Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Da Doofus]

"I know there are plenty of giant gods across the world," She shrugged, her statement making Rufus glance again in curiosity.
"But apart from the stories, and rumored markings of where she's been, I don't think that she's NOT real, but not around anymore."

"My friend and I don't keep up with stories outside of home." Rufus patted Kairo's shoulder. "Who are these other gods you mentioned?"

"Oh wow you guys really aren't from around here." She tapped her lip. "Well I know in Arvekii across the oceans they have a whole bunch of them they worship. The Children of the Sunfather . . . Imofermii was the Sunfather's name. There's Kazi, Famaruu, Romicus, and the other 9 I can't ever remember."

"Wait wait, what are these things?"

"Winged fire-breathers. You know. The Arvekian Sky Kings?" She scoffed. "Everyone knows about them."

Rufus had a guess as to the creatures' identity from the words 'fire-breather'.
"We call them Hypodraconis where we're from." He said, sure of his guess as to what these Sky Kings were. He glanced at Kairo, his eyes wide at the idea of those giant predators still around and apparently flourishing.

"I've never heard that word." Crina raised a brow. "Oh there's Tiatritus who is Queen of the Deeps. Not many worship her anymore around here, since we don't live close to the sea.
And way up North is Apsanoth. Needless to say, no one goes that far North around here." She shook her head.

Rufus was at a loss at the apparent number of giant monsters roaming the planet.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was caught deathly off guard by the mention of the apexes and the hypodraconis as well. He still had vivid memories of those beasts and all the turmoil they had caused in his times. Everyone he knew had fallen victim to them. But he thought that they were now long gone. Victims to the substantial amount of time that's passed. The fact that they still had any kind of premise in this world seemed to be out of the question for him.

But apparently, 10,000 years was nothing for these beasts. In fact, it seemed that only more seemed to spring up in that time. What was with the other 9 and how the fuck did they even come to be? He was panicking just thinking about it.

Kairo visibly shivered. He couldn't stop himself from doing so. It took all his energy to keep a straight face in the moment. He met Rufus's glance, his eyes expressing the same concern as the other man.

"Oh yeah I've definitely heard of them. They go by different names back home. But thats besides the point." Kairo said. "You know of anyone that's actually seen the gods nowadays?"

 

[Da Doofus]

"The Arvekians built their cities around the Sky King's nests so they see them a lot." She admitted. "Always wanted to see them. A real city."

"What about that one in the ocean?"

"Oh from what I've been taught, every ship and fishing boat follows her yearly hunting calendar. No one ever wants to cross her path in the water."

"Hunting calendar?" Rufus questioned.

"Something about what times of the year she comes up from the deep to hunt and roam the seas."

"Interesting . . . And that third one?"

"Apsanoth? He's the God of Ruin depending on who you talk to. He hasn't been seen for centuries, so I'm not even sure about if he's still alive or not."

 

[Chai_T3a]

That was good news. At least one of the apexes seemed to be less of a problem now. Especially after everything Apsanoth had caused him to lose. Knowing he was gone made things a bit easier to cope with.

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it must not be a bad thing if he's coined the god of destruction." He said.

 

[Da Doofus]

"The Irokai called him that. The Kendians, Sabris and Vindav call him the God of Rebirth." She paused. "I can't remember why that is though. You two don't know a lot about the world it seems." She squinted at them curiously.

"We lived in a hole in the ground where drink came from a barman's bill, darlin." Rufus lied. "I got tired of it and decided to see the world." He pulled Kairo closer to him. "This fella begged to come with me, ain't that right?"

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Yup......
.
Wait!!”

Kairo frantically looked at the other man. His eyes glaring daggers at the comment he made. Inside though, he was pretty busily beating himself for playing right into that.

“I meant no! He’s the one who begged me to come!” He added, looking at Crina. “You believe me right?”

 

[Da Doofus]

Crina eyed the two suspiciously.
"I . . . I'll just leave it alone."

Rufus laughed and let go of Kairo, just in time to see plumes of smoke from simple chimneys and walls of wooden logs come into view beyond a veil of parted branches.

"We're here." Crina said, taking the lead.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo completely forgot the last conversation as the village finally came into view. His excitement replacing every last bit of his hatred for Rufus from earlier.

His pace noticeably quickened as his curiosity peaked. He wanted to get a better view of the place.

“Not a long walk is it?”

