The Dragon and The Ghost
Part 8
The Terror of the Emperor's Staff.
Akane walked behind the personal guard of the Emperor. She was dressed
in full armor; her helmet shielded her face from the strong cold wind
that blew across the city. She was riding on a giant black steed with an
armor plate on its face. At her side was a long pike that held the
Emperor's flag. Before them was a large castle that rested in the center
of the mountain city of Joketsuko. "So, this is Joketsuko."
"Yes Mistress," said Mint casually.
"We have been here before, once or twice. Lord Herb has had a few
diplomatic missions here," agreed Lime.
"That doesn't matter. Stay close, and keep your eyes open," her words
were not only directed at the pair of beast men, but the two ranks of
black clad knights that rode behind her.
Herb smiled slightly as he glanced back at her and the knights. "Well,
it seems that bringing her was pointless."
"Don't be so naive, she has other duties as well," commented the cloaked
woman who rode beside him, the Emperor's personal aid. The monarch
himself rode inside a large covered platform that was carried by four
large looking men. His shadow could be seen behind the sheer silk
curtain. His personal carriage waited just outside the city.
"Ah, guard duty? How incredibly dull," replied the man.
"As you say, I doubt if she'll be board on this trip."
Guards poured out of the gates on either side of the imperial convoy.
They lined up along the sides of the great bridge that crossed the large
moat that surrounded the palace. The temperature was far too cold to keep
a water moat, but a black oily substance filled the trench. It bubbled
and steamed, sending an unpleasant odor into the air.
A regal looking figure walked out of the front gate with several tall
looking advisors surrounding her. Her face was pretty, but a strange veil
surrounded her face on either side, a long cape also covered her body
from view.
"We are pleased to receive you here. Welcome to Joketsuko, our hope is
that you will find your stay pleasant," said the woman calmly. She
reached out with her hand, revealing three other arms hidden beneath the
cloak on one side.
The Emperor's aide removed the hood off of her face. She had short cut
white hair, and an almost stunning beauty. "The Emperor hopes these talks
will proceed favorably."
The regal looking woman bowed her head to Herb slightly. "It is good to
see you again, Lord Herb."
"As it is you, Your Highness."
"Come, let us go inside. The weather here is quite unpleasant at this
time of year." The woman turned and led them inside the gates. The guards
filed in just after the Emperor, just in front of Akane and her ranks.
"Come on," growled the girl.
+++++++++
Inside the throne room, the Queen sat in her throne in front of the
visiting dignitaries. Her eight arms rested on armrests specially made
for her, one on each tier. Her veil had been removed as well, revealing
two other faces on each side of her head. One had a smile upon it; the
other was an angry scowl. "We will begin the talks tomorrow. I know you
must be tired from the long trek to our kingdom. Rooms have been
prepared, the Emperor has already been shown to his room."
"As you say. Highness, if I may be permitted," said Herb with a pleasant
smile crossing his features.
"You may speak," said the woman flatly. She had not shown any emotion
since their arrival.
"The Emperor wishes to see your dungeons, he is quite interested in such
things. If it is not too much trouble that is."
"We shall arrange it this evening," said the woman.
"Thank you," replied the man as he bowed low.
++++++++++
Akane stood in front of the lavish doors that led to the guest chambers.
They were extraordinarily lavish; the kingdom was not a poor one. Even
the hallways had rolls of plush red carpets, they were brightly lit with
hanging chandeliers that lined the entire passage. Various paintings and
tapestries hung from the walls, and expensive looking tables held
bouquets of native mountain flowers in fine vases.
Lime and Mint stood with her on either side, normally; she would have
her two best men with her. Since Herb had left them with her, she figured
she might as well make use of them. Even if they were just there to spy
on her. The Emperor seemed to like them more than the silent knights as
well. She had to admit, they were amusing at times. They were also much
better protection than her men. She hated to admit that, but it was
something she accepted.
Herb approached them slowly and nodded a greeting. Akane had to suppress
a small growl, but bowed her head placidly to him and stood aside.
He paused in front of the doors and did not look at her. "Queen Rouge
has given us permission to see the dungeons. We will be leaving now, your
duties will begin there."
Akane's face frowned beneath her helmet. "She is a fool then."
"Perhaps, but I think she just doesn't know. Tonight the palace will be
ours. I left a special surprise for the knights as well. Your sister
cooked it up for me. She is quite skilled."
