The Search Begins

They started out on the Bad Lands that was just a bit south of Fae Land and traveled for about twenty minutes. Then Ktara told them to stop and asked Titus to pull out the compass so she could see what direction it pointed across the Bad Lands. The compass did the same thing the stop slightly off due south now. The compass is pointing in the direction of Cordia, a place unknown to me but I hear that many people living their were poor and struggle to survive, said Ktara. Then we have to find and get my true love out of there, said Titus. Okay but that part of the Bad Lands we have to cross over is dangerous and slow going plus I had never gone too far into that region so there is no way of knowing what or who we may meet on the way, said Ktara. That doesn't matter, said Titus. Let's just get going. Ktara thought to herself that she hoped they didn't come up against any snakes again like the last time they were in The Bad Lands. They started back on their way and things were easy going at first but the further they went the rockier the ground became making them slow down more and more until they were only walking with their horses, watching their step. Alexa could see that land ahead was covered with large rocks and they would have to zig-zag through them making it impossible for her to see what was ahead of them. As they neared the large rocky area, six men with swords jumped out from behind some big rocks and told them this was their territory and must stop and go back now to where they came from or they will have to battle until they were all dead. Tempressa yelled out "We have no time for this" so she raised her finger again at them but Alexa said that she shouldn't freeze them before reasoning with them. I not going to freeze them, just watch this, said Tempressa. At that Tempressa let out a large stream of ice under their feet making all the ground and rocks turn to ice. This made it impossible for them to stay upright. As the marauders laid on the ground, the team went around them when one of the men yelled to them. "If you continue, you do it at your own risk. Very few come back out of this path alive". It was starting to get dark and travelling with no light in this rocky terrain would be impossible so they decide to make camp by one of the big rocks. There was no wood to be found anywhere to make a fire so they had to eat and then get some sleep in the pitch dark. Oaklyn and Taiyo took the first watch seeing there was still a bit of light available. You will have to take over Alexa when it gets too dark for us to see, said Oaklyn. It is cloudy so no moon and you have the best eyesight here. Alexa agreed so they all sat and ate then got some sleep while Oaklyn and Taiyo took the first watch. Things were very quiet, too quiet thought Oaklyn but all was still as the sky loss all light. Oaklyn figured it was time for Alexa to take watch so she walked over to and woke her up. Your turn Alexa, we can't see a thing past out camp, said Oaklyn. Alexa took over as Oaklyn and Taiyo laid down beside each other and fell asleep fast. Alexa looked up and noticed the clouds were clearing and soon the moon came out emitting enough light for her to see better.

Alexa then noticed somebody walking towards her but the person was not holding a sword so Alexa kept her sword down. As the figure got close enough for her to see, she started to walk towards this person and saw it was a tall man that had a bow and arrows slung over his shoulder. Alexa was about to talk when the man raised this finger to his mouth and said, "Shoosh, we don't want to wake the others. Come over here behind this big rock and we will talk there". My name is Diego The Archer, may I ask what you all are doing in this part of the Bad Lands. Alexa told Diego about the quest they were on to find Titus's true love. Well you may need my help because there are many dangers ahead, said Diego. Does any of your group have spears or arrows? No we have elven swords and armor, said Alexa. That might be all good and all for fighting men but you need weapons that can kill from a distance, said Diego. Not even desert marauders travel this terrain. If you don't mind I would like to join your group as long as the others agree of course. I am sure they will once they chat with you a bit, said Alexa. Well, it is very safe here among the rocks at night so we should get some sleep too, said Diego. It will be getting light in a few hours and rest is always needed when on a quest. Alexa was unsure but she was still tired and for some reason she really trusted Diego so the two of them leaned against the rock and fell asleep. Now there is seven members on the team.

