Fro Ninja; What up peoples? It's a ya boi Fro Ninja back at it again with my old bullshit and another action-packed release of Illegal Freedom. Right now, I'm laying back chomping on some Jerk chicken while bumping two-step U.K. garage on my shitty ass speakers, looking out at the fight breaking out across the street from my room. But other than that, chilling like a villain.
If you're just joining us, know we're still in the middle of the Blind Bandit Arc with all of our crew separated by the thicket of the forest and by their own merit. We got some backstory on the bandit's that are taking hold of the forest from Black Dynamite, but is that really all there is to them? Let's find out in this new chapter!
Huey took in the detail of the space around him. The stench of blood and sweat still fresh off his robes, as well as the noise of the foliage chirping in the night. All of which gave him a feel for his opponent even before the first strike. Basic as its application as it may be, it was essential in striking down the enemy before an advantage could be found. He was still until he felt a disturbance in the air.
His opponent leaned forward with a feint, hoping to catch or intimidate Huey into a premature strike. His stillness remained, however. Huey sensed the impatience from his opponent, even from several feet away as the distance gradually shrunk. The familiar gleam of steel flashed in his eyesight drawn in by his arms; he sidestepped due to his honed reflexes. Huey advanced from his opponent's flank, bringing a vertical slice aimed toward their neck, but was met with their blade sending Huey's into an arc that cleared Huey's head and left his chest area open. Despite being staggered, Huey used the momentum to vault out of danger. The enemy charged forward, denying Huey's chance to catch his breath, clashing in a deadlock of steel that kept him on his injured knee.
Huey's body tensed up through the struggle, and quickly swept his opponent with his right leg, and brought his sword down on his opponent a few centimeters from their skull. Although a lesser experienced swordsman would judge his actions of letting an enemy off with mercy, a trained eye could easily spot Huey's actions as a message. A marker of skill between the two was clearly established by the brief clash. Brief, but meaningful to Huey in a manner of speaking.
Huey pulled his weapon back, and with a bright glow of the moonlight, his opponent was revealed, illuminating their enraged expression. The clear identification, of course, being the unique tattoo by his eye, along with his signature armor of foreign craft.
"You'll have to be happy with that result, for now," Huey said, offering his hand to a defeated Zechal.
Zechal practically spat in Huey's face when said, "Results..." smacking away Huey's hand. "In my country, we are taught to seize victory or death. Not results." He picked himself up and angrily sheathed his sword, all while refusing to make eye contact with Huey. "Results are no better than failure in battle." He said, intending it to be his last words, as he began to walk off
"Failure is the beginning of success," Huey said to Zechal's moving back. "It's how we grow as people."
"Spare me your rhetoric. It does nothing but fill silence." Zechal waved his hand as if shooing off a pest buzzing in his ear.
Huey felt a smirk form on his face, feeling the lack of weight of the Zemurian's bold words, as they hardly matched up with what he's seen of his character thus far. Seize victory or death? On whose honor? It was a confusing, to an extent, silly statement to hear from a man who has sworn his sword to royalty.
"One would think you would have to be alive to accomplish such a duty," Huey said, crossing his arms. "And it's that same rhetoric that kept me from killing you just now," Huey said, pointing at Zechal's tense arms drawing closer to his sheathed blade. "Can't you understand that there's nothing to gain from us feuding?"
"You and your company are nothing more than knights with no crown to serve, thugs that kill for compensation. Do not speak as if we are of the same kind of warrior."
"Mercenaries, right?" Huey said, summing up Zechal's thoughts with a mocking tone. It was a claim he had heard many times before whenever he was given assignments to complete, although hearing it from whom he would consider a contemporary, was more than a little amusing.
Zechal spurred his thoughts away from the trap Huey was leading him into, turning his back on him."Even mercenaries believe in something. You have nothing, yet you stand next to a proud defender of royalty, and proclaim yourself as warriors that uphold a code of honor."
Huey shook his head in disbelief. Now all of the ire made sense to him.
"Are you trying to say that we're pretending to be heroes to make a fortune? That we couldn't care less of the affairs about your kingdom. That's why you look down on us. On me?"
