Duty Session 579: The Mountain Memorial

    What with the war and all, it's been some time since resources were spent on niceties like keeping remote temples clear of monsters. It is, however, the Firefly festival. Things have been put off long enough. The Hunters Guild puts out a request, seeking adventurers willing to help a group of travelers trek high into the mountains to reach a memorial stone.

    Fuka has never stopped adventuring, even during the war. Training and testing one's abilities is important after all! As is helping people who need it. Today is no exception, and she shows up to see who else answers the call. And to do aventure, naturally!

Shiruba had just happened to be back in Shibuya to check on a few things so she wasn't entirely neglecting her Guild Moderator duties. She had intended to head right back to her safari in the Palace Lands... But then her friends got ahold of her and dragged her off on this festival event before she could get back on a boat. So she just sort of relented and came along. "I... suppose I can update the documentation on Lander Festivals for the museum," she murmurs, though doesn't really sound like she's in it at the moment. Strange Moods do strange things to people.

Also someone might want to throw her in a bath afterwards, she probably needs it.

    Naotsugu arrived quickly enough to the base of the mountain. He'd been severely lacking in helping of others, as he'd been focused on more introspective efforts and being told to head back on his own... that was a bit of a bummer... but he was here now, and it was the Firefly Festival! Whatever that meant... either way, festivals were supposed to be fun and something everyone could enjoy! But monsters gumming up the works? Nah! That's one thing Naotsugu wasn't gonna have ANY of!

    As he arrived, Naotsugu looked around the area to see if he noticed anyone else that would be familiar to him... it had been quite some time since he'd been back, after all! Surely there was at least ONE person there that recognized him! As long as it wasn't the pipsqueak Ninja... or... that girl... he shuddered as he just imagined that weirdo crawling all inside his armor...!

Some players don't redo the holiday quests because they've done them already. But this is not Yeowang's first trip to this particular rodeo, and she joins the Guild Rep at the base of the mountain with a stern and capable demeanor. She's also one who's never stopped training, though she does spend a great deal of time lately overseeing her construction in Dun Loireag, and she often trains in the evenings while overseeing construction operations during the day, which frustrates her builders because that's their job.

She's pretty laissez faire when things are going well, though, and so rather than nannying the builders, she's here and doing quests, and in general -not- pestering her builders, though she does check back via chim probably more than they'd like. Naotsugu is someone new to her, so she nods a greeting in his direction, Fuka and Shiruba she's known for ages, and they know her.

The Firefly Festival is a festival he hasn't personally attended in quite some time, since he accidently skipped the one from last year. This year, despite all the craziness going on in the world, Curtana is making sure he's attending this time, even if he has nothing to personally say farewell to.

There are others that could use help doing so, however.

That's how the heavily armored Pooka finds himself as part of the group of Adventurers helping to lead Landers to the top of the mountain, bowing in greetings towards the three. Curtana might have seen Naotsugu is passing before, but getting a better look at the man...well, he's certainly happy to know he's not the only knight in these parts! "Yeah, i'm not looking forward to the top as well. The cold just seeps through the armor." It seems he misunderstood Naotsugu's shudder...

    Fuka grins at Curt, then taps the back of her vambrace against her cloth-covered chest, eliciting a dull clank. Metal under the cloth, clearly. "You need to wear layers, Will!" she observes with a grin. Then she pauses to peer at Curt and Naotsugu, one hand shielding her eyes so she can see better, or something like that. Her back-and-forth gaze is quite obvious, and it goes on somewhat past the point of politeness. Finally she breaks the stare, blinking. "Wow. You two are like... palette swaps!" she grins. "Same armour, same hair... okay Will has ears but that's not rare in palette swaps. And the colour, obviously!" she shakes her head. "SOMEONE is doing a lazy asset swap for this. I had higher hopes for the festival. But oh well here we are!" she says. Of course they're not THAT similar. But Fuka's stretched things a whole lot further than that for a weaker joke, so yeah.

    Even with the warmth of late summer, the high reaches of the mountain range still show snow against a brilliant blue sky. At least, for now, it is relatively pleasant weather at the base of the mountain, where greenery and trees still grow.

