The Dark Chronicler

OOC: My apologies for the short post, but... I couldn't resist. IC: Drome I felt my mace swinging in my hand, a sign that something was very wrong. Before I could get it back under control, it cracked me upside the head with a painful thud. The next thing I knew, I was laying on my back on the sand.

IC: Drome I stopped, turning aside my mace for a moment before turning towards the evaded Kadon. Clearing my throat I prepared to explain to Kadon what it was that I had been saying. I had forgotten about having messed with his hearing, I suppose that was something I really should have kept track of before speaking to him. But really, he was the one who was foolish enough to allow himself to get deafened. With a voice only a few notches down from a roar, I began speaking to the blue blunderer. "I AM GOING FOR A SWIM. RACE YOU TO THE BEACH!" And with that, I was off and running in the direction of the water. It appeared that someone was already down there, looking in our direction. I decided to wave hello as I charged in his, and the beach's, direction. Apparently I had forgotten I was still holding my mace. Whoops. IC: Theriss It really shouldn't have been very hard to just go out and say that she was a loan shark. She really hadn't had any problems with it before, telling it to virtually anyone who asked. But saying it t someone who seemed to be trying his hardest to be the good guy? There was something about the job that just made it impossible to explain. It wasn't the business for the kind or merciful. "I suppose you're connect. A Duty to oneself is quite important to hold onto." She paused for a moment looking back down at her food, taking a small bite before continuing. "I've seen heroes with good in intentions, and I've seen false heroes arrive with nothing but their own goals in mind. I feel that I perhaps lean a little more towards the second, but I have no intention of coming close enough to dying in order to find out the truth." The mention of falling to an extreme low was enough to cause more discomfort than she would ever care to admit. "It's even harder when you reach that low as a Matoran. It's almost impossible to even dream of getting back what you once knew, but that makes it all the better when you do. Your fall lead to you wanting to be a hero. I just don't want to have to fall again." What did she plan on doing when she had enough money to last her long enough to build up a new business, something that could sustain itself? She wouldn't have any need for the Toa Sarsi anymore, they would just be an unneeded distraction from her reclaimed fortune. But what of the members that didn't seek money, but to be heroes? Did she owe it to them to keep the team going even when her own goals were accomplished? "I... don't quite know what I shall do when I've reclaimed my wealth. But that will no doubt take some time, so there's no need to worry about it at the moment." What would she do then?

IC: Theriss LoJak had a point perhaps, that now was the time to enjoy life. It was funny really, that her own life had been at its best under the rule of a monster of the shadows. As soon as Makuta had been defeated, the happy people seemed no longer interested in her loans. It was an interesting connection, but it was hard to say that she wouldn't have gladly placed Makuta back in charge if it meant regaining her fortune. It was in the darkest of times when profit was at its greatest, it seemed. The description of his desire to help other was a mixture of sweet and sickening. There was kindness within it, but that kindness seemed to be buried beneath a sense of nobility to an overwhelming level. To join a team and toil away merely for the sake of others? It wasn't something she herself could ever do, and even the idea of it seemed to be almost impossible. There was something else to it, that much she was certain of. But that was something better left unspoken of, seeing that LoJak himself may not have even been aware of it. There was a slight pause from Theriss when LoJak asked his own question. A banker or investor would be terms that could in some way possibly contain what it was that was her business, but they had a much more legal air to them. "You could say that, I suppose. I was in the business of offering loans to those needing quick money, which happened to be quite profitable at one time." She looked down at her plate of food, staring into the partially eaten meal. "But that business dried up quite quickly, leaving me with no real means of keeping up with the life I had once been living. The thought of losing everything I had worked for was too much to allow. I had to do something to make enough money to keep myself at least with enough to live on. I wasn't going to end up how I was when I first reached this village, never again. So I created the Toa Sarsi as a means of lining my pockets with enough to keep afloat." She looked back up from her food and back at LoJak's face. "My apologies if it wasn't quite as noble as you might have hoped, I've never really been the heroic type unless I have something to gain." IC: Drome Kadon came charging at me with his weapons like some sort of savage animal possessed by a demon made of rage. But he had made one fatal mistake: I had a longer reach, and a bigger weapon that he did. So, with that in mind I decided to end the fight as quickly as possible. I pointed the tip of my mace at him and, though it was more of a smashing weapon than a ramming weapon, lunged towards his ribs for a brutal blow. "Hey, after this I'm going to take a swim. Especially after that grimy jungle. Want to race to the beach?"

