FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The crackle of hot fire along with the din of noisy patrons swirled around three companions who were all sitting to the bar. The first was wearing plain olive fatigues and had a band aid over the center of his nose. A look of childish excitement was on his face as he conversed with the other two sitting on either side of him. As he began laughing his eyes squinted adding to his already kind nature that could be felt as well as seen. The young man with the Band-Aid on his nose was Shorter than the other two at about 5'4. Due to him being the youngest he also felt that he had the most to show in terms of his right to be among his friends as they readied to set foot on a new journey. The first companion had eyes that appeared white at first glance, but after a moment the light began to refract off of them and created a rainbow around the iris. The boy's hair looked like a salt and pepper shaker had exploded dying his hair in the process. The black and white color of his curls blended together in a dusty pattern and went down past his ears; the lengths of which were unkempt and seemed to have never seen a comb.

The adventurer to the left of the boy with rainbow eyes was about a foot taller than him. This second individual sitting at the bar wore a much flashier uniform consisting of a white trench coat overtop a navy blue shirt and a pair of faded black pants that were tattered along the edges. The older boy's pants were tucked into a pair of brown leather boots that were nicked in several places from extensive use. At his side was a club with stainless steel spikes machined through the mass of wood. His right hand enveloped a pair of brass knuckles as he looked nervously over his shoulder towards the entrance readying himself for in case someone unfriendly came through the door. His head was covered in green feathers that resembled hair and was groomed in a way that it resembled a fohawk. The featherheaded youth also had a headband with a bronze plate attached to the center. The headband was tied neatly as it lied ceremoniously across his forehead like a badge of honor. The bronze plate was decorated with a family crest that had been etched into the metal and then painted over. The crest portrayed what appeared to be an Ouroboros resembling a dragon eating its own tail. The dragon itself had three claws on the hand that could be made out in the etching. The final member of the group sat opposite to the fellow with the headband and across from the younger boy with salt and pepper hair. This fellow was without a smile and very distant as his two other compatriots conversed nodding only to show he was still interested at all. He was wearing a pair of brass goggles over his eyes that were reflective and prevented others from seeing his eyes. The bemused teenager with goggles had fairly unique hair that was bright red with tips that had been dyed blue. The preoccupied teen also wore rather strange attire for someone his age. The redhead's clothes consisted of a red wool dress shirt underneath a heavy duty lab coat with a row of three pockets down either side of the front. These pockets were held closed by stamped copper buttons. Below the lab coat the scholastic teenager's clothes were more mundane. The gentlemen with highlighted blue tips wore a pair of brown dress pants and an ornate set of boots. The only thing off about the boots he wore was that they had souls that were plated in steel. The youngest of the three dressed in the olive colored fatigues slammed his hand down upon the counter and shouted,

"I want to order some pop! Gramps get to it."

The old bartender whom the youth referred to as gramps was bald and had a handlebar moustache. A pair of hexagonal sunglasses was placed firmly at the center of the man's nose. Looking at the lad sternly for a few seconds the man cleaned the glass in his hand fervently before putting it aside to reach down into the cupboard to take out a fresh glass that he then slammed on the table in front of the boy. The man quickly adjusted his black bowtie that was wrapped around a white and red striped bar shirt that he wore. The man lifted up a nozzle that was connected to a large metal spigot. The man feverishly switched the nob over the spigot in order to get it to pump the fizzy concoction into the kid's glass. Within a few moments the glass was filled to the brim and the man took out a clean rag wiping away the liquid from the nozzle in order to prevent build up. The old man then looked back up at the youth with the band aid and laughed cheerfully as he spoke,

"Drink up! I'm not getting any younger and neither are you Ray."

Ray being the one with the bandage pulled out a steel straw that was adorned with an eagle at the point where the straw bent towards him. Rapidly ray downed the sweet tasting liquid through his straw. His friends observed the liquid disappearing to the bottom of the glass and up through his straw. Once ray was finished he took an ecstatic gasp for air as he wiped his sleeve across his lips satisfied by the refreshing drink he had just emptied with gusto. Ray looked at the bartender and said gleefully,

"Thanks for the pop, Pops!"

The old man laughed ecstatically and was feeling pretty good that he had satisfied the youth with his latest concoction. Ray quickly put the money he owed for the drink upon the table and then said to his friends,

"Fritz! Yong! Ready to head out?"

Fritz was the one wearing the lab coat and goggles; and Yong was the one with the headband and trench coat. The two nodded simultaneously with Yong being the one to actually respond with a "yes". The three companions trotted towards the door, but not before Ray reclaimed his straw and waved goodbye to the bar keep. As the three left the bar the name of the establishment they were in came into view. The sign had a barber's pole along the side of it and said pop's pharmacy, barber shop, and bareknuckle boxing emporium. Fritz was the first to speak as they began walking down the street towards the edge of town.

"So Ray, how are your animals doing?"

Ray looked up at the sky for a moment as he thought on fritz's question. Clouds moved through his vision at a steady pace and he quickly came up with a suitable response to the question at hand.

"Well, pretty decent so far. I've been working really hard to train Yaksha and try tag teaming an opponent together. Bad guys won't stand a chance when they fight us. Especially if we get the teamwork down."

Ray chuckled at himself proudly as he imagined taking down dozens of enemies and being declared a hero. Yong then quickly joined in on the conversation as well,

"Sounds like a clever idea, but in order to get it to work your aura and the animal you want to fight alongside will have to be linked. That way you and your companion can react accordingly to what's going on, on the battlefield. If the two of you aren't properly linked your attacks will be sloppy and unrefined, this could lead to you or the animal you have signed a contract with to die during the fight. If your animal dies it's not irreparable, however the loss of such a link will throw your own aura out of balance and it could create issues with forging future links with animals."

Ray huffed angrily as he mumbled,

"Yeah, yeah, yeah it's not like I haven't been doing this animal taming thing since I was seven or anything. The great and powerful Yong speaks his almighty gospel yet again... Jaka!"

Yong smacks Ray in the back of the head and shouts angrily,

"Stop being such a child! I'm giving you advice because there will come a time when you might actually have to fight somebody. When that time comes I need you to be ready, that way you're not just running around on the battlefield looking like an untrained twerp. Right now that's all you are is a twerp who shoots off his mouth and thinks everything's just going to go your way. Well it's not always going to go down how you want! So I'd say Jaka to yourself."

Ray now seething with anger shouted back at Yong,

"You shut up! I know how to take care of myself you featherbrain and don't hit me like that it doesn't do anything but piss me off. Furthermore you're the idiot! You always treat me like a kid I'm much stronger now than when you and I used to spar all the time. Also my defense is impeccable so stop worrying Jeez."

Fritz sighed as his two companions began to bicker even more loudly. He then gripped the two by the arm and started dragging them along forcefully while saying with an unenthused look on his face,

"Come on! We're not going to continue with this bickering the whole time we're walking. It gives me a headache and the only thing it accomplishes between you two is making you both look like five year olds. Ray you definitely have gotten stronger, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't continue listening to what your friends have to say. Especially if we are merely trying to help you improve. Yong I saw that smirk on your face just now... you need to let Ray figure some things out on his own too and instead of hitting him use your words got it?"

Ray and Yong both roll their eyes and say with an exhausted tone in their voice "yeah, yeah!"

Yong then quickly remarked,

"You don't have to get all grouchy about it Fritz, I mean Ray and I always argue out our disagreements... it's how we get everything out into the open."

Fritz let out a frustrated harrumph as he countered Yong's statement,

"Well your arguments give me a genuine headache and it's because you always argue things out that I'm beginning to get annoyed with the two of you."

Ray and Yong again in unison "oh come on Fritz!" Ray still struggling to keep up with Fritz as he was being dragged followed up with,

"You know you love us! It's not like we do it on purpose or nothing."

Fritz let go of them at this point seeing that they had stopped bickering for the moment. Ray placed his hands behind his head after reclaiming them and then laughed mischievously while smiling at both Fritz and Yong. Fritz and Yong both looked at Ray suspiciously as Fritz was the first to ask,

"What are you planning?"

Ray taken aback by the accusatory question for a moment began to chuckle even louder as he remarked,

"Why do I always have to be up to something... I'm just really happy we are back together again. While you guys were away adventuring and having a good time of things; I was stuck here training my butt off. I've learned all kinds of cool tricks like how to take on some of my summons aspects or traits. I also learned how to fight using my bow and the best thing I've learned how to do is pick up scents and tracking skills."

Yong looked at ray with a sense of pride and even smiled slightly as he acknowledged his friends hard work by saying,

"You really have gotten stronger and I am glad that we are all back together as well. Now we can head out together this time and see the world with our own eyes like we have always wanted to."

Fritz showing interest in what his friends were saying for the first time actually seemed to perk up for a moment before nodding and saying with great fervor,

"Yeah we will see it all and there is no corner of Arious that can hide from our ambitions."

Adventure 1: dokkaebi bangmang'i? Magic wand or the tool of a thief?

Our new trio of adventurers made it to the other side of town when a huge ruckus could be heard from around the next corner. Ray was filled with youthful curiosity, which led to his desire to look into the loud noises that erupted nearby. When Ray got close enough he heard the sounds of a person talking. The voice got louder and more defined with every step he took,

"What is your fear? Tell me what is your fear little boy? Hahaha..."

Ray rounded the corner only to find a massive troll like being waiting for him. This intimidating entity was equipped with two well defined horns poking out of the front of its head. The creature's body was covered in tattooed markings that distorted the tan color of its skin and gave it a rusty hue instead. The troll wore a Dobok or martial arts uniform with a crest that depicted a tea pot in the center. The Troll stood before a young boy who couldn't be older than twelve judging off appearances alone. Seeing this Ray charged at the massive troll letting loose a mighty cry before going and landing a blow with his fist. Rays punch was solid and hit the creature square in the back. Ray immediately pulled back his fist as the blow seemed to have little effect against the imposing creature before him. The Troll turned around to reveal its face. The Troll had heavily exaggerated canine teeth that protruded from its mouth like those of a demon or other savage beast. The troll had eyes that were even stranger and almost mystifying. The sclera's of the creatures two eyes were black like obsidian with golden irises that sat atop this darkness like a glint of light. The eyes alone were enough to strike fear into the hearts of men, but the façade before Ray made one certain that hell itself was about to fall. The Troll exploded with laughter snorting uncontrollably as he did. After a few moments the troll managed to regain his composure and spoke to Ray with very educated words,

"So young man, What are your fears? I am afraid of blood! It feels sticky and causes great pain once it is seen... some even die after the red liquid is exposed. So I ask you again what are you afraid of?"

Ray quaked with fear as the trolls question seemed to stir something dark maybe even primal inside of him. Ray was overwhelmed by his deepest fears and insecurities as he continued to look upon the monolithic entity before him. Ray took a step back as he attempted to get away from the demonic figure before him. Ray managed to only take three steps before he tripped over his own feet and onto his back. Ray continued to try and crawl away when Yong shouted at his friend.

"Get up Ray! This is no time to be a coward."

Ray snapped back to reality as he heard his friend shout his name. Despite being brought back the young Thylos still could not find his courage and shouted,

"It is you! You are the thing that I am most afraid of... get away! Aaaaaahhhhahaha!!!"

The giant turned its head in confusion as Rays words reached its ears and the troll began processing their meaning.

"Dokkaebi? You fear a Dokkaebi? Your honesty is most refreshing, even if it is painful for a Dokkaebi such as me to hear. I will ask you this then if your friends or this child were truly in danger... would you protect them? Even at the cost of your own life?"

Ray was taken aback by the Dokkaebi's question. The young adventurer thought about the question for a moment before looking at the large creature and then realized that he had allowed his fears to get the better of him. The young man upon receiving this epiphany stood up tall on his own two feet, dusted himself off and then looked at the Dokkaebi before speaking. Ray was overcome with shame and emotion as he did and so the salt and pepper haired lad began to weep. The teenager's voice broke a few times as he spoke to the Dokkaebi in as serious a tone that he could muster.

"I swear Dokkaebi! From now on I will not run away in fear. Instead I will find strength in spite of it and protect those things that are important to me."

Ray continued to stand proudly before the Dokkaebi despite the tears streaming down his face. The immense size of the Dokkaebi continued to dominate the narrow alleyway. The colossal figure overshadowed everything nearby including Ray and the others who were still uncertain what to make of the giant. The Dokkaebi reared his chest back showing off the huge muscular frame that he had been endowed with. Then with a sound almost like a roar the creature unleashed a boisterous and even crude form of laughter. After a few uncomfortable moments for the group in the alleyway the Dokkaebi finally gave his response.

"Well child I am glad to hear this... but why would you profess such a bold set of words to a perfect stranger? And more importantly why would this perfect stranger care about these professing's to protect what is precious to you? For you see young Stranger, I too have my own set of things that I must protect as well."

The Dokkaebi grinned happily from cheek to cheek as he gazed upon Ray; almost as if he were reviewing the teenager that stood before him. Ray found himself with no choice but to look upon the huge rows of sharp and serrated teeth that lay inside the Dokkaebi's massive jaw. The Dokkaebi reached around with his right hand placing it behind his enormous back. Then the Dokkaebi promptly pulled out a large club that had metal studs imbedded into the sides of the wood. The club itself was like a long hexagonally shaped cylinder. The creature became mirthful and cheery in his demeanor, which was further expressed through the continued beam of happiness on the Dokkaebi's face. The giant after a few seconds of silence at last decided to utter his opinion of Ray and why he had drawn the large weapon in his right hand.