    Three landers stand, looking anxious, awaiting their Hunter's Guild guards. It seems to be a family, with older and younger members who have been chosen to take the long journey to the memorial site. The Landers have brought heavy coats, walking sticks, and backpacks full of provisions, likely over-prepared for what lies ahead.

    A Hunter's Guild representative stands with them, welcoming the Adventurers. "Simple task. Get these folks up the mountain to the memorial and back. Shouldn't be too difficult for Adventurers like yourselves." He sounds confident of that fact.

    The pass that leads up the mountain trails through an area of dense forest, filled with the usual sounds of bird calls and animals chittering. It is a relatively pleasant walk, without much in the way of dangers.

    That is, until they reach an area where the ground grows more rocky and the trees begin to diminish into sparse clusters. A bit of wind whips through the area, though the heat reflecting off the nearby rocks keeps the air warm.

    It's easy to spot the bears, even in the distance. Massive brown-furred creatures seem to be clustered around what might be a kill of some sort, though it is little more than meaty gore at this point. Blood covering their muzzles, the bears immediately notice the travelers, likely taking them for a threat.

    A roar sounds first from the largest of the three, followed by the big male charging in their direction. It is likely a bluff of some sort, and someone trained enough in how to deal with animals might be able to send the bears on their way. Otherwise, they are easy enough to frighten off with sound. Frightening them off physically might be possible, but... may not be wise.

It looks like they skipped lions and tigers and went right to bears, oh my.

This however does get Shiruba to perk up a bit, even if they are just angry bears and not some bear composite like she'd been hunting in the Palace Lands. What she does is get in the path of one of the charging beasts, but then sidesteps at the last moment and grabs tuffs of fur on it's shoulders to hoist herself on top of the bruin. As soon as it realizes this it rears up, trying to twist and turn around to get at the Cait Sith but can't manage to reach.

"Check it out guys!", Shiruba quips, "I'm bear back riding!"

After the stumbling and thrashing about and failing to get the annoyance the bear tires out, and Shiruba drops off as the beast shambles back into the woods to take a nap. She just found it easier to exhaust the creature than fight it directly.

    Naotsugu would lead the charge up the mountainside, attempting to be sociable with the group. "Hey there, then. Name's Naotsugu! I'm a Guardian! And seems you are also of a similar build as me." He seemed to be referring to Curtana. He then regards the weird girl talking to the both of them. "I'm not... that generic... am I...?"

    The others all seemed to be a little on the less defensive side, if more offensively built. Suppose he'd have to do some tank-swapping with the other defensive Tank in the group. And of course, the first challenge would be thrust upon them! A roar, then a few more! Some manner of dire bear! They weren't difficult to deal with. Make a big show and they were likely to give up the chase! So he did his very best to do so, being the biggest and loudest individual here by puffing up his chest and giving his loudest roar possible! It's a good thing his camping knowledge was high up there that he could figure this out quickly!

Yeowang walks along with the group, remaining quietly thoughtful. Between Fuka flirting and Shiruba punning, there's not much she can do to stand out, and neither flirting nor punning are her style in any event. The bears are noted, in the distance, and as we get closer Shiruba's acrobatics draw her eye. She shouts loudly at the other bears, her loud tones and pitch do not sit well with them, and they wander off to a distance to watch her warily. But since she doesn't approach their kill, there is no conflict.

Curtana may not had the most experience with video games before ETO. He's admitted this fact several times. But the fact someone is calling him a pallet swap? Even he knows what that means, when the color of the same looking armor shows how strong it was back in the older days. "Fuka! We're not that generic!" This, without intending too, happens to come out just as Naotsugu rejects the claim. Groaning, he trudges after his fellow knight. "She's not gonna let us live that down."

The roaring bears certainly draws attention, and they're still fresh with a kill. Before Curt can draw his sword and shield, Nao takes the lead, which actually puts him off balance for a moment. Not because he's upset, not at all! He's been so used to tanking, it's always great when someone takes the charge. Now that just leaves him trying to find a new strategy to help out.

