The Dorgenark's shields were put to the test as it entered the atmosphere at a faster than safe speed. It crash landed in one of lakes in the Rhyzas Swamp area and skidded to a stop on the shore of said lake. In the control room Monsha had fainted as the rest of the crew groaned trying to get up from the various positions they had been flung. Jaster and Kisala had ended up in a tangle of limbs which brought a grin to Harry's face even as he tried to work out the kinks in his sore back.
"Haha! I'm alive!" Simon shouted as he patted himself down reassuring himself of this. As each person worked out the kinks, they gathered near the galaxy map. "Unbelievable, we're supposed to be on our way to Zerard and instead we end up on Jurika of all places. This is not good."
"So this is Jurika… The Jungle Planet…" Jaster said.
Kisala turned to Steve as the brothers looked to the outside, "Well, can we get back up?"
Looking at the display in front of him, Steve answered, "Most of the damages can be fixed up in a jiffy, but there is a problem with the engine."
"Oh no," Simon cried, "The engine is completely out of booster oil. It won't matter if we can repair the ship, because we certainly won't be moving."
"This is not good, there's no shipwright on the planet. Oh no, what are we going to do!" Steve moaned.
"Come on, that's no way for a bunch of pirates to act!" Zegram shouted to get everyone's attention. "All right, listen up you bunch of rank amateurs. Booster oil is made from the fruit of a tree that has a very flammable sap. Here's a hint, this fruit grows naturally on a certain Jungle planet. You catch my drift yet?"
"Of course, I remember now. The booster oil comes from the 'Fire Fruit', all we need to do is find them, and we can make more booster oil."
"Way to go bolt head," Zegram said.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Harry asked. "The sooner we get this fruit, the sooner we can continue this little journey."
"Right," Kisala agreed, "Simon, Steve, you two stay here and head up the repairs. The rest of us can go grab that fruit."
The group of four leisurely made their way to through the forest and Jaster and Harry were sweating more than ever. "Why are you two sweaty?" Kisala asked. "You just came from a desert planet, shouldn't you be used to this type of heat?"
"We rarely get this type of heat," Harry answered for the two. "This type of heat comes for about two weeks total the entire year. Of course it's usually right after we have had to deal with as close to a flood as we can get on Rosa."
As Harry was explaining the different heats and how it affected him and Jaster Zegram had stopped to look at the top of the trees. "Strange," He said catching the three's attention, "This area should be filled with Fire Fruits. But look, there's not a single one around."
"I wonder if someone has already taken all of them," Kisala mused.
"I don't think it would possible for someone to take all of the fruits Kisala," Jaster replied.
"Well maybe a large troop of monkey came through and ate them all." This got her stares from all three of the males. "What? It could happen!"
"Whatever, let's go farther in, perhaps we aren't looking in the right place."
As the four made their way farther along the path into the jungle, Jaster noticed movement around the edge of the trail. He was only able to get out a start of exclamation, but it was enough to get the others in his group to stop moving and draw their weapons partially. "We must be in their territory," Zegram said with a grim line set in his face.
"Their?" Jaster asked.
"The Burkaqua," Zegram answered. "They are a local tribe, and they do not like outsiders."
As if the watchers were listening to the group, a war cry rose from the trees, although it was impossible to determine which trees. The four get back to back and their weapons are fully drawn in anticipation for a fight. There was no need to draw a weapon, for after another war cry spears were launched at the group. Of course the spears fell short, but the message was clear. They did not want visitors.
"Dammit!" Jaster cried as the echoes of another war cry fell silent. He wrenched apart a set of spears and made his way out of the circle followed closely by Kisala.
Zegram wrenched a spear from the ground and tested the point. Spitting out whatever he tasted quickly, Zegram explained his findings. "Poison, and potent enough that you wouldn't survive to see the next minute."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Kisala cried out.
"Nope, so what now Mr. Desert Claw? Should we hightail it out of here?"
"If people are around here, then there must be a village. Perhaps they can tell us what happened to all the fire fruit."
"You seriously want us to go towards the village that just launched poisoned spears at us? Are you insane?"
"And now you see what it was like for me growing up," Harry told Zegram as the group started towards the village. "Even if they deny all visitors and turn us away, somehow we'll end up fighting a monster or rescuing someone and that can gain us entry. That's just the joys of having Jaster as a brother."
"I am so sorry for you," Zegram whispered.
As they walked, many of the local monsters popped out, but quick work was made of the all. As they continued on the path, there was a loud rumbling that made the group pick up their pace. As they rounded the corner, the four saw a giant statue slowly closing to block out their path. Picking up the pace, the four of them managed to slip past the closing of it.
