Crowvette

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

[at the breakthrough peeps]

Io retreated along with the other task force members, gladly taking the safer option now that she had managed to luck out with her bold move of draining the sorcerer. There was no time for any intricacy now. Io needed to buy them time, and that meant slowing anyone following them into the house.

After entering the house, she quickly turned and opened her grimoire. It was less than ideal, but she had no choice - to make a sufficiently powerful rune trap she would need to use a page. She deftly scrawled the incantation in her secret language across the page and tore it out, leaving it in the entryway to be triggered.

After placing the rune trap she stole back deeper into the mansion, behind the other Task Force members. "I've trapped the entryway with a magic circle. It should electrify and stun, if not completely disable anyone coming through it." Io had doubts if the Varjan that challenged them would be so easily dispatched, but it was certainly not something anyone could take and shrug off instantly. She took a moment to survey the interior of the mansion, thinking about how they might need to defend the area further. "Do we have an exit strategy?" Io asked, though she had a feeling that she knew the answer already. She briefly focused while she could, calling to mind powerful spells that she might need to carve a path if needed.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

{@manorbreakthroughpeople}

It had been some time since Io had drained a mage mid-spellcast. Truth be told, she found a certain amount of glee in it: Perhaps it was simply the bending of mana to her will, or snuffing a burning warmth with a cool stillness. Either way, having been starved of energy for so long, the exhilaration of the plundered mana was something even Io - one divorced from her own mortal senses as an undead - found herself carried away with.

But before she could reach the apex, pressing forward and draining until there was nothing left, it was suddenly ripped away from her. In the arms of Shizuka, her reason returned to her. 'Shizuka... Stopped me? But I was almost there...'

In the pouring rain, one could almost think there were the lightest trace of tears in Io's eyes. "Shizuka... You bully..." Io whispered, her face flushed (a symptom of her body processing the stolen arcane energy - probably). She was so brimming with energy that she had ended up saying something strange.

The enemy mage's yelling reminded Io that she was, in fact, in the middle of a battlefield - and she immediately focused on the ethereal blades. She had mana to spare, and needed to quickly protect everyone. Io quickly mouthed an incantation for a simple, but strong barrier between the Task Force members and the mage's conjured projectiles. They were potentially overkill in their defensive strength, but Io knew that in these moments mages would try for desperate but dangerous gambits.

DEADKIDCLUB - An MMORPG-esque RP

I have some tentative interest, though I feel like tying narrative power into something meta like post count might be a bit weird for the story.

I like the theme though, sounds like it could be a lot of fun to play.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

{@breakthroughfriends}

The sudden attack made short work of the lesser fighters - a necessary move to prevent complications, though Io unfortunately did not dispatch the biggest threat. The mage was upon her in an instant, showing much faster reflexes than most of the other Varjans she had encountered. Of course, simply being knocked aside would not deter Io. Perhaps he thought that getting close would unnerve an enemy caster, but Io was no fresh mage. She knew with multiple targets in different areas, the mage would be hard-pressed to deal with everyone at once.

She quickly broke down the situation, identifying the spell from the surge in magical energy as he rose his staff. 'This is why I prepared this...!' She leaped from her prone position, reaching out with her hand to grasp any part of the mage she could, the incantation for a draining touch recited impossibly quickly in the moment.

Io aimed to steal any kind of magical energy she could from the mage, of course, but it held another purpose in potentially disrupting the caster's spell at the same time. 'Are you trained well enough to withstand a mana short such as this, Varjan?' She wondered as her draining spell was cast.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

[atBreakthroughfriends]

Io nodded to Shizuka's strategy. "Understood. Lead the way." She followed along with the others in the falling rain, her robe completely soaked at this point. She didn't mind it, though she suspected that dripping water would not prove best for stealth.

Io grudgingly accepted some help from Skarsneek as they mounted and crossed walls that seemed, to Io, completely overkill and far too high for anyone's good. 'Waste of resources. These walls would never keep a skilled magic user out. If I didn't have to conserve my energy...' The incantation for simple flight danced on her tongue, though she didn't actually cast the spell. To an outside observer, there could be the slightest glint of irritation at being reminded of her height - but in the dark and rain, it would not be easily seen.

