Wave of Calamity: 1

The first Wave of Calamity has appeared upon the land of the Ninetails Dominion. None know what this is. None know what the Hourglass in Dun Loireag counts down to. But yet, it comes. It is Inevitibility.

The skies grow dark. The clouds churn. It's coming.

Liminality
Overworld - -17 - 11 - 0

The clouds. They have never looked like this. The people of Dun Loireag have been staring at pointing at the clouds for some time now. As the Sands in the Hourglass have descended further and further, purple colored swirls have shown in the skies, intermixed with strange yellow coloring. The clouds started over a large area, but have slowly grown smaller in their scope, focusing onto an area to the north-east of Dun Loireag.

It would have taken the people here a few hours to travel from the city to this place, so deep in the midst of the closest farming lands. There's a large sum of Lander Mercenaries around that look far better geared than the Adventurers. Entire military corps.

This is definitely different from when they were in Alne, where there was not much of a standing army. Here, the Landers are clearly prepared to fight. Massive squads of transformed Were Fangs, Cait Siths in armor, and Humans on Pekos bearing lances. They're spreading through the region to protect the various hamlets etc.

There are multiple Adventurers checking this particular 'event' out, but the ones in question are met by a woman with bright blonde-yellow hair. A human with a bright smile, a pair of glasses, and wearing a brown cloth with a gray overcloak that closes halfway over it. She's got various accessories and chains on her that make her look rather... magey.

"I, Akumeiji, asks for your attention, Adventurers." The woman remarks. "The Ninetails Dominion has every area here guarded, but I need your help in figuring out what is at the center of all of this. They will be focused on the defense, but the epicenter of this all falls outside of the typical farm areas." She explains.

"Sorry, let me introduce myself, I am Akumeiji of the Mage's Tower." There is a pause, before she adds; "I am a researcher of Monster species." She then motions over to an area where the purple clouds are gathering. "It seems to be gathering over a valley. It won't be long before all the sand is at the bottom of that hourglass. I urge you to hurry. And please, take me with you." A pause again, before she adds; "Let's walk and talk."
Yuuki
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    Yuuki has been sitting on a fence post, legs swinging happily as she watches the local Lander armies march through on their way to the various locations they are defending. She watches with a grin, exclaiming to no one in particular, "This is so cool! I wonder if the event is going to be a huge battle, or something?"

    As someone who clearly looks Important tries to gather Adventurer attention, Yuuki jumps off the fence post and runs over to join the group mulling about her. Yuuki listens to the quest giver, nodding along at the request. She looks over in the direction of where those clouds are focused, musing out loud, "Probably a boss fight to top off the huge battle! Although sometimes the devs do like to throw a curveball so maybe there will be a surprise?"

    Finally as they are requested to escort Akumeiji towards the center of the disturbance, Yuuki grins at gives the researcher a thumbs up, "Not to worry, Miss Akumeiji. We'll get you there unharmed!" Yuuki quickly moves into step with Akumeiji, happily walking along. She does keep her eyes scanning their surroundings for mob ambushes though. As is typical with escort missions.
Hifumi
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    Hifumi has decided that Dun Loireag is to be his home and so he's been learning the place and the Landers here. So of course if there is some ominous thing coming he's going to do as the Landers do, and defend his new home. Then the Mage comes to ask the Adventurers to investigate... well that works too. "Snapdragon." he calls and a small drake made of flowers and leaves with thorns for fangs and claws appears in a sparkle of red magic and lands on his shoulder with a silent 'rawer' and a puff of fire from it's maw. "Let us go on then fine Lady." he says with a bit of a bow. "And see what threatens our home." he adjusts his headband and looks ... just silly... a chef with a flower dragon trying to be heroic.
Shiruba
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Shiruba can't decide if this is a Bad Sign(tm) or not. No surprise that most of the militia units would be Cait Siths, Were Fangs, or the Humans brave/unbiased enough to fight alongside them. The thing is, she only recalls ever seeing such large scale fully kitted Lander defensive forces reported around high threat end-game scenerios. Does that mean the weirdness in the sky is some kind of Big Event... or have the Landers learned to respond to signs of Extreme Danger on their own? Either of those notions are unusual in its own way.

But the time to muse on such matters comes to a close when a member of the Mages' Tower approaches the gathering of Adventurers that has come from the lands arond Alne. "I'm going to guess the magically inclined don't know what that," she nods her head up at the swirls of purple and yellow above them briefly, "is either," she questions, even as she falls into stride behind the woman wanting to venture towards the center of the strange events, and maybe a few answers as well. Ninetails Dominion was her character's ho*Scribbles out thought*was HER homeland, so she really wanted to know what was going on here!
Gwen
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Gwen had come to Dun Loireag to look into the matter of the hourglass. Something about it had her concerned. Also if it was due to taking out the first-floor boss? Then she has to own up to the result of her action. Gwen sends Shiruba a party invite as she head fo the woman she takes a look for the moment. A lot of the Landers are out in force to fight? this is pretty major in and of itself as she looks the likely mage of some sort over.

"I am Gwen Pendragon good to meet you, Akumeiji."

the then listens for a moment Gwen nods.

"All right then, if you think its this serious? We should not delay and have you ever heard of something like this happening before?"

It's an escort quest but if it's someone from the Mage Tower? Then she's likely got some seriously good information in her noggin.

"We'll have you covered."

Gwen does inspect her to just double check if the mage is a lander or a player, you never know after all.

"Comeon Shiruba time to find out what's going on with this."
Shaskur
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Shaskur was already in the Ninetails Dominion for reasons other then the hourglass, but since she was in the area there was little reason not to investigate what the event with the hourglass was about. As she made her way towards the church -- running along the tops of buildings -- she saw the gathering clouds. Unnatural purple and yellow clouds, even in their miasmic colours there was a strange beauty to them. Whatever this was, it looked like it was going to be big.

Shortly after she arrived at the church and relaxed in the shadows of an alcove until a blonde haired woman introduced herself and suggest the adventurers follow her. Without many other leads it seemed as good a choice as any.

Shaskur merged in with the crowd of adventurers following the woman and slowly made her way close enough to overhear what was being discussed. The woman Akumeiji talked with some authority, and as they proceeded it was obvious Landers were reacting to the ongoing events. Perhaps they knew what was going to happen all along - too bad no one decided to ask them ahead of time. With an internal shrug Shaskur continued to follow.
Reika
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Reika has been... on the run, actually. She just needed to get away as far as she could... and somehow ended up crossing the river into the next territory. The dark clouds gathering were rather omnious... rather worrying even.

She rested a bit, but ended up going to the gathering point nonetheless. She might have her own troubles to deal with, but she also needs to get her mind off them. Maybe a new path will open up.

So she's 'fashionably late' to the gathering, and looking... pretty tired honestly. Like she hasn't had a good night sleep in a while now. But she's still moving. She has to really. Just with less energy and upbeat as usual.

She notes those here already "Hey all." She nods to Gwen, the first familiar face she spots, but there's several more, like Yuuki over there. She closes the group's walk for now, focusing on each of her step that feel pretty heavy right now.
Nureha
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The time spent to get here was mostly peaceful, if ominous. It was also educational in the sense of accessing the Lander Mercenary armies that have risen to the occasion. Whatever.. occasion this was. Nureha and her small escort of guards are far from the flashiest or most remarkable of the groups of adventurers out there and they don't telegraph their presence otherwise.

Nureha approaches Yuuki, giving a courteous smile and wave to the woman and falling into step with them. "..Looks to be an interesting night." she says to her, eyes wrinkling as she gestures to the roiling clouds.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I'll have to admit to a rather large streak of ignorance to these events, Madam Akumeiji. Could you tell me what you expect to find in the next valley over, or the purpose for the hourglasses that have appeared?"
Mikage
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In the days leading up to the emptying of the hourglass, Mikage had been camping outside of Dun Loireag with her traveling companions. However, as the skies grew darker, she had suggested that the others take refuge in the city. If trouble came, it would be better that they were protected behind city walls.

