Cursing under his breath as Cesars becomes invisible. Shugo decides to get a bit closer to the fight. He can’t see the hothead, but Maya’s shout gave him a pretty good idea of the jerks location. Even though he doesn’t like the idea of the genasi escaping, the demon seems to be the biggest threat at the moment.
Despite this, the elf holds out a little longer hoping the others can take care of the demon, or the enemies flee before he has to give up his invisibility. The last thing he wants is to become the main target since he has the egg. Plus if they get the egg from him and run, then everything they have done up to this point would be rendered meaningless.
(having to type on my phone as my WiFi is down. Will update owlbear as soon as I can use my computer again)
Hearing the call out that he's near the stairs she will strum her lyre, casting faerie fire in that direction and hoping it sticks. ------------ Dex Save: 14
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Cezars: DEX Save: 16
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"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
Venet's spell highlights Cezars, and then Maya's sacred flame knocks him unconscious. His ring of invisibility drops beside him.
The Cambion's expression turns from cocky to horror, and then Alex's attack snaps him back to reality. "No... NO!" He slowly backs away, de-summons his spear and slowly backs away. "H-hey, can we talk this out? Please... please don't do this, please don't slay me." He clasps his hands and falls on his knees.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave, Simo's team seems to have defeated the rest of the myconids... but they look severely beaten up. Danils is unconscious, and Simo is currently carrying him on his back.
This battle is almost over, all that's left to do is to decide whether should you let the unnamed Cambion go or finish him off.
Note: Sometimes when you defeat a boss creature or a summoner, the boss' minions or the summoned creature may become Helpless—a mechanic originally from 3.5e.
Helpless is similar to the Paralysed condition, the target cannot move and any attack against them counts as critical hits, but unlike Paralysed, Helpless still allows that creature to speak.
Cambion: Pass turn (Helpless; Paralysed)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
Damn. The fact that Maya could actually see the fire genasi whilst he turned invisible is just astounding, really. Is that why her eyes are shut? She needs to know more about her... no, with the way everyone fought (minus Shugo who literally just scampered; She still want to know him more). "My goodness that was a ride. Glad the hard work paid off." She breathes as her sorcerous clock immediately glows green before disappearing into thin air. "Heh. I'm so happy to be part of a team for once. It's not often I'd ever get to taste victory every once in a while when your closest ones were laying all eyes on you." She grins as she licked her lips. It's amazing that the whole 'split and encircle' tactic worked to some degree. Maybe at some point she could find to how to refine this with the group. But for now, she turns to their second enemy, who's still unconscious and cowering in fear much to the rabbit's confusion.
"As Holy boy said, 'Mind control sucks'. That's what that idiot at the stairs who summoned you instilled. I kinda feel bad for you, even though I technically shouldn't."Mira says with crossed arms to the Cambion who had suddenly gone meek. "My devilish foe. I can see that you don't want to fight. Neither do we. I'll be honest: even if we can accept you as our newest recruit, your kind isn't well liked amongst this world's society. Just be thankful none of us folk intend on beating you into submission and develop a hatred for your own kind; As a matter of fact killing isn't allowed in this realm you just set foot on either."
"That being said, I suggest you head back to wherever you came from via that circle you just teleported from and forget about what happened. No point wasting our energy just to fight someone who doesn't know what they should be doing, especially considering that you were oblivious to the current scenario."
Regardless of the Cambion's answer, Mira then turns to the others, particularly Shugo and the other women, seeing that they obviously know more about that idiotic genasi slumped on the stairs. "So... about your... friend..." Mira points to Cezars. "What are your current intentions... now that the battle has concluded? Minus the egg, obviously?" She still needs to confront Renar about something else though... but not now. But then she turns to Alex with worry when she sees his comrades injured severely. "Yikes... you all took a beating there. Hey Alex. I think they need you."
Once he's made it back to the group, he drops his invisibility. "Great job team! I knew you all could beat that hothead!"He grins at Mira, "You too! You can sure put up a fight despite how small you are!"
Cocking his head, he looks at the demon, then back at Mira. "Well unfortunately I may have...Uh...forced the circle to erase itself? I was just trying to break it so Cezars couldn't potentially summon more. I also wondered if breaking it would free him from the mind control." He glances back at the demon, "Soooo, are you permanently free from the mind control? Or are you going to have to serve Mr. Hothead again as soon as he wakes up? If you do have to follow his orders since he summoned you. Either we will have to figure a way to uh...de-summon you? Is that a thing?"
He turns back to Mira when she starts asking questions. "Friend? HA! Oh that jerk isn't our friend. What should we do with him? Well...we might as well just take him with us when we go to our trial. He has to go there anyway and the guards who were watching us know what's been going on. I don't think we will get in trouble for holding him hostage? Eh. I guess it doesn't matter. We can't get in much more trouble then we already are." He rubs the back of his neck, thinking about Adelaide. "As for the egg...well we do know who the mother is....but I don't think any of us want to go all the way back to her nest. If she truly cares about her child, then she should have started looking by now. Hopefully at some point we'll meet up with her again, and then we can return the egg. But until then, I think we should just hold onto it. Unless someone else has a better idea of what to do with it, I don't see anything else we can do." He glances at Simo and his group. Technically, they could leave the egg with them, but he isn't sure he really trusts them yet, not with a living being anyway. Especially not Simo, with his cocky attitude. The fox kid doesn't strike him as a really bad guy, but he doesn't seem like the greatest person either.
"Anyway, I think the biggest question is...what should we do with him."He points at Cambion. "If we can't...send him back that is."
Relieved that the fight is over, Alex lowers his guard and lets out a long breath. "Don't worry,"he says to Cambion. "I already said no hard feelings right? We all know you didn't have a choice in the matter, so we aren't going to hold you responsible for your actions." He nods to Mira and Shugo, "I... think it would be best if you went back to your home plane. Is there a way for you to return on your own? We'll help however we can."
He then turns his attention to his comrades, nodding to Mira when she says that the other team could use his help before making his way over to Simo and Danlis. As a paladin, Simo should have just as much healing power as Alex does, if not more since as far as Alex knows he hasn't been in a fight as recently as Alex had before this one. Still, he might as well offer aid just in case, "Do you guys need any healing? Or do you have that under control?"
If Simo's group is alright, then Alex will turn to his own team and make sure that they are all fine as well. "Great job everyone! Our teamwork is improving! Maya, your circle was a real lifesaver." He rubs his forehead, which still has some blood on it from the crown of madness. "I don't wanna know what would have happened if not for your magic." He then turns to Renar, "Hey... um... sorry for running off. I totally forgot that Maya's spell would free me from Cezars's mind control. I shouldn't have freaked out like that. Sheesh, I trust all of you, but clearly I need to trust you more."
The rabbit girl turns back to Shugo and cackles at his remark about her fighting ability; Wanting to scorn him for being late, Mira eats her words when she's reminded that Shugo's duty was to protect the egg with his life. "Haha! Oh please. No need to flatter me, mate. Besides, at least you have the egg safe and sound right? That's all that matters? I hope?" She then hears Shugo address Cezars an the current scenario. "I get what you mean but I was just being sarcastic. I clearly know he's not your friend and he needs to be dealt with discipline."Mira replies before she turns to the fire genasi, clearly needing to be bound up before he awakens.
She stares at the circle that Shugo messed up. "Wasn't that where that poor devil came from? I mean... surely it still works right... even though one of us would need to reform the circle just in case... right?"Anyways, whilst Alex deals with his group and the rest with the Cambion, Mira will just hop over to Cezars and bind up whilst he's unconscious all the while muttering to herself, "Sigh... I can't believe you. The way you behave... you clearly remind me of the shadows I lived amongst; You reminded me of my dark past with that scummy attitude of yours..."
Once bound she then hops back to check on the two ladies, dressing their wounds with simple first aid if they require. "How's things on your end my ladies, especially you foxy lady? You looked you took a beating."
Renar
Stupid Rixi is knocked out. Guess I won't be getting a definite answer from him anytime soon... but still. Good. Guess that means I can use all of my movement to retrieve the ring of invisibility for that... vampire boy... whatever. Next time he come back, he'll have his long-lost treasure safe and sound if he even remembers. But for now I stash it away on one of my fingers for the time being. I then drag his stale body 25ft closer to the team before dropping him from a safe distance and scurry back to inform Alex... about his injured teammates.
"What are you apologizing for? Doesn't matter if you ran away from me or not. You separated the duo. That's more than enough And the egg's been unharmed, which is another thing accomplished. I'm satisfied nonetheless. I was worried you'd go out of Oka- I mean, Maya-san's range that's all. On the flipside, you're right about us improving." I take a moment to stow my katana back in my sheath and stop rambling, afraid that I may hurt that poor boy even more, though my bladesong doesn't cease since I'm still glowing yellow."Don't worry about such trivial things like this. It's not like we'd be disbanding anytime soon, so we have plenty of room to learn. Besides, your main opponent has long been knocked out. We'll handle this foreign demon. In the meanwhile, do your thing and help your goons."
But he's right. With each battle, our teamwork is slowly improving, which a very good sign of progress. Sure a little refinement would be more necessary, considering that Okaa-san almost got Ko'ed by that stupid devil... But the plan worked as I had expected. I turn to Shugo. "The egg's safe and sound, right? That's what matters? Good. Hold onto it until we meet her again."
Seeing that Alex praised my mother about her sphere, I supposed I could translate to her just this once. I go over to check on her as I stroke her head and tail. "Okaa-san. Daijoubu desu ka? (大丈夫ですか, You ok?)" I whisper in her ear. "Anata no hogo-ku wa hontōni inochi no onjindeshita, to Arekkusu wa imasu. (あなたの保護区は本当に命の恩人でした、とアレックスは言います, Your sanctuary was a real lifesaver, Alex says)"
I can't face the other ladies for sure; My anxiety amongst girls would et the better of me if I do. Even then... one more target to face as I turns towards him with a scowl... and he's cowering on the floor in fear, huh? That doesn't mean I drop my guard down, though as always. Especially with his kind. Though I'm also worried about Stupid Rixi's goons coming to take him away again just like the night before, when some money-laundering elf girl infiltrated us; Like they're dicing with death...
