A Nipponese Ninja in King Aragorn's Court

[Ryu Hayabusa]

The shinobi sat upon his steed trying to work out where to go. While the steel gate looked reminiscent of days gone past the troops, the ones with the guns, Ryu didn’t want to get anywhere near that. Furthermore, jungles or a beach, that didn’t seem like his cup of tea right now either. However the gate with the hewn stone, the one he saw soldiers coming through with spears, that one did look promising. He knew that his sword would fair better against a spear than a gun if push came to shove so he set off once more. With a slow trot his horse turned and headed back towards the fountain, he remembered that the gate he was looking for was directly opposite from the one he was currently in front of. Nudging his colt on the horse picked up speed, however still traveling well under its max as Ryu had found out but a few hours earlier.

He soon came upon the fountain, or as it appeared at this time, a floating hourglass, grains of sand, at least that's what the ninja thought it was, flowing down peacefully. As the last grain reached the bottom half the timer flipped itself over and started the process anew. Ryu was fascinated by this development, still trying to take in as much of his new surroundings as he could. He nudged his horse again and he picked up the pace again, with the ninja turning his attention back to the looming gate of stone off in the distance. Sooner than he thought the clean-cut stones were clearly distinguishable from one another and the purple “ooze” pulsated outwards and he drew nearer to it. He reared the horse, stopping within inches of the gate. Peering into it was no use, he couldn’t see to the other side. Ryu thought of what he might find on the other side, but as he continued to question it the horse grew impatient. He trotted forward, entering the purple gel, bringing Ryu along with him.

Cold washed over the ninja as he passed through the gate, his eyes shut, not wanting to think about what he might see. However in that same instant it was gone. He left a rush of chilled air, heard the song of birds, and slowly opened his eyes. A bright yellow sun hung within the sky, clouds dotting the blue horizon. The gate sit upon a hill, looking out over a lush forest and grasslands below him. In the distance a castle, beautiful white shimmering as the sun danced off the clean stone.

“Next time wait for my signal,” he said down to his horse as he nudged him again and they set off down the side of the hill towards the castle. How could this be real? He had come from a room of pure white to a real world. Ryu shifted in his saddle as the horse kept his pace. He leaned to the left, running his fingertips through the grass as he rode further down the hill. It was real grass alright. How is this possible? He couldn’t believe it. Nothing to something, and all separated by a stupid gate. He readjusted himself and continued on, snapping the reins against the horse signifying he wanted to speed up. His companion complied and before he it he was again racing along the terrain at top speed. He had to admit to himself that this was definitely nicer to look at then the plan white place he had been before.

He heard a squawk from above and turned his attention skywards to see a group of birds darting every which way as a horse with wings dove through them, scattering the birds to the wind. Ryu’s mouth hung ajar as he saw a rider on the back of the horse with wings…Why….I mean how...I me….when can I get me one of them?

“Ow, watch out will ya?” came a shout that broke through the amazement Ryu was feeling at the moment. Being brought back to reality he shifted his gaze to in front of him only to see a large man in heavy full plate armor blocking his path. The ninja reacted as quickly as he could, but there was not enough time to salvage the situation. He pulled hard on the reins to the right and the horse skid, trying to stop himself. The momentum they had built up led to the horse flipping end over end. Ryu threw himself from the saddle, planting a hand on the ground and propelling himself back to his feet. The horse, on the other hand, was not so lucky. With a sickening snap that rang through the air his two front legs broke apart, bones splintering out from his shins. 

“Ooooh, tough luck friend, horses are a bit expensive in these parts, I’m sure you’re aware, but that’s what you get for not paying attention.”

Ryu shrugged off these words, maybe Sir Talks Alot needed to him his own business and learn to sidestep. 

“Well, I made this horse...I wonder if…” he trailed off as he walked over to the horse. Stretching out his arms again the horse began to glow with the same brilliant rainbow of colors.

“Oh so you’re a Prime are you, well isn’t that handy…”

The process stopped, Ryu was distracted. 

“Sure, whatever you say, do you mind giving me a minute here, kinda my first time doing this.”

“Oh, yea, sure thing.”

Thankful for just a moment of silence Ryu concentrated again. He wasn’t sure if he could heal the horse, and well, he really didn’t want to try and fail with this guy here, so instead, he thought of just one thing, taking whatever Omnilium that he had used to summon the horse, and extract it back into his body. It appeared to be working, the form of the horse, again lit up in a brilliant display of colors began to shrink. Slowly it worked its way down until it was nothing but a ball, floating upwards and towards the ninja. It entered his chest and dissipated into his body.

