Role Playing!

[The Honourable Ninja-san]

“Hey, look, bananas!”
Alira looked where Lady Doelcm was pointing. There was a tree with strange, curved yellow fruit.
Lady Doelcm walked to the tree and started to climb it. Alira watched her rotol in confusion. What is she doing? Alira wondered, Why didn’t she tell me to get the fruit? Oh! She's testing me! Years ago, when Alira had just started serving Lucrecia, her rotol tested her. One time, Lucrecia started saddling her horse, and young Alira just stood there, wondering why Lucrecia hadn’t told her to do it. As punishment for her laziness, Lucrecia made her wear pounds and pounds of chains for the next week. With that memory, Alira hurried to the banana tree and started climbing it. It was difficult to do with her long skirt getting in the way.
Doelcm, who had already reached the fruit, looked down at her. “You don’t need to climb up. I’ll just lower them down to you.”
“Please let me.”
Lady Doelcm gave her a weird look. “I’m already right here. I could hand them to you if you want.”
Alira agreed, hoping that she had passed the test, and Lady Doelcm handed her the fruit. When the two of them got down, Lady Doelcm handed Alira one of the yellow fruits, took the rest of the bunch under her arm, and set off looking for more food.
“Lady Doelcm, I can carry that.”
“That’s alright; I’ve got it.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to carry it for you?”
“I said I’ve got it. Thanks though.”
Alira nodded stopped asking. She walked behind her rotol, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her skirt and her eyes on the ground. Why is Lady Doelcm insisting on doing work that I, her skolin, should do for her? If this is another test, I don’t understand it. She took the banana, her ration, out of her pocket and looked at it. Maybe it’s simpler than I’m trying to make it. She probably just doesn’t want me to steal extra food.

[Jason]

Erk stood up and looked around. Where had they gone? He didn't recognize the place at all.
"Well, seems we've landed in a very . . . interesting place," said Tarak, also standing up.
Shilm jumped to his feet and looked around.
"We shouldn't stay long. I don't know how long it will take them to find us. We'll camp here tonight, since it seems to be getting that time, and head out tomorrow."
Erk reached a hand down to help Sarala, but she ignored it and stood up herself.
'Hey, sorry for shoving you earlier.'
She didn't respond, just turned and started walking. Erk made to follow, but stopped as a hand was laid on his shoulder.
"Let her go, Erk."
Erk didn't resist the hand, but he kept staring after her.
"She just saw her parents, corrupted by the power of darkness, with no way to save them. She needs time. And I wouldn't be surprised if she places some blame on you, no matter how unfair. You were the one who pushed her through the portal, not giving her the chance to try something, anything."
"There was nothing that could be done."
"I know that, and she knows that, but she's upset right now and wants somewhere to place the blame. Just give her some time."
Shilm turned and walked off, taking in their surroundings. Erk watched as Sarala continued to walk off.
"Sometimes that's how it is."
Erk turned to see Tarak standing there.
"What do you mean?"
"Women aren't always easy to understand, and you gotta let them have their space. If you try and invade, try and be the best you can, you'll only push them away. Let her have her space, and she'll come around."
Erk turned and looked back towards where Sarala had gone.
"Just tell her how you feel."
Erk whipped his head back around towards Tarak.
"What?"
"Just tell her how you feel about her?"
"And that is . . . " Erk could feel both a small heat in his neck, as well as some anger.
"What do you think?"
"Yeah, well, you tell Doelcm first."
Tarak's face clouded over, and he turned and walked away. Erk turned back to the horizon, where the sun of the new world they were on began to set. He didn't know how he felt about Sarala. He'd thought about it a lot, and he just didn't know. And perhaps that wasn't the nicest of things for him to have said to Tarak, but given the situation . . .
Erk sighed and turned back, gathering some sticks lying on the ground and putting them together and setting them on fire.

