A Warrior's High

A Warrior's High

Our story begins when two youths, Renavoid and Yami no Sakura, decided that it would be great fun to see what would happen if the great warrior Wodin Ullr had smoked some of the strongest hallucinogen of the land. There is a better, nobler objective to this scheme, but that is a tale for another day.

Ren and Saki asked the great warrior to go with them to Willow's Shop to use the hookah stationed there. A curious little fox, Innundo, decided to follow the group and observe their antics.

Upon their arrival at the Shop, Ren presented Master Wodin with the device, "the Bong of Knowledge and Inspiration," as he called it. Without a word, Wodin accepted the hookah and began inhaling the smoke of burning Nightshade. Everyone watched with barely contained excitement as he breathed in more and more of the smoke.

Suddenly, the great warrior cried out, "WHOA! WHAT'S THAT???"

Saki, with her quill poised for note taking, asked, "Hm? See something?"

"Please, enlighten us, Master," Ren said as he added even more Nightshade to the hookah.

"It's...it's...it's...my old lab..." Wodin said slowly. "Wait...I never had a lab...It must be the wizard's..." He breathed in more of the hallucinogenic smoke.

When Things Started Falling Apart

Now, my friends, I must take a moment to remind you that Willow's Shop is an armory with stores of weapons for sale. Perhaps it is because of his warrior nature or perhaps it is the effects of the drugs, but Wodin's attention was suddenly drawn to the swords. Abandoning all the formality he had earlier, his manner of speaking reverted back to one of a child. "Ohh, look at the shiny swords!" Much to the group's dismay, the warrior picked up a longsword and said with a laugh, "Look at what I can do!"

Instinctively, or rather cowardly, Saki summoned and hid behind her Chaos Archer. Ren simply ducked behind the surrounding crates and furniture. Poor Innundo, frozen in fear, merely squeaked as the warrior swings the sword around wildly while exclaiming in mad delight, "C'mon weaklings!!"

"OW MY EYE!" the fox cried out in pain, having fallen victim to Wodin's sword. While Ren screamed like a little girl and the Summoned Warrior laughed maniacally, Saki summoned another creature, her Water Guardian, to heal the poor fox.

"Ooooohh that was so much fun," Wodin said, setting down the longsword. "Now where was I...?"

With his screaming fit over, Ren drew up the courage and asked, "Do you remember anything?"

"Ahh yes, the lab..." the warrior continued while Innundo thanked Saki for healing him. "I was experimenting with the different controls...and the controls, they needed a certain order..." Again, Master Wodin's attention drifted elsewhere. "Oh, a door. What's out there?" And his body wandered off too.

"Uh-oh," Ren said as he followed the warrior out of the Shop with Saki and Innundo a few steps behind.

On the Matter of Eating Bunnies

The outside of Willow's Shop was a gathering place for many who seek others' company. And while the crowd chattered away, Master Wodin stumbled out into the midst mass of people. He looked up to the sky. "Oooohhh...brightness..."

"Wait! Master Wodin!" Right on his heel is an anxious Ren, shouting, "Please go back into the shop!"

The great warrior shifted his gaze from the sky to the crowd. "People...I can attack them," he said, chuckling in a not-very-sane manner. "...They're all so weak..."

"Yes," Ren agreed with a quick glance at the throng of people. "But we need your help."

Master Wodin looked at the concerned youth, and after a moment of silence, said, "I'm hungry. You got any snacks?"

Without missing a beat, Ren pointed at a metallic rabbit sitting amongst the crowd. "There's a bunny right there."

"Oooohhh...Bunny..."

Metal Bunny laughed at Master Wodin's amazement and said, "Go ahead."

"Cm'ere little bunny." With that, the warrior attacked the metallic rabbit. "Ewwww..." said Wodin, with a disgusted look on his face, suddenly released the Bunny. "He tastes like crap."

"It's a survival technique," the rabbit said with a grin.

Ren spoke up again, trying once more to direct Master Wodin's attention back to a more...important...topic than filling the warrior's stomach or a metallic rabbit's survival skills. "Master Wodin, how do you activate the tower? What's the command?"

Unfortunately, Ren's questions went unheard as Master Wodin spotted a flight of stairs. "Ooh...steps. What's up there?" Again, he wandered off, and Ren followed, after exclaiming an expletive.

Saki and Innundo trailed after him, naturally, but the group's antics have gathered a bit of a crowd. By Angien's Ferry, they encountered RJ, the Drachorn Master, who was then incognito. "What's up here?" He asked.

"Wodin's spacing out, man," Bunny replied. "He tried to eat me."

"So am I," RJ retorted. "That's because all bunnies are good for is eating."

Slapping Him Out of It

Unable to bear these antics any further, Ren grabbed Wodin by the collar and slapped him across the face, yelling, "Snap out of it!"

For a little while, the warrior continued to stare off into the distance, unaware of what had just happened. Just as Ren was about to slap him again, he suddenly came around. "What? Who hit me?!" He demanded.

Sensing danger, Ren immediately let go of the warrior and ran to hide behind Innundo. "It was me, the fox!" He said, attempting to ventriloquize and lay blame on the poor fox who sat there, blinking, as Wodin's attention shifted over to him.

Though Metal Bunny pointed out that the fox was innocent and that it was Ren who slapped him, the warrior paid no attention. "Got you now, fox," he chuckled menacingly. Finally, Innundo snapped to his senses, running away as fast as he could for dear life.

With the fox now gone, Wodin shrugged, "Think I'll sit down for a bit..." and perform the appropriate action.

Meanwhile, the crowd had lost interest in the drugged warrior and began to chat about the ongoing Head Hunter Contest. They spoke of victories and wins, kills and attacks, and while the Drachorn Master told of how he destroyed hapless victims within Wind's Sanctuary, Wodin stood up and left the crowds again without warning.

Though somewhat exasperated, Ren and Saki chased after the warrior for the third time.

The Third Chase

While their group was now missing a fox, they have gained a rabbit for Metal Bunny wished to see this adventure to its end.

The four of them ran through the lands of Marind Bell. In Marble Dale Park, Master Wodin stopped his meandering to admire the scenery. "Ooohh...pretty flowers," he said, fingering a delicate blossom. A snicker came from the bushes as the metallic rabbit laughed.

After crossing the Gates into NoMan's Land, the warrior took a moment to dance around the Gazebo of Equilibrium like a happy little schoolgirl before running off again with Ren, Saki, and a still laughing Bunny trailing behind him.

Upon their arrival on the Road of Loneliness, the Summoned Warrior paused to chat with the forlorn tree standing by the wall. "Oh hello tree, what's your name?" The rest of the group heard no audible reply, but Wodin sure did, for he responded. "Oh really? And you say all these fools," he gestured towards the others, "have been calling you 'Bob?'" Then he laughed, though no one is sure of why...

"No more drugs for Master Wodin..." Ren said, making a mental note for himself.

Consequences

Not long after the group's arrival on the Road of Battles, the Warrior went unconscious from consuming much more Nightshade that was safe. He wasn't out for long, but long enough for the crowd at the Road to play various pranks on him. By the time that he came around, he was not feeling very well. His angry gaze fell upon Ren, who hid behind RJ's Drachorn, and Saki, who pretended to busy herself with rolls of parchment. But alas, neither of their tricks could save them from Master Wodin's wrath.