The Big Bad Tengu <Wilderness, Earth Kingdom>

[iikagen]

The skewed light of the early evening was barely illuminating the dense forest as Iikagen came to the trail. Already it was quite dark, but the Igni could still plainly see that the path had seen some use recently. Multiple sets of large bird tracks marred the fresh dirt, all of them heading away from the town. Iikagen rubbed his chin slightly as he observed the tracks and stared off down the trail briefly.

He wondered for a moment if they had left the town for good, but after counting out only three distinct sets of tracks he figured that there was a good chance they'd be coming back. Either that, or they'd forgotten something from back where they'd came from...

Letting out a sigh, he swiftly flitted about his designated ambush location and reset the traps. Then the Igni climbed up into a nearby tree and settled in to wait. To keep himself busy, he began assembling a noose with an extra section of rope he had left over.

[tali]

With a metal latern in hand and some dinner tucked away in the folds of her clothing the Gaoling Girl made off into the forest. Her eyes scanned the path but somehow she doubted that the bird would show up on the road, though he did seem to enjoy attacking travelers and stealing their belongings. Perhaps the so called spirit would spot her and attempt to assault her but that didn't seem very enjoyable, there was still another option... Tali's attention went to the bushes near the edge of the path looking through the dence forest hoping to have something red catch her interest but to her dissapointment there was nothing. She knew it wouldn't be that easy but one could hope.

With another glance back at the well lit path she took a deep breath and made her way into the forest. Some small part of her kept murmmering that she was going to get lost but her curiosity as usual, lead her. Her lantern held lazily in front of her she kept moving forward figuring it would make the trek back rather easy.She wasn't adept at transversing forests, having lived in rather flat plains. Moving through the Foggy swamp proved to be difficult for her, but she made it out alive so she'd be just fine in this mild wilderness, there were no catfish gators to nip at her heels here. With a bit more courage in her stride she didn't notice her path curved somewhat while she was busy worrying about avoiding the roots of the large trees.

[erlang]

Erlang dropped to a knee and brushed a few leaves aside. He pulled up a few white hairs and sniffed them, after a moment of thought he flicked it away and stood up. Behind him Bai ma and Hankyu were shifting from one foot to the other in anticipation. They had been finding traces of the spirit around the forest and had even caught glimpses of something in the trees.

Bai Ma had detected the smell burnt wood in one of the trees but they didn’t have the equipment to get up there and the tree cover was too thick for the ostrich horses to run up the trunk. Using evidence that most men wouldn’t notice they were narrowing the spirits main area of operation. The villagers had been very little help as rumor had intermingled with truth, it had taken several hours to determine which trait the spirit frequented most but once it had been found out they began to zero in on it.

[iikagen]

Iikagen waited largely in silence for quite some time. Occasionally he would entertain himself by attempting to communicate with the local avian population. With a little practice he was able to mimick the bird calls well enough to ellicit a consistent response from the bird in the next tree over. He had no idea what they were saying to one another, but he chuckled at the notion that he was fliriting with an attractive female specimen.

It was well into the night before the Igni got his first real sign of anything. The bright light of a torch fire became visible through the foliage a short way down the trail. Iikagen gingerly repositioned himself from his relaxed seat into a ready crouch on the branches. He scooped up the rope with the large noose on the end and lowered it throughthe gaps in the branches so that it was ready to drop down.

As he continued to watch, the riders from the previous night slowly started to come into view. They were spaced a healthy distance apart and all riding silently. Without the torch to give them away, iiky would have guess that he wouldn't have noticed them til they passed right under his ambush. Still, the light was their mistake, and he decided to make them learn the lesson for such a slip.

Poised like a cat up high, Iikagen made barely a sound as the men on ostrich-horse back started to pass under him. The first one carried a large spear with a rather nasty-looking blade. The Igni watched him like a hawk as he travelled, sizing him up for the near future. The second passed by and he did likewise.

However, when the third man passed by several seconds later, Iikagen made his move. Dropping the carefully coiled rope, he let the noose fall down through the branches. Its end flared slightly as it fell, and the rider carrying the torch was unfortunate enough to be peering off intently to the side of the road at the time. The slight impact of the rope around his shoulders surprised him, but as he raised his free hand up to gra at whatever had just landed on him Iikagen gave the rope a hard yank. The noose slipped tight around the man's neck, though he had managed to hook a few fingers inside the rope.

