Post by Tsai Ru on Jun 9, 2010 10:19:05 GMT
This is flashback-esque OBJ following the 4 year gap of Tsai Ru
The great plains of Zhongyuan. It was truly a sight to behold. It had been weeks since his village had been destroyed and weeks since he last saw the bountiful forests of Ba Shu. He could still see their faces. The blank faces of his parents. His mother, father, his friends and everyone he grew up with. But his sister, was nowhere to be found. She was only a few years younger then him and he finally tracked down the raiders that attacked them. The bandits. Thieves. Barbarians. They would suffer. They took everything that he knew, everything that he held dear to his heart.
He had finally caught up to them. Barely. The tracks were less than a day old. They must be stopping more. There was burnt wood all over the ground, there was bone and small strips of meat torn asunder. They were definitely slowing down. Tsai Ru ran. He ran and followed the path that they cut into the tall grass. He ran into a clearing and there he found more signs of the bandits. Corpses lay on the ground. Their bodies had been looted for any gold or jewelry they had. Boxes were broken open, their splintered wood was scattered across the floor. These had been simple merchants. They didn’t have any real way to defend themselves. Nearby lay one of the bandits, bleeding through the chest. That’s one less to worry about. He had determined their numbers weeks ago, over a dozen men. They left signs of their tents, plates and leftovers everywhere. Close by, a weak cough echoed in the desolate grass.
”Is somebody there?” A male voice asked. It was extremely frail and was barely audible. Ru turned around and looked for the voice. Just a few feet away lay a man no older then him, dying under a toppled cart. “Please. Help me.” Tsai lifted up the cart enough for the man to crawl out. His leg was hurt and he had been cut several times, but he would live. He was breathing heavily but was able to sit up against the cart. ”Thank you. I didn’t think anyone would show up. There were...bandits.”
Tsai offered him some water from his gourd. The injured man quickly accepted the kind gesture and drank. “The bandits. Did they have a girl with them?” He asked as he lifted the man up onto his feet. The injured man leaned on his shoulder and they began to walk forward.
“I believe so. I can’t remember very well, it was so fast.” Suddenly, he cringed over in pain. He couldn’t walk on his left leg, the cart had injured it too severely. ”Damn it! They took all the horses.” Tsai looked up when he heard a rustle in the brush. Ru turned to the man and held a finger to his lips, the universal sign to stay quiet. He drew an arrow and slowly approached the rustling when it came to a stop. With a loud neigh a horse leaped out and knocked Ru down. His bow was thrown aside and the injured man forced himself to stand. He grabbed hold of it’s reigns and slowly began to pet it, calming it down. ”That’s lucky. Glad you got away.” Ru got back on his feet and helped the man onto the horse.
The great plains of Zhongyuan. It was truly a sight to behold. It had been weeks since his village had been destroyed and weeks since he last saw the bountiful forests of Ba Shu. He could still see their faces. The blank faces of his parents. His mother, father, his friends and everyone he grew up with. But his sister, was nowhere to be found. She was only a few years younger then him and he finally tracked down the raiders that attacked them. The bandits. Thieves. Barbarians. They would suffer. They took everything that he knew, everything that he held dear to his heart.
He had finally caught up to them. Barely. The tracks were less than a day old. They must be stopping more. There was burnt wood all over the ground, there was bone and small strips of meat torn asunder. They were definitely slowing down. Tsai Ru ran. He ran and followed the path that they cut into the tall grass. He ran into a clearing and there he found more signs of the bandits. Corpses lay on the ground. Their bodies had been looted for any gold or jewelry they had. Boxes were broken open, their splintered wood was scattered across the floor. These had been simple merchants. They didn’t have any real way to defend themselves. Nearby lay one of the bandits, bleeding through the chest. That’s one less to worry about. He had determined their numbers weeks ago, over a dozen men. They left signs of their tents, plates and leftovers everywhere. Close by, a weak cough echoed in the desolate grass.
”Is somebody there?” A male voice asked. It was extremely frail and was barely audible. Ru turned around and looked for the voice. Just a few feet away lay a man no older then him, dying under a toppled cart. “Please. Help me.” Tsai lifted up the cart enough for the man to crawl out. His leg was hurt and he had been cut several times, but he would live. He was breathing heavily but was able to sit up against the cart. ”Thank you. I didn’t think anyone would show up. There were...bandits.”
Tsai offered him some water from his gourd. The injured man quickly accepted the kind gesture and drank. “The bandits. Did they have a girl with them?” He asked as he lifted the man up onto his feet. The injured man leaned on his shoulder and they began to walk forward.
“I believe so. I can’t remember very well, it was so fast.” Suddenly, he cringed over in pain. He couldn’t walk on his left leg, the cart had injured it too severely. ”Damn it! They took all the horses.” Tsai looked up when he heard a rustle in the brush. Ru turned to the man and held a finger to his lips, the universal sign to stay quiet. He drew an arrow and slowly approached the rustling when it came to a stop. With a loud neigh a horse leaped out and knocked Ru down. His bow was thrown aside and the injured man forced himself to stand. He grabbed hold of it’s reigns and slowly began to pet it, calming it down. ”That’s lucky. Glad you got away.” Ru got back on his feet and helped the man onto the horse.