"You're back to normal. Kinda unusual that you're not insisting on causing chaos though. Usually your own kind would attack us indiscriminately whenever our eyes lock on." I feel bad for him though; He's not native to this place. And neither me or Okaa-san are. I can understand his current mood and his confusion sort of, though I still appear to be very irritated with his cowardly reaction after breaking free from his mind control. "Leave this place as the bunny girl said. Via that small circle where you came from. Either risk life and limb and head to the outside world in your own or go back and return safely to where you came from. Believe me: You don't want to head outside to the surface. Those people on top, once they find you, they'll be out for your blood, just like they'll be out for ours one day. As a matter of fact, be thankful we're choosing to spare you rather than finish you off... for now. Unless you need help with us reforming it."
"Oh... yeah you're right. I guess I'm just overthinking things,"Alex replies to Renar. "We accomplished our goal, so all's well that ends well. Heheh." He laughs, seeming like his usual self as he turns his attention to Simo's group. "Goons? Don't let Simo hear you call them that. He won't take kindly to it." He chuckles, "He's my rival, and Elsa is my friend. I consider him a friend too, but I'm not really sure if he considers me the same."
He notices Mira tying up Cezars, "Too bad we don't have something that's... not flammable. Like handcuffs or chains. I'm worried that he's just going to break out again once he wakes up..." He looks back and fourth between the three magic users of the group, "Do any of you have a spell that could keep him asleep if he wakes up and starts causing problems? I'd rather not have to... you know... just keep knocking him out if he won't just submit."
Once he's made sure that everyone has been healed, and Simo's team is alright too, he says, "Well, should we head to Paulis? Or should we think about heading back. Now that we have Cezars captured, it seems a little risky to take any sort of detour. Plus we have our trial as well, which we don't want to be late for if things go wrong down here. But then again, I also don't want to pass up this opportunity to meet with Paulis, so I'm not sure what we should do."He looks to his companions (including Simo's group) for opinions.
Now that the fight's done, Maya can probably go an tend to her own wounds first before checking on the rest of the party. Her son hadn't gotten damaged once and neither did Shugo, but she jolts a little when the whispers of the former blow wind into her sensitive ears on her head and covered by her hood.
She hears a whisper in her fox ears as they twitch. And almost instantly, despite the suffering she had endured because of the Cambion, she retains her gentle smile, all because of his translated message. That's all she needed to hear from anyone, really. She gestures to Venet and Mira if they need any healing, but it appears that they haven't been injured much either. At least on the outside. She can't really see any internal visible damage to them... Yet
After dressing her own wounds and when Alex returns to face the party, Maya slowly walks up to him and nuzzles his head with a giggle; A kitsune's way of saying thank you. As she turns to walk away from, she looks back with another smile whilst uttering in broken Lancean, "My son... Raiku... Spar... With you... One day. When found."
Unlike the others though, Maya wasn't as forgiving towards the Cambion who scorched her. Dropping her friendly smile of her whiskered face, she points towards the circle whilst snarling only one word inconceivable to everyone except her son: "Hanareru! (はなれる, Leave!)"
Wildland Shifters Pt 2 (Pt 1 with PyromaniIsDeadThankGod) Celci (The Lamb) - Non-Binary Changeling Sorcerer (Shadow Magic) Maya Kurosaki- Female Kitsune Cleric (Twilight Domain); Currently in Lancea Randy Wolftree - Male Human Artificer (Armourer); Currently in Crimson Sands of Time Shijiro Otsune- Male Kitsune Blood Hunter (Order Of The Lycan) Trojan Dseyller - Male Tortle Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian) Xenia Ironhide - Female Kobold Rogue (Soulknife)
"Wait... huh? You'll actually let me go? No takesies backsies?" The Cambion tilts his head, he pauses for a bit, then he lifts two fingers up and starts drawing something in the air. "Don't worry, I can find my way back on my own. I just wanted to say—" The spell [Tooltip Not Found] activates mid-sentence, and the Cambion disappears into a cloud of red mist.
"Phew... Mission accomplished." Elsa wipes a sweat on her forehead. "I think we should check out the waterfall, there is definitely an exit to the surface there."
"If I recall correctly, there is a major town nearby. It's Meņkalde, but we're heading to Madura, which is west of here. Meņkalde is a lovely border town, that exports a lot of masonry and stone, if you head east, you'll enter Route 703, which leads into the heart of the Duchy of Platone." Simo explains, shuffling Danils on his back. "There is probably a jail in that town, but because we're in a very rural part of Kerwos right now, it's probably not as secure as the ones in the capital. Just food for your thoughts."
You and Simo's party begins your descent up the stairs, across the wooden bridge, and now, you're standing beside the waterfall. After a few moments of searching, Liega finds a lever, which activates a hidden metal ladder hidden in the walls, and with that, you silently climb up the ladder.
It's been two days since you spent time underground, but it felt like an entire week had passed, at last, you find yourself on the surface once again... pelted by rain with mud on your feet. In front of you is River Būmiņsavas, usually, the waters would be blue-grey, but due to the constant rainfall, it's now brownish-red, and behind you is a field of milkweed. On a sunny day, you'd see a field of pink flowers with butterflies, but because of the rain, everything just looks sad and miserable.
He notices Mira tying up Cezars, "Too bad we don't have something that's... not flammable. Like handcuffs or chains. I'm worried that he's just going to break out again once he wakes up..." He looks back and fourth between the three magic users of the group, "Do any of you have a spell that could keep him asleep if he wakes up and starts causing problems? I'd rather not have to... you know... just keep knocking him out if he won't just submit."
"There is a herb paste I know that can put people to sleep," Elsa says, wrinkling water from her tail. "The problem is it's getting dark outside and it's also raining, we can just keep punching him until he's unconscious, I guess, I don't want to risk getting a cold just to make him sleep longer."
On the other side of the river, you see a small silhouette of a tower and a town from afar... but this river is huge. Probably about 600 metres across, and the tower is around 3 kilometres away. Looking at the sky, you can't see the sun due to clouds, but it's getting dark, so you should find somewhere to sleep soon, somewhere that isn't wet and muddy... and you found it.
Up on the milkweed field, you see a small Hobbit-hole hut built into a hill, there is also a light inside, which means it's occupied. You can either ask whoever is inside the hut if you can stay, or grit your teeth and push forward to Meņkalde.
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"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
"Huh?!" Mira jolts as her bunny ears perk up upon noticing the Cambion leave in a puff of smoke. Oh well. That's one less of a problem to deal with. Now all that matters is getting out of here fast. "Wow that was swift... Did you get anything out of those living fungi?" Mira asks to all of Alex's teammates as she is led towards the surface. "I can't put him to sleep even if I wanted to. I'm not sure about the other ladies." She glances at Venet and Maya, who appear to be the other women that were being mentioned. She's especially concerned for the latter as the conjoined group make their way to the surface... only to feel the massive downpour soaking her fur the moment they step outside.
"Brr... I should've known..." She shivers upon getting drenched in her regal attire. Looking on the bright side though, at least that stupid genasi would be hindered by the torrential downpour for a while. No sleep spells required she muses. And if he does wake up, he can be left in the downpour for all they care... Wait... trial? What's Alex talking about? "Uh wait... you're supposed to be in Madura for what again? A trial? What did you five even do beforehand?!" She gapes at Alex, no, the entire team. Now she's having second thoughts. Had she teamed up with a group who turned out to be criminals in disguise?! Had she made a mistake trusting them? Her rabbit ears furrow with anxiety. Will she have to be a part of their problems should the moment arrive? This isn't good... Maybe if they meet her mother she can help speak for them in their defense and get away scot free whilst the fire jerk won't. She'll have to make sure herself that these ones aren't the type to cause chaos however. Speaking of her mother though...
"Route 703? Dutchy of Platone? That's a familiar place." Mira gasps as she overhears Simo talking about it. That's where my mother is. There's where I'm from. Maybe once the group has recuperated they can perhaps head there before going towards Paulis to warn him about the current scenario. Besides, other than him, she wonders who these misfits are even affiliated with in the first place. Surely they can't just go over to Paulis like random travellers on a hiking spree. There has to be a reason for this. But now's not the time for that. They need to find shelter fast, or everyone will end up catching serious colds in a short while. "We need to take break, my poor legs and royal footwear are already soaked from the torrent... Oh look. Over there." She points to the hut as she hops towards it and knocks on it sporadically. "Hey there. Anyone home? Is it okay we take shelter for the night? I promise we won't cause any trouble! Besides, let's just say the outside isn't at its brightest moment. We're getting soaked." She calls out assuming that someone is actually able to hear her. But first... now waiting for someone to respond, she needs to deal with someone on a more suspecting matter...
Getting no response yet, she hops back and punches Renar's shoulder as he closes his distance to the hut. "Oi. Hoodie guy." She sharply addresses with an angry symbol on her head. "'Wings stripped away, the end is nigh'. I heard that one line from the special poem that my mother recited to me, and me alone. She said it's a part of an ancient relic that was once in the hands of humans before they went extinct. And I'm the only one who knows it through her. How on Lancea do you know part of it, huh? Don't ignore me!"
Renar
My covered fox ears twitch in shock when that devil vanishes suddenly. That was quick. At least we don't have to deal with him anymore. That's a plus. I then hear that Alex's... mates... well... they want to head to the surface and take a rest but also point me and Okaa-san to two locations we've never heard of before. But seeing that the fake kitsune boy is his rival, I guess I ain't having a shot at becoming another one of Alex's. I dreamt to test his potential, and the others too, to see if they can match the power of the shifters, including mine. In this moment I dreamt of him fighting my more benevolent Fire Genasi and Kumiho friends right here to see who's the superior knight whilst everyone else is grounded in reality. But right now, this dream has faded because of what Alex stated. Oh well. No use thinking about it anymore. At least for now.
