Mission details:

Nova sat atop Kurogokegamu's motionless form, swinging her legs slowly in the cool air. Tucked away in her blouse was a folded up map that she had received when taking the mission she was waiting here for. Soft clouds of mist cast into the clear, still dark, sky as she sighed, trying to recall the name of the genin who had also taken this same mission. They would be setting out in to the desert, following a somewhat obscure map to a treasure that may or may not be there. At least it would get her out of the city for a bit and into desert. She was eager to get back in Kurogokegamu and skitter around the wide open desert. The streets of the city were not ideal for a puppet of this size, and she often got an odd look from those who passed her. She clicked her heels against the side of the puppet rhythmically,  and looked up at the dark sky splattered with stars. Setting out so early would protect them from the bulk of the midday sun. So early in the morning, the streets were sparse with people. The only people she had passed on her way here from her home were other ninja going about their own missions.

Sliding off the smooth back of her arachnid creation, Nova dropped to the ground and stretched the sleepiness of her limbs. Bending over awkwardly, she adjusted the straps on her prosthetic leg and tapped the heel of the wooden limb against the sandy ground to ensure it was in place. She tilted her head back slightly and gathered her hair at the top of her head, smoothing it as she combed her fingers through it, and twisted it up into a messy bun on the top of her head. Taking one from her bag, she slid a wooden hair pin through the bun to hold it in place. Running her hands down her thighs, she smoothed out he floor length skirt which was slightly creased from being seated. Shivering slightly as the brisk air billowed into her skirt through the revealing slit up the right thigh, she brushed a bit of dust off of one of her puppets several spindly legs. Hopefully her partner for the mission would be here soon, she wondered if perhaps either him or herself has shown up at the wrong gate, or maybe it wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow. Having trouble shaking the feeling that she somehow made a mistake planning, she made a mental note to get a planner. 20 more minutes. If her partner didn't show in the next 20 minutes she would head back home and get a few more hours of sleep. Even if she was excited to get out of the city, she was not nearly brave enough to go out and do a mission like this on her own.

Not wanting to go exploring the desert on an empty stomach, Nova reached into her her small pack and pulled out a piece of crusty bread and a small wrapped piece of a creamy herbed cheese. With one of her kunai she sheared off a piece of cheese and smeared it across the bread, then wrapped the remaining food back up and slipped it back into her bag. She tore off a large chunk and chewed on it thoughtfully, looking off into the distance in the city trying to make out any shapes that might be headed in her direction. There were few figures moving below the dim lights hanging from ledges, each one absorbed in their own activities. Leaning back against the body of Kurogokegamu, she gnawed at the edge of the bread. Almost done with her meager breakfast, she looked up and thought she could make out the outline of a man walking toward her.

[645 word count]

Rhys had forced himself to sleep in. These village people were all so very last and adored their sleep. The last time that Rhys had been assigned a partner for a mission, the other "ninja" had not shown up to their appointed meeting place until the sun had been up for almost an hour!

  So, Rhys did the best he could to kill some time. He got in an extra hour of sleep, styled his beard to just the right angle, and had devoured a breakfast spread that could satisfy a lord. Having done all that he could think to do at this early hour, Rhys shouldered his pack. He carefully strapped his long cylindrical container over his shoulder and went out into the inky blue morning light.

  Rhys and his would be partner had both taken the same mission, and it was something that Rhys was very excited for. A treasure hunt. The Village was actually going to pay him to do what he already enjoyed doing in his free time! Sure, he probably would not be allowed to keep whatever they found, but the act itself, and the recognition for discovery, were all that Rhys needed. Those and the bounty paid at the end of the mission of course.

   Rhys did not expect his assigned partner to arrive for some time, so he casually strolled through village. For the life of him, Rhys could not remember his designated teammate's name. He was going over the various possibilities as he approached the designated gate.

"Ova..valo...vulva..ah Damn what was it." Rhys continued through his highly inaccurate recounting of names as he finally made it to the edge of the village. He had been so engrossed by his half remembering that he had walked straight passed a strange sight. The bulky man turned to take in the curious spectacle. A young woman, or three quarters of a woman rather, stood next to a giant mechanical spider, and was staring directly at him.

