Tales of The Nine Lands: The Art of Life

by Darkened Powerslave

Chapter III - Running

I

It hadn't been more than an hour or two of sleep, and the Doctor woke up in sweat. Why he had, he did not know, but he saw that the sun had cearly risen to a point that was favorable for travel. He moved to his hoofs, and stood stretching. His yawn awoke a very tired Derpy, that seemed to have had no sleep whatsoever, and was aggrivated that the Doctor chose now to wake. He prodded around for some blankets, and picked up his stuff. His sonic screwdriver loosely jingled around in his back pocket, and he moved over to where the boy was sleeping.

The Doctor then thought to himself, He isnt really a boy, is he? Is he something different? Ugh I wish he would just tell me what he is, it is starting to bug me. I do not want him to risk putting me and Derpy in danger. I might have to take extreme measures with this one.

Derpy shuffled over to the Doctor while he was in mid thought, and she shoved him over. He yelped as he thudded to the ground, rolling over in the grass to look up at her. "What did you do that for?"

"That was for waking me up... Next time, you should let me sleep."

"Well its not like its beauty sleep, there isnt much to help there."

"Hey! You take that back!"

"Not gonna happen!" He grinned widely as he playfully teased at Derpy.

"You two act like you are a married couple." The boy stood up behind them, wiping the grass and dirt off of his duster and jeans.

Derpy and the Doctor blushed, and replied at the same time, "We're not!" Then they both looked at each other, and blushed widly. The boy chuckled as he strolled off, whistling a tune to himself.

"Where are you going?"

The boy turned around, "Its time to go, dont you know?"

The Doctor wiped his eyes with his hooves and looked up at the sun, which at this point gave the lighting for a good journey. He didnt really focus on where they were going to go, but how they got there. And traveling on hoof has never really been his favorite method of transportation. He usually just finds ways to get out of traveling by hoof, and getting Derpy to do some things for him anyway. "I guess it is time to go, (turning to Derpy) Cmon then! Lets get going!"

Derpy rushed forward with her blanket hung over her back, and trotted alongside the Doctor.

"Stop."

The three of them stopped in their tracks. A silence fell onto them, hushing thoughts and words. The boy (Now the Doctor was quite convinced he was a man.) knelt down to the ponies, and pointed to the town. The Doctor and Derpy didn't notice anything peculiar right away, but the man (Now not a boy.) pointed it out to them.

"They are issuing a search for us, and they have gathered the local guards. They will mount their horses and ride for us to catch us and hang us. We must leave this county immediatly, or suffer the consequences."

The Doctor was now all about leaving, and didn't speak at first, but nodded.

"What did you two do to get in that much trouble?" Derpy asked.

"I didn't do anything, this man (Been a long time since he has used that word.) on the other hoof, he was the culprit of capital crimes. I should have left him for dead!"

"Now, now, Mr. Doctor," the man tried to reassure him, "It was in good taste that you saved me, I am a rare species. At the least you will follow me to the Land of Red. There, is where I depart for the Gates to the East." He then gestured to the town, and the angry mob just waiting to find them. "Unless you are willing to deal with what is here."

"No, I dont think I want to stay here for too long. But I will keep my eyes on you! Just to assure you dont to anything silly while we are out on our adventures."

"Trust me please, I am not that kind of person. It is against my moral code."

"Moral code? I didn't know that people who get burned at the town square have moral codes."

Derpy once again butted in, "You two! We dont want to waste daylight, or risk the townspeople following us! We need to hurry up and leave." She planted her hoof firmly in the Doctors side, and started to walk forward.

"She is right, c'mon then Doctor! Lets have ourselves an adventure!"

