Ziyou Castle

[Zen]

There was one lone cannibal left, and he observed the carnage with absolute terror. Seeing his comrades get taken down by two women was impressive, but seeing another get stepped on was an entirely different matter, and he wasn't going to stay to see what happened to his poor body.

He dropped his spear and sprinted past Xue and Chen towards the tree line with a scream of horror. Limps flailing and dust being kicked up in his wake, he disappeared into the cover of trees.

The two barbarians felled by Ai and Xiao groaned in agony. Others remained out cold but the semblance of victory was felt by all of those who were awake.

Bingwen, who watched the entire scene unfold with awe, sagged against his cage with a heavy sigh. With the last remains of his mana, he flipped his wrist and a strong gust of wind sheered off the door to his cage. It fell with a soft thud upon the dirt.

"We need to get out of here," he said, stumbling as he tried to walk. "There might be more com -"

From the tree lines came a whoop and a cry for help. Beaten and bloody was Fuyu, hands tied together with heavy rope. Carried by his armpits by two burly men, his head bobbled to and fro, and his body left skip marks on the dirt. His eyes danced in their eye sockets.

"I found... More of them," he gurgled, and pointed to one of his captors. "They - They hurt."

They dropped him unceremoniously on the ground and approached the party with grunts and scowls. One cracked his neck, the other flexed his muscles. They too wore loin clothes, revealing obnoxiously large pectoral muscles and beastly biceps. Each had black tribal tattoos on their faces, and both were twins. They were built like bears, all muscle and no brains.

They took their battle stances. Crouched low to the ground, their thigh muscles grew taut and bulged in anticipation of a battle. One extended an arm, palm facing the sky, and gestured for the warriors to come at them.

 

[E.T.]

"Wake up!"
​

Really she would have rather not. She had been one of the first to wake, one of the first to watch as friends and family were sampled like dumplings. Every muscle was wound up tight and when one of the painted men danced close and jabbed at her with a spear she leapt backwards, a snarl curling her lips, not relaxing until he returned to the fire side. When he did leave she collapsed forward, forehead pressed into the packed dirt, hands wrapped around her chest and she wheezed painfully. She did not remember much of the fall but she was pretty sure that she had fractured several ribs on the landing, and while she could not see it her dark skin bore the bruises and tears that had come from falling amongst broken rocks and glass.

Waves of emotion and pain engulfed her and after a few seconds she slowly just rolled over onto her side, hands still wrapped around her chest, knees nearly touching her temples. That was how Yu Ling found her, the only sign that she was still alive being her faintly wheezing breath as she tried to prevent her ribs from stretching as much as possible. At the first touch she grumbled something hardly perceivable that ended with "-to the crows with you." Not the kindest phrase but the second shake caused her to move enough to send another knife of pain through her chest. Sitting up with a violent hiss she turned on Yu Ling with cold eyes, teeth bared as though ready to bite. However as the pain faded again her expression softened. About to say something she given pause by the sudden fighting. Looking around she watched as cannibal after cannibal was engaged and promptly defeated. With a sly glance at the remaining painted man she moved to the entrance of their cage and began working out a way to open it. After a few seconds of getting no where she turned to looked at Yu Ling.

"We need to get out." She said looking pointedly at the door. "Can you help?" However just as she turned back to the entrance she heard, and then saw, the two giant men step into the clearing. Looking from them to the rest of the group she felt herself swallow nervously. As it was everyone bore some kind of injury from the fall, perhaps fully healed they could take these two on with ease, but right now things weren't looking good.

"We need to hurry." She said her tone much more apprehensive then it had been a minute earlier. Perhaps if she got free she could try and heal the other's wounds enough to even the playing field.

 

[Mundane Monster]

Yu Ling

The storyteller was panicking. She didn't know! How were they going to get out of the cage? How were they going to fight those two massive beasts? There were two of them and only a few of the castle inhabitants and only one Mogu! How were they going to win against gigantic elephant demons with only one Mogu!?

She was panicking, and that was not going to help them get out. She needed to focus. Think back to her stories. There were always lessons and skills to be learned from stories at least that's what she always told the children. She just needed to think long and hard..."I've got it!" She whisper shouted, and turned around so that her back was to the other woman. "I always so the children--"Her voice cracked on that word, because where were the children? "the ch-children, always played this game where they would try and climb between two poles, but without using their hands, and--" Seeing that her explanation was probably going to drag on, she got to the point. "Press your back against my back, and then have your feet flush against the bamboo poles. Both of our legs have to be bent in order for this to work. Once you're ready, I will push back, and you must straighten your legs. Our combined strength should weaken or loosen the poles."

Getting into position, she murmured over her shoulder. "Are you ready, lemur? Pray, this works."

 

[Kino]

Ask Not For Whom the Bell Tolls. It Tolls for Thee., #0080ff

Before the tremors in the castle started, Takeshi had been enjoying the meal Nuwa prepared for him. She was a sweet girl, and her bold gesture earned her a place in his mind, at least for the moment. He contemplated giving the fine wooden bento box back to her once he had finished with it. He didn't want to offend her, but he felt that such a luxurious gift should not be wasted on one who could not return the gesture. Or maybe he could. Maybe he should give her a shot at least. He was thirty now and not getting any younger. Maybe he owed it to her at least to try.

Then the castle started to shake.

The magic holding it up was fading fast, anyone trained enough in magic could feel it. There was a certain aura that always emanated from the castle, but it was gone. All at once, it just vanished. Takeshi jumped up, and hastily moved through the room to join the other mages. That's when the castle started to fall.

Everything was happening all at once. Bodies being thrown through the air along with chunks of the castle large and small. The thick stone tables that so many were just sitting at to eat lifted from the floor and became deadly projectiles. Takeshi used his magic to keep his feet on the ground, and managed to lay a hand on one of the tables next to him, using earth magic to keep both he and it in place. He watched helplessly as another of the tabled slammed into one of the walls, smashing through it and taking a group of people with it.

"The castle is falling. Everyone will die. Everyone." The thought was nearly enough to send him into a panic, but he had to keep calm. He was a Magus of the Cloud damn it. Everyone looked to them for protection when all others failed. Failing was the one thing he could not do, not when it mattered so much. "Focus on the big picture. I have to save them. I must."

