Temple of the Zodiac
Chapter 7: Ghosts of Ikaruga
Team Three was made up of Oxnard, Terra, Mara, Kana, and Laura. When Mara picked up a clue from Neteru's bucket, she read the clue out loud which read:
Abandoned for years, the Ikaruga catacombs is located near the south end of Rokugon where the Sun Flower Clan inhabits.
The Ham-Hams were thrilled about the news because their friend Soshi lives in Rokugon and is a samurai and daimyo (clan leader) of the Sun Flower Clan. They hadn't seen or heard from Soshi since their adventure to Halastia four years ago and they had no idea what she had been doing all that time. They walked along the forest trails that led to Rokugon, the same trails they had walked along four years ago. The out-of-shape Oxnard lagged behind, tired and sweaty from all the walking. The others were not as bothered by all the exorcise as Oxnard yet after four whole days of hiking, Ham-Hams were starting to ware out.
Oxnard fell over onto the forest floor, panting and sweating with exhaustion. The others stopped and gathered around Oxnard, curious if he really was tired or just faking.
"Can we please stop for a break?" asked Oxnard, his mouth dry from all the exercise.
"What time is it, Terra?" asked Mara. Terra closed her eyes and began to use her psionic powers to figure out the time of day.
"It's seven-thirty," said Terra. Looking over at the setting sun in the distance, Mara said, "Okay, we can all stop for the night." With some sighs of relief, the Ham-Hams all sat down on the forest floor to rest their feet. The Ham-Hams reached into their back packs and pulled out sun flower seeds for them to eat. Particularly Oxnard who began devouring his sun flower seeds as if it was his last meal. Repeatedly, they said "Packa-Packa" and "Krmp-Krmp" as they ate their seeds.
"Oh, a full belly sure feels good," said Oxnard with glee after eating at least a dozen seeds. He reached into his back pack for another seed but as he groped around inside his back pack, he made the horrible discovery that he was out of food. Oxnard began to panic.
"Oh no, I'm out of seeds," cried Oxnard. A geyser of tears flowed out of Oxnard's eyes as he cried in sadness. "This is awful, I'm going to starve."
"Well, you wouldn't have been in this position if you hadn't of strained your rations like that," said Mara.
"You're not going to let me starve, are you?" asked Oxnard. Mara sighed in frustration.
"Fine, I'll share my rations with you until we can restock upon reaching Rokugon," said Mara.
"Oh thank you, Mara," said Oxnard in tears.
Suddenly, the Ham-Hams heard what sounded like guitar music followed by someone's voice. "Like a seed without a sun flower. Like a plane without wings. I'm a rebel born and free. Not chained by wind, not bounded by time. I'm a wonderer of the land and my music is my only guide." Recognizing the guitar and the bad poetry, the Ham-Hams craned their heads towards a high branch overhead to see none other than Jingle sitting on top of a branch with his guitar in his paws.
"Hamha, Jingle," said Laura.
"Hello, Lorren," said Jingle.
"My name's 'Laura,'" said Laura irritably.
"Changed your name again, I see," said Jingle. Laura growled irritably. Jingle leaped off of the branch and landed softly onto the ground.
"So, what brings you here, Jingle?" asked Terra before biting into a mealworm.
"I'm on my way to Rokugon," answered Jingle.
"Are you going to see your little sister Soshi?" asked Kana. "Because if you are, we're on our way to Rokugon to see her also."
"Sure am because, as of now, Soshi has been blessed with a little ham-ham of her own to careful," said Jingle. It took a while for the adventurers to figure out what Jingle was talking about before Mara said, "Jingle, are you trying to tell us that Soshi is going to have a baby?"
"Sure am," said Jingle. "My little sis had married her boyfriend and she had gave me a letter, telling me that she's now pregnant with her first baby and I'm going to Rokugon to visit the mother-to-be."
"How wonderful," said Laura with joy.
"Yeah, that means that you're going to be an uncle," said Kana.
"Yep, and I like the title of 'Uncle Jingle,'" said Jingle.
"This is so cool," said Kana. "I hope we get to witness the baby's birth while we're there."
"Did Soshi say if it was going to be a boy or a girl?" asked Mara.
