The Tale of the Unsacred Water [Lao]

She was expecting to be waiting for a few hours, perhaps until they’d finished their breakfast, and had adjusted her posture to compensate. What a surprise, instead, when another apparent Human would burst from the underbrush in what she could describe was some sort of… forbidden fighting style. The moves she observed from her place in the tree were like nothing she’d ever seen before, and eyebrow raised as he flawlessly avoided a potentially lethal beheading.

When he announced what he was doing however, the Satyr could only blink in confusion at the newcomer. “D-Dancing-?” She whispered. “What kind of ‘dancing’ was that?” Still, that meant that he might have been in trouble after all. If the Dog-men samurai’s growling and posturing with their swords were any indication, this could have potentially been the man’s last moments. Zriracha gave a sigh, standing from her branch with a growl, “I only need one, I believe…”

With that said, the 6’ 3” Satyr would drop from her tree and allow herself to freefall the distance to the ground. As the Samurai rushed Lao, Zriracha’s form would crash into the ground into of him, a sword materializing in her hand just in time to block the impending swords. At the blades clashed in a flourish of sparks, the Demon would look down upon the warriors with a cold expression, a grin pulling up her lips. “Not today, my friends,” Before her superior strength would push the two samurai – and their swords – away from her.

The force of her strength threw them onto their backs, the zoan’s staring at her in shock as they scrambled away. The other two mercenaries looked at each other for a moment before they pulled out their guns and aimed. Zriracha’s eyes focused on them, summoning her other blade to her hand – effectively duel-wielding two swords. “You. Dancing Mortal.” She glanced back at him, giving him a fanged grin. “Mind taking on those samurai or do you need me to do all the heavy lifting?”
Lao

Well, he might have been a great dancer, but perhaps paying attention things around him was a more… daunting task. She chuckled as her new-found ally seemed to get right into the thick of things, however and she refocused her efforts on the two gunmen. In spite of her appearance, which must have been somewhat intimidating, they trusted that their weapons would do the job. Still…

So did she.

When the bullets came her way, ejected from the rifles at… well, bullet speed, the Demon was rushing forward faster than most Humans could possibly see. Her swords swung with lethal accuracy, cutting and slicing each bullet that spewed from their weapons as if she were cutting them all in slow motion. As she reached them, the Satyr would twist her weapons in hand with a finesse, slicing their guns like a hot knife through better and slamming the pommel of her swords straight away into foreheads of the two gunmen. For a few intense seconds, there was nothing – no sounds, no movement… before they would fall backwards and land in the grass – unconscious.

Satisfied with a little cock of her head, Zriracha would allow her weapons to disperse back into magical particles before turning her attention to her new ally. “Well, that was certainly a morning workout, though you have caused a few… complications with my morning.” She approached, hooves smooshing against the grass firmly. Once she was near, she placed a fist over her chest and bowed, “I am known as Zriracha of Chakkapak. To whom do I owe the pleasure?” She greeted with a grin, curious to know more of this mysterious and surprisingly capable fighter. She was pleased that he also was privier to ending things with nonlethal force as well. It would make interrogating the adventurer’s of their information much easier.
Lao

She was impressed that he didn’t seem intimidated by her, humbled by his wave and casual introduction. “Well met, Lao Humble Student,” She teased, knowing that wasn’t his name but unable to resist the temptation to joke. As for his question for why she was here, she would give a shrug, “It is actually quite fine; I was growing bored with their slow-going investigation. I am searching for an artifact and they,” She threw a thumb in the direction of the sleeping group. “-happen to be searching for the exact same thing. It is supposedly a sacred water that this capable of increasing one’s strength many fold, but I am not so convinced.”

She walked over, catching his little joke and giving a sarcastic, “Ha Ha, funny Human, aren’t you?” She picked up one of the Zoans and slung him over her shoulder, his weight hardly a matter for her strength. “I’m going to take one of them with me and, when he awakens, we’re going to spend some quality time together in a good old fashioned ‘interrogation’.” She grinned, looking forward to all the harmless fun she could have with him. She had many magical illusions that could scare even the most stone-hearted of mortals.

She looked to Lao with a grin, an idea coming to mind. “Would you be interested in this mysterious water? I have no need for the power it supposedly contains, being a Demon, but in exchange for your help – I’d be fine with you taking it.” She turned, finishing over her shoulder. “Otherwise, I intend to destroy it.” She wasn't certain if such a thing was possible - or, again, if it even existed - but if there was one thing she could do to bring balance to the world, getting rid of this strange water was one way of doing it.
Lao

As they walked, Zriracha would occasionally turn back to Lao to answer his questions, “You do not have to worry about this one. He will not be physically harmed, though I’m certain he won’t know when I’m through with him.” She looked around, searching for a nice secluded place to get her interrogation under way. As he spoke of his distaste at the water’s ability to give him strength he didn’t earn, the Demon would laugh, “Well, that’s certainly a different way to think about it! I merely desire for this water to dissuade weaker ‘heroes’ from drinking it. Should they survive, and that is a BIG ‘should’, their power would undoubtedly skyrocket.” Still, there was an spark of respect there for the warrior that refused a hand-out and shortcut.

When she spotted a nice spot to stay, she dropped the Zoan as if he were merely a bag of potatoes, turning to Lao to answer, an eyebrow raised, “Really? I was certain a man as worldly as you would have surely seen one of my kind before… Well, unless they were disguised. That is sort of thing we do,” She chuckled, giving a half-hearted shrug. “We hail from the Realm of Demons, of course,” As if it were obvious. “A moment, if you will.”