Wait..."Hang on a second, I thought we were gonna see Paulis first? Taking a detour to somewhere unknown other than for a break isn't the endgame of this mission unless if that city is part of the road that leads to his place...?" I call out confused. Seeing that combat has ceased, so too, does my defences and my bladesong whilst my katana stops glowing yellow. I then checked the map of the underground cave again. We're located inside the glitched section aren't we? Or is the entire place we just visited the whole thing? I'm really confused right now even as I trail behind silently and watch as the waterfall creates a hidden ladder. Right... So we're gonna get drenched, huh? I hope we can find a spot to actually take refuge until the storm dies out. Even so, it's nice to actually breathe a fresh bout of oxygen after staying underground for a time. Can't imagine if that's Tenebris' way of living since Drows like him are the most adapted to these depths. Oh wait... they mentioned Madura, which is along the route to Paulis, right? So I guess we could go past there. Maybe...
I flinch again when Alex mentions about the needless trial we're supposed to go through even as we arrived soaking wet in that tiny hut that I almost missed. Out of all things optimistic, this had to be the one thing that he had to bring up after combat? What if the juries are prejudiced against us and take Stupid Rixi's side? What if like before, that Adelaide that spied on us will do it again and possibly persuade them to worsen our progress? Then what? I mean I can think of backup options but they don't come as easily as they go. I need time to process them. I overhear the bunny girl exclaim her shock about our stupid trial. I wanted to explain everything, but for their sake, I ate my own words as a replacement snack. No need to rub salt in the wound. Even as she punches my elbow and accuses me of saying 'wings stripped away, the end is... nigh...'
Hold up... she knows Loveless too? But how? Does this realm hold what Japan and Toril does? Do modern video games even exist here? Because that's where the poem comes from! So how is she able to identify what I just said? And why? And even then I've no clear response to this. Sighing as I close my eyes for a brief moment, I take a moment to process what I can say without causing any misunderstandings, before I let out in a rather irritated but ironically smooth voice, "I don't know what you're talking about."I then huff without making eye contact with her as I slowly walk away from her and towards the hut with the rest. No need to rub salt in the wound. I figured we all need some rest at this point; Who knows how far we have to travel until we arrive at our actual destination...
Alex gives Renar a glance, noticing a bit of disappointment on the 'changelings' face. While he'd like to question him about it, he decides against it. Renar isn't terribly open about...well, anything, so it's best not to press.
"Yeah... I thought Paulis was our destination for now. Unless we don't think hauling Cezars along with us is the best plan. I'm just not sure if we'll get another opportunity to talk to Paulis if we pass this up." He looks ahead, realizing that Mira is trying to get the attention of someone living in the nearby house. "W...wait. Shouldn't we consider what could happen if we bring Cezars into a civilian's home?"
Maya is trying to understand the situation as she gets soaked in her royal garments from head to bare feet again. Not good. She desperately wants to find shelter and recharge, but stops when Alex calls out to the bunny girl.
This time, for some reason, she can understand everything that Alex said. He's right. If that fire genasi who she mistook as Rixi suddenly awakens he might escape again. Or worse, he might try to burn down the entire hut if he isn't carefully watched over. She thinks that maybe he should be tied up in the rain again so that the water will render his own pyrokinetic powers useless whilst they rest, but she isn't sure if the rain would last until the next morning.
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Wildland Shifters Pt 2 (Pt 1 with PyromaniIsDeadThankGod) Celci (The Lamb) - Non-Binary Changeling Sorcerer (Shadow Magic) Maya Kurosaki- Female Kitsune Cleric (Twilight Domain); Currently in Lancea Randy Wolftree - Male Human Artificer (Armourer); Currently in Crimson Sands of Time Shijiro Otsune- Male Kitsune Blood Hunter (Order Of The Lycan) Trojan Dseyller - Male Tortle Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian) Xenia Ironhide - Female Kobold Rogue (Soulknife)
Shugo had thought he would be happy to see the sun again....but coming up into the poring rain? Well now he just feels miserable....and he continues to look more and more miserable the longer the party walks.
When Mira inquires about why they are going to a trial he says, "Well, we have our fiery 'friend' to thank for that. Basically we are in trouble for stopping him from first pummeling an innocent woman and then defending ourselves from an assassin who who tried to free him after we were planning to take him to a church or something.... Anyways we aren't bad people."
The elf is visibly shivering by the time the group sights the hut. His eyes light up when some of his group voices their wishes to pay the owner a visit, then deflates a little at Alex's logic. However, his eyes light up again as he speaks up, "We don't have to take him in! We can just leave him in the rain! Just like we did last time! ....well if Venet is alright staying outside again."He gives Venet a pleading look as he says this.
Well uh, that wasn't the response she wanted to hear from Renar. 'I don't know what you're talking about?' What kind of excuse is that?! He somehow knows her poem so why isn't he coming clean? "Oi! What kind of response is that?! I told you not to ignore me didn't I?!" Mira yells out to Renar as he walks away from her; An angry mark appears on her head as a result. "HEY! That wasn't a valid answer! Get back here! Maya! Do something!"
Steaming from the hoodie boy's appalling response, Mira's mood sours even further when Shugo responds to her question about the trial, complete with a sweat mark replacing her angry mark from earlier. "Sorry... come again?" She responds dumbfounded. "You... you got in trouble... for saving an innocent woman from him?! I get why for the assassin but... but the first statement?!" This feels messed up. She doesn't have any knowledge in law and order, but even she knows that there's no way these guy could be sent to court for doing something heroic. She also assumes the person they saved is an ordinary and not some wicked jerk or something. Corruption... Was all she could think.
She then overhears him saying that Venet could keep watch on the fire guy, alongside Alex's worry about keeping him in. They have points. Sure she's aquatic ok, but what if she's unable to defend herself should he gain the upper hand? "Uh... well... I'm worried about leaving her alone out in the rain though. Cause... you know..." She makes some crude hand swiping gestures, trying to convey the possibility of Cezars awakening and beating Venet when she lets her guard down and no one else is here to watch. She's seen people break from ropes before without the use of spells, let alone fire. The last thing she needs is to lose that woman before she can even learn something from her.
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The Wildland Shifters Daisy Ethalena- Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer) Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade) Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer(Clockwork Soul); Lancea Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars) Yurime Hanasaki- Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
Mira knocks on the door, and it falls to the ground, revealing more of the interior.
The house looks abandoned, there are cobwebs and dry grass on the floor, and there isn't that much furniture in there. There is a table and some chairs, and on the table, there is a golden glowing orb which gives the illusion of this place being occupied, but other than that, most furniture isn't even there, seems like whoever lived in that place moved out.
That doesn't mean this house is unoccupied. On the dry grass, you can see a giant badger sleeping on her 'bed.' She wakes up from the sound, calmly walks over to Mira and gives her a sniff, then walks back into the house. Giant badgers are known for being territorial, however, they often share their den with other animals like rabbits, foxes, and raccoon dogs, which is why she acts docile like that.
With that out of the way, you walk into the house and call it a day.
Because there is no way to light a fire, you'll have to settle for an old-fashioned adventurer's dinner—hardtacks, corned beef, and pickles. The hardtacks the Simo's party provide are really hard, they taste like wood and the texture is like wood too, but the pickles and the corned beef are fine. Mira only eats biscuits and pickles, since Harengons can't digest meat.
After dinner time is done, all of you just sit in silence. The glowing orb still shines bright, and the badger is chewing some leftovers Simo gave her. It's common in Lancea for animals to hang around in a camp, especially in a rural area like this. Animals get your leftovers, and you get someone to watch your back while you're asleep.
"So..." Simo starts. "About Cezars..."He glances at where Cezars is being held."I totally understand why you're going to court, you tried to be a nice guy, but you went a bit too far, maybe too far, and now you'll have to face the consequences of your actions. Cezars acts like this because he knows he's untouchable, his aunt is so rich she can bail him out at any moment. The only way we can make sure he is truly behind bars is to somehow capture Adelaide first."
"I do have some suggestions."Liega pulls out a map from her pocket and lays it down on the table.
"If you want to take down Adelaide, you'll have to reach the capital of her duchy first, which is Aleneskalns... the biggest problem won't be her guards, though, the city itself is so filthy and crime-ridden you might actually die before you even step foot in her residence. There are polio and hepatitis everywhere, and if you get either one of those, it could be a career-ender."The Tiefling explains. Polio and hepatitis only affect humanoids, so Mira (Who is a Harengon) and Alex (Who is a Paladin) don't have to worry much.
Danils makes a claw gesture, fluffing out his feathers. "Yeah, from what I've heard, the only river running through the city is literally covered in faeces and rubbish! With rains like this, there might be a disease outbreak!" He blows a raspberry, "That Changeling lady earlier really wasn't exaggerating, Aleneskalns is that bad. Like, how can they mess up this bad? It's impossible to be this bad—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Danils."Liega clamps his beak shut, then she looks back to the rest of you. "Listen, I don't know you well, but I don't like seeing anyone hurt or suffer..." She sighs, "Adelaide is filthy rich, her own men hated her, but she is so rich they can't even do anything about it. If they try to turn against her, she'll just pay them to leave her alone. Say, does any of you have a plan? Or do you need more information first?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
"Oh she'll be fine!"Shugo says confidently to Mira. "If you didn't catch it, this would be the second time she's monitored Cezars in the rain. She's practically a professional at guarding wet hotheads!"
He cringes when the door caves in, but his usual grin quickly spreads back over his face. Especially after the badger practically welcomes them in, "Well it looks like we won't be intruding after all! And with the badger here, Venet probably doesn't need to stay out in the rain..."
Moving in to settle down he takes off his pack and has to stop himself from tossing it on the floor. Ooooo that would have been bad. He then gently sets the pack with the egg down. Boy he wishes they could just give it back to it's mother. For a moment he wonders if it needs to be kept warm like a bird's egg, but then he shrugs. If that were the case it would have died ages ago when Cezars was carting it around. He gives the pack a flat look. He'd used his bedroll as padding for it, and now the egg has effectively stolen his blanket. He sighs mentally. Oh well, at least he's an elf. He can meditate in pretty much any position.
