Makiko helps Nagisa find a vantage point to the south from which to begin our search, then sits and attempts to summon something out of childhood tales of the forest: a Forest Sprite! If successful, she will send the Sprite to find the magic ball. and report back.
"Certainly, Makiko-san," Nagisa said with a smile as she took both of their orbs from Hway and handed one to Makiko. "We can track down the one that flew off to the south. I'd thought of a wonderful implement to view it but we would need to find a hill to see the orb clearly first."
Together with Makiko, Nagisa will locate a hill. Once she finds it, she will focus on summoning a telescope-like invention and search for the orb or whatever traces it leaves.
This quaint little lakeside refuge is a low vantage point, but Mt. Fuji is rather far away, even though a mountaintop would be an great place for observation, assuming high-quality lenses able to observe the stars. The answer is a healthy compromise.
Crossing the road to the hilltop, the two of you end up traversing the pine forest, stepping on a couple of owl pellets along the way, jouncing a look at the tiny bones inside. Fluffy diurnal creatures stalk from the shadows, while the curious, ever-present crow spies at his roost.
You come across a tree stump that looks like the tree was cleanly sliced through. Whatever caused such a thing had to have been a beast of immense power. That being said, it makes a comfortable seat as Makiko sits down to concentrate.
When she opens her eyes, she feels a miniscule hand pulling the hem of her jacket. The sprite leaps up onto her shoulder and folds its purple butterfly wings, the watches it wears across its chest jingling. Makiko jumps when she sees that the fairy also has a tiny snake wrapped around her miniature waist.
The tiny green-skinned person kneels down to look at Makiko's hand, her matted jumble of hair drooping forward. The sprite eyes the glowing orb, puts on an impish grin, and takes off into the forest, leaving behind a silver watch.
...
Nagisa, meanwhile, finds a clearing where many trees have been felled by the same sort of creature which bisected the other tree. It provides her with a vantage point over the lake, from which she is able to observe a couple points of interest. The sprite could be seen making a beeline for the Shinto shrine next to the lake; at the same time, Nagisa spots a clearing in the woods, just a couple of trees across but quite noticeable as a gap in the otherwise dense pine forest. There's no sort of fallout visible from the magic orbs' impact, even though they seemed to have quite the effect.
Gai put his ineffective rod aside. While the look and development of the equipment was new, fishing hadn't changed very much since the III millennium. Neither had his skill in it. He got up and looked around, seeing most of the others getting into pairs, then turned to Ryo.
"I suppose we're searching together then. I'm Gai."
"Good to meet you I am Ryo. Now shall we start with the north?"
Ryo grabs a stick from the ground and leads the way north. Looking for any clearings or scent of smoke marking where the orb may of landed
The two of you make your way up the hill, having crossed the road (perhaps illegally), on the lookout for the signs of devastation those orbs were sure to have caused.
Instead, everything seems dreadfully quiet. Even your own footsteps barely register. It's as if you are under some sort of magic spell--the prosaic solitude of the wilderness.
Ryo, keeping an eye out for clearings, finds an arrow embedded in a tree, unmarked. It seems to have been fired in the direction the two of you were moving.
Gai feels the heat of flame from not too far away. It's about [12] units away to the west, hidden by brush.
"That's a familiar story. Where are you from?" Mitsuru asks.
"Lets go this way," Mitsuru chooses a reasonable direction to start exploring.
You head along the road to the east. Lilith crawls across the ground, rather than flying as one (wouldn't) expect from a skeleton. Even when cars pass by, nobody seems to notice the beast, even though Miya is riding it.
The road offers better visibility than the forest; you should be able to see any smoke trail or other sign. Surely there must be one? That Hway girl can't be expecting you two to scour every inch of the forest floor...
"Over here!" says Miya, dismounting.
"Lilith smells something!"So the beasts seem to be the key. You wonder...
Miya stumbles into the forest, her dragon struggling to maneuver around the trees. You make it a fair distance away, such that the bend of the hill obscures the road.
Suddenly, Miya goes flying.
She crashes into a tree. Its boughs snap, dropping the young girl to the ground covered in sticks and weeds.
You keep your eyes fixed on the cause: A black shadow, barely tangible, oddly proportioned for a creature capable of such speed. You recognize it. But it doesn't seem to be the only guest.
The pine trees rustle. Or rather, they give the appearance of doing so. Lilith roars, and soon the creature gives up its cloak of mystery: A rainbow-colored moth, the size of a car, having the stinger of a scorpion, prepares to attack. It strikes at the beast of shadows, and its stinger lands true.
The location is
Spirit Shards:
Cracked Mask of Mystery
Inventory:
Your school backpack
Shackled Spirits:
Mami Wabu, the Forest Spirit
--Has a mind of its own
[Backpack] Knife (Skill Level: 3) (Damage: 2 physical) (Reach: +0)
-Slash: Against unarmored targets, you can throw 2 additional skill dice
Spirit Shards:
Mask of Despair -- It pulses with an overwhelming sense of dread. You have the feeling something will happen if you wear it.
Inventory:
Abilities:
Firewalk - Palpable
Inventory:
Your school backpack
Abilities:
No Man's Land - Inactive
Inventory:
Your school backpack
Inventory:
Your school backpack
Assassin's Plaque -- A token of... victory? It writes of a shadowly ninja clan.
Author
Topic: River of Lost Souls: IC Thread (Read 51093 times)