Monster Slayers Wanted (Open to all Humans)

The mud was thick and cold. It clung to everything, weighed the body down. It blocked the senses. Takeo Takeuchi clawed his way through it, inch by inch. He used only his left arm; his right was dislocated, though in his hand he tightly grasped a blade. Around him, men lay silent, dead. A few others groaned quietly as they slipped further from life. Their death throes were heard only by Takeo and the monsters that feasted on their comrades--and in many instances, they themselves. Takeo would help none of them. Not only were they beyond help anyway, none of them would have risked their lives to save him. That was the reality of the world... at least the one Takeo had been exposed to all his life. He had never been seen as anything but expendable, easily replaceable. That was why he was out here now, surrounded by death and monsters. A convoy was in need of "decoys" to keep any monsters busy while it continued on to its destination. Takeo's owner had thrown him in with the lot. Up til now, Takeo had avoided being selected to stay behind. With the convoy only a short distance from its destination, the remaining decoys had been left behind to make sure no monsters pursued.

However, Takeo wasn't interested in dying so someone too gutless to fight themselves could save their own hides by running away. It was that determination to live--or at least die on his own terms--that perhaps was responsible for Takeo being the only able-bodied survivor of this onslaught. He finally found a suitable place to stand up. The mud was thinner than where he'd been, loosened by rain and blood. The blade in Takeo's right hand, a katana that had belonged to one of the other men, would now serve has a support. He drove the cold steel into the muck and used his good arm to hoist himself up. Besides his dislocated shoulder, Takeo had suffered several cuts and bruises--though that was hardly anything new in his life--and a worrisome laceration across his torso. Though he couldn't tell or feel it yet, he had a welt on his face and a good gash at the back of his head. As he began walking, the damage sustained to his legs became more apparent. His right leg struggled to hold his weight, the pain most intense at the hip. His left wanted to buckle, but he managed to walk with it. He had been thrown into a boulder by the Morpher, the monster that had initially attacked the group. Of all the monsters that were a threat to humankind, the Morpher was perhaps the most lethal. A single one could take on any number of humans and come out victorious. All but this one. Takeo had managed to slay it, if only at the cost of two limbs and very nearly his digestive system. The Catawals and Skier that had showed up to feast on the aftermath didn't notice Takeo as he limped toward the forest. By chance, they were all preoccupied.

Two months later, Takeo Takeuchi could be found in Kakos, doing whatever work he could find. He'd kept the katana he'd taken from one of the fallen men that day. It served as proof that he had faced a Morpher and lived--besides his wounds, of course. Plus... the blade was shiny. Currently, Takeo was moving through the streets, swiping what food he could without getting caught. He had the coin for most of it, but, he'd been stealing what he needed to survive for all his life. What point was there in paying for it now? Besides, he needed that coin for making sure his little sister, Isuna, had a good life. Biting into a hunk of bread, Takeo looked around. From day to day, he could do anything from mucking stalls to roughing up someone who owed coin. Once, he was captured by Leostonnian soldiers who had been assigned to roadwork and wanted people to do it for them. Today, he wanted something easy and preferably something that wouldn't result in him having a master again.

Nearing the center of the city, Takeo put away his stolen bread and started scouting for people looking for workers.

Cyg looked around the city, spear on his back and cloths that screams "Cryo" on his person. He walked in slowly, eying the people and hoping there wouldn't be any trouble. He was looking for work... and you asked him mom he was also looking for a girl. Still, it was weird for him being out on his own. He'd usually felt like he should help keep his siblings out of trouble or protected. Now he was just there. Maybe he needed to take a convoy protection job or something.

Of course there was also the added fun of not wanting to reveal exactly what he was. If he met a dragon or human he would quickly make sure he looked "appropriate" for the occasion though. Still, he continued into town before stumbling upon where the jobs seemed to be. He noticed another guy there too, somewhat rough looking. Cyg wondered what he was looking for job wise.

There were bad days, then there were legendary bad days. This was turning out to be one of those days. Finding work was tough, but finding work as a sell sword with a sense of honor made things worse. Richard was at the breaking point and just about ready to toss honor in the dirt and take the next job he got offered. Hired thug to rough people up for owed coin or not. Honor did not put a roof over his head or food in the belly.

The only thing keeping his spirits up was the thought of the new gear a blacksmith offered to do for free. The catch was that Richard had to give up the scaly hide of a monster he killed for the said metal worker to experiment with. Richard was pretty much a pauper at the point with rusted chain mail and shoulder armor. One mind you as the other he sold for food.

