Duty Session 162: Undead Defense Force

Undead have been a problem. Jazz hadn't actually been involved with it up to this point, distracted as she was first by Yuugen and then by events around the discovery of Tsushima Island.

Having heard that a column of undead were again moving on one of the Lander townships, she's been dragged out of her self-imposed isolation by Uta and more or less dropped in the middle of the village, alongside the oth4ers that had assembled to defend it. She sits on the ground for a moment, then rights herself and brushes off her coat.

"Well. Undead, huh? Okay, then."

Kauchemar is here as well, mostly out of her own curiousity about the superior undead. And it looks good for her Guild's reputation. Though she might be hard to recognize as she's leaning against a wall with her instrument in her less seen human form, cloak over her head.

It may seem like idle strumming in the background, but the Bard is actually playing close to subliminal tones to help encourage the Landers' to cooperate.

Goldenblade has assembled up for another mission of undead fighting, arriving at some town she's never heard of before and taking a look around. Actually, any town we went to would have been an unfamiliar name, including a few she's already been to. She needs to do a better job of paying attention. Maybe she's already starting to go senile? She nods a greeting to the other players, offering a smile to Jazu and looking around the town to get a feel for what sort of resources might be available. She'll head over to one of the wealthier-looking Landers, and ask about supplies and building materials in the town. She seems pretty current on prices, too, and there's some earnest discussions going on.

After spending much of the last few months avoiding the Ninetails Dominion, someone had finally dragged Kita away from the Isle of Beginnings and back to the place where much of her terror and panic had started. The black mage does not look happy about it, either. She keeps looking around, as if expecting something to jump out of the growing shadows.

"Don't underestimate the undead army." Kita murmurs, her hat tipped low and a wary expression on her features. Normally, the Imp is quite the social person, but right now, she seems to be on edge. Rather than trying to physically help with the defenses, she swipes her fingers, pulling out a guitar.

Plucking out a few notes, the girl starts into a rousing song with a major key, complete with an accompaniment of her stomping boots to form a rhythm line. It's the sort of song that might be played along with trying to bolster those readying to fight. Hopefully, it should draw a few Landers out, who can be put to work on defending their own town.

    "Yes, Jazz," Uta begins. "You've been wandering around a lot of late, and you need a change of pace. A vacation." Uta explains. "And, well, nothing like a bunch of murderous skeletons about to raze a village to distract your mind from mountain trekking and sea travel!"

    She seems really proud of her speech.

    "Now, let's get this thing started. Just... I don't know, go speak to a Lander or something. Like this." She approaches a nearby shop where a carpenter is at work.

    "Hi, Mr. Carpenter, welcome you!"

    "Hello, Mr. Carpenter!" Uta beams. "See, my friend, over there, and I..." she gestures in Jazz's general direction. "...would need some help in fortifying your village against the undead troops. I'm sure you've heard of them. Actaully..." She sniffs the air, twice. "...I'm sure you've smelled of them. Man, they're really close." She shakes her head. "Anyway! This is, as you can understand, for your own safety. And if not... just look at that Undine over there." She points at Jazz with both open palms. "Would you say no to such a pretty, cute, adorable little thing?" She leans over, and pouts. "Do you want to make those saucer eyes cry?" She leans even closer, almost touching the Lander's face. She whispers, "...whould you, you /monster/?"

The Lander takes one look at Jazz. Another look at Uta. Another look at Jazz. He vigorously shakes his head. Such weaponized tweeness is a thing to behold and oh man is Jazz EVER giving Uta the DIRTIEST of looks. In fact, she is so consumed by fuming at Uta, and storming over to jab her with a finger, "Don't you DARE," that she completely misses the sale of materials going on behind and around her. Still, for the most part, she does acknowledge the other adventurers present. A glqance towards Kauchemar, but a more warm greeting (for her, anyway) to Kita. "Good to see you," she tells her. A polite bow towards Goldenblade. "Oba-san," she offers, politely, then it's off to work on the defenses.

The villiage has numerous choke points and potentially defensible positions, there's just the matter of selecting the best of them and getting the Landers aboard in the first place.

Jazz points her fingers towards path that leads along the way towards a Lander shrine. "We could make a stand *there*," she muses...

