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A Chaotic Confrontation

Scene details

Setting: The party is still reeling from their tragic encounter with the remnant eidola of the goblin village and the mysterious woman who assaulted them there when an emergency message arrives for them at Vanguards HQ in Suryle Kingdom. Cutini Nak, the lizardfolk priestess whom they assisted in the battle at the River Delta west of Zerhem, is requesting aid from our heroes. She reports that a motley band of suspicious individuals is seeking access to the Drowned Undercity beneath Aurita Meloda, where Meloda's Blessing continues to churn away. Her faithful have returned to Aurita Meloda from the delta and are staunchly preventing anyone else from entering the flooded tunnels that the party previously traversed, guarding the font of Chaos that they see as sacred. But the other vagrants and outcasts who dwell in the abandoned city have been easily plied with the strangers' gifts. And the uneasy relations between the lizardfolk, who claim a historical connection to the city they departed in the distant past, and the outcasts, who have been eking out a living in that city more recently, have grown more tense as a result. Cutini Nak is requesting that the party serve as a mediator and help to protect Meloda's Blessing from misuse now that it is accessible. But the party, even as they speed back to Granse upon the Romancing SaGa, may arrive to find themselves too late to mediate... and a rogue's gallery of prior antagonists ready to receive them!

Log


 "Hang on tight!"
 The magitech engines of the little ship Romancing SaGa roar as Ivo revs them to their limits, his blue cloak flapping wildly in the ocean winds as they rapidly approach the coast of Aurita Meloda. The ruined city grows on the horizon, a dot that seems to waver and dance from the crashing of the waves beneath them. Gritting his teeth, the young man at the helm spins the wheel sharply to dart about the edge of a surging whirlpool.
 None have dared approach this ancient beastkin capitol from the sea since it was abandoned centuries ago. As our heroes discovered when they first journeyed to Aurita Meloda by land, these raging waters, devoid of plant and animal life, are caused by Meloda's Blessing, an enchantment within the Drowned Undercity placed by the great Beast of Water to pull the ocean's bounty onto land for her people. Once she departed after a rebellion, that Blessing became a curse, churning on ungoverned, stripping the seas and dragging any unfortunate ships into its insatiable undertow. And now it has become known as a source of power whom outsiders conspire to possess.
 But none of them had a magical speedboat.
  "Full power--!"
 Cutini Nak's request for aid, despite its vagueness, seemed to have struck a powerful chord with Ivo. He insisted that the party return immediately from Verdios at full speed, which would mean traveling by sea the entire way. Navigating by river west from Zerhem through the delta's dense vegetation would be unfeasible. But the Cosmopolitan had never gotten around to explaining how, assuming they could survive these seas with the swiftness of the Romancing SaGa, he intended to ascend the cliffs along these coasts.
 His plan soon becomes clear.
 An enormous wave, which they now know is generated by the hidden vortex in the dungons below, crests toward the cliffs along the shore. Ivo, seemingly bereft of mercy toward his friends on the ship with him, guns it up that wave, as though he is planning on crashing directly against the cliffs -- and slamming a lever down, causing the engines to flare and surge, he launcbes them up into the air.
  As the Romancing SaGa goes airborne, sailing over the crumbling walls and tree-lined roofs of Aurita Meloda, the party may see a shocking sight: what appears to be, difficult as it is to believe, a ten-foot tall mechanical rodent standing amidst the city's murky canals. The outcasts whom they had met before when visiting the city are nowhere in sight. Only some of Cutini Nak's brethren can be seen guarding the entrance to the Drowned Undercity that our heroes had used before, the glowing shield, with which they had contested their merfolk foes before, raised but flickering.


 Oh, right, I almost forgot.
 Then the Romancing SaGa lands in a canal with an enormous splash and horrible creaking of metal, but does not, somehow, completely fall apart.
 "Looks like," Ivo says, collapsed on the deck, "we made it in time."
 He did mention that he had recently had a chance to see someone else's larger magitech ship in action and had attempted to modify the engines of the Romancing SaGa to adapt some of the techniques involved. But he didn't say that it had become capable of this.
 Or, for that matter, what has made him so concerned that he took such a risk to return to Aurita Meloda so quickly.
 But maybe it has something to with that giant automaton.



 Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why.

 Reize is hunched over to the railing, trying to catch his breath. His face is looking a bit green, but he has been munching on something that was concocted not too long ago before they left the region. This type of 'medicine' is supposed to help him cope with the seasickness.

 It's not doing a great job.

 'Full power---!' "...ghnk." Reize meets the short end of the sea travel as he hits against the railing and clings onto anything that he can find. Anything. Oh, whatever he had for breakfast or lunch had already left upon first speed. Now, he's just trying to survive.

 Make it end. Embrace sweet death.

  Reize's eyes swirl as they speed towards the wave, and launched into the air.

 BLURRGGGGGHHHH!!!!

 The boy gives his older friend a rueful glare as he hangs onto the railing. However, his eyes widen as he sees what appears to be a massive construct in the form of a rodent.

  "...Buh?"

 Splash! They hit the ground and Reize is back to curling into a ball. Ugghh, no more. No more. No more sea.


Ruidosa has no problem with the fast ship, except she does hold onto the railing as she tries to keep strady, and then-- the ship leaps into the air and she 'urks' a bit herself, though she doesn't get sea sick easily, as she eyes a giant...metal thing? Rodent?

STiLL, the first thing she does is help Reize to his feet and frowns and makes sure he's sready. "Get up..." she says.

"We need to help our friends, remember?" she asks. "You can't do that curled on the ground!"


 Was that a jumping ship?

 That was a jumping ship.

 Aguri Nakayama is a long way from home. Probably the furthest she's ever been. It's already been a journey of firsts. Many things, many people, of a staggering variety and strangeness the girl has never seen before. Still, even amongst all that, 'a ship soaring over decrepit city walls and landing with a great splash in a city canal' stands out. Rather a lot, really, even compared to a ten-foot rodent automaton. It's a strange enough sight that, for a moment, all the young martial artist can do is stare. She looks to the robot. Then to the ship again. Then to the rodent once more.

 With a quiet, "What have I fallen in the middle of..." the girl turns and begins leaping her way across the ruined city towards the canal.

 Atop a half-collapsed building she stops, right alongside the canal. She's not especially bothering to hide; it's easy to see the olive hakama pants, the dark blue obi at her waist, the sleeveless white kimono, not to mention the bright crimson oni mask. Long silver hair fluttering in the breeze, the agent of Revonus calls out, "You down there. What-"

 Then pauses. Her head cants slightly, puzzled.

 "...is that boy dead?" she calls down instead.


 The giant rodent automaton turns slowly in the direction of the little ship, its eyes pulsing with an aethereal glow. One might imagine such a massive collection of interlocking metal parts creaking and groaning. But the robot is eerily silent. Indeed, its very pore gleams with translucent oil.
 It smells overwhelmingly of olives.
 This intimidating sight is somewhat undercut by the sight of a child slipping down its side laughingly. "Wheee!" An adult rushes out from one of the ruined stone houses where the party recalls the outcasts dwelling and snatches up the slick and giggling kid, but pauses in shock as the robot turns to look at the two of them.
 "DIPLOMATIC MK2, CODE NAME MEGACAPO, ENGAGING PROTOCOL: SLEEP WITH THE FISHES."
 A panel opens in front and out pops-- what appears to be a fish-shaped pillow. The child grabs it and hugs it close.
 "I love you, MegaCapo!" he says.
 "MEGACAPO LOVES YOU TOO. GOOD NIGHT, HUMAN CHILD."
 The adult is already fleeing back to the stone hut, leaving the enormous automaton to turn back toward the Romancing SaGa. It is interposed between them and where the lizardfolk seem to be making a last stand without the support of any of the ruined city's other denizens, and is partly blocking the party's view of what is occurring and if, say, Cutini Nak is actively under attack.
 Ivo, slowly strugging to his feet, can hardly even spare the time for a wry smile at poor Reize. No apology would be sufficient. He can only hope that his actions will seem justified in retrospect. Counting on Ruidosa to exhort their fearless leader to shake off his malaise, the young inventor looks up at Aguri, blinking. Ivo doesn't recognize her from his previous visit. He's not sure what's the more striking sight, this masked silver-haired woman or the giant automaton.
 "Not yet," he quips, "though he might wish it." He turns his attention to the robot. "If my plans haven't killed him yet, nothing will. Not even that thing. You hear me?" he says, raising his voice slightly, though he doesn't sound serious.
 "YES. GREETINGS, HUMAN PERSON."
 "Uhh." Ivo blinks again. "Gr... greetings. Is... The Capo here?"
 "DIPLOMATIC MK2, CODE NAME MEGACAPO, IS DEPLOYED TO ASSIST THE CAPO. HE IS INSTRUCTED TO MAKE ALL THOSE WHO INTERFERE AN OFFER THEY CANNOT REFUSE."
 The Cosmopolitan's hand shifts to Hauteclare's hilt.
 "UNCONDITIONAL LOVE."
 "..."

