Striton 9 - The Wind Magic rears it's ugly head! 
               (Cave of winds, Dragon's Bane)

-------* Cave halls.

	Roland raced to keep up with the rest of the group.  Rufus was going
to kill most of his army on the way down.  Zerus had sent another message
saying that Striton wasn't going to come up any time soon, so Rufus had 
decided to go into the cave to get him.  He thought it was going to be a
surprise attack.  Little did he know that Striton already knew he was 
coming.  Roland began to slowly drop behind the rest of the group, and
eventually lost them.  He didn't want to be in that group when they reached
Striton.  He continued along at his own pace now, paying heed to the sounds
of the group racing up ahead of him. <Racing to their own doom> Up ahead of
him, he saw one of the bounty hunters coming back in his direction.  Roland
stopped and melted into the shadows.  The soldier came running up to where
he was and passed by.  Roland stepped out of the shadows behind him and
yelled out to him, "Where do you think you're going?"

	The man turned around and looked at Roland confused.  "I was looking
for you!"

	"We have to catch up.  I had to stop to catch my breath!  Let's go!"

	The poor man ran back toward Roland.  It was only when he was a foot
away that he realized his danger.  "Wha..." he hissed as a battle axe cut
through his neck, cleanly slicing his head off.  His body fell to the ground
immediately, but his head continued to roll down the passageway.  It came to
a stop by a rock.  "Must have tripped and caught his own sword..." Roland
mused as he cleaned the blood off his axe. He continued to run down the
passageway, following the arrows.  The walls were starting to glow ahead of
him when he decided to stop.

	Hearing what sounded like a pack of wolves coming, Striton urgently
whispered to Serina, "Quickly, Serina, they'll be here any moment!"

	"I translating this as fast as I can, Striton.  Perhaps you would
like to do it!  Translating Nuian Runic isn't as easy as it looks!"

	"Ok, ok.  Just do it!  I want Rufus to get the biggest surprise
of his life."

	"Alright... Got it!"

	"Good, cast it! Diablo, there will be a man behind the main group. He
is one of my friends, so leave him alone, ok?"

	"Sure."

	"Light us with Darkness, and tranquil night we'll be..." As Serina
uttered the words, her voice became strangely smooth, like a quiet river.

	Rufus and his hunters burst into the room, weapons drawn.  Rufus
scanned the room.  "Where are they? Check the other rooms!"

	"Well Rufus, I guess you can't see us huh?  Doesn't this make you
just a tad bit nervous?"

	The bounty hunters stopped in their tracks.  They began scanning the
walls and ceiling.

	"Where are you Striton, so I may rip off your head!"

	"Why would I give you that pleasure, Rufus?  In case you forgot, you
are my enemy!  Why would I let you kill me?"

	"Show yourself, or be a coward and hide in the shadows!  We'll find
you eventually, because no one can hide forever!"

	"You know, you are right!"  To his right, a bounty hunter was cut
in two.  He gasped for a moment and crumpled to the ground.  His attacker
could not be seen.

	"Grrrr... You'll pay for that Striton!"

	"Not if you can't find me..."

	Right in front of him, a bounty hunter's helmet caved in under a
heavy object.  He screamed for a second or two before falling to the ground.

	Rufus backed up to the door.  "Men, form a wall!  They won't escape!"

	"Oh, do you think that will stop us?  Miles, do your work!"

	From behind came a giant wall of flame.  "Run if you want to live! 
Or are you afraid of being a coward?  Good old Rufus, you never learn!" Miles
shouted.

	"Run!" Rufus shouted.  Several of his men weren't fast enough and
were incinerated as the wall rolled into the chamber.  Rufus and what
remained of his army crouded into the audience chamber.  "Watch that door!
It's the only way in or out!"

	"That's right! And you are now all in one spot to be slaughtered
like cattle!  Do any of you want to plea for mercy now?  Any of you who
do, walk out with your hands where we can see them! And you will make it
out, for we won't allow those who wish to live die! Anyone?"

	Several of the hunters made a few steps towards the door. "You
traitors!  Forget about being paid!" Rufus spat.

	"Is it all money to you, Rufus? In case you haven't noticed, anyone
who stays with you shall lose their lives! What's more important, Money or
your life!" Striton's voice echoed into the small room.

