ERode Member
A Spiny Ant
- Last Seen: 1 day ago
- Joined: 12 yrs ago
- Posts: 6744 (1.49 / day)
- VMs: 5
-
Username history
- ERode 12 yrs ago
-
Latest 10 profile visitors:
-
Most recent →
Yankee,
Altered Tundra,
Alisdragon911,
stone,
VitaVitaAR,
Animal,
LanaStorm,
Ohm,
Haha,
Shovel
Status
User has no status, yet
Bio
Most Recent Posts
Things changed for the better, even if he still had no clue how the shrine was supposed to function. Did it have to be touching people to do its thing? Didn't that mean it would be better used if they had swung it around like a stick? But wait, with a shrine that hefty, just smacking someone with it would basically just kill them anyways, yeah?
Zogi was relieved, really, that his wrinkly little brain even had the time to calmly formulate those thoughts to begin with. The other guardians of the dungeon had returned now, having showed up just in time to assist with the workload of this particular shift, and in return, his distractions had borne the fruit of seeing two more of these invading brats slain! Only three remained now! His nemesis from before, swarmed by a horde of rats, as well as the paladin and mage that accompanied him! Hoping that such distractions would serve to keep the entire party occupied, Zogi snuck, rogue-like, to the corpse of that thieving little sneak, rummaging around to take out the sharp-ish daggers that they used.
It was heavy in his skinny hands, but he could hold it two-handed and then prop it up against his perfectly round pot-belly. Sinking into a low stance and drawing in a deep breath to fortify himself, the goblin waited for the rats to do their task, and then sprinted head-on towards the mage's back!
If all went well, a knife with a goblin's entire body weight behind it will drive itself into the spellcaster, putting a quick end to their magical bullshit!
Yeah, that guy truly does look like a 28 y/o from the 2000s.
A couple things to note about Spirit Contracting as a Technique. Post-spirit-catastrophe, supernatural entities have mostly been beaten back into the shadows or culled entirely. Owing to that, as well as the whole 'the more versatile a technique is, the weaker its general potency' deal, Masashiro would probably mostly gain his contracts from nascent tsukumogami, rather than anything properly sentient. So maybe like, floating spectral teacups or stuff like that. For 'powerful' spirits, its less a matter of forming a contract with them and more of finding them to begin with.
Since he's a proper adult during the worst times, he probably has had at least distant friends and family killed/possessed/drained by spirits during the catastrophe, or subsequently killed/robbed/organ-trafficked/enslaved by Lineages afterwards. Just something to keep in mind, especially if his hometown is a larger city. Heck, maybe they'd target him personally specifically because he's a hackerman.
The Agency itself doesn't really need 'proof' to act on things, especially if he does have a pattern of prying where he shouldn't. You can consider him to be on probation during this RP, with his fellow team members advised to act as his supervisors in case he's a Lineage plant for whatever reason.
A couple things to note about Spirit Contracting as a Technique. Post-spirit-catastrophe, supernatural entities have mostly been beaten back into the shadows or culled entirely. Owing to that, as well as the whole 'the more versatile a technique is, the weaker its general potency' deal, Masashiro would probably mostly gain his contracts from nascent tsukumogami, rather than anything properly sentient. So maybe like, floating spectral teacups or stuff like that. For 'powerful' spirits, its less a matter of forming a contract with them and more of finding them to begin with.
Since he's a proper adult during the worst times, he probably has had at least distant friends and family killed/possessed/drained by spirits during the catastrophe, or subsequently killed/robbed/organ-trafficked/enslaved by Lineages afterwards. Just something to keep in mind, especially if his hometown is a larger city. Heck, maybe they'd target him personally specifically because he's a hackerman.
The Agency itself doesn't really need 'proof' to act on things, especially if he does have a pattern of prying where he shouldn't. You can consider him to be on probation during this RP, with his fellow team members advised to act as his supervisors in case he's a Lineage plant for whatever reason.
@Redking0380 Naw, it just means that somewhere in your family tree, you had someone who was previously a sorcerer. Thus, your own Technique would be derived from them and the family/root that their own lineage would be traced back to.
