RPG Winds of Winslou [PG-13]

[Dragon Warrior]

[center][img]http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/5749/winslou0kc.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img104.imageshack.us/img104/7461/story9dm.jpg[/img][/center]

Welcome, travelers. This is the tale of two young individuals who stumbled upon a world of great magic and uncharted mystery. Naturally I speak of the world of Winslou. Winslou always prospered under the rule of the human king it seemed while other species lived peacefully under his watchful eye. Unfortunate for Winslou, though, darkness came. Monsters began to appear from the top of a great mountain in the North. They began terrorizing and no one knew why, not even fellow monsters who made refuge within the forests and towns.

In our world, two young archaeologists Oz and Sam come across something in one of their digs that hurl them through a wormhole to Winslou. There, they find themselves trapped in the medieval world until they save Winslou from the dark menace. But they will not fight alone. By befriending monsters on their journeys, they will become great warriors and heroes of Winslou and finally stem the evil tide that wakes in the North.

[center][img]http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/1957/characters6ae.jpg[/img][/center]

This RPG is a two-person roleplay. It's for Ozymandius Jones and myself only. Feel free to read anyways. The following are our profiles.

[u]Human[/u]
[b]Name:[/b] Oz Ransley
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Age:[/b] Twenty-Six
[b]Appearance:[/b] [img]http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/311/oz1nn.jpg[/img]
[b]Personality:[/b] Oz likes to make jokes, but also be in charge. He can smile, but at the same time be dead serious. He can cook up a plan or two, but mainly will let Sam do what needs to be done.
[b]Some Facts:[/b] He's really into his archaeology. Who in his field wouldn't be? Him and Sam met in college and have worked together ever since. They're the top of their class. As for Oz himself, he takes great pride in anything he finds.

[u]Monster Friend[/u]
[b]Name:[/b] Rodo
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Species:[/b] Shivargee
[b]Appearance:[/b] [img]http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/424/shivargee5ha.jpg[/img]
[b]Some Facts:[/b] Rodo can be a competitive, mean little guy. He will fight for all he has. He may be small, but he isn't afraid to give it his all. Rodo himself left his crew of lame thief brothers to join the ranks of the King. An unusual choice for a Shivargee to give up the life of crime.
[b]Skills:[/b] [i]Agility-[/i] Shivargees are known to be agile. He'll flip you around before you can say "Winslou" and that's a fact!
[i]Martial Arts-[/i] He knows a few kicks here and there. Nothing too fancy, though.
[i]Fireball (Spell)-[/i] A pretty simple and common spell among Winslou monsters. He can form a small ball of fire in his paw and throw it. If he trains hard enough, it may advance.
[b]Weapons:[/b] [i]Cutlass-[/i] Mainly his only weapon. He's pretty good at swingin' the bad boy, though.

[center]CLICK BELOW FOR UNDERGROUND THREAD
[URL=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=53651][img]http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/7691/infobank0yt.jpg[/img][/URL][/center]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[u]Human[/u]
[b]Name:[/b] Samantha Gaveston
[b]Gender:[/b] Female
[b]Age:[/b] Twenty-Six
[b]Appearance:[/b] [img]http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/979/sam9qn.jpg[/img]
[b]Personality:[/b] A master (mistress?) of improvisation, Sam is very, very good at making things up as she goes along. She's not fond of weapons, prefering to flee rather than fight...unless something important is at stake. Generally goofy, and not overly serious, although she is when she needs to be.
[b]Some Facts:[/b] She has a nigh-perfect memory for random bits of information, generally totally useless ones. She and Oz met in college and have worked together ever since. They're the top of their class, when she isn't breaking things on accident. She usually lets Oz handle the fragile finds.

