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The Celestial Empire (Romance of the Three Kingdoms-ish, Updated 12/09/05)
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<blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1812112" data-attributes="member: 15043"><p>Sorry for the long delay. In thanks for your patience, here is the next update!</p><p></p><p><strong>Northward Trek</strong></p><p></p><p>It took another day of travel for the party to finally leave the long ravine the road had wound through. Despite watchful eyes and careful ears, no trace of the burning prefect came to the party’s attention... until three days after they had left the ravine...</p><p></p><p>It was near nightfall when Nayu saw Li suddenly rein up his horse, and quickly dismount. The small group of riders also halted, curiosity in their eyes as Li suddenly knelt towards the ground, examining the dirt closely. To his surprise, Nayu saw the other soldiers save Chou looking away, one even pulling out his blade to examine its sharpness in the evening light.</p><p></p><p><em>Why aren’t they watching the Captain?</em> Nayu wondered, just before Li rose, and was suddenly remounted on his horse.</p><p></p><p>“Tracks... made by a bony foot, and slight burn marks,” Li pronounced as he wheeled his horse around. “They head north, and we shall follow. Neither this prefect nor his minions can be allowed to reach Mukden!” The Captain put his spurs into the steed beneath him, and soon was going at a quick canter to the north.</p><p></p><p>“Cap’n’s a hunting hound,” one of the soldiers quipped towards Chou as Nayu rode by. The young soldier gave Nayu a rather fierce grin, and spurred his horse after the elderly soldier. Nayu spurred his horse ahead as well, and within a few seconds he heard the snorts of Felonca’s mare alongside. He was about to speak when he saw the look of frustration that covered her face.</p><p></p><p>“What’s wrong?”</p><p></p><p>“I wanted to practice my tracking,” Felonca groaned. “It was one of the few things at the Academy that I liked. I smelled that something dead was there, long ago, but Li’s horse unfortunately trampled over the spot where he was looking, so the tracks were destroyed! And I really need practice, because I can’t see any of the tracks Li is following!”</p><p></p><p>“I’m sure they’ll become more apparent as time goes on,” Nayu said reassuringly, his own eyes looking towards the churned earth underneath, and coming to a realization. “And if you want to see those tracks, I’d suggest moving up to the front by Li. The soldier’s mounts are trampling them up even now. Master Liu, did you see any tracks?”</p><p></p><p>The monk slowed up behind Felonca, and shook his head. “None whatsoever, which greatly perturbs me. Why does Li continue to ride when following tracks? If they are that apparent, then the steeds going over them should not destroy them so we cannot see them.”</p><p></p><p>“Well, there’s desert north of here, and some finished portions of the Great Desert Wall,” Felonca thought aloud.</p><p></p><p><em>Maybe only Li can see the tracks? But why would that be so?</em> Nayu’s mind wondered quickly. <em>Or maybe...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>No. Why would he do anything like that?</em></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Two days fast ride later, and Felonca was growing more and more concerned. The open grassy plains were starting to give way to scrub brush. Not too much further ahead would be the steppe. Beyond that, the dusty expanse of the Shu Desert, its only marker being the titanic wall of stone and bones cutting across its vastness.</p><p></p><p>“Something’s wrong,” she heard Nayu hiss from next to her. She nodded slowly, her eyes still watching all the soldiers and Li. None were doing anything out of the ordinary. Two of the regular troops were all scowling at an unapologetic Chou, who continued to snicker at the horrid joke he’d just finished. The other three soldiers formed the rear of the column, and were snickering and talking to themselves. Li himself was still at the head of the column, looking ahead, as if he was a piece of granite mounted on horseback.</p><p></p><p>“This merriment is not something a normal army would do when they are searching for an enemy,” Liu whispered ominously. “And though I am not a long aquiantance of Captain Li, I cannot see him letting indiscipline grow like that.”</p><p></p><p>“I know,” Felonca replied quietly. <em>Something is most DEFINITELY wrong. I don’t trust these soldiers... they’re too at ease. Especially Chou. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>They’re plotting something.</em></p><p></p><p>“Um... should we ride at the rear of the column?” Felonca whispered to the others quietly. <em>It would be safer than being sandwiched between two groups of soldiers.