" Ah you must be Nuva! You're right on time. So what is....this?" Rhys eyed the contraption warily. He really needed to pay more attention to his surroundings when lost in thought. Had this been an enemy he might not be standing here breathing. Rhys scolded himself slightly but let it slide away. This woman probably could not take him out anyway. She was a pretty little thing, and seemed overly comfortable with her eight legged mechanical bug. Rhys sniffed as he decided he could take her.

"Well let's not waste any more time. The sun will be up soon and I want to make it to the hillside by mid-day. Do you need to leave your..."doll"...with someone before we go?" Rhys eyed the woman with undeserved superiority. He was testing her just a bit. He wanted to see what her demeanor would be like when faced with adversity.

(489)

“Nova. It was Nova, and lovely to meet you.... ah....”, pausing for a moment and scrunching her eyebrows in thought before continuing, “Ah I'm sorry I must have you remind me your name. I'm feeling rather forgetful this morning, in fact I was nearly about to leave having convinced myself completely that I had gotten my schedule wrong and came here on the wrong morning.” Nova completely ignored the “doll” comment as she had received many a comments about Kurogokegamu in her time. She giggled nervously and waited for a response, and stuck her hand out in offer of a handshake. “The names Rhys”, spoke the man after a moment of hesitation, as she grasped her hand roughly and gave it a strong shake. Not wanting to give a bad impression on a man such as this, she made sure her own handshake was firm. With an excited expression on her face she elated, “lets take a look at the map here then!”. After pulling a folded up sheet of paper from her blouse, she unfolded it and turned to spread it across the surface of the large form of her puppet behind her. Motioning Rhys forward to look with her, she pointed with a neatly manicured nail at a series of dunes a good distance north-west of the village, “This is the area the cave is believed to be. The description I was given is that the cave in question will be marked with a small manmade inscription, though it may be well worn from erosion. It should be rather high on a cliffside, with a rather small opening  that might not  be immediately visible. Now, if you'd give me just a moment, ill be ready to set off”.

Bunching the map up and shoving it back into the front of her blouse, the girl scrambled up the back of the puppet, using one of its spindly legs to push against with her good leg to get to the top. After being precariously perched on the slippery edge for just a moment, Nova slid her legs into an opening in the top of the puppet and settled down into a sitting position, and seemed to click something into place inside the thing. Waggling her fingers, Nova gathered chakra in the tips and wove it into thin threads the shone in an emerald green hue. The eight spindly legs shivered for a moment, before twitching and getting traction on the ground. Rising from the sandy street, the arachnoid puppet came to life before Rhys' eyes. Hands busy with the kugustu no justsu she practiced, Nova jerked her head with a bright smile to the desert, “Let us be off!”.

Kurogokegamu's slender multi-jointed legs moved in the odd choreography that a real spider's would, moving quietly and stealthy across the desert sand. Although heavier than your average arachnid, the weight was displaced across the eight legs, leaving no more than pricks on the smooth desert sand. Rhys kept a quick pace across the desert, his long strides contributing to his speed even with his bulk. Even mounted inside Kurogokegamu's hull raised above the desert sand, Nova's head was about even with his. Nova leaned back inside her cushioned seat and inhaled the desert's morning air. The sun was just visible now over the edge of the horizon, soon bringing the heat that the desert was known for. Far off in the distance she heard the sweet chatter of the birds that woke with the suns glow. “So do you think the treasure will actually be there still? I'm a little skeptical that it hasn't been found and removed yet honestly. Though I'd take any excuse to get out of the stuffiness of the city.”, she said casually, her fingers lazy twitching away at the strings that controlled her pace. Rhys' stride did not change as he shrugged, "Eh. It doesn't really matter if it's still there or not. There's bound to be something of interest within, or at least some evidence as to what happened to the treasure. That's the beauty of this mission, we get paid whether it's there or not."

They continued their quick pace in silence, the sun rising over the desert, sending what few creatures that dare brave the harsh desert as their home back into their hiding spots. The birds she had heard closer to sunrise had quieted, the only noise drifting across the desert was the sound of their own footsteps and the occasional buzz of a nearby cicada. Though Nova was putting in little effort to travel, the blazing sun had her wiping her forehead from the beads of sweat that accumulated. Her pale skin was flushed from the heat, “if nothing else the cave should be much cooler.” She had hoped that the cliffs and caves in mention would be the ones she could see them approaching. Though far off, Nova could see the sandstone scar that towered over the sparkling sand. The face was littered with openings of various sizes. Nova was impressed with her partner so far, despite his tardiness. The heat seemed to make no difference to the burly man, and he trudged across the sandy plains with a quickness she was not expecting. Nova though to herself that it that they should reach the cliff side within the next 15 minutes or so, then the next challenge would be finding which of these several entrances was the correct one, if it was even here.