[u]Monster Friend[/u]
[b]Name:[/b] Al Na'ir (Al Nah-air)
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Species:[/b] Lepin
[b]Appearance:[/b] [img]http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/5576/alnairjpg6ra.jpg[/img]
[b]Some Facts:[/b] Al Na'ir was a Prince among his kind, until the other monsters came - the evil monsters - he felt it would sully his kingdom to align themselves with the evil oes, yet his father did it anyways, exiling Al Na'ir in the process. He's somewhat arrogant and sullen, and delights in frightening people, but under his monsterous appearance beats a noble heart.
[b]Skills:[/b] [i]Strength-[/i] Lepin are tall - six foot six as an avarage - and built like brick walls. What looks like soft fur and regular flesh feels - upon contact - like soft fur and [i]steel[/i]. They can lift up to ten times their weight!
[i]Martial Arts-[/i] His claws are almost steel, razor sharp and strong enough to support his weight. You do not want to be on the recieving end of one of his punches.
[i]Steelfire (Spell)-[/i] Another of the basic attacks among Winslou monsters, one that covers claws, weapons and fangs in eeirie silver fire. Al Na'ir is not good with this ability at all - he's set himself on fire at least three times.
[b]Weapons:[/b] [i]Straight Blade-[/i] A katana-like weapon that he has some slight skill with, although he prefers to use his claws and horns.

[Dragon Warrior]

The sun was hot, the air was hot, and the sand was burning hot. Oz and Sam had been working on a dig in Egypt for quite some time now. In their line of work, what seemed like days was only a matter of hours. It took time and precision. But Oz was beginning to grow distressed at not finding anything.

"Any luck, Sammy?" he called.

She shook her head, then remembering that doesn't exactly make a noise, she replied, "No." It wasn't just Oz who was distressed. It was the both of them. They'd been out on the dig for two weeks and they were to find something amazing within three. And in archaeology, "amazing" can be classified as a T-Rex or signs that cavemen did exist. Sam stood up and dusted herself off. "I'm going to get a drink from the trailer."

"You do that," Oz said, not even turning away from what he was dusting off with his tiny brush.

"You want anything?"

"Nah. I'm fine. Thanks." Sam stared down at Oz's work for a moment, then made her way to the trailer. Inside, she found glorious air conditioning and thirst-quenching beverages in the refrigerator. She plopped down on the couch and let the sweat drip down her face as the fan blew cool breezes her way. The sound of a pop can echoed the trailer's insides and she took a sip into paradise.

As for Oz, he remained in his small hole in the sand, sweating away most of his body. But he felt he was onto something. He continued to dig and dust until he came across some sort of bone. He made a queer face at it, then continued to dust around it.

When Sam came back out after relaxing for a while, she saw Oz had uncovered the upper half of a human skeleton, fully clothed. "Oz!" she shouted. "What is that?"

"I'm not sure," he said excitedly. "But his clothes are like nothing I've ever seen. The design patterns and material are unreal." He rubbed the cloth with his ungloved hand and questioned how it felt. "It's not cotton or wool or anything. It's like some new kind of material."

"Think they could've had some sort of other way to make clothes?" By this time, Sam was in the hole next to the skeleton too.

"It's possible." Oz continued to dust around the arms.

"Egyptian?"

"Maybe. But I doubt it."

Sam peered at a chain around the next and with careful precision, lifted some sort of medallion from inside the shirt. "What's this?"

"Looks like gold. Some kind of family heirloom, perhaps? A treasure of some sort?"

"Keep dusting. There might be more."

Sure enough, there was. After close to a half an hour, they had uncovered the full arm and in the hand, another medallion. Sam held the one from around the neck as Oz carefully picked the other out of the skeleton's hand. "There's inscriptions, but I can't make them out," Oz squinted.

"They're too dirty."

"I don't think they're a familiar language anyways." Sam and Oz sat and pondered, not knowing what to make of their find.

[Ozymandius Jones]

Sam looked at the medallion in her hand, brushing more of the dust away. Despite the age of the metal - it had to be old; it had been [i]buried[/i] for who knows how long - the chain was stong, not worn like so many other chains they'd found on digs.

"He doesn't look like he was a sacrifice victim, though...there's no knives or spears or anything of that sort..." Secretly, she was relieved. While people who had been killed for dark religious purposes might be popular with National Geographic, she always [i]hated[/i] when they found one. There was just something...undeniably icky about the whole concept. "Wonder what happened to him..." Oz shrugged.

"He probably ran out of water or food or had a heat stroke or something." Sam nodded, still rubbing at the dirt. It was falling off in dry clumps now, more of the medallion's surface becoming visible. "Hmm..." Sam handed her medallion to Oz, heading back to the trailer. She returned a few short minutes later, carrying a bottle of water, an empty cup and a can of Coke. Oz reached up for the cup.

