melodiesofeternity | The Heroes of Light vs. The Sakura Forest (round 1)

The Heroes of Light vs. The Sakura Forest (round 1)

Who: Everyone who signed up!
When: October 10
Where: The Sakura forest
What: There's supposed to be an Eidolon here! Lets go find it!
Warnings/Notes: it's October and there are supposedly mimics in here.

This morning is damp and foggy, lingering swaths of mist a testament to the rapid changes in temperature that always seem a hallmark of the fall season. The sunlight is still too new to burn it away, and the world seems hazy and lavender.

It would be beautiful, if it wasn’t so eerie. Perhaps it’s simply the morning chill, but skin prickling up to gooseflesh seems to be a common occurrence amongst the gathered crowd, and Castor herself, standing at the head and sorting people into teams, is not immune to this.

Behind her stands the southwestern edge of the Sakura forest. The fog within seems particularly dense, and as it diffuses the morning light, the forest seems almost otherworldly; a glimpse at something fey and unknowable and eternal. It’s likewise eerily quiet; even accounting for the fog smothering all but the closest noise, there are no audible signs of life from within the forest’s boundaries.

If the hair on the back of your neck is slowly raising, you’re probably not alone in that, either.

“Alright!” Castor calls, once she’s finished organizing people, “That should be the lot’ve ye! We don’t know what all’s about in there, and I’ve had word that the local wildlife has been ornery of late, so keep yer wits about ye, and stay close te your mates!

“I’ve given each of ye a handful of ribbon…” she pauses to hold up a handful of her own, a cheery red that somehow looks ominous in this atmosphere. “A colour te each team! Use ‘em to mark yer way in; I don’t want te have te go fishin’ fer lost souls when all’s said and done, and if ye find somethin’ ye’ll leave an easy way back.

“I’d advise ye sort someone te keep an eye on the Slates. Twelve willin’ they work more’n ten fulms into the wood, stay in touch best ye can over the network. And don’t hesitate te turn back if ye feel things’re goin’ poorly fer you an’ yours. I’d rather ye come back alive and emptyhanded.”

Here she pauses again, seeming to count something out on her fingers. “I think that’s the last of what I’ve got te say. Try and be back ‘fore sundown, yeah?”

[ooc: And go! I will be endeavouring to reply to each party at least ONCE daily, regardless of who’s posted in the meantime (we’ll see how it goes)!]

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[That settled it. He hated leaving this sort of thing unfinished, but discretion was the better part of valor- or whatever it was that a certain someone always tried to tell him- but this was getting out of hand, and he wasn't in the mood to see anyone get petrified today.

Enough holding back. It was time to actually break through.

He raised the armor's hand, and a series of ports on the underside began glowing a pale blue before bursting into a frosty pulse of energy that quickly bounced and refracted between the cockatrice targets in the area. •Magitek Beam wasn't that strong of an attack, but hopefully being bombarded with ice magic would at least slow the birds enough to let them make their escape.

Their opening carved with wind and ice, DAHAK burst into a sprint aimed clear through the enemy line, one flexible mechanical arm scooping up Marinette and Adrien- the two kids that they really had to worry about- and the other quickly snatching Baiken and Lance from under the Cockatrices' gaze. Ena had her doubles and Madhuri seemed to have a hold on things, at least for now.

Red just hoped he wouldn't have to bodily fling his party members to safety and double back in a panic...]

Hahahah! Off you go, then! I'll catch up!

[She dipped into a curtsy. She'd gotten out of sticky situations before. In fact, surrounded by the winds like this, she could think of a lovely finisher to open the way for Ena and herself to make an exit.

Once the DAHAK made its swift exit, she grinned like a devil and began to weave patterns with her hands, beginning to carve a symbol of light.]

Well then! Time for a lovely holy nuke before we make a dash. Shall we?

The sustained assault from Madhuri's windstorm and the harassment of the magitek beams is enough to drive the birds off long enough for Red to begin his retreat, four party members in tow. The appearance of Ena's duplicates seem to throw them even further off kilter, and while two attempt to browbeat one of the copies with their wings and claws, the third attempts to petrify one of the others.

Of course, this means none of them notice Madhuri preparing her final trick as the rest of the party makes a surprisingly clean getaway.

[ One indignity of being used as Lance's human shield, another indignity of being scooped up like a ball headed to a goal line, all while having contributed basically nothing to the fight.

She'd definitely be in a sour mood for the rest of the expedition, in desperate need of a stiff drink. ]

When she'd suggested the retreat, she hadn't really imagined being picked up bodily and carried away by a mechanical arm. Well, that was something she could mark off her bucket list now, at least.

She didn't feel bad for not contributing to the fight, though, because she'd never been terribly invested in the first place. And at least now she didn't have to worry about someone accidentally hurting the baby bird. Which probably wasn't going to make her very popular with the others, but there it was.

[It took some doing, but soon she had a large ball of light collected at the tip of the staff. With a little nudge, she let it go as it gave off streaks of light, wobbling and twitching as if ready to blow... in a few seconds, that'll be the Holy.

Why have such a spell and never use it, right? Well. Here we are.]

Right! Let's go get to the others... and I'd shield the eyes, just in case. I put a little elbow grease into this one!

Edited 2018-11-01 16:44 (UTC)

Woah!

[Okay... he wasn't expecting to get picked up by a mech today, buuut he's not complaining. They wanted to get out of here before the baby cockatrice called in the cavalry, but that didn't happen. If getting away like this was how they were going to go, that was fine.]

