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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 5, 2016 17:27:56 GMT -6
Pulling from another forum I'm on, and figured there was no reason not to put it here as well. I've gotten the entire first arc already written out, but will put new chapters every day or so. If you have any questions, feel free to ask away right here. I'll happily answer as soon as I can.
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Code of Honor
Bashi, Grazahl year 822
Prologue: Bashi Isles (Centermost Bashi Isle, Quartear 20)
The day began like many others for Leon, standing around the plaza waiting for an unlucky sap to challenge him for some gold. Seeing as how his father never left home anymore, the young man now had to support the both of them. Not that he terribly minded it. Dueling was his favorite pastime after all.
Rather early in the morning, the young man was indeed sought out by a fledgling swordswoman. Like most of the people who hadn’t known of Leon’s skills, his opponent was a young fighter, and not able to put up much money, but 600 gold pieces and a nice face was more than enough to catch his fancy.
“Now, are you sure you want to do this?” Leon asked the young woman. “I’d really hate to accidentally cut up such a pretty lady. We could always just take that money and have ourselves a nice candlelit dinner.” A fast, uncontrolled slash from the combatant more than spoke for an answer. “No? Well it was worth a shot, I guess.”
“Sit still!” The woman shouted back at Leon, as he gracefully dodged her flurry of swings.
His opponent had spectacular form for a new fighter, but her technique sadly wasn’t quite there. Leon continued to wait for her to commit to a wider swing before cutting through the sleeve of the woman’s gown, then shortly after her chest. Thoroughly embarrassed, the woman dove to the ground, covering her now exposed smallclothes.
“Hey, you put up a pretty good fight! It took me longer to find an opening than I thought it would. He offered the woman a hand up, and she took it, silently. “Oh, and that date offer is still on the line. I even have money to treat you now!” She simply growled in response, and stormed off in a huff, right arm still holding her sliced gown together. Guess she didn’t think that was so funny, huh? At least one of us got a laugh out of it.
Leon is a man of nineteen years, with black, shoulder-length hair and black eyes. He wears a robe of a green shade, with a plain black shirt underneath, and has a special place in his heart for clever jokes, swordplay, and women. Unfortunately, he could only make money with one of those things, and it certainly wasn’t comedy.
He looked around suspiciously after receiving his reward of 600 gold pieces, and finally decided there wasn’t anyone around threatening enough to take it from him on the trip home.
It wasn’t a long walk back to his father’s shanty of a house, but having to stay on guard made short trips quite a bit longer than they should be. Luckily there wasn’t much for aggressors to hide behind in the middle of the island, so if bandits couldn’t match your skills, they’d leave you be.
The house was two rooms in total: The living room, and Leon’s room. He recalled his old man saying something along the lines of “if you think you’re gonna bring people into my home without me knowing, you can forget it.” He always talked a big game like that, but most of the time he just sat around until Leon acknowledged his presence. Not that Leon would ever subject anyone to meeting his father anyway.
“Hey dad. Got some food money.” The young man said, throwing half the gold he earned his father’s way. 300 gold pieces was enough to eat two meals on, at 150 apiece.
“Aye, 300? That’s all? I can’t even get a stalk for that! No way you didn’t make at least 500 out there!”
“I got 6. 3 for me and 3 for you.” Leon responded.
He was used to this by now. Even if he had made more, he wouldn’t give his father more than 450. Any more than that, and he’d kill it all on Bashinti Stalks, a cactus flower that grows on a nearby island which secretes a euphoric chemical when pressed or lit. There’s a bit of a monopoly set up over it; if you can’t pay the 500-stalk price, you aren’t getting your high (Though it only takes about half a stalk to reach the desired effects, for the average person. In fact, many first-timers take too much at once and end up dying on the stuff).
“We’ll get some next I go out. What’s the point in having stalks if we starve to death at the same time? Besides. This is my money.”
“Did you forget who wasted his time teaching you how to use those blades? You’re my investment. Whatever returns you make are mine, and right now I need it all.”
“Okay. Fair point. Now let me raise you this: I need to eat, too, so let’s just go get some food and worry about what comes after, well, after.”
“Don’t you talk back to me, boy. Do as you’re told.” His father looked around for a while before reaching for one of his son’s older blades. His own prized swords had been sold long ago.
“Dad. I don’t want to do this.”
“You can give me my money or you can draw your weapon. Seems you forgot who your master was.”
The old man lunged at his son. Despite the old, tired, drugged up state he was in, he was still a samurai in his youth, and the tutor of Leon. Though that was true, in his current mind state, the man lacked the patience to combat his own style. Instead, he swung wildly, and forced his son to block the unorthodox approach. Leon decided he wouldn’t be able to continue blocking forever, and jumped back before moving forward again to disarm the man.
“Let’s call it for now, dad. I’m exhausted.” He held his blade to his father’s neck. He had to subdue him, but he had no plans on using his weapon for anything more than that. Leon knew that, and assumed his father did as well.
“I been waiting weeks for this, son. Just give me the damn money,” the man said as he stared Leon’s blade down.
“You’re going to be alright, dad. Just give me two more days. Two more days to save up the surplus, and we can share a stalk, just like last time. We’ll have a good old time.” The man broke out in heavy laughter.
“You know, Leon, I never did like you. In fact, if I ain’t high, I can’t stand to look at you. Now get that damn sword out my face.”
He complied, and backed away. Leon watched his father stand and walk to the back of the room, where his blade had been knocked out of his hands. He picked up the sword once more.
“Somehow, you managed to make the one thing I was looking forward to sound terrible. My mind was so set on getting a stalk, I didn’t even stop to consider it was either with you or not at all, just like last time. One. There’s only one way I can really be away from you.” He spun the blade around in his hands so that it was facing him.
“Hey, gimme that sword, dad!” He started to run forward, hoping to grab the weapon from him, but by the time he reached him, the blade had already gone in.
“Dad… you’re going to leave me alone out here?” Truth be told, he would be much better off this way, assuming being alone doesn’t make him crazy.
“Damn right I am. Least… least you can do is buy me a stalk for the afterlife,” the man laughed before one last coughing spell. Then, he fell forward and went silent.
Leon closed his father’s eyes as he stopped taunting him, and removed the weapon.
He went out back and began to work on a grave for his father. The setting sun warned him not to take too long, lest bandits make his task more difficult than it should be. He couldn’t help but think about the times he had with his father as he buried him. The times weren’t always that bad, but his father deteriorated so quickly it was difficult to remember the highs in place of the long list of lows.
Once he finished, Leon struggled to even get into his bed. For now, all he could do was sleep. In the morning, however, he would begin searching for the money to leave these islands, and get away from all the stress. I have 600 gold pieces… how much is a wyvern ride to the mainland? That’ll be a good place to start.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 6, 2016 7:42:35 GMT -6
Chapter 1: Princess (Leon’s home, Quartear 21)
The following morning, Leon dressed himself and headed along the same road he usually did. He smiled as he saw the same young swordswoman from yesterday training alone, but decided he was better off focusing on his self than her. Finding the wyvern passes is more important. For now, anyway.
The marketplace was made up of different artisans selling whatever they could manage to put a price on. Most common were brokers who looked to betting on street fights for a living, but rarely there would be a few fun, interesting trinkets.
The other thing that never went away was the stand selling wyvern passes. One lucky traveler a few years back found Bashi while exploring the Dragon Mountains, and ever since he’s been selling salvation to those who can match his prices. Over the span of six years, he’s managed to sell eight passes, but he also has made an example of the four brave enough to try and hijack a ride.
“The cheapest ride is 4,000 gold pieces. How much ya got?” The man had long purple hair and a smile that screamed “I want your money”. Fairly short guy, dressed in a nice dark blue suit and hat.
“Nowhere near that much. 600 all in all, and I suppose I could get about 700 each for these swords if I’m lucky.” Leon sighed, looking around. If people need help, right around this wyvern dude would be a good place to ask. People have to have money somewhere around here.
“Well I’ll be here once you make the cash,” the salesman said, turning around to speak with someone else. Damn. Where am I gonna make this money? I do have other weapons... As he escaped his thoughts, Leon saw a woman walking up to him, a wide smile across her black lips. Everything she wore in fact, from her long hair to her boots, were dark shades of black and green, and she carried a black parasol laced with a similar green tone. Oh, she’s got cash to spare. You scored hard today, my man!
“I remember watching you a couple weeks ago. You’re a real monster with those swords. Just what kinda style is that anyway?” The woman looked genuinely interested, so Leon decided it’d be fine to chat just a while. Not every day a hot chick walks up and asks about your swordplay.
“It’s my own spin on my father’s Kasami Style. Precision and defense are the keys, and it’s particularly effective against aggressive or impatient fighters. Why, are you a broker?”
“Something of the sort. I lost quite a bit of money betting against you a few weeks back, but made that back and more since then. Makes me sad you want out of this place; you and I could make it big together.” She placed her fist under her chin and made a pout face. Chances are, she was dangerous.
“I’m listening.” Unfortunately, risky business is where the money is at.
“There’s an island to the west of here, with some real strong guys. One of those guys’s been throwing matches on purpose, waiting around for me to return with another guy to face off with. I want you to be my ‘other guy’”, she said, smiling coyly and rubbing the man’s chest. She continued, saying, “How do you feel about throwing a battle for 10,000 gold pieces? We can split that profit 60/40.” SOLD! He thought to himself, before thinking he should play it a bit cooler.
“I might be willing to do that, if we split it 50/50, babe.”
“Is it me or the deal I’m offering getting you all excited? You can hardly sit still, let alone negotiate. But, I like your style. Tell ya what: I’ll take you up on that 50/50. Now if you would just come with me.”
Welp. Guess I didn’t play is quite so cool after all. May as well go with her... not like I have any other plans, right? Besides, worse comes to worst, I high-tail it back home, maybe even with a bit more gold under my belt.
“Lead the way, um, I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name, princess.”
“Probably because I never threw it to you, Leon.” Fair enough. Likely confirms the ‘dangerous’ suspicions though.
The two walked west for about an hour, crossing into an island in Bashi Leon was unfamiliar with. It wasn’t all that much bigger than his own island, but it certainly wasn’t short on warriors. In fact, the whole damn island looked like it was set up as an arena! How have I never heard of something so grand and so close to home? The woman walked right along the road, and pushed open the doors to the large coliseum ahead.
“Welcome to the official Bashi Coliseum. No more street fights for you, mister! As long as you’re my VIP, you’ll always have good opponents and plenty of cash. Now, still thinking of leaving me?”
“You drive a hard bargain, don’t you? I like that.” She laughed in response, but before she answered, a large man with an axe hoisted on his broad shoulders appeared.
“This lil’ guy the one?” He said, looking at Leon.
“Mhm. He’s already on board, so try not to kill him out there. I plan on making a lot of money out of him.”
“Do I sign up anywhere? When’s the match? I’d appreciate at least a few details,” Leon urged. It was true she hadn’t told him much of anything yet.
“I’ll handle the registration stuff," She replied. "All you need to know is to be back here a week from now. In the meantime, hang around and get to know people or something, I don’t care. Just don’t let them get to know your skills, got it?”
“Yeah, I got it, Princess. A week without any fighting. Hey, uh, I only have money for about four days’ worth of food. Any way I could get a down payment?”
The woman threw 500 gold pieces his way, which he caught excitedly, smiling at the free money.
“Don’t look so happy, Leon! That’s coming out of your half of the profits!” Leon frowned, but shrugged it off and headed out.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 6, 2016 22:48:11 GMT -6
Chapter 2: The Desert Resert (Western Bashi Isle, Quartear 22)
This place was pretty serious about its fights: All around, people were training together, knocking one another down, and helping them up again. It was a real sight to behold, and a huge change of pace from the thieves and ambushes from his island, just one over. He watched a man down another three times in a row, each in fairly quick succession, the final time the combatants shook hands and walked away. The winner then began to request a new opponent.
Leon instinctively grabbed at his sword, but realized already he was about to breach his contract with Princess. He took a liking to calling her that; she needed a name, and she at least seemed like she enjoyed being given the title.
“You look like you know how to handle that blade,” the man he earlier was watching said, spotting Leon, hand still clutching his weapon.
“I saw what you did to that guy! I’m no match for you!” Leon hoped he didn’t sound too sarcastic. The joking look he got back suggested he did.