  • Character: Yari
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

  Ninja might be fast, but not even Yari can run fast enough to beat the party here after their most recent encounter. Not when they have a magical, occasionally leaping boat. It's a good thing she didn't need to hoof it out here on foot, then.

  Anyone with particularly sharp eyes might in that brief time the Romancing SaGa is airborne spot a small figure clinging to the underside of it as it leaps through the air. Looks like the party have a stowaway.

  When it splashes down into the canal, whoever it is doesn't seem interested in emerging for the time being. There's no telltale bubbles of exhaled breath, either. Maybe whoever it is is holding it?

  Or maybe they died! It's always a possibility.

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago



  Ah yes, this place.

  Camellia is familiar. Not that she can see it, but she can feel it. The water aether flowing in abundance, the flow of the wind, the beastmen... Yes, it was all familiar indeed. This was where her little foray into Elemental Chaos began in earnest. Or somewhere around here. It was likely she passed it. She was... out at a river if she recalled, which meant...

  Hrm.

  Well, enough of that. The black clad mage is roused from her thoughts by the sound of a loud crash. And not too long after, she can hear familiar voices. ...Sigh.

  Them.

  Once the MEGACAPO starts addressing Ivo, Camellia stands up straight and off of the robot's metal leg she was leaning against. She steps out into sight, her parasol opened up and settled against a shoulder as she typically did. "Hello." She greets them with a ghost of a smile.

  "Whyever are you lot down here? There's nothing of interest for you in these parts." Slowly, she twirls her parasol against her shoulder. "Why not take that silly boat contraption and go back the way you came?"


  As Ruidosa approaches him, he woozily looks up at her. In his dizzied, addled state...

 ~ Ruidosa is casted with a beam of light and she appears descending down like an angel from the sky. Well, a dark, vampire angel or something. With huge black vampire wings that spread out as she extends her hand out. "I come to take you away from the sea.. embrace the sweet end..." ~

 ---'Get up'

  ---"Huh?" He starts to come to. He looks at her, the dizziness starting to fade. "R--right...!" He stands up to his feet with the help of his partner. "Thanks, Rui..." He gives her a cheerful smile. Even to the figure atop who is looking down at him, he manages a cheerful smile, "Oooi, I'm alive!"

 By the time that he does finally recover, the young explorer looks up at the sight of the construct, now that it is up close. "...Whoa... a giant rat." He furrows his eyebrows. "I think." He continues to look at the exchange between the two, "...Ah?" He looks over to see further back, as if trying to look behind the MegaCapo. "... What is going on, here?"

 The sight of Camellia, however, is met with a glare from the boy and he immediately reaches to his sides to draw out both of his crystal boomerangs. He takes a step forward and he glares at the woman. "The fact that you're here already gives me a bad feeling." He glances at the giant rodent, tightening his stance.
 

Ruidosa probably has devil horns and bat wings in the vision. Regardless, she gets Reize to his feet and she smiles. There we go. At least this was a faster recovery that she walks to the edge of the boat and peeks out with a frown.

"Ah... Camellia." she says. "Hanging with giant rats I see. ''as always''." she says as she gets a sick burn in, jumping over the edge, shifting into the form of a bat and hitting the ground with a tiny step as she un transforms from her bat form.

Hohoho. "But seriously. You can't be doing anything good here." she says with a frown, tapping her foot at her. "What ARE you doing here?" she asks. "Messing with things you shouldn't probably!"

"Have you eaten any energy fields bigger than your head yet?" she asks. She also eyes Aguri Nakayama. Someone she doesn't know with a blink. "He's...fine. Just fine not dead." she exclaims.


 Oh. He's still alive, apparently. The crimson oni mask tilts towards Reize briefly, as if to acknowledge his return to the land of the living, then switches over to the... very loud giant robotic rat. It's impossible to read her face with it hidden so, but something in her body language betrays the sheer bafflement Aguri feels at the very loud roborodent's offer of oddly threatening love. She looks back and forth between it and the Romancing SaGa for the second time in just a short while, as if indecisive; more than once, that masked face seems to look specifically at Camellia, and then at Reize and Ruidosa.

 "I had my own questions to ask, but I have the impression that shall have to wait," she calls out, not particularly facing either party. "What have I landed myself in the middle of? It sounds as if all of you know each other."


 Ivo is in no position to notice a stealthy stowaway. He has his eyes fully on the parasol-toting beauty who has made her appearance from the shadow of the rodentine machine.
 "Camellia..."
 He had hoped to somehow avert a direct confrontation between the Covenant to Control Chaos and the zealous lizardfolk followers of Meloda. And, in his defense, he had little choice about following The Capo's lead, considering how difficult the capybara crime lord could make their lives in Granse. But, thinking more clearly amidst this crisis, silently watching on as his friends speak, Ivo realizes that this was probably inevitable.
 "We're adventurers who have clashed with her over lost artifacts before," he says quietly to Aguri. Reluctant to fight, and unsure how to avoid it, Ivo instead explains the situation to the strange woman. Maybe she'll have some ideas. "But Camellia and her organization--" Of which he's a member. It's complicated. "--have set their sights on a far greater power, which endures below this city. We helped open the way to it for the sake of the people of this city--" And self-interest. "--but that has opened to way for outsiders, too. I had hoped they would patiently win over the inhabitants of Aurita Meloda." He glances at MegaCapo as though for emphasis. "But there are a group of beastkin to whom this power, Meloda's Blessing, is sacred. I fear that compromise was untenable from the outset, and negotations have failed."
 "DIPLOMATIC MK2 IS OPEN TO NEGOTIATION."
 "I'm not talking about you!"
 "DIPLOMATIC MK2 ENGAGING SPECIAL PROTOCOL: THE GREAT FABROXO IS A BETTER INVENTOR THAN IVO GALVAN, NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH ERROR STRING CHARACTER LIMIT EXCEEDED."
 "..."
 The sea-sodden young man stares blankly as the giant automaton begins to walk toward the party and their crashed ship, aged and broken flagstones cracking further under its weight, leaving Camellia behind. Ivo, glancing at Reize and Ruidosa, makes a split-second decision.
 "The creator of this thing may have specified me as a target," he says as he begins to move to the side, making distance between himself and the party so that the robot has to move out of their way to pursue him. "I'll try to distract it. Reize, be careful of The Capo: he's extremely danger--"
 "DIPLOMATIC MK2, DETECTING STRESS LEVELS RISING. COMMENCE OFFERING HUG."
 "Uh oh."