"No but we will find out when we get there," said Jingle.
The next day, the Ham-Hams managed to arrive to one of the gates leading to Rokugon. Rokugon is surrounded entirely by a stone wall and the only way in or out of Rokugon was through the many gates which were often guarded at all times. Fortunately, the Ham-Hams met no resistance by the guards as they entered into the largest ham-ham dominated city in Japan. They repeated "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked through the rural parts of Rokugon. This part of Rokugon was not unfamiliar to the Ham-Hams. They had been to this part of town numerous times before and it hasn't changed once, not after four years. The rural parts of Rokugon were made up of simple farm land, dirt roads, and houses that were either built right into the sides of hills or build in the open with ordinary wood and nails. Everyone in the area was friendly and polite, frequently saying "Hamha" to the Ham-Hams as they wondered through the town.
Eventually, the Ham-Hams managed to find the castle where Soshi lived. Ever since Tamori (the original daimyo of the Sun Flower Clan) had died, Soshi had been the new daimyo of the Sun Flower Clan and has been living here in this castle ever since. It was a stone castle that was twice the size of a doll house and located a bit distant from the rest of the buildings but not by much. It looked like a typical European style castle with a hint of Chinese culture. The Ham-Hams repeated "Wasa-Wasa" As they walked towards the large doors to Soshi's castle. Upon reaching the large double doors to the castle, Jingle reached for the door's large metal knockers and banged on it three times. There was a pause before the doors slowly opened and the one who answered the door was none other than Soshi. She had white fur that was covered in spots that were the same brownish-yellow color as Jingle's fur and she even had one spot over her right eye. Normally she would be seen wearing her red colored samurai uniform but this time she stood unclad to her visitors who stood by the door. Instead of armor, she wore what looked like a back pack and (much to the Ham-Ham's surprise) Soshi didn't look pregnant like they thought she would. A smile crossed her face as she recognized the Ham-Hams.
"Mara, Ham-Hams," said Soshi. "I can't believe it is really you guys. It has been four years since we've seen each other. It's great to see you all."
"It's great to see you, too," said Mara with a smile.
"How's the other Ham-Hams been doing?" asked Soshi.
"Oh, we've been great," said Mara.
Soshi then turned her attention to Jingle and frowned.
"It's about time you got here," said Soshi with a glare.
"What do you mean?" asked Jingle. "I came to see you like your letter said."
"I sent you that letter five months ago," said Soshi. "How come it took you five months to get here?"
"Well...I just got your letter a few weeks ago," lied Jingle nervously.
"You lie," said Soshi. "I asked the mailham who sent you the letter and he ensured me that you got the letter."
"Well, at least I got here to see the birth of your baby," said Jingle quickly.
"If that is what you came here to see, then you just arrived over a month too late," said Soshi.
"You mean you already had your baby?" asked Jingle in surprise.
"Yes, and if you had arrived here sooner, you would have witnessed her birth," said Soshi angrily.
"Well, can we at least see the baby?" asked Laura.
"Certainly," said Soshi with a smile. Soshi pulled her arms behind her back and reached into her back pack which revealed to be not a back pack but one of those strap-on baby carriers and inside the carrier was Soshi's baby. Soshi pulled the little hamster infant out of the carrier and held the baby in her arms. The baby ham-ham had white fur and was covered in the same brownish-yellow spots as her mother but she also had some brown spots as well. Tied to her left ear was a little red ribbon.
"Everyone, I would like you all to meet my new daughter, Kuni," said Soshi.
"Oh, she's so beautiful," said Mara with joy.
"Mind if I hold my niece?" asked Jingle.
"Well, okay but be careful with her," said Soshi. Soshi gave the baby to Jingle who held Kuni gently in his arms.
"Hey Kuni, say 'hello' to your Uncle Jingle," said Jingle. The Ham-Hams gathered around Jingle so they could see Kuni in Jingle's arms. The Ham-Hams all admired the baby who just looked up to them, not sure what all these strangers were doing.
"Would you guys like to go inside?" offered Soshi as she picked up Kuni out of Jingle's arms.
"Certainly," said Mara and the Ham-Hams went inside after Soshi.
