Fantasy Kaizoic: Earth Reborn

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek kept his mouth shut, back pressed up against the tree as hard as he could. As if doing so would make the shitty spot a better place to hide. He was banking on the idea that Bazin would give up, but that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon. That damned irokai didn't even know when to die.

He barely even breathed, every second seemingly taking forever to pass. He couldn't last forever in this spot, and he knew that.

 

[Da Doofus]

The humans split up in the woods and Bazin stumbled to lean against the tree. The Irokai seemed to finally allow himself to rest.

A few minutes passed, and the humans made no more noise in the surrounding jungle, meaning that they were a ways away. Bazin wheezed against the tree and bled as he bandaged himself.
Darrek would feel eyes on him in that moment however.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek tuned out the sounds of the jungles. Dew drops, insects, the rustling of leaves, all of it meant nothing to him at that moment. Instead, his energy was directed towards the sound of footsteps, and to his relief, most of them seemed to be heading away from him. It was a prospect that helped him relax. Maybe he wasn't going to die tonight afterall.

He slumped a little, giving himself the liberty of exhaling in relief. Though the gesture may have been a bit early. As soon as he exhaled, a creeping anxiety took rest in his body. As if someone was watching him. Tensing back up, he took a look around, hoping that this was just some kind of trick his mind was playing on him. He was tired, after all.

 

[Da Doofus]

He would suddenly feel a sharp pain in his leg as a smaller figure darted through the underbrush and sliced his calve.

“Boss!” A Vindav shouted. “He’s over here!”

Darrek fell to the wet ground, and two Vindav bandits in warpaint were quick to leap onto him and hold him down.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek couldn't hold himself back from yelling, the sudden pain the sliced calf being a bit too much to handle without warning. Falling over would pretty much seal his fate, but his sudden imbalance meant that staying upright was almost impossible. And as he had expected, the moment he was on the floor, there had been 2 Vindav waiting to pin him down.

Darrek's panic grew, but he still had the composure to keep it hidden. He needed to get out of this before Bazin and the other mercenaries arrived. If they did, it was game over for him.

Angered, he thrashed with all his might, attempting to get a bite into the Vindav's. If either one of them would just loosen their grips a little, he could possibly wiggle out of this.

 

[Da Doofus]

His jaws snapped close to one of the Vindav, but the evasive bandit dodged at the last moment.
A clawed hand grabbed Darrek’s tail and he was drug out of the underbrush and into the clearing. Bazin’s face was snarling in Darrek’s and the young Irokai was thrust against the tree with his former boss about to thrust his blade into his neck.
Time slowed down as he reared his arm back.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Bazin still had a lot of power left in him, and it showed as he thrust the younger Irokai against the tree. Darrek his senses dull for a moment, as the slam left his ears ringing and his head throbbing in pain. Still, he didn't back down, growling at the irokai with incessant fury. He let out every bit of rage and turmoil from the years he worked under his executioner, still, it was not nearly enough to get him out of the situation.

Then, the blade was raised.

Darrek imagined he would go out valiantly with no regrets, but this? This was not what he expected. He was scared, scared out of his mind. And as much as he didn't want to give Bazin the satisfaction, that fear must've shown.

He tried moving his head back to no avail, anything to get away from his impending demise. The blade would come any moment now, and he stared at it with fearful, desperate eyes. Eyes he knew would be glossed over and lifeless not long from now.

 

[Da Doofus]

Gunshots came from the nearby jungle, and Bazin glanced in their direction. Sounds of combat echoed back the way they came and behind the Irokai a tree began to fall.
One of the Vindav wasn’t quick enough to evade the surprise obstacle and was crushed.

“Away.” Came a low voice from behind the broken stump. “Away from that boy.”
A robed figure emerged from the jungle bearing a walking stick and an aged limp.
Bom glared fiercely at Bazin as he entered the clearing, his age not hiding his challenge.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek recognized that voice, it was so familiar to him. Such a stark contrast to the inner turmoil that he felt at that moment. Was this the afterlife he was seeing? Or just some kind of illusion from his desperation? Either way, he didn't want to hear it. It wasn't his time to go...it just wasn't.