The sight of gathering Landers signals that something bad may be incoming. Hood pulled up, Miki moves among the gathered group of Adventurers, seeming wary of the darkening skies. "Whatever it is, it doesn't look good." Bowing in greeting as the mage introduces herself, the Were Fang is initially quiet. However, she falls in to step with those heading into the valley.

Rama pads at her side, keeping pace, though the little lynx has some parts of his fur standing on end. It's as if he coul sense that something isn't quite right. "Stay close, Rama." She murmurs, then draws a bit closer to Gwen and Shiruba, as she knows that those two, at least, are quite capable in a pinch.
Kaydon
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The were fang mercenary was lingering nearby. Somehow he always managed to find himself surrounded by people. It makes being a solo player hard, to have constant team-up requests.

Kaydon was sharpening his Ka-BAR on a whetstone, listening to the Lander talk to them, "I don't work cheap." He speaks up, after she finishes, "I expect we'll be well compensated for this. If we're going tou risk ourselves." Sure they have less to risk than the actual armies of Landers do, because they can come back from it...Probably. So far folks have come back, but who knows if it'll always be like that?

He slides the blade across the stone one last time, then sheaths it, moving towards Gwen and Shiruba, "Why is it whenever some weird shit is going down I always find you two around."
Amalthea
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    Those sure are some ominous looking clouds.
    Amalthea is here, though, taking the time out of her soloing career to give help where she can, resting the point of her sword on the ground, she braces her palms on the pommel as she listens to Akumeiji.
    "Huh." The old Paladin murmurs, eyes half-lidded as she considers.
    Just what is up with that hourglass?
    And the sky looks like something big is about to happen...
    She casually pings Gwen, requesting an invite to her party while trying to puzzle it all out in her head.
    "Hopefully it won't be as... Grueling as a boss fight." She asides to Yuuki. "... Hopefully." She mutters, thinking back on the 1st floor boss battle not too long ago.
Miyako
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        ./~ Come now, gather now, here where the flowers grow
        White is the blossom, as the snow on the ben
        Hear now freedom's call, we'll make a solemn vow
        Now, by the roses o Prince Charlie

    Miyako has been spending much of her time in Dun Loireag busking, getting out among the people and sharing her music while she gets to know them. (The guitar has been getting some commentary, looking rather odd to Lander eyes, but it certainly seems to sound good!)

    The matter of the hourglasses, however - hey, that sounds like a great mystery novel title, The Matter Of The Hourglasses, like a Sherlock Holmes story, innit? - is what she had come here for in the first place, so now she's headed out of town with the rest of the investigating folk to see what's what. With the team preparing to depart, she slides the instrument back into her [Inventory], trading it for her usual feather-bedecked naginata.

    "Red sky at morn, sailor take warn," she muses, "But purple and yellow? New one on me." She shrugs and walks closer, waving casually to people as she goes.
Mizuki
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    Dun Loireag. As a Ninetails Dominion character, this was Mizuki's first view of Yamato in the days before the calamity. She returned once to see how it was, but until the chaos gates reopen, she's mostly stayed on Aincrad Isle because of proximity not only to the tower, but the alliance HQs. It's where 'stuff is happening'.

    But today, something is happening in Dun Loireag.

    Or rather, near it. near-ish it.

    Mizuki is conflicted. She's ready, in her heroic ninja gear -- a midnight-purple gi with brighter purple belt and armguards, and a ridiculously long red scarf that somehow isn't constantly getting caught on things -- but despite the awesomeness of the boss fight she was in the other day, her mood is somewhat dampened by the sight of the Landers. Some folks, including Kite who seems to know more than he's letting on, say the Landers are people now. If the Adventurers don't do a perfect job, a lot of people may die today. 'Perfect' might not even be enough if a pile of civilians getting massacred is just part of the script...

    The ninja cat finds her way to Gwen. DPS needs a tank nearby to do their job. She listens to Akumeiji. Aku means demon or something, doesn't it? Huh. More worryingly, this sounds like an escort quest. "You want to come to the center of that thing and face unknown threats even though you only have one life? You may be more /adventure/-ous than us... I'm not gonna stop you from coming, but uh... do you know combat magic?"

    She won't ask for obvious exposition -- if Akumeiji knows something she wants to tell the adventurers, she'll tell them while they 'walk and talk' after all.

    "Purple and yellow? Sailors don't feel very mellow." Mizuki suggests Miyako.

    Although... a monster researcher from ninetails? Perhaps she might know something Mizuki has been wondering...

    "Say, miss Akumeiji... I know that normally, monsters play a part in the creation of were fangs. But as an adventurer... did my body even exist before several weeks ago? Or was it created as an adult somehow, or did I just pop into existence then?"
BlackRose
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Who else is here? BlackRose is here!

She came to Dun Loireag also and has been enjoying things here. But now it's time for more pressing matters. Which includes these hourglasses. To BlackRose, hourglasses are quite a mysterious thing. Don't ask her why.

She doesn't say much, seeming a bit annoyed as she shows up a little later than the others. She gets her sword out from her Inventory as expected though.
Liminality
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"Excellent." The Lander touches her hands together near her chest and tilts her head to the side with a smile - as Yuuki declares that she will get her there unharmed. And at Shiruba's inquiry, she just shakes her head. "We have no idea!" In a chipper go-lucky tone. She then stops smiling so brightly and sets to picking up the pace.

Gwen gets a nod as she spares her greeting while Akumeiji continues onwards, trying not to dawdle. In fact, they are making remarkably good time as they start getting closer to the position beneath the clouds in the heavens. The way it swirls, it looks like there's a clear epicenter to it all. But there's enough of the cloud-spread that they might as well feel like a blanket has been laid over them. There's also this pressure upon them that seems to propagate this very same feeling. To Kaydon; "Yes yes. I promise good payment for all of you." And to Mizuki; "I can handle a spell or two."

"We've never seen those hourglasses before in our known history." Akumeiji answers Nureha. "This is the first time. But if this is a result of your people getting lost here, then it's very possible that this means further Monster encroachments." She explains. "And as someone in charge of getting the monster manual up to snuff, it is imperitive I am there, so I can discern what happens with as much detail as possible." She doesn't answer the question of the Adventurers origin though. It may simply not be her field of expertise.

----

The group eventually makes it to the valley, and are lining up along a smaller path up on the side. But it quickly becomes clear what is at the center of this all. Coming out of cave-side tunnels far down from where they are, they can see the green skins of Orcoid creatures. Large, lumbering, they start moving down the 'bottom' of the valley towards the farms in numbers that are far too large for the current party to deal with on their own.

Still, right now, they're going unnoticed and are off the beaten path. "Oh my. Orcs." Akumeiji declares. "Does anyone see any large Orcs with feathers on their head, or a mantle on their shoulders?" She inquires.
Yuuki
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    Yuuki notices the sorry state that Reika is in, saying, "You look like hell. Stay up late grinding, or something? I've done that a few times. It's easy to lose track of time when you're down in a dungeon with no sunlight!"

    Yuuki flashes a grin at Nureha, responding, "I certainly hope so! And if you get any interesting ideas, let me know!" She pumps her fist, "I'll see them through!"

    Finally the group arrives to a valley, beginning to take the path down. But down below they spot the army of orcs moving through the terrain at the bottom. "Oh man, that's a lot of orcs!" Yuuki grins in anticipation.

    As Akumeiji asks about the feather-headed Orc, Yuuki activates her Searching skill to improve her sight, looking over the orc army. Soon enough she spots one, saying excitedly, "Hey! Hey! I see one!" She points towards a orc near the rear of the army.

    Yuuki then looks at Akumeiji, "Is that their leader? Should we kill it?" Yuuki reaches to grab hold of her sword, though not yet pulling it from its sheathe.
Amalthea
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    Sooooo Amalthea follows along and the group comes across...
    A right proppa waaaaaagh of orcy boys.
    "That's a lot of them." The old Paladin murmurs, lips pursing into a thin line, before she points a single finger.
    "There. Back lines. That one's wearing a feathered mantle." She says pointing at a point in the throng.
Shaskur
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As they continue to walk towards their destination Shaskur attentively listens to the conversation, at least she was until she spotted a familiar fuzzy white feline. At that point the conversation took second place as she silently maneuvered until she was a bit behind Rama so she could keep an eye on the cute lynx as they traveled. Priorities.

