Cinder Wood (Open)

[Bee]

Bee finally had a break. Mr. Johnson was a stalwart teacher and pushed Bee everyday to improve her skill at metal working. However there was very little time for Bee to practice her first love, magic. Lucky for Bee however Mr. Johnson gave her the day off. He had to travel a town over to get some materials for a weapon he was working on. Probably that magic bow that was requested not long back, but he would not tell Bee anything about it. Her first hunch was right, he did not want her to know anything about magic forging. Well that was a worry for another day. Today Bee was going to go for a long walk in the woods and practice some of her fire magic. She needed the practice.

"Alright lets find a open field and send a few bolts into the air", spoke Bee as she walked off into the woods. The maiden pushed through the rubbish till she came upon a curious sight. There in the woods and standing completely alone was a house. It was old and had plants growing all along the side of the building. The structure looked as if it could collapse at any moment, but something about it seemed to just call to Bee. The maiden was well old enough to not be playing kiddy games anymore, but she could not help the urge, but to have a look inside. Like a moth to a flame Bee made her way toward the home mesmerized by its aged beauty. As she arrived to the door she turned the door knob and to her great surprise the house was locked. "So whoever abandoned this place left with intentions of one day retuning or maybe locked the door out of habit. Interesting", spoke the maiden to herself as she pulled out her tome and began to chant a spell.

From Bee's hand came a small flame. Nothing worthy of being called true fire, but enough to set a few plants around the door nob on fire. The flames weakened the wood to the extent Bee was sure she could break it. With a quick kick Bee not only opened the rickety door, but also put out the little fire. The moment she stepped in she felt a chill go down her spine. The place was very spooky. It was dark, as all the windows were covered by plants and the wood creaked with every step. Still Bee's curiosity pushed her forward and the maiden began to move into the old home.

[Galaxy Linstall]

This monster was tenacious. It had been following her for quite a while now, through the dense forest she had discovered. She should have known it would be dangerous to trek alone, in Lycia. She knew there was monsters lurking all over the country, but she did not heed the warnings and trekked on anyway, looking for any sort of adventure. She only had her iron axe, she was hungry, and she needed to rest, and that was all of her problems before the skeleton monster, holding a small iron knife, began chasing her. He did look quite dangerous, so she decided to just dash away.

But when she slowed for a break, the damn thing had caught up, it's knife swinging willy. It didn't wind, but she did. She looked for a tree to climb, but these pine trees all had slim trunks and branches that were to high up, so she just dashed along, glad to see that the skeleton didn't seem to be running to fast. She was out of breath, lugging her axe behind her back.

In the woodline, she spotted a small cabin, rickety and seemingly empty. She could hole up in there until the skeleton wondered away, or if she got the opportunity, kill the skeleton with a swift severing of the skeletons head. She dashes immediately at it, running out of sprint, heaving heavily, and burst open the door quickly. Inside, she spotted a figure, bright pink buzz cut hair. She yelped in surprise, and slung her axe towards the girl, thinking it must be another monster!

[Bee]

As Bee walked through the old halls everything seemed so dead. There were old paints on the wall, but the image was ruined by the dark and there was glass wear still on a small round table near the door. Clearly somebody planned to return. She figured so with the locked door, but the random cup and pictures on the walls confirmed it. The state of the house and the overgrowth showed that the plan was canceled long ago. Now Bee wondered why as people do not abandon there homes of a whim.

Boom! Suddenly the door was once again slung open and caused sound to vibrate through the halls. The sudden burst of sound made Bee jump as she turned around to see the cause. There standing in the door way was a figure, black hair, fair of face, and a axe in there hand. Ghost, thought Bee for a moment as her heart jumped out of her chest. The maiden could barely contain her fear when the figure did what she thought it might do. It rose its axe and swung at the maiden. "Eek", shouted Bee as she fell backwards dodging the axe. The maiden reached for her tome, but she was far too close for her liking. She wanted to be no where near the ghost.

"I am sorry", shouted Bee as she crawled away and rolled around the corner. This portion of the home was even darker than the part she came from, but Bee could care less at the moment. She was trying not to die and the ghost was at the door not in the dark. Bee began to chant some words over and over as she began to call upon the power of her tome. A small flame lit up in her hand as the light illuminated the dark room she was hiding in. "Just a little more", she spoke as she prepared for the ghost to either turn around the corner or phase through the wall. Why did she have to investigate? Why could she not have simply walked by?