Upon the second time it called to him, Darrek came back to his senses.

Eye's wide, he turned his head to find Bom's figure looking back at him. His body seemingly began to tremble, overwhelmed in emotion. As if having Bom's fatherly figure here finally allowed him to release the fear he had pent up.

"Bom!" He shouted, with nothing to follow it up with. That desperation from earlier now making way for hope. Maybe he could survive this after all.

 

[Da Doofus]

More shouting came from deep in the jungle as Bazin’s troops engaged the encroaching Archaic.
Bazin grunted a command to the remaining Vindav, and they charged Bom.

With surprising speed, the old Kendian thrust his free hand out and grabbed the first Vindav by his head and swing him to strike the second midleap.
Once the second was on the ground he struck down with his walking stick, (which was thick enough to be a treebranch), and hit the small Archo in his spine. Bone cracked and a life was ended.
Bom then tossed the stunned Vindav in his hand away like a doll.

“You brought chaos and fear into the Mother’s forest.” He took a heavy step forward. “Your brigands threaten a village in my care.”
He bared his tusk-like saber teeth in a lpw growl.
“You draw blood from those whom are kin to me.”

Bazin dropped Darrek and aimed his weapon.
“Save it, leaf eater, I’m not in the mood.”

An empty click came from his pistol, and for a brief moment, dread flashed over his face.
The larger Kendian swiped with his staff, and blood spewed from Bazin’s lips along with two teeth over the great tree’s bark. The bandit leader growled and thrust with his blade only to have his arm in Bom’s grasp and his body tossed away. The Kendian elder reared back and let out a bellowing roar that sent his throat to shake and the sound to boom like thunder.

Tumbling through mud, the Irokai had little time to regain a stance before the Kendian charged. With strength still in his old limbs, Bom shoved Bazin into a small tree; breaking it upon impact and clattering onto the ground along with Bazin.

Another thunderous bellow came as the fighting drew closer, and the local dialects of humans growing meaning Bazin too had reinforcements.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek landed on the floor with absolutely no grace. Leg’s still wobbly from the ordeal, even standing up became a struggle. Leaning against the tree, he attentively watched the battle between Bom and Bazin. His heart and soul begging for the former to win. Unlike his own battle with Bazin, this time, thing’s seemed to be going in their favour. He was worried for Bom, in particular his age. But he knew the man that had raised him. Bom was anything but weak, and even in old age, that carried through.

He calmed his nerves, watching the rest of the battlefield. Their victory seemed imminent, but their was still a battle to fight. The human voices that seemed to quickly approach signalling the appearance of a new foe. He had a few moments before they’d arrive. And he’ll he’d be prepared for them. But for now, he wanted to relinquish in this current fight. Watching Bazin’s beat down became a therapy that Darrek never knew he needed.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bazin groaned underneath the tree, and Bom let out another roar before collapsing to his knees. Only his walking stick held him up.

The human mercenaries from earlier burst from the bushes and surrounded the fatigued Kendian. Moments after, five more came running from the jungle near Darrek looking bloodied from combat.
They too were followed by a pair of humans dragging a familiar metal armed human and Archaic soldier as prisoners.

Darrek, Stryx, and Bom were completely outnumbered as Bazin finally began to stand back up.
A snarl was made from the beaten Irokai, but the sight of his sudden advantage tempered his rage.

It was short lived as a rumble briefly shook the ground.
The mercenaries became unsure of what just happened, and the remaining Vindav regained consciousness near the jungle border in a gasp.
A second rumble that grew into a small but steady tremor, and the bandit turned and ran into the jungle. He knew what was coming.

The humans became uneasy and in that moment of fear, a spear too large for any human soared from the Northern border and landed at Bazin’s feet.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek had been so sure of their victory, but expectations were often wildly different from reality. And in this case, it seemed Darrek had vastly misjudged the number of reinforcements that Bazin had and Bom's own fitness.

Again surrounded, Darrek found little he could do to help. Thankfully he wouldn't have to. A tremor rather unfamiliar to him ripped through the jungle, and seemed to have made the enemy weary. That was followed by a spear thrown directly at Bazin's feet.

