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1
Larz went through the gate. After all the training for war, he was stuck with a legacy job to create peace. He was trained to follow orders now he had to act on his own as a regular teenage male. He dropped his bad mood. He would have to act his way through this place until something more important comes up.
As Larz went searching for his room he heard screaming he ran to the sound with his bags. He arrived and realized he wasn't the only one who heard it. One girl was holding her ankle in tears and another by her side.
"Is she all right?" asked Larz in a concerned tone.
“I don’t know,” the girl replied. She had no sign of concern in either her face or voice.
Larz didn't recognize the person the unharmed girls race until she turned away.
‘Ah, an elf.’ he thought to himself. This would explain her stern voice. He was still focusing on the injured one. He set his bags by the side of the door and then kneeling on the wall that led to the inside of the room. It would be rude enter without being invited.
"You just gonna stand there?" she asked sarcastically.
"My apologies. I only wish to see if she needed any assistance. If you have everything under control I'll just leave," he waited for her reply. He could hear the sarcastic intent in her words but he just played along waiting for a reply.
"Do you know anything about medical-crud? I'm an alchemist, but I'm still working on my healing," she said through grit teeth.
"Yes, I do," Larz walked in the room and gently took hold of the ankle it looked like she just sprained it. He got his bandages from his bag and gently wrapped the sprain tightly. "I'm sorry if I intruded. She should be fine for now."
He got up and spoke to the injured girl. "Make sure you take it easy on that leg okay." As for the alchemist he doubted she liked discussing it but he didn't want to have a negative relationship. "Miss if you ever would like to discuss on theories on alchemy I would be more than happy to talk."
He walked out and grabbed his bag and began searching the school for his dorm.
A few seconds later, Larz heard the alchemist coming after him, "Hey! Wait!" she shouted after him. She walked quickly after him, until she was at the same place as he was. She took a deep breath and forced out two words that she probably didn’t say very often, "Thank you."
Larz stopped. "Hey, it’s no problem at all." He noticed this was awkward for her. He knew elves liked working by themselves and didn't like being helped. "Is there something else you wanted?" he asked in a kind tone.
She shook her head 'no'. "I..." she stopped, "I'll see you around," she said, walking away.
"Alright, I guess I will see you around," he said before she walked away. It seems he got on somebody’s good side.
He turned back in the direction he was going he checked the area for his dorm. This was odd, he had a natural sense of navigation but he was lost in this large castle. As Larz continued down the hall he heard a faint sound coming from the room he just exited from. He went back to see one girl floating above the injured one but she was translucent. He could see her though.
"Is there any way I can help you miss?" Larz asked. This wasn't the first time he has seen a spirit so he wasn't surprised at all when he saw her. He was trained in ways of assisting them. The genetic engineers thought of everything when it came to life situations.
"Didn't you leave?" the elf asked annoyed.
"My apologies again miss but it seems that your roommate has a bit of a spiritual dilemma. It seems that her spirit form was separated from the solid one you see before you." Larz stopped there he doubted she wanted to hear him go on about spirits. "I'm sorry if I'm being a nuisance but this does seem worse than a mere sprained ankle."
"As I can see before me?" she repeated. "Maya looks normal to me. Listen, I don't know about spirits, but this sounds serious. Maya is a really good person, please help her," she said.
"She is a ghost with a solid body for interacting with people like us who are alive I suppose." Larz stopped he hardly heard the spirit when he was in the room before but now he even here her breath. "I think the only way you could help is by that forbidden talent of alchemy." he said referring to controlling the soul and raising the dead. He looked up at the spirit he was waiting for her to speak again so he can understand the situation more thoroughly. He looked down back at the elf. "You may know another w but that is the only solution I know of."
The elf looked at him. "You want me to bring girl who's been dead for who knows how long, back to life?" she asked him, amazed that he would even think that she could. "Forget it. I couldn't do it even if she had just died. The dead aren't supposed to come back to life. It's not a law that cannot be disobeyed. And the punishment for trying would be more than fatal."
Larz wasn't surprised by her reaction. "I didn't mean raise the dead but possibly reconnect the bond between the spirit and her solid form." He didn’t know if it was possible so he only used examples. He didn't want to come off as too apologetic by he needed to show manners. "Sorry for the misunderstanding."
She looked to Maya and then back to Larz. "Is it possible that I could die in this process?" she asked.
"Possibly not die but lose a limb or two in this process." Larz knew about this because of an attempt to mass produce him using Alchemy. It failed miserably and he gained knowledge of the forbidden ways of alchemy.
She looked to Maya again. "I'm an elf, it'll just grow back in a second. There's no risk," she said. She straitened up and looked into Larz's eyes. "I'll do it. But I'll need a few hours, maybe days, to get the numbers straightened out. How long will she have?"
"You have as long as you need. I doubt she would disappear. But to cut time I will help with the numbers." Larz had the mind of a super computer. Several hours of computations could be done in minutes with his mind. The spirit looked like she didn't know what happened but if she has been a ghost for a while he guessed she was stuck here instead of passing on.
She held out her hand and said, "I'm Francesca."
"A pleasure Francesca I'm Larz." He shook her hand as a response. "So where should we begin?" He asked. All he needed was a goal and he could get to work right away. She thought for a moment.
"I need to know where her spirit is, first of all," she said. "And then I need to do a little research. I need to know exactly where the spirit fits into the body." She paused thoughtfully. "And after that I should have a pretty good idea as to what I'm doing. But the library here doesn't have what I'm looking for..." she trailed off.
"Her spirit is currently in here with us but she is hovering above at four feet. If you're looking for information of the spirit I would suggest the religion section of the library. There are books that fully explain how the soul functions and where it resides." Larz finished her thought. "Although a lot is contradicting everything in that section is correct about the soul." he had a photographic memory he remembered reading a lot on religion when he was being trained in peace negotiations.
She looked up. "How do you know where the spirit is? Can you see it? Why can't I see anything?" she asked. 'On my planet,' she thought, 'our souls stay in our bodies.'
"Humans have a large range of knowledge. They taught me nearly everything from alchemy to DNA manipulation. I can only see her because I have a heightened sixth sense factor. Normal humans cannot see spirits because they are not born with this. You possibly cannot see her because you were not to spiritual things in your world or born with a heightened sixth sense factor." Larz spoke monotone. He had a photographic memory and he learned about people seeing spiritual things because of the 18-months worth of tutoring from his world’s mage.
