AC: Round 2 - Group 4

This thread is reserved for members of Group 4. The thread will open at noon on September 7th (Pacific time) and will be closed after two weeks.

Good Luck!

Group 4
Hoytti
Tainted Bushido

A groan resounded through the area as a hand clawed at the dirt underneath. The hand was pale, far too pale, though streaks of vicious black curled about them in twisting chains. The hand finally flexed into the form of a fist before the arm it was attached to twisted to a supporting position. It pushed the chest it was connected to away from the ground, which fell in dusty traces from the kimono that enwrapped the torso of the man. A second hand gripped at the head that was attached to the torso by a thicker neck. The body of a warrior was waking up and cataloguing the old aches and pains, before assessing the new ones.

The head tilted this way and that, letting pops echo through the area as the stress of sleeping on uneven and hard ground released itself explosively. A groan issued with the slight pain that such a release gave before a single grey eye peaked out from a curtain of white hair, drinking in the world about him. Hand instinctively went to the hilt of a sword almost as long as he was at his back, even as the assessment came back no threats. With a grunt he stood looking about the area.

Taka, the Dark Blade of the Ixian Knights, tasked with the military victories that were too distasteful to pursue with a virtuous force was finally awake. His eyes looking about the area as he saw he had fallen asleep on a path, though it was clearly not the one he had seen when he collapsed in the garden of Alabaster the half-fey. Still he had his No-dachi, and that would have to be enough for now, as he moved to secure the area His eyes scanning for any sign of Steppenwolfe Orlouge, half-brother of his master Sei, the mysterious Cellar Door, and Lady Erissa Tarsul, who had been his companions on the road prior.

The area about the ronin was a standard dirt road through a forest. Unlike the hedge maze that he had been forced to endure, he could see the random hand of nature in the growth of the brush and trees. That alone gave the Dark Blade a chance to relax as he continued to scout the area. A quick look didn’t reveal much beyond the path leading out of the forest to a clearing, but unsheathing the No-dachi he used it to poke and prod the nearby bushes, anticipating any form of treachery he could. After the paranoia inducing trial of the Hedge maze, complete with clones that made reuniting with allies difficult to determine, he was more than willing to let his paranoia protect him.

The sounds of twigs snapping and leaves being crushed underfoot was a thunderous boom in the curiously silent forest, and with preternatural speed Taka shifted his stance, No-dachi drawn and pointed backwards, his legs set shoulder width apart as his white hair whipped about him and formed a confusing display. One milky eye escaped the locks as he hissed in basic, “Who is out there?”

Roxi, a giant worm-like animal, stirred as the magic that had put Her and her host both to sleep wore off. She she twisted within Sorish's neck then started to stretch but then froze when she hit some form of wood. She quickly looked around and noticed that Sorish and herself was dropped off in a thick bush. The leaves around her rattled as she started to race through the leaves to the top of the bush. Just as she was about to reach the surface she heard someone call out "Who is out there?" She tried to stop since she was fearful of many land dwellers, all because of their first contact being with a stupid warlord, but her momentum was too fast to stop and her head pooped right out of the bush. She looked around quickly since she knew she was already spotted then laid eyes on Taka, at which point she ducked back down under the bush. I hope he doesn't come to investigate. Suddenly she heard the rustling of branches and leaves Darn it! "Sorish wake up!"

The giant man made of Coral stirred "Five more minutes Roxi. I haven't had a good sleep since this thing started."

Roxi sighed to herself then looked in the direction of the rustling. Suddenly, two pale hands could be seen grabbing the branches just in front of them. As they spread those branches apart she lunged at the intruder, fear getting the best of her. she just missed the head the head as the man dodged. She turned towards him and said, "Stay away from us!"

The ronin looked as some small creature looked out form the bush. Looking as nothing more than a long blue tendril the creature yelled at him to back off and disappeared in the brush sending a few snapped branches to the ground. Taka raised an eyebrow as the nodachi was sheathed within it’s bandages scabbard and approached the bush, pulling his hair back behind his head and attempting to tie it off with a leather thong, before he realized that he had lost it in the maze. A grunt of irritation left his lips as he realized why so many westerners kept their hair short.

The thought of cutting his hair irked him honestly.

Still he carefully approached the brush and was rewarded with the sounds of something skittering about in the bush. His hand reaching back to the hilt of his nodachi as he narrowed his eyes and carefully reached a hand out to pull the bushes aside when he saw it, the small blue like rope resembling a worm peering out at him. The sentience was almost assumed with the manner in which it moved and Taka jumped back a pace before he hissed softly in Akashiman, “Oni…”

No little falcon, not an oni. Merely something from the sea…

The words were not his own thoughts, Taka knew this much. They were the thoughts of the corruptive blood even now seeking to gain dominance in his body. The blood of the demons of Jigoku, the oni, had splashed upon his open wounds when he had fought and oni to protect a charge long ago. It was this that marked his flesh in the darkened patches, as he fought to retain his sanity while these thoughts and whispers seduced him to a darker path. It wasn’t a voice, so much as a sudden invasion by a thought that he had no inkling of its beginning.

Though, there were times he had to rethink things, for the Oni would insert dark thoughts while he was pondering.

Still whenever he was referred to as the “little falcon” he knew the oni was merely trying to seem helpful, in the hopes he would take the bait and be drawn further on the path to jigoku. His name was Akashiman for falcon, and so the Oni loved to taunt him with its tradespeak translation. As he took a deep breath to calm himself he watched the bushes before he spat out in tradespeak, “Come out of there, now. Do so slowly and I will not attack, you have my word on that much.”

Roxi contemplated for a second then started to move slowly up and out of the bushes stretching her body so that she was still connected to Sorish. She looked at the man who stood before her. He definitely was a warrior of high stature. His skin and hair were white as snow he had a brown robe. His arms were covered in bandages, I hope he doesn't carry a contagious disease. then she noticed the spots coming from his back. Definitely a disease. Once she finished looking him over, she sat in a snakes striking position ready to strike at the slightest hostile move. "I am Roxi, Symbiote of Sorish Mon Larsh, Adventurer and Historian from the Sea. What is your business here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. As a sea creature you shouldn't be out of the water."

