The group of travelers broke camp the next morning after they ate breakfast
consisting of fish, spring water and some eggs from a bird's nest they had
found right outside of camp. Kray again took the lead, making sure to put
Nina in the middle so that Ryu, who followed behind, could look after her
and act as a watchdog for their rear. They had all agreed before they had
departed that it would be best for Kray to lead because of his acute
senses. He seemed to have gathered his thoughts and looked better than he
had the night before.
"So how long do you think it'll take for us to get out of here and back on the road to Capitol, Kray?" Nina asked as they trudged onwards.
"Well, if we stay on what we mapped out, I'd say at least a days time, we should get out of here right as night falls, which is a rather good think, don't want monsters to interfere."
"Let them interfere," Ryu replied with a grin, "we can take them right Kray?" he asked in a confident and somewhat cocky voice.
"True." Kray replied with a nod, "but we need to preserve our strength as much as possible, after we get out of this forest, villages will most likely be a lot less friendly, not to mention the Wyndian guard will be combing the countryside looking for us."
"Sorry about daddy's behavior again." murmured Nina
"Don't blame yourself." Said Kray turning and folding his arms to look at Nina seriously, "you didn't know he would act the way he did." He then turned and continued walking onwards.
Nina didn't answer and closed her eyes and looked down, before opening them again, looking up and walking onward. In the meantime, Ryu remained silent, but looking up at the trees as if something as bugging him.
Diligently the trudged onwards, pushing through the brush and walking onward despite their weariness. Minutes seemed to stretch for them, as time seemed to slow down to a crawl. All the time however, Ryu seemed to continue to glance upwards at intervals.
By halfway through their trip as the sun sat in the sky directly above them indicating noontime, all three were sweating rather profusely. Nina was making faces and even Kray seemed uncomfortable. Ryu, however, was un- phased. Kray sighed and put his backpack down and called a break. Ryu took the time to look up at the trees again and then walk over to him.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered to Kray.
Kray nodded and kept his eyes locked on Ryu's, "yes, I've been hearing things this entire trip through the forest, movement in the trees I believe."
"Monsters?" asked Ryu quietly.
"No." Kray replied shaking his head, "they sound distinctly humanoid, hard to tell though, they're very soft."
Nina plodded up to them and wiped some sweat from her brow, then looked at them.
Wanting in on their hushed conversation she asked curiosity in her voice, "hey, Ryu, whatcha talking about?"
Ryu looked at her then put a finger to his lips murmuring, "hush Nina, just back away slowly and go sit down on that rock over there, Kray and I will be done talking in a minute."
Nina nodded and backed away, going to go sit on the rock Ryu had pointed to.
Kray's hands slowly went and unsheathed his knives from their sheaths at his side, while Ryu's hand trailed up to his katana and slowly slid it out of its scabbard. Both made eye contact with each other and nodded before turning around and facing back to back with each other.
Nina, still sitting on the rock, blinked and whispered, "Kray? Ryu?" her face showed a mixture of concern and curiosity.
Ryu just put a finger to his lips again as his eyes darted around the canopy, as if he was searching for something, or someone. Nina could see that Kray was doing the same thing, his ears alert and twitching, as if searching for the sounds the invisible people's footsteps.
Suddenly from above there came a yell of "Aiyiyiyiyi!" Kray, Ryu and Nina immediately looked up to see two scantily clad women drop from the canopy above. Unfortunately for both male warriors, it happened so fast they were unable to react before THUD. The two women landed on top of them, their knives at their throats.
Nina took a few steps back, and began motioning to cast a spell when suddenly Kray yelled, "Nina loom out behind you!" Nina turned, her concentration breaking, just in time to see the edge of a staff come flying at her. She let out a shriek as the staff hit her, knocking her to the forest floor, unconscious.
"Nina!" Ryu called out urgently, "damn it, no!" He growled and snarled at the woman on top of him, "let go of me or so help me I'll make you pay!" his eyes started to turn to Dragon slits as his anger boiled up into almost an unquenchable rage. Suddenly he heard Kray say, "Ryu, no, don't!" Ryu snarled a bit but then closed his eyes and breathed heavily, freeing his heart from the rage that was building up. Like a fire quenched by water, it slowly dissipated, and he calmed down.
Reopening his eyes he glared at the women, muttering, "what do you want with us?"
The woman who had knocked Nina out turned and Ryu got a good look at her. Her skin and body was tanned heavily from exposure to the sun, and was covered in a type of cloth he had never seen before. He also noted that, unlike Nina she was rather muscular, her body finely sculpted by body training and workouts. He looked upward to look over her face. Like her body, it was a perfectly sculpted face, not too rigid, or lumpy, but soft and well defined. Her eyes he could see were brown, as well as her long hair, which had been tied back. He couldn't help but find himself staring.
The woman held onto her staff as she crossed over to where Ryu lay pinned to the ground. Narrowing her eyes, she kneeled and examined Ryu for a second then said harshly, "What are you three doing wandering through our territory, you definitely must be either very powerful, or stupid to do this."