She nodded her head. "That's all I really needed. The rest I can work out myself," she said, turning away from him. "But before I do, would you mind explaining to me why you're speaking in the third person? I thought you were a human," she still had her back to him, but he could tell she was giving him a skeptical look anyway.
"In a sense, I am." he said truthfully. He couldn't give his true origin of existence. If he did he may be looked down upon. He didn't think a living weapon belonged here. He only spoke away from his alleged race because he despised them.
She looked back to him, she still wasn't showing anything. "You know alchemy, huh?" she asked. She moved back to the solid form of the spirit. Out of nowhere, the transmutation took place. The elf had indeed returned the girl to her body, but there had been a cost.
2
Larz moved slightly in surprise when Francesca fell unconscious. He never saw something like this. Unfortunately he wasn't the first to react to this incident. The spirit moved very fast for her roommate he didn't know if they were friends.
He was careful after the girl who had just recovered put her on the bed and applied the cold towel.
He walked slowly toward Francesca and checked for a pulse. He was relieved that she was not dead but he didn't give any hint of this. Instead he turned towards the solid form of the spirit.
"Nothing to worry about she is just knocked out from exhaustion."
A few moments later, Francesca awoke.
"Good," she said, "the transmutation worked." She stood up. "If Maya's alright, then I'll go now," she said.
Larz sighed and walked out his work was done. He headed down the halls, thinking about how he can hide his true identity from everyone else. His act already seems to fail since Francesca seems to have seen right through it. Larz thought about how his ignorance came into effect a few moments ago. He thought he was in a group of average young people from different races but this was not true each one had to at least be a little more exceptional for their races. He decided to speak more carefully about the race that created him and try to show more hints that he belongs to that race. Larz found a secluded spot and sat his bags down. He was personally enjoying this place in a way. He was away from the people he despised the most, his own kind. He only grew to hate after living in society for a year. He saw scum of all kinds and questioned his own purpose in life. He finally realized that he was merely a placebo for war. He would end it and three later there would be another one. Getting away from them felt good, but he was bound to them by this peace operation that seemed in a way odd to him. Thinking for himself and feeling emotions was odd new and different and a situation that he was not prepared to experience. That is why he was going to go against the mage's wishes and created an act that could hide his real identity and feelings.
Larz snapped out of his train of thought. He needed some place to stay so he grabbed his bags and headed for the bell tower in the building. It wasn't much, but he didn't like the idea of a fancy bed. Plus he always liked the bell tower in the mage's temple. When he climbed to the top it was surprisingly clean. He was expecting an old and dusty look.
He emptied his bags which didn't have much except bedding and many changes of cloths. There was one bag that had to be plus two-hundred pounds. When Larz opened it there was a computer and several frozen packages of blue liquid and syringes. When he moved it he accidentally set off the bell. He let it ring a couple of times and listened before stopping it instantly.
Larz fell asleep after unpacking. He was out for about an hour before he woke up.
‘Well, looks like I'll be the only one up tonight,’ he thought to himself. One hour of sleep and no food or water equaled 3 effortless days of work. He looked at his watch. It was late and he had time now. He didn't know what to do. Then he remembered that he was in a bell tower, a place where he can train privately. Larz jumped onto a one of the wooden logs supporting the place. A frightened owl flew away quickly knocking over the heavy rope for the bells. The falling of the rope made the bells ring again this time not as quietly as before he let them ring while he began one-armed hand stand push ups. Being superior to his race didn’t mean there wasn't room for improvement.
Several minutes after Larz switched arm and began again. The bells showed no sign of stopping and were even louder than before.
Francesca came up behind him. "Are we just going to let this thing ring or are we ever going to let the people of the world sleep?" she shouted sarcastically over the bell's loud ring.
Larz got down from his perch and stopped the heavy bells by grabbing each. "I'm sorry; I guess I got carried away." Larz said in embarrassment. He used the bells as a concentration exercise but he didn't think other people could hear him. He moved to the side so he could hide the computer and chemicals. "I see you're feeling better." he said tying to get off the subject of his childish habit.
"Peachy, thanks for caring," she said in a sarcastic tone, crossing her arms. "Are we fulfilling our dreams of becoming a hobo?" she asked, waving to the junk spread out on the floor of the tower.
"Well, no, not really. I'm just staying here until I find someplace else to stay," he said, trying to practical. Her words were a little harsh but she didn't mean any real harm, or at least he hoped. "Is the other girl okay too?" he asked curious.
"Yeah, she's cool. I think that she's out getting Chinese food or something," she said, uncrossing her arms and starting to look around the tower. "This place is kinda nice. I can see why you'd rather be here than in those over-stuffed beds," she said.
"Yeah plus the rooms are cramped with furniture. I like areas with a lot of free space." Larz sat on the window sill. "You can have a seat if you would like," he offered. It was rude to have guests stand. The conversation was refreshing. He didn't think it would be healthy for him to be alone all the time.
She looked at him a moment. "Alright," she said, pressing her lips together and sitting down on the edge of the tower wall.
"Would you like anything?" he asked in a polite manner. He was a bit curious about Francesca she was distant but at times she could be close.
"Uh, no, I'm cool," she said. "So, how'd you end up here?" she asked.
"I was sent here after the mage of my world got the message about this place. To be honest I was against the entire thing because I didn't want to represent the people I despise the most," he said, being truthful. "What about you, Francesca?"
"I guess I feel the same. I hate my people, and I don't like anybody. I have no idea what the mage was thinking when he sent me here. Maybe it's because I'm the most advanced of his apprentices, but I don't think that that's what this is about," she said.
"Hey guys, what’s up? Got some food, do you two want any?" said Maya, sitting down behind them.
Larz turned and waved to Maya then turned back to Francesca. "So you hate your people too? Is it alright if I ask why?" he asked, growing more and more curious about her.
"Who are you waving to-" she stopped as she saw Maya sitting on the other side of Larz. "Oh, hey," she said, waving to her roommate. She looked back Larz "Elves are very traditional. They don't accept anything different than what they think is 'normal.' I guess I don't fit that description, since I don't like to sing, I'm an alchemist, and I don't socialize much. 'Women are meant to cook and sing, while the alchemist men are out protecting,' or something stupid like that. I was good at science, so they don't like me. And I don't like them," she said.
"Humans are the exact opposite of elves. They are too free ranged. While some are actually worth something, others are pure trash. They focus their ways on wealth, willing to kill for it. I can't stand them and I can't stand the fact that the mage, one of the only humans I respect, sent me here to represent trash," Larz said. This was relieving to him to actually get something off his chest. He liked talking to Francesca. "What did you do to get by before coming here?"