Roxi took note of the defensiveness of this sentence. She smiled as she realized that this man, had no intention of harming her, he was just surprised by her. She relaxed, "I don't really know what's going on. Sorish never really explained it to me. All I know is that we were in A mermaid city one minute and next we were waking up on a beach in a stupid forest with strange animals. Sorish said something about an Adventurer's Crown, but I didn't quite understand him. Also, a stupid companion decided it would be funny to fry us not even an hour into the exploration. now we are here and I still don't understand.

"The Adventurer's Crown is a tournament, and if you are a part of it then we are companions. Don't worry, I won't be like the last one."

Roxi looked at the man still not completely convinced but let it go since Sorish stirred. "Okay Roxi, Now what did you want earlier." Sorish started to get up but hit his head on a branch of the bush. "Ow!" Sorish held his head as he looked around and noticed that Roxi had stretched herself out of the bush. He crawled out and looked at her then noticed the man. "Hello, my name is Sorish, and this is Roxi, I hope she didn't cause you any trouble."

They seem foolish, perhaps you should-

That thought was easy to cut off.

He looked as the thing known as Sorish Mon Larsh finally introduced itself to him, and took in its impressive size. It easily dwarfed the ronin, though the rather rail thin nature of the beast made it such that Taka could see most of that height was simply for show. Still he didn’t sheath the nodachi as he waited patiently for the beast to find his feet. Upon it standing Taka merely said bluntly, “I am Taka of the Ixian Knights. Let us move, perhaps the path leading into the clearing will shed some light upon our situation…”

He turned to go, not wishing to look upon the creature for much longer. It was a bit unnerving to the ronin and he had no experience with such monstrous forms. It made his skin crawl in a way that had not been done since he had grown accustomed to dwarves and elves, his time in the Ixian Knights forcing him to become used to their presence. It would always be this way, as Akashima was so insulated other than the occasional neko he had no cause to grow used to the presence of other races. It was a growing experience, and one he was not fond of repeating.

Sandals scraped against the dusty path when Taka moved through the woods towards the clearing he had earlier spied and upon reaching the edge of the tree line understood that it was no clearing he was wandering to, it was a small valley. His eyes narrowed as he studied the location before him and clucked his tongue in distaste. Such a fortress for so small a valley, it was useless.

The walls were made of a mortar shaped not unlike clay. His eyes spied nothing over the walls to prevent one from climbing, but there were people moving about the area. It would take some cunning if one were to get through in any stealthy fashion. The main gates were massive wooden walls barricading against an incoming horde and this served to further the foolish vibe Taka got from the place. His gaze remaining harsh until he spied a few buildings in a more squat fashion, designed such that they were actually lower than the walls. That gave him a bit of scale to the building as he realized why there was nothing on the walls, they were over ten feet tall, while the buildings hovered at ten feet. Anyone climbing the walls would be in plain sight to any guard watching them.

The wind swept over the ronin grabbing and playing with his kimono still tattered in more than a few places from his time in the maze. Paranoia had been a watch word in that den of iniquity, and here Taka could see the word of the day would be patience. If they rushed headlong into this they would most likely be destroyed without a chance. Perhaps a diplomatic approach would work; Taka had after all been the one to conquer Gisela, with a more political approach than the captain of the guard on station there had anticipated. He eyed a few of the slashes he had been forced to endure in the maze not yet healed by the mystical magic that saw the cuts to go with them disappear. He was frankly happy to have the haori of his kimono remain intact.

Looking back over his shoulder he gestured to the fortress complex before he said firmly, “I’ll give in to your opinion on this matter. Should we try peace or stealth?”

Sorish was shocked by the idea of him even trying to be stealthy. Even with the robe that could conceal his entire figure, his height made it impossible to even move without being noticed. "No matter what kind of trick we use to try to sneak into that fortress, I would always be found out. The only option we have is through peaceful negotiation." The likelihood of us being able to enter that place peacefully is also slim. After all, this is a test created by Kenneth Stern, and if the last test was to show anything about his challenges. Negotiation will not be an easy route. Sorish looked the castle over one more time then pulled up his hood. "So, should we go and see how friendly these people are?" Taka just nodded and started walking towards the castle, Sorish followed.

As they entered the small town that surrounded the castle Sorish noticed a man who waved them over. As Sorish and Taka approached, the man called out, "Sorish, Taka, over here!" Sorish and Taka looked at each other then ran over to the man. "I'm here as a returner. Some items were lost to you last round, I'm here to return them to you. Sorish, your Donphan has a chibiball now. I'm here to give it to you." Sorish received a ball from the man. It was pure white except for a golden band that surounded the seam. "Stink en beast had been causing trouble in the tower, it seems to like you and doesn't want to leave your side. Also, A note from your sister arrived." Sorish grabbed the note. "Taka, I have your Mask and Daisho here as well." he handed the mask and Daisho over. "Good luck." Then he disappeared.

Sorish opened the letter and started reading it.

Big Brother,
I'm glad to hear that you have made it to the second round of that tourney. I was so nervous that you wouldn't make it and get depressed. Try your best to win this thing. I shall watch you and cheer you on from the tower. Go Brother! Go!
Love,
Little Sister Sanderia

P.S. A scribe helped me write this.

Sorish smiled then put the letter in his pocket. He then turned towards Taka and motioned for them to head for the gate. As they got closer two guards blocked the path. "None may enter the Fortress of Ra except Ra himself."

Sorish looked at Taka who was trying to avoid looking at Sorish. After a second he looked back at the guards. "We were sent by Ra, now let us in," Sorish said sounding official.

"Nice try rock, but Ra is the only one allowed in the Fortress of Ra."

