Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 23:21:51 GMT
The sun was, as usual, smothering the barren landscape of the Diablo Desert; as a lone, blue-skinned creature scuffed his feet along the dusty trails. Chimi was glad for his white robes that kept the worst of the stifling power of the sun away from his skin. After all, he had a delicate complexion. It had been a week since he began his journey out of the Dami Clan village, and into the unforgiving sands beyond. His clan were fairly isolated from outsiders, due to the number of bandits active within the region. As a result of that fact, they had little knowledge of geography beyond the Mushroom Forest where their village was hidden. So, Chimi was making his way to one of only two settlements that actually appeared on their pitifully-sparse maps. There, he hoped to purchase more supplies, and hopefully a better map that showed him a way out of the desert and into the world beyond, where the Great One only knew what lay waiting for the greatest fighter the Dami Clan had ever produced.
With no trails to follow amidst the ever-shifting sands of the desert, Chimi was relying on the scattered landmarks present on his map to find his way to the village. Unfortunately, the names of these landmarks were rather unhelpful - with such excellent descriptions as 'Big Rocks', and 'Rocks That Look Like Potatoes'. Chimi was only hoping he was still heading in the right direction, as he had only water enough for a few more days, and he was not sure if he could find his way back to his village before he died of thirst. It was a dire situation, but if he had correctly interpreted the part of the map that spoke of 'Rocks That Look Like Yani's Butt' (Yani's butt was quite distinctive), then he ought to be very close.
About thirty minutes later, he was proven right, when at long last, a little town came into sight on the horizon. Thanking the Great One for his fortune, Chimi found new life in his limbs, and jogged the rest of the way to the town, after a grueling seven days in the blazing heat and icy cold nights of the desert. His elation slowly dissipated however, as he drew close to the town. Now that he was closer, and the heat haze covering the baking sands did not interfere with his vision, he could see that almost a third of the buildings in the town had suffered serious damage, and a few were even burned out, reduced to blackened shells, empty save the cool ashes of what once lay within.
What had happened here? Chimi wondered how the peaceful little town could have been so grievously wounded, and by whose hands, for it seemed clear that the destruction had been wrought by people. He slowed to a walk as he passed the first buildings, getting a better look at the damage. The walls of many of the buildings were riddled with bullet holes, as well as larger craters, which presumably came from some kind of explosions. But the damage was not universal, and seemed to have been directed at specific structures - as there were often several intact buildings between those which had been attacked.
Making his way to the center of town, Chimi at last found the inhabitants - or two of them, at least. Crouched in the middle of a circular set of makeshift barricades crouched two men - one an older man, with a wide-brimmed hat and a large handgun. The other was a younger man, with long, braided dark hair and heavily-tanned skin, likewise holding a gun. Chimi stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing them - their guns were aimed at him. After a tense moment, the older man spoke up.
"I'm the Sheriff, hold it right there! Who are you, and why are you here!?" Chimi hesitated for only a moment before answering.
"I am Chimi, son of Changa! I am looking for supplies, I mean you no harm!" He cried out, failing to hide the alarm in his voice. The two men looked at each other for a moment, before the old man nodded. They stood up from behind the barricades and lowered their weapons. The young man called out loudly, his voice echoing across the empty town square.
"It's alright everyone, we're safe!" And with that, doors all around were thrown open, and people rushed back out into the streets, eager to get on with their day, apparently. Curious as to what exactly was going on, Chimi approached the two gun-wielding gentlemen, who were now sitting and sharing smokes on the barricades. He cleared his throat before he began speaking:
"Hello. I can't help but notice all the damage, and the barricades, and so on. So, uh, what's going on, if you don't mind me asking?" The young man just looked to his older partner, who blew out a lungful of smoke before making eye contact with the diminutive blue traveler.
"Bandits, stranger. They bleed us dry, and when we say we ain't got no more to give, they start shootin' up our homes. They've been gone for nearly a week now, so it can't be much longer before they come back," He took another drag of his cigarette, nodding to his partner to continue.
"These are no ordinary bandits, either. There's about twelve of them, most of 'em just use guns like us, but three of 'em are some kind of freaky super-martial artists. They're way stronger than any men I've ever seen - one of 'em picked up a car and threw it like it was made of cardboard!" Chimi was shocked. He knew powerful fighters were rare on Earth, and he had not expected to encounter any so soon after he left his home.
"Mm," the older man nodded in agreement, "And one of them had some kind of freaky magic powers or somethin'. There was light comin' out of his hands and blowin' stuff up. Never seen anythin' like it..."
