Mahou ♥ Mission - IC

[Astoria]

"You too," Nephenee fired back to Minte. But it appeared that they weren't out of the ballpark yet; the sounds of ominous chanting led the shield-wielding girl to believe that an area-of-effect magic attack was imminent. Clearly, her knife-wielding counterpart thought similarly, charging ahead. Intent on covering their vanguard, she followed in with Minte, projecting some of her shielding ability to protect the mahou as she went directly into the fray.

"I've got you covered!"

Holding off on the immediate perimeter of this skirmish, she held off an attack as Minte had cautioned. The chances of a spread attack had too high of a chance of hitting her ally, so instead, she circled around to flank them at melee range. Making sure to stay within the ten to fifteen meter mark to maintain her shield projection on Minte, she closed in on a distracted goblin. She might not have a good sword-arm but the weapon was as sharp as ever, even if only normally used as a defensive, perimeter weapon.

Hopefully they found the chanter before they could fire off their attack.

 

[Asuras]

Health: 4/4| Sanity: 95% | Anger: 0%
Health: 5/5| Sanity: 95% | Anger: 0% Diverted Shields(-1D,-1MD)	Health: 5/5| Sanity: 80% | Anger: 0% Aegis Charges 1, Aegis (+1D,+1MD)	Health: 4/4| Sanity: 80% | Anger: 0%	Health: 3/3| Sanity: 95% | Anger: 0% Haste(+1AG,+1Dodge,-1AW), Diverted Shields(+1D,+1MD)
		Arina Samala
Health: 3/3| Sanity: 70% | Anger: 0%	Health: 5/5| Sanity: 90% | Anger: 0%	Health: 4/4| Sanity: 95% | Anger: 0%

---

Site of the carriage wreck​

As the girls charged further into the fog, the figures of goblin ranks had become more apparent. The squat, ugly, and chattering things danced about, retreating into the shadows or dashing across the girl's field of vision, occasionally throwing whatever they could get their hands on. The tiny rocks they had found frequently found their marks, but their tiny size failed to harm the girls, save maybe their pride.

As Minte and Nephenee distanced from the group, the sounds of chanting had become clearer and clearer until, at last, they found its source. A vaguely taller goblin with gangly arms and a headdress made of makeshift leather and crow feathers stood amidst a crowd of goblins. As Nephenee struck out at a goblin nearby with her sword, the creature yelped and dodged just out of the way of her sword, fleeing into the mist.

The goblin mage, as they assumed he was, stopped his spell, gripping his short staff tightly and hissing before speaking up in a mixture of squeaking and growling. "Seize them!" As the leader cried out, a series of explosions rang out around him and his entourage. Lyriel's fireballs, being well-placed, detonated in their faces, instantly killing some and setting fire to the rest.

The goblin leader rolled upon the ground after having had his chest set briefly on fire, standing up with shaky legs after the ordeal. Pressing against his singed torso, he dropped his staff and fell to his knees, signalling that he had given up. The crowd of goblins around them had noticed the cue and quickly disappeared further into the fog, never to be seen again.

Sochi quickly caught up to the girls further in the fog, stopping short and holstering her spear after noticing the fight had ended. "Good work ladies," she stated, approaching the leftover goblin. With a swift slap, she flung the gobin's headdress from his cranium and grasped at his neck, bringing him forward.

"That carriage," she pointed back, "Where did the riders go?" The goblin attempted shake its head, finding difficulty to do so under her iron grip.

"I know not. Riders flee after rock magic. Go into fog. Get away from us," it explained in broken English. With a flick, she flung the goblin a few feet away, prompting it to scamper off into the fog. Turning to the party, she brought up yet another decision for them to make.

"We've got no leads, which means it's left up to guesswork where our predecessors headed off to."

---

Event Results:

Minte - Gained +1 Defense and +1 Magic Defense from Nephenee's Diverted Shields.
Nephenee - Failed to strike goblin. Lost -1 Defense and -1 Magic Defense after casting Diverted Shields.
Homura - No actions taken.
Selene - No actions taken.
Arina - Began casting Radiant Annihilation.
Gabriela - No actions taken.
Lyriel - Landed a Fireball on the goblin group surrounding the goblin chanter. Killed 3, set fire to 2. Damaged goblin leader for 1 damage.
Sochi - No actions taken.

 

[Zombehs]

Minte

---

Neph's assistance wasn't unwelcome and Minte grinned viciously, baring teeth, as she felt a layer of energy settle over her. The goblins scattered after the gruesome death of one of their own and Minte clicked her tongue as she swatted pebbles and rocks out of the air around her. A good fight was one thing, but chasing down and slaughtering these near helpless creatures was another. The mage on the other hand looked like a perfect target and Minte dropped down low in preparation to throw herself at the creature.

