there. They managed to get out of the swamp, which was something, but they were no closer to reaching their destination. In fact, they were worse off than they thought--they didn't even know if they were no closer to their destination! All they knew about the Shrine was that it was in the mountains, and the mountains were very large. They had gotten into the foothills, but that was of little help to them. To say that they were lost did no justice to the depth of their troubles. They were also unaware that their predicament was about to grow more dire.
They had entered Necro Clann territory!
Joey and Tristan did not know that Necro Clann, although it originated in the lowlands and swamps, was forced to leave its ancestral home as the result of an unprovoked attack from nearby humans. This was one of the reasons that Necro Clann was so eager to join the Overlord. The mountains, largely uninhabited by humans, gave Necro Clann room to multiply and become prosperous once more. Ever wary of being ousted again, however, they zealously guarded their territory. Walking into the middle of it uninvited is a bad idea. If you are a human, it is a death wish. As far as Necro Clann was concerned, two humans wandering into their territory uninvited was asking for it.
Slipping and stubbing his toe for the fifth time in ten minutes, Joey stopped. "Are you sure we're goin' da right way?"
"No."
"All right. Just so we're clear on dat."
They continued walking. As it happened, they were in luck. They happened to be heading toward the shrine, although they did not, of course, know this. They continued blundering forward, observed carefully by Necro Clann. The Necro Clanners were very clever fighters; they would wait, snake-like, to strike at the exact moment when there foes were most likely to be caught off guard. In this case, however, they needn't have bothered. In fact, it would been difficult not to catch Joey and Tristan off guard. Still, the precise, careful Clanners were taking no chances. This time, the humans would die.
Joey and Tristan thought they were finally making some progress; they had reached a flat stretch of rock that resembled a road. It was a road, although they could not know this. It was a road to the shrine, and once found, it would have taken them straight to their goal.
Necro Clann knew this. Necro Clann was determined to stop them.
As the two humans began walking down the road, a single Necro Clanner appeared in front of them. This was a trick that looked like magic to the uninitiated; it was really a matter of concealment. In any case, they were certainly surprised--they stopped dead.
"Too late, humans! You have entered our territory; now you must die! you are surrounded; give up, and we may spare you a drawn-out demise!" the Clanner roared at them, tensed for battle.
Tristan swallowed hard. "Joey, I think we should get out of here," he said nervously, knowing that he and Joey were no match for Clanners in their home territory.
"Huh? C'mon, dere's only one! We can take her!" Joey replied confidently, much less catious (or preceptive) than his friend.
More Clanners appeared behind them.
"My mistake. Okay, let's run!" Joey said, and the two took off at top speed.
Taking the Clanner in front of them completely by surprise, they dashed down the road, hoping to outrun their foes and reach the safety of the Shrine. They ran as fast as they could, but they could not distance themselves from the equally speedy Clanners. The Clanners knew that they had the advantage--they were fit and able, and they knew this territory like the back of their hands.
The road to the Shrine is very long.
"Dey're gainin' on us! What do we do now?"
"Run faster!"
The race continued. Who would win?
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Tea and Kaiba were facing similar troubles. Frith and Windpaw had been able to lead them to the Seal, but they had no way to find the Shrine of the Key. While they were not quite as lost as Joey and Tristan, they still didn't know exactly where to go. They were already in the mountains, but they didn't know where they were in relation to any other landmarks. They needed a guide now more than ever, but they were running through them very rapidly. in the end, they were forced to wander aimlessly. This was not a suggestion welcomed with flying colors, but it was the only choice they had.
"We don't know where we are, we don't know where we're going--"
Tea clenched her fists, trying not to lash out at Kaiba; his constant cynicism and complaining were driving her crazy. "We do know where we're going! We're going to the Shrine of the Key!"
"Yes, knowing the name of a place will surely enable us to find it!" Kaiba replied harshly. He hated being in a situation that was out of his control, such as being lost.
