Zelrius had become quite accustomed to the rolling fields and grasslands of Brisshal. The area was already so terribly generic, the setting appearing in some manner at the start or ends of every RPG game... ever. Yet, the golden haired man didnt mind at all. It was a peaceful place, those his disdain for it was rising. Not because he minded the area itself, but because the NPCs and Players had so little to offer. Thrice now the man had gone and done tasks, often times taking much of the sunlight hours, twice he raised some animals. Zelrius never wanted to be a farm hand, and even less so without pay. That's where it stemmed from; He wasted so much his time for nothing more than a shabby thank you from all parties involved.

With a sigh he dismissed his contempt; Afterall, he had met some people who he might not have otherwise. Savannah and Alric proving to be quite interesting, and at the very least, were semi-decent company. Though that wasn't his goal, making friends. The way Zelrius thought of it was this; If he wanted to come to a new game and hang out and grind as he had done so many others, the man would've just invited that all too familiar group he had met from previous experiences in VR and AR. No, he had a much different goal this time around, one that Zelrius himself wouldn't divulge to anyone, thus far.

However, that goal got continously hindered by his lack of getting compensated properly by the NPCs and players of this world thus far. He mostly attributed the lack of charity from the locals to the relative wealth of this area; Low. Maybe that was a bit rude, but in his mind, it was the gods honest truth. Though the reasoning for it being a low wealth area was uncertain. It seemed quite eventful and busy, and with a player driven economy, it would almost seem like a game like Terrashpere wouldn't limit its areas to one or two cookie-cutter traits per area like so many other RPGs had, right?

No, he had found out thus far to never assume that the Devs for this game were lazy. There had to be something deeper. As said before, the area was eventful. Or perhaps tumultous was the proper phrasing. Boars attacking here, Turkeys being raised there. And the most common occurence; the Goblin raids. Zelrius had heard often of the small parties of the little green Tolkien inspired creatures prowling about, burning and looting little farm houses here and there. In his mind, this was the source of the areas problems, and perhaps, his newest source of income.

With those thoughts and more to be explained later in mind, Zelrius marched into the small Inn he had not a few days earlier, to try and rake information from the locals of regarding a Player Killer. That little task was over now, a new one beginning. The task he would announce by first clearing his throat standing atop a chair and speaking loudly:

"I request one or two volunteers to come with me, and maybe, put a stop to some Goblins. Its easy exp, and more importantly; It'll help the locals out." And maybe they'll finally pay up for once. That final thought sticking in his own mind, deciding to make the cause sound more just and fair than his own intentions were.

 

Mizuki stretched her arms and legs as she looked at the dead corpse of the last boar she had pummelled into the dirt. While her attacks still weren't that extraordinary they still packed quite a punch, and beyond that she was doing a decent job hitting all the vitals, abusing the fact that the Hunting mastery allowed them to see them a lot more clearly. Also, being fast was helping, since it meant that she could wait for the boar to charge her before dodging it and bringing her copper-clad knuckles down on it. All in all, the boar hunting was going quite well for her, the boars for the largest part becoming less and less of a challenge as she became used to their habits and how to bring them down as quickly as possible.

Which was actually a problem in itself. She didn't think she was getting as much experience and training from hunting boars from before. She wasn't entirely sure why she had decided to hunt boars of all things, except that there were plenty of them and they weren't so dangerous as to send novice adventurers to the morgue en masse. There had been other creatures which also fit those requirements, but Mizuki ended up being a boarhunter. But now it seemed like she was reaching the limit of what she could do with boars: she'd have to find something else to train on, or think of a new approach.

At least her choice of masteries seemed to be working out nicely. Hunting made her good at finding her target and exploiting its vulnerabilities, and she was becoming quite fond of the body combat style, where she'd use nimble movements and quick wit to dodge and then strike. She was probably not inflicting as much damage with each strike as those who were using more orthodox weapons, and she didn't have as much range, but she did like how Body Combat came with versatility, control, and the distinct feeling of you yourself becoming stronger. She wasn't sure if it felt different with other weapons, but she wasn't planning to switch to find out any time soon.

Still, the issue with the boars was real. She'd already been in the game for a while now, so the original wonder and nervousness was beginning to wane. It certainly was still a fantastic experience, which made her keenly aware of why people would not be supporting the government in trying to ban this game and finding the ones who made it, but she was no longer riding the high of everything being new. If she wanted that excitement back she'd have to start expanding her adventures beyond the grassy fields and forests she had been moving around in so far. Looking around at her surroundings she nodded, as she decided that she would have to do some new things before she got stuck in a rut.

Walking back to the village Mizuki didn't loiter, instead heading straight for the inn. She might go back out later in the day, but for now she'd relax a bit and maybe ask Kaede if the girl had any ideas of what Mizuki could do so she'd keep learning new things. And stop constantly bullying the boars which were just trying to live their lives around these parts. Entering the inn Mizuki didn't take long to locate Kaede, since the girl wasn't very difficult to find: she wasn't the tallest of people, but she certainly stood out amongst the more mundane villagers.

Sitting down next to Kaede Mizuki was first planning to get herself a drink but then someone else also entered the inn and immediately began a short speech, the Felis looking around to look at the man. Goblins? Mizuki hadn't actually encountered any of the mythological creatures yet, but it seemed she might have found her opportunity to get out of her rut sooner than she thought. Goblins were supposed to be semi-sentient, use tools and work in groups, which meant that they would give her an experience entirely unlike the simple straightforward boars, who beyond that also just were solitary by nature.

Mizuki took a couple of seconds to consider the offer, but then decided she had little to lose. It would be interesting, and besides that it wasn't exactly a secret that goblins were pretty much always a nuisance no matter where they were or what they were doing. Standing back up from her seat Mizuki walked over to the man standing on the chair, craning her neck so she could meet his eyes with her own heterochromatic eyes, one golden and the other bright blue. "I wouldn't mind helping you out with those goblins, especially if they've been causing trouble around here." Mizuki hadn't actually heard too many complaints about goblins but then again, she had been more focused on just going out and training than actually lingering in the village and figuring out what exactly they wanted. "And I'm sure my friend would also join us, although we would have to give her a bit to clear up." It hadn't gotten past Mizuki that Kaede was fond of drinking, and since they were at an inn... She shrugged a bit, then turned around and shouted over to Kaede. "Kaede, are you up for hunting some goblins?"

She'd wait for Kaede to answer before turning back to the man, bowing slightly. "As a belated greeting, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ueno Mizuki, Mizuki in short. My friend over there is Kaede, and the two of us are pretty good at dealing with nuisances like goblins and bandits, although I myself so far only have had the opportunity of dealing with bandits. Do you know anything about goblins that I might need to know before fighting them? I am already aware that they are tricky and attack in groups."
@Zelrius @Kaede Hoshi

 

_____Kaedé was still getting used to looking different than her real life self, it was rather odd to have larger breast and red hair. It also hurt her a fair bit that she would need to rebuild a lot of relationships since her death caused a restart to be triggered. It was also another large change to get used to having magic, and one such as Astramancy to boot. Kaedé did not fully recall how it happen but after she woke up back in Brisshal with her new look and check her UI it was there.