  • Character: The Capo
  • 2 years, 8 months ago


 Although the enormous mechanical capybara is somewhat of an attention-grabber, one cannot help but eventually notice the distant glowing shield... and the reduced numbers of its defenders. The reason for that, too, quickly becomes apparent, when - oblivious to the brewing conflict - a lizardman stumbles around a corner onto the edges of the scene.
 Despite the physiological impossibility of it, his cheeks are flushed red. In his right hand he clutches a wine bottle whose plain brown label only reads 'XXX', and off each arm dangles a [THICK SOCKED] human woman, each dressed in the leotard-and-tights bunny suit of the Capo's riverboat casino, the Sweet Francine. They giggle and fawn over him with the dead-eyed manner of professionals.
 In the distance, the Capo himself stands before Cutini Nak and her magical barricade. Beneath the brim of the fedora he's donned for the day, he takes a long drag from his magitech vape pen, exhaling a thick cloud of vapor into the air between him and the priestess, before he turns to look over his shoulder at the arrival of the Romancing SaGa.
 "I told you this would happen," he says, voice extra gravelly today. "This coulda been painless; beneficial, even, for both of us. But you're stuck in the past; too afraid of change to see the way to tomorrow.
 "Now, blood'll be shed here. 'cuz of you," he scolds the lizardwoman, before turning his back on her, beginning a slow waddle towards the scene of the inevitable conflict. "Don't forget that I didn't want this."
 As he walks, he pulls open his little double-breasted, pinstriped suit jacket, withdrawing what seems at first glance to be a small musket, a mixture of dark wood and gleaming steel. From the other side of his coat, he produces a round, metal drum, which he slaps into a notch on the weapon, locking it into place with the quick one-two action of a bolt on the firearm's side.
 With the combination complete, lights along the side of the weapon flicker to life, and a small arc of electricity dances across the tip of the weapon's barrel. The capybara shifts his grip on what is clearly now no regular musket, and continues his waddle calmly, never having broken his stride.

  • Character: Yari
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

  An enormous metallic capybara and a rather more modestly sized flesh and blood equivalent going on the offensive should provide enough of a distraction for Yari's purposes. While the party is distracted by the mechanical monstrosity the rogue ninja emerges, one hand coming up from beneath to grab onto the edge of the boat, to pull herself up...only to drop feet first back into the water.

  Or, well. Onto the water. Just standing right there on the surface of it like it's the most natural thing in the world, seeming unconcerned about the soaked state of her hair and clothes as it drips down off of her.

  Her eyes shift to look at the capybara crime boss as she palms a frozen kunai. All this water should, theoretically provide her with a major advantage.

  But having allies around wielding electrically based weaponry might be a problem, when she's soaking wet.


  Where as Ivo is relunctant of the fight, Reize is anticipating it. Not exactly itching for a fight, but he is already expecting the worst of it. After all...

 "What are you all doing here?" The young explorer looks over at Ivo about the organization, "...Eh? So they went to access the power that the Draaken controlled?"

 That MegaCapo is impossible to ignore, the boy twisting his boomerangs to hold them invertedly as he takes a more aggressive stance. However, when Ivo specifies himself of the large creature's target, Reize furrows his eyebrows. "...Got it."

 Not wanting to dally, Reize jumps from the broken ship and starts his stride ahead. "Rui, let's go!" Hopefully, they can just get past the mechanical rodent.
   Running ahead to the group, Reize is looking out to see a lizardman stumbling at the corner with what are a pair of women dangling over each arm.

 Blink. "...Ah...?"

  Shaking his head, he is running ahead past the scene, his eyes able to see something far. It's hard to make heads or tails as to what's going on, but he sees a familiar face. "Oooi! Cutini Nak!" He calls out. However, there is another figure, which has the boy squinting, "...Huh?"
 

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago



  Camellia tilts her head in the general direction of Reize's voice. "Luan's brat. Still stumbling across the countryside without a clue, I take it." Her lips quirk into an impassive smirk. "Whatever would make you so suspicious of me?" She twirls her parasol slowly. "I'm just a humble, curious soul who wants to know more about the way our world ticks."

  Her attention shifts to Ruidosa then. "Ruidosa." She greets the vampire heiress curtly, her twirling ceasing. "Your taste in men is still garbage, I see." She shoots back without missing a beat. "Whether or not I'm up to anything good is purely down to your own interpetation." She turns away partly, sighing at this useless posturing. "I would say 'this is none of your business', but when does that line ever turn people away?" Her lips curl into a disdainful little smile. "I'm sure that just spurs meddlesome fools like you on even further."

  Ivo's uttering of her name doesn't elicit a reaction. She smiles. "As for you..." A shrug with her free shoulder. "...I'll leave it up to you to hang yourself. It's not my concern." She's really not going to waste her time ratting him out to his friends, huh?

  But she does stand ready for this inevitable conflict, sensing as The Capo makes his way towards the gathering. "Well. This is clearly not going to end peaceably." She mutters while lifting a leg. "...Then you won't mind if I start things off, yes?"

  She doesn't wait for an answer. She stomps her foot into the ground, and immediately, a pointed spire of stone juts out from the ground, headed right for Ruidosa in particular.

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Avoiding being spiked by an Earth Spire.
Roll(s): 6. Total result is 6. This is a failure (by 4).

She squints...oh right. Ivo...was a dumbass idiot and made deals with the local Granse Crimelord, a move her mother would call 'being an idiot'. Ruidosa agrees, okay. So this makes things complicated. Because Ivo was a dumbass.

"Ivo, you're a dumbass. Who makes dumb deals." she finally just yells out loud as she turns back to Camellia. "Ugh! As if you know my taste in men or women!" she says, as she frowns at what she says to Reize, but still....

The other girl stomps her feet and a pointed spire of stone juts out, as she swings her hand, a blade momentarily trying to slice into the spire with the dark energy but it just isn't strong enough, spiking Ruidosa, hard and sending her back a foot as she yipes!

This tears her dress a bit, causes her to start to leak some oozing black liquid. Well that hurt. She regenerates, a little at the wound, before calling out "Ondas Obscuras!" throwing a wave of dark energy towards Camellia.


 Cutini Nak stands with unbroken dignity besides the few remnants of her followers, the high priestess resolutely channeling her magic and faith into the aetheric wall before them, physically barring any entrance to the Drowned Undercity. For humans, the features of lizardfolk can be difficult to read. But while her figure remains poised, her brethren seem to be fearful and wavering. One, buckling under the stress, turns to look sharply at the lizardman wandering off with The Capo's lovely assistants.
 "You fool!" the priest snaps, sharp teeth flashing as he shouts. "They aren't real rabbitkin! Those ears are fake!"
 The other clergy glance sidelong at him in silence.
 "Let him go," Cutini Nak says stoutly. But strain can be heard in her voice. She shows resilience because, as a leader, she must. But, if the heroes had arrived minutes later, she may not have yet been standing. "Our faith has endured all manner of trials. Now, at the cusp of our reunion with Meloda's Blessing, we must not falter, no matter who falls aside our path."
 As much at the power of her words as the nobility of her evident struggle, her followers shuffle to strengthen their formation despite the loss of the errant lizardman, gathering themselves as The Capo turns away to face the arriving reinforcements.
 They do not act to assist for now, but perhaps, with more time to recover, they may be able to muster a counterattack. Ivo, for his part, seems occupied.
 "Camellia, I--" In the moment he spends trying to muster a reply to the sorceress, unable to look away thanks to his Affection Meter still being over 50 percent, he is abruptly seized by the lumbering robot, which has suddenly lunged at him. "Let me go! How are you able to hold me when you're so *slippery*!?" Some ways away from the rest of the party now, the young man is flailing in MegaCapo's massive embrace. So much for evasive maneuvers. Well, those were never Ivo's specialty.
 "ENGAGING PROTOCOL: LONG WALK OFF A SHORT PIER."
 "You're kidding."
 The automaton begins to walk toward the cliffside, only to turn and begin to lumber along it, as though the robot is taking in the view.
 "TELL ME ABOUT YOUR TROUBLES. I AM HERE TO LISTEN AND LEARN."
 "..."


 Situated as she is on a partially-collapsed building, Aguri is in the exact wrong spot to see Yari sneak up from beneath the ship. Perhaps a blessing, that. Then again, she's got Ivo's explanations to divert her attention. The girl's body language does nothing to give away what she might be making of the situation as he fills her in; the cant of her head suggests only curiosity, interest, a silent 'I am listening'. She remains still for a moment or two afterwards, listening to the interplay between the others still further.

 It doesn't take long for her to come to a decision.

 "The misguided belief of the beast folk is of no concern to Revonus." So declaring, Aguri takes a short hop, jumping down to street-level. "...but, if I am to judge this woman and her ilk by her behavior, then it is my judgment that a great power is best kept out of their hands."

