The Fruits of Labor

The Apples (B - Rank Mission)

Page 19, Post 646


The forest was quiet as the sky remained calm... for the moment as the ex-monk looked out at the ruins from his perch. He found a cliffside where he had decided to wait, with the company of Tailong not too far away. His upper body covered in his cloak, it flapped lightly in the breeze as he sat there, a hand on his knee in wait.

It was a very odd job as when he had arrived back from Hosenka-- he was summoned by a supposed high member of Sabertooth. It was almost as if Luna said was right-- expectations of him were raised now all of a sudden as he was summoned to go on a highly dangerous job. It seemed odd that he would be called to do it even though he was a new member of the guild, but at the same time, he got excited at the promise of a difficult opponent. Thrills and challenges were what he lived for. However, he now was at a standstill. He didn't even meet the one who had called him.

All he was told was to reach the edge of the ancient ruins somewhere west of Fiore by a certain time. NOthing beyond that. No description of the job, no details on the client-- and not even whom was the one who asked him to show up here.

Either way, Tailong had flown them there as fast as possible. The little dragon was now asleep on a nearby branch of a tree-- as they had been waiting for an hour. Indra kept his ears and nose on alert, waiting to sense any presence of either his guildmate, client, or anyone in particular.

If things didn't happen soon, he probably would return back to the guild angry. "Jeez, where the hell are these guys?" Indra grumbled as he looked around. From his vantage point, he could see a series of ruins much like the ones described in his summons. However, what he didn't anticipate was the massive tree that was in the far end surrounded by the ruins themselves. It was quite a beautiful sight, probably even more so when sunset would occur.

Still, his temper was growing strain to just sit around. Ever since he joined Sabertooth-- he thirsts for a real challenge worth his time. A real battle, not just a few lame bandits or a masquerading moron on a motorcycle. He wished for a fight worthy of the power he was given and the skill he gained.

A soft yawn came from behind but Indra knew it was none other than Tailong as he crawled up from his little nap. "T-they here yet?" the little dragon yawned, stretching up his body and arms with a wide stretch of his maw.

Indra shook his head. "If that guy who summoned us doesn't show up soon, when he does-- I will probably kick his ass," Indra grumbled.

WC: 489

Ryo looked at the client that was walking with him. This was a bit unusual, and Ryo wasn’t sure how to handle this. Still, the client was Mr. P. and he had just finished explaining that he needed three Golden Apples from the giant tree that they could see growing larger in the distance. He gave Ryo a map to navigate through the ruins that they were seeing. The first things came first however, he was to meet a person he had invited to join him on this mission.

As he and Mr. P. arrived at the first break Ryo looked to see two individuals. One of which was the human that he was expecting to see, but the dragon or dragon-like creature was something that he wasn’t expecting. He didn’t mind it as the great white Dire wolf that was Gora followed behind him and their client. Ryo looked to his guild mate smiling “Please excuse us for a few moments.” He took a few steps ahead of their client heading to meet Indra who was seeming to be very impatient.

This was the first time that Ryo had met Indra face to face and he liked what he saw. He had also heard that the monk was a dragon slayer which was interesting to him, if not all that spectacular in Ryo’s opinion. As he approached, he left Gora with instructions to watch Mr. P carefully. He stepped up and looked Indra over before smiling again “You are a very fine-looking young man. I am happy that we have welcomed you into the embrace of our family.” He said rather cheerfully. Ryo himself was dressed in a great red duster that was mostly closed and his broad-brimmed hat was on top of his head. The boots he was wearing were black in color with the playing card spurs that weren’t really spurs. His pants were black slacks with a double strapped belt holding leather, and some soft wood boxes along with a large pistol hanging from his right hip. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I am Ryo Knetegawa, Master of our guild, and the Wizard Saint of Fate. Thank you for coming out to help me and Gora today.” He said extending his hand to Indra.

Gora looked and watched as Mr. P. walked away and leaned against the wall of a ruin. There was something eerily familiar about this man, but the great lupine couldn’t quite put his paw on it. Still, he was going to keep the man in his sight as he didn’t trust him at his master’s back.

438

Indra soon sensed the presence of not just two-- but three figures coming up. He kept aware but took a breath, his impatience waning as he listened to them. His ears were picking up much more as he listened and grasped this was the person he was waiting for. HIs first comment, made Indra uptight being a 'fine-looking young man'. He glanced back behind his shoulder, giving him a neutral, but intimidating looking stare. "Hate to break it to you, but I don't swing that way." he commented, both a knock at him and a joke as he turned to face the red-clad stranger.

Tailong perked up at the presence of new people as the little dragon scurried along the bark of the tree-- and hung upside down like a lemur by his tail and claws.

The stranger went on and introduced himself as the leader of Sabertooth, as Ryo and one of the 'wizard saints'. The title was known but he didn't really care about fancy titles. "Well, you ORDERED me out here. Didn't you?" Indra said curtly, making a point, and not phased at all by the presence of the guild master or wizard saint.

However, Tailong was quick to swing a distance towards Indra. "Um, Indra, now would be the time to put into effect those inter-personal guild skills we discussed," the little dragon talked in a nervous tone, "Now would be a REALLY good time to work on respect-where-respect-is-due, before you mouth off like an asshole. Ya know!"

Indra just sighed as he heard his little dragon companion. "Sorry, just wish you had given me a bit more to go on than just meet here. What exactly do you need of me that you would personally summon me of all people?" Indra asked, his tone though firm, not challenging. "If you are whom you say you are, I would imagine you could of had a pick of anyone even stronger in the guild."

Tailong perked his head, looking at the strange wolf a distance away and to his friend. "A mild sense of humility. Well that's a start..." The dragon commented.

Annoyed, Indra pointed a finger at Tailong-- and a jolt of lightning jumped right at him with a shock. THe little dragon gave a small shout and fell from the branch, tumbling to the ground. Though the small bolt of magic was unpleasant, it was far from deadly as it only knocked Tailong off the tree-- having had done much worse to him.

