[center][h3]Abandoned Village[/h3][/center]
[center][b]HONEY TRAP[/b][/center]
[center]~ [@AzureKnight] (SHI), [@The Irish Tree] (EUL) ~[/center]

[quote=Shizuka Kannazuki][color=0072bc]"If you fella's have a moment, my comrade and I would like to ask you a few questions. We overheard a few of your friends talking about a woman who fell in love with one of your associates, and had even killed her whole family just to be with him. But it seemed that her love went unrequited, and she was abandoned. It hasn't been lost on me that my comrade and I may have been knowingly sucked into this farce, but we'd like to know the whole story."[/color][/quote]

"[color=00a99d]We don't know anything![/color]" One of the crossbowmen exclaimed. "[color=00a99d]We just do what we're told! We didn't even know this was a lover's quarrel or something. Well, there were rumors circulating around the group but we thought they were just rumors! We didn't know it was true, much less the details.[/color]" He explained. "[color=00a99d]The leader, the one who got cannoball'd. He has all the answers.[/color]"

[quote=Eula][color=C48BD3][b]"Non-vital body parts may be optimal for targeting, including: Hair, pinky fingers, and testicles..."[/b][/color][/quote]

"[color=aba000]What the hell is a testicle?[/color]" The cannoneer muttered before coughing from the pain of his abdomen. "[color=aba000]But I get your message. I don't plan on any of me getting crushed into powder.[/color]"

"[color=aba000]Heh, this is about a girl named Saki, isn't it?[/color]" The bandit leader then laughed. "[color=aba000]She put you up to this? Nah, you wouldn't be asking these question if that's the case. You got suckered, didn't you?[/color]" He laughed again, savoring the moment while he still had it. "[color=aba000]If you were this easy to trick, yokai, then no wonder we kept you out of this island all this time.[/color]"

"[color=aba000]But yeah, about Saki. We saved her from a bunch of Varjans. She got lovestruck, told her we needed food, she told us where her house is, we came for the food.[/color]" The leader laughed again. "[color=aba000]The food wasn't that much, probably why her family fought pretty ferociously. They all died, either way.[/color]" Another laugh followed. "[color=aba000]We kept the girl alive, though. Y'know, fair's fair.[/color]"

"[color=aba000]And nah, hadn't seen a Varjan ever since that incident. Haven't seen a proper Shizuyaman warrior either. They're all dead, aren't they? Gotta be the only reason a yokai could enter this island.[/color]"

[hr]
[center][h3]Terauchi Temple[/h3][/center]

[center]~ [@The Irish Tree] (LIL), [@Crowvette], [@Restalaan] (SKA & GRI), [@Rezod92], [@Nakushita], [@Hammerman], [@AzureKnight] (HIN), [@Enkryption] ~[/center]

Before [u]Liliana[/u] could leave, Ayu placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

While the others consoled [u]Alice[/u], Ayu tried her hand on a pep talk for the gloomy Fairy. "[color=red]Come on, Liliana. Don't be like that. I mean, you're not just any Fairy but a knight Fairy in direct service to a Titania. Don't let stuff like this get you down. Don't leave when we need your inspiring personality the most.[/color]"

"[color=red]And besides, a sad Fairy in our midst? It's pretty disheartening, you know?[/color]" Ayu finished.

[center]---[/center]

[center]~ [@AzureKnight] (ATS) ~[/center]

Moments after dismissing [u]Gringor[/u], Takeshi was about to speak to Nobutada when [u]Atsuha[/u] appeared. Her sudden arrival surprised the young lord Oja, although he soon figured what she was really here for. "Nobutada, I think need to be alone with her right now. Just gather the others for now and I'll meet you all later."

"[color=orange]Milord, if the yokai are giving you trouble...[/color]" Nobutada offered.

But Takeshi put up a hand. "Just... trust me, my friend. I can handle this just fine." The large monk bowed and quickly left the lord and spider yokai alone in this secluded location with a huge tree to the side.

