Notes: Simple edits.
Vana'diel: Crystal of Darkness
Chapter III: Adventurers
They ripped through the forest, breaking through anything that stood in their way with thick, clawed hands and heavy feet. Overhead the gray sky threatened rain, which would only hinder the escape of their prey. Their wide mouths cracked into a grim smile, revealing razor-sharp teeth. Atop their brown-gray heads a trio of feathers protruded, along with their yellow pupil less eyes suggested these were hunters. Among the pack few had weapons- their claws and fists were enough weaponry. Strong travel-toughened feet crushed the tall grass, splintering any fallen log or limb. These Orcs have tasted blood, and wont stop until they destroy their prey.
"Come on!" Up ahead a Tarutaru yelled back, scurrying through the grass and trees, occasionally stumbling on a hidden rock or branch.
"Shinji! Slow down! It seems we've lost them." An exhausted Elvaan called back. His long, thin face was beaded in sweat, and winces of pain overtook his face with every step he took. His right arm cradled his left, from which blood slipped through his hands.
"Fine." The Tarutaru halted his escape, readjusted his red, brown and blue tunic and plopped down on a nearby fallen tree. "You okay, Age?"
The wounded Elvaan trudged up beside Shinji and fell onto the tree in exhaustion and pain. Paying little attention to his companion, Shinji withdrew from his pack a flask, took a swing, then tossed it at the Elvaan.
"Thanks." With his one good arm he caught it and gulped it down, thirstily.
"I'll see if we lost themsies." Although the Tarutaru grew up among the Elvaan of San d'Oria, the childish characteristics of rhyming some words still stood in his Tarutaru blood.
The Elvaan ripped off the sleeve of his grey jerkin and examined his wound. The axe of an Orcish logger had barely caught his arm as they tried to flee the region of Ronfaure. The wound wasn't serious; just a flesh wound, not too deep. Using the cloth he had torn off he began to bandage the wound, wincing from the pain until he finished and tied it.
Age sighed. "After all this searching we still can't find any trace of a map." He looked up into the clouded early morning sky. Dots of rain began to trickle onto his heated face, cooling him, soothing him.
"Okay okay, let's go!" Age's moment of relaxation cut short as Shinji barged through the trees, panting, "Go go go!" The Taru-taru grabbed the significantly larger Elvaan by the leg and began a feeble attempt to drag him. As Age's pint-sized companion struggled to drag him along he looked behind him. His eyes widened in terror; he could hear the stomps and grunts of the Orcs coming back for them.
Age sprang up and started running again through the forest, Shinji still latched onto his leg and screaming. Age leapt over a small boulder, throwing Shinji off of his leg. The Tarutaru quickly scrambled up and began to run alongside Age once again.
They flashed through the forest, ducking branches and jumping rocks and fallen trees until Age came to a sudden halt. Shinji continued to scamper on, but was pulled back by the Elvaan adventurer.
"Alas!" Age kicked the grassy earth and looked over their new obstacle. The earth in front of them sharply plunged down in a steep hill. Trees still dotted the slope, going down would surely result in a crushing end plastered to the side of a tree trunk. Cutting down the slope a little to their right a river cut down into a waterfall pouring down the side.
In unison the pair turned around in time to witness three Orcs protruding from the forest. With a grunt of acknowledgment the Orcs charged towards their prey. Age swiftly withdrew his sword, brandishing it in his right hand, a small shield set up in guard on his left arm. Shinji pulled out a long knife, a sword to him, and took his place beside Age.
The Orc farthest back began the fight. It stopped in it's tracks and pulled from it's back a bow and an arrow from it's belt, pulled back and fired.
FWUMP!
The arrow plunged straight into Age's shield as he charged forward, bowled his way passed the two axe-wielding Orcs and swiped at the Orcish archer. It let out a roar of anger and pain as dark blood sprayed from it's chest. Not ready to be killed so easily, the Orc whipped around, prepared to crush his attacker with fists, need be it. It tossed aside it's bow and lashed one bulky arm out, connecting with Age's back, plowing him into the ground in a cry of shock and pain. Acting on pure adrenaline and instinct, Age turned from the ground to see the beastman raising its fists above it's head, ready for a finishing blow.
But the Elvaan was much faster. Age gripped his sword and forced it upward. The shearing pain ringing through his wounded shield arm clouded any other feeling. He couldn't tell if his desperate attack had even connected until he felt the hot Orcish blood splash down upon him; just enough warning to allow him to roll out of the way before he would be crushed under the bulk of the Orc.
Near the waterfall Shinji watched as Age plowed through the two front line Orcs towards the archer, realizing he had two to take on alone. But Shinji always liked a challenge, always insisted on doing things the exciting way. It was, after all, he who volunteered to search Ronfaure for the map his new employer requested. 555,000 Gil was at stake, he was not about to let a couple of Orcs stand in the way of his prize.
"Gyuh gyuh ghyuh," the two Orcs looked at each other and grunted in a rough laughter. Shinji withdrew from his belt a second knife and taunted the pair, a devilish grin on his face.