As Tailong tumbled across the ground, he ended up stopped right at the foot of the strange wolf that Ryo brought with him. THe dragon looked up at the dog, confused and nervous by the towering creature compared to himself.

WC: 459

Ryo couldn’t help but smirk as he raised one brow “That’s fine. I’m not into slayers as a personal preference anyway.” He said giving the other a well sounded Knock to show that he both knew the knock was there, and that he was happy to give as good as he got. He had to admit though that the little dragon was highly interesting, and it was a struggle to keep his eyes locked onto Indra as they spoke. The curt statement that Ryo had ordered him to join him was a step over the line of respect and while Ryo didn’t ask that everyone like each other, he did make it very clear that all members of Sabertooth were expected to respect each other.

Before he could retort however, the dragon began to speak. He crossed his arms and smiled watching the interaction between the two. When he heard Indra speak again, he waited before finally making his decision. He cleared his throat and spoke now letting the dragon roll away out of the picture. “You’re right, I could’ve called on any number of people stronger than you. However, as I believe that our guild is only as strong as its weakest member, I am determined to help the members gain power. That is why I called you. To help you gain in power as it is what I should be doing. As for my orders, yes, I did order you hear and you arrived. I should still show gratitude that you did that. You could’ve chosen to ignore my order and that would’ve played out as it would’ve. Also, I couldn’t inform you more about this job as I was just getting it even as I was walking here. That is our employer Mr. P, and he has hired us to go to that great tree and pick three golden apples from among its boughs. I trust you are willing to help me.” He said rather than asked.

He snapped his fingers and then smiled “As for that comment ‘If I am who I say I am’ well, I have an easy way to prove that.” He turns his head to the right and exposes the blood red Sabertooth Tattoo on his neck before he opens his coat and reveals the Wizard Saint pin on his right breast. “One more bit of proof.” He drops his coat and then smiles widely at Indra. His eyes become pools of inky blackness, his vampiric fangs grow larger and plain, and his magical aura flares up. The true power he held exploding out of him in a single sudden fury. The strength of his magical aura was plain as day and showed that he was no mere pretender and that he held the power to back up his statement. In the next instance however it was gone, and the smiling jovial looking Ryo was left not even a trace of his former power left out. He moved heading back to the client “Come along then Indra. We need to get to work. No delays.”


Meanwhile, Gora barely glanced down at the little dragon that was at his feet. He wouldn’t attack as he had been told not to harm anyone who was a member of Sabertooth and as far as Ryo was concerned any pet of a member was a member. His nose twitched however, and he suddenly snarled louder taking on his battle shape. He grew much larger and stood taller than anyone here by a good bit. His fur was suddenly made of icy crystals and he looked ready to kill “Ryo, this one smells like the first flame!! Prometheus!!!” This caused Ryo to stop dead and he glared at Mr. P, “Indra allow me to introduce you to our employer Mr. P, most likely it is short for ‘Prometheus’. Which is interesting because I killed him.”


The man held up his hands in surrender “Ah, well, not quite. You see, I am Mr. P, and it is short for Prometheus, and while I do have the magic known as ‘The First Flame’ I am not the Master of It. Please, there is no need to attack me. I only wish to hire you and send you on this mission that we have discussed.”

Ryo sighed heavily shaking his head “I have so many questions, but I can’t say that he is lying. So, for now. I have no choice but to trust him. We need to get going.” Ryo said as he moved into the ruins heading away towards the giant tree with the map.

WC:767

THAT bruised his pride as he listened to the man in crimson put him down a bit-- but it wasn't like Indra had not asked for it. He was confrontational by nature-- though he never intended to actually challenge the leader of the guild. Not that way, anyway... It also bruised INdra's pride to be called 'weak'. He wanted to snap back at it-- but he actually thought it out. He knew he was new to the guild, and if this guy was indeed the master, he was at the lowest rung on the latter. Nothing he could do about it to argue the fact he was not as experienced as the others.

He took a breath, knowing full well Tailong was going to harass him later and let it out. "I'm sorry. I just prefer to know the details before I am just summoned like a dog. But I get it. I'm new so you clearly are the top dog here. " he admitted.

Then things got more interesting-- as to prove his identity. Not only did have the rumored saints mark-- which Indra didn't give a rat's ass about. The mark on his neck was a more impressive, bad-ass move. However-- what really struck home how powerful this guy was the magic trick he showed off. His eyes went black-- and an aura of magic began to waft off him. Indra felt the power and his eyes widened slightly. He kept his composure as he saw the vampiric qualities appear, and sense the sheer level of magic that was contained. On one hand, he wanted to fight this proclaimed wizard saint for kicks... the other, he knew he probably could slaughter him.

Despite his cool-as-ice exterior, he couldn't hide the mild amount of sweat that dripped from his brow. "So... your magic lets you become womens' vampire romance fantasy?" he asked in jest, a knock on the trope of vampire romances that were freaking everywhere. That and a means to break the palpable tension in the air.

The tension broke further as a laugh came from Tailong, the little dragon pounding the ground in his laughter. "That's rich coming from a guy who can't go a day without hitting on a girl." he quipped.

Once again, a jolt of electricity crossed the air instantly and zapped Tailong-- this time making him jolt clear off the ground and flop right on top of Gora's furry head. The little dragon looked down at the wolf, hoping it was friendly. "Oh, um, good doggie... " the dragon said nervously. In his present size and state, the wolf could easily eat him.

Indra let the jokes and attitude drop then as he crossed his arms against his chest."Fine. I rather us get to work anyway. " He said and went to join in on the debriefing.

Indra and Tailong were quiet for the moment in the presence of the client and listened. They seemed to need to collect a few golden apples. Though the task seemed more suspicious than it sounded. Nothing that valuable was just easy to pluck. "I know for a fact we cannot just pick em up and get out. What can we expect for us to find inside these ruins?" Indra asked as he followed Master Ryo. Tailong now rode on top of the wolf-- comfy in the spot unless the wolf rejected him.

