White Cloud City IC

[tonberryking]

As before, Koutetsu ambles over to the dead beasts and tries to cut out their stones. She DOES however clap Nezu on the shoulder with a modicum of solidarity for that killing shot.

"If only the parent is left, we need to find it fast... We may not have any more time to ally up with any other students and Benjiro's crew may go do something really stupid if we waste more time..."

Spoiler

Show

I...think I make a survival role again?
(1d20+2)[3]

[manwithaplan]

"Pardon me? No, there's another young beast. I'm trying to recall how many more students there are. Remember, the reasonable possibilities that could lead to an accident are that several Hanyangi get the drop on one student group, or a single Hanyangi finds a separated student like Nezu. The first possibility is now prevented, but the second possibility is unsure. If we recall how many groups are left and whether or not we could expect them to break rank, we can probably come to a good conclusion about everybody's safety."

"And don't worry about Benjiro. I'm sure his group handles themselves as well as any other group."

[Dorni]

Yumi tipped her head back and let escape a slow, indulgent breath and her outstretched hand dropped back to her side. Then the girl gave herself a quick shake that might have also been a shudder, dispelling whatever it was that had come over her, and met Tsugiharu's words with a sharp glare. "No."

The sharp word hung in the air long enough for chagrin to soften her glare. "No, I might not be throwing away my weapon, but the grass isn't always greener on the other side. It wouldn't have been able to stop that charging demon-beast. That was well-done."

"And just call me Yumi. What name do you prefer?"

Spoiler: Sense Motive DC 20

Show

You get the sense that being unable to halt a charging hanyangi wasn't the only or even the main reason she's referring to that her power might not be desirable.

Saori looked the slightest bit grateful at Izuka's approach. "So Benjiro's team has been warned. What about Jiyuna's team? They're the only other team, did you happen to run into them? We've also got one more member of our team who went off on his own. Nezu, do you know what direction Lash went?"

"Lash? He said he was going to follow the river a bit. He wanted to find an anthill so he could fight some soldier ants. He didn't think the worker ants were more than a warm-up and wanted a real fight."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Your character may-or-may-not recognize the name Jiyuna, but she tends to stand out thanks to the giant eagle demon-beast that follows her around. It may still be an adolescent, but its stands nearly as tall as Jiyuna herself. Anyone who has approached would know the eagle is fiercely protective of Jiyuna and she it. When Jiyuna is nearby it remains calm enough for you to pet.

If your character took note of the teams that formed up earlier, they may recall that Jiyuna teamed up with Satomi, Kaede, Hitomi, and Reiko, a girl who wears the robe of a shrine maiden.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Tsugiharu quickly realised that he had touched a sensitive spot, and his expression briefly turned apologetic before he got it under control again. He was even more curious than before, to be honest, but...well, he wasn't that socially inept.

"Ah, well, I suppose you're right. We all have our own circumstances, I guess." he said; he didn't want to draw attention on the matter, so he avoided a verbal apology, but he shot Yumi an "I'm sorry, guess that was insensitive of me" look.

"Name's Ts-" he started replying, before Adarata approached with his chakram. "Thanks." he said, giving him a shoulder pat as he grabbed the weapon, then turned back to Yumi.

"Er...name's Tsugiharu, but it's a bit long, so Haru's also fine."

Hardly anyone back home called him by his full name. Having it become commonplace would just feel strange.

"I go by 'classmate' as well." he added with an amused smile and a glance back at Adarata.

[manwithaplan]

"We haven't met Jiyuna. You say Lash goes by the river?"

Izuka fetched a look-around.

"Could we make haste, partners?!"

Setting out on his way, he gestured for Saori to follow him.

"Sooner or later the beast will seek the waters. It would be best to get after him."

[Dorni]

"Um. Are you ok?" Nari had noticed Shiori shrinking away from the group and tentatively approached the boy. "I... I'm nervous too. Those... hanyangi? They're a lot bigger than the ants we're supposed to be fighting. And um, those claws look really sharp. And I know we're not supposed to be fighting 'real' demon beasts yet, but that fight went really well. Everyone was so great. I think we'll be alright." The girl offered, trying her best to be encouraging while misinterpreting Shiori's unease.

Meanwhile, if Yumi remained upset she didn't show it, instead muttering "Haru. Haru." and committing his name to memory.