She raised a hand and snapped her fingers, a ring of black smoke manifesting before it settled over the gunner’s face. For a second, he did not react before jolting awake with a gasp. She raised her hand again, materializing her weapon and pressing it close to his throat. As he looked at her and she looked at him, grinning with fangs presented, she would introduce herself. “Welcome to the world of the awakened, my friend. I am known as Zriracha of Chakkapak – a Demon.” His eyes widened, apparently also never having seen a Demon before but not nearly as composed as Lao. “I will make this quick. Tell me of the Sacred Water’s location. I am not without mercy if you are truthful. But,” She pressed closer to his throat, the blade nicking his skin, “-Lie, and you will regret it. Simple, yes?”

He stared at her for a full second before he stammered, “U-Uh, water? We… were after treasure!”

She raised an eyebrow, not convinced. “Treasure?”

“Yeah! Gold, jewels and-”

“I know… what treasure is. Do not think so low of me that I do not have ears to listen to your band of merry men. You spoke of the sacred water. You know where it is,” She saw realization click in his eyes, having caught him in his lie. “See, now that… that was a lie, was it not?” She questioned softly, head tilted. “Now I have to punish you, Mortal.” In response, the blade at his throat began to ignite near the hilt of the blade, black flames starting to slowly crawl along its length toward the Zoan’s throat.

Suddenly, he remembered fear and began to panic, trying to lurch away from the sword at his throat. “AAAHH! I-! I’LL TALK! JUST STOP!”

In an instant, the flames were expunged just before they could reach him – though he might have been singed a little. “I’m listening.” When she’d gotten the information she needed, the Satyr would give a satisfied nod. “Very good. You live for another day. But try not to sleep too long.” She stood up, moving her blade from his neck as he looked at her with furrowed brows.

“Try not to wh-”

CLONK! With a simple, yet effective kick of her hoof, she knocked her little friend out and turned back to Lao. “Well, that was fun. And see?” She pointed at his body, “Hardly a scratch. Just a bump. Shall we be on our way?”
Lao

The Demon gave a cute little thumbs-up, “That I did, though it’s going to be quite a trek from here.” She looked off in the distance, recalling the landmarks that her little furry friend had given her, before she pointed, “Off near the northern mountains, there is a cave where this ‘sacred water’ is collected, protected by brambles that – if we get cut by them – could kill us,” She gave a shrug, unbothered by the threat. “-Then, beyond that, is a puzzle of some kind that is enforced by an invisible guardian with the power to see into our hearts and kill us if our desires are evil.” She looked over at Lao, grinning as she joked, “You might want to steer clear of me just in case, unless you fancy a little blood bath.” Finally, she would finish, taking in a large breath before exhaling, “-Lastly, we will have reached the water and – after that – we’ll just have to destroy the spring from which it flows.”

After a moment of silence, her shoulders slumped and she held a hand to her face with an incredulous laugh, shaking her head “It all sounds so ridiculous.” She looked back at Lao, “Did you catch all that?” As Recalling everything the Zoan had told her, even if she was sure he believed every word of it to be true, the Demon couldn’t help but think that most (if not all) of it was hearsay and rabid fabrication. Only now, when wild imagination could be translated to adventure, could Zriracha believe that mortals would actually follow these instructions.

“Ready to get going?” She asked, starting her passive aggressive stomp in the direction. She swore that, by the end of all this, if nothing were to go her way she would at least be able to share a story with her family if she ever managed to get back home.
Lao

Zriracha felt a little sorry for the Zoan as Lao kicked him but didn’t really care much for his fate besides. As they walked, the martial artist seemed to leave some burning questions for the Demon to answer, certain that his comment wasn’t his own opinion on the matter. Their journey wasn’t nearly as perilous as she had guest it to be as they passed through the vegetation and uneven ground. She tossed some answers his way, “You would be correct that we all have our own ‘evil desires’ – yet I would wager that this ‘invisible being that can destroy those with evil hearts’ is likely just a metaphor from an age long past. The perspective of evil is hotly debated and subjective to what side you are on.”

She paused briefly, feeling introspective. “As an agent of chaos, balance is important to me – order has it’s place by chaos’ side as all things within creation are tied to a contrasting other.” She looked back at Lao, an eyebrow arched in amusement, “I bet you didn’t expect a Demon to lay claim to such an ideal, did you?” She chuckled, continuing on, though never to far from Lao that she wouldn’t be able to hear his responses or other questions.

As they approached the brambles, Zriracha scoffed with laughter as his impatient tone, “Temper, temper! We’re here…” She took in what she supposed was meant to be some great deterrent to enter whatever lay beyond the brambles. Black as the night and with barbs as long as her arms, the Demon’s face scrunched up in doubt as she looked for a way in that didn’t require them to touch the brambles. Yet, even as she looked, it appeared the vegetation – if it could be called that – reached well beyond the great slice in the mountain that lead the way into the oasis and – if she was seeing this right – even grew over the mountain itself.

“Hm,” She grunted with concern, bringing a hand to her chin. “We’ll either have to cut or burn away these roots. Be very careful not to touch them, alright? If the rumor are true and they are filled with a potent poison, I will have no way to treat you…” She grinned sharply, fangs glinting, “Although I could always slice an affected limb away to save your life – in a pinch, mind you.”
Lao