"I can tell you are a good person, Noble and kind, but still very much unaware of your strengths and weaknesses. So I will gift you with a most precious item that belongs to my kind; May it bring good luck and courage to you in the future. This club is the Bangmang'i it is a mystical item gifted with the ability to summon to your side anything that you can think of. I must leave you with one warning when using the Bangmang'i; you must always be aware that what you summoned existed somewhere else. This means that the item you summoned also belonged to someone else. So be careful and don't overuse the gift you have been given. If you are not frugal in this regard you may actually manage to steal something of grave importance."

The Dokkaebi handed the Bangmang'i to Ray who gripped it with his hands outstretched. Ray looked upon the weapon with a deep fascination in his eyes. He felt his heart aching at the sudden act of kindness from this person who was nothing more than a stranger only a few moments ago. The Dokkaebi continued speaking after Ray gripped the weapon fully in his hands.

"Now that I have given you my gift and its explanation I must bid you farewell. I hope to see you again someday! But only when you have mastered the gift I have bestowed upon you."

Ray still reeling from all that had just transpired shouted at the Dokkaebi, which was now making its way out of the alley.

"But why? Why would you gift me with this bangamawhositz? I don't understand! Everything is so crazy... gah!"

The Dokkaebi simply turned and faced Ray as he continued smiling; only now with what might even be described as an almost stirring sense of pride towards the youth he had just encountered. Then without uttering a word the dokkaebi slipped on a strange hat and vanished into thin air. Yong, Fritz and the small boy darted their heads from side to side trying to locate where the mysterious being had disappeared to. The Dokkaebi's features lingered for what seemed an unshakeable eternity within Rays mind. Despite the lingering image Ray was not thinking about where the Dokkaebi had disappeared to. The teenager instead turned his attention to the unusual weapon that had been gifted to him. The Club itself was made of finished hardwood that seemed much lighter than its size would suggest. The clubs handle was wrapped in taught leather that was stained red and had the same teapot symbol that the Dokkaebi had been wearing. The club was also equipped with numerous metal studs that were evenly distributed along the flat hexagonal surface of the weapon. Ray continued to stare at the weapon for several minutes his eyes locked in deep reflection. After almost ten minutes of this going on Yong started to notion that they should get moving. Before Yong could utter a single word Ray took the club between both hands and cursed loudly at the top of his lunges "Jaka!" The teen cried as he slammed the Bangmang'i against the nearby trash can. This action startled everyone including the young boy who hadn't dared to move fearing the Dokkaebi might return. Ray continued to cry out indignantly in all directions. The emotional teenager became angry with himself for his failure to act and broke down almost at the verge of crying once more. Ray gripped the club tightly in his hands using it as a stand, but not before faltering onto his knees. Ray spoke pessimistically under his breath as he insulted and beat himself up for his perceived failures.

"I'm such a coward, why the hell couldn't I have at least done something rather than sitting there cowering in fear. I cried like a little bitch... screamed at the top of my lunges like a child who thought he saw something hiding in the dark. Man I'm pathetic..."

Fritz began to approach Ray sensing his pain from where he stood he sighed heavily not wanting to let his emotions shine through his rough exterior. After several steps Fritz was directly beside Ray and without hesitation Fritz placed a hand over rays shoulder signaling that everything was going to be ok, then with a strong yet soft spoken tone the scientist spoke his mind,

"Ray... do not let what happened just now trouble you. More importantly learn from what you have just experienced and plan accordingly. So next time you feel overwhelmed with emotion regardless of whether it is fear, anger, sadness or even jealousy you will be able to overcome it and be wiser during those instances."

Ray was overcome by emotion after Fritz's comforting words unsure what to say Ray sucked in a deep breath as tears streamed down his face. Then a confused and utterly dumbfounded voice was heard from the direction of where Ray had just swung the bangmang'i.

"What the hell is this? I was just eating dinner with a hot girl and somehow I wind up here with you idiots! Would somebody please give me a Friggin answer as to why of all times I had to be brought here... hmmm....hmmmm! I don't hear your yap moving fast enough for me Ray and why the hell..."

The voice belonged to what appeared to be a mongoose and the creature had stopped speaking as he nearly burst into laughter because of something that had been lost on the rest of the party, but the mongoose regained his composure before continuing on.

"Are you seriously crying jackass oh by Jaka this is to rich...ah! Ah! Ahahahaha! Oh... oh dear I never thought I would ever get to see something like this. At least not until you were dumped by your first girlfriend, or stubbed your toe, or got a good thwacking to the nuts... I don't know; I just envisioned this moment differently. Still hilarious though."

Ray, who was just as bewildered and confused as everyone else around him looked over to see the four foot mongoose that had appeared out of thin air. The Mongoose was garbed in black fatigues similar to those that Ray was wearing; except that he didn't bother to wear shoes and had a bandana over his head. The other unique thing about the Mongooses fatigues was that the phrase "like what you see!" had been written on the front and on the back the words "Yeah it's all real ladies!" was meant to follow up what was written on the front. Ray after reading what was written on the fatigues began to glare at the mongoose. The teen began to look at his friend similar to how one would look at a friend who broke a promise. Ray then pointed fiercely in the mongoose's direction shouting in as exaggerated a manner as he could pull off and still be taken seriously,

"Yaksha! You said we were going to only put those on when we were together... you know to impress the ladies. And I'll have you know; Real men do cry so shove it you pintsized little weasel."

The mongoose known as Yaksha flared his nostrils and directed his temper at Ray after his most recent comment. The mongoose began to flail his arms violently as he simultaneously roared loudly in an attempt to defend his honor.

"First of all I'm not pintsized especially for being a Mongoose! Mongoose damn it! equating me to something like a weasel is just plain wrong and insulting to a man of my caliber. Who else but I Yaksha, could have so many fine ladies swooning over me; that at night one hears my name being said by at least three whole villages of the wondrous maiden's that I've bed in just a single afternoon."

Ray just looked at Yaksha with a beleaguered look on his face after hearing the most outrageous tale yet to escape from his friend's lips.

"You're an idiot you know that Yaksha... why did I have to get stuck with one of the only animal companions that has a bigger libido than he does brains... give me a break will you; I'm never going to get anywhere at this rate."

Yaksha started to tremble with rage directing it towards his master as he shouted even louder than before,

"This is exactly what I'm talking about Ray! You always refuse to acknowledge my greatness..."

Yaksha paused for a moment as he raised his right hand high into the air, then arched it inwards before halting with his thumb extended outwards and facing towards his chest. The mongoose then began to speak eloquently and with a sincere grin on his tan and fuzzy face.

"You're just jealous of my luck with the ladies."

Ray nearly finished with continuing the conversation at this point rolled his eyes and whispered under his breath,

"Yeah... if by greatness he means the world's biggest pervert, then yeah I do refuse to acknowledge it."

Yaksha thrown off guard by the comment sputtered for a few seconds as he collected his thoughts again,

"P...PP...PPPervert! I am not a pervert!"

Ray deciding to call his friend on what he saw as an obvious lie raised himself up in order to make himself look larger as he asked with an obvious grin on his face,

"Oh Yeah, Then what are you exactly?"

"An admirer of the female form and all of its beauty! I go from bathhouse to bathhouse cataloging the most voluptuous and well-endowed of these figures in my special scroll of love!"

Ray even more disgusted at this point clenched his fist tightly as he restrained the urge to punch his animal companion. With the same intensity he began to speak to Yaksha trying to let his words cut rather than his fists

"You idiot... what you just described is exactly what everyone in their right mind would describe as a pervert...dumbass!"

Yong trying to disarm the situation brought back an earlier topic of discussion,

"Guys not that I'm trying to interrupt this weird love fest you've got going on, but wouldn't it be nice to answer the question of how Yaksha got here in the first place and deal with his less than reputable love pursuits later."

Ray, Yaksha and Fritz looked at Yong for a moment all in agreement that the question just asked was important to answer. Fritz was the first to pick up the conversation again,

"Ray what was the first thing you imagined when you swung that club just a few moments ago?"

Ray pondered the question for a few seconds; while he did this he looked up at the sky, which was condensed by the narrow alleyway. Clouds of white and yellow passed by in slow motion and eventually Ray managed to put his thoughts in order. The fatigued warrior then gave the answer he felt Fritz was looking for.

"Well... I was feeling scared and even though Yaksha is annoying sometimes he is generally good at consoling me during a time of crisis, so I was imagining what he would say to me about a situation like the one that just happened... but I thought I was only able to summon solid objects or something. Judging by the description the Dokkaebi dude gave."

Yaksha began scratching the scruff of his neck indicating that he was pondering deeply about something then he posed his question,

"Wait, you just said Dokkaebi right... then that club must be... huh... well that's... interesting! Why would a Dokkaebi give you a sacred artifact of its people? As far as I can recall they call it the Bangmang'i or something like that."

Ray nodded in response to what Yaksha had to say despite being completely confused by the entire ordeal. Secretly the teen wished to just go and find a place to lie down and forget everything that had just occurred. After Yaksha received his answer he continued on with what he was saying,

"Well, the only logical reason I can give you as to why I was summoned! Rather than say for instance my clothes, or something else on my person thank Jaka... is because of the link you and I share Ray."

Fritz folded his arms and nodded intuitively as what Yaksha said seemed to be melding with his own theory,

"Yes; I believe what Yaksha is saying is true... it is due to this link that the two of you share as Keeper and Beast; it is that bond that allowed you to call upon Yaksha. The club you're wielding right now merged its unique gifts with your desires and resulted in what we see here. I don't really understand anything beyond that though... like how or why it worked; or whether you will be able to summon Yaksha again. The whole thing may very well have been a fluke and we just lucked out this time."

Yaksha perked up at this the mongooses natural curiosity compelled him to to try something out. Yaksha ushered everybody's attention onto himself simply by whistling and waving his hands inwards. This caused everyone to come closer and listen as the rambunctious little warrior laid out his plan.

"I've got it! I've got it... all I have to do is wander far enough away and Ray can swing that big club of his at the ground; or whatever he wants really. As long as he thinks about bringing me back here, I should be re-summoned. Even if I'm not at least we found out now; instead of relying on just assumptions alone. So Ray! Sit here for about five minutes and then hit something; hopefully something that's not living and then I'll either see you or I won't."

Yaksha quickly ran off getting as much distance as he could between Ray and himself in order to properly test out the theory that they had just worked out. Ray and the others stood around waiting for the five minutes to elapse. Yong was the first to speak this time,

"So... Yaksha really thinks he's the ladies' man now huh?"

Ray rubs his temple and eyes as he lets out a deep sigh of frustration,

"Jaka... yeah his obsession with females of well any species really is like nothing I have ever seen. The guy has been banned from every bathhouse from here to the capitol all because he can't stay out of the women's area once he goes inside... do you realize how hard it is to get him clean? I mean I originally encouraged this behavior because it meant bathing him would be simpler and he was a huge handful when we were younger, but now the libido is just plain sad... I don't know what to do about it either."

Yong laughed at Ray's description of Yaksha imagining his friend as an older brother to Yaksha just trying to get him to bathe so he wouldn't smell. Then Yong said with a serious look in his eyes,

"Ray... Don't worry about Yaksha he's going to go after the ladies regardless of what you tell him so just be a good friend and partner to him, then I'm sure everything will work out fine. You just got to be there for him when he messes up and act as that place he can go back to and rest when he is tired."

Fritz had taken out his watch and was waiting for the five minutes to go by, which was made even slower due to the fact that he was watching the second hand tick away the whole time. Finally after what seemed hours to Fritz he raised his hand into the air, then like a blade cleaved it through the air signaling for Ray to swing the bangmang'i and hopefully summon Yaksha again. Ray rapidly sprang into action and thrusting the weapon in his hand against the ground beneath him filling his thoughts with those of Yaksha.

Meanwhile Yaksha had run for about three minutes then he decided to stop at a sandwich shop where he began placing his order,

"Hey big guy I'll take an order of your deluxe sandwich on the double and make it snappy I'm kind of pressed for time."

The man behind the counter simply made a grunting noise as he rapidly put together a sandwich with several different toppings ranging from normal to exotic. The sandwich had the basics of lettuce and tomato all the way to what appeared to be a mango that was died purple and a red cucumber. About a minute and a half past and then finally the man turned over his creation to the Mongoose to eat. Yaksha grabbed it rapidly and just as he was about to bite he found himself back with the others. The sandwich was still in his hands which made him even more ecstatic,

"Yayaaaaa! That's what I'm talking about, a free sandwich uhuh! Oh yeah, getting down with this deluxe and tasty treat."

Ray turned his head not really sure what Yaksha was so excited about then upon seeing the sandwich he caught on and laughed,

"Wait... so you're telling me... that while we were waiting you went and found a sandwich shop. Knowing that you could get one and not have to pay...hmm that's very clever my friend... I love it you're a genius Yaksha."

