FujiwaraPhoenix

The Nameless City — Invite Only!

Zeke von Genbu

The sight that met him as he turned the corner, gruesome as it was, gave Zeke no reason to pause further. Greatsword in hand, the Driver stepped forward to strike out at the beasts...

Only to pause as Hibiki flew past him and left a crater and pile of red mush where one of the beasts had been. The amount of time that was spent staring—with regards to both the beasts who were still in apparent shock and, to some extent, himself—lasted no more than a few seconds, but processing that amount of collateral damage mentally still took a moment. Luckily, it took him a few less moments to acknowledge what had just happened than it did his opponents, and Zeke used that chance to quickly behead the beast that had not scampered off elsewhere.

"Yeesh, and I thought I knew collateral damage," he remarked, climbing out of the crater that he had leaped into to attack the creature in the first place. "So. Uh. Where to from here? I don't think those lunatics back there would be willing to give us any directions, after all."

@Raineh Daze@RolePlayerRoxas@VitaVitaAR

---

The Ruins

The sight of a sword suddenly barreling down the hallway caused a few of the skeletons (or, at least, the scant few who hadn't been immediately dispatched) to turn and watch. The immediate damage that it left upon the ruins—namely, a now-missing wall that had made up part of the labyrinthine structure of the ruins—gave way to what seemed like a room that led further into the dungeon itself. Though there had been other corridors that led further into what lay beneath, this seemed to simply be a shortcut of sorts, for better or worse. There was an immediate response from the survivors, though, as they scattered through those side paths and routes back into the darkness. A tactical retreat, as it were; given that they had failed to inflict any damage upon their opponents in the first place, it seemed that regrouping was the most logical option.

The bodies of those unfortunate enough to be destroyed by the sword itself were thus strewn about on the floor, their weapons and armor (some damaged, some not) scattered haphazardly where they had fallen. On top of all of those, though, the treasures that they had held on them were now ripe for the taking. Pieces of gold and jewelry upon the ground now, and though it seemed that only the higher ranking skeletons had any of the latter, the rewards to be gained from their extermination made it clear why treasure hunters came to these blighted lands in the first place.

@Crusader Lord@Rune_Alchemist

Chronicles of a Lost War

Byron Cauna

Grateful that Sylphie had actually been considerate enough to not leave them behind, Byron quietly moved after the demigod with the rest of their party. Given how adept she was at tracking 'evil' (which was itself a subjective idea; maybe it was just based on her own definition of evil and not the collective?), though, the beastman had little reason to argue. Bandits were bandits, and if the aforementioned testimony was to be believed, attacking the town repeatedly probably made it a simple matter to smoke them out.

The path that Sylphie led them down wound through the trees and, as it seemed, brought them close to the foot of a mountain. Given the guards stationed at the base, coupled with a bunch of fortifications staggered up the mountain, it seemed that they had indeed found their target.

"Hm... Holed up on the mountainside, then? I wonder why they couldn't find this place before. Were there just traps set up along the other routes or something...?" he mused to himself, shaking his head in mild disappointment before cracking his knuckles. "So, do we just go in hot, or would a silent job be more efficient here?"

@Crimson Paladin@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@Lugubrious

Fate/Eternum

Fusang City — Sunday

Jason Liu

Spending the night at the CCF building was probably the best that Jason could have hoped for, given how the situation had evolved. Both the Saber who had escorted him here and her Master had spent a decent amount of time questioning him, but there was only so much information he could have given them. It was a miracle that there hadn't been talks of further disciplinary action, but sleeping on an uncomfortable cot in a solitary cell was something that felt like punishment enough.

That being said, an entire night to stew in his thoughts was not particularly helpful to the young man's mind, as even when the cell doors were unlocked by the pair, Jason found it exceedingly difficult to even find the energy to get out in the first place. After a minute or two of expectant waiting from his now-escorts, Jason finally found it in himself to at least not be too much of a bother to them and left the room behind.

As far as he knew, he wouldn't be allowed to leave their side until the incident was 'fully resolved' or something of that sort. What that meant for the rest of his time from here on... Well, that remained to be seen.