</em></p><p></p><p>“Let’s,” Nayu grunted, pulling up his horse. Felonca and Liu followed suit, allowing the rear three soldiers to pass. The soldiers gave Nayu a glare as they went by.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>It was three days later when the Nayu caught sight of the first sign of the desert ahead. While off his horse for a mid-day break, he had to flick away a tiny scorpion from his water canteen. By that evening, the steppe had turned dry, and the ground cracked open underfoot from lack of rain.</p><p></p><p>That days ride was especially long, as Li had continued to insist that the tracks were getting fresher. Neither Nayu, Felonca or Liu had seen any tracks as of yet, something that distrubed Nayu as he laid back against his bedroll that night.</p><p></p><p><em>Tonight would be very peaceful, if it wasn’t for this feeling of doom in my chest,</em> he thought, his eyes looking amongst the pinpoint stars above. He felt a light scurry along his side and then up his stomach, and looked down to see his lizard, Kenzi, hunch down right over his belly button.</p><p></p><p>“Are you... no, you’re not hungry!” Nayu chuckled, as he saw the last part of a cricket’s leg get pulled into Kenzi’s throat. “You just wanted some warmth!”</p><p></p><p>“I can’t believe you’re talking to a lizard,” Nayu heard Chou’s voice say with unsurpressed mirth. Nayu heard the man sit beside the warm campfire, whose glow also illuminated the faces of a sleeping Felonca and Liu.</p><p></p><p>Nayu’s father had brought the lizard home after a long merchant trip, one that lasted six months and even involved sailing across the sea. The lizard was not found in Ak Konylu, period, and also could change its colors to fit in with its surroundings. Nayu had immediately taken a liking to the beast.</p><p></p><p>And the creature had taken a liking to him, so Nayu thought. Kenzi was intelligent enough to respond to his name, and keen enough to understand some speech. He and Nayu had a powerful bond between pet and master, it seemed.</p><p></p><p>“Where are you off to?” Nayu asked with a smile. <em>I badly need this distraction</em>, his mind thought as Kenzi dashed off of his stomach and past Nayu’s resting head. The young man flipped to his belly and looked over his bedroll, hoping to see his little friend. </p><p></p><p>Instead, he saw Li and five of the soldiers standing in a circle, far from the campfire. By their expressions, faintly shone in the bright moonlight and the somewhat dim glow of the fire, an animated discussion was occurring.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, Nayu felt a sensation of scampering, grass running across his belly and bumping into his sides. The only noise in his ear was the sound of grass moving aside. Quickly, the young man snapped his head around, and began looking about.</p><p></p><p>“Hey, easy there! Do you have a tickle in your bones? Get it? We’ve been fighting skeletons, so your bones got tickled?” Chou snickered at his joke.</p><p></p><p>The noise continued in Nayu’s ears. Slithering, moving. And then, another noise. Murmurs, groans. One of the voices he could easily place as Captain Li’s. The other was that of one of the soldiers. Nayu had never gotten close to the retainers of their party, so he couldn’t place the man’s name, despite knowing his face.</p><p></p><p><em>Must be the wind carrying their voices,</em> Nayu thought, watching as their mouths moved in time with the murmurs. That is when it happened.</p><p></p><p>Nayu heard only three words out of the hissed conversation, but they were enough to make ears perk up.</p><p></p><p>Skeletons.</p><p></p><p>Governor.</p><p></p><p>Jade Throne.</p><p></p><p><em>What do the skeletons have to do with the Governor and the Imperial Throne?</em> Nayu thought, confused. His eyes narrowed, as he focused himself on listening with his ears. Despite this, he quickly realized Chou was looking at him strangely.</p><p></p><p>“Chou?” he asked. <em>I need to distract him! He’s not over there, but he may know what they are about to do!</em> “I think the fire is getting low. Can you look at it?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, sir. Right away sir. Thought you at least wouldn’t order me around, sir,” Chou snapped sardonically. His eyes betrayed that Nayu had hit a deep, well hidden nerve, but at this point, Nayu didn’t care. He was realized to see Chou go back to the fire and hear several grunts from him about having to take orders from everyone.</p><p></p><p>Nayu thought of something else he needed to do, and quickly whispered a few arcane words to himself. After making sure Chou was not looking, he pointed quickly but decisive towards the sleeping Felonca and Liu.</p><p></p><p><em>”Wake up!”