Journey West 15: The Gun Slinger

    The Black Circus, or rather where it was is a distance behind the party now; they think. With all the zigzagging that the roads out here seem to want to do it’s hard to tell just how far they’ve actually gone. They are currently walking along the side of a dusty mountain along a thin road. Hollia looks down the side of the mountain, across its sparse dead grass, sandy spots, and sees below them another path down by the river they have been heading towards. She knows the path they are on will up ahead curve back, and that in a few hours hopefully the path she is looking down at will be where they will be and looking back up here where they are now. It’s an exhausting thought, and not the first time she’s been able to see the path they will be curving back on just to move around.

   As much as Hollia wants to just cut across the desert, or fly, she knows better. They are getting further into Magnus territory and don’t need to attract any potential attention from scouts or travelers who might be around any blind curve anymore than they are just by looking the way they do and traveling out here on foot with no wagon or horses. Not to mention what happened the last time they decided to try and take a short cut, a lesson in why the roads are way they are; above hard rock layers, mapped and laid down in ancient times and maintained by travel.

   “It was just yesterday,” thinks Hollia, “when we ran into that sandworm.”

   Her mind drifts back to yesterday, they had been on a road similar to this one winding around another mountain, a mountain easily still in view today, and close enough that the road around it and the small town on top of it around a man-made covered lake are still visible as well. They had decided to try and cut some time off by cutting across the grassy slope between the roads. No sooner had they stepped off the road than a sand worm attacked them. Hollia shivers at the memory. It all felt like slow motion, just a few steps off the road and Cata yelled out as her ear twitched, “something’s coming!”

   Hollia remembers the ground under her feet giving way and seeing the massive beak like head of the sand worm, its four piece jaw lined with large backwards facing hook teeth gobbling up the dirt and grass as it lunged out of the ground intent on swallowing her and Lin Lin. Had Rhulan not flown over as fast she had, scooping up Hollia in one arm and snatching Lin Lin from the air with the other she’d be worm food right now. They retreated back to the road, she remembers that an instant later Gold Wolf was punching the sand worm in its head forcing it to retreat; but by then it would have been too late. Neither her defense aura nor any spells she could have done in such a short amount of time would have saved her from the crushing and ripping jaws of the monstrous beast. They decided to stay on the road after that; Rhulan had revealed how these roads were made in her time, not just plant wards like back east but wards specifically against these sand worms; along with being made on as rocky a ground as possible.

   Since yesterday they’ve only had to fend off a few small Blood Sand Swarms, easily taken care of with a Fire Womph or Fire Ball. While Hollia has been remembering all these have walked down and reached the rocky stream.

   “Okay,” says Gold Wolf looking at the sky, “Guess its time to make camp again, we havn’t seen another person since yesterday.”

    “Agreed,” says Rhulan, “Betty if you could, please fill the canteens at the stream while we set up camp.”

   Betty heads off with a “yes, sir,” and a smile.

   After a little while has passed and the camp is set up Hollia asks, “Where is Miss Betty?”

  They look down by the stream to see she isn’t there. A few quick leaps by Cata and she’s down there.

  “Holy Shit!” screams Cata, “there! She’s walking down the river…but…she’s like in a trance and…what the hell is that thing?”

   Rhulan shoots up and flies over faster than anyone else, “damn!” yells Rhulan as she sees what Cata saw, before she flew to the other side of the river swords out and is rushing at it; a large red flower, partially opened up to reveal a pink skinned naked woman inside.

   Rhulan yells, “Gold Wolf grab Betty, Hollia with me!”

   Gold Wolf jets off and grabs Betty by the arms, “Betty!” he yells, “what the hell is wrong with you?”

   But she does not respond, her eyes are glazed over as she slowly tries to walk towards the flower.

   Much to everyone’s surprise rather than coming to Cata’s aid Rhulan has cut her off, spreading her arms out and saying, “stop.”

   “What?” hisses Cata, “We have to kill that monster, it was trying to eat Betty!”

   “No,” says Rhulan, “that’s not a monster, it’s a Red Venus Flower…and it was trying to mate with Betty; and unless you want that really awkward experience I suggest turning back…aw shit..”