"Seriously? Then why is there a man climbing the wall on the side?"

"Nice try giant. Now get out of our site before we run you through."

Sorish glared at the man then turned turned away from the gate and headed back up the street, There has to be another way in.

Taka gratefully took his mask and daisho, checking them over for tampering before they were placed in their proper places. Even with the lack of bandages to hide his taint along with his armor taka felt more whole, more complete once Rengoku’s familiar weight entered his grip. A soft smile crept across his face as he said softly, “It is good to see you once more little one…”

Rengoku was more than just a mere blade, for it contained within it the spirit of a woman. He was uncertain as to who’s essence was bound within the blade, but he had been told when he got it, that essence was none other than the woman he had been protecting at the time. Age and treachery had befallen him that day and the truth came to light his charge had actually survived that ill-fated escort mission. With that came the obvious question of who it really was.

All he knew, was that the blade waxed and waned, seeming to add or lighten it’s burden in accordance with his actions.

He watched as the creature walked up to the gate and tried to talk their way in, and was met with what he expected. Whoever this Ra was, he was the only allowed entry, and these men were emphatic about the point. Moving back Taka sighed as he looked upon the fortress, pulling back to the clearing before he took a fallen twig from a branch and began to draw out the outline of the fortress. His eyes glanced over the drawings as he marked locations and guard patterns. Finally he had enough information and sat back sighing, it was not a pretty picture.

“Yanbo port has weaker security than this,” He replied finally. Looking down at the fortress he sighed once more before he spoke, “Though I cannot speak of the experience the guards have, we are at a loss for what to do. Do we even need to enter this building? Part of me says we shouldn’t, but with everything this tournament has thrown at us, I cannot think of any other course of action we should take.”

He jabbed a finger at the dirt drawing even as a breeze played with his hair, exposing more of the black marks on his skin, “That central building should be where we can get answers for this. That would also make it the hardest target to get into. If it were just me I would go for the central building, but I have you as well, and I am not as sure of your abilities as I am of my own.”

He then looked up at the creature before he spoke his voice blunt and stern, “What are you capable of? I need to know if I try to go head on that I will have a warrior at my back or if it would just be another suicide…”

Sorish pulled out his sword ad looked down upon it. "My people receive a practice sword at eight, by twenty they learn how to harden their sword, By twenty five they have their armor and by thirty they have a steel grade Coralian sword." He jerked his head up. "I can fight in a combat of swords, but, I also have magical abilities as well, I can hold a bubble of water for a minute which is long enough to drown somebody, I can also use that same water to shoot a jet stream that hits as hard as a strong punch. These abilities are limited however and I try to avoid using them in a war zone since I'm can't move during their use. Roxi here can protect me from an unbladed attacker but when it comes to a blade, she is useless." She also can use that ability, though it would cause us trouble if I'm still in the middle of battle when the time is up. "I can fight, but," Sorish looked over at the number of guards, one hundred, all outside the wall, "our odds are stacked against us. One hundred on two. it is like fighting a war with a two man army. However, these guards look like they are just rejects. People who are their just to make it look imposing. They probably are new recruits being trained to protect more important places on this island. I think we can take them, but only if there isn't more then ten good soldier hidden among the rest." Favor probably won't look down on us. "The decision is yours Taka."

Taka looked upon the map he had drawn, going almost silent as he contemplated his next action. His eyes never moved and his breathing only barely echoed behind his mask before he nodded softly, and with finality, “A frontal assault may be all we are allowed at this time. There doesn’t seem to be much of a choice here. We shall limit them to choke points and work our way to the center of this fortress. Do not advance until I call for it, and do not leave me behind…”

Rengoku seemed to lighten at the prospect of the fight that was coming as taka stood his eyes looking out over the field and the fortress it contained. The wind played through his hair as it whipped about teasing and pulling at it in a view that only served to distract the ronin. The picture was ruined when he stepped forward into battle and drew his katana keeping it at the ready.

With a cry he shouted out, “Utz!”

The charge came swift his feet rushing down the beaten road, each stepping kicking up dust. His eyes never wavered from their target even as the two guards let out a cry of alarm at the rushing advance of the Ronin. With efficient slash he lashed out killing one of the guards even as he moved, slashing down the other and standing in the path of the gate, preventing them from closing it. With the first task in their assault done he let a feral grin play behind his mask as he shouted out the return of his earlier war cry, “Banzai!”

This is what he hid behind the mask; it was not to hide the taint upon his face, or even the sweat upon his brow. There was no mystical advantage the mask gave him, only the ability to hide the disgusting smile he grew when he fought truly. The pure feeling of bloodshed often made him smile, and while he had tried to hide it when in battle, it still slipped at times. The oni’s blood calling to him when his emotions ran high and for a warrior there was no time higher than battle.

He let his soul free, unleashing his ki upon his opponents who all staggered some even coughing as they suddenly felt as if immersed in the ocean. Taka merely began the grisly task of wading through the guard of the outpost as he felt himself beginning to slip and lose all track of himself. Struggling to reign in the loss of control he focused on his partner in this endeavor to see how he could handle the rising tide.

"Northern Sea!" Sorish called out as he charged along side his teammate. Taka had taken out the men at the gate so Sorish attacked one of the nearest men to him. This man was definitely inexperienced. The sword didn't take a straight path towards Sorish. Instead it just missed to his right. Sorish grinned from behind his hood that he had kept up in order to keep himself hidden. If I remove my hood they would start focusing on me, the monstrosity. Wait a second, that's a good thing. If they concentrate on me then my team mate can easily take them out while they try to get at me. Ether that, or he could get into the building where there shouldn't be any guards. After all, only Ra can enter. Sorish struck the young guard on the leg so that he couldn't continue to fight. Then, Sorish grabbed his hood and pulled it back revealing his coral face. The guard he just struck gasped then yelled, "Monster! We are being attacked by a monster!"

