Team Nippon
[@VitaVitaAR][@PKMNB0Y][@Click This][@Crusader Lord][@Crimson Paladin]
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As Novak accepted the pouch of coins, opening it would reveal a rather hefty seeming sum. Thirty smaller bronze coins, ten silver coins with a square hole in the middle, and two more oval shaped gold coins with some sort of seal imprinted on them. Whatever she intended by giving him such a sum was left to his imagination.

“Ehehe~” Lazhira laughed sheepishly in response to Misaki’s comment. “I just like fluffy things. Also foxes are just cute.” The native glanced over to the masked woman. “They’re from Chagawa. I’ve only heard about it from Lady Mie, but its a chain of islands off to the north west somewhere, apparently there’s this huuuuuge tree” She made a motion with her arms trying to emphasize the exact scale of ‘huge’ that the tree apparently was. “And its got a lot of uh, mines where they find raw ore and stuff, and since she owns some of them she likes taking the excess and trading them to villages like ours.”

Lazhira glanced towards the sky.

“Uhm, that said there’s probably not time to do both today. It’s a bit of a trek and it’d probably be getting dark by the time we get back. I’ll take whoever wants to go but we should probably get moving soon.” She smiled. “Don’t worry about money or anything either if you do go. She doesn’t mind if you just look, and if you ask she might trade a bit of labor or help for something.”

Lazhira would let the group decide who went where. Whenever they finished, Lazhira happily took whoever went with her to the edge of the village and into the forest. It was an oddly peaceful place, a number of small animals running about. They couldn’t shake the feeling they were being watched by something as they ventured deeper. The trees starting to grow closer and thicker despite the wintry weather creating a shady, cold and gloomy atmosphere. Eventually after a bit of a walk over uneven, snowy ground, they would eventually reach the top of a small hill. Thankfully they hadn’t run into any trouble in the form of wild animals or otherwise.

In the distance, a large, snow covered stone structure could be seen barely peeking through the top of the trees. The ground below them was covered in a thick, fog like mist, obscuring the ground and likely would cover their entire vision should they decide to delve into it.

“Aha, there it is!” Despite the long walk, Lazhira didn’t look like she felt tired at all. “And the spooky fog...its oddly kind of beautiful, isn’t it?” She grinned. There was something deeply unsettling about the fog, but no one could quite put their finger on it. “So what you wanna do? You can stick close to me, oooor...”

Lazhira put her hands in front of her, taking a deep breath. The same orb of light that she had manifested earlier popped into existence.

“You can try it yourself! Its a bit different, but its nearly the same. The fog doesn’t seem to like sources of light very much.” She nodded energetically. "Just uh...don't go in there without it. Trust me on that one. You'll be walking around for an entire day before you find your way out..." She seemed like she was talking from experience.

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[center]Merchant[/center]
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For those who decided to meet the visitors from seemingly west, they would be welcomed easily into the market the proprietor had set up, though whether or not it was easy to move about was another story entirely. It seemed like almost everyone in the village was here, moving through the various stalls, tents, and tables set up by the foxy merchant.

Sights familiar to Misaki and Nobunaga would pass them - or at least, give the impression of familiarity. Several men clad in what could easily be called samurai armor, though primitive. Notably however, the only one wearing masks like the woman from earlier also seemed to be horned individuals, though not all wore armor and some seemed to be just general workers or other hired help. They mostly seemed to keep to themselves, and kept to others of their own.

The Merchant herself was currently counting some silver, bronze, and gold coins behind a desk. Taking a stack, she placed them into a lockbox and handed it to one of her retainers. She then immediately sat in a chair, grabbed a bowl of what smelled of booze, took a long sip and let out a mildly languid sounding sigh as she waved over one of her retainers.

“Haaa...go tell Ayumi to keep an eye on him. Quietly. And if he tries to leave without paying, well...tell her to use her imagination. I have a feeling he’s going to be trouble later.”

Of course, they were free to do something entirely else, too should they desire. That horned woman that had been watching them could be a good place to start if they wanted information with less hassle - though she seemed to have walked off somewhere else and was conversing with another pair at the market now, too.

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[@Cu Chulainn]
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As Malphas left, he was vaguely aware of the fox girl shouting after him something along the lines of 'Be careful about using that charm' but he wasn't sure of the exact wording. More importantly, what he was looking for was a rather peculiar plant that she said grew around an old temple in the forest. White petals with purple splotches that gave off the faint scent of rot. She made it extremely clear he was not to touch the plants with his bare hands - they were extremely toxic and even a single touch could cause extremely painful irritation for weeks if he were not careful.

What she wanted with such a plant, she didn’t say.

Assuming Malphas wasn’t going to cheat her and if he was going to head into the forest to seek out this temple the hag mentioned last night, he would then head into the forest himself.