@Dane Yes, you fill out the Graduation Certificate too. That basically serves to denote which skills your character possesses as an agent of the Hirasaka.
@Dane Yes, you fill out the Graduation Certificate too. That basically serves to denote which skills your character possesses as an agent of the Hirasaka.
Little is understood of the specifics of sorcery. The supernatural is a nebulous, ambiguous thing, after all, with what knowledge that is obtained often ending up being gatekept by the Lineages that uncover them. What is understood, however, is that one cannot have 'flesh' without 'bones'.
That is, there is a baseline level of ability one needs to obtain before they are able to utilize whatever natural-born technique their blood affords them. Without that, even the scion of a powerful Lineage would be utterly incapable of utilizing the gifts that the fortune of their birth has granted them. Therefore, at the very least, every sorcerer in any Lineage is capable at least of superhuman feats of strength, speed, and endurance, and can magically reinforce held or worn objects to similar degrees of unnatural sharpness, lightness, and toughness. Alongside that, they would possess a technique too that enables them to affect reality in anomalous, often-destructive manners. Perhaps the remote detonation of previously-charged objects, perhaps the summoning of great and vile beasts, perhaps a further enchantment upon their bodies that clads them in various elements. Though some focus on 'bones' and others focus on 'flesh', any modern-day sorcerer affiliated with a Lineage would have at least five years, often more, to become a fully-rounded combatant.
The agents of the Hirasaka Agency do not have such luxuries. Two years is fundamentally a crash course, and only those who focus on refining their sorcery to the detriment of other professional skills may end up developing their techniques to a usable level before they are sent out to the field.
While most Lineages may have differing perspectives, the Hirasaka Agency's Sorcery Research Division has settled on a handful of 'facts' and 'best practices' regarding sorcery:
That is, there is a baseline level of ability one needs to obtain before they are able to utilize whatever natural-born technique their blood affords them. Without that, even the scion of a powerful Lineage would be utterly incapable of utilizing the gifts that the fortune of their birth has granted them. Therefore, at the very least, every sorcerer in any Lineage is capable at least of superhuman feats of strength, speed, and endurance, and can magically reinforce held or worn objects to similar degrees of unnatural sharpness, lightness, and toughness. Alongside that, they would possess a technique too that enables them to affect reality in anomalous, often-destructive manners. Perhaps the remote detonation of previously-charged objects, perhaps the summoning of great and vile beasts, perhaps a further enchantment upon their bodies that clads them in various elements. Though some focus on 'bones' and others focus on 'flesh', any modern-day sorcerer affiliated with a Lineage would have at least five years, often more, to become a fully-rounded combatant.
The agents of the Hirasaka Agency do not have such luxuries. Two years is fundamentally a crash course, and only those who focus on refining their sorcery to the detriment of other professional skills may end up developing their techniques to a usable level before they are sent out to the field.
While most Lineages may have differing perspectives, the Hirasaka Agency's Sorcery Research Division has settled on a handful of 'facts' and 'best practices' regarding sorcery:
All known sorceries will be designated and identified using a two-word phrase, which can be referenced through the Agency database. If unknown techniques are encountered in the field, agents are expected to send in a report.
Most Techniques can be disrupted by hitting the sorcerer in the head, except in cases of summoned entities, in which case it's not a guarantee that the death of the sorcerer would cause the dismissal of the summoned entity.
Fundamentally speaking, the body and the spirit are one, and fatigue derived from the usage of sorcery would be recovered from with food and rest. When using sorcery in combat, agents should expect that they'd exhaust themselves at least twice as fast compared to if they operated without sorcery.
Greater efficiency and refinement with sorcery will reduce the burden that using it has on one's body. One should always expect that enemy sorcerers, possessing more experience than agents, will certainly outlast you. If combat is unavoidable, win as soon as possible or retreat immediately if you judge that it's unfeasible to do so.
Enhancements to objects do not persist once physical contact is lost with said objects. Ranged weapons, fundamentally, are inferior to melee weapons in all aspects except, as one may expect, range.