@RolePlayerRoxas@VitaVitaAR

Ruler — Sherlock Holmes

Finding it better to spend time preparing for the worst once he had found out that Moriarty had procured a sailing vessel in the first place, Holmes and Othis had spent but a few minutes more in the port; the Servant did not mind that his Master wished to inquire further with regards to the Archer who had taken up bar-keeping as a profession, but he found it far more difficult to handle a crime in progress than it was to elucidate the manner of the mystery afterwards. The issue of the strange Servant from the future and her Master crossed his mind once more, but given that they had not yet contacted him regarding any issues, there was not much to be done save indulge in mysteries elsewhere.

The rest of the day had been spent preparing for the journey proper, which meant packing the usual necessities for his Master's sake. Food, water, a source of light, and all other manner of things had been procured to keep them both well out of harm's way; who knew, though, if the old man had any other plans in store for them.

Once the day had passed and their preparations completed, both Holmes and his Master had made their way to the port, where both Moriarty and his Master were waiting. They had set off promptly for the location in question, and the prompt discovery that there was a part of the structure shallow enough to enter from by foot without worrying about the tides sending in a wave of water after them a few hours later had led to their prompt entry. It was a little past midday by the time they had finally made their way into the cavern, but with the flashlights that had been brought along, the only real nuisance would be attempting to map this place out.

"We do seem to be rather far underground—or would underwater be more apt a descriptor for our current location?" he asked, calmly shining his own light around as he attempted to scope the location out. "I am not much of a fan of spelunking myself, but it does seem like there is no other choice when it comes to examining this odd structure..."

It was rather odd that their group of four rather bookish people found it a logical idea to explore an unknown cave system on their own; the fact that half of them were Servants made the problem less of an issue, but the Ruler wondered to himself how well-equipped they were for the task in the first place.

"Hm. Well, no reason to fret about that now, I guess. Shall we proceed?"

@KoL@Raineh Daze@DocRock

The Arena

After the matches yesterday and the subsequent confirmation that two more would follow the day after, the arena was inundated with impromptu reservations of people attempting to get front row seats to the next set. Those in charge took the sudden influx of funds well; the increase in work, however, was a different story.

None of that really mattered to the combatants, in the end; or, at least, that was how Chiron saw it. He was acting as a referee this time, and Bradamante (who had matched her idol in battle yesterday) was now nervously fidgeting next to him.

That was to be expected, of course, given the pair of Servants that had made their schedules clear for the match today. The pride of the Fianna was standing by, his arms crossed as he waited for the arrival of the knights through the crowds that had formed in anticipation of the match. His peer, an old Japanese man dressed in a haori and hakama, simply sat by patiently instead.

"I apologize for calling you two on such short notice," Chiron said, glancing at the entrance every so often as he waited for some sign of the knights' arrival. "There was only so much we could do to get people—"

"Please, do not worry yourself over things like that. I have been wishing to match that Saber in battle ever since I heard she bested Diarmuid," Fionn stated, a slight smile on his face as he spoke. "Besides, it is a Sunday, is it not? A spar and a drink would be a grand way to spend the day."

"Likewise, I do not believe that a match with a knight of a foreign land would dull my blade in any way. Though from what I have heard from you, my work is certainly cut out for me," Munenori followed, nodding his head in turn. "That being said, being a simple teacher on this island is far more relaxing than I had envisioned it to be. Who knew that the children of this era were so eager to learn the way of the sword?"

Chronicles of a Lost War

Byron Cauna

Though relatively relieved that Izel had managed to keep Sylphie in check for long enough for the explanation at hand to finish (at whatever cost it might take from the demigod in the future), Byron simply crossed his arms as he listened to the comments of his peers. As things were now, the group as a whole was seemingly inclined towards handling the bandit problem that had made itself known, with the sage mentioning that they act as 'adventurers' in order to keep up a guise of anonymity; given the situation, the beastman was inclined to agree.

"Aerarius, they already see me as someone of far higher status than I am... Whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen, but getting you in and out of a small town like this should pose no issue. As for the matter of the bandits, it looks as if we're all in agreement to go subjugate them regardless. Do we just the bloodhound lead the way?"