"Here. Let me." She passed the can and the cup to him, climbing back into the hole before taking the coke back. Carefully, she mixed the water and the soda before gently dipping the medaliion into the mixture.

The unorthodox method worked like a charm, soda hissing and spitting as it hit the dust of unknown years. Soon, the medallion was cleaner; still mucky looking, but the muck was soon wiped off with soft cloths, leaving only shiny gold in its wake. Or, at least, it [i]looked[/i] like gold...but there was something different. The metal had no dings, no dents, nothing you would expect from gold being buried...

"I don't think it's gold."

"I don't think it is either." Oz rubbed his clean. "It's too strong..." He tapped it - and something sounded, a musical note almost like a windchime. "Hmm. That's odd..." Sam had been polishing her medallion - she looked up now, as the sound didn't fade...if anything, it grew even [i]louder[/i].

"Uh...Oz?"

[Dragon Warrior]

Things kind of went black from there on. Oz and Sam drifted into some sort of sleep and when they awoke, it was simultaneously and into a field of grass. A cool breeze pushed the hair from their eyes and they both sat up in wonder. "Sam?" Oz said rather quietly.

"Yes?" she replied from a short distance away.

"Weren't we digging in Egypt just a moment ago?"

"I don't know." She looked around queerly and picked at the grass. "I think this is a dream."

Oz pinched himself and squinted. "I don't think so, Sam." They both stood up and looked around. "Maybe there's someone nearby."

Sam joined in on looking. "I don't see anyone." Suddenly, bursting through the canopy of the forest nearby came a band of hog-like creatures wielding long wooden sticks accompanied with sharp javelins at the tip.

[img]http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/9113/pewlork1lg.jpg[/img]

They were shouting foul things in some foreign tongue and jabbing their spears at Oz and Sam. Sam clung close to Oz as they began to circle in on the duo. "What are those, Oz?!"

"Like I should know?" he squirmed.

"You were the one who passed top of your class in zoology."

"That animal does [i]not[/i] look like any animal I've ever seen." One of the creatures snorted and coughed up a small skull, which caused Sam to feel queasy. "Okay, maybe some kind of unusual pig."

Just before the pigs ganged up and came in for a kill, a sword slashed through three of their torsos and the hogs fell to the ground dead. Sam and Oz looked up and a tall rabbit stood in their vision, horns protruding out its head that reached clear round to its back. It held a long, straight sword that it continued to use to chop the pigs into sausage. Most squeeled and retreated. The rabbit showed some mercy and let them flee.

It turned its glare towards Sam and Oz and approached them. Sam got up the courage and asked, "Who are you?"

The rabbit stared for a bit longer, held out a clawed paw to help them up, and spoke. "I am Al Na'ir, Prince of the Lepin Nobles."

"I'm Sam Gaveston," she spoke, standing up. "Of nothing really."

Oz helped himself to his feet and stared at the tall rabbit. "I'm just Oz Ransley."

"You could've been killed by those Pewlorks," Al Na'ir said, cutting straight to the point. "Luckily I was passing through on my way to the Kingdom."

"The Kingdom?" Sam asked, looking wide-eyed.

"Maybe you can show us to the Kingdom, please?" Oz inquired.

Al Na'ir was about to say no when he saw two specific medallions in the hands of Sam and Oz. He then quickly changed his attitude. "Of course, I can. I will guard your journey there." Sam and Oz smiled, a little more relieved they may be going somewhere they can find help, even if their guide was an overgrown Easter Bunny gone Satanic.

"Is it far?" Sam asked.

"Just past this meadow and over that small hill," Al Na'ir explained. "You'll see it soon."

[Ozymandius Jones]

Soon, it seemed, meant two different things to a Lepin or a human. Several hours later, they were [i]still[/i] slogging along the same path. Sam didn't dare complain - Al Na'ir was far too fierce looking...

Oz didn't seem to harbor the same thoughts. He seemed to be drooping, keeping up a long stream of complains. Finally, Al Na'ir paused, glaring.

"Are all humans such weaklings?" Oz glared back.

"No, but we're not from here! We've had a strange day! You can't expect us to go tramping all over the countryside..." Al Na'ir's eyebrow twitched.

"I can't?"

"No. You can't. We don't like it." Sam crossed her arms, trying to look defiant. It failed, she could tell. Defiance was never her strong suit.