Taking note of the rocky ground, the Pooka knight starts chanting softly, calling up a small cyclone to gather the wind just behind Naotsugu to give him an even more imposing stature.

    Of course Fuka's exaggerating for comedic effect, and ... well, it's not all that funny. But she seems to be enjoying herself nonetheless, and as long as you can amuse yourself you're funnier than if you're amusing no one at all. Or something like that. She'll count it as a win if she's thought of as funny OR weird though, so she's ahead of the game in either case, at least judging by the grin she flashes at Curt's complaint.

    When she sees the bears, Fuka awwws just a little. Big fuzzy things do tend to tug at her heart, even if they're powerfully murderous. But they do have to drive the bears off at least, or scare them or something. And Fuka's about to proceed to do so when Shiruba jumps on the back of one, making her quip.

    "Wow." Fuka notes, impressed. "Shiruba I didn't know you were into riding ... bear back." she claims. Pun and innuendo out of the way she begins to cast, only to be a little too slow. She gets whalloped mid-incantation, her spell interrupted before she can invoke a terrifying thunderclap. Fortunately she sees it coming and takes the blow on one heavy bracer so she goes tumbling, but isn't broken by the attack. She's tough, relatively speaking, but also small and easy to send flying. She suffers some health damage, not a lot, and fortunately the rest of the group's able to deal with the threat while she recovers herself.

    Not far from the edge of the trees, the path curves along a rocky slope leading upward. Eventually, it seems to vanish into a dark cave which has been etched out of the mountain side. Inside, it becomes clear that this was once a mine, now abandoned and empty.

    At least, it seems so at first. Abandoned mine carts and broken tools are discarded in tunnels along the main pathway, while some areas seem to have been blocked off completely by landslides over the years. There is a fine layer of dust on most things, but that also means that there is obvious signs that they are not the only ones to have passed through here.

    Tiny, almost lizard-like footprints give an indication that something else dwells down here in the darkness. This is enough to alarm the Landers, who all seem to stick closer together, letting the Adventurers take the lead.

    Eventually, they reach a place where some rocks have been placed in the road, almost too intentionally, and that is where the ambush is sprung. Colorful kobolds scurry from the darkness, pointing rusted spears and weapons at them, chittering in some language that is beyond their comprehension.

    The bears were easy enough to deal with. The show of force, plus other competent individuals and Curtana being more of a supportive tank, it was enough to handle things and send the bears off of the main road and to another spot to make their home. Hopefully they wouldn't come back...

    This Fukaziroh individual kinda reminded him of someone... couldn't quite put his finger on it... oh well. She wasn't doing anything harmful or directly annoying, so maybe she reminded him of a friend! That's probably it! Uuuuuntil they spouted off that VERY terrible pun! "Augh! Come on, I was JUST about to say you seemed kinda cool...!" He just groaned audibly at the pun before shaking his head. He just looked forward towards the road just in case there was more danger to be had...

    And wouldn't you know it, the bears weren't the only danger on the mountain. Of course they weren't! You'd have to be dumb to not figure there was something else blocking the road. In this case... an ambush in the form of Kobolds! As they jumped out, he drew his blade and shield! "Come get some, stink-asses!"

You don't need to be a hunter to recognize a trap. But it doesn't hurt. In this case, being very in tune with the aspects of Earth also helps, even slightly addled in the head Shiruba can see something is up here. "Those boulders are not positioned as if they had fallen naturally ... It's an ambush!"

She draws back an arrow in her bow, but instead of at the kobolds she shoots up, where it imbeds in the roof of the cave and starts to glow, providing crucial illumination in the darkness for her team.

Yeowang is having no part of kobolds with or without spears, and engages them hand to hand, avoiding the spears with simple dodging techniques, because they're not difficult monsters, then simply beats the tar out of them with her advanced martial arts skills. Kicks and punches form the main part of it, but it's a mix of RL styles, such as one might encounter in MMA competition, and while these kobolds have never fought in MMA, they are getting a demonstration right here of how to get punched in the face hard enough to despawn.