She glanced after Izuka. "Does he use titles with everyone? Or is he just bad with names?" She asked quietly. At the boy's call though, she stowed her scythe over her shoulder and moved over to his circle.

"So we're chasing down Lash next?"

"Yes, that seems to be the plan. Nezu says that Lash was going to follow the river for a bit, so if we head towards the river do you think you can pick up his trail?"

"Yeah, once we pick up his trail I'll be able to find him. He won't be able to hide from me," she answered.

Spoiler: Knowledge (Martial) DC 11

Show

While answering, Yumi changed her Stance to Running Hunter's Stance (Primal Fury)

"Hey guys, now that there's only one hanyangi roaming around, maybe we want to split up? One group chases down Lash while another tries to find Jiyuna's team?"

"Again with the splitting up? Isn't that what got us into this mess?"

"Hey, it was just an idea! And you should be grateful we split up, or I wouldn't have discovered the hanyangi until it was too late."

[Zelphas]

Shiori turns to Nari in bafflement and dawning horror, only to spin and stare at Nezu just as he suggests splitting up. "Two! Two, at the same time... No, no, three; I started it, I started it... oooooh no, oh no, now we're in trouble," he moans, hunching down as though expecting an attack at any moment.

"...I'd like to go and help Hitomi after this, if by some miracle wemanage to survive," he adds in a small voice, seemingly to himself, a few moments later.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Neither, it's just a c- quirk of his, I guess." Tsugiharu replied to Yumi, before following her to join the circle as well.

He wouldn't have said "commoner thing" with any negative nuance, it would just have been stating a fact, but he didn't want to be misunderstood and cause unnecessary strife, so he changed phrasing at the last moment.

"I think the hanyangi would follow the sounds of a lone prey rather than a group, so...it's likely we'll encounter it while searching for Lash. Let's not split.

...and yeah, we should hurry."

[Dorni]

“Agreed. Splitting up might have made sense when it was just the ants, but not now.”

Nezu looked between the teams. “But that’s why we’d do it! We’ve already shown we can destroy these chumps with just a small team. So we split up, find Lash and Jiyuna, then meet up again. And if a group finds the last hanyangi instead, we show it that we’re the bosses! We’ll have this dealt with in no time!” Nezu finished by pumping a fist.

“And what if one of those teams is attacked by the adult hanyangi that Tsugiharu mentioned? The one that we don’t know where it is right now for certain?” Saori asked archly.

“We.. uh…” Nezu trailed off, fist still in the air. “We…”

“That’s what I thought. We stick together. Now let’s move out.”

-----------------------------------------------

Tracking down Lash went smoother than expected. Nezu walked sullenly in the back for a time, but eventually moved up to the front next to Izuka and Yumi to help guide the teams to where he and Lash had parted ways, back to his usual enthusiasm. It wasn’t long before the team found the nearby river and the trail that followed it. Trails branched out from it regularly, but Nezu kept the team on the river trail.

At one such branch, Yumi held up a hand to call a stop. She slowed down and scanned the trail wordlessly, periodically taking deep breaths as she went. It didn’t take long before chuckling. “Its him. Follow me.”

She took the lead and led the team further down the trail, briefly slowing up at the first few trail branches before continuing her pace with a shake of her head. But it wasn’t long before she turned off the river trail. “He went this way. Not long now.”

That proved to be an understatement, as not more than a few dozen yards further down the branch you could hear noises coming from the clearing. Those noises very quickly resolved into din and screams of battle.

The team bursts into the clearing to see a battle already nearly over. Ant lay dead in a huge pile outside the cave-like entrance to the anthill. Several of your fellow students stood among them, attacking those that remained.

Immediately noticeable among them was Jiyuna. Mounted on the back of an eagle twice as tall as she, the pair towered over the ants that surrounded them. Her leather armor was decorated with feathers at the shoulders, chest, waist and elbows. Her spear flashed down, impaling one of the ants surrounding the eand pinning it down. Sunwing followed up the opportunity Jiyuna had created immediately, beak flashing down to crush the ant’s head. An ant snapped at Sunwing while its beak was occupied but the bird of prey lashed out with its taloned foot. Its talons sunk into the ant and this time it was Jiyuna’s turn to exploit the opportunity and finish the ant.