	Beside him, Serina whispered, "The invisability spell is starting
to wear off, Striton.  In a few minutes, they will be able to see us..."

	"That what I am counting on... It will be the last sight they ever
see."

	"Striton, where are you?"  It was Roland.

	"I can't say friend, but I am here.  Lets just say that I am here
and everywhere at this moment.  Where did you run off to?"

	"I stayed behind.  I knew you would mount a strong attack against
whoever arrived first.  I did my best to warn you."

	"And thank you for that.  It allowed us to have a surprise for 
Rufus when he arrived.  Did they even notice you missing?"

	"Nope, only one of the hunters noticed me gone and came back to find
me though.  He has since gone from this plane of existance...You can't
live if you don't have a brain after all..."

	"How very true!  And now, you should take care of the few who had
brains enough to leave Rufus' team.  Tie them up with the rope in that
one pile over there.  Don't mess with any of the others yet.  We'll give
you an opportunity to do so later, ok?"

	"Fine by me.  You boys, come with me! Keep those hands where I
can see them, if you wish to remain intact, that is..."

	"Striton, the spell will wear off in a moment here..."

	"Good, time to scare the hell out of Rufus..."

	Striton passed his strength into the Armor of Wind, changing into
a form that was feared on Nu for ages : A white dragon.

	Sticking his head through the doorway, he caused a small flash. He
watched all the faces in the small chamber turn white has they saw him. Three
more hunters raised their hands and began to leave.  Striton let them pass
by, though he watched them carefully.  "Roland, three more to tie up!" he
called back into the main chamber.

	"And the rest of you... die now!  Unless you feel like begging for
mercy?"

	"You will get no such pleasure out of me, Striton! I would rather
die than beg for any sort of mercy, scum!"

	"Then die, Rufus!  I hope you had a nice life, because today is the
tomorrow you worried about yesterday..."

	"Do it, Razoni!"

	"Ha.  Brave to the end, I see.  Come out here, so you have a 
fighting chance.  I do not kill unless I am given a good enough reason.  So
come out here, Rufus, and give me one!"

	Rufus drew his daggers and slowly moved into the main chamber. In
front of him stood Striton, in human form. He was covered from head to toe
in white armor.  Rufus glared at the knight.  

	"Hello, Ruthless.  Ready to meet your maker?" Striton growled

	"Right, Razoni!" Rufus glared mennacingly. Yet deep inside, he knew 
it was already over.  Yet he could not tell why, until the club hit him in
the back of the head. The lights went out suddenly for Rufus.

	Rufus fell to the ground, unconscious.  "Untie those men, they are
no threat now." Striton called to Roland.

	Roland asked, "Are you sure?  They are still being paid by Rufus, 
after all."

	"Not anymore.  I will pay these men double what they were paid for
this job if they will go home and pretend that none of this ever happened."

	"Does that go for me too?" Roland queried.

	"Sure, you too. Though you can't leave. Lets get him back to the 
surface." 

	"I have a better idea Striton." Miles said, glaring at the 
unconscious form of Rufus.

	"And what would that be Miles?"

	"Through him into that cursed pile of treasure.  This is one man
who deserves to be cursed." Miles rubbed his hands together, as though
washing them.

	"I do agree, but we need him to take possesion of his ship.  And
we have a new use of it now...Roland, do you think you can do what you
said you could do when I met you last week? About Rufus' ship?"

	"I had already looked over it's blueprints, and I think I could do
even better than what I said I could do."

	"Good.  As soon as we get to a harbor, we can drop this loser off.
The mafia will take care of him for us.  Serina grab those bags of treasure
and lets get out of here."

	"Sure thing.  Hey boys, I think you will find this stuff to be an
interesting addition to the world economy.  Start hefting it out of here."

	One by one, the remaining bounty hunters picked up bags and began
to carry it out. Serina picked up one last spell book and began to leaf
through it.  "It's a shame to leave so much here...Whoa! What have we got
here?"

	"What did you find now?"

	"A teleport spell! We can just teleport all this stuff to the ship!"

	"What luck! Roland, call our friends back down here!"

	Roland ran up the tunnel as fast as he could.  It took a few minutes,
but eventually they had all gotten back.

	"Serina, do you think you can teleport that cursed pile with us?"

	"Yes, but why?"

