It was quite interesting to hear Xue admit that she was tired, and was going to go to bed, only to follow with passing out on his shoulder. He almost laughed. He really didn’t mind for he liked the young shifter. At first he really didn’t know quite how to take her, but it seemed that her bark was worse than her bite. She was also a very good traveling companion.
During this time Kato was trying to decipher the various actions that were either taking place openly or taking place privately. He got the distinct impression that Eremis and Cas were an item, as were Rowan and Soran. He also received the distinct impression that the relationship between elf and young boy had very much to do with the way Jeremy had acted lately. Although he didn’t know all the details, he simply pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
“Good night to all of you,” Kato stated to those remaining at the table. “I’m going to put the young lady to sleep, and get some rest myself. A job well done by all.”
He carefully picked Xue up, and carried her to her room. He placed her in her bed, and suddenly decided that she might rest more comfortably with her shoes off. Once that task had been accomplished, he pulled the covers over her body, kissed her forehead, and left, closing the door behind him. As soon as he entered his own room he got ready for bed and fell asleep quickly.
The next morning he awoke quite fresh. After washing up and gathering his things, he went downstairs to meet the others. They had a good breakfast before heading out on their adventure.
Well, it seemed that the townsfolk had a heart after all, by giving them a token of their appreciation for helping them out. The group responded with their thanks before leaving the small city.
The morning and afternoon were uneventful until they started entering the mountain country where traveling became a bit more labored. Suddenly two huge forms swooped down from the clouds, and Kato was too busy controlling his own horse to actually notice what happened.
When he first started adventuring he had a very sore ass from riding and falling off of his horse all the time. Through time, and through lessons given by the various adventurers, Kato had learned the art of riding..that is until he started to fall off his horse again, only this time due to the horse getting spooked. That also had taken a bit of doing but he finally learned, even though it might not have been the proper method.
He learned forward quickly, pulled the reigns back hard, while trying to hold on to the horse’s mane. Eventually he gained a bit of control, and managed to look up only to see two rocs carrying something off into the distance and depositing them in what looked like a nest. Upon quick inspection of his surroundings, he noticed that Soran, Jeremy, and Cas were missing, while Rowan, and the others started to head toward the area of what looked like the nest.
Once everyone got there, Kato thought of a spell that might help the group. He looked up into the sky, and a smiled draped across his face when he noted the billowy clouds. “I think I can get us up there,” the mage responded. “The footing might be a bit on the soft side, but I can assure you that it’ll be safe.”
With that he started chanting the words to a spell, sprinkling various components into the air. Suddenly the clouds started to take shape, slowly descending from where the nest lay until it formed a stair-like object, eventually creeping down to the surface where they waited. The mage tried out the stair-like spell, and although it was on the soft side, it held his weight quite well. It had been one of the spells he had learned, and used quite a few times.
He started to ascend the staircase up toward the nest where upon arrival he spotted Cas and Jeremy fending off attacks from a baby roc. Just as he was about to help, he spotted the others coming up the staircase, and to make matters worse, spotted the two larger rocs heading back in his direction.
He wasn’t thinking, and that was his own fault for not being fully prepared. That’s what happened when he took a leave of absence for a year by not traveling, and practicing his magic. He could have easily done something to both creatures, but as it were, could only handle one for now.
He closed his eyes and quickly mouthed the words carefully so as not to mix up the words. Upon the last phrase he pulled out a pinch of sulfur, and threw it into the direction of the approaching rocs. Suddenly a huge fireball erupted out of nowhere, and guided by Kato’s arm went sailing toward one of the rocs. The impact was quite impressive as the roc slowly started to loose altitude, trailing flames from his now fiery body until it hit the ground, even though it tried valiantly to prevent its fall.
However, now the other roc was upon them, and fighting this in these type of quarters was going to be quite difficult. He took some quick steps into the nest, if nothing else to give Cas and Jeremy a hand, hoping the others could handle the large beast.
