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 so well trained they resembled statues 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 serving 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."

 

[Karcen]

Seranphina
Languages common, Terran​

" I don't eat or drink" The illusionary Seraphina said as she picked up an illusionary tea cup and drank from it just to mess around. Though her was styled after a the porcelain cups more common in places like wideria over Kuridan. She didn't know why this was the form the tea cup took when she thought of one, perhaps it was a left over memory deep in her? Still as she sipped on nothing or the illusions sipped on an illusion she listened. They were hunting a combat puppet, so something like Viokii though less curvy. Seraphina though more imagined a blank anatomy doll somehow wielding a sword over anything complex. It was a bit annoying to be lied to again about a job did no one in this world just post what they wanted? Did this mean that this would be another See affair?

" So a puppet like a construct right?" She asked not entirely sure of her assessment of the situation. " there any reason it went rouge?" She continued wondering if that was known as if the puppet was being wronged then perhaps they could talk this out.

 

[Develius]

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Mentions:
Rev IX [Samurai] | Karcen [Seranphina] | Corolla [Hiro Tanaka]
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"Oh I wish I could," Flare replied kindly towards the samurai when asked if they needed tea, "But as a fire elemental I don't really eat or drink like you guys. I mean, I can't even have water because... well, you know... fire and water. Now if there's some oil or spare firewood around, I can pop it inside my chassis and use it as fuel that way, but it's not a requirement. Though I appreciate the thought." They'd then point to her chest cavity, blatantly showing the clamps which secure it in place. A shame they couldn't eat normal foods though... or more specifically, they can't taste it. The wonderful sweet and flavored scents they smelled across town would waft kindly around their essence, taunting them the hidden pleasures. Still it allowed Flare to concentrate on them and smell even when they usually smelt smoke and seared metal.

As they entered the courtyard of samurai's humble establishment, Flare would be greeted to a woman of surprising and deadly beauty. Were those... snakes on her head? While most may find it intimidating at best, Flare thought that was pretty cool. Soon enough, they make themselves comfy as they sat down - propping Seranphina's blade next to them on a chair as the samurai elaborated on the true specifities of their quest.

From what Flare fathered, Torin, as the samurai referred himself, had been closely following an enemy of the House of Ginji towards its potential hideout. Torin needed potential back up to fight against this assailant, a rogue combat puppet, who had stolen an amulet from the House of Ginji. Essentially, their primary objective was to retrieve the amulet and perhaps 'dismantle' the puppet if possible.

Though of course there was the question of WHAT this puppet was and if there was a reason why it went rogue... with these questions being quickly administered by Flare's companion. The fire elemental wasn't too familiar with these 'combat manequins', but also assumed something within the realm of a construct. "And just what does this 'puppet' look like?" they asked curiously, leaning their metallic frame a bit closer towards the table, "I take it these aint just some sentient clothing department manequins looking to style themselves out? And on the topic... what's does the amulet look like?"

 

[Rev IX]

Develius | Flare
Karcen | Seraphina

Spoiler: Torin

Seeing as there were no takers for the tea, Torin served himself a cup. Taking his time to serve it gently, then taking a sip. After putting his cup down, he smiled and glanced at their host. "Thank you, Amari. That will be all." Torin bowed his head, and Amari gracefully bowed back and went inside the teahouse again. "I'm sorry, Flare. I doubt this teahouse has any spare wood or oil. The tea is great, but they aren't exactly in a busy place." Torin took a pause and drank some more tea as the duo asked away.

"A construct? Yes, you could say that. But thinking is not the strong suit of puppets like this one," he paused, serving himself some more tea. "Why? I apologize. I don't know the answer to that. That's part of the reason why it would be ideal to dismantle it. Know what caused it to act like this."

After another silent tea pause, Torin turned his attention to Flare "It's creator made it to resemble himself. So it looks like a human samurai made of wood and metal with visible gaps for joints and such. It should be dressed in a samurai outfit, likely dirty and disheveled from traversing forested areas". Torin served himself what was left of the tea, but didn't drink it just yet. Torin was a bit confused with Flare's wording on her next question. "Hmmm..." He stared down at his cup of tea for a moment. "I don't think so. They just do as their name imply, training or actually fighting. That's it. But then again, this one is not normal. So it might have other reasoning for its actions"

Torin took a sip of tea, and concluded "A disc-like bronze pendant with a blue triangular gem embedded in the center. It is likely wearing it, as it used it to kill a few guards with it."

