The Turtle Hermit Part II - Complete

The Turtle Hermit Part II

Medium Quest

Requirement: Must have completed The Turtle Hermit.

Reward: 2,000 zeni and 10 Hero Points.

So, Master Roshi has agreed to train you. But, he has not always been known as the most conventional of teachers. He sends you to a remote island and tells you to survive for thirty says without using your powers. How will you overcome the hazards and desolation of island life, and can you make it through the rigors without breaking down wielding your ki?

Sairai’s tail flicked lightly as the sun’s light began to pour through the window. He opened his eyes slowly and tossed the light blanket he had been using aside, sitting up on the couch Master Roshi had graciously allowed him to sleep on. He stretched, clasping his hands to his wrists and pushing up to the ceiling. He cracked his fingers and shook his head in an attempt to remove the cobwebs from his mind. His training was supposed to begin that day, and he wanted to be at the top of his game.

He placed his feet on the ground lightly and yawned lightly before getting up and walking outside to sit on the porch. He watched the sun rise slowly over the ocean to the east and smiled. The day was starting beautifully. “Ah, I think I know why Master Roshi chose to place his house out here.”

“Oh, really?” came a voice from behind the Changeling. The young man turned around and looked at the old master and raised an eyebrow. The human seemed to be on the verge of laughing. “Why did I choose to live here, in your opinion?”

“The peace and tranquility. I’d also hazard a guess that it had something to do with wanting to be alone.”

“Close, but wrong. Yeah, it’s peaceful out here, and yes, no one bothers me. You’re right on those guesses. You missed the most important part, though. It’s hard for people to get out here, so those who have the resolve and fortitude to make it out here are worth training. It’s as simple as that,” the old master said, smiling.

“Really? That’s… definitely an interesting way to go about it.”

Roshi laughed and patted the young alien on the head. “No one ever said that my methods were normal. Do you think people seek me out because I’m a normal teacher?”

Sairai shrugged. His eyes closed slightly as he considered the older man’s words. “No. I suppose not. Though now you’re making me wonder about these weird teaching techniques you use.”

“Oh, don’t you worry about it. You’re about to find out just how unique my teaching methods are.”

The man jumped down off of the porch and landed on the sand with a loud thump, betraying the absolute weight of the turtle shell on his back. Sairai flinched as he thought about just how heavy that thing really must have been. He looked as his sensei pointed toward an island nearby, much larger than the one they were on now.

“If you want to really begin your training with me, you’ll be headed to that island, and you will survive there for a month without relying on any ki abilities. You may use your natural strength and speed. And before you ask, the point of this is not just so you learn to survive without relying on these abilities. It is also to help you build your strength and speed, since it will be all you will be relying on,” the old man said.

“Does that start when I land on the island or do I have to swim there?” Sairai asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. If this was some sad attempt to scare him away from the training, it wasn’t going to work.

Roshi cracked his neck for before responding, “You can fly there, but land on the shore, so I can see you before you head in. If you use even a single bit of your ki, you will immediately fail, and trust me,” Roshi smiled wickedly as the sun’s rays caught on his glasses, “I’ll know.”

“You really are an interesting person, Master Roshi. All right, I’ll do it,” Sairai said, before standing up and looking at the old man with an accommodating smile. “Should be interesting to go on a nature hike.”

With those words, the Changeling took off and flew toward the island on the horizon. “No ki, huh… Sounds like an interesting challenge to me. Let’s see just how hard this little training exercise really does turn out to be.”

Little did the Changeling warrior realize, things were going to be much tougher than he would ever have imagined.

WC: 700

Sairai landed on the beach of the island he had been told to survive on, his three toes digging into the sand with easily. He turned around and looked over the crashing waves to a small dot on the horizon, the island where Master Roshi kept his home. He smiled lightly to himself, his confidence getting the better of him.

“Thirty days?” he laughed. “That’s not going to be a problem at all.” He waved over his head at the Kame House and turned his back on the ocean.

A cool, midmorning breeze blew across the beach, kissing Sairai’s back and neck. It was so peaceful, almost deceptively so. The young Changeling walked deeper into the island, into the forest to find something to build a shelter with. It wasn’t too long before he was tired of his search. He pushed what seemed to be the hundredth small bush out of his way as he continued through the dense underbrush, and all the while a deep etched scowl never left his face.

This is infuriating. How can so many beings across the galaxy go without using ki? I’ve gone without it for no more than an hour or so and I’m already prepared to pull my horns out by the root, he thought, grinding his teeth all the while.

Eventually he came across a tree with wide branches, far enough above the ground to avoid any opportunistic predators and low enough to climb into with some effort. The alien sighed and said, “Well… it’s as good a place to start as any.”

He immediately began collecting supplies for a makeshift treehouse. He collected wood, large flat leaves, and ropelike vines. It might not have been as architecturally sound as he would have liked, but it would have to work until he could find something more suitable to sleep in, perhaps as he explored deeper into the island.