The plan worked, most of the guards were focusing on him now. As they surrounded Sorish he called out "Taka, get into the fortress! They are not allowed inside! I'll join you shortly!" As he finished calling a man slashed at him which Sorish parried then pushed back sending the man flying into his comrades. The front line stepped forward to attack him. Sorish grinned then spun cutting all the guards by the legs. They fell to the ground in agony. The next line dragged their comrades back will the line behind them Attacked low trying to cut Sorish's ankles to slow him down. Sorish wasn't expecting this but he still had time to jump over their swords. Which in turn cut the groups arms. They dropped their swords and fell back. These guards aren't trained to withstand pain. The final row was made up of four people. One in the front, back, right, and left. This group was the trainers of the guard. As the men from the last group fell back behind them each took a specific stance.

The one in front of him took the stance "Jodan No Kamae". The sword was raised at a 45-degree angle behind the head and held in a striking position. He had a tall upper posture and his feet were positioned wide. This was a pure attack stance

The one on Sorish's right was in the "Chudan No Kamae" stance. his body and back were straight, while his stomach was held in and his shoulders were back. his neck was straight, his eyes looked straight ahead, and his chest was held out. His sword was held out in front of his body with two hands at waist level. His right foot was placed in front of the left about two feet apart and his heels were raised. It housed a good defense as well as a good offence

The one on his left took on the "Gedan No Kamae" stance. He was crouched low. His sword was balanced out front and held below the waist with both hands. It looked like a defensive position, but was actually an attack position. It defends against attacks while creating an opening to strike.

The final one took the "Waki No Kamae" stance. He hid his sword behind the him showing only the pommel of his blade. The man was also taller then the others. So tall in fact he could probably be considered a Coralian teen, if he had the complexion. This made it hard for Sorish to tell what the length of the mans sword was, it could be anywhere from a short dagger to a super long sword. He also wouldn't know how the man would slash. He could go up at an angle, down at an angle or even go straight through his middle. I'll have to keep my eyes on that one.

Sorish took up the "Hasso No Kamae" stance. His elbows were held close to the body, feet were close together and his body was straight. His sword was held high in a vertical position at the side of his head with both hands. The edge of the sword faced forward. This stance was used so that he can turn in any direction and attack quickly making it a good stance for fighting multiple enemies.

The men were in a stand off, waiting for the right moment to strike. With all four of his enemies being veteran swordsmen, this was going to be a tough battle for Sorish.

Fighting was as thick as possible Taka was trying his hardest to keep himself from giving into the bloodlust as he noticed four men who knew what they were doing take up position near his teammate. His snort of derision left his lips almost before he drew his wakizashi. The guards eyed him carefully as he took the first stance of the storms eye and let his hair finally stop moving. Part had been dyed red with the blood of those he had cut down, and he could see there was no hope in pushing forward, only in weathering to storm.

He became a hurricane of steel as he kicked up dust calling out each cut of the kata with precision. Each count adding with it another slit throat, another cut stomach. He was cut in return, but his focus remained as he continued the kata, continued the count, becoming the storm. The men began to shout in concern when Taka had nearly cut through the last of them, and ran away for reinforcements. He spied his wayward friend fully revealed and hissed in distaste. Even if he was monstrous, four on one could hardly be called honorable.

So, Taka evened the score.

“Show me your stance!” The General of the Ixian Knights called to the four who stepped back from the monster, realizing they were caught between the two and hesitated. Splitting up two rushed the ronin who began to count, his blade work fairing much better now that he had paired it down from many blades to a mere two. A clash of steel rang out as Taka continued to move through the kata his focus only on the movements as he parried and slashed with unnerving grace. His voice carried out over the din of the fight as he called;

“We go together Mon Larsh-san or not at all!”

The men spat out words probably meant to demean and demoralize, but Taka had long since learned to disassociate his actions from what was going on. He was literally in the eye of the storm, a brutal butcher cutting through the meat and grinding his foes into dust. He had enough of a control of himself to recognize friend from foe, but would be too slow to process information that he was given, such was his focus on fulfilling the kata. The ritualized movements scored him a solid blow upon the back of one man who overextended to try and deflect, even as taka took a blow in return.

The Dark Blade looked upon the one he had injured and classified the wound as minor, and so focused on him to push his limited advantage. Blade clanged against blade as the Ronin shifted and moved fluidly from one stance to another, pressing the man back, until finally his short hops to evade the blades were met with a stone wall. Taka felt more than saw where his compatriot was and moved aside, letting the man nearly stab his cohort before he cut down firmly, right upon the wrist.

The arm bent down immediately, the swordsman offering no resistance. That saved his hand form being lost at said wrist, but not from taking a sever hit, he would be lucky to wield a sword with it again. With that out of the way Taka Hopped back, avoiding the cleaving blow of his other opponent and carefully stabbed his wakizashi into the dirt before he took up a ready stance, his eyes studied the fresher guard. Even from his stance Taka could see him assessing the situation and eyed Taka warily before he took up a pose of his own, the mewling of the second guard ignored by both warriors now that it was down to one.

“Ni Iten Ichi Ryu, interesting, that form was thought lost. Very well swordsman, we shall see how you do with Iaijutsu. Let us see how Yanbo Port has grown,” The words filtered in, but if Taka recognized their implicit threat he was loiathe to show it. Instead he glowered at the man from behind his mask even as the feral grin lit up his face, feeling truly alive for the first time since the battle for Gisela when he had faced Elijah Belov in the gates of the City. Though he had won on the political front, Taka had made sure to let any of the leadership who wished it go. That included the Salvarian Chef, and it always nagged him in the back of his mind to finish what had started there.

He was after all the Dark Blade of the Ixian Knights.

