By the time you read this, I will have reached the cave with my old things. You should head to the east of the ruined bridge. Soon you will come upon an encampment of soldiers guarding a large road. The only way into the city we wish to reach is travelling on that road. Of course these soldiers will not let us pass no matter what. They must be eliminated. Wiether or not you choose to head to that encampment, they will find you. Every day they go along the river and search for any intruders. Either way, they must be confronted and eliminated. I will meet you there after I retrieve my belongings. It will not take me long. They are pretty good fighters, but the soldiers tend to fight alone instead of a group. They think they are so good they each can do it themselves. That is their weakness. I will catch up with you shortly.

Tyrbane places the note on the ground with a dagger through it, holding it to the ground. It was placed in a location that would be easy to see. He then heads towards the west and eventually comes upon the cave. As he walks into the cave, he could hear a low growl from deep within.

"Who art thou and what business brings you here?" said a deep voice. A large black dragon emerges from the darkness and aproaches Tyrbane.

"I am Tyrbane, son of Silverhand. I have come for my belongings."

"If thou art truelly Tyrbane, son of Silverhand, then defend thyself!" The dragon lurched forward at Tyrbane, who quickly dodged out of the way.

"You'll have to do better than that old boy." Tyrbane unsheaths his sword and runs up to the dragon, slicing its underbelly.

"How on earth did you hit me there? My underside was completely covered." The black dragon breathes deeply and unleashes a stream of flames as Tyrbane.

Tyrbane is hit by the explosion and is blasted through the cave wall. "That stung," Tyrbane mutters as he stands up. He walks back into the cave and faces the dragon again. "My my. Throwing me through a wall huh? Real cute." Tyrbane grabs his sword and attempts to run behind the dragon.

"Not so fast, you pathetic human," screams the dragon as it turns and strikes Tyrbane with his large tail. The dragon then walks up and places his foot down on Tyrbane's chest. "Give up or I shall smoosh you!"

Tyrbane stares into the black dragon's eyes. As their eyes met, the dragon recognized him.

"Thou art truelly Tyrbane, son of Silverhand! You fight well." The dragon refused to remove his foot. "Why dont you just move my foot out of the way?"

Tyrbane lifts his arms and grabbed the large foot. He pushed upward and is able to move the foot to the side. "Bahamut, old friend, your foot is much larger than before!"

"You are stronger than before. You may have your things. Your horse is still fine, even though I wanted to eat it on many occassions. If thou ever need my assistance, just call and I will come."

Tyrbane stands up and begins to collect his old belongings, including a strange looking artifact with writing on it:
Use only in an Emergency! Causes you and your party to be temporarily immune to time magic. "I knew I would need this one day. My mom was a smart woman. Hopefully this will be enough to counteract that mage's abilities..." Tyrbane then continued gathering and loading onto his horse. He was busy for quite some time.

<BR><BGSOUND src="Memories of the Past 2- The Final Fantasy Forums_files/youre_not_alone.mid" loop=infinite><BR>

[This message has been edited by Merlin (edited 05-07-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Merlin (edited 05-09-2001).]

"see you soon"

"Well then, let us be off" Tec said while strapping up his armour, and putting his traveling cloak on over it... and then once again, adjusting the straps for his sword, while Rowin was making similar preprations... and with that, after pinning travel beaten path... and when they reach the river, they find themselves suddenly surrounded by about 4 Soldiers....

"I thought Tyrbane said they fight alone?" Rowin said, as he unscheathed his sword and prepared for the skirmish that was about to commence.

"Guess that things are different now...." Tec also pulled out his great broadsword, and looked around at the four... "THen again, its only two apiece... lets show them how its done"

A fifth Soldier comes out of the darkness ahead, follwed by a robed man, his hood covering his face. This new soldeir had many ribbons and an insignia on his mantle, showing him to be the leading officer, outranking the others...

