The Suns rose on a bellowing blowhard, he was knocking his head against a tree.
Cheng Yu and Cheng Mu had been testing their muscle against one another by crashing their heads against an Iron-Oak, they were trying to see who could make the biggest dent. After drawing blood, the younger of the two, Cheng Mu, went into his tent to look for booze.
The tent was permeated with the stench of armpits, the beds were crushed and there were holes in the tents cover. They didn't worry about rain, often times wrestling about in the mud themselves, they were wild children of nature.
Cheng Yu had grabbed his nose when he entered, his last strike against the tree had dislodged his septum. He wasn't bleeding but he nose was out of place and crooked, adding yet another so-called battle scar to his body. Cheng Yu had a bunch of them, his brother only claiming a small portion of them himself. The brothers had been out on their own for some time, their parents having been killed in a rock slide years ago and it was just the two of them.
Having no one to give them guidance, they only had the stories from their childhood to tell. Now, as seasoned fighters with massive bodies, they were childlike in their mentalities that often feuded between themselves over women and ale.
Having bested his brother once again, Yu's pride swelled and he laid on his broken bed. His side of the tent had a hole near the top so he could see the night sky as he slept. It was peaceful watching the planets pass in the sky.
Cheng Mu had been locked in a trunk before, so it was really difficult staying in a closed off area, he not was claustrophobic but he couldn't stand being locked away, never again. The hole appeared one night when he had thrown his boots through the top of tent.
Staring at the night sky, Cheng Yu was going to start talking about what to be doing next, the summer was ending and the animals were seeking refuge from dropping temperatures.
Food would be difficult to get in the coming months, it was the same every year. Watching the 4th planet in the sky, as its rings shined the night, he saw a large bird flying slowly overhead. The bird seemed attracted to their campfire.
He hadn't eaten that type of bird yet and it was very large. 'A man?, no.. a child riding it?' "Brother Mu, I think I just saw dinner." Exiting the tent, Cheng Yu grabbed his longbow and fired at the passing bird. He notched another arrow but shooting wildly into the sky was somewhat useless.
Doofus had noticed the campsite below but remained in the air, he banked out of the way and hovered overhead to look at the man taking aim, again. This time two arrows came directly for him. Doofus let out a loud Quack, the noise pulled Wu Hai from his meditation and alerted him to danger.
Wu Hai had been very focused but when Doofus had quacked, he immediately sprang into action. The Ethereal Star Loop, having been activated, he turned over his hand and the arrows did nothing even when they got near. They simply passed through him.
Having confused both of the brothers, they shouted "BIRD!, BIRD! GIVE ME MEAT!"
In loud grunts they yelled and then tried they closing the distance with jumps.
Most people would look at a bird in the sky and never think they could make the distance, therefore never even try but the two brothers kept leaping into the air, waving their arms about like madmen. They only had a few arrows between the two of them and the arrows were already spent, if they wanted food then the both of them would have to work harder. They certainly gave it their all and had even cleared a few meters.
It was useless and although amazed, Wu Hai asked them very quickly, "What business do you have with my bird, My mount is Mine.. you can't have it."
The Cheng Brothers looked at each other and the one called Yu spoke up, "We have never seen this bird, it looks tasty." Yu asked and the man in the sky.
Mu asked, "Can we have it." Much like children, they didn't even listen to what Wu Hai had said, instead Mu just reached his hands out for charity.
Wu Hai could tell they had been more than a little hungry, he pulled a large chunk of the snake meat from his spacial ring and dropped it from the sky.
The Brothers saw it and their eyes opened wide. They knew it wasn't bird meat but they didn't care.. it was meat from the sky. Grabbing the large section of the snake, Cheng Mu could tell there were at least forty kilos of meat and that would definitely last them for a few days.
The Brother's grabbed a bed stake and shoved it through the piece of Meat. Roasting it, they looked up to the bird to yell. "Thank you bird!, Now Send us Ale! and a Woman."
Wu Hai couldn't help but smile, he wanted to laugh but it might have been rude. 'At least they said thank you..'
The Cheng Brothers joked at their good fortune while the meat sat atop the fire.
It was good fortune indeed, hunting at night would have mixed results on the plains. Sometimes they would have to fight or run from even stronger enemies like the Raiju and Nightmare Beasts. Swallowing large pulls of meat from the roasting spit, the Brothers Cheng watched as Wu Hai landed on the Duck.