The man on his right and the man in front of him went after Taka since they were the closes to him. Quickly it was proven that Joden was the worst stance to be versing Taka with. Sorish quickly turned around, facing both the Gaden and Waki. "Now that your friends are preoccupied, I shall take you on." Of course they had to leave the two hardest to me. As soon as he finished a blur of silver came from his left. The Waki final revealed his long blade. It was the same length as Sorish's sword. Sorish brought his blade up and defended himself from a cut straight across his chest. As soon as he did the Gaden took this opportunity to strike. Sorish noticed this and pushed the Waki away as he jumped back. This isn't good. Sorish stood there for a second, What to do? Suddenly, Taka came at him again, this time with a cut in a downward diagonal motion. Sorish blocked again and pushed the man back again then slashed at him. Hit the Taka had a cut in his right shoulder. That'll slow him down. Suddenly he came at Sorish again, swinging faster then before. What! Sorish barley had time to block. It nicked his left shoulder. This foe is deadly. Not only does hitting him not slow him down, He gets faster with it. Sorish slashed at the man with speed as well. He got the man acros the chest. The down side to the Waki style was that there is time to block from that position. Usually they just dodged. Why didn't this one. The man fell to the floor coughing up blood. Sorish looked at the man as he fell.

"Idiot used his ability to early. Wounded Swing makes you unable to move after the cut for five seconds. Should have known better," the Gaden said

"So you each have this ability huh?"

"Nope, each of us have our own ability, they are actually according to our styles. Christopher, the man who did Joden had the ability Strength, while Sameul, the man you just fought, had the Ability, Wounded Swing. That is all I'm telling you."

"So, shall we continue?"

The man nodded. Sorish took on a new stance as well, The Mage Stance. He had his sword put away and his hands were open ready to cast his spells. Also with this stance came the ability to dodge swords with ease. The man's eyes narrowed trying to figure out what kind of stance Sorish went into. Sorish started to whisper some words that the man couldn't hear. "What was that?" the man asked. Then his eyes widened, inside of Sorish's hands was a bubble of water that was constantly growing. The man charged at Sorish who smirked then finished speaking. The water shot forward hitting the man and sending him flying into the wall behind him Sorish held the spell for three seconds. As soon as the water finished hitting him he stood up looking like he had just been hit by three punches to the chest. "Not bad mage. I'm actually surprised that you can use a sword and magic. I'll have to remember that." The man took up a normal warriors stance. "Since you can use magic, my Gaden stance will be useless."

He then charged Sorish "How are you still able to stand? You were getting hit by the equivalent of three really hard punches. Every second is like a another hard punch." Sorish dodged releasing the Water Bubble spell. he then grabbed the man's right arm.

"My ability, Ultimate Defense weakens the damage I take from an attack. Downside is that afterwards I take more damage from any attack that follows for the next hour."

Sorish then punched the man in the face and the man went flying back hitting the wall. Sorish wasn't expecting that and apparently nether was the man. The man had release his sword because of the force of Sorish's punch. The man staggered out of the hole then fell. he was defeated.

The two swordsmen watched each other with intensity, looking for the slightest movement that would betray the other. Taka held his blade back in the ready position he had been using the Nodachi in during his trek through the vine maze. His opponent meanwhile was watching carefully, before he grinned. The man was already in motion before Taka could even move, so Taka cheated realizing the man was using magic.

Really he felt it was fair, the man had already gone beyond the mortal limit and he merely was reinforcing the pulse of his Chi in the area.

When the man showed again Taka had slashed outward, knowing what would happen. As the mysterious warrior staggered clutching his stomach he turned to Taka his eyes widened. Blood leaked profusely from the cut that slashed him wide open, and he shook his head in disbelief before he said, “How did you know?”

“Your smile, you never intended that to be an honorable duel,” Taka replied, “I suppose you’ve killed several of the Yanbo Port Guard by using your trick. It’s too bad I haven’t trained with them in quite some time, or your trick would have worked. While pragmatic, the style Yanbo Port does have some set in stone principles that would not have allowed me to react to the treachery.”

“What was that, that drowning sensation?”

“Even if I drew first, you would be able to dodge and attack. My attack would appear sluggish, but once you committed to the strike you had to stand still. I timed a burst of my chi to hit you roughly when you would start your attack. Timed right, you would not only fail to strike, but fail to defend against my strike as well…”

“Then you cheated?”

“If a man has used fraud against me, I consider him a wretch and a scoundrel, and I will not adhere to rules that he ignores. I will not put myself at the disadvantage of free action,” Lesson concluded Taka sliced quickly taking the head of his foe before he turned on the wounded swordsman and shrugged, “Do you wish me to give you the same mercy, or will you go through life with your wrist like that?”

The man looked around before he shook his head, “Someone needs to report what happened. I will abstain from further battle…”

Taka nodded as he roughly gripped the hilt of his wakizashi and pulled it form the earth. A flick of his wrist saw the clods of dirt the blood had gripped torn free before he moved over to where Sorish mon Larsh was, watching a man climb comically out of a hole before falling. As the Ronin raised an eyebrow behind his mask he spoke up, “Mon Larsh-san, the inner chambers await, and this isn’t all their guards. They would certainly have saved the more experienced recruits for the final push. Do not grow lax now that we have dealt with these men.”

With that he carefully pulled a cloth from his obi and wiped the blade of his wakizashi clean before he sheathed it. His face sagged with tired fatigue. Were it not for the mask he doubted anyone could have taken the man seriously, but with the demanding force of holding onto the Storm’s Eye Style he knew that the mask was a good thing for him to have. Sorish didn’t need to worry about Taka he had fought on through the fatigue of holding onto the Kata before, but he didn’t want that worry nagging at the back of his partner’s mind. His eyes merely glanced over the monster before he spoke up, “Let’s go.”

"Let's get inside before anyone else comes. Since the fortress is only allowed to be entered by Ra, they won't follow." Sorish ran through the gate hoping that Taka would follow him. The fortress grounds was beautiful. It had many plants and trees. All these plants are edible. The center of the grounds held a giant cubed building. It had to be five floors tall. not wanting to be an easy target from the gate Sorish continued into the building itself. The first room was somewhat interesting. The ceiling reached to the top of the building, it had stairs on both side that led all the way to the top, with a platform on each level. There each floor had a balcony surrounding the room on all sides except for the back. On every open wall there was a tapestry. In the back was a giant stained glass window with the picture of a man with a red hooded robe with a sun on the chest. He was holding out his hands which had fire in the palms.