Shiori picked out Hitmoi at Sunwing’s side, steadily cutting down ants with her oversized glaive. The nearest of the students to the anthill, she lay surrounded by dead ants. But she didn’t stand unscathed, and even from this distance you could see a few places where her outfit had been torn and blood flowed. Undeterred, she raised her glaive and you could see it wreathed in a thin black energy that looked… wrong was the best word. Undeterred, she plunged it into the nearest ant and you could see a wound on her cheek close and vanish.

Standing a short distance behind that pair was a girl wearing the distinctive robe of a priestess. She looked out of place in the battle, as she wore no visible armor. In one hand she held a large fan while the other held a flame - which she promptly threw at Hitomi. She flicked her fan and the flame grew to engulf Hitmoi!

But far from being in pain, Hitomi didn’t seem to mind the flames at all. The flame abruptly returned to hover over the priestess’ palm just as quickly as she’d thrown it. Far from leaving Hitomi charred, the remainder of her wounds had vanished completely.

“Oh hey, everyone’s here!” You heard a cheerful call from the further down the edge of the clearing. Kaede stood next to one dead ant while another fled past her towards the big scrum. Kaede lifted one hand and pointed it toward the ant, palm out. You had a split second to see a ball of light gather at her palm before she fired it at the ant’s back. The beam struck the ant cleanly and burned right through the creature’s chest. Kaede waited for the ant to collapse before racing over towards your team.

“You might want to sit this one out. You see-”

“UNGRATEFUL MORON! WE WERE HERE FIRST!"

The shouting was coming from Satomi. She whirled her naginata like it was a quarterstaff and moved in her mountain armor with practiced ease. “AND SHOW SOME THANKS! IF NOT FOR US YOU’D ALREADY BE DEAD!”

Spoiler: Tsugiharu, Knowledge (Martial) DC 15

Show

Kaede's attack wasn't just any energy bolt. That was a ki blast.

Spoiler: Knowledge (Nobility) 15, Knowledge (Local or Streetwise) 20

Show

That would mean she has trained Ginken clan, the exclusive practitioners of the Ki Fist discipline. While other adepts make use of ki, the Ginken clan are the city's undisputed masters of it. They've been a staunch ally of the City Lord for generations.

Spoiler: Knowledge (Martial) 15

Show

You recognize the priestess' technique. The Keepers of the Divine Flame are known for, well, the Divine Flames they keep. They can use the flame to burn their foes, yes, but at their will the flames can also protect, empower, or heal others. The last function makes them valued allies on the battlefield, as well as bringing those who are injured to their shrine.

PCs are on turn
Lash has joined the party.
Lash gains 1VP for his Hot-Headed Complication
Map

[Stevesciguy]

Wulfric lashes out towards one of the soldier ants with his chain in a huge overhead arc, the metal flickering oddly as it swings through the air. He roars over the din of battle as he does so, in the general direction of Satomi. Those with keen eyes will notice that he's holding his weapon with a white-knuckle grip.

"DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU WERE HERE FIRST, YOU WEREN'T TAKING 'EM DOWN. I HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL, YOU LOT WERE JUST JEALOUS I'D KILLED MORE!"

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Bam, first round of combat! Let's gooooo

Stance: Body of the Night(Steel Serpent)

Relevant effects are a +4 competence bonus to attack rolls and +1d6 damage against flat-footed opponents.

Standard Action: Dimensional Strike(Veiled Moon), targeted at ant S1.

This is a regular attack, except my target is automatically flat-footed. I'll also power attack with a -2 penalty.

Attack Roll: (1d20+10)[29] vs flat-footed AC

My deadly Strike damage also applies to flat-footed opponents.

Damage Roll: (2d4+5)[9] + (2d6)[7] + 4 from Power Attack

Move: nothing this turn

Swift: nothing this turn

[Zelphas]

Shiori remains silent during the walk, his eyes everywhere at once. When the sounds of battle become clear, he actually relaxes slightly, happy that the battle has actually begun.

When he sees the battle, however, Shiori stops for a long moment, staring over the sea of dead ants. He sees the giant eagle flash over the battlefield, Kaede with her beams of light, the girl with the naginata yelling at the boy with the spiked chain (and him yelling back). His heart constricted slightly as he saw Hitomi, bleeding ,in the midst of the battle, and his head whipped over to stare at the woman who engulfed his cousin in flames, his entire form radiating pure rage. A moment later, he understood her power and her purpose, and the rage was gone, replaced by wary thankfulness. He turned back to watch Hitomi, now healed, standing in... in...

