Foxside: The Temple of Inari 55 - So many ships, you'd think it was on the ocean

[Deathkeeper]

The Vault

The scrolls are a minor priority for now, unless someone has made a few Protection from mental effects or such. The blood moon isn't precisely Evil, at least he thinks. Perhaps he can find something more powerful among the true artifacts.
Or something even worse, knowing this place.

[Fenric]

Now, now: the "bad" stuff is locked away behind a gate quite a bit further inside.

Everything near the front, though, is newer and clean and labelled clearly in easy to read handwriting. Heading back, however: the dust gets thicker, the labels faded and poorly written and harder to read, and the organization vastly more sketchy.

[Deathkeeper]

[The Vault]

Steven frowns. He tries to use a basic divine spell to get a feel for the energies around him. He's looking for protection, or perhaps something moon-based? Or would he be looking for something related to mental magics? Transformations, since it's based on lycanthropy? Confound it, it's an issue he just doesn't understand well enough for him to know what he's looking for. He'll have to just hope something catches his eye.

[Fenric]

[Sanctuary]

Caroline looks around with a fixed expression: the sanctuary was as ready as it was going to get. And not a moment too soon: Noriko steps out of the shadows leading two Shadow-Vulpans in the somewhat skimpy if heavily bejeweled outfits of the ancient princesses of Zhangjaije

Ok: get settled you two. You've got to stay here, in your Vulpan forms, with those bracelets on, until the eclipse is done.

Keiko and Yumiko both look sullen. Keiko obviously looks rather more unhappy.

[The Vault]

The search is long and tedious, but finally ends up with a rough, dark stone sphere labelled in barely intelligible text...

"New Moon Stone"

[Deathkeeper]

The Vault

Steven does his best to figure out what sort of magics surround the stone with some prayers of divination. The name certainly seems promising. Perhaps it has the ability to cancel out lunar energy.

Or maybe it just makes things evolve into Nidoking and Clefable, knowing this place.

[Fenric]

[The Vault]

There is a rumble, and a snuffling, and a tingly fear, and the unescapable sense of a ... lot of fluff?

Steven might just be running out of time. The sphere is full to the brim with Abjuration, and looks like it might just have some amount of power at negating the effects of a full moon.

[Sanctuary]

Caroline looks around at the strange noises

It would seem things are beginning to happen.

Yumiko is already buried in a book, but Keiko looks fidgety

So I'm like... stuck here... all night? This is lame.

[Deathkeeper]

[The Vault]

Steven grabs the stone, and all the relevant scrolls he could find, and hurries back to the main level to find everyone else.
"I have something, I think. The most I could find in a short time." he says, panting.

[Fenric]

Keiko and Yoshiko smile (well... Keiko more grins)

Hey, Steven! You gonna help keep track of us?

Hello, Steven.

Caroline comes over curiously

What did you find, darling?

[Deathkeeper]

Sanctuary


"I took every Protection Of spell that might pertain to mental effects and lunar energy, along with this stone, which seems to be related to the New Moon. Obvious opposite to the full moon." he says, showing them the items.
"Hello, ladies. I hope we can get you comfortable for one night at least." he says, blinking at their outfits. He'd almost forgotten about that. The traditional garb was in some textbook somewhere...

[Fenric]

Caroline nods, looking at the stone curiously

That looks like a good find! We are going to put the princesses in the old accountant's office on the north side, so we will ....

Keiko interrupts

Yeah, yeah. I still don't see why we had to come a whole week early!

[Deathkeeper]

[Sanctuary]

Steven shrugs.
"Sorry your Holineess but I'm not even sure we know what timeframe we have." he admits. He had been sure he felt something in the vault. Had that been part of the event, or had it been something in the vault?

[Fenric]

(( Why is it that work decides to get so busy right when I'm trying to do something? ))

Keiko clearly doesn't think that she's a were-dragon and even after the little makeshift apartment is prepared for the sisters, she spends a sizeable portion of the next few days complaining and reiterating that point.

Frederick researches the New Moon stone, and thinks it looks quite promising: it is indeed an artifact from the werefox days rather than anything Pokémon related. Meanwhile, the Head of Clerics has redirected the bulk of the scroll-writing tasks to preparing "Protection from Disintegration", though nobody really wants a live test of those.

But time flies when you're scrambling to prepare and before you can blink it's Sunday, and the moons turn red in only a few short hours.

[Deathkeeper]

[Sanctuary]

Steven spends his days trying to fortify the place as best he can. A few shadows, as strong as he can make them, to block out lunar light where it's needed. Or to protect from blasts. Serving as a battery for Frederick if his studies with the Stone require a Miracle or two. And flicking Eclipse's guard furiously. If there's anyone in the Temple who isn't aware of his nervous habit, they'd have to be blind to not know now.

He's found in the sanctuary, sitting next to a pile of scrolls and with all his spells conserved specifically for the night.

[Fenric]

Caroline returns and smiles at Steven. She looks toward the shut door of Keiko and Yumiko's room where a distinct lack of sound can be heard

Her royal spoiled-ness taking a nap, I presume? I knew she could talk, but I have never heard anything quite like her these last few days.

[Deathkeeper]

[Sanctuary]

Steven shrugs. "She's not as bad as three brothers at the same time. Cleo is keeping an eye on her kids, I presume?" he asks. The hatchlings should be fine, being born dragons as far as he can guess.

[Fenric]

Caroline grins

I suppose not... but I would not know: I only have sisters.

Then she nods

Presumably so: while she ranted at some length about being separated from her family, she did not actually mention exactly what the arrangement was. And I would imagine Cleo can manage should they happen to turn into a little pack of fox kits... it is simply not the same sort of situation as we are facing.

she looks thoughtful

No word at all from Noriko... I assume that means she has yet to find out anything more concrete. I think we should plan on not receiving any more information from that avenue. And Inari has similarly not volunteered any information... I do not believe lycanthropy is sufficiently in here sphere of operations for her to have ever paid it any significant attention.

[Deathkeeper]

Sanctuary

Steven idly remembers some lore claiming that fox therianthropy was an early experiment of Inari's, but it's probable that even then she hasn't looked at it in millennia.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. Though...is there a moon in the plane of shadows? I'm wondering how that works." he ponders, thinking about it.

[Fenric]

Caroline blinks

(( The current Werefox empire teaches that, yes. Their actual backstory is obscured in the mists of ancient threads long since purged and I haven't decided one way or another ))

There must be... but I would rather expect that for them, it is the new moon that would matter - when the moon is completely obscured in the planet's shadow.

She frowns

We could be two weeks early... and that "new moon" stone might be exactly and completely the opposite of what we need for the shadow-princesses.

Now there's a quandary!

[Deathkeeper]

Sanctuary

"Well its possible that they would be safer with their father then. But really, we have no answers either way." Steven says with a shrug. Unless Keiko and Yumiko would rather stay with Orochi there isn't much to do besides wait.

[Recaiden]

Even if the children all become feral dragonlings, none of them should be able to disintegrate much of anything yet.

[Accounting Apartment]

There's a visitor for at least one of the princesses. Having heard at least some bit of what's going on, Leah has come down to the temple. Knock-knock!

[Fenric]

[Sanctuary]

Caroline looks at Steven, completely at a loss for what to suggest next. She swallows, then looks around, then braces herself

Possibly... but for tonight we have to deal with what we have. The princesses are our priority, and we should keep with our current plans.

[Accounting Apartment]

Keiko opens the door with a scowl: dressed in her "princess" outfit that seems to annoy her more than anything else

WHAT?

Then, she sees it's Leah

LEAH! Oh my goodness it's Leah! Oh you can't imagine how boring and annoying and aggravating this has been! My sister came and got me and dragged me off without so much as a moment to settle things, and I've been just short of a prisoner ever since just because all the moons will be full and red or some such thing. I can't STAND it anymore.

[Deathkeeper]

[Sanctuary]

"Yeah, that's it then. All we have to do is wait." Steven says, determination steeled.

[Recaiden]

Leah slips inside and goes to give Keiko a hug.

"The eclipse, yeah. Dad told me you'd been cooped up here on account of your shapechanging. So I figured I'd keep you company till it's over."
She also has her dragon-slaying sword just in case.

"Are you all here in this little house?"