Up in the tree, Iikagen began reeling in his catch, giving fast and furious pulls of his arms, practically exploding with motion as the rider suddenly found himself being lifted right out of his saddle. With one hand keeping his windpipe from collapsing and the other holding a spear, there wasn't a whle lot he could do avoid being hoisted by the unseen hangman. As he neared the barrier of leaves that shielded him from view of his assailant, he flailed the torch at the branches.

From his perch in the tree, Iikagen hastily anchored the rope that supported the rider by looping one end around a sturdy offshoot of the branch and holding it tight with one hand. With the other, he pulled out a shortspear from his sash and then dropped slightly from his position. Holding onto the rope with his one hand, he fell a foot or two before the other man's weight stopped his fall and put him hanging level with him.

Apparently the man had spun around slightly during his dangling in the air, because when iikagen dropped below the leaves the man was facing away from him. He regretted slightly that he wouldn't get to see the look of surprise on the rider's face, but he couldn't argue that this made his job easier. Using his feet to brache the man and keep him from wriggling any further, the Igni gripped his spear like a knife and stabbed the tip right down into the man's neck. It passed easily through the leather strap that held his armor in place and punctured a lung.

With that blow, Iikagen disengaged from the rider and hoisted himself back into the tree. Once he was secure on the branch he let go of the rope and allowed the man to fall down to the trail. The first blow was stuck, and now things would get interesting...

[tali]

The hours dragged on until the darkness was past settling onto the land. It was at least an hour since she'd lost her bearing. With a small sigh she acknowledged that she was lost beyond all reason. Being lost made everything seem... different.

The majority of the time she was making her way through the forest seemed rather uneventful, shadows around every tree and strange animals calling out into the night. The fact that she was searching for a spirit seemed to make everything more supernatural. Every fiber of her bing was on edge and her eyes kept scanning the area for glowing trails or the path of a large animal.

Of course her earlier theories were cast out the window as soon as she began to feel the shivers of fear run down her spine, surely she'd walked over more than one possible clue to the spirits whereabouts but without the practical knowledge of tracking they seemed unimportant. A few times she tripped over some tree roots and nearly blew out the flame in her lantern but it seemed luck was on her side. With a sigh she held her arm up a bit higher letting the light attempt to envelope the area, every shadow seemed to be a person and had she heard a twig snap she'd more than likely bolt like a frightened antelope fox.

[erlang]

Erlang and Hankyu whirled around just in time to see Bai Ma land in a heap. Both were surprised, the number of people able to evade their senses could be counted one two hands, the surviving number was a third of that. Erlang readied his spear and scanned the trees, he could tell be the wound there was no chance to help Bai Ma, doing so would open them up to attack.

As callous as it seemed Bai Ma knew hey couldn’t help him, it was how the cavalry worked, they’d give him a good burial after killing the spirit. Coughing blood he pointed a finger to where he presumed the thing still was. In a flash Hankyu had an arrow knocked and pointed in the direction of Iiky. The spirit had drawn first blood but in doing so had shown it’s direction. When the spirit began to move, Hankyu heard the faintest of creaks reach his ears.

The tip of the arrow changed its angle by less that an inch than leapt from the bow with a loud ‘twang.’ Though it did not hit Iiky the heavy arrow slammed into a branch as thick as ones wrist splitering it and sending cracks along its length.

[iikagen]

Iikagen scrambled towards the trunk of the tree along the branch he was on. Given the speed with which he was moving some noise was unavoidable, but still he was surprised when an arrow found its mark uncomfortably close to him. He barely hesitated as he considered the archer and wondered if it was just a blind shot in the dark or if the man had somehow managed to spot him. Either way, he quickly decided that the bow had to be the first thing to go.

The moment he reached the tree and swung around to its far side he was sure that the archer would have his next arrow nocked and ready to fire. Iikagen dropped down to the ground, keeping the tree trunk between him and the other man's line of sight. He swiftly reached into his pocket and pulled out his blowgun which he'd kept pre-loaded with a dart. Then, with his other hand he reached up to the rope that activated one of his prepared distractions. With a few quick tugs, the bushes on the opposite side of the trail sprang to life with motion thanks to some knotwork.

The Igni peaked around the tree after a moment's hesitation and managed to catch sight of the archer just a moment before he let an arrow fly at the bushes. He would have grinned if he wasn't already moving the blowgun to his lips and drawing in a breath. After all, he doubted these men knew what to expect, and if they thought there was more then one assailent then he wouldn't hesitate to shoot.

Using his free hand to steady the barrel and accounting for distance, Iikagen blew out a sharp burst of air that sent the dart streaking toward its target. The puff of air seemed to catch the rider's attention, but he didn't seem to catch sight of the dart in the darkness. Iikagen was already reaching for a second dart when the first hit, and it brought a smile to his face to see it hit its mark.