"We were just trying to get out of this forest, we didn't know this was part of your place." He growled back, "we meant no harm to you or your people."
"Hunh! I've heard that before." She scowled, "for all I know you two and that women are Imperial scouts trying to take more of this forest from us!" With that she stood and motioned to the other two women. They bent down and relieved Ryu and Kray of their weapons. "Trespassers will be dealt with according to Amazonia law." With that she crossed over, bent down, and lifted the unconscious Nina over her shoulder. "Now we return to the village and shall get you judged." She then turned her backs to Kray and Nina and began walking. Ryu and Kray were then roughly yanked to their feet and had their hands bound tightly behind them. With that they were jabbed by the back of a spear and told to start walking.
"Captured again are we?" Kray sighed as they walked.
"Yup." Ryu replied, nodding. He furrowed his brow and watched the leader walking in front of them, as if to check to see if Nina was ok.
"She'll be ok Ryu, don't worry." Kray said, watching his friend as the concern he knew was on his face. "If anything she'll just wake up with a nasty bump on her head and a headache."
"If only I was a little faster, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess." Ryu replied, closing his eyes.
"Ryu they caught us by surprise. I mean, I've heard of these women.they're supposedly just myth but.obviously they're not. They say they can move through the forest with amazing speed, and their ability to ensnare others with ambushes it what makes them so deadly." Kray said quietly.
"So why didn't you realize that until just now?!" Ryu snapped.
"Erm, I forgot, Sorry Ryu, those stories were from rather long ago." Kray laughed apologetically.
"Oh brother." Ryu mumbled.
It wasn't long before they came to a rather large, old tree. It seemed to them to stretch very high for they were unable to see anything above the cloud cover that surrounded it. The leader of the group that had ambushed them walked swiftly over to it then took her staff and tapped it against the tree three times, a resounding thud following each strike. For a minute, all was silent save for the sounds of the forest around them. Krays ears suddenly began twitching and he whispered, "yah hear that Ryu?" Ryu strained to listen but he couldn't hear anything at first, then suddenly he heard it. It was a squeaking sound, coming from above them. It was soft at first but then it became slightly louder. Looking up he then saw what was making the sound. It was a rather large trolley made of vines and logs. The squeaking was the sound of the small mechanism that propelled it along its line. Ryu blinked, he couldn't help but wonder how they had come across such a piece of technology here in the midst of the forest, even if it was a device as small as the winch.
As it came to a stop in front of them their guards quickly herded them into it. The guards then followed in and kept their eyes watchfully on them, their spear tips at their throats as the leader walked in. The leader then kneeled and propped Nina against the side of the gondola, then struck the tree another three times. With that the gondola began to rise again, heading for the cloud cover and whatever lay beyond it.
"So how long do you think it'll take for us to get out of here and back on the road to Capitol, Kray?" Nina asked as they trudged onwards.
"Well, if we stay on what we mapped out, I'd say at least a days time, we should get out of here right as night falls, which is a rather good think, don't want monsters to interfere."
"Let them interfere," Ryu replied with a grin, "we can take them right Kray?" he asked in a confident and somewhat cocky voice.
"True." Kray replied with a nod, "but we need to preserve our strength as much as possible, after we get out of this forest, villages will most likely be a lot less friendly, not to mention the Wyndian guard will be combing the countryside looking for us."
"Sorry about daddy's behavior again." murmured Nina
"Don't blame yourself." Said Kray turning and folding his arms to look at Nina seriously, "you didn't know he would act the way he did." He then turned and continued walking onwards.
Nina didn't answer and closed her eyes and looked down, before opening them again, looking up and walking onward. In the meantime, Ryu remained silent, but looking up at the trees as if something as bugging him.
Diligently the trudged onwards, pushing through the brush and walking onward despite their weariness. Minutes seemed to stretch for them, as time seemed to slow down to a crawl. All the time however, Ryu seemed to continue to glance upwards at intervals.
By halfway through their trip as the sun sat in the sky directly above them indicating noontime, all three were sweating rather profusely. Nina was making faces and even Kray seemed uncomfortable. Ryu, however, was un- phased. Kray sighed and put his backpack down and called a break. Ryu took the time to look up at the trees again and then walk over to him.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered to Kray.
Kray nodded and kept his eyes locked on Ryu's, "yes, I've been hearing things this entire trip through the forest, movement in the trees I believe."
"Monsters?" asked Ryu quietly.
"No." Kray replied shaking his head, "they sound distinctly humanoid, hard to tell though, they're very soft."
Nina plodded up to them and wiped some sweat from her brow, then looked at them.
Wanting in on their hushed conversation she asked curiosity in her voice, "hey, Ryu, whatcha talking about?"
Ryu looked at her then put a finger to his lips murmuring, "hush Nina, just back away slowly and go sit down on that rock over there, Kray and I will be done talking in a minute."
Nina nodded and backed away, going to go sit on the rock Ryu had pointed to.