Several other magus were doing what they could in the dining hall, and he knew that more were in other parts of the castle doing the same. Even Han was using what magical power he had to keep rocks from falling on those around him. Mana surged through Takeshi's body and into the table his hand was on. The table went flying, slamming through the wall behind him away from anyone in the room.

Looking up, he suddenly saw that Mogu was flying towards him uncontrollably. Takeshi braced and created a powerful flow of air in front of him. The giant warrior was slowed by it, and reached a hand out to Takeshi who grabbed hold. Mogu slammed the end of his giant mace into the floor, jamming it in firmly and holding on to keep from falling again.

Takeshi nodded to the warrior after he was safe, and looked around the room. There were so few people left inside compared to just a minute ago. What was once a cramped dining hall was now nearly empty. The wall behind him, which was angled towards the ground as the castle fell, had been almost completely shattered by falling debris. People kept falling, either getting sucked out of windows, blown away from the rushing wind, or fell faster than the castle and out of the shattered wall.

Giving it everything he had, Takeshi focused his energy into creating a large net of light that lined the shattered wall. Several people were caught by it, saved from falling out of the room. Other mages were still doing their best to keep debris from causing more death, while some, including Han, tried to fight back against the rushing wind to to equalize the pressure. Then the mages started dropping, their hearts giving out from the strain. Just when it seemed like they were making a difference, they started dying along with their people. Takeshi poured his all into his spells until the last moment came when the castle was reunited with the earth. Everything went dark after that.

The magus awoke inside of the cage, feeling like hell. Fitting, considering his surroundings. His vision was blurry, and hearing distorted. He could barely make out what was going on, and was in no shape to help. Takeshi had already given all of his strength during the fall, and everything was still hazy in his mind. He could only wonder if what he did even made a difference.

 

[Ai]

Liu Ai, #AB82FF

Wide-eyed Ai turned her attention toward the sound of heavy footsteps gradually approaching, two hulking men emerging from the undergrowth with giant with bulging muscles and expressions of scorn as their comrades groaned out in agony.

From behind her a voice called "Hey...Wait a second!" it was the bloody idiot who attempted making a move on Xiao at the party.

"You, you said you wanted to be noteworthy well here's your chance. By the time I've counted to ten I will know all of your skills," Ai ordered toward the approaching man hastily.

Surprised by the stranger Han nodded "You heard that huh... I'm skilled in Karate and Kobuto. I can use staffs, kama, and nunchaku along with air magic... But air magic is out of the question right now. My left arm is dislocated and I don't have enough mana to cast any spells."

Ai began evaluating the situation, biting her lip when she realized that due to day after day of torture from the order her body had hardened, allowing her to battle and win against the pain that nagged at her insides "So it's finally paying off," she whispered under her breath. Everybody was injured, including herself and would not last long against these two without an action plan and there were a ton of cages to open.

"Good, magic will only drain you and we can't afford to suffer any more than we already have. In just a moment I am going to run to that cage and release a girl called Jia, while I do this it will be your job to distract that oaf for as long as you can, with that injury you won't be able to take him on your own. Don't get in over your head and don't die, I will back you up as soon as possible... go!"

With another swift nod the man drove himself away from Ai, advancing toward the brute that waited for him with an open palm.

Averting her attention back to Xiao her mountain blue-grey hues wandered across her sister's naked body with an agitated sense of arousal wishing to touch her, to make the pain of Xiao's injuries go away. But there was nothing she could do but try to convince Xiao that she should not fight "Xiao, I can't think with you here, I need you to pick up Takeshi and help the others. If you see a large man that calls himself the mountain, that's Mogu. Tell him to see if he can distract the other brute for as long as possible while you release the others and that Jia will be along shortly, he'll understand.'' Expecting some kind of retarded retort, Ai thought it would take longer to get her sister to agree when she surprisingly, albeit grudgingly Xiao agreed and began hobbling as fast as she could toward the other cages.

Struggling with her emotions her head followed her sister for a moment "Shit," she cursed resting her attention on the cage closest to her. Breaking out into a run, she could feel the adrenaline pumping through her that was assisting with bypassing the pain the thought of Xiao being hurt driving her forward through any pain the tried to grip at her.

"Jia!" she called over to the warrior who had sat on the floor of the cell now looking up at her.


"Lady Liu?" the girl scoffed in surprise, awkwardly raising herself from her seated position.

"Are you hurt?"

The Guardian began removing the board that held the cage together for Jia "I've hurt my leg; I can't put weight on it," The news came as an annoyance to Ai, more work to do. All the mages would have been burnt out from the collapsing temple, the men were hurt and Jia couldn't walk properly. Could this day get any worse?

Eyeing the girl's companion the smith, Ai signalled to him "Stranger what of you?"

A fatigued smile appeared across the poor civilian's face "My arm is broken," she presented before Ai her arm that had been folded in the opposite direction to what it was supposed to, bone poking from the skin that looked threatening to rip, painful for anyway man or woman; and was surprised the woman was not unconscious.

Running out of time Ai spoke quickly "Alright, well move and always stay with someone. Jia I need you to find Mogu," she gazed down at Jia's leg, concerned "If you don't think you can help do not push yourself, go back with the others" icy hues then wandering back toward the stranger "Sir, you need to find my sister Xiao. She's beautiful, naked and holding a spear; you won't miss her, Can you two do this for me?" thanking her in unison both Jia and the Stranger quickly departed.

Tightening the grip of the spear in her hand, Ai pivoted her body toward the direction of the brute that Han so fiercely struggled to battle off with the injury that held him down. Taunting it as loudly as ever and dodging its slow, powerful swings.

"Noteworthy indeed," she mumbled, a soft laugh escaping her lips as she began running swiftly toward him "Give me a lift up!" she called to Han who gave her a brief glance of confusion.

Unfortunately Ai did not have time for him to catch on, trying to run faster to increase momentum the guardian jumped toward Han's shoulders to use both the weight of the collision to push her-self off from him, pushing her body into the air and swing herself around the cannibal's head to drive the spear through its neck.

If not hurting it, she would at least be making a distraction to allow some time for Han to beat him down.

 

[E.T.]

Head tilted off to one side Suzu's face was drawn in pain and a bit of confusion as she listened to Yu Ling explain the plan. However as the girl indicated that they should go back to back her expression cleared and she gave a nod of consent and understanding. As she moved around she could feel her side throbbing, an unfortunate reminder that any excursion was going to be acutely felt. Planting her feet firmly on the bars in front of her she locked arms with Yu Ling so that they would not slip.

