Iron and Rain

Tone 6th

The Guardian
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per day
  2. One post per day
Online Availability
4:00pm Est to 12:00am
Writing Levels
  1. Adept
  2. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
The world of Kine is one soaked in Rain and blood. The Eternal Storm has raged sense this world came into being and with it came horrible creatures. Beasts large and small roamed Kine in search of food and territory. For many years the people of Kine were in turmoil, never knowing if today would be thier last.

However, at the turn of a new era the people discovred the world of black smithing. As world spread more and more people started fighting back the monsters, taking back thier land. The is craft got more and more elaborate over the passing years. Citizens and hunters alike fight to keep thier homes safe.

It's here in the village of Lazule that our story begins. Two hunters taking on the same bounty.

Ryoshi was looking at the bounty board in a crowd of other hunters, rain dripping from the brim of his hat. He made his way up and reach out for the Kirioni bounty. He stook it and started to walk away, the crowd silent and watching as he started to leave.
 
"Um, excuse me!"

A female voice from the crowd sounded, swiftly dodging people in the crowd as the woman made her way toward the man that had just taken the bounty from the notice board. She wore basic leather armor with a hood shadowing her face, which wouldn't of been visible anyway as her face was being covered by her armored mask at the moment.

"That bounty. Did you complete it? If not, you should leave that up on the board, so other people have an equal chance of taking that thing down." Or rather so she could have a chance at taking it down. She had been eyeing the bounty, but had hesitated as she wanted to go make a few upgrades to her equipment before an attempt. However, when she came back, she had seen this man take it down. If she was a moment longer she may have missed him completely.
 
Ryoshi turned and looked at the woman "Go home this job isn't for amateurs." His voice came out of a speaker in the mask. "And I'm not looking to baby sit either." He voice was cold and uncaring.

Thought truth be told he didn't want the monster hurting anyone else, and the journey there would be rough.
 
Although it couldn't be seen, behind her mask Akane scowled and followed the man that seemed to not pay her any mind. "What makes you think I'm an amateur?" She spoke with a bit of a hard edge in her tone. "You really shouldn't make assumptions." She furrowed her brow as the man just kept walking, practically ignoring her, which only made her more angry. She half growled and aimed her grappling device without a second thought, the prongs gripping into a nearby tree and propelling her forward swiftly. Upon disconnecting, her device automatically reeled the line back in so it was ready for another use, but instead she flipped and landed gracefully in front of the man that dared to offend her. "It's one thing to just say you prefer to take a bounty for your own, but it is another thing entirely to offend someone that is only trying to offer their services."
 
He looked at her for a long second "If you die it's not on my hands. I hope you're at least prepared for the journey." He spoke.

She was an interesting one to be sure and he liked that. "Do you have a name?" He asked.
 
"I never would expect it to be," she said, being quick to respond. Akane adjusted the strap on her bag, feeling the heftiness of it and knowing she had all that she needed. She was a nomad after all and so she often carried what she needed to survive on her back at all times. Nodding curtly, she moved to the side to allow him to pass, instead coming to walk beside him. "Akane. You?"
 
"Ryoshi." He spoke.

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The two new companions made thier way out of the village and into the Neory wetlands. A huge swath of green grass covered land, one of the largest in all of Kine. Off the beaten path Neory was home to ponds of all sizes, filled with small aquatic life. Patches of white flowers, known as Light Lilies, dotted the tall green grass.

Further out was the Valley of Gigon, that was thier first major destination.

Ryoshi looked at Akane, rain rolling off his cloak, and spoke up. "Where are you from Akane? The style of your armor suggests you aren't from around here." He pointed out.
 
The journey for them was a quiet one and Akane figured that Ryoshi would simply prefer to keep it that way... until he surprised her with a question. She turned her admiring eyes away from the landscape and looked to him instead. "I'm from the mountains in the western sector of Kine," she said as she really didn't have a reason to not tell him. Her village didn't really... didn't really exist anymore so she didn't have a problem talking about it. "That was a long time ago though. It's been years since I've been there. I've just been... kind of wandering as of late." She's seen a lot, which was why her gear probably looked so weird to him. She upgraded it whenever she had the money to do so, but that was probably at several different locations. It was kind of a mixture of a bunch of different handiwork. "Are you from around here, Ryoshi? You seem to know the lay of the land quite well."
 