WC: 567

Ryo glanced over to Indra with a bit of sorrow in his eyes. He shook his head gently “Indra I summoned you here because I wanted to help you, and because I needed your help. There wasn’t time to give you more details like I said. You weren’t summoned here to be a dog. If you feel like I called, you here like a dog then for that I sincerely apologize. I wished your company, and to get to know you better through this mission.” He said in a tone of genuine sincerity.

The scent of sweat wasn’t hard to detect, and Ryo had to admit that it was fairly impressive for this young inexperienced wizard to stand so calmly. He didn’t fair half so well when he first met a vampire, then again, he had gone into a vampire nest ready to die, and die he most certainly had. It was only through the mercy of his employer that saved his life. He had to give the young indra a fair amount of respect for his ability to hold it together.

However, hearing the quip that Indra made caused Ryo to laugh. The laugh was a true laugh from the belly, his whole frame shaking with mirth and joy from the joke. He and Tailong were laughing together. It took Ryo a fair bit of time to get himself under control. He shook his head lightly still smiling his fangs much smaller, but they were still obviously fangs “Ah, that was very good. A very good joke indeed, and I have to say that I am impressed. Still, don’t worry about it. My magic has little and less to do with this form I wear. Maybe one day after you have proven yourself a bit, I might tell you the story of how I ended up like this.” He said walking along.

Gora’s form was battle ready and a soft aura of cold wafted off of him. He didn’t react to the little dragon that was now on his head. He had been in Sabertooth long enough to learn the way things worked. The guild members could have pets and their pets were members of the guild themselves. He wouldn’t dare to raise a claw against the little dragon, nor would he be able to disobey his father, his master, or the orders that were given to him. Ryo’s word was the only law he knew and thus the orders he would obey.

Ryo smiled nodding his head lightly “Of course it won’t be that easy. The garden is guarded by various creatures, nymphs who guard this realm. Apparently, they are very powerful or at least powerful. There is also some kind of dragon guardian as well. This dragon is strong, I would never underestimate the strength of a dragon. I have seen a few and fought at least one before if my memory still serves me properly. At any rate, it matters not what we will face because in the end we will either die or get our apples. Since I refuse to allow you to die on my watch then we shall be getting our apples. Once we fight through the guards, I imagine we just need to climb that monstrous tree to reach the sweet fruit at the top.” They walked through the ruins for a time, and at the other end there was a gate made of gold and bronze and it seemed to be glowing with a soft radiance that was all of its own.

WC: 591

Indra glanced back at the guild master. it was hard to imagine someone rumored to be like this was his age, let alone one so carefree-seeming. He brushed off his grudge and moved on. "You sure know how to take the fun out of staying mad, that is for sure. Fine. Thanks..." he replied modestly.

Either way, there was a good laugh after all of this and now they could go back down to business. Ryo explained in more detail the threats that lay beyond the ruins, and Indra got interested. Nymphs to fight-- and he began to understand why he was requested. A dragon, hidden in the ruins would also be a factor. "Hmm... I see. You needed a lady slayer and a dragon slayer, hm?" he said with an obvious tone of amusement to his voice.

Tailong just coiled up upon the head of the wolf, finding comfort in its fur as he disliked the words Ryo said regarding " die or get the apples." "Eh-- I vote for not dying, thank you very much." the little dragon squeaked as he flushed his chin against the head of the wolf's.

Indra rolled his eyes as he glanced back to his talkative friend. "Fine, then you just sit with the wolf and we can handle this ourselves. Besides, you're more for travel than any fight..." he said curtly, which made the little dragon grumble at the thought.

Now that they were in the ruins, Indra kept his senses sharp. He didn't know how attune Ryo's senses were, but any sign of a threat, he could sense it quickly. The gates, while ominous seemed like nothing major beyond the magical glow they radiated.

"Well, should we knock?" Indra asked sarcastically, as he crossed his arms under his cloak.

Little Tailong continued to show cowardly signs, which was not a trait Indra would see often. Then again, he recalled some details about how other dragons were not as polite, social or tame as others. Even Koryu, a Dragon he respected and even feared at times for his tempers-- was rumored to be better tempered than most other dragons. Some were feral. If one was here, it made sense he would be a bit nervous.

WC: 380

This made Ryo smirk looking to his comrade “Didn’t you say I was every woman’s vampire dream? I don’t need help slaying ladies. I only need help with getting the apples and fighting the dragon. After all, if the dragon can breathe fire which I have no reason to doubt that it can, I am particularly vulnerable in my current state of…existence.”

Gora lifted his head lightly and gave a growl to the rest of the world, but what to Ryo appeared very plainly in his head as “You are quite the inspiring leader. It is no wonder you are so beloved by the guild.”

This caused Ryo to glare back at his son, his guard, and his partner “My guild loves me just fine. Besides, I am not doing anything but telling the truth. So, you can keep your snide comments to yourself.”

As soon as the gates were in sight Ryo sighed and began the tedium of his magic. With one hand he drew out eight element cards, and one playing card from the various deck boxes on his belt. With his other hand he began to take out cards from a box that was split black and white. The cards inside of it were also black and white. As he took out nine of these cards, he put six cards that were white at the bottom of the deck and drew again, this time putting back only two. He now had seven black cards in his hand. Filling the remaining spots with regular playing cards. He looked to his partner with a nod “This is the worst part about my magic, and to be honest it makes it so much more fun doesn’t it?” he said only half sarcastically.

When they stood in front of the gates a trio of women appeared on the other side of it. The one in the middle appeared to be the oldest of them and she spoke with a voice that sounded like leaves rustling in the wind “You are trespassers here. This is the Garden of the Elders. We are the daughters of the mighty Atlas charged with guarding this garden from all who would seek to steal the fruit of the Elders. Turn back now or die!”