“Now, what was that you were saying about being a Prime?”

Going towards quest One of the Men
1194 Words according to site counter

[Ryu Hayabusa]

“Names Delaney, Alton Delaney, one of the fine knights and protectors of the Kingdom. I was currently on my way to check on a nearby village. The elder you seem he came by the castle the other day…”

Ryu listened to the man drone on. He hadn’t asked his life story, he had simply asked about being a Prime. Unfortunately it Alton as it were, was too busy explaining his family at this point to notice the look on the shinobi’s face.

“And my boy, oh you should see him. Only 12 but already a marksman with a bow and arrow. He’s got a future he does. Anyways, why don’t you tag along, I could always use an extra hand, and who knows, maybe we can talk about while we walk.”

The ninja shrugged. This seemed like as good a place as any to start trying to find some answers, and with the added benefit of helping a village. He didn’t care so much for the people, but he was itching for a fight. He didn’t know yet what he could do in this new world. He turned to follow Alton down the road, on foot down keeping pace with the slow trot of the knights Quarter Horse. He eyed the man with a certain suspicion but kept it to himself.

“So, you said earlier that I am a Prime. What exactly does that mean?”

“Oh come of it now boyo you know perfectly well what it means dontcha? Omni himself told you.”  Alton looked back down at Ryu, who still had a puzzled look on his face. “Are you kidding me...boy, you sure are green. A Prime...how do I put this? A Prime can summon things, like that horse of yours, you can get wicked strong let me tell you. One day boyo, you’ll soon be stronger than me.”

Ryu didn’t like that last little jab. Stronger than him. Hmph, let see how you fair without that armor on, big man. Still, it was more to go on than he had before, although it still wasn’t much. He took it in though, processing what Alton had told him, but it didn’t appear to be that much more than he already knew. He already knew he could summon things. He had proven that in the Nexus. Strong through, was it tied to Omnilium? He didn’t know, and it appeared Alton might not be the best source of information.

They continued to walk down the road, Alton explaining the region's history to Ryu, and how he had never been out of the verse, never seen the shocking white of the Nexus, or even the Tangled Greens or the Pale Moors, which neighbored Camelot. He told Ryu of how he became a knight of Camelot, and about his father who was a farmer. Ryu tried to sneak back in one follow up question about Primes before he was shouted over by Alton about another Pegasus in the sky. At least Ryu knew one thing new out of this trip. They talked about Ryu’s past, or what little of it he could remember.

“Ah...yea...dontchu worry about that none boyo, I hear that’s common with most Primes. It’s all fuzzy, Oh don’t worry, you should get most of it back, or some, maybe some of it back over time. Oh look, here we are, and not a moment too soon, it’ll be dark soon. Don’t want to be caught in the wilderness after dark, there’s more than just bears out there. The Knight was right. Ryu could see the sun quickening its retreat over the hills to the west.

“Alton, welcome! Thank Omni King Aragorn is a man of his word. WIth your help, we’ll get these homes repaired in no time. Who is your friend?”

Homes? Did he just say repair homes?

“Oh this boyo, this is Ryu. Met him on the way here, he’s a Prime.” Alton seemed to lower his voice and lean in towards his friend, nudging him with his elbow as he did. “He’ll be assisting in whatever is needed over the next few days, trust me, he’s good people.”

Of course I am. Just go ahead and sign me up Alton. Repairing huts gah, I thought this was going to be fun.

“Well, any friend of Alton is a friend of mine. Names Gus. Come. We didn’t expect Alton to bring a friend, but not to worry, not to worry, we always make plenty of food and have pl...”

The ninja shook his head, cutting Gus off before he could finish.

“It’s fine, I’m not hungry. Maybe just show me to where I can sleep and I’ll be fine for the evening.” He was a little short with his delivery, but what did they expect. He had been shanghaied into helping a poor village repair their homes.

“Ah sure...right this way.” Gus led him to a small hut on the outskirt of the village. Two rickety beds lined the far wall with a single night stand in between. He looked up, he could see the moon through the half a roof that was missing. “Alton will be staying here as well,” Gus said as he turned around.Of course he is  “and if you change your mind about dinner, you’re more than welcome.”

