On a beautiful sunny day, kids are heard playing. The sun is reflecting beautifully off of the streams of water. Schools of fish swim by as well as flocks of beautifully different colored birds. The trees, with their red, pink, purple, white, light blue, green and mixed color leaves, give shade to the Ram Bears napping underneath. The cool breeze gently blows through their different color furs of pink, purple, light blue and dark blue. Gentle creatures they are and very playful, only made aggressive when threatened or feels endangered.
Not too far from the lovely streams, through the forest, is a village of different shades of Orange like people. They're very kind and generous just like the creatures by the forest their village is hidden by. They live in harmony and peace. The village is called, Remer Keep, home of the Colonians. In the heart of the village is the statue of the one they call The Creator. It's a massive and huge water fountain that symbolizes peace, love and life. Everyday around 10 am, the whole village, well those who started believing in The Creator and not what they were taught by him, pray by his shrine like monument. But on this particular day, a young male Colonian named Oren, looks at the crowd of people outside with disgust.
Oren: "Since when was it ok to worship an idle figure of the creator? That's not what we built it for. It stood for a reminder of what he did here and what we are to do here. Be loving and peaceful and kind to one another. And to only pray to the one The Creator told us to pray to, known as TAMO."
He's instantly smacked in the back of the head. A light orange skinned girl, with long light blue hair, pink eyes and light blue lipstick, grins after smacking him. She heads to the back of the the room towards the kitchen.
Oren: "Well, its true you know. I bet they wouldn't be doing that if a Delestial or Delestine were around. And why u gotta hit me so hard Anya?"
He says while rubbing the back of his head. She giggles as she walks into the kitchen.
Anya: "Sorry bro, but I'm not very fond of you bad mouthing our people, even the lost ones. Everyone has a purpose, we just don't know what it is. And you're right, if they did come around more, I'm sure they wouldn't be doing that at all."
She walks back out carrying 3 plates of food. The plates are steaming hot and look delicious.
Anya: "Go get the little ones out back so we can eat please, we have a long trip ahead if us today. And I'd like to be on time for once."
Sighing to have to go get his younger siblings, he exits the front door and walks around to the back. As he gets closer to the back, he hears 3 girls and 2 boys playing what sounds like, swords. Grunts, karate sounds and yelling are all heard more and more.
Young Orange Boy 1: "Ahoy young scally wag!!! Take this, and this!!!"
With a swing of his wooden sword, he slices at the other young boy who blocks it with his wooden shield.
Little Orange Girl: "You're mine!"
Out of nowhere, a little orange girl jumps off of the little water tower, landing on Boy 1's back. He slams into the ground hard, sliding a bit as he lands.
Oren: "You probably should've kept your eye on Anissa more Orvi. Especially since she defeated Anika and Anina right when I walked up."
Orvi: "Yeah, but Orlo is hard to fight by himself. That's why I had to fight him from a distance."
He gets up dusting himself off with Anissa laughing and jumping around in victory.
Oren: "Sounds like Orlo's training's going really well then. As the second oldest of us boys, he should be the strongest one outta you guys. And Anissa, being the youngest if us all, should be weaker than the twins or just about even, but they seem to fluctuate between strengths at times I'm guessing."
Anina: "You'd be guessing right. Last week I was stronger. Today, my hyper active little sister is."
Anika: "Yeah, stronger than her but not me."
She smiles as Anissa runs up, giving her a huge hug.
Anissa: "You're still the greatest sis. Your skills are still better than mine, I'm just more aggressive when it comes to the counter attacking part."
They all walk back towards the house to the front door as Oren notices one of the idol worshipers looking towards him and his siblings as they walk in the house. He looks back and waves, but he receives no wave back just a slight, awkward looking smile and head nod. He walks in behind his younger siblings and closes the door behind him before he speaks.
Oren: "Man they're creepy. Especially that one. I mean every morning the kids go out back to play, and every morning she's there looking creepy. Man, I can't wait to leave today."
