House By The River
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
~ @Restalaan (SKA), @Rezod92 ~
It was chaos! The Immortals encirclement of Kerry failed when they were surprised by Skarsneek, who had thrown a huge net over the warriors who were prowling for their fellow taskforce members. The netted Immortals were about to use their magics to burn away the ropes but Kerry quickly blew them away into the raging river with wind magic.
Still, there were Immortals left and the fighting continued. The two monsters held their ground against the magical warriors, who could not activate their armors' ability due to the nonlethal takedowns. Their numbers soon thinned and the few Immortals were poised to rout.
But then, a figure emerged from the house. Unlike the pink armor of the Immortals, his was shiny blue and gold and bulkier; the armor of a Scarce Legion warrior. Immediately glaring at Kerry and Skarsneek, he held out his hand and a magical khopesh materialized which then sizzled into flame. A Warlock of the Scarce Legion, and a swordsman at that.
He stretched his arms out at the monsters, beckoning them to come at him.
Terauchi Temple
THE HEADMAN
~ @Hammerman, @AzureKnight (ATS & HIN) ~
"Well, at least Alice is all better. Now that that's all over, do either of you need a moment or are we ready to head out ourselves. I'd rather not keep Sorae-san waiting."
"..." Takeshi wanted to go with Lunatea and the Hangai sisters. But he could not stop thinking about Gringor and Alice, less so for their wellbeing and more of the damage they might cause. It would be fine if their wraths were unleashed upon the wicked Varjans, but there were still innocent Shizuyamans out there.
"I'll go with them. Make sure they don't cause too much trouble." The young Oja decided. His honest talk with the spider yokai would have to wait for now. "I'll... ask Ayu to clean, or have someone else clean, this mess later. Take care of yourselves." Nodding at the girls, Takeshi went off.
---
Meeting up with Sorae, the last Tokinomiya was unamused at the sight of her Lord Takeshi chasing after the two taskforce members. "Is there a problem with your little taskforce, yokai?" She immediately inquired, quite aggressively. "You had better not be abusing the young master's trust, lest his disappointment be the least of your worries."
"Anyway, I found a letter in that inn we attacked. Came from a name, 'Sogen'." Sorae spat the name out with absolute disdain. "He's the head of Ruko Farmstead. And... a servant of Clan Tokinomiya." She calmed her rage by shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ungrateful traitor..."
Shizuyama Wilderness
THE HEAVENLY STRIKE
~ @Enkryption, @Restalaan (GRI) ~
Alice had left Terauchi Temple to resume her mission in taking down the students of the Heavenly Strike technique, heading for the wooden bridge where she battled the three warriors. She was a bit messed up after attempting to altercate with the male High Orc Gringor in her other form. Speaking of Gringor, he had apparently followed her. He even asked where she was going.
Before either of them could do anything else, another figure also arrived. Takeshi Oja had followed the two of them in his white stallion. "Hold on! Hold on, let me come with you." He told the two yokai. "I can see that you two are powerful fighters against the Varjans and traitors. I'm here to make sure you're against no one else, especially not each other."
"Now then, Alice, was it? What have you found so far?"
Terauchi Temple
~ @Crowvette ~
“Is gold fine? I can change its shape to coins if needed.”
The women's eyes sparkled at the sight of Io's jewelry, but none dared express their interest in it. "I-I guess we can take that as payment." One of the villagers said, and the other two nodded in agreement. "How many of these robes did you want again?"
After answering that question, the weavers would take their leave to begin their work. Ayu was quite pleased at the smooth development. "That went pretty great, all things considered." She remarked to the Lich. "It'll probably take them a day or two to get your outfits ready. I'll probably also need to provide them the tools and materials to actually make the clothes." Ayu let out a sheepish chuckle, not looking forward to foraging for those supplies.
"But hey, those are my problems and not yours." Ayu continued before a scene caught their attentions.
Io and Ayu both saw the Mad Hatter Alice quickly making her way out of the temple who was then followed by Gringor who was then followed by Takeshi Oja on a horse. Letting out a sigh, Ayu was hesitant to know what exactly caused that scene. Although, she probably needed to know sooner or later. "I must say, Lady Kyouko sure assembled a strange group. No offense."
"Well, I've got other stuff to do so I gotta go. You can relax and take a breather here in the temple, or you can continue lending a hand to the people of this island." With a wave, the silver-haired woman bid farewell. "See you later, Io."
~ @AzureKnight (SHI), @The Irish Tree ~
Liliana and Shizuka would reach the temple without further incident, just in time to witness something peculiar.
A distraught Alice would run past them, followed by a dripping wet Gringor, followed by a mounted Takeshi. Who, fortunately, stopped to explain what was happening. "Err, it's a long story. I'm following them to make sure they don't get in trouble... especially with each other. Anyway, gotta go!" And the young Oja galloped away, to become the monsters' apparent chaperone.
Entering the temple, Ayu was there to greet the duo. "Sir Shizuka! Miss Liliana! Good to see you come back from your mission in one piece! Successfully, I presume? You two look victorious." She then let out a hearty laugh. "...Don't ask about Takeshi and the two others. Not even I know what happened with them."
The temple grounds was the same as ever. Refugees still recovering in their tents and the monks making sure everything was in order. It appeared most of the taskforce were away on missions.
~~ TAKESHI'S JOURNEY ~~
~~ TAKAMORI TALES ~~
~~ SORAE TALES ~~
~~ TALES OF SHIZUYAMA ~~
~~ LEGENDARY TALES ~~