“Hiding your skills for the tournament, then? We shall face off when fate, and money, would see to it. Until that time comes.” What I’d do to face off with him now… I need a drink. Or hell, maybe even a stalk.
Not far from the large coliseum, there was a smaller building, marked ‘the Desert Resert’. He assumed it was supposed to be a play on ‘Resort’, and chuckled to himself as he entered.
The place was nothing short of packed. Dancers were performing on a stage up front, catching the attention of more than half the customers inside, men and women alike throwing money to the beauties on stage. Leon half-watched the performers as he walked up to the bar.
“Strongest drink ya got,” he said, never looking away from the three dancers up front. Their moves were enticing. In fact he felt kind of bad he didn’t have the gold to spare for tips. Watching for free, even from rather far back, bothered him.
“You look a bit young to be asking for such strong drinks!” A woman beside him winked, startling Leon.
“Yeah? You look younger than I am,” he said, sizing her up. “On second thought, sir, I’ll have what she’s having.” The bartender nodded, and Leon turned away finally from the performers and again to the woman beside him. I can hold liquor better than her. Guess this’ll have to do for my competition fix for now.
“Name’s Leon. And you?” She was pretty. Normally he didn’t really go for blondes, but that may just be because lighter hair colors were everywhere around here. Not exotic enough for his tastes. Still, she had an innocent demeanor in her green eyes. She wore a bright red gown with flower imprints, and her golden hair in drills. Not much of a body to look at, though…
“Erin.” She took a sip of her drink as Leon was brought his, and continued, “And just for the record, I’m 23. I guess I look a bit younger than I am, but that’s hardly a reason for everyone to ignore me all the time.”
“I’m not so sure it’s your age…” Leon trailed off, taking a sip. She stayed quiet, angrily staring at the man before her, as if she was demanding an answer to his cryptic statement.
“You got… a weird vibe about yourself. Though I ain’t gonna lie: you have me curious.” He smiled the last words, hoping not to offend.
“I see. I suppose that’s understandable. But enough about me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in here before, and this place is like a home away from home to me.”
“I’m from the island east of here. The one right across, to be exact. I like it here a lot though. Might make it my home for a while, if I can just find an inn...”
She stood up when Leon spoke those words. “So you’re a fighter, then? You have to be if you’re from the center isle! Would you like to spar?”
“I… ain’t all that good. You’ll probably beat me. Now will you pipe down? I’m trying to stay low key!”
“Scared? Actually, I don’t really care if you’re scared; I’m going to pay you to do this. Come on, Leon!” She grabbed his hand and forced him out of the bar. “Drink’s on me! Thanks as always, Sam!”
“Look, I really don’t want to fight you—“The woman equipped her weapon, again startling Leon, but this time with excitement. Of all the blades he’d laid his eyes on, never once were they attached to a pole for greater length.
“You look interested all of a sudden. Never seen a naginata?” She asked, spinning the weapon for a short while. She then walked up to him, slowly. “Please, I need this. I have to show daddy this is something I can do, if I’m ever going to get out of here. So please, give me a match.”
Dammit, Leon… why are you taking out your sword? You had a deal with Princess. Man… you are such a sucker for a cute face. You gotta learn to say no, man.
“So you’ll do it!? Thank you thank you thank you!” The woman jumped up and down excitedly, and Leon used it as a chance to knock her on her butt once, with a gentle shove. “Hey, what gives? I wasn’t even prepared yet!”
“First rule of combat: Enemies can strike even when you aren’t ready.”
“Oh you’re a dead man…” she grumbled as Leon helped her up. She stuck her weapon into the ground and dusted herself off before picking it up again. “Prepare yourself, swordsman!”
She charged forward with an unexpected burst of speed, but Leon sidestepped easily enough. This woman is really gonna try and take my head off!
He attempted to trip the woman after her dash, but the hilt of her weapon went down to deflect his kick. She jumped back shortly after, and went for a few more thrusts at a safe enough distance away that Leon couldn’t counter with anything more than deflecting her attacks.
Leon could see the anger welling up in her face. Eventually she stopped with the thrusts, and attempted to swing the naginata horizontally, which Leon ducked and thrust his blade to her neck. She dropped her weapon realizing she lost, and Leon pulled his back as well.
“Damn it. Damn it all!” She kicked her weapon, and watched it slide a little in the sand. “Thanks for sparring with me, Leon. You’re really good. Would you… would you mind if I became your student?”
“I’ve never used, or even seen your weapon of choice before. I can’t teach you anything.”
“But you can! Why don’t you spend the night at my place, and we’ll talk details in the morning? You said you were looking for a place to stay here, right?”
“Can’t say no to that. Lead the way!”
“Keep up if you can!” The woman laughed, picking up her recently discarded weapon and running away. Yeah, she’s pretty cute. But 23? Not so sure about that part…
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 8, 2016 21:20:33 GMT -6
Chapter 3: the Old Folks (Eastern Bashi Isle Outskirts, Quartear 22)
“Would you slow down?” Leon asked Erin, catching her attention. She complied, and slowed to a halt while he caught up.
“What’s up?” She asked, tilting her head to the side.
“So, your home… is there going to be more than just us there?”
“If I say I live alone, would that motivate you to come with me?” Why yes, yes it would.
“It would be nice to hear.”
She smiled deviously in response to that, before saying, “Then we’ll leave it at that for now.”
The two continued to walk for about thirty minutes more, in casual conversation. Apparently, Erin’s father was a swordsman as well, and after the night passed, she planned to take Leon to meet him. One day, and you’re sleeping with her, then meeting her parents the next. Yeah you still got it, Leon.
Her home was at the edge of the island, not too far from the ocean. There was a surprising amount of greenery around the house, even for being an island.This would make for a fine place to grow some drugs.
Once her hand was on the door, however, Erin stopped. She breathed in heavily, causing Leon to ask, “Nervous?” He then continued on to say, after a short pause, “There’s not a lot that scares me, so don’t think something in there will shoo me away.” She smiled, looking back at him.
“So yeah. Okay. Remember when I said I live alone? I lied. My parents live here, too.” She slowly swung the door open, not looking to see Leon’s frightened face. “Daddy? I’m home!” I might just die tonight.
“Erin, where have you been? Your mother was worried sick!”
“No I wasn’t!” A woman faintly shouted back.
“And who’s your friend?” Her father asked, staring at Leon from his position outside.
“He’s Leon. I met him at the bar I like, and we’re sleeping together in exchange for fighting lessons.” This woman is going to get me killed.
“Well ain’t that just lovely. You hear that, dear? This man our little girl just met is going to defile her, and take my job from me.”
“That’s nice! Now stop bothering me!” The woman shouted back again.
“You best stay outside, kid. I’ll show you how a real swordsman does it.”
“Daddy, I was kidding! Leave him be, okay? He needs a place to stay the night, and we have a sofa he can use.” Instantly, the man's expression relaxed.
Leon stopped to look around a little bit, and after noticing there wasn’t anybody this far out other than Erin and her family, he spoke up. “Actually, I would love to have a go at you. Your daughter speaks highly of you, and I haven’t had a good match in a little while now.” Leon placed his hand on the hilt of his blade and smiled. The sun was only just starting to set, one of his favorite times of the day to spar.
“I see why my daughter likes you so much!” The man closed the door and opened it again comically fast, his blade now drawn and his cloak on the ground, revealing a bandaged chest and puffy, dark red pants. Leon stepped back to give him sufficient room to leave his home and assume his stance.
His blade was significantly larger than Leon’s, and he held it in front of himself with both hands. A style the younger man wasn’t familiar with, which was a nice bonus.
“You know my name. You have one, pops?”
“Arthur. At your ready, boy”, the older man taunted. He was met with a full-on sprint, Leon dragging the tip of his blade in the sand underneath him. He sliced upwards slightly, which Arthur dodged simply with a back step. He didn’t even attempt to attack Leon in response, but simply waited for his opponent to right himself once again.
“Aren’t you patient?” Leon said, backing away from Arthur.
“It would be foolish and disrespectful of me to be arrogant against an opponent I’ve never met. However, I shall take the next offensive.” He’s quick. Really quick.
Arthur ran forward now, and slashed his buster twice in quick succession, causing Leon to roll back in defense. As he recovered from his roll, Leon swiped at Arthur’s leg in a failed attempt to get him to dodge backwards. Instead, he knocked the blade clean out of Leon’s hands.
Now back on his feet, Leon reached for and grabbed his second blade. “That was pretty sweet, I gotta admit. You’re really quick with that thing. Especially considering its size.”
“You aren’t bad yourself. Most people try to parry my first attack. Very insightful.” What kind of a moron would try to parry that thing? “Perhaps my daughter can learn something from you.” Oh, that kind of a moron. “But enough talking. I’d like to see how you react to this move.”
Arthur began to circle around Leon, running faster than before. Then he immediately broke off in the other direction, but creating a copy of himself that continued on his first path. Both Arthurs did the same, resulting in one body and three identical clones following his every movement. They continued to circle around Leon, who kept his eyes locked on the real one. They appear to be copying what he does, but…
In that second of doubt, Leon lost sight of the one who created the clones. The look of confusion on his face must have been apparent, for Arthur and his clones all slashed the sand upwards at once, in a dusty, crescent shaped air wave. Leon responded by dropping to the ground and covering his head with his hands, which began to cut and bleed immediately, along with his back and legs.
When he recovered, there were four oversized swords pointing down at him, indicating the match was over. “You defended?” He asked, phasing together again with his clones.
“It may not happen often, but I know when I lost…” Leon replied, standing up. He shook the man’s hand, then turned around. “I’ll be back for another shot after this tourney,” he promised, limping away.
“Of all the foolish… get your ass back here! You promised my daughter lessons in exchange for room and board, did you not?”
“No, not really.”
He turned to look at his daughter, who sheepishly grinned, scratching her head. “Err... that’s not important, because I’m not letting you out into the desert looking like that. Come on in, son.”
“Thanks, pops. I appreciate it.”
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 10, 2016 0:23:48 GMT -6
Chapter 4: Family Bonding (Erin’s home, Quartear 22)
Their house was much smaller on the inside than it appeared to be on the outside. And it appeared pretty small on the outside. There were three rooms in all: The one they stood in, which appeared to be the kitchen and living room, a room off to the left with a tub, where her mother was, and a room up to the right where they all slept. Of course, Leon was to inhabit the sofa in the living room tonight.
“And that concludes the home tour!” Erin smiled, visibly proud of her home. Who wouldn’t be? Nice place, nice family, all in Bashi? That’s a good deal. Then again, this island in general seems to be much nicer than his own. “Any questions, my dear guest?”
“Yeah, just one. Any way I could get a bite to eat? You kinda pulled me off before I could order anything.”
“Daddy? Do you have anything prepared tonight?”
“Um… I wasn’t expecting a guest, and you were out so late, well… you know I get hungry when I’m nervous! It was all I could do not to eat the whole kitchen waiting on the return of my beloved Erin!” Arthur was an interesting man. About as overprotective as a parent should be, Leon thought.
“Well that’s okay. We’ll find our way through the kitchen and have a nice meal for two. Have you ever used a wok before?”
“Never heard of it.”
“Great!” She smiled, clapping her hands together. “That means we’re about on the same level! As long as we’re careful, we won’t burn the house down, I think. Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” This woman is going to kill me. “It can’t be much different from fighting, right?
“Arthur, you have to help us!” Leon cried. “Your daughter is going to burn this house to the ground!”
"If you start a fire, run into the bathroom and fill this bucket with water. Then throw the water over the flames. Got that?”
“Don’t you come in here and take my bath water!” Erin’s mother shouted back. Interesting lady, Leon thought as he allowed Erin to take the lead in their attempt to create a culinary masterpiece with the little knowledge of the trade they shared.
After three failed attempts (and buckets of bath water), the two managed to prepare themselves a sizable portion of instant noodles. Erin smiled triumphantly over their work and said, “Just like that, we have food! But, um, I guess it wasn’t quite as ‘instant’ as the name implied…”
“Maybe if we read the instructions, it would have been a bit easier?” Leon asked Erin sarcastically.
“Yeah, but we figured it out, right? Sometimes a little challenge in a controlled environment is nice. Things just get so dull around here, you know?” She ate a large portion of noodles, and attempted to juggle continuing her tale with continuing her meal.