"One of them can manipulate ki?!" Chimi squawked in shock, "Could he fly, too!?"
The younger man looked at him like he was crazy, but the Sheriff, who seemed to know better, just shook his head. "Not that we've seen. They come in from the East every six or so days, ridin' in a convoy of banged-up old trucks and cars." Chimi looked around again at the devastation - these people were defenseless - the bandits would certainly drive the people away or kill them outright if this went on much longer. And once they were gone, where would they go next? The Dami village was the next closest settlement, and his people were even more ill-prepared to deal with bandits so well-armed and trained as those who had laid waste to this town.
"Do you know where they are hiding out?" Chimi said after a few moments of silence. He did not know if he could beat them, but he would damn well try - dozens of lives depended on the defeat of these bandit scum.
"Pretty sure they're holed up in a cave to the Northeast of here. It's pretty easy to find - it's carved into the side of a plateau, bunch of big mushrooms growing around the base of it." Chimi was relieved - at last, directions that were actually helpful!
"Then I'll go see if I can take care of them for you," Chimi said, setting his face into an expression he hoped conveyed determination. The younger man raised an eyebrow doubtfully, the older man leaned towards the traveler, taking one last drag of his cigarette before dropping it into the sand.
"I appreciate the offer, stranger, and I mean no offense - but these guys are out of your league. They'll kill you, and then hit us again for helping you,"
"I'm a lot stronger than I look," said the diminutive blue traveler. "Just give me enough water to make it there and I'll make sure they don't come after your town again."
"Prove it, then." Said the younger man, still unconvinced of Chimi's ability to handle the bandits. The imp-like creature nodded and cast his eyes about, looking for something heavy to demonstrate his strength with. He spotted a burnt-out car - a perfect demonstration.
Walking over to the vehicle, he cracked his knuckles, and planted his feet wide apart, before bending his knees and gripping the bottom of the car. With a huff, he raised the vehicle up above his head, turning to face the Sheriff and his deputy. He span the car about until it faced the same direction as he was, before slamming it into the ground and leaping over the wreck as its rear end slammed back into the dust. He walked back over to the now wide-eyed pair.
"So, what do you say?" Chimi said with a smug little smile plastered on his impish blue face. Picking his jaw up off the proverbial floor, the Sheriff spoke up.
"Well, I'll be damned. Maybe you're strong enough to handle them after all... Maybe," He reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of folded-up paper. "Here's a map of the desert, with where we think their hideout is marked by a big yellow circle." Chimi took the paper from the Sheriff and stuffed it under his belt.
"Alright. Now all I need is some water and I can get going."
((More to come))
With no trails to follow amidst the ever-shifting sands of the desert, Chimi was relying on the scattered landmarks present on his map to find his way to the village. Unfortunately, the names of these landmarks were rather unhelpful - with such excellent descriptions as 'Big Rocks', and 'Rocks That Look Like Potatoes'. Chimi was only hoping he was still heading in the right direction, as he had only water enough for a few more days, and he was not sure if he could find his way back to his village before he died of thirst. It was a dire situation, but if he had correctly interpreted the part of the map that spoke of 'Rocks That Look Like Yani's Butt' (Yani's butt was quite distinctive), then he ought to be very close.
About thirty minutes later, he was proven right, when at long last, a little town came into sight on the horizon. Thanking the Great One for his fortune, Chimi found new life in his limbs, and jogged the rest of the way to the town, after a grueling seven days in the blazing heat and icy cold nights of the desert. His elation slowly dissipated however, as he drew close to the town. Now that he was closer, and the heat haze covering the baking sands did not interfere with his vision, he could see that almost a third of the buildings in the town had suffered serious damage, and a few were even burned out, reduced to blackened shells, empty save the cool ashes of what once lay within.
What had happened here? Chimi wondered how the peaceful little town could have been so grievously wounded, and by whose hands, for it seemed clear that the destruction had been wrought by people. He slowed to a walk as he passed the first buildings, getting a better look at the damage. The walls of many of the buildings were riddled with bullet holes, as well as larger craters, which presumably came from some kind of explosions. But the damage was not universal, and seemed to have been directed at specific structures - as there were often several intact buildings between those which had been attacked.
Making his way to the center of town, Chimi at last found the inhabitants - or two of them, at least. Crouched in the middle of a circular set of makeshift barricades crouched two men - one an older man, with a wide-brimmed hat and a large handgun. The other was a younger man, with long, braided dark hair and heavily-tanned skin, likewise holding a gun. Chimi stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing them - their guns were aimed at him. After a tense moment, the older man spoke up.
