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Yeah, I'm just announcing that, uhh, the supposed update's not coming due to suddenly increased workload in the workplace. So the updoot will just be posted by the upcoming weekends and give others more time to post.
I wanted to make the update to get @Xaltwind into the game, but I just can't. Sorry.
With the banter between Evelyn and Leon over, quite suddenly in fact with the latter simply ignoring the former. A fact that Einer found amusing, but back to the matter at hand. Donovan asked if there was anything they need from him before the magus party departed and Leon was the first to ask.
"Altho, If it ain't too much Mr.Donovan. I would require a complete detailed blueprint of your building. I just wanna know every possible entry point and every exit there is. I'm still not convinced this is a perfect crime. As an esper, it's always an advantage to perceive things beyond the normalcy of our eyes."
"Adding to that, Sir Donovan." Einer spoke up immediately as Leon finished. "Do you know of any key personnel there in the site? I believe it would help the investigation if we hear about what they have to say about the theft." That, and Einer also wanted to ask about the magical weapons. And not just the stolen ones, the bard would also ask about how much would they be selling their merchandise.
Wait, what? There's an update tomorrow? But nobody's responded to your latest IC post yet. o_o
Understandable since some players are in a collab and the holidays are coming but if there are no posts, then the update will be dedicated entirely to Flare.
Although, that's all subject to change depending on ny writing speed and my addiction to Gmod.
Despite Shizuka's attempt to defuse the situation, Alice continued the fight by launching herself to the air with a pillar of flame that erupted from the ground. This forced the azure swordsman to intercept her in the air with his own technique, unleashing a barrage of icy slashes to stop Alice from whatever she was doing. All the while as the taskforce watched with varying degrees of interest.
Alice blocked the ice attack from Shizuka and both fighters descended from the air. The Mad Hatter expected a landing by herself, but she was instead caught by Takeshi who had moved in as the clash ended. Alice was then let down before receiving a stinging flick to the forehead courtesy of the young lord.
"I don't mind yokai fighting each other for even the pettiest reasons and making a fool of themselves, but do it somewhere where you can't cause harm to innocent bystanders. That goes for all of you." Takeshi reprimanded the entire taskforce. "Now then, if this is all over. Have a good night and I'll see you all tomorrow." He finished and walked away before Alice bid her final words to Gringor.
Moments later, Ayu arrived to see what was going on and saw the aftermath of the fight. Particularly, the hole that Alice's fire pillar erupted from. "...Well, at least we have the shovels to fix this." She sighed.
~THE NEXT DAY~
After the dinner, the taskforce rested until morning.
It was a new day for Shizuyama and although the refugees were thankful for surviving another day not dying or captured by the invaders, they lamented that yet another day passed with their homes destroyed or occupied and to travel outside this temple safe haven was basically a death wish.
Alice, Gringor and Shizuka seem to have something to do for the day.
Meanwhile, Takeshi was tending to his horse as it ate from its trough. If a taskforce member wished, they could ask him to tag along on a mission.
~~ TAKESHI'S JOURNEY ~~
"Kazenosuke could deflect any attack with his spinning blade, and deliver slashes faster than the eye could see. I have no idea why he couldn't make it to Sanjo Beach. I know he's a ronin, but he still should have heeded my father.
Well, his house is near Terauchi Temple. Not very near, but just follow the river near the temple and we'll find his home and then we can ask for his help."
-Takeshi Oja
"Yurine has taken care of Clan Oja for as long as I can remember. Despite being a servant, I know she can swing her masakari axe pretty hard. I've little idea of her past but I know it involves tending cemeteries.
She should be in Castle Oja but my father sent her to Onrai to begin enacting some way to protect the graves from being desecrated by the invaders. I know of a famous cemetery south of Terauchi Temple. We can begin looking for her there and she'll surely help us."
-Takeshi Oja
~~ TAKAMORI TALES ~~
"Lord Takamori said that his traitorous daughter, Setsuna, is training Varjan archers in Ōmiya. I know this frightens him, even if he tries to hide it. If we don't find her and end this, there may be no stopping the archers, and no hope for Ōmiya Springs. We need to see Lord Takamori immediately." -Takeshi Oja
~~ SORAE TALES ~~
*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*
~~ TALES OF SHIZUYAMA ~~
A villager woman sitting near a bonfire was muttering to herself when the taskforce member approached.
"Poor Honoka, she'll likely starve soon. Oh, I didn't see you there. Err, Honoka's a widow, living alone in the outskirts of Yabo.
Please, if it's not too much of a bother, do you mind checking in on her?"
A villager woman remarked to the taskforce member as the latter passed by.
"You better watch out if you're passing Yabo Forest, yokai. It's haunted by angry spirits... Dead samurai, eager to spill blood."
"People go into the woods and never come out. Varjan and Shizuyaman alike! The bodies that turn up have all been killed by Shizuyaman blades..."
A villager woman was sitting beside a bonfire as the taskforce member approached.
"There's a man, yokai, swinging his sword... slashing the air on the beaches of Hama island. I'm not sure if he is a survivor of Sanjo Beach, or a mere bandit. But I'm fairly sure he was crying."
"Hama island is just off the southern coasts, but you'll definitely need a boat or something to reach it."
There was a monk by the temple entrance and he immediately spoke as soon as the taskforce member approached.
"Yokai! Will you please help me?"
"I have to get to a hidden survivor camp in the woods, occupied by people who are seriously ill. They need a healer! The area might be overrun with bandits or Varjans, so I need protection."