Ryo sighed shaking his head “It’s always the elders. Why is it always them? Don’t they have ANYTHING better to do?” With a shrug of his shoulders he looked to the girls "We have to die then. I warn you though, you are not humans, nor are you under the laws and protections of the Magic Council. Your deaths will not cause trouble for my guild. Should you attack us you will meet your end.”

The gates opened, and the women began to move towards the pair of Sabertooth wizards ready for a fight.

WC: 472

The comment about the ladies made Indra both grin and worry-- it seemed he had some competition when it came to ladies. But if things worked out he would have a worthy wingman oppose to the mouthy little dragon who didn't know how to shut up. Why lord Koryu made him tag along with him was beyond him. Still, he was beginning to like Ryo despite his somewhat cocky first impression. He seemed dependable and so Indra decided to put his trust in him for now.

The mention of the dragons did make Indra raise a brow. "You do know dragons are not limited to breathing fire, right?" he asked in a knowing tone. There were a variety of dragons-- his culture of Midi were aware of that better than anyone.

His confidence in him however seemed misplaced though-- for a moment as he observed the man fool around with a handfull of cards as they tried to draw what he needed. His eyes narrowed to him, as he stated how it was the worst part but the most fun. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked. For someone who had such a strong bad-ass aura of magic, to depend on such capricious magic was questionable. But card magic was very common all the same. "I just hope you got a card in there that could give me a good recharge if I need it," he stated plainly as he looked up to the gate and tried to sense anything. Smell wise, he only smelled the forest-- which was part of the problem if the enemies were a PART of it.

It was then his sense of sight was what hit first-- as he saw them, the three nymphs that were said to guard the ruins. They seemed steadfast and ready to fight... though of course Indra couldn't help but ogle at their beauty ... and sexy features below the neckline :P.

Tailong from the safety of the wolf's head frowned and grumbled to the wolf."Yep. They're dead. Lady slayers, my scaly tail..." the red dragon hissed, hoping to make conversation with the wolf as best as possible.

However, Indra wanted to see if he could deceive them... perhaps flatter then and make them think their real intrest was them. In fact, he could still do that if he played his 'cards right'-- no pun intended on Ryo. "Heh, well I wouldn't say no to an afternoon with you three... even if it is for a showdown," he said, but then he thought he could somehow give a signal to his friend. "Still... i don't care about some apples. When I heard there would be three beautiful ladies here, that's all I care about. "

Indra glanced back to Ryo-- wondering if he would get the hint. A simple plan. Distract the ladies with their charm, when one of them goes for the apple-- at least try to. But if the nymphs intended to go right for the kill, then of course they would be forced to fight.

Either way, Indra had electricity crackling under his skin. He could go either way happily.

WC: 523

Ryo smiled warmly at Indra nodding his head “Yes indeed. However, I by default assume that dragons breath an element. If they can breathe fire…well that is highly problematic.” He says by way of explaining not bothering to do much more than that.

While he walked along and began to pair off the cards along with each other matching element cards with the black cards, and even a playing card. The card shuffling that he was doing was all serving a point. He glanced over to Indra with a smile that was full of mischief “Oh yes. You see Combo card magic is the most powerful of card magics. It has infinite possibilities. In fact, I can add in ‘elements’ that I encounter with enough exposure.” He grabbed an element card and let his magic flood into it. The card in his fingers began to glow with light the element it belonged to. “I can recharge any slayer you’ve ever met that’s for sure.” He explained. He slipped it back into the element deck on his hip. He then looked at two more black cards and gave a shrug slipping them into the Uses box. The next two cards were also white, and he stuffed them back into the box drawing two black cards and smiling “That’s much better. We can have a lot of fun with these babies.”

The ladies were approaching and while Indra was talking the oldest of the women spat at the sabertooth wizards “You will die trespassers. I am not going to allow you to enter our garden, and you.” She pointed to Indra “You will be gelded.” She pointed to Ryo, “And you, will have your rotten heart ripped out of your chest.”

Ryo’s eyes went that same black color “Go and get our prize as silently as you can. Don’t wake the dragon if it sleeps. I will deal with them.” He stepped in front of Indra his aura flaring up as he pulled up two sets of cards “You have just threatened one of my loyal Sabers, you have threatened me, and you have come with hostile intentions. All the conditions for deadly force acknowledged and authorized. You will die and learn the penalty for threatening my family.” He said his tone ice.

Now the battle was on and the three women all gathered a spell of some kind. Yet, Ryo was faster he flooded magic into his hands and shot two beams of magical power. One beam was much larger and felt much more powerful. This beam was one of lightning and it struck the woman who had plants growing around her arms. The second beam was one of blood and this one struck the woman with fairy wings. They both went flying with the force of the blow, but the one with fairy wings was faster to recover. Still, the woman in the center caused a ball of red and green light to form and she threw it at Ryo. He took his playing cards three in total and threw them forward intercepting the ball just short of himself and it exploded, but only slightly yet it was close enough to singe some of Ryo’s hair and clothes.

He shrugged off the blow and pulled up another pair of cards throwing this pair forward. As it flew the woman tried to form a shield with great tree roots, but when the cards struck and exploded the ice shards scattered in all kinds of directions falling short of their caster. Ryo had blown his rather considerable power, but he took another card this one with a tornado on it and threw it with all his might. His aura flared, and power touched the air. It was shot forward far stronger than any spell he had shown this far, and it smashed through the pathetic shield that the woman had tried to construct, and the woman was sent flying back through the gates to land hard.

Ryo snatched up a playing card from the deck box there and he formed in both of his hands two swords. In his right he held a sword of flames, in his left was a sword made entirely of playing cards. They were both short katanas, but not short enough to be called a wakizashi. He was going to enjoy this.