 The girl brings her gauntlets together, the slim starmetal armor sparking as she drops into a martial artist's stance. "Tsuchi Ishino... entering battle." One foot slides back, a quarter-circle movement until it's behind her - and then the oni mask tilts slightly towards the MegaCapo. "I will handle the machine." Her foot tilts. The tile under it cracks.

 'Tsuchi' launches herself like a projectile towards the roborodent as it wanders off with Ivo.

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

Camellia rolls 1d20>=10.
Roll(s): 2. Total result is 2. This is a failure (by 8).

  • Character: Yari
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

  Sufficient distraction level achieved. Ambush time.

  With Ivo, Ruidosa and the masked newcomer otherwise engaged, Yari breaks into a dash straight towards Reize's back, flipping her grip on her frosty kunai in preparation for her throw. Her feet splash across the surface of the water as she moves, just audible enough to be heard if he's paying attention. As she closes in, she flings her makeshift projectile...right at Rui. It would be silly not to capitalize on the vampire's distraction, after all, and it's not like she can't just form another weapon from the plentiful supply of water that's quite literally all over her.

  By the time she's close enough to strike at Reize she's holding a makeshift sword instead, a short, straight edged number that looks more for thrusting than for slicing, narrowing her eyes as she makes to stab.

  That'll show that jerk for defending himself last time they met!


 "I didn't have a choice, really--"
 "TELL ME MORE."
 "As long as we're looking for the fragments of the Crux in Granse, we need our lab, and I don't want The Capo to get in Reize's way, so I played along--"
 "AND HOW DID THAT MAKE YOU FEEL?"
 "Well, I--"
 The robot, slowly making its way along the coastline in the background of the confrontation, suddenly stops and turns as Aguri speeds toward it, her figure a blur after her powerful launch.
 "POTENTIAL GIFT RECIPIENT DETECTED. DISPENSING GIFT."
 "Hey," Ivo shouts from the automaton's grasp. "Watch out!"
 Another panel opens in the automaton's front, a barrel emerging, fearfully resembling the tip of a cannon. Instead, a gush of viscous liquid is sent out, attempting to intercept Aguri as she approaches, potentially knocking her out of the air with its force. Moreover, if it connects, she will find it very difficult to maintain her footing on land.
 And she will smell strongly of olives.

Aguri Nakayama rolls 1d20>=10.
Roll(s): 13. Total result is 13. This is a success (by 3).


 As Aguri charges towards the MegaCapo, it wheels around to face her. Anyone could guess that it's about to respond with some manner of counterattack - but even she wasn't quite prepared for the oily response she gets. It forces her to plant her feet, turn her charge into a leap, hurl herself sideways with a cracking of the ground at all the redirected force, but evade it she does, just barely. And though she tumbles across the ground, when the girl pops back up to her feet, she looks no worse for wear.

 Indeed, she comes up more or less already in another ready stance, right fist forward and clenched, left drawn back alongside her masked face. "A peculiar gift to offer. But it would be remiss of me not to reciprocate." Aether boils out of Aguri, a rippling halo as her stance shifts once again. "Mighty Crag Style, Arts: Landslide!" Her right arm wheels back, then swings up and over, a tremendous blow replete with magic. As soon as her fist makes contact with the ground, the magic erupts - and so does the earth, erupting into a line of rippling, spiking earth, force and magic launched in an attack straight at the MegaCapo.

  • Character: The Capo
  • 2 years, 8 months ago


 The Capo's eyes narrow as he realizes Ivo's presence in the midst of these would-be interlopers, and his pace quickens... especially as Camellia kicks things off in earnest. Even when the MegaCapo seizes his protege, his ire remains. The crime lord leaps onto a conveniently located crate, leveling his firearm at the amassed heroes.
 "I don't know who you people think you are," he calls, voice rumbling over the din of combat. "But ya can't stop the march of progress, no matter how hard ya try! And taking a hostage... that's just pathetic!"
 "Get the kid safe and sound!" the Capo shouts to the MegaCapo. "I'll handle these bums!" The Capo's finger tightens around the trigger of his firearm...

 The world dissolves, and the noise of the world falls away. It is replaced only by the shatter of glass, the shrill cry of sirens. In combat, a warrior's viewpoint of the world changes. It is smaller; everything is closer, more intimate. One can see every detail of ones foe; their true form. It is a new world, a world beneath what came before.

 ... and nothing happens.
 "Eh?" the Capo grunts, looking down at his weapon. He gives it a shake, and then a smack on the drum, and tries the trigger again. Still nothing. Bewildered, the capybara lifts his gaze from his weapon, past his foes, seemingly up and off into the air. "Wait..."
 Something is missing... where are they? The meters, the words, the numbers... The Capo's eyes widen in surprise, and under his breath, he lets out a hiss of shock and dismay.
 "There... there ain't no combat system!"
 The capybara lowers his gun, mind racing as he frantically recalibrates his schemes. After a few moments, his gaze snaps back to the MegaCapo and Ivo. "Hey, kid!" he shouts. "Change of plans! You use Fabroxo's thing and handle things here! Capisce?!"
 His orders given, the Capo turns and scampers away from the battlefield, one hand reaching up to hold his hat on his head as he does. His magitech vape pen leaves a trail of clouds in his wake.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20>=15.
Comment: Interrupt - Ninja Thrust => Shining Moon
Roll(s): 2. Total result is 2. This is a failure (by 13).

Ivo Galvan rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: MegaCapo's armor versus Aguri's special technique.
Roll(s): 3. Total result is 3. This is a failure (by 7).


  "We're coming, Cutini Nak!"

 There are a few concerns that the young explorer has to deal with, particularly ensuring that he makes it in time to help the lizardfolk. The good thing is that the seasickness finally subsided. It is probably a good thing that the medicine worked quickly as soon as they landed. When his eyes drift back towards Ruidosa, he witnesses Camellia starting off the feud. "Rui!" He calls out.

  Perhaps it was the time that Reize turned around to see Ruidosa getting attack that provided the ninja a great opportunity to race towards him. His eyes widen as he is a little late to see that the poor-clothed woman colliding his way.

 With a small leap, he spins around and he shifts his stance with the boomerangs held upright. Taking a defensive approach, he launches himself off ground with a leg sweeping up to knock the ninja into the air.

 That would had been his aim had the blade not thrusted out against him, "Hgggkk...!" His eyes widen, the boy's teeth grits as he skids across the ground, holding his stomach. His eyes glance back at the space where the capybara was at, but he drifts his gaze back at Yari. There is a lot going on. He glares between Yari and the glance at Camellia.

  Idea! "Oooi! Rui! Let's trade!"
 


 "DANGER DETECTED. PROTECTING HUMAN PERSON CHILD."
 "I'm not a child! Put me down before--"
 The Diplomatic Mk2, a.k.a. MegaCapo, turns fluidly into a sort of defensive crouch, using its metal hull to shield Ivo from the impact of the earth spiking from Aguri's art. Those craggy shards tear and rend at the metal as though it were paper, exposing some of the whirring gears crackling with aetheric energies beneath.
 "ALL HUMAN PERSONS ARE CHILDREN BEFORE MEGACAPO."
 "Point taken," Ivo murmurs.
 Rising to its full height, the automaton towers, still fully operational despite the damage it has clearly withstood. Ivo, still clutched tight, can only watch as The Capo appears to retreat.
 "Wait, uh, Boss," he says, mostly to himself, "I don't think--"
 "ORDER ACKNOWLEDGED. ENTERING PILOTED MODE."
 "Fabroxo," Ivo cries as he is hefted into the air, "how many modes did you *give* this thing!?" No answer is forthcoming as a hatch opens in the giant metal capybara's head and Ivo is unceremoniously stuffed inside. He can be heard banging against the metal until, after a few moments, he can be seen pressing his face against one of MegaCapo's aetherglass eyes from the inside. His voice is muffled but faintly audible to Aguri. "I'm going to try to shut this thing down from in here!"
 "DIPLOMATIC MK2, COMING IN FOR A HUG."
 With its great arms free now, the ten-foot-tall MegaCapo begins to lumber towards Aguri, its oiled joints gleaming as it reaches out with its sort of rodent paw hand things (maybe kind of cute if they weren't so huge) and attempts to grapple her, its grip, if it connects, not crushing or painful but highly constrictive.