Zechal's mouth opened to deliver his retort, only to close it when he remembered his own station. He felt a tingle from his facial tattoo. Fashioned in the image of a bird aiming upwards toward the sky, signifying not only his loyalty to Jazmine, his eternal charge, but to her family and the Zeumurian Kingdom.
I was born to serve the Kingdom of Zemuria and its rulers, and nothing will shirk that duty away from me. Zechal's thoughts came in loud and true. The anxious tremor in his muscles reduced, and his eyes gazed at the moon. Hoping to catch a clear sight of it, clear from the dark clouds that blocked its light from reaching him
"I do not look down on you. As much as I find your existence contradictory, it's not you I'm angry with. I was raised to believe in a creed. One that was mine alone to uphold," Zechal stopped his words, as he wiped the sweat from his eyes. "But such thoughts are none of your concern."
Huey shrugged. "Just as well. I could care less what you think about me. All that matters is what's going on is bigger than both of us."
Zechal grunted in concurrence."For, you've said something meaningful. We must find our way back to the princess and your companions. Isis only knows how many of these bandits have nested in this forest."
Huey nodded, and without any more words, they both ran off into the deeper parts of the forest. The foliage around them grew more agitated the more ventured into the Blind Bandit's territory. They came across enemies that ambushed them from trees, nearby rivers, and shrubbery, dispatching of them with ease. No doubt due to their unusual teamwork. Neither of them cared, or desired, to admit it, but their fighting styles complimented one another. Huey's swift and fluid swordplay and Zechal's slow but strong fighting style, made for a unique combination, especially when dealing with crowds.
Soon they came to another clearing. They both heard the sound of running water, following it until they reached a wide-open entrance, leading into a cavern. A sign on a nearby tree stood by the entrance, held up by a firm dagger, with crude symbols plastered on the board. Huey recognized the symbols, resembling the hiragana alphabet, reading it slowly and loudly to enlighten Zechal on its contents.
"DUON'T ENTAH NYUCKAS"
Huey felt his brain strain from trying to decipher the lettering, and even more so when he understood the intent of its message. It was a clear indicator of who the opponents, The Blind Bandits, exactly were.
Zechal nodded to the sign. "What does it say?" Then he pointed to it."What are we dealing with here?"
Huey sighed. Suddenly, they heard the rustling noise of bushes behind them and readied their stances. The bandits came out in droves, more than the number they had engaged before arriving here. They shared the look of carnivorous creatures, eager to devour a delectable meal gingerly placed right in front of them.
"Niggas."
Zechal mulled over the significance of the word, even more so Huey's appalled tone when saying it. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a blade aimed for his head but was thoroughly blocked. Zechal shifted the weight in his stance from his back foot to his lead foot, pushing back the bandit onto his back, along with Huey following through with a downward thrust into the bandit's chest. Three more bandits attacked Zechal from his blind spot; he shifted his body to face them and brought his sword across their throats. Another bandit came for Zechal's back. Huey jumped into the fray, lunging off the handle of his sword, delivering a swift kick to the bandit's temple. He darted back for his blade upon landing, and cleanly brought it across the chest of a rushing bandit; carving his flesh like a fresh-caught fish, ready to be cooked.
Out from Zechal came, what he perceived to be, a bloodcurdling roar that reached the further reaches of the forest. He readied his blade against the remaining bandits slowly approaching the two of them.
"These scum are nothing against the might of a knight of Zemuria!" Zechal said. He looked behind him, expecting a follow-up line from Huey, but instead witnessed his body slumping to his knees. Zechal cried out to Huey, even as he came into a deadlock with another bandit's sword. And then another one, and then another. The strength of three opponents weighed down on young Zechal. His strong and defined legs buckled until it brought him down to Huey's level. Huey's hands pressed against his injuries, bracing against the spiking pain as his breath became more labored.
"Dammit Samurai! Are you really tapping out here? From a couple of love taps from your overbearing master?!"
A fire lit under Huey as those words reached his ears. He shot up from his kneeled position to defend an incoming bandit. Huey swept the bandit's leg out from under him, brining his sword down through his throat, and brought his blade beside Zechal's, fending off the source of his attrition with a quick flurry of sword strikes that found marks on arms, legs, core area. A delayed spurt of blood spewed out from the bandits, with Huey and Zechal delivering a joint attack of slashes that carved through the three bandits, routing them with finesse.