</em> Nayu hissed into their ears through magical means. He saw the other two sit up groggily, looking around. Once again, fortune was on his side, as when Nayu checked for Chou, he saw the young man was fiddling with his backpack instead of watching them.</p><p></p><p><em>”It is Nayu! I am talking by magical means! Do not look at me! Act as if you just woke up of your own accord!”</em></p><p></p><p>The murmurs Nayu heard changed from the hisses of hurried discussion to the sharp snapping noises of a barely disguised argument. The two voices were once again those of Li and the other soldier. It was then that Nayu caught two more phrases.</p><p></p><p>From the other soldier: “...they know too much!”</p><p></p><p>From Li: “They shouldn’t have to die!”</p><p></p><p>Mentally, Nayu cursed, and in his mind, he heard both Felonca and Liu demanding to know what happened, and what was going on. Quickly, nervously, Nayu explained his fear of what was about to take place.</p><p></p><p><em>”They mean to kill us!”</em> he finished urgently, amazed that somehow his face and eyes were not displaying enough fear that Chou was alerted. The guard even smiled in Nayu’s direction and started a bad joke. Somehow, Nayu made himself roll his eyes, instead of running away in terror.</p><p></p><p><em>”How can we get away?”</em> Liu’s mind rang out. <em>”Chou is right here. He’ll surely either cut us down, or alert Li and the others!”</em></p><p></p><p><em>”We’ll have to kill him,”</em> Felonca’s mind added somberly.</p><p></p><p>Nayu looked at the young soldier, now idly toying with a stick in the fire. Chou’s eyes still showed mirth at the just finished joke, and his face looked as that of someone expecting, hoping for a laugh.</p><p></p><p><em>”No, he’s not involved,”</em> Nayu suddenly replied firmly. <em>”We cannot kill him.”</em></p><p></p><p><em>”He is one of their soldiers, isn’t he?”</em> Nayu heard Felonca ask.</p><p></p><p><em>”Yes, but if he was a part of the planning, you’d think he’d be talking with them. Also, the other soldiers don’t like him... even beyond the bad jokes he tells. Some of the looks they gave him were downright vicious.”</em></p><p></p><p><em>”We need to distract him... all of them, while we escape,”</em> Liu added mentally, even as the monk continued to merely sit on his bed and rub his eyes. He even had enough nerve to talk to Chou as he mentally conversed with the other two.</p><p></p><p><em>”I... I have a plan.”</em> Felonca suddenly interjected. <em>”Nayu, do you still have that potion you took out of the ruins of the prefect’s house? The one that changes how you look?”</em></p><p></p><p><em>”Yes. Why?”</em></p><p></p><p><em>”You and Liu get Chou away from here. Make up a lie about something. I’ll make sure those soldiers get distracted from you two. Ditch Chou somewhere if he’s bad, but get south and start warning people!”</em></p><p></p><p><em>”Felonca! You can’t fight Li and six soldiers by yourself! They’ll cut you down! You don’t have a chance!”</em> Nayu protested.</p><p></p><p><em>”Go. Get out of here, and let me do the rest.”</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Emperor Valerian, post: 1812112, member: 15043"] Sorry for the long delay. In thanks for your patience, here is the next update! [b]Northward Trek[/b] It took another day of travel for the party to finally leave the long ravine the road had wound through. Despite watchful eyes and careful ears, no trace of the burning prefect came to the party’s attention... until three days after they had left the ravine... It was near nightfall when Nayu saw Li suddenly rein up his horse, and quickly dismount. The small group of riders also halted, curiosity in their eyes as Li suddenly knelt towards the ground, examining the dirt closely. To his surprise, Nayu saw the other soldiers save Chou looking away, one even pulling out his blade to examine its sharpness in the evening light. [i]Why aren’t they watching the Captain?[/i] Nayu wondered, just before Li rose, and was suddenly remounted on his horse. “Tracks... made by a bony foot, and slight burn marks,” Li pronounced as he wheeled his horse around. “They head north, and we shall follow. Neither this prefect nor his minions can be allowed to reach Mukden!” The Captain put his spurs into the steed beneath him, and soon was going at a quick canter to the north. “Cap’n’s a hunting hound,” one of the soldiers quipped towards Chou as Nayu rode by. The young soldier gave Nayu a rather fierce grin, and spurred his horse after the elderly soldier. Nayu spurred his horse ahead as well, and within a few seconds he heard the snorts of Felonca’s mare alongside. He was about to speak when he saw the look of frustration that covered her face. “What’s wrong?” “I wanted to practice my tracking,” Felonca groaned. “It was one of the few things at the Academy that I liked. I smelled that something dead was there, long ago, but Li’s horse