"I'm from Ora village in the swamps to the north. Though that was a long time ago. I've been living around this area for sometime." He looked to her and couldn't help but feel sad for her. "You were there when the Kirioni awoke weren't you? I heard there was a great earthquake that took many lives.

As they walk a passing man in a wagon smiled and waved at them, Ryoshi gave a slight nod. There was a slight wind that made the air cool and crisp, and made the tall green grass shake.
 
"The swamps... I've yet to go there. Tracking through there with nothing but water didn't seem the most appealing to me. I'd like to keep my feet dry if possible," Akane spoke in a rather casual tone now that they were talking. It had been curt, one sentence answers for most of the journey so far, but as soon as Ryoshi began to lighten up, she did as well. Although her light mood would soon be cut short when he mentioned the Kirioni that took her village. Her eyes darkened and the neutral set of her lips turned into a frown, again not that he would be able to see it, but he could probably sense it in her voice. "That thing took out my entire village." She was always a bit taken aback, hearing someone else talk about it. She always thought her village was so remote and she could count on her hands how many times outsiders had been to her village. Yet, the earthquake the Kirioni made probably would have been heard and felt for miles around. She glanced over at the man in the wagon, allowing Ryoshi to be the mediator and wave back to the man. She just kept starting ahead, one foot moving after the other.
 
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to stir up such bad feelings. I had a few friends out that way who's lives were taken because of that horrid beast." He explained. There was a small hint of sadness to his voice. He let out a soft sigh and went quiet for a bit.

As they got further from town the path before them grew muddier and the grass got taller, about waist high. The man seemed to stiffen up a bit "Tell me Akane how many bounties have you taken?" He asked as his eyes darted around looking for something in the tall grass. He put one hand in his blade "Because something wants to fight us."

It was true, there was this feeling of being watched. The grass rustled all around them, and there was a low growl.
 
"No, ah... it's okay. I'm always just kind of... surprised that people know about it. I'm... sorry to hear about your friends." Akane didn't think she would be able to ever sympathize with this man, but here he was already making her feel for him. Maybe she shouldn't have been so hasty to judge him either. They were all just out here trying to survive, that's all. She let the silence ensue after she spoke, the crunch of gravel beneath their feet being the only noise to reach their ears. That is... until Ryoshi heard something rustling around in the tall grass.

"Plenty," was Akane's simple response as she pulled out her glinting swords as her eyes scanned the area, turning her back to Ryoshi in order to watch the other side of them so nothing could sneak up behind them. "I hear it... I don't see it though.." she murmured quietly as she stayed still, not wanting to give the attacker any more of an advantage than it already had.
 
Ryoshi drew his red metal sword and set himself into a stance. "Here they come." He warned as two Ritle Lizards jumped out from the grass, maws dipping with a green spit.

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These common creatures always hunt in groups of two or more. Their black claws are razor sharp and have been known to cut through small trees with ease. The green liquid that drips from thier mouth is a poison that is meant to paralyze it's prey, however to much of it can kill.

The Ritles started to circle the hunters, starring them down. One lashed out at Ryoshi and the swordsman blocked. He kicked the creature back "Mind the poison." He told Akane.

The monster went to slash at him again, but Ryoshi side stepped it and swung at it. He landed the hit and the lizard let out a yell. It backed away and watched him carefully.

The one facing Akane bore it's teeth and lunged out as it tried to bit her leg.
 
Akane set her jaw and eyed the creature in front of her. She had the delight to meet a group of two on the way into town a couple days ago so she wasn't too worried about their presence now, especially with a companion to fight alongside her. "No problem," she said before the Ritle attacked Ryoshi, trusting him to take care of that one while her eyes trained on the second, waiting for it to attack.... there. She saw the twitch of its tail, a foretelling of its strike. She danced out of the way and swung with the blade in her right hand. The angle wasn't right so it wasn't a clean cut, but she left a good gash in the side of its snout, making it howl. Bits of grass flew into the air from her follow through, shimmering in the air until they landed in the dirt. "Doing okay over there Ryoshi?" She had seemed to anger her Ritle from her attack and it came at her again, Akane dodging tactically and drawing it away from Ryoshi so he could focus on his own fight.
 