“I guess I’m just tired of Bashi. I want to see what Grazahl is really like!” She finally swallowed her mouthful, before continuing to say, “Mom says it’s a beautiful place,” while picking at more noodles.
"Wait, your mom came from outside Bashi? What in the world dragged her here?” Leon was genuinely surprised: First, visitors were extremely rare, and second, none he ever met stayed longer than a week, tops.
“That isn’t important, Leon! Stop asking stupid questions and eat your noodles. Honestly, all that complaining about being hungry and you don’t even touch your food?” She pouted.
"I’m scared. I think they’re alive, like some crazy, noodley monster or something. Are you sure we did it right?”
“If I wasn’t sure, do you think I’d be eating them?”
“YES, I DO!”
“Huh, you’re right. You know me pretty well already, Leon.” She got up as she finished the last of her portion, then continued, “Put the bowl over there when you’re done, and have a good night.”
"Good night, Erin.”
So her mother came from outside… I should ask her what it’s like. Hey, these noodles aren’t half bad. Come to think of it, I haven’t even said a word to her mother yet. The other two are fun to be around. Man, I’d like to drink with Arthur sometime. I bet her mom is just as cool as he is. And hot. Hot moms are really cool.
After finishing the meal, Leon lied in bed and let his thoughts carry him into dream land. Just as he had the night before, the swordsman couldn’t stop thinking about his newly deceased father. He managed to fool himself for quite some time, thinking of his current arrangements, but the fact of the matter was simple: he was still too close to home, and it bothered him.
He was surprised to see how early the two parents woke up the following morning. Of course, he hadn’t slept much himself, but it was curious they both were awake as well. It’s really not my place to pry… but dammit I want to meet the hot mom.
“Mornin’, you two.” Leon smiled. Making note of the fancy headdress they both wore, he asked, “So, is that a part of the pajamas, or just something you guys are into? It’s really cool, either way.”
“Why are you awake so early?” Erin’s mother bluntly asked in response. Clearly not one for casual conversation, but not bad to look at.
“Sorry, I bet I’m in the way. Can’t seem to catch a wink of sleep though. Would it be weird if I thought my dead dad was haunting me?”
That seemed to spark some interest in her, actually. Arthur just stood and watched, but the woman directed Leon to sit again on the couch he was just on. “Is that a joke, boy? Or do you honestly feel that way? Surely you know how crazy that sounds.”
"I know, it’s insane. But he just passed two nights ago and he swore I was the worst thing to ever happen to him. See, mom lost her life giving birth to me, and so dad always blamed me for taking his wife. Nineteen years, and I never learned to make that man smile without getting him all messed up. I just wonder if he is still attacking me, from the grave. Is that possible?”
“I… yes, it is, Leon.” Oh, so she does know my name. “Do you believe in magic? Or the gods?”
"Well, I kinda think I was dealt a lame hand, but it’s not like I pray to make it better every night. So I guess so? But magic… I have a weird feeling that’s real.” That seemed to be along the lines of the answer she was looking for. She smiled wide, and introduced herself for the first time.
“I’m Samoa. Pleasure to speak with you. If you want my diagnosis, think back to his dying words, and work from there. That might just help you out. Now get some sleep, alright? Erin might kill you if you don’t keep your eyes sharp and your wits about you.” Don’t leave me alone with her, please!
“Thanks. I’ll try to get some rest. Nice talking to you, Samoa. Arthur.” The man nodded in response, smiling sincerely, before taking his wife’s hand in his own and leaving the home. Father’s dying words… all he did was joke around… I doubt that’ll help much. Well, Leon. You heard the woman. Get some rest, and worry about that later.
Oh, and she’s totally hot.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 10, 2016 23:54:11 GMT -6
Chapter 5: Game Day (Western Bashi Isle, Quartear 30)
The days leading up to the tourney were all fairly similar to his first night with Erin: Training in secrecy with her and her parents (her mother also used a naginata, but was far more skilled than Erin. Or Leon, for that matter), while feigning naivety when out and about. He ran into Princess once in fact, and she was quite happy with his act. Tonight, she planned to “make a lot of money off him”.
“So you're still throwing it, huh…” Erin sadly asked the swordsman, as though she hadn’t already been told the answer five times.
“Yeah. Got enough money on the line here to get away from Bashi. I can swallow a bit of my honor for that, right?”
“How much gold did she offer you again? I doubt it was bigger than the 20k pot up right now. You could do a lot more than get out with those funds. Like, oh, I dunno, take your favorite person ever with you?”
“Did you say 20,000 gold pieces!? I agreed to split 10!”
“What, did you not even look at the pot? All this cool guy act, but you’re getting swindled hardcore!” She laughed, but it was obvious what she was doing. She’s looking out for me.
Leon laughed along, for a bit. “You’re right, Erin. I can get all that money, and get out of here, too. And hey, maybe I will grab a second ticket, if you’d be okay with that.”
“That’s so romantic, Leon! I would love to run away with you! But… uh… I’m gonna be the one buying our tickets. See you in the final round, hun!” Leon watched her walk away, cradling her lance the way she always did.
“I was talking about your mom, not you!” He shouted back after a short while. She responded by turning around and sticking a tongue out at him, before disappearing into the crowd. Now where did Princess say to meet her? Oh, wait, I don’t think she told me much of anything.
Leon decided to turn and get a bite to eat, heading back to the same bar he met Erin at. There were other places to eat around, but the Desert Resert had a homey kind of feel to him now. It also helped that every time he walked by, he stopped to appreciate the name before entering.
“Hey Sam, hit me with the lightest meal ya got.” He said, taking a seat in the same place he did when he met Erin. Their preferred seats weren’t very common, as they were further away from the dancers than the others.
“You got it, champ.” He turned away to pass on Leon’s order, then came back with a drink. “On the house. Plan on watching the tournament tonight? Erin said she was gonna enter.”
“I’m in it, too. That’s why I wanted something light.”
“Gotcha. Well, I hope you’re a fish fan, cause this Grazahl Bream is coming your way!”
“Thanks, Sam. You know, you do a hell of a job running this place every day.”
“I do what I can for the customers,” he said, grabbing an empty glass from not too far away.
As Leon finished the meal, he turned to watch the dancers for a moment. At that time, he noticed the man he was set up with in the crowd. He placed the appropriate payment on the counter and got up to approach him.
“Hey, it’s you!” He said, as the man turned around as well. He was positively massive; he had to be at least 6 feet tall, and was all muscle. What’s worse, he didn’t wear the common, more traditional style of clothing, but instead took to white armor with yellow trimming, and had a battle axe hanging behind him.
“Hey, kid! Guess you were having a drink before our match, too, huh? I gotta admit, I’m a little excited to not have to throw matches anymore. You’re in a tough spot now, but if you stick out the boss’s orders just a couple more times, you’ll be rolling in dough. So don’t let the first couple losses get to you.” Just how much did she run around here?
“I’ll take your word for it. But, hey, do me a favor: Don’t hold back. I’ll let you have it by the end, but before it gets to that point, I want to know if I could have beaten you.” At least this way, if I decide against throwing the match, he won’t be off-guard.
The man laughed a hearty laugh in response, before saying, “you got it, kid. I like your style. Well, if you’re ready now, I suppose we could have her clear us for the next fight or so.”
“That sounds good, yeah.”
The two men walked over to the coliseum in silence. There wasn’t much of anything to say; they were to stage an entertaining match, and Leon was supposed to throw it. Princess was standing around the entrance of the fancy coliseum, in fact she was the first person Leon saw upon walking in.
“I take it you're both here to get fighting?” She asked, without so much as turning to face the two.
“Yeah, that’s it.” The burly man next to Leon confirmed. “We’ll take the next match.”
“Very well. Leon, you’re going to be entering from the left. That leaves you to the right, big guy. Once you get your signal, you’ll walk into the ring, and beat each other up. Think you can handle that, Leon?”
“DO I GET AN INTRODUCTION!?”
“No. There are no introductions until the finals, and you shouldn’t be in the finals for this tournament, right?”
“Right…”
The two fighters headed off to their designated areas. The room was rather small, but it had everything necessary to prepare for a battle: training weapons and dummies, a healer, and a bed to rest on afterwards. The healer was a tall man with short, blue hair, who was cleaning as Leon entered. He smiled and looked up at the swordsman once he realized he was no longer alone.
“Are you nervous about your first match?” The man asked. Leon looked him over suspiciously before responding. Was he in on it, too?
“Nah. I’m gonna lose, so it’s not much of a reason for me to be nervous.”
“With all due respect, why’d you even sign up if you didn’t believe in your skills?” It seemed he wasn’t. Or he played it off well. “Oh, I get. You’re playing up the underdog bit. Well, you’ve got my support. Knock ‘em dead out there, man!”
“Thanks.” As Leon said that, the alarm sounded. It was time for him to step into the ring. “That’s my cue.” The healer simply nodded and waved him off.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 11, 2016 21:01:07 GMT -6
Chapter 6: Game Time (Western Bashi Coliseum, Quartear 30)
The first thing Leon saw walking into the arena was Erin. She was standing on the second floor, watching from over some brass-looking railing. Her face was stern, yet relaxing. He smiled up to her, before drawing his weapon and moving to his battle ready stance.
The axman charged first, and put all his might into an overhead swing. Wow. He’s really bad. I bet he wasn’t even throwing the matches. I could finish it right here.
But if I’m going to win this, I want to at least put on a show first. Leon raised his blade to meet his opponent’s axe before he had a chance to bring it down all the way, forcing him to lurch backward. He tried to hit Leon with a few quick, horizontal swings, but each one was deflected with ease.
“Alright, alright I get it. You’re better than me,” the man whispered. Now let’s go ahead and finish this, okay?” Leon smiled.
“Change of plans. I think I can take the gold.” He thrust his blade into the man’s side, ending the round with relative ease. Leon looked up to see Erin clapping and cheering along with many others. If all the matches were to go like this, he'd have no problem winning it all. Suffice to say, he would likely be out by the end of the month.
After the brief round of applause, the swordsman returned to his assigned room, to see Princess sitting on his bed. The healer looked like he was frightened, and shrugged at Leon as he walked in.
“She said she needed to talk to you, and that it was a matter of ‘the utmost importance’, so I should leave once you got here. Are you friends with someone so far up the chain of command?”
“Something like that, yeah. We just need to get caught up, is all.”
“Whew, okay! If you insist that’s all it is… congrats on your win!” The man walked out, leaving just Princess and Leon in the compact room. She’s mad. She’s really, really mad, he thought to himself.
“Do you realize what you did by winning that match?” She got directly into his face, poking his chest as she spoke.
“Don’t worry so much, Princess. I can pay back the 500 you lent me once I win this thing. The cheating just didn’t sit right with me at all.” She laughed in response.
“Not only am I now 10,000 gold in the hole, my entire schedule was thrown off. You just cost me 80,000 altogether, because you wanted a CHANCE at taking 20,000? And you have the nerve to try and pay me off with FIVE FRICKING HUNDRED GOLD COINS? I should kill you where you stand.”
“Just how many people are you conning down here!? Making more money in the shadows than the people who risk their lives every day in the ring… I’m glad I broke this off when I did, and you best believe if you come at me, I’ll be coming for you right back.”
“Oh, please. You? Take on my gang? Good luck, boy. Say, the only thing that will make up for all this debt you placed on me is having my boys tear you limb from limb. The next time you see me will be the last day you live, so I hope you don’t like staring at me too much.”
Leon attempted to pull out his swords and strike, but the weapons were repelled by a wave of dark energy. Magic?
“Attacking an unarmed woman over a few threats? I suppose your ‘honor’ doesn’t hold up so well when you’re scared, hm? But don’t you worry; I won’t kill you now. I want everyone you cheated to be around for it. She walked out, and the dark energy finally released its grip on Leon’s arm. The healer walked back in, a look of pure horror on his face. It seemed he had been eavesdropping.
“Hey, man. I think… I think you should pull out of this tournament. We’ve always known there was some shady business going on in the arena, but all the officials who’ve tried to do something about it disappeared. This is bigger than just one person, and if you hang around here, I fear you’re the next to go.”
“Just one gang? How hard can that be to expose? All I have to do is build up a team of my own, and keep swinging my sword until no one else is coming for me, right? Besides, if we get rid of these guys, Bashi can become a place for true warriors across the globe to gather.”
