Veil of Smog, Chapter 1

[MechaAce]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

"Make an oath to the Supreme Deities."

"I don't know them. I'll make an oath on my honor as a soldier, will that suffice?" The Shroud it being serious here, not flip in the least. That honor is clearly very important to her.

[Izzarra]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

"I don't know them. I'll make an oath on my honor as a soldier, will that suffice?" The Shroud it being serious here, not flip in the least. That honor is clearly very important to her.

"A blood oath? Yes, let it be witnessed."

[MechaAce]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

"A blood oath? Yes, let it be witnessed."

“I’ve spilled plenty of blood in the service, so that should count.” The Shroud works the controls on the phone and brings the quiet drone down about 10 feet away from them, showing its view is now a close-up of the dirt.

[Esprit15]

“Pretty sure the blood oaths I’ve made all required my own blood,” Sarah chuckles.

[Xihirli]

Leif steps away from the camera radius instead of asking for a blood oath.
"Maybe someone else should go?" He suggests, as Yume does not appear to be in a hurry.

[Batcathat]

"Very well", Rufus said and raised his cane. Without leaving the comfort of the chair, he tapped it against the ground.

As if by... well, magic... the ground beneath him rose into a stone pillar, carrying Rufus and his chair upwards. Like a tree with ambitions of becoming a corkscrew, it grew upwards, spiraling around the area above the pyramid, until Rufus was sitting thirty feet above the spirits.

"This should be a safe distance."

His bag made a doubtful sound. "Didn't you also say that when we were making the present for Junior's tenth birthday?"

"Well, yes. But the chance of an explosion that big should be pretty negligible."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

As no one disagreed with the answer I got, I'm assuming Rufus lifting himself up like this is an acceptable use of Create, let me know if anything's out of bounds.

[Charybdis1618]

Loukas eyes the growing column warily. The spirit drifts a bit further out into the quarry.

[Izzarra]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

With the drone now filming nothing important, two traditional Japanese sandals woven from straw appear on the ground. As if breaking out of a wall of thick fog, Yume becomes visible as she steps into her sandals.

She is dressed in her full miko regalia. No longer wearing the Haori, some of her equipment is now exposed, such as a sheath holding what could be an unusual looking wakizashi tucked into her belt.

Holding a blank slip of special paper about the size of a bookmark for the oath and a kunai in one hand she asks Shroud "Do you need a blade?".

[MechaAce]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

With the drone now filming nothing important, two traditional Japanese sandals woven from straw appear on the ground. As if breaking out of a wall of thick fog, Yume becomes visible as she steps into her sandals.

She is dressed in her full miko regalia. No longer wearing the Haori, some of her equipment is now exposed, such as a sheath holding what could be an unusual looking wakizashi tucked into her belt.

Holding a blank slip of special paper about the size of a bookmark for the oath and a kunai in one hand she asks Shroud "Do you need a blade?".

"Do you frequently have to make oaths like this?" the Shroud asks, shaking her head to Yuma's question as she produces a large forward-curved knife with a black blade, a kukri. Pulling up her glove, she scratches the point along her arm and holds up the blade to reveal a few drops of blood.

[Batcathat]

Ignoring the faint sound of voices below, Rufus leaned forwards and looked at the spirits. Supposed spirits, he mentally corrected himself. So far Loukas had proven himself a gracious host but a cryptic and frequently unverifiable source of information.

"Take notes", he said, mostly out of habit. "Initial test for matter interaction."

The only reply was the barely audible scratch of pencil against paper from the doctor's bag.

As Rufus tapped his cane against the stone pillar below, a branch of lead "grew" out of it, ending with a sphere about the size of a baseball positioned above the spirit.

"Commencing test", Rufus said with his eyes fixed on the spirits and tapped the branch with his cane, turning it into sand and sending the lead "ball" falling downwards.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

In case anything interesting happens when the ball hits the spirits (or, perhaps more likely, passes through them), keep the power of Rufus' glasses in mind. Not that I really expect them to do much good in this particular case but you never know.

[Izzarra]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

"Do you frequently have to make oaths like this?" the Shroud asks, shaking her head to Yuma's question as she produces a large forward-curved knife with a black blade, a kukri. Pulling up her glove, she scratches the point along her arm and holds up the blade to reveal a few drops of blood.

"Not often, but what I am, we do should not be on the internet for all to see. Family rules I must follow."
Yume catches a drip of blood on the paper.
"Thumb print in blood."

[MechaAce]

[TABLE]

"Not often, but what I am, we do should not be on the internet for all to see. Family rules I must follow."
Yume catches a drip of blood on the paper.
"Thumb print in blood."

The Shroud pauses. "You're asking for a lot of markers for my identity when we've just met... will you do an oath to keep them confidential as well?"

[Charybdis1618]

"If she actually wanted to find out who you were, I suspect she could do so without such assistance. You raise a good point, though. Perhaps we all ought join the vow to keep each others' secrets. Surely it is the least we can do to establish trust?"

[Esprit15]

Sarah solemnly raises a hand. “On my children’s lives, nothing about anyone within this group shall leave this group without express permission of all relevant parties.”

[Izzarra]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

The Shroud pauses. "You're asking for a lot of markers for my identity when we've just met... will you do an oath to keep them confidential as well?"