   She turns to Hollia, “We are all down wind, we need you to change the direction of the wind back at the flower…but be subtle about it.”

   Hollia raises her staff to the air, a green glow envelopes it, a few soft words from her lips and the wind goes from towards them, to towards the flower.”

   “How does that help?” hisses Cata, “now it will have our scents!”

   Rhulan ignores her and speaks to Gold Wolf, “Get Betty back to camp and give her something to drink, she’s under the influence of the Venus Flower’s pollen.”

   “Any who, now Cata,” says Rhulan, “There is a good chance we’ve all gotten a whiff of that pollen already, Betty just had the most exposure being by the stream, with your Kuhrai senses you’d be under her spell before you got with in thirty feet. If you’re lucky she’ll mate, if your not, she’d eat you…and given that they regularly eat fur covered mammals I don’t think you’d want to chance it even if you were so inclined to want to have sex with a hermaphrodite flower creature.”

   Cata gives her a questioning look as she puts her swords away, “yeah…I’m straight, but at any rate are you sure it’s safe to let that thing stay alive.”

   Rhulan looks up as Gold Wolf is flying by with Betty, who is now resisting a little to try and fly to the Venus Flower, “well so far its not…”

   “Give her back!” yells the Red Venus Flower.

   “What the fiery hell?!” yells Rhulan turning towards it dumbfounded, something that really startles Hollia as she lands next to them with Lin Lin hovering around her.

   The Red Venus Flower turns towards them, the petals fully opening. They can see clearly now the Pink skinned with red haired woman inside the blossom is connected to the plant via three large green semi-clear vines, one from the base of her (spine) and two from off the shoulder blades. Hollia had heard of these creatures but not in any great detail.

   “Since when can these things talk?” says Rhulan genuinely dumbfounded.

   She looks at it like a confused dog and then places her finger on the side of her face, thumb under her chin, studying it, “and why would it expose its central body like that?”

   “Did you hear me!” yells the Red Venus Flower, “give me back my chosen maiden? She’s mine!”

   “Interesting,” says Rhulan, “I know these plants seduce women…and sometimes men, implanting into their lower cavities a multitude of little black seeds, via…well an act best described as imitating human sexual congress. But I’ve never known one to ever actually speak before…didn’t know they were intelligent enough to learn to speak…fascinating.”

   “yeah, well,” says Cata drawing her blades again, “its getting pissed, so what are we up against?”

   “Give her back!” yells the Red Venus Flower, her cheeks puffing up, “Okay, that’s it, I’m kicking your asses….then taking your asses you…you…witches!”

   The human like body withdraws into the trunk below the blossom going below ground as the blossom closes like a spiral red tear drop. They hear a brief rumble before four massive green tree trunk woven vine like structures erupt from the ground like four massive legs. They lift what looks to be a green bulb below the flower into the air while tipping the blossom down; making the central body almost resemble an hourglass. They can kind of make out the form of the woman inside the bulb, curled up in the fetal position.

  “Miss Rhulan,” says Hollia nervously, “Uh…how…do we fight this?”

   “Fire?” suggests Cata who quickly says, “never mind,” as she sees flames manifest and circle around the blossom.

  “Oh yeah,” says Rhulan nonchalantly, “the red ones can manifest fire.”

   “Red ones?” says Cata

   “Yeah there’s several species of these around the world, but no time to explain that now.”

   “So how do we fight this?” asks Cata.

   “Its slow moving,” says Rhulan pointing out the obvious as it hasn’t really moved from where it emerged but appears to be slightly lifting it “legs” in an attempt to go forward, “Likely its going to shoot the…dodge!”

   *fwoosh!*

   They jump aside as the circling flame shoots at them. Another one manifesting around the blossom in its place.

   “Its not going to try and kill us,” she says, “but with the healing oils inside its body its not likely to care about seriously hurting us, but as for fighting it…well…its body is like armor, it’s a thousand times stronger than most Aesperians, and aside from that fire its also emitting that pollen, so when we get to close to hit, we’ll be drugged. So our choices are either run, or blast it until it’s down or stops moving. As much as I’d rather not kill something that’s just trying to mate…for you Cata this might be a fight not to get eaten we may have no other choice. I’d rather not be host to its young so.”

