Destiny Awaits a Falling Star (2)

--=={Chapter 2: A Lonely Wanderer}==--1

With rain flowing down his face Runt aimlessly walked through the streets of Lu'an. He pondered all of the things that had recently happened to him. He had never thought about being out on his own, and the sudden idea began to scare him.2

Since Runt was always working in the Plum Tree Inn he never realyy made any friends. He was truly alone in the world. As he continued to walk he stopped at a street corner and stared up in to the night sky. A lonely tear streaked down his face as despair rose in his heart. Soon many more tears were falling down his face mixing with rain-drops. "What can I do, where will I go?" he thought.3

*ching* *ching*......*ching* *ching*.......*ching* *ching*..4

Runt heard this strange noise and began to look around. He saw a very old man squatting in the alleyway begging for money, with what looked like a basket. "It seems that there are less fortunate people in this world than I..." thought Runt with compassion. He walked over to the old man and said, "Old man, you won't make much money on a night like this. Who would want to go out on a stormy night like this?"5

"ka-ka-ka-ka," cackled the old man, "young man you never know when fortune may visit you."6

"This is true," said Runt with a pensive look on his face. Coming out of his reverie, he flashed a brilliant smile, "old man, let me call you grandfather! I have just the thing for you...I found this dirty little bag earlier tonight and I am sure it would be perfect for you." Runt took Duck Lo's 200 taels and set it in the old man's basket.7

Boweing three times to the old man he said, "May we meet again grandfather!" As Runt walked away the old man stared intently after him.8

After turning the corner to continue his endless journey, the eyes of the old man began to glow with a strange luminescent blue light. It seems that this old man was no normal person, he contained a very peculiar form of inner energy. As the old man stood up his bent crippled form straightened, his wrinkled gnarled face began to smooth out. He quickly transformed from an ancient old beggar into a strong young man. He took the basket and turning it upside down set it on his head. The basket had been a rain hat all along that he had used to collect the money.9

With a smile playing on his lips the strange man's form seemed to blur and then he disappeared from sight altogether.10

Runt felt much better after giving away the bag of money. Although he now had nothing in the world except for the clothes that he was wearing, Runt felt a strange sensation of peace and happiness.11

When he stopped walking Runt noticed that he had already arrived at the city gates. Realizing that he had nothing left in Lu'an he decided that he would leave his home and see the world thinking, "I could die of starvation in a week, or I could become rich and famous...either way tomorrow I will be starting my new journey." Happy with his decision Runt found a tree that gave relatively good cover from the rain, and curled up underneath it falling soundly asleep. 12

When Runt woke up he began to feel a floating sensation. Opening his eyes he was surprised to find himself on the top of a magestic mountain. A cool crisp wind blew across his face causing him to inhale deeply. Runt could see many miles in every single direction and being so high up the colors of the landscape were vibrating with a clarity that he had nevers seen. Runt was simply in awe but what he was seeing. While Runt enjoyed the splendor of the view he heard a quiet monotone chant coming from somewhere13

"ta-ya-tha om be-khan-dze be-khan-dze ma-ha be-khan-dze be-khan-dze ran-dza sam-un-ga-te so-ha.......ta-ya-tha om be-khan-dze be-khan-dze ma-ha be-khan-dze be-khan-dze ran-dza sam-un-ga-te so-ha...."14

"I must be here for a reason." thought Runt, "I'll go find the chanting monk." Walking towards the deep chanting voice Runt could see that higher up on the mountain was a cave. When he finally arrived he could see a strange form of writing around it's entrance. Over to the side, on the ground was a circular painting containing trees, animals, and other designs. "I have heard the Buddhists talk about the Wheel of Life, but I never thought I'd actually see it," . 15

The melodic chanting was obviously coming from the cave, but Runt stayed to admire the artistic work as well as to ponder the visual knowledge contained in the wheel. An hour passed before he decided to make his way into the cave. The chanting was still going on as if no time had passed at all. 16

When Runt entered the cave the chanting stopped immediatly. "Strange," he thought. A dim glow was radiating from the rocks giving him a faint source of light. After he ventured a little deeper into the cave he heard the deep voice say, "Approach the pool."17

A still pool that looked like the face of a mirror was 100 meters from where Runt stood. Around the edge it was lined with rocks, having an opening that faced the cave entrance. As he walked towards the pool Runt asked, "Who are you?"18

"I am everyone, and I am nobody. I am your father, and I am your grandson. We have met thousands of times. We have been friends, we have been enemies. I am you and you are me, both of us are travelers in the wheel of time..."19

Scratching his head, Runt was perplexed by what he heard. Even though he knew which direction the voice came from, Runt still couldn't see who was talking. 20