Four days passed, and he had finished his shelter, and kept himself going on a steady supply of fish from the ocean and water from a freshwater spring he had come across during his first night. He hadn’t come across anything particularly dangerous yet, though something told him that would change as soon as he ventured further into the island. The Changeling thought that he might have been able to pass this test if he spent all of his time near the shore, but then again, there might have been something further in that the old master wanted him to see.

Time and again, Sairai had learned that ignoring his gut feelings more often than not got him into situation he’d prefer not to be in. He made up his mind, lying there in his makeshift shelter, that he would venture further in the following day. His stomach cramped as he tried to sit up. “Besides,” he said silently to himself, “there might be something to eat in there that isn’t fish.”

The next day, he climbed up into the higher rises of the island, and found himself above the forest fairly quickly, on the ledge of a mountain, looking out over most of the island. The view was absolutely spectacular. The blue sky above was dotted with birds and pterodons flying up above in intricate formations. The forest below was green and lush, and the lakes and ponds were beautiful reflections of the sky, deep and crystal blue. It was marvelous.

The young student took a deep breath and sighed contentedly. Suddenly, however, the rocks beneath him began to shift and tumble. “Shit!” he yelled as he lost his footing and began to fall.
Before he became part of the small avalanche, a hand reached out and grabbed the young alien by the tail. “Fancy seeing you here, friend!” a familiar, jovial voice sounded out above the sounds of crashing rocks. Sairai looked up beyond his tail to see a face that he had only just said goodbye to a few days earlier.

“John!”

The red haired man smiled as he pulled the Changeling to safety. “You’re lucky I happened across you when I did, Sairai. What in blue blazes are you doing out here anyway?”

“T-training. The better question is, what are you doing out here?”

John leaned back against the rock face behind them and sighed. “I thought I told you. I’m an adventurer. If I haven’t been there yet, chances are that’s where you’ll find me, and I’ve never been to this island.”

Sairai raised a brow at that, and tilted his head slightly as he brought his tail around and massaged it with his hands. “Yeah, I don’t buy it. You were following me.”

The short, hawk-eyed man guffawed for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah, I followed you for a bit. You’re not exactly an easy one to keep up with, though, being able to fly and all. Well,” he said, standing up and jumping across the hole where Sairai had been standing before, “I’d best be off, and if you’re t-training, I’d suggest you get back to it before your sensei pounds you.”

Whistling like the wind, the strange, redhead human John made his way down to the canopy of the forest, and Sairai was left scratching the back of his head. “Are all humans this strange, or just the ones I’ve met?”

Deciding to puzzle it out later, Sairai continued scaling the cliff, finding footholds and handholds, while using his tail as an anchor to keep him tied to the cliff face. The rocks crumbled slightly at times, but he didn’t suffer a single fall like the one he’d almost had when John saved his life. I could have flown off… but I probably wouldn’t have.

He finally reached the top of the cliff, only to be shocked an amazed by what he saw. Huge, monstrous beasts prowled the plains laid out before him. Some of them were obviously herbivores, but at least three of the species he saw in front of him were something a little more ominous. Sairai finally understood what Master Roshi meant by survive. He was surrounded on all sides by predators more than twenty times his own size.

Sairai had never felt smaller.

WC: 1,033
TWC: 1,733

Fourteen days in, and Sairai had almost been made dinner by the same predator five times. He slammed his fist into the side of the cave wall, leaving an indention where his fist had connected. “This is ridiculous… I know this is supposed to be some kind of intense training, but giant reptiles that can eat something three times my size in one bite?” He shuddered and leaned back against the stone wall and let the cool stone do its work to calm his nerves.

He picked up a small rock and tossed it up and down for a moment as he thought over his next course of action. “I still have sixteen days left to survive this nightmare. I’ve made it almost halfway without having any real problems, but I don’t want to spend the rest of the month running from these creatures. I’m going to have to learn how to conquer these things and become the top predator, without using my powers.”

With that thought occupying his thoughts, Sairai let himself slip into an uncomfortable slumber. He would wait for night fall, when the creatures would be less likely to be out hunting, and then he would find some smaller creatures to make a meal of.

_________________________________________________

The twentieth day arrived, and Sairai had finally strung together a plan. He was faster than these creatures, and had that going in his favor. His strength wasn’t nearly at their level, but he knew with enough small wounds, even the largest enemy would have to fall. He left his cave dwelling and walked out into the sunlight, letting the radiating warmth fill his body. Today was the day he would finally overcome the reptilian monsters that covered the island.

He went down to the lake where most of the creatures on the island gathered and picked out the biggest and strongest looking predator of among them. He walked up to it slowly, quietly, and then kicked the giant creature as hard as he could in the shin.