   Rhulan raises her hand to the air, a blue sphere appearing there…but before she can attack they hear a most unusual sound.

    *pi, pi, pi, pi, pi, pi, pi,*

    The Red Venus Flower flinches as tiny yellow sparks hit the bulb. It tries to turn to face across the river. There they all see the source of the sound is a pair of pistols being held by a short thin woman. She would appear to be a little out of place, with her daisy dukes shorts with a gun strap and hiking boots, her too small even for her frame white t-shirt under a denim vest, and her white cowboy hat over her short spiky grey hair; which sport another surprise, as this woman has two long grey rabbit like ears sticking up from her head through holes in the brim of the hat. When she turns one can also see she has a small rabbit tail poking through a hole in her daisy dukes.

   They are brought back to the matter at hand as a loud *crash, splash* draws them back to the Red Venus Flower, which would appear to have tripped over its own legs while trying to turn.

   “oh,” says Rhulan, “right…totally forgot you can easily confuse them and trip them up by attack from multiple directions at once
thanks to their poor eye sight when it this state…”

   Rhulan shrugs, “well, its not like I ever fought these things on a regular basis.”

   “Yo ladies,” says the new mystery woman, “if you eastern city slicker super-hero types are done having your tea party how we all run away before the giant rape ya flower gal gets up and gets her second wind!”

   The mystery bunny-girl runs up stream on her side of the river as the Red Venus Flower starts to spin like a crocodile, digging its “legs” into the bank of the stream and pulling its self towards land.

   “Right,” says Rhulan, “let’s fly!”

   They all take to the air and head towards camp.

   “We’re still going to be upwind from it.” says Cata

   “They don’t have a strong sense of smell,” says Rhulan, “and even worse eyesight, I remember that much about them. And thankfully we have two things to our advantage, if we’re lucky and out of sight before it rights its self it wont remember which way we flew off in relation to it, and we’re heading up stream…which we should at least pack the camp up again and get some better distance between us and that Red Venus Flower just to be safe.”

    Cata thinks to herself, “well obviously….and what’s with this lady and being hesitant about killing these monsters?”

   Back at camp Betty is coming out of her daze and looking around confused; she’s not the only one as Gold Wolf is just standing there looking right at the bunny-girl who had just arrived from down river…who is just looking at Gold Wolf with an expression that reads “and?”.

    “We need to pack up camp and go further upstream,” says Rhulan, “Betty if you’re up to, if not take a few deep breaths and drink some more water, the pollen should wear off in a short while…and…Gold Wolf, this young lady just helped us stop the Red Venus Flower back there, but it might figure out which way we went and head this way…and yes before you ask, yes the plant can get up and move around.”

    “Trust me uncle,” adds Hollia, “as cool looking as it was you don’t want to see it.”

   “Gold Wolf,” says Rhulan, “…if the elf is done staring blankly at the bunny-girl like she’s a ghost then he can help us pack up and get the hell out of here.”

   “E…elf..t..t..t..” snickers the bunny-girl, “the great Gold Wolf is *snickers* an elf…”

    *awwhaahaahaaa*

   She holds her sides and laughs like a woman possessed, “heh, heh, hehhh,” she holds her sides and wipes a tear from her eye, “sorry man, but Gold Wolf being an elf is too rich…the great bad-ass Gold Wolf, the demon warrior, master of the martial arts and one of the toughest super-heroes around is really an elf from a magical world. Man that is just too good ya know.”

   “Viana the Gun Slinger,” says Gold Wolf practically growling, “How’d you get to this world?”

   “How’d I get here?” she says hands on hips, “seriously though man, I heard of elves but never saw one before…or I thought, but man, to be honest seeing ole Gold Wolf here wandering about the Aesperian deserts is just too rich, back on the other side we’d heard you was seen traveling through Arizona, New Mexico, and into Texas before you vanished from the all seeing eyes of big brother. I was called in from my vacation in fact to see if I could track him down and see what he was doing so far away from home on our turf. I didn’t expect to track him down to a dimensional ripple back to my home though.”