"In more than spell casting I'll wager," grumbled Akane.
"Come now. You know as well as I that I will make an honest woman of her
soon enough."
"There's nothing you can do to make her honest," replied Akane coldly.
"True!" Herb laughed for a moment. "Come now, do try and be a little
civil, we will be related soon you know."
"Civil is one thing I'll never be to you, Lord Herb," spat the woman
sharply.
"As you wish, be prepared," said Herb with his face calming suddenly.
"I am ready to serve, as always," she replied with her head bowed
slightly.
"Do try and behave yourselves in front of our ruler," said an amused
voice from behind them. They turned to see the Emperor's aide beside
them. Lime and Mint both stood rigidly and stared at the wall in front of
them. She was not wearing her cloak, and the skintight body suit she wore
didn't hide much from view.
+++++++++++
The dungeon was cold and damp, water dripped from the ceiling from long
icicles that seemed to cover the stones overhead, a thin coat of ice also
covered most of the walls. As the tiny cloaked figure of the Emperor
stared into the cells that contained the whimpering criminals. They were
separated from them by a few rusted out bars of metal. There was no
torture equipment in the room, mostly because the temperature alone was
enough to deter most. They cowered before the group before them, huddled
close to each other for warmth. Even the strongest among them shivered
quietly, deathly afraid to speak. Akane's intimidating black form lorded
over them as she stared coldly into the bars. Herb was slightly more
friendly looking, but his powerful aura was not something they took
lightly.
"The smell disgusts me," commented Akane. "You'd think they'd at least
hose them down on occasion."
"They would freeze to death in a few hours if they did," said the aide
calmly.
"We are not here to see that," said the young voice from behind them.
They parted and he stepped forward, the staff clanked against the ground
as the metal touched the stone floor. "It is time, don't worry my
friends, you'll be warm soon enough." He stared at the prisoners for a
moment and smirked. He was nothing but a boy, he looked no more than
twelve years old, but his eyes told of an age much more than that. His
long dark hair had streaks of red in it. On his back were two black and
red wings, like those of a bird. The staff in his hands was glowing with
a red energy; the metal shone brightly illuminating the room around them.
It was an ornate piece of metal, made with a strange red metal. A large
ring rested on the top.
The boy tapped the ground with the staff and released it. The thing was
impaled on the ground from even the light blow and stood upright. The red
energy began to spread across the floor around them. Slowly it crept
across the floor towards the prisoners. The water dripping from the
ceiling and walls hissed as it came into contact with the ground, and the
bars of metal began to bend slightly under the temperature. The prisoners
began to wail in panic as the superheated energy crawled towards them.
Akane merely stared forward as they began to scream in pain. Her armor
was enchanted, and protected her from the effects of the energy. Kiima,
the Emperor's aide, was somehow immune, and Herb merely floated just
above it with his arms crossed and a dark smile on his lips.
Emperor Saffron turned towards her and smiled, ignoring the screaming
men behind him as they slowly burned to death. Already, the screams of
others within the castle above had begun to start.
"Guard the Kajakan well."
"Yes my lord," she replied as she fell to her knees in front of him.
She drew the huge broadsword from her side and planted it into the ground
in front of her. The black metal was unaffected by the red power, it also
had serrated edges that made it look even more intimidating.
"Come Herb, we have to go collect Queen Rouge, she will not be harmed by
my power," said the boy calmly.
"I shall accompany you as well," said Kiima.
"As you wish," said the boy with a small chuckle. He paused for a
moment. "What of the knights?"
"They have been taken care of," commented Herb. "Akane's forces should
be cleaning up any who escaped our little surprise."
"Excellent," said the boy as he started forward again.
++++++++++
Ranma, Ryu, Shampoo, and Ryoga stood on the edge of the moat. "Well,
he's here," commented Ryu.
"Yup," agreed Ranma cheerfully. "We'll try and figure out where he's
keeping the damn thing tonight. We'll go in after it tomorrow."
"I'm not very comfortable with lying to Ukyo about this. I know she
wouldn't help us if we told her, but it just doesn't sit well with me,"
said Shampoo. "I do understand why we couldn't thought."
"How do you think I feel?" said Ranma calmly.