 

[Develius]

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Mentions:
Rev IX [Samurai] | Karcen [Seranphina] | Corolla [Hiro Tanaka]
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Flare let Tonin's description float in their mind for a moment, conjuring up what they believed to be a fairly accurate depiction of their foe and the amulet it carried. A samurai human made of wood and metal... dirty and ragged from long distance travel. Clearly they weren't mannequins one saw from a clothing/fitting store, though again it would've been funny if not slightly disconcerting to see one just hoarding all sorts of clothes and bling in order to put on the perfect fit. Flare believed they got this in the bag.

"I see..." the elemental pondered before giving a nod, "Well, I suppose this shouldn't be too-"

Then they though about the amulet the samurai described, causing them to pause for a moment.

"Wait..." Flare inquired curiously, "It used the amulet to kill? I'm guessing it is magical right? I'd find it hard to believe it can kill things with it just by bonking them on their noggins a couple o' times."

 

[Karcen]

Seranphina
Languages common, Terran​

Great they were dealing with a terminator... whatever that was. Well despite what the samurai told them Seraphina had her own ideas of what had happened. She guessed this puppet had gained more smarts than it's maker meant for it to have and when it saw and opening it took it and ran. Thought why would it take the amulet? Why had it used the amulet to kill as well? There were quite a few questions here and Seraphina suspected that the samurai's master knew more than he told his servant. This might become the See all over again with them getting fucked because someone held back secrets. Though, Seraphina herself was holding back secrets herself.

Seraphina weaved a new illusion this time using [ augmenter Selective ], a skill she had recently picked up or remembered, to make sure she was only heard by Flare " They are keeping secrets i think that amulet is more than an shiny death trinket " Seraphina whispered into Flare's metaphorical ear.

" Well i guess someone cut your puppet's strings " Seraphina replied dropping the selective augmenter so that now the samurai heard her as well.

 

[Rev IX]

Develius | Flare
Karcen | Seraphina

Spoiler: Torin

Torin nodded slowly at Flare's quick conclusion about the amulet. "It is magical in nature, yes." He paused for a moment, with some concern creeping on his face. "An elemental amulet. The one this puppet stole was aligned with..." Torin casted his sight down for a moment, before looking at the armored elemental's eye slits. "...Water." The samurai sighed. "These elemental amulets are known as Niji Amulets. They align with the person the more time they train with it, and their power specializes according to their personality. I suspect the water Niji the puppet has is leaning towards ice-oriented abilities, based on the traces it left after leaving the residence. I still recommend you to be careful, Flare."

Torin rose an eyebrow to Seraphina's temporary vanishing, but decided to not pry into whatever caused it. Using that break in the conversation to finish his tea.

The intermission ended as suddenly as it started, with Seraphina commenting on the puppet's state of being. Missing the potential snarky nature it could have had behind it, Torin nodded. Slowly standing up. "I get the feeling we are done here, are we not?" from under his robes, Torin got a few coins, and gently placed them in the table, neatly stacked. "And if we're not, we con still talk on the way."

Torin then followed the side entrance back to the road, where the trio would see Amari on the front of the house, bowing to them. Torin bowed back, and then continued walking, until they reached an old-looking bridge passing over a river and lead into a disheveled path into a bamboo forest. "There is an abandoned shrine upstream, somewhere up this old path going into that forest. That's where it's hiding. Be wary." After stating this, Torin gripped the sheath of his sword and resumed his walk.

 

[Develius]

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Mentions:
Rev IX [Samurai] | Karcen [Seranphina] | Corolla [Hiro Tanaka]
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"Oh..." Flare's expression dampened upon Torin mentioning the amulet's power, "O-Of course it is...." This sudden revelation had already complicated things. The fire elemental always had a natural fear of water the moment since they were first released from Fraust's oven. From a distance they didn't mind it. Looking over a large lake or ocean from a safe distance, or any body of tranquil water in that case, would such fears be limited. At best they were tolerable... if not smeared with a healthy dose of anxiety. But gods forbid they go out sailing on the high seas, especially if it's on a small boat. And traveling in rain? Forget it! Even in their suit, Flare would much rather prefer waiting for the rain to pass while under a sturdy roof.

And never did Flare dare to take on anyone wielding water magic... in fact, they wouldn't even dare concede the thought. It was after all a big fear of theirs. And now... its become a reality.