   “hold on,” says Cata with a suspicious tone, “you know this man from the world he came here from? So its not a coincidence we ran into you. Are you saying you followed him here from there? If that’s so then how long have you been following us?”

   “Well damn,” says Viana, “didn’t keep that down like I planned, then again I never was the planning sort. To be honest I’ve been following you lot since Sae-Crita, kept my distance though.”

    “Impossssible,” hisses Cata, “I would have known.”

   “Come on now cat-lady,” says Viana, “for a bunny like me, avoiding being noticed by a big ole predator is lesson one.”

    “Wait a minute.” Interrupts Gold Wolf, “ You said *back home* Viana the Gun Slinger, member of the South Western Branch of the
Heroes of America Organization…you’re from Aesperia?”

    “Yep,” says Viana with a shrug.

    “I read up on potential Hero members to expect when I came to America,” he says, “and your bio said you were some magical rabbit woman from a mystical fairy tale world.”

    She shrugs and waves her hands indicating everything around her, “and what you call this world compared to Earth?”

    She doesn’t wait for him to answer before continuing, “but speaking of BS bios, yours says ya’ll from some demon world where might and power determines whose in charge.”

    He does a mocking gesture of her gesture indicating the world they are in.

   “Riiiight…” she says rolling her eyes.

   Betty shakes her head sitting up, the pollen finally wearing off, she sees Viana through blurry eyes, “Fi Fi?...no…who…you…you’re different…”

   “She’s a Western Bunny Girl,” says Rhulan while helping Betty up, “similar in appearance, a little less rabbit like, not quite as libidinous as their eastern counterparts either.”

    “Miss Rhulan,” asks Hollia, “Um, what are Miss Viana and my uncle talking about?”

    Before Viana can fully say, “Uncle?” a *Flash* of yellow light appears.

    “I can answer that one,” says Corinth appearing, “and by the way I cast a sleep spell on that plant monster I saw you all fighting earlier, it was starting to come this way…you know when you all were supposed to be packing up and leaving rather than discussing your back stories…”

    She looks at Rhulan who just shrugs and smiles.

    Corinth goes *hmm*, and shrugs as though she and Rhulan have some unspoken understanding of the situation.

    “Any way,” says Corinth, “as I was saying, too begin and keeping with this trend I’ll give you a bit of my back story.”

    She floats down and lands next to Betty before continuing and in a strangely upbeat tone, “I am a mystery, I am complexing, I am riddle wrapped in a bunch of other riddles. I normally play the part of the mysterious stranger who tests the heroes during their journey and gives them cryptic clues; however that’s not why I came here and clearly I have been playing this role to the wrong crowd. You are a bunch of very mysterious and complex individuals. As I am playing to the same crowd I myself am usually part of, here’s…the honest truth.”

    She smiles as she looks around, “I am a priestess from a far away world, I came here as a sensed a connection to my world…or rather the world I was on. I sensed the Light went from that world to this world; so I followed her here, to try and learn more about her. I do believe the people of this world know her as The Goddess.”

    This gets Hollia’s attention, one of if not the major course of her studies at Stratalia was white magic, around which is based study of veneration of The Goddess, said to be the source of all light and shadow in the universe, the light of the Goddess being the source of all white magic. This however earns Corinth a raised eyebrow and crossed arms by Rhulan, a shrug by Betty, and Gold Wolf along with Viana exchange odd glances mostly saying unmentioned between them that this floating weirdo just stole their spotlight.

    Corinth continues with out missing a beat, “When I got here I went right to the spot where I sensed what my people call the Eye of the Light…aaaaeee…kind of dimensional ripple in which she will watch, usually while with a chosen individual like a little ready room.”

   Rhulan rolls eyes, a gesture that goes un-noticed by everyone who are all focused on Corinth as she continued, “when I got here however I found all sorts of ripples, to the Land of the Dead, to various other worlds, to this white pocket dimension with a white mansion ju…”

   “You went to the white space?!” shouts out Betty.

   “Yeah,” says Corinth, “like right before I came here…total mess, looked like someone trashed the place. Not like a fight…more
like just trashed it for the hell of it.”

