Journeys of a Samurai - More roleplaying!

[Musashi]

Musashi looks down at Takao, and then at the apparation, never trusting of unexplained occurences, especially after the incident with Talan, but realizing they have few choices and less time.

"We must hurry, else we will all perish. Who is he Takao? You know him?"

[BryanFJ]

*Sorry bout that, Cal :P

Takao breathed deeply. "He was my brother, Jiro," he said solemnly. "I killed him." He looked up at the party. "Do you understand, now, why I cannot accept his help?"

[Reverend]

"No honestly, I don't." Reverend was now facing his sitting friend, and appearing to be quite irrate. "Your brother here obviously has transcended the rules Mod put in place to try and help not just us, but you specifically."

Rev was now inches away from Takao's face, almost nose to nose. "If you for one second believe I'm letting you stay here to die you are dead wrong."

[BryanFJ]

Grim-faced, Takao stood, hand on his katana. "As much as I wish for it to be otherwise," he said sternly, "you would have to force me."

[BryanFJ]

No one moved as the two friends stared each other down, and, for a moment, the world crumbling around them was forgotten as they hoped that they would not come to blows.

Suddenly, Jiro silently moved over to Takao, and lifted a hand to his brother's face. Takao's eyes widened, and the silver and orange kanji flashed on and off on his forehead.

"Stop it, Jiro!" he cried as he stumbled backwards, flailing his arms to ward off some imaginary foe. Jiro watched for a moment, then quickly turned and started gliding in the same direction as before, beckoning the party to come. All heads turned to Takao as the samurai stood there, breathing heavily.

"All right, Jiro... I will follow you," he panted, "if only because of what is left undone."

At that, the entire party started to move off, following the apparition.

*If there's any last words you guys want to say before we leave the realm, post them in the next couple of hours :)

[Shino]

Shino walks over to Takao and looks at him.

"Takao, grudges held cause weakness, regret, frustration and anger. These can only lead to hate. Let the past go. He comes to us to help. We have battled very hard and we have overcome Mondain... together. You have more honor then many men in my eyes. Fellow swordsman, let us leave this place and celebrate... together."

[BryanFJ]

Jiro's apparition moved faster and faster, and the party had to run to keep up with him. The ground around them cracked and spewed gouts of steam, and the wind ripped across their faces as it was sucked upwards into nothingness. Suddenly, Jiro stopped, and the party stumbled to a halt, panting. The apparition pointed to a seemingly random place on the ground. Then he turned to face the party, bowed, and disappeared into the air.

Confused, but desperate, the party slowly advanced towards the spot on the ground that Jiro had pointed to. It wasn't until they got very close, however, that they heard a hum of energy, and a circular portal phased into existance in front of them, leading back into the underground caverns. Quickly, they all jumped through. Takao paused for a moment, but hastily followed as the ground under his feet began to break apart.

The party landed in a heap outside the portal. As they looked back, they saw the landscape shaking and crumbling, and then finally exploding in a blast of lava before the portal flickered and died. One by one, they stood, and, silently, made their way through the winding caverns until they once again, at long last, stood outside in the daylight, under the sun of the Earth plane.

Sighing in relief that it was finally over, they sat and lay down on the grass, reflecting on what they had all accomplished. They had foiled Mondain's plans to drain Riselm, and had freed the Holy Dragon's spirit, even though his body had been destroyed. The Chaos Avatars had been nullified; Anonia, with Jirokk's spirit, destroyed, and Airius, with Surbifeh's spirit, turned, hopefully for good. A great blow had been struck against the Chaos Realm's plans, which had so nearly come to full fruition.

However, even as they realized this, they knew that the real battle was far from over. If Mondain had been telling the truth, then the remaining two Chaos Emissaries were still amassing their armies, and these armies would sweep over the Earth, cutting a swath of destruction and death. With or without the Avatars and Mondain, this army was the real threat to the Earth, and it had to be stopped before it was unleashed.

Many of the party members had been greatly changed by this adventure. Musashi and Shino had found the fourth Esper, and were now that much closer to completing their quest. Therin and Damion both had found out a little more about themselves, and strengthened the bond between father and son. Damion, it seemed, was finally beginning to come into his own. Airius had finally conquered his inner demons, and had, if not found, then had at least come one step closer to finding, the true enlightenment that he had been seeking for so long.

But what of Takao? The whole adventure had started with him, and yet, seemingly, he had been by far the least affected by it. The party members could not help but wonder what was their comrade's true past, and whether he would, one day, find and come to terms with it. "He was my brother," he had said. "I killed him." These words echoed in their minds, but not a one of them dared to ask the stone-faced, steel-willed samurai any more about Jiro, or the strange magical powers that Takao had used in the fight against Mondain.

After a long rest, the party members all stood, and prepared to say their goodbyes before going their seperate ways, to find new adventures, elsewhere...

*Any final words before I close the RP with a final Takao post?

[Reverend]

"Oh, before you all go" Airius was fishing around a side pocket of his armor "ah here they are!" Held in his hand were commu-stones carved to be the symbol of Mod. There was one for each party member.

"What you've all done for me is more than I will ever be able to say thank you for, so I have only some parting advice and a special token for you. We dealt a huge blow to the armies of Chaos. This is good, but I worry that you may now garner attention from BOTH sides because of our actions." Airius walked around putting one Mod Stone into each party members hand. "This is a direct connection to Father Ardonais of my monastary, the monks are all the family I have. Should anything ever happen to you, be it Order or Chaos based, just use this stone to contact them and there will be help for you.".

[BryanFJ]

At last, Takao stood and turned towards the party. "I expect to duel each and every one of you eventually," he said to them. "But not now. For now, all I will do is wish you luck in your adventures. Know, however, that the next time we meet, we will fight, there, on that spot." He paused for a moment. "Hopefully," he continued, "we will duel as friends, and not as enemies." Then, he turned and, without another word, walked away over the rolling plains.

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Takao breathed deeply and looked up at the clouds above. "I would swear to avenge you Jiro," he murmured to himself, "but the one I would have to slay would be myself... and I am too much of a coward -- too dishonorable -- to even fall upon my own blade, which has taken your life." He looking down at the ground. "I followed you to safety because you told me Sachiko was in danger," he continued. "But I cannot save her. Her only wish is to avenge you by killing me. I cannot show my face near our dojo... ever again. I am sorry."

Takao's sandals left faint prints in the grass as he ascended the hill. He paused at the summit and gazed back at the mountain range that shrank behind him. The wind whipped through the grass and his wispy hair danced with each gust. Regrets blotted out the memories at his back, but he knew that soon they would be upon him. He did not know how far off he was from his next distraction, and he knew that no matter how soon he started his trek, his past would surely catch up, a prospect he feared.

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*Well, all, that's the end of the first of three Journeys of a Samurai threads! Big thanks to Rev, Therin, Musashi, Shino, and Sperrit, even though he was unable to finish. I'm going to turn this thread open to non-RP chatting now, so people can talk about the game, their characters, and the events. Feel free to post even if you weren't in the game. And make sure to read The Further Journeys of a Samurai thread! :)

[Musashi]

Musashi looks at everyone and bows.

"Thank you all. Shino and I could have never rescued the Holy Dragon on our own. I'm sorry I can't stay with you though. I'm going to head back into those accursed caves. We saw no sign of Sperrit's body as we left. I'm going back to find him."

"Reverend, I'll be in touch with you. I'm going to need your help very soon. I'll contact you when I can and let you know where to meet me."

"Unless any of you are coming with me, I bid you a fond farewell."

Again Musashi bows and strides back toward the accursed caves in the mountains.