Meat.

It strikes him all at once, and he speaks into the Collective without meaning to, voicing his thoughts. The Hanyangi came up to eat the Ants. They came up into this hive. And we've piled up a feast right in front of them.

A moment later, Nezu fidns himself shunted out of the Collective, released by a trivial effort of will from Shiori. Shiori himself takes off running, weaving through the group he is with and making a beeline for Hitomi. He concentrates, roping Hitomi's mind into the Collective the moment he is within her range. In his haste, he broadcasts the message somewhat more loudly than he intended; Wulfric would hear the tell-tale mental 'knock' that accompanies a call to join the Collective, if he wishes to.

Shiori doesn't send a greeting to Hitomi, or announce his presence there out loud; he couldn't pull her away from her battle at the moment even if he wanted to. Instead, he just sends her an image: the hanyangi as he first saw it, swooping down on Nezu with its mouth open and its claws outstretched. That's a child, he sends quickly afterwords, maintaining his dead run towards her. The adult came up through the hive, after the Ants. It is hungry. Hitomi is smarter than Shiori is--a lot smarter. She'd figure it out.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Free Action: Remove Nezu from the Collective.

Move Action: Shift to P8.

Standard Action: Add Hitomi and Wulfric to the Collective.

Free Action x2: Inform Hitomi of possible impending danger.

Stance: Unbroken Stride (Sleeping Goddess)

Maneuvers
Harmony-Shattering Strike
Drowned Aggression
Body of Delusion
Fear the Reaper

[Hyperbolic sine]

Well, looks like we found everyone...oh, is she a ki user too?

After witnessing the Divine Flame heal Hitomi, Tsugiharu's gaze ended up on Kaede and her ki blast. "That's...so she's from...mmm...nope, no idea." The answer was eluding him. Probably unsurprising, since politics had never been his favourite subject, though now he regretted tuning out during those lessons a bit.

His attention then shifted on the two quarrelling students...of which one was using his same techniques. He had somewhat mixed feelings about it, but it was mostly because a bit of pride got in the way; from the standpoint of obfuscating his clan of origin, it was an excellent coincidence.

"...maybe we should." he agreed with Kaede. Didn't seem like they were in trouble, and arguing over a few gemstones wasn't worth the hassle. They'd better -

The Hanyangi came up to eat the Ants. They came up into this hive. And we've piled up a feast right in front of them.

~ Nezu said it's not the same hive. ~ But still... "Stay sharp, guys. The last hanyangi must have heard all the racket."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Swift: Activate Veiled Moon Style.
Move: P4 > R4. Draw waveblade.
Standard: Perception (1d20+10)[22].

Active effects
Body of the Night, Veiled Moon Style.

Maneuvers
Dimensional Strike
Disturbing Blow
Dizzying Venom Prana
Hunting Serpent Blow
Sting of the Asp

[manwithaplan]

"Right, watch the perimeter."

He went to circle around the conflict, spinning around to address Kaede as he went.

"And why all this argument between the fighters? What's got into them?"

Spoiler

Show

Move Action: Draw staff, walk to H10.
Swift Action: Switch to Momentum.
Standard Action: Total Defence.

Current Stance: Momentum (+1)
Manoeuvres Readied: Discouraging Strike.

[tonberryking]

"We can figure that out after the other ants are dead--they're a bit of a liability for us right now!"

Kotetsu just seems intent on wanting to join the battle, sword loosened in its sheath as she hustles, her rust orange scarf billowing over her shoulder. She takes her steps in bounds, moving faster than a human aught, though it's likely one of her abilities...

She skids to a halt in front of an ant, sword drawn, pinning it between her and Lash.

Spoiler: OOC/Rolls

Show

Double movement with Swift Stride to get to L20 and flank the soldier ant.

[Dorni]

"Jealous of your kill count!? If not for us you'd be ant food right now!!" Satomi spat back. She took a step to the side and deftly changed her grip on her Naginata. No longer holding it across her body like a quarterstaff, she thrust it over a dead ant to strike another worker ant that had been focused on Sunwing.

"Next time I should just let you die!"

"What? You can't mean that!" Reiko sounded shocked. She raised her hand and even from that distance you could see the flames that smouldered along the team's weapons, mirroring the flame that danced above her palm. She flicked her hand forward and the flame darted past her allies, coming to a hovering stop just behind the enemy ants. She swung her war fan in a motion that brought to mind working a bellow. Her flame responded by flaring up, consuming one of the ants.