After some time of travel, which was far longer then Shaskur was pleased about, they finally paused. There was a steep decline into a valley, and whole lot of orcs. So a bunch of uninteresting stuff. Shaskur could hear the other adventurers muttering and looking for something, but it didn't seem like that important. Now was her chance afterall.

Silently sneaking forward, Shaskur moved over to the side of Rama and put out her hand so the lynx would notice her. If the lynx recognized her then she was definitely going to give it a hug and pets while the other adventurers were distracted.
Nureha
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"A monster manual, you say?" Nureha says, one ear flicking as she takes in Akumeiji's words.

She looks up at the oppressive blanket of clouds, then starts giving orders to her escort. Two break away and start scouting for the specified targets while the other three stay with her as she lingers, admiring the view as they look down into the valley.

For now, she and the others don't see anything in the marching column of Far Too Many Orcs. She eyes the clouds again speculatively. She stays pretty close to Yuuki and keeps an eye on the other adventurers to watch what they are doing.
Mikage
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It's no surprise that the prospect of payment comes out of Kaydon's mouth. Her guildmate usually had two things on his mind, it seems, money and battle. "I figured you'd be up for the challenge. A chance to test your mettle." Despite her place in Silver Sword, Mikage isn't as keen on jumping head first into battle.

So, there is some measure of relief that they have the high ground, at least for now. The sight of the Orcs feels a bit intimidating, even at a distance. It is likely simply a result of being leveled down, causing most monsters to look like more of a threat than they should. "Is that number of Orcs normal for these lands?" The mage seemed to have most of the knowledge in that regard.

At the question of finding the leader, Miki takes a crouch at the edge of one stone outcropping, looking down and searching the lines. She spots the mantled Orc just a second later than the others. Her mouth opens to report, and then closes again. "At least it's at the back of the group. Makes for an easier target than if it was in amongst the horde."
Miyako
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    Miyako shades her eyes as she looks down into the valley and surveys the orcs. The travel wasn't too hard on her - indeed, she seemed to enjoy the chance to get out and hike, muttering something about "Been way too damn long" since she'd done a walk like this.

    "Okay, who played 'Three thousand seven hundred eighty-two orcs'?" she asks casually, her gaze narrowing in on the rear of the goblin column. "I see him. Looks like he's splitting off from the main body. Might be hitting a side canyon or something."
Shiruba
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"Monster manual?" Shiruba cants her head at their guide. "That sounds real interesting! The more you know about a certain creature, the easier it is to strategize..." She trails off and stops as they reach the great gash across the earth, looking down. "...That's a lot of Orcs," Shiruba murmurs under her breath. She crouchs down to peer into the valley below, but after a few moments of looking this way and that she just shakes her head. "There's too many, too crowded together for me," she admits. "My skills are more oriented towards tracking a specific already identified target. Not playing Where's Waldo Fantasy Edition."

Others seem to have better luck at spotting the intended kind of monsterous humanoid though. "Oh." She stands back up and draws her bow. "Do we need to fight, or go around?"
Gwen
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Gwen keeps in a good formation with everyone for a moment, as the trip goes on she's in decent spirits she'll make some jokes as they go and seem to be thinking on what the Lander Mage has to say. She notices she seem able to handle herself good as they get to the valley she will look down for a moment and just let out an unhappy sound.

"Green skins, where there's one there's a hundred of them."

She pauses at the Mage's more and she looks about the Orcish formation and pauses.

"I do..."

She points to the Orc's backline where she's spotted an ORc who has a feathered mantle.

"I take it that's a target we need to take out? Some kind of leader or caster I would expect? We got some pretty good shots here if you think we should pick it off."

She looks to Shirba for a moment then back to the Mage.
BlackRose
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Orcs. Lots of them too.

BlackRose looks at them and grits her teeth a little at the sight of so many of them. "That's not good," She says after a moment of checking things out.

She can't make out heads or tails of what they're supposed to be doing or if they're doing anything notable. She simply keeps a strong grip on her sword and surveys them. "Something tells me this is not going to be so easy," She says as she scowls a little.
Kaydon
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Kaydon can't see a thing in the mass of orcs. But some folks can, apparently, "This is why I'm not a ranged fighter." He mutters, mostly to himself, as he squints and holds a hand up over his eyes, because that always enhances your vision.

"Probably a shaman." He notes to Gwen, "Or a warlock I suppose. Depends on what kinda orcs we're dealing with. Either way we should be careful, no doubt he'll have some kind of magic to throw our way."

He considers a course of action, "Could have a couple of tanks jump down there and try to draw the crowd away from him, open him up a bit for the archers and casters." Kaydon muses, "Or if we got any assassin types, they could sneak down and give him the 'ol backstab."
Hifumi
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At the question of finding a particular orc in a horde of orcs Hifumi shades his eyes and starts scanning. "See anything Snapdragon?" he asks the little flower drake looking in the oposite direction. It makes some kind of indication the chloromancer seems to understand but doesn't make a sound. "Nothin..." the chef says and sighs. "Maybe if I had like a spyglass or something?" he shrugs again.
Reika
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Reika follows the group to the valley, perching up on some rocks when asked to scout ahead for the orcs. Should be easy to spot right? Not when you're tired like her apparently. She sees more spots before her eyes than anything else. She sighs and puts the spyglass away, trying to shake the cobwebs a bit as she clambers back down the rocks. Might as well let the others look things up.

She looks over to Yuuki at the question "Ah, not quite... I haven't slept in 2 days..." No thanks to nightmares when she just tries to close her eyes for a minute or twenty. She shakes her head. Why she hasn't slept is another story on its own, and she isn't sure how much she should tell others, or how much they care about it right now. She only spoke to Shiroe about it yet.

"Sorry if I slow things down."
Mizuki
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    Mizuki mouths the words 'monster manual'. Onward they go.

    That's... That's a lot of orcs. Like, a LOT of orcs. A lot a lot.

    "Are you telling me they're ACTUALLY foolish enough to put a target on their commander's head? Right, game logic, sorry. Are you saying if we can kill that one they'll lose morale and run?"
Liminality
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The massive body of Orcs begins to move. Luckily, some of them spotted the one with the mantle, but there's so much milling about that some of them lose the Orc again almost immediately. People are watching intently.

"That is not a normal number of Orcs. They don't normally come this close to our cities." Akumeiji answers Mikage while remaining low and trying to remain out of sight. "Orcs are very territorial. And it's not normal for them to just decide to up and approach our lands. Certainly not in these kinds of numbers." The adult woman rubs her chin before looking up at the clouds.

"Something must have riled them up. But what could have caused this Phenomenon?" She asks, before looking back down again. "But yes, we should kill their leader if we can at all help it. If we kill it, it should lower their morale and weaken their ability to organize." She explains.

Then Miyako calls something out, as she spots it again as it moves away. The woman narrows her eyes. "It's critical that we do, in fact. Otherwise, a lot of my people will die... if it's seperating from the group, it must be intending to execute some kind of ritual."

She then glances aside; "I don't recommend a Spyglass. The reflection might warn them of our position." And to Nureha; "Of course. The monster manual is how the Mage's Tower guides its decision to make further Were Fangs. Knowing as much as we can about the monsters helps us a lot in the process."

The woman then motions to Miyako. "You've got a good eye on the Shaman Orc. Lead us down and try to get us on an intercept path." She proposes to her.

Indeed - the Shaman Orc is starting to head up along a path that will cross theirs - attempting to get to the top of the valley. "It's not often we get to see a Shaman performing a Ritual. It must have gotten a blessing from one of their evil deities." She mumbles.

----

With Miyako leading, and some of the others who'd managed to spot the Orc earlier, they can cut a path through the rough terrain. The team ends up on a ridge right below the Orc Shaman, and are going unnoticed so far. It hasn't started on its ritual yet, but it's being accompanied by some real /MEAN/ looking Orcs. Each of them easily twice the size of a human. Four of them in total, along with the Shaman Orc.
Nureha
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Curiouser and curiouser.

