LogFAQs > #897976101

As Winter followed Whiskey through the crack he had discovered from the map, Key explored a building that had been a storehouse, tapping his Keyblade against sections of flooring in search of a hollow sound that might lead him to another entrance. It did not take long for him to find the right section, tapping it once to allow the magic of the Keyblade to open it up and reveal what he sought: a ladder descending into a round pit. He made his way down that ladder, using his feet to test each rung and avoid a fall. At the bottom, roughly the same ten meters that Link had descended, he cast a minor spell to make a small flame appear at the tip of the Keyblade to provide light.

The light revealed Fox standing in one of the passages, and Key immediately raised his weapon, but the Orc said, shaking his head, "Don't be so jumpy. It's a maze down here. Too many people digging in too many directions. Lost track of my companion after we went down the well." He snorted. "So it looks like you're going to be her replacement, at least for now. Haven't seen anything moving, but there's a first time for everything."

"All right," Key replied, not taking his eyes off the two saw-bladed scimitars the Orc had in his hands. He had a sick feeling about the entire enterprise, but the chance to use his Keyblade to unlock one of the great secrets of the realm managed to keep him moving.

Archmage had entered the tunnels through a door he had discovered in a wine cellar attached to the ruins of a tavern, a small mote of light hovering next to his head to illuminate his surroundings. Ahead, he glimpsed a hulking silhouette, but it carried a torch, meaning that he faced another adventurer, not one of the Undead.

Game Lord noticed Archmage, nodded once, and disappeared down another passage. He had also entered through the well, choosing to methodically explore the tunnels while the Sun still hovered above the Ruins overhead. He guessed that the Undead might not be active -- or, at least, not as active -- during the day, and he had to make good use of the limited time available before they started to actively stalk him.

Archmage let the barbarian go, but he approached the tunnels with the same basic idea: explore, make good use of time, then prepare for the inevitable onslaught of Undead ... and a possible second face-to-face encounter with the might of Wukong.

Back at the well, Koga looked down into the darkness. He had noticed several of the others choosing that path, the one best known, and he had decided to pace himself and not be caught by surprise. That Darico had betrayed him so easily bothered him, so he resolved to be less nave, and he had waited for the coast to clear before he emerged from the shadows and tested the rope leading down into the well. He had been keeping count of the others, and he though he had accounted for almost all of them.

But 'almost all of them' did not mean 'all of them'. He only noticed Tomo approaching the well when she was almost upon him, her steps calm and measured.

"Oh! Um, hello! I --" Koga did not have a chance to finish his sentence.

"Hinin," Tomo said, her katana flashing as she decapitated him in a single motion, his head bouncing along the ground for a fair distance as his body collapsed, twitching, to the ground. Hinin. The term her people used for a non-person ... like a thief. Thieves had no honor, and could be killed by any samurai without fear of punishment. Koga, unfortunately, had talked loudly of being a thief at the bar the night before.

Tomo casually flicked the blood from her blade before resheathing it and climbing down the rope into the darkness, leaving the remains of Koga to lie next to the well.

(Cont.)
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-- I Abibde / Samuraiter
Laughing at Game FAQs since 2002.