[center][h3]Forbidden Kingdom - Esaka's Low Tier[/h3] Lvl 15 Ms Fortune (126/150) Level 11 Big Band (29/110) Junior, Rika & Amaterasu’s [@DracoLunaris] Roland’s [@Archmage MC] Zenkichi’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Pit, Primrose & Therion’s [@Yankee] Sakura & Juri’s [@Zoey Boey] Captain Falcon’s [@Double], Harry’s [@Eviledd1984] [b]Word Count:[/b] 1285 [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h2suBzzXgg[/youtube][/center] As Azuma led the Seekers into Esaka, Ms Fortune and Big Band took in the sights around them, trying to familiarize themselves with the city’s Low Tier–and in many ways, it felt familiar. Sure, the buildings around here might be older, dirtier, closer together, and more run down than usual, but both of them had seen rougher parts of town than this. Little Innsmouth had its own charms and sensibilities that set it apart from New Meridian’s other poor districts, but Nadia had spent plenty of time on the wrong side of the tracks, prowling through the low-income neighborhoods and crime-infested boroughs where the cops from the NMPD seldom tread. Band, meanwhile, had been one of those rare cops, walking the beats that would make his less scrupulous colleagues’ stomach turn and doing what little he could to shine a light into the inner city’s darkness. Like Little Innsmouth, though, Esaka had a flavor all its own, and its citizens an irrepressible vitality. Maybe a populace of fighters who could all stand up for themselves had its merits. The newcomers hadn’t gotten far before a couple new faces accosted them. One belonged to a gregarious, muscle-bound blonde dressed in eye-catching red. He seemed to recognize a couple of the Seekers, and he them. Not remembering him from Alcamoth, both Nadia and Band assumed that he was another old friend, although the latter nursed more curiosity since as far as he knew, most of the people Terry eyed weren’t from the same world. Of course, the feral didn’t hesitate to be friendly. “Heya!” she replied, returning the Hungry Wolf’s wave. For once, though, she let the others speak, starting with Pit. As he and Terry exchanged greetings, Nadia’s discretion allowed her to notice a couple allies’ departure. Therion slunk away into the shadows, and though wise to his act, his fellow thief was by no means inclined to stop him. Harry also stepped away after spotting and yelling at a bespectacled fellow he also seemed to recognize. “Big day for reunions,” she muttered as she watched him go, not quite paying full attention to anybody. Primrose was giving Pit some linkpearls, which was a great idea that Nadia wished she thought of first, while Junior and Rika darted off toward what looked like a toy store. Roland was gone too, off to grill the locals no doubt. And come to think of it, Nadia hadn’t seen Juri in a while…yippee! After a few moments, Harry returned with the man he introduced as Kim Kitsuragi. Band greeted him in his typical manner, and caught on to what Harry must have meant when he said Band could give Kim the ‘lowdon’. “Uh huh…” Band looked around discreetly. This area was too open, and there were way too many people around for an ambush. Plus, he’s siphoned off plenty of his soul freeing Amaterasu, Kit, Harry, and Heismay already. Maybe someone else could chip in a friend heart this time? Especially if Kim would bring less to the table than Harry did; the Seekers couldn’t just go around freeing everyone. For now, Band cleared his throat in a way that said [i]you get my drift?[/i] “Ahem! Well, this ain’t exactly the time or place, y’know? One of us can fill you in later.” By that time, Pit had finished distributing linkpearls to everyone here, then ran off. Primrose had also made herself scarce, leaving just Amaterasu, Band, Nadia, Falcon, Sakura, Zenkichi, and Harry with the team’s new acquaintances. [i]Huh[/i]. The feral blinked, looking around again to make sure she had that right. [i]That was fast[/i]. Azuma treated those still here to a quizzical expression, which looked pretty funny on an alligator, but when Zenkichi addressed him he took his fellow detective seriously. “Oh, of course. Here, there’s a couple dojos nearby. Let’s walk and talk, hm? The tournament system can be a little complicated for first-timers.” Azuma continued along the street with the remaining Seekers in tow. As much as she wanted to chat, Nadia knew she’d be remiss to zone out during this particular bit of exposition. “Well, it’s like this, see,” Azuma began. “Here in Esaka, we run four tournaments every week, one for each of the Four Kings. Mr Heihachi Mishima runs the King of Iron Fist series, better known as ‘Tekken’. Master Bison runs the World Warrior series, Shao Khan runs the Mortal Kombat series, and Mr. Rugal Bernstein runs the King of Fighters series. They’re all double elimination, open tournaments, so anyone can sign up.” As he paused to breathe, Band snuck in a question. “Double elimination?” Azuma held up a finger. “Oh, yes, yes. In each tournament, everyone starts out in the Winners’ Bracket. If you lose once, you’re still in the game, but in Losers’ Bracket. Once you’re in Losers, things get more dicey. Lose again, and you’re out of the running–or