"No prayers, only hope." She said in response to the girl's comment. "Alright, push." At the signal both started to strain, leg pushing as hard as they could. Try as she might Suzu could feel the pain building in her, causing her muscles to shake a threat to completely give out under the strain. At her back she could feel Yu Ling straining as well and although she wished to say something, perhaps a word of encouragement or an insistence they push harder, all that came out when she opened her mouth was a cry of pain. It was as though she thought she could expel some of the pain out of her lungs if she just tried hard enough, muscles forcing her legs straight as she snarled her pain at the sky. She was cut short by a sharp crack and a sudden release as her feet were no longer met with resistance. Looking down she saw that both her feet gone through the cage up to her ankles. Unlocking her arms from Yu Ling's she moved toward the hole they had made. It was not very big but after breaking off some of the stray pieces she was able to stick her head through.

Carefully Suzu stuck her arms through, working her way through until she was just past her shoulders she placed her hands on the ground and used her hands to balance herself as she worked slowly through. At one point her hips jammed against the bars she let out a snarl of frustration however with a bit of twisting she was able to finally free herself from the cage. Popping up into a standing position she instantly regretted the movement having to grab onto the cage as she let out a soft gasped.

"You should help open the other cages." She said once Yu Ling had extracted herself from the cage. If things went bad they would have to make a run for it, and if they ended up leaving someone behind simply because they forgot to open one of the cages it would most likely weigh on their minds. Not waiting for an answer Suzu instead turned her attention to her own ribs. Since her magic was concentrated in the healing arts she still had almost all of her magic left, although for how much longer remained to be seen. placing on hand against her damaged side she closed her eyes and concentrated some of her mana. A white glow lightly traced the outline of her hand after a few moments she straightened up. She did not bother to completely mend her bones, that would take more energy than she could spare, instead she merely set the bones so that they would not move around and make the injury worse. It still hurt more than she would have like but it was all she felt she could spare at the moment.

Looking around she noticed that they appeared to be two main groups forming, one engaging the brutish cannibals the other working their way around to the different cages, opening those that had not already been broken out of. With quick steps she went to join the latter, fighting had never been her strong suit, besides those to injured to fight would also be more likely to join the latter group as well. Moving until she was even with Xiao she spoke quickly, there was no time to spare with formalities.

"Who is injured?" Hopefully she could concentrate on those who were worst effected, if she had energy to spare she could move onto those with lesser injuries.

 

[UltimaCircuit]

The First

The large man before them was a beast indeed, but it was not invincible. Han looked up from the ground, seeing the brute reel back in pain. Blood trickled out both ends of the wound before trailing down the veins of the masked man's neck. He then watched the monster reach up towards his neck... but it wasn't for the spear. The demon let out a gurgling cough before grabbing the guardian by her shoulder. It squeezed Ai with enormous strength before tossing the woman to the side as if she were a doll. The monk's eyes darted to the her for a moment before looking back up to the man before him. His eyes widened in disbelief when the beast fell to it's knees. It clawed at it's neck, letting out raspy breaths of air. Han quickly pulled himself to his feet, a faint smile across his lips. With swiftness he pivoted on his left leg and fired out a kick with his right, using the momentum to send a devastating blow to the throat of the cannibal. A gurgling sound came from the being before the monk; it then fell back onto the slabs with a loud thud.

Gasps of air came from Han as he looked at his felled enemy. Sweat dripped down his brow as his eyes moved from the man before him to his left arm. The monk's eyes then widened as he realized that there was someone who needed his attention more than his injury. With haste the martial artist ran to the side of the guardian.

"Are you alright..?"

"What a stupid question to ask to someone who was just thrown to the side by a behemoth..."

He sighed, seeing blood leave a wound upon her arm. 'What a reckless move she made...'

"There's someone else who you should be worrying about."

"Others before yourself. I'll help you up."

The monk outstretched a hand to the woman, but she didn't grab it.

She instead stared at the shadow that loomed above the monk.

 

[Eternalfire61]

Moving Mountains

Mogu stood up from the man he had mauled. His eyes moved from the mutilated body of the former cannibal to the hulk standing over Han. The mountain collected his breath as he made his decision. Mogu's steps hit the ground like drums as he charged toward the behemoth.

THUMP

Mogu slammed into the tribesman making them both fall the ground.

The behemoth growled at him as he regained his footing stepping up to the slowly standing Mogu. The behemoth huffed at Mogu, slowly beginning to pace around him. Mogu cracked his neck and stared down the giant in front of him.

They both stopped.

Each warrior charged forth trying to bring down the other. Every push was matched with another of equal force. The mountains battled for their right to live, to be able to survive and hold their peak high. Snarls came from the beast, their strength was matched. Mogu pushed against the behemoth but there was no budge.

"Monkey man! Help me with this brute!"

​

 

[Zen]

Imbuement

The barbarian roared savagely, spittle flying from his face. Locked in ferocious combat with their hands, the battle was a near stalemate; where one pushed, the other returned the gesture. Their feet dug trenches in the dirt ground, their veins bulging from the exertion.

But the fall from the castle weakened the mountain, and the barbarian knew this. He continued assaulting Mogu, bearing down on the giant with his own weight. The grin on his face was manic as the mountain's calves and thighs creaked and gave way. Han saw the struggle and rose to help, but a spasm of pain from his dislocated arm made him collapse. Behind him, hidden away by her cloaking spell was the old woman, whose bony hands clenched the monk's shoulder with a vice like grip.

"You. Lose," the monster spat when both of Mogu's knees slammed into the ground. The barbarian's leg flew into the air, contacting painfully with Mogu's jaw with an audible crack. Mixed into the warrior's spit was his blood, drawn forth when his teeth bit on his tongue. The mountain groaned, and keeled over on his side.

A war cry, fierce and victorious tore through the barbarian. The heel of his foot descended on Mogu's fat neck, attempting to crush his windpipe and break his neck. Mogu's hands wrapped around the enemy's ankles, but the fight was gone from him. He stared, transfixed and horrified, as he realized that death was upon him. The barbarian knew this, and relished his victim's plight.