Fritz adjusting his glasses became slightly annoyed by ray's acceptance of Yaksha's act of thievery and then shouted,

"Not cool! Yaksha we are finding the owner of that sandwich and paying him for what it is rightfully worth. We are not thieves here and even if we were I am not digging so low as to be associated with those that steal sandwiches for the hell of it. I am fine with going into ruins and taking artifacts of the dead because well quite frankly nobody is using that treasure anymore and if I come across a relative of said peoples ruins I will turn it over for a finder's fee of course."

Yong's expression was one of slight irritation as he found Fritz's last statement slightly hypocritical and with dismay in his voice he made that extra clear,

"Finder's fee aye? Well seeing as your so called theory revolves around you snooping around ancient ruins that were left long ago. Wouldn't you have committed several other moral disgraces in the act of pilfering a tomb of those who have long since left this world. In light of this Ray's theft of a sandwich seems much more benevolent than your act of grave robbing. Not only would taking that artifact commit moral disruption in your own heart it would also commit a form of cultural genocide as the history of the ruin you just pilfered is now even less able to be understood. If we forget our past we are no better off than we were yesterday. So if we find a ruin as you suggest I want to somehow find a way to uncover its secrets without destroying the links it shares to our past ok."

Yaksha and Ray at this point had completely ignored the others and had decided to split the sandwich between themselves. Ray spoke to Yaksha between mouthfuls,

"So... is that red cucumbers? Gulp* and what kind of cheese did you get?"

Yaksha also between gulps answered "yes" and that it was some sort of sharp cheese he thought.

"I only had about a minute to place the order so I only said to make a deluxe sandwich... other than that...mmff... Gulp* I couldn't tell you what he put on it."

Fritz and Yong both sigh with disappointment and Fritz was the first to remark,

"They aren't even paying attention anymore... why the hell do I even bother trying to lecture Ray at this point... hummm..."

Yong just began flailing around angrily as he shouted at both Ray and Yaksha,

"Are you guys even listening I was trying to explain why grave robbing is bad and... hey aren't you going to save any of that sandwich for us? Come on I'm starving here."

Yong attempted to grab the sandwich from ray who pulled away from him as he shouted,

"No! Go get your own sandwich nitwit... come on this one's mine... Areva!!!"

Ray gripped the sandwich in his mouth as he swiftly started to run off towards the edge of town. Yong chased after him with much gusto in his step and fired off a salvo of heated words at his friend.

"Ray you better enjoy that sandwich now because when I catch up to you I'm going to clobber you with this club here, I swear it!"

Yaksha and Fritz began to chuckle at their two friends before leisurely getting up and slowly following after them. So it was that our three companions set out on their quest at last. Accompanied by Yaksha the Mongoose and Ray being gifted with a tremendous item of power the four were in high spirits. Fritz and Yong had yet to realize their own ambitions or gifts that lay dormant within them. The world of Arious has much to offer and more secrets than one soul could ever know. This is the start of one such tale of discovery into the unknown and will be long and arduous for the trio of warriors.

Chapter 2: The Outset of a Hero's Journey

A few days had passed since Ray was gifted with the Bangmang'i. The four companions were now camped out alongside a stone path that they had been following for two days now. Ray sat quietly next to the fire on top of a log that the trio had cut earlier. Ray held the artifact he had been gifted tightly in his hands as the flicker of the fire shined off of his eyes. Ray let his mind wander as he pondered how the item actually worked. More importantly he equally wondered about the proper way to use it that the Dokkaebi had spoken about. Yaksha sipped from a clay cup that was steaming and the scent of fruit emanated from the liquid within it. Yong was using the downtime to train and continually swung his club against a nearby tree. Fritz had taken out a great deal of his equipment, which consisted of cogs and sprockets of various sizes as well as a plethora of metal plates that fit together like a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Ray was the first to utter his thoughts out loud,

"I'm going to figure out how to wield this thing... I have to get stronger, that way I can better fight alongside you guys."

Yaksha nodded understandingly, and then he rubbed a claw up and down his chin getting his thoughts prepared to speak on how Ray might be able to accomplish this,

"You are going to need to talk to other Dokkaebi about that if you want to learn how to wield it better... You might also try talking to lord Kubera he's the king of all beast companions."

Ray intrigued by what Yaksha was saying leaned forward as he said with great excitement,

"Tell me! Tell me! Do you know this Kubera guy? Is he strong? Cool? Wise?"

Yaksha became flustered as he tried to look away from his master as he sweated to come up with an answer to all of the questions being shot at him,

"Um... well... I don't necessarily know King Kubera, but um... I do know his beast companion after all it's mostly due to him also being a mongoose... so I could try to seek him out and garner an audience that way."

Ray's face became cheerful and then with a grin he rubbed Yaksha's head vigorously as he stood up. Then while still looking Yaksha in the eye he began putting his friend at ease with his words,

"Nah... no need to rush these things quite yet my friend. Plus Meeting the king of all Beast warriors doesn't sound like an easy task to put ourselves on quite yet. I'll just swing this thing around and work out a strategy that way for a while... then if I need more help I think we should go in search of the Dokkaebi instead seeing as they made it and all hahahaha!"

Yaksha lets out a huge sigh of relief after Ray decides not to seek out lord Kubera then takes another swig out of his clay cup.

Just down the road from where our companions were camped out a strange fellow was making his way in their direction. The fellow was only about five foot tall and resembled a smaller version of the Dokkaebi that they encountered earlier. He was garbed in similar attire as well, wearing a Doh bohk martial arts uniform that was azure in color and had a crest that depicted a teacup emblazoned upon the back of the uniform. His head was covered by a satgat or a style of straw hat that was cone shaped and came down to just above the creature's eyes. His eyes were black and his iris's white as a moonlit night. The sound of wooden clogs echoed every time his feet touched the ground. The being whispered to himself with baited breath as he spotted Ray and the others sitting around the fire,

"So that's the boy the boss wants me to test... hmmm! Well he also said that if he passes my little test I am supposed to give him this hat... but why would the boss want him to wield both Dokkaebi artifacts? Ughhhh! It's not my job to question the boss, but I really don't know what he sees in this Thylos brat."

After speaking aloud the Dokkaebi disappeared as if by magic.

Fritz was putting on the finishing touches to one of his automations. The automation was completely black and encased in armor that resembled that worn by samurai. The Automations head was encased in a samurai helmet and where the face would normally show was a mask depicting that of an oni. Though the masks façade was monstrous it was also artistic and warlike as well. The area where the eyes were located had a phosphorous white mist escaping from them. This mist added to the automations already nightmarish countenance; causing it to be amplified to that of a ghoulish apparition or messenger of death that waded in the corners of every souls mind. This apparition was gifted with three weapons by Fritz. The first was known as the kanabo at first glance it looked like the Weapon used by Ray, however the Kanabo was bigger by about another foot in length and a half afoot in circumference. The club itself was made of hard wood that was stained a deep black with the grain showing through in streaks of white. The weapon was incredibly heavy and a regular person couldn't lift it with ease. The second weapon made specifically for the automation was a Yumi Bow that was actually coupled with a quiver of arrows. The Bow and arrows were placed upon his back the bow itself was specially designed for firing while on horseback. The final weapon at the automations disposal was a Nagamaki; a type of bladed weapon that had an extremely long handle around three feet in length. The handle of the Nagamaki was made up of a layering of silk neatly folded between the pommel and hilt. The silk was gold at the top and bottom with a one foot string of black through the middle. The blade of the weapon was a single edged piece of tempered steel resembling that of a katana. The blade itself was equal in length to that of the handle. The massive weapon was sheathed inside an ornate piece of hollow wood that was covered in a blood red lacquered paint. The wooden sheath was crested with an engraving that mirrored that of a crane without a head. The Nagamaki was currently being wielded by the automation, but it would normally be at its right side ready to be drawn for combat. Fritz was testing the automation for any abnormalities in its system. He was meticulously routing signals through the manual controls on the automations back. Fritz first made it go through movements of the hands ensuring that none of the digits were freezing up for any reason. He then moved on to the legs and feet, then into the abdomen ensuring it could maneuver around at the waist, at last he finished up with the neck and head. Fritz finding nothing wrong with the automation closed the back of the artificial beings armor, but not before activating it to maneuver on its own fruition. The phosphorous eyes seemed to become more focused as it scanned its new surroundings. The Automation stopped its scanning after its gaze became set on Fritz who walked out in front of him. Fritz gave the automation a thumbs up and said,

"Well Crane how does it feel to be put back to work again?"

The automation known as Crane lifted its hands into view of its eyes and then quickly began running its own diagnostic on the many aspects of its body. Then with a hollow and ghostly voice Crane spoke directly to Fritz,

"It would appear there is a presence hidden nearby... 45 degrees north, northwest approaching from downwind. The beings scent is being masked due to the winds movement; it will arrive here in less than thirty five seconds. Switching to heavy hitter mode, the presence I have sensed is obviously an assailant; due to hostile posture and movements of high speeds it means to strike Ray or Yaksha. I rank our odds of success around 45 to 55 percent under current circumstances. The weapon I must choose will be the Yumi bow followed up by the Nagamaki; if either weapon breaks I will resort to the Kanabo. Aurum output for this fight will start at 20 percent."

Before Fritz could react Crane had already removed the Yumi bow from his back pulled and then fired at the invisible attacker. The arrow whistled by Fritz's head like a hawk and made its way across the open field with lightning precision. The Dokkaebi that it was aimed at was slightly surprised by the sudden firing of an arrow right at him, but launched himself high in the air to avoid the deadly shaft. The arrow buried itself into the ground with a thud. The Dokkaebi looked down at where the arrow hit to see that the ground around it had crumbled from the tremendous force behind the shot. The Dokkaebi removed his hat as he rapidly descended towards the ground. After doing this his invisibility rapidly faded and with a thud he burst into view after crashing into the ground. One hand outstretched holding the hat and the other was hard against the ground in order to have absorbed the weight of the fall. The Dokkaebi sweating slightly from the attack looked around at where everyone was located. Ray was standing and facing his direction now, Yong with weapons drawn was steadily moving towards him. Fritz had rushed over to where his supplies were and seemed to be looking for something. Last but not least Crane was readied for another volley at the Dokkaebi. Seeing this the dokkaebi took a deep breath and swallowed trying to keep his wits about him as he thought about a way to counter attack,

"So... phew... it would appear I underestimated your small bands abilities at detection... but even if you do have the aide of one of the Tacitus and there automations... you still have a long way before you can take me on."

Ray slightly confused by everything that was going on tried to reason with the Dokkaebi speaking loudly so that it could hear him,

"Why are you trying to attack us? I don't know you nor do I believe I have wronged anyone badly enough that they should have hired someone to try and take my head... is there any way we can resolve this peacefully?"

The Dokkaebi raised himself tall the hat still in hand as he smirked intensely, then flicking the wrist of the hand that held his hat he gave his reply,

"Ray was it? You can call me Han, I am here representing my teacher's wishes and his desire is to test your skills Ray. I will be that very test... if you can best me here and now I will consider you worthy of wielding that weapon in your hands right now. I would love to continue explaining everything I have to say to you on the matter... but for now words mean nothing and our actions must speak in turn... so come!"

Han rapidly slung his hat back over his head and disappeared once more.

Ray looked around for the Dokkaebi, but failed to see even a glimmer of the assailant. Looking towards crane Ray cried out for an answer,

"Crane! Where has he disappeared to?"

Crane quickly scanned the area for any signs of the attacker known as Han. After twenty seconds or so Crane quickly gave his assessment,

"He must be using a stronger method to hide himself... my sensory equipment isn't picking anything up. I am sorry, but we are currently blind to his attacks."

Fritz finally retrieved what he was looking for from his equipment bag. As he turned around everyone could see that he was wielding a large almost cannon sized gun with a long scope mounted atop it. Yong who was the first to look over and see became very nervous, even breaking out in a sweat as he spoke to his friend,

"Friiiitz? What's with the cannon?"

Fritz slides the bolt lever up and back, and then slams it forward again forcing the ammunition into the barrel. With a simultaneous action and great alacrity in his movements he slides his goggles down over his eyes. Fritz let loose a resounding "Dodge This!" as he put the guns stock against his shoulder looking down the scope and ignoring Yong's question as he fired off a tremendously loud volley from his gun. The shell rocketed towards its mark like an angry hornet ready to sting. Mere seconds later an explosion was felt by everyone as the shell hit something directly in front of Ray. The earth for nearly 5 meters in front of ray was stripped away in a diameter of two meters and down as far as Ray was tall. Dirt and smoke particulates were heavy in the air around Ray, as well as the smell of sulfur and a loud ringing of the ear. Ray began breathing heavy as a look of panic overcame his face and his left hand was gripping at his chest tightly nearly ripping his shirt as he did. The fear and shock to his system caused his eyes to water and droplets slowly ran down his cheeks mixing with the oncoming sweat. Ray fell to his knees as the trembling in his system got worse. Then after a few terrified breaths he slowly managed to regain strength and momentum, but not before turning to face Fritz and saying as best he could while sounding out of breath,

"Damn it Fritz! Please! Please! In the name of all things that are sacred give a poor guy some warning so he can cover his ears, or duck, or something... Because I don't think my heart can take another surprise quite like that one... phew!"