 

[Da Doofus]

"Not at all." Crina pulled a painted cloth from her waist and twirled it around her head.
A Vindav atop the wall poked his head up and saw the approaching humans. Once he noticed the cloth, the blue-crested male shouted downward, and a section of the wall parted for entry.

Beyond was a village of wooden huts along the wall's perimeter, and buildings of cut boards. There was a single road through the center of the wide wall, with the buildings bearing familiar human architecture.
Vindav moved about, some carrying baskets, and others tending to carved stone furnaces behind a structure similar to a primitive gathering area.

"Welcome to Drafisl." Crina said with a small grin.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo marvelled at the sight. The buildings in the town seemed to blend in together into a mass of beauty, and yet each one still had its own distinct taste. It radiated an atmosphere that screamed chaos and liveliness. It was impossible to not enjoy such energy.

As much as he liked the Noah, he had to say this place was much more fun.

“It’s....amazing!” He blurted out, To busy taking it all in to comment any further.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus held his shoulder firmly.

"Don't draw attention." He warned. "Remember what we need to do."
His hand released, and Rufus glanced at him.
"This is pretty cool though." He smirked.
"Miss, where can I find this Boklovitz guy?"

Crina scowled and pointed to one of the buildings along the road, the sight similar to a town from an Old West story.
"General store is on the right. You go talk to him. That sküfka makes my skin crawl." She sneered, and made for the nearby water pools where female Vindav were tending to some tropical crop that grew in water.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo watched as Crina abruptly left. Giving her an small wave.

He then turned back to look at Rufus.
“She doesn’t seem to fond of him.” He said, walking towards the general store. “Let’s go find out why.”

 

[Da Doofus]

"I'll see if I can get us work from him. After that we'll do some digging about the area." Rufus adjusted his jacket.
"Let's go get an interview, huh?" He nudged Kairo with a smirk.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo smiled back at Rufus. Dusting off a bit of the dirt that had accumulated on his jumpsuit.
"Yeah. Let's." He opened the door to the general store, motioning for Rufus to get in.

 

[Da Doofus]

Inside was a rustic interior lit with oil lamps and natural lighting. Shelves upon shelves were stocked with tools, spices, dried fruits in boxes and jars. Hanging by the window was a string of jerky, the animal it was made from unknown.

Rufus admired the collection of what looked like various antiques. Some looked like they came from their own time. Behind the counter was a mounted weapon that looked similar to a musket, but had a revolving barrel.
A grizzled man poked his head from below the countertop, a pipe smoldering in his mouth.

"Well that's a surprise." He grumbled, puffing the pipe. "Wasn't expecting humans to come around this time of year.
How can I help ye?"

"Are you Mister Boklovitz?" Rufus asked, waving subtly.

"Aye."

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo wasn’t any less intrigued by the variety of trinkets and goods at the store. Everything here seemed so exotic to him, and yet eerily familiar. Never would he have thought he’d be finding everyday items from his life being prominently displayed as antiques. But just as everything else, the world seemed to like to throw 180’s at his direction.

Kairo’s attention was caught when Mr Blokovitz introduced himself. This was the man that bothered Crina so much, and the way he groomed himself only helped to support her points. Then again, he wasn’t aware of the situation around here. So maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to judge him based on that.

“Nice to meet you.” Kairo waved. “Me and my friend here, we’ve been trying to get back to our settlements, but....unexpected circumstances made that impossible.” He said, reciting what Rufus had told him to say. He wasn’t gonna fuck this up again. “Basically we got stuck here and need work, and Crina told us that we could find something here.”

 

[Da Doofus]

"Crina, eh?" The balding man took out his pipe and emptied it in a nearby ashtray. "You met that sister of hers?"

Rufus laughed. "Oh yes indeed."

"Thwapped you too, eh?" He smirked, then disappeared behind the counter. Seconds later he emerged from the entryway to behind the counter, all three feet of him slightly waddling toward the two.

Rufus's eyes widened, and a smile was fighting to creep on his face.
"It's a fucking Hobbit." He snickered in Kairo's ear.

"What's that now?" Vincent sneered, lighting his pipe with fresh tobacco.

"I said it's a nasty habit. Smoking that is." The outlaw shrugged.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo seemed a bit shook at Rufus’s questionable choice of words. That shock seemed to only grow stronger after he realized Vincent probably heard him.

Thank gosh Rufus has a quick mind, cause otherwise Kairo would have curled up and died on the spot.

He nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Uh....” There was an awkward pause as Kairo tried to calm the fuck down. “What he said...about smoking.”