Kray's hands slowly went and unsheathed his knives from their sheaths at his side, while Ryu's hand trailed up to his katana and slowly slid it out of its scabbard. Both made eye contact with each other and nodded before turning around and facing back to back with each other.
Nina, still sitting on the rock, blinked and whispered, "Kray? Ryu?" her face showed a mixture of concern and curiosity.
Ryu just put a finger to his lips again as his eyes darted around the canopy, as if he was searching for something, or someone. Nina could see that Kray was doing the same thing, his ears alert and twitching, as if searching for the sounds the invisible people's footsteps.
Suddenly from above there came a yell of "Aiyiyiyiyi!" Kray, Ryu and Nina immediately looked up to see two scantily clad women drop from the canopy above. Unfortunately for both male warriors, it happened so fast they were unable to react before THUD. The two women landed on top of them, their knives at their throats.
Nina took a few steps back, and began motioning to cast a spell when suddenly Kray yelled, "Nina loom out behind you!" Nina turned, her concentration breaking, just in time to see the edge of a staff come flying at her. She let out a shriek as the staff hit her, knocking her to the forest floor, unconscious.
"Nina!" Ryu called out urgently, "damn it, no!" He growled and snarled at the woman on top of him, "let go of me or so help me I'll make you pay!" his eyes started to turn to Dragon slits as his anger boiled up into almost an unquenchable rage. Suddenly he heard Kray say, "Ryu, no, don't!" Ryu snarled a bit but then closed his eyes and breathed heavily, freeing his heart from the rage that was building up. Like a fire quenched by water, it slowly dissipated, and he calmed down.
Reopening his eyes he glared at the women, muttering, "what do you want with us?"
The woman who had knocked Nina out turned and Ryu got a good look at her. Her skin and body was tanned heavily from exposure to the sun, and was covered in a type of cloth he had never seen before. He also noted that, unlike Nina she was rather muscular, her body finely sculpted by body training and workouts. He looked upward to look over her face. Like her body, it was a perfectly sculpted face, not too rigid, or lumpy, but soft and well defined. Her eyes he could see were brown, as well as her long hair, which had been tied back. He couldn't help but find himself staring.
The woman held onto her staff as she crossed over to where Ryu lay pinned to the ground. Narrowing her eyes, she kneeled and examined Ryu for a second then said harshly, "What are you three doing wandering through our territory, you definitely must be either very powerful, or stupid to do this."
"We were just trying to get out of this forest, we didn't know this was part of your place." He growled back, "we meant no harm to you or your people."
"Hunh! I've heard that before." She scowled, "for all I know you two and that women are Imperial scouts trying to take more of this forest from us!" With that she stood and motioned to the other two women. They bent down and relieved Ryu and Kray of their weapons. "Trespassers will be dealt with according to Amazonia law." With that she crossed over, bent down, and lifted the unconscious Nina over her shoulder. "Now we return to the village and shall get you judged." She then turned her backs to Kray and Nina and began walking. Ryu and Kray were then roughly yanked to their feet and had their hands bound tightly behind them. With that they were jabbed by the back of a spear and told to start walking.
"Captured again are we?" Kray sighed as they walked.
"Yup." Ryu replied, nodding. He furrowed his brow and watched the leader walking in front of them, as if to check to see if Nina was ok.
"She'll be ok Ryu, don't worry." Kray said, watching his friend as the concern he knew was on his face. "If anything she'll just wake up with a nasty bump on her head and a headache."
"If only I was a little faster, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess." Ryu replied, closing his eyes.
"Ryu they caught us by surprise. I mean, I've heard of these women.they're supposedly just myth but.obviously they're not. They say they can move through the forest with amazing speed, and their ability to ensnare others with ambushes it what makes them so deadly." Kray said quietly.
"So why didn't you realize that until just now?!" Ryu snapped.
"Erm, I forgot, Sorry Ryu, those stories were from rather long ago." Kray laughed apologetically.
"Oh brother." Ryu mumbled.
It wasn't long before they came to a rather large, old tree. It seemed to them to stretch very high for they were unable to see anything above the cloud cover that surrounded it. The leader of the group that had ambushed them walked swiftly over to it then took her staff and tapped it against the tree three times, a resounding thud following each strike. For a minute, all was silent save for the sounds of the forest around them. Krays ears suddenly began twitching and he whispered, "yah hear that Ryu?" Ryu strained to listen but he couldn't hear anything at first, then suddenly he heard it. It was a squeaking sound, coming from above them. It was soft at first but then it became slightly louder. Looking up he then saw what was making the sound. It was a rather large trolley made of vines and logs. The squeaking was the sound of the small mechanism that propelled it along its line. Ryu blinked, he couldn't help but wonder how they had come across such a piece of technology here in the midst of the forest, even if it was a device as small as the winch.
As it came to a stop in front of them their guards quickly herded them into it. The guards then followed in and kept their eyes watchfully on them, their spear tips at their throats as the leader walked in. The leader then kneeled and propped Nina against the side of the gondola, then struck the tree another three times. With that the gondola began to rise again, heading for the cloud cover and whatever lay beyond it.