Conflicting reports came up in Gurinbare-to of sightings and evidence of illusion. The sighting of a Yokai came up more than once, others were the murmurs of a man, another talking of a cryptid. The consistent report was the barriers of the capital were tampered but not tripped, its sensory reveals the same man with chakra both black as night and bright as the sun. A veritable phantom who slipped through the array but only specific parts at a time, he was invisible to the sensory one moment then back on the radar again. All keyed to the same black chakra that shone bright in contrast to all around it, the elemental blasts were triggered and the man been trapped but his chakra become bright as day as it shunted him out. What would have killed most, the signature was still there but on the outskirts of the barrier array. Whenever investigations came, the signature would wink out from existence and appear miles away in the span of a second. It was Luo, poking and prodding the defenses of Gurinbare-to, to get a reaction and purposefully tripping its defenses. His sage mode was not like an animal holder, but bright and pure much like the emperor himself as he phased through the deadly eruptions but only barely. The reports of a tengu had been him, using illusions and deceit to sow confusion among travelers going to and fro. He even used the genjutsu of his sage half to goad others into believing in "The Night One" for the laughs. He'd purposely display his wings more than once, only to addle their minds with genjutsu, becoming their very own Sasquatch. The last incident, a more deliberate method goaded a man to deliver a nightshade flower basket to the Knight, a card reading "I love you." with a crude drawing of a comical tengu giving a raspberry.
Current Setting // Small hamlet outside of Gurinbare-to, a small inn where Luo currently resides.
The Knight travelled through the meadows and fields, his iconic horse sauntering at a steady pace, until he came upon the inn that the various information brokers had pointed him to. A vantablack phantom, a thief in the night, a tengu with a sense of humor, a man with some grudge to grind against Gurinbare-to, all wrapped neat in a singular package. But this wasn't all the Knight would find in the Imura Inn. As he slid the doorway open and the Fire Empire regalia became apparent, a rather incensed man shouted from the far side of the barroom about the state of the Empire and how a Shinobi should not sit as an Emperor.
A singular chair flew overhead.
A well-practiced hand reached out and caught the chair, turned it, and sat down on it beside the doorway.
"I'm here for a particular lout, who keeps testing the boundary of the Imperial Capital, and leaving me love letters. Judging by your inability to form proper sentences, or understand politics, I'm guessing you're not him." The Knight balked slightly, taking a whiff of the air "Certainly doesn't smell like you're him, he definitely knew flowers, so I hazard he knew bathing as well."
Luo wasn't hard to find, he had been obvious and rather disruptive the past few days. He wanted to see a few things and poke about to test the gleaming gem of fire country. The captain of the city's guard was who he wanted to poke at the most, a little game to have fun and see how he would react. Luo picked the flowers of nightshade to leave an impression. Flowers were a gift to some, the kind were just for the attention and the note to just be the little rub of salt atop of it. The one whom Wulfram looked for had one common trait that left the lips of where he got intel from; the red markings upon his cheeks, pronounced claws upon fingers and pointed ears. Others spoke of other traits that were outlandish, a kappa and a naked mole rat being such examples -- those whom Luo had a little... fun with his illusions.
The Imura inn was Luo current stop for the last few days, room was booked and the tea was his favorite. Most didn't pay him too much attention, a few questions but no stares or glares. Just what he preferred, somewhere normal for now. He kept his pranks to a minimum here, small things like making a patron's glass seem full when it wasn't, or making sounds go off when there was silence. Silly things, his favorite was the phantom rat he had run through the bar. Today he sat alone with a small meal, bread and berries with a cup of the tea he fancied. He had a routine habit now as he sat away from the bar with his back to a wall and faced the door, he had a few people come looking for him in other places. People he would rather avoid much less talk with, paranoia was a friend at time.
There been one man who was making a fool of himself along with a few others, a few too many drinks and the loud chatter annoyed him. Rather barbaric and loud, but they meant no harm and weren't so loud to really make him want to mess with their head. It was a bit of unease in the air, perhaps he looked too much into it.
