Here is the next Talim chapter, I hope it is readable. Talim is facing some new threats, both from foes, and from friends. Talim is not fazed by this, and is more determined than ever to continue her quest to rid the world of the evil sword.
I hope to have the next chapter up before too long. My wife got a new job, and it looks like a move is in order. I don't believe it will impact my posting any, but you can never tell. If any of the next few chapters are long in coming, I apologize in advance.
The next chapter will be a Nightmare chapter (I think, if not, a Tira one) so I hope to see you back when I post it. Until then, please enjoy this chapter here and R&R please!
VI. Wandering Taint
While Mina healed up from her injury, Talim took the time to search about the surrounding area, and discover all she could about the cursed blade she sought. She had heard rumors of a dark knight in the west, destroying all that he came across. He was only referred to as Nightmare, and it was said that he was not human. He was the vilest of evil, and supposedly unstoppable.
One rumor put this Nightmare as the wielder of the spirit sword, but none of the drunken men in tavern believed it, and all laughed at the poor fellow that offered the information. They could not believe that the weapon called the 'sword of salvation' could be evil.
Talim instantly knew this rumor to be true, the wind itself seemed to confirm it. She knew that if she found this Nightmare, she would find the blade, and the source of evil she was searching for. Once she found it, she would destroy it, for the sake of the world.
After many weeks of waiting, Mina finally recuperated enough to travel and fight, if need be. Talim woke that morning as cheery as usual, and went about her usual routine of bathing and cleaning up, and then reading the winds.
The wind was dark that morning, as it had been since she started her journey. Each passing day brought a deepening darkness in the aura of nature. This troubled Talim, and made her all the more eager to be on her way.
Nature was not pure dark, however, and the powers of the wind and light still caressed Talim's soul. She drew in on the strength of the Wind Goddess, praying for divine assistance in her quest.
Mina wandered up behind Talim, but did not say a word, instead just stood there watching the young priestess intensely. Talim sensed her presence in the wind, but continued on in her meditations.
"Well, we better get going." Talim said once her prayers were complete.
"Yeah, you're right. We better get out of here before Shara decides to put me back in bed. I told that old biddy I was fine four days ago!" Mina complained.
Talim laughed lightly. "Now, now. Be nice, Shara is just doing her job as a healer."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's get going." Mina grumbled as she started back towards the village.
After the pair made their way around the village thanking people for their help, and gathering supplies, they were finally ready to set out. Everything the two girls sought lied to the west, so that's the way they went.
The trip went without incident for a handful of days. Not even bandits dared bother the duo, perhaps intimidated by the weapons they carried, or more likely they were heading west themselves in search of Soul Edge.
The pair walked on for a few days, sharing stories of their lives, and of memories of good times past. After a long day of hard travel, night fell, and the pair set up camp. The night air was very chilly, colder than it had been for the entire trip.
Mina got a fire going, and Talim set out the night's rations. After eating, Mina leaned back against a tree and sighed slowly.
"Hey, how about you show me one of those wind ritual dances you've told me about?" Mina asked.
"Well, I guess I could do that" Talim responded, standing.
Talim stood in the middle of the camp, close by the fire. The light from the fire danced across her dark skin, giving her a very sultry air. Talim took out her tonfas, and brought them in front of her. With a deep breath, she began the dance of the wind.
The young priestess twisted and twirled, gracefully arcing her tonfas about her body with deadly precision. As she moved about, and spun the weapons around, the wind began to blow softly, a warm breeze that seemed to caress the area around Talim.
Mina sat enraptured by the sight of the young woman's dance. The wind itself seemed to augment Talim, and her dancing became more pronounced, and stronger. Her body rippled with the intensity she felt, relaxed but yet ready to strike at any instant.
The dance came to a close, and Talim lingered in the closing pose for a few moments, breathing in the exhilaration of the dance, something she hadn't felt since beginning her journey. As the dance ended, the wind lost its warmth and returned to an icy, chilling gust.
Mina jumped up and ran over to Talim. "That was amazing!" she exclaimed and embraced the young priestess tightly.
"Thank you" Talim responded, slightly embarrassed by the attention being lavished on her.
Mina released her, and with one last beaming smile, returned to her resting spot by the tree.
After a bit more adulation from Mina, the pair decided to head to bed. So far in their trip, the two had been sleeping on opposite sides of the small tent, but no night had been as cold as this one.
Mina stood watching, with a thoughtful look on her face as Talim began unpacking her bedroll.
"I have an idea" Mina announced.
"Yes?"