    Betty looks relieved which confused Corinth.

   “Any way,” says Corinth, “also a bunch of alternate versions of this one planet also seem to connect this to this universe; the continents on it all look very similar, give or take some minor details like locations of in-land seas and cities and forest, etcetera, except the typical spherical worlds. Total mess most of them, pollution, over population, zombies, energy domed in cities ruled by uber-beast people monsters, worlds with secret societies of wizards, supernatural people, oh and I ran into a world that has the same signature as the one that is clinging to those two a little.”

    She indicates Gold Wolf and Viana with her cane, “yeah a very unusual world, a place where weak…normal I guess, humans are both victims too and protected by super-humans. Of course that means nothing here when anyone from this world clearly would be super-human on that world.”

    Hollia looks at Rhulan, “She means like those…Proto-Humans you mentioned before Miss Rhulan?”

   “Yeah,” says Rhulan.

   “Any who,” says Rhulan stepping toward Corinth, “you sound an awfully lot like I have in the past when I would…talk down to heroes, the whole I’m not as cloak and daggers as I seem bit. This demeanor is too much like me, and too different than how you’ve been acting. I don’t believe you came to this conclusion or went to those worlds all on your own…and I know who specifically sent you on this little mission to deliver this little message hidden in this otherwise pointless rambling.”

    Rhulan stands silent for a moment as everyone realizes Corinth also has stopped talking, all is silent except for Viana who leans in to Gold Wolf, “am I missing something here, or are these two sisters…or what.”

    Gold Wolf doesn’t respond in time before Corinth says, “As I would except from a fellow daughter of the Light.”

    “Yeah well,” says Rhulan, “if there were ever a family reunion I’m pretty sure you’d be at the kiddie table. So you can tell…mom…if she wants to give me a message she can just come here in person rather than sending her latest little suck up brat to do it.”

    Corinth’s eyes grow cold as she clutches her staff between tightening fingers, her tone much more serious and holding back an anger with in, “You…would do well to show the Goddess of Light and Shadow some respect.”

    “Oh I show her respect,” says Rhulan who leans towards Corinth, “I just don’t like all these cryptic bull shit games she likes to play with the little youngsters.”

    Rhulan holds the back of her hand to her mouth and laughs, “Any who, you’ll learn sooner or later, I bet since your delivering her little messages that she’s started to act less cryptic and more…human, around you right. Well…”

   Rhulan shrugs, “any who, you’ll see, can’t really put it in words about her…but I guess that makes sense given what she is. So you run along now little Corinth, daughter of the Light, priestess to the mother of this universe.”

   Corinth glares at Rhulan

   *Flash*

   The Corinth is gone.

   “Miss Rhulan,” says Hollia meekly, “Was Miss Corinth really talking about the Goddess, as in our Goddess being the same as her Light? I mean…is it okay to talk like…I mean even for you Miss Rhulan…like that about The Goddess?”

   Rhulan smiles down at Hollia and speaks in a softer tone, “Oh don’t worry Hollia, I’d never talk to the goddess herself in such a condescending manner or out right demand anything from her. I just have never really been one to give much credence to those who speak on behalf of a divinity; you should always remember the followers of a divinity no matter their station are never the same as the divinity it’s self and as such can never truly speak on its behalf even when given a message by the divinity.”

   Rhulan looks around, “Any who, I mean she probably gave Corinth some revelation and she decided to share it with us in her own cryptic between the lines way like it was meant for us or something.”

   “Oh,” says Hollia, “I think I understand now.”

   Gold Wolf’s eye twitches as he thinks, “Great, you just told her to ignore priest….wait…I don’t give a shit about that.”

   Gold Wolf shrugs.