It's only due to him training Fuka for several weeks that prevents Curt from bursting into flame right then and there. Still, his face glows a vibrant shade of red and he groans softly into a gauntlet-clad fist. Leave it to Fuka to try to throw him off balance. He does smile softly as he sees Fuka take a tumble, knowing she'll be alright.

The trek inside the mines has him drawing his plain longsword and kite shield at the ready. The story of Moria is one he knows well, and he rather not fall in the dark if he can help it. Enchanting his sword to glow softly, he follows after the rest of the party, hoping to aid from the rear. And not in a perverted form, Fukaziroh!

His caution is well warrented, and Curt narrows his eyes at seeing the small scale fork launching an ambush on them and the Landers. "Shield your eyes!" Lifting his sword as high as he could, the sword suddenly intensifies its' glow, blinding the charging kobolds as they neared. And right before he starts to strike out, a voice can be heard over the din of battle.

"Hey! Phrasing!"

    "If being cool means I can't tell lewd puns I don't want to be cool!" Fuka protests, coolly, as she dusts herself off after the dust-up with the bears. The whole procedure makes it fairly obvious she's wearing steel under her coat, though clearly well-articulated and form-fitting rather than the bulky sort. More plate-and-chain than full plate, allowing her to move freely without showing the world she's actually geared in heavy armor. Fashionable or tricky, perhaps.

    Fuka nods as they approach the kobold ambush. It doesn't catch her off guard, though it seems that perhaps the nature of the ambush does. "Awww..." she says again, this time less the sigh of appreciation and more a tone of regret. "Do we have to? They're cute!" she complains. "Right, Will? Isn't there something cute about a small, fiesty creature pointing weapons at you?" the sylph demands. Not pointing weapons at him, fortunately.

    Still, Fuka's not about to take wounds just because kobolds are small cute fierce beasties. "Nice, Shiba!" Fuka calls out delightedly. And then Curtana follows up with a similar move, except this one ends up blinding the kobolds more than revealing them. She digs deep, channeling earth and fire to produce thundering explosions of heated stinging stone, explosions of power that are kind of devastating to lightly-armored beasts, targeting the stone orbs to explode among groupings of huddling kobolds. She feels a bit bad about it, but well... they ARE monsters. She'll get over it.

    Once the kobolds are killed or driven off, the group proceeds. After what seems like an eternity trapped underground, the way angles up again. As the cave opens up into the mountainside again, the light from the day's travels has dwindled, leaving a brilliant red and gold sunset that is breathtaking this high up in the mountains.

    The journey continues through narrow ledges in the stone, sometimes making the party have to walk single-file. Along one section, large boulders seem to have become nesting places for some sort of feral birds. The ground is littered with avian refuse.

    From above, there is a squawk of alarm which seems to rally a number of others. Wingbeats follow as dire eagles take flight, trying to protect their nesting place from these intruders. Soon, birds are diving at them in numbers, sharp talons slashing out towards the party members and Landers alike.

    The Kobolds didn't stand a chance! Being a pretty competent tank, he was able to hold the attention of the vast majority of the Kobolds! They were dumb, so he didn't even really need to bother with using his Anchor Howl to hold them all. A few swipes with his sword, a bash with his shield, they were ready to fold pretty handily! The others also played vital roles based on their classes and positions in the party!

    After the combat was over, Naotsugu looked at the others with a smile. "I think we've got this in the bag! Our skills compliment each others quite easily! And you guys having two tanks is nothing but good for everything, as well!" He looked over to Curtana, him having applied some lighting to the area to help him defend the group better! This was gonna be easy! He just chuckled at Curtana's words at the end there. "Hey, if you can't spout off a few fuck-words every now and again, you aren't livin' like a man! That and enjoying the sight of women's pa-" Suddenly a rock the size of Naotsugu's head came out of nowhere and pelted him in the face! He yelped in pain from behind the large rock, muffling his sounds! After the humiliation of it, he just pulled the rock off his face and threw it off to the side! "Stupid pipsqueak! I know it was you! You and your stupid ninja curse bullshit!" He seemed to just be shouting that into the air, mostly at noone! But obviously towards someone... He just groaned and rubbed his face before continuing on with the others.