[933 word count]

Chakra 125/130:

Crossing the desert alongside a mechanical spider was a new experience for Rhys. The rythmic "tat tat tat" of it's steps seemed to give his movements an almost musical quality. Keeping time with the mecha-rachnid, Rhys practically danced as he advanced into the rising dawn. Rhys was impressed by his mission partner so far. The female genin, Nova, seemed to have a jovial disposition and this construct of hers was quite impressive. While he always hoped there would be no need for violence, he was very interested to see how this strange pair would fare in combat.

  The sun had just completely broke free of the horizon to fully begin a new day when the Cliffside came into view. Its vertical face was pock marked with various entrances and depressions. It was still as few minutes away when Rhys stopped to catch his breath. He took off the long metal tube strapped to his back and set it next to the pack He slid off next. He sat down under the shade of the mechanical spider and pulled out his canteen. He took a long pull from the water that had been flavored with mint leaves. He offered the canteen to the woman as he eyed the rock face that lie ahead.

"We are close now so I just need a minute to catch my breath. This will give us time discuss our plan of attack. Now since this is an official treasure mission, there are bound to be a good number of people who know about it's location. Not all of them are going to be the nicest of people so we need to be ready to face enemy resistance. Then of course there are the 'ruins' themselves. A lot of these older structures have been booby trapped in order to prevent exactly what we are attempting to do. Once we are within we need to be slow and vigilant, keep a keen eye on our surroundings. Lastly, we need to actually find the correct entrance. Most of the depressions on the cliff face are bound to be decoys and may be trapped as well. So step one is finding that Mark that shows the correct path. Well let's get to it!" Rhys stood as he finished his line of thought. He shouldered his gear once more.

  The assembled team closed the distance to the towering hill. The shadow of it's height covered them in a cool darkness. It was still early, but he could already tell that today would be a scorcher. They stopped at it's base and scanned the wall. Unfortunately, he could not see any indication of where the correct path lie. He stretched his arms, cracked his neck, and spit on his hands before rubbing them together.

"Well! Let's do this!!" Rhys groaned with strained effort as flung himself at the hill side. The bulky man slowly began to scale the rock face. He could always use a jutsu but he wanted to conserve his chakra for whatever might be waiting for them up ahead. His muscles bulged as he pulled himself upward. He slowly made his ascent with pride, which was quickly dashed. He turned to his right to see the mechanical spider climbing upward, seemingly without effort it quickly surpassed him. He wasn't sure if Nova could hear him grumbling from below.

"Hmph..show off..I could do that too if.." his jaded ramblings fell off as he redoubled his efforts and continued his climb toward their goal.

(593) (1082 total)

Kurogokegamu's barbed legs clung to the rock face, making the near vertical climb with ease. Covering several meters up in a matter of seconds, Nova glanced back and noticed that Rhys was unable to keep up with her. She slowed her ascent turned slightly to the left, to the closest crevasse in the sandstone. With grace, Kurogokegamu maneuvered around the edge, giving Nova a better view to inspect the stone for any distinguishable markings. The sandstone was unblemished but for the natural erosion of the wind. Extra thorough in her examination, Nova was worried about being unable to see whatever mark was left, as well as the fact that she had no idea what she was even looking for. She called down to Rhys, “Mind checking those lower caverns? I'll scale the walls and see if I see any symbols etched in the stone”. Without really waiting for a reply, Nova was off towards the top of the cliffside. Making it in under a minute to the top she paused briefly to appreciate the high view of the desert, giving her a view of the dunes and the city from the higher vantage point.