Listening in to Sera's private comments about their employers keeping secrets that the amulet is more than just a 'shiny death trinket', Flare simply scoffed at the thought. "Ohhhhh no, it's a death trinket alright." they stated internally to Sera with a clearly defensive tone, "To me, myself, and I! Someone clearly set me up with this one, I just KNOW it. Whoever it was... boy when I get my hands on them I swear-!"

Even though Torin assured that the puppet using the Niji water amulet was deploying more ice-related abilities rather then actual water, the samurai clearly cautioned Flare to be careful. At least he sounded honest and upfront with the whole thing. Though it would be a shame to back out now, even though they admittedly had a VERY valid reason for doing so. They hadn't backed out of a quest mid-way before, knowing they'd feel awful doing so. Maybe Fraust set this one up for them to conquerer their fears of the aqua-sphere? That would be a pretty sick joke...

While Flare's "flight" sense was nagging at them to leave, their "fight" sense and determination for justice urged them to stay strong. They'll get through this. And who knows? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad? That's why they had the armor... to protect themselves from the elements! And Fraust had upgraded the suit a bit since their last mission... maybe they'll be ok?

After thinking it over briefly, Flare wrought in their courage and gave a confident nod. "Yeah..." they sighed lowly, before looking at the samurai with a determined gaze, "I will, sir. Don't you worry. We'll get it done one way or another. I mean, heh, a little bit of water surely can't be that big of a deal, r-right?" They then internally said to Sera... "R-Right?!" They knew they were bluffing by the end, though it was better then acting the coward. Hopefully Sera had a few new tricks up her incorporeal sleeves to combat these sorts of things... they're going to need them. So long as they were careful, they'll seize the day... or die trying.

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Soon enough, Flare would follow Torin down the path towards the old bamboo forest - separated by a stream and connected by an old bridge. Sera would be able to feel Flare's general reluctance conflicting with their sense to obligation, though with her at their side the fire elemental seemed to be at further ease. Coupled by the fact the samurai was joining them as well also helped to boost their confidence. As their guide told them of what's ahead, Flare nodded attentively. "Will do..." they replied cautiously as they slowly walked behind him. They were on high alert, looking around the lanky bamboo forest for any signs of their quarry.

Should Sera transform back into the sword, Flare would grip the handle tight and position the blade over them... ready to strike. "Ohhhh I don't like this at all..." Flare mentally portrayed at Sera. "We might be on the offensive here but damn do I feel anything BUT being defensive. Keep an eye out for me, okay?"

 

[Karcen]

Seranphina
Languages common, Terran​

Seraphina still didn't care for the story they were told but the samurai was seemingly being honest enough. Seraphina more doubted the people above him not telling him the whole story so he couldn't tell people he hired the whole story while being honest. It beat the See telling everyone but the people they hired what was going on so they could do things like be cryptic assholes. The samurai seemed to know all the details including pretty much the puppet's exact location, that was a bit odd but perhaps had he seen it there and then ran off.

" any chance we can try to talk first?" Seraphina asked her ghostly projection floating with the two others as flare gripped her hilt. Seraphina was finding it funny she was now the one being merciful. She couldn't really explain why she was being so nice when normally it was flare, but well she had new ways to try to talk things out, and maybe she felt a little close to the other construct. " Just get close to the shrine and i'll project the illusion out my max range and see if we can just get the puppet to give the amulet up" And let it run off was left unspoken.

 

[BloopNoodle]

✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄Lisan Al Shuda⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧

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A desperate voice calls out from behind them, feet hitting the ground in a solid rhythm as a young elf is running towards them.

“Wait! Hold on a second-“ The girl reaches them quickly, before keeling over with her hands on her knees. She takes a few gasping breaths, white hair falling over her shoulders as she catches her breath. Fast as a flash, she whips her head back up, a piece of paper in her hand. “This is you guys, right?“ In her hands is one of the flyers Torin had sent out, a torn hole it top of it from her ripping it off the board. Her skin is dark, and her eyes sparkle with something that indicates a bright personality. Her pointed ears have a few piercings, while wrapped around her right hand is a set of clay prayer beads. She stands straight as the group looks at her, trying to gauge who is the person who actually put out the request and failing.

”Is it too late to join? I was really hoping to…” she trails off, and her enunciation makes it sound like she was going to say something else before stopping. She has a kind face with what look like small white star tattoos as freckles, and she looks around at the group with hopeful eyes, pretty much oblivious to the fact that their groups leader just told them to be on the defense. Lucky for all of them, she wasn’t overly loud except for the ‘wait’ she shouted a few minutes ago, but she had no idea they were that close to the danger.