[Fenric]

[Acconuting Apartment]

Keiko pouts

I'm not a dragon-thrope. We don't even have that entire concept on our world. But I'm really glad you're here, Leah: you've always understood me better than stuffy Caroline and her goody-two-shoes priestess brigade. She can get so annoying sometimes.

she scratches at the transformation-resisting bracelet around her left wrist

Why is this thing getting so itchy all of the sudden?!

[Sanctuary]

A chill fills the air as silvery moonlight abruptly lances down through the upper-story windows and highlights the magic circle inlaid on the sanctuary floor. Beautiful at first, it rapidly takes on an ominous red tinge as the eclipse gets underway

Caroline stares at the invasive light for a moment, then looks up to see the tattered remains of the celestial spider's webbing rapidly disintegrating in the unwholesome lunar radiation

Right. Time to get to work! Everybody, start reading off those scrolls as fast as you can manage!

[Deathkeeper]

[Sanctuary]

Steven begins running a finger down a particularly long and powerful scroll he wrote himself, pouring a decent chunk of a day's energy into. After all, better to fortify than to patch.
"Eclipse, could you help out? I'm sure a greater spirit can handle an acolyte's mojo." he asks the dragon-spirit.

[Fenric]

[Sanctuary]

Steven's blade shimmers and glows: a light show that swiftly detaches and forms itself into a quite respectable-looking gentleman in silken court robes that hearken to Meiji-era Japan. Human form is rather more condusive to the reading of scrolls, after all.

Of course, Steven: let us set to work.

The acolytes and priests are already working their way through the pile, and Caroline is keeping up a fairly steady stream of potency and duration increasing meta-spells to make everything work the better.

But the quiet concentration is broken by the first sounds of screams from outside, and a number of the acolytes promptly spoil their spellcasting.

The healers and guards are already on the job, my friends. The werefoxes know how to deal with this sort of thing...

Then a feral fox yowl echoes from the garden

I hope...

[Accounting Appartment]

Keiko blinks and slaps her hand to her side.

Oh... any transformation? So it doesn't matter why?? But...

[Recaiden]

"I know, right? I know the Nexus can change people, but-"
Leah looks to the bracelet.

"The eclipse is really starting. Leave it alone; of course the red light's going to set off anything to do with transformaton."
She does look a little worried though. Maybe it's affecting Keiko, and if so, maybe it'll be changing any sort of shapechanger...Mist...Yueh...this could be really bad.

((Moved my post down here since it was just a second before yours, but then you edited it. Sorry ))

---

"After all the time you've waited, these are just the last couple hours." Leah answers, trying to reassure.

[Deathkeeper]

[Sanctuary]

Steven is unbothered, and bends shadows around him without nary a word as he recites his spell. A canopy forms over them, stretching down over parts of the temple not strictly occupied at the moment like the gardens and school. Creating solid shadows over so large an area would likely drain him into unconsciousness. But keeping out bad light? He can manage that.

[Fenric]

[Accounting Apartment]

Keiko looks at Yumiko, who is now quite literally sitting on her hands and looking a little wide-eyed.

I didn't take it off.

Keiko shakes her head

OK... this could be bad. There's a fair number of people who've used transformation spells, and I'm betting we've got all the 'sune folk in their fox forms right now out playing as many tricks as they can get away with. But they're really harmless when you get down to it.

Yeah, I get it. I really do: insane nine-headed Keiko disintegrating everything in sight would be really really bad... But um... Arlem? Does he even have a form to revert to? ... and I don't even want to know what his wife might end up with: Michaud is a creepy nut. And then there's her psycho sister... I'm sure she's just great.

[Sanctuary]

The light is dimmed considerably... but not excluded, and even the indirect light brings its influence along (if greatly diminished). Caroline nods

That's great, sweetie.

But that slip of a contraction shows how stressed she really is. Nevertheless, there is vastly less screaming and more simple commotion coming from outside the sanctuary now.

[Deathkeeper]

[Sanctuary]

Steven is unaware of the conversation happening in the temporary royal room, and also of a certain incident that would have made him aware of the very real possibility of his brother at this very moment starting a musical in their home in his purple coat. Just pray he doesn't find a way to infect the rest of the family.

"Thank you." he says instead, and goes back, finishing his long, powerful scroll and moving on to smaller ones.