Goldenblade is a bit surprised more of the Landers aren't helping with the fortifications, but for the ones that are, she's got a number of projects she's working on. Or, rather, a number of fortification structures she's helping to build, directing the chokepoints to be walled up to prevent undead from getting into the town easily. Brick and mortal would be a favorite here, but it's mostly stone and wood, she's doing her best with what's available. "What we really need is a huge brick-making oven," she opines as she makes sure all the choke points are fortified.

When the song finishes, Kita lightly lets the guitar droop, hanging from the strap around her shoulder. She gives a tip of her witch's hat to Jazuhanzu, but otherwise, the Imp seems too on edge to add any kind of cordial greeting to much of anyone else, even those she considers friends.

"That's probably as much as I can do." She unslings the guitar, then goes through the menu commands to stow it back away into her inventory. The unfortunate part is, that her own anxiety is enough to cause a few of the volunteers to look more than a little wary about what they'd just signed up to do.

"Don't look at me, I'm an artist not a military engineer. If you want the defenses to be pretty, I can help, otherwise... I don't know, talk to Goldenblade." Yep, Kita is distinctly not helpful at this point. The coming night causing her nerves to start playing tricks on her, causing her to jump at random sounds.

As materials and some Landers come forth Kauchemar pauses and nods towards Kita. From one musician to another.

Then she goes into a much more boisterous and energetic piece, playing a rousing rendition of 'The Builder' to set the pace of work and encourage the Landers to help.

Uta steps on a makeshift podium. Being no builder herself, she decides to leverage her assets. The Landers seem to be particularly responsive to songs, so... maybe...

She clears her voice, tilts her head up, breathes in, and begins...

    "We do need fortification,
    we do need access control:
    no dark carcass in the town square,
    creatures made of skulls and bone!
    Hey! Creatures! Leave the town alone!
    All in all we just need another brick in the wall.
    All in all we just need some more bricks in that wall."

"...did... did you just.."

Jazz's facepalm is nearly hard enogh to leave an indent in her face worthy of Akatsuki kicking Naotsugu there.

Still, she settles in for helping as she can.

"Drowned spirits, I call upon thee, rise from the darkest corners of the seas and come to help put ... another brick in the wall. God damn it, Uta..."

Indeed, a from the nearby well, a trio of ghostly apparations rise up to the shock of a few of the Landers watching, but soon they're ... assisting with the building. Solid enough to move things back and forth. Ghostly, keening apparations of sailors.

Soon, night is falling and the Landers are taking to cover, leaving the Adventurers in darkness.

Jazz lets out a breath. "Well. Let's do this."

Goldenblade is momentarily distracted by the folks Kita sends over, and she starts to say, "I'm no-..." then decides that if she can build to Japan's earthquake-derived construction code, she can probably plan a fortification as strong as the village can make with it's limitations in time and materials.

"Yes," she says, and directs them to the next task, which is a series of standing torches encircling the village, far enough out to give some advance warning if the undead show up. She'll go out with them, ostensibly to cover them if bad guys do show up, mainly she's there to supervise the overlapping circles of light from the tiki-type torches.

With night settling in and the Landers retreating to their homes for safety, Kauchemar finally shifted back to her Were Fang form. Stretched her arms over her head. "Aaaah that is so much better." She has gotten so accustomed to this body the human one feels... cramped.

She proceeds to summon several will-o-wisps and place them to illuminate around the defenses. They don't need to see out in the impossible mists, just where they'll be fighting.

With the Landers falling back, Kita seems to pace with an uneasy energy. The mage prefers to stay behind the cover of sturdy walls or at least sturdy people. Despite their preperations, this still feels exposed. "Let's see if we can't bring some light."

She takes out her spellbook, flipping to a page with a sigil of a lizard on it, then begins to trace out symbols in the air. In front of her, a circle forms, flickering with flame that then merges into a fire lizard. "Get the torches and lanterns lit."

The lizard looks at her, then flicks its tongue. "Go." She flicks with her fingers, sending the lizard off, scrambling around and blowing little tufts of flame out wherever is needed to get the lights lit and ward off the night.

    "That's the spirit, Jazz!", replies Uta. "Three of them. Nice."

    As the night settles, Uta joins the others in their efforts to go patroling the area. "Time to illuminate the darkness... hmm..." She picks up a stick, and begins intoning one of the Wave Artes that is supposed to illuminate objects.

    The stick stays opaque for a bit, but as the song proceeds, it grows more and more luminous. Until, that is, Uta somehow switches the song from the proper Wave Arte to singing the earworm from the bird bard of the still water bandits duty.