_____Since then she had odd dreams of different locations she never knew about and one recurring dream of a girl drifting around and talking with her. Said girl turning out to be a spirit from a different realm and one who used the art of Phantasmia, or illusion magic. So without getting the girl’s name she just started calling her Phanta and went with the flow of things. Taking another large sip from her mug of rum before she noticed a wisp of white hair trail and the familiar voice echo in her head.

Phanta

"Your little hot wolf girl is back.~"

_____Turning her head slowly to see Ueno approaching and the illusion Phanta cast of herself drifting around the girl. The only one able to see Phanta was sadly Kaedé as the spirit chose to fade through the girl like she was just a ghost and in reality it did seem like such as the girl sat on the counter next to Kaedé's mug and watched calmly. When Mizuki sat down Phanta grinned happily and chimed in a few more words.

”You should make out with her.~ Come on,~ you know you want to Kaedé.~”

_____Kaedé would blush at the idea, she was trying to not be that fake person anymore and so far Phanta was only making it harder. As Kaedé would try to focus on Mizuki in her half drunk state the girl would seem to move to approach the male making claims for a group to hunt Goblins. A light set of blinks before Kaedé got out of her seat and set down gold to pay for her drinks so far as she was asked to join the group by Mizuki. Kaedé had not fought Goblins in a long time, or did she ever fight them? Her memory a bit scrambled as she approached with Phanta drifting behind her.

”You have me and Phanta’s support in this. Or mine I guess since Phanta can’t interact with this world at all.”

_____Kaedé would wave her hand to where Phanta was, being the only one who could see the girl however made it just look like Kaedé was waving to the air behind her. None the less Phanta waved happily at the attempted introduction and drifted her way to rest her arms over Kaedé's head and quick the air as she spoke to the girl again.

”Kaedé dear they can’t see me, most I can do is spread my illusion to other Astramancy users I have told you this you silly hot mortal.~”

”Right-right, forgot about that sorry Phanta.~”

_____Kaedé replied to the air as she looked up to smile at the spirit who poked her nose playfully before allowing Kaedé to be alone with just mortals for the time being. The girl fading from Kaedé's view but still well aware and able to talk to Kaedé in her mind. Taking the time to slap her cheeks and try to force herself sober to be a better help to the group. Waving for them as she walked out the door and proceeded to fall forward, it would be some time before Kaedé was better help to the others.
@Zelrius | @Ueno Mizuki

 

Zelrius gritted his teeth following his explanation. It didn't seem many were listening, and those who were gave shouts and profane slurs the thought of Goblins, before going back into a drunken Stupor. The man grinded his jaw back and forth in slight annoyance; More at himself than anyone. He felt stupid for having chosen a sleazy tavern in the middle of Brisshal of all places to request help like this. But at the same time, he felt lots; where else would one ask for such specific help like this? This is about the only place that it made sense anyone would be willing to care, much less help.

He was about ready to lower himself from his chair, until a Felis approached to introduce himself. Zelrius froze a bit, he hadn't quite interacted with one yet, and didn't quite know how to treat them. Like, he knew from an outside perspective; they were still normal people just playing a character. But each world had their own rules and customs, of which Zelrius hadn't take the time to learn of this one's quite yet. When she spoke, he lowered his own dark blue irises to meet her own, immediately widening slightly at the notice of the different colouring of each.

That was new, and a weird customization option that the golden haired man hadn't quite seen a lot, despite his thinking that something like that might be a common occurrence in a fantasy world. Nonetheless, he ran a hand up his face and through his hair, both in an attempt to push his long blonde hair out of his eyes, and to let out some nervousness through action. Sociability in front of 'crowds' like this was something Zelrius hadn't done in quite sometime, and it caused him a mild amount of stress to speak to anyone, much less strangers.

"I, uh," It took him a second, closing his eyes for a moment to focus and then reopening them. "I mean - Yes. Those Goblins are causing quite the ruckus, especially now that it is harvest season." He stacked that little lie to help build the story. While it was true that Goblins were always a nuisance, Zelrius was about ninety percent sure that it had nothing to do with the crops. Just Goblins being Goblins. Yet, he ran with that little additive, trying to be more convincing.

"Your friend?" He questioned after she mentioned it, looking up to see who the Felis was mentioning. It was a drunken girl, one who Zelrius had silently wished wouldn't pay any mind to him. It's not that he didn't think she was capable; it was more that he wasn't interested in having a half-sentient half-drunk scantily clad woman running around. Her dress code he could get over, it was more just the principle of such. But, he didn't say anything, more than happy to atleast have the Felis woman offer to help,

With a sigh at the woman, who the Felis introduced as Kaede,'s direction Zelrius returned an introduction, getting off from atop the chair and extending an open hand toward her for a shake in greeting. "I am Zelrius, Zel works fine, but I understand that might be awkward for people who have just met. I am glad you're familiar with what we're about to do. Because, if I am being honest" Which, to be fair, he was only slightly so at this point. "I don't have much experience in actually fighting them. Though I imagine it cant be much different from fighting most other Creatues. Nothing like Bandits, of course." He pondered for a moment before adding, completely bullshitting at this point. "As you uh, said, Groups. Tools. Probably lesser weapons like daggers or salvaged farm tools. Shouldn't be terribly hard to find, given they're not exactly the stealthy type."

His words were cut off there as Kaede pointed and stumbled off out the door. He gave a concerned glance toward Mizuki before moving toward the door and moving out too, headed along the dirt path headed West, expecting the pair to follow, but at this point, hoping that maybe they wouldn't.

@Ueno Mizuki @Kaede Hoshi

(EDIT: Forgot coloured dialogue, gdi)

 

It didn't escape Mizuki's notice that the moment that the man looked into her eyes he seemed startled. It seemed he hadn't expected the heterochromatic eyes. If Mizuki was younger she would have been hurt by that, because when she was younger she had been bothered by how people reacted to her eyes, if only because when she was little the reaction hadn't been anything good. These days she just found it an interesting reaction, especially since people rarely were actually negative about it. Carrying her heterochromatic eyes from Earth into Terrasphere had been a well thought out decision, and she found it intriguing that in both worlds the reactions were about the same. It seemed like, fantasy or not, people could still be brought off guard by something they didn't expect.