The Orcs rushed him, axes held above their heads. The two leapt to each side of Shinji, heaving their axes in opposite directions in attempt to cleave the Tarutaru into pieces. When the Orcs looked down to gloat over the defeat of their tiny annoyance. Their look of accomplishment quickly changed to rage and frustration.
"Over here, you stupid brutes!" Shinji stood only a yard from his previous location, completely unscathed and with a look of smugness on his chipmunk face. One charged at him, Shinji swiftly responding by leaping onto it's head, using it as a launch pad as he then leapt at the other Orc. Caught off guard, the Orc had no time to respond. Age landed behind the Orc, who fell face-down into the grass.
By then the other Orc had recovered and began to swing his axe at the Tarutaru. Each swing fell but an inch short as Shinji hopped back each time, clearly having fun with this. Enough games, he thought, glancing at Age, who was driving his sword into his attacker. Shinji swung his knives at the Orc, who parried with it's axe. The Orc responded with an upward stroke. Shinji knocked it aside with his left hand dagger and attacked with his right; yet the blade barely pierced the tough Orcish hide. With a grunt the Orc smacked Shinji aside with the flat of it's axe head. Seeing it's chance, the Orc unleashed a series of rapid swipes at him. Shinji struggled to concentrate on dodging and parrying, but at this pace he felt bound to fail soon.
The Orc suddenly halted and turned around. There Age stood, the fallen Orc's bow in his hand and arrow at the quiver. Taking no chances, Shinji spun the knives around in his hands and drove them into the Orc's spine. In a roar of pain it stumbled forward and fell down the slope, rolling out of sight.
The duo adventurers sheathed their weapons, Age tossing the bow into the trees. For a few peaceful seconds only the trickle of an early morning rain disrupted the silence. Yet the silence quickly shattered as the rest of the Orcish loggers exploded into the clearing, charging straight for their prey.
"Come on!" Age leapt towards the slope and took a running jump down it, grabbing Shinji by the collar in the process.
"Gah!" Shinji yelped, caught off guard by Age's quick and unexpected action.
Age bolted down the slope, struggling not to trip and concentrating on dodging the trees. Behind, the Orcs decided if an Elvaan could jump down and survive on the slope, they could too. They were, after all, just as smart and quick- actually, smarter and quicker- than any other race... in their own minds. Each and every one of them dived off and down the slope. Many slammed into the trees before even hitting the ground with a splintering crunch. The ones who managed to hit the grass hit it and fell, rolling straight into the tree trunks.
Shinji, still swinging back and forth from the grip of the running Elvaan, looked back and began to shake with laughter. Curious, Shinji peeked back to see what was going on. Ahead lay a dead Orc caught between two trees, knives protruding from it's back.
"AAAH!" Both screamed as Age tripped over the Orc, losing his grip on the Tarutaru, who spun ahead of him, whipping passed the trees.
At the bottom of the slope sat a Mithran girl against a tree trunk, carefully concentrating in a meditation-like state. In front of her thousands of tiny ripples reverberated through a shallow stream as raindrops fell from the cloudy sky. The Mithra's red hair hung damp above her eyes. Gray monk robes hung loosely from her body.
The Mithra jerked her head up in surprise, breaking her concentration. Her eye twitched, mouth curled into a snarl. It had taken hours to memorize that spell, she had almost finished, but now all was to waste. She stormed up, listening hard.
"A mudslide..?"
Something was tumbling down the slope. Her cat ears perked up as she listened harder.
"What is that..? Screams? What the goddess is this?" Suddenly a Tarutaru came tumbling down the slope and launched towards the Mithra.
"AAAH!" Shinji slammed into her, sending them both skidding into the stream.
"...RAGE!"
The Mithran girl sat in the water, drenched and suppressing the anger. Age woozily staggered up and stumbled out of the water, shaking himself off like a dog in the rain. The Mithra shook her head, sending water flying from her hair, and looked up. A mix of surprise and fear overwhelmed her face.
"GAAH!" Age came at a full speed half-run half-stumble down the slope and crashed into the stream next to the Mithra, who's face now returned to annoyance as more water splashed onto her.
After the chaos was over and all were out of the stream, Shinji confronted the Mithra, "Who are you?" He peered up at her.
"..."
"Well?" Age poked her leg.
"Katsuka."
"I'm Shinji, that's Age." He pointed to Age, who was resting against a tree, nursing his wounds. He gave a slight wave of his hand in acknowledgment and got back to work.
Katsuka, careful to make sure these weren't enemies- or worse: morons- decided to find out who decided to ruin her precious work, "What's a Tarutaru and an Elvaan doing out here?"
Shinji, once again, was the one to speak, "We're not just a Taruytaru and an Elvaan, we're adventurers."
"Okay..." Katsuka began in an indifferent tone. "You're searching for something out here?"
"Er... well, kinda..." He was wary of telling their purpose, but any help would be good help. "We were hired to look for a map."