A surge of energy burst through Mogu, like lightning striking a tree. Emboldened, and numb to his pain, the mountain seized the ankle of his attacker, rose with a rumble that shook the ground, and threw him--threw him past Han and Ai, past Fuyu, and into the trees, where the barbarian landed with a sickening crunch against the trunk of an old pine tree.

The barbarian stood. He stumbled. And he fell.

Bingwen, like many of the others, watched the entire scene with terror, and then awe. Gripping his sides, the old man limped towards Mogu, placed his hand on the warrior's shoulder and said,

"...How did you do that?"

Jaws clenched with rage, the woman released her grip on Han, fingers smoking.

 

[Mundane Monster]

Yu Ling

Like a child, Yu Ling closed her eyes to the devastation around her and focused on the task at hand. Freeing her fellow castle dwellers from their confinement. The storyteller grabbed a large rock by the fire and took to slamming it against the locks of the nearest unopened cage. The two people inside jolted in surprise after the first 'bang!' but soon relaxed when they saw that it was her and not a cannibal coming for a meal.

Finally after what seemed like ages of slamming the rock into the cage lock, the door swung open, and Yu Ling was able to help one of the people out. The other one, Yu Ling recognized him as Fuyu's son, Chen, was sporting a leg that seemed to be broken in two different places. The boy had his head resting against the side of the cage, and seemed to be about to go to sleep. Yu Ling, scrambled into the cage, muttered an apology, and slapped the boy. Chen jolted in shock, and stared at her as if she wear insane.

"Sorry!" She whispered, although she wasn't apologetic at all. She had just saved him from falling asleep forever! He could at least be grateful!

Yu Ling turned to the other man who had been inside the cage, Xue, a Magus of the Cloud. She pointed wildly in the direction of those who were fighting. "Help me get this one to Lemur!" She cried and turned back to Chen.

"L-Lemur?" Xue stammered at the same time that Chen demanded, "How is a lemur supposed to help me?"

Yu Ling sighed in exasperation and flung her hand out in the direction of where her former cage mate was standing.

"Oh, you must mean, Suzu." Xue murmured nodding in understanding. Together, they placed their arms around Chen and helped him over to where Suzu was standing with Xiao.

 

[fatalrendezvous]

Liu Xiaojing — The Camp, goldenrod

Xiaojing hurried to the other cells while the sounds of combat clashed around her. A nagging pain grew more apparent in her leg and ankle, especially in the leg she had used to fiercely kick one of the cannibals in the face earlier. Xiao knew that without a bow, she was going to be of little use to her friends against the much bigger brutes. Her limited knowledge of water magics would also be useless so close to the large bonfire they were using to roast their meals.

The adrenaline rush was fading, and now her concussion and injuries were becoming more apparent. Thankfully, it seemed the rest of the survivors were doing well enough to dispatch of the monstrous brutes - despite a few close calls.

The archer hobbled to Takeshi's cell, delicately stepping over the remnants of the bamboo bars left when Mogu broke free. Wincing in pain, she slowly lowered herself to her knees and leaned over to shake Takeshi gently. "Takeshi! Takeshi, are you alright?" He responded merely with a low groan. The Magus was alive, but only barely.

Xiao shook him again, more firmly this time. "Takeshi, wake up!" He stirred, eyes glossed over and gazing at the unclothed swell of Xiaojing's chest, mumbling something incoherent about her clear lack of clothing. The girl groaned at the Magus' delirium, hooking his arm around her shoulder and attempting to hoist him up.

As she steadied her footing and attempted to lift him off the ground, her injured leg shook from the pain. A grimace shot across her face as she struggled to support Takeshi's body weight in addition to her own, pulling his motionless body along as she lumbered clumsily with him back towards the group.

She could have sworn she felt Takeshi's hand graze her breast - perhaps on more than one occasion - but... he was unconscious. Right?

"Suzu..." Xiaojing tried to shout, but her pained voice was barely a whisper. "Suzu, Takeshi needs healing...!"

 

[E.T.]

Suzu was beginning to regret asking. Looking around she was glad that she had not used up her energy completely healing her ribs, even so she grimaced as she looked around at the bent limbs, bloody faces, and glazed eyes. If the range of injuries that she could see were anything to go by she was afraid of what she wasn't seeing. Hearing her name she turned to see Yu Ling and another she recognized as Xue helping Fuyu's son Chen towards her, she was almost disappointed she had never had a nickname before and was beginning to like the one Yu ling had assigned her. But there was more to worry about, with a click of her tongue she halved the journey for them indicating that they should lean Chen against the side of a nearby cage.

Crouching next to Chen's broken leg she surveyed the damage one hand fluttering down to touch where the breaks had occurred. Switching to her knees she raised her other hand as well and gently touched just her fingertips to the boy's skin. When she lifted her hands it looked as though her fingers were trailing silk threads. Only these glowed a soft white and swayed gently even when there was no breeze. Holding her hands aloft with palms facing down Suzu started to move her fingers. She never moved them more than a fraction of an inch but the movement caused the threads to twist and cross under her command lacing together in a pattern that almost looked like the shapes that a child might make with string wound around their fingers. Suddenly she clamped her hands around the strings and pulled her fists apart in a motion not unlike tightening a knot in a rope. The complex weave that had been suspended above Chen's flesh moved down the threads disappearing under his skin, apparently going right down to the bone. With a gasp of pain the boy clutched at his leg but Suzu ignored the gesture, she had only patched together one of the breaks, there was still the second one to contend with. Carefully she started to repeat the same pattern she had used in fixing the first break when she felt a light hand on her shoulder.

Looking up she barely had time reach up and place a hand on Xue's chest when he collapsed next to her. The threads shivered and faded for a moment as Suzu switched to using just one hand. Grimacing she poured her concentration into maintaining the spell as she tried to figure out what was wrong with Xue. Thankfully he was not wearing a shirt and a large deep bruise was clearly visible, coupled with the tauntness of his skin, and his moan of pain at her touch Suzu did not need long to diagnose internal bleeding.

"Get me a sharp knife!" she said urgently the free hand she had used to guide Xue to the ground her hand already moving to hover over the middle of the bruising, white threads connecting her fingers to his side.

