Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Are we there yet!?"

The whine of the 18 year old Hisui Kurochi made her captain, Sasori Dokugamoto, cringe. How she hated the sound of that brat's voice!

"Aww, of course we are here! This is Laburnum City. Didn't you see the sign?" said Tasogare Saetayoru, the most freakish one of the group with his weird red and purple eyes and bluish black hair. Hisui looked back at him with her jade green eyes. Sasori was thankful for the momentary bit of silence.

Behind them, Asahi Hirano and Iesada Orinosuke were discussing medicines for horses. In fact, they had discussed little more than equine health for the past 10 days. Beside them, the petite and beautiful Irihi Hirano rode beside Keito Teshigahara, a tall, dark, and gaunt figure whose jet black irisless eyes were hidden beneath the ebony veil of his hair. Irihi was happily going on about the city and Keito listened to her patiently.

The 7 passed through the gates into Laburnum City. Now it was just a matter of finding the Palace of the East. The Teshigahara ninja team certainly didn't look like ninja, in fact, they looked like a grab bag of folk who were just there to visit the city.

Mick squinted as the sun peeked through the window, into his room, and directly into his eyes. Groaning, he rolled over only to find the mirror on the other side of the bed was reflecting and magnifying the light right back to his person.

"I give, I give!" he mumbled, sitting upright in bed and tossing the comforter to one side. Mick stretched high into the air while his jaw dropped into a long yawn, complete with dog-like tounge-sticking-out-of-the-mouth, and let out a loud sigh. The moon mage swung his feet out of bed and onto the floor, twisting himself as far as he could to each side, a symphony of popping sounds ensuing.

Mick rose to his feet and crossed the room to a chair where he had laid his clothes the night before. It had been a long day, and the manner in which his clothes were chaoticly laying about reflected Mick's desire for a hot bath, soft bed, and warm sheets. He was thankful he wasn't sharing the room with anyone else lest he recieve a scolding, especially if he was sharing the room with Conrad, but like it would've made a difference in Mick's etiquette.

Mick slipped on his clothes and crossed to the other side of the room where the mirror was. He stared at his reflection for a few seconds, his grey eyes gazing back. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grabbed a complementary brush the inn left for him at his request. He then made made quick work of combing out the tangles in his long white hair. Mick chuckled a little, just as he always did when he saw his reflection. After all, it amused him how he could look young with white hair and grey eyes.

Mick walked over to the open window of his room and leaned out to look up at the sky. Studying the position of the sun, moon, etc. had become second nature to him. "A little past ten," he said to no one then shook his head. "Slept late again..."

Mick shut his room's window partway and went for the door to the hall. Next to the door lay his things, which he took a few moments to look over, quickly making inventory. He nodded when he knew everything was present, then went about equipping everything. He attatched his whip to his side and placed his wires in their locations about his person. He then picked up a bag and carefully put it onto his back, the puppets inside clunking softly. He finished it off with his staff and opened the room's door. He locked the door and walked down the hall to the lobby, where he gave a wave and a smile to the familiar owners, then stepped out onto the busy streets of Laburnum City.

I wonder where Espa and the others got to, he thought as he walked to nowhere in particular.

*He touched Tiel's hand gently.* Tiel, you have accepted your fate. *he smiled a gentle and serene simper, revealing no teeth, but displaying his happiness well enough.* Now, what will you do? The road to becoming a great mage is long and hard, and there is no certain place to start. I will help you as much as I can, but there is only so much I can do. The rest will come from you. Are you ready to strike out on your own? *his tongue felt as if it was gilded in silver, each word he said seemed to ring in his head, trying to gently lead her in the right direction, while remaining as secretive as possible*

Mick wandered in and out through crowded marketplaces, watching as peddlers hollered at the tops of their respective lungs, making the sale the only way they knew how: make your wares better than your competitor's. Mick was half-tempted to by some snail tongues simply because the web of lies the dwarfen merchant wove was so extravagent that they had to be true. But Mick knew, after all, that snails, no matter how magical, don't have tongues.

Hey, that sounds like a great idea for a puppet show... he thought with a smirk, already writing a script in his head.

As he was passing through an Eastern Gaia marketplace, Mick came across a tent selling wonderfully elaborate jewelry for moderately affordable prices. Mick examined the wares with a scrutinous gaze, then did the same to the merchant. However, Mick's scrutinous gaze did not last long on the merchant, who was a beautiful woman that had to be in her early 20s. There was some sort of gaze, at least...

"Excuse me?" the woman spoke in an Eastern dialect. "Hey!"