He sits down with his back to a wall and his pack...egg holder...next to him. He opens it up and digs out his rations...hmm he'll have to keep those in his belt pouch for now. Then he closes the pack back up. That egg has to be nice warm in there, it didn't even get wet thanks to the oiled leather of the bag! Lucky little bugger.... he thinks as he rings out his wet hair and coat.
Scarfing down his meal, he looks up as Simo starts talking. Capture Adalaide? His eyes shift to the teifling as she continues. Wow, they really think they should do that don't they... His gut tightens when the diseases and the possibility of an outbreak is voiced. He'd nearly forgot about the device in his pocket until he'd realized he'd started fingering it. If he does have that virus, then catching either of those diseases would be a death sentence, and even if he doesn't have it, catching one of those would mean he couldn't go home. He couldn't risk passing that to his sister.
Forcing himself to stop messing with the thing in his pocket, he pulls out another piece of dried meat to chew on. Then he sighs, "Man, Adalaide must want to live in a dump. Hah! Covered in feces? She's basically a dung beetle! A filthy rich dung beetle..." He laughs, then shakes his head taking on a more serious tone "Well, even if it's bad for her people, having the city like that seems to be a pretty good defense against potential threats."He shrugs, "To be honest I really don't want to get any more mixed up in this then I already have. I'm up for alerting Paulis, but after that my main plans are to get through this stupid hearing and find somewhere that I can get a letter to home. I'd like to explain what's going on to my family before I get any deeper into trouble." He leans back, putting his hands behind his head and closing, "My father might be able to help us out a little bit, but I can't say for sure. I'm not exactly his favorite child."
When door caves in, Maya jolts a little, thinking that she'd have to fight someone again for it. Instead she spots... some creature... She has never seen before. What? So that's what lives in there? She pouts. At least it wasn't some random jerk like that fake Rixi. Besides, since she has been shivering in the cold for so long, she couldn't wait to go in and take a breather for a while. But... seeing that the group can't light a fire, she also needs to find something to dry herself and her clothes otherwise she'd fall sick in an instant.
Inside as everyone has breakfast, the kitsune sits in a dark corner just like the quiet fox woman she has been for centuries. Well... she does have her disguised son. But she doesn't know if she can even have her time of solitude with him, especially considering that there's nowhere to hide inside. Biting on her food, she sticks her tongue out in disgust, clearly disliking what Simo gave her, before she reaches into her own bag to obtain her own, tastier rations. "Ugh. Ozomashi... (おぞましい, Disgusting)" She gags. Though she picks up Alex's teammates talking with her incredibly sharp hearing, as usual she doesn't even know what on earth they're talking about unless if her son goes over to translate for her.
If he does, the kitsune in disguise gasps. Sure, this world's language and customs might be foreign to her, but Polio and Hepatitis are not. Having travelled to Japan and Sword Coast, these kind of diseases exist there are things she had experience in her extreme lifetime; Not even an ancient fox spirit like her is immune to these kind of microbes. And now they want to go there and capture this Adelaide? Sure a minor change doesn't bother her that much but why the en route to there?
She suddenly snaps out of reality and goes back to daydreaming as her tail droops out of her disguise. What if the group cannot help the place clean up? What if they, no... what if she or her son somehow contracts the disease and brings it back to the two realms she's most familiar with? She clutches her large chest as the possibilities overwhelm her in a negative way. Turning towards her son with a blushed grimace, she doesn't know what to say again, other than the fact that she's hoping that being the brain of the group, he'd have some kind of last minute plans on how to tackle the disease-ridden city should they have to traverse there. Convincing people to cleanup wouldn't be efficient, and nor is enduring the stench. It's one or the other. Maybe they can also steal the money off that woman or even frame her for some theft along the way...
If anyone asks her to come and socialize though, Maya briefly snaps back to her senses and holds out a clawed palm and sighs, a gesture saying that she'll pass, before she dazes again. In fact, seeing the situation as she whips her white-haired head around, there isn't any time for her to continue her lessons in Lancean is there?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Wildland Shifters Pt 2 (Pt 1 with PyromaniIsDeadThankGod) Celci (The Lamb) - Non-Binary Changeling Sorcerer (Shadow Magic) Maya Kurosaki- Female Kitsune Cleric (Twilight Domain); Currently in Lancea Randy Wolftree - Male Human Artificer (Armourer); Currently in Crimson Sands of Time Shijiro Otsune- Male Kitsune Blood Hunter (Order Of The Lycan) Trojan Dseyller - Male Tortle Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian) Xenia Ironhide - Female Kobold Rogue (Soulknife)
The rabbit girl scratches her ears briefly when Shugo voices that Venet has taken charge before, but otherwise says nothing else. If he thinks she can do it she can do it. No need to pressure the duo. And that's also when she decides to step up to the door... only to bounce back in panic when the door collapses and a badger comes out to sniff her. "Woah, woah, woah! Hold your nose and the door for a minute, will ya lady?!" Mira yells out in shock as the badger sniffs her. "Careful with my skirt! These regal garments aren't exactly the cheapest thing on the planet, you know! Thank you!" Thankfully for her, the badger wasn't openly hostile, especially considering that right now she needs to feast on her meal... and not whatever Simo gave out to the pack for sure; Almost everything he offered is indigestible to her kind.
"I'll pass on the meat. Rabbit ladies like me cannot digest these kind of things. I'll just settle with some cookies."She sighs as she plops down between the two boys she's most comfortable with and digs in. With the way she eats by nibbling on the cookie, it's as if she's a chipmunk feasting on some nuts. In fact, seeing this moment of silence, this might be the perfect time to get to know Shugo better. "Oh, Shugo. Of course you'd be his favourite in a way, right?" Mira teases before her ears twitch. "Hey. Are you perhaps... A noble like me? You're not actually from Perkunwos are you?" Mira asks him. If her mother is the Dutchy of Platone and Shugo's royal family is... whatever bloodline he comes from, maybe these two could forge a temporary alliance should they both come to an agreement. If they can even settle an agreement.
As for the virus-ridden town, Mira does have her own skeptics as she twitches her nose. "Capturing Adelaide is one thing, but so is Paulis plus the entire Aleneskalns dilemma-slash-diversion-slash-distraction, you know."She objects as she squints at Maya's gesture telling her that she and the hoodie guy are out. There's no doubt... these two must be related in a way, seeing how close they are. She thinks. Alex has gone quiet. His teammates have followed suit. And she doesn't want to get started with the oddball pair. "Besides, we can't go up to her saying we're gonna kidnap her for ransom. What if she can fight back? If that fire boy is her relative then I don't even dare dream of what powers she might possess."Her stomach then lurches. A memory of Vujica Simic returns into her head as she flashbacks to the notes in that secret republic base earlier. "What if... Vujica is with her?"She speaks with a whisper.
Glancing towards Shugo's distraught face, Mira flinches a little before she lightly taps on his shoulder. That's weird. One minute he was cheerful and talkative and the next minute he's... afraid? "You don't seem fine, Shugo. Is... is um... everything okay? Did they... did they trigger something horrific in you?" Mira asks him again as his fright is quickly picked up by her emotional sensitivity. She wanted to press him but that would disrespect his own boundaries, so she'll let him decide if he wants to or not. She won't make a fuss about it either way.
Renar
When the door suddenly smashes into pieces, I jolt and immediately rest my right hand on my katana again, assuming that this manhole is a trap. Instead I see... A badger? Uh... ok. I couldn't really do anything but produce a sweat drop on my head especially when she sniffs the bunny girl. That... wasn't what I thought would be in there. Sigh... well at least we've secured some shelter for now. That mermaid girl would hopefully be on guard out in the rain unlike us. I then shiver a bit when Shugo gives me a flat look, thinking it was directed at me. "What do you want? I've got no business with anyone right now."I snarl back, hoping to deter him a little in response to his face.
Seeing that everyone is in a rather terrible state, I go over to Okaa-san and settle in that dark, isolated corner with her; Ironic how she looks even moodier than the rest with her gesture of saying no. I then jolt as I hear her gagging about the food that the fake kitsune boy gave us and... wait... no she's right. I stare at my serving as I take it into my mouth... and puff my cheeks in disgust. The food he has given to me... that sticky, wooden-like texture overriding the rest of my taste buds... I had to spit it out away from their sight. What is this? Half of this stuff isn't even edible. And even worse is that this is my last ration for the trip. Urgh... I hope Okaa-san has some reserve tofu rations with her. I don't want to trek all the way only to starve during the final kilometres of the journey.
My ears twitch as I glance back to the rest. Overhearing the discussion, it doesn't take a genius translator talking to his pretend guardian like me to know that we're now settling in for a diversion. And of all things it had to be a disease-ridden place. Judging from Okaa-san's reaction, she's thinking of the same thing too; I mean, I'm ok with these kind of things but do these people even know why we would even dare to trek into that filth-ridden city? I'm a little hesitant about capturing Adelaide on the spot. We've already seen what Stupid Rixi is like. If he's just as dangerous as he behaves, I wouldn't dare take on his aunt blind. In fact, if what she has other things than money? There are so many things that aren't being considered that I need to fill in, you know. I could honestly be writing stories or practising my rituals or even gaze at the night sky and marvel at how fragile life can be in my spare time, but now I have to rethink our strategy after this last-minute call.
I doubt anyone would be up for some team meetings at this point, but already I can feel the need to devise a decent plan on where to go next. If we decide to continue with our journey to Paulis, then I wouldn't really consider much other than to maybe stop by a nearby town to gather intel and supplies. Then again, if we can somehow turn that woman's henchmen against her using something other than money, I figured we might stand a better chance than to face Stupid Rixi's relatives alone. But it depends on the next day, I guess. Forming a smirk, I then turn to the only woman I trust in this group and whisper into her sensitive ear. "Okaa-san. I have an idea on how we can tackle this..."I quietly tell her as our conversation fades well beyond for everyone else to hear.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
The Wildland Shifters Daisy Ethalena- Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer) Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade) Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer(Clockwork Soul); Lancea Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance) Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars) Yurime Hanasaki- Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
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Cursing under his breath as Cesars becomes invisible. Shugo decides to get a bit closer to the fight. He can’t see the hothead, but Maya’s shout gave him a pretty good idea of the jerks location. Even though he doesn’t like the idea of the genasi escaping, the demon seems to be the biggest threat at the moment.
