Kyomi shoulders her bow and reaches into the small pouch on her lower back, taking a handful of what appears to be a rather colorful powder.
"Sorry for the fright in advanced everyone.'
And she begins shifting her shape, taking on her true form. She stood on the balls of her feet and she was covered from head to toe in reddish brown fur. Her gold eyes seemed to glimmer in this form as she snarled at the nearest skeleton to her before lunging and attacking its leg in a bite.
Of the pair remaining, Havi takes on the least damaged of the pair.
Teamwork makes the dream work as your combined attacks fell the last two undead!
As you have a chance to look around, you notice that behind the shipwreck is a small seaside cavern, mostly overgrown with moss; though it appears that something has shifted the covering to the side whether by chance or design, making the cave more visible.
With stealth Daji approaches the seaside cave, pushing against the outside of the cave and leaning over to peer in, hopfully without alerting anything that may be inside.
Taking a moment to shift her form back to her more human like appearance, Kyomi took a moment to take in those who may have seen her true appearance. She was more worried about how Bel would react to seeing that side of her. She also knew how it looked. She could shift her shape at will unlike a werewolf but she wasn't quite sure if many knew the difference. She pulled her bow from her back once again and took a look at their surroundings.
Belaria looks momentarily alarmed when Kyomi transforms, then seems to be taking a few seconds to think things over. After the battle ends, she approaches Kyomi with an excited smile.
"Hey, cool stuff! Didn't know you were taking up transmutation magic, Kyo!"
Then she searches the area alongside her sister.
Liam sits down for a second.
"Hang on, I lost so much blood that I think I'm seeing stuff. Is Kyomi a fox?"
Liam focuses for a moment and his internal energy comes to him in a rush. His shadow writhes and his eyes glow an otherworldly green like his sister.
Kyomi seemed to relax at her sister's silent acceptance before she blinked and looked over at Liam, silently raising an eyebrow as the ears on her head twitched and her tail swayed behind her lazily as if in joking reminder.
"You were not seeing things, Liam. Though being called a fox is a new one for me. I've heard demon. Whore. Trash. Never fox. Though close in comparison. I'm Kitsune to be exact. I take on this form to appear more friendly and communicate better with others. I try not to take my true form so often. I rely mostly on my skills with the bow to make my point and I utilize my senses to be a better archer. Never had a pention for biting others. Only when I deem it truly neccessary. Today was one such instance."
"Uh...huh. So like a fox person. Well you're you, right?" Liam looks to his sister as they share a look of Hey! We're not the only weird ones.
"Anything in this cave?" Liam strolls up to where Daji is.
Bel rushes up to Kyomi and gives her a big, muscle-y hug.
"You don't have to hide your true self, Sis. Not from me, not from anyone else. And if anyone in Sandpoint ever calls you a demon or whore, I want you to point 'em out to me, so I can beat the crap out of 'em!"
Havi had turned to the kitsune, controlling himself enough not to swing. He watches for just a moment when the stories from sailors come back to him. With a relieved sigh, he places his hammer back onto his back.
"Any other secrets? If we are to work well together, we need to know each other."
He looks at Lianne and Kimi respectively.
" Thank goodness I am well-traveled because I nearly took you for a Lycan."
with that said, he looks at Liam
"Do we have anything to mend Liam's wounds, he looks in pretty bad shape."
Liam looks over his shoulder back at Havi.
"Alls good. Took care of it myself. Won't fix the hole in my shirt though." Liam says as he brushes some dried flecks of blood off.
Daji, Kyomi, and Belaria creep their way into the cave entrance, pushing past some vines...wait, those aren't vines!
The spider making home near the entrance of the cave lashes out as teh crew disturbs its web!
It lashes out at Daji, but misses!
But it misses again!
It shakes off the bulk of the spell's effects
Havi moves forward 30 ft to the entrance to the cave and shouts his war cry with a deafening roar.
Daji points at the spider and shouts.
"Get'em boys!".
Before attacking herself.
Liam walks up to punch the cephalothorax off this spider.
You pulp the spider!
As your adrenaline fades, you feel your skin start to itch...
Scratches her collar.
Kyomi and Daji: you itch, and scratch...quickly realizing that the itching isn't going away. On the contrary: it's getting worse!
Those vines must be poisonous somehow, and the itching proves to be a constant distraction from here on in, almost debilitating in its fierceness as a rash begins to spready across your skin.
Scratches and scratches, red blotches appearing on her skin.
"Oh hells, It's like that time I fell in poison Ivy but way worse."
Lets out a sort of odd whimper sound as she scratches behind her ears and her neck and fore arms, red patches forming in the places she scratched.
"This is way worse then when I had fleas that one time when I was a pup!!"
Liam grimaces.
"If we can make it through today without anyone else getting hurt, I can fix that. Try to bear with it for now." Liam looks around the cave.
You move through, Walthus taking a moment to slash down and burn the vines covering the entrance, so they aren't a concern on the way out.
Soon after, you come to a fork in the road, leading in three directions. Form directly ahead you hear the sound of combat, and goblinoid screams.
The explorer in Havi makes him want to try one of the other paths first but he does know that the other "goblin heroes" could be ahead and with Whiz Bang they could be extremely useful.
"We should make our way to the sounds of combat"
His posture would suggest that he is open to the opinions of others.
"Sounds good to me."
You make your way forward, and find the goblin heroes struggling for their lives against skeletons.