"You must stop, there is no passing here, by order of the king... wait, I see you bear the insignia of the king on your pack, though I have never seen you before..." The officers eyes flit to anger, as he thinks over what it could mean... " You must be a friend of that scum Tyrbane... you will die, there is no second chance"

A man and what looked like an elf were fighting against five soldiers. The fight is fierce, two of the soldiers dying.
The picture is fuzzy, hard to make out who the individuals are. He opens his eyes, startled and sees the inside of the cave again.

"What on earth was that?" Tyrbane says with a startle.

Then another flash.

There is a large grassy hill with the same individuals down below. On top of the hill came a large fleet of soldiers, at least three hundred, charging towards the small group of people.

His sight returns to normal again. Once again a flash..

The two individuals were standing over the defeated soldiers. They were celebrating their hard fought battle. What they did not realize was the actual army of soldiers were approaching with much rapidity. The soldiers closed in from all sides. There were too many of them, no way to stop so many...The schene fades out.

Tyrbane opens his eyes and sees Bahamuut standing in front of him.

"I think you should be going now. Your friends need your help."

"But how did you know?" Tyrbane asks.

"That is not your concern. Leave now, or it will be too late!" Bahamut says with haste.

Tyrbane jumps on his horse and heads back east, towards the battle. The horse is swift, obviously, Bahamut had been keeping it active by chasing it. He just hoped the solders were slower. He knew that the fleet would arrive about the same time he did, or slightly after.

Just as the words passed Rowins lips the ground started to shake softly. The the shaking became stronger and stronger.

"I don't like the looks of this."

Suddenly a huge group of soldiers is visible coming over the hill, and almost simultaneously two more groups come from both the east and the west.

"This is not good, not good at all."

Rowin and Teclis draw there swords, ready to take as many soldiers as they send as many soldiers as they can to they're fiery graves before the two can not stand any longer.

"They're coming in fast, we don't have much time. "

As the first group of soldiers get close enough to attack... Tec's eyes begin to glow with a fire... and then he raises his sword skyward, and a bolt of lightning comes down to strike the sword and envelop it... Tec points the glowing blade at the soldiers, and 4 of them suddenly burst into flame... there screams of pain reaching the farthest ranks, they fall to the ground, and then they move no more... there corpses still smoking from the spell, the advancing colum halts momentarily in surprise... and all of them are thinking of the same thing...

Magic

While this was taking place, the man on the horse charged forward towards the army. The man, Tyrbane, found his comrads and put them onto the horse. The soldiers were so confused they never even notice. Tyrbane kicks the horse in the rear, which then runs back up the hill with the two passengers.

"You fools really don't get it do you?" Tyrbane says to the scared soldiers. "I would suggest that you run, while you have a chance."

Tyrbane looks skyward and sees a large ball of blue energy forming from the shadow. "Nevermind, fools. It is too late! I bid you farewell."

With that, Tyrbane runs up the hill as fast as he can and falls to the ground. As he did, the ball of energy changed to a beam of energy, pulsing towards the remaining soldiers. When the energy beam hits, the ground explodes, sending a shockwave of debris in every direction, almost to the top of the hill. A loud roar could be heard in from the sky as the shadow shrinks. Once out of the direct sunlight, it is quite clear what or whom it was....Bahamut.

When all the dust had settled, and all the smoke had cleared, a figure could be seen down below. Somehow, one man survived the destruction. Somehow, he managed to live through the explosions, standing tall. Tyrbane can hear him laughing, a hideous laugh, filled with sheer joy and anger at the same time.

"Muahahaha," laughed the figure, "do you think your pathetic eidolon could defeat me so easily? You might have killed my little puppets but your 'megaflare' shit didn't even scratch me! You and your friends will die. Oh, how did you like that little premonition? I thought it was quite entertaining myself."

"What?!?"