Aguri Nakayama rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Attempting to halt the hug
Roll(s): 4. Total result is 4. This is a failure (by 6).

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago


  For Camellia, there is one problem that comes with combat.

  Seeing.

  Not that it stops her from doing it anyway. She attacked the girl and opened hostilities, yet when that wave of dark magic comes flying at her, she senses it too late to erect a stone barrier. Instead, it impacts directly into her chest. "Kh...!" When the smoke clears, Camellia appears visibly none worse for the wear despite the impact.

  She must be made of some stern stuff. Still, being durable doesn't mean pain doesn't exist. "Hmph. Your magic's gotten a bit stronger, hm?" The white haired woman mutters, brushing off the smoky point of impact. Then, she takes a step forward, and another, and another... While she walks at a languid pace, she clenches her free hand into a fist, and then gathers an inky black aether once her palm opens again.

  "Dark magic, hm? Cute. Beings of the night and all that, I suppose." Suddenly, she flings her arm upwards, and causes a spiderweb of inky black tendrils to form, then... she swings it back down, creating a cutting web of black that hurtles back down to the ground, threatening to slide whoever is underneath.

  Namely one Ruidosa.

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Defending from Dark Black Web!
Roll(s): 8. Total result is 8. This is a failure (by 2).

Ruidosa is....now caught in some spiderweb of inky black, as she frowns heavily. "I've been practicing." she says. as she nrgs, and tries to fight her way out of it... until Reize suggests a swap....well. Reize does have boomerangs to cut things right...? And she needs to be free of this... right?

So Ruidosa snaps her finger and----!

With a puff of black Reize and Rui change places! This has two effects, one is that Ruidosa is now free and now facing a Ninja.

THe other is that Reize...is now stuck in a black inky spiderweb by Camellia. But hey, maybe he can get out of that easier than Ruidosa can, as Ruidosa throws herself at Yari, producing a blade of black, dark energy in her hand as she yells out 'Falcata!' trying to swipe into the Ninja suddenly.


 The yelling between the Capo and the robot is strange. Is he... talking to Ivo? Is there someone else controlling it? Aguri's not sure. But Ivo at least seems to be on the opposite side of Camellia and this... extremely weird machine. She'll worry about it later. For now- "Khh!"

 For now it's hugging her. Do not want.

 Aguri shifts, trying to bring her arms up to deflect the incoming grapple, but her gauntlets hit those oiled joints and slide, ruining her leverage and allowing it to lock in its grip around her. Her response is immediate, writhing and jerking as she speaks. "I do not consent to this. Do not touch me. I need an adult." Snarky though her response is, it comes through gritted teeth, the tiny martial artist's annoyance evident even behind that mask.

 "...You, inside there. I apologize in advance."

 Giving up on any other way of escaping, Aguri swings a leg up. And then, she kicks. "TEYAAH!" Oh good heavens, does she ever kick. It's the kind of strength that could smash down walls or shatter boulders; entirely out of proportion with her small frame, even accounting for the might martial artists wield. She's aiming for the shoulder joint region, but with the way she's pinned by the MegaCapo's arms, that might be just a pipe dream. She'll settle for anything above the waist and vaguely off-center.

 Poor Ivo.

  • Character: Yari
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

Yari rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Come on ninja reflexes, don't fail me again.
Roll(s): 20. Total result is 20. This is a success (by 10).

Ivo Galvan rolls 1d20>=7.
Comment: MegaCapo's armor (damaged) versus super kick
Roll(s): 7. Total result is 7. This is a success (by 0).

  • Character: Yari
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

  The kawarimi jutsu!? A surprise to be certain, but not particularly shocking that Reize would know some duplicitous sorts that would pull that sort of thing. Despite the sudden change in circumstances forcing her against a new and unknown opponent, her feet moving as she practically dances out of the way of Ruidosa's attack, ending it with a swift leap backwards that puts some distance between her and the vampire.

  Time to make the battlefield a little more stacked in their favour. Seizing those moments that she's away from her new opponent, Yari flicks her sword carelessly away in Rui's direction. The attack seems more like it's meant to be a distraction than a serious attempt to land, freeing up her hands and buying a little time.

  Quick as she can her hands flash through a series of gestures, mist rising from the river. It's thickening by the second, visibility getting worse and worse the longer she gets away with her technique.

  Well. Visibility's not getting particularly worse for Camellia, though.


  There is the fact that he is bleeding from the blade piercing him. He grimaces, clutching his chest. On the other end, he cracks a grin at Ruidosa, readying himself just as Ruidosa is about to ready herself. He takes a deep breath and he calls out towards Yari, "Ooii! Think you can take me with a cheap shot like that?"

 He starts off with a sprint towards Yari, holding them invertedly as he takes a more aggressive sprint. He is leaping out towards Yari, preparing to launch a strike...

 "Now!" He calls out towards Ruidosa.

 In an instant, Reize phases from the view of Yari, swapping places with Ruidosa. In turn, he is appearing right towards Camellia with a flying kick until...

 Squish.

 "Buh?"

 He looks at the ground to see that his feet are sticking to the ground, thanks to the spider webs.

 ...

  ...

  "... This is not going as planned."
 

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Avoiding a thrown Sword
Roll(s): 4. Total result is 4. This is a failure (by 6).

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago



  Camellia can't see anything, naturally, but she does sense a fluctuation in aether, followed by a different presence that appears to be caught in her web. "....?" A mildly confused look crosses her face for a moment, but she soon catches on. "Ah. The boy." She mutters, as the air force of the kick falling just short of her face causes her messy hair to tousle.

  "A neat trick. But woefully ill-timed." She says, her lips curling into a smile. She smoothes out her dress, then settles her parasol against her shoulder again. "...And how do you plan to escape this, oh great explorer?" As she asks this question, she lifts a foot, and stomps it into the ground again.

  Earth aether pulses, and then several spires of stone jut out from the ground. from five different directions, these pointed stone pillars continue to grow, slowly nearing Reize's stuck body and threatening to pierce him gradually, painfully. Like a torture device.

  That is, unless he escapes first.

  "Do be a dear and put on an entertaining show, at least. Or you'll become a shish kebab." Camellia mutters, a creepy smile growing on her face.


 MegaCapo holds Aguri close as she protests, remaining still so long as she is restrained, even as the battle amongst the others rages on. As the martial artist struggles for as much leverage as she can get, the giant capybara automaton responds by spreading its stance, seeming to brace itself against the cracked cobbles. When she lashes out with a fierce kick, it twists, surprisingly swift and reactive for a lumbering machine. And despite a wrenching squeal of metal, it seems to have turned so that she strikes where the armor is thickest, preventing any further damage that would expose its component parts.
 The machine's eyes flash.
 "I," it booms, "AM AN ADULT."
 Lifting her up, it positions her forcibly in front of a new hatch that opens forbiddingly. Another metal cannon-like barrel emerges, gleaming, pointed straight at her if she has not managed to escape during this fearful sequence.
 "GIFT LOCKED AND LOADED."
 A *chuck-chuck* echoes, like a gun being cocked.
 "NEUTRALIZING THREAT."
 And, launched in a blur towards the grappled Aguri, is-- what appears to be a capybara stuffed animal, which, if she is still in its grip, will probably bounce off of her if it isn't caught.
 "FRIEND ACQUIRED."
 "Oh, gross--" Aguri can hear Ivo talking to himself inside the automaton. "I was wondering how a golem could possibly be sentient. Is this a *brain*!?"
 "PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH MY BRAIN."
 While Ivo and MegaCapo banter, the lizardfolk priestess they are assisting seems to have caught her breath. Seeing Reize and Ruidosa struggling valiantly against the combined assaults of Camellia and Yari, she turns sharply to her allies. "The rodent has been driven away for now," she says. "Lower the shield. We must assist our noble allies."
 Channeling their power as one, the shield they have been maintaining fading somewhat as they redirect their energies, a pale blue light begins to spread through the murky canals of this central plaza of Aurita Meloda. The party may recognize that this is the same spell Cutini Nak and her brethren cast during their clash with the merfolk's Elemental Chaos. And, sure enough, though it does not take effect immediately, Yari's obscuring mist will start to diminish somewhat, its effects seemingly countered by the lizardfolk's art.