Anya: "You must be talking about old Lady Gurdy. She's nice, she used to raise mom and dad remember? You should be nice to her. And will you get away from that window and come eat. Your Soyrizo and Eggs are getting cold."
Oren: "Well, I for one..."
The knock on the door stops him mid step as he was almost to the table. He turns and follows behind his sister as she opens the door. Standing there is another old lady they know, whose also a friend of the family's. She also has light orange skin, light grey hair, standing 5'3" tall.
Anya: "Good morning Lady Grudy. We're just having break..."
Grudy: "Move out the way boy, and hurry up and shut the door."
She quickly shoves Oren out the doorway and enters. Anya notices the abruptness and quickly puts her dish down to help guide her to a chair. But she secretly motions towards the backroom and Anya responds by guiding her in that direction instead. Oren quickly follows behind, closing the door behind him once they enter inside.
Grudy: "That old bag of hot air sister of mine done did it again. I need you both to help me break her curse before it gets out of hand."
Anya: "Slow down Lady Grudy... Breathe and take a minute to..."
Grudy: "There's no time... Here..."
She opens her hand and puts a rusty red ring in it and closes it back.
Grudy: "Listen, this ring was made with 6 others like it, several years ago by my sister and the other elders. They are the keys to some very powerful majic weapons and a cure to the curse that was just put on our village a few days ago. If we don't..."
Bursting through the door while eating bread with gooey sauce dripping to the floor, is Anissa. Behind her walking slowly is Lady Gurdy. She's smiling kindly towards her sister and the others.
Anya: "Good thing you came to lay down for a bit Lady Grudy, are you feeling a little better? Oh, hi Lady Gurdy."
Gurdy: "Is my sister pestering you guys again?"
Oren: "Of course not. She was just a little faint and needed to rest a bit. I was just about to get her some water. Would you like a glass as well?."
Gurdy: "No thank you young sir, I'm not staying long. Just wanted to make sure my sister was alright is all. I saw her stumble her way in here and was concerned is all."
She smiles weirdly as she heads back to the door. She waves back at the little ones who all wave goodbye as they continue to scarf down their breakfast. Grudy immediately gets up , tearing a piece of cloth from her clothing and tying it across her head. A few seconds later, while walking towards the door, she hands it to Anya. She hugs her and Oren as she leaves, thanking them again for the great hospitality. Confused, they hug her back and all say bye to her as she walks in the opposite direction of her sister.
Oren: "Talk about weird eh sis? I wonder what she was talking about? And why was her sister acting so weird?"
She says nothing as she opens the cloth that now has writing on it. She reads the writing out loud so her brother can hear.
Anya: "I apologize for bringing you and your family into this mess, but the curse of Cannibal is true, not a rumor. I can't speak out loud for I may have a listening spell on me so this is the only way that I can communicate now. In 3 days, the village will change and everyone will be in danger to each other. This is a map to where the ring I gave you will open a portal to the distant land where this curse was placed. And the only place it can be broken. Do not look for me for they will be following me looking for the ring. They will come to you next if they find me and see I don't have it. But since you're already leaving on a family trip, they won't suspect you. Be careful for they will be watching you, even on your family trip. And of all things, do not gave the ring to anyone, ever."
As soon as she stops reading, the words on the cloth change from words to a map. Both their eyes grow big as she quickly closes it and puts it in her pocket. She touches her forehead and her brothers at the same time to communicate telepathically.
Anya: "We can't arouse suspicion and we can't let the little ones know until we've left for our trip or they'll blow it."
Oren: "Ok... Then let's get ready to go soon, I'm more than ready to go see mom and dad as much as you and the others, but I don't want to bring trouble with us."
Anya: "I don't either, so we might have to make a slight detour. I have an idea."
Acting perfectly normal as they have their conversation, the siblings go to eat breakfast with their other siblings. They give out orders to double check their bags to make sure they have everything, like deodorant, tooth paste, toothbrush, etc... The younger siblings respond without hesitation as they're all full from breakfast and are getting sleepy.