	"A special gift to a certain organization that headquarters itself
in Evergreen?" 

	"Oh! I thought you said you would leave them alone?" Serina sounded
concerned.

	"I was going to, but if they could authorize such a vendetta as
this, they don't deserve to exist.  I won't send it to them all at once, but
piece by piece, so they suffer..." Striton answered.

	"That makes more sense." Miles said gleefully.  He too, found the
Mafia just a tad bit disgusting.

	"They didn't authorize this." Roland interrupted.

	"What? Then where did Rufus get enough money to pay for this army?"
Miles questioned.

	"He's a rich man, to own his own ship and all.  He called in quite
a few favors for this task." Roland explained.

	"Hmmm... I guess we don't need the entire cursed pile then.  Serina,
just teleport out the smaller pieces.  Someday, I may come back for the
rest, should I find a use for it.  Just the chains, charms, and trinkets.
Test that spell first, by teleporting the cursed junk into a bag.  I don't
want to be vaporized, after all..."

	"Good idea.  I don't cherish that thought either...." She bowed her
head in concentration. "...Light as a feather, thick as a board... these
things there to this bag here!...."

	A flash of light enveloped the pile of cursed treasure for a minute.
A clunk of metal to ground occured as the pile lost mass.  An empty bag
suddenly became quite full.  Serina untied the top and peered inside. "It's
all here and nothing seems broken! It worked!"

	"Now for us. Everyone prepare yourselves. This may be bumpier than
we expect. Some of you may wish to close your eyes... Go Serina! Take us
to Rufus' ship, the Dragon's bane..."

	"Ok." Again, she bowed her head.  This time, she pulled her focusing
orb out for assistance. "...Light as a feather, thick as a board... these
people and things in here to the deck of the Dragon's Bane out there!...."

	When the light cleared, they were outside, and on the deck of the
Dragon's Bane.  At the helm, a tall figure stood, gazing at them with empty
eyes.  Miles recognized the figure almost immediately, "Zerus Lagoon...!" 
Miles cried. "He lead the hunt for me!"

	Zerus yelled, "We have guests aboard men, take care of them now!"

	More weapons were drawn in that instant than in any single moment
on Nu that Striton knew about. Except the battle at Telenar, a few months
prior.

	Striton eyed the numerous weapons. It was quite a horrifying array
of implements. He laughed before speaking, "You may give up now...or go to 
the bottom of the ocean!" He laughed to himself as he saw the reaction of
Zerus' crew.

	Zerus' crew laughed for a moment.  The thought was ludicrous to them.
They did not laugh long, as before their disbelieving eyes, Striton changed
form, from human to dragon. Almost every one of them jumped overboard. "You 
shall not get away with this, boy!", Zerus spat.

	"It already appears I have..." Striton growled. He changed back to
his human shape.

	"I hate to fly, but I've got more important matters to worry 
about..." Zerus pulled a small sphere from his robe and smashed it to the
deck.  It exploded into a cloud of smoke, and when it cleared the mystic
was gone.

	Striton stood gazing at where Zerus had been for a moment before
starting to bark out orders, "Search the ship!  Make sure he is really gone! 
Tie Rufus up to the main sailarm!  I don't want him to get away! Roland? 
Take the helm.  Steer us towards the nearest harbor. It should be about a 
few days from here. To the southwest I believe."

	"What about the treasure, Striton?" one of the men asked.

	"Stow all of it down in the hull.  Everything but that bag of cursed
goodies.  Tie that up next to Rufus. We'll decide what to do with it later."

	"We're ready to go, Striton!" Roland yelled from the helm.

	"Hoist the anchors."

	The ship's engines roared to life and they were underway.  They 
headed southwest, towards the Isle of Shinbi.

----* Meanwhile

	Flying only a few hundred feet above the water, Zerus headed to the
south.  Towards Brightsand and Evergreen.  Master Lim would have to know
of this, and so would Candle when he returned.  Zerus was sure that neither
would be very happy about the latest turn of events.  A new force was
rising, and it's name was Striton Razoni, Wind Master....

----------------------
The end of the Wind Magic Trilogy.
In the upcoming weeks, you shall find what plans Striton has for the
ship, the Dragon's Bane...And what Roland has to do with it...
Until then, I leave you to come up with your own conclusions. :)