Duty Session 236: The Mountain Memorial

    Wake stands near the foot of the mountains, keeping watch over the Landers who stand nearby. They don't look particularly durable, which always makes her a bit uncomfortable. They don't get to respawn if something goes very, very wrong. Fortunately, these particular mountains are familiar to her in a general sense. But she's never travelled to the shrine for this quest.

    She shakes her head, looking up as other adventurers start to come near. "The more the merrier," she muses aloud, allowing her lips to curl into a smile.

Goldenblade is here with Wake, and provides the voice of inexperience. She's done this before, but is never entirely reliable with remembering things. She may look 25, but it's a 75-year old brain driving, and there's issues sometimes. "I'm with you," she assures the Baroness. Well, they just finished that big road project, some time on their own is probably due.

     A hunters guild request to escort people to the top of a mountain? Yeah, that sounded like something Pela would enjoy. In fact, it seemed suited to how she had been feeling lately. Aimless. Tired. And reminiscing in the worst way. Soon, she was there at the foot of the mountains too, and taking very little time to get close to the Baroness, reaching one hand to lightly hold the edge of her clothing. "...Here to help." She murmurs softly, her tone somehow even more dull than normal.

    Rizadoman approaches the group and looks at the Landers, " I heard you were in need of an escort. I hope I may accompany you in this time. " The lizardman's tail twitches for a moment before looking at the others, " The same goes for all of you, my talents are yours if you will have me. " Turning from one to another, looking for acknowledgement but also has this look that says he isn't real going to take no for an answer.

And, what do you know, but where you have one mopey cat, you *also* have the Sage of Sad, Jazz herself!

Anyway, she's standing by Pela, apparently looking to go along and do the thing herself. "Yeah, here to help," she agrees.

    Wake laughs gently. She sets a hand on Goldenblade's left shoulder, "Indeed. And I am lucky to have you at my side, my friend. I hope this quest proves successful! I can't refuse the call to pay respects to those who came before."

    Pela's appearance draws the attention of the Baroness, and Wake smiles. "Thank you for coming. They will need to be kept safe along the way. I'm delighted that you are here." She also bows her head to Rizadoman and Jazz, "Certainly you are welcome. Good will should not be denied." With the party gathered, she slips into a graceful curtsey, her head bowing politely, "Now that we're here, we should start, I think."

    That being said, the party is able to start the journey with the Landers up into the mountains. The first climb goes well, and in short order a forest is reached. On a gentle wind the scents of pine needles, ferns, and good earth mix together. The Baroness delights in the experience, closing her eyes and taking a rare moment to simply enjoy the world around her with a deep breath. Indeed, everything seems so peaceful and right, even when the forest gives way to rocking terrain. Still, the stones provide warmth against an otherwise cool wind.

    And that's when the bears come into view. A group of bears with fresh kill at hand do not take kindly to disturbances, and their blood-covered muzzles point towards the adventures. There's a moment where silence rules and then a roar indicates the big male has made up his mind to attack. He barrels towards the party without hesitation.

Goldenblade smiles to Wake, and nods about hoping for success. "We're a strong party," she agrees. And so she joins in, setting out with a strong stride, bow in hand, watching the path ahead and off to the sides, alert for danger.

The danger comes some time after, when they spot a group of bears with a fresh kill. The bears, it seems, do not want to share, either. Goldenblade attempts to sidle around them, but the wind shifts on her, and her scent is blown towards the bears, who growl and head towards her quickly.

    Rizadoman follows along taking up the rear of the group to try to help any of the Landers that fall behind. As they get to the treeline and the bears are spotted he takes a step forward putting himself between the Landers, looking back at one of them he even adds, "Don't fret. This will be nothing. " As they all begin to move forward Rizadoman does his best to create walls of air between the bears and landers, trading his own safety for theirs. Even takes a bear claw to the shoulder before getting away.

     Jazuhanzu's arrival gets a small smile from Pela, who wiggles her fingers towards her and steps towards her to give her a quick little hug... before looking back towards Wake and stepping close to her once more. Something about the baronesss had always been rather soothing for her.