The Doctor let out a sigh of disbelief, and of exhaustion. He started to trot behind slowly, and gaze out at the town. The people had already gotten out of their homes and grouped up. It seemed as if they were ready to charge out anywhere they were told, and at their head, the executioner who had been knocked out earlier. It was only a hit to the head, but still he must be fuming. But those rocks that he had picked up from the hill while climbing down did prove useful! And he was still laughing at the fact that the people believed him, when there were no tricks. But now they had to worry, because they were the target of a witch hunt. The Doctor knew about those a little more than he would have liked to, and he would like to avoid getting caught, as well as losing Derpy.

The man strolled down the hillside as if it were nothing, and planted himself at the bottom, slowly gesturing for the two ponies to follow. As they did, he sat himself upon the ground at the foot of the hill, and started whistling to himself. The Doctor had problems going down because of his hooves, but Derpy gently glided down to the bottom with her wings (Which still pisses the Doctor off sometimes.) But that was ok, because he knew that he didn't have wings (Other than that one time with the potion in the TARDIS, but that was a different story) and that was fine with him. He was still getting over the fact that he had lost his TARDIS, but that was going to take him a while to do, because he had never truly lost his ship before, and this was really the first time. It wasn't but a few moments and he was down the hill as well, but the few seconds he had been down there, he noticed something was off.

The Town.

It had already emptied out, and The Doctor noticed this.

"Umm, I think we may have to hurry up. We might have a problem on our hooves."

The man noticed what the Doctor noticed instantly, and pointed it out, "It seems they are replete in their selves, and are probably heading towards us now. To compound it, we are not really going to be faster than an angry mob. When they accost us, we are in for what we come for."

"So what may we do then? There is no way to surreptitiously leave?"

"I am a felon of the Land, so they shall take the precautions needed to capture me."

"What exactly did you do?"

"I am what many would call a hapless race. To not extend this story, many people are irate with my people, possibly for the fact that we are more advanced than other cultures." He paused, cajoling them to follow across the dust. "We must hurry at the utmost pace. We needn't waste our only time."

Derpy and the Doctor just nodded and trotted along, keeping a steady pace while the man gave a good lead from where the town was. They didn't want to be caught, and they also didn't want to be seen running, even if they were far away. The man knew that if they were to be seen, the townsmen would follow them no matter what. the townspeople didn't want to let them get away either, because it goes down on their records, and thus the Courtships would reprimand them for their inadvertent failure. But this was just the start of their journey, the inchoate step they took to bring about a great tale they were telling together.

The Doctor didn't know yet, but he would be in for a long quest, one incipient dreg that would carry out to be the thing that ruined him.

Under duress, they moved swiftly with furtive intentions, their steps gaining into a run. Of course they didn't run in the open, that would wrest their chances of freedom away from them. The Doctor was thinking to himself as they ran along, hurriedly collecting himself. This place that he will take us to... This Wearwind... A city in the place of a land that I have never heard of, maybe an alternate dimension that the TARDIS brought us to. Something here isn't right, and I feel that something is about to take a turn for the worse. Maybe it is the fact that we have a mob of angry people chasing us. Gosh... I haven't had people chase me in forever. But it is still terrible that this is the first encounter of people that Derpy has had.

Of course these thoughts were the things that kept the three of them company for the next few hours, because there was no speaking. Each of them just threw glances at the other, and the silence hung around them. Nobody really made any sudden movements, because the sounds would gather attention from creatures, though the Doctor and Derpy hadn't seen any of them yet. The man just cajoled them on, a scurrilous task that was of clandestine ethics. Every once in a while the Doctor would take a wrong step in a different direction, and the man would admonish him with his eyes, an inexorable gaze that gave the Doctor his impunity. Hoping to not jostle any trees or bushes too loudly, Derpy kept her wings to herself, and not stretched outward like she usually would, as the three moved under cover of night. Night and day fell and rose quickly here, the Doctor noted. It must be because of the mundane size of the planet. Of course, this mattered not, because traveling was still traveling, and they had to move as fast as they could until the man said it was safe to speak again...