[Galaxy Linstall]

Galaxy yelped in surprise as she sees the flames igniting to reveal a feminine face with a boy haircut- not a monster. She immediately backed up, as it was her turn to apologize. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were a monster, Lycia is seriously a dangerous place nowadays!" She was saddened by the frightened look on the girl's face. Galaxy had just tried to kill her, after all. She backed up against the door she had just burst through, momentarily forgetting the reason she came inside.

Inches from her face, a sword penetrated the wood, splitting the wood outwards, splinters flying. Galaxy yelped in surprise for the second time, and grabbed her axe, and propping it against the door to make sure the monster doesn't get in the house. "Come, on, let's move!" Galaxy said to the girl, and dashed towards the basement, fear and adrenaline pumping through her veins. She needed to move- faster, faster. The monster could bust in here any moment, and she would not stand a chance against the skeleton warrior- she wasn't trained very well in any way. And now she had led the monster to another girl- who doesn't look much more skilled than herself. "Why why why why why?!?!" Galaxy mumbles, almost at tears. And why the hell did she leave her ax at the door?

God, why was she so dumb? She was a bad journeywoman, why did she do something like that? She definitely needed better training. Or something along those lines.

[Bee]

Wait she is not a ghost, thought Bee to herself as she saw the expression on the young girl's face. If she is not a ghost then she must be a bandit, thought Bee, but once again she remembered the facial expression. If she was not a bandit, nor was she a ghost then why was she swinging axes at people. "Look I know monsters are scary, but don't go swinging axes at people", shouted Bee as the maiden realized the situation. Bee had gained some courage now that she knew the woman was not a ghost. You can fight people, monsters, and other things, but not ghost. They just phase through your attacks and possess you with weird ghost powers. "Still", shouted Bee then suddenly a sword pierced through the door. The action caused Bee's heart to jump as the other maiden retreated to the basement.

"Bandit", shouted Bee as she stared at the door. Suddenly the door was kicked open and from the door way came a pile of walking bones. "Ghost", shouted Bee as she was now sure this was the ghost that hunted the house. How else would bones be walking about with no flesh. ON instinct Bee shot forward the ball of fire she had created earlier for light and ran off to follow the other girl. The fire ball was weak, but it still burned like one. As the flames hit the moving skeleton the beast paused for a brief moment as the fire burned away on it. Then the flames spoofed out because the lack of fuel. Now angry and murderous the pile of walking Bones gave chase down the dark hallway.

"The ghost was coming into the basement", shouted Bee as she ran into the back of the other girl. The two maidens broke through the flimsy door and unfortunately for Bee she fell down the small flight of stairs. With a great clash Bee found herself in a pile of old clothing and forgotten oddities. "Ouch", spoke the maiden as she pulled herself to her feet. It was dark and she could not see a thing. Instinctively Bee called upon the power of her tome and illuminated the dark room once again with a small ball of fire.

[Galaxy Linstall]

Galaxy dashes down the stairs after the smaller girl with pink hair, who fell through a door, into a pile of old objects. Galaxy dashes downwards, hopping promptly over her, and onto the wooden floor behind her.The small light force lit up a larger figure, standing there in the middle of the room. Galaxy gulps, and looks up the large, dark robed figure. She looks up, gulping in surprise. "Well... hi, mister! I was in your house because of uhm..." Galaxy looked around only to find the girl with the buzz cut was sitting in this guys belongings. "Look, mister, I am really sorry! I didn't want to come here, I was being chased! Please please please don't kill me!" She realized she left her ax by the door... why did she do that? She was considering how dumb she was when the skeleton that was following them was coming down the stairs.

Thump.

Why must I die? I'm stuck between this dude and the skeleton...

Thump.

I never even said goodbye to my mother...

THUMP! WHAM!

The skeleton had come through the door, holding two weapons- Galaxy's ax and his own sword, his arm blackened by the fireball the girl had thrown at him. Galaxy immediately lunged herself at the skeleton, and kicked it in the neck, and snatches the ax from it's hand. "YOU THOUGHT!" Galaxy yells, as she swings it 360 degrees and embeds the ax in the skeleton's head, making it's teeth rattle. But it didn't die- why didn't it die? Instead, the skeleton pushed Galaxy backwards, making her flail onto her butt, and the skeleton raised it's sword to penetrate the girl on the floor. Before Galaxy could do anything but yell "MOOOOOOOOVE!!!!"the sword was already coming down.

