Kaedé Hoshi

100 HP

MAX HP

95 EN

MAX EN

_____Kaedé did not really like the cold, much less in her outfit as she shivered and walked across the crystallized landscape towards the location of some cavern she would be exploring. The story itself really did not seem to match up, how could a blizzard somehow reveal a cavern in a landscape covered by crystal? Needless to say she was approaching with extreme caution, her weapon already drawn and at her side dragging against the ground in a loose grip. So far nothing seemed to approach her and mostly she assumed this due to how cold it was getting the closer she got to her goal.

_____Her amber orange eyes focusing on the melted entryway before her causing her to take her weapon into stance and look around the area. This was the spot and clearly something here had melted the way into the area. ”This ain’t going to be fun…” Slowly spinning her weapon to her right side as she began her advance into the cavern to give a quick scouting of the area. Thankfully her rogue mastery was not so easily scoffed at anymore so she could do this much for her group having arrived assumingly first on scene.

_____The place was darker then most caves Kaedé had ever explored and thankfully a bit warmer then outside, not by much of a change but it was something. Her scouting however ended shortly after when she heard metal dragging and drew her to back away until she had a better understanding. If the group arrived after her she would be resting her back against the cave entry, her weapon crossed to block the area so she could give them a report once everyone she thought would be arriving was there.

”The place is decently spaced out but dark, we won’t be traveling far before we run into some danger so you might want to stay alert from the moment we get into here.”

_____Kaedé's bad habit to try and force her way to leader of any group she had to work with, it made it easier on her to do things and she never expected others to talk her down anyways. Moving her Naginata out of the way before she chose to take point. Like she had warned it would only be a few moments before the group encountered skeletons coated in ice, only two but clearly aggressive as they moved forward against the party. Kaedé herself would rush to meet them and try to use her weapon to hold them back hoping somebody could do something better then her choice of combat. She was better against living things.
@Ashiore Evretto | @Elysian | @Ruh Murad

 

"Note to self," Ash muttered to herself under her breath, "Cotton dresses are not appropriate frozen cave spelunking clothes." Naixi growled and shoved irritably against Ash's knees. The lioness was much more at home in hotter climates. To be perfectly honest, so was Ash. Okay, true, she didn't quite enjoy the lava-filled fiasco that was Azog and the volcano, but she wasn't a big fan of freezing to death either.

"Sorry," she muttered, unfolding her arms to give Naixi an apologetic pat. Not that anyone could have really understood her words through her chattering teeth. Hopefully when they got inside the cave, it wouldn't be as cold. The winds of Zalra's winter were harsh and biting, and the sooner that Ash and Naixi were deeper into the caves and away from the sting of icy breeze, the better.

Ah! That would be the cave! Ash quickly ducked into the rocky mouth, sighing in relief as she rounded a corner to get out of the immediate path of the wind. She saw a young woman waiting there and introduced both herself and Naixi with a smile. "Hi! My name is Ashiore, nice to meet you! And this is Naixi. Are you here for the quest to explore the caves?"

Once they were all gathered and all introductions were made, they set off for the cavern's depths. It wasn't long before they came across their first obstacle: some sort of skeletal warriors covered in a creeping frost. Naixi's quiet growl warned her before Ash herself could really see them.

"Heads up," Ash said quietly to the others. She gave Naixi a nudge, the usual signal for the lion to run into the fray. Kaede also joined in, and Ash hung near the back to not get in their way. She kept a close eye on the battle, ready to cast any supportive spells if there was any need.

@Elysian, @Ruh Murad

 

Unlike most people, Elysian loved the cold. It always made her feel grounded and like her mind was clear and sharp. Sure she shivered and felt numb just like anyone else, but she enjoyed it even if that seemed odd to others. As she made her way to the frozen cavern for a quest she accepted, she did however wish she had dressed a bit warmer. Her hide gloves and boots were good but the rest of her light clothing did little to stop the freezing wind that blew across the landscape. No matter how much she enjoyed the cold she would be glad to get away from this wind and into the protection of the cave. Even Luna, her spectral pixie, was snuggled into the hair right behind her right cat ear. She was usually flying around but she seemed to hate the cold and Elysian wasn't going to bother her.

