Deliver the Daughter

Sat Jan 23, 2021 5:50 am

Spoiler:

A day before arriving at the village.

Satoru was a member of the Jugo clan, on his journey to Kumogakure, the village Hidden in the Clouds he picked up some work around the borders, one that involved escorting the daughter of a local lord back to the safety of their estate. Taking a time to reflect on his journey, he flipped open his notebook and began a writing a new piece of fiction focused on a feudal society. In the circumstances, he had no means of receiving feedback for his writing but he enjoyed putting pen to paper and literally dumping everything that came to mind. The story read…

We return to the bustling capital of our respective noble families. As the bounty hunters descended, this was their primary destination, the perfect opportunity to put their skills to use for the benefit of both them and the village.

The pair are aware of their employer's involvement in this, as well as that of any others, but it was a bit of a surprise that so many individuals had felt the need to travel down for the job. Even more than that, it took a bit of questioning to learn that they were aware of the two who had met up with them earlier. The green eyed woman, Toriga, and the white haired man, Rozan, they knew to be both quite capable in combat. It was a fact which seemed to raise suspicions, a society that didn't seem to want to engage in violence, at least not in public.

Then again, this was the first we had seen of them as of late. I can understand their desire to return to the more peaceful, amicable times of the past, however I am not sure that this is the correct path to take. It is clear that something is trying to change our minds on the subject and if we are to accept the changes, it is only going to be a matter of time before more of our people come to us. In order for this to happen, we must help those who want to continue their lives in the manner they have always had, while at the same time avoiding the most recent, if any, horrors that the outside world has to offer. This will require the aid of our other clans, which seems to be a more difficult task then we had originally thought.

The pair continued onwards, scanning the streets, they came across a pair of young, armed looking men in a tent. They both looked over the pair of girls, then nodded and opened the flap. Seeing their value, they were quickly allowed to pass without a problem. The other pair paid their share of the bounty and began their journey back to their respective clans.

A few hours after meeting Satoru and his accompanying trio, they came across a fort, one of the only ones still standing, in the midst of a wilderness. Much like the village, the defenses were still intact, even if it was a bit worse for wear. It was clear that whoever had built the structure, had been expecting trouble and that the contents inside had likely not been inspected. Both parties quickly checked in and began their business, ready for a fight.

It was a simple affair, with only one guard, a man with nothing more then a fishing rod, attempting to hold the door shut. Satoru saw the opportunity to perform the sort of skillful trick that he knew how to do best and tossed the fishing rod over his shoulder into the air, making sure it was aimed right at the man's back. He jumped forward, spun the end of his longsword around and slammed it into the doorway. While Satoru was flinching, the man had finally felt the strike and hit the floor.

The pair moved inside the fort, to gather the items they would need and perhaps a change of clothes. What they did not expect was to come across several young men, also just passing through, who were searching for their own meals, in order to continue their journey to their own homeland. The trio appeared to have noticed the different occupants of the building, but opted to not take a closer look, once it was clear they weren't there for a fight. As the three were going about their business, the other two finished and moved into the next room.

It was a few minutes before the room came to life again, with the sounds of combat and arguing coming from inside. The trio crept closer to the doorway to listen in.

"Ah, it looks like we were fortunate in a way." A deep voice, one of those that you would expect to belong to the more cruel elements of a nation spoke.

"Did you happen to know that this was the room that the Hunter was hiding in? He must have been carrying it for ages, he doesn't even want it now that he has it.""Well, I suppose it would have been foolish to try to take it from him in a fight, but now that it is all of us, there is no reason to delay any longer.""Fine, but, I must say, you girls are not bad to look at. Well, except for your names."A short, but curvy, woman, whose name was Sisila approached the pair, eyeing them up."You two aren't what I would call good to look at, you know." She said as she looked each of them up and down.

"We are not here to impress you, we have no intention of luring you into a room here with these men." She said sternly.Sisila turned and glanced over her shoulder at the men."Well, just keep in mind that, they might attack if you get too close.""Yes ma'am." Satoru said.

"Excellent." She looked back at the pair."They are trying to show themselves off and impress us, to prove that they can fight, and that we won't get attacked." "Yeah." The short, but broad-shouldered boy responded. "Well, what I have seen, I can see that." She said as she waved her hand in the air. "But they are not the sort that I want to spend any time with."

"Neither are we." Satoru added. "So how do you two think you should go about this?" She asked as she made her way to a table. The trio looked around at the small makeshift room. From the looks of it, it had been used for storage and sleeping, before someone cleared it out. The table was made of different pieces of wood with a nail or two at the top, above several overturned barrels. A number of plates and bowls were stacked and scattered around the room, with a number of knives and throwing daggers laid out. A makeshift kitchen was littered with cooking supplies, with a large, unfinished wooden chest standing in the corner. It was from there that Satoru gathered the contents of the room, in order to prepare them a meal. Satoru nodded his head as the woman finished the final touches on their meal.

