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Decided to have a comm done and update Shizuka's look.


Character sheet updated~!
Meet the criminals of Shizuyama over at the latest update on the 'Some Helpful Terms' post in the Characters Tab!


---


"What...?"

"Is this true?!"

"..."

"There-there has to be a mistake, Lord Takeshi..."

"There is no mistake. I speak the truth."

"..."

"...Grim tidings."




Terauchi Temple




The group had moved on to the dining area as they continued their... antics. Their table was separated from everyone else's, for obvious reasons. Some of the children were curious and wanted to approach the yokai, but the taskforce's current interactions forced their parents back to their own tables. Some other, more optimal, time to build bridges then.

Ayu was glad that her little pep talk has managed to cheer Liliana up. Although, she worried that if the taskforce's morale can't take hits like this, then what would happen if worse things happen? Ayu decided not to worry about that right now. "I'll be joining the cooking crew, alright? Just holler if you guys need anything."

Eula and Shizuka had also returned from their mission, with some bandit prisoners even. After leaving their prisoners to the monks, however, they were led away by a villager. Perhaps they will be available in a short while.

The taskforce also overheard a couple of villager men walking by.

"I saw a couple of Zombies outside the temple. Are they part of the taskforce too?"
"No, I heard they were the thralls of the Lich one. Made from Varjan corpses, or so Ayu says."
"Well if I die, she can have my body. That's probably the only way I can be useful against the Varjans..."
"Mmm, be careful what you wish for."

---


~ @AzureKnight (SHI), @The Irish Tree (EUL) ~


Through one way or another, Eula and Shizuka reached the temple with their prisoners without any further incident. Upon their arrival, they were greeted not by Ayu but a villager man. "You two! You were the ones sent by Saki, right? You need to come with me."

After leaving the bandit prisoners with the monks, the two taskforce members were led by the man towards an area of the temple where the unfortunate dead were given their final rites. The bodies were respectfully covered with clean white sheets while a senior monk recited prayers. There were other villagers here, mourning for their fallen, and Shizuka and Eula were taken to a seemingly random one.

"This is Saki, yokai. It's a strange tragedy." The villager said. "She slit her wrists open without anyone knowing, and came here just before she expired. She said she blamed herself for her family's death, and committed harakiri to atone for the sin. The monks could not save her and her last words were of gratitude to you two. She said that the yokai have more honor than anyone here in Shizuyama."

The villager then sighed. "What about you? Where did Saki send you exactly?"








~~ TAKESHI'S JOURNEY ~~






~~ TAKAMORI TALES ~~




~~ SORAE TALES ~~


*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*

~~ TALES OF SHIZUYAMA ~~








~~ LEGENDARY TALES ~~


~ The Eon Tower ~




"Humans stand as the Apex Predators. Beasts should be made to understand their place. I’ll lend my talents to reset the Balance between Man and Mer..."
Scarlett Ishval


After Scarlett had left for the library, Einer snickered. "Pffft..."

"Aha, ahahahaha!" The little outburst from the white-haired, metal-armed woman had the musician letting out a hearty, genuine laugh. Normally, he would care about the feelings of those who were the expense of the joke but this was simply too much for Einer. "Forgive me, my lords and ladies." Einer continued, wiping a tear off an eye. "I've not seen such brutal honesty since... well, I believe this is the first time I've seen it!" He let out a few more laughs as he finished.

Scarlett. She was probably not good company, but she had been hilarious so far. She's probably one of those people best enjoyed from a distance. "She does not mince her words, does she? She has honesty untempered by manner or etiquette. Indeed, I do not envy Madam Shavis' job watching over her."

"But anyway, while I would love to browse the Tower's libraries like some of the others, let me earn my keep first and establish myself a Reaver of the Eon Tower." Einer said before looking at Taltrus and Evelyn. "Let me join Sir Taltrus and Madam Evelyn in their quest about the stolen weapons. I can offer..."

