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Post by Shenks on Jul 31, 2018 0:27:32 GMT -5
A rough, wide dirt road wedged it's way between a thick jungle on a cloudy day. A large fishing village could be seen in the distance and every few minutes a different truck would drive in or out. In the back of one dirty, red truck heading into the village was a hitch hiker in a green gi waking up from a nap.
Once in the village, the truck stopped and the passenger hopped out and began mosing around town. After buying an exotic fruit at the local market, he walked onto the docks and started talking to the residents asking about any rumours of easy money. Most of them started listing jobs that were available, but this fellow wasn't interested in "working".
The man sat at the edge of the dock just about ready to give up and take a dreaded job when an ape person leaned over his shoulder curiously out of nowhere.
"Hey, looking for some quick cash?" He inquired.
The man swung his head to see the ape, responding cautiously: "Yeah, do you know of any opportunities?"
The man had just about used up all his saving on his travels so far and had barely started his journey! He was in deaperate need for a big chunk of money. If it wasn't for this, he probably wouldn't even have given the monkey the time of day. He felt like he could just smell a scam or something, but desperate times...
"Actually, yes. There's a way to get your mits on a nice bounty, but it's dangerous. You look strong. What's your name? Mine's Enji!"
"I'm Shenks" Shenks looked at Enji cautiously. "Tell me about this cache you know about."
[283 words]
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Post by Shenks on Jul 31, 2018 14:09:12 GMT -5
After Enji gave Shenks details about the treasure and where to find this Pyramid, Shenks went on his way. He traveled through the thick of the jungle. The brush opened into a massive gorge filled with deadly hazards and a rope-bridge across which if one would fall it would mean certain death. Shenks carefully examined the terrain, his furry brown tail undulating as he pondered. Finally he simply took off and flew effortlessly over the gorge. On the other side the tip of the pyramid could just be seen poking up from above the trees.
At the foot of the pyramid there was what must have been a thousand steps leading to a grand entrance shaped like the jaws of a serpent. Inside were a myriad of deadly traps, and the place was littered with the corpses of failed looters. Shenks landed down at the entrance from above and stepped in. As he stepped through the jaws they clamped shut in an attempt to crush him before opening back up, but Shenks' senses and timing allowed him to avoid it without unnecessary movements. He slowly and gracefully stepped through as his poise made the spears, poison darts, and giant swinging axes seem to go out of their way to avoid him.
[211 words]
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Post by Shenks on Jul 31, 2018 22:41:10 GMT -5
Shenks dusted off his hands as he lamented at the ease to which he was able to veritably waltz through the so-called death trap. He even managed to loot a few of the corpses of his fallen predecessors. The man took his first few steps away from the trap-hall and into the treasure room. It was massive and nearly empty, with a few coins scattered here and there, except for a staircase leading to a large throne with a statue sitting atop. At the foot of the pharaoh-looking statue was a golden treasure chest. Shenks' eyes were locked on the prize as he zipped up the stairs, kneeling before the throne, he opened the chest. As it cracked open, he could see that it was full of gold and jewels, but his victory was short lived as he felt an intense intent to kill. He leaped back as the chest was slammed shut by being struck by a large halberd wielded by what Shenks had dismissed as a statue. It was actually a living mummy, and it was anything but feeble.
Without a moment's waste the monster darted for Shenks again, slashing at him mid-air with a terrifying roar. Shenks' lapel was ripped slightly by the slash as he barely avoided being cut. He touched down on the ground at the bottom of the steps to the throne and the beast came crashing down with a stab, driving his diamond halberd into the ground, cracking the floor as his target evaded once again. Shenks thought to himself that he was going to have to stay in contact with the ground if he wanted to deal with the mummy's lightning-fast attacks. One mistake and Shenks would be dead. This beast seemed to outclass him as far as combat ability went, and he knew he would need to use his head to overcome this one.
[313 words]
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Post by Shenks on Aug 2, 2018 20:45:34 GMT -5
The large hall was quite empty aside from the two combatants facing off. There was only one door, and that would lead back to the hall full of traps. Shenks knew that if he faced this Pharaoh head on he was toast. His only option was the door. The beast had enough squaring off. A ethereal growl coming from him turned into a coherent phrase:
"WHOEVER DARES INTERLOPE IN THE BLOOD PHARAOH'S TOMB DIES!" His voice shook the very walls of the pyramid and the low tone erupted from his lungs. As the last words escaped his preserved, bandaged wrapped body, he exploded forward to attack Shenks. The Blood Pharaoh's eyes were glowing green, leaving an afterimage of hazy green light whenever he moved. The was massive and muscular, yet moved like a cheetah.
Charging at Shenks, the undead beast slashed and stabbed with his jewel encrusted halberd as the man continuously leaped back to avoid the attacks, each one closer than the last. Finally the halberd was in range but struck the arch of the doorway to the trap room. The Blood Pharaoh's Halberd was useless in narrow spaces like that. Shenks smirked but the little victory was short-lived. The beast without hesitation dropped his weapon in exchange for Shenks' throat which he snatched up with an unexpected dash. Shenks grasped the hands of the Pharaoh in a futile attempt to break free. The beast lifted him up into the air by his neck and frowned with a deeply violent intent about his half-wrapped face. Shenks continued to struggle helplessly as he was carried over to a deep pit. He dangled over the seemingly bottomless hole at the mercy of his captor.