Anina: "We still get to sleep during the trip right?"
She asks, barely able to keep her eyes open as it is.
Anya: "Yes, the whole trip if you'd like. I told you guys I didn't mind, especially since you all stayed up so late last night."
Orvi: "We had to, the movies were so good. And even better when you watch them in order. The pirates of blood river, The pirates of vile coast and The pirates of savvy land are only the 1st installments of..."
Orlo/Orvi/Anissa: "The Pirate Wars!!!"
All 3 of the siblings jump up together as they say the title. They fall down laughing and giggling afterwards.
Oren: "Sounds to me like you guys are ready for movie number 4 this weekend, yeah?"
They laugh and agree with huge grins on their faces. Anya shakes her head as as she looks down at the time.
Anya: "Alright hurry and brush your teeth and stuff we're leaving soon."
She says as she starts cleaning the kitchen. She continues her mental conversation with her brother as he grabs the bags and loads them on the wagon.
Anya: "What do you think she meant by the ring being the key to powerful majic weapons? Do you think they really unlock majic weapons as well as open a dimension to another area?"
Oren: "If so, then they are as powerful as they say they are. But I've never heard of them before now. And the Cannibal Curse? Do you think its really real?"
Anya: "Lady Grudy isn't known for lying. And although I've heard of it before, I've only heard of it in stories just like you. But if it is true, then we will have to hurry and find the cure. Because from what the stories tell, everyone will start to eat all flesh and turn into dark flesh eating creatures."
Now, with the wagon fully loaded, the 2 oldest siblings get on the reigns as the younger ones pile up inside and fall asleep almost instantly. The Ostri Runners hooked up to the wagon, starts running slowly. Old Lady Gurdy watches from the statue as they slowly leave the village.
Not too much time later, they reach the next village over from theirs. Although they're just passing through, the people are waving and laughing joyously. One lady stops their wagon and offers them drinks and baked goods. They take them for their younger siblings, knowing they'll be hungry once they awaken. An older gentleman stops them and gives Oren a free medallion saying its a Mighty Medallion. He tells him it grants the wearer untold strength, endurance and stamina. And that although he believe it to be true, he never could get the darn thing to work. Oren graciously takes it and gives him a silver bracelet in return. He tells him this one will work, and all he has to do is say the words, "Armorment", and he will be in cased in a durable armor for protection. The armor will majically graft to his skin and is impenetrable. But, it only lasts 20-30 minutes at a time. Trying it out in front of him, the old man says the words Armorment and immediately, his skin is laced with the silver, metal, armor. He grins with glee as he graciously thanks him. Not being too long in Grassy Hill Village, they continue their journey. The 2 siblings eat more of the delicious baked goods given to them and drink the rest of their drinks. Not too far from the 3rd village that's quite some ways away from theirs and Grassy Hill, the 2 siblings stop to give their Ostri Runner a break. They feed them, give them water and stretch their legs a bit. It's not long after they are back on the road and finally reaching their halfway point, when the younger ones start to wake up.
Anissa: "Are we there yet? I'm hungry."
Orvi: "Me too."
Anina/Anika: "Me too."
Anya: "Orlo?"
But he says nothing, only nodding his head yes.
Anya: "Well you're all in luck. We have plenty of treats for you guys to eat. Have at it while we go inside and get a few supplies and get us a room."
She opens a large basket filled with food from when they were passing through Grassy Hill. She hands each one of them a plate and several snacks to start eating as she starts walking inside of the Inn to get them a room for the night. Oren stands by the wagon as his siblings munch in his ear loudly. He looks at the village's name, Swounder's Village. Wondering why that typical name was picked, he looks over at a guy who's staring at him from a distance. He doesn't flinch nor show fear as he shrugs off the staring and watches as his sister starts to walk back out of the Inn. He looks back over to where the guy was staring and notices he's no longer there. He receives the key from his sister and stretches before he speaks.
