In a small non-descript village deep within the holt of the Land of Fire lies a small outpost. Formally set up by hunters and mercenaries; a small hunting lodge has been set up.
Scenario:
There is a cult within the wood that wants nothing more than to get their hands on the Emperor himself for some dangerous ritual using his blood. The information comes from a mysterious source that tells them of this lodge; the same informant was found dead missing his eyes and tongue.
Specifics:
The holt that lies outside of the lodge is an odyssey all in itself, ravaged by large predatory animals and highwaymen. This area is specifically known for missing persons and vicious deaths.
Lodge:
The lodge itself is only 5 room/bathroom like a traditional Japanese hotel. The Center of the hotel is a large fire pit with ..."refreshments" left behind by the regular hunters.
Stock: 2 bottles of rum 3 bottles of gin 2 cans of semi-stale but still drinkable beer
The Woods:
Home to a variety of animals and run away criminals, it's never suggested to go out at night. It takes on average 4 days from the edge of the holt to the lodge even for the most experienced shinobi.
(( The scenery will change once RPCs are settle in and what-not))
Wolfe Whitehorn
LavenderandVelvet
Posted: Sun May 24, 2020 10:31 am
โข โบ Enter Sheva on Horseback
Sheva road to the trailhead of the forest. Everything seemed really suspicious; the death of her courier and now this forest. Sheva dismounted and started to offload the things that she decided to bring with her (listed below). With the courierโs death being so swift, she knew that this forest was dangerous and there wasnโt a lot of intel on it. She examined the forest exterior, the canopy was dense, and from its looks, there wasnโt too much light within.
She set up a small camp and decided to take her time looking at her inventoryโฆ though this was an excuse for not going in quite yet. There was something about the forest that spooked her, whether sheโd like to admit it. Something told her to turn back to the Land of Riversโฆ but she needed to know what was going on. No one kills a courier before they can even get to their destination unless anger was the motivation.
โข โบ Currently Equipped โ Chestplate of the Goddess โ Kubikiribลchล // "Decapitating Carving Knife" Replica // Wind Style // Wind Slashing โ Helm of Terror [[ Inactive ]] โ Chakra Steel Weapon: Medium // Handheld Gunbai [[Sealed]] โ Custom Chakra Projectile Pack: Medium [x5 // Feather Shaped] [[Sealed]] โ โข โบ Abilities โ โฐ Will of Aries | Rank Null | Passive Chestplate The chest plate is capable of storing up to 320 chakra within it. If the user's chakra reserves are full, the breastplate regenerates chakra outside of battle in A rank amounts per post. Chakra can be reclaimed freely during combat for B Ranked amounts but cannot be replenished unless the user's chakra total is not exceeded by taking chakra from the armor.
โ Death Incarnate [ Shi no Keshin ] [ [ Inactive ] ] โฐRank: C โฐPrimary Sense: Visual โฐAdditional Senses: Chakra Sense โฐBase Duration: 6 Posts โฐUpkeep: 10 Chakra โฐTrigger: Sight of the User โฐSource: Visual โฐStatus Effect: Mental Stress | Paralysis T2 [ Legs ] โฐDescription: This technique is cast upon any who look upon the user while wearing this armor piece. The cost of this technique is automatically withdrawn from the user's chakra pool upon this trigger and costs no activation. Those who see the user are given a sense of terror, sensing their deaths approaching by the user's hand. The user's body appears to be muscular and toned like the Spartans of mythology. This terror those who look upon the user feel causes their legs to become paralyzed in fear while it eats away at their composure.
Wolfe Whitehorn
LavenderandVelvet
Offline
LavenderandVelvet
Offline
Posted: Tue May 26, 2020 9:36 am
โข โบ Exit Horse // Camp Created
She pulled her pack from the horse and set it on the ground, also removing the saddle and bridle. She knew that this could possibly take a while, the horse took off in the direction that it came. This was a routine that she knew all too well before she crafted her wings but she wanted to keep a lowerprofile this time around. She pulled out a small notebook and pen, she was going to treat this as a routine patrol like she used to do in Estia. She slowly started to walk the perimeter of the forest, notating how far from the trailhead she was. Plants and greenery were not Shevas things, she really knew nothing about them but still made it a point to write down anything observational from them.
After walking some distance from the path, Sheva started to feel strange. It was like an invisible eye descended upon Sheva, as the worldโs attention felt pointed directly at her. It all came from the forest, she stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned her head to the forest; expecting someone to be standing thereโฆ but there was nothing there. She stood there confused and bewildered. She immediately began to walk back to the trailhead, it was a feeling that she hadnโt had in a long time; she was spooked. She looked out in the distance and found a small outcropping of rocks, she wanted to be able to observe the forest without feeling like she was being watched also. She pulled the rolled-up mat from her backpack and laid it on the ground so that she could prop her back against the rock. Sitting facing the forest and a way off the path, she pulled out a small flask โ Wellโฆ now we wait. โ She unclipped her pauldrons and became more comfortable.
โข โบ Jutsu Used: - Concentration | Rank A | Spiritual Sheva made detailed observations about the perimeter of the forest. As she rests at camp, she continues to make those observations.
The Knight of Gurinbare-to had dispatched himself from the city on terms that he would recover the missing Court Historian, and his long-term personal friend, The Dove. More in term, a Spymaster for the Emperor, Lillian had gone missing while on a research expedition and was presumed lost in enemy hands. The knight stood in his saddle, feet locked in the stirrups as he looked out over the roads, down into the forest, as he approached a known campsite. A sound of hoofbeats charged him, and Wulfram ducked low, his hand rested on the beast's neck and lowered her to push her to the side as another horse whinnied and surged through the trail. His own beast bucked in fright as the other horse screamed, and Wulfram was fallen from her back. Eyes wide, he turned to face his beast as she bucked again and he held his hands up and pointed out of the forest.