“You’re really brave, Leon. Just don’t get too brave. My name’s Joshua, by the way. May we work together now and for a long time down the road, God willing.” The alarm again sounded through the room, signaling Leon would be heading out for his next round soon. Just how much time had we spent talking in here?
“Thanks, Josh. I’ll be careful.” The two men shook hands, and Leon went out to face his next opponent.
An archer, something he was particularly good against. The woman smiled and bowed, before pulling an arrow from her quiver. Right as the match began, the woman started running towards him. An odd approach for an archer to take, but her bow was rather small.
Once the gap was all but closed, the woman fired off an arrow. Dodging such a small arrow at the proximity fired from would have been a truly amazing feat, but Leon simply deflected the shot with his blade. The archer smiled as he did so, and switched to a small blade she had perfectly concealed up until now. She managed a slash across his chest, and the swordsman was glad the weapon was so small. Had she been able to conceal a larger blade, the match would have been over.
Leon responded to her attack with an upwards slash, but only managed to cut at the back of her cape. With her clothing as loose as it was, it was impossible to tell if she was hiding other weapons…
Now a safe distance away, the woman fired off quite a few arrows in succession. These, Leon was able to dodge. He decided he wouldn’t be able to win this match using his defensive tactics, and worked to close the gap with both of his blades out, making her arrows (and occasional knives) possible to combat.
Once he succeeded, the archer switched again to her blade, and worked at evading Leon while taking quick swings that the swordsman deflected with his second sword. The two clashed and evaded for what felt like a lifetime before Leon managed his first, actual blow. A slash at her left leg that tripped her up.
While downed, however, the woman began launching all sorts of knives until she had the strength to stand again. Only one of them found home, but they served their purpose. The fight wasn’t over. The second time Leon pressed the offense, it was much easier to land a clean hit on the archer, though. The announcer called the match on account of her blood loss, though she silently protested until the healers arrived.
Erin ran into the ring to help her comrade back to his room, slinking his arm across her shoulders. The crowd was roaring as the archer and swordsman were helped out in opposite directions. Leon found himself smiling all the way back to his assigned quarters.
“That was great, Leon!” She said, smiling. She helped him lie down on his bed before continuing. “I’m really glad you didn’t throw it, because I lost. Turns out I couldn’t do this, after all. Funny, huh?”
Leon looked up at the woman, who was still grinning wide, but in the week that he’d spent so much time with her, he knew how much this meant to her. It's taking everything in her not to cry, the swordsman suspected. He decided it would be for the best to change the subject. Well, kind of change the subject…
“Hey, Erin. I don’t think we can leave after this tournament’s over anyway. It turns out, Princess’s lies were a lot bigger than I thought they were, and now she’s planning to try and kill me or something. But I plan on fighting back. If we get rid of her gang, imagine how great of a place this could be!” Joshua stayed quiet the whole time as he mended Leon’s wounds.
“That’s a really bad idea, Leon. Jeez, I’m suddenly glad I lost! They would have pit us up against each other in a death match or something otherwise! You really should have thought a bit more about challenging a gang like that.” She placed her hands on her hips as she reprimanded the reclining swordsman.
“Sorry, Erin. Guess I got in over my head. Any chance I can count on you to fight with me though? I don’t plan on backing out just because it’ll be hard.”
“Of course I’m going to have your back, Leon. I can’t go back to my only friends being my mom and dad, so I can’t lose you. I guess I am kind of scared, but a little excitement in a controlled environment is nice, right?”
“I’m not so sure I would call this ‘a little excitement’, or ‘a controlled environment’, but I get your point. So thanks.”
The three were quiet for a few moments, the only sounds being the low humming from Joshua as he worked. Finally, Erin spoke up again.
“Leon… please drop out of the tournament. You were injured pretty badly, so you can pull out without anyone thinking it’s for other reasons. But I’m having… really bad feelings about this right now. I think we need to get out.”
“That’s the second person advising you to do so, Leon. I agree with your girlfriend completely.”
“You hear that? Listen to your girlfriend!” She smiled wide at that. Right now all we have is my family and you, Leon, and if you happen to get caught up in something bad, well, that’d break my heart. And my dad’s heart. He really does think highly of you.”
“Don’t count out Josh here. We have a big ‘ole team of five!” Again, the alarm sounded. There’s no way another match went down that fast, is there…? “Speaking of which, would you mind telling them I’m in no condition to compete?”
“Sure thing, Leon. I’ll be back.” The healer got up and left. In the meantime, Erin began to squeeze Leon’s hand, as she leaned in.
“Are you sure we can trust him? He’s an official, sure, but Princess has yet to attack him. He could be in league with her gang,” She whispered.
“I don’t know, Erin. If he’s lying, he’s damn good at hiding it. We need a way to stay in touch with him, and we need to get back home. That’s all I know.”
“I agree," She whispered, though it was more a giggle than anything else.
“Hm? What’s so funny? Why are you smiling so much?”
“You called it ‘home’, Leon. That makes me really happy.” Leon grabbed her hand in his free one.
“I guess I did. It’s hard not to feel that way after everything you all have done for me.”
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 12, 2016 18:01:18 GMT -6
Chapter 7: Examples (Western Bashi Coliseum, Quartear 30)
Joshua returned to the waiting room, explaining the deed was done. He went on to say he was able to arrange for Leon to stay and continue receiving care if he’d like to, and that he would be more than welcome to return and participate in the future if he would like to, as he made quite a few fans in his match against the archer. Apparently she had been undefeated up until that point.
“What’s more,” the healer concluded, “That show with your girlfriend jumping in to help you certainly did warm some hearts. Seriously, that was some impressive acrobatics!”
Erin smiled, but brushed off the compliment, continuing to ask questions. “Wow, that’s great! Hey, if the officials are already on our side, do you think it’ll be possible to speak with them about exposing the gang?”
“I’ll see what I can do about that. The problem is there are so many officials, and we don’t know who of the higher ranking ones are in line with whom. One woman proposed we remove all the current officials and vote in a new set, but it was shot down, and she was dead the next day.”
“So it’s likely there are more in league with her than those who aren’t?” Leon asked, receiving a stern nod in response. “What about my opponent in the first round? I bet we could get some information out of him.”
“Worth a shot. So we have a plan? I’ll work at my end, and you two yours. Then, if I haven’t been offed, come back and ask for me. We can organize more then.”
“Sounds good! Come on, Leon. Let’s get out of his hair and into some serious sleuthing. Try not to get ‘offed’, Joshua!”
They left the coliseum in the dead of night. Erin stopped moving just outside the doors, pondering where exactly the two should try first. She turned to face Leon, hoping he’d have an idea.
“Anywhere but here,” Leon said, moving away from the large building. “Why not hit Sam’s bar? The one place around here I can relax is the Resert.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Does Princess know you visit there frequently?”
“Nah. At least I don’t think she does. “
“Oh, good! Well then let’s make that our first stop for sure.”
Walking down to the pub left a strange, empty feeling inside the swordsman. It was quiet—much quieter than it was at this time any other day. It was almost like being back at his own island at night.
“You okay, Leon? You look a little out of it. Nervous?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” It was at that moment Leon reached the pub. He went to grab for the door, but his eyes wandered instead to a man hunched over, leaning against the building’s edge.
“Hey, you alright? Come on; it’s late. Let’s get you up.” As Leon spoke to the supposedly drunken man, he realized who it was: This was the man I fought first in the coliseum.
“She’s… she’s coming for you, kid,” the man managed to say, as his head continued to hang low. “Said my only worth was gettin' you that message... I ain't much longer for this world.”
"Don't give up like that! You can help us take her down. Actually, we were looking for you," Erin assured, smiling.
"I don't have that kinda time left..." He seemed to have passed out again. I just wanted to make some money and get out of here... Never thought one action could have so many consequences.
Leon lowered his head for a few seconds, before unsheathing one of his blades. “I’m sorry you had to go through all this. If I had known she was as big as she was, I never would have gone for the money… The least I can do is give you your last wish.” He raised the blade, but Erin’s hand caught Leon's, causing him to stop.
“Hold on, Leon! I… we can save him. Just help me get him up and back to my place.” As she spoke, the woman began to help him up, revealing he was in fact missing his left arm. She shifted over, and struggled profoundly to get under his right one.
“But he's working with Princess! We know he’s an enemy! This has to be a trap! What if we’re followed? Or ambushed on the way back? What then? Why would you go out of your way to risk your life like that?”
She continued to struggle to get the man moving. It looked as though he was fighting against her, but in actuality he was just much larger than Erin, and he was completely out of energy. Leon’s words visibly upset her though.
“Was working with her. Past tense. Now how about, and I know this will sound crazy to you, but how about, ‘it’s the right thing to do’, Leon? Isn't your ‘Honor’ the only thing you know? Well there certainly isn’t any ‘Honor’ in leaving a man with no means of defense to die. If you don’t help me, I’ll carry him back alone. And you can bet your ass this man will live, with or without you.”
Leon sighed, and pushed Erin from under the man, taking her spot. “Fine, fine. You’re right. It’s not like it isn’t my fault he’s like this." Leon grunted as he forced the man up, then continued speaking. "You really think you can save him? He’s missing an arm, for God’s sake.
“Trust me, Leon. And thanks for the help.
It was a quiet trip back to her home, completely void of any activity, much to Leon’s relief. Erin seemed to be treating the arm as Leon carried him, her face one of sheer concentration. Once they arrived, Arthur took the man under his shoulder, and laid him across their couch. Great. Put the dying guy with one arm right where I sleep. Wonderful.
Arthur snapped Leon out of those musings, requesting he help take the man’s armor off. He complied, showing the cut was far from a clean slice. It looked as though it was already infecting, and the tip of his bone was visible.
“No arteries bleeding excessively… Erin, dear, help me dress this to prepare it for the ritual.”
“Yes, father.”
“Leon, I suggest you look away for the time being,” Samoa said, entering the room finally. “It’s not going to be pretty.”
“What the hell does that mean? Just what are you guys doing?”
“Leon, please. Do as she says for me, okay?” Erin smiled the words, but again she didn’t wait for an answer. She simply turned back to work.
“Alright. I trust you guys. Good luck.” With that, Leon walked into the bathroom, and sat along the edge of the tub. There was a long pause of agonizing silence, before finally it became too much to bare. He had to see what was going on.
All around the room, there were circles of a golden hue. Was it some strange spell they were working on? Arthur did say ‘the ritual’, after all… Those circles began to flash, and not long after the man burst into a bloodcurdling shriek.
“It hurts! It hurts so bad!” He shouted repeatedly. Between all the flickering circles and the man’s expression, it was a rather jarring sight, and the swordsman decided it wasn’t one he wanted to keep seeing. No, he would patiently wait it out as they instructed.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 15, 2016 7:26:29 GMT -6
Chapter 8: Confessions (Erin’s Home, Quartear 30)
It wasn’t long after the start of it that the screaming ceased. As curious as the man was, Leon still didn’t feel right going out there to see his allies. Of course there was a reason they always had supplies, and lived so far out. They were probably all witches or demons or something. That also explained Samoa’s question about magic… good thing he got on her good side.
“So I guess you saw us, huh? That look on your face doesn’t lie,” Erin said, smiling, her arms behind her back. Leon wasn’t sure how to respond. “He’s going to make it, by the way. He’ll have to figure out what he’s going to do with just one arm, but he’ll make it.” She chuckled the last sentence, in an attempt to break the ice some, but it didn’t sate Leon’s worry any.
“Still not talking? I get it, magic isn’t something you humans are used to, but—“
“Hold on. ‘You humans’? What’s going on here?” Was he right? Were they actually demons of some kind?
“Oops. Hmm. How do I explain this? You know how some humans are kinda crazy-ish, and have ‘spirit animals’ or think they’re ‘Wolfkin’ and stuff? Basically we’re like that, minus the crazy. We’re Foxbloods.”
“No, I can’t say I do.” Leon replied.
“Well, um… hold on a sec.” She turned away from Leon and began to shout, “Ma! I need your help!” She then turned back to him again and said, “Come on, she’ll be able to explain it better than me.”
The patient was awake now, sitting up on the couch with a glass of water in his one hand. He and Leon exchanged glances for a few seconds before Leon took a seat next to him.
“Sorry about your arm,” Leon finally said lowly, a sheepish look on his face.
“Could be dead right now. This is what happens when you get in with the wrong crowd. Stay in school, kid.” Leon couldn’t help but chuckle in response. “The name’s Baker, by the way.”