"What about mAHHGGG." Chen said, his voiced toned to a whine until he was cut off as Suzu gathered the threads connected to his leg and made that same pulling motion. A net identical to the first slid down and again disappeared into the boy's leg. For a moment Chen did nothing but moan, then slowly he opened his eyes and blinked with a bemused sort of expression on his face. Very cautiously he moved his leg, bending it slowly towards his chest, then away again, and then leaning heavily on the side of the cage he pulled himself to his feet. The limb was sore, and the bones not fully healed but when he tested his weight on it he found he could walk, even if it was with a bit of a limp. However he found himself being waved out of the way as Suzu turned her attention fully onto Xue a knife appearing in one hand as the other worked to try and stem the flow of blood the was building up inside. Perhaps a little to hasty she made a cut, choosing a spot where the skin and flesh was thin enough that the blood would escape easily without her having to make cuts that would be more trouble to heal than she needed. As soon as she had made the cut the blood began to leak out and she dropped the knife so that she could switch to using both her hands. This injury required a slightly different pattern to heal, instead of a large patch to synch together bone she had to send tiny little bursts of energy along individual threads. They looked like beads that she was stringing along the threads, each one passing though Xue's flesh working to close the veins that had burst.

"Suzu...Suzu, Takeshi needs healing...!"

For a second it seemed that Suzu had not heard, her brow was furrowed in concentration and her skin was starting to become beaded with sweat. Finally she looked up nodding weakly, and indicated with a nod of her head that he should be placed next to her. While she had had her head down it had been hard to see her face but when she looked up it became very obvious that she was loosing energy fast. The blood was gone from her face and while she had a determined look about her it was hard to say how far she would be able to stretch herself.

Turning her attention back to Xue she suddenly switch from the small bead like knots to a larger pattern that involved several threads. As she worked Xue opened his eyes and while he looked to still be in a fair amount of pain he was much further from dying than he had been a minute earlier. With a final tightening motion the larger patch slipped under his skin and with he had a gash and a rather nasty bruise those were things that Xue could deal with himself. Pivoting she now turned her attentions to Takeshi. A deep frown spread across her face as she examined the magus hands gently prodding here and there to check for any badly broken bones or bleeding that should be fixed before she had to deal with Takeshi's damaged head. Even back in their home she had always disliked treating brain injuries, especially serious ones. She could do it but the amount of energy that it required to bring down the swelling, stop any bleeding, and heal damaged tissue all while working with an organ that she had to heal so that it didn't scar was draining to say the least. But it wasn't like she could just ignore the injury, well she could however the results of that action could range from bad to very bad.

Moving so that she was kneeling at Takeshi's head she placed a hand at either side of his temple the white threads appearing as she closed her eyes in concentration. It took longer to heal the concussion than either of the past two injuries, and several minutes passed by tensely. After three minutes Suzu's nose began to bleed, a stain of red running over her chin and staining the strip of cloth that was the only thing she had covering her breast. Another four minutes after that and Takeshi finally opened his eyes with a soft groan and Suzu retracted her hands. She a second she tried to staunch the blood pouring out of her nose but she gave up as Han and Ai approached each with injuries that needed to be treated. To save herself some energy she set Han's arm physically although she did use a little magic to soothe some of the tendons and muscles. Ai took a little longer to heal and about half way through two long gashes appeared on Suzu's forearms. The blood that dripped from the cuts, instead of falling to the ground, traced its way down her arms to her hands where they stained the white threads a deep crimson.

Bingwen came after that and as she set and healed his another gash appeared on her left arm looking as though it was being put there by an invisible knife. After Bingwen was seen to she healed Yu Ling, then Xiao, then Mogu, then Fuyu, and then after that faces started to become fuzzier. Her concentration solely on the injuries as they were passed by her, another broken leg, a cracked vertebrae, a deep puncture wound, dislocated hip, and even a cracked sternum. By the end of it all she was left slumped against the bars of the cage, panting heavily as she tried to stop her nose from bleeding, failing as her hands were covered in blood from five large gashes that had appeared on her arms

"We should probably find some clothes and bandages." She said her voice a bit muffled under her hand. She made a move as though to get up but her limbs rebelled shacking under the exertion. It was obvious that she was exhausted and from the color of her skin you would have thought she had bled out, the vibrant red of the blood on her chin and arms providing a stark contrast.

 

[Kino]

Waking to Return the Favor, #0080ff

A few moments after Suzu her healing on his head, Takeshi finally came to. His senses cleared and he could finally think straight. Upon seeing his surroundings though, he almost wished he couldn't. Death everywhere. Countless bodies laying in a large pile near an equally large fire pit that was roasting yet more of his people. What remained of them was a mess of injuries and despair. It was a nightmare, and he just wanted to wake up.

He looked to each of the other survivors around him, searching for something among them. Only three Magus, including him. Were all the others dead? Surely there were more... There were fifteen of them before, and now only three remained? And that bastard Fuyu was one of them?

His attention was drawn away when he saw Suzu's condition. She was clearly overexerting herself with her healing. Given the circumstances though, he couldn't blame her for it. By the time she was done, she looked to be in worse shape than anyone else. He couldn't let that stand. He was no healer, but he at least knew enough to help her.

While the others went off to retrieve their belongings, Takeshi stepped towards Suzu, knelt down, and started tracing his fingers along her arm. The same white trails of healing magic extended from his fingertips as he began to close the gashes. He repeated the same process on her other arm, doing his best to clean the wounds and seal them to stop the bleeding. The results weren't glorious, but he got the job done. Suzu would be able to heal them further and prevent the scars later, but it would do for now. Afterwards, he used a bit of water magic to coat his hands with a thin layer of water from the air, and wiped the blood from her arms, hands, and face.

That was all he could do at this point with his magic. He hadn't recovered enough for anything more. The magus smiled to Suzu and started lifting her to her feet.

"Your help is much appreciated, but you should know better than to push yourself like that. You're no good to us dead you know."

 

[Ai]

Liu Ai, #AB82FF

A feeling of calm overcame Ai as Suzu began to work upon her and Han's wound, drifting into a temporary meditative state the Guardian stayed very still while the healer did her work. Despite her outward appearance a lightning stab of pain from a cracked rib and crushed shoulder shot through her. While the healer did her best, healing up the wounds; the temporary attention while appreciated was not enough to fully heal the warrior but enough to allow Ai to carry onward and ignore the pain for a little longer until her injuries inevitably worsened again.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, swiftly raising herself from the seated position.