At the beating heart of the city he entered the building ignoring the raven that was sitting on the sign swinging in the breeze above the door. Despite all the ruckus and noise of the city center Richards loud voice could be heard in a almost inhuman roar of anger "WHAT"!?

At that the bird on the sign went flying away in fear and crying out startled at the noise. "What do you mean this is all you could do"! Richard yelled from inside the building and could be clearly heard out the open window for any who cared to listen. "I gave you a whole bloody hide and all you could do is cover my sword scabbard! What do you expect me to do! Beat my opponents with it! No I don't care if you have never worked with this stuff before"!

After a quiet pause Richard came out the building and slammed the door behind him. Securing the belt of his new scaled monster hide scabbard Richard sighed. It was one of those legendary bad days. He deeply regretted not selling the monster hide. This whole venture proved worthless. Surveying the crowd of the streets with his reptile like eyes the pitiful looking sells word with rusty armor went looking for work. At this point, any kind of work.

As Cygnus entered Kakos, a spotted grey mare turned away from the gates. In her saddle sat Svadilfare Leonidas Sarik Avedon-Twilight, the chieftain of Kryo. Svadilfare had accompanied his son to the dark city, more for his own peace of mind than anything else. "Remember, in Kakos, keep a tight grip on your coin and a tighter grip on your weapon. And your eyes should never rest on anything for longer than a heartbeat." He had left his son with those words, for there was nothing else to give. Cygnus had everything he needed already.

Takeo was standing outside the blacksmith shop, scooping water from the quenching barrels and gulping it down. He heard the enraged shouting from the man who had just entered. Takeo wondered what had ticked him off so. The blacksmith did good work--he had to, to do business in Kakos. The man sounded mad enough to kill the next person he saw, so when he came out of the shop, Takeo quickly retreated around the corner.

He had yet to find work... that he wanted to do. Though it had been two months since the convoy attack, and a fortnight since his right arm could handle heavy loads again, Takeo still sought light work. There wasn't much of that going around; that was the story, anyway. In truth, no one wanted to pay someone who had been branded as a slave... even if he was currently a free man. He wandered the round the square until something caught his eye. Two Leostonnian Knights were approaching the center on horseback. One was carrying an unfurled parchment stamped with a royal seal. Though pretty much everything was overlooked in Kakos, grand spectacles such as the arrival of Knights were always granted eyes. People moved into the center of the square to see what was going on. When the crowd became sufficient, the parchment-wielding Knight bellowed, "Attention! The monster scourge threatens our existence each and every day. The Kingdom of Leostonnia invites mankind to unite against it. Together, we will take back our lives and avenge those that have and will be lost. Our great king proposes that each city create a specialized unit, which will be dispatched whenever and wherever it is needed. These units will be the first--and in some cases last--line of defense. And you will be rewarded handsomely, with gold coins and status!" The Knight paused to let that sink in. "Any who are willing, come and leave your mark. Tomorrow, we will hold trials here in the square to determine whether you have what it takes."

The square was abuzz with chatter at the speech's end. Men pushed forward, eager to sign up. No one in Kakos cared about status or even the world as a whole. One's own hide was held above everything and everyone else. But gold? Who wouldn't covet gold? Men as big as boulders and thick around as trees went to sign up. They were war veterans or favored convoy protectors. Ok, maybe a couple wouldn't a little status and had the world at heart... but only a couple.

Takeo slipped in line behind one of Kakos' female assassins, Nari Taloe. She was a rival of Kryo's most prized possession, Svadilfare. Though she was a skilled assassin in her own right--and particularly famous in Kakos for her "outbursts"--Nari was probably most well known for her rivalry with the chieftain. Takeo wasn't surprised to see her in line. She had more guts than a lot of the men. When it was his turn, Takeo marked the sign-up parchment with his first name. That was the extent of his education.

As he walked away to head back to his sister, Takeo spotted a young man with blue hair. Very blue hair. His clothing seemed to be that of a Kryoan. Takeo's gaze was drawn to the spear. It was a fine looking one. Spear carriers were usually hunters, and hunters usually had a fair bit of coin on them... Takeo slipped into pickpocket mode, though it was hardly difficult for someone like him to go unnoticed even without trying. He casually walked toward and past the boy, deftly reaching for his coin purse.

Cyg smiled a bit, giving his father a nod. He knew what to do, but it was a good reminder. He continued to walk through the street until he noticed some knights. They looked like Leostonnians from Svad had described them in the past to the boy. Hunting monsters? Status and gold? He wondered what his parents would think about this, especially since transforming into his dragon form wouldn't be so easy to do without getting in with a group he really trusted with that secret, but it could be a chance to really prove himself too.