"Here we are," the Felis said in relief as she saw the entrance to the cave and skipped towards the opening. Almost instantly she noticed Kaede in a protective stance, and knew something dangerous was up ahead. She trusted her insticts. She also noticed another girl and overheard her introducing herself. When Ely made her way in she nodded to Kaede and then introduced herself to Ashiore. "Hello I'm Elysian, I suppose I'm here for the same quest?" She said as she ventured closer and noticed why they had stopped. In front of them were two icy looking skeletons, and she decided to take the offensive first.

"I've got this, back me up!" She said as she grabbed her shortbow from her back and loaded her first arrow. She stayed behind Kaede's guard and shot it at the closest skeleton. It clanked against the bones, and she sent out another straight away. This one sunk into it's eye-socket and the fiend fell to the frozen cavern floor in a pile of bones, it didn't seem like it would be able to reassemble itself. Elysian's eyes shot open wide as the other skeleton was just about to attack Kaede and she couldn't string an arrow fast enough. "Watch out!"

@Kaede Hoshi - @Ashiore Evretto - @Ruh Murad

 

He was a plain sight in this snow-laden tundra, his dark complexion catching the sun and revealing his location. Although his clothing betrayed the thought, he had felt relatively fine trekking across this land. Like the time before, he had stolen away to meditate, strengthening both his physical and astral forms for the arduous task ahead. His foot steps, although deft, would still cause the snow to crunch beneath him as he encroached upon the entrance of the unique cave. It appeared that the cleric had been the last to arrive, the latest one to the party. A soft, rose hue stained just above his veil, a wry smile formed itself beneath the cloth.

He approached them, his head to cock downwards to a bow as he passed around his introduction, like those before him. "I apologies for my ill-arrival, but I am Ruh Murad." His voice was soft, a warm baritone that slipped from between his parting lips as he acquainted himself with all the others. He was relieved by the diversity of their party, though frowned mildly at the thought of being comparatively... useless. Unlike his comrade, he packed no fancy lion to unleash upon crowd. He nodded to the direction given by the petite woman, whose hairs challenged a raven's plume.

However, their salutations were cut short by cursed beings that approached them. Already, the two smaller woman launched forward to take battle their foes, throwing caution to the wind as their fury carried them forward. Like Ashiore, he too would step back towards the entrance of the cave as sullen eyes remained perceptive of the combat before them. He leaned forward, prepared to bolt when necessary as he would provide spells to support the might of his allies. In an instant, as the shrill fled the felis, his beryl lenses darted to Kaede who had been in a bind. As quickly as he could he flung open his interface, smoothly operating and choosing a supporting spell. In an instant, a translucent bubble 'popped' around her, its appearance almost ethereal as it dissipated about as soon as he conjured it. The supportive spell was a minor one, but it would bolster her defenses until he could manage a proper heal.

@Kaede Hoshi - @Ashiore Evretto - @Elysian

 

Kaedé Hoshi

90 HP

MAX HP

93 EN

MAX EN

_____Kaedé was not someone who could exactly deal with close combat, much less when the area she was in was tight spaced. Turning enough so her shoulder absorbed most of the skeletons attack as blood sprayed a bit before she moved her weapon to slam the side of her attacked before moving to the nearest wall to bash against her target, her skull slamming down to bash against the ice layer of her target numerous times until it fell down allowing her to turn away and rip the sword out of her shoulder slowly, her focus then moving to wipe the blood away from her eyes as it trailed a bit from her forehead.

”I don’t know what else to expect deeper in here so best to stay close and try to be careful. Anyone happen to have a torch or something so we can see a bit better?”