That said, it seemed like the man was a bit surprised by her approach even not counting her eyes, as she caught a slight stutter before he regained his composure and responded to her question about the goblins. The idea of goblins being more active during the harvest season was one which had her gaze grow distance for a moment. It was an interesting idea... "Forgive me, I am new to this world so I'm not familiar with all these things yet. However goblins being more active during the harvest season... I can imagine that they've realized that during the harvest season there's a lot of food to go around even as the days grow shorter and colder, so they'd grow bolder because of a bigger prize and a more pressing need to acquire it." It did sound very sensible, since goblins were supposed to be intelligent enough to think of things like that. Mizuki didn't even question it, she just reasoned for herself why it must be and then moved on.

"Considering that everyone is preparing for the Dark Harvest Festival it would ruin the mood if the goblins actually managed to raid the harvest and the villagers turned into casualties. Better to try and get rid of as many of them as possible so everyone can enjoy the festival in peace." She looked at the man when he looked at Kaede, noticing how he didn't seem completely happy with Kaede's inebriated state. She couldn't really blame him: she herself wasn't entirely sure if bringing Kaede along when she had been drinking was a good idea, but she didn't want to leave the woman alone either. Truth be told, Mizuki was worried about Kaede, and she'd rather have the woman with her where she could keep an eye on her.

"The two of us have been helping the locals out with some bandits who appear to be part of a child slave ring. I know that she doesn't look very reliable right now, but she's a good fighter once she's cleared her head." She shook the man's head as he gave his introduction, glad that despite his surprise at her and Kaede's state he was still willing to take them along. "If you are all right with being called Zel I wouldn't object to calling you that. It's your name, after all. And we have some experience, but not too much: Kaede is a more experienced player than I am, and she's taken down more bandits than me as well. However some experience is better than no experience." She tilted her head. "Although since goblins are supposed to be small and weak in comparison to humans we should be fine as long as we are careful. Truth be told, I've been trying to improve my skills but fighting the boars around here doesn't seem to be very effective any more, so I'm hoping that fighting a horde of smaller creatures with some intelligence might be more fruitful an endeavour." She raised an eyebrow as Zelrius claimed that they wouldn't be difficult to fight. "Hmmm... I would expect them to be fond of using ambushes though. A large group shouldn't be difficult to find but I'd still suggest that all of us move with care."

Meanwhile she threw Kaede a confused stare when the woman mentioned this Phanta person. It wasn't actually the first time that Mizuki had heard that name, but she still found it strange to hear Mizuki indicate someone who didn't seem to be here. She honestly was worried about Kaede, because together with her friend's changed appearance her behaviour had also changed. She had become less open, less likely to molest Mizuki (which would be considered a blessing under normal circumstances: Mizuki liked the girl but she didn't need her ear getting nommed at random occasions), and overall more serious... Except that she also suddenly had an invisible friend. Mizuki hadn't actually asked what had happened, but she thought it better if she tried to help her friend out however she could. But she was going to ask about that Phanta at some point, because they were in a world of fantasy so she couldn't actually dismiss that as just some random hallucination.

"Well, let's go then."

Mizuki followed Kaede out of the inn together with Zelrius, although when she saw that Kaede was falling over she quickly rushed forward and caught the woman, gently pulling her back upright. "Are you all right Kaede? You don't have to come just because I asked. If you'd rather lie down that's fine too." Taking Kaede along so she could keep an eye on her wouldn't do her much good if she fell right into a goblin's spear. "With some luck the walk to where the goblins are should help clear your head, but I'm not going to push you into doing it." Mizuki would leave the choice with Kaede, to stay here and take care of her drunken self or to come with. If she decided to stay here Mizuki would help her back to their room to rest, but if Kaede insisted to come with she'd support the girl slightly while having her do most of the walking herself, so she could clear her head. Although she wasn't so harsh as to not catch the girl if she threatened to fall over again.
@Zelrius @Kaede Hoshi

 

_____Kaedé could hear the light sound of clapping from inside her head, mostly between the static and odd thoughts she got as Mizuki helped guide the woman back to her feet and asked her a few questions. A small shake of her head as Kaedé stood on her own and followed the group with a hand to her head and the other fixing her outfit, namely the zipper to have the bottom half of the top zipped and not just held by the zipper piece. Waving the hand slowly forward to support herself against the side of a building before she spoke up again.

”I’ll be fine when the fighting starts, worst case I can ask Phanta to jump start my recover with some illusion magic but otherwise I’m a o-k.~”

_____It did not seem as convincing as Kaedé tried to stand up and staggered a bit but the look in her eyes told most the story she was just trying to battle the rum in her system and voices in her head. To be honest Phanta was not the only voice Kaedé was dealing with, the eight others from what she could tell came in as more like static, bits and pieces and blurred out figures in different locations. The other Spirit tried to help Kaedé out by explaining some Astramancy mages felt the same way during early time with the magic but honestly Kaedé doubted that and used rum to help shut them out.

_____Once they got out of the village or near the edge Kaedé seemed better off, she was not stumbling as much and was walking straighter lines. The only difference was she now had both hands holding her head as the static and mixed voices got louder in her sobering state. Eventually Kaedé took the moment to lean against a wall and slammed her head back against it with a loud irritated growl from the bottom of her throat before she spoke up again.

”Some Magic just should not be learned I guess… One seconded… Phanta please get something on I’m about to call you out…”

_____Kaedé would move away from the wall and sit down, sure the others might not like how she was wasting time but as long as the other voices kept yelling for her attention she was not going to be much help to anyone. Setting he hands in the sand and drawing a small circle before she began the chant.

'Rumpe vincula inter re et regno, et gloriosos terræ humiliabo falsum coram mentibus vera boni consistit magia.’

_____The circle began to glow before the air started to rip open revealing a small black void, slowly walking out was a young woman with hair that seemed to have a mind against gravity drifting however it felt was right. Her choice outfit was a old school uniform Kaedé once showed the spirit in the folds of her collect that it took a liking to. As Kaedé rose the Spirit waved happily before jumping and floating in the air beside Kaedé. A light sigh as the voices shut off in Kaedé's head for the time being.

​

”Hi-hi~ Pleasure to be summoned and seen this time around.~”

_____Phanta’s lips did not seem to move at the exact time the girl spoke but as Kaedé started to walk off she drifted close behind the girl wrapping her arms around Kaedé's neck as if hitching a ride on the girl. Kaedé herself simply reaching to hold the right hand of the spirit as she blushed lightly. And try to help make up for lost time. If any tried to touch Phanta they would simply phase through the girl, while Kaedé could make her appear to everyone she was still far from good with the magic and the drain was nothing to laugh at either.

”So… Mizuki you slept with Kaedé yet?”

_____Kaedé froze as the spirit moved to sit on the air behind her summoner and just looked at Mizuki with curious eyes. Of all the things Kaedé did not want the stupid spirit to talk about it chose the worst one. Sighing lightly as Kaedé just tried to keep moving, the ghost like girl fumbling on the air before drifting after Kaedé.

