Thunder Road (Alex/PM for entry)

[Tamaya]

The grass of the edge of Sacae flowed under Tamaya's feet as she stood in the middle of an endless grassland - endless except for the road, if tamped earth and crushed grass can be called a road. This aforementioned road snaked on into the heart of the country a dozen meters from where the Nomad stood, offering a roasted bird to the earth to protect her and Shikoba as they traveled. On her back, the bow of thunder Mphezi-Manja crackled gently, as if pleased and amused at the ritual. After crouching to bury the bird with a little earth, the nomad stood up, patting the bow. She'd only recently acquired it, and it seemed that all the elders were right - she had much to learn before she would be able to use its powers at their full potential. In any case, her homeland awaited her, and she wished to travel many miles today. Perhaps she would use her new bow to hunt some game for a hot meal near dusk, and then rest the night amidst the gentle grass.

Smiling, the Nomad mounted her horse and set off down the road, a faint puff of dust arising from each impact of hoof on the earth. What a beautiful feeling it was to be back in the land of her birth, to be able to see Sacae in tranquility and peace. The City of Heroes still stood, and Hargus had been killed once more. Everything was in gentle motion, waving in the cool breeze. What a wonderful morning.

[Alex]

However, such delights were not shared by other travellers on their way to Sacae. Only a short distance away, Alex found himself in trouble with a pack of bandits. Having helped a girl and her mother escape from the brigands before they could be caught by the ruffians and then sold into a life of doing many unpleasant and unspeakable things and being forced to suffer from hunger, illness and other mistreatment. His heroic efforts seemed likely to get him killed at this point in time. He didn't see a way out, but he wouldn't go down fighting either. He could take down at least 2 or 3 of the pack of bandits before him, maybe even more, assuming that they were as stupid as bandits were supposed to be and their ranged soldiers lacked good aim.

Trying his best to sound confident and unfazed, Alex stiffened and, with all the authority and courage he could muster, warned the pack of brigands (of which there must have been at least 20) "There's two ways we can go about doing this, guys. Both of them involve me getting to Sacae unscathed, but depending on how this plays out, I'm not sure I can say the same for you lot." His ultimatum was met laughter all round. Not quite the reaction he'd wanted, but it would do. As quick as he could manage without stumbling face first into the ground, Alex whirled around 360 degrees, opening his Fire tome as he did so and sending two large bolts out in front of him, both direct hits on his targets. Having broken the circle around him, he dashed forward, firing off two more bolts behind him, one of which singed the side of one of the thug's horses, while the other flew clean over everyone's heads. Alex kept running hard and fast, but new he wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. He was only one boy, not the most physically fit of them either. His opponents were numerous, mounted and in great shape due to their almost survivalistic diets. Nevertheless, he had to try.

As he ran, Alex cupped his free hand over his mouth and shouted in all directions "Help! Somebody help me!" He had little faith but he had to take every option available to him if he wanted to have any chance of getting out of this situation alive. However, the brigands were alert once again by now. It hadn't taken them long to regroup, and the horse riders were already quickly gaining on him. Alex kept shouting all around, but stopped as he saw a plainswoman near by. He could already tell that this was a person he could trust. He had never met her before, but Alex instinctively knew that this was someone who would look after him. He set off towards Tamaya, but he was too late, for his brief pause was all that it took for the bandits on horseback to catch up to him, one of them clipping his shoulder with his lance, knocking him to the ground. Alex didn't even know whether the young woman heard him or not, but could see that another rider, obviously the leader of the group, was now raising his lance to deal a swift, sharp strike. Alex shielded his head with his arms instinctively, knowing all too well that this would do nothing to sharpen the blow. He bit his bottom lip as tears began streaming down his face. He was going to die here and nothing he could do about it. However, that wasn't to say nobody else couldn't...

[Tamaya]

"Help! Somebody help me!"

The Nomad sighed. Was it always to be that whenever she had found peace, there was some sort of commotion that had to break out? Looking up, she saw a group of mounted brigands chasing after a young-looking boy, who was running towards her in an obvious panic.

"Earth... Oh Mother Earth, grant me patience... Father Sky, grant me strength."