[rr339]

"They are alive...I don't know what Lucrecia did to them, but she is going to pay. Sarala, dear cousin...I hope that you are able to continue to be strong for your people's sake. I hope that the last planet is alright. Leaving them wasn't the best idea, but what could we of done? Where will Doelcm return, will she transported here? wherever here is? I hope that she and Alira are doing well. I should keep an eye out on Sarala." Though Shilm.

Shilm used his invisiblity techquine and began to follow Sarala. Shilm followed Sarala for quite a distance.

"Shilm! I know that you are there, show yourself!" Said Sarala.

"Sorry, I was just making sure that everything is ok. You know you can talk to me, we've always been able to talk."

Sarala turned to Shilm to tell him...

[The Honourable Ninja-san]

A little ways away from the camp, Tarak was laying on the grass, staring at the multitude of stars that surrounded this new planet. So Erk's figured out that I like Doelcm. I wonder if everyone else has. Tarak thought to himself. He'd been trying to be subtle, not like some of the love sick boys he'd seen in his village growing up. Looking back, he could pick out few things that had been very obvious, like how quickly he had volunteered to go with Doelcm to the last world's settlement. Then he thought about what had happened on that world. Doelcm had disappeared, and the Time General had gone with her.
Tarak hit the ground in frustation and worry. Doelcm, why do you have to be so trusting?! You should have kept the Time General in shackles or something, not let her go wherever she pleases. Tarak wasn't convinced that the General had really lost her powers. It could all be a plot by Lucrecia. Lucrecia would love to have someone inside the group, to kill them off one by one. Tarak stood up and started pacing. And even is she did lose her powers, he thought, she could just get a knife and . . . Tarak remembered what Shilm had told him, how he had once been captured by the Time General. After he was restrained and helpless, the Time General had stabbed him in the side, just out of spite.
Tarak sat on a nearby boulder and looked at his hands. The scientists had made him powerful enough to be able to protect Doelcm, instead of having to be protected by her, but he couldn't use it! IJ wish the scientists had made so I could open portals . . . like Shilm. Tarak jumped up from the boulder and ran back to camp, looking for Shilm.

(OOC: I don't want Tarak's idea to actually work. I want him to stay with the rest of the group, not go to Doelcm and Alira.)

[Jason]

Erk sat by the fire, wondering what was going to happen next. They world they have left was probably a bunch of floating chunks of space dust now, thanks to them; Sarala's parents were now corrupted by the power of darkness; and to top it all off, Sarala was angry at him. He had only been doing what he knew was best. He had seen the look in their eyes; there was no pity there, no remorse, only death and destruction. What more could he have done. Hopelessness crushed down on him, threatening to destroy any hope he might have been retaining, for anything.
He looked up as he heard someone approaching. Tarak came running into camp, not even out of breath.
"Where's Shilm?"
"I don't know. Why?"
Tarak didn't answer, but looked around quickly. Erk studied his face, and suddenly knew.
"He can't send you to her."
"What?"
Tarak spun around and stared at Erk.
"Shilm can't send you to where Doelcm is."
"How do you . . ."
"How do I know? Cause I know that look. I can see it in your eyes. You're worried about her. It would seem we share a common thing here. No, Shilm can't send you to where she is, for two reasons."
"What are they?"
"The first is, none of us have any idea where she is, none at all. The second is, this is a journey for her, to find her crystal and discover who she really is. She has the extra protection of my crystal, which will lend her aid as she needs it. But mostly this is a quest for her."
Tarak sank down next to Erk, worry, frustration, and resignation written all over his face. Erk slapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, look on the bright side."
Tarak looked up at him with an expression that said "what bright side?"
"At least she's not angry at you."