 

[Rev IX]

Develius | Flare
Karcen | Seraphina
BloopNoodle | Lisan Al Shuda

Spoiler: Torin

Upon seeing Flare's intense will, Torin chuckled "I admire that. Any lesser will would have made someone in your situation flee."

As for Seraphina, who chimed in after not speaking to Torin for a while now, making him turn to her looking mildly surprised. Her question also provided something for the samurai to think on. "I wouldn't think so. If it didn't mind killing some of his own, it's likely it won't be hearing anyone." Torin paused to think things through a bit more "We would be likely to lose the element of surprise and push it to flee again." He concluded.

When Seraphina commented on making the puppet to surrender the Amulet peacefully, Torin stopped and looked at the ghostly visage. "I'm afraid I can't allow it to flee without at least trying to get rid of it".

The samurai was about to resume his walk when he picked on something approaching from behind. Apparently someone else managed to pick this job offer before it was removed. Torin remained stone-faced, looking at the notice, then at Lisan. "I am not fond of tardiness..." then he sighed, appearing to set his negative response aside "...However, you are just in time to help us get the job done"

"We're hunting a murderous puppet with stolen property. It's hidden somewhere around this forest. The amulet makes it able to fight with ice magic on top of its melee combat." Torin summarized. "Anything else you'd like to know? The time's now. We could be a few steps away from confrontation." he added. She may be tardy, but he wouldn't let her fight blindly.

 

[Develius]

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Mentions:
Rev IX [Torin] | Karcen [Seranphina] | BloopNoodle [Lisan Al Shuda]
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"So much for a happy ending." Flare commented, as Sera and Torin discussed the possibility of talking the puppet down. A shame, but admittedly Flare didn't suspect a peaceful resolution would happen in the slightest. Then again, it would be better than being doused in water. ANYTHING is better than that. Though despite their relative ease in killing or scorching someone or something to ash when needed, the fire elemental was always willing to go for mercy more times than not... except goblins of course. Something which they told Seranphina all too much about it during their downtime.

Flare quickly swerved behind them as a voice called out to them. Initially fearing a trap, she held Sera's blade out in front of them in a guarding pose in staunch preparation. Once the figure revealed herself as that of a dark-skinned sparkly elf lady and mentioned she was meant to join them would Flare's stance slowly loosen. At least she wasn't a puppet. "Y-Yeah," the fire elemental nodded as they lowered the sword slightly, "That's us, alright. Welcome to the party, erm-."

They were clearly grasping at straws for a name, expecting the white haired elf to introduce themselves in kind.

 

[Karcen]

Seranphina
Languages common, Terran​

Seraphina didn't have her projection show he discontent at the samurai's words she did want to see if they could get the amulet and just let the puppet go as the amulet was the main thing that they needed. The body of the puppet would just show nothing as she was sure that the so called defect was in the puppet's mind and not the puppet's body. The projection turned when a new person showed up, an elf and Seraphina was unsure of them. She had only met one elf and that had not been a good experience, then again she could apply that to any none flare fae she just suspected them. Well for now Seraphina would put aside her dislike born of the recent experiences, betrayal just did not sit well with her, it struck a deep deep cord that plucked as some long burned away memory. They were interesting in helping so maybe they would agree with the whole try to talk thing out over just kill someone that might have just fled abuse.

" Given we a choosing to fight i guess the more the better " Seraphina huffed her illusion floating in the air drifting here and there slowly " Well if we are going to fight no matter what then my illusion can be the bait not like the puppet can hurt it. " and perhaps try to talk it out to see if the puppet would be more forth coming with info and or just hand over the amulet.

 

[BloopNoodle]

✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄Lisan Al Shuda⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋄✧

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She smiles widely at seeing that she can join, she nods her head sharply in appreciation to the leader, falling in line quietly and quickly. She seems to take orders well, at the very least. The fire elemental, as he speaks, get a bright smile and a small bow, hand over her heart and head tilted down.

“Lisan. Pleasure to meet you, Mr…?“ She waits for his name as well, glancing at the sword in his hand and the girl next to him. She looked so… glowy? Spectral? One of those words. Just off in some way.

“Oh, yeah fighting. Um, I’ll take any information you think relevant? I mostly stun enemies, or help make my allies stronger. I’m not a good fighter on my own, “ She has a sheepish grin to the party, feeling a little lack luster as a ‘support’ rather than what the other three look like; real fighter types.