Slowly the debris began to clear from the air; as it did a surprise awaited everyone as Han was still standing on the other end of the large swath that was cut by the cannons shell. His hand again outreached with the hat clenched tightly within it; as the remaining free hand wrapped around the shell that was fired. A coating of terracotta seemed to have appeared around his body and shielded it from the intense blast. The coating of terracotta now that it had been used began to flake off from his skin and turn to dust. Without skipping a beat Yong, Crane and Ray charged at Han readying their clubs to swing. Ray was the only one to actually have to leap into the air due to being at the other end of the box shaped crater. Han reacted by flicking the shell into Ray's face and causing it to smash into him with a tremendous amount of force. Ray let out a loud cry at first, blood streamed from his nose and upper lip as he fought to remain focused in order to strike the opponent that lay before him. Yong was the first to strike at Han hitting him from the side on the right. The Dokkaebi thrust his hat into the air in order to free his hand so that he could block the club that was fast approaching. Crane who approached from the left thrust his club in order to garner some distance in case the Dokkaebi had something planned. Han used his freed hand that was originally holding the shell to block Cranes advance. The last person to strike was in fact Ray as he swung down with all his might at the illusive Han. With a thunderous kick and a cry full of anguish Han sent ray flying into the crater before him back first. Yaksha took Han by surprise as he struck from the rear wielding a strange set of metal claws. Yaksha loosed a tempo of rage upon his opponent slashing faster than the eye could normally blink; he forced Han to rematerialize his terracotta armor where he was striking. Yaksha shouted,

"Where are you going to go now you can't disappear like the last two times? Just to make sure you don't try anything funny I'm going to hit you with an old town favorite of mine. Let's see here, how does that old love song go... oh yeah! Beast Arte: Raging Beast Barrage!"

Energy began to crackle and surge forth from Yaksha's body; the number of blows that he was able to dispatch seemed to increase along with the strain that he was putting on his form. At this point Han swung around and struck Yaksha back a few feet; halting him before he was able to continue any further with his technique. As he turned around to face Yaksha Fritz took the opportunity to fire off another round from his cannon. The shot barely missed Ray as he slammed head first onto the ground of the crater. Ray Looked up just in time to see yet another bullet go flying by and doused his eardrums yet again with a painful ring. One shell pierced the Dokkaebi in the left leg forcing him to kneel as blood trickled forth from the wound. Yong took advantage of the situation swinging down a second time with his club. Han barely managed to stop the blow this time his grip upon the club was weak and he winced slightly from the pain in his leg. Ray had stood up and shouted,

"I won't give up! You hear me! Never! You're mine Dokkaebi and don't you forget it."

Ray leapt from the pit and slammed his Bangmang'i hard against the ground in front of Han. Han looked at Ray with confusion in his eyes as he uttered,

"Why didn't you hit me? I was wide open for attack."

Ray waved the Dokkaebi's hat gleefully in his hand as he gave his answer,

"Heeheeheeheee... I needed to get your hat... that way you couldn't pull that disappearing act of yours anymore and be all annoying with the sneaking up on me and stuff. So I swung my club and thought of that damned hat of yours neutralizing two problems for the price of one."

Ray looked over at Fritz and glared menacingly as he shook his fist for the unwanted shocks to his system,

"I also needed to make sure you didn't disappear anymore so that he would stop firing that damned cannon. My ears are going to be ringing for a weak you jerk and as I said before Fritz... Give a guy some warning damn it! My hearing is something I would like to keep at least till I'm sixty five then I don't care, but until then stop with the fireworks."

Ray then quickly looked back at Han with the same gleeful expression on his face as he pointed at himself,

"Look, your master entrusted me with realizing the Bangmang'i's true potential and that's exactly what I aim to do. So regardless of whether I passed your silly little test or not I won't go back on my word got it?"

Han waved his hands back and forth admitting defeat as he said with a big sigh of relief,

"Ok, ok, you beat me fair and square... in exchange you also get my hat, that was part of the deal if you managed to defeat me in combat and well stealing the hat from me by using your Bangmang'i although not very clever at first glance proves that you are beginning to understand the weapon you have been given. It can surely be used in many more situations like this one to save yourself and your comrades, so think carefully and use the weapon wisely. That is all I have to tell you so... I'll be taking my leave now."

The Dokkaebi seemed to disintegrate into the same dust that his terracotta armor seemed to become. With that our heroes were left alone again to their own machinations. Ray turned to face the others still smiling then when he went to take a step his body felt extremely weak. Panting for a few seconds he managed to take another step before faltering to the ground unconscious. Yaksha was the first to rush over to his friend crying out as he did,

"Ray! Ray! Wake up... Ray?"

Chapter 3: Unconscious; The Bangmang'i and its affects!

A few days had passed since Ray fell unconscious in the fields of Honam. Ray finally awoke on the fourth day looking around at his surroundings groggily,

"Where...Where am I?"

Rays rainbow white eyes sought out the answers he had been contemplating within his mind. After a few seconds he was able to answer a few of them instantly. It appeared he was all alone at the moment; signs of life were undetectable within line of sight or sound as he continued to achieve some sense of understanding. Slowly Ray leaned forward looking down at his hands and then touched each of his fingers to his thumbs; repeating the process on both his left and right hand. After a few moments he determined that no one was going to appear to greet him so he stood up wearing only the lower half of his fatigues. The room was barren other than the wood floors and a few dim lamps to light his surroundings.

"Hello? Anyone outside my room... anybody? Hmmm... this is really weird."

Ray wandered into the next room; pulling aside a large curtain door that separated the room he had been staying from the next. As the curtain slipped aside a gargantuan gold pot stood in the center of the room. The room he entered was at least three times larger than the room he had just left. The room was eerily identical other than the massive pot decoration. A huge pyre was erected beneath the pot to heat whatever was stowed inside of its depths.

"Hello! Somebody! Anybody...answer me!"

It was at this point that a slow trickle of fear seemed to enter rays heart. The fear of being all alone without the help or strength of his friends at his side caused his stomach to slowly burn with anguish. Ray decided to keep going and so he headed towards another room; this time however the room had a door blocking the entry. The door was covered with a piece of paper that had the word balance written upon it. Below the word balance was a sentence that read

"He who has the blood of Thylos, a balanced heart and the strength to endure life's hardships may enter."

As Ray read the sentence out loud to himself a flash of light ignited in front of the door; from the light escaped a strange hexagonal key. The key drifted into Ray's hand, which seemed to be drawn towards the enchanted component like a moth to a flame. Instinctively his body reacted pushing the key forward and tapping the opposite end against the paper that sealed the door shut. The paper burst into twilight as the key touched the doors surface; breaking the shackles that had long since held whatever lay beyond. Ray was in a daze as he placed his palms against the cold iron door that lay behind the seal of balance. With a groan and the obvious strain of muscles Ray's body began to glow, his eyes even more so as tribal tattoos etched their way into Rays upper body covering his arms, chest and back. A few lines even enveloped his neck and face like those of a tiger. The glowing tattoos seemed to invigorate his stamina as he pushed the once sealed door asunder once and for all.

Beyond the sealed door ray found himself standing in the center of what he knew to be an ancestral song line.

"But... how? I don't understand there's no way I can be standing here... my homeland... my people... I left them a long time ago... they are an entire continent away I could not have come to this place even in an entire week... how long was I unconscious... Why would my friends bring me here..."

Rays mind now under an incredible amount of stress caused him to grip at his head tightly. It was then that Ray had begun to continually pound his fists into the soil beneath him. Shortly after he started doing this a figure appeared before him, although Ray could tell it was a male the individuals face was shaded and before he could say anything the man had run off down the song line. The man chanted and sung as he went along naming landmarks and towns that Ray new all too well. Ray knowing the chants and lyrics joined in in order to follow him further down the path. Hoping for some answers Ray was more than willing to play along even if this turned out to be a game or worse a trap, he thought in his mind. Slowly after Ray was forced to sing and dance along to the tune of the strange person in front of him for what seemed an eternity. The man came to a halt standing atop a massive crystalline structure that Ray new all too well as the place he had been born.

"What are we doing here? Why the hell have I been brought to the Isle of Thylos? Hugh...hugh... hugh...grrrraaa! Answer me you bastard what the hell is the point of all this?"

The figure disappeared for a second and then reappeared directly in front of where Ray was standing. When at last Ray could see the figures face it was like looking into a mirror except the figure before him was garbed in tribal clothing and seemed much more malevolent than he imagined himself. The reflection of himself spoke with evil in its breath as it issued its message to him,

"Awaken brother! This world must be awakened by your hand... Kill, maim, ravage if you must but above all you must become awakened to that which lies inside you... Areva the god of war and blood commands these things of our people so awaken! Awaken!!! Awaken!!!!!"

After the figure shouted the last Awaken he grabbed Ray and threw him into the air. After throwing Ray into the air the strange man punched him down again and his body crashed into the crystals below shattering his consciousness and the crystals everywhere.

Moments later Ray became conscious as he leaped out of his bed and into the air wielding the Bangmang'i. Sweat dripped down his face and chest as he found himself awake for real he hoped this time. His body was glowing brightly just as it was in his dream, likely he thought from the very stress the dream had placed upon his mind. Yaksha looked upon his friend with great concern as he saw the look of fear in Ray's eyes. Yaksha waved his paws downward as he said calmly,

"Easy Ray... it seems that the Bangmang'i that the Dokkaebi gave you doesn't come without its fair share of risks..."

Ray took a few deep breaths and then sighed deeply once more before Yaksha decided to continue,

"You see the weapon you hold in your hands uses up a tremendous amount of your Aura depending on the properties of what it is you are trying to summon... the magic hat you took from that Dokkaebi was extremely powerful, thus it took an extraordinary amount of Aura for you to transport it into your hands. That means you need to be careful with what you take and when you decide to take it. Just like when you decide to use an Arte like the one I used against the Dokkaebi... those can be just as detrimental as using ancient artifacts of unknown origin... but the issue you are facing right now is the utter lack of training in offensive Artes... well not utter lacking, but you have focused yourself entirely on the ability to commune with my kind and swinging a weapon around. Until now you have allowed me to do the heavy hitting seeing as you were better at distance fighting. You are also the only person in our little group that can utilize those defensive tattoos... which by the way they are really glowing right now. So I think you should take a few more deep breaths, then focus on limiting how much aura you're outputting into those things and then we can talk about what's running through your head."

Ray put down his weapon and then sat along the side of his bed as he tried to get his emotions under control. Ray looked around the room he was in and there were three beds other than the one he was sleeping in. Yong and Fritz were nowhere in sight arousing Ray's curiosity,

"Where are the others at Yaksha?"

Yaksha grimaced a little as he thought of the proper way to relay bad news to his friend,

"Well... the thing is a lot has happened in the few days you have been out. For one thing we had to get you aide as quickly as possible. So... The three of us sought out a village with a doctor or healer that could restore your strength. The first two villages were completely useless as they were just average towns with nothing for adventurers in particular. The third village is where or problems started, which began the moment we arrived inside the swamp village known as Strom. The village from what I have been able to garner so far is being controlled by a group of Rougauru. You know those shape shifting creatures that we used to always hear about as bedtime stories... well apparently the stories had an air of truth to them."

Ray shuttered as the image of these terrifying monsters entered his thoughts, then gripping his hands tightly around his thighs he looked at Yaksha. With a hard swallow Ray asked the question in his head hoping that what his friend just said wouldn't be verified,

"Are Yong and Fritz... captured by these foul monsters... and are you absolutely certain that they are indeed Rougauru?"

Yaksha simply nodded yes before elaborating on his answers to Ray,

"I'm afraid so... From the moment we entered this god forsaken town... I felt that something was up... you began glowing brightly and talking in your sleep. Worse yet soon after finding someone to tend to you while you were in such a state; we had our first run in with the Rougauru... A Shaman that went by the name of Agwe knocked on our door in the hotel room. He hinted heavily that we should get out of town... or"

"Or what? Or What?"

Ray said impatiently the agitation of being out of the loop for so long began to weigh heavily on the youths mind,

"Or that he wouldn't be responsible for the consequences if we stayed! I realize now that he also appeared in order to scope us out... get some insight into what we were capable of as a group. Later this shaman of theirs reappeared with a group of his followers... little did we know that his followers were the enslaved bodies of past victims. We just presumed they were religious zealots or something and as he was attacking us we dispatched them relatively easily, but it was the shaman himself that was most troublesome... we couldn't harm him no matter how many times we hit him or came at him. Then he did something... something that I can't really explain, but the results were that Fritz and Yong were captured by a strange arte that I have never seen or even read about... the stories they told us when we were young are tame compared to the powers this Rougauru shaman demonstrated. The only thing that saved me from its vile grip was a surprise."

Ray looked at Yaksha expecting him to give a response to this surprise he spoke of when a knock at the door interrupted Yaksha from continuing any further with the tale. A youth around the same age as Ray stepped through the curtain that blocked anyone from viewing those past its silken threads. As Ray looked upon the youth he saw a bit of himself in the way the teen held his posture. He was a dirty blond with specks of red dotting the ends of the numerous strands of hair that covered his head. His eyes were a sandy color with iris's that looked like feral slits. His clothes were ragged and worn from years of wear and tear. A once pristine white t-shirt was now dusty and almost tan in coloration. Overtop the t-shirt was a green cloak that barely met the youths shoulders and was frayed along the edges. His shorts were equally dirty and frayed; the hemp cloth came down to just below his knees and was faded until it took on a coloration similar to that of a lime or unripe cucumber. A pair of tattered old shoes adorned his calloused and overworked feet, which were able to be seen as the toes of his shoes had holes in them. The major item of distinction upon the youth's unassuming features was a necklace with a round orb of polished jade stone. Looking upon Ray the youth placed a pinky into his right ear clearing out the wax within and then flicked it away without a second thought.