    This, unfortunately, has the effect of making the stick go completely dark. Absorbing light instead of giving it off. But- no, wait, it goes luminous again. No, dark. It... it behaves like a broken neon light. Flickering on and off.

    Uta shakes her head to clear it, and frowns at the result. "...I've made a broken glowstick. Dang."

As the lights go up, lit through various sources both magical nad natural, a gentle, wispy fog begins to crowd around the adventurers.

Jazz, finishing lighting a torch or two with a wave of her hand, making noisea of dismay and exertion as she climbs up the side of a ladder to place it. She is wee and not made for climbing ladders, really.

"Erf.. ugh.. Almost got it."

Unfortuantely, this was made for a more.. normal sized person and the latch for the torch is just a little out of reach. "Erf," She hops up, mmanaging to slide it into place.

"*GOD* I HATE BEING SHORT."

As she looks out from the laddertop, though, she pauses to observe the rapidly thickening fog. "I think I see something..."

Just as she says it, multiple, skin-sloughing, rotting corpses lunge into view, howling in a ghastly chorus that would send chills down the spine of lesser beings.

Or, you know, not. It's actually kiind of scary sounding.

When the ghouls arrive, Goldenblade is ready. A quick mantra and her two blades are limned with flames, and she'll form up with the others to halt the waves of enemies, twirling and slashing wildly. She's almost overwhemed for a moment, but the flames on her swords flare, and she's cut her way free of one knot of enemies, leaving them in a circle of charred corpses.

Kita looks over towards Jazuhanzu, lightly pushing her glasses up on her nose. "You could try working on an ice spell that makes a step ladder." She suggests, unknowning of the fact that magical disney characters would do just that in the real world later in the same year. "Or you could just forget about it, and let it go." But her player knows...

When the ghouls begin to stagger forward, Kita is more than happy to stay safely behind the defensive walls of the village. "I'll try to slow them down a bit." The fire lizard from before hops up onto her shoulder, and she traces out a symbol which flickers blue, likely the magical rune for 'ice'.

The lizard summon jumps through it, shifting from red to blue as it lands beyond the walls. Then, it takes a deep breath, and expels a large sheet of ice where the ghouls are approaching, likely making it harder for them to get a good footing.

Seeing that most of this group is casters of some kind Kauchemar instead takes the frontline with Goldenblade to face the first wave head on.

Ravenous whailing ghouls charge, but their swipes reach no flesh as the summoner's Binder Shield intercepts their attacking blows. Then floats out of the way as Kauchemar opens her mouth inhumanly wide to bombard them with her own raging hellscream.

    "By the Goddesses! What is wrong with me today?!", Uta screams as she accidentally makes a second strobe light stick. One can tell it's a second light stick because she's still holding the first one in her other hand. "That dang earworm...", she mutters.

    The fog comes rolling in, and apparently, so do the corpses.

    Uta listens to the chant. She proceeds to do the following, in this order:

1) Get chills down the spine.
2) Stop.
3) Look up.
4) Kind of start very low-key headbanging (more like, slight-heald-tilting) along the beat of the ghastly chorus.
5) Tap her foot and mouth something which seems to scan nicely with the melody.
6) Beam, and rush for the invading army.
7) Leap and spin in the air, and begin punching, kicking, ducking and jumping among the enemies, hitting them with the glowsticks as if they were a living xylophone, the emitted notes adding a compelling melody for people to fight along on top of the choir. The lightsticks even have the decency of lighting up brighter than usual whenever she strikes her target.

There's so many of them! For everyone that's struck down, it feels like two more take their place (though they get struck down too). Jazz is about to say something to Kita, but then the attack begins. She braces herself against the ladder, lightning crackling at her fingertips, but then the spirits she summoned earlier return to her to protect her, sensing her need for defense and they just sort of get in the way.

..."no, move you damnable things!"

She flails at them and then falls off the lader in a heap to the ground.

"..augh!" She is able to lightning bolt the ghoul that stands over her, quickly, sending it to the ground in a smoking husk, but by the time she's up, the fight has already evolved. Now more ghouls ar earriving, backed by the skeletal warriors of the undead legion, blades drawn and moving with purpose. They rattle their way into the fight.

Even as the horde begins to rush in their direction, Kita seems to have no interest in joining in direct fighting. Instead, she remains back behind the others in some measure of relative safety.