Offer what? Healing magic likely unneeded? Miasma-cleansing for a job that seemed not to concern any? Einer found himself running off a cliff with that sentence. Oh, why did he even start it? "...Some elevating tunes for the travel on the road. Aha!" He tried to save it with a small joke. Einer noted he should probably refrain from running his mouth off from now on.
*reads last post*

Yeowch
Likewise! Also, will try to update the lore over the weekends.

once I'm done doing my dailies
Update out. If y'all have any problems about the direction of the scene, we can discuss it and perhaps get it revised.
Abandoned Village

HONEY TRAP

~ @AzureKnight (SHI), @The Irish Tree (EUL) ~


"If you fella's have a moment, my comrade and I would like to ask you a few questions. We overheard a few of your friends talking about a woman who fell in love with one of your associates, and had even killed her whole family just to be with him. But it seemed that her love went unrequited, and she was abandoned. It hasn't been lost on me that my comrade and I may have been knowingly sucked into this farce, but we'd like to know the whole story."
Shizuka Kannazuki


"We don't know anything!" One of the crossbowmen exclaimed. "We just do what we're told! We didn't even know this was a lover's quarrel or something. Well, there were rumors circulating around the group but we thought they were just rumors! We didn't know it was true, much less the details." He explained. "The leader, the one who got cannoball'd. He has all the answers."

"Non-vital body parts may be optimal for targeting, including: Hair, pinky fingers, and testicles..."
Eula


"What the hell is a testicle?" The cannoneer muttered before coughing from the pain of his abdomen. "But I get your message. I don't plan on any of me getting crushed into powder."

"Heh, this is about a girl named Saki, isn't it?" The bandit leader then laughed. "She put you up to this? Nah, you wouldn't be asking these question if that's the case. You got suckered, didn't you?" He laughed again, savoring the moment while he still had it. "If you were this easy to trick, yokai, then no wonder we kept you out of this island all this time."

"But yeah, about Saki. We saved her from a bunch of Varjans. She got lovestruck, told her we needed food, she told us where her house is, we came for the food." The leader laughed again. "The food wasn't that much, probably why her family fought pretty ferociously. They all died, either way." Another laugh followed. "We kept the girl alive, though. Y'know, fair's fair."

"And nah, hadn't seen a Varjan ever since that incident. Haven't seen a proper Shizuyaman warrior either. They're all dead, aren't they? Gotta be the only reason a yokai could enter this island."



Terauchi Temple




Before Liliana could leave, Ayu placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

While the others consoled Alice, Ayu tried her hand on a pep talk for the gloomy Fairy. "Come on, Liliana. Don't be like that. I mean, you're not just any Fairy but a knight Fairy in direct service to a Titania. Don't let stuff like this get you down. Don't leave when we need your inspiring personality the most."

"And besides, a sad Fairy in our midst? It's pretty disheartening, you know?" Ayu finished.

---


~ @AzureKnight (ATS) ~


Moments after dismissing Gringor, Takeshi was about to speak to Nobutada when Atsuha appeared. Her sudden arrival surprised the young lord Oja, although he soon figured what she was really here for. "Nobutada, I think need to be alone with her right now. Just gather the others for now and I'll meet you all later."

"Milord, if the yokai are giving you trouble..." Nobutada offered.

But Takeshi put up a hand. "Just... trust me, my friend. I can handle this just fine." The large monk bowed and quickly left the lord and spider yokai alone in this secluded location with a huge tree to the side.

"Takeshi-san, could you spare a moment? Perhaps there's a better way to handle this situation. Having been here for the past few days, we've seen that your people's hatred for the yokai equals, if not surpasses the threat they feel toward the Varjans. I mean, some of the natives have even begun to ally with them! Some members of the taskforce, like myself, are quite magically inclined. I'm sure can find a way to work something out."
Atsuha Hangai


"I... appreciate your efforts to help me. Really, I do. But... I don't want to hide anything, especially not from my trusted friends." Takeshi began his reply. "They trust me, and as the heir to this island, look up to me as well. You know, set an example and all that. I don't want to betray their trust, and while I don't mind keeping secrets, what... happened to me and Alice is one secret that I can't keep."