WC: 725

Indra had hoped he could flatter the lovely nymphs, but they soon spat back him in venomous rebellion. He frowned as he crossed his arms. "Lovely..." he grumbled, but the cocky grin never faded from his face. "Don't say I didn't warn you, babes. I like to play rough, myself."

However, he was pulled back to the reality of things when Ryo gave his orders-- he wanted Indra to get the apples, avoid the dragon. Basically, he would handle the savage nymphs. At first, Indra wanted to protest the idea, since clearly he could imagine that Ryo wanted to keep the company of 3 beautiful enemies to himself-- till he saw the aura of fury and power radiating off of him. He raised a brow again at him, clearly impressed by the power he had hidden behind his seemingly cloaked form. Before he knew it-- the man struck, nailing two of the nymphs with his magic and sending them flying backward.
He held his own, and soon revealed he had swords of his own.


Indra let out a whistle, impressed. Realizing it was time to get serious, he unbuttoned and tossed aside his cloak to the wind. He now stood his torso revealed with small scars here and there-- his bare chest now proudly baring the Sabertooth logo. "And I thought I was a selfish bastard, leaving you to nail three beautiful ladies by yourself?" Indra said briefly, having taken a moment to watch Ryo's handiwork. "Fine, I'll leave em to you. But you owe me one. Catch up when you can, " he joked-- realizing the mission came first.

In an instant, Indra focused-- and lightning erupted around him. He now was conjuring the power of the Lightning Dragon's Cloak-- Raijuu. The power of this excited state of magic gave him the ability to move faster, hit harder and use electricity as a makeshift armor. However, for him, it was his go-to spell to use for speed. In an instant, he took off and literally leapt over the heads of all three nymphs. If any were smart enough to see him and follow-- Likely Ryo wouldn't allow it.

Indra landed upon one of the ruin's pillars and gave one last look to Ryo. He was the guild master of Sabertooth-- he shouldn't have to worry as he soon headed for the massive tree ahead of him.

****

It was the rare moments he wasn't lonely by the lack of Tailong's mouthy talk as he could now focus on the task at hand. He covered the mile distance to the tree with ease and now stood upon one of the roots. His electric aura still buzzed around him, searing parts of the bark below him. He knew the apple was somewhere up there, but he remembered the rumor of the dragon lurking nearby. If he was lucky, he could sneak past it, get the apple and get the hell out.

"Well, here goes nothing..." he said as he cracked his neck left and right to limber up. He crouched down-- then jumped up.

The lightning cloak of Raijuu gave him stupidly powerful speed as he literally took off like a rocket. As if to defy gravity, he would scale up the height of the large tree's bark. Even from where Ryo would fight, he probably could see Indra as a flicker of light upon the tree trunk.

Still, the height of the tree was massive as Indra had to stop a couple of times. He clung to a piece of bark of the tree then and there, keeping himself fresh as he tried to keep going. It was now he began to regret not having Tailong there-- partly for his ability to fly. He bit his tongue at the thought and just focused above him. He couldn't see the apple yet, but he still had a ways to go up the tree. So far, he didn't find anything like a dragon. The smell of things just screamed wood and nature. Though the scent was stronger upon the tree itself. He began to climb normally, using what he could to keep going and reserving his strength.

(Leading up to the dragon's reveal) WC: 696

Ryo watched as Indra rushed past both him and the women. However, as he jumped over their heads and rushed forward one of them, the one with wings turned to try and blast Indra with some kind of magic. Yet, Ryo wasn’t about to let these witches do that to HIS saber. He saw all the members of Sabertooth to be his children, his friends, his family. A guild master was the father of his guild, and thus he must protect them all as best he could.

He rushed forward using his inhuman speed to close the distance between himself and the women. His swords wouldn’t last very long, but they would last long enough to end the battle. He brought the two blades up stabbing both into the woman’s back before he brought the sword of flames up to slice through the back of her neck severing her head from her shoulders with the blow. His blades were strong, but the one of flames was even stronger still. Her head was parted, but the flames sealed the wounds shut with burnt flesh. He marveled that it didn’t smell like regular flesh and instead smelled like cooked grasshoppers. The next point of note was that the blood of this nymph what little there was, was a golden ichor that looked for all the world to be liquid gold. That was of course, until she burst into a pile of golden afternoon. Nymphs were a strange bunch of creatures and there were never any real kinds of bodies to be left behind. This was highly useful as Ryo really did get tired of the tedium of telling the Magic Council why he killed people, but you couldn’t be accused of killing anything unless there was a dead body.

He turned just in time to intercept a tendril of some kind of plant that came shooting out towards him. He slashed through it with the blade made of flames which in turn caused it to burst into flames. The tendril had thorns and looked very nasty, so Ryo was glad he had cut it. The woman who had sent it towards him only smirked though. That’s when Ryo looked down and swore as he was caught up by a blast that went off at his feet. Yet, that was when his duster showed that it wasn’t just for looks. His body shattered into dozens of bats made of blood which flew towards the woman with the plant magic closing the distance between him and his new target. When his body and more importantly the two blades reformed into his visage, he smiled the wicked fanged smile he had “Oh, that is just bad luck for you isn’t it?” he asked before he stabbed her with his blades in her chest and in her head with the blade of flames. He did this several times and kept doing it until she became a patch of venus fly traps, and pitcher plants. These Ryo gladly held his sword among burning them to ashes before he looked to the last remaining nymph “You my lady are to be congratulated, you managed to cause me harm. I won’t forget that, and unlike your sister here, I shall not harm your forest body.”

The woman glared at him “Oh, I shall enjoy hurting you, and your friend is soon to meet the true guardian of the tree.”