"What the hell is going on." Darrek mumbled to himself, not sure if he should be frightened or encouraged.

 

[Da Doofus]

A lone figure emerged from where the spear came. A Kendian wearing a cloak of stitched vines and leaves.
Given his smaller size, he was still young, but his body was leaner than Bom’s. The male tossed away his camouflage to unveil a body of golden scales with green paint coating most of its color.

Darrek would recognize him immediately, even though it had been years since he last saw his childhood friend. Talom.

Bazin growled, but then groaned at the pain it caused to do so.
“Someone kill these fools.”

The mercenaries began to close in on Bom and a few turned to Talom, but stopped when more movement came from the trees. More Kendians emerged, larger and not requiring camouflage like the young Talom. Easily a dozen stomped from the trees, and more behind them were following.
Each one a giant by human standards, and wearing simple cloth over their chest and legs, but a few bore bone adornments hanging from leather belts or on their shoulders. THe humans froze in their tracks and even Bazin started to show a new expression entirely on his previously enraged face of recent scars.
He was afraid.

More and more Kendians came into the clearing and marched closer to the invaders. Stryx and the soldiers captors released them and began to flee.
A notable Kendian emerged to stand next to Talom, who backed away in respect.
The Chief of Clan Khazid was wearing leather and hide armor with arm plating made of a peculiar looking bark, and the cracked skull of an Irokai on his side.

The warrior met eyes with the fearful Bazin, and spoke a single word in Kendian.
They all charged, and the ground shook under their weight. Bazin’s entire force fled in terror, along with their leader. A fruitless escape, as once they were in the jungle depths, the Kendians caught up to all of them.

Bazin’s frantic yelling was short lived as the Kendian hunters bellowed in their successful pursuit.

 

[Chai_T3a]

What happened before Darrek was a scene he could have never expected. Something uncanny, unprovoked, as if the very thought of it happening was thought hard to conjure. He had so many questions, yet was so thoroughly shocked that he couldn't even ask one. In his stupor, all he could do was stand, dumbfounded as he watched the newly arrived kendian's turn the tide of the battle.

He'd kept his focus on Talom. It'd been years since he last saw his childhood friend, and it seemed he'd changed quite a bit during that time. Certainly got much taller. The kendian had always been the strongest out of their trio. But now? Talom could probably take him down without even batting an eyelid.

He smiled. Good. If he couldn't take Bazin down, having Talom here to do it for him was the next best thing.

Darrek smile only grew wider, even relishing in the panic that overtook his previous employer. Darrek liked to think that he was kind-hearted, that he had a semblance of morality. But this? This was different. Bazin could die a horrible death and Darrek wouldn't even mind one bit. Not mere moments from then, his wishes were answered. Bazin's yelling died down, replaced by the victorious bellows from the Kendian tribe. Darrek felt compelled to join in, how couldn't he? With a sound that was half cheering, half roar, Darrek celebrated his newly gained freedom.

It was over, everything was finally over.

 

[Da Doofus]

Bom managed to stand up with assistance from his grandson, and the clan chief approached with stomping strides.
He snapped a glare at Darrek when his cheering stopped and that’s when he would recognize him.

Berin. Bom’s son and Talom’s uncle.

“Darrek.” The chief grumbled in a voice like grinding stones. He had a resemblance to his father, but his dark green coloring wasn’t faded and his colored patches over his eyes were vibrantly white. A collar of feathers adorned his leather armor as a symbol of his status, and the Irokai trophy skull stared at Darrek with hollow eyes.
Berin turned to Bom.

“Father . . . What has been happening here?”

Bom smiled. “A most interesting end to Kavera’s Sleep.”

Darrek would remember that as the name for the celebration the Kendians and Vindav shared this time of year. It was symbolic of the Great Mother’s awakening from a yearly sleep and brings a season of new life and lush growth to Hennasia.
Unspoken, it was the Kendian and Vindav’s season of a new year.

Berin handed his father his staff, and the two began the walk back to Drafisl. Talom ran to Darrek and looked at him.