IC: Eshai The crown princess? I never would have guessed that any of the voices were of someone so high up in power. As of the current moment, I was not aware of exactly which voice was that of the princess, considering the gathered crowd. But Sanei knew, and I could merely follow after her actions in order to keep myself from being noticed as out of place. But a princess traveling the streets was very likely to have many guards, perhaps a few who might recognize my appearance should they get a good enough view. It was for this reason that I pulled my hood over my mask, keeping my savage visage relatively hidden. Following her, I too rose from my bow, staring out into the suddenly busy street. There was a great deal of murmuring conversations that barely made much sense. I could barely make anything out among the crowd, but I was certain I heard mention of another place, some sort of island that had been discovered. This was something quite new to me. I may have heard rumors about it before I was hired by Sanei, but as far as I had known it was nothing more than idle imagination. But it seemed to the gathered people, it was a very real possibility. There was a look on Sanei's face of interest and possibly slight amusement, clearly she was heavily in thought. Perhaps she had managed to hear more than I had, or perhaps it was the very same. Maybe it was the possibility of a new island that held fast onto her attention. I held no interest in the imaginations of faraway places where minerals were plentiful. It sounded completely absurd to me, such a place was mere fantasy.

IC: Eshai There was a long silence after I took the first bite of the unknown dish. I found that it was far from what I had expected, and I really didn't like the taste in the slightest. But to complain about food in front of my employer, food that she had purchased herself, was not something that I could ever bring myself to do. She had willingly spent her money to buy me a dish that would normally be a little outside of reasonable price to me, which is something I hadn't experienced since years when I could have met Sanei as almost an equal. I merely had to continue eating it, to ignore the unpleasant taste and continue eating what I had chosen. I would not make the mistake of ever ordering that specific dish again. I could see that Sanei was a little nervous, probably due to the possibility of someone who knew her seeing her sitting with a dishonored warrior. I would do all within my power not to bring attention to her, but my armor made that very hard indeed. And should anyone recognize me from my time as The Demoness, then I would certainly bring great shame upon her. She had never seemed to recognize me as such, but there was no telling in who else might be more well-informed. But this job was of the utmost importance, so their were things that even Sanei didn't need to know. After ending the meal in silence, I followed along after Sanei to the markets. I didn't know what it was that she was after, but I didn't really see her as the type to waste money on unneeded items. So clearly whatever we were after was of some importance to her. I would do my best to remain a silent guardian unless spoken to, it wasn't my place to ask anything about what she was after. I would know when she acquired it, no sooner. There was someone speaking from somewhere nearby at the time, and a quick glance revealed something quite startling. The speaking person was shouting out from a place atop a building. At first I thought that perhaps the person was intending to end their life in a rather public way, but then I caught what was being said. It was a rather strange subject, but where exactly else was there to go? Perhaps it was due to my nature of being outside of any clan, but I had not heard any news of new locations. And even then, what point would there be to leaving the archipelago anyway? Everything, culture, people, society, was placed firmly here. It was then that I noticed Sanei bowing before someone, something which raised several warnings in my mind. Clearly the person had to be of a rank above Sanei, otherwise she never would have acted in such a way. I quickly followed suit, lowering my self in a sign of respect. in my quietest voice, I whispered to Sanei. "To whom do we bow?"