****

While Ryo was dispatching nymphs Indra was climbing up the tree. It was so tall that the lowest clouds could nearly cover the canopy. In fact, it was so thick as to span nearly 100 yards at the base. The fact that this tree couldn’t be seen further outside than the ruins meant that some magic was afoot here. As Indra climbed however a low hiss could be heard on the winds traveling down to him. If he looked up, he would see a serpentine body, with stunted wings, and a fierce visage glaring down at him. Should he be fool enough to keep climbing towards him then the beast would roar his fury shaking the whole of the tree. His roar was soon followed by a blast of golden flames that surged towards Indra, it didn’t damage the tree in any way shape or form, and in fact as the flames passed over the tree it began to grow new limbs, and leaves. The great beast Ladon was awake, and he charged towards Indra intent to murder this dragon slayer.

DC: 752

Indra had tried so hard to not be reckless climbing the tree-- but it seemed it was all for naught as the beast stirred and emerged out of the tree. His eyes widened as he saw the great beast coiled around the tree, easily blended into the wood as if he was a chameleon. "Oh hells...you kidding me?" Indra grumbled as he saw the dragon lock his eyes on to his direction.

Now he understood why he didn't smell the dragon-- it was part wood. A part of the tree and the flames it spewed were life-giving to all forms of nature. Except for anything foreign to the forest. The flame rushed for him while he was mid-climb, with no real place to go.

Irritated, he reached a hand with electricity and bit his thumb to draw some blood (Naruto reference). He spread the blood onto the tree bark in front of him in his inverted position and slammed his hand back to the wood.

"Lightning Dragon Charged RAMPART!!" he roared, channeling his magic forward. The resulting spell and use of his blood created a sudden protrusion from the tree-- as if summoned or just appeared from its bark. A large wall of two metal pieces-- and lightning energy formed in front of Indra like a castle wall. The flame struck the barrier, causing the structure to rattle and screamed against the electricity it generated. The spell was one personally instructed to him by Koryu, the Lightning Dragon King. Indra was never one to truly go on defense, but his master drilled this lesson into him and now he had good reason to use it.

The shield would have normally blocked incoming damage and reflect it back to the enemy via an electric surge at impact. However, the flame was too large and swept too far to deflect. The flames pushed past it into two separate directions, giving Indra a safe space to stay while the flames shot by him. It lasted a few seconds, then dissolved back into the aether. Indra huffed as he hung from the vertical hold as the dragon crawled closer to him, the flames just an greeting. Indra now began to sweat from the heat of the flames, even while it began to simmer down, leaving moss and vines in its place. The flames had an unnatural growth on the tree, like magical fertilizer.

"Well, I will admit that is impressive," he commented. He was beginning to regret not dragging Tailong with him. He could of used the dragon's ability to fly right about now.

The dragon lunged and gave a vicious swipe of his claw, threatening to knock Indra off. The sheer impact with the tree caused a tremor and made Indra let go. He began to fall from the severe height, seeing the clouds part around him as he made his descent.

Literally using seconds to buy himself time to think, he extended his hand and focused his lightning once more. "Lightning Dragon Fang!" he cried and thrust his arm to the tree.

A blade of lightning appeared from his palm-- and shot directly forward. The blade of lightning struck the bark of the tree, becoming as solid as any form of metal or material. Indra's body jolted as his hands clung to the handle for dear life, having made an extending lightning blade to stab into the tree to keep from plummeting to his death. He hung there, clinging on to the thin bit of lightning magic keeping him from falling-- seperated from the tree by at least 10 meters. All the while dragon began to crawl towards him, seeking him out like a cat to a mouse.

He gritted his teeth, but glared back at the dragon. "Well, I was warned what I would get into..." he growled, finding himself in a corner for the moment. It didn't seem like the dragon could fly either, but it began to give him an idea. As the dragon began to sprint now towards him, scaling the wall of the tree as if it was a chameleon, Indra swung himself up as if the sword he made was a pole to stand on. He placed his feet on the magic-lightning-make blade and jumped towards the dragon.

The dragon attempted to blow another gush of fire at him, almost reaching Indra, till...

CRACK!! A flash of lightning went off-- as Indra now was gone. In truth, he became a bolt of lightning. An actual one, allowing himself to jump space instantly as he used it to avoid the space of flame just in time.

(Wandering Storm 2/5 posts to activate) WC: 770

Ryo was not happy with what was going on, nor was he sure that this woman would really be able to go down without much of a fight. Still, he wasn’t going to go down without a fight either. He rushed forward closing the distance between himself and the woman before his spells ended. However, he knew that his spells wouldn’t last much longer if at all.

He quickly opened his hands letting the two blades fall and vanish in an instant. He dove down and let himself skid past the woman even as she tried to slap him with a ball of tree roots that looked like it was getting ready to explode. Instead, she sent it flying over his head. Sliding past her he snatched out a playing card throwing it at her with all the force he could muster. The card flew faster than any of his cards before and slammed into the woman sending her sprawling. Ryo didn’t give her a chance to get back up he drew ace of spades and put as many card rounds into her as he possibly could sinking card after card into her body over and over. He was down to half a deck when he finally stopped pulling the trigger and her body began to grow into a great beautiful tree. He could now understand just where the tree had likely sprung from. It seemed this woman was a user of the ancient tree magic, or was it tree arc? He couldn’t recall, but it was a poor imitation of the great magic that had made the Yggdrassil.

He smiled as he nodded his head lightly in approval “Very good, that’s all I needed to do.” He said moving away towards the garden tucking his gun away. With the sister’s dealt with he only needed to deal with the dragon, and that meant that he had to work with Indra.

Gora appeared at his side snarling softly “That dragon is going after Indra. We have to stop it! We can’t allow it to hurt him!”

Ryo looked to the tree nodding his head “Yes of course, but we aren’t going to stop him. After all, we can’t interfere before Indra gains not only a lesson, but also experience. We need to help him grow, not shelter him. We are supposed to be teaching, not restricting.”

