A Path of Bone and Poison 139 Unnamed

Yuri shook her head as her vision returned to her. She had felt a moment of distortion, as if her conciousness had been transported to another location. She could swear she had been transported back to earth. She could smell the dirty air, and the strong stench of alchohol coming from the over wait man that stared at her.

The man had been weak, and yet he had dared to speak down on her. Just who did he think he was? some kind of god?? Yuri grinded her teeth as she thought about the incident. Beside her she could hear Lucofer was again prattling on about whatever crossed his mind. He was truly a young soul. She mindlessly nodded her head as she pretended to listen attentively to the juvenile dragon.

She did not have long to recall the previous situation, as a small village soon came into view. She was riding on top of Simon, the tortoise was much more speedy than what one would expect, and they had made pretty good time as they rode across the wastelands. The wild beasts around them had seemed to avoid the tortoise, and they only had to stop for occasional pit stops. These stops were mainly for Simon to munch on the local vegetation, namely the cactus like plants.

As they approached the village they noticed a group of locals approaching them. They seemed to be mounted on the giant lizards that graced the badlands. They were dressed in clothing made of leather from the waist down and carried long spears. Their super bodies were bare, but covered in a series of runic tattoos. They had dark tan skin, and long hair.

Yuri recognized them at first glance. They were a mix breed of orcs and elves called the Yufai. The race had begun during a violent war between the two races thousands of years ago. The resulting children were mostly killed off, but a few of the Elven women who had managed to stave of their hatred and loathing managed to raise their children in secret. These children grew up to be much stronger than their Elven counterparts, and were even much stronger than normal halfelves with human parents. They matured faster than human born half elves, but only lived around 3/4 as long as they did. Needless to say it was still longer than a human lived for.

The race was much more civilized than their Irish ancestors, but they could not completly shed their primal nature. From their elvish parents they had obtained a love for nature, though they were not welcome with their elvish parents. This put the new race into a tough spot, but had eventually found a home in the harsh wastelands.

Yuri nodded to the villagers who were heading her way, and dismounted from Simon. Simon's eyes shown as he saw the approaching villagers, and rushed towards them after he impatiently waited for Yuri to dismount.

The Yufai villagers seemed equally excited at the site of the giant tortoise. Most of the villagers that had approached quickly surround the tortoise as they led it towards the village. The woman who seemed in charge of the squad stayed behind, and waited patiently for Yuri to approach.

The woman was rather tall, and her body was thick. She had strong arms, and her legs were well defined. She was by no means bulky, and her body seemed rather well proportioned. Yuri did not hide the fact that she admired the woman before her, and she could feel the womans eyes wandering over her body as well.

She only admired the topless womans body for a moment, before her eyes were inevitably drawn to the intricate rune tattoos on her body. She knew from her reading that these tattoos were a symbol of strength, and as the Yufai leveled more of the runic tattoos would appear on their body. If any of them managed to evolve into an elite being the tattoos would concede forming a particular pattern of a heart. From their the runic tattoos would once again form.

It seemed that the woman in front of her had recently become an elite, as most of her body was bare, except for a runic heart that covered her chest. The woman looked down at her from the top of her lizard mount, a smile on her face. .

"Welcome half dragon, we must thank you for retrieving the sacred tortoise. Our scouts had just located it when they observed that it had been wrangled by you. I have to admit we were surprised that he let you ride on top of him, not even the chief has recieved such a blessing."

Yuri smiled as she looked up at the woman. "Simon is quite the glutton, I only had to offer him some delicious food and he let me do what I want."

The woman laughed. The sound of her slightly deep laughter was like a sweet melody, and Yuri could not help but smile brighter upon hearing it.

"The sacred tortoise is indeed a glutton, we believe his insatiable appetite is why he often begins to wander. Though it is usually rather difficult to coax him back. You will have to share with us your secret."

The woman gracefully kept from the back of her lizard mount as she spoke. The bright red feathers on jangling below her spear head dangling in the wind. Yuri's eyes widened as she saw those feathers. She had heard rumors, but never once thought that the rumors were true.

"You guys can really tame the vultures! I thought it was only an exageration!"

The woman smiled. "You're one to talk! you managed to tame a dragon."

Yuri rubbed the Lucifers head before extending her hand out. "My name is Yuri Morningstar. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The woman looked at the extended hand for a moment, before giving it a quick shake. "Jade Valentine. You can just call me Valentine, all of the villagers do."

Chapter end