"Thumb print is traditional for blood oath."
---
Yume pulls her weapon, with the sheath, from her belt and bows to everyone with it held between her hands as she switches to Japanese for the oath.
"<I vow to the Supreme Deities that I will never to divulge these secrets else 60 gods will drag my soul through the eight hells.>"

[MechaAce]

"Thumb print is traditional for blood oath."
---
Yume pulls her weapon, with the sheath, from her belt and bows to everyone with it held between her hands as she switches to Japanese for the oath.
"<I vow to the Supreme Deities that I will never to divulge these secrets else 60 gods will drag my soul through the eight hells.>"

The Shroud nods deeply in return and presses her thumb to the paper. "One has to be careful leaving evidence around. The mask isn't just melodrama..."

[Charybdis1618]

Loukas glances around. "And the rest of you? Are you willing to vow to keep these secrets, and have yours kept in turn? Are you ready for this world to grow more comfortable, and have some companions whom you can truly trust, who can truly understand you?"

To Yume, he adds "Do you have a second one? I'll make an oath, but I'm not part of the five-stranded braid. I shouldn't be included in the group."

[Xihirli]

Leif glances at the spirits, wondering if he should keep being concerned about them.
"I thought this was just about sharing the recording."
But he nods.
"I won’t share anything about you all, I know the drill. Not my first foray into the criminal world…"

[Charybdis1618]

"That is what Yume asked for. Shroud feels like she revealed too much of herself in the making of the oath, what with the existence of DNA tracing, and now wants that information protected by the same oath, but applied more broadly. I sense that none of you will choose to violate this anyway, out of self-preservation if not out of honor, but it's good to have it in writing, so to speak. I do not disagree. Will you please come down from there and join, Rufus?"

Spoiler

Show

The ball slowed down as it passed through the spirit's form, leaving a wake of distortion like water turbulence behind it. The glasses reveal energy dissipating in the vortices.

[Batcathat]

Still looking at the point where the ball had passed through the spirits, Rufus nodded, even if the onlookers below were unlikely to notice. With another tap of the cane, the stone pillar resumed growing, this time into a slide spiraling down towards the ground.

"If you wouldn't mind?"

After some mandatory grumbling, Jiminiy got out of the bag and started pushing the chair. The homunculus was a lot stronger than his stature suggested and in moments, the chair was sliding down the smooth spiral, only coming to a stop at the rougher surface of the ground.

Rufus looked up at his impromptu creation, the giant pillar looking like a slightly deranged artist's tribute to DNA. "Now that's rather unsightly, wouldn't you say?" With a final tap he let the pillar collapse back into the ground that had formed it and moments later Jiminy landed on the ground, annoyed but unharmed.

"So where were we?"

[Charybdis1618]

"Well, that speaks for your capabilities. Anyhow. I believe there was an oath paper going around. Swear to keep sacrosanct the secrets of your allies, including their identities, lest whatever fate you believe befalls traitors come to you. Sound about right, Yume? It's not a real translation, of course, but that's the essence of what you want them to agree to?"

[Izzarra]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

"Well, that speaks for your capabilities. Anyhow. I believe there was an oath paper going around. Swear to keep sacrosanct the secrets of your allies, including their identities, lest whatever fate you believe befalls traitors come to you. Sound about right, Yume? It's not a real translation, of course, but that's the essence of what you want them to agree to?"

Yume understands most of what Loukas says and nods.

[Esprit15]

Sarah simply nods affirmatively.

[Batcathat]

Rufus rolled his eyes, but nodded. "In sickness and in health."

[Charybdis1618]

"Now that we're all bound by fate, honor, blood, and common sense, can you show us what you can do? Besides appearing out of nowhere, which is already impressive."

[Izzarra]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

With the bureaucracy complete Yume reaches up her sleeve and pulls out several rectangular pieces of rice paper with Japanese calligraphy written on them.
"These are Ofuda, they can do many things."
She selects one and focuses her ki into the paper, it starts to give off wisps of light.
"This one kills evil spirits."
She throws it at the spirit, the paper seemingly ignores aerodynamics and flies straight as if it were a dagger.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Routine Check: 15 to hit.
Exorcizing Tag: Damage 5 (Divine Magic), Ranged, Incurable, Affects Insubstantial 2, Limited (Insubstantial targets only)

[Xihirli]

Leif's head snaps to when he hears Yume describe the powers of her weapon. Anticipating the arc of the paper, he runs and throws himself into the path of the spirit-killing paper.
It passes through him and continues toward the spirits.
"What!?"
You accepted me willingly, child... or at least, started to. That is a bond that this paper cannot sever. I protect your body, your body protects me. That is our arrangement.
"Damn," Leif swears. "I guess that would have been too easy."

[Charybdis1618]

Pointedly ignoring Leif, Loukas asks "And the others?"

[Izzarra]

Yume Tsukiyomi Kitsune Shrine Maiden Conditions: None

Yume stares at Leif and pouts as her demonstration is interrupted.
"This one ... " she struggles to remember the word "... goes DO-DOON!!!"
She charges it with ki and runs off to a large boulder where she casually jumps to the top to place the tag before coming back.

Yume points to one of the Shroud's guns, then off at the tag. "Shoot it."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

When hit it explodes into a large ball of fire, but no loud shockwave boom.
Explosive Tag: Damage 4 (Fire), Ranged, Area (Burst), Diminished Area (15 ft radius), Triggered 2

[Esprit15]

Sarah notes Lief’s desperate attempt to... be hit? So he definitely wants the curse removed. “Say Lief… your curse keeps you from suffering mortal wounds, right? Like a hand rewinding your clock?”