"And besides, if I do keep it and it gets discovered, I'd be more in trouble. Right?" Takeshi finished before scratching the back of his head. "I... don't know what's gonna happen to me. Normally, that act usually warrants death. But we're not in normal times, and I'm the son of the island's Lord. Maybe I'll just be exiled, or just disinherited."

Takeshi wanted to place a hand on Atsuha's shoulder for reassurance, but she was too tall and large for his hand to reach it. He eventually settled on patting the Jorou-Gumo's arachnid legs. "All I'm saying is, you guys don't need to worry about me. Worry about the Varjan invasion, and the people of Shizuyama."








~~ TAKESHI'S JOURNEY ~~






~~ TAKAMORI TALES ~~




~~ SORAE TALES ~~


*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*

~~ TALES OF SHIZUYAMA ~~








~~ LEGENDARY TALES ~~


Hey guys! I really want to make a post (and I could!) but I feel it's better to just delay the update to next week or the coming weekend.

Sorry for the delay.
~ The Eon Tower ~


Einer cocked an eyebrow when Lanus introduced himself to the lyre musician with a charming smile and a bow. Einer, himself, wondered why he was being given this special treatment when Lanus' Elven companion, Renee clarified that Einer was a male. The musician could only sigh with his eyese closed. Such misunderstandings were dime a dozen with him.

The day wasn't even over yet when one of the new Reavers had decided to climb the Eon Tower itself for reasons unknown to Einer. Although, her transforming limbs did raise his one of his brows. It was magic he had not seen before. A potential avenue, perhaps...?

Whatever that woman was doing, her plans were, almost literally, shot down when an armored avian that glowed green with magic flapped a gust of wind on the transforming woman that knocked her from the walls. Only for the avian to catch her in its talons and safely deposited back to the group. The avian had its master on its back, who disembarked shortly after bringing back the new Reaver. She had a typical witch's attire like Evelyn's and Lapis', but colored black.

The black witch introduced herself as Roze. And shortly after welcoming the new Reavers, another veteran Reaver approached the group. He was a Belua with draconic features, and apparently Lapis' brother. Aside from welcoming the new team, he also said that he would be in charge of the physical training of the Reavers. Nothing that concerned Einer at the moment.

They were then led into the Tower itself, a marvel of engineering and brilliant architecture that blended the magical artifacts and mechanisms of the structure with marble aethestics quite well. Einer had to admit, none if was shabby. He could get used to this place. The new Reavers continued inside, eventually finding themselves entering through pair of ornamental doors into a very fancy audience chamber complete with stained windows and velvet rugs. In the middle, was the big man himself.

“...Now, do any of you have any questions for me? If not, we’ll go ahead and get you set up for the field. We’ve made sure to have a few jobs lined up for you, should help in getting acclaimed in how we do things out in the field.”
Arteus Navarre Irvin


A more formal welcome from Sage Irvin, the head of the Eon Tower. Although, Einer's ears perked up when he heard that this place had a library that had 'countless grimoires and artifacts'. Yes, this could be the place where he could finally get what he always wanted. The new Reavers introduced themselves and asked their questions, at least one of whom already slinking away to enjoy the Tower's many facilities.

"I am Einer Devaron, Sir Irvin. At your service." The musician finally spoke, tipping his hat as he did. "And my questions are the same as the others."

The others... He didn't want to compare himself to the others, but Einer could not help it. Especially if they were right there beside him. And didn't that eyepatch guy, Hector Wyland, say he was practitioner of Thaumaturgy and Galdr, not to mention a marksman? Gods, there was already someone here who was better at the things he can do.
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