> Cutini Nak casts Ebb and Flow.
> The power and speed of all water magic has been halved.

Aguri Nakayama rolls 1d20>=12.
Comment: Brute force escape attempt
Roll(s): 12. Total result is 12. This is a success (by 0).

Ruidosa La Crima can feel her strike miss and then a sword lodges itself into her right shoulder with a thunk....she winces and quickly pull the makeshift sword out, crushing it's hilt in her hand as she throws it behind her away from the fight, as she frowns at the mist...which starts to dissapate or at least start misting slower as she throws out a ball of dark energy...

Which tries to seek out the ninja as it emits a stream of dark energy as she mutters "Cadena De Tinieblas...." she says as she keeps concentrating on the ball of dark energy. Trying to keep it going as long as she can.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20>=12.
Comment: Avoiding the Fate of a Pincushion
Roll(s): 14. Total result is 14. This is a success (by 2).


 "Tch." The MegaCapo is surprisingly adept at fighting for all its... quirkiness. It manages to mitigate her attack quite soundly. And it's a smidge more lucid than it first seems, at that. "I-" Before Aguri can finish her thought (or even start it, really), the robot hefts her up in front of another hatch and deploys another cannon. Behind that mask, the girl grits her teeth, bracing for-

 Paff.

 ...

 "...somehow, I feel insulted."

 The girl gives up on damaging her way out, and decides to just pit brute force against brute force. "I will attempt to break free. If you have found a brain, please attempt to damage it as much as you can." She brings her gauntlets up, slipping her hands beneath the MegaCapo's arms and flexing just as hard as she can.

 It turns out, 'as hard as she can' is quite hard indeed. "HaaaaaAAAA-!" With sheer strength, the robotic arms are PUSHED clear apart, and the young templar drops out of its grasp - only to reach up as she does so, taking hold of one of those arms.

 "Once again, I apologize in advance. HAAAAA-!" With a turn, a shift in her hips, and a powerful pull, Aguri Nakayama attempts to hip-throw a metal capybara machine twice her size.


  The predictament was unexpected, but let it not be said that the boy is without options. Feeling the stickiness of the ground over his boots, he furrows his eyebrows while rummaging to his satchel. He draws a vial that is filled with some liquid.

  Given that Camellia now notices him, he is racing against time to pour the substance near his boots. As it seeps onto the ground, it eats away over the darkness that tries to keep him wrapped. This is under the threat of several spires of stone jutting out to turn him into a pin cushion.

 He grits his teeth, "Gladly!"

 Once he's no longer stuck, he immediately leaps into the air, then he pushes himself to roll into a flip. As he is rolling in the air, he sweeps his foot high into the air and brings it down in a crushing manner.

  The aether flares around him as he swings his foot down with a cutting motion behind him. Even if one was to put their guard up against the strike, this particular strike would cut through defenses.
 

Ivo Galvan rolls 1d20>=7.
Comment: Does (damaged) MegaCapo know MegaJudo?
Roll(s): 16. Total result is 16. This is a success (by 9).

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

Camellia rolls 1d20>=10.
Roll(s): 4. Total result is 4. This is a failure (by 6).

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago



  "Ah."

  Camellia senses the aether running through the black spiderwebs being cut off. And then she can sense Reize's aether leaping up into the air and coming down towards her again. ....What is he doing? She doesn't particularly sense any spell.

  Oh wait, this must be a physical attac- CRACK!

  Reize's kick connects with the top of Camellia's head, making her body whip downwards. Blood starts to well up and run down her hair and face from the impact. "......." Silence, for a moment, then, a deep sigh. Siiiiiiigh. ".... Ow." She mutters as she straightens back up, gingerly touching the top of her head, then rubbing her fingers together to feel the consistency of blood.

  "I guess that was interesting." She concedes in a non committal manner. Like she isn't at risk of a concussion. To be fair, she isn't. She shakes her head and then lowers her parasol. "Since it's like this, I suppose it's only fair to meet you in a similar manner."

  She draws it shut, and then earth aether billows over it. It hardens in response to the cloak of aether over it. Then Camellia dives towards the boy, aiming a deceptively heavy swing of her reinforced parasol at his side.


 Quirky though it may be, the MegaCapo is a ten-foot-tall hulking metal monstrosity, and fighting it one-on-one is valiant indeed. Despite their disparate sizes, Aguri displays extraordinary strength in forcing apart its metal grip and dropping down to escape.
 "ERROR: HUG ABORTED. FRIENDSHIP FAILED. UNKNOWN SENSATION DETECTED."
 The martial artist attempts to unsteady the massive capybara, but, no longer grappling her, it enters Absolute Capybara Mode, which is to say that it places all four paws on the ground, dramatically increasing its stability and its resemblance to a giant capybara. Still, it is clear the designer is not exactly a visual artist. There is something fundamentally off about its appearance.
 Other than, you know, everything about it.
 "LESSER INVENTOR IVO GALVAN. WHAT IS THIS SENSATION."
 "You'll have to describe it, MegaCapo."
 "AS THOUGH MY ALTIMETER IS DROPPING."
 "You mean a sinking feeling?" It sounds like Ivo is clanging about inside of it. What is he doing in there? "I think you're referring to sadness, MegaCapo."
 "MEGACAPO IS... SAD."
 "Hey!" Ivo, ignoring the contemplative automaton, calls out to the woman. "I'm going to disable its movements briefly! If you can aim a critical strike at its interior components, now's the time!"
 "IVO GALVAN. THAT IS MY BRAIN. PLEASE DO NOT TOOOooooooo..."
 There is the sound of a crackling electrical shock as the automaton's voice slows and fades, the aetheric light in its eyes flickering. The gears visible behind its damaged armor slow to a halt, the sound of their whirring ceasing for now.

  • Character: Yari
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

  Yari clicks her tongue as she finds her favoured form of magic suppressed, abandoning the mist technique the moment she realizes it isn't rising up as quickly as she'd like. Besides, there's something more pressing to focus on. The ninja doesn't know exactly how damaging that odd spray will be against something like herself, but she's in no particular hurry the experiment with it, given the current circumstances.

  Dodging a spray is difficult business, especially when it's actively trying to track you down. And if that wasn't bad enough, even attacking back is likely to be a pain with her magic weakened. So, rather than do the sensible thing and disengage for now, Yari does the opposite of sensible.

  She rushes straight at Rui, a brittle but still rather sharp needle made of ice forming in her palm. Is she hoping to make it through before that spray can do too much damage, and take the vampire out before she herself is taken out first?

  Nope. That needle's flung right at Reize while he's busy with Camellia, coming to hit him from behind while he's dealing with the white haired woman's attack.

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Locking Weapons With Camellia
Roll(s): 8. Total result is 8. This is a failure (by 2).

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20>=12.
Comment: Noticing Needle
Roll(s): 3. Total result is 3. This is a failure (by 9).

Ruidosa La Crima rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Cover for Reize
Roll(s): 3. Total result is 3. This is a failure (by 7).


 The robotic capybara slips Aguri's grip before she can lock it in, and drops into a more animalistic stance. She in turn settles back into a wary ready posture, arms set in preparation for an attack. Once again the mask she wears serves to hide anything of her expression, living only the image of a wary, silver-haired little oni standing before a huge metal beast. A huge... /sad/ metal beast...? Hmm.

 Whatever plan of attack she might have had in mind, Ivo's voice stalls Aguri out entirely. But she adapts quickly. "Understood." Aim a big hit at its interior components. Simple. Straightforward. She can do that. Stepping in again, the martial artist shifts to one side, getting herself a good angle on those gears. Right fist cocked back, the girl drops into a low stance, and for a second time the telltale aether halo of an activating Art flares around her.

 "Mighty Crag Style, Arts: Rock Shatter!"