The Ham-Hams were led through the massive halls of the castle, repeating "Chick-ah Chick-ah" as they walked. The halls were decorated from floor to ceiling with paintings of samurai in glorious battle. There were also weapons and shields that decorated the walls of the castle, reminding the Ham-Hams of Soshi's war-like upbringing. As one would expect, the entire home was filled with fancy furniture and expensive decorations that one would find in such a fancy home. Soshi led the Ham-Hams into what appeared to be a gym of some kind. The gym had padded rubber floors with many weights and work-out equipment. Not far from them, they could see a ham-ham who was holding a wooden sword and practicing with it as if he was fighting an invisible opponent. From behind, all they could see was that the ham-ham was wearing blue colored samurai armor. Soshi approached the ham-ham (keeping her distance from the sword) and said, "Kitsu, we have company." The ham-ham named Kitsu spun around and was surprised to see Soshi and the ham-hams behind him.
"How long have you been standing there?" asked Kitsu.
"We just got here," said Soshi. Soshi held Kuni in her arms as Kuni began to reach for Kitsu with both arms towards him. Noticing Kuni, Soshi said, "Looks like someone wants their daddy." Kitsu picked up Kuni out of Soshi's paws and then held the little infant, cradling her in his arms.
"How's Daddy's little girl?" said Kitsu as he began tickling Kuni's belly with one finger, causing Kuni to laugh loudly.
As Kitsu played with Kuni, Soshi said to the Ham-Hams, "This is my husband and Kuni's father, Kitsu."
"Nice to meet you," said Laura.
"Sorry you had to meet me in training like this," said Kitsu. "If I knew you were coming, I would have had a more formal greeting."
"That's okay, it's not like we warned you ahead of time," said Mara. Kitsu placed Kuni back into her mother's back pack and then he began to remove his armor. He managed to remove the heavy armor he was wearing and placed the suit to the side. With his armor off, the Ham-Hams could now see that Kitsu had white fur with dark brown spots all over his body, the same brown spots as the ones all over Kuni.
"Kitsu, you remember my big brother, Jingle, do you?" said Soshi. Noticing Jingle, Kitsu said, "Oh yeah, you mean he's finally come?"
"Hey Kitsu, long time no see," said Jingle.
"It has been a long time since last we met but who are the others?" asked Kitsu pointing at the Ham-Hams. The Ham-Hams introduced themselves one by one. Once the introductions was over, Mara explain to Soshi and Kitsu why they had come to Rokugon. She told them about the Caidoz pieces and how they can be activated by someone with a matching zodiac sign. She explained how they were out to get the pieces before Glabrezu and Spat could use them to free Bocka. Soshi listened intently to every word.
"Now we have to find a Caidoz piece that is right here in Rokugon," said Mara.
"Where is it?" asked Kitsu who was also interested in the story.
"It's in the Ikaruga crypts," said Mara. Soshi gasped in shock.
"You're going into Ikaruga?" said Soshi.
"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" asked Mara.
"Ikaruga is haunted," said Kitsu.
"Haunted, as is ghosts?" said Oxnard as he clutched his seed and shook in fright.
"Yes, centuries ago, Ikaruga was a tomb reserved for the dishonorable samurai who had died," explained Soshi. "Back then, honor meant everything, including your social life and public image. All the honorable samurai who had died in combat were aloud to be buried in fancy cemeteries while the dishonorable samurai were forced to be buried in inferior burials that were degrading and far from contact from others. Ikaruga was one of them. About two-hundred years ago, Rokugon stopped valuing honor so much and discontinued the punishment of the dishonorable. However, the souls of those buried at Ikaruga had become restless. Angered by the poor treatment they received in life and the disrespect paid to their corpses, the restless souls of the samurai who were buried there still linger and they will attack any who enter the crypt. With over 500 buried at Ikaruga, it is the second most haunted place in Rokugon."
"Is it possible that a Caidoz piece might be in Ikaruga?" asked Mara.
"I heard a story that a samurai bandit was killed during a heist and one of the items he stole was a Caidoz piece," said Soshi. "Not realizing the samurai still had the piece, they buried him and the piece inside Ikaruga. However, only the most bravest and powerful of warriors can enter Ikaruga and expect to come out alive."