At first light the two of them got up and started back to the camp. The others were already awake and wondering where Alexa was. When they saw them come out from behind the rock they looked confused and asked who is this person. This is Diego, The Archer and wants to know if he can join our group because we don't have any weapons that can kill from a distance plus further ahead he will become very handy to have around, said Alexa. Is okay with you all? Well if it is okay with you then it is okay with me, said Tempressa. The rest also agreed so they all settled down for some breakfast then gathered their things and started on their journey again. Alexa and Diego chatted a lot seeing it was still slow going through the rocky terrain. Ktara whispered to Tempressa "I think Alexa likes him". Tempressa smiled and agreed. He is kinda cute being tall and handsome and all. They both snickered as they walked on. Oaklyn asked what they where snickering about, oh nothing they replied. Ya I bet, said Oakland. After about two hours Diego told every one to stop because he heard something. He told them to take cover behind the rocks but draw your swords just in case. In case of what, Thought Alexa. As the others looked on to see what was going to happen. They heard Diego start to whistle a familiar tune then all of a sudden two large mountain lions jumped from the top of the large rocks from two different directions. Within seconds Diego had his bow armed and shot two arrows at them so fast that you could barely see his arms move. He hit both of the lions in the chest killing them instantly. Then three more jumped out at him and he did the same that seemed even faster killing all three lions also. Then he paused and listen for a second when a huge mountain lion jumped out at him roaring with claws out. This time Diego had two arrows armed on his bow and shot. One arrow went right in the chest and the other went straight in it's mouth. Diego jumped back as it hit the ground and slid towards him.

Diego took out one more arrow and shot it into the now dying lion's side. He then turned around and said "The last one was just for insurance". Everyone was stunnded how fast he eliminated the threat and wondered if there was going to be more to look out for. This big over sized lion was the leader and with out a leader the rest of the lions if any will not know what to do and will scurry back to their den, said Diego. Oaklyn turned to Alexa and told her she could close her mouth now and get the stunned look off her face. Alexa had never know anyone that could use a bow and arrow that fast before but she had to get back on track and the group started heading forward again but first Diego asked Alexa to cut off one of the back legs of the dead lion. What for? asked Alexa. For food of course, no use letting att the animals eat all the meat, said Diego. Alexa did so as to show him she was no sissy. She handed it to him and he carried it by the paw as they moved ahead allowing the big leg to bleed out. Oaklyn was walking with Taiyo and said, "This guy is a human. I thought only elves were really good with a bow and arrow". Well maybe he was taught by elves or something, said Taiyo but I have never seen an elf shoot like that before. Being out of the Bad Lands there was plenty of wood around now to build a fire. Could someone go gather some wood for the fire while I skin this leg so we can eat before we go on? asked Diego. Alexa and Titus went out and came back with plenty of wood then Diego arranged the wood so that he could cook the leg easily. Alexa turned to Tempressa said, "He can cook too!" Tempressa smiled and watched him cook the leg as he talked to them about some of his adventures. Oaklyn asked him how he learned how to use a bow and arrow that way. He told them that he was raised by elves in the east and became one of the best archers of them all. Taiyo turned to Oaklyn and said, "I told you so".

After they were all done eating they gathered their things and were about to get going again but Diego ask them to wait a minuite so he could fill them in about the person they are going to have to deal with when they reached there. The name of the man you will meet is Hanable The Terrible, that is a mean land owner that over taxed the all ready poor people of the land, said Diego. He has a bunch of body guards to keep him protected so we will not be dealing with just him. After that they started back on their way. Diego told them his place which look a bit like a castle was about three hours away and their was no rush because he was not a murder, he just took girls usually the youngest from families that couldn't pay his over priced taxes and made them his servents or better said, his slaves. They started on their way again but at a good pace to keep up with Titus. After about an hour and a half they came across a smal house in bad condition. They figured it was one of the land lord's tenants so they decided to just keep going. As soon as they started to pass the house a man came out and asked them where they were going. We are going to visit Hannable The Terrible and rescue a girl from him, said Titus. The man said that you better be careful because he is mean and has big body guards protecting him because in truth he is a useless fighter and can't use a sword properly. The man called back to the house for some one to bring him something. A very beautiful blonde girl emerged and gave him a sack and wanted to give them the tax money they owed him so that maybe the would release their youngest sister from his imprisonment. Her name is Tessie so you will know who to ask for. Keep the money for yourself, said Titus. It sounds like you need it much more than this mean guy does. He said okay and went back inside but not before Titus's and the lovely blonde's eyes met for a second. Then she quickly turned and went back into the house.