They had left her home the day before, under the pretence of continuing
their voyage. Since that time they had been staying at a small in on the
other side of town. They had approached the castle several times,
observing the guards, trying to figure out the layout of the huge
building, and figuring out what the best way to enter was. This was more
dangerous than Ranma's usual jobs. They had to sneak Shampoo in as well,
that meant the Umisenken wouldn't be of much use. Ryu's Yamesenken might
come in handy though. They really had no idea about how well the place
would be guarded.
Ryu looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Hey, does something feel weird
to you?"
"Huh? What?" said Ranma in confusion.
"He's right, something doesn't feel right," said Ryoga. "I hate the
stench of death this black slime emits.
"Was it smoking before?" said Shampoo with an uncertain frown.
"No, I don't think so. Does anyone else feel a little warm?" Ranma
glanced down at the ooze and frowned.
The entire group stepped back; a slow moving orange glow began to crawl
its way up the side of the wall.
"What the hell is that?" snapped Ranma as he jumped back.
"The Kajakan," said Shampoo with an angry frown.
"What?" snapped Ryu as he watched it crawl up the side of the building
in fascinated horror.
"This is the power of the emperor's staff," said the girl calmly.
"That's nuts!" snapped Ranma.
"You of all people should know better than that," commented Ryoga.
"I've stolen stuff that makes things super hot before, but an entire
castle?" said the boy as he watched. The guards on the wall above had
noticed the slowly creeping energy crawl towards them. Occasionally, a
few flames would jump out of the wall as the wind blew by. Within moments
he saw the men fall to the ground as screams of pain floated down to
them.
"Gods! How are we supposed to get near that thing?" snarled Ryoga.
"We don't, not while it's like this at least. Even the Kajakan can't
keep something like this too hot for long. It will be dangerous though,
the entire palace will be like the inside of a volcano."
"No reason to change the plan then," said Ranma. "It should have cooled
enough for us to get through by tomorrow. Especially in this weather."
Ryoga spoke suddenly. "Ranma, the knights will be targeted."
"I know," said the boy coolly.
"You intend to do nothing?" said Shampoo in surprise.
"What can I do? I'm a thief, not a knight. If I tried anything, it would
endanger our mission." The boy looked away from them for a moment.
"Ranma, she was your friend," said Ryu.
"What's more important?" snapped the boy angrily as he whirled around to
face them. Tears streamed down his face. He calmed suddenly and turned
away again. "Ucchan would want me to stop this, for her. The only way to
do that, is to get that damn staff away from him."
Shampoo looked worried for a moment. "He is right, misguided perhaps,
but correct. We can do more good by stopping the source."
They turned away and left the castle for the next day.
++++++++
Inside the barracks of the Knights of Bahamut, several men sat around a
large table with cards spread out among them. They were dressed in
uniforms, but their armor hung on the walls between the bed racks where
they slept. The scene was rather relaxed; a few weapons hung from their
sides. Several other men lay on the beds, or lounged around with various
instruments. They had just returned from a rather uneventful mission. The
goblins that had once held a grip on the trade route had been dispersed
before their arrival by one of their own.
"So, she beat us again," muttered one of the men at the card table.
"Yes, she's getting worse," agreed another one of the men lazily. "It's
almost like we aren't needed anymore. That damn woman is too good for our
own good. We're getting fat and lazy just sitting here."
"You're right, we're losing respect," commented the first man with a
tiny amount of anger.
"Well, what can we do? We can't fault her for being as good, or as lucky
as she is. Any one of us would jump on the opportunity. I kind of like
having her around," said a third knight.
"Her cross dressing lackey came back today," commented one of the nearby
men.
"They seem like a good couple. I wonder who wears the pants in that
home!" joked one of the men cheerfully.
"She does," said a new voice. Everyone turned to see Konatsu standing in
the doorway lazily. He was wearing a plain looking dress and had his
sword strapped across his back.
"Hey! Join us for some cards?" offered one of the men cheerfully.
"Thanks, but no," replied the squire.
Everyone in the room knew and respected him, if not openly. He could
have been a knight on his own. He had waved the honor several times,
siting that he did not want to leave his mistress's side.
"Suit yourself," replied the man with a shrug. The feminine squire
wasn't much of a socialite. He preferred to keep to himself for the most
part. It wasn't all that unusual among them; most of the knights who
weren't sitting at the card table were like that.