Spurring Shikoba into a gallop, she raced towards the boy, who had fallen as one of the bandits swung a lance into him, knocking him over.

"Earth... Sky... Lightning!"

An iron arrow hummed through the air, and a second later, the lance-wielding bandit went tumbling as his horse bucked wildly, jerking as if stung. In fact, he had been stung, by a sharp-pointed arrow sent by a sharp-shooting Nomad.

"Rise, boy! The fight continues! Tears must wait! You have brought yourself a battle, so you must fight!"

The Nomad eyed the group as she put herself in front of the boy.

"I shall not yield the child to you. Heed my arrows, if not my words... Leave, for I seek not to fight. If you insist, though, know that I am the bringer of lighting. I possess the Mphezi-Manja, and I shall unleash its power upon you."

A quick survey revealed many sword-wielding bandits, and a few with lances. Thankfully, there were no other archers - that made Tamaya feel more comfortable. If she could stay at range, she could defeat these ruffians. But the child. The child was the weak link.

[Alex]

After a moment of confusion, Alex quickly scrambled to his feet and took a drink from a vulnerary in his pocket. "You talk funny," He began "but...well, I can't really explain it, but I really trust you, so I'm not going to drag you down!" Now it was Alex's turn. He put himself in front of Tamaya. "You're an archer, right? Shouldn't you get back? I'll be fine, I can fight at any range." Alex corrected himself after truly taking in the numbers of the assembled party before him. 5...10...no, 15 brigands stood facing the pair, all armed to the teeth. "On second thoughts, I think we really should run...if we can make it to the nearest village, there must be someone there who can help us take these guys on. Besides, I can't have you getting killed for my stupidity. For the first time, Alex looked Tamaya square in the eye, with a steely determination. Even if he was the weaker link out of the two of them, that did not make him a weak link. "Or, we could stand and fight. I'm not sure how many we can kill before we get killed, but I'll be damned if they manage to go any further while they're still able to fight." Of course, Alex knew he was being completely ridiculous, only really making his boast to impress Tamaya. Not as some dashing hero here to impress the ladies, but rather as though he had something to prove to Tamaya, as though she was a big sister she wanted to be strong for. She was too old for him anyway.

[Tamaya]

"Hwa?"

She... talked funny? What on earth? Had this child grown up under a rock, that he had never heard a Sacaean speak? She shook her head, leaping off Shikoba and then grabbing the child, hoisting him onto her horse before re-mounting and pointing an arrow at the nearest brigand. He paused, and in that second, the iron projectile flew, burying itself into his chest. He fell, bleeding, not dead on impact but making his way there as he hacked and coughed on blood pouring into his lungs.

"Hold on, boy. I don't care about your range, you are too small to be a great danger to these brigands. We will never survive if we just run. The nearest village is too far, and I have already been traveling. Shikoba is not fit for a long-distance sprint. So we shall fight. Just hold on, so that you do not fall. I can fire while moving, but if you are not used to fighting on horseback, your aim will suffer. Shoot at the horses. They are a large target. I will try to whittle down the rest."

Hoping to the Sky and Earth that the child threw aside his bravado and simply held on, the Nomad accelerated, moving to flank the group of bandits. It looked like a little over a dozen... Not an easy fight by any standards. But perhaps doable, especially with the power of lightning at her disposal.

"Your foolishness already has ensured that I am in danger... So speak not of fleeing. Fight, boy. Fight."

[Alex]

"I'm a Mage (uh, in training...)! How do you expect me to hold onto a tome, hold my hand out to case and hold onto you all at the same time?!" Alex said as he wrapped his arms around Tamaya's midriff, leaning into her back so as not to fall, at the same time making sure he did not hamper her aim or movement. "Also, you just ruined my boast when you lifted me up! Do you think it's dignified or intimidating to be lifted onto a horse like a small child?! I'm not so young and helpless that I can't get on myself!"