"Well, we tried," said Oxnard, shaking in fright. "I say we forget about the piece and just go home."
"We can't," insisted Terra. "Ghosts or no ghosts, we have to collect all twelve pieces. The fate of the world depends on it."
"And besides," said Laura, "Soshi can help us, can't she?"
"I'm afraid a samurai can provide little help when it comes to fighting a ghost," said Soshi, "but I do know someone who can help us."
Soshi led the Ham-Hams to what appeared to be a large throne room with a large steel throne that was decorated with images of warriors and battle. The throne was lined with a gold coating and the cushions were a soft lavender color. After sending a messenger off, Soshi sat on her throne with Kuni in her arms, waiting for someone to arrive. Within minutes, a ham-ham came into the room. The ham-ham wore a necklace around his neck that had four arrow shaped black onyx stones attached to it as well as a single round clear quartz stone that was engraved into a gold colored amulet. Around his waist, the ham-ham wore a belt with a sword in the belt's sheath. The ham-ham had brownish-orange spots all over his body. The Ham-Ham walked over to Soshi, repeating "Wasa-Wasa" as he did and then he kneeled down to Soshi in respect.
"You summoned me," said the ham-ham.
"I'm glad you came," said Soshi. "Ham-Hams, this is is Arwrue, the best shaman that the Sun Flower Clan has to offer." The Ham-Hams didn't respond, not sure what a shaman was supposed to be. Soshi turned her attention back to Arwrue and said, "I need you to accompany my friends into Ikaruga to find the Caidoz piece inside. Will you do this for me?"
"Of course, me lady," said Arwrue as if he was addressing a queen.
"But how will he protect us against the ghosts?" asked Oxnard.
"Are you kidding me?" asked Arwrue. "I've dealt with spirits of all shapes and sizes since I was just a ham-babe. I've even been in Ikaruga before and came out alive."
"Well, it certainly sounds like you know what you're doing," said Mara. "When can you take us into Ikaruga?"
"Immediately," said Arwrue.
"Excellent, I'll leave you all to yourselves and I wish you all the best of luck," said Soshi. Soshi got up from her throne with Kuni curled up and sound asleep in her mother's arms. "As for me, I got to put this little one to bed." Soshi walked out of the room, leaving the Ham-Hams alone with Arwrue so they could prepare for the dangerous task ahead of them.
With some supplies given to them by Kitsu, the Ham-Hams, Jingle, and Arwrue began the journey to the foreboding Ikaruga. They traveled on foot outside of the main city and into some rocky hills located within Rokugon's territory. The hills were not very large for a human but to a ham-ham, they were tall and treacherous to climb. Not to mention Jingle kept saying bad poetry all the way there. As they climbed up the rocks, Oxnard began to complain.
"Are we there yet?" asked Oxnard.
"We're close," said Arwrue. "We just have to climb over this hill." Oxnard craned his neck back so he could see the top of the hill and when he realized how high up it was, he immediately toppled over and panted. Frustrated, Mara said, "Okay, we can take a break." The Ham-Hams all sat down on the rocks and drank water from their water bottles. Wanting to start a conversation, Terra asked Arwrue, "So what does a shaman do?"
"A shaman is a sorcerer who has a connection to spirits," explained Arwrue. "I have the power to communicate with spirits and draw power from them."
"Draw power from them?" said Kana. "How?"
"I can allow any spirit to merge into my body, allowing me to use their knowledge, abilities, and powers as my own," explained Arwrue. "Different spirits grant shamans different abilities. Shamans are amazing warriors whom for centuries have fought along side samurai and have used their magic to treat the sick and injured."
"But don't you need a spirit to work magic?" asked Oxnard who had enough strength to talk.
"I've already got my spirit," said Arwrue. "Just let me show him to you." Arwrue lifted the clear quartz stone on his necklace to his mouth and said into it, "Asakura, show yourself." From the stone, a strange mist began to come out of the stone which surprised everyone. The mist lifted into the air and began to take shape into the form of a ghost. The ghost appeared to be a samurai with orange colored armor and white fur. His grayish ethereal body was transparent, enabling others to see through him.
Oxnard screamed in terror as he fell over in fright.
"Aaahhh, it's a ghost," said Oxnard.