"He's a classmate! You wouldn't just leave a classmate to die, would you?"

"Its better than getting ourselves killed trying to save a nutcase who tried to fight an entire hive on his own!"

"Focus, people!" Jiyuna called, spear darting down from her perch on eagleback toward another ant. She leaned hard into the stab, putting all of her weight behind hit. The swing might have left her open to a counter, but Sunwing moved in perfect time his rider and attacked in a frenzy.

"We're not done with these ants yet."

Hitomi seemed to agree. She looped around the edge of the ant lines and got behind them, pinning them between herself and the eagle. Dark energy rolled off her glaive, splashing off her target to the ant nearby.

~How many? Do they die?~ She shot back.

Spoiler

Show

Satomi
Free: 5ft-step to O21
Standard: Attack W2 with Enraging Strike: (1d20+8)[11]. On hit, (2d6+16)[24] damage + 3 Fire damage. DC 15 Will (1d20)[8] or target must attack Satomi with its next available action. Miss
Move: TBD
Stance: Iron Pikeman's Attitude

Jiyuna
Standard: Attack W2 (W3 if W2 is dead) with Primal Wrath: (1d20+9)[25]. On hit, (1d8+12)[17] + 3 Fire damage. Hit
Move: TBD
Stance: Ride The Wind

Sunwing
Full Attack W2 > W3 > W4. (1d20+8)[16].
Claw: (1d20+8)[26], On hit (1d8+5)[10] + 3 Fire damage. Hit
Claw: (1d20+8)[23], On hit (1d8+5)[7] + 3 Fire damage. Hit
Bite: (1d20+3)[7], On hit (1d8+3)[10] + 3 Fire damage. Miss
Stance: Ride The Wind
Two As One: Primal Wrath

Hitomi:
Move: To Q26. Acrobatics to avoid AoO: (1d20+8)[28] Crit
Standard: Attack W4 > W3 with Panic Assault: (1d20+7)[15] and Concentration (1d20+9)[18]. On hit, (1d12+2)[5] damage + 3 Fire damage. On successful Concentration check, (1d6)[1] negative energy damage. Also +2 from Flanking. Hit, Bonus damage
If attack hit, 2 damage to W3 & W4 from Pale Horseman's Reckless Harvest
Stance: Pale Horseman's Reckless Harvest

Reiko
Start of Turn: All Allies within LoS gain 6 Temporary HP from Bolstering Presence
Free: Move Soul Candle to P25
Move: None
Standard: Attack W4 > W3 with Torch Raising Strike: (1d20+9)[26]. On hit, (1d8)[6] damage + (2d8+3)[12] Fire damage Hit
Stance: Bolstering Presence

----

"Basically that," Kaede answered Izuka, indicating toward the battle with one bandage-wrapped hand. Her arms bore no wounds and her gi was undamaged; those wraps were to protect her hands rather than cover a wound. "We found this anthill and hey, we needed to collect some gems. Satomi thought it would be a good idea to weaken the hive rather than take it head on. Reduce their numbers before charging in, ya know? So that's what we did. We waited in the forest and ambushed ants as they were coming or going from the hive. And it went great!"

"But then all of a sudden this guy charges the hive out of nowhere. So we all rush in to help and he starts screaming that this is his fight. And yeah, its not fair of him to jump in like that after we already did so much work, but its rude to interrupt someone else's fight after they've started."

"The others ignored him and kept fighting since he's so outnumbered, but I just thought 'Hey, if he's picking the fight and he doesn't want the help then if he loses that's kinda on him, isn't it?' I wouldn't want someone else interrupting my fight like that."

Saori just let out a suffering sigh. "I should have known Lash would find trouble. Great. Hey team, why don't we sit this one out. We'd only make things worse."

"Fine by me." She eyed Nezu smugly. "Hey, I seem to recall you saying something about splitting up earlier?"

"Oh come on! There's no way I could have known Lash already ran into them!"

Map

[Dorni]

Though outnumbered, the remaining ants didn't break. They fought on, fearlessly defending the hive. The soldier ants surrounding Lash pressed in, one of them spitting acid while the remaining soldier and worker lunged forward from opposite sides with gnashing mandibles.