"I took the old guy's advice and got rid of most of my emotions. I don't do feelings anymore," she said, a hint of pride was in her voice. "I don't feel pain, love, happiness, anything. I'm just sarcastic and cold, in case you hadn't noticed. What'd you do?"
"I stayed away from the scum as much as possible. Your way sounds ideal but I doubt I could handle it all the time." he said praising her a little for being stronger mentally. I guess I'm more human than I thought. But I wonder if she gets lonely. He thought to himself. He had been exactly like her three years ago before being exposed to actual people. He didn't even know what real emotions were fully. Not surprising coming from someone without a mother.
"Ideal?" she asked. "That's not the word I would use. I don't actually like it; it's just how I survive. I want to get out of here, but there's nowhere to go if I leave. I guess that all I really want is a home. Somewhere I won't be afraid to feel," she said. She then brought her knees to her chest, hugging them, and sighed.
There was an impulse in Larz to comfort her in someway but he didn't know how. "Francesca I know this goes outside your intentions but if you're looking for a place that you aren't afraid feel. I'm always here to listen or talk to if you'd like." he said getting up and walking across the room toward her.
She put her chin on her knees and looked up at him. "Thank you," she said in a voice hardly over a whisper.
"It’s alright," he said gently. This was his goal from now on, to make sure this girl had someone to confide in no matter what. "Francesca, what seems to be troubling you right now?" he asked. He knew she was confused to have someone be there for her after she just found out what she was looking for. He sat next to her ready to listen.
"Hm, I'm just deciding how I feel," she said.
"That’s good," he said smiling. For once he wasn't acting and instead is being himself.
Tilting her head to the side, Francesca looked him straight in the eyes. Francesca let a slight smile touch on her lips. She blinked slowly and sighed. Larz looked back into her eyes. The eyes of someone he actually cared about, his one real friend. Francesca blinked again, this time more slowly. She looked away, shivered, and looked back to Larz. Her eyes to fell, hardly open, but they were still open, looking at him.
Larz took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Let’s get out of this cold air," he said calmly. The cool breeze wasn't bothering him but he noticed her shiver when it blew. "Are you tired?" he asked. She was moving a little slower than before and she had a hard time keeping her eyes open.
She nodded, grabbing the jacket with one hand and let the other hang at her side. She stood up, yawning, and walked toward the stairs sleepily.
Larz got up with her and walked to the stairs. "You mind if I walk you to your room?" he asked. He didn't want her walking back by herself.
"I don't see why not," she said, looking ahead. "Of course, I don't see why either. I'm a big girl, you know. I can do it by myself."
"Yeah, but it’s getting late, and you never know what could be out there," he said, not trying to lecture her. He didn't have the right to. "Besides, I’d feel guilty if you got hurt."
She gave him a small glare. "What do I look like, a damsel in distress?" she said in a slightly cold tone.
"I don't see anyone who is an expert on alchemy a damsel in distress," he said in a kind smile. "I'm only coming along from an old war quote of my people; 'There is strength in numbers.'"
"Believe me, there's nothing out there that I'll need numbers against," she said to him, keeping her cold look on him. "I think I can make it on my own."
"Okay," he said going back up. "If you need me you know where to find me." he climbed the stairs and watched her leave on the window of the bell tower. Larz knew he said the wrong thing by asking to walk her to her room because of her reaction. He didn't think about how she hated sexism and how a lot of the code of gentlemen is based on sexism. He was stupid and had to apologize to her in the most sincere way. Even if she wouldn't listen he had to make amends for his mistake.
‘Until tomorrow, Francesca...’ He thought as the runes and his back began to burn him. Larz went to one of his bas and pulled a syringe and filled it with blue liquid.
This was used to make sure the burning didn't become severe. He injected it and thought about going for a walk around the grounds. Before he left he heard tugging on one of the vines outside. He went to go see what was causing this noise. Surprised he didn't say a word. He merely gave a wave. Francesca didn't see him, which was possibly the best at the moment. The runes on his back were burning more intensely. It was starting to become unbearable. The serum was taking into effect and he needed to get away from the general public.
He jumped out of the balcony and landed gracefully on the ground. He disappeared into the wood where he stopped out of breath from the pain coming from his back. He sat in the wood and looked up into the full moon. The intensity was rising but he never was the type to act out because he was in pain. Larz saw something moving toward him. He had no clue what it was but he had to be cautious one tree was about an arm's length perfect way to ward off any thing that didn't have a personality. With a quick motion the tree fell with a sound matching that of thunder. He was surprised to see that the figure was Francesca.
He was still in very harsh pain, and that small act of strength didn't help. He could barely let out words, all he could manage was, "Sorry."
Francesca made her way out of the tangle of tree branches, and then walked toward him. "Are you okay?"
"Not really," he struggled to say. Pain was always something he had dealt with alone. He felt he could be honest with Francesca, even after the argument they had a few hours ago.
"What's wrong?" she asked in a concerned voice.
"My back... the runes... pain," Larz said in even more pain. Before, the serum would fight the burning all night, but talking to Francesca made it a little more bearable.
"Runes?" she asked, confused. She pulled the back of his shirt down, revealing what probably looked something like tattoos to her. "They hurt?" She grabbed one of his arms and put it around her shoulder. "We've got to get you inside," she said.
"Urge,” Larz grunted. Moving was the last thing he wanted to do but he had no energy to talk anymore. He planted his feet to the ground and began to push up weakly. Then a surge of pain rushed through his entire body making him release a deafening howl in pain. He stumbled forward and luckily caught himself. He knew now that he definitely needed Francesca’s help.
"Larz!" she shrieked. She grabbed his chest and brought his body to hers. She seemed to be thinking for a second. Then she took a deep breath and lifted his body onto her back.
Larz was a dead weight now using all his energy just to bear the pain. He hated being helpless and he hated himself even more for being helpless in front of someone else. His face looked as if he had killed someone he cared about.
Francesca carried Larz out of the forest, into the mansion, and up to her room. She lay Larz down on her bed and let her body fall beside his, taking deep breathes.
Larz snapped back into himself after 10 minutes on the bed. He couldn't move as he looked to see he was in a familiar room. The third stage of the serum just took into effect, Paralysis from the neck down. He still felt a few surges of pain but it was more bearable than before. He only could say "Sorry, Francesca..." he said, looking to the side at her. He could stay like this forever. It would be an hour or two before he could move fully again.
