Five -Hunters

The journey through the wilderness had stretched on for hours, the only sounds being the rhythmic trot of the horses and the occasionally rustling of the breeze. They had traveled through out the night with brief moments to rest, to feed the horses and catch a bite to eat.

Now, the sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the rugged sandy terrain. The sandy dunes and rocky plains loomed ahead but the path was filled with tension not only from the landscape but from the friction in the group. Miko, the fiercy tempered fire welder and Ren, the brooding necromancer had been exchanging barbed insults for much of the journey.The two seemed to clash at every turn - Miko with her quick temper and sharp words and Ren with his quite yet cutting remarks.

The horses galloped, dust rising like smoke around them, Ryuu who was used to thier bickering by now , simply ignored them. He had learned to turn out their squabbles, focusing instead of the road ahead. Hana tried to step in several times to quell the tension

"Miko, Ren can you please get along for once"

Miko didn't back down, she directed her venomous glare to Hana,

"Maybe if you weren't such an emotional bag, you wouldn't need to play peacemaker all the time" Her voice was laced with scorn and the barb stuck deep.

Hana caught off guard by the insult , looked down, her expression faltering for a moment,

" I will not be part of your chaos "Hana shot back and Miko gave her a provocative smirk.

Jiro who had been listening quietly, busted out in a baritone laugh, tightly holding the reigns,

" Ah, this is more entertaining than l expected"

He boomed, enjoying the show. He had little care for the drama and it seemed like a passing distraction to him.

Kio, the owl flew above them, her keen eyes scanning the landscape. The creature's wings cut silently through the air as she kept watch. Suddenly, the tension in the air shifted. A sound that didn't quite fit the usual chorus of the wilderness.

Ryuu felt a cold shiver crawling down his spine. Suddenly, kio , the bird fluttered her wings frantically in a subtle warning . Ryuu turned his head upwards, his eyes meeting with the owl 's peircing ones as it let a loud hoot.

'something is coming "Ryuu shouted, narrowing his grey eyes around the surrounding rocky,sandy terrain but seeing nothing but a bare wilderness .Suddenly a group of barbarians emerged, from the magic shield of invisibility, thier faces twisted in what appeared to be grins. Thier eyes glinted with savage hunger. The rogue magic that shrouded them melted away revealing thier true numbers. The group tensed, Jiro drew his axe and Hana reached for her bow, carved from an ancient magical tree and the others got ready to conjure thier magic. Ryuu held out his arm, and his sword materialized in his hand. His eyes momentarily went to the horses they had dismounted, if they were to survive, they couldn't afford to let the horses be harmed.

Hana, noticing his silent corcern, extended her hands towards the ground,her finger twitching as the earth responded to her call. With a surge of power, thick vines erupted from the soil, wrapping around the horses legs and forming a protective barrier. The viens twisted and hardened, creating an impenetrable shield to keep the horses away from the chaos that was about to unfold .She sighed in relief, content with her work, as she had been worried that the lack of nature in the desert would render her ability useless.

"Hana, you're with me, the rest take care of the barbarians.", Ryuu barked, his voice commanding.

" With pleasure, this is just my type" Miko cracked her knuckles and grinned. Ren gave Miko a quick questioning look, his necromanic power flowing in a dark fluid wave around him.

" Let's bash some brains! "jiro shouted and flexed his muscular arms.

A short man with a long grey beard, who seemed to be thier leader, with glowing white eyes raised his hand, from a distance and started speaking in incarnations. The earth started to tremble. Hana reacted quickly, she slammed her palm to the ground forcing the ground to stabilize.

Miko raised her hands, conjuring a fiercy storm around her. Flames danced at her fingers as she hurled fireballs at the barbarians, the heat intense enough to scorch the earth beneath them and burning some of the barbarians into soot . The barbarians, as if they were brainless creatures, were unfazed by the magic assault. Thier eyes were lifeless and they began charging forward with magical weapons raised, retaliating . Ren threw the dark pulsating energy at the grey bearded man but with a wave of the leader hand, it vanished into thin air.Jiro charged forward, his axe slicing through the air, each strike deadly and quick. "lets make this interesting" His massive axe collided with the barbarians heads and brain sputtered out.

Suddenly, the air crackles with energy, the earth rumbling and in the depth of earth, a massive serpent made of brown sand emerged hissing,it's gaze fixed on Ryuu.

The owl above gave another warning hoot and Ryuu's senses heightened. He gripped his sword tightly preparing to strike. He dogded the serpent first attack, its massive tail slamming on the ground where he had been.His sword pulsated with energy, the dragon engraved on his sword shimmering a scarlet red and as the serpent lunged at him, its fangs bared,he shouted,

"Hana now!"Hana placed her hands on the sand and brown vines sputted out, coiling around the huge serpent's body, rendering it motionless.

He jumped and with one swing, he severed the head of the serpent, It's body instantly crumbling into sand. The barbarians seeing thier magical beast falling , grew desperate. Thier leader snarled in frustration, getting ready to summon another one but before he could act, Ren unleashed a powerful wave of necromanic energy. Shadows swirled around them, binding them in place. One by one they were drained of thier life force and they dropped on the wilderness floor becoming fleshless corpses.

"Good job lad" Jiro patted the younger man on the shoulder,resting his blood stained axe on his muscular shoulder,

Ryuu could feel that there was something deeper, as the last of the barbarians fell. He turned to his companions, his face grim

"this is only the start."

Kio hooted, fluttering frantically her wings, again. Ryuu raised his brows, wondering if there were other barbarians hiding behind a viel of invincibility. The owl flew from the sky and perched on Ryuu's shoulder, turning its head in the direction it wanted him to follow and hooted slowly. Ryuu sighed wishing that he could for once, speak telepathically with animals, like Sakumi.

"l think Kio is trying to show us something. Let's just follow her"

They led the horse to the direction that kio was flying. They rode for few minutes and when they neared a huge rock,Kio flew from the sky and perched on it. They circled it. Just behind the rock was a wagon and inside was a man chained with thick silver cuffs. Ryuu's companions approached warily, weapons still drawn.

"who are you" Ryuu asked, his voice steady but laced with suspicion.

The man looked up at them, his face gaunt, dirty clothes hung on his very thin frame but despite his obvious fatigue, his eyes were sharp.

"Masaya , the beastmaster of the North" his voice was hoarse.

"You must go, they will capture you, the hunters" his eyes were fixed on the flames burning on Miko's fingertips.

"why would they do that" Hana asked, sincerely curious.

"They capture those with abilities, like you"he coughed"... sell us to corrupt mages who use our abilities for dark work"

The owl, now perched on Ryuu's shoulder, hooted sofly, almost as if in agreement. But Ryuu remained cautious,distrustful by nature. His story seemed too convenient and too simple.

"How long have you been in captive?"

"How can we trust you?"

The group exchanged uncertain glances. The man started laughing, the sound as if he was almost choking on his saliva.

"l am not in any position to earn your trust ,am I? I am chained by enchanted chains in this damned wagon"

Ryuu studied him for a moment and decided.

"we'll free you" he said, his voice firm "but if you prove to be a fraud-"

"l will cook you" Miko finished, playing with the fire on her finger tips.

Ryuu conjured his sword, and the dragon engraved instantly started to glow crimson. He sliced through the chains and with a snap they shattered, the enchanting becoming useless. Masaya rose slowly, his muscles weak and stiff for being in captive.

Ryuu wondered if these hunters were connected with the black scorpions.