Despite this, the elf holds out a little longer hoping the others can take care of the demon, or the enemies flee before he has to give up his invisibility. The last thing he wants is to become the main target since he has the egg. Plus if they get the egg from him and run, then everything they have done up to this point would be rendered meaningless.
(having to type on my phone as my WiFi is down. Will update owlbear as soon as I can use my computer again)
Hearing the call out that he's near the stairs she will strum her lyre, casting faerie fire in that direction and hoping it sticks.
------------
Dex Save: 14
Cezars: DEX Save: 16
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
—Richard Dawkins
DM—Stories From The End of The World: Episode I
Venet's spell highlights Cezars, and then Maya's sacred flame knocks him unconscious. His ring of invisibility drops beside him.
The Cambion's expression turns from cocky to horror, and then Alex's attack snaps him back to reality. "No... NO!" He slowly backs away, de-summons his spear and slowly backs away. "H-hey, can we talk this out? Please... please don't do this, please don't slay me." He clasps his hands and falls on his knees.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave, Simo's team seems to have defeated the rest of the myconids... but they look severely beaten up. Danils is unconscious, and Simo is currently carrying him on his back.
This battle is almost over, all that's left to do is to decide whether should you let the unnamed Cambion go or finish him off.
Note: Sometimes when you defeat a boss creature or a summoner, the boss' minions or the summoned creature may become Helpless—a mechanic originally from 3.5e.
Helpless is similar to the Paralysed condition, the target cannot move and any attack against them counts as critical hits, but unlike Paralysed, Helpless still allows that creature to speak.
Cambion: Pass turn (Helpless; Paralysed)
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
—Richard Dawkins
DM—Stories From The End of The World: Episode I
Mira
Damn. The fact that Maya could actually see the fire genasi whilst he turned invisible is just astounding, really. Is that why her eyes are shut? She needs to know more about her... no, with the way everyone fought (minus Shugo who literally just scampered; She still want to know him more). "My goodness that was a ride. Glad the hard work paid off." She breathes as her sorcerous clock immediately glows green before disappearing into thin air. "Heh. I'm so happy to be part of a team for once. It's not often I'd ever get to taste victory every once in a while when your closest ones were laying all eyes on you." She grins as she licked her lips. It's amazing that the whole 'split and encircle' tactic worked to some degree. Maybe at some point she could find to how to refine this with the group. But for now, she turns to their second enemy, who's still unconscious and cowering in fear much to the rabbit's confusion.
"As Holy boy said, 'Mind control sucks'. That's what that idiot at the stairs who summoned you instilled. I kinda feel bad for you, even though I technically shouldn't." Mira says with crossed arms to the Cambion who had suddenly gone meek. "My devilish foe. I can see that you don't want to fight. Neither do we. I'll be honest: even if we can accept you as our newest recruit, your kind isn't well liked amongst this world's society. Just be thankful none of us folk intend on beating you into submission and develop a hatred for your own kind; As a matter of fact killing isn't allowed in this realm you just set foot on either."
"That being said, I suggest you head back to wherever you came from via that circle you just teleported from and forget about what happened. No point wasting our energy just to fight someone who doesn't know what they should be doing, especially considering that you were oblivious to the current scenario."
Regardless of the Cambion's answer, Mira then turns to the others, particularly Shugo and the other women, seeing that they obviously know more about that idiotic genasi slumped on the stairs. "So... about your... friend..." Mira points to Cezars. "What are your current intentions... now that the battle has concluded? Minus the egg, obviously?" She still needs to confront Renar about something else though... but not now. But then she turns to Alex with worry when she sees his comrades injured severely. "Yikes... you all took a beating there. Hey Alex. I think they need you."
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
Once he's made it back to the group, he drops his invisibility. "Great job team! I knew you all could beat that hothead!" He grins at Mira, "You too! You can sure put up a fight despite how small you are!"
Cocking his head, he looks at the demon, then back at Mira. "Well unfortunately I may have...Uh...forced the circle to erase itself? I was just trying to break it so Cezars couldn't potentially summon more. I also wondered if breaking it would free him from the mind control." He glances back at the demon, "Soooo, are you permanently free from the mind control? Or are you going to have to serve Mr. Hothead again as soon as he wakes up? If you do have to follow his orders since he summoned you. Either we will have to figure a way to uh...de-summon you? Is that a thing?"
He turns back to Mira when she starts asking questions. "Friend? HA! Oh that jerk isn't our friend. What should we do with him? Well...we might as well just take him with us when we go to our trial. He has to go there anyway and the guards who were watching us know what's been going on. I don't think we will get in trouble for holding him hostage? Eh. I guess it doesn't matter. We can't get in much more trouble then we already are." He rubs the back of his neck, thinking about Adelaide. "As for the egg...well we do know who the mother is....but I don't think any of us want to go all the way back to her nest. If she truly cares about her child, then she should have started looking by now. Hopefully at some point we'll meet up with her again, and then we can return the egg. But until then, I think we should just hold onto it. Unless someone else has a better idea of what to do with it, I don't see anything else we can do." He glances at Simo and his group. Technically, they could leave the egg with them, but he isn't sure he really trusts them yet, not with a living being anyway. Especially not Simo, with his cocky attitude. The fox kid doesn't strike him as a really bad guy, but he doesn't seem like the greatest person either.
"Anyway, I think the biggest question is...what should we do with him." He points at Cambion. "If we can't...send him back that is."
Relieved that the fight is over, Alex lowers his guard and lets out a long breath. "Don't worry," he says to Cambion. "I already said no hard feelings right? We all know you didn't have a choice in the matter, so we aren't going to hold you responsible for your actions." He nods to Mira and Shugo, "I... think it would be best if you went back to your home plane. Is there a way for you to return on your own? We'll help however we can."
He then turns his attention to his comrades, nodding to Mira when she says that the other team could use his help before making his way over to Simo and Danlis. As a paladin, Simo should have just as much healing power as Alex does, if not more since as far as Alex knows he hasn't been in a fight as recently as Alex had before this one. Still, he might as well offer aid just in case, "Do you guys need any healing? Or do you have that under control?"
If Simo's group is alright, then Alex will turn to his own team and make sure that they are all fine as well. "Great job everyone! Our teamwork is improving! Maya, your circle was a real lifesaver." He rubs his forehead, which still has some blood on it from the crown of madness. "I don't wanna know what would have happened if not for your magic." He then turns to Renar, "Hey... um... sorry for running off. I totally forgot that Maya's spell would free me from Cezars's mind control. I shouldn't have freaked out like that. Sheesh, I trust all of you, but clearly I need to trust you more."
Mira
The rabbit girl turns back to Shugo and cackles at his remark about her fighting ability; Wanting to scorn him for being late, Mira eats her words when she's reminded that Shugo's duty was to protect the egg with his life. "Haha! Oh please. No need to flatter me, mate. Besides, at least you have the egg safe and sound right? That's all that matters? I hope?" She then hears Shugo address Cezars an the current scenario. "I get what you mean but I was just being sarcastic. I clearly know he's not your friend and he needs to be dealt with discipline." Mira replies before she turns to the fire genasi, clearly needing to be bound up before he awakens.
She stares at the circle that Shugo messed up. "Wasn't that where that poor devil came from? I mean... surely it still works right... even though one of us would need to reform the circle just in case... right?" Anyways, whilst Alex deals with his group and the rest with the Cambion, Mira will just hop over to Cezars and bind up whilst he's unconscious all the while muttering to herself, "Sigh... I can't believe you. The way you behave... you clearly remind me of the shadows I lived amongst; You reminded me of my dark past with that scummy attitude of yours..."
Once bound she then hops back to check on the two ladies, dressing their wounds with simple first aid if they require. "How's things on your end my ladies, especially you foxy lady? You looked you took a beating."
Renar
Stupid Rixi is knocked out. Guess I won't be getting a definite answer from him anytime soon... but still. Good. Guess that means I can use all of my movement to retrieve the ring of invisibility for that... vampire boy... whatever. Next time he come back, he'll have his long-lost treasure safe and sound if he even remembers. But for now I stash it away on one of my fingers for the time being. I then drag his stale body 25ft closer to the team before dropping him from a safe distance and scurry back to inform Alex... about his injured teammates.
"What are you apologizing for? Doesn't matter if you ran away from me or not. You separated the duo. That's more than enough And the egg's been unharmed, which is another thing accomplished. I'm satisfied nonetheless. I was worried you'd go out of Oka- I mean, Maya-san's range that's all. On the flipside, you're right about us improving." I take a moment to stow my katana back in my sheath and stop rambling, afraid that I may hurt that poor boy even more, though my bladesong doesn't cease since I'm still glowing yellow. "Don't worry about such trivial things like this. It's not like we'd be disbanding anytime soon, so we have plenty of room to learn. Besides, your main opponent has long been knocked out. We'll handle this foreign demon. In the meanwhile, do your thing and help your goons."
But he's right. With each battle, our teamwork is slowly improving, which a very good sign of progress. Sure a little refinement would be more necessary, considering that Okaa-san almost got Ko'ed by that stupid devil... But the plan worked as I had expected. I turn to Shugo. "The egg's safe and sound, right? That's what matters? Good. Hold onto it until we meet her again."
Seeing that Alex praised my mother about her sphere, I supposed I could translate to her just this once. I go over to check on her as I stroke her head and tail. "Okaa-san. Daijoubu desu ka? (大丈夫ですか, You ok?)" I whisper in her ear. "Anata no hogo-ku wa hontōni inochi no onjindeshita, to Arekkusu wa imasu. (あなたの保護区は本当に命の恩人でした、とアレックスは言います, Your sanctuary was a real lifesaver, Alex says)"
I can't face the other ladies for sure; My anxiety amongst girls would et the better of me if I do. Even then... one more target to face as I turns towards him with a scowl... and he's cowering on the floor in fear, huh? That doesn't mean I drop my guard down, though as always. Especially with his kind. Though I'm also worried about Stupid Rixi's goons coming to take him away again just like the night before, when some money-laundering elf girl infiltrated us; Like they're dicing with death...