The ninja thanked Gus with a nod and shut the door, the top right of it missing as well. Turning he unlatched his sword from his back, slinging it over his shoulder and into his hands. He placed it in the corner of the room, between his bed and the wall. As he got on the bed he reached into his pouch, pulling duck from his pouch. He ran his fingers over it as he lay on his back, looking at the waning crescent moon casting brightly down upon in, the stars twinkling in the sky around it. He placed the duck back within his pouch and rolled to his side, facing the wall, and his sword.

WC:1175

Total:2369

[Ryu Hayabusa]

The night was peaceful, well except for Alton stumbling him drunk halfway through the night. The had stumbled into Ryu’s bed, shaking the ninja awake. He hazily remembered reached for his katana before realizing Alton was simply a sloppy drunk and rolling back over. A rooster crowed awakening the ninja, The light of the sun poured in through the missing roof and Ryu sluggishly got up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and exited the shack he called home for the next few days. He had agreed to help but didn’t expect manual labor to be required. Maybe he should have listened to the knight more carefully the day before, maybe he mentioned it. Ryu shook his head and started walking. He didn’t have any place in mind, but if he was to spend the next few days here, he might as well get a feel for the area.

He took a right from the cabin and made his way down towards what appeared to be a fire pit. One single table, at least twenty feet long sit next to a massive pit, embers still hot from the previous night. A few villagers, mostly women were out early, setting places and preparing a meal. He passed the table and fire pit, nodding to them as he passed and continued to a fork in the road. Veering to the right it ended up leading down to a stream. He noticed a few others, cleaning cloths, or fishing, it appeared this village might not be all bad. Ryu stepped close to the stream and knelt down, cupping his hands to fill with water. When he had his hands overflowing with the liquid he brought it to his face, splashing the cold refreshing water against his bare skin.

The temperature shocked the shinobi a bit, even further waking him up. He got back up, and turned, heading back up the hill he had descended from. As he got back to the main square he noticed Gus and Alton sitting across from one another in the center of the table, deep in discussion.

“I’m just one man Alton, and I’m not as young as I once was, neither are you. If the King could just send two maybe three men to help...nevermind that, look who's back, looks like I owe you 20 gold Alton. I thought you’d turn tail and run once you found out the help we needed but Alton here assured me you were well aware before you agreed, he laid out everything for you. Sit, sit you must be famished. Let me grab you a plate. Ryu took a seat at the table next to Alton who gave him a hearty slap on the back as he did.

“Gus is a good people, but he’s seen much. He doesn’t easily trust newcomers, even at the word of an old friend.”

Ryu shrugged, he didn’t care what Gus or any of them thought of him. He’d finish his work here and be on his way. Gus returned with a plate stacked full. Eggs with bacon, burnt black. A wedge of bread and a goblet of ale. The ninja was starving but didn’t quite want to show just how famished he was, he ate slowly. The food was fine, bland, but he hadn’t expected much. After washing everything down with the ale he turned to Gus.

“What type of repairs are we talking about?”

“Oh, nothing too hard for a Prime I would assume. The last storm that blew through was a doozy, took out a few houses and damaged plenty more, as I’m sure you’ve noticed from your quarters last night.”

Ryu remembered all too well. “Alright, well let's get started,” he said, rising from the table as he did.

“That's the spirit boyo!”

They set off from the table and made their way east. A small patch of trees had been cleared. Before them lay two ruined estates. Walls and roof collapsed in on the plot. The ninja couldn’t help but hope that the occupants either hadn’t been home when the storm hit or that they at least made it out safely. Three or four men were already at work, clearing away rubble, by the looks of it trying to salvage anything they could to make the rebuilding that much easier.

“This is one affected area. We’ll be rebuilding two houses here. I’ll have you start with gathering the lumber needed.” Gus handed Ryu an ax. “Head out of the village in any direction and you’ll come across some trees, trust me they’re hard to miss. I think, twenty should be good. Come back when you’re done, I can send a few men back with you to bring them back.”

The ninja grabbed the ax and set out. He would rather be swinging the ax at someone rather than a tree, but his word was his word. Whether Alton had actually told him the truth, he would never know. He was here now, so he would finish what he started. His word was his bond. After traveling for ten or so minutes the ninja came across one said patch of trees. Each oak stood nearly twenty feet high. No wonder Gus had said such a few amount would do.

