Chapter Six: Farewells and Maps
As the deep hues of sunset cast an unusually eerie feeling across the land, the four newly acquainted companions finally emerged from the treeline of the Hou Jungle. Kai let out a deep breath and wiped the back of his right hand across his forehead, feeling the sticky perspiration that had been clinging to his brow. It was always the muggiest before night fell in the southern kingdom, absolutely serene for the serpents that resided in the area, but not necessarily for the humans. He glanced around, his light brown eyes bouncing between Jay and Cole who both seemed uncomfortable in the humid air. The android, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine. Kai narrowed his eyes at their adversary before breaking the silence. "Well...what are we suppose to do now?"
Jay felt his muscles tense up and he turned to face the blacksmith in an instant. "What are we suppose to do now?" the puppeteer breathed, feeling the soft whisper of anguish growing within him. "What are we supposed to do now? I only decided to come with you because you wanted to try and do something about the Serpentine's power. Now you're asking us what we should do?" His voice rose progressively louder over the course of his small outburst, an unfamiliar spark of anger wanting to burst out of him. "Well I'm not sure what we're suppose to do now. I would have been on my way to the next town already if it wasn't for you!"
Blinking slowly, Zane watched as an argument unfolded before him. He was getting a clearer picture on the background of the fugitives. Not fugitives, sounded a small voice in the back of his mind. Slightly disoriented, the android sneaked a quick glance over his shoulder, looking for the person who had spoken, but found no one. They are comrades. "They are still wanted though," he said calmly, averting his gaze to the ground and crossing his arms over his chest. "My own observance of honor and respect is the only thing preventing me from taking them back to the palace at this moment." It is more than that, the voice came again, which Zane was slowly discovering sounded very similar to his own voice. You know there is more to it than that. "Perhaps..."
He furrowed his brows deeply, uneasiness slowly creeping up on him. This rag tag group seemed to be falling apart before it even really came together. Of course, he never asked to be part of it in the first place. Cole rested his amber eyes upon the android, or "Zane" as Jay had been referring to him, who seemed to be holding a conversation with himself. If Zane ended up turning on them when they were not prepared, they would all be thrown in the imperial prison quicker than someone could get bitten by a Fangpyre. "Hey, uh, Zane," the merchant said while clearing his throat, slowly closing the distance between them. Jay and Kai continued to argue with each other, ignoring the other two. "Are you doing okay? You seem a little...preoccupied with something."
"I am fine," the android responded, bringing his eyes up from the ground. "There is the slight possibility that I could be experiencing an odd malfunction, but more than likely I am not."
Uh, okay, Cole thought to himself, wondering what kind of malfunction the elite warrior standing before him could possibly be going through. "Look, I just want to level with you for a second," the raven-haired man stated, bringing his voice down to a loud whisper. "Those two over there, they're bad news. They stole property that belonged to me and, if someone like you was sent to look for us, then it means I've been grouped with them." There was a the smallest inkling of guilt that was making its presence known, trying to become the voice of reason in the back of Cole's mind, but he shut it out. "I haven't done anything wrong, anything illegal. It was them, so if you want to take them back to Emperor Pythor, I will completely understand, but could you leave me out of it? Would you have the authority to have my name cleared so that I could just continue on with my life?"
Zane just averted his gaze to the other two men in the group. The one with the spiky hair was slowly raising his voice, brows knit together in frustration and his right hand awkwardly inching down towards the weapon on his waist. Jay, the one who had seemed the most accepting of his presence in the group, was talking very animatedly with his hands. At first glance both of them seemed very incompetent. How could they be wanted for anything? "I am not aware of specific instances prior to the classification of your fugitive status, but even input from me would not clear your name," Zane answered honestly, turning his dark blue eyes on the merchant once more. "Emperor Pythor never forgets a face and neither do the serpents who work directly under him. Even if I were to bring him evidence proving the truth of your statement, it would not matter. You are a law breaker in his eyes. There is nothing that can be done about that."
His heart dropped into his stomach, breath catching slightly as he really mulled over Zane's words. Kai had been right all along then: the Serpentine were not lenient when it came to misunderstandings and they were definitely not merciful. He would be looking over his shoulder in fear for the rest of his life now. The sudden realization of his fate turned from anxiety to anger as Cole turned his amber eyes on the blacksmith. This was all his fault. His life had been ruined because a reckless stranger had disregarded any sense of moral competency. "You," he growled, pushing the sleeves of his thin, black shirt up around his biceps. "This is all because of you!" Both Jay and Kai ceased their arguing as Cole pushed his way in between them, grabbing Kai roughly by the fabric of his red tunic and lifting him off of the ground.