Sorish couldn't believe such marvels even existed. How on earth did they make this without it collapsing? He then noticed the curved beams that went up the walls and came to a focal point. Sorish looked around a little longer then noticed a hall to his right it seemed to go down to what probably was the cellar. Sorish then heard a sound he wasn't expecting, feet running on the stone floors and not only one but hundreds. He looked up and noticed that every balcony was now full of people in the same robes that were on the tapestry. Some looked young while others seemed to be old, but most were middle aged. A man came up from the hall that Sorish spotted earlier.

The man walked up to Sorish and Taka looking perplexed. Then he smiled as he looked at Taka. "You hold Ra within you Taka. You Sorish do not, but anyone who travels with Ra is welcome."

Sorish was surprised as was probably Taka. "How do you know our names?" Sorish asked.

"Don't speak to me Sorish, You do not posses Ra, in fact, while you are here you must be silent. to answer your question, I can see into your soul, it tells me everything I need to know about a person. Taka you have Ra deep inside you but another has infiltrated as well. We must separate the two, this will make it possible for you to communicate with Ra and receive his knowledge. Also your mind must be separated from the intruder as well so that he can communicate to you but he will never be able to control you. Until the procedure is ready you may wander the halls but you can not enter that hall I just came from. Only when you learn to use Ra can you enter there." He then turned around.

"Wait, what is your name?" Sorish asked.

"I told you once to not talk, speak again and I will have to use the silence spell. However, I will give you my name for Taka's sake, it is Respiter." He then continued down the hall he came from.

Taka looked upon the priests with utter confusion as they talked openly of his taint, and further seemed to not be hostile. His katana was held at the ready even as the priests looked upon him and sued for peace. Thankfully the mask hid the expression of naked confusion and rage at the shock he was delivered. Looking upon the man as he continued to talk he could feel the raw waves of arrogance emitting from the man. A noise started to echo from behind the mask before he noticed Sorish tensed, almost detecting the retort Taka had for the man.

He was fully sure Jensen would have been proud, had the enigmatic immortal and jester of the Ixian Knights been there.

Still he held his tongue even as he carefully sheathed the Katana feeling the tension in the room die with his naked aggression put away. He looked amongst the priesthood of this so called Ra and felt his very essence shudder in the presence of these men. The kami of fire seemed in ascension here and it made taka feel vulnerable, exposed. He could feel them studying him, and it was unnerving for them to be so focused on only him, discarding his partner without a second glance. He only spoke tersely to the priests as he said, “I wish some time to contemplate what has been said, is there a room?”

“Of course Taka, this way…” One of the robed men led them down a different corridor even as the Dark Blade spied Respite entering a door at the end of the hallway. He was fairly certain that was the center of this fortress, and the goal of this little test. He could sell out who he was an easily reach the door, but that thought drew the bile from his stomach faster than the thought of letting Mon Larsh-san touch him. The door opened and Taka strode in quickly looking about the small meditation room.

Where Taka was used to meditating with naught but a wooden floor and a single candle, this place was by far more posh. Pillows were strewn about the area in an attempt to make the process of reaching mental clarity as comfortable as possible which brought a snort of derision to the Ronin’s lips. Even as the door shut behind him, Taka could feel Mon-Larsh-san’s eyes upon him and spoke candidly, “Were it my desire, I would burn this place to the ground and dance upon the ashes. The oni’s blood and I agree for the third time since I have been cursed with it, if that wasn’t an ominous sign enough…”

Perhaps there is some truth in what you say. Perhaps we should destroy them all, the priests look a craven lot, a few deaths is all you would need to-

Taka mentally cut off the invading thoughts before a harsh one was sent in return, When I want your opinion Oni, I will rattle your cage for it, until then leave me be.

He turned and kicked a pillow away from him in idle irritation as he looked upon the coral monster before he crossed his arms and spoke, “Speak plainly, I care not for their customs, it reeks of the way you train a dog…If they wish to shut you up they can do so at the end of my blade.”

Sorish relaxed as he opened his mouth to speak, "I am..." Suddenly the words wouldn't leave his mouth, it was like his voice was removed. He couldn't even say a word. Taka turned around upon the sudden halt of the sentence. Sorish put his hand up to his neck and shook his head.

The one called Respiter is able to see and hear the voice of one person and he was focused on Sorish. Upon hearing Sorish start to speak he sealed his voice along with the voice of his symbiote. Now he truly couldn't speak. Sorish was now aggravated and his blood started to boil, however Sorish caught himself before the Red Death kicked in. He calmed himself then grabbed a pen and paper out of his bag and started to write. "I not talk right now but I write. It hard for me write so bear with me, what think you of them? I don't like them, but they help you. Will you allow them?"

“I disdain those who show arrogance such as that. To believe that they could help with my taint is as disgusting as their culture. I don’t wish to let them teach me anything other than the way through this test so I can continue through this tournament. Draw steel Mon Larsh-san, we shall make the final push to get through the area,” Taka said as he looked upon his arms. Cuts that bled blackened blood were closed and as he flexed his arms he could feel the strength of the Oni within his veins.

Come now Falcon, are you certain you don’t wish to just give into the madness, and enjoy the power that true chaos can bring? Are you not a destroyer yourself? Do you not wish to feel your blade destroying those about us?

Takas response was growled under his breath, “Get behind me Oni, I don’t need you to complete my task…”

Sorish seemed about to speak when a sandaled foot kicked open the doors, the men came running and slid to a halt seeing Taka with katana drawn. His eyes held the fires of a righteous fury even as his blade slashed down the first one. Despite his earlier assessment of the men they didn’t run, it only seemed to anger them too as one hissed, “So you reject the Ra, you reject the fires of your soul in favor of the darkness within! You are lost Taka, and there shall be no return from the darkness you tread!”