The predator screamed out in anger and turned upon the smaller being, swinging its tail dangerously, large white teeth prepared to tear him asunder

Without even thinking about his move, Sairai jumped up onto the creature’s back and spun around, smashing his tail into the creature’s neck. He heard a satisfying thwap as the creature’s head flew violently to the right. He jumped off as the creature’s weight came out from under him and hit the ground with a roll. Dust and debris flew up in a plume as he rolled across the dusty plain. Of course, his landing did not last very long, as the giant creature above him collapsed completely, causing the ground to shake and a giant plume of dirt and dust to cake over the Changeling’s body.

Sairai coughed and heaved, trying to vacate his lungs as the ground continued to shake. He looked over at the collapsed body of the giant predator and frowned. It was not as strong as its size had led him to believe. He almost felt sorry for the immense creature as it slowly blinked and tried to stand.

The Changeling stood up slowly and watched as the larger creature attempted to stand using its smaller arms. He smiled lightly as he saw the big predator struggling for a change, instead of just chasing him down until he found a place too small for the creature to fit in.

Without a word, Sairai turned around and walked off, confident in the knowledge that he would not be bothered by any predators, and that any stupid enough to challenge him would be hitting the dirt in a hurry.

WC: 612
TWC: 2,345

“The thirtieth day… When I finish this one last day, I’ll be finished with the training. I can’t believe it’s only been a month. It feels more like it’s been a year,” Sairai said to himself, sighing as he bathed in the hot spring he had found a few days earlier. He washed the caked on dirt and grime off of his body, smiled, and sank deeper into the steamy water.

After handing the largest predator on the island a sure beating, he had indeed been left alone for the most part, save for those predators that thought they could take the place of alpha predator by beating the small creature that had beaten the largest among them. They had been proven wrong in quick succession. The Changeling thought back to his days on the island. While he had started off as barely surviving, he had instead come to learn to thrive on this primal little slice of Earth, even without his Ki abilities to give him an advantage over the less sentient creatures.

He stood up in the warm water and felt the cooling rush of the wind as the water dripped off of his body. He climbed out of the rocky hot spring and sprawled out on the rocks, letting himself drip dry. The air cooled his body, but it also brought him some degree of peace. The whole time he had spent on the island, he had not been required even once to think about the PTO or his parents, or even his pinheaded older brother.

A small smile spread across the Changeling’s lips as he continued to lie there, staring up into the starry skies above. Being this close to nature had its drawbacks, sure, such as not being able to speak to anyone, save the one time over the course of his training that John had somehow randomly shown up to lend him a hand. However, being alone in the wilderness also had its decided benefits. If you could learn to survive within it, or to thrive, it could offer a peace of mind and time for introspection that few would be able to enjoy over the course of their lives.

The peace in his mind was a gift like no other, and one he would have to thank Master Roshi for as soon as he made it back to Kame House. As his eyes looked outward toward the heavens, the stars reflected back what he felt in his very own soul. If the rest of his training went as well as this had, he would be very, very happy.

_______________

The next day, the thirty first day after Master Roshi had sent the young Changeling off to the island, he returned. He smiled as he landed on the beach in front of the house. He proceeded to the porch and sat down on it, his tail hanging off the front of the porch, same as the first time he had seen Master Roshi when he arrived over a month earlier. He waited, silently watching the sunrise come over the waves to the east.

He heard footfalls behind him and didn’t event turn his head. “Master Roshi, did I wake you?” he asked.

“Not at all. I figured you’d make it, so I decided to wake up early today,” the old master replied, looking down at his student with a bemused expression. He looked like he was about to say something, but when he saw the peaceful expression on the young Changeling’s face, he stopped himself.

“How was it?” Roshi asked, referring to the month spent on the island.

“Could have been better, the first twenty days. I was barely surviving at all. It wasn’t until I beat the alpha predator that anything approaching peace came to be on the island for me. Up until that time, I was hunted, constantly on the run, and overall miserable,” Sairai began.

Roshi nodded sagely, as if he had heard all of this one hundred times before. If he forced all of his students to go to that island, the younger man was almost sure he had indeed heard that same story plenty of times before.

“After beating that giant… lizard thing, I was left alone for the most part. I learned the way to earn respect from these creatures is to beat them. I didn’t even have to do anything more extreme than that, such a maiming or killing them. It was quite a shock, to be honest.”

“I suppose someone unfamiliar with mercy would think so,” the old master interjected.

“Well, after that, it was pretty much a cakewalk. I’d be challenged from time to time, but if I really put my foot down and fought them until they couldn’t fight anymore, they pretty much left with their tails between their legs. That’s not the important part, though. I found… a peace of mind there that I hadn’t felt before in my entire life. It was something I’d only heard spoken of by races alien to my own.”

“Tranquility. Your race must constantly be at war with something for you not to know what that is.”

Sairai nodded. “You’re right, all most of our race knows is warmongering and profiteering. It’s quite sad, really, not to mention the main reason I left.”

Roshi nodded and put his hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Alright. You’ve been out in the elements long enough. Let’s fix up some grub and get some rest. Your real training begins tomorrow.”

The two walked into the house together, and Sairai had a smile stuck on his face. Real training, huh? Sounds… interesting.

WC: 941
TWC: 3,286