IC: Drome I hadn't really wanted a fight, so much as I had wanted Kadon on the ground crying in pain. But now I had been dragged into one, once again. I was prepared to deliver a brain-rattling blow to repay Kadon for his foolishness in navigation, but then something very unexpected happened. He ducked the blow. Things were already off to a bad start. I stumbled as my fist failed to connect, only to find a bolt of electrical pain coming zappingly towards me. I knew right away that it was going to -"Zuagh!" After letting out a gurgled sound of pain, I barely managed to keep myself from tumbling to the ground. But now Kadon had done something he would regret. He had made me angry. Very, very angry. So angry that I was... really angry! Charging up my elemental powers, I launched a powerful sonic blast in his direction. "I HOPE THIS MAKES YOUR EARS BLEEEEEEEEEEEEED!"

OOC: Also from Le-Wahi IC: Drome If Kadon had looked over he would have seen a glare unlike any other, a cold savage glance somewhere between 'I told you so' and 'you are a total idiot'. It was a look that I had found myself giving quite a lot lately. Mostly towards Kadon. In fact, the last time I did so was while he was speaking to a certain Matoran about directions. "Le-Koro looks a lot more sandy than I recall. And watery. And with less trees. And less high up. And more like, I don't know... a beach?" There before us was not a jungle village where I could get a nice fruit beverage. No, it was sand and water. Salt water. I couldn't drink salt water. Well, there was that one time, but I wasn't going to try it again. This was most certainly going to end up in my book. Perhaps it was the anger, or perhaps it was just how amusing it is to see Kadon get hurt, but without even really thinking about it I had sent a very angry punch towards the back of Kadon's head. I mean, he had lead us here, so he clearly wasn't using it for anything important. "YOU MOLDY BLUEBERRY!"

IC: Drome I merely shrugged off Kadon's mockery. He had been so easily pulled into that trap that I could barely believe it. That meant, until he started to catch on, he wouldn't have any interest in looking into what it was that I was actually writing. There was no questioning my brilliance, or the lack thereof that Kadon possessed. "What better way to end it than having the families that tried to stop them die in a massive explosion that lets them live happily ever after?" There was clearly something off with Kadon though. He seemed irritated, though unusually not aimed at me, about something. We were probably lost. I told Kadon that the Matoran looked shady. I was a few widgets lighter after we parted ways, of that I was certain. But no, Kadon had to trust the little thief and actually follow his directions. And he thought I was the dumb one. When he came about the road, I felt a little bit better about his blind traveling, but there was something slightly off about it. "Huh, someone must have picked the flowers that were off to the side earlier." OOC: Drome to Ga-Wahi

IC: Drome Kadon lead us along what had to be the most difficult route to Le-Koro, which really wasn't a surprise considering his sense of direction. If I hadn't been there, we would have wandered around for days in an endless circle. Of course, the trip really wasn't so bad for me. I had something to distract me from the tediousness of walking. I had the power of words flowing in my head, and into my empty book they did escape. I was crafting the greatest story that had ever before seem the light of day. It had action and adventure, danger and intrigue, and a hero worthy of idolization. When I was finished, there wouldn't be a single person on the island who wouldn't want to read it. Everyone would be talking about it, amazed and awed by the sheer brilliance of the book. And it was all a true story. As I was contemplating the title of the fifth chapter, I was halted by the questioning of Kadon. "It's... that romance story, only ending in an explosion."