It was with very little hesitation that they approached the pair. The female quickly went to a nearby window, and peeked out. "Well, I suppose we should get moving. See you around." She said before running out the door, Satoru quickly following after. The boy and the woman began to walk back to the warehouse, ignoring the four bodies, still sleeping in the room.

"Hey!" The male who had been speaking to the two of them called out. The trio stopped in their tracks and looked back. "I told you you should have gone after them first, idiots. Now you will have to face whatever is after them and the group here as well."

"Let's get moving." Satoru said. As the trio walked past, he thought back to what the woman had said to him. "Well, if you girls want to get out of here, it is up to you. My father will not be pleased to see you standing around like nothing is wrong with his investment. If you want to help then I think it would be a good idea to head west. There are a few towns and places along the way, there may be someone that can help you."

The group of three continued to walk, ignoring the man as they moved deeper into the forest. The man watched as they vanished from sight. He had a long leather cloak and a set of plate armor, covered in some sort of oil. The man's armor was extremely lightweight and did not hold up well under the summer sun, and it was difficult to tell that he was not a human.

He looked down at the the thick leather belt that held his daggers to his waist, before carefully lifting it, and packing the daggers inside of it. He knew that his daggers would make a very poor weapon to use against an opponent, but he could use them to protect himself if he ever ran into someone. They were perfect for throwing, or spearing a target if he was on the defensive. The man stood up and walked back to the edge of the forest. He stood for a few minutes and watched as the group moved on, when he suddenly noticed something flying overhead. As it descended, it dropped something before beginning to fly towards the forest. The man had no idea what it was, but it had definitely not been in the sky above before.

The man pulled back the hood of his cloak, and placed the leather belt inside of his mouth before attempting to climb to the top of the tree where he had stood earlier. When he finally made it, he reached for the top of the tree, but quickly realized that he was out of reach of the fallen object. The object was attached to a rope, and the man realized that he would have to wait for it to descend and for someone to retrieve it. It was a short while before someone made their way back to the scene. The male emerged from the forest, dressed in a uniform from one of the surrounding towns. "Is anyone around? Anyone at all?" He called out, not taking his eyes off the rope. "Mister, you can't see what's going on from up there. I'm afraid that you will have to come down, if you wish to know what has happened. I would appreciate it if you would give me a minute to explain." A woman's voice answered. "Who's this?" He asked. "My name is Aneiros. I am one of the town's policemen. I am sure you have seen the dead bodies."

"You can't possibly tell me that this is a mere coincidence." "Mr. T" There was a pause as she struggled to remember his name. "Derio! I know this sounds ridiculous, but I swear this is all just a coincidence! Do not shoot me, I don't want to die. I only stopped to see if there was anything else that could be done, because I was concerned that I might be needed to help with the treatment of the injured." The man was speechless. "You can't be serious! You were there too?" "Yes, and it just so happens that I was actually there when it happened." "I can't believe it. And you didn't tell anyone about it?" "Of course not. I didn't think anyone would believe me." "And you were there when it happened?" The man asked. "Yes. Do you have any idea what that thing was?"

"It was-" Derio began to say. "I know what it was, and I know what it's intentions were. I saw it kill a girl with one of its claws! And it is looking for something, whatever it may be. I think that it has something to do with the things that are happening in these woods." Derio was starting to think that this woman was indeed crazy. She was clearly mistaken about everything, and he was about to tell her so when she started to speak again. "They are surrounded by a barrier of earth." "A barrier of earth?" "Yes. It isn't just trees, it's everything. There's hardly any land left for them to move through, but they continue to come to these woods because it's all that they know." "I don't understand! How did they get here if there's nothing here? There's no river, no stream or lake, not even any streams or lakes. There's nothing!" He asked.

"The barrier isn't just trees, it's the ground. It's completely covered with soil, and I know how deep the earth goes." She paused for a moment, as if looking for the right words. "It's covering every piece of land in the woods. Every rock, tree and animal that came along on the journey to this land is in this barrier, and they cannot get out. You may think that they will die here, but you are wrong. There's nothing that can kill them."

Derio looked at the woman, puzzled. "I don't understand. What do you mean that they can't get out? Is there some kind of flood or something, that's keeping them here?" "I can't be sure, but I think so. There's no way they can get away from this world. They can see me from a distance, but it seems like they can't actually come here." "How can that be? If there is nothing to get them out, there's nothing that will hold them here. The barrier is holding them here and there is nothing that can stop it." "That's what I'm afraid of." She said. "All of this might just be in my head. The rest of the town thinks that I am crazy. Some of them think that I am getting myself into trouble and I'm trying to cover up for it. I'm not. It's the truth. All of this stuff is happening here and they think it's all in my head."