worse, if you joined the Mortal Kombat tournament especially.” Nadia frowned. “Ominous…” “Anyway, once you’re signed up, you get seeded. Higher tier dojo, better seed. Then you go through pools,” Azuma continued. “Think of them as qualifier rounds, all fought in the Pools tier of Esaka. The number depends on how many entrants each tournament has. No real ceremony, just an officiant and whoever feels like coming around to watch. Those start on Wednesday and end on Friday, at which point the top twenty-four decided. On Saturday, those twenty-four are whittled down to just the top eight, and Sunday is the main event, when the top eight -four winners and four losers- go at it to decide the winner. You can still come back and take it all from Losers’ in the grand finals, but you have to beat your opponent two sets straight: one to send ‘em down to Losers with you, and the second to win.” While he explained, the Seekers passed by a number of interesting-looking but obviously poverty-stricken dojos, including Ultra Fight de Kyanta, the one Azuma himself represented. [i]Verdict Guilty…Trajes Fatais…Slap Happy Rhythm Busters…[/i] As Nadia read the signs, one made her double-take. [i]Brief Karate Foolish?[/i] Only when she snuck a glance inside did she realize exactly which definition of the word ‘brief’ was in play, and subsequently want to bleach her eyes out. The feral returned to the group a little more dead inside, just in time to hear the end of Azuma’s explanation. “Okay, cool. Guess we’ll go and sign up then!” The investigator snapped his fingers, remembering something. “Oh, I forgot! When I said ‘anyone can sign up’, that wasn’t quite right. Only registered fighters can sign up. In other words, you have to be part of a dojo.” He signed. “Unfortunately, you can’t just join the mid-tier and high-tier dojos. Unless they recognize you, you have to be invited.” “Wait…” Nadia dared to glance back at the Brief Karate Foolish dojo, horrified. “You’re sayin’ we have to sign up for one of the dojos down here!?” Azuma nodded his long snout up and down. “Yes ma’am. In fact, since pools start tomorrow, signups close at lunch today.” He checked his watch. “That gives you…roughly three and a half hours. Better hurry.” Sighing, Band smiled ruefully to himself. “Sounds like our morning just got a whole lot more interestin’.” He deployed a tiny mechanical arm to tap the linkpearl in his ear. “Y’all got that?” Nadia turned around, now seeing all the Low Tier’s dojos in a new light. With Pit gone, she also saw the chance to grandstand a little. “Well, you heard the ‘gator. Our quest to topple the Four Kings’ tier-anny starts here! Let’s find some dojos, gang!” [hr] Clean Hits’ cashier regarded the two inquisitive youngsters with unblinking red eyes that shone from his cylindrical wooden head, devoid of visible emotion. “No tapes here. We mostly sell records. Esaka’s fighters, particularly among the top tiers, are famous for the iconic tracks made to commemorate them and their battlegrounds, some very old. Jukeboxes are very popular here for their ability to play music from across the generations. One of Esaka’s many traditions.” The Mokujin indicated entire walls of the store dedicated to records made for the legendary top-tier World Warrior and Tekken dojos alone, each with dozens of tracks separated by era. Compared to titans like them, mid-tier dojos were lucky to even get a corner to themselves, and music made for low-tier dojos was nowhere to be found. Even in a Low Tier store, it seemed, the preferences of the population were clear. After a few seconds, the Mokujin attempted to address Junior’s other question. “Shinjuku is a bustling metropolis to the west. Our tournaments are often broadcasted there, but we seldom get visitors. We have converted some of our tracks into tapes for Shinjuku music stores, though. If you’re interested in tapes, you might have more luck there.” [center][h3]Frozen Highlands - Snowdin[/h3] Lvl 8 Sandalphon (55/80) Level 5 Heismay (19/50) Edward’s [@DracoLunaris] Blazermate & Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC] Geralt’s [@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN] Ace Cadet’s [@Yankee] Roxas & Ganondorf’s [@Double], Celica’s [@Sadu] Chosen Undead’s [@Simple Unicycle], Ramattra’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX] [b]Word Count:[/b] 1897[/center] Before the team could get too far off topic, Edward quickly chimed in to follow up on Heismay’s announcement of the Seekers’ new ride. He mentioned some of the new furnishings that the two obtained for the stagecoach. From comfort to cuisine, it sounded like Sandalphon’s crew wouldn’t want for much on the road. Thanks to their efforts, the carriage wouldn’t just be transportation, but a mobile base, a home away from home. Provided, of course, they could secure more effective draft animals than Edward’s golems. Handy they might be, but speedy they were not. Unfortunately, Sandalphon was no expert when it came to working with materials or animals, so hopefully they would find the requisite hide, fiber, and metal they’d need to hitch the Reindrix to the carriage. Or better yet, scavenge or trade for existing harnesses. While