    ******

    The party has been picking up camp and is ready to move on. A quick jaunt into the air by Gold Wolf scouting reveals the Red Venus Flower downstream has disappeared, however Rhulan tells them it could have just burrowed underground so they should still head out. All this aside however Gold Wolf is curious as to one thing; why Viana is still sticking around and has even been helping them pack up; granted he might guess as she watches the supplies vanish into Rhulan’s cape as its spread on the ground, metal tentacles grabbing the items and pulling them in. The Heroes always were a group interested in new technology…

   “Hold on,” thinks Gold Wolf, “All that crap distracted me from something…right!...Viana….here…on Aesperia, from Aesperia, been tracking me and keeping silent enough that I nor Cata…”

   He looks at Rhulan and thinks, “and…I assume she didn’t know either…” he squints for a moment, “no telling with that crazy witch.”

   He looks back at Viana, “but she didn’t need to jump out and help us, to reveal herself, so why…”

   “Hold on,” says Gold Wolf out no where much to everyone’s surprise, “Okay, I’m the guide here, and something’s bothering me, why is this gun slinging bunny-girl still here…and why…” he looks right at her, “did she tell us she’s been following us all this time and just now revealed herself huh?”

   “You read my bio right?” says Viana, “so you know that teleporting move I have right? Well I can come and go from Aesperia anytime I want with a special device I have. So I’m not always on Aesperia, I go to Earth to the equivalent spot and come back to the equivalent spot…so long as nothing other than air and dirt is there anyways.”

    “That’s not what I asked,” says Gold Wolf.

   “Oh?” says Viana, “I thought you were asking how I could follow your trail, vanish, to a safer world….relatively speaking… and catch up with you just in time to help save your back sides…double on..ton..enten…well shoot, double meaning intended; and in case your asking, no its just like the one I know you got, only one person can use it.”

    Viana laughs a little, “Besides home world aside I’m surprised to see ya wandering around aimlessly from town to town out here. Ya know I’m not just a hero back home, I’m a well known bounty hunter out in these parts too and I ain’t never heard of ya being out here.”

    Gold Wolf leers at her, “I’m from Calif.”

   “Oh,” says Viana, “so I’m right you’re just wandering around in circles. Weird, I’d have thought a group like this would have a real reason to be wandering about.”

    “We do,” interrupts Rhulan, “we are traveling across the desert to Calif…as insane as that sounds; and trying not to be spotted in the process by the Magnus Empire. However it has occurred to me through out this journey that Gold Wolf aside from the Sae-Kingdom doesn’t really know his way around out here. Which would explain why we all have to decide at every cross-roads which way to go, and opted on the simple plan of following a river which could or could not be out of the way of the roads we’d need to be on or avoid.”

   Everyone looks at Gold Wolf, “yeah, well, I have an atlas of this area from back on Earth…the topography is almost the same.”

   “Don’t we have a high tech map?” interjects Cata.

   “Yeah,” says Betty, “but I like can’t make out any roads on it.”

   “Dirt trails amongst dirt surroundings,” says Rhulan, “I do believe a proper guide may be in order.”

   “Well in that case,” says Viana, “I’ll show you folks around, ya know be your local guide, seeing as I am from here and all.”

   “Hold on,” says Gold Wolf sternly, “Why would you do that?”

   “Well because,” says Viana, “its an adventure, I’m a hero, and I do still have orders to follow you Gold Wolf and keep an eye on you; so I figure tagging along with your group beats following from a distance; plus I’m getting sick of hearing about all the fun ya’ll keep having while I’m following your foot steps.”

    The party look at each other, Cata and Betty shrug, Gold Wolf is against it; but as Hollia says in the huddle, “we have had others tag along for not much better a reason, and uncle you did say she’s a hero or something right, a good guy?”

   Gold Wolf *sighs* he doesn’t like it but.

   “Okay,” says Hollia, “I mean…” she looks at Rhulan before continuing, “Yes, we welcome you as our guide Miss Viana.”

   Viana smiles while thinking, “good, so if they run into another inter-dimensional circus or some-thin I can be by their sides and have fun to instead of watching in the stands.”

   Viana looks at Rhulan, “besides the tall Amazon witch woman looks an awfully lot like someone on our most wanted list back home….hmmm…come to think o’it that blond one looked just like her too, and they were talking all funny like about all this mixed up time space junk.”

   She shrugs as the rest of the gear is packed up and they are ready to head on down the road with Viana leading the way.

    *Viana the Gun-Slinger has joined the party*