With a brief sidelong glance towards Sylphie, Byron turned to look at Izel before nodding. Enough was enough, and the simplest way to smoke out their targets was the girl who was in the witch's arms right now.

"Just... Don't get too far ahead of us. Walk, don't run or sprint off, okay?"

@Crimson Paladin@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@Lugubrious

Fate/Eternum

Okay, hm.

Well, given that this should be addressed sooner or later (aka in an attempt to try and just drag this along)...

@KoL: Everyone else in the chat's on board with fast forwarding the day forward to try and revive tempo here. There's a small bit of debate going on regarding the port group (which is the last one I need to sort out), but in the end it really kind of boils down to where the group ends up after we fast forward and what occurs. Doc suggested that the process of events be basically "excuse to split for the day, make more detailed plans, get to the labyrinth tomorrow" with that crew, but I'd like the opinion of the other person in that scene before we commit.

Fate/aberrant destiny

• Name: Yi Sun-Sin
• Class: Rider
• Appearance: Do not falter in the face of the enemy.
• Personality: The man famed for defending Korea during the Joseon Dynasty from Hideyoshi's naval invasion, Yi Sun-Sin is equal parts stoic, charismatic, and humble. To him, the defense of his Master is first and foremost, as he now exists as a Servant with no ties to the land he walks. He is by no means a person to give a rousing speech, though, as he often lets his actions do the talking instead; at the same time, he is more than willing to offer a drink or consultation for his peers, should they desire them. He will not take deliberate sabotage from his peers lightly, though, and will do everything in his power to ensure that the loss of his men will not once again occur.
  That being said, he will change his attitude regarding his Master depending on how they act. To a passive and cowardly Master, Yi will leave to hide as he acts as he sees fit; to one who wishes to fight alongside him, he shall train firmly to be able to stand by his side. Mercy is an affordance unable to be given during wartime, after all, and so the well-being of his Master even after his passing is also a top priority to him.
• Stats:
  
  • Strength: B
  • Endurance: D+
  • Agility: B-
  • Mana: C
  • Luck: D
  • Noble Phantasm: B+
• Class Skills:
  
  • Riding: B
  • Independent Action: C
• Personal Skills:
  
  • Voyager of the Storm: A+
    Having commanded his small fleet throughout the Korean Peninsula in defense of his homeland, Yi Sun-Sin naturally qualifies for such a skill.
  • Uncrowned Master Strategist: B+
    Despite constantly being demoted due to machinations within the Joseon court, Yi Sun-Sin never once faltered in his stratagems against the Japanese, and though his enemies made note of his strategic prowess, his superiors found it more suitable to attempt to sabotage his efforts repeatedly. With this skill, any plans laid by the Admiral have a higher chance to succeed; so long as the enemy is unaware of his true abilities, this chance is strengthened even further.
  • Disengage (Navy): B-
    Given that his fleet never saw major losses under his command, this skill manifests itself as a way to defend the soldiers at his side. When involved in combat involving more people on his side than just himself, Yi Sun-Sin is able to break away from combat with his allies, resetting the conditions of the battle and forcing combat to end outright.
• Noble Phantasm(s):
  
  • Name: Geobukson Armada — In Defense of My Homeland
  • Rank: B-
  • Type: Anti-Army
  • Appearance: A trio of turtle ships coupled with a few dozen smaller vessels. While not fully active, only a single turtle ship may be present.
  • Effects: Using his famed turtle ships, Yi Sun-Sin is able to combine both attack and defense in an assault upon the enemy. While no more than a single ship can be summoned ordinarily, this one ship has the effect of working as a mobile fortress, impervious to all manner of ranged bombardments (though strong enough attacks, obviously enough, will penetrate the hull). The weapons within can be manned by those who are not Heroic Spirits as well, and will have their power strengthened compared to if they were fired automatically. The ship, of course, is able to maneuver in the air as easily as it would in water.
    When the true name of this Noble Phantasm is invoked, Yi is able to summon the rest of his fleet to the battlefield. These ships have the same restrictions as his singular vessel, but only his three turtle ships have the defensive prowess noted above.
  