Time had passed and the prisoners had gathered. Scanning her eyes around the camp Ai wanted to know what happened to their things when something finally clicked. Shifting her cold blue-grey hues toward the pile of flesh, they widened when she saw a gleam of metal sticking out from between them.

"Stop!" Ai's voice boomed over the top of the survivors as she slowly approached.

"Thanks to Suzu most of you are back to help, we should stay in groups." A smile reaching the corners of her face upon seeing a recovering Takeshi healing Suzu welcome back in the game old boy. Breaking from her thoughts the Guardian addressed the gathering properly bewildered for a moment as they looked at her with deadpan and hopeful faces "I know where to find our things; we will be getting out of here as soon we have them, be ready." A brief silence hung in the air "Mogu, Han, Jia, Fuyu, Rong, Xue come with me. The rest of you, guard Takeshi and Suzu – if you see anything, scream."

"What of the bodies of the dead?" the old man Bingwen mentioned looking up at Ai with sad, wise eyes.

She wanted to curse, they didn't have time for burials "We will not let them die a dishonourable death; we will burn them to ash."

​

Walking in the direction of the carcasses Ai gradually broke out into a slow run toward the pile, the others following behind at their own pace. Approaching the putrid pile of stench rotting that grew stronger the closer they came. The floor, littered with freshly torn body parts that seeped brown blood, and sticking out bones that had been torn, broken and snapped. All lesser to the faces that were wide with horrid expressions, torn out eyes balls and displaced jaws that hung gaping.

"Try to ignore the heads and breathe through your mouth! Our stuff is amongst the bodies, once we find it you will all need to take as much as you can carry." Turning toward the magic casters Ai bowed her head in respect "Aside from you two. Magi, all that I ask of you is that when we are finished with our task, please burn these people's bodies into the ground, for the sakes of all of our sanity."

The two mages nodded, Xue's eyes lingered on Ai for a moment in quiet contemplation. Fuyu on the other hand kept his attention fixated upon her, sternly.

"Thank you,"

Ai's attention shifted back to the pile of bodies, trying to ignore the Magus's disdain, bothered by the fact she was not considered an equal and could not burn the bodies herself.

Rummaging through bodies they all searched the pile broken bones piece by piece they began dragging out the belongings of the survivors. All diligently trying to remember what everyone had on them.

"We have more than enough, let's go!"

​

Each of them took as much as they could carry; Mogu naturally being able to carry the most heaved half of the heap into his arms "good job big guy."

"BACK AWAY!" Ai addressed everyone trying not to be too loud, but loud enough for everyone to hear. She then gave the two mages a nod to indicate that they could cast their spell.

"Mogu, regroup with the other. Head toward that castle and see if you can find a hiding place, food and shelter among the debris. I will stay here to help defend the mages and keep them of your scent, we won't be far behind." Ai pointed to her robe "Place that not fat away from where you are and point the collar toward your hiding place. We will find you."

"Okay, Liu," the giant left.

Jia shot Ai a concerned look her eyes speaking don't leave me alone that the Guardian returned with a knowing nod "I'll be there," she mouthed to Jia who quickly scuttled away with Han, Rong and Mogu who had run along ahead and regrouped with the others.

Making sure everything was in order Ai watched them for a moment while Mogu relayed the orders Ai had given. For a brief moment she saw their glances of concern returning a slow nod as they all turned to run toward the trees.

​

Ancient chanting flowed from the lips of the Magi whose concentration stayed upon the piles of their friends. Both focusing and weaving their spell around one another, releasing prisms of bright orange energy that flowed through the air streaming toward the putrid carcasses that set ablaze, disintegrating into dust.

Kneeling, the Guardian carried the thoughts and feelings of everyone, a tear falling from her eye as she prayed for the safe return of the lost souls. "We set you free, may your terror be no more, may your souls be guided to a place of wisdom and clarity and may your hearts find each other in the afterlife. Join our ancestors and watch over us, rest in peace"

Boom, Boom, Boom.

A sudden thundering of drums filled the air, there was no more time.

The spell had finished.

"Xue, Fuyu! Are you able to cast a spell that will cover the tracks in the earth that we leave?"

Xue who gave her and understanding nod "Yes, it is a simple spell, we will only one of us to do it."

"How long will it take?"

"A couple of seconds,"

"Let's go."

Upon reaching the treeline, the three briefly turned back toward the camp as Fuyu's chant echoed across a soft wind, shifting the crust of the earth until their prints were no more.

"Run."

Together the three of them ran through the twisted treeline, rushing to catch up with the rest of the party.

 

[Zen]

They came with their feet stomping in time to the drums, war cries echoing off of the tree trunks and shrubbery. Long shadows were cast from torches which crackled and sizzled in the night. They were coming, and it was to be a celebration, a feast. With more than two hundred within their ranks, the cannibal tribe would unfortunately find empty cages and burnt bodies on this momentous occasion.

Those that were still left were freed by the castle dwellers, where they took off into the night, away from the carnage and slaughter. From their loincloths and tattooed faces, they were the cannibals, but their eyes didn't have the maddening gleam. Were they sacrifices then? Or perhaps they were meant to be punished? Ai would never know.

There was a nagging feeling in Bingwen's throbbing head as Ai ordered all of them to retreat back to the castle. Something didn't feel right, something wasn't adding up. He didn't realize what the problem was until they felt the heat.

"FIRE!" called Jia. "THERE'S FIRE!"

It came upon them like a stampede, at first distant and silent, and then all encompassing. Such is the nature of a wildfire. The group turned, weaved, and dodged, but the lit forest was collapsing on top of them. Mixed into the sounds of their screams and shouts, were the sounds of fire and trees creaking as their trunks gave out.

"Luli! Look out!"

The girl froze in place, her eyes reflecting the flames of the tree that was falling on top of her.

A gush of water burst forth, shoving the tree away and snuffing out the nearby flames.

"Follow me," cried Xue, gasping for breath. "I've a little magic left."

Pulling the remaining moisture in the air and trees, Xue cleared a path by splashing water onto the flames. The party followed in a single file line, praying that the man would find them a safe way out. With each water spell Xue cast, the more worried the party became. Were they not getting close to the castle? How big was this forest? How big was the fire?

And then a heavenly sound reached their ears. It was the sound of gurgling water, a river.