"Not sure what you're saying 'sorry' about," she said through breathes, "but whatever it is, don't worry about it. Larz, what's going on?" she asked him.
"A very painful side effect for me," he said sadly. That pretty much explained the incident but it wasn't detailed enough. "My people did this to me."
"Side effect? Side effect to what?" she asked. She sat up and looked down at him. "Larz, I really need you to tell me everything," she said in her most serious voice. "I can't help you if I don't know what's going on."
He looked up at the ceiling. He could move one of his arms now. "Do you remember when I told you I was human in a sense? It’s because I was born and raised in the traditional sense. I was created. Risen to kill, treated like an object, and a monster, throughout my life. They sent me here because I was the best candidate for this, a manipulated one. These runes are meant to protect and bind me if I start thinking independently or acting outside the parameters made by these binds. The mage an my creators don't agree about those parameters so they gave me a serum that needed to be injected every three days. I nullifies the binds but leaves me helpless for several hours because of the three days worth of pain." he said. Not liking how this turned out.
"What were you thinking independently about?" she asked.
"About actually caring about a person other than myself. And feeling grief; an emotion I'm not supposed to feel here," he said, hoping she would understand. He didn't like speaking in riddles but he felt he had to.
Francesca looked away. "Caring...about me?" she asked. A small trickle of blood flowed slowly down her chin. She wiped it away with the palm of her hand. "I'm sorry."
"I bothered you. Why are you apologizing?" he asked looking back at her. It was his fault to him he cared the more he talked to her it wasn't her fault how could he accept an apology. "It was even my fault about before," he said remembering how clueless he was talking to her in such a way.
"Yeah, but-" she stopped. She chuckled a bit and hung her head. "Y'know, you just may be the first person I have ever apologized to," she said. "If I hadn't whined my sob story to you in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess," she said in a late response to his question.
"But I asked; I put you in a kind of situation that you had no choice but to answer." He was almost fully recovered; feeling returned to his chest and his knees. He could move but he didn't. One thing was certain he didn't want to play the blame game but he knew it was his fault.
She sighed. "You're a handful, you know that?" she said, looking at his weakened body. "How long will it be until you can move again? Are you going to be alright?"
"I can move now but I can't walk at all. The pain is gone though. Don't worry this isn't enough to handicap me forever." he said with smile. "You may be right about that." he said with returned strength in him. He never meant to be a nuisance but he guessed nothing can ever be truly predicted.
"You can stay here tonight, I don't mind. And whatever Maya thinks is just going to have to go to the complaint box," she said. She looked at the clock. "There's not all that much night left, but you should sleep while you can." Taking one of Maya's blankets from her roommate's bed, Francesca began making herself a bed on the floor next to where Larz lay.
‘Sleep does sound nice,’ he thought. While he had already slept he wouldn't be walking for about another hour.
"Thank you..." he said, closing his eyes. His internal clock was set, he just needed to shift into sleep. ‘...for everything,’ he thought thinking slowly drifting.
Francesca didn't reply. Larz was more exhausted than he thought. He slept for two hours then awoke. He could move freely now but didn't get up so he wouldn't disturb Francesca. He would wait until she woke up before he would even twitch.
Larz saw Francesca toss and turn, sweating and breathing unnaturally deeply.
She was having a nightmare.
She thrust her body into a sitting position, panting and shaking, her wide eyes frozen in fear.
"Francesca?" he said getting up and kneeling down beside her. "What’s wrong?" he asked concerned. In the back of his head he found it ironic that just a few hours ago she was asking him.
Her breath slowed to a normal pace and the shaking lessened. She looked at him and took a few unsteady breaths. She closed her eyes, gripping the blanket with a quaking hand and biting her lips again.
"Francesca what is the matter?" Larz asked, demanding to know what’s wrong. Her eyes showed hints of fear, he believed she had just experienced a nightmare, but he didn't know how to exactly comfort her since he never dreamed.
She opened her eyes to look at him and let go of her lip. "Nothing, I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to wake you."
"I was already awake. You had a nightmare didn't you?" he looked at Francesca. He was prying into something she was probably sensitive about but he didn't like seeing her like this at all.
She smiled through her fear. "I think so-I mean, I don't really remember,” Her fake smile faded and her face fell back into her scared look. "It doesn't matter, though. It happens almost ever night, I'm used to it."
"If you're used to it why are you still afraid?" Larz asked. He thought she was strong to go through sleepless nights; however he didn't like the fact she was just trying to drop it.
"I don't know. I never remember my nightmares, I just know I'm afraid of something," she said. She brought her knees to her chest and leaned her head on them. "I should be alright now, the trauma doesn't last all that long. What about you, are you okay now?"
"Yeah I'm just fine," he said. Even if the subject was just changed he didn’t think he could help her. He didn't think there would be anything she would be afraid of. He didn't like the idea of unknown suffering he still remembered some of the psychological tests put on him, making him suffer for reasons unknown. "Are you sure you're alright?”
Francesca stood up. "Yeah, I'm cool," she said, holding out a hand to help him stand up. "I'm kinda hungry; do you want to go find where the food is in this place?”
Larz wasn't hungry, and he wouldn't be until tomorrow. "Sure why not?" he said pulling himself up. He thanked her and stretched out his arms.
Tearing down her drawn map from the wall, Francesca looked at it, pressing her lips together in thought.
Larz scanned the map from behind her. The campus was larger than he thought. He found a cafe on the map. Unfortunately from here it was quite the walk.
“There it is," he said pointing to the top-left corner of the map.
Francesca let out a small groan. "Uh, alright, let's go, I guess," she said.
Larz has very acute hearing. "If you don't want to walk that far I can always get it," he offered in response to her groaning. It was strange how they built the cafeteria so far away from the living areas.
‘They sure didn't put much thought in the convenience for the future of all beings.’
"No, it's okay," she said. "Uh, are you really hungry? 'Cause if you're not, I can totally wait," she offered.
"I'm not but if you are you shouldn't wait." he said being careful at how he put his words. The last time he was careless they ended up getting in an argument.
"No, it's really okay. Really," she put an emphasis on the last 'really'. "I'm not entirely sure if we're supposed to do anything in particular now, there aren't any classes that I know of.”
Larz was briefed before coming here and he was just told to live in peace. But that was based on prior knowledge. "I don't know what to do either but this is going to be a long day if we can't occupy ourselves." Larz hated boredom above all things; and he hated a lot of things.
"Yeah," said Francesca. She thought for a moment and then she gave Larz an evil smile. "Hey Larz, you fight, don't you?"
