Grid: B-16Robin Hood wrote:Reaching the eaves of the forest, they took off their packs, cloaks and anything else that would get in their way. They then entered the forest, all three completely silent. They had not gone far before they entered a small clearing. In front of them were two ninja's, their faces masked and clothed entirely in black. Before they could say or think anything, two more black ninjas stepped out of the trees behind them.
"I think," said Aiden, drawing his rapiers, "that we have been set up."
Location: Forest near village near Daimyo Kash-Lid's fortress, Ninjarin side of Boranis Dracis Island.
"That you have," said a voice. A small stone in front of the companions suddenly shimmered and grew. In a second Cloak the shapeshifter stood in front of them.
If they had been alone, Kae-Os and Aiden would have attacked Cloak the minute he showed himself. But with the four black ninjas surrounding them, assuming that they were the same as the ones Shika had described, it wasn't the wisest of things to do. Instead, they examined the person they had spent the last months pursuing.
He was exactly as he had been described. He was dressed in black, wore a black cloak with the black hood up, and wore black gloves. That in its self wasn't too strange. What was different about the shifter was that though the sun was shining strong above, nothing could be seen of his face. It was pitch black.
"So," said Cloak, his voice coming from the black hole, "I finally can get a good look at my pursuers." He looked at Kae-Os. "I assume that you are main cause of my distress. I was told that you are an elf. Several things make sense now." Cloak turned to Aiden. "You I remember better. Such a self-centered, egotistic person is so hard to forget." He looked at Shika. "The Daimyo tells me that you are one of the shinobi. I have no use for you, but I am sure that the Daimyo would pay highly for a live captive shinobi."
Shika said nothing, but Kae-Os noticed her shift her stance, ever so slightly, into a more battle ready pose.
Cloak however, appeared to want to do no more gloating. He stepped back, behind the ninjas and nodded. As one entity, the four ninjas unsheathed their katanas and approached the three companions.
The three didn't let them attack. Kae-Os whipped out his spear and katana and assaulted the two ninjas behind them. Shika drew her own katana and fan, why the fan Aiden had no idea, and launched herself at another ninja. That left the last for Aiden.
Cursing silently, Aiden drew his two rapiers. While he was a way better swordsman than the average soldier, he was by now means an equal to a ninja. "I just hope that these aren't the real deal, rather just a bunch of guys dressed up to scare us." Thought Aiden.
Unfortunately for Aiden, the ninja appeared to be the real thing. Though he tried every trick in the book, and some that weren't, the ninja was always ahead of him. It took everything Aiden had to ward of the attacks that the ninja laid on him. And Aiden suspected that the ninja was just toying with him.
Fortunately, Kae-Os was holding his own against the two ninjas he was fighting. In fact, it seemed that he was wining, though not by much. While the ninjas outnumbered him, and perhaps were his equal in fighting strength and technique, Kae-Os had several centuries of experience and Elvin stamina.
Never the less, it was a spectacular fight. Kae-Os and the ninjas whirled through the air, their weapons touching for an instant before swinging through the air for another blow.
The match might have gone on for a long time, had Kae-Os not done a most un-human thing. He leapt straight into the air, followed by the ninjas. However, while the ninjas reached the peak of their jump and began to descend, Kae-Os continued upward for a few more feet due to his Elvin strength. This put the ninjas off balance long enough for Kae-Os to throw his spear into one of their throats. The ninja collapsed silently.
The other ninja tried valiantly to fend off Kae-Os, but alone, he had no chance. Kae-Os took him down within a minute.
Shika had faired fairly good as well. She managed to fend of the ninja, but it was unsure as to who would win. Shika put the question to rest by ducking under the ninja and shoving her fan into his stomach. Instead of breaking as a normal fan would, the ribs of it delved deep into the ninja's flesh.
The ninja gave a small groan and fell on his back. With a short swipe, Shika ended his pain.
Aiden however, was not fairing as well as the other two. Upon seeing that his companions were dead or dying, the last ninja stopped toying with Aiden. Blows came on swift and furiously. Aiden would have died within a minute, had Kae-Os not drawn his spear from a ninja and threw it in the back of Aiden's attacker.
The three companions stood alone in the clearing, panting slightly. Kae-Os turned to Cloak, only to find the shifter disappearing through the trees.
"Come on." Cried Aiden and the three dashed after the shifter.