Derio could not believe what he was hearing. "What kind of person do you think I am? I didn't send anyone to try to kill anyone. I just saw a fight that needed my help, and I tried to get rid of it as fast as I could." "Well, maybe you are a little crazy, but at least you are honest. I know what happened to the girl. I'll bet you anything that the creature tried to attack you." Derio was starting to get mad. "I am not crazy! She came to my house, trying to warn me of what was going to happen, and I tried to help her." "Yeah, and she gave you a death threat in her dying breath."

"No, she didn't!" He said. "I know what I saw, and what I heard. How can you possibly think that it was a death threat? You have no idea what you're talking about!" He took a step toward her. "Listen, lady. I was looking for the town's sentry when I saw that girl and I got worried that something was going to happen." "So you stole a horse and rode off to try to save her from a forest monster. Who can blame you?" Derio was starting to get angry. "The monster is not real. I saw it, heard it and was attacked by it."

"What?" She said, stunned. "How do you know that it was a monster?" "Because the creature attacked me. I didn't see or hear anything." She stared at Derio for a moment. "What was it? It couldn't have been anything else. You saw it." Derio considered her words for a moment. "Maybe it was some kind of monster, but not a dangerous one. I don't know."

"It's the beast from the forest." She said. "They call it the gargoyle. It's a nasty thing that lives in the woods. It can't survive outside, and I was looking for someone to kill it for me." Derio stared at the woman, not believing what he was hearing. "That's not possible." "It is if you've been living here in this town all your life. That creature is here. I've seen it. It lives in the woods outside town and it preys on people. That's why I was looking for someone to kill it." "You're telling me that the whole town is lying to me? That they don't even know what the monster looks like?" "No, it is real. I've seen it myself. And the sentry won't tell you what it looks like because he doesn't want to frighten you."

"The sentry doesn't know what the monster looks like because no one has ever seen it." "Not really, I'm afraid. The sentry saw one before, though. It was chasing a boy named Senkko Shika a few years ago. The sentry shot it down. But he never bothered to describe what it was to anyone. Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist." "I know what it is." Derio said. "I've seen it. The sentry didn't kill it, and it attacked me."

"That's because you're the only one in town that has seen it. The sentry isn't going to report what he saw." "He lied to me, then. He tried to get me to help him kill that monster. I tried to tell him what it really was. He wouldn't listen." "What did he say?" Derio thought for a moment. "He said that the monster was a sort of rat or mouse. He said that it was bigger than a rat or a mouse, but smaller than a cat. He said it had long pointy ears and long legs, and that it could jump five feet into the air."

"Those aren't exactly true descriptions of a monster, Derio." "Maybe not, but the monster did have a tail that looked like a snake, and a long, pointy tail." "A rat or mouse could jump five feet, but it couldn't have jumped as high as that. And a snake can't climb up the wall to get into a building."

Derio kept looking at her. "He said that the monster likes to chase people, and if a person is brave enough to go after it, then the monster will leave them alone. He said that people usually just ran away." She stared at him for a moment. "Why didn't you just run away then?"

Derio hesitated. He didn't want to say the truth. "I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I didn't want to give the monster any more attention than it deserved. I don't want it to get in trouble because it has to live in the woods. I didn't want to tell anyone about it either." She looked at him. "Who is 'we' that 'you' don't want to tell? Is it the sentry, the mayor, the village council?"

"I was afraid of that." Derio said. "You're telling me that they're all lying to me." She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, Derio. The sentry doesn't tell you much. He's a stern man. He didn't want to scare you any more than he already has. But it's just that the sentry isn't very good at explaining things. It's not his fault.

The young Jugo had a habit of making himself the protagonist of his own stories. Turning his attention to the hustle and bustle around him while slowly closing his book, he heard “The lady is ready to continue the journey now.” At that moment, his eyes widened and he had recalled exactly what had set him on the detour to a small estate by the Lightning Borders. He nodded, rising to his feet, slipping his notepad into his cloak pocket. His mission for the day was comprised of delivery the Daughter of a noble to their local estate. It was a mission he picked up at a short notice while travelling to the Land of Lightning, the worst part about the mission was the frequency of the brakes that the group had to take whenever the Daughter of the noble became fatigued.

They were in the final stretch of the journey and within about a few hours, as the sun rose, the group delivered the young girl to the estate before parting ways.

WC – 3405

Claiming:
6k Ryo + 30AP

Fuuinjutsu [3405/4000]

Sat Jan 23, 2021 6:51 am

Approved

Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:52 am

Missed a claim:

Claiming:
68 AP from Training at Max Stats.

Sat Jan 23, 2021 3:24 pm

Approved you monster

Deliver the Daughter

Deliver the Daughter

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