"FOOL! I was the one who made your little 'Alexandria fantasy'. I was the one who made the 'premonition'. I was the one who called you here. And I will be the one to kill you. The soldiers were a decoy. You think I would let these imbeciles kill you for me? That would be too easy! What would be the fun in that? Bow down to your master!"

The man raises his hand toward Tyrbane, sending some kind of energy force, causing Tyrbane to fall to his knees.

"Enough with your games! Fight me like a man, you cheap wuss! You think knocking me to my knees will make me your servant?" Tyrbane yelled.

"You forget, you already ARE my servant. Your friends don't understand who you are, or what you are for that matter. Mister nice-guy huh? You make me sick! You had such great potential and what did you do? You wasted it helping the needy, protecting the defenseless, making friends with worthless pieces of crap!"

"What are you talking about?!? I don't remember you! I don't even know who you are!"

"Don't you? Are you so eager to forget your past? It has a funny way of coming up and biting you in the ass!" The man began walking towards Tyrbane, geting closer and closer.

Tyrbane was confused, he didn't know what to think. "No! It can't be! You died! I saw it with my own eyes! You and my betrothed! You both died in the blast!"

"Good. You are starting to remember. Welcome home SON!"

"Son of a *****... over extended my power..." His head goes to the back of his head... and he casts his eyes round about, looking for Rowin... to no avail... "Where am I?? I last remember was fighting those soldiers, but it seems I was not cought... I wonder where I could be... hmmm..." Teclis begins to walk down the stone path... and notices horse tracks going the other way... he gets to his knees to inspect those tracks...

"Hmm, whoever went this way was in a hurry... I wonder where everyone could be... let me see here..."

Tec gets down to his knees, and begins to meditate... "Must focus... forget all and concentrate on where Rowin is... think, think think...."

Through Tec's mind, he sees a forest glade... and there lies Rowin, and A horse is standing next to him, grazing a stream runs to the side of them... Rowin, though wounded, seems to be alive, and breathing...

"So it seems he is ok, I wonder If I was on that same horse but fell off... hmmm, now where is Tyrbane? Focus..."

Teclis sees a soldier's camp... as he casts his minds eye around... he looks for Tyrbane, fearing the worst... and suddenly he finsds him, shackled in a tent, and what Teclis sees next makes his eyes widen in fury and horror, as he sees the Robed man from the glade again, this time, with his hood revelaing his face... Thats him! thats His father!...

Teclis jumps to his feet only to encounter another headache...

"slow down... hes not here, that is the problem with that spell, you dont see what is near, you see from a minds eye... well, I had better find a Town, so as to plan my next move, but I think I will try and find Rowin first..."

With that, Teclis picks up his Sword, which layed discarded on the ground, and begins to walk/stagger down the path following the Trail...

"Don't bother fool. I specially designed those to keep you there!."

Tyrbane turns towards the voice and sees the robed figure again.

"Are you too scared to face me like a man? You have to lock me up so you get free shots?"

"You really are stupider since the last time we met. I think those idiots you hang out with have dulled your senses. You WILL die, but I need to show you something..." The man spins around suddenly and drops the cloak to the ground. What Tyrbane sees is quite startling...HIMSELF!

"But..." Tyrbane tried to say.

"How do you like it? It fits me doesnt it? After my..or should I say YOUR imprisonment, the people of Quel' Thalas forgave me! They discovered that the house was burned down by accident. The poor fools were so sorry they made me their king, that is after the unfortunate death of the original king...Muahaha!"

"You bastard!" Tyrbane yells.

"Oooh, you have your mother's temper! Too bad she also met an unfortunate death before she could be proud of you! There is one thing else I want to show you, but that will have to wait for tonight. Me and my dumbass elven soldiers are having a little party. Too bad they'll all be dead before dessert!"

"Your one sick mutherf..." Tyrbane is cut off before he could finish it.

"Guards! I think this old man needs a lesson in respect! Remember, this is the fool who tried to kill my wife!" said the Tyrbane-look-alike.