She seems to have no particular prejudice against any of these people so far, though she may just be excellent at hiding it. At the mention of an illusion, she does seem to perk up and look at Seranphina’s spectral form with interest.

“Really? An illusion? What does that look like?”

 

[Karcen]

Seranphina
Languages common, Terran​

It took Seraphina a moment to process what the elf asked her and then she remembered that the elf had just arrived. Yeah it made sense she wouldn't know no one ever did and even though the projection was merely an F rank ability so few saw through it. Well this world was full of crazy magic so a kid floating through the air like it was water must be more common or reasonable than it might be in other worlds. Well they were moments from danger or maybe danger so when better for introductions she at least seemed to be an honest person. Seraphina had been suspicious moments ago but the seeming lack of any knowledge about her made Seraphina relax for some reason. the elf by her own words was a support type person, similar to Seraphina though likely in a more substantial way.

" Oh right right people can't tell " Seraphina spoke her tone very much sounding like she had forgotten something important but yet was being casual about it. " I am her sword " Seraphina pointed to flare who had her body " that's flare by the way i am Seraphina, anyways what you are looking at isn't me its an illusion helps communicate with others "

 

[Rev IX]

Develius | Flare
Karcen | Seraphina
BloopNoodle | Lisan Al Shuda

Spoiler: Torin

Torin remained silent as the team shared pleasantries, only jumping back into the conversation when Lisan directly asked him a question. "This puppet is a skilled combatant. Compensating the short range of its fight style with a magical amulet it stole. Which it can use for water, and more likely, ice based spells."

Torin picked on Seraphina's dislike of their method of approaching. But Torin did not act on it. What needs to be done will be done, as usual. A good samurai honors his word, and he vowed to take care of this to the very end. Letting the puppet go would be considered a shameful, or even traitorous act. "Very well. Let's get going." The blade in white resumed his walk, with a methodically slow pacing. A short walk later, the derelict path to the shrine led them near a waterfall, judging by the increased volume of crashing water around a sharp turn the path took.

"Go on ahead, Seraphina. We'll stay behind you. I'll keep an eye out just in case, but return at once should anything go wrong." While not outright worried, Torin did feel tense for using someone as bait. But it was clear the sentient blade wanted it to be this way, and it would keep the whole team temporarily safe.

As agreed, Torin stayed behind. Leading the group away from the clearing between them and the waterfall, eyeing the illusion and her surroundings silently, beckoning the rest to do the same with a couple of gestures.

Seraphina's illusion would not find anything unusual at first, but once the forest grew thick again, she would notice small pale blue crystals, surrounded by a small, ethereal circle of the same color. Further ahead, once she got near the base of the waterfall, she would hear an echoing voice. "...Who are you?" Although the voice sounded as if it was whispering, it was unclear whether it was near or far from Seraphina, or where it really came from, really.

 

[Karcen]

Seranphina
Languages common, Terran​

while Seraphina could project at a distance said distance was only about 30ft, while she could go further if she did a few things that would cut down her time of projecting the illusion to a pointlessly short period. So the group could not be to far from the clearing Where the illusion stood for once forging the normal ethereal look to appear human not wanting to upset the puppet to much before they even started to talk. While it was a killer if it thought she was a young human then it might hesitate to attack her before listening to her.

Standing there she heard the voice though it was hard to tell where it came from, which was odd given it was both an echo so loud and a whisper so quiet, that smacked of magic which the puppet supposedly only had access through the amulet. That made Seraphina wonder if perhaps it had learned magic by itself instead of just using the amulet like Torin said it had. She might be putting things together that weren't there as she had made the wrong connections before, like assuming the Fae see planned to use them as a blood sacrifice instead of just planning to have them all killed along with their main VIP.

" It is rude to hide when talking to someone " She said not acting worried as she couldn't be hurt the illusion was just that " I am unarmed so you can come out. You can guess why i am here, though i would rather we solve this without violence and I do want to hear your side of everything " She continued half expecting an attack and half expecting the puppet to just stay in hiding.

 

[Rev IX]

Karcen | Seraphina

The rest of the group remained silent and observant. Leaving the water crashing down and the soft wind whistling as it passed by trees as the only noise between the ethereal voice and the ethereal body's chat.

"..." The echo's only response to Seraphina's etiquette comment was a deep hum. Her following words also were met with a hum, but the voice then spoke. Its loud whispers echoing once again "...Why do that?" a pause took place again "...I know you not. Who are you?" It asked again, sounding more aggravated than before. "...Do you want death?"