II

It was an incongruous time when they reached the cliffside, a monolithic barrier that stood in the place of them and a river. The river was a cutting edge, almost to show euphemism in the face of the land. This obstacle was to the disdain of the ponies, and of course the man. It would intimidate their time, and its belligerent crossing would take hours. It must have been a hundred or so feet down at least until the river itself was reached, for the sound of the rapids below were muffled by the high winds that echoed through the trees that stood behind them. The harsh course that lay before them was not tangible enough to jump into, and the height would kill them on impact. But you could tell that by the look on the mans face, he was an aspirant; ready to go into the rampant danger that was set out before him.

He spoke, "I have an idea, and since we are stuck here there is nothing we can do but pool our ideas. We must cross this egregious path, and be sure that we include only a paucity of force into this to save strength."

Derpy nodded as the Doctor replied, "I concur, but we mustn't make too much noise. We also don't want a pernicious blow to the body, we wouldn't be able to carry on. Maybe if we could somehow lower something into the river and bring ourselves to climb down..." He didn't finish what he was saying, but the man understood, and Derpy interjected by stating some helpful information.

"Maybe if you needed, I could fly down and help from the bottom as you two work from the top!"

"Construe to me, what you would help with," the man spoke.

"Umm... Maybe lifting some things or bringing things to you? I could help in any way possible!" You could tell by her tone of voice that she was tired of being left out.

"I will allow you to help, just for Rha's sake, do not elicit any problems."

She flew down in her affluent happiness, gliding fast and swiftly down to the side of the river that was across from the cliff. Her happiness was shortly lived when she spotted what she thought to be the townspeople. Her bubbly eyes widened, and she fell silent. Rushing to find solace of the trouble, she hid behind a giant tree that stood at the edge of the river. It was a crowd of about 4 people, walking side by side,

The Doctor at this time, was on the ridge of the cliff, helping the man spot a tree to knock down. (One that was dead of course.) But the Doctor got bored and began to ask questions, like he usually would. His questions were not of great importance when he was tired of doing something, and they usually resulted in some of the most ridiculous answers. But he had nothing ridiculous to ask right now, and his astute remarks to answers were ineffectual as of now.

"So, even though we haven't know each other for a while, I am beginning to think that we will have to know a lot about each other if we are to stay careful. I don't want to scrutinize you with my questions, or persistently badger you with the same ones over and over again, but its vexing me that I do not know your name..."

"I am nobody you should have to badger. Your malady is one of your thoughts, and you need to peruse me before you obsess over your questions. It is an elusive subject, my life... And I do not wish to frustrate you with it, but it is your inert ability to keep questioning me that will not get an answer. Trust me, if you have your patience, you will be rewarded with the things you seek in this land. Even if you are doubtful of me, I believe what you say, for it is what I am supposed to do."

"And why are you supposed to do that?"

"Because I am myself. And what I am is a Gunslinger..."

At this moment, the Doctor didn't try and keep questioning the man, so he just answered at him with a nod, and went back to searching for a dead tree. This dead tree could be pushed over to lean against the edge. Then, they could roll it off the edge and tie it to a live tree, so they could slowly climb down the side of the cliff and drop down when they were close enough to the river. But the Doctor did note that he could have just been flown down by Derpy, even if she couldn't have flown the Gunslinger. Also he took it into note that he didn't hear or see Derpy around, and this was one of the things that was troubling him now. He scrambled over to the edge of the cliff, and scanned the area, slowly looking for the small gray pegasus.

The Doctor began to panic, he didn't want to lose his assistant. He moved over to another side of the cliff, and began to question if it was just Derpy playing around like usual, or a salient problem had arose.

"Umm, Gunslinger?"

The Gunslinger turned to him and answered, "I am busy, Doctor. Maybe you should try to do the same."

"We have a slight problem."

The Gunslinger moved towards the Doctor and stared out at the edge. "Where is your sanguine little grey friend? Has she gone and left for her own benefit?"