“Nice to finally meet you. I’m Leon.”
Both men on the sofa stayed quiet and attentive as Samoa spoke. “I suppose it would be easiest to simply jump into the deep end and swim our way out. That was magic just now that saved your life, and the three of us aren’t human. Not entirely so, anyway.” She paused, staring into the faces of the two men she spoke to. Leon suspected as much, and was ready for an explanation.
“To put it most simply, we’re Elves, but the more proud of our race tend to take offense to such a name. We are divinaides.”
“Well, mom is,” Erin said. “Dad’s human, so that makes me half and half.
“To keep things simple,” Samoa continued, “There’s a bit of a caste system out in the world of Crede. Humans are on the top of that chain, as they’re believed to be the race ‘chosen by the gods’. Directly below them is us, the Divinaides, who are to act as servants for humans. Our two races make up the Adepts, and are the only two able to venture across the entire world at our leisure.”
“Kobalds are next in the system. Some are capable of speech, and they are humanoid in form, but they are unable to move into the boundaries set up by crystals. There isn’t one of those set up down here anyway, so you can ignore that detail if you like,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.
Due to that inability, however, they are believed to be rejections of the gods, and are placed below us. Lastly, there are monsters. Anything else you can think of: dogs, cats, chickens, fish, dragons, bears, are all considered the bottom of the system.”
“It’s a bit dated of a system,” Arthur added, “but not all humans are so willing to give up their position at the top. To summarize, humans are first. They have the least ‘impurity’ in their blood. Then the ladies here, then Kobalds, and lastly, monsters, with no trace of ‘purity’. Any questions?”
“I get that much, I think.” Leon said in response. “So you’re saying your wife’s an Elf, And all this time, you guys have been hiding the fact that you can use magic from me? Why?”
“Well, we haven’t really been hiding anything, sport.” Arthur said. “Remember when I first challenged you? That last technique was magic. Or perhaps how the ladies move so fast in battle? Magic. You just won’t be seeing a lot of fancy fireballs coming from us; we specialize in different kinds of support magic. After all, that’s the most common kind of magic. It's more you just didn't realize what it was before.”
“I see… Not only is Bashi a sucky place to live, we’re also behind in technology. So just what are you guys doing here?”
Samoa and Arthur looked at each other and nodded. Samoa then said, “Because it makes for a nice hiding place. Right now, some humans are a little upset about the way things are in mainland Grazahl, and they’re taking it out on us.”
“And we’re stupid enough here to not know any better, right?” Baker finally said.
“That’s rather blunt, but… yes,” Samoa agreed. “Though we weren’t the only divinaides to leave. The woman in question is one as well, taking her anger out on humans, in an attempt to gain control of the lands.” It stayed quiet for a few moments after that, as Leon attempted to absorb the information.
“That’s enough talking your ears off for one day!” Erin clasped her hand excitedly as she spoke. “Let’s all turn in, and ponder on this new information we have, okay?”
“I can’t thank you all enough for saving my life,” Baker said, “and if there is anything I can do to return the favor, let me know. Well, anything I can handle with one arm.”
“You could stay the night here, to start,” Samoa said. “We need to know everyone you’ve worked with, any and every official who might be in league with this woman, and most importantly, any information you may have on her magic, if you can recall seeing anything. You’ll be with my husband and me tonight.” Leon and Erin exchanged glances as she spoke, both with wide eyes that said "She's so scary!". They watched as Arthur, Baker and Samoa retreated to the back room, silent.
“I’ll give you whatever info I got,” Baker said as they disappeared from sight. The rest of his statement was lost.
“Should we go and listen in on what happens?” Leon asked Erin.
“Nah. We’ll get the rundown in the morning. What I need to know is how you’re taking things.” She took the seat Baker was once occupying next to Leon, and started looking into his eyes. “Your introduction to magic wasn’t exactly the most pleasant it could’ve been. If we startled you, or maybe you don’t want to work with elves or whatever is going on in your head, I’ll understand.”
“You say that like I didn’t start this mess anyway.” Erin snorted, and attempted to respond, but Leon cut her off. “Besides, I have a golden opportunity to learn how to use magic, right? I mean, you said Arthur was human, but he could do it! So doesn’t that mean you could teach me, too?
“Erm, well, I can. But that depends on… well, you know… how much you like me. It takes a bit of a ritual to connect a human to a divinaide. I’d be happy to do it later, but let’s just get some sleep tonight, okay?” Is she asking to…?
“Are you asking to…?”
“No it’s not that! Not that I’d too terribly mind if you made a move. Oh, but you should probably get that out of your head because I guess I’m sleeping here tonight too. So scoot over!” She playfully pushed Leon down and rested her head on his chest before drifting off. I don’t understand this woman. At all.
“Uh, sure,” was all the response he could muster. At. All.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 16, 2016 19:37:52 GMT -6
Chapter 9: Princess’s Throne Room (Erin’s home, Quartear 31)
Samoa and Arthur spent the morning explaining to Leon and Erin what they had pieced together the night before with Baker. Apparently, of the officials, none of the healers were in league with Princess. That meant Joshua could indeed be trusted, which was a relief for the swordsman. On the downside, none of the judges nor the matchmakers could be trusted, which was to be expected considering how much control over the matches Princess held. Most importantly, Baker knew where she resided.
Not counting the other fighters she had wrapped around her finger, there were at least twelve of them, but Baker didn’t know many of the fighters in line with her. The five decided they would work to amass a small group of honorable officials and combatants in hopes of clearing out the issue once and for all.
“I have to admit,” Samoa spoke, “I’m not fond of you going anywhere with anyone, Baker. Should our target catch wind of you, any information you gave us could be wasted. Most importantly, we could lose her location.”
“I understand. If you all agree it’s for the best, I’ll lay low for the time being.”
“Thank you. Help yourself to anything you see in there; my husband is a decent cook.”
“Just decent? Ah, no matter. Even my leftovers will be enough for you to see my culinary genius.” Arthur then turned to face the door. “Samoa, dear, I think it’d be best if we split up. That way we can reach each other should things go sour somewhere along the line.”
“Very well. Leon, you’re with me. I have a few things I wanted to speak with you about anyway.”
“Oh, sure. Sounds good.”
“I can’t believe my mom just chose you over me…” Erin said, though she made it clear she wasn’t actually bothered any. “Let’s hit it, daddy. Good luck you guys!” With that, Erin and Arthur disappeared out the door.
Samoa and Leon left not too long after, Samoa directing the pair to the coliseum first.
“Before we go in,” she said, “I want to make it perfectly clear that I don’t buy a single word Baker said to us. I want to see this ‘secret hideout’ for myself before I let my family anywhere near it.”
“Oh, so I’m the expendable one. Fair enough.”
“Well, yes, you are. But, that’s not all. I also wanted to ask you about your nightmares—any more trouble with them?”
“Yeah, they still give me some trouble. Last night was fine, but that doesn’t usually happen.”
“I see. I know it’s strange to ask this now, given everything we have to worry about, but, have you been thinking about your father at all?”
“Nah, not really. Can’t think of any ways to get him to leave me the hell alone, anyway.”
“Mm. I suppose we should just tackle our issues one at a time, then. We’ll fix you up after we handle our angry elf problem.”
The two reached the wide doors of the coliseum, and entered as though they were preparing to watch the daily sparring matches. The most interesting part about fighting this battle, Leon thought, is that we don’t know who our enemies are, and our enemies don’t know who we are. Should be fun.
“Baker said we could get a key to the lower levels from the guards on the higher levels. What I want you to do is stay invisible. Blend in with the crowds. I’ll handle the keys. This will be a decent way to gauge whether or not he's trustworthy.”
“Alright, I'll stay hidden. But I’ll be right here if you need me. Haven’t fought in a while, either. I could use a warm-up.” Gone already. Women sure like sending me away to kill time.
Leon decided to take a seat not far from where they split up. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Samoa. She was nice in her own way, but so distant, it was impossible to have any conversation with her. Maybe something about how she battles, or I could ask her about what other kinds of magic she’s capable of… Heh, I bet she’d get a kick out of me asking for her blessing. That’d be funny.
Samoa returned to break Leon from his thoughts. She wasn’t gone much longer than 15 minutes, tops.
“That was quick. Did you get the keys?”
“Yes. I had to take the guards out silently, which required me to move quickly. Let’s be on our way, now.”
“Right. Hey, before we go, Samoa,” Leon slowed his pace to a halt. “What do you think about your daughter and me?” The woman then froze as well. “We make for a pretty good team, huh?”
“What did I say about trying to tackle more than one issue at once!?” She shouted back, then immediately apologized. “I’m sorry, but can we just keep moving?”
“Yeah, of course.” Well, I guess I messed that one up pretty bad.
Leon and Samoa reached a door supposedly leading to a staircase. Samoa unlocked the door with a wave of magic, revealing a flight of stairs lit by torches that went down so far it was impossible to see the bottom.
“Do you think we should let the others know before we go down here? Just in case we end up way over our heads?”
“I’ll be able to contact Arthur if necessary. If we play our cards right, we won’t need to though. Follow behind me.”
The stairs seemed to go on forever, curling and looping for ages. At one point, Leon began to ask how much longer it would be, but his partner hushed him, and told him not to speak until she did again. She had said those words in a whisper.
Finally, light became visible at the bottom of the staircase. It led to an area with just a door ahead. A rather large door, but other than that and the torches hanging to the left and right of it, there wasn't anything else inside.
“Do… do we have the key for that door, too?” Leon asked, his heart thumping.
“Yes, we do. Leon, she’s going to be through these doors, and we’re going to take care of her. Now. Are you prepared for that?”
The man’s heartbeat became even more audible. “I guess so.” Samoa shook her head.
“I need a real answer out of you before I open this door. Are you ready?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Let’s take care of business. But I’m bringing that conversation back up again on the way up the stairs. The one about Erin and me.”
“Fair enough,” she said, fumbling for the correct key. This was the first Leon saw of them. They weren’t so much keys, as they were spheres of energy. With another wave of magic, the large doors began to give way.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 17, 2016 22:33:07 GMT -6
Chapter 10: Making a Stand (Coliseum Depths, Quartear 31)
Leon wasted no time drawing his blade and rushing into the room. There in fact, Princess sat, looking quite proud of herself. There were at least seven others in there, each one ready and waiting for the young man.
“Well, there goes the element of surprise. Still unsure about calling for help?”
“No matter what happens, I’m not risking the safety of my family. If you want to run, you can do so.”
“Like hell I can. You might just be cooler than Arthur after all, Samoa. Ready when you are!”
Leon charged for the first opponent, a man wielding an axe. He wasn’t particularly skilled, and it wasn’t difficult for Leon to best him. Moving on to the next two, he turned to his side to see Samoa right with him—or so he thought. In reality, he ended up parrying a blow from his ‘partner’, before jumping backwards.
Behind him was another man who grabbed ahold of him, however. It was at this time Princess stepped off from her throne.
“Wow, that was quick, you little devil! Not even a whole day after the information you receive, and here you are with the boy.” She then turned and walked down to Leon. With a smile on her face, she said, “And you. How very brave and noble of you to try and bring ‘Honor’ to the coliseum. It’s just like a human to try and pass his judgment onto everyone around him. I can’t wait to decorate this room with your blood.”
“Dammit. I should’ve known better than to agree to this. Of course you didn’t want any more help. You were on the winning side already. Did Erin… did Erin know about this, too? I bet she did. That must’ve been why she didn’t want me in that room with Baker! Dammit, I’m so dumb!”
“Leon, I’m sorry. You just got into something you couldn’t handle. The last thing we need is more rebellion right now. If things were different, I would have loved to call you my son.”
“And you still set me up?” Leon broke free from the grip of the man holding him, and swung his blade at Samoa. “I can take you out. I’ll get revenge on my killer before I die. Not a chance many men get.”
“You’ve grown so much, Leon, but you still aren’t ready for me. If this is the way you want to go, I won’t pull any punches.” She also revealed her weapon, and began to fly forward, naginata spinning behind her. She was fast, much faster than he recalled. But still, he was ready.
He met her blade with one of his own, and swung the second one only to have it deflected by the same weapon. It’s no good… she’s just as defensive as I am. We’ll never get anywhere—
Leon’s thoughts were cut through just like his stomach was. She had managed a quick gash with a knife. Did she just materialize that weapon? How am I supposed to beat someone that strong?