"So you're Ray aye! Nothing special about you by just looks alone... Names Inari I'm a child of Kumiho... judging by those eyes of yours you are obviously a Thylos... The realm of Arious seems to think it would be better off without our two races of late... hahahahaha! It's going to have to try a little harder if it wants to get rid of me though... I'm not going anywhere as long as I can help it. You and your friend there are lucky I came along when I did... sorry about not saving the other two though, but I've got a few more tricks up my sleeve in order to get them back... Hehehe... they don't call me a thief for nothing I can take back just about anything I put my mind to... including those two friends of yours."

Ray forced a smile despite his heart being in turmoil over the news that the two he called brother were in grave danger.

"Well Inari... I'm glad you're on my side and nice to meet you as well. As to the worlds seeming dislike of our two races I am in agreement; I have no intention of just sitting down and dying I will endure whatever this realm of ours decides to throw at me... until it finally gets tired of trying to kill me and acknowledges my existence."

The two fledgling teenagers looked upon one another unsure what to make of their current circumstances. Yaksha looked at Ray, then at the newcomer then back at Ray before breaking the silence,

"So what are we going to do to save our friends then?"

Inari reacted to Yaksha's question first and as he did he scratched at his groin in plain view of everyone without much care,

"Well first we need to figure out where it is this shaman has taken them... then we get a good knowledge and understanding of the building and terrain... it won't be until after we get our bearings on the situation that we will be able to exact a rescue of your friends... and with it revenge on this Rougauru who has hurt so many in this town... I just wish that I could have acted against this beast sooner."

Ray looked at Inari who appeared to become grief stricken. This forced Ray to speak up as he wondered what had happened,

"What do you mean by sooner? How long has this guy been here for?"

Inari looked away from Ray fearful that Ray might see something in his eyes or worse think that he was weak,

"These things have been here for as long as the people of this village can recall... so long in fact that these Rougauru are foretold as legendary beings... bringers of the end times... herders of destruction! All of these names fit whatever the Rougauru are. I have found that the ancient legends about how the Rougauru are born into this world are just as terrifying as the real thing. The tales that this village tells of their coming into being is that one must be bitten by a Rougauru; from there your soul is bound to the original demon that linked himself to the first Rougauru. With this the being that is bitten is given untold power and strength... but it comes at the cost of your freedom and sanity. The real truth is still unknown to me and the folklore surrounding them is ancient; I believe it is likely out of date and lacking in merit or ability to tell us anything useful."

Ray thought on what Inari had said and then with a calm manner he added his thoughts about how to proceed,

"Well, out of date or not the information must hold some air of truth to it... one thing is for certain this guy is definitely powerful and not someone to underestimate. We should also weigh each other's strengths and weaknesses in order to shield one another better and ensure the greatest latitude of success. Other than that we just have to try... my friends are too important... to not try at all would be an injustice to the friendship we share. As for my abilities it would be better just to show you first hand rather than giving some longwinded explanation."

Ray bound up from the bed and stumbled slightly before squaring upon his feet. Once he was up he allowed his aura to surge into the visible spectrum. The energy encircled his body in a warm and gentle feeling before it quickly took on the shape of the tattoos from earlier. His eyes had begun to glow again like they had done in his dream only more intensely for some reason. Ray walked closer to Inari before continuing,

"Now I'll need you to swing at me Inari! So that you can see what I am actually doing here."

Inari stepped back a few steps then with a shout,

"Alright don't hate me if I knock a tooth out or something."

Inari slugged Ray potently in the jaw knocking him back several feet before Ray was able to balance himself again. After he managed to keep from falling over Inari looked upon where he hit him, what he found was that instead of hitting his face he had slugged a number of hexagonal runes of light.

"So Ray... those runes of light; they only become visible when someone successfully hits you at some point of your body... am I right?"

Ray smirked cheerfully at Inari's ability to swiftly grasp how his powers worked; then responded while pointing his thumb directly at the visible runes on his face,

"Yeah! You got it Inari... Hehehe! That's why the Thylos are so hard to kill... we got really thick skin to deal with really thick skulls."

Inari grinned widely right back at Ray as he seemed to prepare for a showdown. A clash that would involve both him and Ray showcasing their powers to one another until one was declared the victor.

"Well Ray I'm going to show you the Reason the Children of Kumiho are so feared by the world... you see we are the descendants of the blue flame, which married a legendary fox spirit and the two gave birth to us their eternal children."

Yaksha realizing what Inari's powers were capable of interjected sternly as to avoid damage to the room they were staying in,

"Inari! If you wish to show off to your new boyfriend here I would appreciate it if you two took it outside away from... well everything in here that I would like to see remain in one piece thank you."

Inari and Ray both glared at Yaksha unhappy with him for making a remark about them being in a relationship. The two then energetically rushed outside to where they could continue without Yaksha making more embarrassing remarks about their newfound friendship. Eventually the two stopped as they reached an empty pier jutting out along the edge of the swamp. Inari still wanting to show off to Ray started to speak while doing everything he could to look and sound cool as he showed off his moves;

"Well Ray... now that we don't have anyone to interrupt us. I'm going to show you how a true Child of Kumiho fights in battle."

Inari with great celerity in his hands wrote out unusual symbols in the air relying on his aura to etch the potent sigils. His fingertips were flooded with his aura as he focused intently on what he was about to cast. Inari then uttered the activation words for his arte shouting the last word loudly as he did

"Foxari Secret Arte: Resonating blue flame...Foxfire!"

A fluorescent green flame escaped from the sigils that Inari had written in the air with frightening speed. The fluorescent fire soon swirled around Inari's young form traveling upwards and concentrating en masse all around him. Within a few moments Inari had managed to tame the fluorescence and his jade necklace began to glow as the flames wisped by faster and faster until at last the flames separated into a row of ten separate orbs of flame. Each flame had its own unique symbol that glowed within each of the phosphorescent orbs of light. Inari put his hands together uttering a set of phrases as he did,

"Foxari Secret Arte first stage: Hana!"

The orbs spun around Inari like a crescendo of light and energy. The light show lasted for only a few seconds but dazzled Ray as he watched in awe of his friend's mystical performance. At last the orbs melded together into a single sphere of green energy. The powerful orb had the symbol for "Hana" emblazoned inside its very core. Inari's focus intensified as he directed his energies into the orb and at last a great wall of luminescent fire escaped and was directed forcefully at the swamp. The combination of heat and energy that followed alongside the wall of fire incinerated or boiled everything it came near. The wall of flames managed to also push up a wave of water forcing the two to mix together into a bank of steam that surrounded Inari and ray. Ray patted Inari across the back as he found himself overcome with a sense of admiration towards this child of Kumiho.

"Inari, that was awesome! I am actually sort of jealous that you can shoot fire like that. You Children of Kumiho really are gifted in your magical prowess. Remind me never to get on your bad side because I'm not sure that even my armor could take a direct hit from something like that. I just hope that between you and me... that we have enough strength to get my friends back."

Inari looked over at Ray whose voice started to crack the young Thylos overcome with emotion as he thought about his friends not being with him.

"It's so lame... I just got to see them again recently for the first time in almost three years. Then something like this has to happen... If something happens to them I'll never forgive myself. There precious to me... I have to rescue them, I just have to!"

Inari who knew these same emotions that Ray was feeling, possibly even better than Ray did himself compelled the youth to put his own arm overtop of Rays. The moment Inari did this he also grinned cheerfully as he said comfortingly to his friend,

"Ray... I have no doubt that we will rescue your friends."

Ray tried his best to wipe away the tears that he had been shedding by wiping them away with the sleeve of his shirt. As Ray did this he let out a few sniffled breaths before looking over at his companion and saying,

"You're pretty optimistic talking that way to someone that you have just met. How can you be so sure?"

Inari just looked straight ahead taking in the view of the sky and Bayou that lay before him then answered,

"The reason I know is because you don't seem to be the type to abandon your friends... beyond that I know that nothing can possibly stand before my flames of Hana! So buck up and get that butt in gear because we are going to go get your friends. After that we are all going to go and see what lies beyond this smelly swamp."

Ray bursts out laughing as Inari grips his nose tightly signifying how bad the swamp smelled to him.

"I mean have you smelled this place it's like everywhere you turn it smells like ass or someone's armpit after working out all day."

The two continued to laugh and joke for a while longer attempting to fend off the solemn feelings that underlay the situation. This positive energy would not stay in the air for long however, as something fierce began to brew inside the swampland. Ray caught something launching itself from the edge of the swamp out of the corner of his eye. The entity that Ray saw came into view fairly quickly and what he saw seemed to resonate within him. This entity took the form of a humanoid man that was nearly six foot four and his form was built like that of a bear or some other massive wild beast. The man had black hair and his eyes glowed as if consumed by a ravenous hunger. Ray looked upon the man with great unease as the man in turn glared back at him with obvious hostility. Other than his hair and eyes Ray began to take in the regal attire that the man was garbed in. The man with black hair began to speak after a few moments of stark and intense silence,

"Well, Well... You two certainly are interesting to observe from afar. Sadly for you I am not a very patient individual and have decided to confront you rather than lay in wait any longer. You may call me Gervase Moschet; I am a member of the Rougauru that lay claim to this swamp. You have just spoken of how you plan on retrieving your friends from us. The Wendigo who is our leader would be greatly displeased if I allowed you to interfere with our plans; so young Thylos and Child of Kumiho I ask you to prepare yourselves for the afterlife."

Gervase lunged himself at the two boys punching and thrashing madly as he did. Every step the man took caused the pier to shake and each one resounded like thunder. Inari was the first to react by etching out his luminous mystic words into the air around him. Ray reached behind his back and pulled out the Bangmang'i and as he did Ray lunged at the monolithic humanoid before him. Inari by this point had finished weaving his spell together and thus began to speak the words of this particular arte,

"Foxari Secret Arte: orbs of light!"

After Inari finished uttering these words; a set of luminous orbs bound in the shape of two separate rings surrounded Gervase and trapped him within a literal orb of fire. Ray slammed the bangmang'i down upon Gervase's shoulder and as he did he summoned a massive statue directly above Gervase's body. Inari's attack was the first to go off as the set of luminous rings bound themselves tightly around Gervase's body. Gervase fell to his feet as he found himself unable to move due to Inari's attack. The statue that Ray summoned dropped atop Gervase with a massive clang. The pier itself began to buckle and snap under tremendous weight of the statue. Eventually the pier split apart and broke; Gervase was again smashed under the weight of the statue that Ray had summoned. Ray looked at Inari with a puzzled and quite shaken look upon his face,

"Where the hell did this guy come from?"

Inari was also taken aback by Gervases presence. Inari was about to respond when a terrifying roar was unleashed from beneath the statue. Both Inari and Ray were dumbstruck by what they saw next. The statue began to break apart and as it did rock exploded in every direction. Gervase lifted himself out from beneath what was left of the statue. Gervase had shifted his shape into an even more terrifying visage than he possessed before. Gervase now had a huge maw made all the more menacing as serrated death-white teeth were brimming from one end of his mouth to the other. Gervase was even taller than before by about three feet in total. His clothes were torn and a layer of dark fur had overtaken most of his body. Gervases eyes were even more ravenous and malevolent than before; overcome with a powerful bloodlust he unleashed a second and even more gut-wrenching cry that caused both Ray and Inari to begin shaking. Gervase began to speak with a slow and very intense manner in his voice that he directed at the two boys,

"You two... I hate you two... I will feed upon your flesh, drink your blood and grind your bones for their delicious marrow. I have to say I like fighting in this form a lot more than that pathetic one you crushed beneath that statue just moments ago. I really get to let loose in this body! But I do have to wonder... how did a couple of bite-sized morsels like you get ahold of such incredible powers?"

Ray clenched his fists as he tried to overcome the fear that had gripped his heart. Then he found himself shouting at the top of his lunges at the terrifying Rougauru that lay before him,

"I'm not telling a monster like you anything! I swear first that I'm going to beat the living daylights out of you... then I'm going to find this Wendigo guy and take back my friends do you hear me!"

"Well... Well, I guess you're going to at least make things interesting for me then... No matter, the curiosity I have will be sated after I feast upon your bodies."

During the time that Gervase was talking to Inari and ray; a group of Trogoths were rowing up the west side of the inlet. Trogoths are large bipedal reptilian beings that inhabit swamps and jungles; the ones that were approaching had dark blue and gray colored scales that enabled them to blend into their environment. The Trogoth furthest to the front of the boat, which was called a pirogue looked over to see the boys fighting the massive Rougauru. This same Trogoth shouted to his companion,

"Get ready boy! We got ourselves a Rougauru ta fight. Hehehe! This gonna be a fun day today aye frère."

The one named Frère that the first Trogoth was talking to began to hoot and holler with excitement as he to spotted the large Rougauru. Frère shouted back to his companion with a wide grin as he knew the hunt was about to begin,

"Hey Père; How we gonna go about killing that there Rougauru? He's a big one, so I'd say we should roll'em then sink'em."