​

And across that wide, blissful, life giving river was an island, and sitting on top of that island was a city. To the east of them was a stone bridge that connected the shoreline to the city gates It was guarded by people in leather armor, spear in hand, and bows on their backs. To the west smoke rose from the tree tops; it was the crash site of the castle, and the fires were ebbing away.

"I... I don't believe it. It's a city. It's a real city," breathed Rong. "I thought I was imagining it on the way down here."

"But is it friendly?" panted Fuyu. "It could be the cannibals' home for all we know."

"The castle is gone," replied Jia. "We've no home to return to, nor do we have any supplies." She looked pointedly at Luli and Chen. "The children need to rest, and we've got no choice. "

Bingwen turned towards the seven castle dwellers who saved his people. Hundreds lived in that castle, and now they were reduced to this. The loss hadn't settled in yet, but it was there, waiting to be released from the corners of his eyes. His gaze shifted to the city before them, a port city filled with small fishing boats. Despite it being night time there were those who were out working, dragging in nets filled with their catch. But they stayed away from this side of the shore.

He turned to The Seven.

"You've saved us once. I must ask you to do so again. What do you think we should do?" He paused. "And decide quickly."

In the distance they heard the sound of faint drumming.

 

[Ai]

Liu Ai, #AB82FF

​

Rest slowly became a temptation that everyone wished to indulge after their escape from the primal clutches of the cannibals, their injuries beggining to take their toll. Thanks to the sacrifice of the healer Suzu the majority were in better shape, but there was much yet to have heal, and despite putting on a strong face Ai Liu carried the worst of them all.

Gazing toward the horizon the guardian's cold mountain hues settled upon the fishing village atop of the river with caution, thoughts of unease racing through her head. Wondering if the cannibals were more than what they seemed as she remembered the look in their eyes, less crazed, less monstrous and if really they were people to and what would have driven them to this madness.

The plague of those thoughts festered in her mind as she considered the possibility that maybe the village ahead was hostile, and if it was she would be leading what was left of the castle of Ziyou into a pit trap. Falling to one knee Ai leant down next to the pool of water, pushing her hand against the current to test the water and taking a drink, she had made her decision.

​

Arising from her knelt position the young woman's gaze wandered slowly across the group with a sharp intelligent gaze and began utilizing her knowledge of the current state everyone was in.

"Xiao, you are taught in the ways of water magic. Can you get us through the rapids?" Ai's eyes finally settled upon her sister whom for the first time in years she acknowledged as another person.

"I am only a novice, I should be able to get to the other side but I can only take one or two."

Ai could feel the eyes of the group all looking at her with a touch of hesitation, Takeshi was the first to voice his opinion "It will be a waste of energy Liu, you have seen how magic drains a man let alone a woman."

"Not a waste Takeshi, upon the possibility that there may be not settlement for miles this is our best choice. We may have saved some time but the cannibals will be on our trail and if that village is hostile I will not risk everybody's lives," Ai cooly explained to Takeshi who grudgingly resigned his case.

"Does anybody else wish to state their concerns?" she addressed the group of survivors once more, waiting expectantly for an answer only to be met by a symphony of silence.

"Very well, Takeshi you will lead the others to safety. Seek refuge in a place where you all can rest, take my robe, if it is safe we shall scry for you. But if you do not hear from when the sun hits the horizon, come looking for us; we may need you. Han, you will be coming with me; we are going to accompany Xiao across the river to scout. Mogu and Jia, you will stay with the rest and protect them, by all that is holy in Ziyou we may need you later. We do not have much time, go!"

Leaving her robe the guardian retrieved her Wakizashi from the mismatched pile of items that Mogu held and turned to Xiao.

"We're counting on you."

​

 

[E.T.]

Run run little rabbit
find a tiny hole
hide away forever
or pay a hawk's toll
​

As she ran the words of the children's tune played itself over and over in Suzu's head. Without knowing she began to sing the little song but with only a breath to spare between steps the words were garbled and even the melody was only barely perceivable. The sacrifice of blood that she had made had been enough to keep her from being completely out of it but she found it very hard to keep up with the group. At one point she had felt a strong hand grab her wrist and looked to see Takeshi tugging her along. Still grateful for his help it healing her own wounds she had given a small nod of thanks and allowed him to tug her along. When they finally stopped she was panting heavily and promptly slumped down against the trunk of a tree, freshly bandaged arms resting in her lap. The long bright green strips of cloth almost drew a smile from her, how she hated the dress and yet here it was being oh so useful.

When their clothes had been found she had almost gotten her hopes up that she would be wearing something of her own, however what was returned to them was only what they had had on their persons at the time of the party. And for Suzu that meant that she had to get back in the long silk kimono that her colleagues had provided. Thankfully her little dagger was returned to her so she was able to hack the dress to jus below her knees so that she could move freely. She had then sliced the severed cloth into long strips and used them to wrap around her forearms. True Takeshi had stopped the bleeding but the wounds were still tender and to much stress might tear them open again, not to mention that if someone needed a quick bandage the cloth was on hand, so to speak. Although she had been handed a pair of shoes she had chosen to go without, soles of her feet hardened from years of walking without covering.

"A hunter's den is home to some." She said her expression unreadable as she followed the march of a beetle with her eyes as it climbed over her leg. Her brow contracted in concern as the beetle fell and found itself stuck on its back. Her expression only relaxing again once she had used her finger to gently right the little soldier. The sound of drumming could be heard in the air and from where she sat Suzu could feel it through the ground, a low thud like a heart beat or like the thunk of old fruit hitting a roof. Looking up at Takeshi she cocked her head to the side and gave him a concerned look.

"Hawk is coming and the rabbits don't have a hole."

 

[fatalrendezvous]

Liu Xiaojing — The River, goldenrod

"Mogu," Xiaojing called, looking tentatively towards the Mountain. "Are you able to lift me onto your shoulders? I'd like to get a clearer view."

The hulk of a man seemed to consider the ache in his neck for a moment before nodding. Kneeling, he held his hands in front of him and laced his fingers together to form a foothold with his palms.

With a nod, Xiao climbed up the man's towering body, arriving at the Mountain's peak and crouching with her feet on his shoulders. Aware of his previous fight with the giants in the village, she checked again out of concern for the warrior. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Mogu nodded again. "Don't worry. You are a feather compared to that brute from earlier."