"Wha?" Mick snapped back into reality and shook his head. "Sorry," he said in her language, and not too shabbily either, may he add. "Are these the right prices? I was finding it hard to believe."

So was she, at his excuse for staring. "Yes, the standard price is there for you to see." But I'm not. she added to herself.

Mick looked over the hand-crafted jewelry carefully. If there was one thing he could remember, it was anniversaries... usually after they had passed. He had completely forgotten that the anniversary of he and his friends becoming a group had come and gone. He had meant to make it up the next time he hit Laburnum, then the next time.... and so forth. This time he was actually going to get gifts for Espa, Rymfire, and Saruo.

For Rymfire, Mick selected a simple chain necklace that had a beautiful teardrop-shaped jewel attatched. As you looked at the jewel, the colors played off the light, making it seem as though there was a fire within the jewel.

Mick wanted to get Saruo something that he couldn't cut, stab, puncture, etc., himself with. He decided on a necklace that had a black cord as its chain and had a small glass sphere at the end. This glass sphere (which the merchant swore up and down that it was, "Unbreakable.") contained what appeared to be liquid metal, which slowly sloshed about whenever the chain moved.

For Espa, Mick wanted something really special. After all, she had been his friend the longest. Sexy underwear was out of the question ever since he recieved a hard smack across the face for it when he had given some to her for her sixteenth birthday. In fact, anything involving sex was out of the question, since he became bedridden after giving Espa her seventeenth birthday gift.

He almost gave up when something glinted off to his left on the merchant's table. The necklace had a true silver chain and for its ornament it had a very real-looking leaf that was silver. The leaf was decorated with small purple and red jewels.

The merchant looked in the direction Mick was looking and said, "That is one of our finest pieces. It is a leaf plucked from the largest, oldest tree in the forest behind our home in Yoru, and has been carefully dipped in silver. It is an intricate process, but we do it in order to maintain the earthly elements of the leaf and preserve its beauty at the same time."

"I'll take it plus the two other pieces, please." Mick opened his wallet and counted, then closed it again. He smiled politely and said, "I, uh, seem to be a little short. Just a little! You don't mind if I... uh..."

Oh great, now he's going to try to sell himself sexually or something. That is the most ridi-

"Set up shop next to you for a little bit?" the mage said, now holding an intricate and beautiful hand-crafted puppet in his hand.

The woman blinked a few times before she nodded.

"Much obliged," he said with a smile. Mick walked over to an empty space a few feet to the left from the jewelry tent and began to empty his bag. He pulled out some boards that were folded and hinged together, two more puppets, and a beaten up hat. Carefully, he set his three puppets on the bag and turned his attention to the folded boards. With five swift movements, the boards had become a four-foot stage painted in bright colors. Mick checked the velvet cloth that was the stage's curtain, making sure it wasn't ripped or caught anywhere, then closed it to hide the stage.

He then went about lacing wires and handles together, gave the puppets costumes he pulled from his bag, attatched the wires to the puppets, and rested their lifeless forms on the stage, the handles resting high enough to make the puppets appear as if they were standing.

Next, Mick took the old hat, and checked the inside. Sure enough, the three coins he had glued there when he recieved the hat were still in place. The mage tossed the hat over the stage and watched it land in a spot which would be inviting for crowds, of any size, to stand and donate.

Finally, Mick made sure his staff and his belongings were out of the way beneath the stage and then stood up. "Come one, come all!" Mick bellowed, actually echoing off the stores around him. "Come see one of Gaia's premere puppeteers perform a play of magic, action, comedy, suspense, and, of course, romance!" Good start, now to reel them in with the story...

"Meet the lowly squire Lusvik, who has nothing more to his name than a pile of mud! But for as little self-esteem he may have, he makes up for in his love for the fair princess Ophi! But her heart has already been taken by the brave knight Garslund, or perhaps not! Lusvik asks the beautiful Ophi how he could ever win her hand, and she tells him that he simply must get her a snail's tongue!"

A crowd had started to form while Mick was talking. "But snails don't have tongues!" someone called out in a thick Western accent.

"Yes indeed!" Mick said. He had them now. "But we all know that the power of true love can make the most wonderfully impossible....... possible!" As Mick said "possible," he let off a bit of flash powder, disappearing behind his stage to a chorus of "oo"s.

Mick stayed low, for he didn't need to stand above the stage to control his puppets. This was his way of making his "wares" better than others: he didn't have to see his puppets to know his control over them was flawless. Hell, he had been doing puppetry since he could remember. He was able to make it seem as though the puppets were alive, no strings attatched. This wonder was capable through a two-part secret. The first, his fine puppet wire, practically invisible to the naked eye (which had its advantages). Secondly, a minor ability of his: illusions. He was hidden just so, with the help of his mage ability, that the audience couldn't see a puppeteer at all!