"No, that's just it. She would never leave on her own, and if something is wrong, she would have flown back up and talked to me."

"What do you say we do?"

"I say we go and look for her." Of course he still wasn't certain that she was lost, but there were signs of other living beings around. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver, and pressed it to the ground. "It seems that someone was nearby not too long ago. Maybe more than one person, or even other creature."

"How does that device work?" He asked, pointing to the Screwdriver.

"Oh well... Its sonic, and umm, it works. Maybe you shouldn't ask questions Gunslinger; if you are patient, you will be rewarded with your answer." The Doctor smiled at him, and of course the Gunslinger shot him a funny look.

They both had to hurry and get down to the river, and the time was not being grateful to them. The day was growing shorter, and the night was coming. But the Gunslinger had his tricks up his sleeves, and the Doctor was prepared for anything that would come to him. The Gunslinger moved in and out of the trees, and spotted a perfectly sized dead tree that sat in the middle of a clearing. His brute strength allowed him to rip it from its roots, and bring it to its sides. The Doctor helped by taking his Screwdriver and reinforcing vines to make a very strong rope, and that would be used to climb down. He made sure that he gathered a plethora of vines, and bound them to the fullest.

The Gunslinger took the dead tree to the edge of the cliff, and sat it on a clear patch of grass. He ran back to help the Doctor start to wrap the vine and tie it around the tree. He first tested it to make sure that it would not break at the slightest pull, and it wouldn't. He then moved to the edge of the cliff and tied the vine to the dead tree and checked for the same precautions. After making sure that everything was tight, he shoved the huge tree over the edge, and watched as the vine tightened. The massive crack that it made when it snapped into place almost scared the Doctor, thinking that it broke the vine, but it was just the tree colliding with the edge of the cliff.

"Remind me," the Doctor said, "What do we need the dead tree for?"

"So when we get to the bottom of the vine, we ride the tree into the water so it can hit the rocks, not us."

"Ah, smart idea!"

The Gunslinger nodded, and proceeded to climb down at his own pace. and the Doctor followed swiftly after him. The Doctor began to swivel back and forth on the vine, but he then regained his balance after a few lofty breezes of wind caught him on the side. His footing was a little bad, probably because he didn't have feet, but the Gunslinger heard something that caught his ear, and also made him uneasy.

GRRRRAAAAWR!!!

"What was that?!" The Doctor spewed nervously.

"That my dear Doctor, was a Imphidon..." His voice seemed to trail off at the end of that sentence, but the Doctor somehow knew that they both must reach the bottom of the river before whatever it was got to them. "Its beak is like a sword, and slices through almost anything. It will try and kill anything it can get its hands on, and only eats the things it kills. It especially loves a fight."

"Can it fly?"

"Well of course! It is an Imphidon after all, and it is faster than a Drake! Yet it is not as feared." He continued to climb at his own pace, slowly moving himself to the middle of the vine. The Doctor of course, using hooves to climb, was having a harder time climbing than the Gunslinger was. His left hoof was shaking a bit, and he was holding tight as he tried to repel down the cliffside.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a giant winged beast that seemed towering to the two of them, brought itself into the view of the Doctor and the Gunslinger. The Gunslinger saw this, and, with a swift movement, let go of the vine. He dropped down onto the dead tree and quickly rolled to one side to stabilize it. making sure that he had his feet planted, he stood up properly to face the beast.