"Yes I do..." he said, not liking her evil smile. A chill ran down his spine as he caught her drift.
"Come on," she said.
3
She led him outside to an area in the yard where nothing would get in their way. "If you'd like, I'll be fair and not use alchemy?"
"That would be best," he said.
‘I'm seriously not sure about this’
"Alright, Francesca, lets go," he said, stretching out his legs. He would use his personal mix of Jet Kun Do and Tae Kwon Do for this fight.
Francesca fell back into her fighting stance and waited for him to make the first move. Larz started bouncing on his feet. This enabled faster movement. With this he took a few steps back and sprinted forward jumped with a flying dragon kick. Moving to the side to avoid his kick, Francesca used the closest hand to Larz to backhand him, aiming at his chest. Larz took the blow with amazement at how strong she was. He can take a beating but a hit like that caught him off guard. He continued bouncing on his feet. He suddenly moved forward and delivered a lightning fast kick to the face. This wasn't meant to hit but it would if the was no defense. This was a simple way to manipulate his opponent's guard. Before his foot landed he went for a punch toward the torso. He pulled the punch since he didn't think Francesca was tougher than titanium. Francesca blocked his kick but didn't see his punch coming. She felt the pain in her stomach but made herself shake it off. She slid around to the other side of Larz and aimed a low kick to trip him. Larz lifted his left leg for a front snap kick stepping over the low kick. When his foot landed he spun quickly to do a reverse roundhouse to the head. Larz was using mostly speed in order to keep up his offense. He had some useful defensive moves just in case the tide turned. Francesca ducked under his kick and struck a palm-strike to his stomach. Larz used the forward momentum of the palm and the momentum he was losing from his kick to lift Francesca and slam her to the ground. He lifted his foot to axe kick her in the torso then backed away. He only let himself hit someone while they are down once whenever he sparred for fun. Cringing from his axe kick, Francesca watched him as he backed away.
"I'm on the ground, my defenses are gone, and any attacks I throw at you from this position will be half of my usual strength. I know you know that, so why don't you end it?"
"Because, I'm having fun!" he said with a smile he was a little proud at how he beat her so soon but now that his blood was racing he was going to fight for a while, this gave her a chance to show what she had too since he was curious because he didn't give her a chance to really fight offensively. He kept on bouncing while waiting for her to get up.
"Wipe the smirk off your face, I'm not beaten just yet," she said, getting up.
"Alright let’s go!" he said planting his feet. He would now fight with more power cutting his speed 20%. This was when he fought defensively or against people who are seriously tough.
Francesca lunged forward, aiming a kick to his torso. Larz hated blocking the traditional way so he did one better and blocked with his leg by lifting his knee. While being creative he used this to his advantage and hooked his ankle to her and lifted it to throw her off balance. He used this new avenue for a full charge attack at her by sliding forward and hitting her with all that force with his back. This had huge force which could send people flying. Francesca's eyes widened as he caught her off balance, but she recovered and bounced back on her hands and back to her feet, missing his next attack by what seemed to be less than an inch. Crouching down from the momentum from her weight, Francesca used that force to push herself at Larz, grabbing his shirt and pushing him to the ground and landing on top of him. Her hand was still gripping his shirt and pinning him to the ground. Larz didn't expect to be pinned but close range was where he could be deadly. He took hold of the arm grabbing him and began pressing into a pressure point on her hand. This would loosen her grip from him and give him a little more room to get back up. Francesca winced as he pressed her pressure point and loosened her grip. He pushed her off him and backed away again. He would have to be more careful when he got really close. Francesca resumed her fighting stance. ‘Time for a little judo,‘ he thought playfully. Larz moved forward and grabbed Francesca's arm, shifting his body in a “U” shaped motion trying to toss her over the shoulder. Francesca swung over his back and pulled her arm from his grip. She then crouched down and spun her outstretched leg to trip him. Larz was surprised but he remembered the fun of his favorite Brazilian style. He caught himself with his arms and spun up into a handstand. It was an awkward way to fight but when it came to surprising people this took the cake. Still crouched down, Francesca brought her leg back from the trip. She raised an eyebrow at his technique and threw a kick with her other leg to his stomach. As if he were break dancing his feet swung and returned the sweeping motion towards her ankle that was firmly on the ground. This led him to getting hit in the face by the kick. Francesca drew her foot back to her side, and sat, perched like a frog, for a split-second before pouncing like a lioness on her prey. She landed on top of him, sitting on his stomach and holding both hands above his head this time.
"Surrender?"
"Not quite," he said. Francesca was a good fighter but her ground game needed work. Larz quickly kicked her in the back of the head. Few know the power of being flexible, but he had it. Francesca obviously wasn't expecting that, and the shock made her loosen her grip for a few seconds. Larz hated to resorting cheap parlor tricks to get out of these situations. He dislocated both of his arms and used only his shoulder muscle to drag them down to his waist. Then with a loud crack he snapped them back in place like a whip. This helped him gain leverage over the situation. He could now use his arms a bad situation for her. Hearing the crack, Francesca looked around for a hint of what it could be, letting go of almost all of the pressure on Larz's arms. He pushed her off and with his arms pushed off feet first towards her.
"Huh-Oof!" Francesca was cut off by the force of his push. She slid to the side, dodging his next move and touched one hand to ground to balance the momentum of her slide.
"What was that?" she asked.
"One of my least favorite techniques; I dislocate limbs and joints to get out of sticky situations like the one before." He said stretching his arms once again. Francesca made an excellent sparring partner, he was curious at how well she could fight with alchemy.
"Hey! If you allow me to have a weapon, you can use alchemy for this fight," he offered. Of course he may have dug his own grave but he wanted to do something different.
"If you're sure, I guess it's alright with me," she said.
While he wasn't a pure alchemist like Francesca he was well educated in the principles as well as its uses. His only real talent at it was the fact that he could make transmutation circles with just a half inch in diameter.