Zechal took a second to breathe a sigh of relief, before he noticed the number of bandits increase before his eyes, manifesting like ghosts coming to defend their favorite haunt from invaders.
"There's no end to them," Zechal said. He gasped in shock, feeling a breath of fatigue escape from his lungs. It occurred to him that what seemed like a brief moment of him fighting, had been a culmination of a series of fights taking place within the same day, with little time to rest in between, against opponents that nowhere near resembled the opponents he was accustomed to fighting. An even more surprising shock to him was Huey regressing to his injured state, signifying that his burst of adrenaline had faded, and his injuries were truly beginning to accumulate.
Huey looked up from the ground with fading eyes, seeing any hope of he and Zechal fighting any further dash. He was always convinced that at any day, he would meet his fate sooner than he would prefer, although the fashion in which it would occur was a musing topic for him. He certainly couldn't predict being executed by a plethora of half-naked blind men in a forest, but he began to process it as such, even chuckling about it. Zechal's head snapped at Huey when he heard this.
"You can laugh, even at a time like this?!"
"That's right. And that's a joke in of itself." Huey said. Suddenly without warning, he threw down his sword by his feet, which shocked Zechal even further. Despite their cultural differences, a sword being thrown by the warrior's side was universal in defintion-it signified surrender to a superior foe. It was a sight so rare, Zechal considered the idea that a warrior- an unstoppable force of nature in warfare- would ever resort to such an act, a myth. But at that moment, Zechal reached an understanding behind it, despite his reservations, and with gritted teeth, he did the same.
The clanging of steel hitting the solid ground reached the bandit's ears. A huge uproar of laughter pierced through the two boy's ears. reaching the core of their beings. Their call of victory and conclusion to their battle stood as a beginning to Huey and Zechal's suffering as their prisoners. For the first time, since his taking up of the sword, Huey the boy, felt fear of the unknown.
Black Dynamite kept a moderate pace through the forest, with Princess Jasmine and, a fearful Caesar in tow behind him. They managed to find sufficient path away from the hut they previously regrouped at, and have come to a river that seemed to stretch for the next two miles, at least by Caesar's estimation. Black Dynamite's eyes flew in every direction of his path. Although he wasn't as proficient at reading the environment as his rival, his apprentice, he did compensate with keen awareness skills that did let him pick up on signs of an impending attack. Jazmine walked up to him, clearing her throat, and pointed in a westward direction that the river extended towards.
"Do you not think it's best if we follow the river? It may lead us to where the others are?"
Black Dynamite's brow furrowed.
"Swordswoman, philosopher, and now an expert navigator. When will the list of talents end?"
"I'm only suggesting the obvious Master Samurai. It is common knowledge for a river to be a source of nourishment, which implies people will have made camp by a waterfall of some kind." Jazmin said. Black Dynamite trotted along his path until Caesar stepped out in front of him.
"At least hear the young lady out Black Dynamite-sama. We are not beholden to a suitable exit at the moment."
"The rest of our companions may be at the end of the trail as well." Jazmin chimed in. Besides him being outnumbered in a vote, Black Dynamite felt a quiet wind could topple him with how much, as he begrudgingly called it, youthful enthusiasm he was dealing with. He received a plentiful from young Huey Freeman, a modicum of it from Caesar, but the amount he was receiving from the young princess was stifling, to say the least. There was little about Jazmin that proved she was anything but the docile type, which made B.D. fold in his judgment. With a series of grumbles complemented by his signature stoic face, Black Dynamite agreed with the two's suggestion of following the river upstream. After a few minutes of traveling on the road beside it, they came to a thick wall of leaves stacked on top of the branches, even running into the stream of the water. Demonstrating his strength, Black Dynamite lifted the leaves out of the way but took notice of the fortuitous placement of them. The path revealed was a trail leading in them into several turns, sometimes coming across the occasional straggler that Black Dynamite would cleanly dispose of with little effort. Ceasar pointed out how the plantlife was becoming more developed as they proceeded down the road, indicating that they were near a large source of water
"Maybe these blind turkeys have a hobby for gardening." Black Dynamite said, trotting through the beautiful flowers that spread out across the road, which earned him a look of disappointment from the Princess.