When he arrived at the pool the voice spoke again, "Three is the number of completion. Young one, do you have the courage to step into this pool three times? Many blessings for those who can complete their destiny, but what is yours?"21

Looking into the pool Runt saw it begin to swirl. He felt a vague sense of dread but decided to put his foot in just to see what would happen. The second his foot touched the liquid he immediately began to descend, down, down, down. When he landed he found himself in the middle of a battle.22

The smell of blood made him wrinkle his nose, the screams of pain and agony made bile rise in his throat. Runt had always believed that battle was a glorious event where heroes fought and destroyed the forces of evil, yet all around him normal looking men were writhing in agony. Many men were calling out the name of loved ones with tears in their eyes. Others stared into the sky, looking at nothing, their eyes glazed over in death. 23

The air was heavy with dust making it hard to see. A low rumble could be heard all around from the countless horses charging around. Voices echoed from all around. 24

"Charge the left line!" 25

"Find the thieves who stole...!"26

"Leave nobody alive"27

Ting, Clang, Whop -- the sound of weapons in use sang violently on the wind.28

Hearint a noise behind him "tok-a-tok tok-a-tok tok-a-tok" Runt noticed it was quickly increasing in volume. Turning around he saw a horse charging full speed with the rider aiming his spear at him. Ducking just in time Runt was able to avoid the spear, but the horse was still close enough to knock him off his feet. The impact of the blow sent Runt flying 25 meters into a row of bushes. Luckily the bushes had been there to cushion his fall or he could have been hurt worse.29

"Ouch," thought Runt. Checking himself over he found only some minor cuts and bruises. "Boy was I lucky, I thought I was going to die."30

A few meters to the right the bushes began to rustle and move around. Runt was a little scared, but he crawled towards the noise anyways to see what was happening. When he got closer he saw a man wearing a white robe laying on the ground. Blood was covering his shirt and the man was trying to cover the wound with his hand. It looked like he had been stabbed in the stomach.31

The man looked in Runt's direction and then began to mumble something, "*cough* *cough* It's hidden....it's hidden in the Son-songshan cave....sss-sssongshan c-c-c....." The man had tried to tell Runt something important with his dying breath, but he had no idea what it meant. Runt gazed at the man's dead body feeling sorry for him, when everything started to slowly fade. The sounds became more distant and he felt like he was floating upwards.32

Runt found himself standing by the pool once more.33

"His inheritance locked safely in its chest." the deep voice said. The voice continued, "Three is the number of completion. Young one, do you have the courage to step into this pool three times? Many blessings for those who can complete their destiny, but what is yours?"34

After what had just happened Runt wasn't exactly sure he wanted to step into the pool again. 35

Looking at the swirling pool Runt thought to himself, "It couldn't get much worse than that..." gathering his courage he stepped into the pool once more. He felt the descending sensation again, falling, falling falling. 36

When he stopped he found himself in a large dark room dimly lit by candles that were evenly spaced around it's perimeter. At the front there was a raised area with some sort of podium on it. A man dressed in a black robe and wearing mask was standing to the right side. The rest of the people were seated facing him, and it looked like they were all dressed the same as him.37

"Brothers and Sisters," said the man in a booming voice, "I have gathered you all here because urgent news has come to my attention. The great demon of the south, Lord Ba'almon, has informed me that a star has been reborn. This is a matter of great urgency because an event like this is very rare. The last time a star descended from the heavens was 10000 years ago. Lord Ba'almon wants his freedom, he wants his former power, find the star and bring him to me!"38

After the man's speech the rest of the people began to whisper among themselves. 39

"How do we find this 'star'?" yelled someone from the front.40

"Don't worry, he will make himself known soon enough. If there are no more questions, let the ceremony begin." After clapping his hands twice, two men appeared carrying a large grey sack that appeared to be writhing. Opening the sack, they set it on the floor and pulled a beautiful young woman out of it. Terror was in her eyes as she looked around frantically trying to figure out where she was. The two men set her on the alter and tied her hands and feet to each end.41

The man at the front began to chant and slowly the rest of them began to follow along. Runt couldn't understand what they were saying, but it seemed to be some sort of ritualistic magical cerimony. The chanting started get louder and quicker increasing in tempo and ferocity. As it neared its crescendo the man pulled a knife from his robe and held it up over his head using both hands.42

Runt suddenly realized what was happening, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed. Everyone turned to look in his direction while at the same time several strong pairs of hands grabbed onto him tightly. The man at the altar continued to chant and then looking Runt directly in the eyes plunged the knife into the maiden's heart.43

An ear splitting scream filled the room as the people continued chanting faster and faster. When she had stopped moving the chanting ceased immediatly. "Bring the intruder here." said the man.44

Runt began to sweat with fear as the strong hands pushed and pulled him towards the altar. Looking at the man Runt saw him start to fade and he was to rising again. 45