[Ranger Melinda]

emiko suddenly got up and left the group that had decided to just set up camp for a while. she wandered off, intending to go do some shooting practice with her bow, or perhaps fence with a baby tree, whichever decided to strike her fancy first. tarak and erk were oblivious to this, as they seemed to be consumed by the fact that the girls they were both really into had just left them, for various reasons, and that they were now mourning the fact, trying to come to grips with it. so, off she wandered, and about half a mile away from camp, she ran into someone she had never thought that she would see again, considering everything that had been going on recently. she ran into one of her best friends from earth, rachael.
"rachael, what are you doing here? your supposed to be at home on earth, going to school. what happened, and how did you get here?"
"i followed you guys through that whatever it was, i can only assume a portal, back in the middle of the road. and so, where is here, and what are you all doing?"
"we have been off saving the world, or more like, the universe, from an evil villaness named lucrecia" and emiko therefore proceded to give the low down to rachael on what was going on, and everything new.
"well" said rachael, "that sounds exciting. umm... can i help?"
"sure, how bout we go off, and you can help me fence. here, i have an extra sword"
and off they went, to begin their training, since they didnt seem to have anything else better to do. little did they know, they had gone and lost their way, and could never return to be with the group they had known.

[Lady Jillith]

"Shilm, what's happened to our family?" Sarala's face was full of anguish. "First Syfe, now . . ." Sarala stopped speaking for a moment as she began to cry. "And now my parents . . ." The princess sat down on the ground suddenly, as if her legs would no longer support her.
Shilm sat down beside her. "We will get them back, Sarala. They are not truly evil; we can save them, somehow. And Syfe," Shilm's face clouded over at the thought of his brother's betrayal. "Syfe has made his choice."
"Why did he have to push me here? Maybe I could have done something, something to save my parents. I could have tried the healing light, like on the shadowbeast. But Erk didn't give me a chance." Her words trailing off, Sarala hid her face in her arms and silently cried.
"Come on, Sarala, there was nothing you could have done, and you know that," reasoned Shilm.
"But, the shadowbeast, . . . last time . . ." Sarala began, lifting her head to look at her cousin.
"This is the King and Queen of light, remember. It would take considerably more darkness to change them."
Sarala sighed.
"It's getting dark; we had better get back." Shilm stood up, and pulled Sarala to her feet. "Don't worry. I promise we will save Aunt and Uncle."

[Jason]

Erk and Tarak continued to sit around the fire, watching as the sky grew dimmer. Neither had noticed the disappearance of Emiko, and Kor was off somewhere doing something or other. Looking around, Erk saw that Shilm and Sarala were talking.
"What a crazy mess we've gotten ourselves into."
Tarak looked up at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Here we are, a group of kids, out trying to save the universe from some mad woman and her cohorts. And now to add to it all, you've got your eye on Doelcm, while I've got mine on Sarala . . . how much crazier can it get? We all just barely got you all busted out of that place, and now we don't even know if that planet still exists. For all I know, it's a bunch of space dust. And if I ever manage to beg Sarala's forgiveness for shoving her into the portal . . ."
Tarak slapped Erk on the back.
"Don't worry, she'll come around eventually. Just give her time and let her talk to Shilm. They've known each other for much longer, plus they're related."
"Yeah, I know."
They sat there for a few more minutes, thinking. Shilm and Sarala continued to talk, and after a while got up and began to make their way back to the fire.
Suddenly, out of a stand of trees off to their right, a group of . . . something burst out. Something tall, dark, and hissing. There were five of them, all at least eight feet tall, though rather nimble-looking. In fact, they kinda reminded Erk of dinosaurs, the raptors he had seen in books. Except for one difference. These ones had an extra ability; they could spit acidic blobs of goo out of their mouths. Erk and Tarak jumped up in surprise, and Shilm and Sarala started running towards the camp and the pack closed in on Erk and Tarak.

[rr339]

"Great!!! There seems to alway be danger everywhere we go, huh?" said Shilm

"This is no time for jokes, Shilm." Sarala jumped in the air and prepared an energy disk, and launched it at one of the creatures. The disks intense heat cut the creature in half.

