Active [Hisuzuki - Kuridan] Puppet On The Run

[Rev IX]

Corolla | Hiro Tanaka
Develius | Flare
Karcen | Seraphina

Hisuzuki (Southwestern Gate)

It was an early sunny morning in Hisuzuki. A stoic figure clad in white, stood on the side of the biggest road that lead into the small town. The farmers have been tending to their crops for a few hours now. Carts with goods came and went, with most people passing by greeting the man respectfully, to which he would bow his head in response.

Spoiler: Man in White

The man had sent a request to the local adventurer's guild recently. The request was vague, asking for people willing to help to come to the place he was standing on currently at noon. As for the request itself, it stated that a local Daimyo needed assistance of a small party retrieving a lost item likely taken by bandits. The swordsman had appeared earlier than he had requested since he was unable to sleep more, but didn't expect the adventurers to follow in his steps.

To kill time, the samurai set his eyes on the town down the hill with a serene, yet sharp expression. He was here to hunt down an enemy, and retrieve what was lost. He was well aware that help was vital, however. So he patiently waited. The man in white noticed the inn that he had stayed at the night prior from afar. He wordlessly thanked his hosts once again for their nutritious meals, with his face relaxing mildly for an instant. And then going back to his war face. Things like those were what he needed to protect.

 

[Corolla]

Hiro Tanaka​

Hiro had spent the past few weeks hopping from village to town, trying to piece together the puzzle of where he could find someone who truly knew magic. The locals, while kind, were frustratingly vague - though many pointed him toward the adventurer's guild. With an awkward smile and a muttered “Thanks,” Hiro trudged on, even as his old instincts screamed at him to just stick to what was familiar. But this wasn’t the old world, and Hiro wasn’t going to waste this second chance. Eventually, after plenty of stilted conversations that left him exhausted and sweating more than the walk itself, he’d found himself on the way to Hisuzuki. A job had practically fallen into his lap: a small group was needed to retrieve a possibly magical lost item stolen by bandits. Magical. That was enough of a hook for Hiro to nervously accept.

Hisuzuki was breathtaking. The architecture reminded him so much of old Japanese provinces that for a moment, Hiro thought he’d wandered into a historical drama. Shaking off the thought, he scanned the area, searching for the man he’d been told to meet - a figure clad in white with matching hair. Spotting him wasn’t hard, and Hiro, seeing the blade on his side, kept his distance. “Uh, excuse me,” he called, his voice faltering slightly. “I’m Hiro. I came... for the, uh, job? Lost item thing?” He cursed internally. "Smooth, Hiro. Real smooth." Hiro took a deep breath, steadying himself for the man's reaction. New world, new rules - but some things, like not startling armed people, stayed the same.

 

[Develius]

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Mentions:
| Karcen [Seranphina] | Corolla [Hiro Tanaka]
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Amiss the pristine meadows garnered by beautiful flowers and vast fields, a walking antithesis treaded down the path bellowing flame and smoke.

It's been a few days since Flare and their partner, Seranphina came from their last mission. It was a stressful bug-extermination, one which saw the deaths of many of their employers. Well, pretty much everyone they knew when they arrived anyways. While the party survived with minimal casualties, needless to say everyone needed some time off away from the horrors of the battle. The others had mentioned wanting to go to a bathhouse to cool off, though given Flare's composition as a fire elemental, they had to decline. Shame too. They were pretty nice guys. Though of course, both Flare and Sera thanked them for the offer before heading back to the guildhall.

The two did enjoy some time off by themselves though... even growing a bit stronger after training their powers a bit more.

Now the two were back on the road in the town of Hisuzuki, responding to a vague yet intriguing quest by a Daiymo requesting they take back an item from-

"More bandits, huh..." Flare said while they scanned their surroundings, "I mean, I guess they'll be less of a problem compared to those big ole' bugs from last time. Less traumatizing hopefully... I mean, remember the last bandit group we fought for that one guy I took you out of? We wiped them out nooooo problem. And since we've already gotten a bit stronger, well, this should be a cakewalk."

It wouldn't take long for them to finally meet with their employer. A white haired samurai, stern-eyed and stoic, sat motionlessly as another man walked up to him. The other lad was more modest looking, pretty ordinary all things considered. Perhaps it was a friend of his? Stomping into the scene, Flare loomed over the two as the flames began to slowly dimmer to accommodate for their presence.

"Heyo." Flare greeted with a friendly wave of their hand. "Name's Flare. Here for that job regarding bandits and a stolen item?" Their hand would begin unsheathing Seranphina from a custom sword holster that their mentor, Fraust, had made from them. Made of fine rawhide and leather, it would be a snug fit for her when they travelled. "Also here is my sword in crime, Seranphina." they motioned towards the blade with a slight jest, letting the ghost girl finish. Though while they did, the fire elemental looked at the unassuming man, Hiro, with an intrigued look. "You his friend?" they asked harmlessly towards him, unsure what to refer him as, "Or, no, you're also here for the job, right?"