When Runt was by the pool again he collapsed into a heap on the floor. He was still trembling with fear as flashes of what had just happened played in his mind.46

"Ripples of water disturbed, warn the fish" the deep voice said. "Three is the number of completion. Young one, do you have the courage to step into this pool three times? Many blessings for those who can complete their destiny, but what is yours?"47

After Runt heard this familiar phrase again he began to wonder if he had the courage to step back into the pool. "What happens if I don't step into the pool? Will I be able to live through another trial like that? What is the meaning to all of this?" 48

Runt sat by the pool for a long time trying to find answers to his questions. He even pondered what happened to him before he arrived in this strange place. Having these thoughts something suddenly occurred to him that he had told himself before, "I could live or I could die...either way I will continue on my journey." 49

With this thought Runt smiled to himself. Standing up he ran full speed at the pool and with a yell, "Live or die I will go on!!!", he jumped into the pool. }50

The familiar sensation took ahold of Runt taking him to uncharted depths. When he felt that he had stopped he saw lush green trees, beatiful flowers, and a small pond with golden carp swimming in its depths. A curved cedar bridge straddled the pond so that people could stand on it and admire the scenery. Runt found himself in the middle of somebodies paradisic garden. "This person must be extremely rich! Even the Duck's don't have anything like this."51

"Boy. What are you doing in our garden?" a sweet voice asked.52

Surprised that he had been seen, Runt became alarmed but it was too late for him to run. Turning around Runt was greeted by an amazing sight. A girl about the same age as him stood about 2 meters away from him. She was wearing a brilliant red dress that could only compare to her ruby red lips. Her hair, blacker than the darkest onyx stone, cascaded down her shoulders to her waist. When the light reflected off of it her hair looked like it was emitting a faint blue sheen. Her skin was smoother than the fines silk, and her eyes were the color of the rarest jade. Runt could only compare this experience to what he had felt on top of the mountain. He was in awe.53

Covering her mouth slightly with her hand the girl giggled, "Aren't you going to say something?"54

"I-I-I just wanted to admire the scenery kind lady. Pardon me if I have offended you." was all that Runt could say as he bowed awkwardly to cover his embarassment. Every time he looked at the girl his mind would become blank, his knees would begin to tremble and he would become filled with a strange feeling. New unknown emotions began to stir within his heart.55

Smiling at him sweetly the girl said, "Don't..."56

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" screamed someone breaking the spell. "YOU!" A large muscular man with a shaggy beard yelled pointing at Runt. "you you you DARE look at my daughter??"57

"But father he's just..."58

"I will handle this, now be quiet!" Grabbing Runt by the arm the imposing man leapt into the air taking Runt with him. They landed 300 meters away next to a cauldron full of red hot coals with iron handles sticking out everywhere.59

"Lecherous boy, I will teach you to walk around where you are not wanted." Grabbing one of the iron handles he pulled it out of the cauldron. At the end of the handle was a disc shaped brand that was glowing red with heat. "Here's a little something to remind you to mind your manners" spat the man as pressed the brand onto Runt's inner forearm. Runt closed his eyes screaming in pain as the brand burnt into his flesh. He could smell skin burning and hear it sizzling as he felt the most intense pain of his life.60

When Runt opened his eyes he was underneath a tree by the roadside where he had gone to sleep. Several people were giving him strange looks,61

"Boy are you all right? Do you need any help? You were screaming and thrashing around."62

"No.....I'm o-kay" he said.63

When everyone saw that there was nothing wrong they all went back to their own busy lives.64

"It was a dream.." he said over and over to himself. "It was just a dream."65

After coming to his senses Runt began to evaluate the strange dream. "It was so real, I could feel myself being burned!" Remembering the intense pain he looked down at his forearm but he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Checking the rest of his body he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, except for a little soreness from sleeping across some of the tree roots.66

Images continually flashed through his mind, "What is Song Chan? Who were those people chanting?" Most of all Run thought about the beautiful young girl. In his mind she was a goddess and he was faithfully devoted to her.67

Thinking about her he made a silent vow to himself, "I promise to serve you only my graceful lady. I will not rest until find you and only you!" It didn't bother Runt at all that she might only be a dream. "Better to have known love in some form, than to have never loved at all!"68

Taking one last quick look at Lu'an, Runt set off on his journey. He only had to go a short distance before he realized that he was carrying something quite heavy in his pocket. Reaching in he pulled out a familiar looking leather bag. Runt was astonished by what he saw, "But I gave this away to the old man last night!"69

Too many wierd things had happened to Runt all at once. He was simply dumbfounded by this new discovery. How could he possibly know that the old man was not who he appeared to be, and could return the bag to Runt even in broad daylight without him noticing. The words of the old man rang in his mind, "..you never know when fortune may visit you." 70