Shizuka's mist proved to be quite a boon, however. Io could rely on the others, as well as her innate sense of mana flow, to navigate well enough. Though, some small part of her had wanted to feign blindness. She could imagine it clearly...

"Ah. Shizuku..." Io grabbed the hem of Shizuku's robe. "You will have to guide me..."

Shizuku's hand softly grasped Io's, and she briefly gasped as she realized how much larger the swordsman's were compared to hers. As she looked up at Shizuka, she could see the lines of his chiseled body gleaming from the rain, and she found herself leaning forward to embrace the swordsman-

Io walked right into the back of Skarsneek, throwing her mind back into focus. 'Ah. I need to concentrate.'

Truth be told, Io had catalogued this phenomenon before. A lich was free of many traits of a living being, like hunger, but not completely free of compulsions that all mamono shared. It tended to manifest as delusions and wild flights of fancy for her, rather than anything a living being would experience. Unfortunately she had only found ways to suppress it, but not be completely rid of it, despite much effort.

She took a moment to clear her mind before continuing along with the team into the manor, where they overhead important plans being discussed. And despite their best efforts at stealth, they seemed to have been detected.

"Perceptive." Io remarked, as she quickly thought of a plan of attack before the opportunity slipped away. "I'll clear a path for you two. Be careful." The warning was likely unnecessary, but she said it anyway.

She rapidly mouthed an incantation to cast a fan of ice shards through the thin wall of the manor. It was an attack aimed at head and chest height for the Varjans inside, but if they somehow evaded it would at least allow Shizuka and Skar to crash through and follow up with their own attacks.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

{@breakthroughfriends}

Io's robes clinged to her body as they began to become soaked by the rain, though the lich paid it no heed at all. She was well beyond worrying about exposure to the elements, let alone being discomforted by it. It would work to her advantage, if anything. Showing off her curves was merely an incidental benefit.

It was not all benefit, unfortunately. "The rain..." Io grabbed one of the scrolls wrapped around her waist. "Ordinarily I could inscribe something for your weapons. But it would wash off over time. My scrolls are protected from water, so they will still work." She briefly explained the situation for Skar, before offering a scroll. "But a strength enhancement should help with offense just as well. At the very least, it might help you jump or climb somewhere you could not normally reach..."

Io watched as the patrols moved in the night, following their flickering torches. Several of them were returning to the barracks - exactly where Liliana was. Io was... somewhat certain the fairy could keep herself out of the enemy's attention, though she felt a slight concern given the nature of her unpredictable magic. Io reasoned that if anyone could avoid detection, she had the best chance despite that.

"I will take the manor as well. Unless you need me, Shizuka." She dryly joked - and perhaps ever-so-slightly hoped.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

{@breakthroughfriends}

Io's brief time of inner magic study came to a close when she realized the cart had stopped, and the sake dealer Shizuka gave some sage advice to the task force. It was only after she fully returned to her body that she realized something profoundly disappointing:

Shizuka (the attractive one) had shared the cart with her the entire time, while she had shut off her own senses to focus. Ironically, Io's magical planning prevented her from enacting some other kind of planning, like 'accidentally' grabbing onto him for stability as the cart went over a hole in the road, or something. She hadn't had such a critical planning issue since she was only barely triple digits in age. Io had to console herself that there would be other opportunities... Hopefully.

After uncovering herself from the cart and (despite her height disadvantage) climbing up to the vantage point, she slowly looked over the town. "The leaders. Can we easily identify them?" Io's mind was on the top prize, so to speak - and she unfortunately was not studied on Varjan out-of-combat attire. "Might be best to find them before the chaos starts."

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

{@breakthroughfriends}

Io sighed as her idea was shot down. 'Of course it would be too easy to do so...' She thought to herself. The issue of prisoners or other innocents being swept up in the attack was unfortunately limiting. Not that Io really thought being turned undead was the worst thing that could happen, but she understood the bias that living things had against dying. She understood it all too well.