[And yes, he would shield his eyes from Madhuri's Holy spell.]

[It's not the first time Lance has been saved by a mech, it probably won't be the last, and he's just as glad as the first time it happens.

He grips onto the arm as best he cans, closing his eyes and trying to angle his face away from the spell as he arm comes up to cover his eyes, too.

He's not taking any chances on this.]

The Holy spell is marked by the muffled sound of an explosion and a hot wind that may or may not bear a few feathers upon it. The force of the spell is enough to burn away the fog for a fairly significant area as well, but the clarity doesn't last long; it's already beginning to move back in with an almost preternatural intent. The mech's speed lets them cover a fairly substantial amount of ground in the meantime.

The observant among you, however, might notice a single dark structure in the distance, tall and solid and exposed without the fog to shroud it.

[ Despite the wind and all the other magic flying around, Ena manages to keep a good hold on the branch and Teleport a good way down the path, out of the wind, perhaps just a few meters off from where Red's mech would stop.

And from her vantage point, she spots the dark structure in the distance. ] There! [ She points in the direction, but she realizes she's the only one up this high. So she promptly cuts her Levitation to come back down with the rest of them, her hand still pointing in the direction. ] There's a building over there. Is that where we're headed?

[ Baiken wrestled herself free from the mech's grip with an annoyed grunt, straightening herself out once safely on the ground once again. ]

Think it might be an eidlon shrine?

[Red was hardly 'observant', but a huge tower that stood in defiance of their foggy surroundings was pretty hard to miss. He let loose whatever grip he had left on the party, giving a quick, anxious glance behind him to make sure that Ena and Madhuri hadn't strayed too far behind.

A hand was lifted to his eyes, as if he could try and clear the fog if he could only squint hard enough.]

Well, it beats wandering through fog waitin' for some other monster to show up. We oughta check it out.

[She was a blur through the treetops, hurrying along from branch to branch to catch up with the rest of the group. When she spotted them, she withdrew a small collapsible parasol from one of her handy hip pouches.

With some handy wind magic, she used the parasol as a very handy little day to drift back down to the ground. Why? Because she could.

She made sure to land neatly nearby, heels clicked together.]

Seconding! After a brush with death I find myself all the more curious.

[Now about to escape Red's hold, Adrien dropped back to the ground and dusted himself off. He'd change his asterisk later, but he could deal with the Ninja asterisk being active for now. The speed might be worth it anyway.]

Sounds like majority votes for the building then? [Because he's not objecting personally.]

Alright. Let's go everyone, but be ready. We don't know what might be inside.

[And hopefully the cockatrices wouldn't come back to bother them.]

The trek to the building is otherwise uneventful, though the forest grows oppressive and dark around them, and the fog seems to thicken as they grow closer to their destination.

Arriving reveals piles of rubble in front of what looks like it could have been a grand door, gilded and carved and marvelous, once upon a time. It's not so much rubble that it can't be moved, but it's going to take some effort to get rid of completely.

[Did someone say heavy lifting? Because this was practically Red's specialty; in fact, he didn't even think twice upon seeing the rubble before he trod over on mechanized legs, cracking his knuckles before taking a hold of the controls.]

I'll take care of it.

[Hopefully the task would pass quickly with heavy machinery on their side. It was a little hard to drink in the former splendor of the entrance with all that debris in the way.]

With their destination decided, Marinette nods and starts off in the direction of that building. The walk is uneventful, and she's a little thankful for that after all the fun they'd just had.

The rubble isn't what catches her attention at first, though, and Marinette is just going to get as close as she can to that door, to get a better look. She's probably not strong enough to move much without help, and she'll get to that in just a moment or two. But for now, she's more concerned with examining the door.

"This is really pretty~"

[Yeah, a break after that escapade was worth it. While Marinette is interested in the door itself, Adrien is taking in the ruins at whole. It's curious how old this place is - curious how old Vaikuntha is at a whole, but again, space and time.]

[The comment Marinette makes has him grin. It's very like her to admire the detail.]

Imagine how it looked before time wore it down.

Hmmm...

[She'd like to have a peek at the door itself, maybe any sort of etching that might have once been some manner of writing. Heck, even a symbol to give them some sort of clue as to what this door may have once led to.]

((Lance has since dropped so we're going to assume he's just tagging along from here out.))

With the help of Red's mech, it's a simple task to clear enough of the rubble to expose the door. As he does, however the forest changes further; something heavy settles over the party, not unlike setting foot in a graveyard. The very air seems to come to a reverent silence.

Exposed, the doors drift open slightly, lacking the rocks that otherwise kept them sealed. A puff of cold, dry air follows and beyond them stretches a great hall, as dark and silent as a grave.

[Red did a great job clearing the door... but there was something weird. If he was back home, 'instant regret' would be the best way of putting it between the door drifting slightly open, the cold air, and the deep silence.]

[Yup, uncomfortable chill down his spine... but it wasn't enough to fully drive him away either.]

Woah...

[Well, that wasn't pleasant. Even with the danger of the cockatrices present, the forest at least felt alive; but now? Just... stillness and quiet. It was enough to make him almost miss that uncoordinated scramble a few minutes ago.

Well. Have armor, will travel.]

...Well, it's gotta be important, right?

[He'd be the first to step inside, but at least had the decency to keep the door held open.]

Marinette smiles and gives Red a thumbs up for the job well done, but before she can even consider celebrating, a chill seems to settle over the group.

So she turns back to the doors.

"Do we want to go in...?"

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The Heroes of Light vs. The Sakura Forest (round 1)

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