With a smile plastered on his face he followed the dusty road. Runt walked most of the day taking plenty of time to enjoy being out doors. It was his first time outside the city of Lu'an so he was filled with a sense of exhiliration and joy the farther away he travelled. He carried with him a certain sense of freedom, that few people experience in their entire lives.71

Every once in a while Runt would stop at a roadside store to buy some noodles or buns. He wasn't really hungry, but he wanted to sit and watch all of the people passing by. Having worked at the Inn all of his life Runt had never had the time to just sit and observe people. The most mundane things fascinated him. The world seemed so big to him, "There is just so much to see and experience!" he thought.72

As he got farther and farther away from Lu'an he saw less and less people until he was the only person on the road. When the sun started to sink on the horizon he decided to look for a place to sleep for the night. Looking for a comfortable bed of leaves to lay on Runt heard what sounded like fighting nearby.73

"Come back here it is mine, I caught it!"74

"I saw it first, how could it be yours?"75

A third voice yelled, "I was thinking about it before you saw it, its mine!"76

Runt ran towards the voices and saw three men wearing brown robes bouncing off the trees, chasing each other. One of the men was holding a large Coney. The other two were continually launching themselves at him from trees as he avoided them himself by bouncing from where he was to another tree.77

It was an amazing sight to see them jump from a branch, flip in midair and bounce off the trunk of another tree. From trunk to trunk they went without stopping arguing the whole time,78

"How could you be thinking about it when you don't know what it is?"79

"Of course I know what it is, why would I think about it if I didn't know what it is!"80

"Why don't you tell us what it is then?"81

"Hah, you just want to trick me into telling you so that you can say that you knew what it is"82

Runt had never seen such peculiar behavior in his life before and began to laugh at the three men.83

"Thief!" shouted one of them as all three instantly rebounded off a tree and shot towards Runt.84

"Wait!"85

All three of them landed in front of Runt. He finally was able to take a good look at all three of the men. All three of them were relatively skinny with shaven heads. One of them had an extremely large nose dominating his face. Runt couldn't decided if its width was longer than the length, or the other way around. The second had extremely large eyes that were crossed. Runt noticed that when he spoke one of them would spin without any apparent control. The third one had a very broad sloping forehead with a slight drip of drool fallign from his mouth.86

"Why should we wait?" said the one with the nose.87

"I think I can help you"88

"We don't need help. Why would we need help?"89

"You want eat that Coney don't you?"90

"It's a CONEY" screamed the drooling man, "I told you I knew what it was."91

"You just said that because you heard what he said, it doesn't count!" replied cross eyes.92

"I knew..."93

Runt interrupted them before they could begin to argue and chase each other again, "What if I could make it so all of you can eat it?"94

All three of them looked at Runt with blank stares. After a short pause one of them suddenly said, "Haaaaaay, you want to steal our food!!"95

"No wait, lets make a deal. I'll make it so all of you can eat this Coney. When I say I am done, if you don't think that I have done my part you can do whatever you want with me."96

Once again they all stared at him blankly.97

"Okay," said big nose handing the coney to Runt.98

Taking the coney Runt went over to the fire. Since they had some basic utensils he was able to start to skin and clean the coney. "I'm Runt"99

"Allow us to introduce ourselves, I am Noseless" said the man with the big nose.100

"I am Eyeless" said guy with the lazy eye.101

The third one just stood there looking around and drooling, "Oh, I am uh..Thoughtful"102

Runt thought about their names, "Noseless for a man with a huge nose, Eyeless for a man with crazy eyes, and Thoughtful for someone extremely stupid." He thought these names were hilarious, but he dared not to laugh so that he wouldn't offend them.103

"You have probably heard of us." said Eyeless puffing out his chest.104

"Nope"105

"Stupid! You didn't tell him our name," said Thoughful.106

"Of course I did, and so did you!"107

"We are also called the Three Deformities." Thoughtful said proudly, ignoring Eyeless.108

"Nice name"109

"You haven't heard of us?" they all said in disbelief.110

"So sorry! Come here the stew is ready." Runt took four plates and put four equal portions on each one so that they wouldn't fight.111

All four of them sat down and began to eat.112

"Hey hey, this is amazing!!"113

The three deformities all wore an expression of delight on their faces.114

"This is great, you kept your word!" said Noseless.115

"Where are you going?" Eyeless continued.116

Runt looked up in the sky thoughtfully, "I don't really know"117

"How can you not know? Everyone knows where they are going." said Thoughtful118

Eyeless spat back, "You don't even know where you are, he doesn't have to know where he is going!"119

"Of course I know where I am, I am right here...you are so stupid sometimes!"120

As they continued to argue Noseless said to Runt, "Why don't you come with us?" 121