"You're back to normal. Kinda unusual that you're not insisting on causing chaos though. Usually your own kind would attack us indiscriminately whenever our eyes lock on." I feel bad for him though; He's not native to this place. And neither me or Okaa-san are. I can understand his current mood and his confusion sort of, though I still appear to be very irritated with his cowardly reaction after breaking free from his mind control. "Leave this place as the bunny girl said. Via that small circle where you came from. Either risk life and limb and head to the outside world in your own or go back and return safely to where you came from. Believe me: You don't want to head outside to the surface. Those people on top, once they find you, they'll be out for your blood, just like they'll be out for ours one day. As a matter of fact, be thankful we're choosing to spare you rather than finish you off... for now. Unless you need help with us reforming it."
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
"Oh... yeah you're right. I guess I'm just overthinking things," Alex replies to Renar. "We accomplished our goal, so all's well that ends well. Heheh." He laughs, seeming like his usual self as he turns his attention to Simo's group. "Goons? Don't let Simo hear you call them that. He won't take kindly to it." He chuckles, "He's my rival, and Elsa is my friend. I consider him a friend too, but I'm not really sure if he considers me the same."
He notices Mira tying up Cezars, "Too bad we don't have something that's... not flammable. Like handcuffs or chains. I'm worried that he's just going to break out again once he wakes up..." He looks back and fourth between the three magic users of the group, "Do any of you have a spell that could keep him asleep if he wakes up and starts causing problems? I'd rather not have to... you know... just keep knocking him out if he won't just submit."
Once he's made sure that everyone has been healed, and Simo's team is alright too, he says, "Well, should we head to Paulis? Or should we think about heading back. Now that we have Cezars captured, it seems a little risky to take any sort of detour. Plus we have our trial as well, which we don't want to be late for if things go wrong down here. But then again, I also don't want to pass up this opportunity to meet with Paulis, so I'm not sure what we should do." He looks to his companions (including Simo's group) for opinions.
Now that the fight's done, Maya can probably go an tend to her own wounds first before checking on the rest of the party. Her son hadn't gotten damaged once and neither did Shugo, but she jolts a little when the whispers of the former blow wind into her sensitive ears on her head and covered by her hood.
She hears a whisper in her fox ears as they twitch. And almost instantly, despite the suffering she had endured because of the Cambion, she retains her gentle smile, all because of his translated message. That's all she needed to hear from anyone, really. She gestures to Venet and Mira if they need any healing, but it appears that they haven't been injured much either. At least on the outside. She can't really see any internal visible damage to them... Yet
After dressing her own wounds and when Alex returns to face the party, Maya slowly walks up to him and nuzzles his head with a giggle; A kitsune's way of saying thank you. As she turns to walk away from, she looks back with another smile whilst uttering in broken Lancean, "My son... Raiku... Spar... With you... One day. When found."
Unlike the others though, Maya wasn't as forgiving towards the Cambion who scorched her. Dropping her friendly smile of her whiskered face, she points towards the circle whilst snarling only one word inconceivable to everyone except her son: "Hanareru! (はなれる, Leave!)"
Wildland Shifters Pt 2 (Pt 1 with PyromaniIsDeadThankGod)
Celci (The Lamb) - Non-Binary Changeling Sorcerer (Shadow Magic)
Maya Kurosaki - Female Kitsune Cleric (Twilight Domain); Currently in Lancea
Randy Wolftree - Male Human Artificer (Armourer); Currently in Crimson Sands of Time
Shijiro Otsune - Male Kitsune Blood Hunter (Order Of The Lycan)
Trojan Dseyller - Male Tortle Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian)
Xenia Ironhide - Female Kobold Rogue (Soulknife)
Combat Over
"Wait... huh? You'll actually let me go? No takesies backsies?" The Cambion tilts his head, he pauses for a bit, then he lifts two fingers up and starts drawing something in the air. "Don't worry, I can find my way back on my own. I just wanted to say—" The spell [Tooltip Not Found] activates mid-sentence, and the Cambion disappears into a cloud of red mist.
"Phew... Mission accomplished." Elsa wipes a sweat on her forehead. "I think we should check out the waterfall, there is definitely an exit to the surface there."
"If I recall correctly, there is a major town nearby. It's Meņkalde, but we're heading to Madura, which is west of here. Meņkalde is a lovely border town, that exports a lot of masonry and stone, if you head east, you'll enter Route 703, which leads into the heart of the Duchy of Platone." Simo explains, shuffling Danils on his back. "There is probably a jail in that town, but because we're in a very rural part of Kerwos right now, it's probably not as secure as the ones in the capital. Just food for your thoughts."
You and Simo's party begins your descent up the stairs, across the wooden bridge, and now, you're standing beside the waterfall. After a few moments of searching, Liega finds a lever, which activates a hidden metal ladder hidden in the walls, and with that, you silently climb up the ladder.
It's been two days since you spent time underground, but it felt like an entire week had passed, at last, you find yourself on the surface once again... pelted by rain with mud on your feet. In front of you is River Būmiņsavas, usually, the waters would be blue-grey, but due to the constant rainfall, it's now brownish-red, and behind you is a field of milkweed. On a sunny day, you'd see a field of pink flowers with butterflies, but because of the rain, everything just looks sad and miserable.
"There is a herb paste I know that can put people to sleep," Elsa says, wrinkling water from her tail. "The problem is it's getting dark outside and it's also raining, we can just keep punching him until he's unconscious, I guess, I don't want to risk getting a cold just to make him sleep longer."
On the other side of the river, you see a small silhouette of a tower and a town from afar... but this river is huge. Probably about 600 metres across, and the tower is around 3 kilometres away. Looking at the sky, you can't see the sun due to clouds, but it's getting dark, so you should find somewhere to sleep soon, somewhere that isn't wet and muddy... and you found it.
Up on the milkweed field, you see a small Hobbit-hole hut built into a hill, there is also a light inside, which means it's occupied. You can either ask whoever is inside the hut if you can stay, or grit your teeth and push forward to Meņkalde.
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
—Richard Dawkins
DM—Stories From The End of The World: Episode I
Mira
"Huh?!" Mira jolts as her bunny ears perk up upon noticing the Cambion leave in a puff of smoke. Oh well. That's one less of a problem to deal with. Now all that matters is getting out of here fast. "Wow that was swift... Did you get anything out of those living fungi?" Mira asks to all of Alex's teammates as she is led towards the surface. "I can't put him to sleep even if I wanted to. I'm not sure about the other ladies." She glances at Venet and Maya, who appear to be the other women that were being mentioned. She's especially concerned for the latter as the conjoined group make their way to the surface... only to feel the massive downpour soaking her fur the moment they step outside.
"Brr... I should've known..." She shivers upon getting drenched in her regal attire. Looking on the bright side though, at least that stupid genasi would be hindered by the torrential downpour for a while. No sleep spells required she muses. And if he does wake up, he can be left in the downpour for all they care... Wait... trial? What's Alex talking about? "Uh wait... you're supposed to be in Madura for what again? A trial? What did you five even do beforehand?!" She gapes at Alex, no, the entire team. Now she's having second thoughts. Had she teamed up with a group who turned out to be criminals in disguise?! Had she made a mistake trusting them? Her rabbit ears furrow with anxiety. Will she have to be a part of their problems should the moment arrive? This isn't good... Maybe if they meet her mother she can help speak for them in their defense and get away scot free whilst the fire jerk won't. She'll have to make sure herself that these ones aren't the type to cause chaos however. Speaking of her mother though...
"Route 703? Dutchy of Platone? That's a familiar place." Mira gasps as she overhears Simo talking about it. That's where my mother is. There's where I'm from. Maybe once the group has recuperated they can perhaps head there before going towards Paulis to warn him about the current scenario. Besides, other than him, she wonders who these misfits are even affiliated with in the first place. Surely they can't just go over to Paulis like random travellers on a hiking spree. There has to be a reason for this. But now's not the time for that. They need to find shelter fast, or everyone will end up catching serious colds in a short while. "We need to take break, my poor legs and royal footwear are already soaked from the torrent... Oh look. Over there." She points to the hut as she hops towards it and knocks on it sporadically. "Hey there. Anyone home? Is it okay we take shelter for the night? I promise we won't cause any trouble! Besides, let's just say the outside isn't at its brightest moment. We're getting soaked." She calls out assuming that someone is actually able to hear her. But first... now waiting for someone to respond, she needs to deal with someone on a more suspecting matter...
Getting no response yet, she hops back and punches Renar's shoulder as he closes his distance to the hut. "Oi. Hoodie guy." She sharply addresses with an angry symbol on her head. "'Wings stripped away, the end is nigh'. I heard that one line from the special poem that my mother recited to me, and me alone. She said it's a part of an ancient relic that was once in the hands of humans before they went extinct. And I'm the only one who knows it through her. How on Lancea do you know part of it, huh? Don't ignore me!"
Renar
My covered fox ears twitch in shock when that devil vanishes suddenly. That was quick. At least we don't have to deal with him anymore. That's a plus. I then hear that Alex's... mates... well... they want to head to the surface and take a rest but also point me and Okaa-san to two locations we've never heard of before. But seeing that the fake kitsune boy is his rival, I guess I ain't having a shot at becoming another one of Alex's. I dreamt to test his potential, and the others too, to see if they can match the power of the shifters, including mine. In this moment I dreamt of him fighting my more benevolent Fire Genasi and Kumiho friends right here to see who's the superior knight whilst everyone else is grounded in reality. But right now, this dream has faded because of what Alex stated. Oh well. No use thinking about it anymore. At least for now.
