FujiwaraPhoenix

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

The fact that Misaki hadn't realized that Novak hadn't rejoined them the night before was more than a bit embarrassing to herself, even if she took into account the relative lack of space in Lazirha's house during their overnight stay. To that end, the foxgirl found herself unable to do much more than smile and wave in response to his morning's greetings, at least for the moment; the embarrassment was almost wholly internal, at the very least, and it would go away in due time.

The young woman's attention was quickly brought back towards Lazirha, though, as she mentioned of a land to the west by the name of 'Chagawa'. Misaki's first instinct was immediately to try and internally assign kanji to the name mentally, but after a few moments she realized that it wasn't necessarily a guarantee that they would share the same language (which would thus make the action completely meaningless)... Even if the apparent merchant of the hour seemed to have what could pass a Japanese name. What was more noteworthy to her, though, was the mention of a prevalence of mines... In an archipelago, of all places. Of course, Japanese arms had been created to make up for the fact that they had access to precious little metal in the first place, and so to hear that some sort of culturally similar analogue for her nation of origin...

It would have been a lie to say that she wasn't curious to see how exactly they had come to similar developments despite having enough of an abundance of resources for metallurgy to export in the first place.

"Chagawa, was it...? I can't say I'm not interested..." Misaki trailed off before the mention of visiting the temple came up. As much as she wanted to resolve the issue at hand, it was obvious that she was most certainly still ill-equipped to do much of anything. Of course, window shopping still didn't quite sit well with her, but if this supposed 'Lady Mie' was willing to speak at length...

Actually, did she even need to worry about anything beyond that? A traveling merchant was already a major source of information, even if she refused to talk beyond wares. A lot could be learned simply by examining and learning about those, after all.

"...All right. Well, in that case, I think I'll pass on exploring the temple for today," she said, nodding towards Lazirha before glancing once more at the bustling marketplace. "It'd be rather dangerous to go in with empty hands, so I'll stay behind. Good luck."

With that, the foxgirl took a deep breath before walking into the crowd. How hard could it be to navigate a place like this?

---

As it turned out, the marketplace was only slightly less suffocating than a Tokyo sidewalk during rush hour, and the foxgirl was not having the best of times weaving through the people milling to and fro to catch a look at whatever stalls had been set up. The glimpses of armor that she could catch as she passed through were rather interesting, if only because she could only now get a closer look at them. Other than the rather detailed masks worn by what she could only assume were other oni, though, Misaki found that the pieces of armor were actually rather reminiscent of late Kofun era pieces, rather than the more ornate (and rigidly structured) armor that started appearing during the Heian period. It was a start, of course, but the only thing to be done from here was to actually examine what goods were in stock and ascertain the level of technology that they were using to make it.

With that thought in mind, Misaki slowly made her way towards the main tent and, after reaching it, slowly poked her head inside and glanced around before entering.

Who knew what sort of goods were present here, after all...?

@VitaVitaAR@Click This@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

After leaving Lazirha's house, Misaki found herself hard-pressed to ignore the sudden surge in activity within the town. It seemed like it was only right to go check out the source—if there was anywhere abuzz with activity, Lazirha was likely to be nearby. She seemed like the sort of person to get wrapped up in that sort of thing, given her affability towards them when they had first met.

As she slowly strolled over to the north, Misaki found herself pausing and staring at the few apparent newcomers (well, besides themselves) who were milling about. Given her heritage, it would have been comically ignorant of her to not notice the oni decked out in what was almost unmistakably Japanese-style equipment. The fact that she seemed to be staring back was not lost upon the young woman, but to drop her initial task to find their benefactor would have been rather flippant at best.

Luckily enough, though, it seemed that Lazirha had found them instead, and as she bounded over, Misaki watched the other masked visitor leave. The offer to look at the shop was tempting, but given that they had no money to speak of...

"You really do have an obsession with tails, don't you?" Misaki asked, shrugging her shoulders before turning back towards the way the oni had gone. "Rather than that, though... What of the other visitors here? Are they all together...?"

If Lazirha couldn't provide her with a sufficient response, she'd go and talk to the oni herself; it seemed much more efficient than window shopping with empty pockets, after all.