"You really are stupider since the last time we met. I think those idiots you hang out with have dulled your senses. You WILL die, but I need to show you something..."

Rowin wakes up and realizes he was having a vision. He looks around and finds himself lying up against a tree in a deep forest.

"Damn, i need to help Tyrbane."

Rowin staggers to his feet and screams in pain as he sees the gash in his right leg.

"No time to worry about this now, i've gotta help Tyrbane."

"Hang on buddy, just a little farther..."

"I see you are awake" says the old man.

Tyrbane replies sarcastically, "So, when's this BIG surprise you're going to show me, I just can't wait!"

"Oh, you'll be quite surprised. Quite surprised indeed!"

Two guards come into the tent and unchain Tyrbane from the wall. They then quickly tie his hands together to keep him from escaping. The guards also place a robe on Tyrbane, making him look like what the old man used to look like.

Old man Silverhand begins walking to a large tent, much larger than the others. The guards drag Tyrbane behind Silverhand, trying to catch up. The inside of the tent is extrodinary, covered with antique rugs on the walls and a large banquet table in the middle. Silverhand sits at the head of the table and Tyrbane is dragged over to him.

"Let me introduce you to my wife..." the old man says. The old man then turns towards the back and says, "Come dear, over here!"

Tyrbane is quite shocked at what he sees before his eyes---His bride-to-be exactly two years ago is married to his father!

Tyrbane is once again dragged, this time into a corner. He sits there in astonishment, growing more and more angry, becoming more and more outraged. She actually thought that the old man was HIM! The soldiers notice his bewilderment and move in to keep him quiet. As they get closer, they are suddenly blasted across the room, through the tent, and straight into the weapons stock room. Needless to say, a thousand sharpened swords is not forgiving when struck.

"How the hell?" Silverhand asks to noone in particular. "How in the HELL did you do that when you are chained in anti-magic chains?!?"

"I am the game" Tyrbane mumbles.

"What did you say boy?'

"I am the GAME!"

"Um... ok." the old man.

"It's all about the game isn't it old man? It's all abot control and if you can take it. It's all about debt and if you can pay it. It's all about pain, and who's gonna make it. Isn't that what you always taught me, that it is all just a GAME? Who can control the individual the best, who can dish out the most pain?"

"Yes, I suppose so. What is your point?" the old man inquires.

"Well, DAD... I am the game, you don't want to play me. I am control, no way you can chain me! I am heavy debt, no way you can pay it. And of course, I am the pain and there's no way you can take it!" Tyrbane says, almost as if he was singing it.

"Cute little tune, but you see, you ARE chained, you're the one in pain, you OWE ME for all that I have done for you, and you don't play games that well."

Just then, the shackles on Tyrbane fall to the ground, as if they were never locked together. He begins walking towards Silverhand.

Tyrbane says, "You trying to figure out what my move's going to be? Come on sucker why don't you ASK ME?!?"

The old man takes a step back. "What has gotten into you, little boy? You're acting like a crazy man!"

"Isn't this what you wanted father? Someone to follow in your footsteps? Someone who would become more powerful then you?" Tyrbane walks closer, the old man being shoved to the ground by some invisible force. "You forget, there's a price you pay for being evil!"

"How on earth?" the old man mummbles, "You seem to be growing stronger as you get angry! Even so, your powers are no match for mine... MUAHAHAHA!"

Tyrbane thinks to himself: He's right. Even with my increased power, he is still stronger. I wonder what happened to the others? Are they dead? Are they alive somewhere far off? Or are they nearby?

"Getting the shivers? Attack me!" the old man yells.

Teclis emerged from the house to see the village for the first time... and it wasnt much... warfare was apperent here... burned things... some smoking hovels... but there was also signs of rebuilding and growth... these people lived there lives in fear and a constant state of readiness... from one end to the other... signs of men training was apperent... young men standing attack dummies... there ranking officers drilling for hours... this was a town ready and willing to sacrifice there lives for there freedom... Rowin comes up to Tec from the right... he smiles in seeing his friend up and well...