Wait... "Hang on a second, I thought we were gonna see Paulis first? Taking a detour to somewhere unknown other than for a break isn't the endgame of this mission unless if that city is part of the road that leads to his place...?" I call out confused. Seeing that combat has ceased, so too, does my defences and my bladesong whilst my katana stops glowing yellow. I then checked the map of the underground cave again. We're located inside the glitched section aren't we? Or is the entire place we just visited the whole thing? I'm really confused right now even as I trail behind silently and watch as the waterfall creates a hidden ladder. Right... So we're gonna get drenched, huh? I hope we can find a spot to actually take refuge until the storm dies out. Even so, it's nice to actually breathe a fresh bout of oxygen after staying underground for a time. Can't imagine if that's Tenebris' way of living since Drows like him are the most adapted to these depths. Oh wait... they mentioned Madura, which is along the route to Paulis, right? So I guess we could go past there. Maybe...
I flinch again when Alex mentions about the needless trial we're supposed to go through even as we arrived soaking wet in that tiny hut that I almost missed. Out of all things optimistic, this had to be the one thing that he had to bring up after combat? What if the juries are prejudiced against us and take Stupid Rixi's side? What if like before, that Adelaide that spied on us will do it again and possibly persuade them to worsen our progress? Then what? I mean I can think of backup options but they don't come as easily as they go. I need time to process them. I overhear the bunny girl exclaim her shock about our stupid trial. I wanted to explain everything, but for their sake, I ate my own words as a replacement snack. No need to rub salt in the wound. Even as she punches my elbow and accuses me of saying 'wings stripped away, the end is... nigh...'
Hold up... she knows Loveless too? But how? Does this realm hold what Japan and Toril does? Do modern video games even exist here? Because that's where the poem comes from! So how is she able to identify what I just said? And why? And even then I've no clear response to this. Sighing as I close my eyes for a brief moment, I take a moment to process what I can say without causing any misunderstandings, before I let out in a rather irritated but ironically smooth voice, "I don't know what you're talking about." I then huff without making eye contact with her as I slowly walk away from her and towards the hut with the rest. No need to rub salt in the wound. I figured we all need some rest at this point; Who knows how far we have to travel until we arrive at our actual destination...
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
Alex gives Renar a glance, noticing a bit of disappointment on the 'changelings' face. While he'd like to question him about it, he decides against it. Renar isn't terribly open about...well, anything, so it's best not to press.
"Yeah... I thought Paulis was our destination for now. Unless we don't think hauling Cezars along with us is the best plan. I'm just not sure if we'll get another opportunity to talk to Paulis if we pass this up." He looks ahead, realizing that Mira is trying to get the attention of someone living in the nearby house. "W...wait. Shouldn't we consider what could happen if we bring Cezars into a civilian's home?"
Maya is trying to understand the situation as she gets soaked in her royal garments from head to bare feet again. Not good. She desperately wants to find shelter and recharge, but stops when Alex calls out to the bunny girl.
This time, for some reason, she can understand everything that Alex said. He's right. If that fire genasi who she mistook as Rixi suddenly awakens he might escape again. Or worse, he might try to burn down the entire hut if he isn't carefully watched over. She thinks that maybe he should be tied up in the rain again so that the water will render his own pyrokinetic powers useless whilst they rest, but she isn't sure if the rain would last until the next morning.
Wildland Shifters Pt 2 (Pt 1 with PyromaniIsDeadThankGod)
Celci (The Lamb) - Non-Binary Changeling Sorcerer (Shadow Magic)
Maya Kurosaki - Female Kitsune Cleric (Twilight Domain); Currently in Lancea
Randy Wolftree - Male Human Artificer (Armourer); Currently in Crimson Sands of Time
Shijiro Otsune - Male Kitsune Blood Hunter (Order Of The Lycan)
Trojan Dseyller - Male Tortle Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian)
Xenia Ironhide - Female Kobold Rogue (Soulknife)
Shugo had thought he would be happy to see the sun again....but coming up into the poring rain? Well now he just feels miserable....and he continues to look more and more miserable the longer the party walks.
When Mira inquires about why they are going to a trial he says, "Well, we have our fiery 'friend' to thank for that. Basically we are in trouble for stopping him from first pummeling an innocent woman and then defending ourselves from an assassin who who tried to free him after we were planning to take him to a church or something.... Anyways we aren't bad people."
The elf is visibly shivering by the time the group sights the hut. His eyes light up when some of his group voices their wishes to pay the owner a visit, then deflates a little at Alex's logic. However, his eyes light up again as he speaks up, "We don't have to take him in! We can just leave him in the rain! Just like we did last time! ....well if Venet is alright staying outside again." He gives Venet a pleading look as he says this.
Mira
Well uh, that wasn't the response she wanted to hear from Renar. 'I don't know what you're talking about?' What kind of excuse is that?! He somehow knows her poem so why isn't he coming clean? "Oi! What kind of response is that?! I told you not to ignore me didn't I?!" Mira yells out to Renar as he walks away from her; An angry mark appears on her head as a result. "HEY! That wasn't a valid answer! Get back here! Maya! Do something!"
Steaming from the hoodie boy's appalling response, Mira's mood sours even further when Shugo responds to her question about the trial, complete with a sweat mark replacing her angry mark from earlier. "Sorry... come again?" She responds dumbfounded. "You... you got in trouble... for saving an innocent woman from him?! I get why for the assassin but... but the first statement?!" This feels messed up. She doesn't have any knowledge in law and order, but even she knows that there's no way these guy could be sent to court for doing something heroic. She also assumes the person they saved is an ordinary and not some wicked jerk or something. Corruption... Was all she could think.
She then overhears him saying that Venet could keep watch on the fire guy, alongside Alex's worry about keeping him in. They have points. Sure she's aquatic ok, but what if she's unable to defend herself should he gain the upper hand? "Uh... well... I'm worried about leaving her alone out in the rain though. Cause... you know..." She makes some crude hand swiping gestures, trying to convey the possibility of Cezars awakening and beating Venet when she lets her guard down and no one else is here to watch. She's seen people break from ropes before without the use of spells, let alone fire. The last thing she needs is to lose that woman before she can even learn something from her.
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)
Mira knocks on the door, and it falls to the ground, revealing more of the interior.
The house looks abandoned, there are cobwebs and dry grass on the floor, and there isn't that much furniture in there. There is a table and some chairs, and on the table, there is a golden glowing orb which gives the illusion of this place being occupied, but other than that, most furniture isn't even there, seems like whoever lived in that place moved out.
That doesn't mean this house is unoccupied. On the dry grass, you can see a giant badger sleeping on her 'bed.' She wakes up from the sound, calmly walks over to Mira and gives her a sniff, then walks back into the house. Giant badgers are known for being territorial, however, they often share their den with other animals like rabbits, foxes, and raccoon dogs, which is why she acts docile like that.
With that out of the way, you walk into the house and call it a day.
Because there is no way to light a fire, you'll have to settle for an old-fashioned adventurer's dinner—hardtacks, corned beef, and pickles. The hardtacks the Simo's party provide are really hard, they taste like wood and the texture is like wood too, but the pickles and the corned beef are fine. Mira only eats biscuits and pickles, since Harengons can't digest meat.
After dinner time is done, all of you just sit in silence. The glowing orb still shines bright, and the badger is chewing some leftovers Simo gave her. It's common in Lancea for animals to hang around in a camp, especially in a rural area like this. Animals get your leftovers, and you get someone to watch your back while you're asleep.
"So..." Simo starts. "About Cezars..." He glances at where Cezars is being held. "I totally understand why you're going to court, you tried to be a nice guy, but you went a bit too far, maybe too far, and now you'll have to face the consequences of your actions. Cezars acts like this because he knows he's untouchable, his aunt is so rich she can bail him out at any moment. The only way we can make sure he is truly behind bars is to somehow capture Adelaide first."
"I do have some suggestions." Liega pulls out a map from her pocket and lays it down on the table.
"If you want to take down Adelaide, you'll have to reach the capital of her duchy first, which is Aleneskalns... the biggest problem won't be her guards, though, the city itself is so filthy and crime-ridden you might actually die before you even step foot in her residence. There are polio and hepatitis everywhere, and if you get either one of those, it could be a career-ender." The Tiefling explains. Polio and hepatitis only affect humanoids, so Mira (Who is a Harengon) and Alex (Who is a Paladin) don't have to worry much.
Danils makes a claw gesture, fluffing out his feathers. "Yeah, from what I've heard, the only river running through the city is literally covered in faeces and rubbish! With rains like this, there might be a disease outbreak!" He blows a raspberry, "That Changeling lady earlier really wasn't exaggerating, Aleneskalns is that bad. Like, how can they mess up this bad? It's impossible to be this bad—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Danils." Liega clamps his beak shut, then she looks back to the rest of you. "Listen, I don't know you well, but I don't like seeing anyone hurt or suffer..." She sighs, "Adelaide is filthy rich, her own men hated her, but she is so rich they can't even do anything about it. If they try to turn against her, she'll just pay them to leave her alone. Say, does any of you have a plan? Or do you need more information first?"
"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
—Richard Dawkins
DM—Stories From The End of The World: Episode I
"Oh she'll be fine!" Shugo says confidently to Mira. "If you didn't catch it, this would be the second time she's monitored Cezars in the rain. She's practically a professional at guarding wet hotheads!"
He cringes when the door caves in, but his usual grin quickly spreads back over his face. Especially after the badger practically welcomes them in, "Well it looks like we won't be intruding after all! And with the badger here, Venet probably doesn't need to stay out in the rain..."
Moving in to settle down he takes off his pack and has to stop himself from tossing it on the floor. Ooooo that would have been bad. He then gently sets the pack with the egg down. Boy he wishes they could just give it back to it's mother. For a moment he wonders if it needs to be kept warm like a bird's egg, but then he shrugs. If that were the case it would have died ages ago when Cezars was carting it around. He gives the pack a flat look. He'd used his bedroll as padding for it, and now the egg has effectively stolen his blanket. He sighs mentally. Oh well, at least he's an elf. He can meditate in pretty much any position.
He sits down with his back to a wall and his pack...egg holder...next to him. He opens it up and digs out his rations...hmm he'll have to keep those in his belt pouch for now. Then he closes the pack back up. That egg has to be nice warm in there, it didn't even get wet thanks to the oiled leather of the bag! Lucky little bugger.... he thinks as he rings out his wet hair and coat.