[283 words]
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Post by Shenks on Aug 4, 2018 1:20:51 GMT -5
The Blood Pharaoh gripped Shenks' throat, holding him over the pit in the trap hall. Shenks tried in vain to pry the beast's fingers off. With his other hand, the Blood Pharaoh delivered a powerful blow to Shenk' torso, letting him go as the force sent him slamming into the wall above the pit with such an impact that a cloud of dust filled the air, obscuring the view. The body fell into the shadows below, but as the dust settled enough to see, it became apparent that it was debris that fell down below, and not Shenks' body.
He was actually poised in a squat with his feet sticking on the wall he had been thrown into. The Blood Pharaoh also just noticed that Shenks was holding a few of his bandages, but it was too late. The Blood Pharaoh's weight was leaning forward from punching Shenks and he didn't have the bearing to resist Shenks' sudden and unexpected tug on the very bandages that wrapped around the beast' body. A terrifying roar reverberated throughout the pyramid as the Blood Pharaoh fell into it's own pit trap. The bottom was so far and dark that it was impossible to see what became of him.
[205 Words]
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Post by Shenks on Aug 5, 2018 16:37:12 GMT -5
Shenks dusted off his hands once again as he strolled back into the treasure room of the pyramid. He marched up the stairs as he reflected on his triumph. A goofy smirk washed across his face until his eyes fixed upon the treasure chest - or where it used to be! The throne was bare. The treasure was nowhere to be found, and now that he thought about it, even the bejeweled halberd that the beast dropped was gone.
"Dammit! What happened?" He asked himself, puzzled.
On his way out of the pyramid he looted what he could from the remaining corpses. All he ended up with was a pocket full of zeni, a couple of gold coin, and what looked like a pretty decent looking curved short sword. It was a nice haul, but he could have collected all of this stuff without almost being killed by a mummified pharaoh.
Back at the village docks Shenks was leaning over the pier eating a fruit he bought in one hand and a grilled fish on a stick in the other hand. He was now wearing the sword he found at his waist, wrapped around the back. He chewed with purpose as his eyes fixated on nothing in particular. He was lost in thought trying to figure out what had happened.
"Hey!" someone yelled out a few times before getting close enough to catch Shenks' attention. It was a young fisherman. Shenks looked at him in acknowledgement when he approached and started to talk.
"You just come back from the pyramid?" He asked.
"Yeah actually, but someone beat me to the treasure..." Shenks' replied. The boy's face washed over with disbelief.
"You mean you defeated the guardian and made it past all of the traps?" He shot back with another question.
"Yeah, but it was all for nothing." Shenks' responded.
"That monkey-man you were talking to earlier has been baiting adventurers to take a shot at the treasure there for a few months. Every single time he secretly follows them. And every time he returns shortly after, and no one ever sees them again. I bet that pyramid is full of their bodies." He explained. Throughout the explaination Shenks' eyes widened and the chewing of his food became faster and less mindful.
"What?! So that ape has been leading people to their deaths just to get his hands on the treasure??" Shenks confirmed.
"Yes, and I saw his ship flying past the village a few hours after you left, so I'm assuming he followed you in a lifted the treasure right under your nose while you distracted the guardian of the temple. It is a miracle that you survived!" He said.
"Did you see which direction he went?" Shenks asked.
The fisherman pointed in the direction that Enji's ship took off toward, and mentioned that if Shenks didn't have a ship of his own, he probably wouldn't be able to catch up. In the next few moments Shenks hurriedly stuffed the rest of the fruit in his mouth and swallowed it whole, and then stuck the fish in his mouth and pulled out the stick with all of the fish bones intact and still on the stick, having picked off the meat in the second that it was in his mouth. He reached into his pocket and flicked a gold coin into the fisherman's hand.
"Oh! Thank y--!" The fisherman replied, before stumbling off-balance as a gust of strong wind created by Shenks taking off in flight hit him. In second Shenks had taken to the sky. A blue aura blazed around his body as he shot out into the air in the direction the fisherman had pointed out.
"Will I really be able to catch up to him? I don't even know what his ship looks like! Will I be fast enough?" He asked himself. He came to the decision that he would fly to the next bigger city and ask around. Chance are that ape was going be trying to sell that treasure.
He soared through the sky over the dense tropical jungle as the roads beneath him slowly began to appear wider, the density of the trees becoming thinner, and the villages and settlements becoming bigger and more developed. He was making his way out of the jungle and closer to civilization.
Finally over the horizon as the sun was setting, Shenks could see the profile of a large city. A number of ships were hovering around it, sky scrappers stretched up, and smaller buildings spread out around it's borders. If he was going to hunt down Enji, he would probably be finding him here.
[words: 776]
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