Nureha hangs back with the main force while a group lead by Miyako splits off to follow the path of one of the creatures that split off from the mob, followed by their own escort. She taps the ground underneath them with the black staff in her hand, leaning against it as she looks towards the farms in the distance. It was too bad they got here so late in this apparent invasion. There were all manner of traps they could have laid, including straight collapsing part of the ridge down on the opposing forces.

"What deity would the orckind worship?" she asks Akumeiji. "..I have heard of several deities, but none of their spheres of influence seem to be monsters."
Hifumi
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    Hifumi follows along keeping quiet now that things have gotten to this point. He's usually a solo gamer, too much time in ETOffline, and most of what he does questing wise is mostly just for resource gathering. This however is his home and he's not letting some orcs come in and kill his neighbors not when he can respawn if things go wrong. The little flowerdrake on his shoulder seems to pick up on his mood, slitting it's little pollen yellow eyes and smoking from it's muzzle. (The smoke smells like floral incense.)
Shiruba
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After a moment Shiruba lowers her bow, though she keeps it in hand as she nods and turns to follow after Miyako. "Interdiction would give us better odds against him -away- from the crowds intervening," she agrees, keeping her voice low. She's already going over options in her head, though it's been a while since she's dealt with orcs, there's a few tactics that come to mind immeadiately. But she wants to see what they are exactly up against first. So for now it's just creeping along, prowling and stalking are fortunately things wolves do rather well.

"While I appreciate the fellow curiousity," she idly asides to Akumeiji, "we should still kill him before he -finishes- whatever ritual he's going to do." Then adds to Nureha, "It may not be a true deity, just something they worship akin to one."

No surprise that even seperated from the amassed armies he's still got a few bodyguards. This is taken into consideration. Shiruba hunkers down and readies her aim, giving the more direct people time to get into position where they'll be able to act. Ears erect towards the Shaman's position, tail twitching in anticipation, but she's not about to go jenkings carelessly into something like this.
Mikage
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Hopping down from the outcropping, Mikage drops down amongst the others. She motions Rama to her side as they continue to make their way through the high walls of the valley. Leaving it to the others to guide the way to the Shaman, the Were Fang seems to be keeping her eyes out for any other signs of trouble.

That is, until she hears about the mage's tower creating Were Fangs? Of course, Adventurers are a bit different than Landers, but the fact that her 'kind' are created by this woman and her people has her watching the mage.

The ranger seems to weave back and forth rather than taking any sort of direct path, taking her time to look out over rocks, or climb up for a higher vantage than the others. It doesn't offer much in the way of a better view, but it keeps her busy and in motion. Yet, it's on one of these quick scurries up the rocks that Miki waves a hand, trying to get some attention. "Guys. I think I saw someone sneaking around near the Orc Shaman. Didn't get a good glimpse though."
Shaskur
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It seems that Rama recognizes her and she is able to sneakily give the lynx a hug and scratch behind the ears. Well, looks like this event was a success. Mission accomplished. Heaven obtained.

The moment passes far too quickly, and everyone is on the move again. Rama bounds off with Mikage once again. Something was happening, and Shaskur was pretty sure it was all those orcs' fault.

Then she hears the magic word, "Backstab" and her head snaps over to look in the black haired human's direction. No wait, that was a were fang brand on his neck. Inspecting him it seemed his name was Kaydon. Then she remembered, he was the one working at the forge before, also a member of the Silver Swords. At least someone here had a solid workable idea, even if she only heard the last word of it.

Rising to her feet, twin arming daggers suddenly in hand Shaskur very much felt like backstabbing quite a few things for having interrupted her moment. Eyebrows now furrowed she quietly follows along with the adventurers to the ridge above the Orc Shaman.
Gwen
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Gwen was right about it being a major target as Akumeiji confirms this.

"Right so we're going to do some headhunting then."

She also takes note of the wanings Akumeiji gives them she will make off with Miyako as they head for the orc leader. With the warning about a Ritual? Yeah, that sounds like something they shouldn't let the orc finish with.

"We'll need to pull those guards off the big wig so someone can take them out. I don't care about who does it so long as we put it in the ground.

"Shiriba if it gives them power in return then it might as well be a god."

Gwen seems ready to move in on the Orcs.

"We need to go sooner rather than later. Shiruba if we can distract the guard can you line up a kill shot? Same for anyone else who can fight at range."

She pauses at Shaskur.

"Rogues work too."
Yuuki
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    Yuuki watches that Shaman breaking off from the group, heading up towards them along another path. Good. While Yuuki enjoys the idea of fighting their way through the giant army on the way to their leader, this opportunity at least means a greater chance of actually winning!

    Yuuki sneaks her way down, closing the distance to the Shaman. On closer inspection, it seems to have escorts. Yuuki quietly whistles in awe, "Those are some big orc boys..."

    Hearing Gwen offer up a potential plan, Yuuki grins, "A distraction, huh? That sounds good! Let's do it."

    Yuuki moves out of the bush she had been sneakily hiding in, casually walking out onto the same path that the small orc party had taken. The sound of her sword being drawn is amplified by the tense situation... And Yuuki intentionally dragging the weapon against the edge of its sheathe as she pulls it.

    "Hey!" Yuuki shouts at the orc group.

    "Hey you!" She points to a random orc of the big variety that is acting as escort, "I dare you to duel me!"

    Whether or not the orcs understand the same language, the shouting should draw some attention and allow others to engage.
Reika
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Reika is also pretty sneaky, so she can handle some of it... if she doesn't mess it up in her state though. Maybe she should just stay put for now, and stick with the rest, to be able to give a contribution she can handle. Ranged attacks she can do after all.

She looks over to Gwen "Let me know what I can get useful with. I can probably bind or slow them down at least."
Mizuki
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    Something must have riled them up? They're here because the plot needed them to be, Sam thinks. But then... if this is supposed to be a prison, why is there a plot at all? Ah, perhaps this was an event meant to happen in the new expansion...

    Evil gods? There are evil gods out there blessing the monsters? Mizuki starts to worry about that and then shakes her head. 'Evil god's blessing' is just an excuse for the plot to happen. Keep it together, Sam. This world may FEEL real, but it still runs on game rules.

                          ...except when it doesn't...                          

    The shaman and a small group of admittedly mean-looking orcs? Now THIS is a challenge the party can probably handle.

    "We may want to hold off on the flashy magic spells as long as we can so as not to draw reinforcements..." As ranged characters start taking aim, Mizuki glances at them, then back at the orcs. "Gimme... 10 seconds."

    With that, Mizuki sneaks down towards the orcs... and then Yuuki goes to distract them. That... might not actually be bad, but it does mean there's no time to line up the perfect backstab! Rather, Mizuki creeps through the bushes, waiting for the big orcs to pass her, then draws her daggers and leaps out at the back of the nearest one! Pouncing from behind to double-backstab and rake her hindclaws across the target has been a mostly-solid opening move so far!
Miyako
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    "So," Miyako muses. "At least four adds, and one hidden. And they're big mothers." She hmms softly. "Hope we brought enough tanks." She opens her menu briefly, long enough to tap the 'screenshot' button several times before closing it.

    "I'd love to actually see the ritual," she muses, "Nobody's written anything that I've found so far about Orcish culture. But yeah, letting them actually finish it would be - to quote Spengler - bad."

    And then Yuuki charges ahead. Well, Yuuki will Yuuki.

    "Oookay." Miyako shrugs and gets up, giving her naginata a preparatory twirl as she channels magic down into it, braiding shadows around the blade.

    "It was not a Duke nor Earl, nor yet a Viscount, nor a big brass General that came," she chants, "But a man in khaki kit, who could handle men a bit, with his bedding labelled Sergeant Whatsisname." Her Kipple complete, she steps up onto the boulder she'd been watching from behind... and leaps down after the sneaking Mizuki with a laugh, to draw her target's attention as she slashes her shadowed blade down at it.
Gwen
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There's not much time at this point, Gwen pulls her wings up against her back as far as they can go. Then she will move in to get a close as she can to the orcs then she's going o rush to engage them with sword and shield she intends to get their attention and she's already throwing out taunts as she does so.