"H-Hey, take it easy," Jay sputtered, unsure of what to do. Instinctively, the puppeteer tried to pull Cole backwards in an attempt to throw him off balance, but it did not work. The merchant stood stoic and steady, Kai still tight in his grip.
With somewhat feeble strength, the blacksmith grabbed hold of Cole's right wrist, alleviating some of the pressure off of his neck and chest. What had gotten in to him? "You targeted me because you thought I looked strong enough," the merchant spat angrily, tanned skin flushed with sweat. "Well, was this the strength you were hoping for? Are you happy that you ruined my life just so you could have a little muscle?" Breathing growing more shallow, Kai just kept his gaze focused on Cole. Was he really still upset about that? Had he not just been on board with everything a little while ago, willing to help them fight a servant of the empire in order to escape? Why the sudden change of thought? Why the sudden outburst?
"Release him," came a calm voice. Cole looked back over his shoulder to see Zane standing beside a very frantic Jay who almost seemed to be pacing in place, if that was even possible. "It is unwise to turn on allies, even in very desperate times." The merchant felt his lip curl upwards slightly. What right did the tin can have to tell him what to do? He was with the rotten Serpentine anyways, serving under them. Getting angry isn't gonna solve anything, Cole suddenly thought, the guilt from earlier manifesting into rationality. What's done is done and nothing can change that now. These guys are all you have now and it's much better than being alone. Do you want to go back to being alone? The fabric entwined between his fingers suddenly felt heavier and the merchant sighed, preparing to set Kai back down on the ground.
Suddenly, searing pain engulfed Cole's wrist and a strangled gasp escaped his dry lips. Releasing his hold on Kai's tunic immediately afterwards, he heard the hard thud as the blacksmith's back met the earth. Opening and closing his hand without thinking, the merchant stared down at the circles of reddened skin that had followed the shapes of Kai's own hands. "What did you do?" he asked almost breathlessly, still unable to tear his eyes away from the obvious burns.
He felt himself shaking uncontrollably, every muscle in his body quivering with both adrenaline and fear. "I-I-I dunno," Kai managed to respond, raising his hands slowly and examining them. His thin fingers were trembling in the muggy air, the lines that criss-crossed his palms almost glaring up at him. There was no evidence of burning on him though. "I was getting mad that you were trying to push me around and make me feel sorry for you," he continued, surprised that his honest thoughts were automatically translating into his words. "And then I just...I felt heat in m-my hands and I thought I was just imagining it, but I-I-I hurt you..." His voice trailed off as he watched his hands continue to shake despite the rest of his body slowly calming down. Kai's heart was ricocheting around in his chest like a bird attempting to take flight. "I didn't mean for anything to happen, I swear! I don't even know how it happened! I'm so sorry..."
Cole held up his left hand, signaling for Kai to be silent. "I believe you," he sighed, rolling down the sleeves of his shirt and watching as the slight burns disappeared behind the black material. It was odd to him how the animosity between himself and Kai had dissipated entirely within the course of a few minutes, washed away by apologies and understanding. With his lips setting into a thin line, the merchant took a knee and extended a hand to Kai who accepted it after a few seconds of scrutiny. "And, I'm sorry that I just...attacked you. It doesn't matter what I think about this whole mess or if I'm upset that you roped me into all of this because it's not going to change anything. We can only deal with what's happening now and right now, we only have each other."
We only have each other. "My sister!" Kai blurted out as Cole helped him to his feet. "Oh man, my sister has no clue what's going on right now." The quizzical expressions of his teammates were blatantly apparent as Kai stumbled forward slightly, panicking now. He had told Nya to go look after the kids back in Ignacia and then one thing had eventually led to another: the rushed partnership between himself and Jay, the Venomari outside the tent, and just...everything else. Nya was probably worried sick about him. "I need to go see her, tell her what's going on so she doesn't worry about me," the blacksmith stated openly, his voice wavering on the thin line between angry and nervous. You're on the run from the people that rule the land you live in, his cynical thoughts chimed in. She'll be worried no matter what. "Or at least just tell her what's going on," Kai regrettably sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand.