Scarfing down his meal, he looks up as Simo starts talking. Capture Adalaide? His eyes shift to the teifling as she continues. Wow, they really think they should do that don't they... His gut tightens when the diseases and the possibility of an outbreak is voiced. He'd nearly forgot about the device in his pocket until he'd realized he'd started fingering it. If he does have that virus, then catching either of those diseases would be a death sentence, and even if he doesn't have it, catching one of those would mean he couldn't go home. He couldn't risk passing that to his sister.
Forcing himself to stop messing with the thing in his pocket, he pulls out another piece of dried meat to chew on. Then he sighs, "Man, Adalaide must want to live in a dump. Hah! Covered in feces? She's basically a dung beetle! A filthy rich dung beetle..." He laughs, then shakes his head taking on a more serious tone "Well, even if it's bad for her people, having the city like that seems to be a pretty good defense against potential threats." He shrugs, "To be honest I really don't want to get any more mixed up in this then I already have. I'm up for alerting Paulis, but after that my main plans are to get through this stupid hearing and find somewhere that I can get a letter to home. I'd like to explain what's going on to my family before I get any deeper into trouble." He leans back, putting his hands behind his head and closing, "My father might be able to help us out a little bit, but I can't say for sure. I'm not exactly his favorite child."
When door caves in, Maya jolts a little, thinking that she'd have to fight someone again for it. Instead she spots... some creature... She has never seen before. What? So that's what lives in there? She pouts. At least it wasn't some random jerk like that fake Rixi. Besides, since she has been shivering in the cold for so long, she couldn't wait to go in and take a breather for a while. But... seeing that the group can't light a fire, she also needs to find something to dry herself and her clothes otherwise she'd fall sick in an instant.
Inside as everyone has breakfast, the kitsune sits in a dark corner just like the quiet fox woman she has been for centuries. Well... she does have her disguised son. But she doesn't know if she can even have her time of solitude with him, especially considering that there's nowhere to hide inside. Biting on her food, she sticks her tongue out in disgust, clearly disliking what Simo gave her, before she reaches into her own bag to obtain her own, tastier rations. "Ugh. Ozomashi... (おぞましい, Disgusting)" She gags. Though she picks up Alex's teammates talking with her incredibly sharp hearing, as usual she doesn't even know what on earth they're talking about unless if her son goes over to translate for her.
If he does, the kitsune in disguise gasps. Sure, this world's language and customs might be foreign to her, but Polio and Hepatitis are not. Having travelled to Japan and Sword Coast, these kind of diseases exist there are things she had experience in her extreme lifetime; Not even an ancient fox spirit like her is immune to these kind of microbes. And now they want to go there and capture this Adelaide? Sure a minor change doesn't bother her that much but why the en route to there?
She suddenly snaps out of reality and goes back to daydreaming as her tail droops out of her disguise. What if the group cannot help the place clean up? What if they, no... what if she or her son somehow contracts the disease and brings it back to the two realms she's most familiar with? She clutches her large chest as the possibilities overwhelm her in a negative way. Turning towards her son with a blushed grimace, she doesn't know what to say again, other than the fact that she's hoping that being the brain of the group, he'd have some kind of last minute plans on how to tackle the disease-ridden city should they have to traverse there. Convincing people to cleanup wouldn't be efficient, and nor is enduring the stench. It's one or the other. Maybe they can also steal the money off that woman or even frame her for some theft along the way...
If anyone asks her to come and socialize though, Maya briefly snaps back to her senses and holds out a clawed palm and sighs, a gesture saying that she'll pass, before she dazes again. In fact, seeing the situation as she whips her white-haired head around, there isn't any time for her to continue her lessons in Lancean is there?
Wildland Shifters Pt 2 (Pt 1 with PyromaniIsDeadThankGod)
Celci (The Lamb) - Non-Binary Changeling Sorcerer (Shadow Magic)
Maya Kurosaki - Female Kitsune Cleric (Twilight Domain); Currently in Lancea
Randy Wolftree - Male Human Artificer (Armourer); Currently in Crimson Sands of Time
Shijiro Otsune - Male Kitsune Blood Hunter (Order Of The Lycan)
Trojan Dseyller - Male Tortle Barbarian (Path of the Ancestral Guardian)
Xenia Ironhide - Female Kobold Rogue (Soulknife)
Mira
The rabbit girl scratches her ears briefly when Shugo voices that Venet has taken charge before, but otherwise says nothing else. If he thinks she can do it she can do it. No need to pressure the duo. And that's also when she decides to step up to the door... only to bounce back in panic when the door collapses and a badger comes out to sniff her. "Woah, woah, woah! Hold your nose and the door for a minute, will ya lady?!" Mira yells out in shock as the badger sniffs her. "Careful with my skirt! These regal garments aren't exactly the cheapest thing on the planet, you know! Thank you!" Thankfully for her, the badger wasn't openly hostile, especially considering that right now she needs to feast on her meal... and not whatever Simo gave out to the pack for sure; Almost everything he offered is indigestible to her kind.
"I'll pass on the meat. Rabbit ladies like me cannot digest these kind of things. I'll just settle with some cookies." She sighs as she plops down between the two boys she's most comfortable with and digs in. With the way she eats by nibbling on the cookie, it's as if she's a chipmunk feasting on some nuts. In fact, seeing this moment of silence, this might be the perfect time to get to know Shugo better. "Oh, Shugo. Of course you'd be his favourite in a way, right?" Mira teases before her ears twitch. "Hey. Are you perhaps... A noble like me? You're not actually from Perkunwos are you?" Mira asks him. If her mother is the Dutchy of Platone and Shugo's royal family is... whatever bloodline he comes from, maybe these two could forge a temporary alliance should they both come to an agreement. If they can even settle an agreement.
As for the virus-ridden town, Mira does have her own skeptics as she twitches her nose. "Capturing Adelaide is one thing, but so is Paulis plus the entire Aleneskalns dilemma-slash-diversion-slash-distraction, you know." She objects as she squints at Maya's gesture telling her that she and the hoodie guy are out. There's no doubt... these two must be related in a way, seeing how close they are. She thinks. Alex has gone quiet. His teammates have followed suit. And she doesn't want to get started with the oddball pair. "Besides, we can't go up to her saying we're gonna kidnap her for ransom. What if she can fight back? If that fire boy is her relative then I don't even dare dream of what powers she might possess." Her stomach then lurches. A memory of Vujica Simic returns into her head as she flashbacks to the notes in that secret republic base earlier. "What if... Vujica is with her?" She speaks with a whisper.
Glancing towards Shugo's distraught face, Mira flinches a little before she lightly taps on his shoulder. That's weird. One minute he was cheerful and talkative and the next minute he's... afraid? "You don't seem fine, Shugo. Is... is um... everything okay? Did they... did they trigger something horrific in you?" Mira asks him again as his fright is quickly picked up by her emotional sensitivity. She wanted to press him but that would disrespect his own boundaries, so she'll let him decide if he wants to or not. She won't make a fuss about it either way.
Renar
When the door suddenly smashes into pieces, I jolt and immediately rest my right hand on my katana again, assuming that this manhole is a trap. Instead I see... A badger? Uh... ok. I couldn't really do anything but produce a sweat drop on my head especially when she sniffs the bunny girl. That... wasn't what I thought would be in there. Sigh... well at least we've secured some shelter for now. That mermaid girl would hopefully be on guard out in the rain unlike us. I then shiver a bit when Shugo gives me a flat look, thinking it was directed at me. "What do you want? I've got no business with anyone right now." I snarl back, hoping to deter him a little in response to his face.
Seeing that everyone is in a rather terrible state, I go over to Okaa-san and settle in that dark, isolated corner with her; Ironic how she looks even moodier than the rest with her gesture of saying no. I then jolt as I hear her gagging about the food that the fake kitsune boy gave us and... wait... no she's right. I stare at my serving as I take it into my mouth... and puff my cheeks in disgust. The food he has given to me... that sticky, wooden-like texture overriding the rest of my taste buds... I had to spit it out away from their sight. What is this? Half of this stuff isn't even edible. And even worse is that this is my last ration for the trip. Urgh... I hope Okaa-san has some reserve tofu rations with her. I don't want to trek all the way only to starve during the final kilometres of the journey.
My ears twitch as I glance back to the rest. Overhearing the discussion, it doesn't take a genius translator talking to his pretend guardian like me to know that we're now settling in for a diversion. And of all things it had to be a disease-ridden place. Judging from Okaa-san's reaction, she's thinking of the same thing too; I mean, I'm ok with these kind of things but do these people even know why we would even dare to trek into that filth-ridden city? I'm a little hesitant about capturing Adelaide on the spot. We've already seen what Stupid Rixi is like. If he's just as dangerous as he behaves, I wouldn't dare take on his aunt blind. In fact, if what she has other things than money? There are so many things that aren't being considered that I need to fill in, you know. I could honestly be writing stories or practising my rituals or even gaze at the night sky and marvel at how fragile life can be in my spare time, but now I have to rethink our strategy after this last-minute call.
I doubt anyone would be up for some team meetings at this point, but already I can feel the need to devise a decent plan on where to go next. If we decide to continue with our journey to Paulis, then I wouldn't really consider much other than to maybe stop by a nearby town to gather intel and supplies. Then again, if we can somehow turn that woman's henchmen against her using something other than money, I figured we might stand a better chance than to face Stupid Rixi's relatives alone. But it depends on the next day, I guess. Forming a smirk, I then turn to the only woman I trust in this group and whisper into her sensitive ear. "Okaa-san. I have an idea on how we can tackle this..." I quietly tell her as our conversation fades well beyond for everyone else to hear.
The Wildland Shifters
Daisy Ethalena - Female Wood Elf Ranger (Monster Slayer)
Ethan Wolftree - Male Simic Hybrid Warlock (The Hexblade)
Mira Laurits - Female Harengon Sorcerer (Clockwork Soul); Lancea
Raiden Kurosaki - Male Kitsune Wizard (Bladesinger); Lancea
Rixian Nishinoya - Male Fire Genasi Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Tenebris Amaro - Male Dark Elf Druid (Circle of Stars)
Yurime Hanasaki - Female Kumiho Bard (College Of Creation)