Beyond physical enhancement and object reinforcement, one may also develop the ability to detect active or lingering sorceries within their vicinity. This is far more of a 'talent' than a 'skill', however; for the majority of sorcerers, this particular skill is either impossible to obtain or entirely unnecessary to.
All Techniques are entirely based off of bloodline, not individual characteristics.
Most Techniques can be disrupted by hitting the sorcerer in the head, except in cases of summoned entities, in which case it's not a guarantee that the death of the sorcerer would cause the dismissal of the summoned entity.
Fundamentally speaking, the body and the spirit are one, and fatigue derived from the usage of sorcery would be recovered from with food and rest. When using sorcery in combat, agents should expect that they'd exhaust themselves at least twice as fast compared to if they operated without sorcery.
Greater efficiency and refinement with sorcery will reduce the burden that using it has on one's body. One should always expect that enemy sorcerers, possessing more experience than agents, will certainly outlast you. If combat is unavoidable, win as soon as possible or retreat immediately if you judge that it's unfeasible to do so.
Enhancements to objects do not persist once physical contact is lost with said objects. Ranged weapons, fundamentally, are inferior to melee weapons in all aspects except, as one may expect, range.
Beyond physical enhancement and object reinforcement, one may also develop the ability to detect active or lingering sorceries within their vicinity. This is far more of a 'talent' than a 'skill', however; for the majority of sorcerers, this particular skill is either impossible to obtain or entirely unnecessary to.
All Techniques are entirely based off of bloodline, not individual characteristics.
Enough time has passed. With holidays done and vacation impending, it's time to get shit madeeeeee.
@Redking0380@Rekkuza@Courtaud@Vertigo@Shovel@Dane@Haha@Burger as well as any lurkers that may be interested in applying, the CS template is below. Am lazy, so iz ez. Deadline for applications will probably be something like Jan 20ish, unless everyone finishes early and all.
If you have questions, go shoot. Otherwise, have funnnnn.
Azumato State claims the northernmost region of what used to be the Ibaraki prefecture, a mountainous territory that largely depends on imported agricultural goods from nearby states in order to sustain its populace. Due to its general inability to be self-sustaining beyond the fish that can be harvested off the coast, it would be considered undesirable, if not for the recent construction of the Koyama Dam, which provides water both for household usage as well as industry, of which neighbouring flatlands require much of. As such, Azumato State, as it currently is, only recently came to being after a bloody affair seven months prior, between the Un-Ga Han-Dan Ikka and the Tatsumori-Kai, where the former was forced to pledge fealty to the latter after the assassination of their then-clan head, Kanehira Nasu. The Tatsumori-Kai, of course, was only interested in Azumato State for its dam and its defensible position in the mountains. Thus, beyond leaving an elite detachment of sorcerers to ensure that the vassal-lineages did not consider revolt, they returned southwards to their throne of power in Mount Tsukuba.
As it stands, Azumato State is home to a four individual forces, most of which are subservient to varying degrees to the Tatsumori-Kai.
The Tatsumori-Kai, of course, are a regional powerhouse that can be traced back to a bloodline association with the legendary blacksmith, Sanjo Munechika. Though only a small detachment of the Tatsumori-Kai remained to oversee the comings and goings of the Azumato State, they are undoubtedly peerless swordsmen and sorcerers, possessing blades craft of consecrated steel. While the patriarch and heirs of the Tatsumori-Kai possess the Iron Quill Technique, this particular detachment of the Tatsumori-Kai are known to utilize the Vile Exchange Technique instead, a self-sacrificial curse that applies the same wound upon the caster's body onto their target. Despite such a dark nature, they abide strictly by the directives of the Patriarch in how Azumato State must be run.
The Un-Ga Han-Dan Ikka, on the other hand, had held Azumato State all the way from the start until their recent ousting by the Tatsumori-Kai. Well-respected by the local citizenry despite their roughshod nature, they were a motley gang of hooligans that had been drawn in by the charisma of their now-deceased clan head, Kanehira Nasu. Without his presence, various factions have popped up within the family, everyone having different ideas of how they should approach their new position beneath the Tatsumori-Kai. Some lash out at those that had supported the creation of the Koyama Dam. Others curry favour, trying to integrate into the Tatsumori-Kai even to the point of relinquishing the extensively gaudy outfits that once was the trademark of the Un-Ga Han-Dan. Without a unifying leader, they are no more than attack dogs let loose. But they are many. And they are hungry.