"Relax, this is my spirit guide," explained Arwrue. "His name is Asakura and he's a samurai who died six-hundred years ago."
"You mean he's a ghost?" asked Laura, still a little afraid of Asakura.
"I sure am," said Asakura. "Me and Arwrue first met when he was a kid. Together, we've trained in the magic of shamanism and we've been together ever since."
"Friends with a ghost?" said Terra. "Well that sounds weird."
"Well, get used to it because we're close to entering a haunted crypt," said Mara.
"She's right and I can sense those ghosts even from here," said Asakura.
"Well, lets not keep them waiting," said Mara. "I think that's enough of a break. Okay, everyone on your feet." There were some groans (mainly from Oxnard) as they all got back onto their feet and continued the walk to Ikaruga.
After over an hour of hiking, the Ham-Hams found Ikaruga located on the other side of the hill. The entrance to Ikaruga was engraved upon the side of the hill, in the same gray colored stone the hill was made out of. The entrance was neatly cut into a perfect doorway and surrounding the door was some stone arches and images of ham-ham skeletons screaming in some kind of an unseen torment. The sight of the skeletal figures caused Oxnard, Laura, and Kana to shake in fright.
"You mean we have to go in there?" asked Laura in fright.
"Yes," answered Arwrue.
"Uh, I just remembered that I promised Soshi I would hamy-sit Kuni so I'll just be going along and..." said Oxnard in an pathetic excuse to avoid going into the catacomb.
"Oh grow a spine, you big coward," said Mara, a little more harsh than she intended. "We're all going in together." Oxnard swallowed in nervousness. He and the others began walking towards the entrance. Overcome with fright, Oxnard was about to run off but Mara grabbed him by his tail and dragged him to the crypt with Oxnard whining all the way.
The interior of the crypt was dark and scary. The Ham-Hams were deep underground where no lights could be seen, leaving the area pitch black. Jingle used a spell to conjure three free floating glowing spheres into the air. (A/N: Remember, Jingle is a bard which is a magical musician. See past stories for details.) The spheres followed the adventurers, shrouding the area in a bright light that lit up the crypt. They traveled deep into the crypt through narrow stone hallways that were small and devoid of any images or decorations. With a map that Mara had in her back pack, she navigated through the winding tunnels. It was traveling through a dark maze with no end to it in sight. The air within the crypt was cold and had a metallic taste which easily dried the mouths of the adventurers, except for Asakura who was a ghost that didn't need to breath or drink. The Ham-Hams repeated "Ticky-Ticky" as they nervously walked down the crypt. Asakura led the way with Arwrue not far behind.
"Do you sense anything?" asked Arwrue to his spirit guide.
"I sense a supernatural force up ahead," said Asakura. "We are getting close to the main burials of the crypt." Everyone was tense and nervous as they all listened for signs of ghosts but the crypt was silent, save for the sounds they were making themselves.
Eventually, they came to a large stone room which bore a grizzly sight. In the light of the glowing spheres, the Ham-Hams could see that the entire room was decorated in hamster bones. The withered skeletons of ham-hams were seen chained up along the walls like horrible wall decorations, filling up every available space on the walls. Some of the skeletons were chained to the floor with shackles that were spiked and obviously uncomfortable to wear. Laura gave a scream of fright when she saw three skeletons hanging by their necks on nooses by the side of the wall.
"What is this terrible place?" asked Laura.
"This is the 'execution room,'" said a cold and sinister voice from out of nowhere. The whole group turned around to face a skeleton that hung chained to the wall. From out of the skeleton, a ghost emerged. The ghost was that of a ham-ham who had (or once had) brown colored fur and he wore an orange colored robe of some kind. He had the same ghostly image as Asakura but he looked more mangled, like he had been in a fight recently and lost.
"This is the execution chamber, used to brutally torture and murder the most foulest and dishonorable criminals and samurai," said the ghost.
"Who are you?" asked Mara.
"I am Faust," said the ghost. "I too was brutally tortured here. In this room, many lives had been sacrificed. Hamsters were often hung upon these walls and left there to starve to death while others were buried under the floor alive. I was sentenced here because I was a necromancer."
"What's a necromancer?" asked Kana, trying not to shake in fright.