”Pay her no mind at all, Just summoned her to stop the other spirit’s voices from slamming my skull around like a soccer ball.”

”I feel so used.~ Oh is me.~ The mage I sought only sees me as a tool to shut the others up… Kind of makes me special also, still love you hot mortal.~”
@Zelrius | @Ueno Mizuki

 

Zelrius took a deep breath, calming himself a little. He silently explained that he needed to maybe tone down the bullshittery a little. Mizuki seemed to be getting skeptical, and for one or maybe two big reasons Zelrius couldnt bring himself to maybe disappoint the dual-eye coloured Felis. So, with that thought, he promised to calm down with the random lying, especially since it served no purpose anymore. Mizuki and Kaede had agreed to help. Well, sorta.

Mizuki had stopped by Kaede, murmuring to her words he could barely hear. Zelrius himself hearing no footsteps following behind him, the man did stop and spin around to gaze upon the pair for a moment. There was a mix of impatience, and semi-compassion. He wanted to go and get this task done, and was annoyed that this was taking up some of his time, but also understood that Kaede probably didnt plan to be on the move so quickly again. He couldn't decide which emotion he'd let fester, instead letting them battle in his ever so indecisive mind.

Kaede didn't exactly agree, It was more like not objecting. Zelrius had the thought that silence and co-action is technically agreeance, right? She also wasn't right of mind, though he already made his displeasure of this heard and decided to take her words at face value; Kaede had said she'd be fine once the action started, and so he had no further objections. Instead, taking a moment to come up with some witty quips to poke fun at her if that statement proved to be false. Though the early words in the sentence arent what caught his full attention; it was her mentioning another name. The golden haired man raised an eye brow at her at the mention of Phanta. In instant response, he spoke up "Another person? Hopefully right of mind..." The last bit of his words trailing off in baited breath, quietly hoping to himself that maybe someone else would join and help with the endeavor. He didn't count on it, but a man can dream, no?

Zelrius continued to wait for her to begin to move away from the Tavern, his foot beginning to unconsciously tap at the ground as a way of slowly dispelling his contempt for the situation at hand. Though to no avail, she kept going on about Magic and someone named Phanta, of which he didn't see a single person in the area reacting to the name. He had thought that maybe she had drank too much, and was sent into hallucinations, moving back toward the pair and speaking quietly toward Mizuki. "Maybe we should leave her?" Though as soon as those words left his mouth, she began chanting in a sort of psuedo-latin language, common among RPGs for casting magic.

What followed next caused Zelrius to reiterate the same reaction he had had when gazing at Mizuki's eyes, though more extreme. He took a step back in disbelief, unwilling to comprehend the extent magic had on this world. It seemed more powerful than he had anticipated, conjuring spirits with minds of their own? Wildly beyond his dreams. The spectre said some words, of which Zelrius heard, but did not process. He was awestricken to an extent, taken aback by the capabilities of Terrasphere and its mechanics.

Taking a moment to once again compose himself, his eyes closing as before and then opening a moment later to look at Kaede, unsure of exactly what to say, and just letting his thought flow from his voice. "No mind? How am I supposed to easily dismiss a Spectre who speaks like that. Its.." Unsettling was the word he was looking for, but even the man thought that was a bit too rude to say, especially in the presence of something he had only just met. He wasn't the type to be so blatantly rude, those his patience wore down moment by moment.

"Nevermind, are you good now? Can we get a move on?"

He spun back around looking down the westward road. Squinting ever slightly to try and get a spot on any nearby Goblins. So far, no sign. His blue eyes looked around a bit more, the man himself not being very thrilled about this taking much longer than it needs to, the pace at which they were moving consuming quite a bit of time. We'll be at this all day if we don't hurry up... he thought to himself, praying without word or move that they could get onto the task at hand.

@Ueno Mizuki @Kaede Hoshi

 

Mizuki was glad that Kaede still had the spirit to keep going, but once again she heard that name Phanta without being able to place it to anyone. This time Kaede also mentioned illusion magic, so there was some form of magic involved...? Or was Kaede just seeing things because she hadn't been too careful with her liquor. Mizuki couldn't tell for now, so instead she just nodded and let Kaede do as she wished. However the Felis kept close to Kaede, ready to offer her support if the woman decided she didn't want to wobble as much, and even more ready to catch Kaede if the woman was too stubborn to accept that she needed the support and ended up falling over because of it. Even with Kaede being as upbeat as always Mizuki wasn't going to stop worrying about her, not as long as she wasn't steady on her feet.

As for Zelrius, Mizuki wasn't entirely sure what to think about him. He seemed like a nice guy, or at least someone who realized that the goblins were going to be an issue and decided it was better to try and do something about them before they became a legitimate issue. Overall she didn't really have reason to think anything else of him, especially since she'd only known him for all of five minutes. However at the same time he didn't seem to be too interested in socializing, and from what she could his only real opinion of Kaede so far was just annoyance, since she was drunk and mumbling on about a person neither he nor Mizuki could actually find. As appropriate as that disapproval might be Mizuki was hoping that he'd change his mind once Kaede got a grip and showed off her abilities in the field.

"I don't mind if you want to keep going Kaede but I'd like to know more about this Phanta person you keep talking about... Since I can't actually see her anywhere."

It was a bit blunt to just put it like that, but Mizuki was getting the feeling that the sooner she got to the bottom of this the better it would be. Zelrius didn't look amused about the whole issue, so maybe if Mizuki got Kaede to elaborate it would help with the cooperation as well. With that said, when Zelrius made the comment about Phanta hopefully being sound of mind Mizuki shot a glare at him, even if it was a mild one because she was more busy with Kaede right now.

Unfortunately it looked like Kaede wasn't really in the situation to listen and explain, as she was still struggling to make her way forward. Mizuki frowned as her concern remained, and in fact it slightly grew as Kaede's situation only seemed to worsen until the woman mumbled something about magic and came to a full halt. Mizuki also came to a halt, shaking her head as Zelrius suggested leaving Kaede behind. If Kaede wanted to come along then Mizuki believed that Kaede knew what she was doing, and she found it easier to keep an eye on Kaede if the woman was actually close by. Before she could explain to Zelrius further Kaede began to chant something, leaving Mizuki curious about what exactly she was doing. She silently watched her friend as the magic seemed to reach its peak, nearly taking a step backwards when the black void appeared between Kaede's hands and something came out. Since Kaede seemed to be summoning it intentionally she didn't actually fear it too much, but if it hadn't been intentional Mizuki would have grabbed Kaede and ran away, pulling Zelrius along as well if necessary.

Once the actual figure appeared Mizuki blinked, unsure of how to react. It was a relatively young girl with chocolate skin, strange white hair that didn't seem to obey the rules about what hair should be doing and black eyes with yellow irises, which really sounded like bad news. The stranger thing, however, was the outfit it was wearing, since Mizuki wasn't sure why it would be wearing that. Best she could tell it was some kind of creature from this world, so why would it be wearing a school uniform? Mizuki shook her head, noticing that Zelrius was a bit more shocked and placing a hand on his shoulder to help him regain his focus before she turned back to the new figure.