“Wow. It’s really you.” He blinked. “You grew.” He offered a hand of assistance. Despite being half-Kendian, he and Darrek were the same height.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek did his best to remain respectful to Berin. Sure the tribe leader got on his nerves, but he'd just saved his life. He gave the kendian a nod and a quick smile, trying his absolute best not to look at the irokai skull he had adorned, before turning away to face Talom. The one he was actually excited to see again.

His smile became a toothy, playful grin at the sight of his best friend. He took the hand Talom offered and used the link to pull his childhood friend in for a hug.

"And you're still saving my ass." He said as he pulled away, getting a good look at him. "You've got no clue how much I miss you. Crina too."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Last I heard of you was from Cräga. Said you went North or something.” He smiled, which was an amusing sight always since he lacked the rear pair of tusk-like teeth on his bottom jaw so his grin was not as brutish as other Kendians.
“Really happy to see you back. Shame it’s under such . . .” He looked at the body without a head. “Poor circumstances.”

Stryx was helping his soldier tend to a cut on his upper arm, hidden behind a root to avoid attention from the Kendians of Clan Khazid. They ignored the humans either way, and followed Berin.

Talom however, noticed the humans and smelled the air.
“Who are those humans?” He asked. “They smell . . . Odd.”

 

[Chai_T3a]

"Oh HAH!" Darrek wheezed, suddenly realizing how much had happened in the past few weeks. Talom had missed a lot, and Darrek was unsure of where to even start.

"They're Archaic." He added nonchalantly, pausing there in an attempt to get a reaction out of Talom. He'd explain everything in due time, but this could likely be a surprise of a lifetime, and he needed to engrain his childhood friend's reaction into his head.

 

[Da Doofus]

Talom blinked, then looked at Darrek. Then back at Stryx (who still had not noticed either of them nearby), and then back at Darrek.

“Are you . . . Serious?” He glanced at Stryx again. “Holy Mother is his arm METAL?”

 

[Chai_T3a]

He got all he had asked for, and then some. His lips threatening to part into a full on laugh. There was the Talom he knew and love.

"No, it's just warpaint. Very elaborate warpoint." Darrek added sarcastically, though the voice sounded more amused than anything. He waited until his amusement had died down before continuing the conversation. "You've missed a lot Talom. I don't even think I can understand what happened in the past few days. There's a new archaic ship, landed straight in the Kaveran Jungle. Hell, one of them promised to take me on a ride in those mechanical wagons they had."

 

[Da Doofus]

Talom shook his head. “Ships?
Mechanical wagons?” He glanced at Stryx. “Warpaint?

No . . . No it’s real metal. How does that?”

The man stood, and so did the soldier. The Commander looked at Darrek.
“Darrek, right?” He said to him.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek quickly realized that a brief explanation just wasn't going to cut it. Darrek had grown rather accustomed to Victor's advanced weaponry. Hell, they even had a syndroid at one point. But even with all that exposure to technology, even he had been shocked at the extent of how advanced the archaic were.

Talom on the other hand, OOOOhh Talom. Darrek wouldn't be surprised if he'd never even seen a piece of metal in his life.

"I'll go into detail later." He briefly said, before his reunion was cut off by Stryx.

"Yeah that's me," Darrek confirmed, looking at the battle-hardened commander. "Thank's for the help, by the way. I wasn't expecting you to be here."

 

[Da Doofus]

“Well you helped us when you didn’t need to.” Stryx said. “And after your help a few days ago . . .” He knelt to take a breath. “You were owed.

We’ll try to not cause trouble for your kind.” He said before beginning the walk back to the settlement.
In moments, the Archaic and Kendians were gone, leaving only Talom and Darrek beneath the tree.

 

[Chai_T3a]

Darrek nodded, the commander's insurance helping to relax him quite a bit. He'd miss Rufus and Kairo quite a bit, but there was no way he'd let today be their last meeting. Once all of this bureaucratic shit got cleared up? Darrek was sure to pay the two the visit, hell, he'd probably go before that. Kairo still did owe him that ride, after all.

But for now, he didn't feel like worrying about all of that. Plopping down onto the floor, his back leaning on a nearby tree, he looked up at Talom. "So then, what's the plan now? You're coming back to Drafisl, right?"