"A necromancer is a sorcerer who specializes in necromancy which is a branch of magic that involves controlling the undead," explained Arwrue.
"The young shaman is correct," said Faust. "And you all shall feel my power. Vork manaus engona kivolk zon." A bright red light show in Faust's paw as he said the incantation. The light lit up the entire room, causing the skeletons to glow a red color as the light touched them. After the spell was done, Faust went back into the skeleton and as soon as he did, the other skeletons in the room began to move.
The Ham-Hams stared in horror as the skeletons began be brought to life by the necromancer's spell. All of them broke out of the chains that held them and began to walk towards the Ham-Hams. Kana and Laura held each other in fright while Oxnard crouched down and covered his arms over his head, too scared to move. Meanwhile, the others were prepared to fight.
"Are you ready, Asakura?" asked Arwrue.
"Ready," answered Asakura. Everyone (except Oxnard) stared in amazement as Asakura began to enter Arwrue's body. Asakura's incorporeal body easily pasted into Arwrue's body and the two merged together as one and as a result, a strange power began to radiate from Arwrue. Arwrue then withdrew his sword and spoke in a voice that was layered in unison with his own and Asakura's voice. "Now, we will topple these goons." Then with extraordinary speed, Arwrue propelled himself towards the walking skeletons and then shattered at least five of them with just one swing of his sword. With a form of supernatural power the Ham-Hams had never seen before, Arwrue slashed and chopped up the skeletons with amazing speed and power. His sword glowed brightly as the magic of Arwrue's power went into the sword. They were all so amazed at this sudden display of power that they almost forgot to fight back as well until the skeletons were almost next to them. Terra used her psionic powers to telekinetically strike the skeletons, kind of like hitting the skeletons with invisible hands. From her staff, Mara conjured fire balls that knocked the skeletons over with large blasts of flames that knocked over neighboring skeletons. Jingle had cast a spell that enabled him to conjure a concentrated sonic blast just by plucking a string on his guitar. Despite all the spells that was going around and the damage caused by Arwrue's sword, the skeletons were not being destroyed. They kept reassembling themselves every time they were shattered by a sword or a spell and it didn't look they they were going to go down anytime soon.
Arwrue and Asakura were fighting together, merged as one thanks to Arwrue's shaman abilities. Since they were untied, they both shared not only a body but they also shared their minds as well and both were wondering how was these skeletons still becoming animated.
"Why are the skeletons not going down?" thought Arwrue/Asakura to themselves. From Asakura's half of memories, Arwrue/Asakura knew that in order for skeletons to rejuvenate like this, the necromancer has to some how be able to concentrate continuously so he can constantly reanimate the skeletons. In order to do that, he must have some kind of a physical body but what could he use when he's a ghost? Suddenly, an idea occurred to Arwrue/Asakura.
"He must be using his old body as the conductor," thought Arwrue/Asakura. Arwrue turned his attention to Faust's skeleton and sure enough, it was the only skeleton that wasn't moving. "If we could just shatter it, then the skeletons would be temporarily disabled." Arwrue charged towards the skeleton at fast speed, cutting down every skeleton that got in his way in seconds. With all the force he could manage, he struck Faust's skeleton with his sword, causing it to shatter into pieces. Without Faust's body to enable Faust to control the skeletons, the skeletons fell over to pieces with a loud clatter as they hit the floor. When Arwrue noticed Faust's bones beginning to reassemble themselves, Arwrue and Asakura separated and then Arwrue shouted, "Run!" Arwrue and Asakura ran through the nearby exit and the Ham-Hams followed them. Oxnard was too scared to move so Mara had to whack Oxnard a few times with her staff to get him to start moving. They all ran down the dark halls (while repeating "Badda-Badda") with only Jingle's glowing spheres following them and lighting their way.
They came to a stop in the middle of the hall so they could catch their breath.
"Wow, that was close," said Mara. "But thanks to Arwrue, we made it."
"But how did Arwrue manage to fight like that?" asked Laura. "I've never seen anyone move that fast."
"When Asakura and I merge together, we draw power and skills from each other, granting us the power of team work and combined power," explained Arwrue.
"Well I'm more curious as to where we are," said Jingle.