The pair walked into the garden just in time to see the crack of lightning that made Indra “Disappear”. Ryo’s eyes went wide as he didn’t know that Indra had an ability like that in his repertoire. To his eyes the dragon had lunged, and lightning had struck Indra. Ryo’s eyes went to become black pools again. He snarled and ripped from his coat pocket three tarot cards. The wolf, the moon, and the Magician, he also pulled two decks of playing cards throwing them around him. They formed into two angel wings and Ryo wasn’t done there. He snatched his gloves off throwing them to the ground biting his fingers hard enough to draw far more blood than he actually needed. He formed the blood into long claws that were five feet long. He flew at the dragon with his greatest speed.

He roared as he flew dragging the claws along one side of the dragon’s body slashing through it with ease. As he passed along the dragon his wings shot cards into the beast littering its body with these powerful playing cards. When Ryo reached the end of the dragon, he spun in mid air dragging both sets of claws back up the dragon’s body slashing through him with a vicious snarl on his face. His full vampiric features were out on display and his magic was flared so brightly that anyone within sight of the tree would see it. The dragon let out a scream of agony as it was so brutally slashed open. Ryo wasn’t having it, he reached the dragon’s head and slashed into it with all his might. He didn’t even care when the dragon slashed into him with its claws while it was in its death rattles. Ryo slashed its throat spilling its golden blood down the tree.

As the blood covered the tree the tree seemed to be gaining new life, growing healthier, stronger, taller, and much more wonderous. The body fell to the ground crashing a few feet away to sprout new growth and several smaller trees. Ryo sank to the ground screaming in his agony, he couldn’t believe that he had allowed someone to die, not just someone, someone on his watch, one of his family members, someone he was responsible for, how could he face Kite after this!? How could he go back to Sabertooth with the blood of a member of his own guild on his hands?! He thought that this mission while it would be hard, wouldn’t be the death of Indra.

Gora walked towards his master very slowly, with as careful and slow strides as he could manage. He knew this signal, Ryo had snapped, he was dangerous, and like a good predator he was warry of dangerous creatures, prey or predator. He could still smell Indra, but he couldn’t see him, and with Ryo now crying blood, and looking downright torn he wanted to help, but there was little, and less Gora could do. He wondered what happened to Indra, while Ryo mourned what he believed was a loss of a family member who had believed in him, believed that Ryo would keep him safe, and believed that Ryo had his back. He had failed Indra, and now the blood of one of his family was on his hands.

WC:950

Gora and Indra was together as the wolf dared to enter the domain of the nymphs. The little dragon was concerned to go in and voiced against the wolf. "No! No-- bad doggie! Wrong way!" For a dragon, Tailong had a cowardly streak in him at times, but considering his size, it wasn't that big of a surprise he was scared. Either way, no way of knowing how Ryo would respond to the little dragon. As Ryo spoke, saying how Indra needed to grow and learn and that helping him would only shelter him, Tailong grumbled at the one. "Yeah... about as fun as Koryu's little lessons with dodging lightning. Except this one may actually make a meal out of him than just be tempted to.Just hope you guys don't be a napkin for the thing."

With that, Tailong naturally followed and witnessed the fight as it continued...

***

Indra hopped right out of the lightning and in his lightning-empowered state, he ran up along the tree. At this point with the aid of his teleportation, he was now moving with a stronger jump-start and ran up the verticle surface. As the dragon gave chase, he would mix his movements with his "flying raijin" jumping once more to evade an attack and ascend higher.

Despite it, the dragon was quickly crawling up the tree till a new enemy emerged. Cards, claws and a vampiric creature appeared. Indra glanced behind his shoulder for a moment to see the 'demon' but soon smelled him. The scent and sound were no different from Ryo-- meaning it could only be him. Normally, Indra would have cursed him from getting involved but he was a welcomed help against this stronger enemy. If Indra had not been the faster one there, he would of been dead already. The vampire seem to have his own troubles-- but then Indra was aware of one last thing.

Not too far among the bows of the tree, he saw a golden shimmer. He could smell it. The 'golden apples' that grew at the top. Renewed with it, he knew that was the target. With another sprint of his lightning speed, he jumped right up to the bow while the dragon was distracted with Ryo. That wouldn't last long it seemed, but seconds counted here.

Indra landed on the branch with a jolt of his body and grabbed a few of the apples. They glimmered like gems in his hand. He smirked at the beautiful treasure but put it back to his pack behind his sash to keep it safe. A loud thump got his attention as he looked below.

The dragon was now gone-- fallen to the ground below. The clash looked epic as blood and vines now grew along the side of the tree from the crash. Both the dragon and Ryo were gone together. He didn't know what happened, or if Ryo was okay-- but with the apple so close, first things first.
"Koryu... you trained me well, but looks like someone else stole the spotlight," Indra spoke to himself, the memory of all that his dragon master taught him.

With the apple in his possession, he teleported again to the new limbs that grew from the tree.

It took a bit of time, but Indra began the same mix of teleporting and dashing via his Raijuu cloak. As he got closer to the ground, he saw the now 'blooming' corpse of the dragon. It took him some time to find Ryo, torn and battered on the ground with the wolf nearby and Tailong on his head.

Indra snickered as he teleported once more-- in a flash of lightning to close the gap.

The boom and flash caused Tailong to jump on the wolf's head, alarmed. "What are you talking about dead?" Indra spoke, standing behind them all after the small bolt of lightning. Indeed, the lightning was no more than Indra's last teleportation. He stood there casually with his arms folded. "I'm a F***ing Dragon Slayer. I figure you would of had more faith in me than that..." he said as he looked down at Ryo with a teasing smirk.

Yep. He was alive, and pretty much would their faces in it. Tailong glared up at Indra, still sitting on the wolf's head as if it was a podium. "The heck! DOn't scare us like that!!"