He took the ax in hand and reared it back. With a powerful swing, he dug deep into the trunk. The tree damn near split at the spot as his ax drove into the bark. Impressed by his strength he tugged the ax free and switched sides. Rearing back once more he took another shot at the trunk. His ax connected with his mark and his cleaved through the trunk, through his previous cut, and out the other side. The tree crashed down due to the missing bit of trunk and teetered for a moment before crashing down upon the groves grassy ground with a deafening thud. Without a moment's pause, he turned to the next tree and began the same routine. Hacking and chopping the trees was at least calming for the ninja. Out here he didn’t have to answer questions or feel the stares on his back from the townsfolk.

It took him the rest of the morning, but by noon the shinobi had cut down his quota and twenty trees lay on the grassy floor of the clearing. Ryu looked around. He brought an arm to his brow to wipe the sweat away. Clutching the ax he threw it to the ground, planting the blade within the grass and the handle sticking upwards. He looked at the massive trees he had cut down and wondered if this new place offered him any sort of extra strength. Surely it offered some, he doubted he would have been able to cleave trees the way he did back home, but maybe that was all his strength was good for. He bent at the knees over a single tree and wrapped his arms around it. Forcing himself to stand up straight he was amazed that the tree came with him, it wasn’t quite as heavy as he imagined. Or maybe it was his own strength had seemed to quadruple in the Omniverse.

He didn’t stop to think much about it as he arraigned the tree so it sat on his shoulder with his arm curled around the outside, gripping as much of it as he could. He picked the ax up by the handle as he passed and walked back towards the village. Arriving he could see many sitting down at the long table, digging into what looked like dozens of roasted chickens. He made his way closer, before dropping the tree and ax and heading over to eat. He had worked up quite the hunger chopping down those trees and would likely not hide it at this time. A place was open again next to Alton and the ninja quickly claimed the spot.

“Trees all chopped down,” he started, before shoving a whole drumstick in his mouth. As he pulled it back the meat was entirely gone from the bone. He chewed, continuing to talk while he did. “Shoodent ‘e oo ong br’ng ose rees ‘ack ‘ere,” his mouth was still full of food, Gus looked at him as though he seemed to understand, although Alton and a few nearby showed confused looks, not quite aware of what Ryu had forced out between the chicken meat.

Gus didn’t seem to mind. “It looks like it. Perhaps after we eat I’ll have you bring the lumber up here by yourself,” he started, looking over the ninja’s shoulder at the one tree already returned. “It appears you don’t need help with it. That will leave me the extra pair of hands here to finish clearing the rubble. We didn’t expect you to be done so soon.” Ryu agreed between two more bites of chicken and then piled some corn onto his plate, he was going to make sure he got his fill before being sent back to work.

WC:1540
Total 3909

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Washing everything down with some ale the ninja rose from his seat at the table and ventured back to his clearing. Nineteen trees still lay upon the ground. He looked down on his handiwork and started to ponder how best to transport the trees. I could carry them two at a time, although that leaves ten more trips. No, that would take too long... He fought over the idea’s in his head, finally deciding to conjure some rope and tie the logs together before hauling them up the hill. He sat down on the ground, his legs crossed. He wanted summoning to become natural to him, or at least, not as foreign as it currently felt.

He concentrated on his rope. He left the Omnilium swell within him and before too long twenty feet of rope lay before him. Satisfied Ryu stood and began to work. He looped the rope around five huge tree trunks and then tied it off with a fisherman's knot. He examined the knot, and the logs, ensuring nothing was too loose. He didn’t want to lose a log on his way back up the hill towards the village. He gripped the loose ends of the rope with both hands, turned so his arms hung behind his body and started to walk forward.

It was slow going. Even if one tree had been no big deal, now he had five in tow. He pulled with all his might but the trees weighed him down as he moved. With each step, it felt as though the ninja was having to give it everything he had. Slowly though he began to pick up his pace. He had found his rhythm. Left foot, then right, left then right. He almost seemed as though he had to remind himself how to walk, but it was working. As he reached the top of the hill he let out a sigh, however, the struggle was far from over. He leaned forward and stepped forward with all his might. Then another, beads of sweat condensing on his face. He struggled with the last push but finally made it.

He looked towards the log brought up prior to lunch. Already six men were around it with saws, chisels and hammers, and shaves, taking the bark off the tree. He stumbled over to them, before untying the rope.

“You could just summon a horse and carriage you know,” one of the workers said as Ryu began coiling the rope for his second trip.

“You’re probably right, but this seems much more fun,” the ninja replied. In all honesty, the horse and carriage idea sounded great, why hadn’t he thought of it. That being said, Ryu wasn’t going to change his plans just because some villager told him a better way to do it. No, Ryu had thought of the rope and dragging, he was going to stick with it, even if it was far more painful than walking beside a horse-drawn carriage.