Cyg slipped into line to sign up, ready to see how this would go. Though he noticed someone coming up. He kept one eye on him, remembering what his dad said about keeping a tight grip on his coin. As he passed Cyg would pull his spear from it's place, and sit the blunt end on the ground between him and the man, making it look like he just needed to use it for support for a minute. This was probably a bit stupid looking, but if the man tried to grab anyway now he had a weapon ready to go.

Richards job options were limited as he offered his services to any expressing interest with there eyes or voice. When it came to interested eyes looking him over he was quick to say, "Need any hired muscle"? Most stuck there noses up at him after seeing his serpent eyes with a few muttering words of "sub human". Then there were those that chuckled with shaking heads after seeing his rusted armor. Those were the ones he did not hold ill feelings to. If he was looking for hired hands a sells sword down on there luck with rusted armor would not be his first choice.

Still there had to be somebody needing him and his skill set. Richard stood aside like the rest of the crowd when Two Leostonnian Knights pushed there way to the center. Richard did not really pay them much mind though as knights were not new and unknown to him. He often referred to them as "big shiny idiots". He ignored them in life with the equal disdain they often ignored him. He only turned his dragon eyes towards them with interest when one started to unroll a parchment and read. Perhaps it was out of habit from town, city, and village criers. Or perhaps it was because of the unusual nature of knights paying any attention to the common folk to read, but Richard entered the gathered crowd to listen intently.

"Attention! The monster scourge threatens our existence each and every day. The Kingdom of Leostonnia invites mankind to unite against it. Together, we will take back our lives and avenge those that have and will be lost. Our great king proposes that each city create a specialized unit, which will be dispatched whenever and wherever it is needed. These units will be the first--and in some cases last--line of defense. And you will be rewarded handsomely, with gold coins and status!"

'Monsters....", he thought. 'Yeah, been there and done that'. It was not something he was interested in doing again unless he had any other choice. They were a horror few survived and he counted himself lucky to still be alive. Richard ignored it and continued to offer his services to any that would listen until he realized the long line of people eager to sign. Almost all of them lacking in his eyes to survive there first encounter with a monster. Going against his better judgment he pushed his way through the crowd and just as a person was about to take a quill to sign he put his gloved hand in there face and shoved the said person aside.

The burly man was starting to flex his muscles in preparation for a fight until he looked into the dragon eyed mans eyes with a hand resting on the pommel of a sword in a scaled monster scabbard. Taking the quill Richard dipped the point in ink and put not only his mark, but signature. The fact he could even write properly indicated he was higher born and educated. Most people could not even read or write.

Lacking any work this was the best he could do. Half these young people joining would be dead in the first skirmish and they had pretty good gear. Things that the dead would not need. Things that he could salvaged off there dead bodies and replace his own with. Richard expected the other veterans he could could spot in the line were thinking the same thing. It was sad but such was life. The young and stupid were always eager to prove themselves. They would learn or die because only the best techniques were passed on by the survivors as they say. Good thing this was civilized country that required trials to weed out those who could not do it. Either way he figured there would be bodies to loot and gold to be made. It was the best he could hope for.

Turning around he saw a young man leaning on a spear casually. He stopped to look at him with his dragon eyes and continued walking until his conscious got the better of him. Turning to look over his shoulder slightly he said with a deep voice. "Best sit this one out kid. Facing people in battle is bad enough, fighting monsters is another evil entirely". With that he continued walking into the crowd. 'poor kid'. He thought. He had seen kids dye there hair before. It always was part of there experience in self discovering and learning who they are and where they fit in the world. Applying to fight monsters. He could not think of a more radical path to self discovery. The thought drifted to a young man no more then a kid he knew once that perished in front of his eyes. The memory put him in a fowl mood

The child was perceptive. Or else it was simply coincidence that he happened to decide to take his spear out and place it where he did. Either way, Takeo wouldn't be much of a pickpocket if he only knew one way to accomplish the task. As he walked by the boy, Takeo tripped himself, tapping the bottom of the boy's spear so as to appear that the weapon had been in his way. "Argh! Don't you know better than to stand in the middle of a crowded space with your weapon jutting out like that?"