 

[Da Doofus]

Vincent glanced between the two in subtle sourness at their comments. Then he looked at what they were wearing.

"Those are fancy suits you boys got." He said with curiosity. "Don't see threads like that every day."

Rufus was taken aback by this. He didn't take into account how they stood out in the Noah jumpsuits, even if he wore plenty of gear and his jacket over it.
He thought up a lie quickly.

"Yeah we traded some antique weapons for this after our clothes we had got torched. The guy said it was some old time thing. Figured it was crap . . . I take it I got a bargain?"

"And then some." Vincent pointed to a display case of a tattered Noah jumpsuit. "That was my great-great-grandfather's when the last big ship came down way back when.
You boys heard about that Old World ship landing somewhere in the jungle?"

"A few comments. Not big on gossip unless it pays."

"Heh . . . I can get that." He puffed his pipe. "You boys want a job then, huh?"

"And some supplies, if we can barter." Rufus smirked.

"Straight to the point, I see." Vincent's expression hardened.

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Well there isn’t much of a purpose to dilly dally right?” Kairo shrugged. “So you gotta anything for us?”

 

[Da Doofus]

"I got food, medicine, a few guns, and hunting gear." Vincent replied. "Provided you got bits to spend."

Rufus grimaced.
"Any way we can trade?"

"The suits would go nice on display." Vincent began. "And I like the scarf, and that helmet.

The jacket too." He puffed on his pipe. "That fancy gun you can keep. No one would trade for that around here."

Rufus scowled. "The helmet and jacket aren't for trade, I figured doing some work would count for credit."

Another hard glare from the small man.
"You sure as shit ain't like these lizards, fella.
Fine.

Get some clothes and change into em, food for the road, and that's all the credit you get. That deducts on the pay, you know."

Rufus took off his scarf. "Yeah, I figured." He answered sourly. "Kairo . . . Go ahead and get some clean clothes."

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo too was disappointed with the outcome of the deal. He would have expected something so ancient and antique to be worth much more then what they were getting. There was a unshakeable feeling that the two of them were getting scammed, but there wasn't much he could do about that besides take the offer.

Speaking of that, it would be nice to get out of the damn jumpsuit. The same jumpsuit that he used to not mind was now a mess of dirt and grime, it was fare to say he wasn't going to miss it at all.

He gave Rufus a quick nod, before heading off to browse through his options. He felt like he was at some kind of renfaire with the options he was given. If he was to wear any of this stuff back then, he would have been coined as a freak, but it seems that wouldn't be a factor anymore.

It took him a little while, but he ended up settling with an archer hood, and a basic cloth shirt and pants, held together by a leather belt.. To complete the look, he wore laced boots that way halfway up his calf, the ends of the pants tucked into them.

Once changed, he'd carefully folded up the dirty jumpsuit and approached the other two once again. "How do I look? Dashing I'm guessing?"

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus had chosen a light brown shirt and stitched cloth pants with leather boots. His jacket remained unbuttoned around his chest, and his pistol holster fit snugly against his right leg. The tech-visor helmet hung loosely by a leather strap from his belt.
He had just handed over his own Noah jumpsuit and the scarf with a scowl.

He glanced and saw Kairo.
"You're gonna sweat in that hood." He said.

 

[Chai_T3a]

He waved him off, taking the hood off his head so that it lied on his back.
"Just making sure we get our moneys worth." He added. "Plus I think it looks pretty cool."

 

[Da Doofus]

"It'll have it's uses, I'm sure." He said with a smile, still disheartened by what little that could bargain for.
"So, Mr. Boklovitz . . ." He spoke to the man now packing away their old suits. "You mentioned that this came out of the pay; that mean we got the job?"

"Yup." Vincent nodded. "Delivery job. Up for it?"

"What am I delivering?"

"You're picking it up first. There's a trading post about half a day from here." He pointed outside. "I got some product that I need brought back here."

"Sounds too easy." Rufus raised a brow.

"Well the trading post is further North, so once in a while there will be an Irokai or two stopping in there."

"Irokai . . . Those are the crested ones?"

"Bigger and meaner than these leaf heads around here, and there's bad blood with them and humans. Still if you're at the trading post you got nothing to worry about. They're sticklers about manners and hospitality usually."

"Good to know." Rufus nodded. "Want us to leave now or can we take a few to prepare?"

"Not too long. I want it done." Vincent frowned.

Rufus glanced at Kairo and signaled for them to leave.