Konatsu walked by them silently and sat down on his bunk. He leaned
against the wall and sighed. Something had been bothering him lately, a
feeling of dread that he had not been able to put into words. He knew
what it was though. "Something evil approaches. I sense that it is very
near now, possibly even upon us all ready."
"You worry too much. Who would be stupid enough to attack us here?"
scoffed one of the men.
A red ring of energy formed on the floor where the man stood. He
screamed in pain as his body burst into flames and fell to the ground.
Within a few seconds all that remained was a smoking skeleton.
The men were on their feet in an instant and reaching for their weapons,
scrambling to find their armor. It was far too late though. A dark green
mass of scales slowly rose from the glowing ring and hissed at them.
"What the hell is that?" screamed one of the men as it began to uncoil
itself.
"Wyvern," snarled another knight nearby as he prepared himself.
The creature was a gigantic winged lizard, not unlike a small dragon.
It's head scraped against the ceiling as it glanced around at those in
the room. A small jet of flames escaped its mouth as it began to breathe.
It's claws cut into the wooden floor and it slowly stalked forward
towards the men.
"Get ready!" called out one of the knights.
"Die monster!" screamed a man beside him as he charged forward. The
beast moved like lightening, it's neck snapped towards him and a ball of
fire struck him in the chest. The unfortunate knight screamed in pain as
he fell to the ground in flames.
Konatsu was airborne in an instant. He flipped over the thing's head and
slashed at it. A shower of sparks flew into the air as his sword cut into
the scales on the thing's neck. He had managed to do nothing more than
scratch its hide for his efforts. He landed and rolled away as the
thing's tail snapped at him.
"Get it!" cried one of the angry knights as he charged forward with his
compatriots. They swarmed forward towards the beast. It roared angrily in
reply and charged forward as well.
Konatsu jumped up from the corner he had been standing in. Several
flashes of metal appeared in the sky and stuck in the hide of the
monster. Four throwing daggers that did nothing more than annoy the
creature. The wyvern ignored him and tore into the crowd of knights with
his teeth and claws. Blood sprayed into the air as they fell around him.
Parts of their bodies flew and rolled across the ground leaving them
screaming and injured or dead.
"We need lady Ukyo," snapped Konatsu to the remaining knights. Only five
had survived so far. He rushed towards the doors and was quickly
followed. Once outside, another horrible surprise waited for them.
Around twenty black clad knights stood with weapons drawn.
The lead knight stepped forward and snarled. "Kill them. Kill them all."
+++++++++
Ukyo Kuonji sat up in her bed. A cold sweat covered her body. "What is
this feeling?" She rolled upright and hung her legs off the edge of the
bed as she held her head. Her eyes were wide and terror stricken. She
slowly stood up and stared forward at her spear. The blade was glowing
with a white light. "Danger? Here? What's going on?" She walked over to
her new armor and frowned as she lifted it off of its place on the wall.
++++++++++
Nabiki Tendo laughed as she stared into the mirror once again and
watched the slaughter of the knights in an almost euphoric pleasure. "Oh,
how could they ever doubt me. Come my pet!" She waved her hand over the
image of the wyvern and smirked. A handful of the knights had managed to
make it outside, where Akane's troops waited for her. "You have done
well, return home now." She smiled as the thing returned into the ring of
flames that had spawned it. The image changed to a view of the five
knights fending off Akane's forces. "Oh sister dear, we do work so well
together. It's a pity you could not be there to see it." She paused as
something flashed for a moment in the image. "Hmm? Could it be? Oh well,
these few puny knights shall make no difference."
++++++++
Konatsu frowned as he stood with the two remaining knights. The pair was
young, and relatively inexperienced. They held their broadswords ready on
either side of him. The knights had them completely surrounded. "We will
die, as we should."
"I've got no intentions of dying," snapped one of the men next to him.
"Yeah, but what can we do?" replied the other with a clearly worried
look on his face.
"Cut a hole through the weakest point, and run. That is our only chance
for survival," replied Konatsu. He had also begun to see past his anger,
to the benefits of survival. After all, Lady Ukyo still lived. Or so he
hoped.
"Well? Now what?" snapped the other knight.
"What the hell is that?" said Konatsu as she noticed the glowing orange
form of the castle nearby.
