[IC] A Hero Tale {Complete}

[Jensoman]

Jenso nodded at Bill. "Definitely." He reassured him, turning to Harold as he spoke. He respectfully took the enveloppe and put it in his pocket. He walked towards the front door, opening it as he looked over his shoulder at his three friends. "Thanks for everything guys! Be safe, alright?" He said, closing the front door as he headed off into the unknown. Towards Zentai.

[tex]

The trio of Arcadian residents walked towards the door and waved him off from the shop's front entrance. The entire square had bodies strewn about, but Jenso made his way through them, resolute to avenge their deaths the only way he knew how. But finding the culprit, and kicking his ass. But he couldn't just run into a minefield without the proper tools. So with that in mind, he made he way towards Zentai, a country to the east. It was quite the trek, but Jenso was ready to make it.

"Oh Jenso! Jenso!" Maggie called out, sprinting towards him and avoiding the bodies. She handed him a bag full of sandwiches and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't starve!" She asked him, before running back towards the safety of her home. Bill waved hard and toppled into his wife, crying his eyes out while Harold just stood there, staring at Jenso as he made it way out of town.

"Godspeed," Harold muttered, "And good luck"

---

~ End Of Chapter 2 ~

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Chapter 3

_Bandits!

Jenso found himself on the grand trail in no time, a road the merchants and travelers took on a daily basis, but not one that Jenso had ever traveled on before. Leaving Arcadia was once something beyond his capabilities, but with almost nobody left to protect, and a new evil force on the horizon, he was forced to step foot onto the unguarded and dangerous twisting paths between the most powerful countries. It didn't take long for Arcadia's tall buildings to disappear over the horizon. This was the infamous grand trail, epic in scale and danger.

After several hours of walking, the trail was blocked by a wrecked carriage with a few dead horses nearby, along with their owners. It looked as if someone had pillaged the people riding it, as there was a huge hole in its side, with a few boxes torn open nearby. Jenso could hear something coming from behind it. Voices? Who knew.

[Jensoman]

As Jenso walked, many thoughts went through his mind. This new adventure was a bit scary for him, but it was exciting for the most part. He couldn't wait to find out what he would run into. He wasn't going to be careless, though. He nearly died not too long ago, and he certainly had no intention of letting anyone get the better of him this time. As he noticed the wrecked carriage, he quickly hid behind the debris. Whoever or whatever did this could still be nearby. Jenso heard the noise, and attempted to sneak closer, while remaining hidden so he could overhear what was going on.

[tex]

"They squealed like pigs!" One man whispered aloud, following it up by making a pig noise. Two or three other men laughed in response. Jenso couldn't tell how many there were on sound alone, but he heard a few different voices. "Can't believe all they had 'was shiny silverware. It's gunna be months 'fore we can fence this shit."

"They was headed to Arcadia though! They one-horse-town aint got no-one rich enough to afford silverware this fancy. D'ya think they were movin' in?" Another man with a lighter, more bulbous voice commented. Jenso could immediately remember the news that Gregory's cousin and his wife would be moving into town within the week. They were rich people, and were making multiple trips to transfer their belongings personally. Did these men..?

"Shame we had to kill those horses. Tough and loyal, they wouldn't have been a use to us anyways," A third, stout man's voice said. He sounded like a killer with no emotion. Who the hell..

[Jensoman]

Jenso stepped out from behind the wrecked carriage, and got in a combat stance. "You're going to pay for killing these people! Drop your weapons and surrender, or I'll beat the shit out of you!" He shouted, waiting for the men to respond. He kept a close eye on any sudden movements that the bandits might make.

[tex]

"Eh?" All four of the Bandits immediate shot up from the boxes they were sitting on and pulled out their respective weapons. "Who the hell are you, banana man?" Each of them were equipped with a gun, every one of a different make. They all looked equally capable of inflicting serious harm though. Jenso had never seen weapons like this before! Were they magic? Before he could react, one of the men shot at him. The tallest, lankiest individual in the back. The other three bandits were startled by the staunch man's decision to fire his weapon without investigation. The loud-mouthed average-sized man flinched forwards, while the fatter man almost tripped. The fourth man who's face was covered didn't move, but closed his eyes in annoyance at his ally's swift action.

[Jensoman]

Jenso hopped out of the way of the man's shot, pulling one of the wheels from the wrecked carriage. He threw it at the head of the man who had fired upon him. After doing so, he'd dash towards the group of bandits while most of them were startled to launch a barrage of punches at them with both fists. "Fine, you asked for it!"

[tex]

The lead bandit jumped out of the spinning wheel's way, thoroughly surprised that this man was capable of dodging their gunpowder powered weapons. "Shit!!" He screamed, aiming to shoot at Jenso. But Jenso's fist had initiative, and with one punch, he knocked the man flat on his ass. The tall man was also taken aback, sure that his shot would kill Jenso on the spot. The wheel crashed against his head and split into two pieces, while shattering the man's head and knocking him out cold. The fat man fell over entirely, but the masked man was quick to retaliate, firing several shots at the now out-in-the-open Jenso before he could even reach him or his fat comrade.

[Jensoman]

Jenso attempted to weave in between the man's shots. He dashed to the man's right side, and aimed a quick kick at the side of the man's head with his left foot, hoping to kick him into the leader bandit. He kept part of his focus on the fat bandit though, not wanting to be caught by surprise.