"I'll check the map," said Mara. Mara pulled out a map from her back pack and began reading through it.
"Well, do you know where we are?" asked Oxnard.
"It appears we're heading down a tunnel to another burial chamber," said Mara. "Give me a minute and I'll see if there's any short cuts to the main burial chamber."
"Well hurry it up, will you," said Oxnard who was still a little shaken out of his wits by the previous attack.
"Don't lose your head, Oxy, I'll figure it out," said Mara.
As Mara looked through the map, the Ham-Hams began to hear a strange noise coming from down the hall. The noise was that of skeletons walking along the stone floor of the hallway and heading towards the Ham-Hams.
"Oh no, not again," cried Oxnard.
"Everybody, run!" shouted Kana.
"No wait, I have an idea," said Mara. "There's a tunnel leading to the main chamber about a foot through this wall." Mara pointed at the wall to her left.
"But how do we get there?" asked Terra.
"Leave that to me," said Mara. Mara lifted her staff and pointed its stone at the wall. She then said the incantation. "Volleo ungineia az zonya vock." A bright light began to shine from the stone on the staff. From the stone, a beam of light began to come out of the tip of the stone and Mara used it to draw a mark in the mark. Mara ran the staff along the wall, drawing a rectangle on the stone walls. Mara then removed the staff and and suddenly, a tunnel appeared through the stone.
"Everyone inside," said Mara but before she said that, everyone was already going through the tunnel. They ran through the magically made tunnel, repeating "Badda-Badda" as they ran, until it ended at an entirely different stone hallway. Mara then used her staff to close the tunnel so the skeletons couldn't follow.
After that close call, the Ham-Hams continued their journey down the tunnel, repeating "Ticky-Ticky" as they walked. Eventually, they came to another burial chamber, much larger than the last one. The room was filled with stone caskets, each one contained the body of a long dead samurai.
"One of these caskets has a Caidoz piece inside it," said Mara.
"But how do we find it?" asked Laura. "We don't have to dig through corpses do we?"
"No, Mara and I can sense the Caidoz piece's power through the caskets," said Terra. Without another word of explanation, Terra and Mara began walking through the rows of casket with an open paw over the caskets, sensing any form of magical presence inside. Eventually, Terra found one casket which had a familiar magical presence inside.
"Mara, I found something," said Terra. The Ham-Hams gathered around the unmarked casket, excited and nervous about the discovery.
"How do we get this open?" asked Laura.
"We must push off the lid all together," said Mara. The Ham-Hams gathered onto one side of the lid and held onto it with both paws.
"Okay everyone, on the count of three, one, two, three, push," said Mara. They all said "Grooba" as they pushed the lid off the casket which created a loud echoing bang as the lid hit the ground. There were some gasps as they all got a look at the body. It was nothing but a rotten skeleton which wore an old and rusted samurai out fit. In the skeleton's paws was a Caidoz piece which reflected the light off of Jingle's glowing spheres.
"Is that the Caidoz piece?" asked Arwrue.
"Yes," answered Mara. "All we have to do is take that piece and get out of here." Mara reached into the coffin and then began to pull the piece out of the skeleton's grasp. Laura and Kana flinched in disgust as Mara pried the piece out of the skeleton's paws. Once freed, Mara turned to the Ham-Hams and held the piece proudly to them.
"There, we finally have it," said Mara. "Now all we have to do is get out of this creepy place and...What's wrong, Oxnard?" Mara was staring at Oxnard who was pointing to the coffin behind Mara and was shaking in fright.
"You okay, Oxy?" asked Kana. "You look like you have seen a ghost."
"Bingo," said Oxnard. Everyone turned their gaze in the direction of Oxnard's finger and gasped when they noticed the ghost of a samurai coming out of the coffin.
All around the Ham-Hams, ghosts were floating out of their coffins and hovering in the air. All of them were samurais who wore the traditional suits of armor and swords. The ghosts surrounded the Ham-Hams with their katanas drawn in a threatening position. The ghost whom the piece was taken from was the first to speak.
"You dare to take my treasure from me."
"Sorry, Mr. Ghost," said Oxnard in his panic. "We wont do it again, we promise."