The Imphidon rushed at him, ramming against the stone wall behind him with every miss, colliding with the branch and shaking it. The beast rolled its talons across the rock face and attempted to cut the vines, but the swaying log kept the vine out of reach. He knew that he had to kill the beast, and swiftly at that. In one quick moment, (Which is why it is described.) he was to draw his gun and destroy the voracious beast. His hands moved back his duster, and revealed what was his beautiful guns. They shone, a glossy wan that gleamed into the air, and drove an image of death into the beast at the other end. The fingers on his hands were lightning, as he swiveled the holsters open in one dramatic movement, too fast for the normal eye. His hand lifted the gun in one swift motion, a zealous strike that would be delivered. As he used his fingers to strike the trigger repeatedly, the beast fell silent. Three riveting shots echoed through the air, reverberating the sounding cannon-like boom that struck the beast.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The beast plunged through the air and collided with the river in a tragic but beautiful occurrence. Its body washed down the rapids and flooded the air with a foul blood stench. After this occurred, the Doctor slid down the vine with ease, and slowly made his footing (hoofing) on the swaying log.

"So, I guess you really are good with those guns." The Doctor spoke out to the gunslinger, avidly trying to find his footing.

"I was trained for a while, and it took me even longer to be able to aim without missing."

"How long?"

"Too long for anybody who is not what I am. It took me thirty-four years, and after that I took it upon myself to leave my land and journey to the south. But I found that the lands to the south took not fondly to travelers of my caliber."

The Doctor looked confused, and surprised, which motivated him to ask a question. "You say that you have trained for thirty-four years, but in my eyes it seems that you are only nineteen! How do you hide your age so well?"

"I do not age. I am one of the few who keep their life for longer than the rest."

"And how long have you kept your life?"

"Long enough, Doctor. Long enough..." He stared out into the sunrise, contemplating on whatever it was he had to think about at the time. He shifted over his weight to balance out the log so he could stand evenly on without wobbling. "Do you wish to attempt a drop in the river?"

"I guess..." Unsure of his true response, he pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver.

"We must hurry before more Imphidon arrive, they travel in packs, and I was hoping that one would be all."

Of course at that, the constant growls became noticeable from in the distance. A fear shot up both of their spines, and sent knowledge that more Imphidon were arriving.

III

Derpy awoke, sweating and bruised.
Her hooves her chained to the ground, and the shackles were too heavy to bear lifting. The lights in the room, (or whatever it was.) were dim, sort of to set the mood of kidnapping. But even though it had some sort of lighting, Derpy could not see. It was too dark for her eyes to visualize the surroundings. Some sort of dripping water from one side of the room, and the squeaking of a mouse, were her only company. She barely woke, and her eyes were heavy on her, making it even harder to be able to see what was going on. There were bonds on her wings, and tape over her mouth, meaning that whoever put her here didn't want her to scream for help.

Even though at all of this, she didn't feel scared. She knew that the Doctor could come and help her, and whoever the other man was, he could help too. She rolled to the left, hoping to comfort herself on the cold, damp ground. But all that this action did was cause a noise to echo through the room, and the dripping and squeaking stopped. After a few minutes of laying on the floor, she was beginning to fall back asleep.

WHAM.

The door to the (cell) room swung open and bounced off the wall. A pair of people rushed into the room to see what was going on. They quickly stood at attention at both sides of the door, and the light from outside of the room rushed in, almost blinding Derpy, as the (leader of the two) third man came in.

"You there, grey horse woman! What is your name, and state your business in the land of Giamoni."

They tore the tape off of her face, and sat her up while holding her steady. Slowly she opened her mouth and spoke with great effort. "My name... m-my name, is Derpy. And... a-and I am here because of my friends."

"Well what an unfortunate event for you and your friends..."

"We were just passing through, we didn't want to cause any trouble, mister."

"Mrs. Derpy, do you realize what illegal act you have drawn forth by not entering a Sacred Land on a main road?"

"I don't know... I-I'm not from he-" She was interrupted by the man.

"Trust me Mrs. Derpy, you have brought yourself into a troubled time. You will be jailed and held until your friends come forth and pay the fines for your mishaps."

"I AM NOT FROM HERE!!!" It shut them up. A screaming pony that was angered with the law sat in front of three Gaimonian guards.