"Alright," he said, ducking down and making a small transmutation circle in the dirt and rock. Up came a Bo staff about six feet long but it was made out of the metal from the rock in the ground. Larz tested it by spinning it in a skilled fashion. While he spun it he secretively made another small transmutation circle with his finger nail. He carved it accurately and would come to use in the fight to come. Francesca took a fighting stance and waited for him to make the first move. Larz had a theory about how to counter any alchemy towards him, he was going to test it out. He opened with a vertical swing downward towards her head. Something simple to use as a distraction. The vertical attack was a fake attack towards the waist using to other end of the staff. Francesca flashed an evil smile before she sank below the surface of the ground. She appeared again behind his back. She lifted one of his feet up with one of her legs, and used the other to deliver a powerful kick to his side. Larz was definitely caught off guard by the kick to his ribs. Had his ribs not been lined with a very strong metal it could have done serious damage to his lungs. Larz developed a way to counter that move. He got aggressive this time by jabbing at her continuously each one growing faster and faster. This move could rarely be blocked yet alone dodged. The jabs were clearly getting harder and harder to block for Aires. She put her hands together and a portion of the ground shot up and seemed to float in mid air. She used the flying earth to block his next few attacks before the earth went flying toward Larz. Larz never experienced such a thing but he observed someone playing around with electron at the lab he was created in. Larz jumped unto the descending earth using them as stepping stones to jump a height above Francesca. He took another vertical swing at her head. This was coming quickly and could be blocked but it would be painful. Francesca gasped as she saw Larz coming from above. She barely had the time to sink back below the ground as he was almost on top of her. She came back up a few feet from him and took a few deep breaths. Larz cursed under his breath. Like an acrobat he flipped before hitting the ground. He needed an attack for the air. He stomped on the ground, in response the earth rose in a wall and collapsed on top of Larz. He supported over 800 pounds of material over his head with his arms. He launched it straight towards her. It was perfect for hiding himself in the air as well as the perfect platform for fighting in the air. He jumped after the solid rock and grabbed under it. Francesca couldn't see this movement so if it missed he had the element of surprise. Francesca looked up at the flying rock. She held up a hand and it went flying the other way. Larz's plan worked out better than he expected. As he jumped from the rock unto the ground he used the transmutation circle on his staff to create a strong quake in the ground in order to shake Francesca out or at least interrupt her sinking attack. Francesca shrieked as she was forced out of the ground and back to the surface. She used alchemy to break off a piece of earth and pushed it a few feet above the ground. She was now safe from the earth quake. Larz saw her rise and sent his staff straight at the platform. He would crush the earth beneath her feet if he hit it. If he missed he would use it as a make shift pole vault to match her in the air. Seeing the coming Bo, Francesca raised another rock, and dropped the one she was standing on, jumping to the other at last second. She held the rock and waited for Larz to stop the earth quake. Larz hit the ground pretty hard. This was getting tedious. He was tired of going to her so he would let her come to him. He sat down legs crossed closed his eyes and began meditating focusing only on the quake and his wounds which began healing. He knew this seemed like a trap but this was perfect for him to not lose most of his stamina fighting like this. Francesca moved the earth forward a few feet until she was in front of Larz. She crouched to she was close to his face.
"Alright, we've been at this almost an hour, which is more than a human's stamina would permit. You've also been hit with attacks that would have sent some of the strongest of humans flying, but blocked them with no effort at all. You said that you hated your race, so I hope you don't mind me saying, humans are one of the weakest races out there. I'm next to positive that you aren't human, what are you?"
"Well..." he said opening his eyes looking into hers, "I'm a creation of war created by humans. I was built for this kind of combat. The only thing I would say is human about me is the fact that I look like one and I have their emotions, except greed of course." He stopped the quake for a second, picking up his staff and playfully bonking her on the head lightly. "Got'cha," he said, putting it back down. "My organs even function differently because I can live without my human heart." Larz was born(created) and raised in a laboratory going through day after day of tests and alterations. Being born with the best the race had to offer plus more made him the ideal soldier. "I was meant to be a weapon, made to kill and never ask questions."
She laughed lightly as he hit her on the head. "Then why haven't you killed me? It's not like you haven't had any chances."
"I may have considered a year ago. Back then I didn't have any opinions or a personality. I was like you in a way but I chose to hate my people and be almost the exact opposite of them in terms of morals." Larz was like an A.I. machine he only thought when he was given orders. Besides, I may have been born to kill, but that doesn't mean I like to."
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked him, laying down on her stomach so her face could be at level with his though she remained on her rock. "It's not like I held back telling you about me."
"I just don't like the idea of me being an object not someone or something. I think the more I kept it secret the better I felt because I was slowly forgetting about the fact that I am a tool and that’s it. I'm sorry I kept it from you but it was for that reason." He looked away when he apologized he was wrong to keep such a thing from her but he never liked saying that he was created or born to kill with only a few words.
Francesca sighed and looked to the horizon on her right, turning her head away from Larz. "Born to kill and raised in a lab? Sheesh, I thought I had it tough," she said, not looking at him.
Larz didn't have anything to say after that. He hated the awkward silences between them. In an attempt to break it he said, "You're an extraordinary fighter," Larz fought a lot in the lab and with the mage but Francesca was better than mostly everyone he fought even without using alchemy.
She smiled and looked back to him, still on her stomach. "Thank you, you're not so bad yourself," she said.
Larz huffed a little quietly laughing "Thanks," Larz said getting up. He was curious about Francesca's trick but it would have to wait. Larz had the feeling they were being watched which based on research was one of the best human instincts.
4
"Humans!" a voice called out. "My name is Kimena of the Thunder Sun Tribe. I have been given word of a war in this region. Are you one of those who have been given the same notice?" she asked with a light English accent.
"Huh-Woah!" Francesca's concentration was diverted away from her rock and it crashed down to the ground with a 'thud.' She groaned from the impact.
Larz blood ran cold when he was called "human." He looked over to Francesca and offered a hand to help her up. He turned toward the new being which he didn't recognize.
"I was not." he stated blankly, which was his most common response to new people.
Francesca took his hand and looked to the Kimena. She inspected the girl for a second, and then she nodded in agreement with Larz.
"Can we help you?" she asked, somewhat coldly.
Kimena nodded in greeting. "I apologize for the misidentity," she said to Francesca. "It's turning dark as we speak and it is not easy to concentrate after a whole day's running," she explained. She then looked to Larz. "Who are you? You appear to be Human but you deny it?”
Remembering his mission, Larz calmed down. "I'm Larz. Larz Dracule. I am human as you speak I was merely thinking of something else." Larz spoke in his usual emotionless yet polite tone the one he developed for interactions with others.
Francesca yawned and turned around. "I'm gonna head inside," she said, "I'll see you guys later."
Larz didn't want Francesca to go. Definitely not with a creature he was not aware of. In an attempt to leave also he stretched out "I think I'll head in too," he said, also turning also turning around. "Until later, Kimena."