Fires erupted in their hands as they began to throw the fires at taka, who evaded them with fluid grace even as he felt his chi pulse out and answered back with a fury of his own, “I detest those that think they can solve others problems for them. They are almost as disgusting as those who feel the need to pity someone for their weakness. I bear darkness within my soul, and one day it shall consume me, but before it does know this, I will drag all of you into the fires of Jigoku to burn in the grips of the Oni. Pity is not a virtue. To pause when causing my enemy pain is weakness. He would not do so for me, and if he did, I would smite him for his stupidity.”

Blade slashed outwards as Taka’s respite from the fighting renewed his vigor, while he had only used the storm’s eye in a burst, he was loathe to fall back into the familiar rhythm. Instead he continued his strikes cutting down those that attacked first, giving others a chance to flee the battle as he began to cry out in Akashiman, "<Though my blood be stained upon these stones!>”

Now most of the time people surrounded him when they fought but this time it was different, everyone ignored him while they attacked Taka. Sorish felt rejected and angry, "That does it! Roxi get ready we are charging!"
"No Sorish! Don't give into the disease, you aren't you when it takes over!" I have to warn Taka that he was in danger and fast, but how?
Suddenly Roxi had an idea. She pulled herself out of Sorish's head and quickly slithered through the men who were getting ready to attack Taka again. she climbed up his neck as he stiffened and implanted herself into him. She indeed felt three conscious' the third was weak comparativelybut still strong she connected to the strongest one and was relived to find it was Taka himself. I'm sorry for the intrusion but I would hide, Sorish is about to go berserk. If he does you will be in just as much danger as these Hooded morons. By the way, there is indeed two other conscious' in you. She felt the second strongest conscious touch her and she lashed out at it sending it fly back into it's cage. She turned her conscious towards it and said, "Touch me again and you will end up wishing you hadn't." She took a quick peek at what the third one was like. It indeed was friendly, how it was in these poeple she didn't know but she decided to leave it at that. She detached herself from Taka and slithered to a water bucket in the corner and entered it not wanting to enter Sorish while he was in a rage.

Suddenly Sorish lifted his head trying to scream but nothing came out and then he charged the group,red filling his eyes and a scowl on his face. Once he reached the edge he cut down 3 simultaneously, then another five, then ten, then twenty, twenty-five, the count kept rising.but for every one that was cut down ten came to take their place. Sorish didn't even dodge the fireballs being sent at him, instead he would deflect them with his sword then chopped down the one who threw it.

This went on for a while and soon Sorish was showing fatigue. Then Respiter entered the room telling everyone else to leave. "It's time for the master to show you how it's done." All the other Ra's went white and ran out. Sorish looked at this man with an intent of death, then charged. Respiter smirked and dodged then hit Sorish in the stomach with his palm.

Sorish bent over in pain but ten charged again. However something deep inside Sorish cried "Stop" This halted Sorish for a while then an image entered his head. It was a figure that he had never seen before, a woman who had a gown of water on. "Stop Sorish, this isn't you."

Then another figure appeared, this one looked just like he did but it had the red eyes. "Who ever you are, don't interfere. We are in battle and your interference puts us at risk."

"I'm protecting you while we talk. My name is Aurora, I am the sister spirit of Ra. Please, the way you are fighting isn't you Sorish."

"Huh, if you have been in him this whole time then why didn't the Ra notice you."

"Baka, they did."

"Baka?"

"Stupid!"

"Why you..."

"Enough!" Sorish said, "Why have you interrupted my fight Aurora?"

"I couldn't stand seeing you like this. Last time someone calmed you down but this time, I fear what will happen."

"So this is about me, not you and your brother?"

"Me and my brother are indeed close, but he doesn't die when they do, he just leaves them."

"Fine so, what do you propose we do."

"I would like to talk to Ra, then you as yourself can continue to fight."

"Agreed."

"Thank-you."

"How dare you!" the Sorish with red eyes cried but was cut short by Aurora "Urusaina, your annoying, now leave." The red eyed Sorish vanished, "Now shall we?" Sorish nodded.

Taka watched as the others fell back, Respite looking angrily at the two of them. He held his katana at the ready before he noticed that Sorish had charged in. He backed off the man obviously going berserk before he felt something wet slap against his neck. It was that damnable worm of Sorish’s and it quickly warned him the man was going to lose himself in the rage he had built up. Taka barely had time to register what was going on before the worm jumped form taka and into a bucket of water, presumably to hide. He merely watched the man going crazy as he tried with every ounce of his soul to destroy Respite.

Taka did the honorable and perhaps safer option and stood back as Sorish continued what had become a duel, his eyes watching for treachery.

It also occurred to him that if the creature finished off Respite, then it would come after him. With that realization he saw the hallway Respite had come from and realized the doorway was wide open. Using his clear distraction taka shook his head as he muttered under his breath, “I’ll see you on the other side Mon Larsh-san, one way or another…”

Taka decided to take the more pragmatic route and ran down the hallway towards the double doors, leaving Sorish Mon Larsh to his honor duel. There was still a trial to be completed and half the team crossing the line was better than none. Rengoku grew only marginally heavier, obviously disapproving of the notion that taka would leave the man to live or die, but obviously agreeing that this was Mon Larsh’s fight. He continued to charge down the hallway until he reached the doors and stumble past the threshold to find himself in the main temple of the fortress. With the entry to the center of the outpost the game was over for Taka.

Clapping could be heard even as the doors shut behind him. He stood panting in the middle of the chamber before he turned and saw Alabaster, the damnable half-fae from his first trial behind him leaning against the doors. They locked eyes, the Ronin catching his breath while the trickster stood there clapping a Cheshire cat grin upon his features. Finally he spoke, “So you are a true pragmatic as well. You only seem to entertain me more with every trial. First you fight hard to reunite with everyone and get them safe, and then you sacrifice a comrade in arms to complete the mission. I wonder Ronin, what does your warrior’s code say about this?”