Luo was drinking a tea when the door to the inn opened, his eyes flicked up from his cup as he saw the flashy colors of a rather handsome man coming in. There was an air he carried he thought, lowering the glass and swallowed his drink. A wave of activity was sparked from just him coming in, some quieted and some even shut up altogether. Curious eyes turned from tables, some away while the minority didn't pay any mind to the man. He sat and watched the same man who was being a bit off his rocker yawp on about the emperor and hurled a ******** chair across the inn.
Activity stirred and Luo almost laughed, it was a free show. If the man arriving didn't shut some of the patrons up, this quieted even more as the scene unfolded as the uniformed male caught the chair. Quick and efficient, one hand and it was set down gently to the side of the doorway. There was shouting of the imperials and all sorts of human politics that flew over his head. Luo didn't laugh but watched curiously, a little ember of anxiety pumping his heart of adrenaline, all he had to do was fade but he didn't.
A small world, the handsome man spoke of his activities and even confirmed it with the love letter being mentioned. Luo was excited then, and slightly thrown off as he looked at the addled man who was drawing attention to himself. A seal under the table was held and Luo stared at the man long and hard as his world view was warped and turned. He began screaming, a shrill tone blood chilling scream as he toppled over and shouted he was falling. Luo released the seal and went back to his meal, crunching on a berry as the screaming man fell silent on the floor and passed out, drool coming from his mouth. An illusion, one where hands grabbed his ankles and yanked him into an unending chasm to shut him up for a little while.
The commotion had the patrons in a buzz while Luo acted as though everything was normal, eatting his fruits and watching the uniformed man with a watchful gaze. The tengu had prepped two illusions when he threw the drunk into a out cold stupor, one for the little chasm and the second to trigger when his little object of obsession at that time would glance over him. If Wulfram settled his sight upon Luo, he would suddenly be assailed by an illusion where he see himself standing and be looking through Luo's own eyes. It would only be for a moment and then it would end with Luo taking a sip of his tea to act nonchalant.
Pointed ears, red eyes and red marking. The very same man he was told of, but he was younger than what others said as he was still a teenager. Luo would say nothing, only be watching the uniformed man and eat his berries and even gestured to them in offering if he came closer.
As quickly as one situation ended another would begin. His arrival and quick-wittedness shut up half of the bar as he chided the man, but the man's quick descent under the genjutsu of another set the Imura Inn into a frenzy. Wulfram's eyes delighted as he realized he got to escape the Capitol just to enjoy being himself, the old, besotted, drunkard fighting in taverns as a member of the guard once again.
As the first man came towards him, Wulfram laughed and stood forward, his left foot wrapped in the lattice underneath his seat. A flick of the heel and it propelled from behind him and into the man's shin, rolling him over the top of it and face down into the wooded floor of the tavern.
"I'm not good with that kind of magick, but if you're going to blame me all the same, I'll take a good thrashing, and deal ten back to the lot of yeh." The Knight jeered at the crowd as more wandered towards him, a few picking up random clutter and debris.
The few who didn't move, and stayed calm worried Wulfram the most. His eyes soon met with those of the Tengu. Then he caught the brief moment of himself in that man's eyes.
As he saw himself in Luo's eyes, he was all muscle and power. A towering man of six feet clad in hardened leather, steel, and chain reinforcements who casually called out to the country bumpkins who all had been played for a fool by some jester. A single man came from behind the Knight, in view of Ibis, but outside the range of Ser Armistead himself.
With a thrust back right shoulder, the Knight rocked a punch for the man's nose, to offset his balance and step upon his stomach just as his eyesight returned to his own upon the half-Tengu, then down to the man he stood upon. <******** Crow Eyed b*****d the Knight thought as he stomped down on the man at his feet then pressed forward into the crowd.
"Come on now. There's no Imperial Punishment for this, except my FIST into your FACES!" A now furious Wulfram shouted as he barreled into a crowd of unarmed, or poorly armed men with just his bare fists.