Indra ignored Tailong and looked down to Ryo, seeing he was in quite a state. "Why the hell did you go through such trouble? I appreciated the help but I could of dealt my share of it." he asked, wondering if he needed medical attention. "

WC: 774

Ryo shook as he tried to gather himself together, he had to find a way to explain what happened to his guild, and as he sat there the claws, and the wings fell off of him. The blood seemed to sink into his flesh again and stayed there. The cards hit the ground, but they flooded back towards him resting inside of the deck boxes they came from. Slowly he rose to his feet rubbing a hand under Gora’s chin. He looked up at the tree with a sigh shaking his head “I suppose….” he knew that he had a job to do, but he didn’t really want to do it. He was too busy reminding himself that Indra was gone for all he knew.

Yet, he was about to stand up when he heard the boom and the flash. He turned his pistol drawn ready to fire, but he stopped when he saw it was indra. His eyes went wide with shock and awe. He dropped the Pistol and grabbed the youth shaking him slightly violently “You are dead! I saw you get zapped by lightning! Didn’t that dragon breathe lightning?! How are you!?” he shook his head running it through his head a moment “Wait…you are a lightning dragon slayer aren’t you? That has to be the case. You use lightning…I’ve seen it. You scared the hell out of me!!” he roared suddenly angry.

He gave a huge sigh shaking his head violently “I should’ve known. I should’ve known. I let myself be a total psychotic mess just because I lost it.” He sighed again picking up his gun and holstering it before he wiped his face off and looked up to the tree with a groan as he popped his neck, back, and arms from the vicious attacks he had just delivered to the Dragon “I suppose that we need to get up there and pick these apples.” He said as he looked back to Indra holding his hand out for Gora.

The great Dire Wolf shook off his draconic burden and made his way to Ryo nuzzling his hand and rubbing his head against it licking his master’s cheek as he was glad to see that he was back to what passed for ‘regular’ for him.

WC: 380

The point of the gun at his face made him a bit irritated, but he soon lowered it to realize it was him.  Ryo seemed genuinely concerned to the point he grabbed his bare shoulders and shook him in relief. He raised a brow, not used to guys so close. The fact he went from sad, to shocked, to angry didn't sit well with him as he gave him a dull look of disapproval. "I prefer women to get rough with me at this distance if you don't mind," he said, wishing for the guy to give him a bit of personal space.

"Typical Indra. Always a show-off---- WHOH!!" Tailong grumbled before the grumpy wolf evicted him from his head with a sudden jolt. The little dragon fell to the ground with a tumble and pushed himself back up to his feet. "Hey, watch it mutt!"

Though Tailong would go under risk of being a chew toy-- Ryo considered running up the tree. However, just as he was about to go-- Indra pulled out the Golden Apples he snagged from the top of the tree. "Thing about lightning-- its faster than you are," he replied with a smart-ass smirk as the apples shimmered in his large hand. He tossed one apple to Ryo to see.

No doubt that was the mission and Indra was glad it wasn't half as bad as he thought. THough, anything wouldn't be bad when you had a teammate that was a guild master. He had to admit, he was impressed by Ryo's power.

"So, what now?" Indra asked. He knew they had to bring them to the client, but there had to be more to what was going down with this job.

Just as he was about to accept a job was well done, he heard a certain snapping of jaws and a 'smack of lips. Turning around Indra looked to find Tailong with one of the Golden Apples. The little dragon was about to open his maw to take a bite till he stopped--- the little dragon spied all of them looking at him as if he had done something incredibly indecent. "What? I'm a growing dragon!"

Indra quickly snatched the apple up out of the dragon's claws. "I swear the only dragon likely to do me in is you for how crazy you drive me." he growled, putting the apple back safely into his pocket.

WC: 406

Ryo laughed shaking his head lightly “I can understand that. Not everyone has my tendencies.” He says with a smile letting go of his young friend.

Gora didn’t much care about the little dragon, but when it called him a mutt, he whipped around instantly taking on his full battle-ready shape towering above both Indra and Ryo snarling with a wide vicious snarl showing off all of his thick teeth longer than Ryo’s fingers. He was not happy. Still Ryo glanced over at his partner and said one word “Down!” there was enough force, power, and genuine command in that tone of voice to cause Gora to instantly sink to the ground in his traveling form once again his ears and tail tucked under him as he glared death at the little dragon.

Ryo looked to the little reptile and spoke in a stern tone “You are to be careful. You are a member of Sabertooth as well. I expect you to abide by the rules, and regulations of our guild. I will also warn you however, that I won’t stand for Gora to be insulted by anyone. He is strong enough to be an Alpha of any pack of wolves dire or not. I will not stop him a second time, you have been warned.” He said very sternly before he dusted himself off looking to Indra “Well, you have the apples so that means we only need to meet Mr. P.”

Ryo and Gora also look to the little dragon with very stern gazes. They couldn’t believe this little dragon.

Yet, before they could say anything and only after Indra had tucked the apple away did, they hear a voice “It’s a good thing you didn’t eat that. It would’ve killed you.” Said Mr. P. who was now inside the garden walking towards the group “These apples are not for eating by mortals. They would burn alive in an instant. The power they have is far greater than any human, beast, dragon, or mortal creature could handle. The consumption of such power would kill anyone. Only an Elder, a Demon, a God, or one of the fae creatures could hope to use the power. Now then.” He snapped his fingers and the apples vanished from Inside of Indra’s pockets into his arm. He smiles and bows his head tossing a thick bag of jewels to Ryo “Our business is done.”

Ryo caught the bag before frowning “So, tell me what you are planning to do with the apples?” he asked looking through the bag halfheartedly separating out his take from the bag stuffing it into his pockets before tossing the bag towards Indra.

Mr. P. smirked and placed a finger against the side of his nose before pointing it “That is not your business.” With that and a fwoosh of flame Mr. P. was gone.

Ryo rolled his eyes with a loud groaning sound shaking his head “I hate dealing with Elders. I would watch yourself Indra. I fought against Prometheus the master of fire and father of the First men. He is not one to underestimate, nor one to get on the wrong side of. Well, let’s head back home.” He said leading the way back to the Sabertooth guildhall.

WC: 543

Total WC: 10,056