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[TP] Their Journey Will Continue in a Grand Center

Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 12:04 pm
by Nick
It didn't take much discussion for the trio of strangers to go over the prophecy together one more time. It was the line "Their journey will continue in a grand center" that garnered attention, along with "They shall find their foe with the assistance of the weather." The only grand centers that really came to mind were the center of the known world, which to Fuhen's knowledge would likely be somewhere to the East in Wind Country, the center of the world, which even Fuhen had to agree seemed unlikely that they could reach, and lastly... The capital city of Miracle, Heaven City.

Fuhen had passed through Miracle Country before, but he'd never had cause to stay for long. In a country with relatively low crime, there wasn't much need for someone who earned their living mostly as a bounty hunter. That said, he'd never been to the city himself, and so he had to rely on the other two for some kind of direction. Luckily, the aforementioned low crime rate meant that the travel was quite easy, and Fuhen couldn't help but be impressed at how well done the roads of the country were, especially when compared to the dirt paths he was used to travelling.

The city itself was equally impressive, its large marble structures otherwise unheard of in many countries who relied on simple paper and wood housing. It held a very powerful feel to it, but at the same time there was something oppressive and dark to it. Nevertheless, the people seemed content, another strange sight for many. Perhaps that was the most disturbing thing, that everything seemed so... Normal, when the prophecy that had brought them all together told them that things were meant to be otherwise.

That is, until the clouds rolled in. It was disturbingly sudden, as what was a bright and sunny day turned into a dark overcast with thunder and lightning roiling in the sky, but not yet striking down. Then the rain came. Deep oppressive sheets of water fell from the sky, so heavy that they stung when they finally hit skin, and the backspray off of buildings made it almost impossible to see. And so, drenched, and having only been in town for a couple of hours, the three of them ran into what appeared to be the nearest inn to seek shelter. As most proper inns did, this on had a general bar area where people could spend their evenings until it was time to sleep, if they had nothing else to do.

As they entered, Fuhen took a moment to let himself drip dry and let out a shudder. The rain had been cold, and he had never been one to do well when the temperature dropped, chills ran up and down his spine in an uncontrollable fashion for several moments, and he made a long 'brrr' sound as he shook himself off. Taking stock of the area around them, the only people in the bar proper seemed to be men in brown cloaks, some whose hoods were down, and others whose hoods were up. Few had drinks in front of them, and fewer still had meals. The only other person was a short stocky man behind the bar, in the midst of tapping a new keg of some form of alcohol for the night.

"Dinnae suppose ye've got three beds open to weather the storm, eh?"

[TP] Their Journey Will Continue in a Grand Center

Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:21 pm
by Yura
The journey to Heaven City had been fairly uneventful for the trio outside of their discussion of the supposed prophecy. Aya had remained fairly reserved for most of the journey, only occasionally tossing in her opinion when she felt that it was warranted. She noticed as they journeyed that Kosuke and Fuhen seemingly got along well together, the pair’s personalities meshing well together which left her as the odd man (or woman) out, though that was mostly of her own doing. She still couldn’t believe that she had been dragged into this and in the initial days of the journey she contemplated turning around before finally deciding to see it through. She had come this far after all.

As the group finally reached and then entered Heaven City, Aya realized that this was the first time that she had been to the city as a citizen and not a slave. Her master had enjoyed coming to this place, even forced her to perform at the occasional inn in return for a reduced price, but now she was back as a free woman. Deep down she hoped that nobody would recognize her. She hadn’t been here since she escaped though, and she had only been here two or three times as a slave, so she hoped that by now people wouldn’t know who she was. Still, she kept her head low and avoided eye contact with the people on the streets just in case.

When the clouds rolled in and the rain started falling, Aya quickly pulled up the hood of her cloak, surprised with just how quickly the storm had developed. She followed after Fuhen as he ran for the nearest tavern, shaking herself off a little once she was inside the doorway. Despite her cloak, a good amount of her clothing was soaked, the sheets of rain simply too much to be stopped by a simply piece of cloth. She she had finished shaking the excess water off of herself, she lowered her hood only notice the number of men sitting throughout the room in similar outfits. She didn’t know why, but their presence made her uncomfortable and she had this feeling that she should be wary of them. Something seemed off. Or, maybe, she was just crazy. Either way, she allowed her gaze to move away from them only to find the man behind the bar staring back at her. It seemed Fuhen’s question had gotten the man’s attention, but instead of answering right away he simply stood there studying the trio. His eyes moved from Fuhen, to her, to Kosuke, to the sheer number of swords that Fuhen carried, back to the man himself, and then around again.