Soon they came to a paved road that looked like it was intended for travelers, with a path that lead onward to the west outside of the forest. Ceasar stepped in front of Black Dynamite, scanning the area, and produced a map from his satchel.
"You telling me you had a map this whole damn time?" Black Dynamite said, holding Ceasar by his collar.
"I-I was drawing the map Black Dynamite-sama. I figured my cartography skills would be useful, and so I've been crafting our way thus far, should we get lost again."
Black Dynamite sucked his teeth, glared at the young Ceasar, and tossed him on the ground. He gestured to the exit."Well, we found the exit, so all we have to do is get that damn Huey, knight boy, and Afro on board, and we can skip on out of here."
"But we don't know where they could be in this forest. It took us quite some time to get here ourselves." Ceasar said, finishing the last details of his map while highlighting the point of the exit.
Black Dynamite shrugged, and with an assertive tone, he said, "Which is why it's going to go a lot faster if I do this on my own," and began to trail off back into the forest. Jazmin quickly stood in front of him, blocking his way. Black Dynamite stoic face twisted into an intimidating expression."Little girl, you don't want to know what happens when you get in my way twice in the same night."
"If you could ease your surly behavior for just a moment," Jazmin spoke with authority and looked up at the towering Black Dynamite, with determined eyes that did not shy away from the intensity of his."You'll understand that Zechal is my responsibility as much I am to him. I have no intention of staying here while his life is shrouded in uncertainty as thick as this green land."
"I've just about lost my patience babysitting your spoiled ass. If you come with me, you'll only slow me down, and arguing about it is only taking longer than it should."
"I will not slow you down," Jazmin argued. "I have proven that I'm capable of defending myself before, and I can do so again."
"Your 'self-defense' is the reason why Huey is walking around with a limp right now. Protecting you is our job. There's nothing that can be solved by getting yourself killed trying to prove something to nobody."
Jazmin pursed her lips at Black Dynamite's comment, but soon her face lit up once more as if just arriving at an idea.
"Very well. If I cannot fight with swords, then I will offer support."
"I got my own cheerleaders, thanks."
"No. There is...a technique I can use that will provide aid to you in battle. But it can only be done if I can go to where Zechal is. I need him for it to work."
Black Dynamite opened his mouth, taking in a deep breath to lash out at the young princess, before being shushed by Ceasar.
"We're not alone here," Ceasar said, putting everyone on the lookout for any disturbance in the environment. The sound of a branch snapping went off, cueing Black Dynamite to draw his blade. A few seconds passed with no activity until a series of daggers came through to the air towards the group, which Black Dynamite deflected with the steel of his blade. A shadow loomed in the background and rushed at them at top speed. Black Dynamite dashed forward, swinging his blade forward vertically but hit air. He snapped his neck backward and saw a young Asian girl brandish a knife to the princess's neck, and Ceasar being held by his pants by a large Asian man(calling him a giant would be an understatement.
"For the rival of the Number Two, your awareness of the acute is sorely lacking." The young girl spoke with a churlish tone. The moonlight gleamed the steel of her knife, revealing the details of her cherubic face.
"You got about five seconds to let them go before your ass is grease little girl." Black Dynamite growled.
The little girl chortled, shaking her head in disbelief. "I hold at the edge of my blade, the vital charge of your operation, and you are making threats? You do not hold fast to honoring your mission, do you?"
"I don't know, you tell me." Black Dynamite said, gesturing towards the Jazmin, who the young girl holding her noticed a sharp runic looking blade aimed at her heart, near enough to puncture the skin. The young girl smirked as Jazmin looked back at her with fearless eyes.
"I was under the impression that all royalty were blithering cowards that were afraid to get their hands dirty."
"I am a princess of Zemuria. There is a world of difference."
Jazmin comforted Caesar as he struggled to catch his fear-induced breaths, giving the impression of almost throwing up. Ming and Do-lu allowed the group to straighten themselves out after the exertion, save for Black Dynamite who had his fastened to the grip of his blade. Ming giggled, being the recipient of his glare.
"Such intense staring. Might you have a fixation for an unsoured maiden, master samurai?"