The lone ant facing down Sunwing charged forward as well, as if determined to take the giant eagle with it.

Spoiler

Show

Soldier Ant 1
Standard: Attack Lash with Bite: (1d20+6)[23]. On hit (2d8+4)[8] damage Hit

Soldier Ant 2
Standard: Attack Lash with Acid: (1d20+5)[13]. On hit (3d6)[15] acid damage Miss

Worker Ant 1
Standard: Attack Lash with Bite: (1d20+5)[7]. On hit (2d6+2)[9] damage Miss

Worker Ant 3
Standard: Attack Sunwing with Bite: (1d20+3)[10]. On hit (2d6+2)[4] damage Miss
Jiyuna defends Sunwing with Mounted Combat: (1d20+14)[33] Unneeded but awesome

PCs are On Turn

[Zelphas]

Shiori pauses in his headlong rush towards Hitomi for a single step, his eyes flickering over towards Lash as the boy is attacked by the Ants. For a brief second, Shiori's form is doubled over that of Lash, and then Shiori keeps running, stumbling slightly and putting one hand to the new bruise on his chest.

Three children so far. Only one adult, but most of the time there have to be two adults in order for there to be children... at least, I think so. The children have died so far. He continues running, crunching over one dead Ant body and brushing past Reiko as he aims for Hitomi. It seems like the people I came with might stay out of this, so... I'll run Shield right now, he suggests, looking around wildly and trying to understand which things are allies and which are enemies.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Free Action: Use Martyrdom to take all 8 points of damage from Lash onto himself; spending 2 Power Points to lower the damage by 6 to 2.

Full Round: Double move to R20.

Stance: Unbroken Stride (Sleeping Goddess)

Maneuvers
Harmony-Shattering Strike
Drowned Aggression
Body of Delusion
Fear the Reaper

Power Points: 8/12.

[Stevesciguy]

Wulfric startles slightly at the "mental knock", though not enough to break his concentration on the fight at hand.

"Who's in my head?!"

Wulfric momentarily studies the soldier ant, before swinging his chain out again, this time attempting a slightly more delicate maneuver. He takes careful aim to try and wrap it around the ant's neck, in an effort to take a bit more control of the fight.

"I was doing just fine on my own! Had 'em all lined up, they were just walking into my blows. Hell, I hadn't even taken a hit until just-"

Here, Wulfric realizes he doesn't have any wounds from the ant's bite.

"...huh."

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Stance: Body of the Night(Steel Serpent)

Standard: use Binding Constrictor on ant S1

Regular attack, on a success, I get a free grapple attempt.

Attack: (1d20+8)[9]19
Damage: (2d4+5)[8]
Grapple: (1d20+8)[19]

Move: nothing

Swift: nothing

This grapple follows special rules, which I've copied into the spoiler

Spoiler: Special Grapple

Show

When a grapple is begun in this way, the weapon used for it may be used to attack your opponent without penalty even if it is not a light weapon for you. You may also make attacks with a weapon in another hand, and if so armed you may threaten squares around you and take attacks of opportunity, though you take a -4 penalty on all attacks against any opponent beside the one you have bound. Alternatively, if the weapon in your other hand is also one of the discipline's associated weapons and can reach your foe, you may wrap both around him, which adds +4 to your Grapple check.

You may also maintain the grapple without moving into your opponent's space. Doing so prevents your opponent from damaging you by grappling or from pinning you. However, it also allows him to use non-light weapons to attack you, though he still takes the -4 penalty and may not use more than one. You cannot pin him without entering his space as normal, nor can you take items from him or prevent him from speaking. You are not treated as grappled for the sake of casting spells or other actions that require concentration, though at least one hand is occupied with the task.

[Zelphas]

Oh, that's me. And... everyone else, I guess. Now's not the time for introductions, I think, because one of these-- Shiori throws the picture of the Hanyangi into Lash's mind----might show up at any moment, so we should be planning around that. Though with all of us, we should be okay unless it's the big one--oh no. Oh nonononono. Now I've said it. Now I've said it. We're doomed now. I'm sorry. We're doomed, and it's my fault.

[manwithaplan]

Izuka nodded, continuing to eye over his shoulder for anything out of the ordinary. Minding his distance from Shiori, he broke only a little way's more from the group and practically strolled up the side of a tree as if it were nothing. From the peak, he surveyed the horizon for trouble.