    After his speech, such as it was, he led the group onwards some more. The air was starting to feel a little colder now... they were getting higher up. Luckily, he was adapted to higher climates by now. Of course, they weren't on the lookout for the cold... they were on the lookout for monsters and other creatures that would call this hillside home along the path!

    Of course... the next group of baddies to show up would just happen to be a cavalcade of beasts! FLYING beasts! DIRE flying beasts! Dire flying EAGLES! Why'd it have to be eagles!? Their beaked faces reminded him of Beaky... missed that big lug... he'd blown on that flute every day, but no answer. But that was neither here nor there! He had to get into defensive position to give everyone a proper defensive point!

Shiruba doesn't want to shoot something as noble and majestic as an eagle, or dire eagles. So instead she focuses on getting stable footing, and casting one of her protective elemental shields to protect herself and the Lander progression from the upset birds until they can be driven away again. Thinking of others before herself as usual, even when not mentally firing on all cylinders. "Keep moving," she shouts over her shoulder. "Don't make any aggressive motions to draw farther ire, we'll keep them at bay."

Yeowang follows out onto the narrow ledges where they are attacked by eagles. She brought her bow for this, and the scope for her bow, but on the ledge, there really isn't room to draw the bow to it's full extension, which spoils her aim, and tagging swooping eagles on the fly is not the easiest shot, so the complications wind up being too great an impediment to the cut-rate hunter. She's a shadowfist, she doesn't do well with a lot of the hunter skills. Her game fu is weak.

Proof that girls see things different from boys right there. Bashing one of the kobolds away with his shield after it tried to claw his eyes out, he gives Fuka a confused look. "...no comment, Fuka."

Naotsugu seems like a man also striving to be a knight, clad in armor and taking out the wicked that attack the weak. Unfortunately, that dream of finding a kindred spirit is broken as Naotsugu reveals quite the foul mouth. Alas, the dream is still a dream. "I curse, just not that often! And honestly, having another tank is a huge help. I usually end up being a basic healer as well."

Perhaps it's a good thing Curt didn't hear the full sentence.

Giant birds of prey drop down from above, making an already hazardous climb almost impossible. Taking in a deep breath, the energy of the sun up above is focused. Hamon flows down armored arms, pooling into his simple kite shield and causing it to spark violently. Any attacks coming near the Pooka or his nearby allies is repelled with the Hamon-infused shield, doing his best to keep everyone safe. "Keep it going, everyone, they should head back shortly!"

    Fuka breaks into a broad smirk at Curtana's complaint, and seems to appreciate Naotsugu's banter. She agrees with his assessment of the group. Naturally she's worked well with Shiruba, Yeowang and Curtana a number of times. And Naotsugu himself is good at his role and eager to throw down, so she's got no complaints there. She doesn't disagree with his statement on profanity, even if she's more innuendo than actual cursing. Still, he might be fun to continue to adventure with, as long as he continues to groan at her puns.

    Fuka doesn't know what to make of his rant against a ninja pipsqueak. Pipsqueak could be herself, of course, but no one's ever mistaken her for a ninja. She shrugs, not offended either way, and shoulders her greatsword before following along, keeping position near the lander family as their personal guard while the tanks take point among the adventurers.

    Probably a good thing, in this case, as dire eagles take to the sky and attack with no particular regard for ground-based tactical positioning. She assesses the threat and quickly decides the biggest threat is the birds attacking the landers, making them fail their escort quest. And killing people of course. That's bad, really bad.

    Fuka stays close, digging into her coat front to pull out a thick, sinister-looking shawl fringe. "Hey! Bird brain!" she yells out as a dire eagle stoops down to attack. It immediately attacks her instead, and she meets it with a steely strike. "Yeah that's right, pick on someone your own size!" she insists to the crushed form. Inaccurately, of course. Then she kicks it.