"I can not allow you to finish this, you should have stayed in your tribe lands!"
Amalthea
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    "I agree with Shiruba." Amalthea says. "Whatever he's doing, with that many orcs around, it can't be good. So I vote he dies before he gets to work his hocus pocus voodoo or whatever." The old Paladin mutters. But then cocks a brow at Mikage.
    "Someone's there already?"
    What could they be doing?
    Amalthea frowns. That's an unknown she's not too keen about.
    "We should be quick about it, then. I'd rather not be found by that many orcs, anyway." She muses and--
    And there goes Yuuki.
    "Oh." ... "... Oh..."
    Looks like it's time to mosey into action then.
    Amalthea leaps into view and braces her shield, scuffing the ground with her boots like a bull readying for a charge.
    Before she breaks into a full-tilt sprint, bum-rushing one of the biggest orcs she has ever seen, with intent to slam into it shield first with all the force she can muster.
BlackRose
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"So many orcs, I wonder how we tell them apart?" She looks to Miyako. "I wonder how they tell themselves apart?" She asks with a slight smirk before readying her sword again. The smirk disappears as she attempts to flank one of the orcs.

"Sorry to crash your party," BlackRose yells, "But I'm afraid we can't let you be causing any more trouble than you guys are already known for causing!" She wields her sword tightly in an attempt to catch the orc off-guard and strike between the side and the back.
Hifumi
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    Hifumi kneels and starts the gestures for a summon "Nori." he calls, a little humanoid about the size of a toddler appears in a cascade of water magic. It seems to be made of wrapped and stacked wet kelp. "Alright need you to keep the guards busy okay? Get in there and give them quick rinse and stay out of trouble." he nods and stands up to peek up at the group.

    Nori runs off, waddling like a toddler with a full nappy, but moving at a quick pace. When it gets up to the level of the shaman and guards it pokes out of the bushes, and gives one of the guards a high pressure undercarriage rinse with a spray of salt water.
Nureha
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Nureha nods to Shiruba, inclining her head in acknowledgement before they slink away towards the Shaman's position.

Well. Nothing for it but to get hands dirty from time to time. Of course, she never said HER hands. She pulls back her bangs, taking a look at the battlefield before a subtle glimmer of purple light shines across her eyes.

A glowing design appears around a stylized eye across her face and then dies away as she points in Yuuki's direction, giving speed and accuracy to their movements so that possibly, their duel doesn't end up being a short and one-sided one not in the adventurer's favor.
Reika
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Reika watches as everyone springs into action, and she decides that the best she can do is support right now. She raises a hand and sends roots through the ground, a Thorn Bind Hostage attack to impede them, and get the attention while at it. With that it should help those that are heading in first to act as a distraction, slowing them down. She stays safely in the back of the group though. "I've got your back."
Mikage
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While the others seem to take on the enemy head-long, Mikage lingers at the back of the group. She can't help but shake the feeling that having a potentially hidden enemy is going to be bad for them in the long run. "Feel like doing some tracking, buddy?" Mikage asks, reaching down to ruffle the fur of her lynx companion.

"Go, find the one that's hiding." Rama races into action, dodging around the others who are already in battle. Mikage follows close behind, making sure to stay out of the way of the others, while keeping a close on eye on the lynx. Hopefully, the little creature's senses are better than hers and might be able to figure out just who else was here.
Shiruba
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Shiruba was considering a few options, and someone points out too much magic might draw unwanted attention. That's actually a fair assessment, though it changes her initial strategy a bit. Not that big of a problem.

She instead nocks a rather standard looking arrow in her bow and takes aim as Yuuki moves off to be a distraction. It hopefully gets them to at least look in a different direction. That's when she fires, homing the arrow will still hit hard enough to pierce through any protective gear the orc is wearing.

Because that's the only way the poison the arrow is tipped in is going to get into his meaty body, and help wear him down that much more quickly.

I only said it -looked- standard, not that it was.
Kaydon
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"Welp." Seems that the subtlety idea is out of the window. So Kaydon does what he does best. He jumps down, transforming on his way down, and landing amid the orcs in his gnoll form, "Hey boys." His two handed blade comes to bear, and he spins in a circle with the weapon.

Spin to win is not a new tactic by any means, but Kaydon puts his were fang strength behind it as he does so, aiming to cleave numerous orcs in twain and clear a path. Or at the very least draw their attention to himself, and away from their leader.
Shaskur
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Shaskur glared down from atop ridge at the orcs. It was time for a little payback. Muttering to herself a dark mist starts to curl off her form and starts to obscure the area around her just as she jumps to a nearby ledge and moves to flank around the group of orcs. In her haste she knocks some loose rocks down which make some noise. One of the large orc warriors seems to turn in her direction..

And then Yuuki is shouting.

As all the orcs suddenly snap to attention in her direction, Shaskur is able to continue forward unnoticed. Her eyes twinkle slightly in anticipation. Muttering another few words under her breath the darkness around her seeps forward up along her arms and into her twin daggers, making them appear almost like black tears in space as they absorb the light. As the orcs start to move forward, Shaskur leaps down and rushes forward towards the Shaman.
Liminality
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"Most likely The Hound." The woman answers Nureha as she inquires about deities, before rubbing her chin at something Mikage said. "Someone sneaking near Orcs? Orcs aren't known for being sneaking. They're not Goblins." She remarks to Mikage.

Yuuki suddenly jumps out, and the five Orcs look her way. "Rrrruh?" They turn to her, then to eachother. They seem to talk in a language that nobody here seems to understand at all. The two in the front then heft up these enormous clubs, and the Shaman and the two other remaining Bodyguards seem to pick up the pace, trying to get past Yuuki while the front Orcs try to cut her off and halt her from chasing.

Mizuki uses this opportunity to jump out of the sparse bushes on the mountainside. The back Orc spots them just in time however, and they're answered with a club being swung for their midsection while her blades cut at its arm, causing those red marks to appear once more! Miyako jumps over the club, being able to footstool it before bringing the shadowed blade down along the massive Orc's chest, cutting its health further down!

Gwen moves to the forefront, cutting off the Shaman's attempt to get away, bringing her shield and blade to bear and cutting at him. But the other remaining bodyguard intercepts the blow and catches it with its muscled arms, right before it suddenly jumps and in a rather martial manner, tries to hook-kick her! It's not wielding any weapons...

Amalthea intercepts this attack and plants her feet and her shield after bumrushing it. BlackRose cuts behind the original two that Yuuki engaged with, striking one at the tendons and causing it to fall to one leg for a moment! The other leg goes out when Hifumi joins in, spraying it with a fierce jet of water.

Yuuki gets boosted for the next round thanks to Nureha, while Reika traps the Shaman, halting it from moving and using its magics for the time being. Shiruba fires past her, nailing one of the Bodyguards facing Yuuki with their arrow. None of them appear to be wearing much in the way of protective armor. And Kaydon joins in, leaping into the fray and cutting its belly! Shaskur leaps for the Shaman and cuts! The first vine of the Thorn Bind Hostage bursting and causing that damage to tick!

The Orcs are roughly at half already, thanks to the multi-pronged attack. But they find a moment to retaliate. The massive club wielding ones facing Yuuki are having trouble moving, debiliating status effects on them causing their movements to be slow thanks to the cutting moves earlier. Those massive clubs threatening the Adventurers.

The martial artist pair closer to the Shaman are putting up a bit more of a fight, trying to retaliate to those who'd managed to hit them, while forming up around the Shaman, taking up a proper defensive /formation/.

----

Down below, the Orcs continue to travel the valley, seemingly not not having noticed the trouble the Shaman is in yet. But if the Shaman were to get a signal out of some sorts, it would spell all kinds of bad things for the Adventurers.

Mikage has managed to sneak away from the team, and is now on the hunt for footsteps. She's having remarkable difficulty following these footsteps. But she'll notice they're there. Amidst the monsterously big Orc footsteps... smaller feet. Human sized, almost dainty.
Yuuki
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    Yuuki feels her abilities boosted. Given her position and situation, it's hard to tell who exactly did that to her. So Yuuki just raises her hand and gives a thumbs up, hoping whoever it was sees.

    Yuuki then lowers her body and rushes forward, quickly dashing towards one of those club orcs, the one she had dared and has now found itself slowed by all the debuffs the others helped to apply.