"Well, since we have such light blankets, and because it's so cold, I think maybe we should consider sleeping beside each other."
Talim did not respond, but did give Mina a confused look.
"Well, I say that because we can double up our blankets and make them thicker, and use our body heat for warmth." Mina stammered.
Talim turned the idea over in her mind. "That's a good idea, let's do it."
Mina sighed, and allowed a smile to spread across her face. She quickly moved over to Talim's side, and as soon as the younger warrior lay down, she huddled up against her.
Talim had never slept in such a situation before, being an only child. She was not all that uncomfortable, she just found the situation very foreign. After a few moments, Talim began to see the situation as a form of bonding, a show of trust in their still new friendship.
Sleep fled young Talim, for reasons she was not sure of. She tried to remain perfectly still, as to not disturb Mina. The other woman had not spoke a word since they had laid down, but her slow and rhythmic breathing seemed to indicate she was fast asleep.
Mina stirred a small bit, and rolled off her back, and curled up right against Talim, who was still on her side facing away. Mina pressed up against Talim hard, every inch of her body now in contact with Talim's back. Mina flung her arm over Talim with a heavy flop. A few seconds passed, and Mina then moved her arm up, in a sudden, quick movement.
Her repositioning left her hand pressing against Talim's chest. As soon as her hand came to rest, Mina shuttered a bit again, and her hand then closed around Talim's breast, nearly massaging it.
Talim froze in shock and surprise, not knowing how to react. A second or two longer, Mina gave her breast one last squeeze, gentle but firm. She then flatted her palm out, making as full as contact as possible, before sliding it down to Talim's hip, and falling off her completely.
Talim sighed in relief, glad that the appalling contact was over, though she could not shake the intense feeling that the actions just performed seemed to be unlikely for a sleeping person.
The young priestess shook off the thought, convincing herself that it was the bumblings of a restless sleeper and nothing more. Nevertheless, Talim drew her elbows up against her sides hard, and cupped her hands together in front of her chest to prevent any more 'accidental' contacts.
The next morning Mina acted as though she had no knowledge of her flailing the night before. Talim even ventured as far as to ask her how she slept, and she just replied with a chipper 'great!'
The young warrior put the incident from her mind, and soon the pair was once again on their way west.
A few more days of traveling placed the two women in a port town on the very edge of the desert. There they learned that a man matching Yunsung's description had crossed the ocean about a month before they arrived.
The pair quickly chartered a crossing for themselves, and was left with a few days to kill while awaiting the boat to return.
Mina parted with Talim, saying she needed to go somewhere quiet and train. Since she was alone, Talim decided to wander the small town, and maybe seek out the local healer. She always preferred to speak with the healer wherever she went, since they were the closest thing to a shaman in these western towns. It was comforting for her to be among herbs and medicines, all things her mother was responsible for back home.
As Talim made her way towards the healer's home, a man appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and stood squarely in her path. He was of average height, though this did not keep him from nearly towering over the quite short Talim. He was fit and trimmed, and his ripping abs was exposed by the thin, open, red jacket he wore. He wore dark pants, loosely fitting, and made for maximum mobility.
He also carried a large red staff on his back, a weapon jutting out several feet beyond his head. Though it was not bladed, it was intimidating nonetheless.
When Talim reached the man, he held up his hand and motioned her to stop.
"You have something I want" the man said.
Talim looked around to see if he was truly talking to her.
"Yes you. I'll not say it again. You have something I want, and I will have it."
"You have mistaken me, I'm not selling anything. Please, let me through." Talim said, tension rising in her body.
"Don't play coy with me. Hand over that shard you have, and you won't get hurt." The man reached back and rested his hand behind him, presumably on his staff.
Talim was shocked that the man knew of the shard she carried wrapped up in her pocket. There was no way he, nor could anyone else here, know of it.
"I cannot give you the shard. It is evil, and I cannot allow you to be tainted by it" Talim said, her hands falling to her sides, and resting on the hilts of her tonfas.
Kilik sighed, and relaxed his posture, though he did not release his staff. "I am Kilik, from the east. I have already been tainted by Soul Edge. I want nothing more than to purify the shards, and only I can do that. Now please hand it over."
"I'm sorry, no, I can't give it to you" Talim answered, her body filling with tension.
Kilik swiftly brought his rod around in a graceful swinging arc, and brought it up in front of him.
"Do you really want to do this?" Talim pleaded.
"C'mon!" Kilik answered before making his opening attack.
