Mouse looked over as the opponent's keep fell to the ground in a pile of rubble and smiled. He turned and looked at the enemy shadow pointing at the direction talking with their support. He saw them lower their daggers and nodded. "Fine... It seems that you have won... Even before we had a fight to see who was better."
Mouse took a step back and appeared in front of the enemy shadow with his leaf dagger at the opponent's throat with a smile on his face. "I surrender... I see that you're better than me... I guess you were also able to get into our keep and see what we were planning." Mouse nodded and jumped, landing on a tree branch staring at the enemy shadows.
"You're very good... I don't sense any killing intent on you, and even when you had the dagger at my throat I couldn't sense it... Could you teach me that?" Mouse frowned and shook his head.
"Hahaha... I understand... Must be some secret skill or something like that?" Mouse smiled and nodded. "You don't talk much do you?" Mouse shook his head. "Well, later shadow guard... I'll keep practicing, so one day, I'll be a worthy spar for you... Even now I know I wouldn't even last a second."
Mouse smiled as he watched the shadows leave from the point he had to defend. He looked at the destroyed keep and started to make his way there. He walked through the forest admiring its trees. He lifted his hand as a piece of fruit fell into it. He took a bite of the apple enjoying the taste.
"Hey Mouse... I guess you didn't have to fight after all?" He nodded and smiled as he saw the firewarrior with the warriors walk out towards the path. He signed at the firewarrior, who nodded in return. "Its a pity you missed out, but you have to admit the brothers did a good job." Mouse nodded and looked towards the enemy keep.
He turned and looked at the firewarrior in confusion. "Bruises? Well, I got into a boxing match, and I won... The warriors, they did what they were supposed to do, and they held well... They didn't give up and held their line to a perfection... A bunch of tough warriors."
He looked up at the night sky and saw a familiar face landing near him. He smiled at Harnio and the priestess. "How did the both of you go?"
"Mouse... I have a new nickname... They called me storm demon." Mouse cocked his head and look at Harnio in confusion. "What happened up there Star?"
"A lot did, but our storm demon here caused the entire enemy unit on the second point to surrender without even a fight... He also scared their firewarrior... I don't think they'll pick up a fire energy weapon ever again." Mouse nodded at Harnio and gave him a thumbs up.
"Mouse what about you? I bet your fight was fast, and over before anyone could blink." He shook his head and looked at the firewarrior. "The brothers moved too quickly, and he didn't have a chance to go against their shadow... But I'm sure that Mouse would of won anyway." Mouse smiled at Harnio nodding his head.
"Well, next time... We better go to the keep, and see what those brothers have done... We still need to take the flag back..."
"They surrendered, the trial is over completely. We don't need to worry about the flag at all... And this all happened in the night before it all began." He saw the firewarrior nodding. "Probably better this way... Than there would of been less people watching us... I guess the brothers did a good thing, instead of waiting they got bored and went ahead."
"Them and their lady luck..." Mouse looked at Harnio in confusion. "Ahh. Mouse, they always talk about listening to lady luck, and when they hear her voice, and do something. They get a good reward they find by accident..." Mouse nodded and signed to him. "He said, the lucky brothers have voices in their heads, about coins, gold, wine and women I guess..."
"Am I your lady luck Mouse?" He smiled and nodded at Tofana in his mind.
"You'll never know if you don't ask Mouse, and I'm sure that if you asked, they wouldn't tell you anyway..." Mouse nodded. He walked near Harnio listening to how he became the storm demon, and how he made the firewarrior pass out. Mouse shook his head signing. "Remind me, never to make you angry, or hurt your friends."
"Heyyy Brother... They're here finally..." Mouse looked around the ruins of the keep and saw the brothers eating and drinking with two others smiling and having fun together. "Drummen is that the flag you're using as a napkin?"
He saw Drummen look down before standing and smiling. "Yeah, that's the flag... They gave up, so its nothing of value anymore... We won, so we decided to sit here to eat and drink, while waiting for you lot to come over." Mouse looked around at the destroyed keep sighing quietly. He heard the priestess curse and looked at her shocked face. "How in the blazes, did you do this much damage? I thought when the firewarrior said to do some damage, I thought a wall or two would be broken, but this is the entire keep... Its all rubble."
He turned and looked at Drummen and Cliffhopper and signed at them with a smile on his face. "He said. He didn't have a chance to fight because of the both of you, but still he's very impressed with your work... Good job."
"Thanks Mouse, come, come and have a drink with us." Mouse shook his head and waved at them before jumping onto the rubble of the keep. "Mouse are you just going to leave us here?" He turned and looked at them signing. "He said go celebrate this victory... As of tomorrow we become guards... I'm going to go sit in a river and relax in the quiet, before it gets too busy..."
Mouse jumped away from the destruction, jumping from tree branch to tree branch until he heard the sound of a river and stopped. He landed on the ground and looked at the river smiling. "What are you thinking about?" Mouse smiled and closed his eyes. "I was thinking about you?" He wrapped his arms around Tofana.