    As her target orc brings its club down towards her, Yuuki does a very quicky step to the side. She avoids the weapon just barely as it impacts the ground beside her. But the close dodge was intentionally timed as the Imp leaps. She quickly lands on top of that swung club, running up its thick width before doing the same up the orc's arm. Finally Yuuki leaps, bending her knee as she brings it up towards the orc's chin.

    After her kneeing, Yuuki launches a kick into the orcs chest to propel her backwards and away to safety, before she skids to a halt and rises again.

    Yuuki grins at the orcs, "So. Who's next?"
Reika
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Reika is still tired, but she still has enough reflex to get out of the way of incoming attacks. The massive clb swings at her, and she hops back, gripping the thethers of the Thorn Bind cage, pulling on them tightly to keep the Shaman from doing anything that could bring in the cavalry.

"You're not doing anything under my watch!" Keeping her mind busy helps stay awake at least. "Take care of the Shaman too!" She got the feeling it might try to get some reinforcements if left alone for too long.
Mikage
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Rama seems to pause, sniffing around in a circle, pawing once as if to indicate something. Mikage, following, crouches down, visibly picking up smaller footprints among those that must have belonged to the orcs.

<< "I've got humanoid footprints here. Too small to be Orc. Going to try to continue following them." >> Mikage reports to the others via chimlink. << "Let me know if I need to fall back and support." >>

Pushing back to her feet, she motions to Rama. "Keep going. We'll catch up with the others once we figure out who this person sneaking around is."
Hifumi
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    Hifumi starts another summoning gesure. "Snakeroot." he calls, and a serpent with small white flowers for eyes, made of roots and scaled in overlapping green leaves wiggles from the ground in a small burst of earth magic. "Get out there and give Nori some backup, get a good bite in on the downed one."

    The snake nods it's head and silently slithers out into combat. Opening it's mouth which seems to be filled with cottowood fluff with thorns for fangs. It gives the orc Nori knocked the leg out from under injecting it's venom.
Gwen
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Gwen is large and upfront she gets some serious attention she goes a good in but no on the target she was hoping to get on. Still, she's got it's their attention.

"A God hand orcs?"

She doesn't get out of the way o this one it catches her fairly notable there' red wireframe from the hit and she does feel it. However, pain is dampened for her in this world she knows she got hit and that enough as she now turns her attention to the Orc that is in her way.

She takes note of the Orc God hands for a moment, her eyes narrow a bit. Smart tactics she finds his concerning her but she has to worry about getting through them so the Shaman can't getaway.



"You two are in the way."

Gwen moves in manoeuvring as she goes and reading for a powerful slash on the Orc she hit before trying to bring him down and leaving the Shaman with far fewer options.
Amalthea
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    There's a grunt as Amalthea's shield absorbs the heavy, dull, impact of a mighty kick. Her arm briefly goes numb from the blow, but she holds her shield high and ready as she finally draws her weapon.
    Flipping her sword in her grasp to hold it by the blade, she swings to beat and batter anything in her path with the pommel and cross-guard.
    "Slay them to the last, before they can signal any others!" She calls out, flipping her blade again to try and hack and slash the biggest and baddest of the orcy boys remaining.
Shaskur
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Gwen moves in and is suddenly a wall blocking and distracting the Orc Shaman, while Reika traps it. This provides an ideal opportunity as Shaskur runs in low and then slashes upward with her daggers and the first of the thorn binds is severed.

Continuing upwards after her attack she leaps into the air, flipping above to position herself for another dagger strike as she plummets once again at the Shaman. Uttering another word the concentrated darkness on with her daggers starts to bleed off in waves which will leach into whatever they pierce.
Mizuki
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    The orc turns to face her while she's in midair! "Oh shit!" With her daggers stuck in the orc's arm, though, she uses superhuman strength to pivot her body around them, lifting the rest of her body up just in time so that the club only grazes her midsection and legs.

    For a perilous split-second that feels like several seconds, she's perched, precariously, by the daggers, upside-down above the orc's arm.

    She leaves the left dagger and tries to grab his arm with her left hand, claws extended for extra pain as she pulls herself down, lands in a crouch next to the massive orc's legs, and adopts the position for the Flower Cut sword arte, charging her sword with Earth magic and slashing at his ankle!
Kaydon
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Kaydon doesn't have any intention of holding still and letting orcs whack him. He rolls away from one, and then hops over the back of another, rolling across his back, before landing on a knee and slashing his knife upwards, removing the orc's throat with the sharp edge of the Ka-BAR. The blade goes back into its sheath just as quickly, and Kaydon looks at the next target.

He thrusts himself forward, slamming his armored boot into the chest of one of the orcs, slamming him to the ground with impressive force, and swiping his blade, cleaving the head of the orc from his body and turning him into sparkles.

"Come on you bastards! Come and get me!"
Shiruba
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Normally archers stay to the back lines of a fight. But if she did that Shiruba would loose sight on the main threat. That means she's going to have to take a bit of a risky course of action to get the bead on their mark. She'll just leave the one with the poison to trickle away his life while others beat him up.

The wolfgirl kicks off the rocky ground and sprints into the fray, even as she's readying another arrow. One of the meathead orcs is in her path though, and directs one of the swings of his big burly club at her. With a growl Shiruba leans back and a bit of water swirls around her feet, the slickness keeping her momentum as she ducks under the burly weapon and slides right between the orc's equally burly legs.

As soon as she's clear she pitchs into a sideways roll to get upright and land on one knee, bow already raised upward. Small krackles arc along the string as it's drawn. She fires the arrow at one of the brawler bodyguards, midair bursting into a full fledged bolt of lightning, aiming to nail him with the debilitating shocks so he can't quickly retaliate against the people going after his boss. "Time for you to ride the lightning!"
Miyako
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            "Ye ha followed a man for a god, Red Earl, as the Lord of Wrong and Right,
        But when day is done with the setting sun, will ye follow into Night?"

    Miyako practically tapdances along the orc's club, swift jabs at its face keeping its attention - the feathers affixed to her blade tossing into its line of sight to blind it to Mizuki's attack - and when it takes a more savage swing, she circles around it with a quick bounce off the valley wall to launch a hard thrust straight in at its back with the shadowed blade. "Face the night, Red Earl! And as sure as the sun doth set, so will ye fall!"
BlackRose
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Using her sword as a method of blocking, BlackRose keeps the orcs at bay, not wanting to get clobbered by them. "Ungh!" She grunts, keeping herself from getting a bit of a headache from those clubs. "You won't get me so easily!" She yells once she recovers and gets back into her fighting stance.

"You may be bigger than me, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall!" BlackRose shouts as she attempts to leap from a nearby ledge and stab at the orc's stomach with her blade.
Liminality
Overworld - -17 - 11 - 0

Yuuki rushes up the slowed Orc's massive club, kneeing it in the face. A splatter of light burst from its mouth as it leans back from the impact of the knee-ing, before the kick follows suit and slams into its chest, crushing it to the ground and leaving it for the rest to take care of. Miyako comes in, jumping in and ripping it apart on its descent towards the ground, stabbing through its back and shattering it.

Reika rushes in, grabbing the Shaman by the Thorns and ensuring the creature can't do anything else. They're ambushing it before it really gets a chance to do anything like this!

Hifumi calls forth the Snakeroot, winding and binding the Orc, poisoning it further, slowing it deeper. Lowering its HP. Gwen then comes in, slashing at it as it falls to its knees, cutting it at the neck and causing it to explode in light. Amalthea's shield continues to hold under the battering of the enemy. Her blade hacks and slashes at the massive Orc before her, winding ribbons of red light across its body. The defenses are broken, and Shaskur gets in there, cutting another vine, bursting more damage through the Shaman's body - its HP chunking down.

Mizuki manages to get in under the first Club wielding orc, and with her Flower Cut, manages to breach its defenses and rip through its remaining HP bar. BlackRose joins in, ripping into the remaining HP pieces. Shiruba attempts to use their Thunder Fury, but the martial artist actually manages to use what looks like a sword arte, its fists shining and blowing it away with an air-based move, right before Kaydon swipes his blade and cuts that extended arm off, and slams it to the ground!