Nova's plan of action was to start at the very top, if she was hiding something of such value she would want it to be a real challenge to find, and while ninja were very capable she doubted that one would check every crevice to the top without easier access to the higher holes. Clinging horizontally to the cliffside, she started with the top most cavern, its wide mouth opening to the sun. She looked at the mouth of the cave and saw a number of small groves in the stone on the lower half. Unable to identify the strange markings, her interest was piqued. She glanced down at her partner, just now making it so the second cave, and decided that she would peek inside to see if it held anything of interest. The narrow legs wove their way into the opening, the light cut off quickly. Though dark, she could see that the cave narrowed to a tunnel that seemed to spiral down into cliffside. Intrigued by the odd pathway, she slid and laid flat inside of Kurogokegamu's hull, and pulled down the armor and latched it over her head. She closed her eyes and laid perfectly still, and began channeling her spider eye justu, all sound form the whistling of the wind to the clicking of her puppets joints were suddenly cut off, no longer could she see the interior of her puppet, and she was frozen in place with the exception of her twitching fingers, gently pulling the chakra strings to her will. Kurogokegumo's eight glass eyes shimmered for a second before being lit with emerald green chakra from within.

Nova's view splintered, giving her a broken, but expansive view in front of her. The dim tunnel was now easily visible with these chakra infused eyes. It was an odd experience, being able to see from this new perspective, while the colors were muted the shapes and lights were sharp and vivid. Closer to the tunnel floor, Nova saw the same divots carved into the stone. Upon closer inspection, it almost appeared to be some sort of claw mark. The tunnel narrowed as she continued, and Kurogokegamu had to skitter with its body just above the ground. The claw marks became more numerous and deep as she went. Several meters down, the tunnel opened up into a large dark cave, the cave floor was a short drop down from the tunnel and once there, Nova realized what she had stumbled into. Littering the ground of the cave were a number of bones heavily marked with the evidence of being gnawed on with sharp teeth. Several had been broken and the marrow licked from the inside. Rotating every which way, Nova turned her puppet looking if the creature that lived here was still inside. Nothing other than the bones and claw marks in here, however the walls and ceiling of the cave were all littered with tunnels similar to the one she had come from.

Seeing a flash of movement from the side, Kurogokegamu was slammed from the right side with enough force to send it reeling for balance for a moment. Spiraling to see what she had been stuck by, Nova turned to face a large mountain lion, its face scarred and twisted into a snarl. It let loose a frightening combination of a hiss and growl that scared Nova. After regaining balance Kurogokegamu spun and scrambled down the nearest tunnel, the screeching feline tearing after them. Though slightly faster, Nova pressed forward with the fear of being caught by those dagger like claws. The tunnel sloped downward and nova tore through the turns before bursting out into the sun and falling several meters into the soft sand, which at least broke the fall, However moments after leaping from the tunnel, the mountain lion followed suit.

[Word count 840]

Chakra 115/130:

Rhys was about a quarter of the way up the rock face. He had checked several of the cave openings for any indication of a sign or marking. There was nothing for him to find so far. He had worked his way to the left a bit and was had just clapped his hands on the ledge of yet another "entrance". He was just about to pull himself when he heard a somewhat familiar sound.

   The hurried "tap tap tapping" of the mechanical spider drew Rhys's gaze directly upwards. He looked up just in time to see the puppet vehicle go flying through the air. It had vaulted out from an opening a few meters above him.

"What in the.." His thought was cut short as the deep growl of a beast filled the air. Rhys looked heavenward once more to see the powerful figure of fur and muscle come bounding out of the same opening as before.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me.." Rhys had to act fast, he had only one shot at this. Still clinging to the edge of an opening, he drew his legs up and planted his feet against the wall. His timing had to be perfect.

  
   As the flying mountain lion was at the apex of it's leap, Rhys released his grip on the ledge and pushed off of the wall with his feet. As he propelled himself outward Rhys twisted around so his back was to the sun. The bulky man flew through the air as if he were light as a feather. His timing had been precise.

   Rhys caught the beast with his right shoulder mid air. He speared the animal throwing it off course. The two fell the remainder of the way. The mountain lion cushioned Rhys's fall into the desert sands. Upon impact the mountain lion let out a wheezing gulp of air and a loud pop could be heard. Rhys's right arm was completely numb, he had dislocated it with the impact. He pressed his good forearm down on his enemy's throat and was lucky enough to pin one if it's paws as well. He pushed down with all of his might trying to choke out his foe while it was still dazed.