Oren: "I'm a go take a look around."
Anya: "Don't be gone long. And don't get into any trouble, please."
Oren: "Yeah, yeah, I know."
He walks off in the opposite direction the guy who was staring at him was in, towards a saloon. Its still a little light out, so getting himself a drink, he thinks, might bring a little fun to this trip. He walks inside and is immediately watched at as he heads to the bar.
Bar tender: "How old are you boy?"
Oren: "Old enough."
The bar tender looks at him as if to say, don't fool with me. And asks another question.
Bar Tender: "What'll you have?"
Oren: "A Clear Sparkle and a shot of Clean Clear, I'm trying to cut back."
The bar tender shakes his head and pours him a shot and a glass. He takes the shot first, shaking his head from the strength of it going down, then follows it with a few sips from the glass. He turns around on his stool to see what's going on in the saloon. He sees 2 card tables, a marble table and a board game table. There's plenty of Bronze, Silver and Gold Ovals being used to bet with. He smiles and takes another drink.
Oren: "What's the minimum bet my friend?"
Bar Tender: "Funny you should ask. Earlier it was 10 bronze ovals, now I think its 20."
Oren: "Wowzers!!! A whole Silver huh. Well, let me see what I feel like playing."
Bar Tender: "Oh, and careful at the marble table, they been cheating all day long."
Oren: "Is that right? Sounds like marbles it is. Thanks friend."
He takes another drink, finishing his Clear Sparkle and heads over to the marble table. He sits down and tosses 5 silvers on the table. 2 guys at the table look at the silvers and smirk. The Marble Shooter grabs the silvers and hands out a total of 10 white chips to him. He grabs them as he nods to the guy with the cowboy hat on. The second guy, smoking a black grass cigar, puffs and places his bet with 4 yellow chips. The third person, a girl with a red scarf around her neck, places her bet with 2 black chips. The Marble Shooter flicks the marble with his thumb across the table. It bounces around in a bubble across the table almost like a ball due to the grooves in the table. Skipping over several colors, pink, yellow, orange, red, blue, purple, black, white, silver and gold, the ball bounces all about. Having placed 3 white chips on the gold color, along with the girl with the red scarf around her neck, he leans back and smiles.
Red Scarf: "You look really confident boy. How old are you? 16 or 17?"
Oren: "16 in a half. I turn 17 in a few weeks."
Red Scarf smiles as the ball lands on Gold. Oren nods at her as the Marble Shooter collects the losers chips and gives out the winners chips. The guy with the black grass cigar gives Oren a glare.
Black Grass: "Name's Black Grass, that was a pretty good guess you had there. Either that or you're really good at reading the table."
Oren: "Just a lucky guess is all. I'm sure I won't be so lucky next time."
Side eyeing him, Black Grass gets his chips ready but waits for him to bet first this time. But his plan is foiled as Red Scarf places her bets first, one in the pink square color and one on the silver circle color. Oren places one bet on the pink. Black Grass looks at him and places his bet on silver, followed by the guy with the cowboy like hat on.
Black Grass: "Y'all hear about that curse going around? It's said to have started in Street City, next to Sands Ville."
Cowboy Hat: "Is that right? I heard it was just a rumor. Heard a bunch of ram bears went berserk and was taken down, and that's all. Nothing serious."
Black Grass: "Nope, killed one myself. Felt bad though, it wasn't a real creature or demon or nothing, it was a cursed Alterian. Poor..."
Marble Shooter: "Lucky color is pink. That's triple winnings."
Cut off by the marble shooter and hearing him say pink, stops him abruptly. He looks at Oren again and gets up from the table quietly, putting out his cigar.
Black Grass: "That'll do it for me gents, and lady, I'm out. Been a pleasure."