@VitaVitaAR@Click This@Crusader Lord@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

As she continued to experiment with her newfound abilities, the arrival of one of the other guests—not the exploding catgirl, luckily enough—caused Misaki to pause for a moment before nodding in response to their request. The company of the young woman who had accosted her earlier that day was, while unexpected, not wholly unwelcome. Though complete concentration to probe into the inner workings of magic might have been 'optimal', being aware of someone chasing after a similar goal meant that she had a reason to at least push herself further. She was already conscious of how much of a burden she would end up if she didn't at least pick up her slack, and as much as she wanted to explore the depths of that 'gift' that the goddess had given her, the acquisition of at least some combat or field utility had to come first.

At the very least, though, by the end of her tests, magic made at least a bit more sense to her; it wasn't anything groundbreaking by any means (at least, not by the standards of isekai in her eyes), but even that steady progress was more than she was hoping for.

The night, for the most part, had gone without incident. With the two new arrivals apparently sleeping in Lazirha's house with them, Misaki found it prudent to simply speak in Japanese when prompted by the warlord at her side. It was more than likely that they might be able to recognize the language itself, but to see if they could understand what they were saying...

Well, it'd be impressive if they could, but who knew where their origins and past studies lay?

---

Misaki woke up with a yawn and a slight stretch, glancing around for a moment before dragging herself to her feet. Though this body was by no means less physically fit than her old one, getting used to it in its entirety would definitely take a while. She had ignored the problem until now, but that didn't mean it had gone away entirely.

Of course, the first order of business right now was to secure supplies before a foray into the forest; other than food, though, that really just meant 'find Lazirha and get directions to not get lost'.

"Morning..." she called out, almost by instinct, as she walked over to the table and glanced at the food laid out. Assuming it was for them was logical, but just to be safe, Misaki chose to take a single slice of fruit and eat that in lieu of a proper meal.

They could get something heartier once they were out and about, after all.

@VitaVitaAR@Click This@Crusader Lord@Crimson Paladin@Rune_Alchemist

Fate/illuminated histoire: A Narrative-Driven Holy Grail War RP

Okay, first batch of Masters to be accepted...

@VitaVitaAR@Vahir@Raineh Daze: You three are all clear. You can start making Servants for people now or hold off 'til the last 3 are ready before making any commitments.

I've already given my comments regarding the other ones elsewhere, but otherwise... Yeah. Get crackin', people.

Fate/Eternum — Reboot

Alter Ego — Meltryllis

Though she was rather unimpressed with the massive ghost's prodigious size, Meltryllis found herself rather annoyed at the fact that it was simply abnormally persistent rather than properly threatening. She and the cosplaying fox had already proven that its size meant nothing, but given that it seemed to lack any proper sapience, their ability to dispatch it seemed to mean nothing.

If only it could simply die like any other ordinary enemy...

With a curt 'hmph', the Alter Ego jumped backward as the odd tendrils struck out at her, her gaze sharp as she watched the billowing smog flood the area. It went without saying that actually fighting the monster would be more of an exercise in patience than it had been for the Shadow Servants prior, but going straight for it with reckless abandon would be the height of stupidity.

"Well, given how enclosed this place is, it's only a matter of time before the ground is flooded with... Well, whatever that vile smoke it. In that case, the only solution is to avoid it entirely, no?"

Though the smoke was flowing rather freely about, its mass seemed to be heavy, hanging closer to the ground while leaving the upper areas intact. Of course, as a primarily melee combatant, Meltryllis noted to herself to at least be able to strike and retreat without fail.

Not like she had any belief that she would fail, of course.

"Perhaps you should use your head more often; it might suit you better than acting like an airhead all day," she concluded, leaping towards the nearest wall and using it as a springboard to propel herself further upwards. At the very least, moving up above the mindless monster where its attacks could not easily reach would give her time to figure out if she could execute it and melt it down.

Even something like this had to be of some use as EXP, after all.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR@Pyromania99

Fusang Streets

If he had to be honest, Waver found Conner's own restraint in getting involved in the affairs of others like this rather commendable; of course, if he didn't pry into matters further, then that was that. Then again, he had gotten his own students involved in a great variety of problems of his in the past, so maybe this was for the best for now.

"Alright, then. I suppose we'll see you again during our next lecture," he said, bidding the young man and his Servant farewell before turning back towards the other pair. Of course, he still had a bit of trouble looking the Saber in the eye, but at the very least, he could half-address her by referring to her Master instead. "I should probably go and cancel my appointment, then, but I can do that on the way. Follow me."

At the very least, calling in to do so was notably less mired in paperwork than doing something similar back at the Clock Tower...
@Rezod92

---

Compared to his old office, the new one Waver found himself using at the university notably less cluttered. There was enough space for all of the documents he had decided to bring with him on the move over, but most of the other things he had used to decorate had been left behind. For the moment, though, that bare minimum—a desk and a few chairs scattered about—would be sufficient for the sake of an impromptu meeting like this.