   The beast quickly regained it's senses. It let forth a menacing growl as it tried to break free of Rhys's pin. It swipes at Rhys with it's free front paw, it's claws left deep gouges in Rhys's chest. Rhys let out a pain filled cry. His right arm hung limp at his side. He was running out of time.

   Rhys pushed himself off of the mountain lion and jumped back. He quickly unscrewed the cap on the metal tube strapped to his back. He dropped the lid as he made a series of hand signs. Black Mag-sand spewed forth from his container and began to gather around Rhys's chest and left arm. It was still forming as his animal foe made it's move.

   The mountain lion scrambled to get back on all four legs. It perched itself and prepared to pounce. The eyes of the beast burned with the memories of a thousand battles. This encounter would result in the death of one or both of them. They each seem to accept this fate. The mountain lion leaps forward baring it's fangs bad claws outstretched. A battle cry of a roar exploding from it's form.

   Rhys let out a cry of his own, but his was that of anguish. He held no joy in what he must do. Their two voices seemed to harmonize as they echoed through the desert air. Rhys drove his good arm forward. The Mag-sand finished it's formation. A lightweight black metal armor had taken shape around Rhys's chest and left arm. In his left was a newly created katar, and this is what ended the standoff.

   Rhys pushed his fist into the mouth of the beast, it's fangs clamped down, cracking the magnetic armor coating his hand. The short blade of the katar plunged into the soft palette of the roof in the mountain lion's mouth. It had pierced the veteran animals brain, killing it instantly.

   The katar and left arm Mag-sand constructs dissipated, Rhys let the now still body of the noble beast fall to the ground. He stood there silent. He had not wanted this outcome, but there had been no choice. He wiped away a tear that had somehow managed to break out into the world.

   After a moment passed Rhys walked up to the rock wall. He planted his right hand against the wall and take a deep calming breath. With all of his strength he twisted and pushed his weight down into the arm. With a loud grunt of pain and a sounding pop, his arm went back into place. The big man turned to the spider puppet that had regained it's footing during the battle. Only seconds had passed, but it had felt like a year. The black Mag-sand that had fallen to the ground collected itself into Rhys's tube before he screwed the cap back on.

" We will take him back with us when this is over. Come on, let's find this treasure." Rhys did his best to sound hopeful as he looked at his mission partner, but there was an obvious sadness that shone through his eyes.

   Rhys turned to face the rock wall once more. He was still wearing the black sand chest piece, it wouldn't do anything to help his wounds but it would prevent any foreign material from getting into his injuries. The time for saving his chakra was over. He used the supernatural walking jutsu and began running up the vertical wall.

"Come on show me where the entrance is!" the large man called out as he ascended. He looked on as the mechanical vehicle sped ahead of him, leading the way.

  There was still work to be done. Rhys was sure that she had found the correct entrance, because fate tended to be cruel with it's sense of humor. They would return to her initial path and find that which they came for.

(1055) (2137 total)

After hitting the sand Nova was dazed for but a moment, and the second she shook the dizziness from her head she sprung back to action. Through her spider's eye a brief but fierce battle raged, though the sounds of the fight were silent in her deaf ears. The battlefield was gruesome, blood dripping thickly to the sand. Rhys stood with his fist in the beasts mouth, blood pouring from its maw so profusely Nova was unsure whos it was. The sun glinted off the metallic looking armor that Rhys now wore, and she saw blood dripping down his chest from underneath it. The battle scarred mountain lion dropped lifeless to the ground, sliding off a katar that extended from Rhys' outreached left arm. Nova watched his arm drop back to his side, and a single tear slide down his cheek only for a moment before he wiped it away. She winced as he popped his other shoulder joint back into place.

" We will take him back with us when this is over. Come on, let's find this treasure." Nova heard the sadness in his voice over having to slay a creature such as that, and though she felt the need to comfort the gruff looking man she was unable, the glinting eyes of her puppet stared solemnly at him."Come on show me where the entrance is!" Rhys shouted before sprinting up the vertical wall, using his supernatural walking skill that Nova herself lacked. Though alone she would have been unable to follow, again her spider made up for her faults. Kurogokegamu scaled the wall back to where she had emerged from, and gestured to it with its front two legs. Just inside the cave entrance, was a small inlaid golden eye staring blankly at her. Clicking its legs together noisily to draw Rhys' attention, the puppets legs gesturing towards the marking. Leading the way through the narrow tunnel, she made sure to look for any other markings or such as she had certainly not seen that before. Rhys padded along behind her closely, having to duck in the narrow tunnel that must have been no more than three feet tall.