"Home girl, home." He calmed, as he attempted to get his mare to at least run the course back towards the capital where she might be welcomed back into the stables.
She would not remain with him in this forest tonight.
As his mount fled, Wulfram slung his discarded pack over his shoulder and held his hand aloft, traces of light shone in the air and a sword and scabbard formed in his palm, which he would affix to his belt. His blade, Ganymede, infused with the waking soul of his sister. The same silver aura that shimmered from his blade danced over his frame for a few brief moments as he began to walk into the wood line until he came across a woman propped up with her ruck, a bed mat, and a large stone.
"Well, that would explain to whom that mare belonged. There were reports of some odd activity out this way and a travelling woman. But you're not the one whom I had sought." He said beneath a soft laugh, adjusting his rucksack a little more.
Sheva sat and reclined for a moment before a man on a horse came into view. Though she was sure of his appearance, he was not the one she was looking for. She clipped her pauldrons and slowly approached the man; he brandished a beautiful blade that piqued her interests. "With a sword like that, I'm guessing you're not the criminals I've heard about." She said with a small snicker. He was soon going to be going into the forest. "You wouldn't, by chance, know about this forest, would you?" She kept her hands in view of the man; she knew that she wasn't his intended game to her knowledge. All she knew about the forest was what she had observed... or maybe felt. She wanted to know why of all places the man was there. Just by looking at his attire, he wasn't too much into roughing it in the bush. Knowing that there was someone else that was looking into going into the forest piqued her curiosity.
As his horse abandoned him and he was forced to meet Sheva on foot, Wulfram shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his blade. His eyes then met those of Sheva as she piped up about his blade and the criminals. He chuckled at the thought, the Guard-Captain, and Knight of Gurinbare-to a common bandit, though some criminals would be apt to try for a blade like his, none could hope to wield Ganymede should their lives have depended upon it.
"No, a highwayman I am not. They are part of the reason I am out on these roads though. Them and some other disconcerting rumours. As to the forest, yeh, I know plenty of tales of it. It is a marked place, with a horrible history." The Knight spoke as he adjusted his sword-belt and scabbard, eyes quick to adjust down the path as he was asked of the wooded path ahead of them.
"Not a place I am wont to travel, but one I must." He admitted.
In truth, he hated this place. He hated any time he needed to travel these woods, or the deeper forests of Konoha alone. The ruins of old Konoha had been settled with strong Genjutsu and apparitions of wartorn chakra that lingered after several wars, and the countryside of the Land of Fire still bore the scars of a lot of this history.
"What of you, you're not quite the criminal archetype either. In fact, you're more akin to the centurion. You're a far throw from home." Wulfram laughed, familiar with Sheva's equipment from his own homeland, her own kinsmen being his northern bordermen.
Sheva smiled and took off her helmet โ You would be right about that maybe a little too far. โ She thought about her past and decided maybe this wasnโt the time to be completely transparent. She tucked her helmet under her arm and looked at the forest โ Dark Past? โ She scratched her chin and thought for a moment, it would explain the feeling that she got when she got close. The thought if it gave her chills โ You wouldnโt mind some company in the forest would you? โ She began to feel flush and just shrugged it off โWhy am I so nervous about this forest?โ she thought to herself
"Company through the forest? Oh, undoubtedly. Best we make camp first and take it on a fresh mind. These woods are not for the tired or delirious, a struggle I learned long ago. And the closer you get to the Old Village, the harder it gets to function." The Knight chimed as he tossed the lip of his rucksack open and pulled a pair of blankets from the top of the pack and laid them out.
"So, who exactly are you, and why are you travelling through?"
She smiled and sat back down at her camp, allowing him space to set up his own. He seemed friendly and didn't seem like a threat to her, she was more then willing to make camp with him. She looked at the forest and heard his question " My name is Sheva. " She thought about why she was there, knowing that the details were kinda grusome; she would carefully leave them out " I sent someone to scout the area, they came back to me... " She looked at man and cocked her eyebrow " ... in pieces. "
She leaned back against the rock as before and looked at him " Who are you? would it be rude for me to say you look a little out of place? "
"Aye, I'm Wulfram Armistead, and just as much as yourself I'm a foreigner to these lands. Came back from afar with a national, an Emperor no less. And no, I shan't say it rude to point out, rather honestly, that I am in fact out of place here. I am. It is why Ser Hatake hired me on, a trusty advisor with no reason to betray him in these lands. Though one could insinuate as much it makes me an unwitting prisoner." He chuckled.
"It seems our reasons for being here largely coincide, then. The forest has been claiming a few lives, more than it ought, lately, and the lord dispatched me to handle it. I've a few years of firsthand experience with this place. I lived in the woods here a good while I served a self-imposed exile. His lordship wanted to come out, but he's too bloody important to risk either his seizure or getting injured over something petty like bandits, or roving bandersnatches." Wulfram jested as he tried to find a comfortable way to rest.
"Care to tell me more about this man of yours? Were the pieces... whole? Shambling? Still living? We had one crop up on the border of Wind Territory recently, leaves from these woods entrenched in his wounds, still breathing, but... Lost mentally. His wounds barely bled, and he spake only gibberish. When we tried to get him back to the capitol for medical attention, he began attacking our nurses." Wulfram sighed.
Sheva looked at the forest and cleared her throat " He had to be... released. " She remembered the messenger, filled with rage and attempting to attack the other valkyrie " He attempted to attack us with quite a fervor. It was rather gruesome." She leaned forward and looked at the man, though he has been completely transparent with her; she felt withheld " I had to see this for myself. "
She cracked her knuckles and looked at the Wolfe " My girls seem to believe that there is a curse on the woods. "
