Masters of Eothia 1-20

Ruxio, eyes wide, raises his boom stick again cautiously.

"Easy, Rubios." Cora walks over to the cloth, staring. She takes one of her blades and moves the clothing. Revealing.....?

“Be cairful whair you’s be poking dat ting ya codswallop” Squicked out a high pitched child’s voice, obviously indignant at being prodded with a large sword. 

A small female child’s head poked out from the large pile of fabric, looking absurdly tiny in comparison to the several feet of cloth that surrounds it. 

She looks like she would have had ivory white skin had she been from a less sunny climate, but she has a tan reminiscent of the other humans who lived back at the desert city you all departed from. She has a somewhat boyish short hair cut with cowlicks going every direction, hair that may have been dirty blonde bleached platnum by the sun, and smudges of dirt on her left cheek and nose that look like they’ve been practically ingrained into her skin through infrequent washing’s, another trait common in the children of city. She facial proportions are somewhat impish, giving her an untrustworthy visage, like she’s about to rob all of Timmy’s candy and look smug while eating it in front of him.    

All in all, she looks like a little shit that would stick you all up for money if she happened to have a knife, not helped by the fact she happens to be glaring up at Cora for daring to poke her. 

Cora startles back, pulling the blade away. "What in the Hells is this? You're? You're a little girl?" she asks with surprise, and plenty of curiosity.

“And you’s is a big grill, big whoop. Now can all you’s tommy’s turn the ‘ells round so I can’s get dressed?” She responds with the most acidic tone a seemingly 9 year old looking girl can muster. The girl then retreats back into the confines of the fabric pile, where there is a lot of shuffling around, iron clinking noises and muffled grumbles.

Cora, caught off guard by the girl's attitude, promptly turns around.

Yasei refuses to turn around. With a befuddled look, she kneels down into a coiled spring like pose, trying to get down closer to the level of the small child. Placing her hands on each daisho handle, she quizzically asks the little girl “What ARE you?  I’ve heard tales of yōkai who are shape shifters. Are you a tengu?”

Danica simply let out a flat "What."

“I d’nt get half a lick of what ya said, but you’s don gotta worry bout the big guy, it’s ‘ard to ah, maintain all that mass, espically after b’in captured and starved and all that. So he ran out of juice and now me’s gets a turn to ‘ave a swing with the body.” The voice under the fabric keeps fluctuating in tone and pitch, sounding younger and older, raspy and clear, Tenner and Base, etc. as if trying to find a voice setting it feels comfortable with. 

Out of the bundle of fabric climbs out a slightly older, albeit very similar version of girl that you were talking to before. If you had to hazard a guess, she looks to be in her early teens, and now has a definite muscle tone that her younger form was previously lacking. She could be an Olympic gymnast in another life/setting.

She’s drabbed in a very similar if smaller version of the robes, complete with a wrapping belt that is several tens of notches tighter then what you remember Garlic wearing, almost managing to wrap around her twice. Holstered to the belt is the short-sword, light crossbow, and dagger you remember him purchasing, making much more sense now why he actually bought those weapons. 

“Much betta. Forgot the younger form diddnt support somma the muscles, and ah, odda featahs this one’s got, and I can still pull off the woes is me, young gal act if needs be.” She exclaims cockily to the group, with an added wink that doesn’t seem to be particularly aimed at anyone. Standing tall, or as tall as a young teenage girl can, she doesn’t seem to shrink, or even really notice Yasei’s intimidating pose, as she stretches out her body, bones cracking and popping with abnormal loudness. 

"GAH!" Cora barks, surprised. She took a moment and rubbed her eyes, not believing what she's seeing.

Yasei: "You ARE some sort of polymorph.  Very strange.  And unique.  What do you wish to be called, young one?"

The teenaged girl pauses with her left arm stretched out high over her head, as she struck an pondering expression. 

“Nobodies bothaed ta ask that ta me. Usually it’s “Get back ‘ere ya *****, or pretty little birdy want some company, or help I’m being stabbed.” 

She laughs like it’s some inside joke, not particularly deranged sounding, but defiantly somewhat off. She once more regards Yasei with that contemplating look. 

“But I guess if me’s be needing a name... Pumpkin sounds nice.” She excitably states with a crooked grin. 

“Pumpkin it is, then. Let’s just make sure you don’t get carved up our there, now.”  Smiling and winking, she stands up and turns to chat with the others in the group. “Shall we proceed?”

Danica turned to Cora, gave a helpless shrug and said "Well. It looks like this is our group now."

(Still gonna call ya Bobo for simplicity sake lol)

Ruxio scratches his head. He takes out a notebook and scribbles something in it and swiftly puts it away. He seems to be a little on edge, but isn't showing any signs other than nervous.

A sizable cavern opens up and is dark within. No light is shone in here except for the glint of steel in the middle of the room. It appears to be a long, curved sword covered in Oriental patterns stuck in the sand. A long, blue tattered headband falls from it's kashira (butt end).

Without touching it, Yasei will circle around it, inspecting both the sword as well as the area surrounding the sword.  Is it a trap?  Investigation: 9 / Perception: 16

What does the writing on the sword say?

OOC: Holy #@#@&*.  That's two nat 20s there!

Cora covered her mouth trying to contain a quick snort at learning the girls name. She cleared her throat in an attempt to play it off. “Sorry, something in m-“ She turned to Dani and smiled. “Yeah, I guess so. This place is full of surprises it seems.”

Cora rubbed her temples. For a moment she grew concerned. Her headache had not subsided since she woke up in the desert, in fact, it was increasing. Its like..something inside her was reacting. Fighting.

”Look, I don’t have time to figure out what the **** you are, so unless you don’t wanna be carved up like Yasei suggests, don’t do..” she trailed off, the pain becoming sharp and overpowering. “Ow. What the Hells! Yasei! Where..!?....”

Then she was fine. Her face softened. She gave Dani another wink and turned to Pumpkin, “Nice to meet you. Glad to have you with us.”

The first thing Yasei notices is a swarm of sleeping stirges on the cavern ceiling above.

Secondly, as you get closer, Yasei recognises the headband as a challenge headband. Challenge headbands are used by fighters to demonstrate their combat superiority and with each headband comes benefits and respect- but also death, as assassination is a common technique in order to gain a headband. (Yep, rippin' this right from the anime.) 

It appears to be a #10 headband- the lowest rung you can get, but still highly prized. The last Yasei heard of this headband, is that it was owned by a member of an ally clan- a noble female samurai warrior named Akari.

Thirdly, it would seem the headband is blood stained and the sword is very rusted and corroded- however, appears finely made and still functional. It would appear she had her final stand in this cave.

Dani also knows of the headbands.

Danica blinked. "A challenge headband? Here? This day just gets stranger and stranger."

Cora shrugs as Dani spoke. She has no idea what any of these things are.