 

[Karcen]

Seranphina
Languages common, Terran​

Seraphina was thankful to be back on adventurer stuff after the little stint in the fae military they had. The guild at least would warn you if you were going to die. Seraphina was a bit surprised Flare never asked about the shit the elf abd her had argued over. Seraphina had been telling everyone half truths that she was just a Magic sword not a person made into one. That her ashes were intertwined with the blade itself blending soul and metal more completly than simplely binding. The funny thing was looking back seraphina didn't hate the people even the witch or glim. Yeah she hadn't exactly mourned their loss, but hey they had knowingly signed up for the let's die group, so them dying was on their to do list. Still the anger an annoyance sge had felt was long gone. The bathhouse suggest by the two rather crazy girls had not been her thing. Flare was fire and she was a sword neither of them could enjoy water.

" Maybe this time we get to be the babysitters " Seraphina chuckled her ghostly form floating around Flare. She was still sure that swordswoman they had met was much stronger. " Helping a new person is a nice change of pace " she continued thinking bandits should be easier than bugs and she wanted to test her new skills.

As Flare took her put of the custom sheath, something she had to admit Faust had done a good job on, the ghostly image sat on flare's shoulder her size adjusted to fit. Illusions were still her stock and trade, bit now she had new ways to play. Seraphina was honestly thinking on going down that road more, but wanted to protect flare as well.

Seraphina chuckled whe Flare confused the apprent adventurer with just a friend. He did have a villager A look to him. That or the most insert yourself here look on a story. Well who knew maybe he got tge power lottery jackpot so she wouldn't tease him much.

" Nothing like bandits at least you can understand them " seraphina said the image moving off flare's shoulder and grown to her normal child like size " Beats bugs for sure " she finished before giving a slight bow as she floated off the ground " I am seraphina and I'm not a ghost, not a bound spirit, I am the sword what you see is an illusion " she explained as so far everyone she meet needed that explanation even if it was a bit of a lie.

 

[Rev IX]

Corolla | Hiro Tanaka
Develius | Flare
Karcen | Seraphina

In a sharply honed sense of meditation, hours flew by to the man in white. Mechanically greeting back more travelers passing by, none of which had any business with him. It was then a voice did address him. A young man. Not outstanding by any means. He could perfectly pass as a Hisuzuki resident, and yet his words showed something else.

"Good day, Hiro. Yes, I am the person who put the request." the man calmly spoke while offering a mild, but reassuring smile. "Is it your first time wandering away from home?" the lack of field experience was palpable, so the man tried to reflect his calm state of mind onto Hiro.

Flare's imposing figure and presence was hard to miss, so the man's attention fixated on them. "Indeed. You and Hiro here will be aiding me today, Flare" The man in white halted for a moment, picking up on the nature of Flare's blade. Quite more so when the soul residing within projected outwards. "I see. In that case, I extend my greetings to you as well, Seraphina and Flare." After bowing to the trio, the man turned towards the town. "Follow me, I'd like to have a chat with you before we get to work."

The samurai walked silently through the town. Greeting some locals back non-verbally, with a bow of the head or a hand gesture. After a relatively brief walk, the group seemed to have reached another end of the town, with only one building left to pass. Where their guide stopped and approached it. "Could I interest you in some tea?"

Sanmari Tea House

Spoiler: Amari

A beautiful woman of mild reptilian features, with snakes adorning an immaculately styled hair, came out of the tea house to greet the samurai with a gentle motion of the arms. "Bring a pot of the house blend to one of the garden tables, please." The woman gracefully gestured again and went back into the house. The samurai invited the trio to follow him yet again to the back of the building, where a modest, but immaculate garden with a couple of tables presented itself. The man sat down, and invited the adventurers to follow suit. The woman appeared yet again, placing a tray with a pot of tea and a couple of cups. "I doubt elementals or swords enjoy tea. Is there anything you might like to have?" Based on their answer, the samurai would request the silent hostess to help with their orders, as unlikely as it was to get much variety from a tea house.

With ordering out of the way, the samurai would sigh. "Okay, I brought you here because I wanted to properly explain what you three are getting into. You see, the request was vague on purpose. My name is Torin, a samurai of the house of Ginji. I've been following the one we're after for some time now. We are very close to its hideout and I didn't want to make it flee again. It's a combat puppet who went rogue and stole an amulet from the house it served. Something more difficult than your run of the mill bandits. And while I'm confident on my abilities, I'd like to have backup. And that's where you come in. Ideally, the amulet should be retrieved and the puppet dismantled. But just getting back the amulet will do." After explaining the situation, Torin would look at each member of the group in the eye for a moment. And then finalized "If you want to back out, now's the time. If not, then ask as many questions as you deem necessary. I want you to be as prepared as you can be."