"I'm the Sheriff, hold it right there! Who are you, and why are you here!?" Chimi hesitated for only a moment before answering.
"I am Chimi, son of Changa! I am looking for supplies, I mean you no harm!" He cried out, failing to hide the alarm in his voice. The two men looked at each other for a moment, before the old man nodded. They stood up from behind the barricades and lowered their weapons. The young man called out loudly, his voice echoing across the empty town square.
"It's alright everyone, we're safe!" And with that, doors all around were thrown open, and people rushed back out into the streets, eager to get on with their day, apparently. Curious as to what exactly was going on, Chimi approached the two gun-wielding gentlemen, who were now sitting and sharing smokes on the barricades. He cleared his throat before he began speaking:
"Hello. I can't help but notice all the damage, and the barricades, and so on. So, uh, what's going on, if you don't mind me asking?" The young man just looked to his older partner, who blew out a lungful of smoke before making eye contact with the diminutive blue traveler.
"Bandits, stranger. They bleed us dry, and when we say we ain't got no more to give, they start shootin' up our homes. They've been gone for nearly a week now, so it can't be much longer before they come back," He took another drag of his cigarette, nodding to his partner to continue.
"These are no ordinary bandits, either. There's about twelve of them, most of 'em just use guns like us, but three of 'em are some kind of freaky super-martial artists. They're way stronger than any men I've ever seen - one of 'em picked up a car and threw it like it was made of cardboard!" Chimi was shocked. He knew powerful fighters were rare on Earth, and he had not expected to encounter any so soon after he left his home.
"Mm," the older man nodded in agreement, "And one of them had some kind of freaky magic powers or somethin'. There was light comin' out of his hands and blowin' stuff up. Never seen anythin' like it..."
"One of them can manipulate ki?!" Chimi squawked in shock, "Could he fly, too!?"
The younger man looked at him like he was crazy, but the Sheriff, who seemed to know better, just shook his head. "Not that we've seen. They come in from the East every six or so days, ridin' in a convoy of banged-up old trucks and cars." Chimi looked around again at the devastation - these people were defenseless - the bandits would certainly drive the people away or kill them outright if this went on much longer. And once they were gone, where would they go next? The Dami village was the next closest settlement, and his people were even more ill-prepared to deal with bandits so well-armed and trained as those who had laid waste to this town.
"Do you know where they are hiding out?" Chimi said after a few moments of silence. He did not know if he could beat them, but he would damn well try - dozens of lives depended on the defeat of these bandit scum.
"Pretty sure they're holed up in a cave to the Northeast of here. It's pretty easy to find - it's carved into the side of a plateau, bunch of big mushrooms growing around the base of it." Chimi was relieved - at last, directions that were actually helpful!
"Then I'll go see if I can take care of them for you," Chimi said, setting his face into an expression he hoped conveyed determination. The younger man raised an eyebrow doubtfully, the older man leaned towards the traveler, taking one last drag of his cigarette before dropping it into the sand.
"I appreciate the offer, stranger, and I mean no offense - but these guys are out of your league. They'll kill you, and then hit us again for helping you,"
"I'm a lot stronger than I look," said the diminutive blue traveler. "Just give me enough water to make it there and I'll make sure they don't come after your town again."
"Prove it, then." Said the younger man, still unconvinced of Chimi's ability to handle the bandits. The imp-like creature nodded and cast his eyes about, looking for something heavy to demonstrate his strength with. He spotted a burnt-out car - a perfect demonstration.
Walking over to the vehicle, he cracked his knuckles, and planted his feet wide apart, before bending his knees and gripping the bottom of the car. With a huff, he raised the vehicle up above his head, turning to face the Sheriff and his deputy. He span the car about until it faced the same direction as he was, before slamming it into the ground and leaping over the wreck as its rear end slammed back into the dust. He walked back over to the now wide-eyed pair.
"So, what do you say?" Chimi said with a smug little smile plastered on his impish blue face. Picking his jaw up off the proverbial floor, the Sheriff spoke up.
"Well, I'll be damned. Maybe you're strong enough to handle them after all... Maybe," He reached in his pocket and pulled out a wad of folded-up paper. "Here's a map of the desert, with where we think their hideout is marked by a big yellow circle." Chimi took the paper from the Sheriff and stuffed it under his belt.
"Alright. Now all I need is some water and I can get going."
((More to come))