After some thought, Alex decided that he had to fight somehow. He shuffled up the horse on his rear until the lower half of his body came up to Tamaya's back, wrapped his legs around the underside, then took his hands from her waist and picked up his Fire tome from in between his crotch and Tamaya's lower back. He stretched his free hand out and fired off a blast at the nearest horse, causing it to buck as the bolt impacted it directly in its breast. Alex felt wrong harming innocent creatures, but knew that he had to stop the bandits somehow. Still, he had more worrying things on his mind. For someone who Alex was so sure he could trust, Tamaya was acting somewhat...hostile? Begrudgingly? It was hard to tell, but there was just something about her demeanour which made Alex feel unwelcome. "Is this what having a sister is like?" He wondered quietly to himself.

[Tamaya]

"Boasts matter not in battle! I must not allow you to come to harm!"

Clucking her tongue at the young one, Tamaya spurred Shikoba back to gain range, and then stopped, allowing the boy to cast as she aimed her bow squarely at the bandit that had been thrown off the horse Alex targeted. She concentrated, and as he struggled to rise, the arrow flew, embedding itself in the bandit's skull.

"Straight on. Mmm."

A quick look revealed two coming for them, one from each side. Bandits straight ahead, leaving retreating or taking both out the only options.

"Young one! Take down the axe-man coming from the right. I will stop this horseman from the left!"

She aimed and let the arrow fly. But the movement of the charging man's horse had shifted his body, and instead of hitting him squarely in the chest, she sent her arrow directly into the horse's head.

The unintended shot caused the horse to jerk, and the man went tumbling forward. The momentum of the dying horse trampled the bandit, but Tamaya shook her head in sadness. Burning a horse to eject a rider was one thing - the horse would recover in time. But killing one made her unhappy. She had not intended to kill the horse.

"This battle is becoming too difficult for me to handle alone... I will need to bring out my full power. No longer can I simply run around and take shots. Be ready, child. The skies have given me power!"

[Alex]

"OK, OK, I'm on it! You don't need to be so formal, though..." Alex complained, firing a concentrated burst of flame into the face of the crazed axe wielder as he tried to jump at the duo. Suddenly, Alex caught up with what Tamaya was saying. "Huh, what kind of power?" Alex was beginning to get worried over the situation. Sure, Tamaya had her almighty power apparently gifted to her by the skies, but together they had only taken out 5 bandits so far and they were beginning to fatigue. Tamaya's steed couldn't hold out much longer and Alex himself was beginning to feel the strain of concentrated magic use take its toll on his body, but he had to keep pressing on. Suddenly a lance whistled past their heads. The group's leader was catching up to them and he had no intention of stopping them for a friendly chat. Tamaya had caused so much trouble for him that Alex was convinced she'd be killed on the spot if caught, despite the usual conventions of brigands. Alex knew he couldn't idly sit and wait for Tamaya to be ready. He needed to act. Unwrapping his legs from around the horse and tucking his Fire tome under his arm, Alex got ready to dismount. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it quickly; I only have one shot at this." And with that, Alex jumped from the steed, lunging at the brigand leader. Naturally the man was surprised, giving Alex just enough time to launch a fire blast at his stomach before he hit the ground. "Please tell me that slowed him down..." Alex said in a daze. When he regained his orientation, he saw the brigand leader riding straight towards him with every intent of trampling him. Alex had barely scratched him; He was far too tired to have the strength to make any real impact, but he had just one more trick up his sleeve to buy Tamaya some time. When the leader's horse was only a few feet away, Alex shot a blast of fire up into the air, startling the horse enough to make it buck, casting away its rider in the process. Alex smiled wryly. Though he was dirtied and bruised by his fall, he wasn't worried about the impending doom that was the brigand leader rising to his feet and preparing to ram Alex through with his lance. Once again, his instinct told him that Tamaya had everything under control.

[Tamaya]

As the child leaped off of the horse, muttering about formalities and power, Tamaya brought her hands to her back and drew forth Mphezi-Manja. The bow crackled in excitement, and as she drew back the string, feeling a tingle in her fingers, Tamaya aimed more carefully than she ever had and let the arrow fly forth.

There was a buzzing, crackling, popping noise as the adamantite-tipped arrow blasted from the bow.

To her, it appeared as if the skies had burst forth and pure power had shone through, bolts of lightning flying every which way as the power of the heavens manifested itself in the unstoppable bolt that buried itself into the leader's skull and sent him careening backwards to the ground, already roasted and charred by the sheer power of the lighting.