Blade was hefted with familiarity before Taka said firmly, “I will answer to my ancestors, not you, for this…”

“Just so, General Taka of the Ixian Knights, very well, you have complete task two. All that is left is to wait and see if your comrade can complete as well…” Alabastar said flicking dark locks over a shoulder as he pushed off the doors and turned to stand beside Taka. “I should hope for your sake he succeeds…”

Respite was tired, Sorish hadn't let up on the attack for quite some time and there was no time to counter so he has been on the defending end of each blow. He had noticed Taka running out and down the hall to the center temple but he couldn't stop him. Right as soon as Taka entered the chamber Sorish had suddenly stopped attacking. He took this time to attack but a blue shield surrounded him. He knew what this meant Aurora has finally awakened. After a while of Sorish's eyes changing they finally stopped on blue and the shield dropped. "Respite, I'm Aurora. I want to talk to Ra."

Hearing Sorish speak Roxi looked up and saw he was calm. She slithered over to him and plugged in and sensed that the weak conscious that had been deep in was in control, she connected to Sorish and he filled her in.

"Aurora, you know how much we hate you. Your nothing..." Suddenly he couldn't speak.

"I said, let me talk to Ra."

Respite nodded then his eyes turned red. "Aurora-chan, long time, no see. How are thind?"

"I'm fine Ra-kun, let's talk as we go to the center of the monastery."

"Ok Aurora-chan." They started to walk to the center. "Aurora-chan, what is it you need?"

"Straight to the point, I need you to first off, train your men to be respectful, second I just wanted to see you. It's been a long time."

"I'm sorry for their behavior, they consider me a gift and think they are better then anyone who doesn't have me."

"They actually pushed my host over the edge." they entered the room and just ignored a gaping Taka as they went over to the center of the room. Where Ra pulled a lever and two thrones appeared. They sat in them and continued talking about the times they had and all that have been going on and just other small conversations. After a while They finished talking and they disappeared. Sorish's eyes turned back to pink while Respites turned back to green.

"What?" they asked at the same time and Respite jumped up looking around.

"You disobeyed our rules!" Respite yelled then fell for Ra hit his consciousness and knocked him out.

Sorish looked at the man then over at Taka. "Where did Aurora bring me?"

Taka smiled behind his mask. Now I get it, that's why they acted like old friends they were both being controlled. "Your in the center of the monastery."

"Then she completed the quest for me." Suddenly both Sorish and Taka fell asleep.

*Finished*

*Notice: Sorish will be training to use Aurora's powers after level three.*

Plot: (15)

Storytelling (6) - Not a bad read, but not a solid one either. It was mostly the delivery of the big reveals in the story that sunk this. You need to build your suspense up, and then not blow over it before it has a chance to pickle. And if you are trying to be clever about hiding something in plain sight you need to give the reader small hints to keep them guessing in order to make the reader invested. Solving it on your own with no thought once so ever can hurt a good story.

Setting (5) - This was all done by Tainted. Hyotti, you had a bad time making this work to your advantage, mostly due to your rushed nature when you write. Take your time, flesh things out, give it a good once over before hitting Post.

Pacing (4) - Your story was rough in the fact that you both had a tendency to end a post asking the other what to do. This thankfully ended towards the end of the story, but it had a very stop and go feel which can hurt a reader’s attention span. You need to find a way to keep your hooks lodged in without giving the reader a chance to grow bored and pick them out.

Character: (15)

Communication (5) - Nothing really bad here, but a couple of really flat lines hurt Hyotti. You need to ask for permission before writing other people’s character’s, more for the sake of ensuring you capture them perfectly. Also, when you write your dialogue with multiple characters, it’s hard to keep track of who is saying what when you have multiple quote’s, but no lines to dictate who said what. Clean it up, give some ownership, and this can rise.

Action (6) - A decent amount of action, though mostly carried by Tainted, though Hyotti you added a bit yourself, it was more in a bland style of “I approach target, target offers challenge, oh I can’t do it walk away.” You need to flesh things out a bit more if you want to improve this area. Fun little duel in the middle of the story was neat, though.

Persona (4) - I really got the general jist of Taka, but nothing as far as understanding him or his motives. He was just good ol Taka in this one. Not necessarily bad, mind you, but remember that every now and then it’s helpful to give the reader a taste into the mind of the Ronin. Hyotti, I have no clue what your character is, why they are even the way they are, and everything in between. I have no clue what your character is like, what makes them do what they do. Like Taka, you need to help the reader understand the type of person you want Hyotti to be.

Prose: (14)

Mechanics (5) - There were a lot of little errors here and there, and that can get pretty distracting. You both should know the remedy to fix that right up. Proofread, it’s a life saver.

Clarity (4) - Hyotti I noticed when reading your character has taken liberties to notice things and assume things instantly by merely glancing at them, which is not usually easy to do, but what bothered me more was this sentence here: She looked at the man who stood before her. He definitely was a warrior of high stature. His skin and hair were white as snow he had a brown robe. His arms were covered in bandages, I hope he doesn't carry a contagious disease. then she noticed the spots coming from his back. Definitely a disease. How in the world you can see someone’s back looking at their front is a little…well impossible. Make sure when you write you make your actions believable within a certain realm of fantasy. I’m all for the answer being magic to anything, but to stand at someone’s front side, and see their backside…well now that’s just plain off.

Technique (5) = A lot of literary tricks performed by Tainted helped boost this score, but your rather blunt, lack of technique style in your writing Hyotti only seemed to balance it out to a blank state. Try to push your comfort zone, stretching for the skies and pick out new exciting ways to make your words come to life.

Wildcard: (6)

Total: 50

Tainted Bushido receives 823 exp and 95 gp.
Hoytti receives 313 exp and 95 gp.