[Bee]

If Bee ever had a regret it would be walking into this house. As the small flame illuminated the room Bee was reintroduced to somebody she wanted to forget. There in front of her and standing a daunting 6 foot 9 inches was a druid. However not just any druid. It was Bee's old master. The man who made her life a living hell and the person who taught her how to control magic. As horror crossed Bee's face a chilling smile crossed his. "Success", he spoke as he closed his book and then turned his attention to there uninvited guest. The bonewalker was having its own marry little time trying to kill off the little girl who came in with Bee. This however would not be allowed.

"Guro", spoke Bee as the man stepped past her and walked up to the bonewalker. As the beast of magic pulled its arm back to strike the druid grabbed its elbow and stopped it in its tracks. "That is enough out of you", he spoke as the monster turned its head. The moment its empty eye slots were faced toward him Guro release a powerful force of Luna magic. The magic instantly shattered the soul of the creature turning the once life filled bones into ordinary human remains which rained down on the young girl. "Oh, what do we have here", spoke Guro as he grabbed the monsters blade before it plunged itself in the girl's chest. "What a fine specimen. 75th of Pauls 200 iron blades. Nice quality and year. At least the beast had good taste", spoke the druid as he stabbed the blade into the ground and walked over to Bee. The maiden was still motionless from both fear and surprise.

"Now what kind of face is that", asked Guro as he grabbed her hand and helped her off the ground. "That is no way to look at your master now is it", he spoke. His voice sounded kind and his jesters soft. However each move he made carried a different meaning to Bee.

"How did you", spoke Bee. She could not help but wonder why Guro was in lycia. He was suppose to be in Nabata or maybe in the Western Isles, but not Lycia. She was sure he would never come here, but now he was. How? Why? What was he doing in this basement?

"No Pink you found me", spoke Guro almost reading her mind. Rather than deal with Bee at the moment Guro turned his attention to the young lady he had saved. "Are you injured", he asked eliminating his aura of creepiness.

[Galaxy Linstall]

Galaxy watched in horror as the man stood over the two of them, his sheer height and weight shocking Galaxy. She watched in amazement as the skeleton crippled as the magic did it's work, destroying the skeleton. She quickly smiled and turned around, looking in triumph. Then the blade stabbed into the ground, making Galaxy hopped back, surprised at the sudden entrance of another blade. She gasped and then raised her ax, then looking to the big man, her iron ax looking pathetic to the almost 7 foot man.

She shook in anticipation- if he ended the damn skeleton in that quick amount of time- what would he make of her? Mincemeat? Most likely.

She couldn't help herself though- the two seemed to know each other. She glanced to the girl with pink hair, then to the large druid. She gave a small shake of the head as she knew how outmatched the two trainees were compared to this obviously well trained man

"Before we, uh, die, how about I tell you my name? Name's Galaxy. Cool, right?" Galaxy gave a small giggle, to lighten the situation. In her head, though, she was quite frantic, inside, she was freaking out, knowing damn well she probably not leave this cramped basement hurt, or worse- dead.

She held the ax in the distance between the druid and Galaxy, hoping this stopped him from advancing towards her. She gulped in anticipation. "I don't want to die, and I'm sure none of us do."  Her voice rang with fake confidence. "So why don't you leave, mister... Goru."

[Bee]

"Listen here little girl", spoke Guro as he turned toward the small maiden. His eyes looked down into her's almost as if he was stealing her soul. "You would do well to part from me. One such as you stand no chance against my power. Second thing Little Girl. I have no intentions of killing anybody. I just want to reclaim that which is rightfully mind", spoke Guro as he turned his gaze back toward Bee. The maiden had recovered from her fall and near death encounter. Bee's heart raced as the man stared at her. Her mind could not help but go back to darker times. She remembered the experiments and the torture she was put through. She remembered the time when she was not allowed to talk and only allowed to eat bread and water.