[Dragon Warrior]

Al Na'ir looked like he was ready to bite off both their heads, but he calmed himself. After all, he needed to obey their every wish if he wanted them to go to the Kingdom. "Fine, we'll rest. But you better make it quick or-" Al Na'ir peered down and saw Sam and Oz already laying in the grass asleep. "I hate humans."


Al Na'ir only gave the two an hour's rest before they pushed on. They trodded through the fields drooping from exhaustion and need of sleep. Al Na'ir continued to look perky and alert. His paw was continuously on his sword's hilt in case of approaching danger. Oz scarfed at it. Like any danger was near that could tangle with them. He saw what Al Na'ir did to those porkchops back there. Nevertheless, he kept a watchful eye too. He wasn't quite sure about this part of Earth just yet--if it even was Earth.

Eventually the path turned to mud. They slopped through it, in some areas going up to their knees. Sam complained in her head while Oz made wild remarks about how he's a dude and doesn't need mud baths for beauty. No one else found it very funny, but him. "You can stop complaining," Al Na'ir said finally. "We're here."

"It's about time," Oz yawned. "This better not be a run-down shack. I've had enough rude surprises today." He looked over a slight hill and saw a magnificent castle only a few hundred yards away. "Bwah?"

"Speechless, I know," Al Na'ir said monotonously as he passed by the awestruck Oz. They continued down the hill, which quickly turned from mud back to grass. Not too long later they approached the gates. Two soldiers in armor stood alert and saluted.

"State your business."

Al Na'ir pulled Oz and Sam forward by their medallions around their necks and showed them to the guards. They quickly nodded and had the gates to the castle opened. Sam and Oz looked at each, then down at their medallions. But before they could question it, they were dragged inside. The castle was large and a whole town was inside. Oz smiled.

"This is insane. This must be one of their renaissance reenactments, Sam."

"Yeah," she agreed. "But that still doesn't explain Mr. Longears."

"Mr. Longears has long ears for a reason," Al Na'ir grunted. "To hear whiny babies like you two." Sam and Oz gulped and stepped behind the large rabbit for a bit. They followed him through the town of people. None of them seemed interested in the fact that a giant bunny was walking through their streets, but like everything else, Oz and Sam didn't question it.

They soon took to a flight of stairs. As they entered the stone part of the castle, they found more creatures lazing around. That's when they realized Al Na'ir wasn't exactly out of place. Sam and Oz were. Through large door after large door, Sam and Oz felt a little anxious to see where they were being led. Sam was hoping the leader. Oz was hoping some food. He was starving!

They came to a pair of doors, the biggest they had ever seen in the whole castle. Several guards stood here and requested a reason for entrance. Once more, Al Na'ir used Sam and Oz and their medallions for access. The doors opened and they entered what appeared to be a throne room. At the end was a king seated in a massive chair of gold. He looked up and grimaced. "What brings you here?"

"Al Na'ir, Prince of the Lepin Nobles, sire," Al Na'ir bowed. Sam and Oz decided it'd be a good idea to follow suit. "I have brought the summoned heroes."

The king went wide-eyed. "You don't say! Where is the proof?" Al Na'ir glared at Sam and Oz and they knew the king wanted the medallions. They lifted the pieces of hard metal from their necks for the lord to see. His eyes glistened like the medallions. "For one hundred years our kingdom has been in shambles because of the monsters from the Great Mountain. One hundred years ago we send out our best sage to find a hero in another world to help rid us of this evil. One hundred years later, he has returned with two." The king looked around as if confused somehow. "But where is the sage?"

Al Na'ir looked puzzled as well. Sam took the opportunity to speak. "Your Highness, we believe we know what has become of him." She thought back to the skeleton and nodded. "He perished in our world." Oz gave her a strange look. Was she actually playing along with this rubbish?

The king nodded. "Yes, I was afraid this was so. A hundred years is a long time for him to be gone for. Why, my grandfather was in rule when he was sent out to find heroes. Now it's in the days of my ruling that you two return to us." He fixed the glasses on his nose and squinted at Oz and Sam. "You two shall be greatly honored here in Winslou."

"Is that where we are?" Oz asked.

"Oh? You didn't know?" the king said.

"We don't know much of anything, sir," Sam said pathetically.