"So I take it you're Phanta? I have to admit, it's actually good to see you... I was worried that Kaede was seeing things which weren't there." Of course Kaede had mentioned illusions but Mizuki didn't think this was an illusion, unless Kaede was putting some real effort into going meta with the whole illusion thing. "I'd like to know more about you and how you came in contact with Kaede while we walk."

She watched how this figure didn't seem to completely comply with the rules of this world either, as the movements of her mouth didn't match the words she said, and how she floated without any care instead of even having to give the semblance of flight. It wasn't like flight at all: she simply decided that she wanted to be in the air in a certain spot so she was there. The fact that she could interact with objects (or at least Kaede) while completely ignoring gravity was also confusing, but Mizuki just kept walking next to Kaede, motioning for Zelrius to join them since Kaede seemed to be doing better now that she had summoned Phanta.

"U-uhm... what?" Before Mizuki could ask the questions she wanted to ask she was caught flatfooted as Phanta asked a question first, a question which made Mizuki's cheeks flood red and her tail swish from side to side, heterochromatic eyes flashing over to Kaede before returning to Phanta, the Felis coughing and trying to regain her composure. "N-no, I mean, we sleep in the same room b-but we haven't..." She didn't want to explain much more, especially since it seemed Zelrius was listening as well and since he had already been annoyed at their frivolous behaviour she didn't want to annoy him with trivia about hers and Kaede's sex life either.

"Let's keep moving yes... But as I understand it, you're somehow helping Kaede block out other spirits? Can you tell me how Kaede came into contact with spirits in the first place? I don't remember her having that ability before..." Mizuki lowered her voice, not wanting Zelrius to hear what she was saying next because she thought it was more private information. "Is it related to how her appearance changed?" She looked at Kaede as she asked that question, because honestly she wouldn't mind hearing the answer from Kaede as well. Also, it was rather rude to ask too many questions about somebody while they were present and listening.
@Zelrius @Kaede Hoshi

 

”You totally should do it next time, I think you would make the cutest couple.~ As for how Kaedé got the ability or curse as I would call it to deal with spirits happened after she died in game. The others… err how to say it. The distance between the plains they exist in and this realm are at different distance with a sort of scramble zone between them. SO, them trying to contact Kaedé gets all jumbled and mostly hits her as loud odd sounds. Oh like the one from the realm where a lot of dead things are god does that one talk loud and with how far apart it just about causes Kaedé massive headaches.”

_____Kaedé sighed lightly as she looked over to the spirit. There was no real point trying to stop the girl from ranting on as she was the worst of the group with how much she talked. The only difference had to be the fact that like Phanta said, the realm she came from was closest so her voice came clear and not like the others. Holding her head for a few moments as the voices tried to shout out again before Phanta tapped Kaedé's head and the shut off again.

”By having one of us out and nearby I can focus the chatter to elsewhere, Sure it only makes it take some time before it crashes back at Kaedé but lets her get some peace and quiet until she gets better at listening to the voices and picking them out.”

”In other words she is the warden for the prisoners in my head. Hits the cage to shut them up for a bit before they get louder when she leaves. Let’s get this done quickly so I don’t run out of energy and fall over in battle.”

_____Kaedé would clench her hand to open her UI and get out her black katana. It was different from her last weapon but from the glow in Kaedé's eyes it seemed she was far more used to this then the Naginata she had before. Phanta moved back to hanging from Kaedé slowly turning into a white cloak, an illusion forcing herself into a different form, mostly to ease the energy burn on Kaedé, and because she was sleepy now.

”Sorry… Phanta stirs trouble a lot… if she is the first spirit to reach me I just hope the others aren't as bad or worse than her…”

_____Phanta would laugh a bit at the comment from Kaedé as the girl tried to inspect her blade as they walked. Kaedé's face was a light crimson but she hoped her hair and bangs could hide that from the others. She did not like what Phanta had said and was praying the topic would drop before it got her more nervous. Slashing her weapon with her right hand carefully to check the weight as usual before setting it against her side and moving the cloak to cover it as she walked.
@Zelrius | @Ueno Mizuki

 

Zelrius had no idea what to say. He hadn't expected this at all. That caught him off guard more than anything. See, he had a rule of thumb that he lived by. It generally went a little something like this; Zelrius would say one thing, which was generally contradictory to what he expected a certain person to do. That way, no matter what action that person took, Zelrius 'won' in the end. You either did as he said, or did as he expected, often times being well prepared for both outcomes. And he'd try to make the statements and expectations broad enough that technically anything could fall into one or the other. Even though he got increasingly bad at the game, especially without the presence of that woman who the man had spent so many hours with, Zelrius still tried to play it at every turn anyway.

However, he had no time to say any statement, and certainly never in his wildest dreams did he expect this. Terrasphere was a fantastical world, one that seemed to constantly defy what the man knew about RPGs, which to some, would be a turn off. But it got the golden haired man going in more than one way. It was exactly what he wanted from this game so far; a distraction. His mind was always ticking and gearing for new ideas, new plans. He had so many goals and all the time in the world to complete them, yet he was impatient and tried to hurry everything along. This was on another level; the golden haired man tried, in his mind, to comprehend exactly what just happened there, and the implications of Phanta, a million questions running through his head.

On one hand, it was well that Kaede wasn't just losing her knockers and clogging the cogging, for turn of phrase. On the other, this seemed to create a whole new list of problems. The... Phantasm - He stopped his thoughts there to grin for a second, proud himself for figuring that one out; the correlation of those two names. Phanta and Phantasm. Though his pride seeped away as he echoed those two words side by side, now disappointed that he hadn't thought of it sooner. Was curious about a few things, of which Zelrius quite honestly expected no less from a ghost of a heavy drinking, young woman. While the man was never quite a fan of such things, he understood that everyone is different and is free to do what they want.

Mizuki's response was that of the expected breed. She dodged the question, not outright answering yes or no, though a No was implied, and a 'it could happen' being left open. Once upon a time, a slightly younger and more carefree Zelrius might have taken the moment to stop and tease her about it. Joining in on the Phantasm's game in an effort to make the pair of girls slightly uncomfortable, all in good friendly fun. But fast forward to the current attitude and mindset the man held; he couldn't bring himself to do it. Though the words of witty remarks and playful teasing hung at the end of his mind, he couldn't bring himself to care enough to say anything. Its not like he exactly thought he'd ever see these two again, adding on top the fact that he certainly didn't want to foster anything different between him and any of the others. What an insult that'd be to her memory, he thought to himself, a way to dismiss those previous thoughts, and now focus on the conversation.

He was still interested in Mizuki's answers to Phanta's questions, but his expression would not show it, and he made no remarks regarding it. The only telling sign begin that his foot stopped tapping in anticipation, now the man was entirely quiet; just listening. Maybe it was rude to do so, but Zelrius had justified it in his own mind that he was just as much part of the conversation as they all were, and therefore, it wasn't eavesdropping. Though he might be wrong in that assumption, who was going to stop him, and how? Those things he didn't concern himself with, simply answering to himself quite arrogantly; No one, and they can't.

Though the light-perversion seemed to be quickly dropped by Mizuki, a response Zelrius had not doubted was coming. Though her following question now did truly pique his interest, glancing between the trio of them for the answer on how Kaede can talk to Spirits. That brought him back to his thoughts on the implications of the Phantasm, his own voice speaking out. "So, are you like an NPC? Coded mind and personality, made up memories?" He stopped, letting out a long breath. "I suppose if you were, you wouldn't know what any of that meant. Let me retry; Are you more like us 'Adventurers' or more like the Locals? Prehaps somewhere inbetween?"

The man had other questions buzzing, but would be polite and allow for her to answer one or two questions at a time. In the mean time, Zelrius decided that the group could chitchat and move along the road at the same time, now that it seemed Kaede was semi-functional again. His ears slightly lifted in irritation to Phanta's voice again, having a natural affinity against it for one reason or another. He listened for a moment, not quite fully understanding the situation, and without a second thought let another question spill out. "Ah, died recently? Kaede, what to? How did spirits get involved following a death? Where does the Chatter go when not in her head?" He suddenly stopped there, realizing what was meant to only be one or two questions turn into a few more, his mind racing with the thirst for understanding not only the situation but the game. So much so, that he wasn't exactly looking for Goblins right now, clearly way more interested in Phanta and her answers than he was at the task they set out to do.

 

Mizuki face was red as she listened to the strange dark girl that was now floating through the air after Kaede, the tip of the Felis's tail quickly moving from side to side as her ears were pointing straight up and she was walking a bit rigidly, trying to figure out what to say to such blunt words. It was very fortunate that Phanta continued talking about other matters right after she finished telling Mizuki and Kaede to sleep together, so Mizuki could focus on something else and didn't actually have to give an answer. Although the other topic of conversation had Mizuki's ears go stiff for a different reason... "Kaede, you died?" She exclaimed before realizing that may not be the best thing to say. Considering how Kaede had been more subdued since then it couldn't have been a pleasant sensation. Hell, even if Kaede's behaviour hadn't changed Mizuki would still have thought it impolite to say that since you didn't need evidence to realize that dying and reviving couldn't be the most pleasant of experiences. "I mean, I'm sorry for asking that." If Zelrius wasn't present Mizuki might have tried to cheer Kaede up a bit, but she didn't think Kaede would appreciate her going to deep into private matters with someone they didn't know well close enough to listen.

Instead she just tried her best to understand what Phanta had to say. According to the spirit girl dying had resulted in Kaede getting in contact with a whole bunch of spirits from other realms, although Mizuki assumed that those spirits weren't of the dead type. There was the whole concept of there being souls and spirits, which included spirits which were basically natural spirits, for whom being a spirit was as natural as it was for a human to be alive and healthy. "I see... So the reason why Kaede is having trouble is because of all those spirits trying to contact her even though the distance between the realms is making that difficult?" Mizuki shot Kaede a sympathetic glance. She couldn't really do anything but accept the whole idea of realms and the like at face value, at least not if she didn't want to bring the entire conversation to a grinding halt. Of course the entire conversation was just strange if it had occurred on Earth, but you had to learn to accept that the rules of Earth weren't universally applicable if you wanted to keep up in a virtual world such as Terrasphere.

"I hope it doesn't take too long before she learns how to manage the voices better then. I don't like seeing her troubled like this. Of course this also means I'm very grateful for you helping her out. And of course we'll try to finish this quickly then. If you want to conserve energy I can carry... you..." Mizuki remembered Phanta's question and her cheeks went crimson again before she shook her head. "I mean, uhm... Yeah, let's just try to focus on getting this done quickly!" She was getting angry, at herself mostly for how she was reacting to all of this. She really had to get a better grip, but she kept losing her balance when faced with such bluntness that she never had to deal with back on Earth. "It's goblins so it shouldn't be difficult. Just find them, beat them up, and we can go back. Simple."

She began to scout their surroundings for goblins, using her investigation mode to look for signs of the little buggers having gone past here. That way she could try to ignore the implications that had been made today, and hopefully Phanta would also stop making more implications if it became clear that the Felis was busy finding the goblins. The only issue was that Zelrius was also present, and that the man didn't seem to share Mizuki's embarrassment or desire to just keep moving as he began to ask the spirit questions. The first question was a bit of a strange one, although now that Zelrius mentioned it Mizuki did realize that it actually was just as interesting a question as it was strange. She had come to just treat the NPCs as people and creatures, different from PCs but still in their own way people. She didn't treat someone different or lesser for being an NPC, she just refrained from saying things which only someone from Earth would understand. However Phanta and those spirits were different from most of the creatures in Terrasphere, so did they follow the same rules as the humans and the monsters or were they more aware of the world they lived in? Mizuki kept looking around, but she was curious how Phanta would answer.

Although when Zelrius began to ask about Kaede's death Mizuki shot him a glare. She didn't want to bother Kaede with it, and she didn't want anyone else to bother her with it either. Kaede had been fierce and strong enough to charge straight into a whole group of bandits to protect others, so she didn't need coddling, but given how dying seemed to have changed the girl Mizuki couldn't imagine that she'd appreciate someone bringing it up again. Mizuki herself had made that same mistake just now, sure, but once should be enough for the both of them. "Zel, I don't think it's polite to ask someone about that kind of thing." She said with a rather tense tone of voice, trying her best to get the message across as strongly as she could without sounding too hostile or protective. "Shall we just do as Kaede suggested and try to finish this as quickly as possible? If keeping Phanta out to help with the white noise drains her energy we shouldn't waste time asking Phanta questions." Her expression was one of annoyance even as her cheeks were still red, as Mizuki was discovering that it was quite difficult to ignore certain things. It was like trying not to think of pink elephants with wings after just being told not to think about them. How were you supposed to get them out of your head?
@Zelrius @Kaede Hoshi

 

Kaedé Hoshi

85 HP

MAX HP

60 EN

MAX EN

_____Kaedé was about to start replying to the questions asked in place of Phanta before she got a very rude call to action. A small object whistled through the air until it lodged itself into Kaedé's shoulder, this was not before cutting the girl’s hand as she tried to catch it out of the air before it could harm her. Staggering back as she looked to the crudely made arrow and ripped it out with a very loud growl in the direction of her attacker. Setting in the bushes was five goblins now all drawing arrows back and aimed at the three targets.

