Here There Be Monsters

[Checkmate]

OOC: tl;dr and reference pics at the bottom.

Six humans and a large dog stood atop a wooded ridge overlooking a massive lake shrouded in mist. The lake was easily big enough to fit a major city, and Shikatsuko was convinced it did, in fact, hold something similar. The air was wet and chilly, with each exhalation adding to the fog around them. The haze limited unenhanced visibility to about fifty meters. The area smelled of damp leaves decomposing in the shade and though chirping birds and insects could be heard behind, an eerie stillness filled the air before them. No natural sound came from within the mist, not even the expected lapping of water on the shoreline. The air was equally inert, as if something were preventing wind from blowing normally. Nara Shikatsuko was a mid-twenties woman of pale complexion and stately bearing. She was dressed for combat, bedecked in reinforced dark armor over a black skin suit. Though she was not the de facto leader of this expedition, or even the highest ranked of them all, she comported herself with dignity and a commanding presence. She had brought in the intel that had led to the discovery of this location as a potential hidden resting place of the remnants of a recently eradicated secret cult of assassins. Shikatsuko was also capable of extending her chakra senses, what she called her aura sense, and detecting more than the naked eye might otherwise see. She did so now, alerting her companions and encouraging each to gather as much information as possible. As far as she was aware, the place they were standing marked the closest anyone had gotten to this odd place. She did a quick set of hand seals, creating a flat barrier of chakra six inches off the ground, where she kneeled, sitting back on her feet and closing her eyes as she entered the familiar meditative state that would allow her to extend her senses far beyond what would normally be possible while moving around. Even here, on the "normal" side of the tangible divide, a sense of foreboding could be felt by everyone even without enhanced senses. It was the feeling one got upon opening a door to a dark room and instinctively reaching for a light, not only to be able to see, but also to ward off whatever might lurk in the darkness at the edge of their senses. After a few moments, Shikatsuko spoke to the group. "I'll need some time. The ambient chakra within is much thicker than outside. It takes twice as much effort to penetrate it with my senses. It could be the fog. Maybe a barrier. Regardless, I can already sense half a kilometer that way,” she said, gesturing back the way they'd come, "and only about two hundred meters that way. She said, pointing toward the lake. "And even then, it's less precise. I can tell there's something with chakra and it's moving, but I can't tell if there's a lot of smaller things or one bigger thing.” "Oki, Akio, perimeter, please. She asked, eyes still closed, and hands on her lap. Even while deep in meditation, she did her best to coordinate with the others as best she could. At her instruction, the two men in Shikatsuko's entourage stepped away from the group and took up watch, allowing the others to get as much info as possible about the area before them. Awai Akio had bright blue robes and almost white hair, while the other, Yamanaka Inokyo aka Oki, had dark green hair and wore dark pants, a light hoodie, and a dark vest jacket over top. He also wore several items of jewelry, from a chain necklace to rings to earrings, while the more brightly dressed Awai wore no jewelry, but had a style of tribal tattoo decorating most of his exposed skin. As different as they were in appearance, they both snapped into action when called on. "Kari, anything?” Shikatsuko asked, still meditating. Hyuuga Hikari, generally called Kari by the group, stood to the side. Her duotone hair, black and gold, set her apart from the others. She wore all black, same as the majority of the group, but her style was a bit odd, especially given their rural surroundings. She wore running shoes, knee high socks, short shorts, a croptop with a sheer under layer, and to top it all off, an oversized jacket which currently hung open. She was the close-quarters combat specialist of Shikatsuko's quintet, but she also had the fabled Byakugan, which was currently active and directed inward at the mist. Kari's voice was younger than Shikatsuko's and steeled by more combat than most women her age. At nineteen, one might expect to hear exuberance or wanderlust. But her words were short and economical. She would not allow anyone to underestimate her for being one of the youngest in the group. "Some kind of mutated beast. Like a gorilla, but less affected by gravity. They kind of drift and use their big hands to steer. Initial appraisal puts them at high strength and speed but low agility. Something's making them float so there's gotta be some kind of chakra at play. They're in groups of three to five and I count twelve groups scattered between us and the shoreline.” It was clear when she stopped that she was done speaking. She swept her eyes back and forth twice more before deactivating her Byakugan. "Good to know. My senses are only just reaching them now. Shade, any insights?” Shikatsuko asked, seemingly to no one. But when she did, her shadow, which fell on the barrier she sat on, rose up into a seventh humanoid shape, revealing Shade, a being seemingly made entirely of shadow. He was Shikatsuko's companion and sometimes butler, but had once been affiliated with The Order Of The Reaper, the very organization whose hidden city was suspected to hide beneath the lake in front of them. "Of course, miss Shikatsuko. It is a pleasure to be of assistance. I suspect the creatures miss Hikari is describing to be some form of simian ghoul, creatures half physical half etherial. Although I cannot be certain of the capabilities of this particular variant, it can be expected that physical contact with them will inflict physical damage while also draining chakra. I would advise against a direct assault.” Shikatsuko nodded. "And the fog?" "Ah, yes. This is what initially sparked my suspicion that there may be some remnant of The Order Of The Reaper hidden within. If I'm right, this fog is likely generated by fuuinjutsu placed inconspicuously throughout the area, combined with another set of fuuinjutsu designed to produce a perpetual containment field to keep the effects strongest where they are most needed and to keep the fog from dissipating. This is all hidden by a powerful cloaking fuuin, likely located in the center of the affected area. The cloaking effect is designed to homogenize the chakra of the fog to hide all the fuuin from a sensor's inspection from afar. A side effect of this is the kind of chakra aberrations we are likely to find within. Finally there will be some form of chakra absorption in effect, which is what keeps the effects running without need for maintenance or further chakra from anyone. If I'm right, it would be an incredibly delicate fuuinjutsu array network, meaning we should only need to remove about a quarter of the connected fuuinjutsu to disrupt the efficacy of the whole. However, I would not recommend removing any of the fuuin as long as the city is yet undiscovered, as there may be failsafes built in to permanently close off the city should this outer line of defense be tampered with or indelicately breached. Shikatsuko took a long pause before answering. "I see. Niku? Minako?" She said, still not moving. "Any insights?" She asked the two highest ranking members of the group. She and her team were all Special Jounin in rank, though Shikatsuko might be able to test into the Jounin ranks soon. But Minako and Niku both stood as Jounin on their own merit. Even if Minako was tied for youngest of the group, she would not underestimate input from either of them, and she was curious to know if either of them would be able to color in some detail to the image that was slowly taking shape before them.