The more magical the experience, the more coins go into my pocket...

All Mick had to do now was wait for his cue, which, thankfully, came early this time. A wandering minstrel of Laburnum, many of whom Mick had made friends with, had heard Mick's familiar call and hurried over. The minstrel began to pluck at his lute, improvising a tune to start the story. Surprisingly, Mick heard a mandolin and a recorder chime in, along with the soft thump of a drum. It was his lucky day today, sort of. On the one hand, it meant he had a full chamber group to play along with his show. But on the other hand, it meant he had to pay each minstrel for his or her work.

But it didn't matter to Mick. This, after all, was for his friends. Plus, having a full musical background was rare for a wandering, non-proffessional puppeteer. And judging by the sounds coming out from the improvised tune, this was one hell of a group of minstrels.

The group finished playing their overture. The velvet curtain opened slowly. It was show time.

Hoshimi sighed with relief as the burden of Tsai was lifted from her shoulders. But she still forced herself to move. Running from that idiot Lao and then fighting off those whatever they were. She was exhausted and worried, it didn't help everything that had happened lately either. So for the moment her eyes unfocused and she simply followed, praying she wasn't so weak that she would fall prey to another vision.

She was unaware as always of her appearance, barely glancing at anything, not noting any glances she caught due to her appearance. She was used to the odd look as well. She continued walking as if it was the only thing keeping her upright at the moment, but all most would see is a beautiful young woman who looked saddened almsot like a pale ghost except she wasn't see through. She simply followed behind Sol silently, taking in all she had witnessed.

Far too many times she had seen priests and mages abuse their power, forcing the elements to do their bidding only to watch as it came back upon them. It wasn't fear of the elements that kept her from abusing them but respect, respect for what they were and how they kept the world together and in balance. This man seemed similiar tho she had only seen him a few moments.

Perhaps she could speak to him later, once Tsai was healed. But he was her first priority. Her mentor, her only family. Her hand glided along the smooth bokken even as she walked, her fingertips just grazing the surface, the cool wood soothing her soul as it reminded her of his promise to always be with her.

Act Two

Lusvik had left the kingdom with nothing but a small knife and a blanket, turned into a sack, on a stick. The sack contained some food, more sweets, and tools to help make a fire. The squire had been walking for a few hours when he realized something: He had no clue where he was going, and no idea where to start looking for a snail's tongue, or what it would look like when he found it.

"But I won't give up!" he said aloud to no one. "This is for Princess Ophi!!"

"What is for Princess Ophi?" and old man wearing a large cloak asked the squire.

Lusvik was surprised to see the man sitting in the middle of a crossroads he had come upon. "I am seeking out a snail's tongue, for the hand of Princess Ophi."

"My! How valiant. You know, I believe I know of a place where you could find what you're looking for..."

"Really? Where! Please tell me!!!!"

"Hakken the Mysterious."

The name sent a shiver down Lusvik's spine.

Anyone who had heard ghost stories at parties knew about Hakken the Mysterious. She lived high upon Jukk Mountain, where visitors certainly were not frequent. If the sheer cliffs and beasts upon the mountain were not warning enough to stay away from Hakken, then the rumors about what she did to visitors would certainly make people think twice. Rumor had it that Hakken the Mysterious could kill you in ways unthinkable to man, without even touching her victim!

"You say she has the answers I'm looking for?"

"Yes, m'boy. You're actually brainless enough to go up Jukk Mountain then?

Lusvik nodded slowly, feeling braver with each nod. "If it means Princess Ophi will be happy, then I will do it! Thanks for the tip, old man." The squire gave a polite bow and walked the path towards the black sihlouette that was Jukk Mountain.[/blue]

Once Lusvik was out of sight, Garslund threw off the cloak and stood up, bent over with laughter. "The fool is going straight to his doom! This is wonderful!" Garslund began to travel down the same path the squire had taken. "Just to make sure he doesn't decide to go all coward, I'll follow him..."

The Next Morning...

Lusvik had taken up camp at the base of the mountain. He awoke early to begin scaling the imposing monstrosity. After all, if he was quiet enough, any beasts upon the mountain wouldn't awake from their slumber. Also, prior to climbing, Lusvik had doused himself in some of the cleaning fluids from the castle, which he had brought with him for this purpose. Their strong alcohol content would keep any keen noses away from his scent. By noon, he had scaled a good fifth of the mountain.