A few blows pass, and the HP bars of the remaining ones shatter, along with them with it. Akumeiji finally runs up, a lot slower than the Adventurers, and pants. "Boy... you people truly are efficient." She remarks, staring at the remains of light flickering up into the air. "Aww. I never got to see the ritual." She then remarks, before touching her chest. "Phew. At least we stopped them." She notes.

Right before she looks up into the air.

----

Mikage manages to continue tracking, though the traces start to get faint and hard to follow on this terrain. It's strange though - Rama is tracking by smell, and even the feline is having trouble with this. Eventually though, at the last moment, she spot what looks like a woman wearing a black Kimono and with black hair sneaking around a rock.

----

There's a sudden burst that rises up into the air from near the Shaman, reaching up to the clouds, and causing the purple-and-yellow swirls to suddenly rip away, clearing the skies.

----

Mikage manages to initial INSPECT just for a moment, but it flickers in and out. All she can catch is one thing. That of the Winged icon.
Mikage
Overworld - -17 - 11 - 0

Rama is usually a solid tracker, with Mikage's own skills only aiding here and there where it is needed to get the adolescent cat back on track. However, this proves more difficult than she would have initially expected. "Damnit, it's like chasing a ghost." The lynx ends up turned around for a moment, then sniffs at the air, picking up the scent a second time before charging off after it over the rocks.

Just beyond the edge of the rocks, there is a descent, which her foot catches, sending Miki skidding down, with rocks following after. Rama manages to stay above, though he looks down, worriedly.

She just manages to catch that glimpse of someone escaping around the rocks, but the ground is too loose beneath her to get her footing and give chase. There is just enough time to run an INSPECT, but it seems to glitch. "What the..." She stares at it as it flickers out a second later.

Looking up, she sees something rise up into the air from the direction of the others. << "Was that you guys? Is everyone okay?" >> She pauses, transmitting a sound of a few grunts as she climbes her way back up across the stones, giving one more glance behind her to see if she can spot the retreating form. Nothing. << "Spotted a woman. Appeared human. Black hair, black kimono. I got an inspect off on them, but it started glitching. I did spot that they have the same wing icon as an Adventurer." >>

Rama paces at the top of the rise as Mikage climbs back up. She may have missed out on the fighting, but she at least got a new mystery to bring back.
Shiruba
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Well that turned out less dramatic than she had hoped. But it distracted the kung-fu orc long enough for Kaydon to cut him down so it's all good in the end. "That's one way to cut him down to size," she says to the gnollish were fang with a smile, tail wagging a bit without her really realizing it. "Fighting harder only gets so far, Miss Akumeiji, so it's best to fight smarter as well. So now wha--" Cue the burst of energy from where the Shaman was, and the skies starting to clear as she looks up. "--Wow, was that suppose to happen? Did we just beat some kind of Boss?" Pause. "I mean, other than being a boss of the orcs. Boss with a Capital B." Which probably just confuses Akumeiji, if she even hears it.
Hifumi
Overworld - -17 - 11 - 0

    Hifumi pets the dragon on his shoulder "I know I didn't send you out, but none of them were weak to fire and you know fire is my least powerful. So yes Snakeroot and Nori got to play." he says and pets the dragon behind it's eyeridges. "You do the scouting, they do the fighting remember?" he smiles as the little humanoid and snake return to him. "You two can go back, good job. I'll find you some like fertilizer or something." he still doesn't really know what to give them as treats but he's a good summoner and treats hsi summons like friends and not like tools.
Yuuki
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    Yuuki watches as the rest of their team eradicate the orcs. She pouts a little, "Awww. I wanted to fight them some more." She turns her head, looking at the orc army further down in the valley. She taps the tip of her boot against the ground as she seems to be considering something.

    But Yuuki is distracted by pretty lights!

    The Imp turns her head to watch as that light shoots up into the air and clears away the clouds. Yuuki blinks, before running up to Akumeiji. She looks at the Mage, wondering, "Soooo, uh, was the shaman orc trying to make it more cloudier and it backfired when we stopped it? And what were the clouds anyway? That was not a normal sky."

    Yuuki frowns, "This quest is confusing me."
Liminality
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Akumeiji touches her glasses for a moment, making them glint. "Hmm, no, it had not executed its ritual yet. I don't think that was the Orc's deed." She proposes, "Though I could be wrong. In the past, Orc Shamans have used rituals to break down the difficult to breach walls of human cities." She explains to the team at hand, before looking in the direction of the Orc Army.

Which is still moving towards the Ninetails Dominion.

"I can safely get back. Here." She grabs a series of money pouches and offers it to the team. "Take your payment, and feel free to chase the Orcs on the way to the cities. I believe the other Adventurers and Landers will be able to handle the rest of that army - especially since they will no doubt be disrupted the moment they realize there is no ritual spell coming."
Reika
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Reika wasn't far from the Shaman when things bursts out. She eeps and shields her mouth from breathing any of it, just in case, as she hops back. The Shaman was taken care of, so she doesn't need to stick too close anymore. "What's going on?"

She blinks as it seems the skies clear up isntead, making her hmm, looking at Yuuki at her reaction "Maybe? Seems like it at least." She phews "I'm glad that's all it was then." She's still tired, and looking the part too. She looks... lost in a way, unsure where to go from here.
Kaydon
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"I think we're all a bit confused." Kaydon offers to Yukki, taking a moment to swing his blade downwards as if to clear off some non-existant blood before he sheaths it, "I have a feeling that's just the start of this quest though, not the end."

The way the sky is reacting kinda helps to sell his thoughts on the matter. Though Akumeiji does seem to think that things are going well, and that the group has succeeded, "Thank you." He offers to her, after their payment, "But be wary because I don't think this whole thing is over yet."
Shaskur
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As Shaskur lands her next strike she leaps back to give her some room. Over the chimlink she hears Mikage mention she is following something. Shaskurs eyes widen in concern as she quickly look around, but does not see any white lynxes.

"Oh no." She whispers, and bursts into a sprint.

Battle now forgotten she runs out away from the battle, leaping to ledges as she goes. She scans the ground looking for signs of passage, but does not see any that are recognizable. Hopefully she ran off in the right direction.. And then there is a burst of energy from the site of the battle, casting the ground in different shades of light.

Hearing Mikage on the chimlink once more Shaskure replies << "Mikage. Where are you?" >> as she continues to leap from ridge to ridge along the valley. After a few moments she realizes she must have ran in the wrong direction and backtracks in time to receive a bag of coins.
Miyako
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    The orcs finished off for the moment, Miyako gives her naginata a twirl and plants its butt in the dirt. "Well done," she offers to Mizuki with a little smile and an offer of her hand. Then she turns to look for Blackrose and make sure she's alright.

    Still, the sight of the sky is still worrying. Whatever was going on is, apparently, still happening. "Purple and yellow, sailor's not mellow, huh? Yeah, I'm not feeling terribly mellow right now, I'll admit." She tilts her head back, peering up at the sky, trying to see what she can discern from it.
Nureha
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Nureha stayed out of the majority of the action, as the other adventurers had things well in hand. She looks up at the sky briefly, which have cleared and no longer show the purple and yellow swirls. "..Curious." she murmurs, gathering her payment and her personnel before retreating.
BlackRose
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Looking to Miyako, BlackRose smiles and wipes her sword a little, although it's just for show pretty much. "I'm OK for the most part. Those orcs were big, but we got the upper hand!" Her smile fades as she sees that the sky is changing color and it's not in a good way either. "OK, something's really not right here!" If she wasn't suspicious before, BlackRose definitely is now!
Mizuki
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    They cut through the orc and it shatters into polygons. Mizuki spins around and in one mostly-smooth motion, grabs her other dagger that was lodged into the orc out of the air as it falls, then sheaths both blades before the glowing lights have even all gone.

    That looked badass, right?

    Her ears perk as Akumeiji approaches, and she turns to face the NPC. Tilting her head slightly at the comment of not seeing the ritual... but she can't blame a scholar for that, right? "Maybe the shaman dropped a book or scroll with the ritual?" She glances around... and then something happens to sky.