Io spoke up in agreement with Ayu. "A more surgical approach, then. Understood." Io's eyes flashed to the sake as Shizuka proposed a toast, though the rest of the team ignored it. She was mildly curious why it was so popular even amongst the enemy, but that would have to come later.

Io was lost in thought as the team readied to board the cart. 'Best to prepare for close fighting. Nothing too destructive, lest it draws more attention...' Io formulated spells on the fly. 'Perhaps something to drain energy for my own sake... Fire and lightning are out... Ice would work. Something to enhance stealth may give us an edge...'

Her focus seemingly robbing her of awareness of the outside world, she walked right past Skar's offered hand and laid on the cart - doing a perfect imitation of a corpse, were it not for the faintest glimmer of magical glyphs rapidly dancing across her eyes.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

[@Breakthroughfriends.]

Io kept quiet during the preparation and travel to Komatsu Bay - partially to preserve energy, partially because she was taking time to construct spells she might need for the attack.

After they arrived at the outskirts where Shizuka was settled, Io quickly got the gist of Ayu's plan from what she overheard. She returned Shizuka's glance of indifference as she entered. "It will work, so long as we can exploit a weakness." She thought over what Liliana said for a moment. It was somewhat interesting that Liliana formulated two plans that could be plausible. "Sneaking along with the barrels could work, though it would also be dangerous." She looked over at Shizuka's room, sizing up the containers he had ready. "Even I could fit in some of these containers, if it came to that. With the sake in it, if necessary to keep your cover. I do not need to breathe." Io's small frame was a boon in these kinds of situations.

She crossed her arms as she considered the other potential plan. "Poisoning the sake could work for a diversion, but it's likely they'd figure it out before it cuts their ranks too much. Unless the Varjans are less strict with their drinks than I assumed they are...?"

Io nearly smiled as she considered the various ways she could compromise drinks for the Varjans. 'Even hiding in the barrels would likely "taint" it as poison to them. If the way they treated the prisoners is an indication of their drive against us, at least...' Of course, there were far more effective spells that she would opt for first. Ideally ones that would leave the bodies ready for reanimation.

"If we were poisoning it, I could prepare a spell that could cause an outbreak of zombification from the sake, perhaps..." A somewhat sinister gleam crossed Io's eyes as she clearly settled into a dark train of thought - Despite her deadpan expression, it was clear the thought of raising a zombie infestation was something she was enjoying.

Tales Of Shizuyama (Far-Eastern Monster Girl RP)

Io

~ @Crowvette, @Restalaan (SKA & GRI), @AzureKnight (SHI, HIN & ATS), @The Irish Tree (LIL), @Hammerman, @Nakushita ~

Ayu's answers helped Io gain some insight into her question. Though they were likely a net positive to the enemy, the nullification obelisks were thankfully not one-sided - that kind of magic was likely beyond their spellcasters. In a sense, they could be seen as a marker that their spellcasters were elsewhere. Any amount of information helped, at least.

Io averted her gaze at Shizuka's words for several reasons. 'They left the task force? That is...' Io would have personally labelled Alice and Carrol as the most unpredictable force on the island... Relative to their potential impact, at least, since Liliana would take that classification otherwise. Either way, she didn't like the implications. She could only hope they were working towards a goal that still aligned with the task force.

Of course, the other reason Io averted her eyes was that he managed to notice her fatigue. A small part of her was flattered, though the swordsman's senses were so keen that she doubted he was studying her particularly intently to discern her 'chi.' He probably would notice much more if he took time to study her...

Io blinked, refocusing both her eyes and train of thought. "It's nothing serious. Like Liliana said, we will cover each other." She gave a nod to Liliana, who seemed to have had her own idea about what Io did during the battle (not that Io would correct her).

"Plus." She coyly turned. "I am still plenty good while dead." In truth she had thought of that retort the moment the words passed Shizuka's lips, but she had to wait for the right time - especially since Liliana was here. Io felt it necessary to prove that her cleverness was not limited to the realm of magic.