He made his way back down the hill once more, repeating the process of tying the trees together, grabbing the rope and pulling. As he reached the top of the hill this time around he had a momentary lapse in judgment and relaxed just a moment too soon. Gravity is a bitch, and when it comes to a few tons worth of wood, well, it works marvels. The trees tumbled back down, crashing into the ground below, leaves and bark flying every which way. Damnit to hell was all that passed through his mind as Ryu descended the hill for a third time, only to be grabbing the same bundle of trees again. This time he waited until he was at his previous drop off point before relaxing, loosening up his knot and coiling it back up again for his penultimate trip.

His third go with the trees went much smoother than either trip before. Not only did he find his stride faster, but he made damn sure not to let up before he was home. By this time the shavers had finished with the first tree and had moved onto the second. A few of the other workers had stopped to take a drink of water, something Ryu realized he was desperately in need of as well. His mouth was dry and his throat felt as though it was cracking on the inside. He walked over to where they stood and took a horn for himself. Splashing it into the jar the water splashed around it as the horn filled itself to the brim. Ryu took a long drink, tilting his head back to try and get every last drop. Water trickled down the sides of his mouth and down his chin as he drank deep, quenching the dying thirst that he had.

He made his way back down one last time, rope coiled and slung over his shoulder. Even though it was just four trees remaining Ryu found this trip the most difficult. His legs gave way a few times as he made the journey back. With the extra rope from only having to tie four logs, Ryu decided to wrap this load around his torso, leaving his hands free to grip and claw at the hillside as he struggled to get up. He even resorted to using two of his daggers to dig into the dirt at one point to avoid slipping all the way back down. Finally after nearly two hours of struggling he made it to the top, exhausted and drenched in his own sweat. He tugged and pulled, finally reaching his destination, and untied the length of rope from his body.

He peered around. The workers that had been working had stopped. The sun hung low in the west, soon it would be dipping over the hills. The smell of cooked meat filled the air and gave way to a rumble deep within the ninja’s stomach. He hurried to the packed table. Again a seat next to Alton was saved, however, Gus was also absent from his place. The shinobi looked around, spotting the village elder standing by the shack Alton and Ryu were sharing.

“...Midnight tomorrow, that's your deadline. Have it by then, or we’ll be back.” It was hard to hear the voices over the chatter at the table but Ryu clearly made out that threat. Gus hurried back to the table, obviously shaken by the interaction, but it appeared Ryu was the only one who noticed.

“There you are Gus, we were missing you,” Alton started as he piled another helping of potatoes on his plate. Gus shot back a meek smile as he too loaded his plate with food, roasted turkey and potatoes with some form of tossed greens to go along with it.

Ryu was busy shoving food into his mouth when he looked up and made eye contact with Gus.

“...So I see you managed to get all the trees up here in half a day. My, what great luck we had when Alton crossed paths with you…” He trailed off, but Ryu felt as though he could sense the meaning. The rest of the meal Gus was abnormally quiet, at least from what Ryu had been used to. He too ate in silence, the joyous ruckus from around the table created a pleasant ringing in his ears but he felt no inclination to join in.

Dinner ended and Ryu stepped away from the table and back into his shack. The Dragon Sword lay propped between his bed and the wall, exactly where he had left it the night before. It rang funny that the ninja had left it where it lay, not donning it like he normally did every morning. His legs ached and pain cut through his musing. He started upwards towards the moon, now nothing but a sliver in the night sky. He turned and sat on his bed, focusing his thoughts towards the roof above his head. Again he felt the Omnilium swelling from within and it wasn’t too long before he could sense a darkness embrace him. He opened his eyes and the room indeed looked darker. He peered up noticing his craftsmanship. Maybe it wasn’t the prettiest of jobs, but for his first time, it wasn’t too shabby.

“Way to go boyo” his voice cut through the silence of the shack, Ryu only now realizing Alton had entered. “What did I tell ya, you’re a natural.”

“Alton, who was Gus talking to before he joined us for dinner?”

“Them, oh nothing to worry about boyo. Probably just some traders from up north. Never you mind them,” but Ryu wanted to mind them. He wanted to know what they meant by that threat. Whatever it was, Ryu wasn’t able to dwell on it too long. His legs flared up again, this time with his back joining the symphony of pain. He rolled over onto the bed and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep moments later.

WC: 1519
Total: 5428