unfortunately trampled over the spot where he was looking, so the tracks were destroyed! And I really need practice, because I can’t see any of the tracks Li is following!” “I’m sure they’ll become more apparent as time goes on,” Nayu said reassuringly, his own eyes looking towards the churned earth underneath, and coming to a realization. “And if you want to see those tracks, I’d suggest moving up to the front by Li. The soldier’s mounts are trampling them up even now. Master Liu, did you see any tracks?” The monk slowed up behind Felonca, and shook his head. “None whatsoever, which greatly perturbs me. Why does Li continue to ride when following tracks? If they are that apparent, then the steeds going over them should not destroy them so we cannot see them.” “Well, there’s desert north of here, and some finished portions of the Great Desert Wall,” Felonca thought aloud. [i]Maybe only Li can see the tracks? But why would that be so?[/i] Nayu’s mind wondered quickly. [i]Or maybe... No. Why would he do anything like that?[/i] Two days fast ride later, and Felonca was growing more and more concerned. The open grassy plains were starting to give way to scrub brush. Not too much further ahead would be the steppe. Beyond that, the dusty expanse of the Shu Desert, its only marker being the titanic wall of stone and bones cutting across its vastness. “Something’s wrong,” she heard Nayu hiss from next to her. She nodded slowly, her eyes still watching all the soldiers and Li. None were doing anything out of the ordinary. Two of the regular troops were all scowling at an unapologetic Chou, who continued to snicker at the horrid joke he’d just finished. The other three soldiers formed the rear of the column, and were snickering and talking to themselves. Li himself was still at the head of the column, looking ahead, as if he was a piece of granite mounted on horseback. “This merriment is not something a normal army would do when they are searching for an enemy,” Liu whispered ominously. “And though I am not a long aquiantance of Captain Li, I cannot see him letting indiscipline grow like that.” “I know,” Felonca replied quietly. [i]Something is most DEFINITELY wrong. I don’t trust these soldiers... they’re too at ease. Especially Chou. They’re plotting something.[/i] “Um... should we ride at the rear of the column?” Felonca whispered to the others quietly. [i]It would be safer than being sandwiched between two groups of soldiers.[/i] “Let’s,” Nayu grunted, pulling up his horse. Felonca and Liu followed suit, allowing the rear three soldiers to pass. The soldiers gave Nayu a glare as they went by. It was three days later when the Nayu caught sight of the first sign of the desert ahead. While off his horse for a mid-day break, he had to flick away a tiny scorpion from his water canteen. By that evening, the steppe had turned dry, and the ground cracked open underfoot from lack of rain. That days ride was especially long, as Li had continued to insist that the tracks were getting fresher. Neither Nayu, Felonca or Liu had seen any tracks as of yet, something that distrubed Nayu as he laid back against his bedroll that night. [i]Tonight would be very peaceful, if it wasn’t for this feeling of doom in my chest,[/i] he thought, his eyes looking amongst the pinpoint stars above. He felt a light scurry along his side and then up his stomach, and looked down to see his lizard, Kenzi, hunch down right over his belly button. “Are you... no, you’re not hungry!” Nayu chuckled, as he saw the last part of a cricket’s leg get pulled into Kenzi’s throat. “You just wanted some warmth!” “I can’t believe you’re talking to a lizard,” Nayu heard Chou’s voice say with unsurpressed mirth. Nayu heard the man sit beside the warm campfire, whose glow also illuminated the faces of a sleeping Felonca and Liu. Nayu’s father had brought the lizard home after a long merchant trip, one that lasted six months and even involved sailing across the sea. The lizard was not found in Ak Konylu, period, and also could change its colors to fit in with its surroundings. Nayu had immediately taken a liking to the beast. And the creature had taken a liking to him, so Nayu thought. Kenzi was intelligent enough to respond to his name, and keen enough to understand some speech. He and Nayu had a powerful bond between pet and master, it seemed. “Where are you off to?” Nayu asked with a smile. [i]I badly need this distraction[/i], his mind thought as Kenzi dashed off of his stomach and past Nayu’s resting head. The young man flipped to his belly and looked over his bedroll, hoping to see his little friend. Instead, he saw Li and five of the soldiers standing in a circle, far from the campfire. By their expressions, faintly shone in the bright moonlight and the somewhat dim glow of the fire, an animated discussion was