  
  • Name: Remnants of Noryang — Do Not Announce My Death
  • Rank: C+
  • Type: Anti-Army
  • Appearance: A suit of armor and a mounted drum.
  • Effects: The drum is the primary mechanism for this Noble Phantasm, and can be summoned and de-summoned at will. So long as Yi beats the drums himself, his allies gain a boost to their parameters—so long as they can hear him, of course. The invocation of its name for this sake is unnecessary.
    The true strength of this Noble Phantasm lies in its secondary ability. If Yi is mortally wounded at any point, he may pass on his armor and the drum to his Master. These two will not dematerialize when he dies, and so long as said Master dons the armor, they are able to both summon and play the drum, with similar (if not weaker) results to when he himself was playing it.
• Alignment: Lawful Neutral
• Changes: N/A

Fate/aberrant destiny

• Name: Yi Sun-Sin
• Class: Rider
• Appearance: Do not falter in the face of the enemy.
• Personality: The man famed for defending Korea during the Joseon Dynasty from Hideyoshi's naval invasion, Yi Sun-Sin is equal parts stoic, charismatic, and humble. To him, the defense of his Master is first and foremost, as he now exists as a Servant with no ties to the land he walks. He is by no means a person to give a rousing speech, though, as he often lets his actions do the talking instead; at the same time, he is more than willing to offer a drink or consultation for his peers, should they desire them. He will not take deliberate sabotage from his peers lightly, though, and will do everything in his power to ensure that the loss of his men will not once again occur.
  That being said, he will change his attitude regarding his Master depending on how they act. To a passive and cowardly Master, Yi will leave to hide as he acts as he sees fit; to one who wishes to fight alongside him, he shall train firmly to be able to stand by his side. Mercy is an affordance unable to be given during wartime, after all, and so the well-being of his Master even after his passing is also a top priority to him.
• Stats:
  
  • Strength: B
  • Endurance: D+
  • Agility: B-
  • Mana: C
  • Luck: D
  • Noble Phantasm: B+
• Class Skills:
  
  • Riding: B
  • Independent Action: C
• Personal Skills:
  
  • Voyager of the Storm: A+
    Having commanded his small fleet throughout the Korean Peninsula in defense of his homeland, Yi Sun-Sin naturally qualifies for such a skill.
  • Uncrowned Master Strategist: B+
    Despite constantly being demoted due to machinations within the Joseon court, Yi Sun-Sin never once faltered in his stratagems against the Japanese, and though his enemies made note of his strategic prowess, his superiors found it more suitable to attempt to sabotage his efforts repeatedly. With this skill, any plans laid by the Admiral have a higher chance to succeed; so long as the enemy is unaware of his true abilities, this chance is strengthened even further.
  • Disengage (Navy): B-
    Given that his fleet never saw major losses under his command, this skill manifests itself as a way to defend the soldiers at his side. When involved in combat involving more people on his side than just himself, Yi Sun-Sin is able to break away from combat with his allies, resetting the conditions of the battle and forcing combat to end outright.
• Noble Phantasm(s):
  
  • Name: Geobukson Armada — In Defense of My Homeland
  • Rank: B-
  • Type: Anti-Army
  • Appearance: A trio of turtle ships coupled with a few dozen smaller vessels. While not fully active, only a single turtle ship may be present.
  • Effects: Using his famed turtle ships, Yi Sun-Sin is able to combine both attack and defense in an assault upon the enemy. While no more than a single ship can be summoned ordinarily, this one ship has the effect of working as a mobile fortress, impervious to all manner of ranged bombardments (though strong enough attacks, obviously enough, will penetrate the hull). The weapons within can be manned by those who are not Heroic Spirits as well, and will have their power strengthened compared to if they were fired automatically. The ship, of course, is able to maneuver in the air as easily as it would in water.
    When the true name of this Noble Phantasm is invoked, Yi is able to summon the rest of his fleet to the battlefield. These ships have the same restrictions as his singular vessel, but only his three turtle ships have the defensive prowess noted above.
  