"Mmm... I see." The king rubbed his beard. "Well, I guess I better explain myself then. This is Winslou, a great and prosperous world. I am King Leothor, Lord of the Main Continent. Sadly my continent is being overrun by vicious monsters from a great mountain that has mysteriously appeared in the North. All my warriors have perished trying to fight the threat. We're running out of options. My army isn't strong enough to defeat such an evil. A hundred years ago, we had our best sage help us. He forged a medallion that would help him find a new hero to save us. The medallion had enough magic to get him to one world and back, but that's all. So whatever world he arrived in, he needed to make due with the heroes he found. I assume he fell before bringing you back."

"We found his remains," Oz said.

"Oh dear," the king sank in his chair. "It's a dark time. Now only you two are able to save us, great summoned heroes." Oz and Sam looked at each other and back at the king in horrified shock. They weren't sure about the whole saving-the-world thing.

[Ozymandius Jones]

"Um, s-sir..." Sam finally plucked up enough courage to say. "I...there's been some kind of mistake. We're not heros, these things don't belong to us, we just [i]found[/i] them."

"What?!" With that shout, one of those in the room burst out of the crowd, scowling and waving what looked like a severly oversized fishhook. Sam backed up - only pausing when she realized the thing doing the waving was only three-and-a-half feet tall...hardly menacing...but still, that hook looked [i]sharp[/i]. "Then you are imposters! And imposters must die!" Oz and Sam both paled at that, Sam moving to hide behind Al Na'ir.

"Die?"

"Yes!" The creature snarled. "And die [i]now[/i], before you spread your lies!"

"Enough!" The king looked tired. The creature continued yelling, all the while waving its hook; it came perilously close to slashing Oz's belly, but it hit a sword first; a sword in the hand of a weasel-like creature.

"Ah, lay off. Don't ya remember the legend? The [i]medallion[/i] chooses. Not the sage. The fact that they're here means they're [i]supposed[/i] to be here." Sam poked her head around Al Na'ir's shoulder.

"Who are you?"

[Dragon Warrior]

"Name's Rodo, but my family calls me Rodo," said the weasel creature. He wasn't much taller than the monster he shushed only moments ago, but he looked proud and intimidating with the curved sword he held in his right paw. He wrinkled his nose and lifted his bandana off his left eye to get a better look at Oz and Sam. "And you're the summoned heroes."

"Honestly, it's a mistake," Oz confessed. "We just want to go home."

"Home," the king chuckled. "There's no way home now." Oz and Sam's hearts sank. "Like I said before, the medallions don't have enough magic to send you back."

"Then what are they good for?" Oz shouted in a fit of rage. He pulled the medallion off and hurled it to the floor. Seeing this coming, Al Na'ir took a daring dive to the floor and caught the item before it hit the stone. He then quickly stood tall before the human quivering with both hate and fear.

"Do not subject these medallions to something useless," the rabbit warrior snarled.

"Calm yourself, Al Na'ir," the king cooed. Al Na'ir placed the medallion back in Oz's hand and stood back again. "Don't get too excited, summoned heroes," the king continued. "You won't be alone on your journey. All around Winslou you'll find willing help from humans to monsters alike. There may even be soldiers in this very room who are ready to put up a good fight."

"Naturally my sword is by your side," Al Na'ir said, bowing his head.

"This guy sure is dramatic," Oz whispered to Sam.

"There, you see?" the king smiled. "Already a helping hand."

Rodo's eyes gleamed and he stood up, cutlass high in the air. "Of course I'll help too. Can't let longears over here have all the fun." Al Na'ir shot a nasty look Rodo's way, but the weasel dog was too busy showing off swordplay to notice.

"So be it," the king said. "In the morning, you shall begin your pilgrimage." Oz and Sam frowned miserably and the room went up in chatter. But it was all interrupted by Oz's stomach again. "Oh my," the king said. "Tomorrow you begin your journey. Tonight we feast."

[Ozymandius Jones]

And a feast it was. For all the hardship in this country (world?), there was no lack of food. There seemed to be a little of every imaginable type of food, from meats to deserts, and everything inbetween.

Despite their worry, both humans were famished. The king laughed when he saw this, clapping his hands together.

"This is a feast to honor our heros! May it not be their last." And with that somewhat dire blessing, the feast began. Sam wound up sitting between Rodo and Oz, across the table from Al Na'ir, who seemed to be munching on a pile of what looked like blue carrots that sounded like shattering glass with every bite. She suddered and turned, instead, to Rodo.