IC: Theriss Theriss sat calmly within her chair as LoJak readied himself to begin. There was no doubt that it made him quite uncomfortable, and it was so powerful that he took time to keep adjusting himself in his chair. She felt a slight sense that perhaps it was something better left buried, much like her own experiences before rising to power. And perhaps like some of them after she had already begun. But he was going to tell about his worst times all the same, which was nothing short of astounding. It was something she herself would never do. An assault on the Makuta? She hadn't heard of any assaults on him outside of his defeat. And the fact that he managed to kill most of them really didn't come as a surprise. But the fact that LoJak had intentionally been part of one such suicidal assaults was quite a shock. He really didn't seem the type to make foolish risks, she supposed. But he had managed to escape with his life, perhaps that was part of why this time troubled him. Maybe he felt like he had abandoned his team and any other survivors. There was something about his walk through darkness that struck her as familiar. Being a Matoran of water thrown into a desert seemed almost relatable, left without the one thing you most heavily rely upon. She had managed to survive her trial, and it appeared that LoJak had survived his own quite well. Then came the comment about a bar, and something earlier came to mind. LoJak had ordered water. Perhaps he was afraid of going back to something that almost consumed him. The sheer way he talked about the possibility of having hurt someone was heartbreaking, but revealed a strong difference between the two. Her job had meant hurting a lot of people, she didn't really have any problem with bringing violence to a situation if it was called for. There was one time she had gone a little too far, but that was another time best left in the past. Then came possibly the most sobering part of the story. Having no desire to keep on living was something she herself really couldn't fully understand. Every time things had been at their worst, she had always tried doubling her effort to prove that it was merely a minor setback. How could someone sink so low into their own misery that drinking themselves to death seemed like a good idea? Maybe it was better not knowing... A portion of your life just vanish into thin air. There were times she would willing give away parts of her memory, have been happy to have them wiped away forever. But they were a part of her, they had helped turn her into who she was. Missing a part of your life would be horrible beyond measure. She had had small patches of that in her earlier days, though that was likely due to collapsing under the desert heat. She could sense the pain on his voice as clearly as the words themselves. And now he reached the end of his story, leading up to his joining of the Toa Sarsi. And... then a complement about her eyes. Well, that was unexpected. "Thank you, LoJak. That must have been a rather hard story for you to tell." She paused as the food arrived, and as LoJak began eating away at his, she paused as another though entered her mind. "Can I ask you another question? Why is it that you came to that first meeting and recruitment of the Toa Sarsi? You don't seem like the type of person to want fame or riches. Why did my paper gain your attention?"

IC: Drome It was a very interesting point, I knew that the answer was obvious, but it was interesting all the same. On one hand, it could very well lead to unpleasant consequences somewhere along the road for me, though nothing that I couldn't handle. On the other hand, not doing it would be a crime against all sane inhabitants of the island. It was clear that I had to do it, it could simply not be placed aside. I was such a genius. As I followed that imbecile Kadon along through the jungle, I had taken up a small notepad that had a few masterful sketches of my previous acts of heroism, most of them involved Kadon leading us foolishly into trouble, but I had grown used to keeping him alive despite his own mistakes. Wait... why did I even let Kadon travel along with me when all he did was cause problems? The fun of it, I suppose. Without a danger magnet around to attract trouble, where would the fun be in life? Getting attacked by Nui-Rama while some madman shoots wind at them, fighting a drunken Tarakava in a championship boxing match, and fighting over a book. Okay, maybe one of those was a slight exaggeration... we were the ones who attacked the Nui-Rama first. That was what I started writing in the small notebook, the story of my adventures with my bumbling sidekick Kadon. Maybe I could turn our little hive assault into a book, one which has a much happier ending. Only the crazy person had died. Okay, maybe I hadn't actually seen them die, but this was a book, not reality. He was eaten alive by the giant bugs in my story, the poor fool.

IC: Eshai There was a pause as I stared down at the food. I thought I knew what it was when I was ordering it, but seeing it before me made it appear nothing at all like I was expected. I wanted to answer Sanei quickly, but I was not even certain as to what exactly sat before me on my plate. There was of course, very few ways of testing to see what food was made of. I looked over it quickly, trying to figure out exactly what it was that had been presented. I was fairly certain it wasn't what I had ordered, but perhaps they made it differently here. I took a small bite of the substance, hoping that maybe taste would tell It was certainly some sort of food, and it didn't taste bad, but... I felt like I might have tasted it once before... "I'm sorry, I can't answer that... I'm really not sure what it is myself."