~~ LEGENDARY TALES ~~
"Dealing with these students of the Heavenly Strike was more difficult than we thought. They have already thrown back two of the taskforce. However, the yokai fought them separately and at different times, so perhaps a more cooperative approach would be more fruitful."
Still cheered by the earlier scene, Einer followed Evelyn and the others into the hall. There, they bumped into a sharply-dressed, bespectacled man with graying hair and a rather expensive prosthetic hand. With this man was the Reaver Leon, who had slinked away from the group earlier. Quite the coincidence to run into him again after a short while.
It turned out, the sharp-dressed man was Donovan Krausser, the CEO and Chairman of Borealis Solutions. While Einer was acquainted with the company name before, he had no idea who was running it much less knew that he hung out in the halls of this seemingly random magus tower. If the CEO himself was here and not in his office having delegate here instead, then whatever's inside this Eon Tower was probably very important. Enough to warrant the CEO's presence.
The job concerned Loghren Industries, a firm that made magical weapons. Einer's brow raised, his body could not wield weapons... but maybe just traditional weapons. If a weapon was... different enough that even Einer could wield it, then the possibilities were endless.
The bard listened more closely to the conversation. Some weapons were stolen, and it was up to the Reavers to get them back. The only problem was that it may not be common thieves who stole them. Well, at least Leon and Evelyn seem to be getting along well.
Admittedly, it's already a bit crowded but the decision is ultimately up to you on what your character would do next. Don't worry, the collab won't start until next week so you have plenty of time to think and make a decision..
Hey yo! I just want to ask what're your plans for Yuki after this scene. You see, there's gonna be a super duper collab involving most of the other players with the Heavenly Strike mission. I wanna know if Yuki will be joining them or not 'cause if so, we will provide you with the details and stuff.
Takeshi was spared judgment and punishment from his peers for now. It was agreed that the matter would be brought to his father, once he was rescued, and it would be him who would decide Takeshi's fate. The young Oja supposed this was the best outcome of the situation. It could have been very much worse. Still, Takeshi could feel the disappointment in their eyes. They were not the only ones, he was disappointed in himself too.
The young lord made his way back to the taskforce upon the meeting's conclusion. Not a wise decision considering the earlier meeting's topic but Takeshi decided he should let things cool off with his peers for now. He should probably talk with them again soon, especially Kikyo.
His head was downcast and full of thoughts as he walked, only raising it upon arriving at the taskforce's table. What he saw was... unexpected to say the least. The young lord arrived just in time for Eula to be leading a cow out of the temple premises. Where the cow came from or what it was doing near the taskforce was unknown to him. Not even his imagination could conjure a likely scenario for it.
And besides that, most of the taskforce seem to be grouped around Gringor and Alice who had Shizuka between them. An altercation seemed to be the likely reason, stopped only by the human swordsman as well as Lunatea and Kerry. Their antics were drawing a bit of attention from the nearby refugee villagers, probably wondering why their supposed protectors were bickering amongst themselves.
Placing himself beside Yuki with his arms crossed, he asked the Oni who seemed to be enjoying the scene before her. "Tell me, do I even want to know what's going on here? Don't tell me they were fighting over the cow..."
~~ TAKESHI'S JOURNEY ~~
"Kazenosuke could deflect any attack with his spinning blade, and deliver slashes faster than the eye could see. I have no idea why he couldn't make it to Sanjo Beach. I know he's a ronin, but he still should have heeded my father.
Well, his house is near Terauchi Temple. Not very near, but just follow the river near the temple and we'll find his home and then we can ask for his help."
-Takeshi Oja
"Yurine has taken care of Clan Oja for as long as I can remember. Despite being a servant, I know she can swing her masakari axe pretty hard. I've little idea of her past but I know it involves tending cemeteries.
She should be in Castle Oja but my father sent her to Onrai to begin enacting some way to protect the graves from being desecrated by the invaders. I know of a famous cemetery south of Terauchi Temple. We can begin looking for her there and she'll surely help us."
-Takeshi Oja
~~ TAKAMORI TALES ~~
"Lord Takamori said that his traitorous daughter, Setsuna, is training Varjan archers in Ōmiya. I know this frightens him, even if he tries to hide it. If we don't find her and end this, there may be no stopping the archers, and no hope for Ōmiya Springs. We need to see Lord Takamori immediately." -Takeshi Oja
~~ SORAE TALES ~~
*Finish 'Pre-Emptive Strike' to unlock next tale*
~~ TALES OF SHIZUYAMA ~~
A villager woman sitting near a bonfire was muttering to herself when the taskforce member approached.
"Poor Honoka, she'll likely starve soon. Oh, I didn't see you there. Err, Honoka's a widow, living alone in the outskirts of Yabo.
Please, if it's not too much of a bother, do you mind checking in on her?"
A villager woman remarked to the taskforce member as the latter passed by.
"You better watch out if you're passing Yabo Forest, yokai. It's haunted by angry spirits... Dead samurai, eager to spill blood."
"People go into the woods and never come out. Varjan and Shizuyaman alike! The bodies that turn up have all been killed by Shizuyaman blades..."
A villager woman was sitting beside a bonfire as the taskforce member approached.
"There's a man, yokai, swinging his sword... slashing the air on the beaches of Hama island. I'm not sure if he is a survivor of Sanjo Beach, or a mere bandit. But I'm fairly sure he was crying."
"Hama island is just off the southern coasts, but you'll definitely need a boat or something to reach it."
~~ LEGENDARY TALES ~~
"Dealing with these students of the Heavenly Strike was more difficult than we thought. They have already thrown back two of the taskforce. However, the yokai fought them separately and at different times, so perhaps a more cooperative approach would be more fruitful."
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