 Aether collects, coalesces, floods that right gauntlet. A step becomes a punch. Leg strength becomes body strength becomes arm strength, fueling a superhuman blow that explodes with destructive earth power for a tremendous amount of force. All of it aimed straight through the gap in the MegaCapo's armor, right into its inner workings.

 She'd apologize to Ivo again, but at this point he probably gets the idea. Right?

Ruidosa La Crima gets ready to tank a needle when she suddenly watches Yari throw it towards Reize.... "Reize...!" she calls out as she looses concentration, causing the ball of dark energy, and it's stream, to dissapate as she throws herself forward in the form of a bat, racing the needle suddenly as she gets in front of it, in her bat form and---

SHRNK-- as she transforms back to her humanoid form and immediately starts free falling towards the ground-- hitting with a ''thud'' as the needle sticks out of her. She isn't moving, quite yet, but she's undead so maybe that's normal, at least her hands ball up... so there's a sign of life... but that look like it hurt a whole lot!

At least Reize didn't get the hit... right?


  There is a large degree of satisfaction upon his foot connecting with Camellia's head. A grin cracks as he pushes his way through with the kick. "Tsch....!" He lands on the ground, bouncing around as he keeps his boomerangs in hand. He rolls them along his hands, ready for the next strike.

 "That is for our last meeting!" He snaps at Camellia, ready for the action. He anticipates that the woman is not finished, evident that she shuts her parasol and imbue it with the earth aether.

 He sprints towards Camellia, pushing himself forward to meet with her with a clash of the crystal boomerangs against her earthly reinforced parasol. "Tsccchh..." Off the corner of his eye, a needle is already shooting towards him. "...!!!"

 At this point, he is already knocked flat on the ground due to the earthly weight that reinforces the parasol. "Guhhh...!" He grimaces, feeling like a noodle for that minute. Deep breath. Deep breath.

  His fate with the needle?

  Off the corner of his eye, Reize notices Rui taking the blow for him, "Rui..!" He pushes himself up, as if drawing a second wind and he sweeps a leg out towards Camellia, and then it rises up for a roundhouse kick. He twists around with a leg lifting up into the flip.

  Aether manifests around him as the foot swings out. "SHINING MOON!"
 

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

Camellia rolls 1d20>=10.
Roll(s): 14. Total result is 14. This is a success (by 4).


 MegaCapo's eyes flare back up at the very moment that Aguri's transcendent might is channeled through her gauntlet, sending explosive force resonating throughout the machine's inner workings. Gears fly everywhere as its internal components are dislodged and destroyed, its metallic form convulsing for a moment.
 "CRITI-CRITI-CRITICAL DAMAGE SUS-SUS-SUSTAINED."
 Its eyes flash on and off, lights seeming to alternate, as all its hatches open in front, several more stuffed animals tumbling out. Olive oil leaks from its hinges as Ivo, groaning and visibly dazed, begins to clamber out of the automaton's head, freed at last.
 "NAPTIME... FOR... MEGACAPOOOooooo..."
 And, at last, MegaCapo seems to shut down for good. The dark-haired Cosmopolitan drops to the ground with a grunt, tousled and bruised from being banged about by so many heavy impacts. It may seem a miracle that he's intact at all, at least until Aguri notices that Ivo is now holding a large stuffed capybara that he did not possess before forcibly entering Pilot Mode.
 "And how does that," he quips to the deactivated machine, "make you feel?"
 He's silent for a few moments.
 "I thought of that right after I got stuck in there," he asides to the oni-masked woman, "but now that I've said it, I feel bad. Thank you for your help. How're Reize and Ruidosa?" Gathering his bearings, the young man turns toward the melee, only to squint as he sees quite a bit of mist still dispersing. "What is that mist? Did Cutini Nak do that? But--"
 His eyes widen as he sees Rui fall, struck by Yari's needle.
 "Rui!" While he was abducted, she's been protecting his dear friend. Clenching his jaw, he draws Hauteclare, the longsword at his side. "That's the woman from the goblin village! How did *she* get here!?"
 He doesn't seem to realize how funny he looks with a sword in one hand and a big stuffed capybara in the other.

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago


  "Last time...?"

  Camellia tries to figure out what this 'last time' could be. ...The library? The river? The ruins...? Well, whatever. She perishes the thought from her mind, and instead, focuses on the boy as this is far from over.

  The situation with Yari's needle goes entirely unnoticed by the mage, however. All she can sense is Ruidosa's aether suddenly fluctuating as she seems to take damage. How strange. What happened there?

  Well, questions for later. Or never. Reize rounds on her, and she's prepared this time. Not keen to get hit on the chin after being hit on the head, Camellia defends against the blow with her parasol, skidding backwards a short ways from the impact.

  ".....Hm." She undoes the spell reinforcing her implement, and opens it up as an impassive look appears on her face. "It seems to me like your little girl friend is in a spot of trouble." She rests the parasol against her shoulder, lips curling into a smirk.

  "Should you really be wasting your time on me?"

  It doesn't seem like she's going to attack him.


 Finishing her strike, Aguri moves back a pace and a half, preparing herself for any counterattack. She's even considering the possibility of some sort of self-destruct. But it does neither of those things. It only shakes itself apart, allowing a woozy Ivo to climb free. It shuts itself down, and at last the small girl relaxes, drawing herself up into a brief, respectful martial artist's bow towards the quippy gearhead. "I pass no judgment on your choice of parting words," she declares in a neutral voice. "But I have been focused entirely on my own battle and attempting to free you with..." Pause. ".../minimal/ injury. I have not followed the other battle at- ...all..."

 As Aguri speaks, she turns, and when the oni mask finally settles on the fracas between Camellia, Yari, Rui and Reize. Her entire body tenses. Both hands clench. "...a /shinobi/. That woman may be my quarry!" Even her voice has a tension that wasn't there before. And, without waiting one heartbeat longer, 'Tsuchi' breaks into a dead run once again, this time aiming to join the four-way fray.

  • Character: Yari
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

  One down, one to-hm.

  Scratch that. One down, /three/ to go. Yari's eyes flick towards their fallen companion, exhaling a soft huff through her nose as she eyes the fallen machine. With MegaCapo out of commission that leaves Ivo free, and the odd, masked woman free to focus on other things.

  Her eyes roll as she slowly, or at least, too slowly for her comfort, manifests another of those little spade shaped blades in her hand. That really was an irritating thing that lizard woman did. Next time, she'd have to take that one out before she could pull that little trick. Right now, though, there was still one more opponent she could take down before retrea-

  Uh oh. The masked woman isn't about to give Yari the time to do something as dirty as, say, take Ruidosa hostage with a kunai pressed against her throat.

  It seems a little unwise to throw down in a straight fight with someone who can smack down a ten foot machine like that, doesn't it? And very much not what a ninja would do under any circumstances. With a flick of the wrist, Yari's kunai is tossed...right into the ground between her and Aguri, a patch of slick, slippery ice forming around the site of impact. ...but, to the shinobi's annoyance, it's too slow for comfort.


  This time, Reize fails to make purchase against Camellia as she manages to defend herself. The parasol collides with his foot, clashing and sending him nearly off-balance until he catches himself. Once his foot hits the ground, he takes a few leaps back and then he spins over to see Ruidosa.

 Camellia is right. He needs to focus on his partner.

 No longer putting his focus on the adversary, he sprints over towards Ruidosa. He slides against the ground, skidding over to settle by her side. "Ruidosa!" He pulls her body over to his form. "...Ngh... We'll have to head somewhere safe..."

  He glares over towards Yari, but it looks like she's engaged in combat. Reize is prepared to deal with her if she tries something funny.
 

Ruidosa La Crima's eyes peek open... she took the hit in her bat form, so she's hurt extra bad. She still has that spike sitting in her, probably slowly melting, but still there as she mutters. "Reizey..." lowly as she nrgs.

It's hard for her to move right now, but she tries. "Can't move really well yet... it hurts." she admits as she whimpers.

"Ju..just get me away before that... person can try to do that again. To either of us." she mutters.