To Alex and the rest of the bandits, she had merely shot a luckily accurate arrow into the head of their leader, which emitted a few electric sparks upon leaving the bow and upon slamming into the man. Sure, there was a bit of a shock, but the arrow to the face made the electricity moot. It was nothing more than a party trick to the remaining bandits, who continued to close in, slowly but surely.

"Get UP, child! Why must you take such risks? Fight, fight! I need you to keep scaring the horses. I can only shoot so fast, and horse-riders can get close to us too quickly for my liking. There are only two left, so help me! Focus!"

Ai yi yi! The child was filled with such ridiculous ambitions. He fancied himself a hero, yet he was probably not more than fifteen!

[Alex]

"Oh, come on, I was only having some fun...You can't hog all the action for yourself. Besides, we just took out their strongest man! It can't be that hard to take care of the rest now can it?" Said Alex as he got to his feet. Though Tamaya wouldn't like to have admitted it, he was right. Though the men were closing in on them, they were hesitant. Even single-minded brigands needed a leader to coordinate their movements. Alex knew that one of two things could happen at this point; Either there would be a power struggle for a new leader, or the bandits would launch a simultaneous but uncoordinated attack, hopefully taking out a few of their own in the confusion. Either worked for him and Tamaya.

Alex could still Tamaya still wasn't convinced as he felt himself being hoisted up onto the horse once more, this time in front of Tamaya, presumably so he couldn't get off again. All this handling by Tamaya made him feel embarrassed, but Alex quickly realised that she was just worried for him and he was being fairly reckless. He would have to make sure to apologise to her later, but now was not the time. He decided he would just have to do as he was told and stay safe for the time being and be content with frightening horses. After all, he was only 16 and still a fairly long way from becoming a fully fledged mage, so it was only fair that he kept out of combat, in spite of his capacity to at least deal some damage with a tome.

[Tamaya]

"Fun and games come after the battle is done! We cannot be careless!"

The child was so brash and arrogant, it was now easy to understand why he'd been attacked by the brigands. And to be honest, little more than her innate moral code was keeping her in the battle to protect him. But still, her personal misgivings over his lack of any sort of self-control aside, there were still near ten of the bandits still coming towards him. They seemed... Lost, somehow. It was probably the loss of their leader. But to Tamaya, that didn't make them any less dangerous - just less organized.

"Here they come. A mass of hornets, coming in a cloud... Fire burns, and smoke chokes... But we only have an ember of flame... And lightning.

Earth!

Sky!

Lightning!"

Mphezi-Manja crackled audibly, and golden-green sparks arced over the bow, buzzing and humming almost as if the weapon was singing along to the chant. The Nomad's hand released the string, there was a faint hum, and the arrow shot forth, going clean through the arm of one bandit and lodging in the leg of another.

What happened next was truly astounding. Tamaya saw a thin strand of electricity jump between the two wounds, and both men jumped as if they'd been poked with something sharp, or... shocked.

Wishful thinking? No. Mass-murdering chain lightning? Also no.

"You cannot fight the power of thunder! Retreat, bandits. Surrender! We have the upper hand. Save your own lives and run while you are able!"

[Alex]

At last the bandits finally seemed to have got the message as they looked at each other, turned around, and fled, some taking the horses of their fallen comrades. It had at last dawned on them that they couldn't beat this madwoman and her bow, even if it did look like a glorified party trick in the minds of the poorly educated brigands. "Phew, we finally did it..." said Alex, a large grin on his face. He had come a long way since his days of brooding over his dark and forgotten past and his old friends and mentors would hardly recognise the person he had now become; Confident and cheerful, trying to remain an optimist, whatever the situation. However, he now felt some guilt as he turned to Tamaya. "I'm really sorry to have got you involved in this. See, I was helping a girl and her mother escape fr---" Alex knew better than to try and make excuses, even if it was a heroic deed and good intentions which had gotten him in trouble in the first place. "I...shouldn't have been so reckless." He looked up into Tamaya's eyes. She seemed much more relieved now the battle was over, but it was hard for Alex to tell whether she was feeling forgiving or not. "Listen, please. I...I really trust you and, well, I've...got no family of my own, so can I please travel with you? I promise I'll be much more careful from now on! Really!" Alex could feel himself having to fight back tears as he began to understood his situation. He had never confided this much in a person before, but Tamaya seemed like the big sister Alex had always wished for. He looked down, unable to contain his sorrow any longer. "Please...don't leave me..."