"And we are not lost!" Tea said angrily, trying to keep a positive outlook. She knew that if they gave in to pessimism, they would gain nothing and make their task even more difficult.
"Then where are we?" Kaiba replied, now annoying as well as cynical.
"All right, we are lost," Tea admitted. "What difference does it make? We still have to find the Shrine."
"We won't know where we are even when we get there," Kaiba said stubbornly, refusing to see anything positive about the situation.
"We don't have to," Tea said flatly, realizing that arguing with Kaiba was completely hopeless.
"Here's another problem: we don't know what we're going to do if by some miracle we manage to find it," Kaiba pointed out. He was actually being somewhat practical this time, but he had already complained so much that it was hard to notice.
"I saw a poster that said 'expect a miracle' once," Tea replied. She was really reaching at this point.
"I don't believe in miracles," Kaiba said automatically.
"That's because you're cynical."
"That's because I'm realistic."
"It could be worse."
"This couldn't possibly be any worse."
At that moment, a Clanner, who had formerly been standing concealed beside a rocky outcropping, cleared his throat. "You may have spoken too soon, human. I and my comrades are about to make your situation considerably worse."
Several more Clanners stepped into view. Necro Clann had cleverly surrounded their foes, just as they had the other two humans trespassing in their territory. The Clanner smiled grimly. They would never get the Key now. Raising his hand, he said, "Magic block! Without your Summon cards, you cannot hope to defeat us. Now you will die, humans. Good-bye."
As he raised a thin-bladed throwing knife, his targets came to a quick decision and ran for their lives. The Clanners were taken less by surprise than their compatriots (currently chasing Joey and Tristan), but they were at a disadvantage due to the rocky and unpredictable terrain, which was hard to run on. Another chase had begun, but the outcome of this one seemed inevitable. Without any clear idea of where they were going, how could Tea and Kaiba possibly escape?
At last, after long and difficult days of searching, Joey and Tristan had obtained the Seal of Shadow! Now all they had to do was get it to the Shrine of the Key. After everything they had been through, they thought this would be the easy part.
They couldn't have been more wrong.
Joey and Tristan had no idea where they were, no idea where the Shrine was, and no idea how to get there. They managed to get out of the swamp, which was something, but they were no closer to reaching their destination. In fact, they were worse off than they thought--they didn't even know if they were no closer to their destination! All they knew about the Shrine was that it was in the mountains, and the mountains were very large. They had gotten into the foothills, but that was of little help to them. To say that they were lost did no justice to the depth of their troubles. They were also unaware that their predicament was about to grow more dire.
They had entered Necro Clann territory!
Joey and Tristan did not know that Necro Clann, although it originated in the lowlands and swamps, was forced to leave its ancestral home as the result of an unprovoked attack from nearby humans. This was one of the reasons that Necro Clann was so eager to join the Overlord. The mountains, largely uninhabited by humans, gave Necro Clann room to multiply and become prosperous once more. Ever wary of being ousted again, however, they zealously guarded their territory. Walking into the middle of it uninvited is a bad idea. If you are a human, it is a death wish. As far as Necro Clann was concerned, two humans wandering into their territory uninvited was asking for it.
Slipping and stubbing his toe for the fifth time in ten minutes, Joey stopped. "Are you sure we're goin' da right way?"
"No."
"All right. Just so we're clear on dat."
They continued walking. As it happened, they were in luck. They happened to be heading toward the shrine, although they did not, of course, know this. They continued blundering forward, observed carefully by Necro Clann. The Necro Clanners were very clever fighters; they would wait, snake-like, to strike at the exact moment when there foes were most likely to be caught off guard. In this case, however, they needn't have bothered. In fact, it would been difficult not to catch Joey and Tristan off guard. Still, the precise, careful Clanners were taking no chances. This time, the humans would die.
Joey and Tristan thought they were finally making some progress; they had reached a flat stretch of rock that resembled a road. It was a road, although they could not know this. It was a road to the shrine, and once found, it would have taken them straight to their goal.