The tunnel opened up into the same room in which Nova had first encountered the lion. Looking up, she was unable to determine which one she had come from. Rhys was able to stand at his full height here, and now that there was no immediate threat, Nova stopped the flow of chakra that had allowed her to see through the spider eyes. The bright gems stopped glowing with the emerald light, and with a click the hatch on the top of the puppet opened and Nova popped up from the waist up. Worry was written on her face and spoke with care in her voice, “Rhys, would you let me clean and heal your wound? Though not the best at medical jutsu's but I'm sure I'm capable of healing a wound such as that.” Rhys shook his head no, though she could tell he was in pain, “Let us find the treasure and make sure there are no other threats first” Nodding solemnly, Nova spoke once more, “I'm certain that eye was the marking that we were meant to look for..... though I see no treasure here”, looking around at the bare room, the only objects in sight were the gnawed on bones. “What if one of the tunnels that leads from here is where we must go? I think we ought to check the entrances for another eye perhaps”, Nova continued.

Starting with the one that they had emerged from, using Kurogokegamu's sharp barbed leg Nova etched a small x into the stone to indicate it had already been checked, then after that put a large circle around it to indicate that this would lead them back to the open desert. Pointing for Rhys to check the ones to the left, she headed to the right methodically checking each tunnel for the inlaid eye. Several minutes of quiet work passed before Nova gasped as she saw the little eye staring down at her from the top of a tunnel. “I found it! Here this tunnel! Lets go!” , Nova exclaimed. The tunnel was but a few feet off the cave floor and Kurogokegamu crawled easily to the entrance. This tunnel was taller than the others, but it was narrow. The puppet was a tight fit through the corridor, and the path was not a straight one. It was quite long and twisted, Nova was sure that the tunnel had crossed back on itself several times. They were travelling at a slight incline, Nova wondered if the tunnel would ever end or if they would end up at the top of the cliffside once more.

Several minutes of travel had passed when the mouth of the cave widened into a tall dome shaped room. At the top of the curved ceiling was a small opening from which daylight sun shone through, and a slight fresh breeze make the room less stuffy than the rest of the caverns. In the center of this peculiar room was a quartz pedestal that stood taller than Rhys, and propped up on top was a glinting golden tablet inscribed in kanji. The tablet that hey had been looking for sat before them. The puppet skittered over to the pedestal and Nova laid her delicate hand against the sparkling quartz surface. Though she did not sense any abnormallties about it, it was warm to the touch. Kurogokegamu stood tall, propping itself against the pedestal with the rear legs planted on the ground. Nova reached out and grabbed the glinting tablet. The artifact was hot to the touch, the intense head was so unexpected that Nova almost dropped it. Quickly grabbing a piece of cloth from the interior of her puppet, she wrapped it several times and stored it by her feet. She looked back at Rhys with a look of pride on her face that they had found their missions goal.

When looked at Rhys, she was the grimace on his face as he grasped at his wound. Remembering the injury that he had taken she hopped out of her puppet clumsily and limped over to him and asked him to remove the metallic armor that he had covering his wound. The armor dissolved back into its original form of metallic grains of sand and Rhys directed them back into the long tube he wore on his back. Four long marks tore across his chest, blood both dried and new coated the torn shirt that he wore. “This will sting but for a moment” Nova pressed her left hand against the wound gently, still causing Rhys to wince. Laying her other hand over the left, she began channeling chakra to them. Raising them just half an inch over the wound, her hands began to glow a brilliant emerald green as the skin below began to heal itself back together. The sight was a disturbing one, seeing the muscles underneath the skin knit themselves back together. The wound was no longer visible, though the blood he had lost remained staining his skin and cloth. The shirt he wore was torn beyond repair but at least he would not bear the wound. “Though I could fix the wound and muscles, I am unfortunatly unable to repair the nerve damage” , she pressed her hand against his chest, “So you will have numbness here that I'm not sure will recover”. Though the damage was not as severe on his hand, she did the process again there, healing the teeth marks from the lion. “Now that you are in better shape and we have acquired the treasure, let us return to the village and deliver it to complete out mission”, Nova smiled brightly.