Père let out a load holler followed by a war cry before adding to his friend's conversation,

"Yeah Frère... and then we can slice him and dice him. Bet he tastes good after proper seasoning."

Père and frère both leaped into the water with a light splash accompanying them as they struck the surface. The two waded through the murky water with the aide of their webbed fingers and toes. Père gripped in his right hand a "Maquahuitl" which was a weapon that resembled a sword in shape. The difference was that it was made up mostly of wood and had 5 extremely sharp pieces of obsidian rock imbedded into the sides, which acted as the weapons killing edge. Père also had a shield made from the back of a snapping turtles shell, which he prepared to ready for the oncoming conflict that lied ahead of him. Frère had his own weapon that he was ready to bring to bear. Frère wielded a bow in his right hand and gripped an arrow in his left hand as he swam closer and closer towards the Rougauru.

Ray by this point had charged head first into battle thwacking and cracking the Rougauru with his Bangmang'i. Each time his weapon hit Ray summoned whatever he could think of that was heavy or might deal serious injury to the Rougauru. Gervase deflected the latest object that came at him, which was a bronze statue from one of the nearby temples. Gervase quickly became irritated by the constant flinging of objects by what he saw as nothing more than a small boy. During this loss of patience Gervase leaped high into the air and landed just inches from Ray's body. Gervase then slammed his fist into the teen's stomach hoping to incapacitate him. Ray found himself thrust high into the air as his personal armor took effect deflecting a great deal of the force that Gervase had placed in the blow. Hexagonal runes of light similar to the ones that appeared when Inari punched him in the face materialized where Gervase had just landed a blow of his own. Ray looked at his opponent and found himself unsure how to proceed. Time almost seemed to stop moving for Ray as he was jettisoned through the air by Gervase's attack. Ray quickly tried to right himself jerking his body in such a way as to spin like a corkscrew. Ray's left foot touches down boot first as he continued to spin almost like he was performing a sort of dance. His right foot spun around and landed neatly behind him as he used it to correct his stance. The toe of his boot dug up grit and earth in a rounded form like the edge of a compass drawing a new region on a map. Ray seeing no alternative than to fight the Rougauru face to face slammed his Bangmang'i into the ground with a loud thud. The teenager then put up his fists in a defensive manner as he awaited Gervase's next attack. Ray didn't have to wait long as Gervase came at him with intense speed. Ray was astounded by Gervases sudden change in maneuverability. Gervase drew upon some strange and otherworldly ability; his body began to grow darker and more malevolent due to a dark Aura that enveloped his entire body. Gervase then focused that evil Aura into his gaping maw as he did this he also began taking a deep and powerful breath. Gervases diaphragm expanded his nostrils tensed and his body felt heavy under the pressure of the mass of energy that he had begun to store up inside his chest. Gervase launched himself head first at Ray and as he did he went to grip the boy by his fatigue Jacket. Ray ducked down in an attempt to dodge Gervases attack; Gervase then collided with Ray like a bullet that had been fired from a gun at close range. Ray readied his attack just as Gervase decided to unleash the one he had been building up in his chest. Closer to shore Inari realized what the Rougauru was attempting to do and so readied a counter to the oncoming attack. Gervases attack goes off a split second after Rays and Inari being further away loosed his attack just as the two of them hit each other with everything they had. Ray shouted at the top of his lunges unleashing a glint of light that enveloped everything within several yards around him,

"Solemn Arte of the Thylos: Runic Palisade!"

Rays body was encircled by powerful runes of light that extended into long pointed hexagonal cylinders that immediately dug into Gervases body. Gervase fired off a flash of energy that racked Ray's body with agonizing and crippling pain. The source of the pain and agony was from the hellish black fire that was already beginning to stick to Ray's body and eat away at his skin. Much of the fire was mitigated by those familiar prisms of light and safety. That security was breached at least partially due to the sheer magnitude of black fire that was spewed onto Ray's body. Rays attack was just as potent as Gervase found himself pierced deeply at multiple points along his body. Blood dribbled down the palisades of light as it escaped from Gervases wounds and Gervase grimaced in agony as the pain took hold.

Ray at this point had begun to writhe in pain; the young Thylos pulled away from the weakened Rougauru by melding out of the palisade of light that had surrounded him. Ray collapsed onto the dock where he and the Rougauru had first started their conflict. Inari's attack finally kicked in and slammed Gervase like a meteor that had crashed from the empyreal blue sky. Inari's attack summoned forth a mighty wind that was the color of jade as it travelled at breakneck speed and slammed into Gervase with a loud crack similar to that of thunder. Gervase found his chest slashed open at multiple points only to see the second phase of Inari's attack coming at him. The wind from the first strike still spiraled around The Rougauru's body waiting for the massive fireball that Inari had conjured to arrive just seconds later. Gervases face and body started to shine and glisten due to the approaching fire and in what he saw as his final moments the Rougauru began to laugh maniacally his face and body shined brighter and brighter until at last the hellish green flames subsumed him entirely. At this moment both Ray and Inari heard a loud and terrifying howl of agony being loosed from within what was now a tornado of wind, fire and scorched flesh. The flames that had been further fanned by the cyclone of wind were slow to subside, despite this Inari rushed in to grab Ray who was still racked with pain and barely able to move on his own. Ray found himself forced to lie on his back and as he did that he stared up at the heavens eyes glowing brighter than at any point that he could recall. Inari managed to reach him before the blaze expanded out to where the young Thylos was located. Inari cried out to his friend as he picked him up. Ray looked over at his friend unable to speak or make a motion, so instead the Thylos merely smiled and placed his head against Inari's shoulder. Ray gazed up at Inari as the adrenaline and shock wore off and his eyes dimmed once more and he again fell into darkness.

Inari leaped backwards in order to get to a safe distance from the fire and the Rougauru. After he accomplished this task with relative ease he placed his friend in a safe place along the shoreline. After accomplishing this, the child of Kumiho again approached the pier and what he hoped was a corpse. The form of Gervase lay face first against what little was left of the section of peer where the fighting first started. Inari slowly approached the body inch by inch secretly fearing that the Rougauru would somehow awake. Inari spoke up in order to hopefully garner a response if Gervase were still alive.

"Hey... Hey... Dog breath! Get up..."

Inari goes to kick the beast when something grabbed him from behind. Inari found himself suspended up in the air and was being held there by the tuft of his shirt. Inari flailed his body around angrily before seeing the person who had been holding him. It was a young and terrifying maiden who had scars all across her face. The female glared at Inari with an intensity that surpassed even Gervases rage and anger.

"Quit struggling whelp... Gervase! Awaken toads for brains... I cannot believe that you allowed yourself to be bested by a pair of kids."

Gervases eyes rustled for a moment before awakening with a red glare filling them. He then stood up his body cracking and bones creaking as he did; Gervases scorched flesh crackled away from his form revealing bare muscle and bone that slowly began to heal on its own. Gervase then looked upon the female, who had spoken to him and said with smoky breath,

"Lady Bisclavret... My Baroness... why have you come here? I am more than adequate to deal with this vermin intrusion that has entered your swamp."

The Baroness simply stretched out her hand as she examined the four rings upon each of her right hands fingers.

"Gervase... Why do you follow me?"

Gervase looked at his mistress with confusion written into his face as he contemplated a possible response. It was at that very moment that a splash was heard from behind each of the two Rougauru. The Trogoth from earlier leaped out from beneath the waves with their weapons brandished and readied for a prolonged fight. Frère was the first to initiate contact with the Rougauru,

"Well what we got here Père? The big one over there smells like he been roasted over some hot coals..."

Père chuckled slyly as he added his own thoughts to the conversation,

"Yeah Frère... He looks like he done fell off the ugly tree and hit all those branches on the way down."

The Baroness let lose a sigh before making further inquiry into the Trogoth who had just appeared,

"What do you scaly dimwits want of me?"

Frère grinned at the Rougauru's question and then responded smugly,

"Well Père here is being mighty patient by allowing me to carry on and hold a conversation with you, but in all honesty we are both fixin' to kill the big one and then we aren't too sure what we going to do with you missy, oh and we would appreciate you letting the fox cub go there... that would be mighty nice of yah both."

Gervase snorted defiantly at the two Trogoths before making a request of his mistress

"Lady Bisclavret? May I dispatch these two scaly bumpkins who have insulted me in such a disgraceful manner as to have called me ugly?"

The mistress bit her lip largely out of anger towards being interrupted by the two Trogoths. Lady Bisclavret then shouted at her compatriot,

"Go forth Gervase... Seek and destroy! You hear me? Seek and destroy these foolish lizards who dare to stand against my might... no the might of the Rougauru!"

Gervase flexed triumphantly as the vigor from before reentered his muscles and he prepared to hunt once more. He then looked over to the Baron and said with a smirk,

"I am honored to fight for you... even if this is the last time! Remember that I have always been honored to be at your side Lady Bisclavret. I am your night and you are my day!"

Gervase catapulted himself at Père first who responded by throwing up his shield in anticipation. The fiery lizard then swung with his Maquahuitl cleaving through flesh muscle and even bone like it was mere foliage. Gervase swung his claws at Père who blocked with the readied shield. The lizard was taken aback by the sheer amount of force that the mighty Rougauru could pack behind his blows. Frère loosed an arrow at the Rougauru's backside, but the baroness deflected the shaft aimed at her compatriot with a stroke of her finger. The shaft was cleaved in two and Frère felt an uneasy chill go down his spine. Lady Bisclavret threw Inari aside landing him against the bank where he had left Ray earlier. Inari looked over at his friend hoping that he might awaken soon. Frère charged at the female Rougauru drawing an obsidian dagger from the belt at his side. The older lizard leaped high into the air before coming down and crashing into Lady Bisclavret. The two grappled with one another for control as the two looked into one another's eyes with disdain and slight anticipation about what the other was thinking. Frère went to punch the Rougauru in the stomach when she clawed him across the face and arm. Frère cried out in anger before slashing his dagger across the woman's chest and abdomen. The baroness quickly went and kicked the male lizard in the stomach knocking him back a few steps.

Meanwhile Yaksha had heard all of the commotion that had been going on and rushed outside to see what the cause was. The young mongoose was surprised to hear the sounds of battle between the Rougauru and Trogoth to have reached such an intense crescendo of violence. Yaksha was actually bewildered by the fact that combat was occurring at all. The mongoose cheerlessly drew his claw weapons and readied for what he feared would be a merciless attack by the Rougauru once more. Yaksha charged towards the sounds of conflict and as he rounded the tall swamp grass to see the four combatants going at it he merely clambered one of his weapons up against his head in bewilderment. Yaksha then looked over to see ray and Inari lying on the nearby bank. This caused the young warrior to leap into action and rush down to where his compatriots were. Inari was the only one conscious still as he spotted Yaksha headed over to where he was. Yaksha dropped to his knees beside both Inari and Ray as he looked back and forth at the two boys and saw that Ray wasn't moving,

"What happened? How did Ray get hurt... is he ok?"

Inari was still out of breath from using so many spells so his response was slow at first,

"We were practicing our techniques when these Rougauru came out of nowhere and attacked us... the big guy over there is really tough and we have been fighting him the longest. The female just showed up in the last few minutes and has some truly outrageous strength. The big guy is the one who hurt ray and me really bad though. I cannot tell you anything about the lizard guys though... they just showed up and started fighting of their own accord."

Yaksha let out a sigh before he said anything in response to what he just heard,

"Alright... Well it would seem we are in a swamp that is inhabited by the Trogoth peoples... so at least we aren't without allies against these idiots known as Rougauru. This will still take a while to deal with though."

Inari stood back up finally able to gather some of his strength as he readied another of his techniques.

"We definitely need to end this shortly or else this entire swamp is going to become a battleground."

In the intervening time as Yaksha and Inari readied themselves to take on the two Rougauru; Frère found himself being gripped tightly by the Baroness. The sheer amount of strength that lay within her grip was tremendous and Frère was unfortunately being grabbed by the throat. Frère grabbed at her arm, which was binding him closer and closer to deaths door as he was no longer able to gather his breath. The lizard struggled with all his might using his hands to attempt to push away from her grip. Finally with tremendous effort he managed to loosen The Rougauru's grip enough to take a much needed breath and then with all of his remaining strength he plunged the obsidian blade into her arm. This action by the Trogoth forced the Baroness to release her grip upon him entirely as she clenched her whole arm back taking the blade with her. Frère fell to his knees coughing and sputtering as he did everything in his power to regain his breath. The lizards saliva dribbled onto the ground as the forcefulness of his coughing caused him to spit up mucous in the form of droplets. The Trogoth touched his neck with his left hand to ensure that he hadn't been seriously cut or injured by the female Rougauru.

Père who was fighting the other Rougauru was faring far better than his friend; as he deflected the harrowing strikes made by the massive hulking being that was Gervase. Père readied a technique gleaning his aura into the Maquahuitl; this caused the weapons edge to gleam sharply along its multiple edges.

"Now hear me demon! I will finish you here and now with my Maquahuitl and the techniques of my people. Trogoth sacrificial arte: Smoking Mirror!"