It wasn’t deep, but he could hardly compete with this woman at his best. He needed a new plan. Leon began to back up slowly, but noticed at the door stood many a guard. Much more than were in before.
Obviously, retreat wasn’t an option. He could either be killed by Samoa, or he could be killed by Princess’s men. Either way, this was it. If I’m gonna go down, it’s got to be in battle.
“Alright, Samoa. Let’s wrap this up,” he said, beginning to walk towards the woman.
“Very well. I’ll make it as painless as possible.”
The two came at each other again, in another stalemate that Leon ended by retracting his weapons and striking again. He knew he’d have to get offensive if he wanted to land any hits on her, but she was also faster…
“Leon I’m coming! Mom if you hurt him I swear I will fight you!” Erin?
The swordsman broke away and hopped back, turning an eye to the doors and leaving the other at his now dumbfounded opponent.
Indeed it was Erin, running, or perhaps more accurately, flying into the dimly lit room with her father not far behind her.
“What the hell is going on, Arthur?” Samoa asked, frustrated.
“She read my mind, dear. For whatever reason, that boy brings out the best in Erin’s capabilities.”
“Dammit, this ruins everything! Erin, we're doing this for you. The human's bad business.”
"I don't care about that, mom. I need to grow up, and he's helping me do that."
"You won't be able to grow up if you don't get the hell out of here, Erin! Now do as your told and GO!"
Princess smiled. “Actually, I think this is perfect. Now I can take care of the both of them at once. Oh, how much fun it’ll be to watch parents murder their child for the good of an anarchistic colony. Let's wipe all the problem children out tonight.”
“Not quite,” Arthur said. “I don’t care what we agreed to before; there’s no way in hell you’re touching my daughter. I know it's unfair to ask you of this, but... Leon, are you hurt? Can you fight?”
“I’ll be fine. Let’s just get out of here alive.”
“Didn’t I tell you guys?” Princess said to no one in particular, “Sentimental old fools always have to throw their lives away for no reason. No matter how strong the two of you are, you’re simply outnumbered. Not to mention the kids are still so green! Well, boys, let’s take out the trash!”
As the enemies started to approach from all sides, it became apparent how one-sided this battle was. It looked as if there was a whole army surrounding them, but Leon certainly had no plans to stop and count them out.
“Listen up, kids,” Arthur said. “I want you two to break straight south, and cut through the guards. Secure an escape for us, and we’ll be on our way once we’ve taken out Princess. Understood?”
“Got it, daddy. You heard the man, Leon! Let’s get out of here!”
“Right.” Admittedly, Leon was so confused and frustrated at what just transpired, he was in auto-pilot. Luckily, Princess’s men weren’t really all that great of warriors, or at least the guards weren’t. The two managed to create an opening fairly easily before exiting to the stairs.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 24, 2016 22:44:43 GMT -6
Chapter 11: One for One (Coliseum Catacombs, Quartear 31)
“I had Joshua wait for us at the stairs,” Erin explained. “We need to get you fixed up and ready to fight so we can rescue our parents!”
“Our parents? Erin, your mother tried to kill me, and your father knew about it. I’m gonna take care of Princess, but I’m not doing it for them.”
A quick slap from Erin caused Joshua to lose his concentration and look up at his patient, but he quickly and silently went back to work. “You think I’m not mad at them for that stunt? Well I am! But... that doesn’t change the fact that I owe them so much. Not only that, but I’ll not likely be very helpful out there myself, so I’m going to use my magic to help you with your mission. As long as you promise me you’ll protect mommy and daddy.”
Rubbing his face, Leon replied, “Okay. For you, I’ll do what I can."
“Thanks, Leon. I’m really glad we met.” The woman began to glow as she said those words, materializing small runes around Leon’s hands.
“And when this is finally over, let’s check out mainland Grazahl together, okay? That can be how you get back at my parents! Take me with you, okay?”
“Of course.” Leon wanted to say more, but it began to get painful. Arthur said support magic was what they did best, but this was something else. He almost felt… too strong, if that was possible.
By the time the spell was finished, Leon was finally able to bear the pain. Looking around the room, he saw Erin resting on the stairs and Joshua tending to her. Still, he felt confident she would be alright.
“Hey, Leon,” Joshua said, “Erin told me to tell you to get moving once she went to sleep and you woke up.”
“On it. Take care of her, Josh.” The healer simply nodded, and Leon ran back in. He noticed his blade was now that same golden color of Erin’s magic circles, and it felt so much lighter at the same time.
Back inside the room again, Leon noticed Princess was nowhere to be found, but Arthur and Samoa were still fighting strong.
“She has the power to create bodies and give them life,” Arthur explained. “All those officials that are in-line with her are likely the same way. There’s no end to them, so we can’t gain any ground on her. Think you can handle the task?”
“You want me to trust you two still?” Leon asked, taking care of an enemy behind Arthur. “Erin said I can’t let you guys die, but I don’t have to like working with you.”
“Where is our daughter?” Samoa asked in between battles. As always, her concern rested in only one place. "What spell did she cast on you? Your weapon is glowing.”
“We tackle one issue at a time, remember?” Leon smirked, running ahead to find his target.
“Oh, you got mom good!” Erin… said? Leon wasn’t sure how she was speaking to him, but he certainly heard her voice. “Let’s go get Princess, okay?”
Right, let’s do this.
Princess smiled as Leon entered the room. “Of all the people to come and battle me, they sent the one without any means of defense against magic? Honestly, I’m a little offended,” She said, feigning an irritated composure.
“All those officials who went along with your plans. Did you really... create them with your magic?”
“No, not all of them. I just got rid of the humans like you who didn’t like my ideas. The smart ones are quite happy, and quite alive. Any other questions?”
“No, that’s all. All that’s left now is to see which of us will leave this room.”
“So dramatic! Especially for a human that’s so easy to control. Very well, I’ll finish this now, and maybe kill all the other humans up there just because you piss me off so much.”
“Introducing the first, unabridged Bashi Coliseum finale! Our two contestants today are all fired up!” Erin said, sending more energy to Leon. “In the front corner, we have our returning champion, Princess Cheatalot! Annnnd over in the back, our first-time contestant Leon Kasami! …And his amazing girlfriend Erin offering him support on the sidelines.”
Princess slowly began to walk up to Leon, who unsheathed both blades in response. She stopped just barely short of Leon’s range, and raised an arm. She was trying to use the same spell she did the first time they were alone, in his waiting room. Instead of that purple color, though, his arm now glowed the same yellow hue as his weapons.
“Oh? You went and bonded with the foxblood girl? No matter, I have more than enough magic in me to kill you off without that little trick.”
“Hey, you ready, Leon? I don’t wanna mess around with this battle much more than necessary, so I’m busting my magic into overdrive mode.”
“No unnecessary risks, okay, Erin? I want to stop her now, but I’d rather fall back and keep you than finish this now and lose you.”
“Awww, that’s sweet! You’re gonna make me cry, Leon! But don’t worry about that stuff. Now I was gonna call this move Fang over Fang, but some lame wolf ninja stole it already. So help me come up with a name after you see it!”
Leon’s blades began to intensify in brightness, and then finally from each spawned a golden, three-tailed fox. Both foxes looked ready to pounce at a moment’s notice, but stayed at each side of the swordsman. Princess looked annoyed as the foxes materialized, but far from worried.
“Are you quite finished playing now? If that's all you can manage, this isn't going to be satisfying in the slightest." The woman frowned, before materializing runes around the ground very similar to those Leon saw Erin and her parents create, but purple in color. "I’ll show you what real magic looks like. Real fear.”
Tendrils suddenly began to protrude from all over the room, creating a thorn-like wall around the vicinity. They soon doused the torches, leaving the only lights in the room up to Erin’s enchantments. Leon found himself panicking, and it was all Erin could do to try and calm him down.
“Hey, hey! You’re doing fine! I’m here; I got your back. Just remember, like when you fought daddy, you don’t want to lose sight of your opponent. The second you do, you lose. Stay focused, hun.”
“Thanks, Erin.” He watched as the foxes began ripping and tearing through tendrils, and collected himself.
“Oh? Is little Leon not crying and begging for his life yet? Let’s change that.” Leon could see that the woman was speaking, but not from where. That is to say, she was still in front of him, but her voice seemed to be resonating throughout the entire room.
The swordsman assumed this was another attempt to catch him off guard, so he ignored the continuous assault of taunts coming from the abyss. Instead, he just looked ahead, at the figure creating balls of darkness and flinging them his way. He struck the first one with his blade, but that caused it to explode on impact, and knock him off his feet. Okay, that hurt. Bad idea. From that point on, he was avoiding all of Princess’s spells and advancing slowly, with Erin illuminating the path forward.
Princess welcomed Leon’s approach, and created two swords, smiling. “Do you like it? It’s my own spin on your father’s Kasami style. I’ve watched you fight enough to know everything you do. How can you hope to defeat yourself in an unfavorable arena?”
Blow for blow; swing for swing, Princess truly knew everything Leon did. It was like looking into a mirror that refused to shatter, no matter how many times the man swung his blades. Erin so badly wanted to offer support to Leon, but she was occupied keeping back the ever-growing tendrils coming their way. Instead, she opted to offer him more advice.
“What about that technique daddy used against you? It defeated you once, maybe it can defeat someone copying you?”
“That’d be great, if I could do it,” he replied. “But I have no idea how it works.”
“Yeah you do! Just focus and think back to the time he performed it. Doppelganging is like, baby’s first trick, Leon.”
“If you insist… Let’s give it a shot!” Just as Arthur did, Leon began to quickly circle around his enemy before breaking in the opposite direction. To his amazement, a clone continued on his original path. Excited, he acted again, creating a total of three copies and one real deal.
“Fancy trick,” Princess replied. “I’ll give you credit, you almost had me worried for a second there, but your fox friend didn’t replicate with you, so I know which one you are. Right… here!” Tendrils shot forth and grabbed Leon, causing him to jerk around in an attempt to break free and keep his spell up. “Next time, get in better synch with—“
“That was a fake, Princess.” She knew she wouldn’t multiply as well, and made me well aware of that fact.” The clone that once was being held simply disintegrated, and the other two held her down, twisting her arms back and forcing her to her knees. “I’m sorry it came to this, Princess, but for Bashi, I do have to kill you. Do you have any last words?”
“Bah. You don’t have the balls to kill, Leon. The only people who lose their lives around you are people who want to get away from you. Just like your mommy and daddy, just like Erin, just like her parents who traded your life for their own.” She spat in his face, before finishing with “I dare you to kill me.”
“You don’t think I have the balls!? We’ll see about that!” He raised one blade, but felt it grow heavy in his hands.
“Leon, she’s just trying to get to you. Don’t give her even this moral victory, okay? I’m still here for you; she’s just attacking your weak spots.”
“You’re right, once again. Thanks, Erin.” The swordsman breathed in, slowly raised his blade, and calmly finished the job.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 26, 2016 22:27:54 GMT -6
Chapter 12: Beginning of the End
Leon couldn’t help but stare at the now headless body of his adversary, clutching his blade with the bloodied edge within both hands. All around, the magic in the air began to dissipate. The candles were still doused, however, so Leon soon found himself standing in a pitch black room.
He decided he didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary, but even someone like Princess wasn’t undeserving of a burial. She was just angry after all. Just angry, and with a swelled head.
“Hey, Erin. Any way I could ask for just a little more magic? Just enough to have her buried?”
“Oh, Leon. This is why I fell for you, you know. Sure, let’s see her to a proper grave.”
Leon smiled at that. “Thanks. For everything you’ve done for me.” The two stayed quiet the remainder of the time Leon worked on burying Princess, and as he covered her body and finished the grave, he left the blade he took her life with as a headstone. The man then turned and left, heading back into the room he had fought Samoa.
No one. There were no bodies; no signs of life or even of conflict. “Just what the hell is going on down here, Erin? Are your parents alright?”
“Mhm. Everyone’s fine. Let’s just keep moving, okay?”
“Right.” As per her suggestion, Leon continued out of the room, and back to the stairs he and Samoa had descended together. The fact that Joshua and Erin were no longer there worried Leon, but he decided he would try not to bother her about it as long as they were linked up.
