�Indeed. I know that smell. Its gunpowder,� Xilot said as he turned towards the shore. There was a cloud hanging over the forest that way. Xilot took off at a dash while the others followed. When they arrived they couldn�t describe the horror that met their eyes. Bodies were scattered everywhere, weapons lay bent and broken on the ground, fires were blazing off in the distance where the Duran was anchored.
�W-what could have done this?!� Xilot exclaimed as he fell to his knees. The answer to his question was simple; several Obsidian monsters had appeared. There were too many to count and this worried the small party of fighters.
�K-ky�Kynoto, why are there so many here?� Rouin asked, stuttering wildly.
�So, that�s the answer. Well, there is a volcano here, a perfect place for them to breed. I flew over it a few days ago and there is a village of these creatures inside the volcano,� Kynoto said, withdrawing his sword from its hilt. �Only fire and earth attacks will work against these ones. Those over there by the water can be defeated by speed. Okay, Rouin take those, Wantene, Triasha, and I will take these,� Kynoto stated as they moved into position. Kynoto actually was able to count them now, thirty of them. This was going to be difficult. Rouin faced his foes; they were about ten strong and already advancing on him.
�Valrash!� Rouin yelled. This made Kynoto turn around for he knew that attack should have been well over Rouin�s abilities. Never the less Rouin had learned it. It created three clones of the caster, then it made three clones from those ones. Once a small army had been created the original caster had complete control over the others. Rouin had them attack the beasts in a circular fashion until they were not but dust. Kynoto smirked and called to Wantene and Triasha,
�Rouin has grown strong but lets deal with these one first, before we praise him. Alright, we need to attack them together, so on my mark use your strongest attacks.� They closed around the group and prepared to use their skills. �Now!� Kynoto shouted. �Pile Driver!�
�Rock Crusher!�
�Flame of the Forbidden Fire!� The three voices rang out over the stale air. When the attacks hit the group of Obsidian monsters, they were vaporized. The four warriors picked up the Trianchu stones and fused them into themselves and went to the captain. He was now trying to get to his burning ship,
�Let it go Xilot!� Triasha shouted over the crash of the waves against the rocks.
�I suppose you�re righ�, me laddy,� Xilot grumbled as he walked back to the beach, disheartened from losing his ship.
They spent the rest of the night picking up what they could salvage of the Duran, while Kynoto and Triasha went to the forest to look for firewood. In a short while Kynoto and Triasha returned with a relatively large pile of wood. They got a fire going and Kynoto caught them some dinner. Once they had finished they went to sleep. Kynoto was up late into the night, pondering on what that power could have been. It had been passing through his mind for eight hours before sleep, eventually, over swept him. When he awoke, he saw that Triasha had already had some exercise. A particularly large Trianchu stone was laying on the ground in front of him.
�That must have been some creature, eh Triasha?� Kynoto said groggily. Triasha only nodded. Once Wantene and Rouin were up they set off into the forest, trailed by the pirate crew. They didn�t want to be left alone again; evidently they were afraid of the Obsidian monsters. The reason for this little excursion was to find the source of the power that could still be felt. Kynoto had some idea of what it might be but he was not about to speek his mind for he could easily be wrong. The trees were now thinning out, surprisingly, and a clearing could be seen ahead. Kynoto was the first one there and what he saw stopped him in his tracks. The others entered the clearing and gawked at what the saw. It looked rather like a small, thick tree but it was glowing. The four men could feel the power irradiating from it. The pirates came crashing into the clearing, knocking over Kynoto, Triasha, Wantene, and Rouin. Through the jumbled mess of men, Xilots� voice was heard,
�What the blazes is that thing?!�
�It�s this forests� source; its center; its core. This is what makes it possible for the trees to do what they can�� Kynoto said, interrupted by Xilot,
�Act human you mean?�
�Exactly. Whoa, it�s losing its power�what�s that?!�
Kynoto exclaimed as he felt a power that was masked by the forest. It was a little weaker then the forest but now that the forests� power had gone down, it shown through immensely.
�I don�t know but it�s coming this way!� Wantene shouted. The pirates scrambled back into the forest whilst the other four remained. From the deep blue sky came a man, roughly in his fifties. He had greenish-gold colored eyes, sandy brown hair, like Wantene�s, and he was well built, no doubt from many grueling hours of training.
�What are you doing on my island?� he demanded, he had a tenor voice.
�We were not aware that this was �your� island,� Wantene said cockily as he drew his sword. The man looked at him thoughtfully.
�Wantene, don�t be daft! Put your sword away,� Kynoto urged, knowing full well that Wantene would get himself killed.
�Well well, what have we here? Feisty, this one is,� said the man as looked at Wantene, �but you know, Kynoto had the right idea, since I am a stranger to you, you have no notion of what powers I might possess.� Kynoto said, bewilderment saturating his voice,
�How do you know my name?�
�Well that is easy. I knew your parents. Let�s see, who have we here. Ah, yes, Triasha Velosh, Rouin and Kynoto Haikashi, and Wantene Mitsurugi. Curious, isn�t it, that Wantene, your brother Kynoto, has not the same last name as you. Have you ever wondered why? Its because he isn�t really your brother, not by blood at least. Now for me, I am Lelono Mitsurugi. Wantene is my son. I had to leave him in the care of your parents when I went off on a quest. It was on that quest that I gained this curse; unnaturally long life carried out by a tool of destruction. Yes, it was on that quest that I learned Trianchu,� Lelono said, his eyes roving from person to person until they landed on Xilot. �And who might you be. You�re a pirate by the looks of you.�
�Very astute, that ya are laddy. I am Julian Dresk Vetrinal Xilot III. Me crew jus call me Cap�n or Captain Xilot,� the old pirate said proudly.
�I have one question. Why have you bothered us for?� Kynoto asked carefully, Lelono has his hand on the hilt of his sword.
�To take Wantene and train him the proper way, not by the teachings of your father. His way was too slow and pain staking. My training plan got me to where I am today in a little under two months. Wantene could become what I am in at least one month. Now if you�ll excuse us, we must get going,� Lelono said starting to pull of Wantene�s arm.
�What if he doesn�t want to go,� Kynoto retorted.
�Trust me, he wants to come. He is only interested in power, like me,� Lelono shouted, getting ready to unsheathe his sword. Wantene stopped him immidatly and said,
�He�s right Kynoto. I am sorry, but he is my father, so if you choose to fight him, I will have to fight you as well. I guess this is goodbye for now Kynoto, Rouin, Triasha, and Captain,� Wantene said as he nodded and flew off with his father. Kynoto shouted at him,
�You realize that if we do ever meet again that we will be enemies and that I will not hold back against you don�t you?!� Wantene muttered under his breath,
�I know, I know.� Thus the group of five whittled down to four. Kynoto took one last glance and turned around, heading back to the beach.