She was in a dark alley with Lugo, except he was in a dress. She didn’t know why, but she was filled with absolute elation, laughing, feeling like her heart felt so full at that very moment. Lugo cupped her cheek and she felt a wave of electricity shoot through her body. His eyes were so alluring as they inched closer and closer. She felt the touch of his warm soft lips upon hers and she was in euphoria. His scent beguiled her and she was lost in his trance, luring her into the burning sun that he is.
"Tsugi." Lugo's voice was distant. "Tsugi." The shake on her shoulder woke her from her slumber. "Come on. We need to get going."
"What?" Tsugi rubbed her eyes. "Go where?" The dream dispersed like smoke and was forgotten like the passing wind.
Lugo tied his vambraces on and stared at Tsugi wide eyed. "To the mines. We need to get going now if we're going to get there on time."
"What? I thought you said we still have a few days."
"Uh, I said that a few days ago when we first got here."
"What?" Tsugi sat straight up in bed. Her clothes were different, she didn't recognize the bright blue shirt and tan pants. They were stylish and looked like something a noble person would wear. "What am I wearing?" Tsugi quickly turned away from Lugo, rubbing her chest to make sure she was still bound. She sighed in relief when she felt the cloth binding on her chest.
"Are you okay?" Lugo peeked around the bed to look at her.
"Uh, h-how many days have we been here?"
"Five days."
Five days!
Tsugi searched her memory but she couldn't remember anything beyond the lanterns at the festival.
"Exactly how much did I have to drink at the festival?"
"At the festival or since the festival?"
"What?" Tsugi turned and gaped at him.
He furrowed his brows. "Uh, yeah, you've been drinking since the festival. I'm surprised you're awake and okay. I never knew you could drink so much."
She chuckled nervously. "Yeah, me too." She muttered under her breath.
"I've never seen you laugh so much before. You were talkative and very engaging. You even danced! It was like you were a different person." He chuckled.
"Yeah." She smiled sheepishly. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show, cause I won't be drinking for a long while."
"Awe, but I quite enjoyed that side of you." He smirked and threw his bag over his shoulders.
"Well, don't get used to it." Tsugi pulled her clothes out of her bag. "Now can you get out so I can change?"
Lugo sighed. "I forget, you like your privacy. I'm still going to get you to go into a public bath house one of these days." He waved a finger in the air and exited the room.
Tsugi shuttered at the thought of going into a public bath house.
"Nope. Never." She shook her head and changed out of the ridiculous clothes she was in. "Did I buy these clothes when I blacked out?" She frowned and chucked the clothes into her bag. “Darn alcohol.”
{Took you long enough.} Ellie and Lugo were waiting at the edge of town waiting for Tsugi and Ruzo.
{Sorry.} Tsugi smiled sheepishly.
“Alright! Onward!” Lugo said with enthusiasm and marched down the other side of the mountain.
“Where exactly are these mines?” Tsugi asked.
“Do you see that mountain over there?” He pointed to the barely visible mountain, hidden behind the fog. “The mines are in that mountain. We’ll be crossing a marsh, so be watchful for rucai’s.”
Stolen story; please report.
“There’s rucai’s here too? I thought they were just by volcanoes.”
“They can also be found there, but marshes are their favorite places, so just be careful once we reach the bottom. Did you bring extra boots?”
“Uh – no.”
“Well, let’s just hope we have time to dry them once we get to the other side.”
The lower they descended, the thicker the fog became. The tree’s became more spread out and the leaves hung like willow trees. The colors weren’t as vibrant near the bottom and became more of a dull green and brown. Light still seeped through, but the sun itself became hidden behind the fog, so they could only see a faint outline of it.
Reaching the bottom, a strong waft of stench hit them as they cringed their noses. The land was wet with only a few patches of grass protruding by each tree. The fog was still pretty thick and their visibility was limited to only 200 meters. The land was eerily quiet, not even wind came through.
“I don’t know how comfortable I feel about crossing.” Tsugi muttered.
“We don’t really have a choice now, do we? Come on. Just keep your eyes and ears open.” Lugo stepped into the water, lapping over his ankles.
Warily, they all followed behind Lugo, moving as quietly as they could through the water. A sense of uneasiness filled Tsugi’s chest. She felt like she was being watched. There was an uncomfortable tingling on the back of her neck, making her hair stand on its ends.
Even Ruzo seemed to have noticed. His nose was continuously working through the air, but the stench was too strong as it masked all other smells. Ruzo’s ears constantly twisted from the front to the side as it scanned for any signs of danger.