Laying her hand flat to her spellbook, she summons forth an orb of inky darkness, which is then chucked forward, forming into a barrier around herself which causes her to appear almost grayscale inside of it's protective aura. "I'll keep them blocked off here, take them out while they try to take down the shield."

The close confines between herself and the undead is enough to have her hands trembling slightly, breath a bit quicker than normal. Hopefully, the others will take care of them before they can get through that barrier, but only time will tell. Though there is a flighty look in Kita's eyes, that suggests she may just be thinking about running.

Goldenblade nods as Kauchemar joins her on the front lines, slashing and cutting through the ghouls, and suddenly they're joined by another wave of ghouls, this time backed up by skeletal warriors. Goldenblade frowns, stomps a foot into the ground, and it's like a very isolated earthquake, the ghouls around her losing their footing. They quickly fall to her flaming blades, and then she's into their backfield, stabbing and slashing like a whirlwind. There may be a lot of them, but they don't take too many hits before going down, and Goldenblade is more than able to deliver the damage.

Ghouls go done, but more come with their archer backup... And Kauchemar grins devilishly even as her shield intercepts a few arrows. "Stay. Help defend." The Nightmare draw her ghostly sword, and takes off at a proverbial gallop into the night. One so fast that she is Blinking in and out of view as she dances through the enemy ranks. It also distorts just where her voice is singing from.

" o/~ A new world right before our eyes. But who knows what is truth or lies.
Somebody told me this is a dream, stuck in a world nobody has seen
And all we can do is dance along... o/~ "

That's when Kauchemar comes back into view BEHIND the archer line, not giving them a chance to realize she's stopped before sending her haunted sword smashing through their line!

" o/~ TO THE NIGHTMARE'S SONG o/~ "

    Uta does a backflip after her last impact, and watches as more undead approach. The forces gather, and the final battle is unto them. Her eyes narrow, scrutinize the battlefield with burning intensity. Every movement, every positioning, every relocation... and when the pattern seems to satisfy her, she nods. Once, dramatic, abrupt. "Now," she mutters to herself.

    Her operatic voice pierces the air. It's a repeated two-tone call to war, the kind one would expect to hear from a horn or a trumpet rather than being sung. And yet, it rings, all over, all the way to the town.

    * * *

    Within the fortified walls, Mr. Carpenter and a younger boy are loading a catapult.

    "Window panes?", asks the young man, confused. "Why are we loading our catapults with window panes?"

    "The Advnturer Nurse told us to."

    "But why?"

    "They are adventurers. They are strange, but they get things done. Just do as they say."

    "I still don't-"

    They both turn in surprise. Uta's voice can be heard, distant, but clear. A call to war is bellowing.

    "The signal."

    Both Mr.Carpenter and the boy rush to the appointed locations, along with other landers, each of them next to a catapult.

    "LET'S DO THIS!", yells Mr.Carpenter, which gets a chorus of "LET'S DO THIS!" in return from the other Landers.

    "For the adorable saucer-eyed Undine!", yells Mr. Carpenter, and pulls a lever. The catapult is triggered like a whip, and it sends its load of window panes flying in the sky.

    "FOR THE ADORABLE SAUCER-EYED UNDINE!" One after the other, all other catapults project their payload.

    "Wait," asks the young boy from earlier, "I'm not sure this is a good reason to-"

    "Do you want to make her cry, you /monster/?!" yells Mr.Carpenter practically in the boy's face, at which point he whimpers and complies. The last load is launched.

    * * *

    Back in the battlefield, the undead look up. Loads and loads of window panes fly overhead, like flying saucers invading Earth in a sci-fi movie. The issue is, they're just flying overhead, aimed for far past the battlefield.

    "Excellent," smirks Uta, and after a deep inhale, she begins a simple scale, a crescendo. Her usual volume grows to forte, to fortissimo, OH GOODNESS WHAT IS THAT, to-

    The air explodes in a shockwave from her last note, a blast that sends ripples through the air, washes over everyone who can /downright feel the impact, and if that wasn't enough, as the blast reaches the projectiles overhead, reducing them to smithereens and pouring a rain of shrapnel down on the unaware undead.

YOu know, Jazz is about to do something. She has her bubble-shield up aronund her, intercepting the arrows slung her way and deflects ghouls with sprays of water, followed by lightning as she brings the storm and the whirling discs made hardened ice.