IC: Theriss She could understand the gesture, but all the same it seemed more than a little old-fashioned. Despite that, it seemed to fit Lojak very well. A man of the past, living in a time that was a lot darker than the one he knew. If anything, he seemed to almost sorrowful at times. Perhaps it was merely memories of better times. "It is one that is gratefully accepted, if a little surprising." Good memories of the past were in short supply for her, the only good times she had even been through were the years when her business was at its prime. Before that was a period of sheer suffering, and before that a time of confusion and sadness. Now she was living in a period of nervous desperation, merely hoping that she could reclaim some semblance of the live she had lived for such a short and wonderful time. If the Toa Sarsi proved incapable of doing what was needed, there left only the path from before... and she would never return to that life without putting up a fight. Makuta winning through a loss of courtesy? Perhaps, or perhaps it had been fading out long before then. Many of the people that now inhabited the island had come from lands unknown, perhaps ones where the name Makuta had never been heard, and yet they seemed to act no different from those that had suffered under him. "Perhaps, but I feel that these other differences between Rahi and people are just as important, perhaps more so." Perhaps it might be a slight surprise to Lojak, but Theriss' choice in food was a Kane-Ra steak of her own, cooked rare and with little seasoning. It was the exact same meal that she had ordered only a short while ago, even with the upscale change in venue. It was a personal favorite of hers, something that had perhaps taken on a little more meaning than just food. It was the meal she most often ate when money was far more plentiful, a little taste of the past and a pleasant meal for the present. Along side the steak she ordered nothing else. The steak itself would be enough of a meal, and the option of a salad was something that really didn't appeal to her. She much preferred meat over any sort of vegetable, most of which were barely edible in her mind. Fruit was more acceptable, but nothing really matched having a delicious meal of steak. For a moment, LoJak seemed to be lost in thought, staring towards her. She wondered if perhaps the quick shining of her armor had been perhaps a little too much. Then he seemed to snap back to his mind, and spoke the question she had been waiting for. "Yes, If you are willing to speak of it. I really don't mean to impose unpleasant memories upon you."

IC: Drome Poor Kadon, incapable of understanding even something so simple. It was a wonder he was still alive right now, with his inability to figure out the meaning of rather obvious phrasing. Of curse, I knew why he was still alive. It was all my fau... er, thanks to me. Without me around, Kadon would have killed himself a hundred times over. Probably stuck his head in a fire to learn what makes the 'pretty light' or something. "Doesn't matter, a village is a village. The weather's just different in between."

IC: Drome Really made me wonder sometimes, how Kadon could act so high and mighty all of the time, despite the fact that he really didn't give off any signs of intelligence. He was complaining about what it was that made a jungle a jungle. If he didn't like them so much, why did we somehow always end up back here after something crazy happened? Kadon even tried to mock me with his comments on my own mockery... what? That jungle comment insult was mine, and he hadn't even turned it around at all, if anything he had just added onto his own insultedness. "Just digging yourself deeper, eh? I was using sarcasm on my jungle being like a jungle comment, you just sarcastically replied to a sarcastic reply with virtually the same meaning. I believe that means I win this battle of sarcasm." "Doesn't matter, I can handle the jungle, and the other Koro are no different. I can deal with them all... and not get all whiny like a certain musty berry that I know."

IC: Drome "Yeah, probably just couldn't figure out a good way to end the story. If I wrote something, I'd probably end it like that... only with an explosion of some sort, so the deaths don't feel so... pointless." I noticed that Kadon was heading in the direction of our camp, and decided to follow him. We had been fighting for longer than I had expected. While Kadon whined about how jungle-like the jungle was, I was busy with my own thoughts. I had gotten my book back in the end, that meant that I could chalk this up as another victory. It seemed like my winning streak was never going to end. Poor, pathetic, miserable Kadon. He could never win anything. The jungle-yness of the jungle didn't bother me, my mood was powered by victory. "Yeah, this place is too much like a jungle."