Geralt seemed to be familiar with beast capture, as one might expect of a master hunter, he didn’t have the right device on hand. He could allude, though, to someone who did, and Sandalphon nodded at his question. “Yes, Maru is her name. She was also referred to as a ‘pal’, which seems to encompass a large spectrum of dissimilar creatures. The stall that sold her also sold pal spheres, but Everdream Valley is rather out of the way right now.” She pondered if it would be a worthwhile investment to set up some sort of pokeball or pal sphere production aboard the Avenger, given how many Seekers seemed interested in such companions. Sectonia chimed in with what she’d discovered, primarily about various locales throughout the Frozen Highlands. A lot of it sounded anecdotal and rather inexact, but Sandalphon was surprised to hear about the importance the locals -or at least the Soulfisher- assigned to Moon Mountain. It seemed almost mythical in nature, and given how eerily that dark globe loomed against the horizon, she definitely understood. Furthermore, Highlands had been in a state of constant night now for a while, each day a touch colder than the last. Of course, her logical mind explained that ‘night’ as mere cloud cover, but it didn’t matter if conditions out there were actually worsening. The worse the weather got, the more difficult it would be for the Seekers to achieve their goals, to say nothing of the Highlands’ citizens. If necessary, they could always consider evacuating the people of Snowdin with the Avenger. What really puzzled Sandalphon was when the sun ‘disappeared’. Had Ace Cadet, who’d been in Edinburgh MagicaPolis just days ago, experienced this…? She made a mental note to ask him when he returned. Geralt filled the others in on what he’d already told Sandalphon. The more she thought, the more Moon Mountain seemed like the answer to the Seekers’ question, barring any unlikely direct news about Baldur’s whereabouts. If nothing else, it would be the best vantage point for a light show with which they could draw the Guardian’s attention. Sectonia made another good point about scouring various stops on the way. With how things went last time, the heroes would need every advantage they could get. Sandalphon watched Edward’s drones fly off as they prepared to perform continuous reconnaissance around White Team as they traveled. With any luck, there would be profitable points of interest to be found among the trackless wastes of snow. Ample sources of food would be harder to come by. Eleven people (ten, not counting Blazermate) weren’t quite an army, but feeding them throughout this journey would not be an easy task. It was then that Ace emerged from the deadwood tangle that shrouded the southern uphill footpath. Behind him followed Kit, Blazermate, and an unidentified robotic individual. Though Ramattra’s size, stature, and distinctive staff combined to give him a rather intimidating air, Ace and especially Blazermate seemed comfortable around him, so Sandalphon assumed no hostility on his part. Her scans detected slightly elevated heart rates and mechanical activity, so maybe the Seekers had found this stranger in a bind and lent him their help, which would be no surprise to Sandalphon. “Ah, there you are,” Heismay remarked, turning toward the incoming group. “And here I thought you might have wandered off.” She and the others wasted no time in getting the four up to speed, distributing parkas alongside the information. As it happened, they came bearing very good news: that Ace had not only procured a lot of camping equipment, but also already managed to obtain a handful of pal spheres purely by chance. Sandalphon admired the reflective glint of Snowdin’s colorful Christmas lights in the crystalline orb’s many facets, then looked over Ace’s haul, scratching off items on her mental checklist. “Providential timing,” she concurred. With everything going the team’s way so far, the Seekers’ expedition was off to an excellent start. Now they only lacked one thing, albeit a big one: where to find the Guardian. Heismay was taken aback that his problem had been solved so soon, but he certainly didn’t object. “I’ll not look a gift horse in the mouth. Fine work,” he told Ace. As he spoke, though, the eugief kept his ruby-red eyes on Ramattra. “And who might this be? Another promising new addition to our retinue, perhaps?” Ramattra proved to be a touch reticent when faced with so many people, but it seemed clear that he’d been a big help during the kerfuffle at the cliffside mansion. “If you have nowhere else to go, you’re welcome to travel alongside us for the time being,” Sandalphon told him, extending the omnic an invitation. As if he hadn’t done enough already, Ace had one more interesting tidbit to share. Sandalphon digested the news about the wandering faction he heard of, intrigued. So, a troop of itinerant clerics wield a miracle capable of enacting natural death without dissolution,” she summarized. “I agree. We must keep an eye out for this Holy Order as we travel. If we encounter them, I will make every effort to learn this incantation myself, if I am capable.” As far as she knew nobody else in her party