With both Charlotte and her Saber haven taken their seats, Waver took a moment to compose himself behind his desk. Gray seemed to be looking at the two with mild worry, but given that she had at least elected to take a seat, the professor could at least focus on explaining the situation.

"...Right. Well... To put it simply, my assistant here did not originally appear as such. Her family had originally intended to turn her into a perfect copy of... Well, yourself," he stated coldly, gesturing towards Artoria before turning back towards Gray. She gave a slight nod towards the two to confirm his words, after which point he continued his explanation.

"Of course, things had escalated twice in the past, both of which coincided with your repeated incarnations in Fuyuki City in the last three decades. The first had brought about her initial change in appearance to something one might call an 'uncanny resemblance', but the second in 2006 has brought her even closer to your form in life, including that which resides here," he said, pointing towards the center of his chest. "In other words, your being summoned here once more..."

"...Means that professor is worried about what might happen to me again. Isn't that right?"

Of course, Waver hadn't expected Gray to speak up, but the fact that she at least had the strength of mind to look at the two head-on already meant that the shock from earlier might have already worn off, if only slightly.

"...Right. Of course, there is also the matter of her carrying the Holy Lance around, but at the very least, those are her circumstances. That aside, though, I would like if you could not spread the truth behind all this around. Though I have no doubt that others might 'understand', getting wrapped up in more trouble due to loose lips would be rather... Problematic, to say the least."

With that, Waver straightened his back and looked at the two in front of him, waiting for some sort of response. He couldn't stop them by any means if they decided to go against his request, which meant all that he could do was wait and see how they would react.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Given that she had no adrenaline pumping through her system like she had earlier, Misaki was at the very least able to take a few deep breaths in an attempt to ignore the pain running through her body. Though she was no longer deafened by the makeshift flashbang, the ringing in her head still seemed to remain. Shakily rising to her feet, the foxgirl gave Nobunaga a slight nod in return before turning to Lazirha with a half-smile.

"A-ah... I feel about leaving that to you, but if you insist..." she trailed off, glancing at the soup before slowly moving to seat herself in a place closer to the fire.

And, of course, away from the walking fire hazard. Even if the incident was an accident, Misaki was not particularly inclined to associate with a scantily-clad catgirl with the inability to prevent the equivalent of a stun grenade from blowing up indoors.

Once the meal had concluded, the foxgirl quietly excused herself from the house and stepped outside, making sure to take a deep breath of the cold evening air to shock herself slightly more awake than she had been before. The headache had all but left in the time it had taken to eat her meal (which, while impressive given what she had tasted, was still immediately lacking in the wonders of modern seasonings), which gave her more than enough time to consider what to spend the night on. Given that Lazirha would not allow her to help fix things up again (the small spot on her head where she had been smacked by her ladle showing as much), the foxgirl considered focusing on her newfound magical abilities before night took over anyhow.

Taking care not to stray too far from Lazirha's house, Misaki quietly began to focus as she held her hands out in front of herself. Despite ending up as collateral damage, the foxgirl found at least one positive takeaway from that debacle: the ability to manipulate the 'type' of magic cast.

For starters, then, she would attempt to see to what extent that theory held firm. Fire and light were obvious, but what of water? Stone? Could she generate electricity from nowhere? Given that 'gift' that the 'goddess' had given her, being able to use electricity would be a major boon, should it prove to be manageable.

Of course, she would not go so far as to test her limits; small quantities of whatever it was she was trying would be more than sufficient for the sake of trying.

@VitaVitaAR@Click This@Crusader Lord@Rune_Alchemist

Fate/illuminated histoire: A Narrative-Driven Holy Grail War RP

Hey, co-GM clocking in here.

Just to give a head's up: I'm not going to be making or applying any GMPCs of my own to the RP; my job is solely focused on the more administrative side of this RP (so mainly form analysis and review), so don't think that there's going to be one less slot around because I'm hanging around.

That being said, I'm probably going to be a bit more critical of characters in general now that I'm in this position, so expect a lot of questions from me digging into what has been presented. You know the deal.

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Given how hard she would have ordinarily expected learning a new skill to have been, Misaki was actually pleasantly surprised by the result of her attempts. The intensity of the light proper did leave a little bit to be desired, but for a first attempt, something like this was actually perfectly acceptable in her eyes. The coloration was, admittedly, a bit odd, but ultimately it was something she could live with for the moment. If it was ultimately something to have to look into, she'd do so when it became relevant.

