The Call of the Dragons [Quest]

Reo walked out of the Odd Tree shop feeling…different somehow. That scroll had unveiled a part of himself he didn’t know existed. Of course, he was a ninja and he always knew about ninjutsu but somehow ninjutsu felt more natural now, like it was a part of who he was. Could he find a way to combine ninjutsu seamlessly into his Taijutsu? Reo wasn’t sure at the moment. He hadn’t heard of a ninja doing it that way. Ninjutsu consisted of massive attacks that exploded and destroyed entire towns. Well, at higher levels. At Reo’s level it consisted of little more than fighting through failed clones. Still, the concepts seem to click within him in a way they never had before. With this knowledge, he could become a ninja unlike any that had ever been seen in this village.

[Post 1: 139 Words]

One day at least. That power he gained could be used to defend the village and help his clan. A piece of paper drifted by in the wind and landed on the wall of the Odd Tree Shop. Unsure what he was doing, Reo reached out and grabbed it. It was just a scrap piece of paper, so he shouldn’t have felt the need to do so but the shop he had been in was strange and he couldn’t help but feel like maybe this paper was more than meets the eye. After-all, he had just opened up that scroll there – though the shopkeep had tried to test him in some way.

[Post 2: 112 Words]

Reo turned the paper around and found…a map? It was hand drawn, and poorly at that. In fact, it looked like Reo himself had drawn the map with its vague circles for hills and sand dunes. However, the X in the center of the map drew Reo’s attention. It was in the middle of the desert, or so it seemed, but the label said Temple of Ryu. Ryu, pronounced Re-u. Reo, pronounced Re-o. The similarity to his own name was striking, though it should have borne no importance to him. Many things sounded like his own name. Yet, this shop was strange. Could it really be a coincident that he left this shop only to find this piece of paper flying in the wind outside of it?

[Post 3: 118 Words]

No. Reo was a man (child) of belief and faith. He was a Monk. He couldn’t simply walk past this piece of paper and assume that it wasn’t some sort of sign meant for him. Perhaps it was another test orchestrated by the Shopkeeper (Reo would have to make sure he got the man’s name next time he went into the shop. Calling him Shopkeeper repeatedly in his head felt disrespectful and his sense of propriety simply couldn’t stand for it). So, what options did that leave Reo with? Very few as far as he was concerned. He had to track this Temple down, but he didn’t even know where to begin.

[Post 4: 112 Words]

As Reo thought, he could only come to one conclusion. The map was not in good enough shape to follow as it was. It was poorly drawn and he would only end up lost in the desert. The better route would be to uncover more information about the temple and its possible location before unearthing such a task. With that in mind, Reo begin to walk back to his clan house. Reo was a member of the Gojisou clan who dealt in sealing many creatures – of which they refused to tell Reo very much about – and they were also relatively spiritual. As such, many members delved into faiths of many different kinds in their studies. Perhaps one of them could help him uncover the secrets of the Temple of Ryu.

[Post 5: 132 Words]

The Clan house of the Gojisou was near his own house, and Reu smiled as he walked past the house. It was the weekend and he didn’t have the Academy today, so his parents may wonder where he was at all day. Still, he was a kid and running around outside was nothing if not expected. As he walked through the sandy city, Reo began to examine his little handdrawn map. It looked like it was made by someone even younger than himself. A pre-Academy ninja perhaps? Well, not ninja but future ninja. If so, how did they uncover the information related to the Temple? Passerbys stared at Reu as he looked at the badly drawn map and, at one point, he thought he saw Tsubasa Mibu walking by. He would have waved and asked him to join but hesitated. This was set out for him. Perhaps he was meant to do this alone?

[Post 6: 154 Words]

So, Reo ignored the boy who was essentially his foster brother and continued walking. Eventually, he arrived at the main house of the clan. House Gojisou was a towering structure compared to the small hovels around it – but it housed many people. Many clan members chose to live within the house in a kind of commune, but Reo’s parents chose not to do the same.

“Oh, Reo.” One of the Monks said as he entered. It was Monk Godrusai. Reo gave a deep bow to the man and felt a drop of sweat fall off his forehead and hit the sand floor beneath him. This was the very monk who was guarding the door when Reo had stolen the Scroll of Extending. That…was a mistake on Reo’s part. The gifts it had bestowed upon him were incredible and he could feel the differences in his body – but the act itself ate upon his soul. It was terribly selfish of him to steal, and he regretted it.

[Post 7: 166 Words]

“Greetings, Master Godrusai.” Reo said as he came out of his bow. “I was wondering if you had ever heard of a Temple of Ryu? I am looking into it for personal reasons.”

Reo tried to make the conversation as normal as possible but found himself faltering s he spoke. Master Godrusai, for his part, did not react to the faltering or appear mad.

“Temple of Ryu? Hmm…Yes, I do believe I have heard of the temple before, though I cannot recall much. Perhaps we can retire to my study and explore the topic in further detail?” The monk placed his hand on Reo’s back and guided him into a side hallway which – in turn – led into another side hallway before eventually arriving at a door in the middle of a hallway which opened into a comfortable but small abode which belonged to Master Godrusai. In the center there was a small padded bench upon which Master Godrusai led Reo. “Now, Reo, before we discuss the Temple of Ryu – which we will discuss – I had a matter I wanted to talk to you about. You see, ever since the night you went into the Artifact Room, I have been unable to locate a certain Scroll of Extending. You wouldn’t happen to have seen the scroll that night, did you?”

[Post 8: 219 Words]

Reo froze completely. His face turned as pale as his dark flesh could.

“Ah. I see you have seen the scroll. Would you mind telling me what occurred to this precious artifact of ours?”

“M-master Godrusai. I took the scroll and read it – after which the scroll seemed to disappear. It said it…extended my abilities into another direction. I…I am sorry, Master. I have been unsuccessful in many endeavors lately and I wanted to be able to attain power to prove that I am worthy of our clan name – especially as I am a Pure member of the clan and part of the Fuin branch. I should not have done it and for doing so I will accept whatever punishment may fall upon me.” The words seemed to spill from his mouth unheeded. He hadn’t wanted to say as much as he had but the words didn’t listen. He told the man everything with no regard to what would happen to himself.


[post 9:164 Words]

“Thank you for telling me the truth Reo. I saw you sneak the scroll out that night, but it is not such a valuable artifact that I felt the need to stop you. We would have allowed you to read the scroll, if you had asked. While I cannot retrieve the scroll as it has already been read, I will tell the Clan Elders about this incident and leave your punishment up to them.” Monk Godrusai said as he stood up and walked over to a bookshelf across the room. “Now, I believe you said you were looking for the Temple of Ryu? It is quite an old temple and I am afraid I do not know why it exists, but I do have a book which mentions it briefly. If I can only…ah, yes. Here it is.”


[Post 10: 138 Words]