The Stone Blossom Orchard are the guard dogs of the Tatsumori-Kai. Cultivators of physical strength and mass, they trace their own origins back to the stable of the famed rikishi Raiden Tameemon, possessing a fine-tuned understanding of how one could amplify their physical capabilities with spirit energy. Their presence serves as the main form of deterrent within Azumato State, but they are also actively recruiting promising citizens to join them, all for the purpose of bolstering their forces to expand northwards, pushing into former Fukushima. Around Azumato State, they deal mostly in racketeering and smuggling, driving trucks to-and-fro. Little thought is given to the Un-Gan Han-Dan, who used to be the ones that profited off those two tasks less than a year ago.
The Tien Tao Meng are foreigners to Azumato State, having slipped in via fishing vessels to establish a foothold for the mainland triad that they represent, as well as simply viewing the current situation in Japan as an opportunity to gain crucial combat experience. Dressed in plainclothes, they pose as day laborers or administrative staff, even as they quietly make the moves to 'merge' with various businesses within Azumato State. But of course, they consider themselves to be legitimate businessmen, here to make peace and keep profits going, even if they need to execute some people along the way.
As it stands, Azumato State is home to a four individual forces, most of which are subservient to varying degrees to the Tatsumori-Kai.
The Tatsumori-Kai, of course, are a regional powerhouse that can be traced back to a bloodline association with the legendary blacksmith, Sanjo Munechika. Though only a small detachment of the Tatsumori-Kai remained to oversee the comings and goings of the Azumato State, they are undoubtedly peerless swordsmen and sorcerers, possessing blades craft of consecrated steel. While the patriarch and heirs of the Tatsumori-Kai possess the Iron Quill Technique, this particular detachment of the Tatsumori-Kai are known to utilize the Vile Exchange Technique instead, a self-sacrificial curse that applies the same wound upon the caster's body onto their target. Despite such a dark nature, they abide strictly by the directives of the Patriarch in how Azumato State must be run.
The Un-Ga Han-Dan Ikka, on the other hand, had held Azumato State all the way from the start until their recent ousting by the Tatsumori-Kai. Well-respected by the local citizenry despite their roughshod nature, they were a motley gang of hooligans that had been drawn in by the charisma of their now-deceased clan head, Kanehira Nasu. Without his presence, various factions have popped up within the family, everyone having different ideas of how they should approach their new position beneath the Tatsumori-Kai. Some lash out at those that had supported the creation of the Koyama Dam. Others curry favour, trying to integrate into the Tatsumori-Kai even to the point of relinquishing the extensively gaudy outfits that once was the trademark of the Un-Ga Han-Dan. Without a unifying leader, they are no more than attack dogs let loose. But they are many. And they are hungry.
The Stone Blossom Orchard are the guard dogs of the Tatsumori-Kai. Cultivators of physical strength and mass, they trace their own origins back to the stable of the famed rikishi Raiden Tameemon, possessing a fine-tuned understanding of how one could amplify their physical capabilities with spirit energy. Their presence serves as the main form of deterrent within Azumato State, but they are also actively recruiting promising citizens to join them, all for the purpose of bolstering their forces to expand northwards, pushing into former Fukushima. Around Azumato State, they deal mostly in racketeering and smuggling, driving trucks to-and-fro. Little thought is given to the Un-Gan Han-Dan, who used to be the ones that profited off those two tasks less than a year ago.
The Tien Tao Meng are foreigners to Azumato State, having slipped in via fishing vessels to establish a foothold for the mainland triad that they represent, as well as simply viewing the current situation in Japan as an opportunity to gain crucial combat experience. Dressed in plainclothes, they pose as day laborers or administrative staff, even as they quietly make the moves to 'merge' with various businesses within Azumato State. But of course, they consider themselves to be legitimate businessmen, here to make peace and keep profits going, even if they need to execute some people along the way.