[Tamaya]

As the group finally dispersed, Tamaya sighed long and hard in relief, then went around to the dead, collecting her arrows and stowing them back in her quiver before lining the bodies up and sprinkling some powder upon them from a pouch. Mumbling a few words in her tongue, she covered them in grass, ignoring the boy, who grinned lewdly, as if he'd just come from a party, instead of a battle.

After coating the bodies in the grass, the woman stood up, looking long and hard at the boy. Shaking her head, she took out a flint and a piece of steel from her saddlebag and quickly struck flame, creating a leaping, crackling fire that began consuming the fallen bandits.

"Men just died, young one. Men with futures, with lives ahead of them. Some may have had families, who will mourn them, never knowing what became of them. Yes, we 'won,' but at what cost? Was it worth the lives that were exchanged?"

Shaking her head slowly, she looked at the boy, her eyes hard.

"You ran into this battle as if it were nothing more than a game. How many times did you trust that I would be there to protect you? How many times did you gamble your life on my skill? I am not perfect... What if I had missed? Would you force your death upon me?

Ai, child. You have much to learn. You have yet to see a friend die, yet to lose a battle. Ai, how young, and yet how set down the path to a violent end?

No, I shall not leave you. You will come with me. And you will learn right from wrong, wise from foolish. You will learn to be patient and to be efficient, to retreat and advance. You must learn, or you shall waste your life. And your life is not yours to waste. You were not given life for nothing."

The Nomad clucked once more, beginning to polish Mphezi. What had she gotten herself into now?

[Alex]

Alex was deeply cut by Tamaya's words, surprised that one who he trusted and admired so greatly could be so chiding and harsh. "I'm sorry...I wasn't really thinking..." Sure, many men made the choice to become a brigand on their own, but some had no choice. They had to do it for one reason or another. But what about that girl and her mother? Were they not important too? Had the bandits caught them, they would have done unspeakable things to them. That was simply unjust. Alex was already beginning to learn the hard lessons of the world. Lessons about choice. Initially Alex had lived his life without consequence. Even when he was a silent and serious young boy, his life had few consequences; Nothing was really permanent for him. Now he had to face the choices he made. Sometimes he would have to make the choice to kill, and it wouldn't be pretty, or heroic, or inconsequential, but he understood now that these were choices he would have to make. Alex suddenly became very recluse, not really sure what to say. He wanted to like Tamaya and stay with her as they travelled, but he didn't want to be a burden or annoyance to her. He wanted her to love him. To accept him. To treat him as a sibling in the same way he would treat her. After a long silence of mourning and reflection, Alex finally spoke. "So...what do we do now?" He still did not raise his head.

[Tamaya]

"That is right. You were not thinking. But that is what we already had established. Now is not the time for apologies. Apologies do nothing at this point. We must move on. So... Let us find some food, and get a little farther down the road before we stop for the night. We have, after all, a while yet before sun-down. The day is still young and gay. We must move on.

If you want to ride, you may, and if you'd like to walk, you may. We'll be going quite a while, so if you do want to take a break and ride, just... Tell me. I will let you."

Finishing cleaning her bow of thunder, she placed the crackling weapon back on her back, adjusted her iron bow and bag on Tamaya, and then leaped on, settling herself on the rug that served as a saddle. It was all she needed. Her gaze began to wander over the grass as they walked, and she suddenly turned to the boy.

"My name is Tamaya. I am going to Sacae. What is your name, child, and to where do you go?"

She would not avert her travel course, so the child would be wise to go to Sacae... Otherwise she didn't know how she would handle him. To let him run loose was a danger to everyone. Ai yi yi. Such a wild child. She prayed that if she ever had one, he would be more subdued and careful. This child was like a wild antelope. So jerky and always on the move.