"Good job, cousin!" Shilm ran past the raptors, and to Erk, and Tarak and created an energy field. Shilm created spears of light and began to throw them out, but the creatures were too fast, and two noticed that Sarala, was the one that sliced their friend, so two were going after Sarala, spitting their acid out.

"We need to help her, she is in trouble!" Said Shilm

"what can we do?" Said Tarak

Shilm focused on his light powers, and engulfed himself in light, "I can be faster as light it self, but I can do it for a limited time" Shilm ran out toward the beasts and dodge their acid blasts, and tail whips. Shilm proceed to create two light sword and ran past each beast as he sliced them open.

[Jason]

Erk shook his head and jumped up from the ground, where he had fallen when Sarala had sent her disk of light slicing into the oncoming predators. Shilm yelled out his warcry as he charged into two of the monsters, and Tarak was jlaunching himself at another one. Three of the beasts were closing in on Sarala, who was throwing out light shafts of light as she quickly retreated, dodging acid blobs. Erk instantly focused when he realized that Sarala was in danger, and loosing a warcry of his own, threw several fireballs at the creatures moving towards Sarala. One of them went down, a cry coming from between it's razor-sharp teeth. The other two turned in time to see Erk flinging more fireballs at them while Shilm charged at them, his light sword held high. They both jumped, acid flying from their mouths, and landed behind them. The acid was intercepted by blasts of light from Sarala, who then turned her attention to Tarak, who was in a fierce wrestling match with the beast he had tackled, trying to keep its mouth shut. As they dealt with that monster, Erk created a flame sword, and he and Shilm advanced on the two remaining ones, moving slowly, blocking any acid blasts that came at them with their swords. The beasts grew cautious and wary, realizing that this group was not as easy of prey as they had seemed.
Suddenly, one of them stretched up as tall as it could and released a strange chirping sound. It repeated the noise several times, and then it and the one next to it turned and ran off. Tarak and Sarala had finished off the other beast, and came to stand next to the two swordsmen.
"What were those?" asked Tarak.
"Personally, I don't want to know," said Erk. He let the flame die and his sword fizzled out. "Either way, I hope that's the last we see of them."
"Perhaps the last of them, yes," said Shilm, who then raised his sword into a defensive position. "However, it would seem that we're still not alone."
They all quickly turned to see what else was waiting for them. Erk scanned the night, his increased sight helping him to see the shapes nestled within the bushes, watching them.

[The Honourable Ninja-san]

Doelcm was grateful when she and Alira finally reached their campsite, a cave that Alira had found earlier. Her arm was starting to ach from carrying the bunch of bananas. Doelcm set the bananas down and started getting kindling for a fire. A few minutes later, Alira walked up with an armload of sticks. Doelcm watched her stack them neatly on the ground. Weird, I wouldn’t have thought that Alira was the kind to voluntarily do physical work. And I wonder why she wanted to help so badly with the bananas. Alira interrupted her thoughts.
“Lady Doelcm, do you need anything else?”
“Well, we’ll need something for bedding. You could find something clean and soft to lie on and I’ll make a pair of blankets.”
‘Lady’ Doelcm. . . Ah! I almost forgot that Alira swore to serve me. With the memories of seeing Tarak’s new superhuman strength and the escape from the scientists, not to mention being transported to yet another foreign world, the five minute conversation she had had with Alira didn’t stand out much.

Doelcm had nearly finished the second blanket when Alira returned. The two blankets were of cotton, formed from the leaves that were scattered on the ground. Doelcm quickly finished the blanket and helped Alira set out the tree fern branches she had found. They had just finished when night came. There was no twilight—just daylight, (Doelcm had guessed it was early afternoon) then without a moment’s notice, it was solid night.
“Well that was weird. It couldn’t have become night so fast. Do you think something’s blocking the sun?” Doelcm asked.
Alira just shrugged, looking up into the darkness.
Doelcm shrugged too and sat down by the fire she had lit earlier. Taking Erk’s dagger from its sheath, she held it in front of her, examining it. Right when she did so, a rouge flame leapt from the fire ring and into the jewel inthe blade’s handle. With a yelp, Doelcm dropped the dagger. As Alira and Doelcm looked at the jewel, a fire-red arrow appeared, pointing the way to this world’s crystal.