Merry Boxing-mas, y'all. Will maybe do a separate write-up for the particulars on Sorcery and then bust out the CS template. In the meanwhile, if ya got questions or ideas you wanna hit me with, feel free to bump the threaddddd.
Cool. Just gonna lay out some general expectations first.
Dunno how many slots I'll have, but it'll be a small group. I don't intend on having this run too long either; once the investigation is done, the RP is done. I just wanna finish things, mannnnn. I just wanna have some character arcs concludeeeeee.
I'd generally like people to post at a relatively regular pace. Maybe once a week or once every two weeks. Collabs are unlikely, so if you just have some dialogue, there's no need to stress about making too big a post every time.
Will probably do some more writeups over the holiday. Maybe expect a CS template late next week. OOC won't be launched until I know who to accept, so that's probably gonna be sometime in January.
...
With regards to the existence and status of other nations...I'll say that they exist, but that no character need to concern themselves with them. After shit started going sideways in Japan, the Americans evacuated a month or two in after receiving an executive order from President Clinton, leaving equipment behind that was promptly commandeered by various nefarious forces. Japan basically got designated the sort of place that no airline is really willing to fly into, though exports still happen via ships and all. As things stabilized after a few years, imports started coming in as well, but Japan is still considered the sorta place where tourism is so heavily discouraged that you'll have to sign a will, get a psychiatrist to sign off on your mental wellness, and then sign up with like, a North Korean-tier tourism company that'll supervise you for the entire duration of your stay.
Of course, sorcerers exist across the world too, so SOMETHING fucky is going on with various heads of states in the superpowers, but most of them are still keeping on the downlow and observing how things are going, as government-contracted wizards in other nations didn't receive the same sort of devastation that the Imperial Cabinet did.
Dunno how many slots I'll have, but it'll be a small group. I don't intend on having this run too long either; once the investigation is done, the RP is done. I just wanna finish things, mannnnn. I just wanna have some character arcs concludeeeeee.
I'd generally like people to post at a relatively regular pace. Maybe once a week or once every two weeks. Collabs are unlikely, so if you just have some dialogue, there's no need to stress about making too big a post every time.
Will probably do some more writeups over the holiday. Maybe expect a CS template late next week. OOC won't be launched until I know who to accept, so that's probably gonna be sometime in January.
...
With regards to the existence and status of other nations...I'll say that they exist, but that no character need to concern themselves with them. After shit started going sideways in Japan, the Americans evacuated a month or two in after receiving an executive order from President Clinton, leaving equipment behind that was promptly commandeered by various nefarious forces. Japan basically got designated the sort of place that no airline is really willing to fly into, though exports still happen via ships and all. As things stabilized after a few years, imports started coming in as well, but Japan is still considered the sorta place where tourism is so heavily discouraged that you'll have to sign a will, get a psychiatrist to sign off on your mental wellness, and then sign up with like, a North Korean-tier tourism company that'll supervise you for the entire duration of your stay.
Of course, sorcerers exist across the world too, so SOMETHING fucky is going on with various heads of states in the superpowers, but most of them are still keeping on the downlow and observing how things are going, as government-contracted wizards in other nations didn't receive the same sort of devastation that the Imperial Cabinet did.
The millennium turned, and with it, society did too.
The shadow war of the sorcerers was dragged out into daylight when the Sessho-seki shattered 22 years ahead of schedule, bringing forth a host of evil spirits that rampaged through a peoples still feeling the effects of the Lost Decade. The Imperial Cabinet, a cabal of supernaturally-gifted samurai who had pledged loyalty to Emperor and Government, fought bitterly to contain this incident with their own strength, but ultimately, they were overwhelmed. As spiritual catastrophes cascaded over the nation, ancient lineages stepped out into the daylight and earned legitimacy in the eyes of the people for purifying their local territories. Within one year, the disaster that the government could not contain was handled by these families, and while the Imperial Cabinet was exhausted, the Lineages obtained public positions of power and influence.
But these were not good people.