Xiao cracked a smile from atop his shoulders. "Alright. Give me your hands for balance, and we'll stand as one." The Mountain lifted his huge palms, and Xiao placed her comparatively tiny hands in them to stabilize herself. "Stand!" She called, as both Mogu and Xiao returned to standing position. Xiao extended upwards, allowing Mogu's upward momentum to follow through her before releasing his hands as she found her balance atop his shoulders after a slight wobble.

The archer's keen eyes studied the city on the other side of the river, as well as the forest separating them.

"It looks lightly populated. There is a gate surrounding the settlement but... I think it opens up near the docks. That might be our best way in." She could make out humanoid shapes mulling about near the buildings made of clay and bamboo but nothing too clear. "The guards seem fairly relaxed. Maybe they'll be friendly?" She mused hopefully, more to herself than to anyone else.

Hopping off Mogu's shoulders, she gave him an appreciative pat on the back before looking towards Han and Ai, and turning to face the roaring waters of the river before them.

Approaching the river bank, Xiao knelt and dipped her hand beneath the currents, the water splashing up against her arm as it continued to rush past. They were faster than anything she'd ever had to manipulate before. Pulling her hand from the water, she gazed thoughtfully at her palm and at the droplets of the river dripping off her hand and dribbling down her arm. "I've never dealt with water moving this quickly before - Sifu hadn't taught me yet."

"Then today is the day to prove yourself," her sister responded coolly.

Determined, Xiaojing nodded and stood, concentrating on the currents before them and the sounds of the water rushing down the banks. With a deep breath, she lifted her hands from her sides, pulling them together in a diamond shape in front of her chest. Centering herself, she drew energy from deep within, focusing intently on the waters as she looked at them through the diamond shape made by her hands.

Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful.​

With another deep breath, Xiao exhaled as she parted her hands, slowly and purposefully. Before them, the tides of the river gave way, as though a thin dam had been wedged in the water's path. The waters, ever yielding, rushed up onto the banks and spread around it, soaking the mud and grass but still manageable to walk across.

"Go!" Xiao shouted through clenched teeth, not daring to turn her head away from the waters lest she break her focus. Already, her arms were beginning to tremble.

Ai led with Han close behind as they dropped into the river bed, the wall of water looming over them, threatening to crash down on them at any moment as they rushed across and climbed to the other side. As they emerged on the other end of the river, they waved for Xiao to come across.

The waters threatened. Xiao moved slowly at first, hesitant to remove her attention from keeping the river at bay. Stepping into the riverbed, her hold on the river weakened as spurts began to shoot through the wall of water as if through cracks in a dam. At her current pace, Xiao wouldn't make it in time. Releasing her hold on the water, she sprinted across the riverbed as the water crashed back around her. Calling out for help, she leaped with arm outstretched as the current swept her under.

Just as Xiao's hand was pulled beneath by the current, she felt Han's iron grip around her wrist. She latched on to his wrist as he pulled her back out of the water, heaving her up against the coursing currents. Xiao rested on her hands and knees at the riverbank, clothes drenched and hair dripping as she coughed to clear her lungs.

"Are you alright?" The archer nodded hastily in response, still coughing as Han helped pull her to her feet.

"Nothing noteworthy indeed," the Monk echoed with a sly grin.

 

[Zen]

Light snores were broken with a start, as a hand wiped away drool from its muzzle.

"Nodded off again, didn't you?" drawled one guard, the female.

"Oh shuddup Fira. Me wife's been in heat and hasn't left me alone for at least a week. I'd be surprised if she hasn't had kits by the end of this season."

"Don't you already have two litters to take care of?"

The guard grunted in response, shifting about in his leather armor. He was starting to sweat, and the night was a cool one, humid, but reasonably cool.

"I don't understand why you can't stay awake, Mort. The castle's come down, the forest is on fire, and the cannibals have never been this restless, yet here you are, nodding off."

"Like I told you, I haven't had a good night's rest in a week. Guard duty is not known to be stimulating." He glanced behind him at the city gates, yawning. "When do you suppose they'll--"

Mort did a double take, squinting with his keen feline eyes. Surely he was dreaming, hallucinating, but no, his eyes and ears were not lying. There were humans crossing the river, twisting and swirling the waters so they could cross with relative safety. Fira sensed Mort's stillness, and turned, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Don't suppose those are the barbarians," she said distantly.

Mort did not reply for he was already moving. His swift paws took him across the bridge he and Fira were charged with guarding, and hailed the guards on the inside of the city with a screech.

"INTRUDERS BY THE WALLS! INTRUDERS!"

 

[Kino]

That awkward moment when..., #0080ff

"Caught between a rock and a hard place. This just keeps getting better and better..."

Takeshi was still against crossing the river to scout the village, but they were right. Their options were limited, and no matter what they did, there would be great risk. While the others were preparing to cross the river, Takeshi and some of the others took the time to dress themselves. The Magus donned his robes and katana which had fortunately been recovered from the cannibals. A few blood stains, but nothing that couldn't be taken care of.

Almost everyone looked worried, almost panicked. Fuyu had strategically positioned himself closest to the river in case the cannibals managed to find them through the burning forest. It was a move that Takeshi quickly took notice of while he was keeping an eye out. Mogu took his weapon and did the same, watching their perimeter for threats. Suzu caught his attention with her look of concern. He tried to look strong and confident in return, but the best he could do was give a crooked smile.

"We're going to get through this, don't worry." He turned from Suzu to address everyone at once, speaking a bit louder for them to hear. "We are all going to get through this. We'll make it."

Takeshi's words held more confidence than the look on his face. Some weren't sure which to believe. Most were hardly paying attention though, as they watched Xiao, Ai, and Han cross the river. Takeshi's gaze shifted between them, the bridge, and the fire behind them. One of the guards on the bridge started running across it into the village, and it looked like he was causing a commotion. Then, Takeshi saw the guard point in the direction of Ai and the others. His face went grim.

Without hesitating, Takeshi raised his hand to his mouth and magic surged in his palm. He spoke, but the words couldn't be heard. With a flick of his elbow, the ball of magic was sent flying across the river where it collided with Ai and was absorbed into her back painlessly.

"You've been spotted. Get out of there!" Ai would hear Takeshi's voice in her head, warning her.

"We have to be ready to move. They might be in trouble over there." A streak of blood trailed down from his nostrils as he spoke.

He spoke as if he had a plan. If only that were true...