VG Rumble

Raven

"Hey..." Raven shook Izuki gently and the young girl groaned as she oppened her eyes. "It's morning," Raven said.

"Looks like night to me," Izuki joked, playfully closing her eyes and curling up again but reluctantly, she got up. Raven moved across to Karana and shook her too. The woman opened her eyes immediately and together, they began to put out the fire and gather their belongings.

"What about breakfast?" Ilum wondered.

"Later," Luke decided and then he grinned wryly, "wasn't Warren always asking when it was time for breakfast." The whole group smiled.

"Yeah, yeah he was," Karana said.

"You think we'll see him again?" Raven wondered, staring out towards the horses who had begun to stamp their hooves impatiently, eager to be on the way as if they sensed the urgency of the situation.

"Yes. I'm sure we will," Luke replied. Raven smiled and took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently before leaning in to kiss his cheek.

"I hope so," she said.

Karana smiled as she and Ilum mounted their steeds, coming up alongside Luke and Raven. Karana held a hand out to Izuki, who took it and squeezed into the space Karana had left for her.

"I see you and Raven are getting close," Ilum said, voice low so only Luke would hear.

**All I've got. My brain's fried from Algebra II w/ Trig homework...ugh...**

(Algebra and Trig? That stuff is easy! I got a perfect score on my last trig test.)

(Also, we haven't made it to the bottom of the mountain yet. I'll edit your post, Ayumi.)

Karana smiled as they walked to the edge of the mountain, getting ready for the long journey back down. She, Raven and Izuki walked together while Ilum and Luke were side-by-side.

"I see you and Raven are getting close," Ilum said, voice low so only Luke would hear.

Luke looked at the woman walking in front of him. He couldn't stop marvelling at how beautiful her long and straight black hair was. Even though he couldn't see her eyes, he could never forget their dazzling blue colour. She was, indeed, the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

He smiled. "I suppose we are." He chuckled a little. Ilum was a little surprised, he had never heard Luke laugh, let alone chuckle. "It's funny, I've always thought I would spend my days alone, hunting in the forests. Never would I have predicted I would find someone I may wish to spend the rest of my life with."

"Do you love her?" Ilum asked.

"Yes, I do," Luke said without a shred of hesitation.

"If you love her, why don't you ask her to marry you?"

Luke smiled as he turned his head to look at Ilum. "One day, perhaps, but not today. You are young, and have not had the years of experience I have, or the patience. I do plan to ask her, but not before we stop the black night."

"But if you ask her and she says yes, that'll give you something to fight for."

"I already have something to fight for," Luke said as he brought his gaze back to Raven's back. The girls were talking about something and laughing every few moments. "I do not need marriage to help me fight. Besides, it'll still give me a reason to see this through. If we don't stop him, I can't ask Raven to marry me."

Ilum nodded. "That makes sense."

"Don't get me wrong, though. I am happy for you and Karana."

"Thanks, Luke."


The trip down the mountain had been faster than the trip up, about half a day faster. As they made their way to the spot where they left the horses Luke couldn't shake a feeling of unease. The smell of rotting flesh hung in the air.

When they pushed aside the final bush they saw their horses. Well, what was left of them. The girls all gasped at the sight of the rotting corpses of their half-eaten steeds. Their insides were spilling out of their stomachs and onto the grass. Izuki had to cover her eyes to protect herself from the sight.

"Our horses!" Karana gasped.

Luke sighed. "I was afraid this might happen. We were gone for a week, it's no wonder something had come by and eaten our steeds." The bushes to their left started to rustle. Luke placed a hand on his sword's handle. "And it looks like it's still here."

--Random Encounter!--

x2 Chimera

(I don't think I made this mistake in this post, but if I ever say the name Kai instead of my character's name, it's just a typo. Sometimes I get so into what I'm writing I mix up the names of characters in one story with characters with another, and I don't realize it until I stop writing the chapter or post. ADHD is a fun disorder.)

**I'm sure. That would be funny if you wrote "Kai" instead of "Luke." XD**

When two chimeras broke from the brush, they split up. Ilum and Karana took on one while Luke, Raven, and Izuki took care of the other. Perhaps it would this work...

Karana and Ilum used their ice magic to freeze the first chimera's paws to the ground. It broke free within the next moment. Lightning attacks it avoided, and finally, it was upon them. They dove away as it pounced, clawed paw and split hoof ready to trample them.