With the truth of sorcery brought to light, there was no longer any need to observe old traditions of clandestine operations. Wars were waged in public streets, dissenting citizens cut down or cursed. Local police prefectures were ill-suited for dealing with wielders of the supernatural. The nation was fragmented in the wake of disaster, and battles were fought with neither honor nor humanity. Some sought control of the Dragon Veins, others sought control of Power Spots. Some assimilated the yakuza and pursued commerce and capital, others accepted subservient Lineages and accumulated unnatural materials for their aberrant rituals. Foreign mafias and triads joined the market, while the citizenry could only bear the burden of this new order in silence. The Imperial Family went into hiding, protected still by the Cabinet. The Government, after much negotiating and concession-making, could only ensure that the Lineages treated their territories with a semblance of civility and that they would submit to reviews and investigations by a new agency established for this very purpose.
And as for what that agency was?
The shadow war of the sorcerers was dragged out into daylight when the Sessho-seki shattered 22 years ahead of schedule, bringing forth a host of evil spirits that rampaged through a peoples still feeling the effects of the Lost Decade. The Imperial Cabinet, a cabal of supernaturally-gifted samurai who had pledged loyalty to Emperor and Government, fought bitterly to contain this incident with their own strength, but ultimately, they were overwhelmed. As spiritual catastrophes cascaded over the nation, ancient lineages stepped out into the daylight and earned legitimacy in the eyes of the people for purifying their local territories. Within one year, the disaster that the government could not contain was handled by these families, and while the Imperial Cabinet was exhausted, the Lineages obtained public positions of power and influence.
But these were not good people.
With the truth of sorcery brought to light, there was no longer any need to observe old traditions of clandestine operations. Wars were waged in public streets, dissenting citizens cut down or cursed. Local police prefectures were ill-suited for dealing with wielders of the supernatural. The nation was fragmented in the wake of disaster, and battles were fought with neither honor nor humanity. Some sought control of the Dragon Veins, others sought control of Power Spots. Some assimilated the yakuza and pursued commerce and capital, others accepted subservient Lineages and accumulated unnatural materials for their aberrant rituals. Foreign mafias and triads joined the market, while the citizenry could only bear the burden of this new order in silence. The Imperial Family went into hiding, protected still by the Cabinet. The Government, after much negotiating and concession-making, could only ensure that the Lineages treated their territories with a semblance of civility and that they would submit to reviews and investigations by a new agency established for this very purpose.
And as for what that agency was?
Not all sorcerers belonged to a Lineage. Not all sorcerers even possessed proper sorcery, only an abundance of spirit energy. Bloodlines dilute, and are forgotten. Modernity dulls a sense of the supernatural, and the humdrum of daily life doesn't require any particular capacity for magic. Even if one catches a glimpse of a spirit, even if one were particularly fit or fortunate in their regular life, there was no way to learn how to use one's innate sorcerous talents without tutelage. There was no way to know, even, that it was an option.
Not, of course, until the demons paraded, the Lineages conquered, and the fabric of society changed as the secret of sorcery was laid out into the air. Those seeking to join their oppressors became the grunts and scapegoats of the Lineages, hoping that their own latent talents may allow them to rise and become truly a member of a Lineage. And for those who could not stomach the barbarity that had infected their society?
They joined the Hirasaka Agency instead.
Lead by a former member of the Imperial Cabinet, it is an agency meant to serve as watchdogs and investigators, snipping away at the most blatant cruelties and atrocities of the Lineages so that the peoples may believe still in some form of justice. After a two-year training period, elite squads of agents are formed and sent out across the nation, stationed at various prefectures to keep the peace and enact the justice of the government. But, of course, they are outmatched, outnumbered. Two years cannot stand up to a lifetime of study, and the moniker of 'elite squad' is just that, a name. Most squads end up losing at least one member after three months. 70% of squads are dissolved after four years. The more seriously you take your job, the more righteously you view your cause, the worse your chances are of surviving. At most, an elite squad of the Hirasaka Agency could be viewed as bonsai pruners. They snip and trim and cut, all to beautify a plant that was poisonous from the onset.