[rr339]

Shilm made the sword retract to his hand, and created a ball of light energy. Shilm shot it towards the sky.

"This should help us be able to see into the darkness, and whatever is out there may be afraid to attack us again."

Shilm began to walk slowly toward the shapes in the bushes.

[rr339]

LUCRECIA, HAS DESTROYED MANY PLANETS AND ENSLAVED MANY PEOPLE!!!! WHERE ARE THE HEROES THAT WOULD STOP HER?

"YOU STUPID FOOLS...THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN STOP ME!!!! WITH SARALAS PARENT RIGHT ON SARALAS TAIL SHE IS SURE TO DIE SOON...THE BOND THEY SHARE WILL ALWAYS LEAD THEM TO THEIR PRECIOUS FAMILY. I LOVE IT WHEN EVIL PLANS COME TOGETHER...SOON, I'LL DOMINATE THIS UNIVERSE!!!!"

[Jason]

Erk moved forward towards the shapes, following Shilm, keeping his hands slightly covered in flames. Sarala moved with them, and Tarak was close behind. They moved forward, watching, moving slowly. The figures in the bushes watched them with equal intensity, not moving. The distance between the two groups grew shorter as the empowered group moved closer. Suddenly, the figures in the bushes turned and ran off. The group stopped in surprise, then moved forward quickly, but by the time they reached the bushes, whatever had been there was gone.
"That was stange," said Tarak.
"Indeed it was," said Erk, looking around.
"I suggest we head back to camp and get some sleep, as best we can," said Shilm. "I'll take first watch."

[Ranger Melinda]

emiko and rachael were wandering through the forest, and suddenly, they came upon a geezbot (similar to a tigre, just that its a whole lot bigger, and not nearly as nice). not knowing what it was, they advanced upon it, thinking that it would make a nice meal. trying to sneak upon it was quite the task. the geezbot heard them from about 20 feet away, and pretended not to, so as to better catch them, should they continue
"so, do we shoot, or do we.. uhh... fence... it?" asked emiko.
"like i would know. your the one that knows about animals, not me." answered rachael.
"welll, i've never had to deal with tigres, have you?"
"no, but, i would guess they are like cougars, and you've delt with them"
"cougars never get that big, now do they?"
"umm.. i dont know. lets shoot it. you have a bow and arrow, so you get to try it."
so, emiko tried to shoot the geezbot, not being to successful.
"darn it all, i've never had that good of aim."
"just hope that you havent woken it up," said rachael "cause i'm not especially in the mood for a chase"
"well, i guess we'll see. but my guess is that it hasnt heard, otherwise, it would have given chase by now. i would think"
the geezbot, wanting to see just how far they would go before they realized that it really was awake, still just laid there, listening to their stupidity, and wondering if they would be worth chasing at all, or if it should just play dead. it deicded that, just for fun, it would give them another couple of yards, then suddenly it would give chase, and the people wouldnt know what hit them.
"lets see just how much fun we can have with them today. its been a while since i've properly chased anything, so lets have some fun today" thought the geezbot.
so, rachael and emiko advanced, and were just about to start charging it when the geezbot "woke up." it chased them through the forest for quite a while, giving them quite the running. rachael and emiko eventually realized that it couldnt chase both of them, so that they would meet up later, about where they first met up, if they could find it. if not, make a good trail, and rachael would stay in one spot, so as for emiko to find her later.
"just dont get eaten rachael! i want to see you later!"
"same goes for you emiko! no getting eaten!"
and with that they separated, to see which of them the geezbot gave chase to.