"Don't worry about it," Jay smiled sympathetically, giving Kai a hard pat on his right shoulder, causing him to recoil in pain. "Oh yeah...Zane hurt your shoulder. Forgot about that, sorry." The puppeteer recalled Kai talking about his sister for a brief moment when they had first met. She had been the one to help him set his tent up after all. Despite himself, Jay felt his cheeks heat up with a light dusting of blush. Kai's sister was so...beautiful. The way her deep black hair framed her face and her warm, chocolate brown eyes had held a genuine interest while they talked. "We'll go with you to see your sister and then we'll figure out where we're going and what we're gonna do from there."
Despite everything, Cole gave a soft sigh. So they had to make a pit stop into a village now? That sounded like it could become disastrous quickly. "Alright then," he chimed in begrudgingly, "lead the way, Kai. It's already starting to get dark out so it's better to go now under the cover of night." With that, the four were off, leaving the edge of the Hou Jungle and slowly traversing towards the boundaries of Ignacia Village.
"That was too close," Jay whispered, his breathing slightly erratic. "I mean...they almost saw us. They could have caught us!" His back was pressed up firmly against the faded wood of a lowly shack, a lone drop of sweat cascading down his left cheek. The number of Serpentine currently parading around the winding, dirt roads of the small village was astounding. Kai had frozen up initially, halting in his path and rethinking the plan to just give his sister a quick visit. Jay, on the other hand, had more than willingly given Kai the support and motivation to continue onward. Your sister is important to you, he had said, giving the blacksmith a reassuring pat on the back. You want her to know that you're okay, right? A small smile crept its way upon his face as he thought back to the conversation he had shared with Kai's sister earlier that day.
Smack!
Rubbing the back of his auburn head, the puppeteer shot a narrowed glance over at Cole who was still holding his hand up. "Keep your voice down and comments to a minimum," the merchant silently hissed, also keeping himself back against the shack. Jay was right about something though: that really had been too close. Just slowly following Kai through the unfamiliar village, the group had almost run into a pair of Venomari, prowling down the street. Zane had somehow managed to convince everyone to stop where they were and just in time too. The Venomari had ended up walking past them just as they had tried to conceal their presence against the wall of the building behind them.
"Let's keep moving now," Kai suggested softly, peering around the corner and verifying that the Serpentine were, in fact, gone. "Coast is clear and my home isn't too far now. We'll just keep quiet, stay low, and stick to the shadows." Letting his light brown eyes drift upwards towards the starry sky, the blacksmith swallowed hard. There seemed to be an unusual amount of stars visible tonight. More often than not, the black of night was just that: black and dreary. Now the moon winked down in a slender crescent, casting a soft glow down on the broken earth below. "Come on," Kai finished, gesturing for the others to follow him closely as they started their journey once more.
In the otherwise silent air, the sounds of Kai's heavy boots against the pebbles and other earthy debris that littered the streets was almost deafening. He imagined hordes of Venomari descending upon them within minutes, whisking them all away to the imperial prison. Shaking his head, the blacksmith carried on, trying not to let his nerves get the better of him. He would tell Nya what was happening and then leave as soon as possible. It was better to keep her as far away from harm as possible. As far as he was aware, Emperor Pythor did not necessarily know their personal identities, just their faces. Hopefully it stayed that way, for his sister's sake.
The familiar, slightly collapsing roof of his home was now plainly visible down a stretch of road and, once more, the brunet motioned for his companions to follow him. Keeping himself hunched over slightly to avoid detection, Kai trod lightly, hearing the reassuring footfall of the others behind him. In what felt like no time at all, the group had made it to the outside of the blacksmith shop. Sweeping his eyes around the perimeter of the building, Kai felt his muscles relax slowly. No Serpentine around. Good. The dancing flame of a candle in the window caught his attention and he gave a small smile. Nya was expecting him to come home. Standing up straight, the brunet brought himself to gaze through the dirty glass and wiped some of the grime away with a sleeve. His sister was asleep at his work table, clothed in the apron he wore when he was working with his tools.
"She must have been waiting for you," sighed a content voice. Startled, Kai jumped slightly, ramming his injured shoulder back against Jay's chin, the two sucking in large gulps of air in attempts to mask their pain. "Sorry, sorry," the puppeteer apologized, rubbing his chin furiously. "I just think that's really nice of your sister, waiting for you even until she couldn't wait anymore." He paused for a moment and Kai watched the candle light reflect in his hazel eyes. "She looks so...peaceful." Clearing his throat, Kai managed to bring Jay's focus back outside. "Oh, um, yeah, right. Go in there and, uh, tell your sister you're okay. For now at least..."