It was at this point that she began to toy with controlling the magic, though; pushing and pulling it from its position, rotating it, and everything in between... Once the sphere had stabilized in shape, that much was at least worth looking into.

Before she could get very far on that front, though, the foxgirl had noticed a glowing light from the side; a brief glance was all she needed to figure out that the source was a proper ball of fire and not simply some semi-amorphous ball of light. The moment that it grew in size, though, she instinctively took a step back, shaking her head as if to signal that the problem should be stopped.

Needless to say, that wasn't going to happen. The subsequent flash of light and loud noise would have easily been on the same level of a flashbang grenade (or, at the very least, what she assumed being on the receiving end of one would have been like), and given her recent encounter with disorienting noises, well...

While the others might have come out just a little worse for wear, she had not been so lucky. Being thrown back into the various artifacts that had just been organized had also been coupled by being unable to see or hear, and the pain ringing in her head caused Misaki to simply crumple over after landing, her hands covering her ears out of instinct. It was nothing that wouldn't go away with time, as past experiences had shown, but it wasn't something that could just be ignored so simply.

Needless to say, she was already disliking the one responsible for her current pain, and it hadn't even been that long since they had met.

@VitaVitaAR@Click This@Crusader Lord@Rune_Alchemist

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Misaki's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she stared at the small sphere of light that Lazirha had created. While she was no scientist, the fact that this was not something she could explain by more 'rational' means made it abundantly clear that delving into magic was going to be a fair deal less straightforward than she had inwardly hoped. It wasn't anything deal-breaking given everything she had already seen today, but without any way to directly understand the methodology behind the magic of this world in the first place, mimicking it would probably bring about an uncomfortable amount of embarrassment.

Luckily enough, the de facto magic teacher had taken the chance to take her hand, and though Misaki herself took a moment to realize what it was that Lazirha was doing, wrapping her head around to concept took no more than a few seconds. Describing it as if someone was trying to pull on her bloodstream wouldn't be too far off-base, at least in her eyes, and after another brief half-explanation from Lazirha, the foxgirl decided to take a crack at mimicking it on her own.

If the whole matter was focused around a mix of idealization and the actual manipulation of what she assumed to be mana or whatever equivalent she had floating in her body, then using what she knew about light on a more scientific level could lead to varying degrees of intensity or something along those lines, wouldn't it?

Of course, the only thing left to do now was experiment. Though she didn't expect to grasp the ability to cast magic immediately, trying to pull upon the same sensation that Lazirha had induced while coupling it with various mental images meant that this was probably a good a place as any to start. Anything beyond light could probably be toyed with in a place that wasn't someone's home, though.

@VitaVitaAR@Click This@Crusader Lord@Rune_Alchemist

From the Ashes

Lymnas

Seeing as how the person in the robe refrained from reaching out to him proper, the old man simply shrugged his shoulders and turned to return to his home, had the younger of the two girls not called out to him moments before he did so. The mention of the abandoned residence caused him to pause before shaking his head.

"...I'm not sure where you heard about that sort of thing, but... There's nothing like that here. You'd be better off not looking," he responded, leaving the two behind on the road.

Of course, the way that he spoke about the matter compared to how he had greeted them earlier was rather suspicious, but when it came to matters such at these, it might have only been expected that the information would not simply fall into their laps.

@Pyromania99@VitaVitaAR

Orlot

The man at the counter who Lucya had sidled up to simply raised an eyebrow as he gazed down at the half-dozen pieces of paper spread out in front of him. There was nothing within that really seemed out of the ordinary, but taking so many at once was a bit... Odd, to say the least.

Odd as it was, though, something like that wasn't unheard of.

"Mm. Got it," he responded simply, swapping the papers out for a few dogtags and leaving them in front of the bounty hunter-to-be. "Time limit for each job's on each tag. You're a fresh face around here, so I'll just make sure that you know you've only got a week tops for all these, or else your claim on the job goes null. Clear?"

The difficulty in most of what had been picked up was really in finding the targets as much as it was taking them out. A smuggler who bit off more than he could chew, wolves roaming the countryside, a rowdy drunkard who had forgotten his tab, and so on...

Even if the jobs themselves weren't inherently noteworthy, depending on how fast they were done, the price tags on each could easily pay for a few days' efforts.

@Lugubrious