OOC: tl;dr: A massive lake is shrouded in mist and surrounded by some kind of field that holds the mist in place and makes it hard to sense via chakra. Byakugan identified 12 groups of "simian ghouls", 3-5 to a group, between the group and the lake. The lake is suspected to somehow hide a secret city. Everyone is trying to get as much information as possible before crossing into the hostile territory.

JutsuShow

Shikatsuko:
*[Ninjutsu • Wall]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user causes a thin 3x3x1 meter flat barrier to form within 10 meters of them at [Control] Speed and has [Control] Strength. It lasts for 3 posts.

*[Sensory Style • Augmented Sense]
A-Rank Ninjutsu
Prerequisites: *[Sensory Style • Broad Sense], 30 Control
This jutsu is an even further extension of [Broad Sense]. With this jutsu, a sensor sacrifices quality for quantity. They can view to much greater distances compared to a normal sensor, but their ability to differentiate between people starts to become muddled, meaning multiple people in close proximity will appear simply as a large chakra mass, without the users being able to distinguish how many people are there. By sitting down and meditating, they are able to start to sense further and further away. For each post of meditating, they are able to see 500 meters out, up to a max of posts equal to 1/2 their control (rounded up).

Kari:
~Byakugan: Telescopic Vision
A Rank Ninjutsu
By channeling a small amount of chakra to the Hyuuga's Byakugan, the clan member uses their doujutsu to zoom in like a telescope, allowing them to see much farther away. In doing so, the Hyuuga member is able to see up to 2 Kilometers away as though they were mere feet away. It should be noted that while using their telescopic vision the Hyuuga experiences tunnel vision, making it difficult to see their surroundings. This jutsu can be maintained as long as the Hyuuga channels chakra to their eyes.

Reference ImagesShow

Shikatsuko:


Kari:

Akio:

Oki:

Shade: