Planeside 2

[Fenric]

Inari (or whichever helper it is that is actually listening) isn't so keen on being such little help: on Wind's next strike, he receives a potent backlash jolt that knocks him back and sits him on his rear.

YEARRRGH!

needless to say, he does not get through the hatch...

Down in the dungeon, a soldier comes up to Steven

We've found the king, sir, but we're having trouble getting him un-shackled from the wall. If you could come have a look...

[Recaiden]

"Woah. Thanks!"

Now is the time to try to fly away, while he's been knocked back. And maybe find something solid...

[Deathkeeper]

Air World

Steven nods and follows the soldier without comment. He'll find out when he gets there...

[Fenric]

The Mote should have no trouble landing out in front of the castle. There isn't really much gunfire going on anymore now that Caroline has stopped firing. There is the occasional pot-shot taken from inside, but their small-arms fire has no effect at all on the heavily armored vehicles occupying the courtyard.

Off to the side, transports from the Fury have already dropped off another dozen werefox marines and it looks like they are getting ready to clean up whatever resistance is left inside.

Down below, Steven is taken to a small interior cell where the tall, lanky, birdlike Tengu King is chained to the wall with strange black shackles.

They've resisted both simple spells and a fusion cutter already, sir.

Steven will have no trouble sensing the divine aura around the black metal: they're pretty heavily enchanted.

[Recaiden]

This is...where they let the marines do their job. The Mote just settles down and keeps an eye on the air for any new threat.

[Deathkeeper]

Air World

Steven shakes his head.
"Blast. Well, we'll see how well they hold up to something holy." he says, drawing Eclipse. He focuses a bit of the divine energy at his disposal into his actions, moving slowly and deliberately as he makes a small draw-cut on one of the shackles.

[Fenric]

[Air World]

The black material resists, but Eclipse does slowly but steadily make progress cutting it. When he gets all the way through the first shackle, the entire cloud-mountain trembles and there is a loud peal of thunder outside.

Outside, everyone looks around in concern

What was that?

[Recaiden]

And a few minutes later the mountain shakes and thunder rolls. The Mote picks back up and slowly ascends to what they consider a safe distance away. The sensors focus again on the magical solid clouds, and every spare pair of eyes watch the sky for, well, anything out there.

"Was that anything we should know, commander?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Air World]

"That was likely me pissing off a god. Get everyone in our exit plan in position. Once our VIP is out, we are leaving, marines."
Steven says, putting much more divine force into his cutting this time.

[Fenric]

Verise sounds cross

No idea... just a sec.

a long few moments pass

Ground team has found the Tengu king, they're trying to get him loose.

she addresses someone nearby on her end

"Anomalous atmospheric voltage potential? What's that mean?"

Down below, Steven slices through the second shackle. Everyone starts to head out, but it's hard not to notice a swelling prickly sensation and the marines start to mumble...

Why's my fur standing on end?
There's a weird smell building up... kinda like... ozone?
Something's coming.

[Recaiden]

"Magic lightning. There's gonna be a storm."
Or at least a 'call lightning' spell.

The Mote pulls away from the castle, and Bloom asks for protection from energy in addition to evil, while trying to think up a good rhyme for 'lightning'. It'll probably have to be a slant. Or maybe a synonym? Volt, Shock...

[Deathkeeper]

Air World

"Keep going! I'll handle it!" Steven shouts at the troops, trying to hand the Tengu king to a nearby solider. He quickly moves to the center of the formation, as he isn't sure if their guest will enter from their...how would the troops put it? Their twelve or their six. That.

[Fenric]

[Air World]

Protection from Lightning is a good choice, because the next thing to happen is a tremendous Lightningstorm - very much like the Firestorm spell... just with lightning.

As the electric bolts tear around, shocking and burning everyone and everything with gusto, the two spaceships are relatively unharmed as the lightning follows essentially normal physical laws and cannot enter the effective faraday cage of the metal shells of the floating craft.

For the people on the "ground", however, it is not so happy: the marines try to carry forward, but the powerful jolts make it nearly impossible. While the storm rages on, Steven will sense the cleric who cast it approaching.

[Recaiden]

((Sorry ))

How exciting! If you're safely inside a ship, at least.
Bloom watches, at first impressed by the spell and then frustrated that they can't do anything about it.
"Do we know where this is coming from? We can't find a thing."

[Fenric]

(( Oh... that one... oops. ))

[Orochi's Castle]

POOF!

Keiko, Cleo, and Mist arrive in the main entrance-hall. A draconic servant comes over quickly and bows to Keiko

Your Highness.

Keiko grins

Go tell the kitchen folks I need a picnic lunch for three, and send someone to the weapons master: I'm going on a wraith hunt with Cleo and Mist. Is anybody else around?

The servant replies in the negative and then scurries off on Keiko's errands.

Oh well... looks like it's just us, then.

[Deathkeeper]

Orochi's Castle

Mist looks around the place, awed a little.
"Nice place, Keiko. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I'm not packing as much metal as usual with these casual clothes, so just warning you. Not all of us can be swimming in magic." she says in good spirits. She doesn't really have an issue standing in the back flicking knives.

[Recaiden]

Cleo smiles, unexpectedly glad to be back in the greyscale shadow world.

"Oh, do they count as being alive?"

[Fenric]

[Orochi's Castle]

Keiko pulls a "ehhh..." face at Cleo's question

That's rough. No, not really: they're undead, even here. Once we break the bonds with this plane, their soul will go off to Limbo to either be picked up or...

She winces and looks to the side

Not. Sorry... I hope I don't have to deal with that, honestly. I'd rather anyone who doesn't want to follow me just doesn't, and I've told Matthew as much. I do NOT want to choose between punishing someone or leaving them to that.

she shakes her head to shake it off... for all the good that ever does. Then she grins at Mist

Seriously, Mist? I let you keep the shadows of your knives because I didn't want to upset you. Nothing from the material plane is much use here! Come on.

And almost as if nothing upsetting had been brought up, she leads the way back to the main staircase that Cleo has seen many times... but this time she goes down instead of up. It's not a long walk, and she pauses briefly before a solid looking door.

Oh! Most of the time, you don't really notice that our third dimension isn't the same as the material world's third... brace yourself walking through the door... this time, you'll know!

And with that, she opens the door and charges through!

The sensation of passing through the door is like a free-fall amusement park ride combined with a tilt-a-whirl and the sensation of eating something VASTLY spicier than you should have... but only for a split instant and then it is gone entirely.

[Deathkeeper]

Orochi's Castle

Mist blinks. "Keiko...I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never been to the Shadows before!" she explains to Keiko. Really, not all of this is making sense.
And then a door!
"Oh gods. What was that?" she asks, sucking in a deep breath.

[Recaiden]

Cleo skips around to find Keiko's looking-aside face.
"If we run into anyone with nowhere to go, I can take care of it."

Then for Mist.
"Well, you know in our world, shadows are flat and 2-D, and here it's the reverse. Real things are flat, without any scale, and shadow-things are fully fleshed out."

Through the door, careful, catch yourself, don't fall. After a moment of being off-balance, Cleo grins.
"Just like going down a slide!"

[Fenric]

Keiko grins mischeviously, her tail twitching as she walks down a short hallway

The usual world has length, width, and height. Here, we have length, width...

She gestures to the room now stretching ahead of them: it's the size of a decent warehouse and three stories tall

And volume! Welcome to Orochi's Armory!

A very formal tenor voice echoes out from among some shelves to the right

And you have missed your last thirty four practice sessions, Your Highness. Aside from which, you have been so bold as to take up my own preferred weapons without yet earning my blessing to do so.

And now, an unusual sight: Keiko's ears pin down in abject submission, and her tail curls between her legs ever so slightly

C...Cleo, M..Mist... T..This is Lar'felnatahn: Weapons Master of House Orochi. Master: this is my wife Cleo and our friend Mist.

Out from the shelves strides an elegantly dressed dark elf, polished black boots echoing on the floor, long rapier and main gauche dangling from his belt. He bows politely

Charmed.

[Deathkeeper]

Orochi's Castle

Mist hides her amusement at Keiko being told off, but she's too wise to even attempt to say the elf's name. So she just bows.
"An honor, sir."

[Recaiden]

Cleo marvels at the room a little bit - this was just behind a normal door, after all.

She bows in return to the weapon master.
"Pleased to meet you, Lar'felnatahn."

A hand to Keiko's shoulder in support - brighten up! - but she has to ask: "Thirty-four meetings, Keiko? How often were they?"

[Fenric]

Keiko relaxes a bit at Cleo's touch, but winces

Twice a month...

The drow nods first to Mist, then to Cleo as they announce themselves. The he turns his gaze back to the wayward princess

Correct: the Princess has been truant for seventeen months. And even in that time you spent as a dragon you could have availed yourself of my teaching: my house kept deep dragons and I have more than a passing familiarity with combat in that form.

Now, you want me to help outfit you and your friends for a lark out in the countryside?

Keiko swallows

Well... we were planning a wraith hunt, not a picnic.

He nods.

The price is simple enough. Follow.

He turns and walks swiftly back the way he came. Keiko doesn't hesitate but starts to follow, albeit rather more slowly.

I didn't think of this complication... sorry...

[Deathkeeper]

Orochi's Palace

Mist shrugs. She's not overly bothered by this. Except for one thing....
"What's the price?"

[Recaiden]

Cleo frowns.

"It isn't as though all that time has been without practice."

She follows the drow quickly, getting ahead of the other two. There's a lot she'd like to say to Lar'felnatahn that would probably be a bad idea to voice.

"Don't worry about it, Keiko."

[Fenric]

He's supposed to be competent, not likeable

Keiko nods as they go past shelves of equipment, then through a door and down a hallway.

You're right, Cleo. It'll be fine... and what he wants? Well... Drow. Weapons Master. Annoyed... there's only one place
he'd go...

At the end of the hallway, another room opens up. Not nearly so grandiose this time, and round with a 5 meter wide circle of packed earth set into the floor in the middle.

The sparring room.

Lar'felnatahn has stopped in the middle of the circle

Who would like to go first?

[Deathkeeper]

Orochi's Palace

Mist blinks, looking at the ladies around her.
"Well, don't look at me. Melee isn't my thing, least of all with my center of gravity all whacked up." she says flatly, crossing her arms.

[Recaiden]

"Well then, look at me, if Mist doesn't care to."

Cleo steps up into the circle, stopping right at the edge.

"What are the rules?"

[Fenric]

The drow arches an eyebrow at Mist, but doesn't respond. Then, Cleo steps up. He respectfully takes a step back.

Very well, Lady Cleo.

I do not seek to make you prove anything: I propose merely a friendly duel with whatever general handheld melee weapon you prefer, that I may evaluate your skill. After that... we shall see: but as you are now a member of this household, you do have the right to my assistance in the future should you wish it and should you not already outmatch me.

He smiles at Keiko

I would have preferred Her Highness brought you to meet me more formally... but our darling little Keiko wouldn't be who she is if she always kept such things in mind.

Keiko's ears fold down again

Yeah... I really should have thought of that... hm... what else have I forgotten?

(( Oh, let's see... there's the whole thing that you'll owe the chef a gift for asking for the picnic lunch, at the very least.

Wonder if Ben and Yumiko will go on another date? ))