At first it seems absurd that they'd be struggling; each is practically annihilating the skeletons standing before them with ease. But the piles of bones on the ground belie the real problem. There were simply too many for these goblins not to get overwhelmed
It quickly becomes clear why. At the back of the room a skeleton in full armor sits upon a treasure chest, sword laid across its knees. Occasionally, its eyes flash a deep blue...and another skeleton rises to join the mix.
Looks at these goblin heros, alleged hero!
"Kill the one with the chest, He's making more!"
"Whoa, it's like some kind of skeleton necromancer! We gotta deal with it first." Liam rolls his shoulders to get ready.
Tsutamu (23)
Kyomi (20)
Daji (17)
Havi (9)
Liam (5)
Belaria (5)
As the skeleton on the chest notes new intruders, who appear to be getting ready to spar with him, he stands.
"More to defile the grave of my comrades? My honor demands you taste the sting of Whispering Shrike. Fall before me."
He points a finger at Daji. "Face me in single combat, countrywoman. If you have any honor this will settle things."
He stands, summoning more skeletons...but ordering them to stand aside and raise their weapons in salute.
Stares at the skeleton incredulously.
"An undead wants an honor duel? I've seen it all, Fine then! Let's dance!"
She draws her sword and points it at the skeleton.
Havi stands with the pommel of his hammer on the ground, thumping the ground like a war drum.
"Forbannelsen over mine bein
er ikke en dødsforbannelse
men en forbannelse av evig liv."
Everyone's weapons start to glow and shimmer with the familiar magic aura.
Liam gives Daji the most powerful buff spell known to the world.
"Good luck! He gives her a thumbs up then goes to help the goblins.
"Drinks are on me if you knock his skull off!" Bel shouts toward Daji, as she joins the fray with the goblin heroes.
Cringes silently to herself as her comrads turn to face the other skeletons. There goes her plan to trick and dogpile this guy, curse thier lack of mind reading. She better treat this seriously then. As she turns to face the seleton, raising her dueling sword.
The skeleton steps forward and settles into a fighting stance as the ranks of skeletons close into a circle around you. He gives you a nod of respect...then attacks!
His first slash narrowly misses, but gets the measure of you well enough.
Opens up her first move with a feint then, Swinging her sword only to suddenly pull back and pivot, ready to swing from another a angle.
"You move well, who was your master?" it asks, as it lashes out again with its katana.
Its strike digs deep into your belly, drawing a massive gout of blood.
Feels his blade crash into her gut and her life drain from her, Pulling from her inner spirit she braces herself. still standing with a grevious wound in her stomach that seems like it should of downed the young warrior.
"Good Cut, Think I have one good one in me!"
Yellow-Gold whispy energy begins to seep from her arms, the greatest concentration of it seeming to ooze from her wounds like a golden vapor, She screams somthing in a foreign language
"Banzai!"
and swings her arm to strike back.
"Ha ha! Got ya!"
As Daji stries the skeleton and the wound in her belly gushes anouther gout of blood, the golden mist grows, her ancestor approves of her resolve and warrior blood, and she is filled with the glory and grace of his Yamato spirit.
"Who trained me? My Father a little, my sister a little more, but most of it"
She taps the side of her temple.
"The old guy in here."
Daji then spits up blood, clutches her sword to keep her uprightt for a brief moment, then collapses onto the floor, whispy energy slowly starting to close her wounds.
Daji summons all her energy for a brutal strike, and manages to chip the skeleton's collarbone through his armor. In her exertion, her medallion slips out of her shirt and dangles in front of the undead Samurai.
Despite it being apparent he's not mortally wounded by this, the skeleton staggers back, his eye-lights blazing brightly.
"Impossible! You could not know that technique...unless..." his eyes fall on your medallion.
"I was not mistaken. That was Tatsu-ryu style. If you learned from your father, your sister...it cannot be. The Kaijitsu line truly lives on? Then all is not lost."
He kneels, offering his sword out to Daji.
"The crime for striking one of the royal family is death. Take my head and end my miserable existence, Lady Kaijitsu. I ask only that you deliver the scroll hidden in its hilt to your father. He will know what to do."
The rest of the skeletons kneel as well.
Havi watches this with his heart full of song
"Honor bound even in death, please noble skeleton, what is your name, so your name so the skalds my tell your tale forever."
"This humble Samurai was known as Tsutamu, and previously bore the name of Soto Ansai. Bodyguard to he who should have been emperor, Amatatsu Tsutoku." he grits his teeth so hard you can see them begin to crack.
"Failure, unworthy of his name."
pulls herself up off the floor, suprised she isnt dead, Still oozing blood. Looking at the Skeleton with confusion.
"You know my families name? We're not royalty, There is no way."
Daji's father would somtimes reference a honored family past though the details was always vague, She had come to the assumption that it was some warrior tradition from her ancestral country based on what little details she could get. This seemed to hint at somthing diffrent. They would need to have a talk.
"I'll give the scroll to him, I promise... Sorry you ended up like this, I'll bring your bones back to sandpoint to be properly buried if that means anything to you."
Daji feels a bit strange talking to what she up to this point thought was just some insane pile of bones, But despite it's seeming lucidity, It was still an undead and she had always been taught they where abominations and evil, so she steps up to him, waiting for his final words before she strikes off his head.
"Wow Daji! I didn't know you were nobility." Lianne curtsies.
"I am honored to meet your acquaintance, Milady."