    Following Shiruba's suggestion, the group keeps moving, finally driving off the surviving eagles. Fuka shrugs sheepishly. Her action, invoking the Shiny Swarm, was very much drawing ire. At least from its singular target. That's its purpose after all. Oh well.

    The temperature begins to drop further as night begins to fall, casting the mountain into darkness. It is easy enough to light their way, but sometimes the Landers lose their footing or need help to navigate in the dark.

    As the path circles further up the mountain, things begin to look less man-made and more a part of the natural environment. They go entire hours without seeing a single thing that would suggest this was an intentional path made to get them where they are going.

    That is, until they come upon what looks to be a ruined bridge which spans a chasm between two parts of the path. Parts of the rock are missing, but there are wooden boards which have been placed across the gaps, though some of those look suspect as well.

    As they move to start across the bridge, there is a rumble of something and a huge hand reaches up, pulling a massive troll up from somewhere it had been living beneath. It stomps, causing some more rocks to be broken loose, heading towards the party with a massive club held high.

    The eagles having been dealt with decently by the group... some of them had misfires, which was understandable with people who weren't as used to dealing with such creatures... Naotsugu was quick to react and get into a defensive position, holding up his shield in defiance to the oncoming eagles! Being the big, meaty target which would have otherwise picked off the weaker, chewier individuals, he was able to decently defend everyone from being torn to shreds by eagle-beak-and-claw.

    After having finished with the eagles, Naotsugu looked at the others, as well as the accompanying Landers. "Everyone good? These things usually get worse before they get better! Keep your eyes peeled. And keep them peeled for any hot ladies as well~!" He just gave a chuckle.

    After a little more travel, suddenly a bridge. If there were going to be anything happening, it would be at this bridge... and of course, there was something! "You ain't no hot lady! But you WILL be hot!" He quickly dragged his shield along his sword, causing sparks to fly towards this Troll's WOODEN weapon! And they weren't no small sparks, seems he'd outfitted his sword and shield into a slightly similar thing akin to flint and steel! Massive burst of sparks showering towards the club in an attempt to burn it!

Yeowang is a bit frustrated by her inability to successfully use her bow, which is supposed to be a class skill for her. It's not one she often uses or practices, though, and that shows. But we make it past the swooping eagles and she keeps moving, nodding to Shiruba, and proceeds along until the troll is encountered. Well, if it's another fight, she will fight it, stepping up and fistfighting the troll. She lands a few blows, and it can't seem to catch up with her natural speed and evasiveness. It regenerates from her hits, but she keeps punching and kicking it relentlessly, and staying one step ahead of its counterattacks with a seemingly preternatural awareness.

Oh goodness, a troll. And fire isn't one of her strongest suits, unfortunately.

Fortunately, Shiruba has other means of dealing with this matter. She picks a specific arrow from her quiver, nocks it back, and shoots it. Using one of her favorite tricks of hitting it into the ground right in the path of the troll. Who pauses to look down at it, then sneer at the huntress in a very 'You missed!' manner.

But Shiruba just smirks as he starts to step over the arrow, knowing better. As will those who have fought alongside her often enough to know one of two things usually happen when Shiruba pulls this technique, involving either Earth or Lightning.

In this cause it's the latter, as the lightning rod arrow attracts a large bolt of electricity infused with divine energy to it, and right through the troll stepping past and making himself the tallest thing in the lightning bolt's path.

A troll guarding a bridge? Classic and iconic. That, and the creature's famous weakness. "Some may say too hot for your own good!" Swiping a hand down the length of his sword, Curt rushes forward to meet the giant beast head on with the Firebrand Sword Arte. Shallow cuts wouldn't even bother a troll at all, but from a flaming weapon? There's no quick regeneration from that!

    "Seriously? There's a TROLL under the bridge?" Fuka complains to no one in particular. She is about to start casting but something else catches her attention. "HOT lady?" she smirks, admiring the flint-and-steel sword and board combo. "How do you know it's not a lady?! I think she's got the hots for YOU!" the little sylph calls out happily, apparently more interested in making it weird than she is at adding fuel to the fire. Or in this case, fire to the troll. "I mean I like hot ladies as much as anyone I guess. But this troll's a bit big for me, don't you think? Besides, I've been online my entire life. I know better than to feed the trolls!" she snipes.