"Pull yourself together, Oxnard," said Arwrue. "Asakura, do you think we can take them."
"We're hopelessly out numbered," said Asakura. "We can't take them all by ourselves. We need to find some way of driving them away.
"I know what we can do," said Mara. Mara lifted her staff over her head and said, "Baunja gotla lockima zool teggen." A bright light shown from the stone on top of Mara's staff. The light from the staff's spell caused the ghost to back away from it but that was all it did. When the light from the staff faded, Mara gasped. "Oh no, the spell's not strong enough for all of them."
"You think your magic is strong enough to defeat the honorless samurai, sorcerous," said the samurai. "You shall all die here like the rest of us and your spirits will suffer like we do." Asakura immediately merged into Arwrue and the two began to fight off the ghosts. Arwrue sent his power into the sword, making the sword capable of striking the ghosts but even with his great speed, Arwrue and Asakura knew they couldn't hold them back forever. Terra used her telekinetics to fight off the ghosts but she was also fighting a loosing battle. Terra and Arwrue was capable of holding them back for now but it wont be long before the ghosts will overpower them.
Meanwhile, Mara was trying to figure out how to drive away the ghosts. She knew she had to somehow enhance her spell in order for it to drive away all the ghosts. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her as she held the Caidoz piece in her paw. She remembered that the Caidoz pieces emit a bright light when activated and this light has got to have some kind of magical origin. If Mara could just activate the piece, she could use it's power to enhance her spell. Mara placed her paw on the piece and said, "I am the sun, I am the moon. I am the clear blue sea. A gift from the stars, a gift to all. May this piece show it's sign to me." Nothing happened. Her zodiac sign did not match the sign on the piece. She decided to try the others but before she could, Arwrue's sword was taken from him and a chain was used to tie him up. Arwrue struggled against the large chains that bounded him but despite how old and rusted the chains were, Arwrue could not break free from the chains. The ghosts then surrounded the Ham-Hams, forcing them into a corner and holding their swords out at them.
"You shall all die one by one," said one of the samurai as he grabbed Laura by her arm.
"Help," cried Laura as she was dragged to one of the coffins. Laura was forced to lie on her belly on top of the coffin by three samurai who held her down while a fourth got his sword out ready to cut Laura's head off, execution style.
When she realized what they were going to do to Laura, Mara immediately gave the Caidoz piece to Jingle and said, "Quick, say the poem."
"Well, okay," said Jingle as he placed his paw on the piece. "I am the sun, I am the moon. I am the clear blue sea. A gift from the stars, a gift to all. May this piece show it's sign to me." Instantly, the piece glowed a purple glow which lit up the room in its light. Jingle watched in amazement as a symbol engraved itself on the Caidoz piece. The symbol glowed the same purple light but Jingle could still see the symbol amongst the glow. The symbol resembled an arrow line with a perpendicular line running through one end. This sign was none other than the zodiac sign known as Sagittarius, Jingle's zodiac sign. Mara grabbed the piece while it was glowing and she immediately said an incantation. "Nooga Nooga zogya on baunja gotla lockima zool teggen." A purple colored light glowed out of the stone on Mara's staff and a wave of energy burst out everywhere like an explosion. It didn't harm the Ham-Hams or the surrounding environment but it did cause the samurai to be tossed out in all directions by the power of the spell. The samurai that was about to cut off Laura's head with his katana was swept away at the last minute and he and the other ghosts were shoved out of the room and vanished.
With the ghosts gone, the Ham-Hams got back onto their feet and were capable of breathing a sigh of relief. Arwrue was still bounded by the metal chains but he managed to break his way out of the chains. Afterwards, Asakura separated from Arwrue and said, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," answered Arwrue.
"That was a close one," said Laura, rubbing her neck with her paw in a psychological response to having come so close to losing her head.
"Can we leave this place, please?" whined Oxnard.
"Okay, Oxy, lets get back to Soshi and out of this death trap," said Mara with a laugh. Without another word, the adventurers walked off to find the exit out of the crypt.
Author's Note: The idea to include shamans in this chapter was inspired by the anime entitled "Shaman King." In honor of Shaman King, I snuck in two references to the show in this chapter. If you're familiar with Shaman King, see if you can find them.