“I have a really cool surprise in store for you, Leon. Head back to my, no, our place and get cleaned up first, and then I’ll send you the next instruction.”
“Okay. That sounds great.” Leon found his face to be blushing profusely, but he also couldn’t stop smiling. They took care of Princess, everyone’s alright, and he found a friend for life in it all. Well, maybe she was more than a friend. He just couldn’t stop thinking about her as he reached home. If things continued the way they were now, maybe he wouldn’t need to leave at all? Neither Samoa nor Arthur was home at the moment, but Leon chalked that up to Erin's surprise, and entered the home.
“Hey hey, I don’t want you to see me bathe, Erin! Close your magical eyes or whatever!”
“That’s cute. I’ll be seeing your body plenty anyway, so what’s the rush in a quick sneak peak, hm? Besides, from my position, I can see whatever I want of you anyway!” She snickered the last part, causing Leon to blush again before undressing.
“Fair points.” He took his sweet time bathing, enjoying the solitude and the good situation he was in. All that’s left is to take care of this issue with dad… if only I knew how. Then everything would be perfect.
After finishing up and getting dressed, Leon asked, “Okay, so where are we going now?
“To the place we met, of course!” Erin couldn’t sound any more excited, and it was contagious. The swordsman couldn’t help laughing along, and putting some pep in his step.
“Right, right! The Resert, of course!” He sprinted from Erin’s home to the place in question, nearly bowling over a few pedestrians in the process. He stood at the door to the pub, his heart suddenly beating out his chest. It was strange to be so excited to see her again. After all, ‘they hadn’t known each other even two whole weeks yet’.
He slowly turned the door, and peeked his head inside, looking to see if she would be sitting at the two seats they normally occupied. Nope. Oh, she must be on stage, preparing something! Just look at that crowd… I can’t even see who’s on it from here.
Everyone turned to Leon as he came in, silently. They opened a path for the man to walk forward. Before he got a chance to look onto the stage, however, Joshua stopped him.
“I’m glad to see you finally up. You know, you gave me a real scare back there, man! You did really well taking care of Princess, by the way.” As he spoke, he began to circle around Leon, checking his temperature and slowly moving his appendages. “Do you feel alright? Everything still working properly?”
“I’m fine, Josh! Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well.” The priest simply grabbed Leon’s hand and directed him to the stage. Leon’s heart sank as he saw the casket laying in the stage’s center. Erin, I thought you said everyone was alright? I swear if one of your parents is in here…
“Oh, it isn’t my parents, don’t worry. You’ll be able to make amends with them. In fact, if you don’t, I won’t forgive you!”
So then who… Leon peered his head into the casket, to see none other than Erin lying inside.
“Surprise,” Erin solemnly stated to him. “As it turned out, I wasn’t strong enough to link with you for as long as we did… I kinda passed away after about three days of it.”
“Three days? Leon frantically turned his head to the others behind him, hands still over the casket, and asked “Isn’t it the 31st still?”
“Not quite, Leon,” Sam explained. The bartender offered Leon a drink, which the man refused. “Not thirsty? I get that. Back on topic now, you’ve been in stasis for about two weeks, and as you can see… Erin didn’t ever wake up. Her parents suggested we wait as long as possible for you to make it, seeing how much you meant to the woman. I know it isn’t much of a consolation, but I have to say, it’s good to see you’re alright at least,” Sam explained, placing a hand on his customer-turned-friend’s shoulder.
The Desert Resert, Quinterra 5
“We can leave you alone with her if you’d like,” he continued after a short pause.
“I’d appreciate that, Sam. Thanks. How’re Samoa and Arthur?”
“Don’t worry about them. We’ll be back when you call for us.”
Leon turned his head back to Erin. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I messed up this bad.” He began to caress her face, his own eyes closed as he attempted to hold back the tears.
“Leon, you don’t owe me any apologies, you idiot! I knew what I was getting into, and it’s not like I didn’t get your hopes up. So, I think I should be telling you that I’m sorry. But at the same time, I’m really, really happy, you know. No matter what happens, I’m still here with you, and by the blessings of those above us, I get to continue speaking with you. This isn’t an opportunity many get! Oh, would ya stop crying? Please? Leon, you’re making this very hard on me. Look, once my funeral’s all over and done with, let’s head back to your place. No, not our place, your real home. Imma kick your dad outta your hair, and take that spot in your dreams he’s always haunting. Then you’ll have to deal with me every night!”
Leon smiled at that, wiping away a few tears in his free hand, his other holding Erin’s hands. “Nothing would make me happier. So where are we seeing you off?”
“A real nice place north of our house. I had been preparing it for my parents, so imagine my surprise right now!”
“I don’t think I have the ability to imagine much of anything right now. Oh, I shouldn’t hold up the service much more, huh?” After touching her face one last time, he finally released his grip on Erin’s hands, and signaled for everyone to return. Arthur and Samoa entered as well this time.
“Leon, how are you holding up?” Arthur asked him.
“I’m… still shocked, I think. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel. Things just sorta went from so good to so bad in seconds, and I’m confused.”
“Mm. I know what you mean, son. Come, let’s take our girl out to sea. Give her that voyage out of here she always wanted.”
Leon turned to Samoa, but couldn’t bring himself to speak to her. He didn’t hold any ill feelings toward either of them, but he wasn’t sure how she felt about him. So instead, he just held the back of Erin’s casket in silence and followed Arthur to the spot they had chosen.
“Ain’t it beautiful?” Arthur said, his voice cracking. “You know, Leon, there isn’t anything harder for a father to do than to send off his daughter. Can’t say this was the way I had it planned out... I swear, if you come up dead before my wife or me, I will never forgive you. Leon, my son, you have to live on for her. Promise me that.”
“I will. Thanks, Arth—dad. Thank you.” Arthur pulled Leon and Samoa into an embrace as Erin’s casket began its journey at sea. A group of archers in black shot flaming arrows, but Leon couldn’t bring himself to watch it.
“It’s… so strange…” Samoa cried quietly, holding the two men, “I lose my daughter, and in the same day, gain a son. I so badly want to be happy, Leon, but…”
“It’s fine, mom. I know this is so much harder on you two. I’ll be there for you in whatever ways I can be.”
That night, Leon found himself completely unable to sleep. He began wondering how much of his last conversation with Erin was real, and how much was his own mind playing tricks on him. As things stood now, he was unable to hear her voice, and it created a disgustingly lonely feeling in him. He assumed this must have been how his father always felt, knowing he was partially responsible for the loss of his wife.
What the hell are you thinking, Leon? What you and Erin had wasn’t the same as a marriage! You barely knew her two weeks! You don’t have the right to compare your hardships to what your father went through.
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Post by kjmccloud on Apr 29, 2016 10:10:16 GMT -6
Chapter 13: Making Amends (Erin’s home, Quinterra 6)
Leon continued to sit up, staring at the wall across from him. Finally, Samoa walked in and took a seat next to him, and placed a hand on her son’s shoulder.
“Can’t sleep?” She asked him in the motherly way he often saw her speaking to Erin. He always wanted to hear her speak to him that way, but now that it happened, he wasn’t able to be happy about it.
“Nope. I guess all this time Erin was the reason my nightmares were calming down. Without her, they’re back in full swing.”
She fiddled around with something in her hands for a few moments. The smell was vaguely familiar, yet also very strange. Is she attempting to distract me with some kind of aromatherapy?
“Here, Leon.” She handed him a stalk. “You said your birth father was a heavy user, did you not? Well, Arthur and I were thinking about your situation…”
“And we decided you should head back to his grave and light that up, just for him. Let him know you still love him,” Arthur said, entering the room as well. “We think he just wants some closure.”
“Of course!” Leon said, looking down into his hands. “I can’t believe I never thought of this!”
“We’re glad you’re happy,” Samoa smiled. “Would you rather go it alone, or do you want us along?”
“I think I’ll do this alone. This chapter of my book I need to close myself.”
“Very well. We’ll be waiting for you.”
It had been so long since Leon last returned to his own island. Almost a month in total now. Still, nothing had changed here; It was still as empty and broken as it had always been. Man, everything about this island is so depressing, he thought.
It wasn’t long before Leon came upon his old home. Reaching the door, he heard the sounds of people within those thin walls. The man figured he’d have to do some fighting after all, and felt for his blade before opening the door.
“The hell do you want, kid? You should know better than to walk in a man’s home at night!” Oh, the irony. I don’t miss this at all. “You lookin’ for trouble?”
“No. This was my home, actually. You can keep living here all you want, but give me a few moments to see my father off, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Are you tellin’ me what to do? This is my home now.”
Another man entered from Leon’s old room. “Wait wait. Are you sayin’ your pops is buried here, or somthin’?”
“Yeah, you got it,” Leon said, nodding to him. “He breathed his last right there. Unless you had someone else scout the house first, you probably noticed the bloodstain.”
He lifted his blankets from their position, and shook his head. “Well I’ll be damned. I been sleepin’ right where a man died. That’s creepy as all hell. Welp, I guess we can give you some time to your pops, but make it quick.”
Leon nodded again, stepping out back. He smiled, seeing the terrible makeshift gravestone he tried to craft. Not sure how proud of it I should be, but I’m way better at making these now. Standing over it, he began to light the stalk, before setting it on the ground.
“I think I finally get what you were going through, dad. You managed to survive, have a home and a wife out here, and then some kid comes by and takes your love from you. That wasn't fair, and I’m sorry about that, pops. But I gotta say, I wouldn’t trade the life you gave me for anything. You built me tough, and not even you can break me down now. So thanks.”
Leon continued to stand in silence as the stalk burned out. Admittedly, it felt kind of strange. He wasn’t sure if it was the thieves in his old home or his father watching him, but he was getting chills.
“So you got me that stalk after all, son? That’s rich!” His father laughed his old hearty laugh, something Leon hadn’t heard in years. “Don’t you worry, son. Your mother’s been takin’ good care of your old man up here. I’ve been wanting you to come back for some time, so I could set things right between us. Glad to see my boy is so strong.”
“Course he is, dad. Of course he is. Rest in peace now, you hear? Hopefully it won’t be for a while, but I’d like to see you up there sometime.”
With that, the chills left his body, and his father vanished with the remaining smoke of the lit stalk. Leon felt good—really good—after that. He walked through his old home one last time, then exited from the front. He waved to the thieves before beginning his trek back to the eastern isle.
Or so he thought. As he reached the door, a woman’s voice commanded him to “stop!” Leon turned around, noticing again the same young swordswoman with whom he battled so long ago. When was that now? The… 20th?
“I knew it! I knew you weren’t dead! no way someone as good as you bit the dust like that. Now it’s time for me to even the score, you hear? Get ready!”
“Sorry, I’m a bit busy at the moment.” Who the hell am I right now, turning down a friendly match?
The woman didn’t seem to care, though. She drew a blade and sprang into action anyway. “I’ve been waiting here for days, WEEKS, rooming with these idiot-thieves for this opportunity. I WILL embarrass you back!”
This seems all too familiar. Thought you learned to say no, man. So close.
He clashed both of his blades with her one, forcing the woman back. He used the opportunity to run out the door, pushing it wide open with his shoulder. Once outside, he put his second blade away, and stood ready for the woman to attack again.
She came full speed at Leon with an overhead swing, which the man decided to dodge rather than combat head-on. If it was one thing his opponent had, it was power. Each time Leon’s blade clashed with hers, in fact, he felt his wrist jerk back. He needed to continue dodging her swings, just as he was in their first match. But she was very much improved, and doing so was rather challenging.
“You sure did get better, mixing in so many kicks and punches to cover your aggression. Are those gauntlets?”
“Uh-huh.” No wonder getting punched hurt so much. Wonder how she even came across those. “They had a few of differing sizes for sale not too long ago. Good finds, yeah?” Oh. Well that explains that.
Leon found it necessary to unsheathe his second blade again to keep up with her, but suddenly felt his footing give out as the woman successfully tripped him. Once on the ground, Leon swung at her blade, and knocked it out of her hands. He quickly regained his footing after doing so, but that hardly bothered her.
In fact, she was much faster without it. Leon didn’t suspect she’d sock him in the face the second he got up, but was ready for the following sweep. He jumped, and caught her foot with his second blade, and stopped her gauntlet in his first. The two stared each other down, locked in a stalemate.
“For the love of—I think it’s time to call this one,” Leon said. “I can happily accept this as a draw.”