”FUCK!”

_____Kaedé would not be given much choice, the group was in a bad spot to be dealing with a firing line and as much as she disliked the idea it was her best choice. Frame moving as quickly as she could as each goblin let the arrows sail. Her arms reaching out as Kaedé stood before the other two not fully worrying for her own safety as she took three of the arrows and the other two sailed to either side of her frame. A slight kneel was all Kaedé could afford to take time to do before getting back on her feet while biting her lip.

Enemy approach: x5 goblin archers​

_____Two of the arrows only seemed to have grazed Kaedé's stomach but the third looked dug into her skin and muscle as Kaedé reached for her weapon and rushed forward as best she could not to agitate her wounds as much anyways. Her speed was her best trait as she likely arrived far sooner than the others and loomed over the first goblin struggling to get another arrow into the bow at the sight of the distance getting closed so soon.

_____Kaedé's hands moved as her weapon followed, blade aiming downward as she thrust it into the goblin’s skull and twisted to ensure the blow was solid and enough to make her point. What Kaedé did not fully consider was the fact her actions would cause the goblins to scramble away, but also prevent the group from getting them all in one strike without catching Kaedé in the blast. It was likely something she would be getting lectured for later but for the moment her only focus was stopping the goblin’s before they caused trouble for the people behind her.

_____Boot slamming against the corpse of the first goblin as she crudely ripped her weapon free and took a mental note to stop trying to impale with a katana, the weapon was more suited for slashing and it was something Kaedé always forgot. Slashing the weapon at the air and spinning her wrist to spin her blade around before crouching down and tracing index and middle finger along the back of the weapon and rushing after the farthest goblin.

_____Kaedé trusted the two with the slower targets as she would aim any who got a bit too far from the group or out of range from where the other two had last been seen as far as Kaedé knew about. Not taking long to arrive behind her next target as Kaedé swung her weapon upward while she herself rose from the low centered run. The blade’s natural sharpness and speed of Kaedé's moment allowing her to apply a clean cut along the Goblin’s left side of his neck leaving him to bleed out and no traces of blood on her weapon.

_____Turning back to the group as Kaedé wondered if she really should be burning her speed and energy as carelessly as she once did. Unlike before she was having to upkeep her magic to make sure she would not be crippled to the group that needed her right now. Spinning her weapon slowly as Kaedé ran back, not so much going full speed but conserving her energy as best as she could.

”I might not be the best upstairs right now but I’m still quick on my feet and able to hunt down something I can still see with ease. Now let’s find the rest of these guys, archers always have company… common rule of thumb anyways…”
@Zelrius | @Ueno Mizuki

 

He found Mizuki’s tenseness amusing. It was obvious that Phanta’s questions were getting to her, and for somereason, Zelrius found that entertaining. Though, his expression remained flat and unturning, with only a small smile peeking at his lips. That was something he’d keep in his back pocket. Should Miss Mizuki here get rowdy, not that Zelrius saw her as the controversial type, but just in case she did, he’d simply bring this up, as a way to hopefully diffuse any situation. However, he now had to come up with something to hold over Kaede. She seemed largely unbothered by a lot of things, and he clearly couldn’t go into the realms of the lewd; she seemed quite accustomed to deflating those types of comments and not letting them bother her. Probably a skill acquired from having voices such as Phanta’s always echoing things of such sort in her head. He gave it some thought, always being pulled back to the world at hand by the voices of his compatriots.


The golden haired man couldn’t help but feel slightly bad. He had the constant feeling that his presence was obstructing some friendly terms between the two. This exemplified by the fact that the Felis inquired about her death, and then pretty much instantly back pedaled with a flat response of compassion. He didn’t know her well, and this could have just as easily been just the way the girl was. This was a likely answer, since he himself hadn’t yet witnessed any sort of extra emotion from her, other than the embarrassment from Phanta’s own questions. Other than that, he felt tense around her and Kaede. New people were always awkward for the man, and even more so considering the topics and situations discussed thus far. Another question came from Mizuki’s voice, and he craned his head to the side, his gaze shifting from one to another to listen to the growing conversation. Though it became clear that it was her just trying to better understand by saying it out loud, rather than asking a real question. Once again, the awkwardness rushed forward between the looks, causing him to look away and head up the road.


The pair seemed to exchange more sympathies and words. Something he had no more part in, having nothing in common with the two other than what they intended to do with the Goblins. That was funny, all this talk of Goblins, and so far, not one had been seen. That boiled his blood a little, his impatience returning for a moment, only subsiding when he realized it didn’t exactly have much else to do today, and he himself was determined to stay focused on the objective until it was complete. Even if that took many hours in the night. Worst case scenario, he’d have to call in sick for work the next day. That wasn’t that uncommon of a solution to his lack of time, though it was obvious that his bosses at the part-time job he worked at were getting quite frustrated with willingness to play that card left and right. He was safe only in the fact that their team was already small, but also equally stressed that it meant his job was at stake the instant a new teenager or desperate young adult applied. A problem he’d worry about later; Remembering that coming to Terrashpere was his way of escaping such things in the world.


Zelrius let out a humoured huff of air in exasperation and amusement of the comment about Mizuki carrying Kaede. “Don’t go Carrying people. We need you playing at your best too.” The golden haired man met this jokingly, and it had just come out more abrasive and commandlike than he had wished it had, though he didn’t notice, knowing only his intentions, and not the real result.


He awaited the answers from the Phantasm, Though it seemed they’d never come. Both Kaede and Phanta seemed on edge almost immediately following the banter. Zelrius instinctively drew his two sabres. They were nothing special, just two slightly curved, single-edged blades. Ideal for speed and slashing, perfect for what the man was accustomed to. Though, he would find himself quite disappointed as Kaede quickly disavowed the present Goblin Archers. Still, he brows furrowed, and he while he sheathed one weapon, he kept the one in his left hand drawn, that being the arm he was dominate with. He made each step deliberate and cautious now. If there was any kind of mood Zelrius excelled in, it was this one. Though the pressure was light, to him, pressure was a driving force to his actions. He glanced back to the pair, nodding and moving forward.


Within moments of doing so, Kaede’s inference came true; There was a small goblin holding a dagger cowering under a bush. He was disappointed, lowering his weapon but slowly and only to his side. For a moment he stared at it, and felt moderate pity. The monsters and people of this world were so lifelike; the Goblin reminding him of a small child. It had a tiny, slender frame, and what Zelrius considered a dagger, was almost a long sword by the Goblin’s own standards. This wasn’t true for all goblins, just this one in particular. He wondered if there was a story behind this creature, why it was afraid to make a move, and why one of the smaller ones he had ever seen was considered a “Warrior.”