After Père unleashed his technique the young lizard seemed to step out of reality for a fraction of a second. The Trogoth reappeared directly beside his opponent before performing a spiraling motion with his weapon that cleaved through Gervase's hide and tore out large chunks of flesh as it did. Gervase looked over at the young Trogoth in disbelief. The Rougauru's eyes then faded from the fearsome red that had burned so fiercely towards so many enemies; into a milky white haze that signified that the mighty beast had finally been defeated. Gervase fell to the ground his breath was heavy and as he fell he landed upon his side staring up at the heavens. Père wasted no time in ensuring that the behemoth was truly finished. The lizard slammed his right hand into the Rougauru's chest with his claws extended out firmly like an edged weapon. The Trogoth found his mark and clamped his fingers around Gervases heart before wrenching it out and holding it within his grasp. Gervase let out one last heavy gasp before fully dying where he lay. Blood seeped from the wound in his chest and out of his mouth and nostrils; Père then quickly readied a final technique that was more of an ancient prayer than a fighting move.

"Mighty creator god of my people take upon you this gift of my foes quintessence... sacrificial arte: Blood sacrament!"

Père then bit down upon the heart that he had removed from Gervase. The young Trogoth then found himself overcome with the beast's aura and his entire body began to resonate uncontrollably. The baroness upon seeing Gervase being taken down explodes in a frenzy of uncontested rage. She beamed at Frère who was barely able to stand at this point. The foul mistress ripped the dagger she had been stabbed with from her arm; then she lunged at the Trogoth who swiftly responded by drawing his bow and firing a shaft at the Rougauru. The arrow was again deflected, but this time Lady Bisclavret utilized the obsidian dagger that she now had. With a powerful clang she swung her weapon and smacked the arrows tip which caused it to spiral off in the opposite direction. The baroness then continued to go at Frère who at this point was exhausted and in serious danger as his options seemed to be drying up. Before Yaksha Inari or even Frère himself could even react; Lady Bisclavret plunged the dagger she was wielding into Frère's chest. The lizard responded by grabbing her arm as tightly as he could with his adrenaline forced into overdrive by the threat he was now facing. Blood was leaking from the wound at an astounding rate; but despite the damage he had received the fearsome Trogoth refused to relent. The Rougauru mistress let out a mighty roar and plunged the dagger even further into the Trogoth; who in response gleaned the last of his strength into the back of his throat. Frère who was barely able to speak at this point uttered his last but most frightening technique,

"Trogoth art of flawless revelation: Breath of the Seraph!"

Frère unleashed a puissant and wrathful stream of aura that seemed to consist of wind, acid and smoke. Lady Bisclavret let loose a scream of agony as the extraordinary blast of destruction hit her with enough force that it sent her skyrocketing through the air. The mighty mistress of the Rougauru rolled end to end through the sky like a rag doll for several seconds before smashing into the ground with a loud thud. Frère, who was now gasping for air between coughs that forced up blood, removed the blade that was now jammed deep into his chest. The lizard collapsed to his knees before grasping at the now gaping wound in his chest. Frère despite being close to deaths door had little time to think or act before noticing his compatriot being overtaken by a dark and malevolent power.

"Père... Père! You done ate the organs of that unclean beast haven't ya... I don't know how many times I've warned that boy about using that technique... That peeshwank... cough*... Couyon... The fool's gone and sunk either of our chances of living to see tomorrow. Cough* Fathers gone be mad if he sees you like this Père... I'm going to be mighty sorry since it seems I won't be around to see what kind of Trogoth you gone be someday Père. Alright now Frère here needs to get down to business and draw out that fire that's tormenting you so badly friend."

Frère looked over and saw Yaksha and Inari approaching and as they did he called out to them,

"You over dare I need to ask you all a favor for me... my friend here done did something mighty foolish and I needs to help him. Would you please make sure that Rougauru don't get no closer and when I do what I do I need the both of you to kill me real quick like... no time for explanation, but please do tell Père that he is real important and that he shouldn't beat himself up to bad about my death... I am about to die from these wounds anyway so he isn't the one responsible for all this. Just wish he would think a bit more before using techniques like that."

Yaksha and Inari both rushed over to where Frère was collapsed out of concern for the lizard and the shape he was in. Yaksha was the first to speak to the Trogoth and as he did he knew it might be the first and only time he might get to do so,

"River dweller... Thank you for coming to the aide of my friends... I only wish that it hadn't cost you so dearly to do so. What can I do to honor you should you die?"

The Trogoth burst out laughing at Yaksha for a few disconcerting seconds before replying,

"Who dare... You talking like I've already crawled into some grave that lies over yonder... Well boy you should concern yourself with you and not worry about a fool like me. The only request that I would be willing to make with ya is that you look after Père and make sure he doesn't get to sad without me... he needs a good set of friends and I think travelling outside this here bayou would be good for him. But I digress and I need to get this ritual of mine started as soon as possible so that Père there doesn't go and get all possessed and what not."

Inari waves his hands back and forth in front of him as he shouts,

"Whoa... whoa... whoa... How can you trust us so quickly...? I mean I haven't even spoken with you until this very moment... I mean as far as you know we could be no better than that Rougauru over there."

Frère sighed at Inari's statement before answering as best he could,

"You are right boy... I don't know you that well... but I can tell just by looking at you that your nothing like those monsters... and I believe that Père is intelligent enough to know whether or not he should trust you... I merely hope that if you are trustworthy that you will ensure Père finds his way back from the darkness he will soon find himself in. My people are upriver and will be here shortly tell them I said you are welcome in our village and not to morn my death, but to celebrate my passing to live with the gods of the underworld."

Before Yaksha or Inari could speak further a destructive blast came from the direction of where Lady Bisclavret had hit the ground. Lady Bisclavret brushed herself off a few times before staring directly at Frère, Yaksha and Inari. As the mighty mistress looked on with unchecked rage she roared,

"You're all dead! You hear me worms? You're all nothing more than bloody paintbrushes left for me to put on my most macabre performance ever! I'm going to use your blood as war paint, your brains as food and your skulls as a receptacle for when I wish to drink wine. I refuse to be overtaken by such pathetic mongrels as this... hahahahahahaha! You clods ready? Cause I'm about to show you why you don't mess with a Rougauru."

Yaksha readied his fearsome metal claws by first crossing his arms overtop his chest. The claws of his weapon glinted under the sun as the fiery mongoose looked between the 4 gleaming blades and directly at the enemy that stood before him. Yaksha quickly looked over at Inari as he came up with a plan to take on this mighty foe and whispered,

"Alright Inari... This one is the same one that took us down last time. I don't know how long we can hold her off on our own, but we have to try something or else we may wind up with that lizard over there also trying to kill us. Do you have any ideas friend?"

Inari shrugged as he found himself short on ideas, but after a few seconds he whispered back,

"Obviously the two of them aren't immortal... Ray and I managed to hurt the big guy enough that the lizard guy over there could take him down with little trouble, but I feel that this woman is different... Almost like she has more force of will or her power reserves go much deeper than the big guys did. I think her name is... Lady Biscla...Biscla..vr...et? or something like that... and the big guy was Gervase. Other than that they seem to be able to do there techniques without uttering a single phrase or word."

"I have never heard of anyone with the name of Gervase... but Bisclavret is a very old name. The name goes all the way back to a kingdom that once inhabited this region. I'll tell you the full story after we finish this fight, but right now just get that faux fire of yours up and running."

Yaksha uncrossed his arms and went into a fighting stance with his right arm guarding his head and neck and the left hand outstretched in front of him. Yaksha quickly shot himself forward like a bullet being fired from a gun. The small mammal charged full force at the Rougauru mistress as he unleashed a loud and daunting set of war cries that reverberated throughout the densely foliated swamp. Yaksha and the mighty mistress locked eyes as the two prepared for the clash that ultimately about to happen. Yaksha struck first clashing with Lady Bisclavret the two opponents striking with their claws. Lady Bisclavret delivered a series of debilitating blows up and down the now enraged mongoose's chest. Yaksha leaped upwards and smashed his claws into the Rougauru's abdomen ripping her ornate clothes as he did. The marks from his attack drew blood and stretched along her stomach and stopped at her chest. The frightening thing is that the Mistress barely grimaced and as Yaksha watched on with horror the strike he had made healed in only seconds. This managed to further enrage the young mongoose who rather than give up loosed a salvo of grueling strikes that slashed the Rougauru all over her body. Then Yaksha fell back a few feet and readied one of his techniques,

"Grrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaahhhhhh! So she beast... You think you can take me a second time.... I won't be caught unawares like you did my friends the other day! I'm going to pummel you until your nothing but a gelatinous mess that someone has to mop up! I'm garphhh..."

Lady Bisclavret punted the warrior with a combo attack utilizing her fists at first, which knocked the mongoose into the air and then a truly puissant kick that sent him flying backwards and into the water nearby. Inari wasted no time following up with an attack of his own before the mistress could react.

"Foxari Secret Arte: Molten Jade Salvo!"

A series of jade colored orbs exploded forth from an ethereal ring with three runes inside of it. Inari drew this ring with the same rapidity as he had done when showing off to Ray earlier. The jade orbs had electricity firing out of them and seemed to be made of plasma or some gelatinous material. The orbs sought out Lady Bisclavret who responded with her own technique. The dark mistress summoned a set of sturdy plate mail armor that held an aegis like quality in its construction. The armor that enveloped her covered her form entirely including her head and face. The armor seemingly derived from the darkest and most terrifying nightmares any being could have contemplated gave the mistress a façade of true terror. The plate mail was painted a sickly green color with patches of both dark and light variations across the entire frame. The mistress's helmet had the maw of a feral creature drawn onto it with blood dripping out. Just above where Lady Bisclavret could see out was a set of hideous eyes filled with animus and wrath. These eyes were not painted onto the armor but were in fact a part of it. These venomous and malevolent eyes flicked back and forth as they took in their new surroundings. The eyes eventually locked onto Inari who could do nothing more than look on as he became more and more perturbed by the entire experience. Inari not wishing to learn the intent that may be hidden behind these mysterious eyes put all of his strength into the attack he just unleashed. The orbs went from a controlled state that seemed to merely orbit towards Lady Bisclavret to a blistering and insane level of speed and intensity. The orbs began to shrink and elongate under the intense pressure and speed they were traveling. The jade spheres zoned in on Lady Bisclavret who drew a weapon previously unknown from her side. The weapon was a Francesca style axe with a handle that was hung perfectly with the head. The deadly mistress who had been deadened inside for so long now found a new resolve in her dark path. The fired up Rougauru mistress gripped her weapon with calamitous strength as she swung it around. The fiery mistress cleaved through the blistering orbs of jade, but not without taking damage as the hot plasma scalded her as it came in contact with her armor. A great deal of the damage that she took came from when she hit the orbs, which splattered and sent castoff in every direction. Lady Bisclavret fought through the pain as she continued her assault aiming all her frustrations directly at Inari.

Meanwhile Frère used what little remained of his strength to get closer to his companion. Père who had been writhing and flailing under the agonizing black aura that threatened to subsume his entire spirit. Frère stumbled forward slowly as his entire body was stricken with pain the adrenaline coursing through his veins being the only thing that was keeping him going. His dominant hand gripped the wound in his chest tightly as he made his way towards Père. The lizard's breath was heavy and the taste of iron permeated his mouth due to the blood he had recently coughed up. As the young lizard was driven by purpose alone it didn't take long to reach his intended target. Père was now on the ground flailing like some sort of mad beast shouting dark profanities at everything around him. Frère stood over his friend and shook his head for a moment before going forward and performing the ritual that might undue the dark energy that had consumed his ally. Frère began to speak to his friend as he placed his hands together and sat with his legs crossed in order to meditate.

"Well boy, guess this is goodbye... I just wish that as your older brother I could have seen the type of person you might of bin. Ah well no time to dwell too hard on these things... I love you dearly little brother hope to see you after you've lived a full and healthy life."

Frère took in a deep controlled breath before continuing,

"Alright that'll be enough stalling then, Trogoth arte of sacrifice: Right of the Cleansing Crucifixion!"

Frère's body was dominated by a milky white light. Frère closed his eyes for a moment as he forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand. The Trogoth found himself in a higher state of consciousness the world around him rolled past in an instant. The swamp dweller promptly put out his hand and touched his brother's forehead. Père was breathing heavily still as the pain continued to reverberate all throughout his body. Frère sensing the hostile energy that had overtaken his brother's form began to pull it inside of his own body instead. The energy began to amass quickly inside of him travelling up through the arm and spreading throughout the rest of his body. Frère winced as the painful nature of the energy he was pulling in at last took affect inside of him. His scales began to turn black with a purple hue throughout them. The action Frère was performing took a few minutes to fully implement, but before long he was able to drain the black aura away from his brother and contain it within his own body. Frère then sensed another consciousness dwelling within the aura he had just absorbed. The consciousness appeared to be very old and equally as ominous. Frère realizing what was likely about to occur stood up and turned to face the female Rougauru who was still fighting Inari. As Frère stood up he also grabbed his brothers Maquahuitl and charged the remaining Rougauru at full speed. Frère was silent in his approach saying nothing at all despite the agonizing sensation brought on by the alien aura within him.