By noon, Sir Garslund had killed over a hundred beasts that had tried to attack him as he scaled the mountain. He was exhausted, but he had managed to catch up to the pesky squire, who had remained untouched. Until now... This is it, Garslund thought, this is where he will perish: The Test of the Kliptok!

Lusvik scratched his head. The path he had been following had suddenly vanished. Now there was a sheer wall of rock in the path's way. "What," the aquire said aloud, "do I climb it? Do I go back around?"

"YOU ANSWER ITS QUESTION" a booming, somewhat nasal voice said.

"Who said that?"

"I DID!"

The rock wall was talking to Lusvik!

"I AM THE KLIPTOK! ANSWER MY QUESTION CORRECTLY, YOU WILL PASS SAFELY. ANSWER IT INCORRECTLY, AND YOU WILL PASS, BUT WILL FACE THE TRUE HARDSHIPS OF THIS CURSED MOUNTAIN!"

Lusvik wasn't necessarily great at riddles and questions, but he did love a good brain-picker now and then. "All right then, please ask me you question, great Kliptok."

"HEAR MY QUESTION: WHAT IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT TO A HAPPY LIFE?"

Without hesitation, Lusvik said, "Warm sheets for your bed!"

"YES.... YES THAT'S RIGHT! AMAZING! HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT? NO ONE THAT HAS COME THIS WAY KNOWS THAT'S THE ANSWER!!"

Lusvik shrugged. "I guess no one that has come this way has appreciated warm sheets for their bed..."

"CONGRADULATIONS, YOUNG ONE. YOU MAY NOW PASS WITH THE PROTECTION OF THE KLIPTOK. NO BEAST UPON THIS MOUNTAIN WILL COME NEAR YOU NOW. PLEASE ENJOY THE WONDERFUL LANDSCAPE VIEWS FROM JUKK MOUNTAIN." The Kliptok stepped back and to the side, letting the squire get past.

"Much obliged, great Kliptok! Have a nice day! And warm sheets!" Lusvik continued his walk up the mountain, realizing the Kliptok was right: There were some really breathtaking views from atop Jukk Mountain!

Speechless, Garslund began to run after the squire, but the Kliptok swung forwards, cutting off the path. "Ask me the question, Kliptok, I've got to catch up!"

"VERY WELL. HEAR MY QUESTION: WHAT IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN?

"What? Why didn't you ask me the question you asked him???

"OBVIOUSLY I MUST CHANGE MY QUESTION EVERY TIME, BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE YOU TRY TO CHEAT."

"Um... warm sheets?"

"CONGRADULATIONS, YOUNG MAN. YOU JUST ANSWERED WRONG TO MY QUESTION. YOU WILL NOW BE SENT ON A PERILOUS JOURNEY I'M SURE YOU'LL BE JUST FINE UPON. DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN TO ENJOY THE VIEW, FOR YOU'LL BE TOO BUSY FACING HELLBEASTS." The Kliptok opened and waited patiently for the rude, cursing knight to pass through.

((a coin from a boy lying DYING IN A GREAT HALL IN THE LIGHT TEMPLE, HINT HINT floats into the hat...))

Mick stood up and began to politely bow, throwing some very modest "thank you, so generous," and the like in. When he had the chance he took a peek at his hat. It looked like he'd be having enough to pay off the minstrels and still buy the jewelry.

Suddenly a shrill scream pierced through the applause, which was promptly replaced with sounds of confusion.

Mick looked towards the direction of the scream: the jeweler's tent. It didn't take long for Mick to figure out she had just been robbed, the thief using the cloth the woman had displayed the jewelry on as a sack that could quickly be snatched up. He must have also threatened her with a knife, the blade about six inches in length and very well-kept. Mick knew all this because the damned thief was running his way.

The culprit appeared to be in his late twenties, early thirties, and perhaps a seasoned pro judging by his apparel. His clothes were of the style that most Laburnum city-dwellers wore, using more earth-toned colors than bright flashy ones. This was so visitors to the great city wouldn't bother the residents, since no one wants to pay attention to someone who isn't wearing something colorful and glorious.

But then again, maybe this guy was an amatuer, since he decided to run through the crowd other than away from it.

Mick let the man pass him, letting out a loud sigh and thanking the higher power that the idiot thief didn't smash up his puppetry equipment. "Oi," Mick called to the thief, who didn't stop running, "I was gonna buy her stuff!"

The moon mage rolled his eyes, then reached over with his left hand to his right arm, detatching a clasp on his right sleeve. When he did, he felt one of his wires silently slide down the sleeve and out past his hand. He then felt the miniscule, but heavy enough, weight that was within all of his wires slighty tug on his arm. Normally he wouldn't have had to move, letting Espa manipulate the wire with her "push hands", but when Mick was on his own, it wasn't so easy.