_____Kaedé would turn to wink at the two other women in her party, a small wave to @Elysian since this was not the first time the two had met and turning back to @Ashiore Evretto and blowing a kiss before a playful grin towards @Ruh Murad of the group who seemed to slightly kill her mood for a moment before she turned back and focused on the front line. That was until she felt herself run into something and notice the lion before her. A few blinks of disbelief before she poked it to make sure she was not suffering from some very delayed drunk delusions.

_____If the lion growled Kaedé seemed to confirm to herself she was not just seeing things and chose to take a few steps away from the lion closer to Elysian. Something she never knew about herself, big animals scared her. After she had a good foot or two away from the lion she would advance still at the front of the group. If they had no light it would prove a bit dangerous as two skeletons waited in the shadows, however any light from their location would reveal the target’s shadows before anyone got within striking distance.

 

Ooh, not great. @Kaede Hoshi looked like she took a nasty hit from one of the skeleton's swords. Thankfully, it looked like the barrier set up by @Ruh Murad ensured that the sword blow wasn't as strong as it would have otherwise been. @Elysian had taken out one of the skeletons handily with an arrow, impressive given the tight confines of the tunnel. After shaking off the attack, Kaede dealt with the skeleton that attacked her in a rather dramatic, but effective, fashion, and then their motley group was once more alone.

Hm. Looked like their lack of light would remain a problem. She glanced to Ruh, and said to him, "Could you handle the healing for now? Kaede might need some help. Meanwhile, I'll-"

She cut herself off as she barely caught the kiss Kaede blew her way. Blushing lightly, and a bit confused, she shook her head and continued. "I'll take care of our light problem."

It would be tough in this environment, but she could manage. Probably. It had come in handy the last time she had gone through an underground tunnel, but that was in a nicely damp and mossy tunnel. Here, where everything was frozen over, it would be a lot harder. Concentrating, Ash channeled some energy to her hands and murmured a short incantation before pressing her palms to the sides of the walls. Bioluminescent mushrooms began emerging from the walls, giving off a blue-green light that reflected off the ice crystals growing in the cave.

Ash poured a bit more energy into it to allow the fungi to spread forward, lighting up their path ahead, and then she backed off slowly. Huh. Looked like pumping a bit of extra energy into the spell meant that the mushrooms would linger, freeing up her hands and energy for any further spellcasting.

Naixi continued onwards at the front, giving Kaede a bemused huff when the woman stared at her. Naixi's sense of smell and sight were more acute than a human's, and she would also give a growl in warning if they ran into anything further.

Like, say, the two skeletons up ahead waiting to ambush them.

 

Elysian sighed in relief when she noticed @Ruh Murad arrive. He had helped support her immensely in the fight against Azog and she felt even safer having two supports. They seemed like a balanced party. Luckily the protective spell he used on @Kaede Hoshi seemed to take most of the blow and for that Ely was thankful. They needed to be more careful in here, the close quarters made her uncomfortable, she had always been a tad claustrophobic. After Kaede brutally took care of the other skeleton they proceeded to continue forward. @Ashiore Evretto's glowing mushrooms lit the path very well and Elysian hummed her approval. "Awesome," she whispered to the girl and gave her a thumbs up. This would mean they would have trouble sneaking up on enemies, but the same could be said the other way around. She preferred not getting jumped by something.

When Kaede inched towards her, obviously wary of the lion, Elysian covered her mouth trying to stifle the loud giggle that wanted to come out. "The great Kaede actually scared of something? I never thought I'd see the day." She playfully purred and smiled at the lion. Maybe it was cause she was Felis but she felt a connection towards the feline and she felt even safer knowing it could warn them of upcoming danger.

She heard them before she saw them. The creaking of their bones and the shifting of their swords. There were more skeletons ahead and she knew it. "Shhhhh," she said holding her hand up to the group as she slid along the wall and peered down. Another two skeletons had their back to the group, seemingly curious of the now glowing walls. She wasn't sure what thinking ability they had but it didn't matter as they were distracted. She knew the others had to see them now but she still pointed and held up two fingers. Sneak attacks were always good if possible in her opinion, and she would take the opportunity. She knew once she shot one the other would turn on them, but she just hoped Kaede or one of the others would be prepared this time.