    "...That's good, right? That some of the weird clouds are gone?" Akumeiji suggests they go slaughter orcs now. "...Is this a fantasy game or a war movie? Oh well, guess we can get our Rurouni Kenshin the OVA on..." she adds with a smirk, "That we can..."

    She's not actually going to move until more of the group goes, though.

    <<"There was an Adventurer here? You think they were helping the orcs? Maybe they were just curious. You say they left, by what, teleport crystal? We got the shaman and his bodyguards, yeah.">>
Mikage
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<< "I went East, back the direction the Shaman came from. Down the slope a bit. You'll see Rama before you see me." >> Mikage reports, her voice sounding a little strained as she makes the climb back up the incline. Rama is still quite visible, standing at the top, pacing back and forth. In fact, Shaskur might hear Rama before seeing him, as the lynx gives a yowl.

"I'm fine, Rama. Just about there." Her hand clambers up over the edge, still in human form despite the fact that her Were Fang form would likely have been at least some help in climbing.

<< "Didn't see where they went. They were really hard to track to begin with." >> She replies to Mizuki. << "Just around a rock bend, and then I couldn't track them anymore." >>
Yuuki
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    Yuuki blinks as Akumeiji responds to her. That does not clear things up at all.

    Still. There's loot!

    Yuuki takes the bag of coins, tossing it into the air a couple of times with a smile before slipping it behind her back and into her inventory, "Thanks! If you have any more counting down sand clocks or localized aurora borealis, get the word out! I'm happy to help. And to hopefully figure out what's up with it all. Speaking of..."

    Yuuki then turns around, "Hey Nureha, do you know-" She's already gone. Yuuki blinks, "How does she DO that?"

    Anyway. It seems like some of the others are keen to chase that orc army too, so Yuuki takes a few steps down the path into the valley, "If we hurry, we can catch up to the orcs just as they reach our own army. We can hit them from both sides! They'll be ruined. Let's go!"

    Yuuki starts to give chase.
Gwen
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Gwen finishes up the Orc she was locked in combat with and doesn't even skip a beat there she makes sure it is done. The Orc explodes into shards and now she'll turn her attention to the Shaman but there's no time for her to do anything as friends nad allies just rip the Orc apart. She's moving in to make sure it's dead she'll pause for a moment at the pillar of light that concerns Gwen as she looks to Akumeiji for a moment as she joins them.

"Hopefully that's the end of it but maybe the orc had some sort of dead man's function to the ritual?"

She pauses for a moment she looks to the Mage.

"Are you certain about that? Akumeiji ? Very well but if you run into another other issues? Please let us know and a monster manual now that's a project I'd be interested in. It would be a benefit to Adventures like me and the people of the Land as well."
Shiruba
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"Sub-boss then," Shiruba corrects herself when people point out this was probably not the end and longer chain of quests awaits ahead of them. For tonight though the matter seems to be handled. And paid for their assistance, that's always a bonus. "Yeah, don't be afraid to ask if you need help tracking monsters down to study and whatnot."
Liminality
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"Yes, I am fairly sure." She answers Gwen with a smile, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side. "I don't see any more Orcs, and it looks like staying on the path we took will be safe. I'd just slow you down." She proposes to her. "As for the Monster Manual - I'll keep you all in mind. We could always use some extra eyes and ears to help us fill it out."
Hifumi
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    Hifumi looks around "Oh hey... so Adventurers? I'm working on getting an inn and resturant going so.. if anyone has some skill with construction or are good at speaking with the rich and powerful I'd love a minute to talk with you." he says, Snapdragon giving a little puff of flame and floral scented smoke to emphasize his anouncement.
Shaskur
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After Mikage replies on the chimlink then Shaskur is off once again, now heading in the correct direction. With no seeming urgency in the reply she received Shaskur takes things a little more carefully as she hops from ridge to ridge. Then after some time she hears a yowl and hones in on the sound until she spots Rama pacing back and forth. Mikage not far below, also climbing up.

Giving a little wave if anyone looks her way she makes her way over in Rama's direction. Remembering that she is still holding her daggers she quickly sheaths them and brushes herself off. Then with one final hop she is at the ridge with Rama and kneels down, hand outstretched.

While she does this she calls to Mikage, "Are we sure whoever it was you were tracking isn't circling around?" And while it is clear Shaskur is focused on Rama, she still has a degree of tension in case she needs to act quickly.
Reika
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Reika looks to Hifumi "Well I was doing advertisements before the Apocalypse..." She offers simply, but doesn't have much mind right now to do much more. She needs to rest... but she feels like she can't either. The hamster wheel is spinning too fast right now in her head.
Shiruba
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"I want to know when there's actual food finally~" Shiruba calls back to Hifumi. One track mind sometimes when it comes to things to eat.
Miyako
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    Miyako nods to Blackrose, smiling lightly as she sees the girl unharmed. "Good, good. Glad we all made it through. Now... hmm. I dunno about you, but it just... doesn't feel /done/ to me." She shrugs, watching Yuuki run after the rest of the orcs. "Are we all going to stand around talking, or are we going to let her take them all on by herself?"
Mizuki
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    Mizuki takes her share of the loot and turns to Shiruba. "Did you miss the news?! People figured out how to make food with taste awhile ago! But you need Cooking skill to do it."
Hifumi
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    Hifumi smiles "Bento lunches for anyone who's helping." he says in a singsong tone. "Also, I'm happy to assist with orc slaying but I mean I have priorities if they're not going to attack the Landers then getting some help with my resturant before running off is important."
Shiruba
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Shiruba rolls her eyes. "Duh, I know about that. But that's not an actual resturant!"
BlackRose
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Looking to Miyako, BlackRose says, "I'm willing to back her up if she needs it!" She holds her sword tightly and points it at the orcs. "What about you, what do you think?"
Gwen
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Gwen says "I could help you with that I think."

She notes she might be able to spare some help to Hifumi and his project she sees no raqosn not to and it might help build her own trade network too after all. Then at the offer of food. "Well twist my arm why don't you?"
Mizuki
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    Mizuki umms, "Uhh, they ARE going to attack the landers, though." Well, the ones headed towards Lander settlements, anyway. "Guess I'll see the rest of you back at Dun Loireag then." And sshe ninja runs after Yuuki!
Mikage
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Just as Shaskur arrives, Mikage is pulling herself up and over the ledge. She's a little dusty and has a sliver of health missing, but nothing to be overly concerned about. It's likely the result of tumbling down into the rocky area below. She holds a hand up, catching her breath, and then pushes herself up onto her feet.

Rama, on the other hand, seems relieved enough now that his owner has rejoined them, so he bumps his head into Shaskur's hand and then gives a nuzzle against her leg before sniffing around again. All signs of the mysterious woman seem to have vanished into thin air.

"It was almost like she vanished into thin air, just about the time the clouds parted." Mikage wasn't there to see what caused the sudden shift, but she can make some connections. "We should get back to the others." There is still confusion on her features, but the tracking seems to be at a dead end.
Hifumi
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    Shakes his head "Well if my home is still to be invaded and the orcs aren't going to be breaking up. I need to go make sure that as many of them are safe as possible. Anyone who wants to help my place is in Dun Loireag." he starts jogging after where the orcs were headed.
Shaskur
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Shaskur happily pets Rama for a time, eyes glittering in pleasure. As Mikage mentions they should get back Shaskur stands and nods. "The orcs were defeated, we outnumbered them." She pauses a moment in thought before continuing, "I didn't see exactly what caused the burst of light. It seemed linked to their defeat, but the others will know the details."

After the exchange Shaskur happily walks along with Mikage and Rama as they return to the remainder of the group.
Miyako
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    Miyako nods to Blackrose and claps the girl on the shoulder. "Aye, let it not be said that we left a friend to danger, hey?" She grins and looks challengingly to the rest. "Anyone else?" She doesn't bother to wait, but turns to run after Yuuki and the remaining orcs.
Kaydon
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"People can make real food," Kaydon chimes in along with Shiruba's argument, "But not everyone can. And people like me need others to make it for us. Lest we die of hunger." He doesn't know if that's actually something that can happen.