"Ahh, good, the Cleric was able to heal you... thats a good sign, you almost died my friend... well I better introduce you to Kradikin... the leader of this village..."

Rowin leads teclis to a tent out in the field, and shows him inside... in there... two men were sitting on chairs, pouring over a map of the kingdom and other battle notices... A big man in his early 30's looks over at Rowin and Tec... and stands and offers his hand to them... his brown hair, and big burley beard almost making him look like a barbarian from history... but his mery blue eyes twinkled... "Ahh, so you finally decide to awake from your slumber Tec... good, good to see you again.. allow me to intorduce myself.. i am Kradikin.. leader of this town... and a good friend of Tyrbane's we grew up together... and these are my comrades..." he said pointing to the other two men, who look up to aknowladge them... "my second in command, Ryider" he says... pointing to a young man in his mid 20's... his lean body framed by his short cropped blonde hair and blue eyes... "He is young, though a tactical genious at this kind of stuff and the other... is Drakin, who I think you will find farmiliar Teclis..." With that, the other man lifts the hood covering his face... revealing a set of almond shaped eyes... his fair grey hair falling around his shoulders and his pointed ears much apperent... his whole face having a certain angularity to it... and his body, though tall is very lean... his eyes, being a deep grey, show wisdom beyond years... "Hello Teclis" he says with a calm slowness, then a big grin breaks across his face. When Teclis sees him, his eyes widen into surprisment, and later happiness... "You!! I thought you had been killed in your travels to the dwarven caves..." And with that he runs to to embrace his friend... both of them laughing at seeing each other again... "But how did you survive?"

"Ahh, you dissapoint me... you know A Mage of Saphery can't be harmed that easily... I used a simple transportation spell... but we must now turn our attention to the task at hand... Tyrbane is in great danger..." He replys...

They all gather back around the table and begin to address the situation... Rowin is the first to respond "We need to Tyrbane free of there grasp before we can do anything..."

"Agreed" Ryider said, his face looking thoughtfull "it is a well guarded area he has been taken to... the army here would not be able to break in... we should break into two groups... one heading in secretly to freee him, the other to take the army and scout the area... I say Kradikin and myself will take the army, while you Rowin, Teclis and Drakin will sneak into the camp to save him..."

As they continue to discuss there plans... teclis thinks to himself...

Tyrbane unsheathes his sword and runs at his father, blade in front of him.

"I, Oraku Silverhand will finally teach you a lesson about respect for your elders! Your pathetic sword is no match for mine!" yelled the old man as he draws his sword.

Their weapons clash, sending sparks in every direction. They each were masters with the sword, making it difficult to even hit each other, both parrying the other's move. Finally, the old man's age caught up to him, causing him to stagger for a split second. Tyrbane sees this opening and abuses it, striking his father's waistline. Oraku's mail tore as the blade easily punctured it. Realizing his mistake, Oraku quickly steps back before recieving too much injury.

"I see you have an eye for seeing weaknesses," Oraku says, "but my weakness will be YOUR downfall!" As he says this, Oraku jumps forward quickly, striking Tyrbane unexpectantly. Although dazed for a moment, Tyrbane did not falter.

"It will require more than a mere slash to defeat me, father!" Tyrbane's hands begin to glow fire-red as he unleashes a fireball at point blank range at his father. The fireball strikes Oraku hard, knocking him back. They both stagger for a moment, Tyrbane looking around confused.

"What is it my son? Getting a bit tired all of a sudden? As if something was draining the life right out of you? That is because there is..." Oraku casts GravityBlow on Tyrbane, shooting him across the room and crashing into a stack of barrels. "Good show! It's an all out bar fight! Muahahahaha!"