"If you just asked what I think you just asked, a stare is going to be a walk in the park compared to what I've got planned for you." Black Dynamite gritted his teeth, earning him a low but aggressive growl from Do-Lu, who took a step forward to him. Ming cleared her throat, stopping him in his tracks.
"As entertaining as that speculation would be, I'm afraid we are in no situation for such tomfoolery. Especially when it comes to your companions."
Jazmin's eyes lit up at the statement.
"Do you know where they are?!" Jazmin asked.
Ming shrugged at the princess, and began to pace around her."That would not be the first question I would ask, should a stranger claim to know about the well being of my fellow travelers, but if you're anything like the knight, such insight is not a priority."
Jazmin's eyes narrowed, quickly coming to Ming's line of thought."You fought Zechal, didn't you? Not just that, you've been keeping an eye on us the whole time we've been in this forest."
"Give the girl a prize. Clearly, there are intelligent souls beyond our land where the sun sets." Ming clapped, and pointed over to the westward direction back into the forest."Your knight lies there, along with another that was with him. An injured boy with a white headband. They were captured by the vagrants that inhabit this forest."
Black Dynamite clicked his tongue."Of course, that boy went and got himself captured. Wrapped up like that, he won't be making a threat to anybody, much less fight his way out of a struggle."
"You would be surprised." Ceasar chimed in. "Huey-sama has been taught how to stabilize any injuries sustained so that he may do battle for a certain period of time. I doubt he would be caught by the enemy unless it was willingly."
"If they've been captured, that's all the more reason to go back," Jazmin said, with her words mostly directed towards Black Dynamite. But then, another thought raced up her throat."Why are you telling us this information? What is your angle?"
"Angle, hmm? A royal asking about ulterior motives from a stranger? You are indeed different, that's for sure."
"I am in no mood in patronization, especially from a coward that attacks from the shadows. There would be no point in disclosing such information unless there was a benefit to it, which I wish to inquire the manner of."
Ming reeled in a smile from her stomach that had been forming while listening to Jazmin talk. Black Dynamite, who was privy to a tradeoff the moment the statement spilled from Ming's mouth, stood ready when Do-Lu crept closer in beat with Jazmin's assertive tone.
"The knight pales in comparison to that of his charge." Ming giggled, sweeping her long black hair behind her left ear."Very well, I shall be brief, as our reasons are plentiful. Me and my companion-Do-Lu- have arrived in this land roughly three months ago. We have been seeking a path to the mainland of the country to seek aid from the ruler's army to aid us in a battle against an army from the west. As of now, we have no viable route laid out for us, so we have been gradually putting together a map of sorts to place us on the right path, but alas we have been impeded by the bandits of the forest when they set fire to our camp a few nights ago, and with it our map. So we require a navigator to hasten our travel forward."
Black Dynamite held in a snort of laughter."You're telling me you can't just take the map back from those jive turkeys?"
Ming nodded in agreement. "That is an avenue that we considered, but we cannot ascertain their numbers. We would be walking into a dire situation if we simply walked in. There is also another reason."
Jazmin pondered on Ming's words, quickly coming to a realization. "It's their senses, is it not?"
Ming nodded, giving a round of applause.
"Indeed it is their senses; they are quite keen compared to that of the average person. What a wonderfully astute observation." Ming chided. Jazmin shrugged, letting the backhanded compliment slide. The next course of action would be the most important, seeing as Jazmin narrowed her eyes at Ming.
"Your disadvantage is pretty clear, as is ours honestly. So it only stands that we can cooperate."
Ming nodded, earning a look of furrowed disdain from Black Dynamite. A look that Ming could practically sense from their carefully kept distance.
"It would only be a temporary alliance mind you. While we can offer you our supremely qualified skills against the vagrants, it will come at the cost of something you possess." Ming said as she glanced at the quizzical looks the group traded with each other.
"What would that be, pray tell?" Ceasar asked, one hand placed on his chest.
"Why," Ming, giving the illusion of vanishing, closed the distance between her and Ceasar, and stood just a few inches from his face. His eyes darted around, as he attempted not to meet the intensity of her bewitching (mysterious would be more accurate) stare. Ming's laser beamed gaze ran across the likeness of Ceasar. She gave a slightly gruff, indicating she was less than impressed with what she was looking at, but then shrugged."It would be you of course."