IC: Drome Kadon summed up my thoughts perfectly. How could anyone write a story like that, then try selling it? I didn't want to read horrible tales of death and tragedy, the island had enough of that already without adding books into the mix. If I wanted to hear a tragic story, I could speak to almost anyone and find something terrible that had happened to them at one point. Why would I ever want to read about such terribly depressing garbage? Once again the book found itself laying in the mud, most certainly where it belonged. How could anyone call that a love story, when there is nothing but death awaiting them? It was a crime against the island, a love story where everyone dies... what was wrong with that writer? "Well... It... it wasn't terrible... and... it was... it was pretty good actually... but..."

IC: Drome It wasn't going to work. It wasn't going to work. It wasn't going to... Gah! I couldn't let Kadon get to me, I was too smart to fall for something so blatantly intended to trick me into ruining a wonderful love story. He was not going to break me, I wasn't going to let curiosity kill my enjoyment of the beautiful tale. I was... I was going to get that book back and find out what was so terrible! I charged over towards Kadon, my intent no longer on harming my mortal foe. I reached out and swiped the book from his hand, not stopping until I was a good few feet away. Then, I flipped open the book, turning past pages upon pages of the great story that would momentarily be completely ruined. When I reached the last page, I began reading. "...What... no... no that can't... and she... he... oh no no no no... They both die!?" I dropped the book down upon the muddy jungle ground, staring blankly off into space for a few moment. How could such a horrible story have ever been written? I felt as though everything good in the world had been covered over in a terrible fog. "I will never read another book again..."

IC: Drome Threatening me with ruining the end of my book? How low could Kadon sink to think that such monstrous action would be fair in a fight. There had to be some sort of law against it, but more importantly... I wasn't going to let him get away with it. I reached for my mace, only to realize that it was currently stuck on the tree where Kadon had been sitting moments before. For a second, I was distracted by how impressive my accuracy had been, before quickly realizing that it meant I would have to beat Kadon into a pulp with my own bare hands. I would make sure it hurt very badly. Then Kadon's expression changed as he read the book, a strange look passing over his face. It was followed by a sentence of confusion, but I wasn't going to fall for it. He was trying to trick me, make me ruin the book for myself by reading the end. There was a special place in Karzahni for people like that, I was certain. But he didn't expect that I would outsmart him. "Nice try, but I'm not falling for that one!"

IC: Drome It took me a little while to rise to my feet, feeling rather sore from the electrical energy. As soon as my head cleared, I searched around for that sad little lightning bug, ready to show him just how painful it would be to swallow his own Kanohi. Then his little hooks were going to follow. And if I was still feeling angry after that, I'd cover him in something sweet-smelling and leave him for the insects. That was when I noticed a rather revolting mix of colors in a tree just a short distance away. The first thing to run through my head was to smash down the tree with him in it, but it appeared to be a very sturdy tree. I would have to do something a little different. Nah, smashing was certain to work, it hadn't ever let me down before. Only, the tree wouldn't be the thing I smashed... If Kadon turned, he would see a morning-star flying through the air at him, thrown by a very angry Toa of Sonics. I was getting my book back. "KADOOOOOOON!"

IC: Eshai With a slight hesitation, I looked inside the menu at the prices. They were... not quite as bad as I had expected, but all the same far more than I would have even willingly spent on food. I chose out what appeared to be the cheapest meal with a name that I recognized, along with the cheapest drink I knew as well. I still didn't want to spend that much, despite the pay likely being more than I needed. Food of this quality was more than I deserved, even the worst on the menu was fit for someone of much higher honor than I could even again hope to receive. Even the drink was far better than my status should ever be allowed. But, it was the first time in a long while that I would actually be able to eat as something more than a classless outcast. The drink tasted as good as any that I had ever tasted, perhaps more caused by the meaning of it, rather than the ingredients.