Francesca put up a hand as a farewell gesture as she continued to walk toward the rooms. Larz had the same path as Francesca so he would just trail behind her until he had to break off and head a separate way in order to go to the tower. He wanted to say something to Francesca but words for some reason have left him. As he walked he looked out into the area the sun was going down and the buildings reflected the red-orange glow of the sky. It was a magnificent sight but Larz was not the type of person that would ogle at such a thing.
Francesca stopped and turned to face Larz. She waited for him to catch up and smiled a bit.
"Mind if I join you tonight? I'm already sick of my room, and who knows? Maybe the life of a hobo was meant for me," she said.
Larz owed Francesca for last night plus it was good to have company. "Sure," he said. He found it funny that the bell tower was seen as a hobo hangout. From out of nowhere, a fairy flew to Francesca’s shoulder and landed gracefully.
Francesca's eyes widened as she quickly grabbed the fairy and held it to her face. Seeing who it was, she let out an annoyed groan.
"Great, it's you," she said.
Gasping for air, the fairy held out her hand. "Settle down you wacko," she squeaked out. "Truce! Truce!"
Francesca glared at the small body in her hands, but released her grip on her. "What do you want?"
"Who is this?" Larz asked with curiosity. He knew it was a Fae, but Francesca knew, or at least acted like she knew, her. He kept his distance because from the way Francesca talked to her he knew she didn't like her in the least, not that that was surprising to him.
Francesca let out a deep breath. "This is Lunelle," she said through her teeth. "Lunelle, meet Larz."
"Hello Lunelle," Larz said blankly, just to be polite.
"Hey you guys!" Maya shouted to them.
"Hey," Francesca said.
When he saw Maya he waved. "Hey Maya."
After a moment had passed and Lunelle still hadn’t left, Francesca seemed to surrender. "Alright, fine, whatever. I won't try to kill you if you don't push bags of sand on top of me,'' she said sarcastically, holding out a finger as a substitute hand shake for the girl's tiny hand.
Yawning, the girl turned to Maya. "’Ello, poppet." Then she started to glow, which obviously got on Francesca’s nerves. "You know, you've got fat fingers," she said, grabbing Francesca’s pinkie with her tiny hand she shook it and smiled sarcastically.
Francesca held up her hand as if she was going to flick her away, but stopped herself. "Larz, I'm gonna head up to the bell tower, I'll meet you up there, 'kay?" she said through her teeth.
Lunelle ducked and covered to avoid Francesca’s flick. When she realized there was no threat, she smiled. She whispered something into Francesca's ear.
Francesca’s face got red hot. She clenched her teeth and her eyes got wide. This time she didn't resist. She lifted her fingers and flicked the tiny body away from her. "You can never mind that truce we were discussing!" she shouted after her.
Larz was a little amazed at how Francesca took the constant teasing the little fae gave her. He didn't hear what she said in her ear, but it must have been the final straw because she flicked Lunelle far into high heaven. He walked up closer to Francesca and asked, "What did she just say to you so that you’re fuming?"
"Oh, uh, nothing," she replied, stuttering. "Like I said, I'm gonna go now." She headed to her room, not waiting for Larz.
‘I wonder what she said to her...’ Larz thought to himself, looking off in the direction Lunelle went flying. Larz wasn't in a hurry so he walked at leisurely pace towards the tower. Francesca would most likely beat him there but it didn't matter to him at the moment. Larz reached the door to the tower and climbed the stairs silently. He saw Francesca on the floor next to the computers. Even with the wooden floor, Larz walked completely silent behind Francesca until he was looking right over her shoulder and asked, "Are you curious?"
Francesca let out a small shriek. "Larz!" she breathed. "I-I'm sorry. I-I-I was j-just, Y'know, looking," she stuttered.
Larz smiled "It's alright; I was just joking around with you. Are you really that curious about these?" he asked, pointing to the computers wondering how they captured her curiosity like that.
"What are they?" she asked.
"They're computers. Mainly used to calculate and store large amounts of information." Larz was lucky she didn't grab the marked one but he did hide that well. This one was to store any important information he found here. He wasn't good at explaining things with a proper example. He used this one as one. "Take it apart if you'd like."
She looked up at him and blinked a few times. "Maybe later," she said. She stood up. "You tired? 'Cause to me, it feels like the day flew by," she said.
"Yeah, the day did go by quickly. I'm not that tired though, are you?" he said, looking out unto the balcony they were into the last couple of minutes of sunlight.
"No," she said. "Y-you didn't happen to hear what Lunelle whispered in my ear before, did you?" she asked nervously.
"No I didn't," he turned his head looking back at her. "What did she say to you?"
"Oh, uh, n-nothing," she said. She turned away.
"What did she say?"
He knew now it was bothering her so he continued to pry into the situation.
"It's nothing," she insisted. "She just said something," she paused, "stupid. She just said something stupid." She walked over to the window and looked at the setting sun. "Y'know? I guess I am kinda tired. Maybe I'll just hit the hay."
Larz was becoming more interested with what Lunelle said. He noticed that it must be nerve racking for Francesca because she was stuttering and becoming more dismissive. He walked toward the window and stood beside Francesca. He could see her red face now.
"If it's so stupid, why did you bring it up? And why is your face so red after you brought it up?" he asked as though he was having a normal conversation with her.
She shrugged. "I dunno, but, I'm goin' to bed. Goodnight," she said. She laid out a pillow and blanket and fell straight to sleep.
Larz did not require sleep this night, so he sat on the edge of the balcony watching the sun go down. It was a new moon tonight, meaning it was going to be very dark out. A few minutes after the sun went down, Larz turned to see Francesca in anguish again in her sleep. By the time he went to the side of her bed, she was up screaming. This wasn't the first time Larz saw her like this.
"Was it the same nightmare?" he asked calmly, trying to calm down Francesca. Larz was no longer concerned about the trivial little tease Lunelle made towards he but concerned that Francesca, his close friend, was going to be alright.
Francesca shook, and before he knew it, she had thrust herself at him, and quickly wrapped her arms around his waste.
Larz held Francesca firmly, trying to get her to calm down. Larz didn't know why she was so scared this time; she usually forgot the nightmare after waking up. He couldn't do much but try to calm her down.
"It's all right," he said, remaining calm.
Lunelle came up behind them, and took out a stick. She gracefully tapped it to Francesca’s foot and said, “Now you’re not going insane.” It was probably some sort of power or spell Fae’s used to calm themselves down, but it did not seem to be working on Francesca.
“No,” she whispered over and over into Larz’s chest.