Necro Clann knew this. Necro Clann was determined to stop them.
As the two humans began walking down the road, a single Necro Clanner appeared in front of them. This was a trick that looked like magic to the uninitiated; it was really a matter of concealment. In any case, they were certainly surprised--they stopped dead.
"Too late, humans! You have entered our territory; now you must die! you are surrounded; give up, and we may spare you a drawn-out demise!" the Clanner roared at them, tensed for battle.
Tristan swallowed hard. "Joey, I think we should get out of here," he said nervously, knowing that he and Joey were no match for Clanners in their home territory.
"Huh? C'mon, dere's only one! We can take her!" Joey replied confidently, much less catious (or preceptive) than his friend.
More Clanners appeared behind them.
"My mistake. Okay, let's run!" Joey said, and the two took off at top speed.
Taking the Clanner in front of them completely by surprise, they dashed down the road, hoping to outrun their foes and reach the safety of the Shrine. They ran as fast as they could, but they could not distance themselves from the equally speedy Clanners. The Clanners knew that they had the advantage--they were fit and able, and they knew this territory like the back of their hands.
The road to the Shrine is very long.
"Dey're gainin' on us! What do we do now?"
"Run faster!"
The race continued. Who would win?
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Tea and Kaiba were facing similar troubles. Frith and Windpaw had been able to lead them to the Seal, but they had no way to find the Shrine of the Key. While they were not quite as lost as Joey and Tristan, they still didn't know exactly where to go. They were already in the mountains, but they didn't know where they were in relation to any other landmarks. They needed a guide now more than ever, but they were running through them very rapidly. in the end, they were forced to wander aimlessly. This was not a suggestion welcomed with flying colors, but it was the only choice they had.
"We don't know where we are, we don't know where we're going--"
Tea clenched her fists, trying not to lash out at Kaiba; his constant cynicism and complaining were driving her crazy. "We do know where we're going! We're going to the Shrine of the Key!"
"Yes, knowing the name of a place will surely enable us to find it!" Kaiba replied harshly. He hated being in a situation that was out of his control, such as being lost.
"And we are not lost!" Tea said angrily, trying to keep a positive outlook. She knew that if they gave in to pessimism, they would gain nothing and make their task even more difficult.
"Then where are we?" Kaiba replied, now annoying as well as cynical.
"All right, we are lost," Tea admitted. "What difference does it make? We still have to find the Shrine."
"We won't know where we are even when we get there," Kaiba said stubbornly, refusing to see anything positive about the situation.
"We don't have to," Tea said flatly, realizing that arguing with Kaiba was completely hopeless.
"Here's another problem: we don't know what we're going to do if by some miracle we manage to find it," Kaiba pointed out. He was actually being somewhat practical this time, but he had already complained so much that it was hard to notice.
"I saw a poster that said 'expect a miracle' once," Tea replied. She was really reaching at this point.
"I don't believe in miracles," Kaiba said automatically.
"That's because you're cynical."
"That's because I'm realistic."
"It could be worse."
"This couldn't possibly be any worse."
At that moment, a Clanner, who had formerly been standing concealed beside a rocky outcropping, cleared his throat. "You may have spoken too soon, human. I and my comrades are about to make your situation considerably worse."
Several more Clanners stepped into view. Necro Clann had cleverly surrounded their foes, just as they had the other two humans trespassing in their territory. The Clanner smiled grimly. They would never get the Key now. Raising his hand, he said, "Magic block! Without your Summon cards, you cannot hope to defeat us. Now you will die, humans. Good-bye."
As he raised a thin-bladed throwing knife, his targets came to a quick decision and ran for their lives. The Clanners were taken less by surprise than their compatriots (currently chasing Joey and Tristan), but they were at a disadvantage due to the rocky and unpredictable terrain, which was hard to run on. Another chase had begun, but the outcome of this one seemed inevitable. Without any clear idea of where they were going, how could Tea and Kaiba possibly escape?