"Galexy get away from that man", spoke Bee as she closed her eyes and began to steel her heart. Sure he was more powerful than her and he had the power of elder magic. However Bee was Bee. She was the best, the worlds greatest. If she could not out power him then she would out smart him. If she can't out smart him then she would out spirit him. If she could not out spirit him then she would simply out talk him. She was not going back and she was done playing the toy. The maiden had a crazy idea, but she was going to need a bit of prep time before she could pull it off.

The maiden stopped took a deep breath and pointed her finger at the druid. "I am not your slave, your servent, or you lab rat. I am Bee. Bee spelled B e e, just like the insect, but without the stinging. You Guro are not my master. No one is the master of Bee ,but Bee herself. So you might as well go back to whatever dirty hole you crawled out of and cry yourself to sleep. "

Guro looked at the maiden for a moment and then simply laughed. "You think you can defeat me in a battle of magic little girl", he spoke with a laughing tone. "Remember who taught you how to cast spells and trained you in the art of pyromancy you love so much. Your flames stand no chance against my elder magic. Your heat is just not hot enough."

A smirk crossed Bee's face as she pulled a bottle from behind her back. "True my magic is frail compared to yours and I can't match you in magical power. However I can run faster than you can", spoke Bee as a gigantic smile crossed her face. The druid was confused for a moment and Bee took the opportunity to strike. The maiden tossed the jar onto the ground just in front of Guro. Ripping her own shirt Bee set a piece of cloth on fire and tossed it on the sluge like goo. Immediately it went up into flames illuminating the rest of the room and catching the random items scattered around on fire.

"Run for your life", shouted Bee to Galexy as she raced up the stairs. Guro however was trapped behind the flames. The druid pulled out his spell tome and began to cast a spell of darkness. In his eyes Bee could see surprise though he did not let it show on his face.

[Galaxy Linstall]

Galaxy dashed after Bee, moving up the stairs as quickly as possible. She lifts her ax behind her as to avoid any kind of blasts that the large man may shoot at her. "Who the hell is that guy?!" Galaxy yelped as she dashed up the stairs towards the room, and burst through the door, the one that the skeleton had broken to get to them. Galaxy fell forward, into the nice luscious grass.

Galaxy looks around for something- or better, somewhere to run too. She spots the forest, and dashes towards it, along the way strapping her ax to her back. "Well, nice knowing ya! I'm running my happy ass away from here!"

Galaxy then dashes towards the tree line, immediately feeling horrible but not caring. She wasn't going to risk her life for some random girl she had just met. If the girl was smart she'd follow her. Galaxy jumped clear over a large vine that was protruding from the ground, and kept dashing not willing to stop.

Soon, she was out of breathe, and began jogging. She thinks she's far enough away to be safe from the large scary man that was hiding ominously in the basement for no apparent reason. She slowed, breathing heavily. She was still scared out of her mind, of course, but now she was sure she was in a better state than before. She was safe...

She didn't know if the girl had followed her in her escape, but she hoped she was safe.

[Bee]

The sound of a explosion filled the basement as as Guro let loss a bolt of dark magic. The druid was not happy. Bee knew it was only a matter of time before he rushed up the stairs and came after them. However Bee was wise for her age. The maiden called upon the power of her tome and set her bag on fire. The maiden then tossed it in the center of the hallway leading to the door and took off running. The other bottles of hair gel be had in her bag exploded in flames giving the young maiden more time to escape as the druid rushed through the building.

Rather than foolishly run the same way as the young lady with the axe Bee dashed off in the opposite direction. If Guro was going to find her he would have to rely on his luck. Served the other girl right if Guro found her. She did try to axe Bee in the face when the first meet. This would put them as even. Besides it is not like Guro would try to kill her anyway. He was only after Bee. Though thanks to the fire the old druid might be out for blood now. Still Bee had to wonder what he was doing in that house to begin with. Also why was he in Lycia. She was sure he would be spending his time wondering the desert looking for her. Well if he was not in Nabata, it could be time for Bee to return back home.

"Oh crap", spoke Bee as she remembered. "I still need to finish my training with Mr. Johnson." As the maiden dashed off into the woods she heard another exploitation of dark magic. No doubt Guro reached the hallway. Suddenly there was a large crash and bang in the forest. The sound was so loud that Bee could not help but turn around and look. The house was far out of sight, but Bee could tell it came crashing down. "Hopefully it killed the bugger", spoke Bee as she ran off. Though in the back of her mind she knew he was alive.

[End Thread]