Silently lifting her shortbow she aimed at the slightly closer skeleton. It was a hard shot in the tight tunnel so she aimed at its leg to incapacitate it first. Her first arrow shot through the freezing cavern, shattering the boney leg on contact and causing the skeleton to fall to the ground. "I'll take care of finishing it off, you-" she was cut off as the second skeleton began to rush them in blind fury ."-Uh yeah you know!" She said as she readied another arrow and shot at her target.

 

Elysian took care of one skeleton expertly, but the other one came charging towards them quickly. Up at the front, Naixi and Kaede did great work at keeping it at bay, and dealing some very decent damage to it. She helped out as much as she could, making sure to patch up any wounds as they appeared so that the others could keep fighting on. Ruh was a great help as well, throwing out more defensive barriers and also healing when he saw the chance.

It was like that other skeleton fell in no time at all with the combined efforts of the five of them. Thankfully, nobody else seemed too injured either. Breathing a big sigh of relief, Ashiore did a quick check over everyone and patched up any wounds that she saw.

"All right! Let's go on, then. Hopefully there won't be anymore skeletons, right?" The fact that there were so many reanimated dead bodies around probably should have been more frightening than it was, if only because of the implications. But Ash had been playing Terrasphere for quite a while. There were a lot of things more intimidating than just a few skeletons.

Continuing on deeper into the cave, Ashiore kept lighting the way up as they went. The light provided by the glowing mushrooms wasn't much, but it made sure that they weren't stumbling blindly about, leaving themselves open to attack.

Unfortunately, their path was soon blocked by an enormous wall of ice that completely covered up the tunnel beyond. There weren't any side caverns and other routes around it, so it looked like their way forward was completely blocked.

Huh. She ordered Naixi to try giving the wall a good few swipes with her claws. It left shallow gouges on the surface of the compressed ice wall, but it definitely wasn't enough to do any significant damage to the strange structure.

It was disappointing and frustrating to be stuck now after so much time spent wandering deeper into this cavern. It somehow felt even worse with how the wall was just the slightest bit translucent; Ash could just barely make out some sort of oddly shaped figures on the other side of the ice wall, though with how thick the ice was, it was impossible to tell what they were. The view was just too distorted.

"Maybe we should come back when it's warmer?" Ash suggested at last, when none of their attempts to get past seemed to do anything.

 

_____With the skeletons dealt with and their focus back on exploring the area Kaedé could only feel slight form of unease as they found no other threats as they went deeper in. The girl only rising her guard more because of such in worry the area might have them all set in one spot ready to ambush them. What caused Kaedé a large level of anger was meeting the wall of ice and not some more foes. Weapon slamming against the wall a few times as Kaedé lashed a small amount of temper with how she was unable to go beyond the point.

”Not like we have much other choices here I guess. Not to mention it seems we lost some people…”

_____Kaedé would move her weapon to her back as she pointed out the fact it seemed the other two had either left already or logged off without informing them. Growling for a few moments as she turned back to the ice wall before starting to leave the area. Waving her hand to send a friend request to Ashiroe and kept walking out of the area, if the girl followed close behind Kaedé would try to stir a conversation.

”well I’ll likely come back here every few days to check if the wall melts or something, I got a feelin something down there is worth my time and I don’t want to give up on that so easy.”

_____Kaedé would look towards the exit returning into view with a light sigh. She wanted to find out why this stood out so much to here yet only found a wall of ice blocking her path and she had nothing to break or melt it down currently. Maybe she could try to get a girl to come help out with this at a later date, or maybe she should drop it as clearly she was not destined to be going into that area at all.

”Who knows maybe we could go eat sometime to make up for this little failed adventure, I’ll pay. Anyways see you around, be safe out there.”

~~Thread end~~​