Larz let Francesca cry. He couldn't do much less or much more but hold onto her firmly and let her cry. No questions came to mind as he tried to get her to calm down.
"Will you tell me what happened?" he asked trying to here her fear and know what was causing her this much sorrow.
She nodded her head into his shirt and looked up at him. The tears stopped falling and the trembling stopped. "I remember my nightmare," she said. Her voice was high pitched, clouded by her crying. "I remember the day..." she trailed off and took a deep breath. “My mother died," she finished. She shivered and pulled herself away from Larz. "I know it's stupid to cry about loosing somebody but," her voice got high-pitched again. She looked away from him. She had been so strong up until this moment, but now she was a completely different girl.
Larz wanted to sympathize, or at least prove her wrong that was stupid to cry over the loss of someone, but he did not know what it felt like to lose someone. He wasn't thinking about himself at the moment, and he probably wouldn't for a while. He was focusing mainly on Francesca. He felt she needed him or at least someone to talk to.
"What was she to you?" he asked about her mother. This would help Francesca figure out her feelings by showing herself what her mother meant to her.
Francesca thought a moment before coming up with an answer. "She was everything...All I had," she replied softly.
"Wouldn't you have felt even a little sad after losing your world, your everything?" Larz kept on asking questions until he found something that could bring her to peace.
"But-" Francesca stopped. "Yeah, I guess," she whispered.
"Then you shouldn't be so harsh to yourself about feeling sad for your loss." Larz said, "It's alright to feel sad for loss."
Francesca looked as though she was going to reply, but was interrupted by Kimena’s cries. “Ogres! Ogre attacking!” she screamed.
5
“Hear that?” asked Francesca. Her voice had changed back to normal; instead of the little girl she had been before.
"Unfortunately yes," Larz said in disgust. He was not in the killing mood. Larz heard it crystal clear coming from behind the stables. He guessed that Francesca heard it if not she would find out soon enough. "Lets go see what’s going on," he said, turning to the stairs.
"Woah!" Francesca exclaimed as an arrow whizzed past her head, hardly missing. "No joke, c'mon!" She didn't wait for his reply as she ran down the steps.
Larz followed after Francesca outside to see a large number of ogres. He wasted no time in killing the closest one to him by ripping the flesh right off of the side of its neck. It died nearly instantly. He watched it fall which just made his mood worse. He was going to drag out the next couple of deaths.
He dropped the flesh he ripped out a few moments ago and licked some of the blood off his hands.
It was bitter.
Just as Larz was about to finish the last three, an arrow whizzed by his head. Larz turned to see the centaur fired them and killed the final. She dropped her bow and gasped.
"Took you guys long enough!" she scolded.
Francesca glared at her. "If you don't want us we'll leave," she said coolly.
"I don't believe I was obliged to help in the first place," Larz said coldly. He wiped the blood and flesh off of his hands. "You should be happy we came at all, it doesn't look like you would have lasted much longer on your own."
Francesca nodded her head in agreement. She then went down to the lake to wash the blood off her hands.
The silence of the grounds was interrupted by a burst of fire. At first there was nothing, merely a crater; the remains of the flame. Then, in just the blink of an eye, a boy appeared. He closed his eyes and sent out a flame from his hand, and left nothing of the ogre’s bodies but ashes. He looked up them and justified his actions.
"I hate bodies."
Francesca looked up at the boy. Her eyes narrowed. "Who the heck are you to just barge in here like that?" she asked him.
'What a waste,' Larz thought. All the ogres had weapons and armor they could have used as resources. However, his attention was still focused on the centauress who made seemed at a loss of words. The young witch that had assisted them started to leave, but Francesca was faster than she was.
"Hey! You okay?" she shouted after her.
She looked at Francesca and narrowed her eyes. The only thing she did was make a muffled noise, "Mmm." She then turned and walked away.
Francesca turned her glare back on the new boy.
The boy matched her dirty look and simply replied. "Call me Sam. What's it to ya?"
Francesca pinched her lips together and gave him an even worse look. "Well, Sam, you just ruined potential supplies. 'Not liking bodies' is no excuse to randomly go torching a bunch of corpses wearing valuable armors."
The witch stopped yet again and turned around. She walked over to the boulder. She closed her eyes and held out her hand. The rock started to shake and eventually it started lifting off the ground. She set the thing down gently to the side and looked at the spot where it had been laying. There was armor that was crushed but some would still be useful.
"Hope that helps," she mumbled.
Francesca looked at what the witch had done. "Thanks," she said. She stood over the armor and simply transmuted all the metals into one large block. The centauress stepped in.
"I thank you for disposing of the bodies, but I agree with the Elf that we could've used the armor and saved my arrows for future battles." she said.
"Would you like me to fix that for you?" she asked without much enthusiasm in her voice, referring to Kimena’s obviously broken leg.
All of a sudden Larz grew more aware of the situation. Sam's flame did not get rid of the scent of ogres meaning there was one still alive retreating to who knows where. He would have to track down that deserter and kill him before he gave news to the main tribe. That attack group was way to small to be a full attack force.
"I'm going hunting," he said, disappearing quickly to the north into the wood.
6
Larz followed the scent deep into the wood and stopped.
He lost the scent.
This was never good but worse for him but then he suddenly heard crackling of a fire. He silently followed this sound to a huge gulch in the wood and right under the cliff was a huge number of ogres dancing, drinking, and eating wild turkeys and boar. The funny thing was that he was right not only were those ogres too few in number but they were but also too small. These had at least six feet over the ones just killed.
'I hate it when I'm right.' he thought as he moved as silently as possible.
He turned around to see the ogre he had been stalking. It was armed with a war hammer looking directly at him.
'Not good.' he thought preparing for a massive fight between the entire tribe of ogres.
He didn't have time to think as the ogre facing him attacked him quickly slamming its hammer vertically screaming in a huge deafening battle cry. This alerted the group eating and drinking. They all got up quickly and stampeded towards Larz. This gave him exactly 20 seconds to react. Instead of dealing with one he attacked the first couple of ogres heading toward him. He was going to fight conservatively aiming for one hit strikes in the spines and neck of his enemies.
Things were getting bad as Larz was out numbered to a huge degree. Suddenly, the centauress from before ran into the clearing and started yelling and waving her arms.
"Hey! Mono kishnika! Mala mi'sene Dominska!" She yelled, making kicking motions with her hind legs. The ogres forgot about Larz, and they charged for her, where she grinned and started to run.
 Carnivorous Bytes · Fri Nov 23, 2007 @ 02:05am · 0 Comments |
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