But you'd be the exception.
You'd have to believe that to be the case. You signed up, after all.
Not, of course, until the demons paraded, the Lineages conquered, and the fabric of society changed as the secret of sorcery was laid out into the air. Those seeking to join their oppressors became the grunts and scapegoats of the Lineages, hoping that their own latent talents may allow them to rise and become truly a member of a Lineage. And for those who could not stomach the barbarity that had infected their society?
They joined the Hirasaka Agency instead.
Lead by a former member of the Imperial Cabinet, it is an agency meant to serve as watchdogs and investigators, snipping away at the most blatant cruelties and atrocities of the Lineages so that the peoples may believe still in some form of justice. After a two-year training period, elite squads of agents are formed and sent out across the nation, stationed at various prefectures to keep the peace and enact the justice of the government. But, of course, they are outmatched, outnumbered. Two years cannot stand up to a lifetime of study, and the moniker of 'elite squad' is just that, a name. Most squads end up losing at least one member after three months. 70% of squads are dissolved after four years. The more seriously you take your job, the more righteously you view your cause, the worse your chances are of surviving. At most, an elite squad of the Hirasaka Agency could be viewed as bonsai pruners. They snip and trim and cut, all to beautify a plant that was poisonous from the onset.
But you'd be the exception.
You'd have to believe that to be the case. You signed up, after all.
The year is 2005.
Two months ago, the Cinnabar Squad, assigned to the Azumato State, was confirmed to have been annihilated.
You, the fourth generation of newly-graduated elites, have been sent in as their replacements, to continue and conclude your predecessors's investigations into a new drug that has emerged in the local market, known only as 'Teardrops'. Do well, and your probationary period may be skipped altogether, and you can immediately start accruing benefits. Survive, and your squad will at least earn a name by the end of this.
Die, and the fifth generation will take your place.
It...it wasn't happening.
Why wasn't it happening? Did it seriously take this long for the guillotine shrine to do its thing? Zogi stopped mid-frame when the Hero from last time drew his sword and proclaimed his violent intentions, his green brain scrambling rapidly for the best possible answer. If he ran away now, he'd certainly be chased! But he couldn't fight either, not when he was literally up against all five of them at once! None of the bigger folks were present, while his work buddies were still recuperating or preparing their own ambushes, as per his previous communications! And this entire time...he had expected the shrine to at least take down one or two more of these pale-skinned brats!
"GRAGO GOBBO! (WORK, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!)"
There was only one thing Zogi could do, really. Scrambling on all-fours for maximum speed and agility, he sprinted towards the guillotine shrine, intent on simply using it as cover both from the mage as well as the melees.
And then, as the [Brave Friends] spent their time regrouping, recovering, and rethinking their decisions within proximity of the Guillotine Shrine, Zogi made his move.
He was an intelligent goblin, after all. He knew just how deadly the sacred relic within this particular chamber was, one that could automatically decapitate all adventurers within, so long as they stayed here long enough. And with the naga currently dutifully tending to the fire, with his boys all still exhausted from their ventures to the outdoors, the goblin knew too, that he ought to be the only one to make a smart, tactical decision, one that could save them ALL the trouble of having to fight these monstrous children head-on.
He needed to be a distraction!
"Gobo gobo, gobo grakko!"
A pot-bellied greenskin with a gleaming, straight-as-an-arrow nose stepped into the chamber, one bone-knife strapped to either side of his loincloth. His yellow eyes looked down upon the Brave Friends, even though his meager stature forced him to physically look up at them, while his lip curled out into a grimace of sheer disgust. One gnarled finger pointed at the heroic youth at the forefront, before Zogi begin to spring back and forth, jumping this way and that, his goblin-ish grunts and calls being almost musical in nature as he threw down to the best of his ability. Back step, cross step, arm switch, forward dive, elbow prop, windmill!
This goblin, outta the blue, was dancing?
Yes...dancing for as long as it would take for these kids to remain transfixed in their befuddlement at this completely alien behavior! And so long as they were transfixed, the reaper's blade will fall and end their miserable lives!
© 2007-2026