...and then there's a call. 'Adorable saucer eyed Undine'.

"... UTA!"

And then a ghoul punts her into a wall and she crashes into it ... a ghoul which is promptly torn to peices by *her* own collection of abyssal, drowned spirits which wail all their own.

... "...ow," she says.

But still, even as she recovers, she can't help but look arouind and notice how *well* everyone is doing. Their numbers have thinned, and indeed, soon collapsed all together.

As the fighting comes to an end, Kita steps backwards, still obviously shaken by the close encounter with quite so many undead. The last time she had faced down this sort of fight, it had not ended well for her. There is still a deer-in-the-headlights look, her eyes searching the night for any possible enemies still lurking in the darkness.

"They're gone..." She murmurs, more to herself than anyone else. "No sigh of the rider..." Perhaps that is who she was truly afraid of running into, though it is hard to tell.

"If we're done, I'm going to head inside." She has no interest in lingering, hoping that the people of the village can take care of things on their own from here on out.

Is that the sound of ... catapults? Kauchemar looks up in brief confusion, but when she sees what is hurtling into the air and recalls Uta's duel. "Ooooh" She quickly recalls her Binder Shield to her.

Then strolls towards the rest of the group oh so casually through the shard shower like a spring rain with the shield over her head for an umbrella. "o/~ Singing in the pane, I'm singing in the paaaanes ."

Goldenblade twirls to a stop, panting, and sheathing her blades. She has to stop thinking she needs to clean them after a fight, the pixels don't leave a mess or corrode the steel. "Hah, looks like we won," she observes as well. She blinks as she sees the aftermath of the overall battle, she'd been focused on just her little corner of it while there was fighting. She looks over to Kita, and wonders, "Who's gone?" But it does look like that's it for us...

    Uta is, for the time being, standing there with her hands on her hips and enjoying the damage being rained down from the sky. She turns to look at Jazz over her shoulder as her name is called. Or, rather, a few seconds later, so that she sees nothing of the spirit vs. undead battle going on.

    "Yes?", Uta asks. "Did you call? Do you need- OH! Healing. That's why you must have called, of course..."

    Uta trots over to the Undine, and taps her chin. She flicks her menu open, and looks between it and Jazz. Apparently running a medical inspect. "You're fine, Jazz. You just need to rest. You should head over to the village. I'm sure they're setting up a celebration in your honour. You, Jazz, have inspired them to victory!"

    At Kita's words, she turns. "...oh, hey! Kita! You're here! When did you arrive?", she asks. "...oh, you were just passing by. See you later, then- Goldenblade! Kauchemar! How nice it is to see you two as well! You'll never believe what just happened!"

Kauchemar just smiles a lazily mischievous smile. "It's okay Uta I'm sure you seized a great WINDOW of opportunity."
Then takes advantage of being the tallest one here to pat Jazu on the head. "Don't you see now what you could accomplish if you just embraced the kawaii?"
Then proceeds on strolling away as is her mysterious nature. Her work here is done.

Jazz;'s face is frozen as Uta inspects her.

"Uta, when was the last time you had a snowball down the back of your shirt?" she asks, curiously, "because *right bloody now* is the answer."

And indeed. There's water and ice forming into a *snowball* behind her and it drops right back down the back of the Kung-Fu-Nurse's top.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" SHe jabs a finger at her, rising to her feet. She is going to leave. Unfortunatelyy, when you're as cute as she is, it's always going to be a flounce, and thus, she flounces off.

Goldenblade peers at Uta, wonders, "What just happened that I wouldn't believe?" And then Jazz is dumping snow down her back, and Goldenblade shrugs. Kida today, who knows anymore? She will find a place to crash, though, so she can set out in the morning.

    Uta's wings STIFFEN, she shrieks, bends back, shivers, and leaps around with intolerable discomfort. "I DON'T KNOW..." Uta whimpers back at Goldenblade, eventually flopping down to the floor, reduced to a trembling mess. "It's, like, she couldn't hold it back anymore and then turned away and slammed the door. She just doesn't care what they're going say..."

    By now, the effect seems to have subsided. Uta stands up, tentatively, still shivering a little, but she manages to keep countenance. She gets that look of a cat that totally meant to fall down the furniture, tugs at her gi to straighten it, and offhandedly comments, "...the cold never bothered me anyway."