"Man, that's an impressive bit of deterrent. I wonder how it's activated from this side?" Harry mused.
"Well, we don't need to worry about that right now, we can figure it out later. Come on Burkaqua awaits," Jaster said.
The team had made it farther into until they ran into a rather large boulder in the middle of the trail. "You know, they really don't want anybody to come to their village. How in the world did they even move this in place if they refuse to have anything to do with technological advantages?"
"That's what you're wondering about?" Kisala asked, "I'm more worried about the fact that there's a giant boulder in the middle of the road! Now what are we going to do?"
"There's nothing else to do, we'll need to find another path," Zegram answered.
"Right, come on, I think there was some other path just a few yards this way," Jaster said leading Kisala and Zegram away from the large boulder.
Harry stood there for a moment and watched as the three walked away. How, he wondered, were they so one dimensional? All they had to do was cut a path in the foliage just on the edge of the trail. The boulder wasn't a mountain, so it should be pretty easy to make a trail around it. "Um guys," Harry called out to gain their attention and then waving them back over. "Is there any reason that we aren't cutting down a few plants and walking around the big rock?" The expressions on each of their faces proved that they felt like idiots and they were soon back on their way.
Finally the group had reached the village, but were stopped by the village guards. "Halt trespassers, only Burkaquans are allowed in this village. You need to turn around and go home!" One of the guards said.
"Wait! Our ship broke down, we just need to find some fire fruit," Jaster tried to explain.
"Not our problem, now leave!" The second guard said while thrusting his spear at the group. "And if you know what's good for you, you will stay away from the spring. Especially today!"
The guards stepped forward towards the group and seeing no alternative, the group made their way from the gates and back into the jungle. "So," Harry drawled once they were a fair distance from the gates, "Onto the spring?"
"To the spring," Jaster agreed and the four pirates set off on the trail. When they arrived at the spring, they saw a woman and a girl in the middle of it. The woman was washing the younger girl's hair and Harry cast an appreciative glace at the body of the woman. Staying quiet, the team was able to hear the ladies' conversation.
"You're not afraid Miri?" The woman asked.
"Nope not me… Lilika, am I going to meet the Star God?"
"That's right," Lilika answered, forcing a smile on her face even though her little sister couldn't see. "You were chosen and now you get to sit right next to the Star God."
"I know, but… When I'm with him, does that mean I won't see you anymore?"
"Miri…" Lilika sighed.
"Villagers you think?" Kisala asked.
"Look at those two broads. Whose more your type Harry?" Zegram asked.
"The older one," Harry answered with no shame.
Kisala nudged Zegram with her elbow painfully to get the two to shut up, "What's up with you two anyways?" Before she could do anything else a hatchet struck right above Jaster's head and stuck into the tree.
Lilika had by then drawn her bow and pointed it at the bush the group was hiding in. Zegram was the sacrificial lamb as he rose with his hands up. "Wait, wait, wait, let us explain. We come in peace."
The team slowly walked out of the bush and towards Lilika. "We're sorry for startling you, but our ship crashed earlier today. We were hoping that someone could let us in to Burkaqua village."
"What do you want from there?" Lilika asked, her grip had yet to change from the menacing stance on her bow.
"Well, we were hoping that we could find someone in the village that could lead us to the fire fruit. They seem to have disappeared from their regular area," Harry explained bringing attention to himself. Lilika got a look at Harry and her stance relaxed slightly, not enough to fully diffuse the situation, but it was noticeable. As the conversation had gone on, an unnoticed tentacle had slowly approached Miri from behind. "I'm Harry by the way."
"Lilika," was all that she could get out before a frightened squeak came from Miri. The tentacle had managed to grab her.
Quick thinking on Kisala's part prevented Miri from being lifted to high into the air, but there was more than one tentacle on the ground and Kisala landed in the middle of them all. They were also quick to grab Kisala and hoist her over the frog like creature. "JASTER!" She screamed.
"Kisala!" Jaster yelled back as he drew his weapon. The frog had done it now.
"Hang on. We'll save you!" Lilika yelled, drawing her weapon and lining up next to Harry.
A/N: Hey all, as you can see I haven't forgotten about this story. I didn't put the crazy inventors in the story, because honestly they didn't do much in the game. It was just a way to make you explore more and get a few different items.
If there's anything you want me to put in here, like a situation that you would think would work well into the story, feel free to suggest it. A review or PM, doesn't matter to me.
Hope you liked it. Until next time!