"So...you're going to be helping us do....what?" Rodo shrugged.

"Saev the world from the evil monsters."

"....right..." Oz interrupeted.

"How are [i]we[/i] supposed to do that?" Rodo shrugged again.

"I dunno. [i]you're[/i] the heroes..." Sam sighed, shoulders slumping.

"I haven't been in a fight in forever. I don't know how to use weapons or anything!" Rodo poked her arm.

"Don't worry, you'll pick it up just like [i]that[/i]." He snapped his fingers. Al Na'ir rolled his eyes.

"Don't lie, it's a little more complicated than that..."

"It is not!"

And the two monsters were back to snarling at each other, loudly. Oz shook his head.

"We're not going to get anywhere with them helping..."

[Dragon Warrior]

Sleep proved to be exceptionally difficult for Oz. He shared a room with Rodo and Al Na'ir. The small weasel snored unnervingly. It was bad enough Al Na'ir didn't sleep (or at least, not that Oz knew of). He'd just stare out the window, seeming to always be on guard. Oz pulled the covers over his head and tried to drift off into unconscious thought away from this nightmare of reality.

Sam wasn't fairing any better. She had no one in her room and felt very alone and scared. But most of the fear was blocked off by confusion and thoughts of the days' events. Besides wondering how they'd get home, she was curious if people were wondering where they were back home. Then again, no one would've known they were gone. They were in the middle of a desert in Egypt. Her troubling thoughts finally put her to rest and both Oz and Sam were fast asleep before the night went on too long.

The morning was no better. They were given rude awakenings and were forced out of bed quite early--too early for their liking. Oz was practically carried out of his room by Al Na'ir and Rodo. Sam was rushed out by a human maid. The food was good still. The only real part they could easily enjoy. This time, they didn't even sit with Al Na'ir and Rodo. Rodo was busy talking to some maidens while Oz and Sam were not quite sure where Al Na'ir got off to.

[img]http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9059/letheren2iu.jpg[/img]

Soldiers were hurrying through the castle with equipment, obviously preparing the two humans and two monsters for their journey. Oz and Sam watched as the swords and shields passed. They suddenly lost their appetite. Well, Oz for only a second. Then he was back to eating everything in sight.

After their meal, the king had new outfits sent to Oz and Sam's rooms for them to suit up in. Their regular clothes attracted too much unusual attention and was obviously not fit for combat. Oz insisted on some sort of cloth for his head to replace his bandana, though. The clothes were of the unusual material that the sage was wearing and Sam and Oz both realized this. Nevertheless, it was very comfortable and fit rather well.

[img]http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9929/oz27cq.jpg[/img]

A few guards popped into Oz and Sam's rooms to inform them it was time to go. Oz said he'd be there in a moment, but ended up taking a walk down the hallway. He arrived at a large fountain in the main yard and stared into the lean lucid waters. He took a glove off his hand and ran his fingers through the water. It felt cool and refreshing. It also made him think and right then, he had the bad feeling in his gut that he was still not dreaming and this was all a horrible reality.

[Ozymandius Jones]

Right around the same time Oz was having his moment of revelation, Sam was undergoing the same, alone - well, relatively alone - in the hall where the King had said they'd meet before their departure. The room was crowded with monsters and humans alike - but Oz was nowhere in sight. Neither was Rodo, or even Al Na'ir. Sam sat awkwardly at the table, fingering the carvings on the heavy wood.

None of the food looked good anymore. Most of the monsters looked intimidating and fierce. And even the sunlight through the window looked different. Sam sighed, fidgeting as she waited for Oz.

"You are worried." Al Na'ir's voice suddenly boomed above her. She jumped, startled. The rabbit-creature chuckled. "You have much to worry about." Sam opened her mouth to protest; but Al Na'ir held up a clawed hand. "Or, you would were I not traveling with you. No harm will come to the heros...." The dishes clanked on the table as Rodo clambered up, waving his blade.

"Not while we have anything to say about it, at any rate!" Al Na'ir sighed, shaking his head.

"You are a melodramatic runt, aren't you?"

"Nothing wrong with being enthusiastic, longears..." Al Na'ir's aforementioned ears twitched.