Rolling to his feet, Ilum created his favorite ice sword and threw it; the weapon grazed the chimera's side. In the meantime, Karana created a spinning sphere of lightning and threw it at its other side, catching it across the shoulder.

The chimera roared as it went after them again, chasing first one and then the other as spell after spell was cast.

"Karana!" Ilum called in the midst of dodging. "Don't let it get too close!"

"You be careful, yourself! Nothing rash, please!" She thought sourly. And watch him do something stupid...

Raven

Izuki threw the first ball, obviously filled with a grim determination and as the sphere of void collided with the chimera, she shouted:

"That's for hurting our horses!" The chimera shook itself and advanced menacingly, tossing its maned head side to side and striking with its whip-like tail. Izuki flipped onto her hands and back to her feet, out of the way.

"I'm going to try to disable it. if you could distract it..."

"Of course," Raven agreed as she began to use water and lightening alternatively to electrocute the chimera. Izuki resumed her blasts of void and both dodged as the chimera dashed back and forth, trying to strike them down.

At the same time, Luke's eyes glazed over and the earth began to tremble. Minor quakes erupted around the chimera until some of the land began to rise.

"Get out of the way," Luke called, suddenly alarmed. "I don't know if I can control it."

"You can," Raven called back. "You can do it, Luke."

Karana and Ilum were caught off guard by the quaking, and it threw them from their feet for a moment. And that was all it took.

The chimera lunged at Karana, roaring fiercely. She just barely leapt out the way; it's claws met her thigh, leaving nasty gashes along her leg. She cried out and stumbled, landing in a heap just out of the beast's reach.

"Karana!" Ilum shouted, tearing the sword from his back, and charged. He ran into the chimera before it could strike again. Karana shakily took her bow from its case, pulled out an arrow, and aimed. Charging it with as much flame energy as she could muster, she fired. The weapon left a trail of smoke where it passed, and finally, it hit the chimera in the forehead. The beast roared when fire enveloped its body, singing it on the spot.

She felt suddenly light headed. What had happened? Was it from shock? Maybe. Bloodloss? Maybe. Magic usage? Maybe.

Who knew?

Ilum thrust his sword into the cringing beast, and it finally fell silent.

"Karana!" He dashed to her side, rolling her onto her back as he examined her wounds. She clenched her jaw; the injury burned, and she couldn't move her knee. It hurt too much. All she could do was wait as Ilum tied a tourniquet around her thigh and held folded cloth to her bleeding leg.

(It's been a while since we've had a good battle, hasn't it? It's been like, what, twenty posts since the fight with Shiva? Maybe that's why VG Rumble fell asleep for a few days, nobody was posting because they got a little bored. In my experience, a few random encounters here and there keeps the story interesting. If you don't believe me, take a look at VG Rumble. It's survived for over half a year and has reached its 31st page. The idea for a storybook with a level up system was probably my best idea to date.)

The last chimera let out a roar as it rushed toward Raven and Izuki. Before it could attack them, though, a chunk of rock shot out of the earth in front of it, blocking its path. The creature slammed into the earth, falling to its knees soon after.

Luke raised both his arms and chunks of earth and rock were pulled out of the ground and began floating behind him. He thrust his arms forward and the floating earth flew at the creature, pounding it piece by piece. He lifted his arms once more and two walls of rock came out of the ground on either side of the chimera. He clapped his hands together and the two enormous rocks slammed against each other to form a tomb around the creature. The chimera let out one last ragged roar before the two rocks crushed it to death.

Luke fell victim to his usual wave of exhaustion, but this time it felt less taxing. It seemed every time he used the spell he lost less and less energy doing it. He looked up to see Raven and Izuki making their way over.

Ilum gained level 2 Burst of Strength!
Karana gained level 1 Burst of Strength!
Raven gained level 1 Metaphysical Shield!
Luke gained level 1 Intimidate!
Izuki gained level 2 Burst of Speed!


Current Abilities:

Ilum:
Level 3 Ice
Level 3 Fire
Level 1 Gravity (Advanced)
Level 2 Burst of Strength (Skill) UP!!