     "...It's good to see you again too, Baroness." She smiles towards her gently as she continues towards the path, moving quietly and calmly through the forest. She pauses, sniffing at the air. "Hm? ...Smells like..." She pauses, and then ... there were angry bears. Angry. Angry bears. She quietly pulls out a slip of paper inscribed with an AIR symbol on it. She gently presses the tip of it, and lightning begins to gather along her fingers, statically tingling.

     Which she sends towards the bear to attempt to stun it in its charge, not enough to cause damage, but rather attempting to just... make it safer for them to continue. Which might stop one bear! But there are two more...

So Jazz observed the bears with a sigh.

"alSo it was a bear trap all along," she intones. She attempts to spook them off with a flash of called on lightning and thunder but only manages to take damage when she a swiped aside into the bushes. "Ow."

    "I'm certain things will go well," Baroness Wake replies to Goldenblade. She's ever the optimist on these quests. "Hopefully we get a few surprises on the way. Boredom is simply not acceptable!"

    The bears are certainly not boring. If things are going to go well, they will hopefully take a turn soon. At first, it seems they will! Pela's stun attack proves incredibly effective, stopping one bear right in its tracks, leaving only two to deal with. Even though Goldenblade's efforts leave the remaining bears charging after her, there's still a chance for the others in the party to prevent a failure. Moments later, Rizadoman is able to shield the landers. Unfortunately, Wake's attempt to terrify the animals with a thunderclap goes awry, and instead drives the bears to a frenzy. She's rewarded for her efforts with a bear swipe that tears into her right side. The bear doles out a similar treatment to Jazz. By luck, some change in the wind brings a scent on it that spooks the bears. Or perhaps the creatures aren't angry enough to keep at this confrontation. They simply run off.

    Having taken some lumps from the bears, the party is able to continue onward. The landers seem untroubled, still completely confident in their protectors. After all, they were not harmed, and everyone knows adventurers are very strong. The path curves around a sheer, rocky slope that curls upward.

    Abruptly the path finds its end in a dark cave, which at first glance appears long abandoned and empty.

    After passing several tunnels that have collapsed and coming acros tiny, faint footprints (which seem to scare the landers considerably), the party reaches what appears to be a barrier of stones that are rolled onto the path.

    The sound of chittering in an unknown language is followed by the sudden appearance of kobolds of many colors, carrying a variety of rusted weapons, all pointed at the group.

Goldenblade is able to flee from the bears after a continued chase. She knows better than to climb a tree. It's these bears that climb trees, right? But they're not interested in going -too- far from their kill, so Goldenblade is chased off for a couple minutes before the bear breaks off.

It takes her a few minutes to rejoin the group, and she joins them as they make their way through a cave. She's not the first to spot the kobolds, but she advances fearlessly, facing them with both swords out. Her advantage in reach is offset by their advantage in speed, and their small size makes them hard to hit. But she's called Blade Dancer for a reason, and it's a particularly bloody version of the Charleston she does with them, swords slashing through the air in a blur of flame as they cut and slash, leaving flames in their wake and sending kobolds off to the great beyond.

     The bears are... only kind of dealt with, but it's fine! As they continue forward, it wasn't too big of a deal or too dangerous, just a walk through the mountain! Geeze why is this such a difficult thing?! ... ... .. Because nothing is easy in the world of Yamato. That's really it.

     And they were approaching chittering kobolds! That was something else she could handle, she thinks! And so Pela draws her daggers, dashing straight towards the monsters! A burst of lightning sends her forward! And... right before she gets to the kobolds, she hits an errant rock, which sends her skidding on her face right into the middle of the Kobolds. "Ow ow ow ow ow."

    Rizadomans looks at the stones and does not know what to make of it, as he considers to start climbing the rocks, " I guess we could lift them up and over. " Then suddenly they were over ran by kobolds and covers his head as he has rocks rained down behind him before he beginns to chant, "Naga ancestors, I seek your guidance. Help me to protect those I have promised to protect. " With his prayer said he suddenly creates a shield of light helping to protect from the rocks.

Having pulled herself out of the shrubbery post bears, Jazz is left picking twigs out of the ridiculous amount of hair she has when they pass into the mine. The kobold ambush lets her sigh, but then she takes advantage of the preplanted stones, letting them crack with her powers and hurling them at the 'bolds on sprays of water she raised from the ground. There is a weary sounding sigh from her.