[exit thread]

[Word count 1312]

Total word count 3730:

Chakra 100/130:

Rhys was still in pain from the ordeal. He had been forced to kill the great beast, but not before it had done some damage. His chest was burning under his armor where the mountain lion had taken Rhys's flesh as recompense for it's life. He had to put it out of his mind for now.

   Rhys had gone down a side path in search of the treasure. He had split up with nova and her spider to cover more ground, but this narrow corridor did not seem very promising. After some time he finally passed through an opening into a decent sized chamber.

   It only took a moment for Rhys to scan the room. It seemed almost barren, save for some writing on the wall on the far end. Rhys approached for a better look when he knew he had really messed up. The ground beneath is right foot began to depress with the loud scraping of stone on stone. He had set off a trap.

"Oh sh.." his words were cut short as a dozens of tiny needles sprayed out of the far wall. Rhys only had seconds to react.

   Rhys made the necessary hand signs as quickly as he possibly could. He only had one chance to avoid a skewering. As he finished the hand signs, he channeled his chakra into his outstretched right hand. His naturally magnetic chakra expelled from his outward facing palm. The metal needles were pushed back by the magnetic force emanating from Rhys. The closest needles had seemed mere centimeters from him before being pushed off their course, but the needles just kept coming.

   Rhys maintained his magnetic jutsu as the hundreds of needles still poured out from the ancient trap. It was amazing that something so old could still work so well. Rhys had to retreat or else He might drain all of his chakra. With great effort he stepped backwards until his back hit the opening he had come in from. It was an awkward situation having to turn his body sideways to crouch back into the narrow opening, all while keeping his outstretched arm aimed to stop the onslaught of needles.

   Finally the bulky man emerged on the other side and was able to run from the few needles that made it through the gap. He went back the way he came to check on his partner. He stopped to catch his breath as he reached the room where they had parted. Just then he heard his teammate's call up ahead. Apparently she had more luck. Rhys joined her up ahead.

   The pair wound their way through the ancient passageways. Rhys could feel the spirit of history surrounding them as they traversed these halls. After a bit of trial and error and plenty of path marking, the two finally found themselves in a chamber where the floor leveled out.

   This ornately decorated antechamber was something straight out of a fairy tale. Various wall paintings depicted great deeds of days passed. Rhys was engrossed with the details of this ancient mural to the last when he looked at the center of the room to the giant pedestal. Atop the pillar was a tablet of strange material. His partner was reaching out to grab it, Rhys rushed forward to earn her of traps before she got herself killed. Then absolutely nothing happened. Of course Rhys had set off the only trap in the place, which had been for absolutely nothing.

   Rhys expelled the negative thoughts as his partner returned with their target. It was a beautiful piece of history and it made Rhys proud to return it to the world.

"Well done! We got what we came for. Lets get it back and we can check it out there." Rhys turned to exit the ruins but was stopped by Nova who insisted on tending to his wounds. It was nice to be done with the searing pain, but he hated to rely on others. He thanked her as the pair left the ancient mountainside.

    As they returned to the arid desert sun Rhys stopped to pick up the body of his fallen foe. The deceased mountain lion had yet to be touched by the carrion birds that were likely nearby. Rhys scooped up the beast to take with them back to the village. Its gamey meat would be used for stew, it's fur as clothing of some sort, and remaining bits used for various other uses that Rhys rather not think about.

  The heat of the desert sun was in full bloom as the pair made their way back to the village. It would be some time before the two made it back, and it was too hot for conversation. The heavy burden of the mountain lion lie heavy on Rhys's shoulders, and his mind. One of them had to die, but that was only because Rhys had invaded it's home. It was defending what was his. Rhys had been the raider and that was what made him feel guilt. He would be sure to avoid making the same mistakes that he had made today, ever again.

  After a few hours of walking, the towering figure of the village rose out of the horizon. The pair quickened their pace as their home grew closer. So with another successful job completed, Rhys and his partner Nova returned to Sunagakure. They would claim their reward for their efforts.

Exit

(911) (3048 total)

2700 for 600 ryo reward
325 for Speed from D to D1 -25ryo

23 wc leftover