A mist of confusion surrounded the group from the statement. Black Dynamite face contorted with a renewed frustration that contrasted with Ceasar's speculative look.
"Why me?"
"We've observed your group for some time after departing from the knight. Despite your ignorance of this forest's layout, you have a supreme sense of this great land. A feat you demonstrated by finding this exit." Ming said.
"That was just luck," said Ceasar, not wanting to draw any more attention to himself. A gesture that made the grip on Black Dynamite's blade tighten. Do Lu taking the gesture as a threat began to take his stance. Ming cleared her throat, signaling him to wait. Despite her lack of authority over him, Jazmin, with an expression of genuine concern, performed the same action.
"Calm yourself, Master Dynamite. We mustn't instigate them any further." Jazmin said in a pleading tone. An intent that was lost on the towering warrior; his nostrils flared up as agitated breaths flew in and out.
"You telling me to calm down when this young hussy is trying to pimp Ceasar right out of her hands?" Black Dynamite whipped his finger out, holding out against a smiling Ming."Listen here, little lady. You and that no-neck brick shithouse over there can beat it with all that nonsense. Ceasar ain't going with nobody!"
"But what of their cooperation?" Jazmin chimed. "We are too few in numbers at the moment to launch a rescue," said Jazmin.
"In case you didn't realize, Afro is still out there. It's only a matter of time before we link back up and take the fight to those chumps!"
"But can we be certain that he will return at an agreeable time? Before Zechal and Master Huey will surely be executed?" Jazmin walked over to Black Dynamite, placing her hand on his tense arm. He felt tempted to yank it away out of spite, but something in her eyes in how she looked up at him swayed him. "Can we truly take that chance Master Black Dynamite?"
Ming took her eyes off Ceasar, watched the deliberation take part in front of her with bated breath. She shook her head in jest at the scene. It was an event that she foresaw taking place the second she appeared in front of them-bolstering the already present internal conflict was an apt strategy for getting what you wanted. A tactic that Jazmin was fully aware of given the incessant political debates that made up the structure of her kingdom; which would be longer than performing the proposed action itself. Jazmin felt a swell of fear knowing even outside of her home there was very little change in the deliberation amongst allies, and the fact that Ming, a stranger from a land far removed from this one, was privy to this art showed her how little she knew of the world.
"If you have faith that the Number Two will somehow swoop from the trees in a cavalier fashion, by all means, hold fast to that belief. Death awaits you as surely as that foolish notion." Ming chided the both of them. Black Dynamite and Jazmin, while they did digest her words, it would do little become even more heated at the matter. Especially when the center of it all, Ceasar had yet to respond. They both looked at the teetering navigator looking down at the ground. His head slowly raised to look up at the focused eyes of the present company. The tension tied around his neck like a noose that prevented him from speaking. Black Dynamite grabbed Ceasar by his shuddering arms and shook him out of his trance.
"Ceasar. You ain't gonna go with nobody, you hear me? I'm gonna find those boys myself so we can get back on track." Black Dynamite said to a frozen stiff Ceasar. Black Dynamite was taken aback by the sudden silence from the young lad; grouped along with Huey, his studious nature never gave him a lack of speech. Black Dynamite thought the decision for such an offer would be easy to make. On the contrary, the cost of losing both of his allies at the refusal of said offer blurred Ceasar's thoughts on the matter.
He did have another thought, which seemed the most unlikely, that began to unfurl from his tongue." I can assist you," Ceasar said. He held his hand in front of a surprised Black Dynamite, showing he wasn't finished speaking."But as it stands, I am employed by the Coffee and Cream company-my services are given to them exclusively. However, seeing as how this is a situation that demands the aid from forces other than ours-aid that you are requesting might I add-we can come to a more suitable outcome."
Jazmin's eyes widened, eager to witness Ceasar's line of thought.
"That would be?" Ming said.
"The temporary employment of you and your companion for the Coffee and Cream company. Seeing as how we are all venturing to the capital, albeit with different motivations, my navigational skills being a boon you wish to procure, it only seems like the most sound suggestion, no?"