Ya got the coin to pay for ‘em?” The man finally asked, “Only got two rooms left.”

Aya groaned internally at the man's statement. Someone was going to have to share…..

[TP] Their Journey Will Continue in a Grand Center

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2019 12:31 am
by Niro
Kosuke and Fuhen had meshed while during the journey from the Tea House to the capital of Miracle Country but once they had reached the city the boy had switched to something akin to a big brother in regards to Aya. He took up the rear guard of their group, behind her, having some inkling of an idea into her history and had kept an eye out for anyone who dared to spare the girl a second glance. Kosuke's hand rested lightly on his blade, ready at a moment's notice to draw the weapon to defend his family if needed.

The weather began to come down in a way that made him believe even the gods were angry and soon the small group of three found shelter in an inn. Fuhen had attracted the attention of the owner about rooms and the mention of only two made wasn't something he was dissuaded by. His clothing was soaked by the rain and it had seemed into his bones but the young man wasn't nearly as affected by it as Fuhen was. Kosuke looked to Fuhen for a moment before pulling his knapsack off and digging through it for the required payment as he moved towards the bar and placed the required coin down. Ignoring what the bar keep said after, he moved back to his group with a frown.

"Well, Fuhen can have one room to himself. Aya and I can share. You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the floor. It's not a problem." Kosuke directed at Aya, a frown marring his face because of the men at the bar rather than the fact he'd have to share a room. Something about them gave him the heebie-jeebies. Turning around Kosuke called to the bar keep.

"Which rooms?"

[TP] Their Journey Will Continue in a Grand Center

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:26 am
by Nick
Fuhen was pleased to see someone besides himself paying for the beds, but as Kosuke advanced to work out the payment method, the Frog's eyes wandered over the small crowd that had gathered to get away from the storm. Perhaps it was because they were all wearing similar cloaks, or maybe because most taverns where the patrons were drinking there were usually loud conversations going on, perhaps men singing local bar ballads out of key. Instead, there were only quiet mumbles from one patron to the next, before their eyes might shift to look at their fellows, as if waiting for something.

He leaned down close to Aya. "They shall find their foe with the assistance of the weather..." He grumbled, reciting the last line of the prophecy to her, before standing back up right. Kosuke returned to talk about how to share the rooms, but the Frog was clearly distracted, his eyes scanning over the hooded figures, unsure if it was a coincidence, or if something was bound to happen. He shifted a bit, the basket of swords on his back rattled noisily...

One of the hooded men stood up like a bolt, his hands slamming down on the table and knocking over his tankard. "It's them, you idiots! The ones from the prophecy, stop them now!" There was a moment of silence, not the least of which was from Fuhen, somewhat shocked at the sudden outburst, blinking a bit before looking from Kosuke to Aya. "Eh..." He started, opening his mouth to say something, but he didn't have time to form a sentence before the rest of the hooded figures followed suit, some standing up more calmly, others leaping from their seats and atop their tables, and a few others still rolling out along the ground.

From their cloaks they produced a small variety of weaponry, some with smaller knives, others with clubs, and a few with full sized swords of various designs and styles, though traditional Katana were more common. "Oh." He finished. Once more his eyes looked from Aya to Kosuke. He was unsure of the fighting capabilities of his companions, as they had only been travelling together for a short time. Ko carried a bow, along with a katana, and looked strong enough to use them, but he had yet to see Aya carry anything more than maybe a glimpse of what might have been a survival knife.

All the same, Fuhen's hand moved up to the clasp that kept the basket of swords tied to his back, undoing the strap and letting it fall to the floor, grabbing onto the leather to swing it around to his side. He didn't have the space in here to disperse his swords around like he might normally, and so instead he pulled a single blade out, engaging in the simple footwork that he had been taught while learning Zantou in Blizzard Country. He couldn't fully focus himself into the stance in this sort of situation, as there were too many fighters present. Zantou was designed to be used in honorable duels.

"Aya, Ko, if you're going to back out, now's the time..." He warned the pair, taking a few cautious steps forward, trying to put himself between his companions and their would be assailants. There wasn't a lot of movement among the hooded figures, most seemingly unsure of themselves. It was entirely likely that few, if any, were skilled combatants, but a numbers advantage couldn't be taken lightly. In rebellions peasants often took down heavily armored samurai by outnumbering them, pinning them to the floor, and stabbing them in the gaps where steel couldn't cover.