The dart hit the archer right above the collar of his tunic and he put a hand to his throat in response. After tentatively feeling what it was that had struck him, the rider pulled the dart free and cast it aside. Meanwhile, a second puff of air sounded in the darkness and another dart streaked his way. This time the archer raised up and arm to shield himself and the dart pricked his bicep. The archer quickly removed the second dart as well and focused in on his target.

Iikagen decided that was enough for the moment and broke into a run away from the cavalry. He stayed off the trail but ran parallel to it, keeping that layer of underbrush between him and his pursuers. He had a few surprises left for them, and he needed to keep them off-balance if he intended to even the odds of this battle.

[tali]

Still getting no where rather fast the Gaoiling native wound her way through the forest feeling more lost than ever, not only had she lost the trail she managed to spook herself rather well. Her eyes nervously traveled from one tree to the next peering into the darkness half expecting the yellow eyes demon to be starring down at her, sure, no one said it had attacked people. Maybe they were just fast runners. She didn't want to be the first victim. Her shoulders and arms prickled in fear, small goosebumps visible on her mildly tanned skin. At least the night was warm she imagined.

Her legs wobbled as she walked through the thick underbrush, she tried to stay calm but it was hard. A few times something brushed past her leg or arm causing her to start, nearly scream or whip around awkwardly only to be confronted with a branch or vine. All of her muscles were taught ready to run at the slightest sound. Attempting to rationalize her thoughts Talia paused and took a quick survey of the area. Her eyes darted down at her feet thinking she felt something crawl across her foot. Nearly jumping her brown eyes were wide and worried, but upon seeing ostrich horse tracks her goosebumps settled down. This was a definate path. Now she was feeling rather silly for being so jumpy. A soft smile graced her lips. The tracks looked fresh, at least from what she could tell, maybe the riders weren't too far off?

All but ready to over look the would be spirit chase in favor of finding her way back to the village she set off following the footprints by lantern light. Now with a heading and a sense of small security she stopped thinking that every shadow was out to get her. Her free hand fell to her side pulled into a nervous fist trying to keep her from getting jumpy again. Without much wind in the area the girls long braided hair stayed put against her back, only shifting when the occasional long stride made her back move dramatically.

[erlang]

Hankyu cursed some abstract deity and made to charge strait after the spirit. Before he could spur his horse on the blade or Erlang’s spear barred his way.

“Don‘t be rash..” he said in a stern but quiet voice. He raised the point of his spear and pointed between a space in the trees indicating that he should take that route. Hankyu’s response was muted, he turned his mount slightly and shot along where Erlang had pointed. Gripping the reigns Erlang spurred ‘Kweh’ on. He took an identical route on the opposite side.

In his mind he played out the several courses the spirit would take. Despite it’s head start and ease of movement through the tree tops Erlang was able to keep pace with the spirit. Every few moments he’d catch a glimpse of the spirit followed by the twang of Hankyu’s bowstring. Unknown to him at the time Hankyus arrows were missing by wider distances with each shot.

[iikagen]

Iikagen leaped over roots and zig-zagged between trees as he bolted through the woods. Eventually he passed by a tree with a slash along its trunk and he made sure to jump particularly high as he passed by. A thin tripwire of rope was stretched taught about two feet off the ground and held a sapling bent back under tension. If he'd had more time, the Igni would have laced it with sharpened sticks, but instead it was just there to stop or slow down his pursuer for a few moments.

After passing that trap, Iikagen quickly changed his course and darted back onto the main trail. He hopped over the layer of brush and landed in a shoulder roll. The Igni stopped for a heartbeat, just long enough to catch sight of the archer who had taken the main trail. He'd already noticed that the arrows being fired his way were all missing by a wide margin, but even with just a glance he could tell that his darts were taking effect.

The rider was slumped slightly in his saddle and seemed to be having difficulty pulling back the bowstring. The Tengu creature sitting before him seemed to be taunting him with a curious gaze, and barely even flinched when he released another arrow. It soared well to his side and hit somewhere off in the woods.

Taking that as an invitation. Iikagen burst into motion and scrambled a few steps on all fours. He closed the gap between him and the rider in a heartbeat. The ostrich-horse back-stepped at his approach and snapped its beak at him, defending its master, but Iikagen avoided losing a limb. Instead, he managed to hook a hand on the ridge along the back of the mount's helmet armor and used its own natural recoil to help hoist himself off the ground.

