Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Da Doofus]

The road lay before the two, and Rufus led the way through the mountain pass. Cracked stones and the occasional faded sign kept the dimly lit route from being too monotonous.
At one turn, there was a rotting wooden wagon upturned on the road. The derelict cart had been there for a while to the point the frame had decayed to only a skeleton of what it once was. The wheels were rusted metal pieces, and spread from years of sitting in one spot.

Rufus kicked away a bolt. “So . . . I’m guessing a town? Know anything about it?”

 

[Chai_T3a]

The derelict abandoned cart caused a sense of dread to build up inside him. Although whatever ended up upturning the wagon was now long gone, Kairo still couldn’t help but wonder what that was. No one would abandon a cart like this without any good reason to.

As he walked around the scene, inspecting the cart, he began to realize that Rufus was probably right about the town part. But what town would have such a shitty road? It looked as if a single person hadn’t set foot here in ages, completely
Decrepit and abandoned.

Abandoned? Wait!

Kairo’s eyes seem to light up as he started piecing things together. “The town is abandoned.” He muttered to himself, before turning around to face Rufus.

“Dakovis.” He mentioned. “The old Rithian town that got abandoned in a fire. The one Darrek’s been talking about. Seems the most logical answer to me.” He turned to look straight ahead at the road.

 

[Da Doofus]

“I heard him mention the name . . . “ Rufus looked ahead as well in curiosity. “Well this may be good news. If there are any buildings still standing, I can probably use one of those to place the transmitter.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Perfect.” Kairo said. “Might wanna be careful though. Darrek tried heading years back, apparently Dracon stopped them and told them not to go. That gives me a bad feeling.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Well probably means he lives there.” Rufus said. “So we’ll need to be careful . . . Maybe go around the place and find a spot in the rocks.” He drew a hypothetical path further along the path and across the mountainous slopes.
“Don’t think he gets visitors.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Huh. You know what I never thought of that.” Kairo said, scratching the back of his head. “Mmmmm, there goes my plan of exploring the ghost town.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Much as I’d like to have a look at what loot the dinos left behind . . . I’d rather not get in another fight given the choice.” Rufus explained while drawing his pistol.
“Don’t have many laz-cartridges left. So let’s play this one safe.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Oh don’t worry, I’m not gonna head down there If he’s there.” Kairo shivered, just the thought of meeting up with that certain irokai unnerved him. Now if you added the fact that they were following him? He was sure all hell would break loose. He wondered how many limbs he’d come out of in that situation.

“Rocks sounds fine, and safer.” Kairo added on with a nervous chuckle

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus nodded and started back on the road. A short while passed with further walking along the broken path to Dakovis. Finally, Rufus caught something on the ground and stopped to inspect it.

“These are human tracks.” He said. “Republic boots.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was lost in thought when Rufus abruptly stopped in the middle of the track. Kairo almost ended up bumping into the man, before catching himself and taking a few steps backs. Curious as to what Rufus had saw, he stepped around the man and crouched down to take a look for himself.

The footprint imprinted on the otherwise abandoned road came from a human. At least from what he knew, archosaurs didn’t really have a use for shoes. Besides that, he wasn’t much of a survivalist but he assumed that the print looked relatively fresh. Someone had definitely walked here not too long ago. That in itself wasn’t too much of a problem, but something about the footprint felt weird to him. Oddly familiar. As if he’d seen something like it before.

Rufus’s mention of the republic quickly helped him realize where.

“REPUBLIC?” He exclaimed loudly, before clothing his mouth to control himself. He hoped it wasn’t loud enough to attract a specific person nearby. “I...you’re saying someone from camp could have ended up here?” He stood up from the floor, talking more reserved this time. “You have any idea as to where they’re headed? We need to find them.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Well they’re going where we are.” Rufus pointed ahead. “Probably already there.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo took one further look at the track. Oh yeah, it seemed that it was headed towards the town anyway. In the heat of the moment, he must have missed that crucial little detail.

“Oh. Well, that makes things easy.” Kairo said. “Lets keep on going then. I don’t like the idea of having them run into Dracon.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Well I’m not looking forward to them not recognizing us either. So no hollering.” He stood back up and noticed something else.
“Look over the next ridge.”

Just over the next turn, behind one of the steep ridges, the faintest glimpse of a rounded tower top. It’s stones were moss coated and the structure was crumbling.

 

[Chai_T3a]

“Anyone from camp would probably know who we are.” Kairo stated, before looking out to the ridge like Rufus mentioned.