If his companions did choose to flee, he still had to cover the escape, and if they were to stick around, well, there was no point in waiting around.

One of the frogs feet would slide back to his sheath on the ground, widening his stance significantly, before grabbing one of the available hilts between his toes, and flinging it at full speed towards the crowd of cultists. One would manage to step out of the way, but the man behind him wouldn't prove so swift or lucky, the blade embedded nearly to the hilt in his stomach. A few of the others stopped to stare at their now fallen comrade, who themself was quite shocked by this turn of events, having dropped their weapon, and then themselves, to the floor. "For the Jūbi!" one of the ones from the back called out, and a rallying cry let loose amongst the crowd, before like a wave they would rush towards the trio.

[TP] Their Journey Will Continue in a Grand Center

Posted: Thu May 30, 2019 12:42 pm
by Yura
The sudden feeling of Fuhen's breath on the back of her neck pulled her away from her casual focus. She shot the giant frog man a skeptical look, still unsure of how much of the prophecy she believed despite the odd event that had happened at the brothel before they had started their journey. Still, she began to scan the room and took note of the hooded individuals off in the corner that Fuhen had subtly referenced. They were sketchy, sure, but there was no indication that they were part of any proph-

The sudden outburst of one of the hooded figures made Aya take an involuntary step back in retreat, the aggression in his voice giving her a brief reminder of her time in captivity. As the figures each began to stand, Aya began to realize just how bad of a situation they were in. The first man had said something about the prophecy and the mention of that seemed to instantly convince the entire group that the trio was a threat. To the best of her knowledge, neither she nor Kosuke had ever been in true combat against other humans where death was a true possibility. She got the sense that Fuhen was no stranger to combat, as made even more evident that he offered them a way out and prepared his swords for battle, but was he skilled enough to take on an entire room full of people on his own? She began to seriously consider retreat, it seeming to be the logical option in this situation, but something in her told her that to retreat would be a mistake. She didn't know why, but running away and leaving Fuhen here to fight a battle alone when she and Kosuke were apparently a part of all of this (whether they liked it or not) seemed wrong. Besides, she knew Kosuke well enough to know that he wouldn't leave. He was too stubborn.

When one of Fuhen's blades flew across the room and impaled one of the hooded figures to the wall, Aya pushed her skirt to the side to reveal her knife holster and removed two of the blades, skillfully tossing one over to her other hand allowing her to dual wield the blades. As the figures began to charge, she found herself hesitating for a moment; she had never killed before. She had never even used her knives with the intent to harm someone before. But, she supposed, this was no time for a moral crisis.

With a swift flick of each wrist, Aya released each knife and sent them soaring towards two separate targets, piercing each in the upper thigh and eliciting a scream from each before they fell to the floor. But as she removed two more blades from her holster, she watched as each man puller her blade from their leg and began to stand, making it clear that her blades were only going to have a limit impact. Desperate for a new tactic as the men began to close in, Aya looked to the ceiling and launched two blades towards the ropes holding one of the larger chandeliers that hung in the room, severing their connection and sending the whole thing crashing to the ground on top of two of the men and causing others to scatter.

Knowing that that would only buy them some time, Aya launched herself a few feet back from the others and removed her ocarina from her satchel. There were a lot more targets than she was used to, and it was going to take a lot more energy than normal, but she began to channel her Glory as she blew into the instrument and produced a delicate melody. As she played, most, if not all, of the hooded figures would begin to glow a purple hue. "I've reduced their pain threshold," Aya called out to her allies as she staggered backward slightly. She had used a great deal of energy to affect so many people at once, "Now everything you do should bring them pain." The effects of her curse became clear almost immediately as the figures who had already suffered injuries began to yelp and scream as their wounds suddenly produced more pain than before. Even injuries that hadn't hurt, now brought pain even if only a dull ache. Aya wasn't sure just how much help such an effect would be, but she figured that the curse would at least be enough of a distraction for the others to hopefully give them an advantage.
JutsuShow
Curse of the Soft
C-Rank Malediction
By playing a short melody, the Inji clan member is able to channel their Glory into a target of their choice up to their [stamina] meters away. The target(s) will suddenly feel a dull ache throughout their body as their muscles become tender to the touch. This results in the target experiencing greater pain from physical strikes that make contact with their body in addition to the constant presence of the dull ache. If the target's [Strength + Instinct]/2 is greater than the Inji's [Taijutsu]/2, they will be able to resist the effects of this technique. Otherwise the technique's effects will last for a maximum of the Inji's [taijutsu]/5 in posts.