The lead black knight did not reply. "Take them."
The forces around them charged and closed the trap around them.
Out of the corner of his eye, Konatsu saw something move.
+++++++++++
Ukyo Kuonji rushed across the rooftops of the city. It would take no
more than a few moments to reach the barracks. She jumped down from the
last roof and rushed into the large field the knights used for practice.
The silver helmet that covered her head hid her stern face, and her long
red cape billowed behind her as she charged around the back of the
building. She stopped cold at what she saw. Seven black knights stood
alone, they looked tired and battle worn. The bodies of three of her
fellow knights lay on the ground around them. An aura of anger surrounded
her as she stared at them hatefully.
"What have you done here?"
"Look, it's another one!" snapped one of them. The anger in his voice
was quickly abated when he saw her aura burning around them.
"You'll all die!" screamed the angry Ukyo as she pointed her spear at
them. A ball of white energy began to form on the tip of the blade. It
was no larger than a golf ball.
"Get her!" cried one of the men in a panic. It was far too late. The
last thing the men ever saw was a white light engulfing them.
Ukyo fell to her knees and sobbed as the remains of their armor clanked
to the ground in front of her. She slowly rose to her feet and began to
search through the bodies. The three outside she could recognize, but
once inside she could not make out the remains of her late friends. Those
who were not burned beyond recognition, appeared to be chewed and half
eaten by some unknown monster. She staggered outside of the building, out
of the smell of burned and putrid flesh. She lifted the visor on her
helmet and became violently sick. She staggered and leaned against the
wall in an attempt to support herself. She fell to her knees regardless
and looked towards the black knight's bodies. "There's a lot of them
dead. I'm glad they all died bravely." Her sorrow began to overwhelm them
again. She stood up and began to walk away. After a moment, she paused
and looked at one of the black knight's remains. It looked like the back
of his armor had been ripped off; there was nothing inside but a wet red
mess with a few bones protruding from the gore.
"What could have done this?" she wondered for a moment.
++++++++++
Ranma stood in the shadows and glared at the three men in front of him
angrily.
"Who are you? What are you?" said one of the younger men.
"I'm something you never saw," replied the pigtailed boy darkly.
"Right, I am Hiroshi, this is Daisuke, and the girl here is Konatsu,"
said the other man cheerfully. He made no move to approach the shadowy
figure though. "We are in your debt. Please tell us who, or what you are?
There will be questions."
"So what. Stay away from the castle. You'll only get yourselves killed,"
snapped Ranma as he turned away from them.
Konatsu narrowed his eyes slightly. "You are not with the Emperor, are
you?" He recognized the voice from somewhere, but could not place it.
"Tell them, the Dragon Ghost has rescued you," replied the shadow with a
small chuckle as it vanished. "You'd best get out of town, take the other
knight with you. You'll all be killed if you stay here. We will take care
of the Emperor."
"We?" said Daisuke in confusion.
"Let's go. We're going to get Lady Ukyo," said Konatsu as he whirled
around and walked out of the alley.
Hiroshi watched the shadows nervously. "The Dragon Ghost? That was him?
Man, what does a guy like that want here?"
"It's not our concern at the moment. We have more important matters,"
snapped the feminine man angrily.
"Right," replied both knights as they followed after him.
++++++++++
"You old softy, I knew you wouldn't leave her," said Ryu lazily as he
met Ranma on a rooftop near the scene.
"Shut up. I don't want a word of this getting around. I did what I
could. Let's go."
"My lips are sealed, for now," said the boy with a chuckle. "Come on,
the others are getting worried. I'll just tell them you went looking for
a whore or something."
"You shut up!" snapped Ranma as he started to chase his partner across
the rooftops.
++++++++++
TBC...
Next time: The volcanic palace.
C&C to: Carrotglace@juno.com
Well, you finally know who the Emperor is. Everyone kept guessing
Happosai, though, I imagine this won't be a surprise for a lot of you. I
got tired of writing aide all the time, but if I gave Kiima away, you'd
have known for sure. Oh well.
On a side note, Hiroshi and Daisuke were last minute additions, that's
why you don't see their names sooner. I was going to just kill all the
knights. I figured I might get a few jokes out of these two. They won't
be traveling with the party though, it's getting kind of crowded, and I
don't want to over do it.
P.S. Happy does have a part in this later on.