That string of thoughts was quickly broken but its lunge forward, a move Zelrius half expected, just not with such speed. His instant reaction was a kick upward, easily knocking the weapon out of its hand and then jabbing his blade into it. He sighed, disappointment and pity now entering into his mood with the mix of other emotions, This certainly was a wild day by Zel’s own standards.


The other bushes began to rustle, and the man quickly backed up into the others, making no comment on that last turn of events as more Goblins approached now. “Careful, more now,” was all he said in warning, though in vain, as it was obvious what was happening.

 

For a moment, Mizuki felt like a horrible person. This was the moment that she felt a glimpse of relief when the opportunity for more embarrassing questions was shot down by an incoming arrow. The horrible feeling came from the fact that she just felt relief at no longer having to deal with potentially awkward questions at the expense of Kaede, as the arrow embedded itself in the girl's shoulder.

She got over that horrible feeling by the realization that those things weren't actually related, and that she just had been waiting for any form of interruption and it was just bad luck that said interruption happened to be Kaede getting shot by an arrow. Still not the best thing to do, but it wasn't like she had been wishing for Kaede to get shot. She was also helped by the realization that they were getting shot at, so if she wasted time feeling horrible they'd get shot some more and she'd just feel even worse.

So with all that said, Mizuki quickly turned towards the direction from which the arrow came, and saw the five goblins at the same time as Kaede did. The Felis growled, lowering her body until the tips of her fingers were touching the ground, but before she could charge Kaede suddenly was in front of her and Zelrius. Mizuki's eyes widened as Kaede acted as a human shield for the two of them, finding the sight of the arrow grazing and hitting Kaede one of her newest most unpleasant sights. Her reaction was to growl loudly and not waste any more time, charging the remaining goblins in the time that Kaede took to recover from being shot.

She wasn't as fast as Kaede, but she still covered the ground at high speed as she ran on all fours. While Kaede dashed towards the faster three goblins Mizuki charged straight into one of the slower ones, barely slowing down as she ran past it with her fist at the ready so it smashed into the goblin's face with a loud crunch. Coming to a halt the goblin flew a bit farther as all the momentum from Mizuki's dash got transferred into the goblin's skull.

Mizuki herself didn't waste any time to charge towards the last remaining goblin as well, who was trying to pull the string of its bow while running away at the same time. The Felis was quite angry at this point at the goblins, having seen them shoot Kaede four times, so she wasn't going to have any of that. The clumsy shot launched by the goblin in a last ditch attempt to get rid of the Felis coming at it with a fury was dodged, and then Mizuki had the little wretch by the throat and slammed it against the ground, followed by smashing her other fist against its forehead twice. Goblins might be tricky and fast creatures, but they weren't known for their toughness, so smashing their skulls was easy with the studded gloves Mizuki was using.

She ran back to the other two, at least in time to see Zelrius dispose of a small goblin who had tried to charge him with a dagger. She looked at Kaede with worry, but it looked like the woman was still doing fine. Adventurers were supposed to be tough after all, so regardless of what other strange things this world had it seemed to be safe to assume that it would take more than an arrow or two to really kill a player.

However both Zelrius and Kaede noted that there were more goblins coming, so Mizuki turned back around as she caught the sound of the bushes rustling. Activating her investigation mode Mizuki got ready for the actual fight, since the attack before was more a form of stress relief since archer goblins weren't much of an opponent once they were exposed. Her eyes glowing, one golden and one bright blue. Mizuki dug her fingers into the ground as the goblins began to appear.

It seemed like the archer goblins they had already taken care of where the only ones in the group, most likely meant to cripple the three of them before the rest of the goblins charged in and finished the job. Either way, there weren't any archers left, instead the goblins were carrying an assortment of daggers, garden hoes, rakes, wood axes and the occasional actual sword. It seemed they really relied on stealing from villagers for their equipment, and even then they were rather unlucky since most of the really big equipment wasn't actually suited for their small stature. However they still were all armed, there was a whole bunch of them, and the tools they had stolen to use as weapons were still sharp and dangerous.

"I'll draw their attention, you strike them down."

Mizuki checked the balance on all fours, then dashed forward towards one of the goblins who was a bit away from the others. Not much, but enough. Charging straight at it she waited until it seemed ready to attack her before suddenly swerving, hands and feet kicking up sand and pebbles before suddenly she was running past all the goblins, who all collectively turned to try and get a hit in. Thankfully Mizuki was fast enough that she outran them all, turning around to face the goblins and growling, tail high.

The goblins, meanwhile, seemed to have forgotten about Zelrius and Kaede, which was exactly what Mizuki had been planning for. By moving so close to them and making them just miss, followed by her challenging growling and posture, she had made them all focus on her, the goblins spreading out to try and encircle her while Mizuki walked backwards, most of the goblins now facing away from Kaede and Zelrius so the two of them would have an easy time attacking them. Because Mizuki used her own body instead of a weapon her range was short, and she wasn't quite confident enough that she'd actually fight a whole group when they were ready and waiting for her. Instead she'd use her speed to act as a distraction, and attack the goblins once they were in disarray from the assault performed by the other two.

 

Kaedé Hoshi

80 HP

MAX HP

0 EN

MAX EN

_____Kaedé was not a fan of using someone else as a decoy, even if it was only for a few moments the risk that one person was under was not something Kaedé favored doing to even people she hated. Hands moving to rip the lodged in arrow out of her stomach with a pained groan before she tossed the arrow aside and spun her weapon to stab it into the earth and took one knee facing the group of goblins trying to get at Mizuki. ’Don’t get carried away…’ - ’I’ll try not to, but worry more for yourself hot mortal.’ Kaedé would grin after the small chat in her head before chanting.

'Fallunt oculi debiles bestoe casus inferioribus pernici tollere propter fructum et iudicii.’

_____The chant caused the cloak around Kaedé to drift off into the air and start to expand, however at the same time seemed to grow harder to see as it covered the area around the goblins stopping short of Mizuki. A few seconds would pass before the cloak vanished entirely and the goblin’s all seemed to be under some sort of spell to make them drop their weapons and relax. If either looked to Kaedé she would look drained almost entirely as her hands shaking at the hilt of her weapon.

”I can only do this so long… They won’t move or fight back so just try not to make it painful for them… I’ve got about two minutes at most of this…”

_____Kaedé spoke in mostly hushed tone, her focus mostly on holding each of the goblins in the illusion of a peaceful field or relaxing place and not much able to move to help the others out with stopping the group or try to have the illusion lead them away. That was the moment Kaedé's warning from Phanta struck her hard as the arrows had, the voices from the other spirits starting to shout out again causing Kaedé to close her eyes shut as hard as she could and try to numb the voices. After only a minute she would collapse, her energy drained to the last trying to be helpful, even if some of the goblins still stood they would start to regain focus. Kaedé only hoped she was able to give them enough time to finish things without anyone getting harmed.
@Zelrius | @Ueno Mizuki