He heads to the bar for another drink. As he sits down, the guy staring at Oren earlier walks through the saloon doors. He looks terrible, as if he was fighting something. He starts itching and scratching his neck. Oren notices a bite mark on his neck and that he was also a Colonian like himself.
Oren: "Great."
Black Grass turns around just in time to see black smoke rise up around the guy, transforming him into a black creature with red horns, red claws and red teeth. His eyes are yellow and red and he looks hungry as he jumps on the first guy closes to him at the door. Oren, Cowboy Hat and Red Scarf stay seated at the table as everyone else scatters. Black Grass shakes his head and lights another cigar and blows out the smoke. The smoke forms into guns and he starts shooting at the creature, but it puts up a smoky barrier, blocking his majic rounds.
Black Grass: "Great, this ones a lot stronger than the last one I fought. Crap!"
He barely jumps out of the way as the creature lunges at him, slamming into the bar. Everyone's running out of the saloon and panicking, with Black Grass being chased and tackled out the window. They tumble a bit before the creature kicks him off of it. It growls at him but is caught around its neck by the Alterian woman's Red Scarf. She flips in front of it and sends a jolt of energy to it through her scarf. The creature let's out a roar of pain and rushes her. Quicker and more agile than it, she flips over it again, this time landing on its back. She kicks it in the back of its head trying to knock it out, but its only angered by the gesture. She releases her grip and jumps off its back. It quickly turns around and charges at her again. It starts running at her at full speed. She quickly twirls her scarf in front of her in a circular motion creating a window or door way. The creature runs through, unable to stop in time. She throws the scarf in the air, it opens up when it gets really high, like a huge blanket. Out of it drops the creature, tumbling down. From the height its tumbling from, it lands on its back hard, crashing through an Ostri Runner stable. Oren quickly leaps into action as he feels that didn't stop the creature either but doesn't want it to feed on any of the Runners. He leaps through what's left of the window and dashes across the road to the stables. He starts freeing the runners as fast as he can as the creature slowly starts to come to. It roars the second it sees him and lunges at him. He dodges almost with ease and lands a tremendous blow to its jaw. The creature's sent back a few feet, bleeding blue blood from its mouth. It roars at him and lunges again but is shot in the chest by Black Grass, who now has bigger guns. This time the creature is sent through a wall and out the other side. Blowing smoke on both his big guns, he combines them together and smiles at Oren.
Black Grass: "I was going easy on it earlier. Watch this kid."
The creature gets up again but before he could get a shot off, a red scarf pierces through its chest. It let's out a roar from the pain as the scarf keeps stretching and keeps moving at high speeds, piercing it more and more and more. The creature isn't bleeding but instead, it falls and changes back into the male colonian. The scarf returns back to its normal length in the woman's hand, as she wraps it around her neck again. Stepping out of the saloon clapping his hands is the guy in the cowboy hat.
Cowboy Hat: "Woo wee!! Now that was some show. I didn't expect the boy to jump in, but man y'all have some awesome majic abilities. I would've helped out but y'all seemed to have it under control."
Oren looks around for something to cover the naked Colonian with as he finds a blanket from the Runner stables. Cowboy Hat walks back into the saloon and back out with Oren and Red Scarfs money in bags and hands them over to them.
Cowboy Hat: "Its all there, you can count it if you want. Name's York Bastion, but people know me better as Clayton Cole."
Black Grass: "Well, I'll be. The great Clayton Cole is an Eastern. It's an honor sir."
Clayton: "The honors all mine. Everyone's heard of the famous Western bounty hunter, Black Grass. Now this pretty young lady here and this young boy, I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of ever meeting."
Anya: The boy is my little brother Oren, eldest son of the house of Jeffens. And that is the famous and not too publicly known assassin, Death Cloth."
Out of nowhere, Anya walks up. Oren knows he's in trouble although its not his fault, they're supposed to keep a low profile.
Death Cloth: "The house of Jeffens you say?! Prepare yourself!!!"
Speeding past Oren and straight at Anya, Death Cloth goes on the attack.