Black Dynamite was completely flushed in confusion. He never knew Ceasar to be this crafty, especially on short notice; a sentiment shared with Ming, who was beginning to revoke her impressions of Ceasar. The only one not completely dumbfounded was Jazmin, who had seen glimpses of Ceasar's guile. She had been raised to know that there was more, far more, to a person than just their immediate were hidden traits that surfaced only when the situation demanded it; changing the circumstances for the better.
"That idea does sound prudent given we are both bound for the capital. But prudence doesn't benefit anyone with the possibility of a knife at your throat, does it?" Ming said with the tone of a promise rather than a threat. "What guarantee can you make with assassins that strike from the dark?"
Black Dynamite, heavily reluctant to follow along with the process, placed a comforting hand on Ceasar's shoulder.
"Then you can bet we'll bop y'all heads if it comes to that. That's the guarantee."
"Indeed," Ming said, with a sprinkle of amusement in her voice. 'Should the problem arise, we'll take care of it, she took the implication of his words.
Ceasar looked up at Black Dynamite with hopeful eyes. Black Dynamite shrugged, finally relaxing the grip off his blade.
"Then are we in agreement?" Ceasar asked Ming.
Ming gave the farce of pondering the renewed deal, glancing at Do Lu who simply grunted. She nodded in agreement.
Jazmin smiled at Ceasar, who felt ten years shaved off his life from the negotiation. It was a surge of confidence that took more out of him than he realized.
"I wasn't certain that would work." Ceasar whispered to Jazmin.
"I imagine so." Jazmin giggled. "Strength alone can no longer be the deciding factor in this situation. We must seek other avenues of resolution," Jazmin paused, glancing over at the eager eyes of Ming, the former who seemed to wear a smile of victory as if she predicted this outcome."Even if they are the least desirable."
"True enough." Cesar nodded.
Ming then cleared her throat at the two, who was beginning to make tracks with Black Dynamite and Do Lu, who maintained a fierce staredown with him, back into the thicket of the forest. "If you are quite done, might we get this daring rescue underway?"
The incoherent screams of a collective reverberated through the cave with enough force to shake the foundation, a cave that Huey and Zechal found themselves being brought deeper into. The bandits that had captured them had hooked them up to a makeshift chain gang-made up of braided rope with drips of lantern oil on the material- frequently tugging every time they lagged in their footsteps. Huey bounced his eyes from he and Zechals relinquished swords, to the passageway that he assumed led to the depths of their hideout. It was illuminated by torches set hung on each side of the wall; the burning of the kindle created a crackling sound that guided the bandits to their destination, as well as listening to the rhythmic chants their brethren made.
Huey speculated by the force of the sound waves that their numbers could be in the hundreds, even thousands. It would justify the pervasive presence in the forest throughout the day, but the worse part of it all is that it established the most dangerous fact of all. These were not just your typical bandits that would set up shop and prey on innocent (not so much in their case) travelers; their movements from earlier suggested the structure of a unit. One that was trained and commanded to hunt and kill in such a manner. In other words, this pack had a leader, and it was someone Huey and Zechal were going to meet very soon.
Zechal fiddled with the tightly wrapped rope on his wrists, agitated at the uncomfortable feeling it was giving him. Hearing the sounds of his struggle, one of the bandits threw his knee into his stomach, taking the air out of the young knight. He kept himself from falling to his knee, summoning the strength to stay on his feet, and spat back at the bandit. The bandit slowly wiped his cheek, where the spit had landed, and punched Zechal clean in the face, and then again, and again. Despite the force of it, Zechal refused to slump to the ground, which irritated the bandit even more. He went in for another punch, only this time it ended up hitting Huey as he stepped in between them, taking the brunt of the punch. The iron will molded from his master's training was still present even in his injured state, and it emanated an invisible aura that the bandit could especially sense. The bandit, angrily sucking his tongue, continued to lead the boys forward to the depth.
Zechal spat out blood spilling from his mouth on the ground. He nudged Huey in front of him and brought his head closer to his ear.
"I didn't ask you to do that," Zechal said. Although it was said with his usual irritated tone, Huey could sense a degree of gratitude behind it. It wasn't obvious, but after the two had fought, Huey began to develop a read on Zechal. He was coming to grips with his insecurities, which his master told him could easily slip out from a person as you're fighting them. Until now, Huey had believed that it was far-fetched that one could express more with combat than they could with words. It was a form of expression that one could relay more words-that is to say emotions-to their opponent without even speaking. For someone who wore their heart on their sleeve, this was a welcome change for Zechal.