[quote=Atsuha Hangai][color=9e0b0f]"Takeshi-san, could you spare a moment? Perhaps there's a better way to handle this situation. Having been here for the past few days, we've seen that your people's hatred for the yokai equals, if not surpasses the threat they feel toward the Varjans. I mean, some of the natives have even begun to ally with them! Some members of the taskforce, like myself, are quite magically inclined. I'm sure can find a way to work something out."[/color][/quote]

"I... appreciate your efforts to help me. Really, I do. But... I don't want to hide anything, especially not from my trusted friends." Takeshi began his reply. "They trust me, and as the heir to this island, look up to me as well. You know, set an example and all that. I don't want to betray their trust, and while I don't mind keeping secrets, what... happened to me and Alice is one secret that I can't keep."

"And besides, if I do keep it and it gets discovered, I'd be more in trouble. Right?" Takeshi finished before scratching the back of his head. "I... don't know what's gonna happen to me. Normally, that act usually warrants death. But we're not in normal times, and I'm the son of the island's Lord. Maybe I'll just be exiled, or just disinherited."

Takeshi wanted to place a hand on [u]Atsuha's[/u] shoulder for reassurance, but she was too tall and large for his hand to reach it. He eventually settled on patting the Jorou-Gumo's arachnid legs. "All I'm saying is, you guys don't need to worry about me. Worry about the Varjan invasion, and the people of Shizuyama."

[hr]
[hr]
[hr]

[center]~~ TAKESHI'S JOURNEY ~~[/center]

[hider=Kazenosuke, Dancing Blade]
"Kazenosuke could deflect any attack with his spinning blade, and deliver slashes faster than the eye could see. I have no idea why he couldn't make it to Sanjo Beach. I know he's a ronin, but he still should have heeded my father.

Well, his house is near Terauchi Temple. Not very near, but just follow the river near the temple and we'll find his home and then we can ask for his help."

-Takeshi Oja
[/hider]

[hider=Yurine, Death Keeper]
"Yurine has taken care of Clan Oja for as long as I can remember. Despite being a servant, I know she can swing her masakari axe pretty hard. I've little idea of her past but I know it involves tending cemeteries.

She should be in Castle Oja but my father sent her to Onrai to begin enacting some way to protect the graves from being desecrated by the invaders. I know of a famous cemetery south of Terauchi Temple. We can begin looking for her there and she'll surely help us."

-Takeshi Oja
[/hider]

[center]~~ TAKAMORI TALES ~~[/center]

[hider=Teacher And Student]
"Lord Takamori said that his traitorous daughter, Setsuna, is training Varjan archers in Ōmiya. I know this frightens him, even if he tries to hide it. If we don't find her and end this, there may be no stopping the archers, and no hope for Ōmiya Springs. We need to see Lord Takamori immediately."
-Takeshi Oja
[/hider]

[center]~~ SORAE TALES ~~[/center]

*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*

[center]~~ TALES OF SHIZUYAMA ~~[/center]

[hider=Empty Baskets]
A villager woman sitting near a bonfire was muttering to herself when the taskforce member approached.

"Poor Honoka, she'll likely starve soon. Oh, I didn't see you there. Err, Honoka's a widow, living alone in the outskirts of Yabo.

Please, if it's not too much of a bother, do you mind checking in on her?"
[/hider]

[hider=Whispers In The Woods]
A villager woman remarked to the taskforce member as the latter passed by.

"You better watch out if you're passing Yabo Forest, yokai. It's haunted by angry spirits... Dead samurai, eager to spill blood."

"People go into the woods and never come out. Varjan and Shizuyaman alike! The bodies that turn up have all been killed by Shizuyaman blades..."
[/hider]

[hider=Lost At Sea]
A villager woman was sitting beside a bonfire as the taskforce member approached.

"There's a man, yokai, swinging his sword... slashing the air on the beaches of Hama island. I'm not sure if he is a survivor of Sanjo Beach, or a mere bandit. But I'm fairly sure he was crying."

"Hama island is just off the southern coasts, but you'll definitely need a boat or something to reach it."
[/hider]

[center]~~ LEGENDARY TALES ~~[/center]

[hider=The Heavenly Strike]
"Dealing with these students of the Heavenly Strike was more difficult than we thought. They have already thrown back two of the taskforce. However, the yokai fought them separately and at different times, so perhaps a more cooperative approach would be more fruitful."

-Takeshi Oja
[/hider]