Ignoring the latter of Jay's statement, Kai slipped around towards the front of the building after checking to make sure the coast was clear. With a steady hand, he tried the knob and felt a bought of satisfaction blossom within him as he kicked away the old mat in front of the door to find the spare key. At least Nya was smart enough to lock up and stuff when she was alone. If she had to spend the rest of her life on her own now, at least she would be okay. Jamming the key into the lock and jiggling it slightly as he turned it, Kai heard the click of the lock give way as he tried the knob once more.
Faint light from a few oil lamps filled the room with odd shadows as the blacksmith shut the door behind him and quietly crept towards his sleeping sibling. "Nya," he whispered, knowing full well that she would not awaken to something so soft. Kai could see her shoulders moving against the table as she breathed slowly, her head buried in her arms, dark hair cascading down her forearms. "Nya," he tried again, leaning over his work table and placing a calloused hand on his sister's shoulder. After a small shake, Nya shot upwards, her eyes heavy and unfocused from sleep. "Hey, hey, relax," Kai said, immediately pulling her into a tight embrace. "It's just me. Don't worry."
"K-Kai?" Nya asked softly, feeling the slightly toned arms of her brother wrap around her reassuringly. She buried her head into his chest and relaxed, recognizing the familiar scent of ash and metal that always seemed to be clinging to Kai's clothes. "Where have you been? I went back to the tent after I talked with the kids and you weren't there. Neither was the puppeteer. I didn't know what happened and now the amount of Serpentine in the village has more than doubled." Almost as if hearing her own words for the first time, Nya pulled away from her sibling and narrowed her chocolate brown eyes in an accusatory manner. "What did you do?"
A soft knock came from the front door and Kai spun around, pushing Nya behind him and grabbing for his sword despite the wave of pain that erupted from his injured shoulder. "Just me," whispered Jay, stepping into the building and out of the silvery lit outdoors. "Sorry to interrupt because I know you just got in here, but Zane is kinda freaking out. He's been using his bird or whatever to kinda survey the village and he's not liking what he's seeing." Noticing Kai's sister peering out from behind him, the puppeteer gave a warm smile. "Oh, hey! You were talking with me earlier today. I'd recognize that pretty face anywhere." Immediately following his words, Jay clammed up, his face burning with embarrassment and he took a few steps backwards, almost tripping over the raised mat in front of the door. "Uh...yeah...forget that. Um, just, come out when you're ready, Kai, because we need to get movin' as soon as possible." Catching the girl's eyes once more, the puppeteer cleared his throat. "And, uh, g-goodnight to you, miss," he awkwardly chuckled, fleeing from the building.
"Idiot," Kai muttered under his breath, turning away from the slightly opened door and back towards his sister who looked just as red as Jay had before making his hasty retreat. "Long story short, Nya," Kai stated, regaining his sister's complete attention before continuing. "That was Jay, you met him earlier, and we're kinda...fugitives now because of his storytelling. And when some Venomari got word of it and confronted us...we ran." Watching as Nya narrowed her eyes, Kai held up a hand and started speaking faster. "Don't worry about it though because we're not alone. We have a really muscular merchant with us and also a personal android guard of the Serpentine because apparently they have things like that."
Blinking slowly, Nya tried to take it all in. "Alright then," she answered.
"Alright then?" Kai inquired, feeling a little disoriented by his sister's placid reaction to everything. "What do you mean by that?"
Despite everything she was being told, Nya forced herself to smile. "You're doing something we always used to talk about when we were younger: you're standing up for everyone. You don't have to do it by yourself though because you have all these other people willing to help you." Was she going to be worried about him? Of course. Was there always the possibility that he would never come back? Definitely. She could not let that influence her in any way though. Kai had always been a strong role model, a strong hero in her eyes. Now it was time for him to prove it to the world. "Be the Golden Master, Kai," she whispered, pulling him into another embrace. "Make a difference."
More knocking came from the front door, but Zane fully entered the building before finishing his kind gesture. "Please, pardon my intrusion," the android stated with a deep bow. "I have been using my falcon to monitor the Serpentine activity throughout the village and I have become personally uncomfortable with our chances of making it out of the village without being seen." Nya glanced over at the man clothed in white, still hugging her brother to close to her. "If we were to get caught, I could use the excuse that I have found you and am now bringing you to the palace as per my instructions. Unfortunately, then I would be obligated to fulfill those orders. I suggest we move quickly to avoid any complications arising."