  
  • Name: Remnants of Noryang — Do Not Announce My Death
  • Rank: C+
  • Type: Anti-Army
  • Appearance: A suit of armor and a mounted drum.
  • Effects: The drum is the primary mechanism for this Noble Phantasm, and can be summoned and de-summoned at will. So long as Yi beats the drums himself, his allies gain a boost to their parameters—so long as they can hear him, of course. The invocation of its name for this sake is unnecessary.
    The true strength of this Noble Phantasm lies in its secondary ability. If Yi is mortally wounded at any point, he may pass on his armor and the drum to his Master. These two will not dematerialize when he dies, and so long as said Master dons the armor, they are able to both summon and play the drum, with similar (if not weaker) results to when he himself was playing it.
• Alignment: Lawful Neutral
• Changes: N/A

Fate/aberrant destiny

Present for Caules and Yi Sun-sin.

The Nameless City — Invite Only!

The Ruins

The gold and scant jewels, cut or not, that seemed to fill Link's inventory were comparatively small in number, but notable enough to warrant further exploration. It was little wonder that other rogues and hopefuls traveled to these abandoned lands, if such treasures could be found from a simple foray into these desecrated grounds. That being said, none of them were anywhere nearly as reckless in their search as the kleptomaniac who left no stone unturned, and the resulting noise was alerting those further in that fresh blood had arrived.

The sound of clattering-bone meeting metal meeting stone—soon led to a contingent of enemies, clad in armor and armed with weaponry. A bolt from a crossbow was the first to fly through the air, sailing through the air as a set of soldiers pushed ahead, rust-laden weapons in hand as they attempted to end the lives of the invaders.

Even the slightest amount of light would reveal their nature as the skeletons of the dead, given life to stalk these endless halls for eternity. Despite their undead nature, though, their combat prowess seemed to remain intact, as each strike was made with the conviction of a seasoned veteran; whether or not that would make a difference, though, remained to be seen.

@Rune_Alchemist@Crusader Lord

Chronicles of a Lost War

Byron Cauna

Izel's cryptic explanation took a few seconds for Byron to process—about as long as it had taken Sylphie to realize what her companion was doing to restrain her. There was a brief pause as the beastman turned to look at Sylphie as she squirmed about, temporarily pacified as she was, before nodding to the pair.

"...Right. So... Bandits, I presume? Given Sylphie's disposition, I feel like we're not going to get anywhere until they've been dealt with, then. Fun. Well, if anything, it'll give us a chance to stretch our legs after all this time," he sighed, shaking his head. "Could put the town into debt with us if they're anything substantial, though, so there might be some merit in doing this. Before anything else, though, we should regroup with the other two so I can share what else I've learned. Izel, make sure Sylphie doesn't break free and run off on her own, please."

With that, Byron simply nodded and walked out of the town gates, passing by the pair of guards with a curt nod as he walked back towards the forest. The path that they had taken to get here was not particularly well-worn, but finding the other two along the path they had taken would require little effort.

---

A minute or two of scanning the area let Byron find the pair that the group had left behind waiting; thankfully, they had not moved too far from the forest's edge, which might have made things a tad more annoying, but given that he (and the others) had moved ahead without establishing a firm rendezvous point, the beastman found himself missing long-distance communication devices already. There was no small number of things that he had taken for granted, once he thought about it, but something like that would be far more useful now than it had been on his usual raids back during active duty.

With that in mind, Byron waved to the pair as he walked up to them, glancing momentarily behind himself in hopes that the others had followed suit. If Sylphie had broken away, well... That just meant that he had to make this quick.

"Sorry for leaving you two behind," he began, pulling out the piece of paper that he had taken notes on during his visit to the guild, "but I've got some fairly worrisome news... Us being about 270 years off from the initial calculations of the people who sealed us away, for example. Luckily, given how I, uh... Spoke with the guards, I don't think it should be too difficult to set up a scenario that'd let you two get inside without much of an issue. Before that, though..."

The rest of the issues—at least, from here—were things he could let the others explain for now. Where to go from here, handling whatever Sylphie and Izel had found on their own expedition, or even resolving their initial goal... There was no better time to discuss such things than now, really.

@Crimson Paladin@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@Lugubrious