Karana:
Level 3 Fire
Level 3 Lightning
Level 3 Ice
Level 2 Meteor (Advanced)
Level 3 Burst of Speed (Skill)
Level 1 Burst of Strength (Skill) NEW!!!
Ifrit (Summon)

Raven:
Level 3 Healing
Level 3 Water
Level 2 Lightning
Level 1 Holy (Advanced)
Level 2 Empathy (Skill)
Level 1 Metaphysical Shield (Skill) NEW!!!
Shiva (Summon)

Warren: (Away)
Level 3 Wind
Level 2 Lightning
Level 2 Time (Advanced)
Level 2 Enhanced Sight (Skill)

Luke:
Level 3 Lightning
Level 2 Void
Level 2 Healing
Level 2 Earth (Advanced)
Level 3 Shadow (Skill)
Level 1 Intimidate (Skill) NEW!!!
Leviathan (Summon)

Izuki:
Level 3 Void
Level 1 Wind
Level 1 Bio (Advanced)
Level 3 Unlock (Skill)
Level 2 Burst of Speed (Skill) UP!!

It was a good idea but you know it wouldn't work without such committed writers, yes?

Raven

"You okay?" Raven asked as she and Izuki approached Luke. He nodded and she hugged him gently, her hand lingering in his as she transferred a little magic to heal his wounds but both new that the exhaustion would heal only with time.

"Karana's been hurt!" Izuki realised suddenly, racing off in that direction. Raven hesitated for a moment and then released Luke's hand and hurried over. Luke followed at a slower pace.

"I can't move my knee," Karana whimpered between clenched teeth as Ilum dabbed at the wound with a cloth. Raven knelt down and moved closer, examining the scattering of rock and earth embedded in the wound. "It needs cleaning," she mumbled, using her magic to draw water from the air and wash it over the wound. Karana cried out a little and ground her teeth harder, tears welling in her eyes but she smiled when Ilum took her hand and squeezed it gently. She squeezed back, relieving some of the pressure wound up in her body.

"I'll try to make this as painless as possible," Raven murmured as she placed her hands either side of Karana's knee, the water never ceasing to run across the wound and cleanse it through. Raven passed her magic into Karana, easing the pain as she swiftly straightened the knee out and dealved deeper, knitting the tendons and bone back together.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Izuki asked, staring at the wound with awe and respect.

Karana nodded stiffly. "Broken bones always hurt."

Izuki whimpered at that. Maybe the woman had scared the girl into being more careful...

A few minutes later, the wound was closed, the pain only faint but still very vivid in her memory. She breathed slowly and deeply as the tears finally stopped, and everyone started examining the corpses of the chimeras and the damage done to the earth. It was amazing that Luke had done it!

Ilum sat with Karana, holding her with one arm as he wiped her tears from her face. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "What about you? Are you hurt?"

"Surprisingly, no."

They chuckled at that, and he kissed her before helping her to her feet.

"Now what?" Izuki asked.

(Ah, I just got an idea. I know I said I'd like to bring Warren back in AFTER our characters find the Pyrolith, but since the Pyrolith is on a volcano island and the Aerolith is in a flying castle, this is just about the last time our characters will need to walk. So, why don't we bring Warren back in when our characters get to the next town? Also, in case anyone has forgotten, the stones our characters are looking for have two names each: Sacred Azure Stone/Aqualith, Sacred Burning Stone/Pyrolith, and Sacred Teal Stone/Aerolith. You can use either name, it doesn't matter.)

Luke sighed and said, "It looks like we're walking."

"Walking?" Karana said, "But that will slow our journey down even more!"

"It doesn't seem like we have much of a choice," Luke said. "But I feel this will be the last time we'll need to travel on land anyway."

"Why is that?" Ilum asked.

"Our next destination is Drokonia, a volcano island. In order to get there we will need a boat. After that we have to find Wind Tower, where the Sacred Teal Stone lies. In order to get there we'll need to find a means to fly."

"How are we going to do that?" Izuki asked.

"We'll worry about that after we find the Sacred Burning Stone," Luke said. "Thinking further ahead than what is necessary can lead to problems. Our main concern right now is finding a boat."

"Do you have any ideas?" Raven asked.

Luke nodded. "Yes, I do. Our next destination is the port town of Karavia."

"You're kidding!" Ilum said. "We can't go there, Karavia is the biggest breeding ground for thugs and criminals!"

"I'm aware of that," Luke said, "but with what little money we have, it is the only place we may have a chance at finding a ship we can afford, and with our horses gone it's also the closest port from here."

"Even if we could find a ship we can afford, how are we going to convince them to take us to Drokonia? Nobody goes near that place and for good reason, it's a volcano!"

