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| AXEMS: THE TOLARIAN CHRONICLES |
| Episode Four |
| Axem Image continues to walk away from the point where she met Strife. IMAGE: Stupid Strife� why couldn�t he have just left me alone? I did him a favor. That doesn�t justify his reaction to it. Image kicks a rock on the ground. It skids away. IMAGE: Where am I, anyway? Image kicks another rock. It goes farther than the other rock did, but then vanishes. Image, however, does not notice this. Nor does she notice the trail of moving grass behind her. IMAGE: I better find some sign of civilization soon. And if I don�t� Image�s voice falls short. She can�t think of anything to say. Instead, she runs up to another rock and kicks it with all her might. The rock sails off towards the horizon. However, unbeknownst to Image, the trail of moving grass has stopped. All is silent for a few seconds. Then, the ground around Image begins to shake. IMAGE: I--- What? What�s happening? Right behind Image, the ground splits open. A huge claw bursts out of the crack in the ground and snatches at Image. IMAGE: Whoa! Image backflips away from the claw. It snatches at her again. She dodges it again. At that moment, the ground next to the fissure also fractures. A second claw reaches out of the ground and slaps Image. Image falls to the ground. Within seconds, she is back on her feet. IMAGE: Ack! What is that? Image, not electing to stick around and find out, runs away. Once she is out of sight, the ground closes around the claws. However, the claws do leave one thing behind: A small silver rock. ELAPSE TIME: Image finally stops running after 20 minutes. IMAGE: Whoa� what was that? Image looks around. She�s even more lost than she was before, because now she has no idea which way she came from. IMAGE: Whatever. I guess I�ll just keep going. Image continues running. After another 30 minutes, she can see something on the horizon�something different. IMAGE: Hm� looks like a city. Image continues to run towards the city. TWO HOURS LATER: Image arrives into the city of Tolaria. Merchants swarm her, attempting to get her to buy whatever it is they�re selling. MERCHANTS: Buy! IMAGE: Stop crowding me! However, the merchants only close in tighter. IMAGE: You asked for it. Image drops to the floor and swings her legs around in a circle, tripping all the merchants simultaneously. MERCHANTS: Owie. IMAGE: I warned you� Image walks away from the merchants, towards the center of the city. Soon, she can see the downtown area of Tolaria, or at least as close to one as Tolaria has. The roads are crowded with hundreds of people, all of them seeming to be rushing to get somewhere but yet with no place to go. The metallic buildings loom overhead, dwarfing everything else in comparison. However, one building stands out despite the rest of the city. The building that comparatively short, but still taller than any house. The building that reflects the dark gray sky off of its polished steel surface. The circular building at the very center of the city. The Coliseum. IMAGE: Whoa. That�s one building. The Coliseum seems to be the center of everyone�s attention. The current of the city moves inward, as if the entire population is a mosquito drawn to the light. Image walks towards the Coliseum, intrigued but yet unnerved, and unable to stop herself. IMAGE: What�s going on there that everyone�s so interested in? A passerby stops long enough to tell her. PASSERBY: The Tournament. That�s why you�re here, isn�t it? That�s why all the warriors are here. Of course that�s why you�re here. IMAGE: Um, sure. The passerby continues walking to wherever it is he is going. IMAGE: Tournament, eh? I can see possibilities already. |