Mick cracked his neck, regretting that he hadn't stretched more this morning, then began to sprint after the thief. No longer did Mick see the streets of Laburnum, but a forest where he was chasing down a wild boar so he and his friends could eat, having the advantage of being able to stay out in the woods longer and trap the best furs. It didn't take long to catch up to the frantic thief. He was no boar, which somewhat disappointed Mick.

Mick let his right arm go completely loose, dangling at his side. He then slung it forward, letting the weight of the wire take over for him. The wire sailed through the air towards Mick's chosen target: the thief's thigh area. The wire sailed around the thief's legs, touching so lightly that no one, save those with hightened senses, could possibly feel it's grip. That is, until Mick chose to tug upon it.

I'll go easy on him... I just want the jewelry back.

Mick flicked his right wrist a little, the wire obidiently following the command and tightening around the thief's thighs. The man, caught by surprise, fell over over the hard stone street, the sack of jewels falling right with him. With another flick of his wrist, the wire loosened and returned to Mick, who walked over to the thief.

The wind had been knocked out of the culpret, so picking up the sack of jewels was no hard task. Mick did so, then stood over the thief. He said softly enough for only the thief to hear, "You're fine, so don't go trying to find me for revenge or whatever. I'm letting you go today, but had I chosen to do so, I could have killed you by now." Mick flashed a grin at the guy and said, "Now go do something productive with your life, ya big fool!"

Mick walked away from the thief, tossing a few coins onto the man's quickly rising and falling back. The moon mage briskly jogged back to his puppet stage, hoping no one had stolen anything. Thankfully they had not. In fact, the audience was still there, watching the whole drama unfold.

Then they began applauding again...

Wierd crowd today... Mick thought with some disgust, enjoying the hardship of a guy like tha-

Then the crowd began throwing more coins at Mick's hat, shouting things like, "What a performance!" and "I didn't know that thief guy was an actor until that puppeteer let him go!" and "Yeah! After all, only an idiot would let a thief return to the streets of Laburnum and give him money, instead of arresting him!"

Even the minstrels were impressed, one giving Mick a thumbs up and mouthing, "Nice addition to the act!"

Confused, Mick looked down at the growing amount of money in his hat.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Mick said, flashing grins every which-way. "You just witnessed the classic short play, "The Tattered Pilferer and the Puppeteer: An Epiphany." I'm so glad you enjoyed it." Mick gestured behind him at his "assistant" who had gotten up, a look of confusion and surprise on his dirty and bruised face.

"My associate," Mick said, still beaming, "the great actor of Eastern Gaia... Di Wang Wei! Another round of applause for his spectacular performance!" The thief ran away at the uproar of applause, unsure of just what the hell was going on.

Mick stared down at his hat again, thinking Damn do I love a stupid crowd...

Once everyone had dispersed, the minstrels given their cut, and he had taken down his puppet stage, Mick walked over to the jewelry woman's tent. "I believe these are yours," he said with a slight bow.

"Thank you very much, kind sir... your show was spectacular. And I know that wasn't an act with the thief, but thank you for letting him go. He was a misguided soul, and I hope he can find his way back to the path of virtue.

Mick laughed and said, "Wow that was rather deep... I'd like to buy my gifts now, if you please." The woman tried to simply give the jewelry to Mick, but Mick shook his head. "The whole point was for me to buy these things, so here's your price, in full."

Mick paid the woman, who gave the moon mage the necklaces, each one wrapped individually in a soft, silky cloth. "At least take this as thanks. I noticed the shapes on your hands, and they reminded me of the moon.

The woman plucked one last necklace from the table, giving it to Mick. The chain was a shiny blue metallic color, and the jewel was in the shape of a crescent moon, its color a deep black that seemed to go on forever. Withing, Mick could see small specks of light, almost like stars.

"It is a fragment of moonstone. I'm sure you're familiar with it. It just seemed to suit you."

Mick put the necklace on, then bowed low to the woman. "I will cherish it greatly, madam." Mick looked up from his bow with a sly smile. "There wouldn't, by any chance, be more to this reward?"

The woman's smile quickly switched to a frown. "Don't push your luck..."

Mick laughed and stood back up. "I was kidding, only kidding!" Mick rolled the package containing Espa's necklace around in his hand, saying, "I think my heart already belongs to another, anyway..."

"That reminds me! I've gotta find my friends! It's been a few hours... where the hell could they be..." Mick bowed once more to the woman, saying his thanks, then ran back off into the crowds, looking for the rest of the Losers.