The thought took time to process, but Huey simply replied."I know, so I did it anyway."
The response dumbfounded Zechal in more ways than one. He felt tempted to chuckle at the absurdity that he was ever threatened by someone as enigmatic as this samurai Huey Freeman. In the effort of exposing Huey's own immaturity, Zechal could see the reflection of his own, which was funnier than anything he had ever realized. Zechal shook his head and grinned at the back of Huey's head.
In another life, Zehcal thought, I could see us becoming brothers. But you don't see that at all. And I suppose that's what makes us different. You saw that from the beginning, didn't you Samurai? Zechal nodded his head in confirmation of his thoughts to this point. He finally accepted the truth. He and Huey Freeman will never understand each other.
The bandits led the two down several turns of the cavern, giving the impression of a maze that only they could venture through. Huey thought that intention might have been intentional, which coincided with the elusiveness of traveling through the forest. Despite being blind, one listens to the world around them to find their way.
The echoes of their footsteps began to be dwarfed over the growing noise of the shouts by the rest of the bandits, sounding more plentiful in both quality and quantity as they approached the depths. Time slowed to a crawl when being lead through the narrow walkways littered with stacks of human corpses; the stench of bloated and flesh rotting for weeks, perhaps months, invaded Huey and Zechal's noses. Not that the smell before was pleasant, but the idea of what happens to travelers lost inside this forest was clear more than ever Their bodies possessed lacerations that layered from the head, torso, arms, legs, with all of them having the common feature of gouged out eyes. It was hard to tell from where he was walking, but Huey pondered whether the eyes had been removed with a blade or by the hand. The latter definitely seemed more appropriate given the visceral fashion these bandits operate in. Nothing was out of bounds at this point.
Finally, they were brought to a wide-open space where the shouts came in clearer than ever, which paled in comparison to the sight of blind vagrants reaching the hundreds. The cavern depth was made up of several chambers that extended upward to the high ceiling, which all had several Blind Bandits perched by the edge who began hollering at Huey and Zechal; picking up on the sounds of their paced footsteps. One of the bandits stepped forward. Clearing his throat, he held his arms out in front of him, receiving the full attention of the gang.
"My brothas!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "We caught two of the little niggas that have been killing us left and right! It's time to get some payback!"
The bandits cheered in unison, sending a loud impactful roar of despair to the ears of Huey and Zechal. All of them glossing over the excitement they would have with the target of the recent grief while horking down game barely cooked off nearby stakes and debating how they would take their time killing them. One suggested, in a loud fashion, flailing the boys; curious to hear the distinct screams they'd make as each piece of flesh was carved off with cold steel. Another suggested an old-school approach of a deathly beatdown, a method that was equally brutal and entertaining to them.
"Barbarians, the lot of them," Zechal said with courage while attempting to swallow the fear in his throat. All the bandits began to grow restless, almost salivating at what they could do with them, until suddenly.
"Shut y'all crusty asses up!" A booming voice spoke over the uproar. The voice was hoarse with evidence of a slight lisp and elderly rasp in the throat, but it was able to silence the chatter immediately. Huey and Zechal scanned the area for a few seconds before setting eyes on a figure jumping down from one of the chambers. He was dressed in the same ragged attire as the rest of the bandits, but lacked their sloven and grunt-like demeanor and carried himself with authority. His most defining feature had been his ruined straw hat with three holes cut out from the front, which Zechal could spot were windows for his eyes. The blind man approached the two, breathing in the scent of fear that emanated from them when his eye was in full view as he looked down on his prisoners. He tipped his hat up, revealing the lack of color in his irises indicating his blindness. Despite this, Huey and Zechal still felt the sense that he could see them despite the impairment. His thick blubbery lips curled into a smirk as he brandished the steel of his sword in front of the two. "WHAT'S GOOD NYUCKAS, WHAT'S REALLY GOOD?!"
CHAPTER 13 END
Fro Ninja; Did y'all like that entry? Is your heart anticipating shit about to go down at any moment?! Stay tuned for the next chapter boys and girls!