    Wake has no interest in kobolds. She's really had it with subtle approaches at this point. The nearest kobold is backhanded and sent flying into the wall. The next finds its spear snapped in half and the sharp end stabbed in its face. Before the pixels can burst, the Baroness sends the creature sprawling with her left elbow.

    Behind Wake, Pela's attack is somewhat less succesful, leaving her sprawling amidst her enemies. The creatures get little time to take advantage of the situation, because Goldenblade's attacks are hacking their side to bits. They do make an attempt to encircle their enemies, but the shield of light startles them and prevents their strategy from making any difference. Just when it seems the kobolds might be ready to mount a more formidible attack, things only get worse for them. A knot of a half dozen of them are crushed as Jazz sends the stones bowling over them.

    With the kobolds thoroughly beaten, the Landers seem at ease once more. The journey continues. And continues. And continues. After what seems like an unreasonable amount of time, the group emerges on the mountainside. It seems that sunset has come and the mountain skies are a dazzling golden red.

    Narrow ledges follow and from time to time, the party has barely enough room to go single-file. Eventually, the group reaches what appear to be nests of some large, feral birds. Before the group has time to speculate the cry of an enraged bird comes from above and the sound of violent wingbeats announcess the flight of dire eagless moving swiftly to defend their nesting place with slashing talons and razor-sharp beaks.

Goldenblade traverses the cave with the party and the Landers and breathes a sigh of relief to be outside again. But then the path narrows, and it's single file along a stretch of path plagued by dire eagles, who begin swooping at the party. Well, it's not like she can chase after the eagles, if she leaves the path, it's a very fast trip straight down.

The best she can do is hold out one sword and try to shield herself and the landers closest to her, swinging at any of the birds that get too close. This strategy is sufficient, though, she smacks the few that get close and they break off the attack rather than give Goldenblade the chance to finish them off.

     It was for the best there were others there too! Immmediately Pela had begun to curl up defensively as she recovered from her trip, while her friends began to take care of the situation! Oh good. She was quickly up on her feet once they're freed, giving a soft exhale, rubbing her nose as she starts to follow after the party again... and... there were... angry birds! She gasps at that, before drawing out ... some Kunai. Like a good ninja, she had ranged weapon options! And she was using them, throwing them right at those birds to deter them and/or kill them!

     After she's done throwing them, she quickly would begin to protectively usher those landers ahead to the next area, shifting from her normal weapons to a broadsword to use as a shield for herself and the landers against the remaining eagles until they move on to the next area.

    Rizadoman walks along the ledge before noticing the eagles. " Move quickly if we get out of their range we should be ok." Easier said then done though as one of the eagles dives towards him. As he does his best to carefully avoid it he stares at the group and lets out a powerful roar. It may not be on par with the dragon he had recently fought , it was enough to to at least intimdate a few into submission however.

"Shh! No, stop!" Jazz makes pst-pst-pst sounds that are sure to make any cat in ear shot twitch but has zero impact on birds. This is probably not hugely surprising. Worth a shot, though!

    Birds. They sure are creepy at times. The poor landers simply dive for cover. But there's really not much cover. That is, after all, why adventurers are here. Trying to protect the family, Wake throws up a shield over them and puts herself between them and their attackers. The bad news is, Wake's shield isn't worth much. Clearly this is not her strength. The good news is the eagles only rake her with their talons, leaving the landers unharmed.

    The tide swiftly turns for the better. Before the eagles can finish off Wake, Goldenblade's shield is there to protect the landers and her sword, while it doesn't slay any birds, does keep them at bay. Wake offers up a strained, "Thank you!" to her friend while keeping out the melee. Bears and birds are not the way she wants to die. It'd be so embarassing!

    The group is making good progress, but there's an opening where the birds strike again, diving at the landers. Jazz's unusual vocalization doesn't seem to have the desired effect. It perhaps has made the eagles even angrier. It is Rizadoman's roar that saves the day, sending them scattering. Several of them fall back at that point, content to glare at the adventurers from a safe distance. Others swing in wide circles, waiting until the last moment to dive at the passing group. Pela's attacks teach them the error of their ways. One bursts into pixels and the other tumbles to the ground, only to be struck once more, which finishes it off.