Kilik shoved his rod straight forward at Talim, but she was anticipating such a maneuver. She quickly did a cartwheel to the side, nimbly avoiding the rod. She then rushed forward and struck the man hard on his chin with her tonfas.
He was unable to recover his balance before the young woman attacked. The force of her blow sent him spinning off his feet and slamming to the ground. Kilik had not even fully hit the ground when he started the spinning leg sweep that would allow him to spring right back up and into the battle.
As soon as he was back on his feet, Kilik once again went on the offensive, swinging his staff around in a large horizontal sweep. Talim ran forward, and right as the staff reached her, threw herself to the ground. She used her hand to keep her torso off the dirt, and stuck her foot forward in a slide. Her forward momentum continued to carry her towards the warrior, and her foot slammed into his shin, once again throwing him to the ground.
"Pleaseā¦Don't get up!" Talim pleaded.
Kilik did not listen, and once again sprang up, prepared to continue the battle. Talim sighed heavily, wondering why this man did not realize that someone that fought with long range weapons was nearly impotent versus a close range fighter like her. She knew that she needed to end this battle now, before anyone was truly injured.
The young man charged forward, and brought himself within a few paces of Talim. He then began swinging his rod in swooping circular motions around himself, almost like a human pinwheel, with the rod switching from one side of his body to the other.
Talim gracefully flipped backwards, and out of the path of the spinning rod. She watched carefully as Kilik continued his motions. He shuffled back himself a few inches, and decided he was at optimal range. He then brought the rod out of the spin, and shot it forward in a straight thrust.
Apparently he had not learned the lesson Talim had taught him, since this attack was the same as his opening move. This time, though, Talim did not charge him. Instead she stepped forward a few steps, and off to the side to avoid the weapon. She then kicked at Kilik's hands as hard as she could.
The warrior was caught off guard by the attack, and his staff went flying from his hands, landing several feet away. Kilik stood in shock, lost in a moment's hesitation. Talim did not allow this opportunity pass her.
She closed in and struck Kilik with each of her tonfas in rapid succession. As soon as the blows landed, she began to spin herself around, and stepped to the side. She continued her spin, and threw her arms out, making herself a whirlwind of tonfas.
Her tonfas struck the man hard, and sent Kilik spiraling off and crashing to the ground. Kilik did not even attempt to rise from his fall this time, finally conceding defeat.
"You're full of nothing!" Talim exclaimed as she stood over the defeated warrior.
Kilik just stared back at her, pain showing in his eyes, but not the pain of the battle, but instead the pain of the darkness he carried inside him.
Talim lingered a moment over Kilik, wishing there was something, anything, she could do for the man to help him lose the pain she saw in her eyes. Her pity was quickly interrupted by the sound of a howling scream, originating to the side and behind her. Before she could turn to investigate, Mina flashed by her with her halberd at the ready.
Mina jumped at Kilik, with the intention of cutting the warrior from top to bottom. The deadly flight of Mina's halberd was cut short by a longsword that appeared above Kilik to protect him. Mina's weapon bounced off, and she stumbled back, shocked.
The longsword was gripped by a young woman in a long sleeved red blouse. Dark shorts clung to her trimmed and toned legs. Her dark hair was short, and held back by a strip of red cloth. Her entire outfit spoke of blood, the top part red as any crimson flow, the bottom part as dark as any dried puddle.
"Go away!" the woman shouted. She then performed a front swinging kick, knocking away Mina's halberd. As soon as her foot landed, she brought her other foot up and thrust it hard at Mina in a standing side kick. Her foot landed squarely against Mina's chest, and sent the young woman flying.
Kilik crawled over and retrieved his staff, and then moved to the woman's side.
"Xianghua! What are you doing here?" he said breathlessly.
"Shut up! Let's go" Xianghua answered, holding her sword at the ready.
When Talim did not move to stop them, Xianghua gathered up Kilik and the pair darted away.
Mina scampered to her feet and grabbed her halberd. She then moved to follow the pair, but was stopped short by Talim.
"Let them go."
"What? He attacked you! How can we just let them go?" Mina protested.
"I did not want to fight in the first place." Talim explained.
Mina sighed. "Okay okay. Anyway, I came to tell you that the boat arrived early. We can leave immediately."
"Good. We need to move on anyway" Talim replied, walking back towards the dock.
In a few hours the two warriors were loaded on the ship and pursuing Yunsung and Soul Edge across the sea. With every inch they moved, the darkness in the wind deepened, chilling Talim to the bone. She was not sure of what they would find on the other side, but she did know that her life would forever change.