The Ritle she hit shook it's head and pawed at it's nose , backing away a little. He stopped at looked at her, considering it's next move carefully. It dashed back into the grass l, hiding as it stalked her.

Ryoahi on the other hand and going toe to toe with his attacker. The Ritle swung it's claws at him which glanced off the mans blade. He countered and slashed the beast in eye. It let a horrific scream and rolled around on the ground, kicking up mud and dirt.

Ryoshi stood over the beast and raised his sword above it's head. There was a loud roar and the one that was stalking Akane burst out from the grass and tackled Ryoshi. The hunter only managing to grab the Ritle by its neck as it took all that he had to stop it from taking a bite out of his shoulder. "Akane!" He called out for help.
 
"Coward," Akane growled under her breath as she attempted to find the moving grass so she wouldn't be taken by surprise. However, she wouldn't be quick enough as the Ritle changed its target and jumped out of the long grass at Ryoshi. "Shit!" She swore and sprinted in his direction to give him aid. She tensed her body and, still running at full force, jumped and hit the Ritle in the side with the heel of her boot, it being enough force to make the Ritle go tumbling into the dirt. She held both swords with one hand as she leaned down to grasp the man's forearm, helping him up. "You okay?" Although she kept her eyes trained on the Ritle that thankfully looked more beaten and ragged than Ryoshi and Akane did.
 
The two beasts got up and looked at the two hunters, before deciding they were fighting a losing battle. One hissed at them before they both ran off into the grass.

"Yeah I'm alright, nothing but a bruised ego." He said after she helped him up. "Thanks for the help, most hunters I've dealt with would have just ran off." He said as he picked up his sword and sheathed it.

There was a loud rumble of far off thunder as black clouds started to roll in. "Come on we can get to the mouth of the valley before the storm his. I take it you got a tent?" He looked at her bag.
 
Akane chuckled softly which was an unusual sound coming from her. She never really had much to laugh at, but it oddly felt good. "Well, its not like me to run from a fight," she said before looking up to the sky as she heard the thunder. Wow, she hadn't even noticed the clouds rolling in. It must be a really fast-building storm. She sheathed her swords as well with a click and starting moving with him. She smiled slowly and patted her bag as she spoke, "What kind of a nomad would I be without one? It doesn't take long to set up. We just have to find good ground, preferably up a bit in case this storm makes us flood." Which was a pretty common even in these wetland areas.
 
"Of course." He nodded and they continued on as the rain pitter pattered off their clothes. Soon enough they came to the opening of Gigon Valley. "There." Ryoshi pointed up to a section of the valley wall that was carved out.

It wasn't much of a climb as they reached the divot. It was just in time to as the rain started to pick up. Ryoshi was quick to look around to make sure nothing else was nesting there "All clear." He set up his tent and a small camping sto "Get your tent as close as you can to mine." He instructed.
 
Well… that wasn’t so bad.

Just as Akane thought they were about to get pounded with rain, they made it to the mouth of the valley, looking to where Ryoshi pointed and nodding her head. “That looks doable.” She climbed up the slick rocks and pulled herself up onto the ledge where the mouth of the little cave would be. “Definitely not a bad find,” she said with her hands on her sides as she gave a quick look around, hearing him give the all clear of which she then pulled off her backpack to grab her tent.

“Yes Sir,” she said only slightly sarcastically because she couldn’t help it. It was just in her nature. She began constructing her small tent next to his which only took about ten minutes. It was basically muscle memory at this point. “All done,” she announced and brushed her hands together to get any dirt or grime off of them. “I have some food in my pack that I’d be willing to share,” she said, just putting it out there. She figured if they were going on this journey together they might as well help each other where they could. It would be faster than cooking two different things.