“Very well.” Leon put his weapons away, and the woman retrieved her long discarded blade as well. “Not what I was looking for, but that still felt good.”
“Hey, why don’t you come with me? There’s an island to the east of here, where you’ll be able to get a much better fix than this place. The name’s Leon, by the way.”
“Kamina. Sure, why not? Not like I’ll be missing anything here, right? Besides, worse comes to worst, I high-tail it back home, maybe even with a bit more gold under my belt.” Wow. Serious Déjà vu.
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Post by kjmccloud on Jul 5, 2016 10:37:10 GMT -6
Chapter 14: Departure (Western Bashi Isle, Quinterra 6)
Leon returned to find Samoa and Arthur waiting for him outside. “How’d it go?” Arthur asked.
“Really well. Thanks, guys.” He replied, smiling.
“That’s what I was hoping you would say,” Arthur responded. “We have one last thing for you, Leon.” He then held out a rather large sum of gold—9,000 in total. “This is from us, for roping you into our mess.”
“But not just us. Joshua and Sam chipped in as well,” Samoa said. “In fact, all of the officials chipped in to say thanks. They’d like to throw you a party to celebrate, and said they had one more thing up their sleeves.”
“Oh, wow! Really? Well then, let’s head down there!”
He turned away, but suddenly paused for a few moments, realizing he had completely forgotten to introduce his newest friend. “Oh! This crazy chick behind me here is Kamina. She’s a really good fighter, and I suspect she’ll be a huge boon in getting everything working smoothly around here.”
“I’m not crazy! Just passionate. And maybe a little violent.”
“So… crazy,” Arthur and Leon concluded together.
“Oh, whatever,” she said in response. “Any way I could get acclimated with this island some? What do you all do for fun around here, besides fight? Not that I’m against that.”
“You’ll see once we get there,” Arthur smiled. Along the way there, he and Samoa went back and forth telling tales of Erin’s childhood. As it turned out, she was always a very direct person. The real reason they left mainland Grazahl was that Erin was so dead set on letting everyone know of her (and her mother’s) heritage, which caused them many a problem, and they were eventually forced out by other humans.
“This place here,” Leon explained as they reached the Desert Resert, “Is my favorite place ever. Did you guys know this was where I met Erin?”
“Yes, we know,” Arthur replied. “She could hardly go an hour without bringing you up whenever you weren’t with us. You brought a spark to her life she had been missing for years. Even if she didn’t know you for that long.”
“Huh. You know, I think I can say the same about her, now that I think back on it.”
“Yes, we know,” Samoa replied, smiling. “You were so quick to ask for my blessing.” Leon laughed at just how silly that sounded in hindsight, stepping inside.
“There he is!” As Sam shouted, there was a roar among the customers. By the time he made it over to Leon, however, most had returned again to their own devices. “How you feeling, champ?”
“I’m alright. Thanks.”
“Drink’s on me tonight. Get settled in, and have a good time.” With that, he walked back to the bar. Leon followed him back anyway, the seats right up front still being his favorite. Accepting various handshakes and praises as he made his way back was refreshing, if not unsettling.
“Guess you really are some big shot now, huh?” Kamina asked. “Just a few weeks ago, you were taking street fights for cash. Such is life…” she sipped some as she finished speaking, leaning her back against the bar.
Sam brought the four of them second drinks as Samoa began talking more about her late daughter. All throughout the story, she made it apparent they were more than happy living with her in Bashi, but felt terrible she wasn’t able to socialize the way she wanted to.
“Should I be listening in on this stuff?” Kamina asked, happily accepting her drink. “Not that it makes much sense to me… it just seems like this is private family talk.”
“It’s fine now,” Arthur explained. “We don’t have any secrets left to hide. Besides, a friend of Leon’s is a friend of ours.” Samoa nodded in agreement.
“Friend, huh? I dunno about that. Rival? Opponent? All I know is I still wanna beat the crap outta him. Either way,” she continued, stretching, “I’ll just sit and listen. Wouldn’t wanna take up the last of your time together.”
“That date offer is still on the table, you know. With all this extra gold, I could pretty easily afford a second wyvern pass.”
“I’ll earn my own pass, thank you. And when I do, I’ll hunt you down. And we’ll battle again. Then, you’re gonna lose. Understood?”
“Yeah, I hear you,” he responded, smiling.
“Oh, you’re looking well, Leon!” Joshua smiled, walking up to him. “Is now a good time to spring more news on you?”
“Sure, man. Shoot.”
“Wonderful! So, as the remaining officials, we decided the first order of business would be to come up with more reliable members. What we’d really like is for you to be among the top seven panel."
“I can’t… I made a promise to Erin. We’re gonna get out and do some sightseeing.”
“Hrmm. Well, the offer will always, always be on the table for you. Oh, look at me, tearing up… I don’t want to ruin the moment you all are having, so I’ll just see myself out.”
Leon stood up and pulled Joshua into a hug. “You were a big part of this too. Thanks for believing in me.”
“I wasn’t joking when I said I was a sucker for the underdogs! Good luck to you out there,” he said, before turning and walking out of the Resert.
It stayed quiet for a few moments. Eventually, Samoa broke the silence, asking Leon a question. “So you’re still leaving, then? Erin told us she planned to leave with you one way or another, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
“Yeah. I’ll head out in the morning. Do you think you can have the coliseum running legitimately for when I return? I want to be able to come back and show you guys all I learned out there.”
“Maybe! You’ll have to come back and find out about that for yourself, son.” Arthur stood, smiled, and pulled Leon into a hug. “You better take care of our daughter, Leon. Do her legacy some real justice.”
“Course. We’re gonna see the whole world together, and I’ll make sure you guys hear all about it, too. I’ll write every chance I can get.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Samoa said, turning to the exit. “I suppose we should wrap this night up, then. Miss Kamina, head to the large building over yonder. The officials inside will fill you in on what you need to know, and give you a place to stay the night.”
“Got it. I’ll see you all tomorrow then. Well, most of you.” With that, she headed out. By now, there weren’t many others still inside other than Leon, Arthur and Samoa, and it had gotten very late. The three made their way home in the darkness, another silence taking over them.
Leon found a heavy nervousness taking over his stomach. After tonight, he was to be on his own. Sure, he had taken the helm in raising himself, but even then he had a place to go home to when things got dicey. Tomorrow, he wouldn’t have anything like that.
Well, you’ll have Erin. You’ll have your skills, and you’ll have Erin. Yeah, you’ll be alright, Leon.
It was at that time he felt a hand on his shoulder, causing him to escape his thoughts. He looked up to see they had made it back home, and Samoa was already inside, he assumed.
“Leon… you’re going to be fine out there. You’re a smart man, and an excellent fighter. I just wanted to teach you something that will give you one more edge out there.”
“Thanks, pops. I’m all ears.”
Arthur nodded, and unsheathed his blade. “This one’s all about magic. As long you and Erin are bonded, you shouldn’t have any problem with it. Once you’re comfortable using it, that is.
The older man coached Leon for about thirty minutes more, before it seemed he had the technique down. It was indeed rather simple; it was the skill Arthur used to quickly rebound, even after fully committing to a swing. Exhausted, Leon headed in, but his tutor stayed outside.
“Leon.”
“Mom.”
“Don’t tell Arthur about this, okay? Please?”
“About wh—“ before he finished, she broke down, squeezing her son tight. He returned the grip in silence.
After a few moments, she released the hold, and removed a ring from her hand. “If you ever find yourself in a tight spot, sell this. It’ll fetch you at least 12,000 gold, but you could get twice that if you’re smart about it.”
“Thanks. Next time you see me, I’m going to return it, though.” On that note, she turned in for the night as well.
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Post by kjmccloud on Jul 5, 2016 10:38:29 GMT -6
Epilogue: New Lands (Erin’s Home, Quinterra 7)
Leon woke up early that morning. For a while he sat, contemplating whether or not he should go and speak with everyone just one last time, but eventually decided against it. He’d be back anyway; they could have conversations then. He looked to the ring Samoa handed him the night before, and slipped it on before dressing and heading out the door, making sure to gently close it behind him.
He stood outside for a few moments before breathing in heavily, and finally walking forward. He wasted no time traveling back to the Western Isle, and reached the spot in which the Wyvern Pass Salesman set up shop. Unfortunately for Leon, he didn’t seem to be out quite yet. The swordsman took a seat on the Salesman’s stand, thinking back on the times he had had on this island.
"That right there is where I had my first loss. Hah, I went home so hungry that night!"
“I didn’t know you lost at all down here. Learn something new every day.”
“Erin?”
“Howdy! Sorry it took so long for me to come back, Leon. Well, are we gonna keep strolling down memory lane?”
“Hmm. What else is there… Oh! Just over there is where Kamina and I had our first match. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say I pummeled her. I can’t believe how much she’s improved in just a few weeks. I wonder how different things would’ve been if she won that day, and Princess recruited Kamina to be “her guy” instead of me. We may have never even met.”
“Something tells me things would have gone the exact same. You and she are two sides of the same coin, after all. Well, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to bond quite as easily with her.”
“You know what, this stand is actually where Princess first spoke to me. I didn’t have anywhere near the amount of money I needed for a ride out, but she promised me I’d make plenty. She sure wasn’t lying…”
“ Leon, there are a lot of others out there, like Princess. People who have amazing skills, but choose to use them for terrible things. I think you and I will be able to stop a lot of that from happening across the world. Well, once we get you a steady job, anyhow.”
“Sounds like a plan. The dynamic duo, going at it again. Course, it’d be nice if you stopped disappearing on me all the time…”
“All done talking to yourself, kid?” The Salesman asked. Leon wasn’t sure how long the man had been standing there, but felt it was wrong of him to even ask, given this was his stand.
“How long were you standing there?” He asked anyway though.
“Long enough to hear you mumbling on about how someone promised to help you make money. I figure you must have gotten it if you’re back here.”
“That’s right,” Leon nodded. Handling the man 4,000 gold, he continued to say, “I’m ready to get outta here.”
The man smiled wide in response, as he took the money. He then handed Leon a map, and whistled for the wyvern.
“We’re right here,” he said, circling his finger around the small collection of islands known as Bashi. He then dragged it across a considerable distance, before stopping and circling another location. “This guy here is going to take you far across the mountains, and into the capital city of Rahziel, located here. It’s a beautiful place.”
The obedient mount had landed next to Leon by now, and the salesman helped him up onto it. “You’re obviously new at this, so make sure to hold onto the reins at all times. This guy knows the route well, so as long as you don’t fall off, you’ll get there just fine.”
“Got it. Thank—woah! A little warning woulda been nice! Hey, slow down some!”
“Good luck out there, kid!” The man shouted up, smiling.”
It took a while, but eventually Leon found himself comfortable soaring through the air. He always knew Bashi was a small, small part of Grazahl, but the mainland was even more massive than he had ever imagined.
“I always knew I would be back here eventually, but I can’t say I saw… this coming. I admit, returning in this state is leaving a much more bitter feeling than I could ever imagine.”
“Erin… “
“Remember our first conversation? When you said I had ‘a weird vibe about myself’?” For a while, I thought you were gonna be like all the other humans, besides Sam. But you talked to me. You made me laugh, and you made me upset sometimes too. But you accepted me. So for you, I’ll suck it up and enjoy myself out here this time.”
“Well, you were mysterious. And mysterious is a special kinda hot you don’t find all that often anymore. Say, maybe once we get down, we can share us a stalk. You know if they have any up here?”
“Nope, no clue. Besides, we don’t need that stuff. You’ll see me in your dreams, remember? You couldn’t get away from me even if you wanted to. Oh, but it looks like we’re slowing down! I think we should be landing soon. What about toasting to a new land, and to a new life?”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Just as soon as we find a bar… this city alone looks like it’s gotta be at least three times the size of Bashi.” Leon hopped off the wyvern, and watched it fly off for a while before looking at the city before him. There was a bit more greenery here than in Bashi, but it was still mostly sand. The water canals running through the city were nothing short of beautiful, too. “Alright, now to play a game I like to call ‘where the hell am I gonna get drunk’. Let’s start with… this place.”
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That's it for the start of Leon's tale. I haven't decided yet if I would rather continue on with his or start another character's yet, but either way I'm going to hold off until I finish the CYOA to start another of these. Thanks for sticking with it all the way through, and I hope you guys liked it.
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