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It took nearly an hour of walking and along the way Marius often fingered his katana hilts while looking around. It was odd that things were always quiet in what were rumored and often were the worst places. He consulted his memory briefly to reorient himself and continued walking for another twenty minutes before seeing the odd rock formation that meant he was near the famed dojo that he was told was often a hub of activity in this region. He smiled and allowed his left hand to remove the katana that crossed his back to the right and reposition it's sheath on his left hip so that the hilt was perfectly aligned with the hilt of it's brother. He smiled at the thought of starting a few fights with stronger opponents. Soon he was leaving the forest to arrive at a new challenge, or so he hoped.

Marius wove his way into the forest once more for what seemed like the twentieth time in the last day. He smiled at the thought, the day was nearly over as he personally reckoned time, which meant that soon his curse would take effect and leave him safe for a while longer. He quickened his pace slightly heading towards what he estimated to be a relative center of the forest based on the three locations he had already visited. A spot between the crater that had been the dojo, the rubble that had been home of a creature called Mastema, and the town that had been called Enid. He sighed as he walked towards his goal and searched for either a pond or a stream that would serve as the center piece towards his bid for attention. Either would suffice to keep him safe from his own idea and he planned to be very safe and have begun his plan before the new day which started in another hour. "How long have my days been internal and seperate from the rise and fall of the sun and moon my friends? How long have they been without your guidance?" His words were soft and meaningless to any listeners and even his own mind which asked the question but sought no answer from his past.

The steady thump of a wandering drone would alert Marius to the fact that his little antics had been spotted. Thermals had picked up on the growing flame, and it left the drone annoyed. Having a fire rage through the surrounding forest would slow the mobilization of the alternate force waiting to be employed against Mastema and the Citadel. Five lenses swivelled about, scanning the area as the thing closed upon the location.

Standing some 12 ft tall, the large four-legged metallic machine watched the flames for a moment with a curious nature. Moments later the unit would move to a nearby tree, one giant spear-like leg slamming up against the trunk. Tilting the upper body down the twin-energy cannons sprung to life. Bolts of yellow energy tore into the trunk of the tree, rending it apart as the drone pushed.

The large tree would fall, crashing into the stream and splashing water onto one of the fires in excess. Oils of some sort had been registerred and thus the drone was wary the fire might spread, but the sheer amount of water splashed onto the flame would most likely ensure it was put out. If not, the drone planned to stomp it down.

As for the other fire, that'd have to wait. The drone chirped and beeped in annoyance as it worked, ignoring the one who'd started the fire.

The drone wasn't in any way designed to put out a fire, and so it panicked slightly. Something twitched within the depths of it's faulty programming, flames licking against the metal registered as an attack. Recoiling from the flame, a high-pitched screach filled the forest as the weapons on the unit came to life. The twin-energy cannons once more sprang alive, bolts of fierce energy tearing apart the area around the fire, sweeping over the tree to leave scorch marks and send splinters of wood flying in every direction.

The underbelly also stirred, the leg-base for the turret-top sporting another pair of barrels. A soft rumbling purr ran through the machine as the two plasma cannons came to life. A moment later two long streams of red sprang forth at the flame, like gysers of energetic magma spewed onto the target. The heat level of the unit rose incredibly, vents spraying hot air out the sides in vain as it continued to stumble backwards firing blindly. The targetting 'vision' of the drone became erratic and skewed as it randomly fired through the forest, destruction being tossed around randomly as the missile-racks atop the thing rose.

Apparently it wasn't wise to play with fire.

It seemed the drone lacked any way to combat a growing threat, it was in essence caught in what might be loosely defined as fear. There was a threat and it fought the threat, but the threat only increased as it fought it. The drone was incapable of processing the cause and effect of the fire that was beginning to flare up all over, and so it just kept shooting.

It wasn't long before the heat levels within the drone peaked, and the weapons began to power down. Were it to continue, it's insides would soon be little more than molten slag. Seeing no real way to solve the problem, the drone simply swivelled about to focus it's lenses on the quickest route from the forest. In response the legs lurched to life, and the drone began to take off with an speed beguiled by it's bulky form. Crashing around trees and knocking others over, it ran away.

Dawn sprung to life as he heard noises off in the distance. "Get down!" he yelled to Misu, pushing her down next to the injured boy and laying beside them, and just in time too. Bolts of strange nergy sizzled where they had been moments before, leaving smoldering holes where they had just been standing. Dawn lay still for several minutes as the strange bolts taged on, until finally they subsided all at once. Springing to his feet, he sprinted off towards where the bolts had come from, calling back a quick "I'll be back," to Misu as he dissapeared into the trees. He emerged several minutes at the edge of a stream, where the earth appeared to have been singed somehow. He stood there silently for a moment before he noticed a strange young man off to his side. He looked over at the man cautiously for a minute, not entirely sure how to proceed.....

Dawn blinked slowly at this strange explanation, wondering what he had gotten himself into. "Yes, I suppose I am a warrior. I'm a wanderer who was traversing this forest when strange beams of energy attacked me and my friend. I came here to the source, only to find you. Are you the one who caused that attack. For if not, I have no reason to fight you...." He fell silent at this, though the long hilt of his nagamaki sticking out over his shoulder made it clear that he was in fact capable of fighting. Still in a crouch, Dawn's hand went up to the hilt as the man formed a strange sign in the air, preparing for a possible attack. What had he gotten himself into....

Dawn sighed softly at this, shaking his head slightly before returning his attention to the man before him. "Unofrtunately, I have heard none of those names before, nor can I tell you of any meeting places of great warriors. This is because I tend to keep to myself. However, this means that you will probably want to fight with me for some reason which I do not comprehend. I do not wish to fight you, but I will defend myself if attacked." His grip on the hilt tightened slightly and his eyes seemed to darken slightly as he prepared for potential battle....