Seeing the obvious sign of infrastructure gave Kairo a bit of a smile. After such a long time on the road, the two finally managed to make it. “That must be Dakovis.” Kairo said, getting onto his tip toes to try and get a better look. “Look’s old enough to fit the picture.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Let’s go.” Rufus at last said, and continued on in what he knew to be the last turn until their destination.
*********************
Dakovis was a sight to behold for the two humans. While Drafisl was a mere walled hamlet of wooden huts and dirt roads, this was a fortified town not unlike something of a medieval city or a small metropolis from the Renaissance.
Where the mountain path ended in a vast box canyon, Dakovis had been built as a secured stone town complete with walls cutting it off from the one entrance the two now approached. Behind the thirty foot barriers and rotten doors, dozens of stone buildings of similar design to Tarlim’s home took up the bulk of Dakovis. Among them were empty watchtowers and crumbling multi-story homes with varying levels of fire damage.
At the very back of the town, built out of the mountain wall of the box canyon, was a manor of sorts given the sheer size and ornate stonework of the house. It bore similarity to a Gothic cathedral mixed with an old mansion.

Rufus was standing to appreciate the architecture from their current distance, regardless of it being a crumbling shadow of what it once was.

He gave an impressed whistle that echoed slightly.
“Damn.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo remembered being impressed by the Noah. Its structure, and it’s ingenious design. He remembered how awe inspiring that ship had been for him. Seeing the ruins of Dacovis provided that same sense of awe within him.

He wasn’t sure he’d seen anything like this before. Sure, there was the old ruins of a human era city. But that was an architectural style he had already become familiar with. This? This was completely new and alien territory.

“You sure we can’t go in and explore a bit?” Kairo joked, eyes glued on the city like some dumb tourist.

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus looked at the cliff sides of the canyon, and saw where the city walls linked directly to the mountainside.
“Well it looks like we ain’t got a choice.” He glanced at his tracker.
“Good news though. Smiley’s tracker isn’t showing up so he may be out of the area.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

A smile quickly appeared on Kairos face the moment Rufus mentioned the current predicament.

“Well then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Kairo said, pushing the man urgently towards the abandoned city.

 

[Da Doofus]

“Okay okay. Calm down.” Rufus grunted as they approached the collapsed double doors of large proportion.
Past them was the main street of Dakovis, and the charred remains of its former glory were displayed in a haunting scene of crumbling houses, stores, and other such buildings.
Even Rufus’s excitement at the potential exploration faded at the sight. He began walking down the street to look in on the blackened sections of the ruined structures.

“What happened here?” He asked Kairo, as he had proven to be more of the expert on the area’s history.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo's previous excitement dimmed down quite once he witnessed the state Dacovis was in. With the walls blocking most of the city, he couldn't notice the true extent of the damage. But now inside, he could see every misfortune that the city and it's residence must have gone through. He swore he could still smell the ash from the fire. This place was rather depressing.

Rufus's words brought him out of his own thoughts. An eyebrow cocked in surprise at what he said. "I never told you what happened here before?" He trailed a finger across a decrepit wall that in its formal glory, must have been a home. "The whole place burned down years ago from some kind of fire. Don't think the surviving residence thought it was salveagable, so they just left it here. Like this."

 

[Da Doofus]

Rufus looked at the ghostly desolation of the Rithian colony, and caught a glimpse of the town square. He saw something that made him stop to admire.

“Hey come look at this.” He said to Kairo.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo had been inspecting a random building when Rufus called him over. Curious as to what the man had to show him, Kairo walked over to where Rufus was to take a look for himself.

“what’s up?”

 

[Da Doofus]

In the town square, amidst the circle of rubble of several burned down buildings, stood a stone statue of a stoically posed Irokai. Carved in such detail that the fur collar of his coat bore the illusion of texture to it. He held a cane in one clawed hand and his other was a generously outstretched hand. Carved across his chin and jaw was a beard of ragged feathers, and even wrinkles were added to the detail of the statue.

“That’s impressive.” Rufus commented, stepping forward to inspect the inscription at the statue’s base. He squinted at the words but could not discern the Rithian language.
“Damn.” He sighed, looking up at the regal Irokai. “What you think? This guy was the founder or something?”

 

[Chai_T3a]

Kairo was equally as impressed as he eyed the statue. He’d rarely seen anything this intricate in his life. If it wasn’t for the fact that the statue was grey and colourless, he would have mistaken it for an actual irokai.

“I’m not sure.” Kairo said. “But whoever he was must have been important. This looked like it took ages to sculpt.”

 

[Da Doofus]

“Hmm . . .” Rufus nodded, and then checked his tracker again.
He fell silent and tensed. “Hold it.” He said quietly. “I got movement; multiple signals.”