Tyrbane staggers to his feet, trying to regain his balance. As he does, he feels a sudden burst of air go past him. He looks down and notices a large gash in his chest. "What on earth?"

Oraku replies, "To fast for you? It seems you are growing tired. Why dont you take a nap!"

The room begins to shake as the ground beneath Tyrbane rips open, forming a rift. Tyrbane seems to float above the opening, unable to move. Fire and brimstone spew forth from the gash, burning his protective shirt, the mail on top growing hot from the heat waves. The rift grows larger, engulfin g half of the room with its size. Lava begins to flow out of the crack, melting everything in its path. Suddenly, Tyrbane is launched straight down, down into the rift. He screams in terror as the hole seems to swallow him, closing after he is through. The room grows quite, all the guests staring in wonder at the shear power of Oraku. Even the fair princess is shocked at what she sees. She had been quite confused through the whole ordeal, not knowing who was her true Tyrbane.

All grew quiet as the rift completely closes. "Hmm. I think he'll come back about.....NOW!"

The explosion that takes place is profound, as the rift blows open, shooting Tyrbane out like a cannon ball. He flies through the air, through the roof of the tent, and high into the air. He is then stuck in place, floating in the clouds, unable to move. The clouds grow black, rain beginning to pour down upon the ground below. The rift once again closes, this time, cooled by the freezing rain. Tyrbane is struck hard by the rain, being frozen as the drops hit him. Thunder clashes as the sky grows dark, the clouds lit afire by lightning, arcing in every direction. Tyrbane was like a lightning rod, a perfect target for the excess electrons. The lightning struck him continuously, discharging its energy into his body. Any normal individual would have died from the first strike, not surviving blast after blast. The freezing rain became hail, hitting Tyrbane like missles, the unending pain continuing.

The clouds quickly move off into the distance, Tyrbane still frozen in the air.

Oraku looks on, laughing hideously, "Had enough yet? Oh, I suppose you cannot hear me at the moment. Perhaps you would like to come down now?"

Oraku lowers his hand, which had been raised as Tyrbane was in the air. His son comes crashing down to the ground, making a hole where he lands. Tyrbane lays motionless on the ground, unable to even lift a finger.

"I see that little sleeping spell on my sword worked pretty well. You grew weak quite quicker than I expected. You werent even a challenge. You are not even worthy to be called my son! But you got what you deserved, challenging me. Challenging ME! Of all the stupid things you could do. I might be an old man, but my magic is still strong. Pathetic excuse for a human. The only thing entertaining was the fact that you never seemed to die from that lightning. What a pity."

Oraku walks towards Tyrbane and kicks him, symbolizing his victory. He then slowly walks out of the large tent and goes back to his own. The crowd soon disperses, all deliberately walking past Tyrbane so they could kick him. They laugh as they go, thinking it hilarious that the acclaimed Tyrbane could be defeated so easily.

"Damn you wuss! I could have put up a better fight than that", said many of them as they left.

Soon only a couple of stragglers were left, and the princess, the beautiful princess. She sat on a chair in the distance, crying, not knowing what to do. She had hoped that her Tyrbane would return to save her, yet he was defeated by the imposter. An old fool was able to defeat the man she loved.

They other men who were at first enjoying there momment of power now stood in disbelief...

Scorcery!

But, there momment of surprise turns to hatred as they draw there weapons to attack this man who killed there comrade... but there charge is stopped short as two more black cloaked men rush in and intercept them in there charge... there swords flashing... and shortly, all the men lay dead, one of the robed men spoke as he scheathed his sword...

"that was kind of easy, ya know... well, you guys had better let this man know who you are, or hes going to think that were here to kill him, i8ll stay on the lookout"

The other two laugh as they remove there hoods... to reveal Teclis!! and Rowin!! The third man, eyes still blazing... turns and leaves. Teclis leans over at the side of Tyrbane, while Rowin walks and comforts the princess that everything is all right...