"Excuse me. I must find Oz." Al Na'ir hurried away. Sam watched him go, almost laughing.

"Is he always like that?" Rodo shrugged.

"I do not know - you've known him longer than I have. His kind are known for being...somewhat arrogant..." There was a shout from further down the banquet hall - Al Na'ir was returning, grasping Oz by the back of his collar. Sam frowned in bewilderment. Oz managed an uncomfortable looking shrug.

"He got tired of waiting, I think."

[Dragon Warrior]

Departure was quick and not all too friendly surprisingly. No one went out of their way to say goodbye or even give a slight wave. The King gae his blessings and they were shooed out the door in an instant. Before they knew it, Oz and Sam were standing at the doorway of the castle, side by side next to the Letheren guards, who didn't move anything, but their eyes, which shifted in every direction.

"Let's move," Al Na'ir spoke dryly. No one argued to start, not even Rodo, but he was stuffing his face with some fruit as it were. They began approaching the muddy field they had only just previously traversed through and Oz and Sam whined. "Quick your complaining," Al Na'ir snapped. "We're going this way." He took a turn and they were suddenly facing a mountain with a dark cloud hovering over it. Oz and Sam whined louder. Al Na'ir sighed. "I'm going to regret my decision."

The journey proved to be rather boring at the start. Nothing really happened. There were a few trees, a squirrel-like creature, and an assortment of rocks and that was about it. Not even Oz and Sam, being archaeologists, were interested in anything around them. It all looked pretty normal to them. Well--besides the squirrel-like creature, of course. The sun was making its way higher into the sky to align with the second sun that Oz just curiously discovered moments before Sam made a vocal note of it.

"Aye," Rodo smirked. "Winslou has two suns. It can be good and bad. Most farmers like it if we get our decent 'mount of rainfall weekly."

"Does it rain a lot here?" Sam asked.

"It varies," Rodo waved his sword. "Usually it's either a small sprinkle or a massive thunderstorm."

"Wonderful," Oz murmured.

"If it's a large thunderstorm," Rodo went on, "it's usually Nortallys passing through or being nearby."

"Nortallys?" Sam questioned.

"They're not from here, you fool," Al Na'ir grumbled from the front of the group.

"I know that," Rodo snapped. "I was getting there!" He looked back at the curious and confused humans. "Nortallys is the giant Thunder Bird God of Winslou. Him and his brother and sister control the weather."

"So they make the rain and sunshine and that stuff?" Oz asked.

"No, no," Rodo shook his head and sword, which swung dangerously close to Oz's shins. "They don't [i]actually[/i] control the weather. But they have the ability to change it. Nortallys can bring upon great and powerful thunderstorms being the Thunder Bird God. His brother Gazalor controls is the Water Bird God and controls the rain, hurricanes, and other such weather conditions."

"And the third?" Sam pushed.

"Impatient humans," Al Na'ir muttered.

"The third," continued Rodo, "is the beautiful Enchantrallys the Ice Bird God."

"Try saying that five times fast," Oz joked. "Enchantrab... entrabtrall..."

"Hey, shut it," Rodo grumbled. Once Oz did, he continued. "It is true that these birds can be dangerous, but alone they're merely a change to the weather. Together, though, means they can make one hell of a catastrophe."

"They can summon a super storm?" Sam asked.

"Aye," Rodo winked. "When together, they can control the most powerful of all the weather--the winds."

"The winds?" Oz arched an eyebrow. "I think lightning is a little more harmful than wind."

"Don't be so sure. Wind can virtually control anything. Wind is what carries the storms, moves the hurricanes, guides the rain, and can very easily whisk you off somewhere else or drop you from a thousand feet in the air."

"Good point," Oz retreated.

"Very," Rodo smiled, knowing that he won something for once. Al Na'ir stopped short and, without looking where he was going, Rodo walked right into his back, his cutlass point poking Al Na'ir right in the rear.

"Hey," Al Na'ir growled.

"Sorry, mate," Rodo smirked.

"Shh," Al Na'ir hushed.

"What is it, boy?" Rodo joked. "Did Jimmy fall into a well?"

"An enemy approaches, you little sorry excuse for a living organism. Now shut your trap." Al Na'ir grew his sword. "It's coming."

"It's coming?" Sam quivered.

"Yes," Al Na'ir readied his blade. "And fast."