Nodding quickly, Kai grabbed his sister by the shoulders and steadied her. "As much as I wanna tell you everything is gonna be okay, I can't," the blacksmith stated, trying to hurry everything along. "Just...you never saw us, okay? If the Serpentine come asking about us, you never saw us. I couldn't live with myself if you got pulled into this mess or anything, got it?" With that, Kai planted a quick kiss on his younger sister's forehead and turned to head towards the door. "I love you, Nya," he called back, following Zane out of the door and quickly shutting it behind him. "Take care of yourself," he finished, having nothing but the open air hear his words.
"Quickly," the android urged, leading Kai back to where the others were sitting and gesturing for them to rise. Cole was immediately on his feet, dragging a semi-conscious Jay up with him. "We must make it out of the village and continue on our way before any of the Venomari spot us." Nodding in silent agreement, the other three followed Zane as he started following the safest route out of the area. With his eyes now in the sky, through the help of his mechanical companion, the android was mapping out the movements of the enemies around them. Stop. Make a quick left down this side street. Keep moving forward. Stop.
Jay was trying his best to keep up with everyone, but after everything that had happened throughout the day, fatigue was beginning to claw away at him. With heavy eyelids threatening to fall, the puppeteer yawned and stumbled forward, grabbing on to Cole's leather satchel in an attempt to catch himself. The strap fell off of the merchant's shoulder and the bag met the ground with a soft thud, some of its contents spilling out and onto the ground. "S-Sorry," Jay apologized, the adrenaline flooding through his body now keeping him fully awake. He saw Cole roll his eyes as the two grabbed for the loose items and carried them in their arms as they continued to traverse.
A carved piece of gold was now in Jay's grasp, his attention focused on it as he absentmindedly followed the others through the streets of the village. The way the disc reflected the moonlight was almost hypnotizing and it filtered through three open holes, dotting the ground with the concentrated light. "Cool," he smiled to himself, running into Cole once more as the group halted its gait. They had managed to make it out of Ignacia without being caught. "Are we safe now?" Jay asked hesitantly, turning his gaze away from the golden disc and up towards his friends. The word just seemed to fit despite the circumstances causing their paths to cross. Friends.
"For now, yes," Zane replied, his glowing eyes returning to their normal blue. "I did not see us being followed either, in case you were concerned about that too."
The puppeteer shook his head and felt an odd pang of sadness strike him when Cole reached out to grab the disc from him. "What exactly is that?" Jay inquired, watching as the merchant himself flipped it over, seemingly inspecting it.
"I'm actually not too sure," Cole replied honestly, brushing some hair out of his face. He recalled finding this half hidden on the dirt along his travels. It had caught his eyes because it seemed to be so important and simply beautiful. Surely someone of great wealth had accidentally dropped it while they had been traversing along a path. He had meant to sell it at numerous villages or cities, but he could never really bring himself to part with it, almost as if the disc did not want to be parted with. "Just a trinket I found on the road a while ago," he shrugged, getting ready to stow the object back inside of his bag.
Just then, Zane reached out and grabbed the disc from Cole's hands, staring wide eyed at it. "This is...more than just a mere trinket," he breathed, sounding genuinely shocked. "I have heard about an artifact that is identical to this one. Most of Ninjago history was programmed into my hard drive before the Serpentine proceeded to eradicate it." This caught everyone's attention, and they slowly looked upon the android with wonder. "This is supposed to be a map. A map to the Temple of Light, a monastery that sits upon an island off the coast of the mainland. I know that Pythor banished a man to the island long ago, though the motivation is unclear to me. Perhaps we should start our travels there."
Kai swallowed hard, recalling those stories as well. More fairy tales that his mother had spun to him and Nya before sending them off to bed. The man though, he was just a legend, like the Temple of Light itself. As much as he wanted to object to them chasing after a fairy tale, Kai could not genuinely bring himself to argue. They were already chasing after freedom, a fairy tale in of itself. Taking the time to actually attempt to find a temple on an island would not be much more of a long shot. "Well then let's go," the blacksmith smirked. "Guess we know what we're supposed to do now."
Thanks for reading and we'll see everyone next week. :3