Spoiler

Show

Move Action: Parkour to the top of a tree.
Standard Action?: Scan the surrounding area. Perception (1d20+6)[19].

Stance: Momentum (+2)
Manoeuvres Readied: Discouraging Strike.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Tsugiharu groaned at the quarrelling. It didn't seem like it was affecting their performance, but...regardless of who was in the right, shouldn't it be left for after the fight?

Well, as long as they don't drag me in...

Resolving again to stay out of it, he kept watch for incoming hanyangis (or whatever else, really).

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move: Twiddle thumbs.
Standard: Moar Perception (1d20+10)[30].

[tonberryking]

Kotetsu just lays into the ant across from Lash, her blade arcing once, twice; she's getting the rhythm down for her double swings.

Spoiler: OOC/rolls

Show

(1d20+9)[21] (1d8+2)[5]
(1d20+9)[19] (1d8+2)[8]

Just another case of Mizuchi going off...But with flanking!

[Dorni]

Spoiler: Izuka

Show

You don't spot anything hostile in the forest

Spoiler: Tsugiharu

Show

You don't spot anything hostile in the forest

~Not your fault. We were Doomed before the book, the book changed our doom. That~ Hitomi sends back the image of the Hanyangi - ~is not in a page~ dozens of glaives appear out of the darkness in the mental image and impale the hanyangi. Blood bursts from the creature... and you get the impression of a strong dismissive emotion attached to all that blood.

Hitmoi punctuated the image by bringing her massive glaive down on the remaining ant in front of her. Where not long before had been a confusing melee of students and ants, the students were overwhelming the remaining ants. Despite Lash's anger, Satomi took advantage of his presence to attack the ants who'd focused on him from behind. Sunwing and Jiyuna became a frenzy of claw and spear, while Reiko directed her flame to Satomi where it engulfed her and mended wounds.

When Reiko's divine flame drew near Shiori, the boy could feel a warmth radiating from it that didn't match its size - but it wasn't a harsh, scalding heat. Rather, it was a warmth that radiated vigor, and embers danced along the head of Shiori's flail.

Spoiler

Show

Oh look! Flanking everywhere!
Kaede
Take a pass

Satomi
Standard: Attack S2 with Naginata: (1d20+10)[14], on hit (2d6+6)[11] damage + 3 fire damage Miss
Move: -
Stance: Iron Pikeman's Attitude

Hitomi:
Free: Claim W3
Move: -
Standard: Attack W3 with Glaive: (1d20+7)[21], on hit (1d12+4)[12] + 3 fire damage Hit
Stance: Pale Horseman's Reckless Harvest

Sunwing
Free: 5ft step to O22
Full Attack W3 > S2 > W1
Claw: (1d20+10)[14], On hit (1d8+5)[9] + 3 Fire damage. Miss
Claw: (1d20+10)[16], On hit (1d8+5)[11] + 3 Fire damage. Miss
Bite: (1d20+5)[7], On hit (1d8+3)[7] + 3 Fire damage. Miss
Stance: Ride The Wind
Two As One: Primal Wrath

Jiyuna
Standard: Attack W3 > S2 > W1 with Lance: (1d20+10)[12], on hit (1d8+6)[14] Miss
Move: -
Stance: Ride The Wind

Reiko
Start of Turn: All Allies within LoS gain 6 Temporary HP from Bolstering Presence
Free: Move Soul Candle to P21. Shiori, Reiko, Satomi, Sunwing, Jiyuna are within range of Soul Candle's Votive effect. Gain +5 to resist mind-affecting affects and +3 fire damage on attacks.
Move: -
Standard: Heal Satomi with Soothing Touch. Satomi recovers (1d8+3)[8] hp
Stance: Bolstering Presence

[Dorni]

The arrival of the newcomers to the fray made the ants' already difficult situation into a bleak one. Kotetsu's blade flashed and parted an Ant's head from its abdomen, Hitomi's way-too-big-for-her glaive crushed another ant more than sliced it, and the two ants who remained found themselves surrounded by a small army of the students.

Despite being beset by the students on all sides, the remaining ants fought on with desperate strength. The remaining soldier and worker both snapped at Lash, trying to bite the boy and take at least one invader with them.