 

[Karcen]

Seranphina
Languages common, Terran​

The puppet was annoying and perhaps not the brightest despite seemingly knowing to hide. Still it should be easy to put two and two together only those that were hunting it would know things going on with it, and that she was here calling to it either meant a trap or someone trying to actually talk to it. To suspect someone trying to save you was the most annoying thing and Seraphina wasn't exactly the best at smooth talking or being patient. she was trying to be nice and this puppet was throwing around what to here were hollow threats.

" Fine fine stay hidden " Seraphina said in her mind calling it more of a fucking ninja than a damned samurai acting like this " If you must know the name i was given is Seraphina, and having died twice already that threat doesn't scare me much. Though you seemed to not want to experience it, so how about we talk? i really do want to not fight you just get the amulet back and call it a day, though i doubt it will be that simple so how about you explain why you like it so much?" Seraphina really did hope the darned thing would just show itself and if it refused well she had tried.

 

[Rev IX]

Karcen | Seraphina

"...Ser... Afina?" The voice answered, sounding interested in the unknown name. Its curiosity was quick to vanish, however. The stranger was trying to push it to surrender. That was not good. "...I kill. Niji helps me kill." The disembodied voice was now talking aggressively. "Kill... Kill... Kill!" Now it was screaming. "Die!" One of the small crystals with circles, which was beneath Seraphina's illusion, activated. The result was a large ice spike jutting out the mark. From within the waterfall, the mechanic body of the puppet darted to the ice spike. Splitting said spike in half with a precise sword strike.

Spoiler: Puppet

There was no blood left by the illusion, which confused the puppet. Making it look intently at the spot where it struck.

 

[Develius]

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Mentions:
Rev IX [Tonin] | Karcen [Seranphina] | BloopNoodle [Lisan Al Shuda]
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"Flare." the fire elemental replied at Lisan before giving her a thumbs up. Their voice was muffled in a metallic undertone between the iron grates of their helmet, producing a neutrally friendly androgynous tone. "Nice to meet ya, Lisan." As they were about to introduce Seranphina, the blade itself would proceed to do the introductions herself. "Yup, what my friend said." Flare casually stated, rushing through the pleasantries so they could focus on the mission at hand. Though they'd take the moment to listen on what their newfound companion brought to the table, being someone who buffs allies and stuns enemies but wasn't a very good fighter. Still, Flare didn't seem to mind this at all. "Well, like, we certainly have a spot open for support fellas." they replied graciously, fearing what they might encounter down the line, "Don't worry too much about fighting - just leave that to us. We should be able to handle this juuuust fine."

Should being the key phrase here.

As for their partner, she offered to put herself out as bait to draw out the puppet should they resort to fighting. "You sure?" they asked her seriously, ensuring she knew what she was doing. Flare was hesitant to let her friend out like that, but knowing her as well as they did she surely must have a plan up her incorporeal sleeves. She was clever. Sassy but clever. Flare gave a relinquished sigh. "Alright. Just... be careful alright?" Tonin also agreed with the plan and with that they watched as Seranphina would go ahead of them. Flare proceeded to follow Tonin's gestures away from the clearing while still eying their partner for as long as they could.

The tension in the air was intense.

Shortly after, a voice would be heard... a cold whispery tone. That must be the puppet. The two would then begin talking to each other, with Sera attempting to disarm the situation passively without violence. It was a good attempt, but unfortunately said negotiations were short. Their quarry wasn't having it. They wanted to kill... with whatever they meant by Niji. And as an ice spike erupted from underneath their partner's illusion, Flare knew it was now or never. After all, they can deal with ice... so long as it didn't turn into liquid water. Lifting their immense armored body from the brush, they sprung into action as they began approaching the puppet!

"Hello asshole!" Flare roared as flames bellowed from their suit, "Eat on this!" The elemental's hand began glowing red hot before they attempted to fling a fireball straight towards their quarry.

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Actions:

1. Move towards Puppet.
2. Attacks the Puppet with Fireball E.
3. -

• Fireball E - [Magic E, Fire Affinity E, Range E, Targets E, Continuing E, Fire Blight F, Selective E, Energized E] - +1 0 Cooldown - Flare can lob a fireball from their hands up to 100 feet away towards a single target of their choice; causes splash damage of up to nine additional targets (10 total).

COOLDOWN E: +0