    Yet the day is not yet over for the team. They go still higher and night falls. It swiftly grows chilly and difficult to make headway. With the help of the adventurers, the Landers are able to continue along the path. While it is difficult, there at least no monsters.

    "That bridge looks.." Wake stops mid-sentence, noticing that the landers are paying very close attention, their eyes widening slight in growing alarm. "It looks like its still in good enough condition for us to use without worry. We'll keep you safe, no matter what comes to pass."

    But of course nothing is quite so easy on a quest like this. There's a sense of relief, almost, when the troll does appear on the bridge. "Well, it's a lot better than an avalanche," Wake concludes.

Goldenblade is glad to get past that narrow stretch of ledge. She breathes a sigh of relief, and proceeds onwards and upwards with the party and the Landers. As we head further up the mountain, the path looks more wild than made, but then there's a bridge, and on the other side of the bridge, there's a troll.

Well, she's learned a few things about trolls since coming to this game world, and one of those things is that trolls are weak to fire. Coincidentally, Fire is something Goldenblade has a strong affinity for. The ensuing firestorm does not go well for the troll, both blades consumed with fire, leaping and dancing and burning away it's HP with each touch of her blade dance.

    As they cross the bridge Rizadoman steps back at the sight of the troll, " I try not to judge when jokes like this appears however is it not cliche that there is a troll under the bridge. Do we look like goats?" Rizadoman begins to sing though the song is in an old lizardman dialect (or made up words), but as he sings his muscles grow as he seems to gain a full foot of height and muscle mass as he charges towards the troll to take head on.

     "T-that's for calling cats, not scaring off birds, Jazuhanzu!" Pela calls out towards Jazuhanzu, but... it did seem to work. On the wrong person. Pela was now walking alongside Jazuhanzu. Was it because she liked Jazuhanzu or because of the call? Who knows. But she was there now.

     And the eagles were scared off now! Or at least they were gone for now. Enough that they can continue forward, until they arrive at that bridge which looked... rickety and ruined and just generally not happy. Soon there was the troll. Which... Pela just looks up at as it starts to raise its club... and immediately she flits over to the landers, just... grabbing one of them and calling out, "Follow me!" And immediately they're consumed in lightning, zipping across the bridge at high speeds. If she has time, she'll come back for the other two. If not, the others will hopefully follow after her.

"Oh, good," replies Jazz, at the arrival of the troll and apparently not noticing the arrival of Pela to her side.

Fire magic is not normally the forte of the sea-witch, but then: "Let the seas boil, as they did in the first days." She stomps one foot (and looks adorable doing it) and sends a blast of steaming, super-heated boiling water towards the troll. It's enough to drive it back, anyway. Who wants to get splashed with boiling water?

    "Trolls are unsightly, unhygienic, and have terrible table manners," Wake says simply. She crosses her arms, glaring up at the monster. A moment later she is attacked. Perhaps it is her previous injuries, or maybe it's just bad luck, but Wake's usual incredible evasion proves utterly useless. This is about as close to tanking as Wake gets. She's normally hard to hit. This time, though, she's hit and hit hard. She can't take much more at this rate.

    Goldenblade's firestorm proves devastating. While the troll struggles to direct its next attack, its HP bar is boiled away swiftly, draining it substantially. The monster's roar leaves the Lander's clapping their hands over their ears, but otherwise has no impact.

    The troll is about to take its angers out on the nearest lander when Rizadoman strikes. Powered up by magical growth, the troll's adversary brings him to the brink of doom.

    While the boss fight rages on, Pela is able to evacuate the landers, moving them across the not-up-to-building-code bridge. Lighting is the safest way to travel!

    The troll raises its fists to let loose one last desperate attack. The last lander is its target. Before it can strike, Pela draws the lander away. Finding itself violently striking nothing, the troll has no time to roar in frustration. Jazz's jet of hissing, boiling water strikes it. The creature's hp bar empties and it explodes in a burst of pixels.

    Yet there's still more traveling to do. The temperature keeps dropping, and soon the adventurers can see their breath and the crunch of frost is heard with every step. The climb grows harder still. Some might even say perilous.

    "We're almost there," comments the eldest Lander.