The group then continued on and soon they could see this old small castle that was in bad shape. He obviously kicked out the original owners and took it over for himself. As they approached the castle a big man yelled out for them to stop. Then several big bodyguards joined him. Titus approached him and told him they were here to rescue two girls he had taken from their families. We do not know both of the girl's name but one of the girl's name is Tessie. He replied, how much money you got? We have none, said Titus. Then you will have to try and take her if can, said Hanible. With that the body guards all raised their swords and started towards them. One yelled out that he had never killed a centaur before and this was going to be fun. Diego raised his bow and arrow and was about to shoot when Alexa told to put that away and asked Tempressa for her sword. You can sit this one out too Tempressa. We got this, said Alexa. Diego smiled and sat down on the ground with Tempressa to watch the group in action. The five of them rushed towards the body guards and Alexa struck first at one of the men cutting his head off. She jumped off her horse then continued to battle on foot as the others did the same but Alexa was doing the most damage killing each bodyguard one by one by decapitating them. Diego was stunned as he watched Alexa, yet pleased at how fast and good she was with two swords. Our Alexa is just not another pretty face isn't she, asked Tempressa. She is amazing, said Diego, she definitely has skills like none I have seen before. Titus got fed up and grab the last two guards at once and snapped both their necks killing them instantly. When Hanable The Terrible saw the outcome of the battle he ran inside and locked the big door behind him.

Oaklyn and Taiyo looked at each other then told the others that we have his. They both ran up to the door then turned around and kicked open the big door with their hind hooves, causing it to crash to the floor inside. Well now I no better than to walk behind you two, said Alexa. Everyone smiled then entered the castle. There must of been over twenty young girls inside all hiding behind furniture the main big room. Don't be scared girls, we are here to free you all so you can go back to your homes, said Titus. The girls all jumped up and cheered and thanked them all and one even gave Titus a kiss on the cheek. He first asked them all to stop for a moment before leaving. Titus took out his compass and opened it again but this time it began to spin slowly then it got warm. The compass stopped in the opposite direction. It looked like it was pointing at the home they just left where Tessie lived with her two siblings. Hanable The Chicken where are you hiding you coward, yelled out Diego. No one answered so he look around a bit and found a big stash of gold in Hanable's bedroom so he gathered it all up and gave each of the girls some to take home with them. Don't worry, Hanable will not be bothering you anymore, his days of over taxing people are over, said Diego.

Oaklyn yelled out Tessie's name and she came forward. Hello Tessie, I am going to give you a ride home. We promised your brother and sister we would bring you safely to them, said Oaklyn. Oaklyn squatted down and Tessie climbed on her back and then the entire team left at a quick pace back to Tessie's house. When they arrived to the house Tessie got down and ran towards the house and her two siblings came out over joyed. She showed them the gold that she was given and said this is for us to rebuild and get our gardens going again. The older brother and sister approached the group and thank them all. The brother embraced them all and the sister gave them all a kiss on the cheek but when she got to Titus, she went kiss his cheek but then stopped and looked him straight in the eyes. Your the one, she said. I don't know lets see, said Titus. He took out the compass and opened it again and it started to spin slowly then got warm again and the needle stopped pointing directly at the pretty blonde sister then it shut tight on its own. Titus was unable to open it anymore.

What was that thing? asked the sister. It is a magical compass that when opened will point one in the direction to their true love, said Titus. Tears came to her eyes and gave Titus a big hug. Alexa had tears in her eyes too and Diego said to her "You are just a big softy inside aren't you?" Hey I am a girl and we are allowed to get emotional from time to time, said Alexa. He smiled then they all said they had to go back to the palace and talk to Alieta and Titus needed to give her back the compass because he won't be needing it anymore. Wait said the sister. Don't you want to know your true love's name? Yes of course, sorry I was just caught up in the moment, said Titus. My name is Paisley, what is your name? I am Titus, he said to her. They all went to get ready to leave when Paisley yelled, "STOP!" You are not going anywhere without me and with that she ran to Titus and in one leap, she landed right on the the back of his horse. Wow that was quite the jump and landing, said Titus! Ya I work out a lot, said Paisley. What about your stuff Paisley, yelled her brother. Let Tessie have everything, said Paisley. I have all I need right here. Alexa asked if everyone was ready to head back. Oaklyn told Diego to jump on her back. You will have to squat down a bit because there is no way I can do what Paisley just did, said Diego.They all laughed and got on their way. After about ten minutes Paisley asked why are we going this way. There is a short cut around the Bad Lands which I hate. Really, Titus asked? Yes just follow my directions and we should be in Fae Land by morning, said Paisley.