Chapter 99: Fated Encounter
The team joined a pretty big caravan that traded in different types of cloth which they carried in huge bundles. Some of it was so thin you could see through but it was extremely resistant to the elements. It was a commodity very well received in Shinjuku by the members of the high society.
There was a lot of money invested on the cargo and even though the road was kept safe, it was not strange to hire their own security personnel in case something unforeseen happened.
Rahz and the others paid a protection fee and a little extra for a place on a wagon and joined the Textile merchants in their travels. The atmosphere was extremely festive as it was a relax trip and they could just take in the sights and the new things the Abyss had to offer. There was another benefit inside the abyss, they didn't have to worry about looking over their shoulder for bounty hunters as the caravan had a few third tiers that took care of the protection.
"Wow!!! That Purple Moon made my Chaos Fire intensity raised by a little bit, I feel that I am advancing without really having to do anything, if is like that everyday, I should be able to possess third tier Chaos Fire before I finish my training at the temple".
Riddick nodded as his Chaos Fire was also benefiting immensely from the Blue version of the moon. The challenge was to know when to sleep and when to be active because the sky looked like sunset with different shades most of the time. In order to solve this problem, Gnomes invented a device that could help maintain track of the night time according to outside standards and help people traveling in the Abyss get some zzzz…
The trip to the first city of Shinjuku lasted about three months and was too uneventful for Rahz and the others that close to the halfway point were already sick of being coop up in a wagon. In order to cure their boredom, they decided to explore the surrounding areas to the main road and BBQ some of the beast and weird creature they found in the wild. The problem was that the majority of the species in the Abyss all used Chaos Fire or high level poison which made their taste too sour to Rahz and Elune. Riddick and Midori, however, were having a great time as she could eat the poisonous ones and Riddick the rest.
The team's outings usually lasted for a few hours and they were always back with the caravan in the 'evening'. There was no problem for Rahz and the others to catch up to the convoy thanks to Elune's Spirit of the Wolf spell that increased the movement speed of the group and reduced the fatigue during prolonged periods of running.
"Kin!!! Look... a small Non demon" said Riddick while poking a dwarf that was laying by a rock with broken pieces of stone all over his body.
Rahz came over to check what exactly Riddick was talking about and it was in fact a badly battered Dwarf that somehow was still alive. He had a leather drum by his side and had been left as food for the demons in the field.
The Dwarf had a pretty long beard that was braided and adorned by a nice bronze clip but his leather pants were a little too tight for Rahz's taste. Elune was called over and after the urging from Rahz and Riddick she took one of the potions left behind by Master Chrysalis leaving only 1 left for an emergency. There were no other options as he was barely breathing, and had multiple broken ribs, it was truly a miracle he was still alive.
Rahz held the dwarfs mouth open while Elune pour in the potion, the moment the liquid went down his throat, the stone like skin started disappearing and the real skin was left with holes in all the places where a piece of stone was missing before. The dwarfs bones were showing and the skin was being repair in real time.
Gasp!!!
The Dwarf gasp for air as he opened his eyes like he had been underneath water for a while and jump backwards trying to get away from everybody before hitting the rock he was leaning against.
"Is OK, you are save now"
"Hoy!! don't think cause you save me, you can order me around!! Although, if is the girl over there I'll consider it? Whats up girl… since you save me you have to take responsibility"
….
"Midori give him a beating" said Elune.
Midori move super fast and toss a tailwhip at the dwarf half heartedly since he look pretty chubby but to everyone surprise he quickly roll to the side and bounce off the ground dodging the tail that hit the rock behind.
Boom!!
"Hmm that packed a wallop but you have to …"
Tud!!
Before he finished speaking Midori had already popped out of his shadow and tailwhip him in his back. The stone skin appeared once more by reflex to protect him but his internal organs were still shaken up.
"Damn!!! What are you, I never seen a serpent do that, it was pretty cool"
HISSS!!
Midori lifted her head in a proud way after hearing the statement, she had worked hard at learning the skill and was sort of happy that her work was being recognized. Elune rolled her eyes and cast a very quick Icy Winds that drop the dwarfs temperature to the core.
"I give up … I give up … Pretty lady… It was a joke.. Alright ..Alright.. I can be your slave but I need 3 barrels of Ale a day and not that weak shit the Elfs make called wine .. That is Horse Piss... I need me some Fire Breathing Ale from those Balrog Demons and that is my final Offer".
"Let's go guys, I told you, we shouldn't have used the potion on that guy" Said Elune while leaving the area.
"Take care" Said Rahz while smiling, he thought the dwarf was pretty funny and he was able to tell that he had experience in combat or at the very least in avoiding damage.
Everyone could see that his timing on stone skin was perfect and he had minimized the damage Midori inflicted while still putting on a front to get pity points from Elune that decided to forget about the whole thing.
The dwarf was going on and on about how he had tried wine and how it was the most deceptive drink he ever had, and how he woke up wearing a sombrero while being hug by a gorilla on a cave and to top it all off with a splitting headache.
When he finally look to see the faces of his audience, he discovered he had been talking to himself while the backs of Rahz and the others were fading into the distance. This was an opportunity Jazz couldn't waste not only did they saved his live but they didn't beat him up too bad when they heard all the crap he was talking.
Jazz ran to pick up his drum and ran after the group, he started playing the drum in a rhythm tuh tuh tuh pah.. tuh tuh tuh pah... tututututuut pah.. The tempo of the song accelerated in a set pattern and when beat was at the highest speed Jazz could sustained, he activated the skill Accelerando. Mana pour into the drum and magic particles cover his body as his movement speed increased by 40%. The speed he could hit the drum before activating the skill dictated how fast the buff was going to be with a maximum increased of 65%. For a Level 19 Bard an increase in 40% was amazing.
"Wait up guys!!"
Jazz caught up with the group and while he was leisurely running beside them, he started a conversation. Rahz thought it was very peculiar that the dwarf hit the drum in a rhythm from time to time but decided not to ask seeing that the talkative Jazz would probably tell him on his own. 30 seconds into the conversation Jazz explained to Rahz that he needed to play a piece of the song in order to maintain the magic enhancement that was increasing his movement speed.
"My name is Rahz, what's your name?"
Jazz cleared his throat and look at Elune to see if she was paying attention and said, "My Name is Cliff Redbeard from the Redbeard Clan but everyone calls me Jazz. He kept looking at Elune to see if he had impressed her with his nickname but she didn't give him a second look.
"Nice to meet you Jazz, this Riddick, you met Midori and she is Elune, How did you get beat up to an Inch of dead".
As the team was getting acquainted with their new friend, at the site the caravan was resting for the day, a very powerful demon appeared. The demon created a black sphere with a mirror like finish in his right hand and whispered to himself, "I wonder why my master would risk a confrontation with Lord Thug'dromog over a caravan full of ants from the outside".
A creepy smile appeared on the demon's face and then…
BUZZ!!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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