    The farther the party travels, the more of a chill the air carries.

    Eventually, the ground begins to crunch beneath their feet with frost and snow. There is not as much of it here, in these summer months, but it is still bitterly cold.

    "Not much further." One of the Landers informs them.

    It is not an easy climb. Made worse by the howling wind and cold. Then, just as the memorial stones come into view, something massive blocks them. The creature has long, white fur that seems to lie in clumps, with long arms and a hunched build. The Yeti seems to have made this place home, and is not happy about intruders.

    It grabs a chunk of rock and begins to launch it down the mountain towards them.

    The club blazed alight and caused the Troll to stumble while the rest of the troupe unloaded into it! The work was quick and the Troll was felled with little incident! Of course, the massive stream of puns from Fukaziroh didn't help matters... groaning as they were being spoken... Onwards to the next part, though!

    They were nearly there! The final stretch! But he wasn't about to rest just yet! The very end is usually where the boss shows up! Suddenly, a loud rumbling as a large boulder was making its way down! He jumped forward, shoving his shield forward and shattering the boulder! "If you're relegated to healing, then keep me good while I got this furball!" He charges forwards towards the Yeti, his armor glowing green as he approached it! "ANCHOR HOWWWWWWLLLLL!!!" His shout and his ability usage would pull the Yeti's aggro directly onto him and only him! His job! To be the frontline, taking all the hits from the enemy, and leaving his allies to do all the heavy hitting! It was a job befitting a man!

Ooooh a yeti! Now that is a monster uncommon enough to spark Shiruba's hunter mindset and she's practically back in her usual form. It starts to rip up rocks to throw, but Naotsugu does DA TANK thing to draw it's aggro to him. Giving her an oppritunity to maneuver into a better position, take aim, and fire off three arrows in rapid succession. The first aimed for a shoulder to weaken it's arm and attack strength, while the other two are aimed for the chest and the head as one would expect from a skilled hunter. No one shot is likely to kill it, and even Shiruba knows that, she's making sure it's weak and already losing health by the time the melee combatants can move into range on it.

Yeowang is completely lost bewtween hot ladies and trolls. Her internet savvy, minimal at the best of times, can only tell her that this conversation is not one she can participate in. The other party members have the right spells for trolls, luckily, and once the troll is done for, she will travel through the chill night o the encounter with a yeti in sight of the shrine.

Well, there's no avoiding this, but she hardly needs to, rushing in to melee with the monster and delivering shocking combos, striking much harder than it seems prepared to deal with. The whole party is just taking it to pieces. Today is not a good day to be a yeti.

The troll is quickly destroyed with all five Adventurers laying into the bridgekeeper, but it was not the greatest threat there. "Fuka...please stop." Just how long has Fuka been storing up all those puns?!

The memorial stones are finally within sight, a symbol of safety after everything the mountain has thrown at the party to stop them in their tracks. Unfortunately, the mountain has yet to use every trick it has.

Shield over his head, Curtana follows after his fellow tank as they both lead the charge up the hill. "You won't even see any yellow!" It's clear he doesn't mean yellow snow as he starts chanting mid-level healing spells under his breath, keeping the party's health high. His fellow tank has priority healing, however.

It seems the group is well prepared, however, and not much healing is needed. Joining in the DPS rush, Curt charges forward, pure light flowing from his trusty weapon. With a vertical swing, he leaps upwards and finishes the Sword Arte with a horizontal swing. "Grand Cross!"

    Easily handling the Yeti, Naotsugu just kept being a thorn in its side! Keeping aggro while harrying it with sword strikes and shield blocks! Anytime it would try to pick up a boulder to throw, he'd slash the arm that picked it up! "Drop it! Bad Yeti! No boulder!"

    This kept up for a bit, until the Yeti'd had enough by now and decided it wasn't worth it. The Yeti backed off rapidly after a little more fighting! He decided to let the creature go... maybe he'd see it again someday. Maybe not. Either way.