Kicking off the ground and springboarding himself right over the ostrich-horse's head, Iikagen brought his feet around and planted both feet into the archer's chest. The archer must have been too dazed to put up an effective resistance, because he took the hit full on andwas knocked straight off the back of the saddle. He hit the ground and slid back a few yards, while Iikagen found himself positioned neatly in the saddle.

For a moment he marveled at how conveniently the maneuver had positioned him, but a split second later that illusion was shattered. The ostrich-horse let out a shrill cry and bucked wildly. Iikagen clamped his legs hard to keep from being thrown forward, but on the backswing he couldn't manage to stay balanced. He rolled over backward, landing in a crouch on the ground behind the ostrich-horse. Apparently these creatures were loyal to their masters.

Regardless,Iikagen decided that he couldn't afford to let the beast bother him further, he pulled the spears out of his sash and slashed one hard across the ostrich-horse's rump. It let out another strange neighing sound and started running down the trail. Turning on his heel, Iikagen then refocused on the remaining riders.

[tali]

Following the trodden path for a ways the brown haired girl began to feel safer in the forest, aside from some birds twittering about it didn't seem like there were any other animals, she could see where people may believe that a spirit roamed the forest, walking along a spooky path was hard enough as it. The spirit would cover why the spooked individual had lost their things, it would be a lot easier to explain than their cowardess.

Figuring this to be the truth her nerves calmed as well and her attention soon went to the area around her. Swinging the lanturn this way and that she took in the trees and the small wild life either stuck to the glow or nervously scampering away from her. It cast a small smile to her lips seeing creatures like this. Back home they didn't see much aside from pigeon sparrows and cricket voles, no one was every happy to see them, they were pests. Idly she recounted seeing a badger mole once, when her parents took her too see a circus. There were water benders and earth benders, there was even an air bender, but after a bit of snooping she found out it was a ruse, that was disappointing.

Idly Tali wished she still had her map, she never asked the name of the town but if it was marked she'd be able to figure how far she'd come, also how far she needed to go. With a small pout she imagined never being able to reach the temples. That would be a waste. Shaking the thought off she kept herself moving returning to studying the flora and fauna, hopeful she'd come across whoever made the tracks soon. Glancing down at the path she flushed and the familiar jolt shivered up her back. She'd lost the trail.

Frantically looking around the sliver of a clearing she couldn't even figure out which way she had come from. One twirl around had her disoriented enough to forget all the pseudo-landmarks she'd seen. Biting her lower lip both her hands gripped the lantern nervously. Tilting slightly to the left something caught her eye, something out of the ordinary.

Carefully the girl moved toward the eastern side of the clearing to inspect the unknown object. Her eyes widened in slight surprise before she knelt down to the make shift rope held taught across the end of the clearing. It was kept low, rather difficult to spot, touching it slight she knew it couldn't be natural. Her eyes trailed the rope before loosing it in the trees. Quietly she wondered who would be setting traps in the middle of the forest like this...

[erlang]

Erlangs ostrich horse sped through the trees at full speed, a second ago he was on the trail of a spirit and the next it was gone. It was possible the thing had the power to disappear, but Erlangs dealing with animals were that they singled out the weakest first. Fearing that the spirit would single out Hankyu if he were right he veered suddenly to the right.

No sooner had he turned than he noticed a slash mark in a tree as he passed. Had he interpreted the signal as he should have, he’d have been able to dodge the trap outright but he hit the hidden string. Were his reflexes not so well honed the incoming branch with have caved his chest in, armor and all. With every bit of speed seed and power he could muster he whirled his spear and brought the blade into the brach at where he determined the most stress to be. The impact jarred his arms hard for the briefest second before the blade cut the branch with a deafening crack. Though to a spectator it would seem that he rode through with ought a scratch Erlang was hurt. The force of the blow to the heavy branch left both his arms hurting and his left arm which had taken must of the force was somewhat numb. To make matters worse the branch had impacted his side before it fell away leaving the armor dented and a rib possibly broken. Despite this he didn’t slow in his race to Hankyu’s position.

Hankyu coughed and scrambled up his breastplate had absorbed most of the force. He slid his dao from it’s sheath in preparation for melee for melee but when he looked at the spirit his vision was blurred and filled with lights while his gut churned. It took no small amount of control to stay upright.

[iikagen]

Squaring off against the unhorsed rider, Iikagen could see clearly that the man was about to fall over on his own. His breathing was labored and he seemed to be working hard just to keep from vomitting where he stood. The dao in his hand seemed like a rather minor detail considering his condition.

The Igni crouched a bit lower, occasionally touching his hands to the ground as he circled closer to the warrior. While wearing his Tengu guise, he felt an urge to remain in character. The warrior held his ground, and when Iikagen faked a lunge the man slashed his sword across in front of him. Iikagen threw his hips back and stopped his momentum, letting the blade pass harmlessly in front of him. He started in again, ducking low in anticipation of the backswing and slipping under the reverse stroke of the sword. Inside the man's guard, he shoved off the ground with one hand and threw a claw-poised hand into his face. The man reared back, but Iikagen stayed in too close for him to bring his sword to bear.

Iikagen blocked the man's sword arm with his forearm and drove a knee into the gut of his armor, pulling the warrior into the blow by hooking the spear behind his head. An uppercutting elbow followed by a left cross, and finally a stab to his inner thigh with a spear put the man to the ground for good. Groaning loudly in pain, the man clutched at the vicious wound that was quickly draining him of his lifeblood.

That left only one of the riders to go. Peering through the eyes of his Tengu mask, Iikagen surveyed the woods for some sign of the last member of the cavalry. He could hear some rustling foliage, but in order to try and regain his element of surprise the Igni opted to disappear from sight. Staying low and crawling like a beast, he hopped off the main trail and into the woods on the opposite side. Once in the deeper shadows he turned back and practically sprinted up the trunk of the nearest tree.

No matter how smart this last one was, he imagined that thesight of his only remaining comrade laying mortally wounded would be enough to bring him into range of an ambush from above.

[tali]

Feeling as if the trap would come tumbling down on her she flinched pulling her hand back abruptly, she chided ehrself for being foolish, one does not simply walk into a trap they know is there. But what could the trap be for? The obvious conclusion was hunting, only she doubted anything that lived in this forest could trip it. A stranger answer came up. People heard that the fire nation was in the area. Rumors were spread throughout the earth kingdom that men and woman who were taken as prisoners of war were turned into slaves in the fire nation. The pretty ones became concubines for the fire lord himself. Could this be a trap set up to catch people? Tali blanched slightly thinking about it. Who would want to be a slave, especially for someone from the firenation.

It didn't seem right, besides she didn't even know what was on the end of the trap, it might be a net but it could be an axe equally as well. Just kill people who wandered too far out in the woods. If that was it then why would they want people to stay out of the woods. With a sigh the teen made it to her feet rolling from the balls to her heels and extending herself off the ground. Casting a quick glance around she wasn't too sure which way to go. She'd found this clearing at least, who even set the trap might eventually come back for it. If they were simply hunting then she might be safe, if it were something else she wan't too sure....

She could always trip the trap and figure out what it was for.... Her brown eyes cast themselves over near the rope curiously. She might die though, she didn't know what it was connected to, it'd be an easy way to find out. Chastising herself she shook her head. The spooky aura of the forest was getting to her. All she'd need to do to find out what the trap does would be follow the rope to it's end. That wouldn't be hard, and it would be slightly less dangerous than blindly making a fool of ones self.

Her head turned one way then the other, there was no one around... Setting the lantern down she scrambled to her feet before fumbling around in the bushes looking for something to trip the trap with. A few moments later she had an arm full of rocks and a stick. For the next few seconds she chucked the rocks at the rope, most of them hit but they weren't large enough to trip the rope. At this point she was pretty sure it was for a human, no way any of the small forest creatures would stumble across it. Sighing she looked at the branch she found. Feeling the weight in her palms she pouted, maybe this would work, if it didn't she'd probably move on and stop being stupid.

She slammed the end of the stick down on the rope successfully moving it, her eyes widened a bit as the rope broke and pulled out of site, startled she dropped the stick and fell back staring into the darkness rather perplexed. In the distance she heard branches shaking into motion, was this an alarm? Why would someone take the time to set it up?

[erlang]

Erlang heard a loud clang.

Before the poison and blood loss had made him too weak Hankyu took his saber and slapped it against his breast plate causing a loud clank to echo through the otherwise quiet forest. He was able to repeat this three times before he could n longer grip the sword and let it drop to the dirt.

By the time the time the second and third clangs were heard Erlang was already speeding towards in woods this quiet his training allowed him to determine how far the sound was. Kweh covered ground so fast that the trees were a blur and while turning even ran along the trunks as easily as the ground. Sadly Erlang knew what the sounds meant.

When Erlang first caught sight of Hankyu his first urge was to rush to him but experience told him not to. Keeping a wide circle Erlang took a long breath to calm himself so he could hear around him.

If it were a soldier or even a fire nation elite he would have been able to detect the attackers position but even he couldn’t hear the figure above him