Lady Bisclavret had just smashed through the last of Inari's jade orbs when Yaksha stood back up along the embankment. Yaksha looked over to where Ray had been laid down by Inari. Yaksha was surprised to see that his friend had finally awoken after his fight with Gervase. The mongoose rushed over to his friend who was still horribly burned from Gervases attack. Ray's fatigues were scorched all along the chest region along with the back and his right leg. The tattered remains of his clothes barely clung to him as he attempted to stand up. The Thylos found that he was unable to move more than a few inches before the pain became too great. Rays skin was very red and swollen as a result of the fire that had engulfed him resulting in minor burns to the parts of his body that now lay exposed. Yaksha kneeled beside his friend leaning in close enough for him to converse without causing Ray to much trouble,

"Hey man! Good to see that you are at least still breathing, but I'm pretty sure we are going to have to work on the whole being burnt to a crisp thing though hahaha..."

Ray looked up at his friend with a sour grimace on his face before saying his two cents,

"Hate you... Hate you so much... if I weren't in so much pain right now... you would be so punched... so very punched."

Yaksha continued to chuckle at his friend more glad that he was alive than anything. The Mongoose then realizing that Inari needed his help composed himself before continuing the conversation.

"Try your best to stay dry and out of harm's way... I still have to help Inari deal with the bitch witch that's been knocking our shit in so hard."

Yaksha ran off leaving in Ray laying half in half out of the water, which caused Ray to shout angrily at his friend as he rushed off towards the others,

"You idiot! How the hell do you expect me to stay dry if I'm lying halfway in this stupid river...? Jaka!"

Ray just sighed as he tried to release all of the pent up emotion that now seemed about ready to bubble to the surface all at once.

Inari, who was now forced to weave more spells with his hands, also did his best to avoid the hatchet that was being wielded by Lady Bisclavret. The scrawny youth leaped high into the air narrowly avoiding the powerful swing that cleaved past him with seismic force. Inari then landed sideways with his feet against a tree trunk before pushing off even higher into the air. The armor that Lady Bisclavret was wearing seemed to be getting stronger and faster with every passing second. Inari began to realize this when Lady Bisclavret launched herself high into the air eclipsing the distance that Inari had managed to achieve in just a single motion. Inari looked directly up at Lady Bisclavret who now cast a shadow over the child of Kumiho. The armor she was wearing glared down with what could only be described as daggers waiting to be plunged deep into his heart. Inari began to break out into a sweat as he struggled to think of a solution to this problem that now hovered above his head. Inari was forced to work quickly and decided that it was best to go onto the offensive until he could come up with a credible strategy to deal with her. The young Kumiho started by finishing the spell sequence he had been working on, then Inari cried out the name of the spell activating it as he did.

"Foxari secret arte: Apex of Empyrean!"

Inari's feet and hands ignited in the phosphorous green flame that he had become accustomed to. The now glowing adolescent used the fire surrounding his feet to project him even further into the sky. The fox child collided with Lady Bisclavret smashing into her with his fiery left hand clenched into a fist. Inari fought through his natural reaction to flinch and close his eyes as he landed his first blow upon Lady Bisclavret. The armor itself seemed to cry out in agony as Inari managed to crack and shatter a portion of it along Lady Bisclavret's right side. Lady Bisclavret swung her axe around with tremendous accuracy and force as she aimed the edge directly at Inari's skull. Before Lady Bisclavret could land the blow against Inari, the child of Kumiho kicked the axe handle as hard as he could. This action changed the weapons trajectory giving the child of Kumiho just enough time to evade the deadly strike. Inari rapidly followed up with a second strike by first grabbing Lady Bisclavret by the arm that held the axe. Inari then continued this attack by smashing his free hand into her stomach. The next part of the combo Inari had devised involved him rapidly pulling his free hand back and smashing her along the neck. Finally Inari finished off with a devastating strike to the front of her helmet, which sent her reeling backwards but not before Inari decided to release his grip on her hand. Lady Bisclavret plummeted towards the ground and as she did Inari fired off several fireballs within rapid succession igniting her in fluorescent hell fire. Before Lady Bisclavret hit the ground she spun herself around like a tornado. This action succeeded in extinguishing the flames that engulfed her body and even managed to land upon her feet. Before the mighty Mistress had time to gather her thoughts Yaksha slammed into her like a mad beast. Yaksha thrashed away at her with his claws moving at tremendous speeds. Lady Bisclavret countered as best she could with her axe only to find Inari firing off another salvo of fire.

Frère finally came close to where Lady Bisclavret and the others were continuing to duke it out. The truly exhausted lizard found himself barely able to stand let alone walk. Each step he took felt as if it would be his last. Pain was now surging through his body like a horrendous throb every time his heartbeat echoed. The lizard was about to charge towards the monstrous female when her armors eyes seemed to resonate with him. The Trogoth halted his approach and became mesmerized by the eyes that almost seemed to speak to his subconscious. Lady Bisclavret began to work her way over to the now motionless lizard. Inari and Yaksha both continued to fight the mad female as she seemed to ignore them almost entirely aside from deflecting their techniques with relative ease. Finally as she arrived next to the dazed reptile Yaksha and Inari unleashed a final devastating attack. Yaksha sounded his technique first,

"Beast Arte: Mighty Roar!"

Yaksha breathed deeply filling up his diaphragm to the point of bursting. The mongoose then focused his aura into his lunges causing the air and his aura to become mixed together. Yaksha did this for several seconds before he finally released it as a powerful blast of air. The shockwave from the attack sounded like a raging beast as it approached closer and closer to Lady Bisclavret. Inari also unleashed his own massive attack although with a bit of hesitation in his voice.

"Foxari secret arte: Hallowed Radiance of etherius!"

Inari concentrated in order to amass a large amount of aura into the tip of his index finger. The fox child then drew a large circle into the air. The circle began to glow wildly the moment that Inari completed the 360 degree edge. Inari then focused his mind on the next action he was about to take. The fox child called forth a sea of fire that flooded out from the circular portal of energy. Lady Bisclavret sighed through her helmet as she looked upon what she saw as a wasted effort on the part of her adversaries. Then for the first time she actually uttered words that sounded like she was activating a technique,

"Rougauru forbidden technique: Pillar of night!"

The Rougauru Mistress threw out both of her hands as she concentrated on the technique she just activated. Within moments a gargantuan pillar erupted in front of the terrifying Rougauru eclipsing everything around her with its presence. The two techniques' that were unleashed against her ricocheted off the pillar and redirected themselves in numerous directions before finally dying out. The pillar also fell into ruin from the tremendous force exerted upon it by the two techniques it just faced off against. Lady Bisclavret removed her helmet in order to speak to the two warriors that stood before her.

"Listen here whelps! This isn't over by a long shot... I still have your precious allies and I warn you to leave now, or else you will wind up another statistic of this swamp and its growing number of forgotten. This lizard here has something that is precious to me and because of that I cannot afford to deal with you imbeciles now... But mark my words I'll kill you... I'll kill you all someday for what you have done to Gervase!"

Inari and Yaksha both were about to say something when a tremendous wind kicked up. Then in a sudden and explosive flash of energy a figure appeared before them. The entity was clothed in common street clothes and was hunched over with his hands placed deep in his pockets. His hair was gray despite having a youthful appearance between the age of twenty or twenty five. He looked up with pale eyes and long protruding fangs that added to his ominous presence. Very much like his eyes his skin tone was completely white almost like the life had been sucked right out of him. This strange individual looked over at Inari and Yaksha with a disinterested look on his face then back towards Lady Bisclavret. The male sighed as he found himself although begrudgingly being forced to actually make conversation. As he did so he placed his thumb and index finger between his eyes and began massaging his temples,

"Alright, so I can only assume that because you're wearing that stupid suit of armor that Gervase has fallen in battle. These guys over here are obviously the ones responsible for the state you are currently in and now that lizard has somehow consumed the essence of our friend... am I hitting the mark pretty well so far? Anyway, doesn't really matter. you and I are heading out for now... Leave the small fry to fend for themselves; the swamp will inevitable devour them or something. I was going to perform that ritual to absorb those other two that you captured, but seeing as you and Gervase had to go and get yourselves into a fight with these fine gentlemen here... Well let's just say that plans shit out of luck unless you can bring our lovely friend back... no, didn't think so sweetheart... you know for all your posturing you sure aren't too smart in the way you handle things. Ughhh... Anyway grab that scaly imbecile next to you and let's get moving... or do you have a better suggestion on what we should do next."

Lady Bisclavret who was most unnerved by the newcomers presence fumed silently for a few seconds before answering,

"Very well... as you wish Cree... I'll be leaving now, see you back at the necropolis, or not I really don't care at this point!"

Lady Bisclavret grabbed the Trogoth and placed him over her shoulder before fading away into what seemed to be nothingness. Cree looked over at Inari and Yaksha with a big monstrous grin over his face as he spoke,

"Good to see that you idiots aren't making this little venture of ours boring! The names Cree and I'm the Wendigo in charge of this region so... yeah grrr... don't mess with me and all that jazz cause I'll totally kill you. Well anyway I totally have your friends and if you want them you're welcome to come to the Necropolis and rescue them, but it's rather hard to find; so good luck with that... I'm already bored just thinking about returning to that shithole; ah well home sweet home they say."

Cree disappeared with the same loud bang that he came in with; leaving Yaksha, Inari and the others to regroup among themselves.

Chapter 2: The wrath of a father, a swamp and its people.

A dim light streamed into a water laden room. The room was made up of stone blocks that were placed tightly alongside one another with no visible mortar holding the pieces together. Fritz was overlooking Yong's unconscious body when the featherheaded teen opened his eyes. A look of resolve came over Yong's face; his eyes glinted under the dim light and showed off his pair of baby blues. Yong lifted himself up to a sitting position; his trench coat made a ruffling noise as the bottom half unfurled falling just short of the wet floor. He then reached up his hand and scratched at his chest reaching through the blue shirt he was wearing underneath the trench coat. Looking up at Fritz Yong began speaking through a slight yawn,

"Well Fritz I guess that it's your turn now. Thank you for watching over me while I slept, though I could have done without the hovering there for a while. Regardless I'll take watch now so that you can get some rest. Those stupid Rougauru are a lot tougher than I gave them credit for; phew! If we hadn't broke rank from the rest of the prisoners we might be a part of some sacrifice, ritualized massacre, or worse we might have become one of those things."

Fritz crossed his arms, which showed that he was about to say something he deemed important; although the young scientist still wasn't entirely sure how to put it into words.

"While you were asleep I had a good deal of time to think. While I was thinking I came up with a few ideas that might help with our current predicament."

Yong stood up from where he had been sleeping and stretched out his arms and legs before replying to his friend.

"Well, seeing as I am currently fully rested; consider me all ears to what your about to suggest, Oh mighty scientist!"

Fritz ignored Yong's last statement and pulled out a map he had made of the area around them. The scientist then placed it on a nearby stone pedestal unfurling the fragile paper with great care. Looking closer at the map one could see a great deal of cartography had gone into the etching and laying of the different regions to ensure their accuracy. In the northwest one could make out deep and impenetrable forests that lead into what was clearly the unknown. Closer to where the two companions were; was a large and ancient complex from a long forgotten time and place. The last region that Fritz had managed to complete before his friend awoke was the area around them. The area was a partially submerged cityscape that went on for what seemed miles and miles in a southeastern direction. The two companions according to the map; were located along the outskirts of the southwestern most edge of the flooded metropolis. Fritz pointed at the map placing his finger on the area that indicated their current location before speaking with a serious tone in his voice.

"If we are to continue evading the Rougauru and ensure a successful escape; we will need to continue further into these sunken ruins. From there we should head further south until we reach the other side of the city. There is no telling what hell we will encounter inside this place, but we should be wary at all times."

Yong groaned with frustration before shouting at his friend in anger.

"Well that's just great! So what are we going to do about Ray? I mean we just got back together for the first time in three years... Damn it! I hate these things; why the hell do they have to keep targeting us? I swear when we get out of this I'm going to find Ray; I swear it!"

Fritz sighed as his friend raised his arms dramatically while saying the last sentence. Fritz then rolled his eyes as he responded to his friend cheekily.

"Oh yeah; that didn't sound at all like you two are having a bromance or anything. I'm sure Ray would love to hear how adamantly you want to get back to him. Perhaps you want to give him a peck on the cheek? Go out on the town and call it a date perhaps? Or maybe I should just get you two a room?"

Yong started coughing heavily out loud reeling from his friends accusations regardless of the joking fashion that they were intended. The featherheaded warrior became flushed with emotion. Unsure how to respond; the green feathers on his head said everything that he wasn't. The teens green plumage stood on end and ruffled the fohawk that he worked so hard to keep in place. Yong finally managed to point accusingly at Fritz and cried out once again.

"You're a bastard you know that! I mean really; look at what you have done. You have gone and gotten me all flustered and now I cannot think straight. I can't even come up with a good comeback because you went and threw off my game and everything."

Fritz was quick with a response hammering another nail in Yong's conversational coffin.

"Well stop giving me ammunition and I won't be inclined to shoot you so much."

Yong at this point was becoming enraged at the scientist and began shouting even louder than before.

"Would you just shut up? I cannot think under these conditions... Jaka! I'm going for a walk; I'll be back later once I've blown off some steam."

To be Continued...

Hope you guys enjoy the concept. needs editing some more and a few other things, but I fell in love with Korean Mythology and had to write something about that with my own twist of course.

Signed- Wolf Man!