occurring. Suddenly, Nayu felt a sensation of scampering, grass running across his belly and bumping into his sides. The only noise in his ear was the sound of grass moving aside. Quickly, the young man snapped his head around, and began looking about. “Hey, easy there! Do you have a tickle in your bones? Get it? We’ve been fighting skeletons, so your bones got tickled?” Chou snickered at his joke. The noise continued in Nayu’s ears. Slithering, moving. And then, another noise. Murmurs, groans. One of the voices he could easily place as Captain Li’s. The other was that of one of the soldiers. Nayu had never gotten close to the retainers of their party, so he couldn’t place the man’s name, despite knowing his face. [i]Must be the wind carrying their voices,[/i] Nayu thought, watching as their mouths moved in time with the murmurs. That is when it happened. Nayu heard only three words out of the hissed conversation, but they were enough to make ears perk up. Skeletons. Governor. Jade Throne. [i]What do the skeletons have to do with the Governor and the Imperial Throne?[/i] Nayu thought, confused. His eyes narrowed, as he focused himself on listening with his ears. Despite this, he quickly realized Chou was looking at him strangely. “Chou?” he asked. [i]I need to distract him! He’s not over there, but he may know what they are about to do![/i] “I think the fire is getting low. Can you look at it?” “Yes, sir. Right away sir. Thought you at least wouldn’t order me around, sir,” Chou snapped sardonically. His eyes betrayed that Nayu had hit a deep, well hidden nerve, but at this point, Nayu didn’t care. He was realized to see Chou go back to the fire and hear several grunts from him about having to take orders from everyone. Nayu thought of something else he needed to do, and quickly whispered a few arcane words to himself. After making sure Chou was not looking, he pointed quickly but decisive towards the sleeping Felonca and Liu. [i]”Wake up!”[/i] Nayu hissed into their ears through magical means. He saw the other two sit up groggily, looking around. Once again, fortune was on his side, as when Nayu checked for Chou, he saw the young man was fiddling with his backpack instead of watching them. [i]”It is Nayu! I am talking by magical means! Do not look at me! Act as if you just woke up of your own accord!”[/i] The murmurs Nayu heard changed from the hisses of hurried discussion to the sharp snapping noises of a barely disguised argument. The two voices were once again those of Li and the other soldier. It was then that Nayu caught two more phrases. From the other soldier: “...they know too much!” From Li: “They shouldn’t have to die!” Mentally, Nayu cursed, and in his mind, he heard both Felonca and Liu demanding to know what happened, and what was going on. Quickly, nervously, Nayu explained his fear of what was about to take place. [i]”They mean to kill us!”[/i] he finished urgently, amazed that somehow his face and eyes were not displaying enough fear that Chou was alerted. The guard even smiled in Nayu’s direction and started a bad joke. Somehow, Nayu made himself roll his eyes, instead of running away in terror. [i]”How can we get away?”[/i] Liu’s mind rang out. [i]”Chou is right here. He’ll surely either cut us down, or alert Li and the others!”[/i] [i]”We’ll have to kill him,”[/i] Felonca’s mind added somberly. Nayu looked at the young soldier, now idly toying with a stick in the fire. Chou’s eyes still showed mirth at the just finished joke, and his face looked as that of someone expecting, hoping for a laugh. [i]”No, he’s not involved,”[/i] Nayu suddenly replied firmly. [i]”We cannot kill him.”[/i] [i]”He is one of their soldiers, isn’t he?”[/i] Nayu heard Felonca ask. [i]”Yes, but if he was a part of the planning, you’d think he’d be talking with them. Also, the other soldiers don’t like him... even beyond the bad jokes he tells. Some of the looks they gave him were downright vicious.”[/i] [i]”We need to distract him... all of them, while we escape,”[/i] Liu added mentally, even as the monk continued to merely sit on his bed and rub his eyes. He even had enough nerve to talk to Chou as he mentally conversed with the other two. [i]”I... I have a plan.”[/i] Felonca suddenly interjected. [i]”Nayu, do you still have that potion you took out of the ruins of the prefect’s house? The one that changes how you look?”[/i] [i]”Yes. Why?”[/i] [i]”You and Liu get Chou away from here. Make up a lie about something. I’ll make sure those soldiers get distracted from you two. Ditch Chou somewhere if he’s bad, but get south and start warning people!”[/i] [i]”Felonca! You can’t fight Li and six soldiers by yourself! They’ll cut you down! You don’t have a chance!”[/i] Nayu protested. [i]”Go. Get out of here, and let me do the rest.”[/i] [/QUOTE]
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