    As the 'festivities' were coming to a close, Naotsugu was finally realizing what it was all about... and he even had a tear trickle down his face as he saw the people here worshipping their long deceased family... he even got in on it, mimicing them and offering his own prayer to his gran. She was good to him growing up... she'd died before he buried himself in games, and he missed her dearly...

    As he stood up to get ready to go, a young boy came up to him and offered him a stone. One similar to the ones everyone else had picked up. He smiled. "Thanks, little man." He looked at it... there seemed to be something about it... he held it close to him before stowing it away for later. Maybe it'd come in handy.

    He looks at everyone as they're headed down the mountain. "You know... I think I'm gonna like being back! If this is what the people are like, I could do a hell of a lot worse!" He sighed. "Just wish there had been more hotti-" Suddenly, one of the eagles from before swooped overhead, passing the group by completely. But in its wake, a VERY large dropping came down on top of Naotsugu's head! He just stood there... the anger fuming on his face and getting MUCH more intense as the seconds passed! "I SWEAR, ONE OF THESE DAYS, I'M GONNA FIND YOUR SHRIMPY FACE AND PUMMEL IT INTO THE GROUND!" He just did his best to get the massive amount of gunk off of his head... but he'd need to get a shower to clean it properly... until then, he just had to endure the trip down the mountain with a head full of dire eagle poop...

    Ditching spells, Fuka wades in with her greatsword. It's a good thing the creature is large, or all the melee fighters wading in would be trouble. As she swings however, additional threat begins to manifest. Her jagged-edged greatsword, a menace at any time, begins to crackle and glow with energy. Actual energy, not just magic, until the sword's massive blows begin to arc electricity as well as carving away small red pixellated chunks with every swing. "I won't stop until all my enemies lay broken and dead at my feet!" she cries fiercely.

    When the battle ends, she withdraws slightly, resting her greatsword ronin-style across her shoulder. "I mean, aside from the really big ones. Bit much to expect them to be AT my feet when they're so big." she complains good-naturedly. "Enough that they are merely de-FEETed. Huh? Huh?"

    She remains quiet and respectful, perhaps unexpectedly so, as the lander family observe their rituals at the destination. Even Fuka can show respect. Sometimes. But not for long, it seems. When Naotsugu suffers indignity she snickers meanly - both in the cruel sense and in the low-born commoner sense. Then she has the nerve to look indignant. "Heeeey! What do you have against shrimpy faces?!" she complains, crossing her arms and looking peeved. And also kind of hilarious, as the indignant look just ... isn't all that sincere. At all.

With the final obstacle beaten, Shiruba settles in to just watch the ongoing progression as the Landers performer their rituals. Such traditions are within her wheelhouse as a Loremaster after all, and it's enough for her curiousity to keep the desire to get back to her Big Hunt at bay... at least enough to finish the ceremonies. Then she'll be on her way once more, driven to continue as much as possible.

But it's a long sail between Yamato and the Palace Lands. She'll get food and rest then. Maybe? Maybe?!

Strange Moods, am I right?

Yeowang cringes as success in battle means it's pun time. She's just not punny, so she holds her tongue, and leaves the witty banter to Fuka and the others. She's pleased that they were able to help get these Landers to the shrine, and so she will remain off to one side with Shiruba and wait for events to complete. Her own mood is strange enough when she's not in a strange mood.

The stone handed to him doesn't seem all that special, but even so, the armored Pooka bows at the waist. "Thank you very much." It's simple and some may say it's not worth the trip. People like that can't see that the value of this journey wasn't in loot, but the experience itself.

Naotsugu likely would fight him on that after having to deal with flying eagle excrement. Wrinkling his nose at the results, there's no way he couldn't try to help. "Mind if I try something real quick?" Placing a hand of Naotsugu's armor and taking in a deep breath, he sends a quick pulse of Hamon energy through his body. It acts as a barrier between the...well, poop on Naotsugu's body and it slides off after a few moments. "Can't let a knight look his worse, now can I?"