    Sure enough, a moment later the memorial comes into view. As does a large, white-furred primate-looking monster. It's a Yeti. It's not offering the party sno cones.

Goldenblade pants softly as we finish slicing and dicing the troll. Things have been going pretty smoothly after that rough start. Getting chased by a bear was not a high point for her. But having taken out her frustrations on goblins and the troll, she's feeling a bit better.

The howling wind and cold makes the climb in the final stretch difficult, though her inner fire warms her, and she's positively ... not-frozen as we spy the yeti that's made his home on top of this mountain.

"Well, damn," she mutters, but she darts in, both swords out, dodging aside as it swings at her with it's heavy claws, her speed phenomenal, fast enough to leave scortchmarks on the earth as she dodges and turns, remaining a step ahead of the yeti's attacks as she slashes it, cutting it down a hit point at a time.

    Rizadoman's size returns to normal as the troll is dispatched and he looks a little tired from it all. However he is still good to move forward. In fact it seems he may be getting a moment to relax soon, and then yet again there is another problem. A yeti has decided to block their path. This time however he takes a more support role as he begins to summon his fallen ancestors, "O Horns and claws of our father, Iguanodon, thy four limbs become two legs to walk upon the earth! " As the skeleton lizard men rise up he sends them after the Yeti.

     As they continue on, Pela keeps out that broadsword that she'd drawn earlier, using it defensively as she continues, keeping it between the landers and any possible dangers... it was kind of adorable, since she was so short and she was acting like a tank. Soon, however, there was a stone rolling down the mountain, and...

     Pela darts towards it, swinging around and using a surprising amount of strength... she swings the flat of her blade towards that boulder, which she uses like a large baseball bat to send that rock FLYING back up the mountain towards the yeti! And away from the Landers, most importantly. The only downside is that, well, now... her broadsword is kind of ... snapped in half. "Tch. ...Low level gear... unreliable." She mutters, quickly switching to her twin ninja-to again to dart in towards the yeti and start carving it into yeti steaks.

Having slain the troll, Jazz is just kind of left staring. She does not actually land a killing blow very often and she in fact looks a little suspicious of it.

When it finally dissolved into pixels, she shrugged her shoulders and moved up with the others, exertion clearly starting to get to her with the travel and travails. "Erf...."

And then there is a yeti. A big old yeti.

"Gotta be kidding me," she grumbles, even as she waved a hand to make kelpy vines and seaweed appear from the earth to start grabbing at it, barbed and stabbing horns trying to grab it.

    "I don't suppose you've seen Mike and Sully?" asks Wake. She usually sticks in-character, but it's been a really, really long trip up the mountains and she's gotten thoroughly pummelled on the way. It's days like this that her promise to Tae to 'not die' is put to the test.

    It's a test that makes adventuring worthwhile, though! As energized as Wake may be, it is Goldenblade that reaches the enemy first. The woman's movements are simply faster than the Baroness can match. More importantly, Goldenblade's attacks are too much for the enemy, too. One gets the feeling that it'll be death by a thousand cuts at this rate.

    The Baroness smiles, sensing an opening. This time, she doesn't botch it. The shadows fold around her and she leaps at the yeti, her blades slashing across its chest. Where the wounds lie, pulsing shadows remain behind, occasionally giving off a sound like a death rattle.

    The Yeti turns to attack and finds Pela's rock racing towards its face. The blow nearly knocks the creature from its feet. Before it can recover completely, Pela's swords are carving out choice cuts from its hide.

    The Yeti swings its massive arms out, but its targets - Pela and Goldenblade - are able to evade or parry its attacks. This keeps the creature busy. So busy, that it doesn't notice Rizadoman's skeletal lizard men until they are upon it. The first grapples the Yeti, clinging to it with the strength of the dead while the other fully exploits the opportunity to shred the monster with its powerful claws. With a last burst of strength, the Yeti breaks the hold of the first skeleton. It finds itself caught again a heartbeat later as Jazz's magical vines hold it fast, the barbs making escape a painful prospect.

    In silence, the skeletons both attack again, taking off the last bits of the boss' HP bar. The yeti collapses, then bursts into pixels. The quest is done and the landers are free to use the memorial.