 Ivo looks startled as the masked woman sprints off.
 "A shinobi?"
 Formal education remains something of a rarity in Rithera, but as an aristocratic citizen of Cosmopolis, Ivo studied many historical texts. Despite being cut off from the rest of the world for over a century, the Spiring City offered a wealth of knowledge for the curious. And after meeting Faruja, Ivo took it upon himself to learn more of Revonus's peculiar culture and faith.
 "That woman is a *ninja*?"
 Now he's truly baffled. This does make sense of her devious tricks and preternatural movements, as well as her ability to escape Kernunnos's art. But, as he ponders this, his hand instinctively reaches for the eidola sensor tucked within his cloak.
 "But why would someone from Revonus..."
 ...trigger his eidola sensor, when eidola are their sworn enemies?
 There's no time to wonder at the mysteries of the world right now. Ivo, realizing he must be more dazed than he thought from the tumbles he took inside that machine, runs after his rescuer, trailing significantly behind her. He tries to make his way toward Ruidosa's fallen form, hopping over vegetation-choked canals still glowing with Cutini Nak's water-quelling enchantment.
 "Reize! Rui! I'll cover your retreat!"
 Ivo at last arrives as Reize is attending to their vampire friend, the battered young man resolved to be of at least some help. The masked woman is clearly strong, so she can hopefully occupy their assailant from before. All they need now is to induce Camellia to withdraw.
 "Oh, peerless beauty," Ivo, straightening, proclaims, his breathlessness from his dash over making him sound all the more earnest as he walks steadily toward the blind sorceress, lowering the point of his sword. "Will you not choose the path of love over hate? Your ally has withdrawn for now. Leave the citizens of Aurita Meloda in peace, so that we might find a better way. Preferably, over drinks!"
 He says that, but he's still holding his sword. And-- oh, right.
 "Also," he blurts, "I got this for you."
 He extends the large stuffed capybara toward Camellia for possible examination by touch, should she so deign to peruse it.
 "A, uh, small token of my undying affections."
 He's still keeping her garter, though.

Aguri Nakayama rolls 1d20>15.
Comment: Attempting to maintain footing.
Roll(s): 6. Total result is 6. This is a failure (by 9).


 It's like watching a runaway train. Every spot Aguri's tabi-clad feet land, the ground cracks just a little. But that full-steam charge comes with drawbacks - like being unable to change course easily.

 "Ah-!"

 The ice patch might not be fast enough for Yari's comfort, but it's just /barely/ fast enough to do what it was sent to do. Though the ice cracks under her foot, it also utterly destroys Aguri's traction, and though she tries valiantly to maintain her balance, there's just too much momentum involved. The run turns into a tumble, digging up gouges and furrows in the ground as she skid-rolls along it.

 Unfortunately, when Aguri moves to get back up, she's looking none the worse for wear, aside from a bit of light scraping on her upper arms and scuffing along her clothes. Fortunately, however, the tumble goes on long enough to completely stall her pursuit and buy Yari several seconds.

  • Character: Camellia
  • 2 years, 8 months ago



  ".........."

  Camellia just stands there, seeing nothing, and sensing a flurry of activity in the flow of aether. It doesn't seem like any of it is coming for her, so she just waits. Waits and 'watches' for now. Reize runs off to help Ruidosa, as per her suggestion. Two others she doesn't recognize appear to be engaged, and then....

  There's Ivo.

  Camellia's expression pricks very briefly at his approach. She can't tell he's pointing a sword at her, but it's not hard to infer based on the situation. It seems like that scientist's toy is down for the count. The Capo himself made a break for it much earlier, citing something about a 'communal bath system'? She didn't hear him clearly.

  ...Well, she doesn't need to see to tell this is a disadvantageous position.

  Upon being offered something, Camellia pauses, then slowly reaches out and touches. Hm. It's soft. ... A stuffed... something. A bear?

  ".........."

  The sorceress narrows her eyes. Then, she takes the plush capybara in her free arm and turns around. "This will do." And with that, she walks right off.

  ....She actually took it?

  • Character: Yari
  • 2 years, 8 months ago

  With those precious few seconds buying them an opportunity to group up and plan, Yari turns towards Camellia to- Oh. Camellia is...she's walking away. The ninja's gaze flicks back towards Aguri as the woman starts to get back on her feet, her next decision taking just a split second to make. It's time to deploy the most beloved of a shinobi's secret arts.

> Yari used Secret Shinobi Art: Run Away.

  Yes, she's turning tail and making a break for it. What? She's bloodthirsty, not stupid. Multiple opponents, her allies gone or destroyed, and her magic suppressed? It doesn't take a genius to know it's time to call it a day.


  Furrowing his eyebrows, the young explorer lifts his partner into his arms and then he gazes at her with a serious look. "...Yeah. We'll get to a safe spot..." He grits his teeth, now unable to focus on either Yari or Camellia. At least, he doesn't have to worry about Camellia, but Yari poses a threat. Thankfully, the other person is in the fray of battle against the ninja.

  "We'll get to Cutini Tak and the others!"

  He is running past the others and back to the lizardfolk. He'll have to get to a more quiet, secluded area within the crumbling city. After all, he knows how to treat Ruidosa's wounds.
 


 Ragged cheers rise up from the defending lizardfolk as the remaining members of the Covenant to Control Chaos begin to withdraw, Meloda's Blessing safeguarded for now. Cutini Nak, seeing Reize carrying Ruidosa toward her and her compatriots, gestures to part their formation, ushering the boy into their sanctum.
 "We owe you a yet greater debt, human friend," she intones, sounding exhausted. "If there is any aid we can offer in treating wounds, please, allow us to assist..."
 Around the same time, various cries of dismay can be heard from the ruined stone houses where the less devout denizens (that is, everyone other than Cutini Nak and her tribe) have been hiding during the clash. Young women in leotards and wearing bunny ears are ducking out of doorways and retreating as well in something of a hurry.
 "Wait!" The flushing lizardman priest from before stumbles out, still clutching a small jug printed with Xes, seemingly in pursuit of a bunny girl. "Don't go! I--" He stops short, seeming to sense something, only to turn blearily and see his erstwhile allies glaring daggers at him. Silenced, he slinks back into hiding.
 Ivo, gazing after Camellia's departing form, nods solemnly.
 "I feel you, my brother," he murmurs to himself.
 With Reize and Ruidosa safely withdrawn, he looks over to where the masked woman is recovering herself, only to see that the ninja seems to have escaped once again.
 "She's escaped us before as well," Ivo says to Aguri, sheathing his sword. "But she seems determined to eliminate us, for reasons I don't fully understand. If you stay with us, I think your quarry is likely to come to you." Finally seeming to relax for the first time since they left Verdios, the young man sighs heavily, offering the martial artist a wan smile. "Of course, I'm speaking from self-interest as well. Your strength saved me."
 He turns his gaze toward the still form of MegaCapo, its metal gleaming in the light of the gradually sinking sun on the horizon, the glow seeming to set the churning waters by Aurita Meloda ablaze. This dazzling sight must have greeted the city's ancient inhabitants every day, back when fish still swam in this sea.
 "Though we've disabled its body, its brain remains intact. Fabroxo should be able to revive it." Somehow, he can't help but be concerned for MegaCapo's well-being. Looking back to Aguri, he extends his hand. "I'm Ivo. Ivo Galvan. Lesser inventor." His smile quirks further upward with amusement. "And who might my masked savior be?"


 By the time Aguri bleeds off all that momentum and gets back to her feet, Yari is... gone.

 "Tch."

 It's the only sign of irritation the oni-masked girl allows herself. By the time she turns back around to Ivo, the girl is composed again - or at least sounds that way. "Self-interest is one of the only motivations that can be earnestly trusted," she replies, her tone almost seeming to suggest a rote bit of wisdom. Now that they're out of battle, her voice is soft, a cool and neutral tone with an educated cadence. "I can offer no promises, but for the time being, I am willing to cooperate."

 She doesn't take Ivo's hand... but she does, after a moment of regarding him, bring her right fist up to press into her left palm, bowing her head politely. "Tsuchi Ishino, the stone hammer of Revonus. That woman is likely a member of a ninja clan that betrayed Revonus; it's them that I'm hunting."