"You alright my friend? You look like you have seen better days..." Teclis says, as he helps Tyrbane up. Tyrbane winces as he is helped up, but doesn't say anything... "Were going to get you two out of here and fast, for K..." he is cut off as the man outside quickly dodges in....

"Explain later, we got company, and they don't look happy... Ill take care of Tyrbane, with your help Tec, Rowin, you get yourself and the princess out of here, there is a place where you can hide, about 2 miles south of here, in a dense forest area, we will meet you there" With that, he runs over to help Tec in getting Tyrbane to his feet...
"Can you walk?" Tyrbane weakly nods yes... "Alright then, we can take this slow and easy... but first let me take care of some of those wounds..."

Tyrbane feels the pain in his body slowly go away and some of his wounds heal up... and strength returns...

"SIR! We were blasted through the tent at high speed! Don't you remember?"

"Shut your mouth! How dare you question me!" Oraku fires a bolt of lightning at the soldier, killing him. "Now can the rest of you imbeciles go and find them or do I have to kill you too?"

"SIR YES SIR!" The motley group of soldiers jog out of the reminants of the tent, heading towards the north.

"Um... wasn't it South," asks the first soldier.

"Matau, shut up and go North!" yells the second.

"But, I saw them head south, Onewa!" the third whines.

Onewa yells at the two of them, "I am the leader here, not you two idiots!"

"Would all three of you shut your mouth and go South!" All three of the roughly dressed soldiers, who look like tribesmen, turn towards Oraku who evily stares at them in anger. Their outfits are quite strange. They wear bright green hula skirts made of grass. One their chests is plated chest armor, quite dented up. On their heads are strange silver helmets. The helmets are the oddest of all their attire. It seems like they glued the head of a broom to their helmet and painted them bright red. The three soldiers begin running towards the south as fast as they could, hoping to catch up to the esapees.

~Later on that night~

"They went East!"

"No, they went West!"

"No, they turned around, did the hokey-pokey, and kicked your ass!"

"Huh?"

"Huh?? Did you just make that up?"

"Quite ingenious wasn't it?" asks Onewa.

"No, it was stupid and tacky."

"At least I'm not the one wearing plated armor shoes! I mean really, that is SO 'last year'!"

"That was mean! At least Im not wearing missmatched clothing! That armor color looks so ugly on you!"

The three tribesmen are huddled behind a bush, looking around. Onewa is holding his large shiny axe in his hands as if he was going to jump out and attack someone. The axe blade is quite large and sharp. It looks as though it could easily remove the head, waist, or legs of an enemy quite easily. The a

"I swear I saw them go through here! We should stay put. Maybe they will go in circles and we can get them! There's an idea! Why don't WE go in circles! Eventually, we will find them right? Maybe not."

~Even later that night~

"Um sir," Matau inquired, "Can me and Nuja go look for them again? I'm bored!"

"No..."

~Even later than that~

"Yeah! Yeah! I see one!" Nuja screams, trying to jump up.

"Are you trying to alert them of our location?" screams Onewa, twice as loud as Nuja, as he pulls Nuja back down.

"Um...no, but you did." replied Matau.

The three of them cower behind the bush as they see four individuals trying to help a fifth walk. It is too dark to make out who the individuals were. They also seemed to be concealed as well making them almost invisible. Almost. The cloaks did not cover up their weapons very well. As they walked, their dark clothing would sway back and forth, letting anyone paying attention see that they were armed.

"Um, shouldn't we go attack them?" asks Matau.

"Sssh!"

The group of individuals stop suddenly, trying to figure out where the noise came from.

"Fools! They know we are here!" yells Onewa at the two other tribesmen. The concealed individuals set the the fifth individual on the ground and walk towards the bush. Three of the individuals draw their weapons and start poking the bush with them.

"SURPRISE!" Onewa yells as he jumps up, his axe coming down upon one of the men. The other two tribesmen quickly follow, their swords heading right at the concealed men. As their weapons hit their targets, the dark clothing drops suddenly to the ground, as if they never had people inside them.