Doofus didn't seem interested in the interaction but stayed near Wu Hai and the campfire.
Wu Hai waved as he walked up and asked, "So, Why are you two out on the plains? And, why would you randomly shoot in the darkness at passing bird that could have eaten you whole?" He had little else to worry about, his journey having only just started not too long ago. Wanting to find out what other people were doing with their lives and choices, he decided to introduce himself.
Wu Hai wasn't a woman and had no ale, he did have the Crusher and the Crusher had it's spacial pocket filled with all sorts of strange concoctions. He thought about it for a moment then grabbed at the scabbard off his back, he pulled on the handle of the weapon and used his spiritual sense to check the storage. When he found what looked like something closer to an alcohol, he opened the top to inspect it.
A strong odor of fine Wine drifted from the lip of the bottle and lingered.
Having nothing much to do and seeing the innocent like mindsets of the duo sitting across the campfire, Wu Hai passed a small case of the drinks to the brothers. "Drink it, Its Wine."
The Brothers were still distracted by the meat but when they heard the word Wine, they both perked up a bit but had failed to stop their rivalry. They dropped one of the bottles to the ground and watched it shatter.
Each of them claimed sole ownership of the case, Wu Hai didn't have much issue with the loss and pulled another case out for the other brother. They were twins, telling them apart was difficult and their names were ridiculously close to each other.
After consuming the Winter's Spring Wine, they let a cool breath out and thanked Wu Hai in their own way, he had not been welcomed gently by them. It wasn't formal, but it was something. They were quite simple and easy for Wu Hai to talk to.
Wu Hai's patience had won them over, in his opinion, it was either that, or the booze. Either way, they were much easier to tolerate and in better moods.
The Cheng Twins talked about themselves for a bit, it was hard to listen to. After learning more about the brothers, Wu Hai decided it was time for him to go. He wasn't sure what sort of animals roamed the area, he was just curious about the Campers. The night was filled with dangers, the Brothers seemed intent on having him stay for longer, Wu Hai had made an impression.
Neither of the Twins seemed worried about their location, except for the occasional passing beauty looking for treasures in exchange for pleasures, no one would approach their tents. The women usually made off with all their riches by the daybreak anyway.
Wu Hai thought to himself for a moment while the two of them argued as brothers, in a way it reminded him of Zhan and himself as Children. 'They might have more fun traveling with me, the Brothers were a lot nicer than I expected'
Then they asked, there was a lot of humility in their words but Wu Hai had to give them credit, the two brothers were extremely honest with their words. "Brother Wu, let us go with you. We are strong! We are stupid, every time we see girls we lose everything, its hard here. Rocks and cold, the cold is coming again. I don't want to be cold. Yes, Brother Yu, lets go with him." They cut each other off in Twinspeak, "I agree" .., "So.. will Brother Zao let us come?" The Twins both turned in unison toward Wu Hai and asked.
When they looked upon Zao Wu Hai, their eyes were quite big and their eyes were reflecting the fire in their hearts. Then, they saw Wu Hai fumbling with a few small boxes in his hands.
"Brother, look.. we do have this... " Cheng Mu ran into the tent and came back quickly, in his hand he pulled out a small Cube, it almost clear with a tinge of white and it looked like frosted glass.
The Brothers had one of the Gygax.
They passed it to Wu Hai and he swallowed hard, 'How..'
"How... how is my luck so... I need this, I will not stand on ceremony but Brother Zao has many things to do in the future, I might not go to where you want to go. Are you sure you want to follow me? It won't be easy." Wu Hai spoke in third person and warned them as best he could, he was on an adventure, maybe saving them was part of it, he didn't know but he wouldn't drag the unwilling along, anywhere.
"We are strong, We can fight!" - "Yes, We are strong. We will fight with you!" The brothers didn't let it go, they really wanted to join Wu Hai. Their enthusiasm was somewhat moving, they both beat their chests with gusto.
"In the Morning, we leave camp. Make sure you take everything with us. "Until I can tell which of you is stronger, you're in charge of your brother. Wear this, if you have magic, you can put stuff inside." Wu Hai handed the empty space bracelet to Cheng Yu.
"Magic hurts, we don't know magic." Sighing heavily, Cheng Mu said that the brothers had been forced to run from many enemies that had magic. They were common folk, stuffed out onto the plains as children and forced to fend for themselves. It was a lucky thing they even had each other, either alone wouldn't last long themselves.
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