The trek would be easy enough, the cold snowy ground proving at least somewhat easy to traverse as long as he was careful. Some distance into his trek through, he would become increasingly aware that something was following him. Animals, slinking just around his peripherals. Some were jumping from tree limb to tree limb, seemingly intending to jump him from above. How long they had been there and how exactly they crept up on him he hadn’t a clue, but they were there now and he couldn’t tell how many there were.

One suddenly hopped from a small hill in front of him, landing directly in front of him a few feet and cutting him off. A large, bird like creature about half the size he was. Its wings seemed too small to fly, more for gliding and climbing, with longer legs obviously designed more for speed than perhaps its more avian cousins. A long, thin tail extended from its backside. Long claws adorned the ends of its wings, with similar claws on its feet. Its body was covered in many colorful feathers, having a large feathered crest upon the crown of their head. They almost looked like small, feathered, wyverns. Though it was crouched low to the ground, it was easy to tell if it stood it’d be about half as tall as he was.

Several more now had positioned themselves behind him.

Ah, he was surrounded by about five of these creatures. They weren’t attacking him yet, but it was clear these were likely predators of some sort.

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Wayward builder
[@Guy0fV4lor][@PaulHaynek]
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As Donovan and Nick traveled through the village, just as he was tailing Lazhira until she went in an entirely different direction, it would seem someone was tailing the two of them. The horned woman from the shore was following them a short distance away. It wasn’t until after Malphas had left did she finally speak and acknowledge them.

“...Dawn. T-the name of the village, that is.”

She quietly said to the two of them.

“Forgive my impudence for speaking out of turn, but you seemed curious so I thought to be of help.” Despite her somewhat intimidating visage, her voice and mannerisms were anything but. Uncertain, a bit of hesitation and mild nervousness tinged the sound of her voice. “And if I have not offended then perhaps I can be of service in some manner?”

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The Roma Mob
[@ERode][@Pyromania99]
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Taking a moment to tend to Octavia, Augusta used some of her healing flame. The pup seemed to whine quietly, but otherwise seemed at least a little warmer. So Isidore and Augusta advanced towards the seeming source of warmth. What awaited them at the top, was a small campsite. It was situated on a small outcrop some distance up, so whoever was there could have a good view of the lower lands in any other weather. A fire was going, seemingly very recently tended to. The meat of some animal, what seemed to be some fairly large species of lizard was skewered over a fire.

And laying on the ground in a small pool of blood?

Two humans, clad in armor. Thick furs over a fairly typical leather and cloth armor. One had been seemingly taken by surprise near the other side of the outcropping, stabbed in the back. The other had his throat cut open, and was laid to rest near the fire. A quick check of their bodies would reveal both used swords, and a single plain metal shield. Their pockets possessed a few silver coins.

And standing not far, against the opposite wall, was seemingly their [url=https://i.imgur.com/r0nHQPx.png]unlikely killer.[/url]

She was dressed in a dirty cloak coat that had seen significant wear, being frayed near the hems. She had been rifling through the pockets of the deceased, but at the appearance of Isidore she shakily stood, wincing as her small hands produced a dagger from under her cloak, holding it towardsIsidore. Several cuts and bruises adorned her face, blood mixed with dirt having long since dried on her face. One of her eyes slightly swollen, a bruise clearly in the middle of forming

“Y-you...s-stay over there!” She did her best shot of a hostile glare, but it fell short. “J-ust...l-leave us alone, p-please....” A labored, pained breath as she unsteadily took a step away from him. Augusta’s sight would make it clear she was not doing well.

[Hider=Goddess Note]
Name:
Leuca Whelani
Race:
Elf (Sirithen)
Physical Attributes:
    Weaker than you
Magic Attributes:
    N/A
Weakness:
    The Sirithen elves typically possess no glaring weaknesses or strengths aside from what typically ails mortal flesh.
Abilities:
    Léargas Sinsear (Minor) - When Sirithen elves come of age, some opt to undergo special training and meditative processes to connect with their ancestors and what they perceive to be the ‘flow’ of the world. While few partake of this, and fewer succeed, those who succeed, in turn, are able to enter a trance and gain supernatural strength, reflexes, and perception. Often they become renowned warriors and it is required for any leaders to possess this ability.
Special attributes:
    Ancestor Geas - Leuca was born with a particular Geas placed on her bloodline by her ancestors. While it gives her a strong connection to the ‘Flow’ and her Ancestors, she is required to carry out some task given by them or suffer misfortune.

One of those of the Sirithen Elves, the oldest and progenitor of the other Elvish species that dot the land. Her name is Leuca. She is a child. She is hungry, causing weakness. She is scared. She has several fractured bones, notably her wrist and a rib. Lacerations and bruises on her arms and chest. She is bleeding. Medical attention suggested.
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