"A map...? Of what?"
"Can't say."
"Secret?"
"Nope, dunno."
"So you risk life and limb to find something you know nothing about."
"We have reasons, a'course. The General of the San d'Orian legions is really rich."
"We're here for the cash and the fame. He says this is very important." Age jumped in. "He's offering us a nice load of Gil and will pass our names around to other wealthy high ranking people in search of our services. You've heard our story, yours?"
Katsuka thought for a moment. "I'm just passing through."
"Heh, well seen or heard anything 'bout a map?" Shinji piped in again.
"Does it look like I would know?" Katsuka seemed to be getting annoyed with this business. "Morons..." She muttered.
Age noticed her fighters robes. "Passing through? You look ready to kill something."
"You." she grinned. "If you don't-"
A rustling in the trees grabbed all their attention.
"What the-"
An Orc busted out from behind the trees and rushed at them. Katsuka immediately drew a pair of spiked knuckles to her fists and charged back at the Orc. Kat jabbed a fist at the Orc, connecting directly to it's face. The Orc howled in pain, but it's tough hide prevented any fatal damage. The blood-faced beastman grabbed Katsuka by the throat and lifted her into the air, ready to stab her with a small blade held in the other hand. She concentrated and kept calm. This confused the Orc, stalling it. A burst of green light exploded from the Orc's face. Katsuka fell easily to the ground while the Orc coughed and sputtered.
"Poison..." Age muttered as he and Shinji watched from a distance.
"She's a Red Mage!" Shinji exclaimed.
Katsuka took her chance while the Orc was struggling and ran back up to it. She focused all her energy into her fists and unleashed a combo of punches and kicks on the Orc. With a final groan the Orc fell to the ground.
"Or a monk..." Age tossed in.
"Easy. And thats both." Kat laughed.
Her laughter stopped short- more rustles in the trees. From them emerged more Orcs. Three- now six- seven- nine- twelve, each slowly progressing towards the adventurers. Katsuka immediately turned around and ran the opposite way, pushing aside the Elvaan and Tarutaru.
"Run!" Shinji yelped. The pair ran off after the Mithra, the Orcs following not five yards back.
They charged on and on passed trees and rocks, under branches and over fallen trees until suddenly Katsuka stopped, causing Shinji to slam into her leg. "Should be safe now." She said.
They had entered a clearing. The rain had stopped, but the sky still gloomed overhead. Fog snaked it's way through the clearing. Not even the morning chirp of birds was to be heard as the veiled sun climbed towards noon.
"Finally, a place to rest." Shinji sighed and began to walk over towards a smooth stone half covered by grass and shrub for a sit, but stopped short.
"What?" Age asked, noticing this.
"The ground," Shinji stomped it a little, "It feels kinda... wea-AAH!" The earth below him gave way and Shinji fell straight down into the hole. He groaned and lay still at the bottom, looking upward. Age and Katsuka's heads popped into view.
"Wow, what's this?" Age gazed in astonishment. "Er... and are you all right?"
"Just peachy. Thanks for asking," Shinji replied sarcastically.
He straightened himself up and checked to make sure he was still in one piece, then noticed a passage lead through here.
"Guys, come check this out!"
The two hopped down, Age first, Katsuka following.
"A tunnel?" Age asked in wonder.
The Mithra reached into her pouch and withdrew a bright red crystal that filled the hole with a red glow. "Fire crystal." Katsuka said after seeing the wonderment in the others faces.
She lead the way into the tunnel, steadily descending down a stone hallway until reaching a small room. It was eerily dark inside, cobwebs stretched across the corners and a thin layer of dust coated the floor. A long stone box lay in the center of the room carved with strange symbols and letters. Torch holders hung on the walls, and a smaller stone box sat against the far wall.
"What the..." Age moved in to look around, quickly moving to the stone box to examine it. Shinji plopped down on the smaller stone box and began to massage his tired feet. Katsuka walked around the room, looking around.
"A tomb." She stated.
A crumbling noise caused Katsuka and Age to whip around. Shinji was half stuck in the box against the wall, which now had a collapsed lid.
"Uh... ow?" Shinji groaned as Age yanked him out, then began to peer into the box.
"Aha! This must be it!" Age withdrew an old, worn map from the stone. Katsuka stood next to him and examined it while Shinji tried to jump and climb for a look.
"The path on this map leads off this continent to an island... what could be there that's so important?" Katsuka thought aloud.
"The Island of the Behemoths. A land no man dare enter. The lands of the dark crystal, the unknown power, where the Gods themselves warn of going. You should pay attention to the legends."
The trio turned around to see an Elvaan dragoon leaning against the doorway, dragoon scale mail illuminated by the red light, black hair hanging long and loose about his shoulders. The mark of the San d'Orian Knights shone on his breast.
"Who are you?" Age questioned forcefully, pulling out his sword in warning.
"My name?" He brushed the jet black hair out of his eyes, "They call me Edgah, and I'll be taking that map now."