Seed Of Speed

The morning of the last stable day of the Void Passage to the pocket world was hectic for nearly the entire camp while only a skeleton crew watched over the physical campsite. Everyone else had been drafted into efforts to increase the last-minute production, but even if they stopped now, Diego knew their clan, and likely the others, had harvested enough for a few years' worth of taxes with some left over to gift their shamans.

Diego, under the indirect order of Toba, had taken over one of the lookout spots, so that he could free up the person and was still able to practice on his ki'ta. The past few days been relaxing with Rainshower visiting him for a few hours while he sat on the peak of a dune, watching the sands. With her help and need for it, he had also developed {Revitalizing Melody} which boosted a person's natural regeneration ability, allowing her to return to her peak condition after three days instead of the week she would have needed normally.

His {Heart Song} had proven itself to be his first 'hypnosis' song, allowing him to ensnare those with weak wills or those who are distracted and make them view him like a close friend. Of course, the effect was not permanent, but he had managed to ensnare Smoke as well as other small critters that would be nearby like bugs and a tiny red gecko that enjoyed clinging onto his shoulder even after the song's effect wore off. It was this that had given him the idea of how to finally deal with his brother, Catro.

Although Diego himself had little bad-blood with the young man, he still felt like he owed the real 'Ishu' some justice. The Searing King Cobra venom was not only deadly, but it took a long time to truly kill its victim. The toxin had felt like molten lead slowly spreading out through his veins and Ishu had dealt with the feeling for three hours before he succ.u.mbed to the poison. Since Catro was such a big fan of the venom, Diego decided that he would give him the chance to feel it on their way back to the Jobin Oasis. No one, not even Rainshower, understood what his {Heart Song} was capable of, so no one would question how a Searing King Cobra ended up in Catro's tent; they would only curse his poor luck. All Diego needed to ensure was that he took his other brothers on a hunting trip, so that they would not be in danger.

And so, Diego passed the first half of his last day at the campsite on top of a dune, strumming his guitar while humming a tune. It was maybe an hour before midday when a gong rang out. Diego turned around and looked back at camp where the source was located. He caught Toba's eyes, who gave him a nod, and both of them rushed back to camp.

When Diego reached the side of camp that bordered the Quko's campsite, he found three men, bloodied and battered. Rainshower was already kneeling next to the warrior who was the most injured with an arm severed at the elbow. Although he had tried to use his Solar Energy to stop the bleeding, there was no way to completely stop it and he was borderline conscious when he arrived.

"What happened?" Toba barked at one of the Lizard Faction members who was not hurt too badly.

"We were ambushed by the Langu Clan! The young masters gathered the warrior who were mining to confront them and let us escape, but they were unprepared! You must help them, Captain!" the Lizard Faction man replied.

"How many warriors do we have left in camp?" Diego asked, turning to Toba.

"Five aside from the two of us, but we still need lookouts," Toba said with a frown.

"I'll go alone then and rally our people!"

Toba nodded firmly, his face relaxing slightly.

"I'll go too! You might need my help and I can help anyone who is already injured. I've already done what I can for him," Rainshower offered as she stood up.

"Thanks, do you need to grab anything before we go?"

"No, I keep everything in my bracelet," she replied, summoning her harden leather vest which was all she wore in terms of armor.

"Man, I can't wait until I join the sect and get my own storage bracelet. Would you mind tucking this away for me then?" Diego asked as he held out his ki'ta.

"Yeah, let's go," she said, causing the ki'ta to disappear with a wave of her hand.

The pair left the three injured men in the hands of Toba and the other guards who had gathered and headed for the portal. The Quko's campgrounds was being flooded with people as word of the attack must have reached the others. Diego and Rainshower were forced to fight the current as they made their way for the portal. Although the crowd leaving the pocket world had thinned, there was still a group inside when Diego and Rainshower appeared in the cave.

"You, where's the Telryn Clan or the attackers?" Diego said, grabbing a man by the arm.

The man was clearly not a warrior as he shrank back from Diego and his spear, but he still had the sense to answer him, "That tunnel! Follow the blood!"

Diego let go of the man and he quickly jumped ahead of the line to leave, disappearing back into their world. Rainshower placed a hand on Diego's shoulder and nodded in the direction that the man had pointed while a light orb appeared in her hands. With a sigh, Diego took off jogging in that direction with Rainshower on his heels.

Just as the man had said, there was a trail of blood that they could follow. It started off small, with just a few drops sprinkled about the ground, but the further they went, the more blood they found. After crossing the first cavern from the tunnel they had been following, they found the body of one of their Lizard Faction members with a long gash across his c.h.e.s.t and arm. It was obvious that the poor man had died from blood loss.

They continued on and it was not long before they could hear the sound of fighting. Both Diego and Rainshower picked up the pace and found their people in the next large chamber. Tovao and Peyni were right in the thick of it, both clashing against two people each. The rest of their warriors who had gathered were fighting against men in black and gold armor, tale tell sign of the Langu Clan.

"Telryn Clan, pull back!" Diego shouted as he entered the cavern.

Those who could started retreating while Diego charged right into the fray. He struck out a few times at those he passed with a [Serpent's Strike], but he did not spare any of them a second glance as he could tell Peyni was in trouble. His brother had been sliced a number of times across the unprotected parts of his arms and legs, but he was still struggling enough to prevent his assailant from killing him. When Diego had almost reached him, he took in a deep breath and casted [Flame's Roar].

A stream of orange flames shot out of Diego's mouth, heading straight for the closest of the Langu Clan member. The man screamed in fear as the flames approached him and he quickly retreated, but not in time to prevent catching some of his clothes on fire. That allowed Diego to reach his brother and pulled him behind him, acting as a shield. The other man who had been attacking Peyni looked at Diego with fear-filled eyes and did not even bother trying to fight him.

As if it started a chain reaction, the men of the Langu Clan began to retreat into the darkness of a nearby tunnel. Diego watched them leave with a cold expression on his face and tightly gripping his spear. He did not know how many people had been injured or killed, but it was already too much for him. These people treated him with respect and kindness throughout the entire journey and he was responsible for their safety. How many familiar faces would be missing at dinner tonight?

"Good to see you," Peyni said, his voice thick with exhaustion.

"I brought Rainshower; let's get you tended to because I don't want to carry your heavy b.u.t.t back through the portal," Diego replied with a smile.

Peyni only grunted in return as Tovao walked over. His condition was better than Peyni's as he only a thin cut on one of his arms and he just seemed winded, but his expression was grim. Diego sighed and patted his brother's shoulder then the trio walked over to the rest of the group. Diego gave Peyni a light push towards Rainshower who was healing another warrior, but Tovao pulled him aside.

"Ishu, there is something you should know… Catro… if he isn't dead by now, he was captured by the Langu Clan. He was in the group that they first attacked and tried to fight them off with the other two warriors, but they were killed, and his body is missing," Tovao said quietly.

"Huh, you don't say," was all Diego could say.