"Are you grumpy that you didn't get a chance to show off your skills like they did?" He looked at her smirk. "I saw you watching their fights, and also felt your heart racing... Especially the firewarrior's fight." Mouse nodded. "Yes. It wasn't fair I didn't get a chance to fight, but you saw that he wasn't a match for me, and I would of not felt satisfied about it." She saw him nod, "very true Mouse... You don't like to do things easily, and you end up doing things the most difficult way."
Mouse pretended to pout and relaxed his hands. "Ohh... My little shadow is all sad now... Come here. I'll give you lots of hugs." Mouse smiled and wrapped his arms around her again. He sat by the river with Tofana sitting next to him. "The ritual is over. We are going to be the Supremes' guards now... I haven't heard or seen anything about opening doors or strange requests..."
"You won't get them yet... Wait until after the ceremony. The attendants will try and start getting on your good side first... After a few months, a mission will be given to all five of you going to different locations... That's when you mustn't open the doors..."
Mouse nodded in thought. "Could the locations, be also a warning for those who go?" He watched as she shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry... It was a long time ago, and I've forgotten many things." Mouse looked up and frowned. "Tofana, we have a problem..." He looked at her, he saw her nod. "I can feel them too... They're coming... Go warn them... We can spend our time together after."
Mouse opened his eyes and moved as fast as he could back to the destroyed keep. He landed near where everyone seemed to be celebrating, and looked at the firewarrior with a serious look signing as fast as he could. "Slow down Mouse, you're signing too fast." Mouse signed again, but this time slowed down. "Are you sure?" Mouse nodded, and he watched as the firewarrior formed his long fiery sword in his hand. "Trolaiths... Get ready... They're here in the forest."
Mouse pulled out his short swords and jumped into the ruins. He turned and saw the priestess standing near him with her bow drawn. "It seems you'll get a chance to fight... Not for fun, but for life." Mouse nodded at her, and stood watching the trees point to their location. He pointed to the priestess who looked in the direction and heard her curse, turning around. "Stannir... We've got about five hundred coming straight for us... It's going to get bloody."
"Drummen walls now!"
"You got it..." Mouse felt the earth move under him, and felt as walls of earth rose into the air with him and the priestess looking below. He turned and jumped down landing near the firewarrior signing. "Why are they attacking now?"
"Its all part of the plan of whoever created them."
"Mouse!" He turned and looked at Harnio breathing heavily. "I found an alpha... I can sense it." Mouse pulled the firewarrior to Harnio and signed. "Where is the alpha?"
"Its... out in the pack... At the back... It's watching the entire forest..." Mouse turned and looked out in the distance. He closed his eyes listening to the trees. He smiled, and looked at the firewarrior signing. "He found it... Shadow, that is your target... Get rid of it. If you see any small fry along the way, you can take them down too, but alpha is yours. After I settle things here, I'll be joining you out there."
Mouse smiled and nodded jumping onto the walls. He looked back and saw the firewarrior start to order people around. He looked at the sky as rain started to fall again smiling. "Go... I'll take care of as many as I can from here..." Mouse nodded at the priestess.
"Mouse... You better come back with the firewarrior... We still got to spar, and we have to take him out for a drink." He turned and looked at Drummen and Cliffhopper in his bear form. Mouse nodded, ran and jumped off the wall landing in the trees and jumping through the branches heading towards the alpha.
He looked up, and watched as green fireballs flew over him, and the sound of arrows flying around him. He smiled and looked back at the wall with his thumb up. "Would she see that?" Mouse nodded, and kept running.
He landed and looked up and saw a large beast staring at him growling. He pulled his short swords out and smiled.
"Weakkk... Come children... Kill! AAARRRRGH!"
Mouse smiled, and jumped, running along the wall of rock, jumped on a branch, feeling it drawing back before releasing him sending him high into the air he landed in front of the alpha. "Get... him."
Mouse started moving striking and slicing through any trolaith that got close to him. "Not without me you don't."
"Boooommm!" Mouse looked up as the firewarrior struck trolaiths around him turning them into ash. "Hey, we're a team, so we should be fighting together... Let's get the alpha." Mouse nodded and moved through the lines and lines of trolaiths. He looked next to him and saw the firewarrior keeping up with him. He nodded, and sliced the head of one as it tried to bite his arm. He ducked and sliced another in half. He turned and looked back at the keep, before turning back and slicing through more trolaiths making short work at whatever came his way.
"Good work Mouse... Almost there."
He nodded and stood staring at the alpha trolaith. He started to walk around the alpha, while the firewarrior walked around it the other way. "Mouse wait for it..." He looked at the firewarrior in confusion, and watched as the firewarrior started to signal him. He smiled and nodded, watching as the firewarrior threw a fireball, which caused a crater underneath the alpha as it jumped into the air, and landed in the crater.
"Grrrr... You missed."
"BANG!!!"
"No I didn't... See you alpha."