Meanwhile, Elara, one of Cygnus' sister's, had just arrived in Kakos. Elara had spent a good part of her life stuck in her dragon form, unable to leave the house--even with the village of Kryo becoming tolerate of dragons (only the Avedon-Twilight family). Now that she could freely shift between forms and had a handle on her abilities, she could venture out. She could make up for lost time! Her siblings had already had tons of adventures...well...except Jericho. That was a nightmare. Elara decided her first true adventure would be to tag along with her brother Cygnus. She absolutely didn't tell her parents that she was, either. Actually, Astral probably would have approved save cautioning her about when and where to use her ability. But Svadilfare would have spent an entire day lecturing her about the dangers of the world... plus another full day and a half about boys... Life--even the elongated life of a demigod--was far too short for that. So, here she was, standing at the gates of Kakos in awe. Elara didn't have a fancy weapon like a spear on her. Like, who needs a weapon when you can just whip a meteor at your foe's head? However, she wasn't totally defenseless. Shaking off the awe, Elara went in search of her brother. Shouldn't be too hard; she just had to find the only other blue-haired teen wandering around.

Cyg listened to Richard somewhat half heartedly. He wasn't turning back now. Plus if he really had to he could slip off and shift to his dragon form, but that had its own risks. He doubted a glowing, blue dragon would just be allowed to live either. Then he felt his spear jerk.

He looked to see the man that had been approaching, who now remarked about him leaning on his spear in public. He sighed a bit, showing the spear head.

"The spearhead's sheathed, but I'll take what you said into consider...." It was then he noticed a certain blue haired teen walking around. It wasn't like there were many people that could be. What the heck was Elara doing here? He just sighed, putting a hand on his coin bag before walking up to her. He didn't really look mad or anything, just surprised.

"Elara? What are you doing here? Heck when did you get here?"

Dwelling on the past with melancholy never did good for anyone. It was a lesson Richard should have known. But even the best of people let down there guard once and awhile. So lost in his thoughts the snake eyed man went down a ally without thought only looking up near its end to find a figure blocking it.

Turning around he found another person blocking his exit and walking boldly down the corridor with each boot step hitting puddles of water and reverberating its sound as if the ally had naturally built in acoustics. Richard sighed at the sight of the man he had pushed away before in line. "So eager to die"? Richard said as he put his hand on the pommel of the rusted sword hidden away in the monster scaled scabbard.

The burly man stopped short of him and crossed his thick muscled arms across his chest before speaking. "I was going to let it go but then". At that he raised a hand with a extended finger. "I remembered how my entire family was burned alive by dragons. Well..... everyone but me and my brother". At that Richard was grabbed from behind by the person at the end of the ally he turned his back to.

Richards arms were pinned behind and unable to react. The burly man finally approached. "Your eyes betray you dragon. I am going to enjoy this". The man said with a smile of rotted teeth as he threw a punch against Richards face along with following punches at the end of each sentence. "You and your kind are arrogant! You think you own the world! Walk through our cities! Polluting it with your filthy steps!" At that another punch struck across his face causing Richards head to swing with the direction of the impact with a stream of red blood spraying from his mouth.

Brought out of his melancholy with the sudden turn of events Richard gave a laugh with red colored teeth and spit out a red stream of saliva. "You hit like a women..... try harder human". The burly man was more the happy to oblige. Richard would tough it out until the right moment. He played the part of the dragon. There was no reason otherwise as he learned long ago there was no reasoning with people that saw him as such. Half breed, quarter breed, or less. He was just a dragon in there eyes. He was not to concerned with the impacts to his face.

Losing teeth was not a concern of his. They always grew back. Probably because of his dragon blood. He knew normal people were concerned as teeth lost were gone forever. It was a trailing thought as he zoned out due to the his training as a ash warrior. Pain was an illusion and as it had a beginning it would have a end. He pictured in his head the burly man striking him until he was tired. He could already feel the brother holding him from behind slowly but surly loosening the muscled grip as he thought Richard was growing less of a threat with each punch.

Richard intended to show them the error of there ways if nobody else intervened. He just had to wait for the right moment. His thoughts then drifted to the powdered dragon root herb he had and and the euphoria it would bring. Catnip for dragons as some said. He suddenly craved it and looked forward to tasting the brown powder after dealing with these two idiots. 'When the time is right'. He thought after another punching impact to his head.

'When the time is right i will deal with these idiots and a taste will make the everything better. No more pain, no more sorrow'. The punches were growing weaker now as the man was getting tired.

'I just..... have to wait..... for the right .....moment'.

OCC

my guy doing his own thing. By all means please continue without paying any mind to me. He can link up and socialize with you all at a inn in the night prior to the next days trials, Or whenever.