They were in the middle of the marsh and everything looked exactly the same, like they were walking in circles.
“Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?” Tsugi hissed.
“Yes.” Lugo stopped and scratched his head, glancing from side to side. “At least I’m pretty sure. Damn fog.” He muttered, trudging forward.
A low grumble came from behind them and they quickly turned around, readying their weapons. Whereas Ellie had felt the vibrations from her feet.
Ruzo tilted his head as they stared at him. His stomach let out another low growl as he panted innocently, wagging his tail.
{It’s just Ruzo.} Tsugi chuckled and released her daggers. “Let’s eat something real quick.” She swung her bag in front of her and pulled out a chunk of meat, ripping off some smaller pieces for the three of them before giving the bigger half to Ruzo. “Sorry bud, but this is all we get for now.” The chunk was nothing but a morsel for Ruzo, yet he gobbled it up with glee.
“Let’s keep moving. You can snack on the move.” Lugo said and kept his eyes on the horizon.
The water sloshed under their feet which is now at knee height, soaking into their boots. Another low grumble resonated through the air.
“It’s just Ruzo again.” Lugo muttered, continuing their wade through the muddy waters, only for another grumble to appear, only now louder as it vibrated the earth under their feet. They froze, glancing at each other – waiting. Ruzo lifted his nose into the air, but it was still of no use, he couldn’t smell anything.
Another grumble, sent out a ripple through the water. One after another, the ripples continued, surrounding them.
They slowly backed up, pressing their backs to one another, their weapons drawn and ready.
“We should climb on Ruzo’s back and make a run for it.” Tsugi whispered.
“Agreed.” Lugo answered.
Just then everything went quiet again. A moment passed, then two – still nothing.
“Ruzo down.” Tsugi whispered and the warwolf quietly laid down in the water. Tsugi tapped Ellie's shoulder. {Climb on, we’re making a run for it.} Tsugi hoisted her up onto Ruzo’s back.
Explosions of water from all around them, flew up like geysers, drenching them in seconds. Lizardmen landed on the ground, sending a loud splash into the air and charged at them.
“Grucain’s!” Lugo screams.
“I thought you said there were rucai’s!”
“They were the last time I was here! They must’ve evolved!”
Ruzo roared loudly as three of them landed on his back and bit into him. Ellie pulled out her retractable staff and attacked the creatures. She swung the hard metal staff into their grasps and broke their fingers, jamming the staff into their throat’s, crushing their windpipes. With her force, she’s usually able to stab right through the other side, the grucain’s had a really tough hide.
Running along Ruzo’s back, she knocked off the other two in a similar fashion and hopped off of Ruzo to join the other two in battle.
Tsugi swung his daggers with speed and accuracy, cleanly severing the creatures necks. Soon they became smart and started to dodge left and right avoiding her attacks, so she kept missing them again and again.
As the creatures neared, Lugo would teleport them back. Opening one door after another in the blink of an eye, making them attack each other instead. Lugo chuckled to himself, enjoying his little entertainment as the creatures seemingly got irritated at each other.
“AH!” Ellie's leg was sizzling and burning. Tsugi launched her dagger at the creature by Ellie and severed it in half. Its intestines scattered and splashed into the water along with its body. Ellie quickly threw the water onto her open wound to wash the acid away.
“Protect her!” Tsugi yelled. Lugo and Tsugi stood on either side of her, taking down any approaching enemy. Ruzo dashed through the marsh and clamped his jaw down on each of the creatures he passed, shaking them violently until their legs flew off. He gobbled up the smaller pieces and continued on his rampage as if this was but a game of feasts.
At least he’ll be full after this.
Tsugi chuckled and attacked another creature that flew out of the water.
“AH!”
Tsugi and Lugo both turned around, but Ellie was gone. A creature had gotten hold of her and dragged her through the water as she flailed and screamed. Her screams turned into gurgles, as her head dunked under every now and then.
“Ellie!” Tsugi yelled as they chased after her. Ruzo finished off the last standing grucain behind them and charged after Tsugi and Lugo.
The creature had her by her leg and continued to drag her away like a starving hunter with a carcass. She pulled out her staff and with one shake, it extended. She swung it hard into the creature's face and it yelped, letting go of her for a second. Before Ellie could get up, the creature clamped down on her leg again.
For that moment, faster than a tenth of a second, time seemed to have frozen as her eyes were filled with horror and fear, gazing upon Tsugi and Lugo. Whether her eyes begged for help or the slight curl of the corner of her lip said good-bye, they wouldn’t know.
The creature disappeared and soon, Ellie disappeared under the surface and everything was once again – silent.