had the faith required to invoke miracles, but perhaps she simply didn’t know them well enough yet. With everyone present and accounted for, it was time for the Seekers’ leader to render her decision. “After some consideration,” Sandalphon began. “Since we have no clues as to Baldur’s whereabouts right now, and there is no reason for him to visit Snowdin, our best bet would be to search and question as we travel. Given its significance to the people of this region, as well as its prominence as a vantage point from which we can draw Baldur’s attention, I propose that we journey to Moon Mountain.” She cast her gaze, and the attention of her comrades, to the distant northwestern horizon where the moon (or at least, [i]a[/i] moon) hung, low and still, over Dragonspine. “To get there, we need only follow the trail known as the Midnight Walk.” Though difficult to distinguish at times, the road that ran through town continued on to the west, winding around halls and between giant pines bowing beneath the weight of their snowy blankets. With no other options, it was as good a road as any. The team quickly prepared to set out. With the stagecoach fully furnished, all the camping and survival gear got stored overhead, hanging on hooks from the metal mesh on the ceiling. Given the transport’s lackluster speed, anyone who wished to could easily walk alongside it, or run ahead to explore the surrounding area as they waited for the wagon to catch up. Though Sandalphon did not relish the prospect of sitting idle as her ride trundled along with a miles-per-hour in the single digits, the idea of walking outside sounded even worse, so the archangel consigned herself to the bench inside. The one thing Ace hadn’t obtained was a map, but she could chart her own using a light screen if fed sufficient data about her surroundings. Heismay, meanwhile, was much more inclined to action. Expecting that Edward’s drones would be scouting too far afield to be effective security, he stationed himself as a lookout atop the stagecoach’s roof. If anything sprang out at the Seekers he’d be ready; if not, he could always busy himself brushing snow off the roof to keep the vehicle as light as possible. Of course, this post also had the questionably unintentional side effect of isolating him from everyone inside–Heismay still wasn’t used to large groups of people yet. Once everyone was more or less ready, the only thing to do was to get going. [center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXT5pJ1M14g][img]https://i.imgur.com/o34c0ez.png[/img][/url] [i]♫[/i] [b]Nameless Stagecoach[/b] 𖥞: 8/8 | 🛡️: 8/8 | [b]Equipment:[/b] Stewpot/Windchime/Lamps/(None)/(None)/(None) | [b]Companion[/b]: None[/center] The Midnight Walk led the travelers west and north in relatively equal measure. Once they left the warm lights and full hearts of Snowdin behind, they found themselves crossing a vast wilderness split between coniferous forest, flat snowfields, and icy crags. Scattered throughout were crystal-clear [url=http://ark.worldofminecraft.de/files/2015/07/ARK-Snow-Biome-Concept1.jpg]rivers[/url] and little lakes, not always frozen, but always so bone-chilling cold that to immerse oneself in them was tantamount to suicide, parka or no parka. The frigid night was far from lifeless, however, and the intrepid explorer (or perceptive drone) could spot in the gloom a number of shaggy, primeval beasts adapted for life in the snow, such as omnivorous daeodon (colloquially known as ‘hell pigs’), the giant but skittish deerlike megaloceros, dire wolves, and even greater mammals like chalicotherium, megatherium, and woolly rhinoceros. For now Heismay couldn’t see any Reindrix, but he assumed it would only be a matter of time. Meanwhile, those with an eye for minerals could locate deposits of coal (and more rarely, veins of iron ore) among the rocky outcrops, provided they didn’t run afoul of wormlike [url=https://i.imgur.com/gxl6NTb.png]coal tars[/url] in the process. There were a couple oddities scattered around, as well. Relatively close to Snowdin the stagecoach passed by a frozen lake with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/Ma03THb.jpeg]couple small huts[/url] on one side, along with a large igloo that turned out to be the Slushie Shop, furnished with a wooden interior and run by a [url=https://i.imgur.com/AToHDiB.png]griffin[/url] happy to sell frozen treats. On the other side of the lake sat an old [url=https://i.imgur.com/hUpDzvL.png]viking warship[/url], marooned in the ice. Farther out, though, one could find small camps -or roving bands- of the violent tribal rodents known as the Urikki. With earthbound raiders supported by their more batlike aerial cousins, the well-armed and cunning bandits could be very dangerous to lone travelers, but they seldom picked fights they couldn’t win, so they steered clear of the stagecoach itself for now. More of an issue were the blustering [url=https://i.imgur.com/36I0bpd.png]Ty-foos[/url], large cloudlike creatures which happily blew freezing winds at anyone who entered their territory. At least one had decided to hang out right next to the road, so it would need to be dealt with before the stagecoach came along.