Spoiler

Show

Soldier Ant 2
Standard: Attack Lash with Bite: [roll]1d20+4[/roll, on hit (2d8+4)[15] damage. Miss

Worker Ant 1
Standard: Attack Lash with Bite: (1d20+3)[10], on hit (2d6+2)[5] damage. Miss

Map
PCs are on Turn

[tonberryking]

Koutetsu leaps away from the corpse of the dead ant, spinning further south away from the other students until she gets in range of the soldier ant, bringing her sword up in a swift, abrupt thrust at its carapace.

Spoiler: OOC/Rolls

Show

Acrobatics-ing towards N21, unless I can stand on a dead ant corpse at N22 and get flanking again: (1d20+12)[27]

Attack w/ Skirmish: (1d20+7)[8] Add +2 to this if she can get into flanking position (1d8+2)[4] (1d6)[5]

[Zelphas]

Shiori relaxes slightly; after so long around others, it is nice to finally be around someone who knows how the world really is. Oh, you're right, he concedes, anticipating Hitomi's actions and moving diagonally to get closer to the last visible enemies on the battlefield. At worst, the Hanyangi things can only kill us.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move Action: Shift to O25.

Standard Action: N/A.

[Stevesciguy]

Wulfric narrowly dodges the ants' bites, turning to face them.

"Gah! Dumb things..."

Having used most of his special techniques, he resorts to making a basic attack, simply lashing with his chain towards the remaining soldier ant.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Just a regular attack this time, with some power attack:

Attack Roll: (1d20+6)[17] (-2 PA penalty already applied)

Damage Roll: (2d4+9)[16] (+4 damage bonus applied)

[Dorni]

Kotetsu nimbly hopped over over dead ants to close in on the remaining soldier, but whether it was the crowded footing or just errant execution her thrust lacked the instantaneous speed that would have made it a deadly attack. The soldier ant swayed and evaded the strike.

Lash's chains fared better, striking true. They wrapped around the ant and Lash ripped them back, drawing the chains across the ant. But while the chains would have drawn deep lacerations in a human foe, the spikes embedded in the chains failed to penetrate the Ant's carapace.

The ants only got a brief respite. The giant ants might be more than capable of dominating the local ecosystem, but the academy let loose their students in the valley precisely because the ants they were no match for trained adepts working in groups. The ants could sometimes be dangerous when they held the advantage of numbers, but these two remaining ants had long since lost that advantage here and themselves were surrounded by the young adepts. Satomi, Jiyuna, Sunwing and Hitomi closed in and, under the invigorating light of Reiko's flame, made short work of the remaining ants.

With the final ant dead, Satomi turned on Kotetsu and Shiori. She puffed up like she was going to start yelling again, but she stopped short with a realization. "You two weren't part of that jerk's team." It wasn't a question. She turned and finally noticed the double-sized group that was waiting at the edge of the clearing with Kaede.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"What makes you think something happened?"

"Two other groups teamed up and arrived together. They sought us out. They could be hunting ants right now, but they're here. So something happened to bring them here."

Spoiler

Show

These ants are outnumbered 8:2, and there are even more students watching. Its all over but for clean-up, so I'm going to fiat the end of the battle.

Battle Over

[manwithaplan]

"Right, now look here!"

Adarata came down from his tree with a thud.

"Wild and dangerous beasts, the Hanyangi, have infiltrated the hunting grounds from their underground tunnels. There were four younglings, and collectively we've finished off three of them. Now that we're all together, the last one isn't such a worry. However, there is also a great big adult Hanyangi, which was last seen feeding from the ant hill where they all originated. By now its last young might have returned to it, or worse, more might have come through the tunnels - the path is open for them. Benjiro and his group have gone to assault the adult, and we're gathering the rest of the folk to go on after him. You should join in on our initiative!"

[Zelphas]

Shiori blinks in surprise as yet another battle goes by with minor injuries for him (and no injuries for the people he was defending). Luckily, Hitomi is a steadying force, so this time he doesn't forget himself and doom them... even more than they already were doomed.

Squinting at the girl with the giant pole-sword, Shiori considers who he can shuffle out of his Collective for a moment so that he can send the girl information on the threat quickly--and then Izuka drops out of a tree to explain the situation better. Oh, there's another anthill? And they're not all connected. Right. Not like--The one who might not exist said that earlier. Right. Shiori nods to himself. "As long as we're all together, we might be able to kill it at the same time as it kills us," he adds brightly to the end of Izuka's statement.