[tex]

The masked man was taken aback by Jenso intense speed. He was at least twice as fast as a normal human, and his reflexes were insane! He was able to dodge bullet at near-point blank! That kind of speed was unfathomable to behold. The masked man attempted to reload, but Jenso's foot met his head a split second too early, and sent him crashing to the ground like a bag of potatos. The fat man had hit his head, and was bleeding out on his side. He dropped his gun and passed out. Jenso now stood alone with knocked out bandits surrounding him.

Suddenly though, the Bandit leader began moving behind him. He started to crawl away, keeping his consciousness just barely active.

[Jensoman]

Jenso looked around for a moment to make sure that there were no more threats nearby. He looked at the defeated bandits, and heard some faint noises behind him. He turned towards the Bandit leader and walked over to him. He attempted to move into the man's way. "So, what's the deal, huh? Did you and your crew have fun ambushing people?" He spat, clenching his fists. The whole matter made him angry. He looked down at him, waiting for him to respond.

[tex]

The Bandit turned around and face Jenso. There was a vivid red mark below his right eye where Jenso had managed to lay a strong punch, and what a punch it was. the man wasn't bleeding, but his eyes shook in their sockets. He had trouble keeping his sights set on Jenso. "Plenty," he muttered, pulling his gun up in a surprise maneuver and aiming for Jenso's heart. A crack echoed throughout the path as he fired in a last ditch attempt to take Jenso out.

[Jensoman]

As the man fired at him, Jenso tried to avoid the shot by quickly jumping out of the way. He dashed forward, aiming to kick the weapon out of the man's hand. "Tell me where Lark is, and I'll let you guys live." He said, despite there being the possibility that he would fail to disarm the man. He could use more information about the new area and where he needed to start his search within the forest where Lark would reside.

[tex]

Jenso narrowly dodged the bullet, but it still grazed the side of his shoulder, cutting into the fabric of his short sleeved yellow shirt and tearing a tiny strip of skin off of his body. His kick was successful in disarming the bandit though. The man kissed his teeth and rose his hands. "Issat so, bud? Well, I think I know just where you can find 'im," The man assured Jenso. "Go back the way ya went, it's past that little town over there, where the guy lives, I mean."

Of course he was lying. What a clod! Jenso knew he was lying!

"We promise we won't kill no more of those stupid civilians," The man mocked, shaking his head like an idiot.

[Jensoman]

Jenso got even more angry, and stared at the ground. "Well, you had your chance." Jenso said, aiming a punch at the man's head in an attempt to knock him out. If he were succesful, he would drag all the bandits to one spot, grabbing a thick, strong rope from the carriage. He would tie them up tightly, and then gather their weapons and smash them to pieces against the ground. After doing so, he would head further down the path.

[tex]

Jenso neatly tied up the bandits, leaving them next to the carriage for somebody to do with as they pleased. Would they die out there? Did Jenso care? Those merciless thugs were asking for an ass beating, and most would have killed them on the spot, but perhaps there was something in Jenso's heart that stopped him from executing them then and there. Compassion is a vital tool in the hero's arsenal, but sometimes it can be a very debilitating weakness.

Unbeknownst to Jenso, a small sparrow was watching his display from the tall grass nearby. What a curious little animal. Then again, it was just an animal. It followed after Jenso closely, fluttering from tree to tree and quietly as it could...

---

~ End Of Chapter 3 ~

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Chapter 4

_{Where Spiders And Hermits Lurk}

Jenso followed the path for hours, until the grasslands became thicker and darker, eventually changing into thick patches of trees the further he went. The path broke into two when the tress became too thick to easily walk between, and that's when he knew he was in Zentai forest.

At the fork in the road there stood a sign, very crude and weathered by the environment. It read 'Zentai' pointing left, but the other arrow was too damaged to read. Most people who used these roads regularly would know that the right path lead towards the ocean city of Shale, but Jenso didn't know how to navigate his way through the paths well enough to discern where anywhere was, except for Zentai. He'd stayed on the path, and followed the signs through about 5 or 6 forked road points.

At any rate, he knew where to go now. The forest was thick with vines and trees that only allowed Jenso to see a small strip of darkening sky above him through the treetops. Birds and other animals were abound, flurrying through the sky-view and across the path every so often. Something was dangerously new about this little venue, and it wasn't just the smell of plant life..

A strong odor filled Jenso's nostrils as he crept further, one he'd never smelled before. It smelled nicer than any flower he'd had the pleasure to sniff in his life prior, sweet and alluring like a dream. It came from the right, but also the left! It was everywhere, as if he'd entered a flower shop, but nothing visibly changed.

[Jensoman]

Jenso remained aware of his surroundings as he walked through Zentai forest. He hoped that he was getting close to his goal, but there was no way for him to know how much further he had to go. As the delicious smell entered his nose, he stopped. 'Wow...that smells really good..' He thought, looking around to find the source of the odor.

[tex]

Jenso looked around but couldn't see anything. There were no flowers, and no fruits. But as he stopped, he began to hear a little tweeting noise above his head. A small green sparrow was flying in circles above him, trying to catch his attention. It then flew down the path, staying close enough for Jenso to keep an eye on him.

As Jenso stepped forward though, there was another sound. A strange chattering, like a rodent's, but more guttural. Then, something crawled down a tree trunk on his right, too fast for him to notice exactly what it was. It was purple though, and had pink spots. Or maybe they were white? What the hell was it?