"Huh? Where'd they go?" asks Nuja.

"Boo..."

The three tribesmen turn around to see the three individuals in front of them. They somehow managed to travel behind the tribesmen without them ever noticing! Of course, the soldiers were a bit slow in the head, but they were very good at one thing...fighting.

"Hold on tight, we're getting out of here. Gee up!!!"

The horse bucks back and takes off on the path towards the forst to the south.

As he gets over the hill, Rowin can see the forest in the distance, but he see's a path that veers of towards the right.

As he examines it he can see 3 new sets of large tracks, and a few sets of ones that seem to have been there a little while longer.

"Damnit," he utters as he takes off full speed towards the forest.

Upon arriving he finds a small, uninhabited cave covered by some brush.

"Hide in here, I'll be back soon, Tyrbane needs my help."

And with this he takes off back up the trail, and turns at the fork towards a group of trees and shrubs.

As he reaches the area he sees his three comrades lying on the ground, unconsious. As he gets off the horse to help his friends, he feels a sharp pain on the back of his head.

"Bah" Drakin says "Might as well make short work of these three..."

He begins to cast a spell, and raises his hands... a seething mass of energy gathers at his hands, and his eyes glow from the spell, energy crackles in the air, but the three tribsmen look amused at him... with a throwing motion, Drakin hurls the ball at the three... and it explodes at there feet, but when the smoke clears, the three stand there still... Drakin's eyes widen in amazment and anger

"We can thank Oraku for that one..."

"We forgot to introduce ourselves," says Onewa to them. "I am Onewa!"

"I am Nuja!"

"I am Matau!"

All three tribesmen then speak in unision, "And together we are..." As they say this they suddenly pose, then continue, "the OKRA FORCE!"

Tyrbane stares at the three pathetically dressed individuals in confusion. "Okra Force? You are a vegetable?"

"NO! It is in honor of our great master, Okaru! Prepare to face our powerful VejaTack!"

The three soldiers raise their weapons into the air and touch them together. As they do, a strange green glow fills the air. As the glow fades, Onewa, Matau, and Nuja have closed the gap between them and their targets, attempting to strike Tyrbane and Teclis down quickly. Onewa approaches Tyrbane, dropping his axe down upon him. Luckily, Tyrbane notices, quickly blocking the attack. The two are locked in a standstill, their weapons pressed against each other.

"I've got you now! My axe will strike you down scumbucket!" Onewa yells at Tyrbane.

"You forget one thing...Your axe handle is made out of wood and my sword is pushed against it!"

"Oh shit!" Onewa yells, realizing his stupid mistake as the wood begins to splinter. He tries to pull away but it is too late. The wooden handle snaps, the metal blade falling to the ground. The force that he pressed against Onewa's axe was so great that his sword continued on with great velocity. Onewa was defenseless and unprepared, easily striken by Tyrbane's sword. The blow was devastating, Onewa's head falling to the ground. His headless body collapses to the ground in a heap.

Nuja turns and looks at his decapitated friend, yelling at Tyrbane, "Oh my GOD! You killed Onewa! YOU BASTARD!"

"Actually, he killed himself. Cheap weaponry never pays off." Tyrbane picks up the axe-head and looks at it. He then tosses it towards Nuja. "A souvenir. Who's next?"

"Its over for you."

As his blade raises, and begins to decend on to Tec, to make the final strike, Nuja's eyes widen in pain, and he looks down to see a burning energy blade coming out of a huge, gaping wound in his chest... as Drakin slides the blade out of his chest, Nuja feels the strength leave his body, and he drops his spear... he whirls around and looks at Drakin...

"You BASTARD!"

The he falls to the ground, his blood pooling around his grass skirt.

Drakin helps Tec to his feet. "you should be more careful my friend, you never were that clumsy before..."