"If we tell the captain of the ship there is treasure to be found inside the volcano he might be more swayed to help us," Luke said. "But we'll worry about that when we get there."

Karana nodded. It made sense, but she was still nervous. How dangerous would it be in this city? Much worse than in the fields, probably. She had no idea how to deal with people the same way she dealt with monsters...

I'll learn when we get there.

**All I've got, sorry...I'm exhausted...two field trips in one day, both of them very physically demanding...**

(I was hoping to get someone else to post first before posting again myself. Did you have fun on your trips, Ayumi? Where did you go?)

So it was settled, they were going to Karavia. It took them three days to travel to the port city. Karavia was just as Ilum had described it, a breeding ground for thugs and criminals. Everyone walking down the street looked like they would hit you if you said anything to them. A man was thrown out a tavern window further down the street.

"This place is bad news," Ilum said. "Let's just find that boat and get the hell out of here."

Luke nodded. "I agree. If I remember correctly, the harbour is just down this street." They all followed Luke toward the harbour.

"Have you been here before, Luke?" Raven asked.

He nodded. "Once or twice. Despite its looks, Karavia is one of the most biggest towns for the black market in Arcadia. You can find any weapon or armour your heart desires in this place."

A few men came up to Luke's group and blocked their path. One of the men gave them a bad guy smile. "Hey, buddy," the man asked, "got any spare change?" The man played his fingers along the handle of his sword that was sheathed on his waist. The two men on either side of them had weapons as well. Luke heard footsteps all around them. Even more men showed up to surround their group. In total, there were about eight men with weapons.

Luke stared at the man in front of them. "No, we don't."

"That's a shame. Looks like we're gonna have to just take what you do have."

The man beside him shifted uncomfortably. "Hey, boss."

"What?"

"That guy, I think he's Lucas Arakor!"

"What!?" He stared at Luke for a moment, then his eyes went wider. "Well, I guess it is! Looks like it's our lucky day!"

Raven whispered to Luke, "How do they know your name?"

"Later," he whispered back.

The man that seemed to be leading this band of thugs called out to he men. "Listen up!" He pointed to Luke. "This here guy is Lucas Arakor, the guy our leader has put a hit on! I'll go half-and-half with the reward with whoever brings me his head first!"

The thugs began to close in on them. Everyone drew their weapons and kept their backs to each other.

"Not so fast!" a voice from above shouted. Everyone looked up to see a man standing on the roof of a nearby building. He was wearing a hooded poncho that hid his face.

"Who is that?" Karana asked.

Luke focused on the man's face under the hood. The man smiled down at him. "Long time no see, Luke."

"...Warren?"


--Random Encounter!--

x7 Thugs
x1 Thug Boss

Awesome!

Warren

"Did you miss me?" Warren jumped from the roof, drawing his two thin, long swords as he did and landing beside Luke, the hood of his poncho blown back by the wind and his tangled, brown hair waving wildly until the air settled and all was still.

"Who the hell are you?" The thug boss demanded into the silence, his words almost swallowed by another, sudden burst of wind that threw the thugs and their boss back a step. "Theatrics!" The boss mumbled under his breath.

"I, sir, am another foe," Warren's tone was mocking, accompanied by a false flourish of a bow and a smug smile that clung to his lips. "They call me the Wind God." His friends' faces flickered with confusion and half forgotten memory but the thugs hesitated, the title clearly familiar and as the air stilled again, they each took a measured step back of their own accord. Except for their boss.

"What have you been up to?" Ilum hissed with a side-ways glance at his old companion. There was something very different about the way Warren stood, a confident stance that showed an almost feline grace that would make anyone else look feminine but somehow, Warren appeared deadly.

"There's a price on his head too," The boss of the thugs claimed. "We'll all eat well tonight."

"Or not at all," Warren retorted but the thugs, inspired by their greed, were already advancing.

"I hope you still remember how to fight under all that flourish and foolishness," Luke mumbled.

"But of course," Warren replied. "And thank you so much for such a lovely warm welcome."

"Welcome back," Raven said softly. "We've missed you."

**Yeah, they were awesome. We went to Six Flags over Georgia and then had a Drill Meet (Tournament) the next day...It was great!**

Karana smiled when Ilum beamed. His best friend was back!

"Welcome back, Warren!" she called, taking her place beside Ilum, bow drawn and ready. "Ready to kick butt?"

"Oh, believe it!"


**All I've got...**