"Of course you are not, Mrs. Derpy. That is why the law was broken. I understand that you are a species that is of an animal sort, but you need not act it here." He walked over and sat down a few feet from where Derpy was sitting. Oh how he was ugly, and his face was finally revealed in that light. He stood at a height that was barely average. His face was scarred and what seemed to be burnt, and his hands were the same wretched way. He had a tone of skin that seemed wan, and a tinge of evil bounced about him. His hair was short but patchy, almost as if a bear had gotten a hold of his head. "You don't have to be angry Mrs. Derpy. My guards caught you hiding behind the trees at Vreakwind River. It is ok to be ashamed of yourself. But I will have myself a question for you." He paused for a moment and signaled for his guards to leave the room. "Who are those companions of yours?"

"Well, there is the Doctor, and then... Umm... Th-there is..."

"You don't know him do you?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"It is ok. I already know the Gelfling. Asphalon has been quite elusive in the past years."

"Aspha-what?"

"The Gelfling you travel with, his name is Asphalon. He is a danger to any people in our land because of his existence."

"I didn't know that..." She hung her head, hoping to hide her shame of being friends with a criminal.

"Don't worry Mrs. Derpy, we shall soon have your Doctor, and the elf. You will be staying with us while we search." His voice trailed off and relieved as he revealed a crooked grin. He then proceeded to walk out of the room and slam the door.

IV

What had been only a three minute interval from the first one, resulted in a herd of Imphidon.
A seemingly loud growl approached the gunslinger as he tried to help the Doctor cut the vine. The Imphidon crashed into the rock face, and almost sent the gunslinger off balance. He regained his footing and proceeded in blasting the beasts away.

"Could you please try and keep them away while I recalibrate the strength of this vine?" The Doctor was in a frenzy, trying to cut the vine using his Sonic Screwdriver.

"I can-" he blasted away another while it plunged toward them. "I can try! But I cannot reassure anything, Doctor..."

They were foolish beasts, but they managed to anger both the Doctor and the Gunslinger. They strive for the feast, and they always get the kill, even if it takes them a while. But the Gunslinger was determined to kill them first, no matter the throng. But even with beasts hurdling towards him, the Doctor managed to get the vine down to a manageable tangibility.

"Alright! If we break this, we will go into the river!" The Doctor was confident in the chances of surviving a fall that great. "We need to hurry before they gather around us!"

CRRRRRAAACK!!! The rock face behind them was starting to collapse from all of the beatings. Its beautiful structure was now worn and cracked, showing signs of being able to collapse at any minute. The Gunslinger knew that they had to hurry, so he quickly added another Imphidon to the dead, and veered over to the vine. He took out a knife that had an allacrity to it, a certain shimmer. His timing on the situation was just.

"I will count to three and we will plunge into the river! Do you understand?"

"Yes! Hurry and go!"

He began to count. "One... Two..." But did not make it to three. An Imphidon that had a collision course with the two of them, missed outright, and cut the vine on accident. It fell into the river swiftly, and so did the log carrying the two companions.

The Doctor grasped the nearest stump on the log he could, and he hung on. With a splash that would empty a pool, the log slammed into the water, with brute force at that. But they could not hold on in the rapids, for the log had broken and sent them spiraling down a river of peril. The Gunslinger slammed into a rock that was not far from where the dead tree had broken, and split his arms open on the jagged crags that surrounded them. The Doctor instantly smashed into a rock head on, knocking him out and sending him under the water rapids. Before the Gunslinger could do anything about it, he was being dragged downstream, a violent turbulence of water took him to the left, and smashing into the sides of the river. His blood was pouring out of his wounds, and it stung, causing him to yelp in pain, but also take in unwanted water at the same time. He was out of breath and stamina, and his arms couldn't keep him out of the water for much longer.

Even at this, the Doctor's body sailed down the river, unknowing that it was going strait for the jagged rock face that lay before it. he collided with it, and swerved over to the side where the Gunslinger had drifted.

The Gunslinger passed out while drifting down the river, and they both headed for the falls...