Yet before she could do so a number of detonations razed the area around the mage with bursts of fire. Her posture relaxed a bit and she slowly stood up to full height as the larger goblin rolled around in the mud to try and put the flames out. The chattering around them hadn't quite died down, but were growing distant by the moment, so she glanced backwards. Noticing Sochi's approach, Minte flicked her weapon a few times to clear it of any residue before sheathing it. She meandered about and kept an eye out just in case the commotion had drawn the attention of some more dangerous beasts. Their leader's brief conversation with the creature didn't escape her ears though, and Minte clicked her tongue at the situation that had been revealed to the group.

They couldn't have been more than a few hours from the city, but the expedition a week ago had been forced to scatter after only this far? Not to mention the death of one of their own so quickly… Thinking about it made Minte bow her head in frustration as a tired sigh escaped her lips, though she tried to keep the reaction quiet for the other younger girls. "Turning back isn't an option?" At Sochi's glance, Minte simply shrugged and continued, "No? Well we certainly aren't going to find any tracks in these conditions after a week. I suppose we could wait around and see if they return? They should know there was an expedition a week after them."

 

[Noctis the Devious]

Selene Rin

Selene slid her eyes closed and pushed with her mind against the shadows around her. They didn't seem all to willing to help her, unused to being manipulated in such a way. "We shouldn't," the dark mahou murmured in thought. "We're at a disadvantage in this fog and the goblins have gracously surrendered, the least we could do is respect their wishes and move on. Surely there is some indication as to where they went or what has happened here though."

She closed her eyes and tried to get the shadows to speak. Normally she wouldn't resort to force but as it were, the situation called for action. "In the mean time, we can salvage some spare parts from the carriage." It might seem like a heartless move, but Selene was more about logic than sentiments; however, she hesitated before continuing, "Is it at all possible to maybe somehow place something in the memory of Arihata Usami-san?" It felt odd to simply leave without acknowleding her death in some way.

She continued her battle with the shadows while the rest decided on what to do. It was a bit taxing and a little annoying how they fought against her for merely requesting their assistance on a megar task. Without being entirely aware of the action, she paced away fron the group and circled the perimeter of the crash site. There just had to be something here.

 

[R-9 Pilot]

Homura began to relax as the goblins retreated. She remained on guard, but allowed her shield to dissipate, the gathered energy burning off harmlessly, and sheathed her weapon. It was time to start relaxing and consider their options more coolly. And compliment her boss. "Good work, Master," she said as she got close to Lyriel. "Your tactical sense is excellent, as always."

"I'd like to investigate the area more thoroughly before moving on," she said, speaking up so the others can hear. "Although I suspect that we won't find much, the prior expedition may have left some clue as to where they went. It would likely be most practical not to remain for long, and to simply move on. Although, I would also like to pay respects to our fallen comrade," she echoed Selene's sentiments. "We have enough time for that, at least." Now was the time to actually begin processing grief.

 

[Astoria]

Naturally, being a person that used her sword for little else than ceremony and defensive blocking, Nephenee was too pleb to even sink her stabby stick into an unaware goblin. It was enough to send it in retreat however. Timely support by the tinkering Lyriel finally gave them the break they needed; the flash of explosions sent the entire troupe of monsters fleeing with their tails in between their legs, leaving only a battered and lightly cooked goblin leader.

Before anybody could get too hasty with the surrendered enemy, Sochi stepped in, but not without a healthy amount of abuse to the enemy herself. Holstering her own weapon, Nephenee watched this exchange before picking up the goblin's staff, inspecting it for a few moments before casting it aside again. Sochi's brief interrogation ended with the goblin being thrown into the fog, his information utterly useless to them.
So, they were already down one member, with the possibility of the earlier expedition being ruined and scattered. Prospects weren't looking particularly great now.

"Let's head back to the carriage and bury our friend," suggested the backpack wielding member, with a somber tone. "Homu's right, we should probably take a more careful look at the area. Let's look for more evidence. Maybe they've made a camp nearby."

 

[Skyswimsky]

Hah! Jackpot! Landing now besides her leader as she interrogated the goblin, Lyriel yelled after it. "Yeah! That's right! Run and remember my name! For I am the great heroine Lyriel!" Though seemed rather annoyed, surely he would have had something nice to loot as well. Instead, Lyriel had to do with whatever they killed. High-fiving her summon she nodded. "Obviously! Did you see how I hard I rocked that golem?! Anyways, off for some looting~" Saying that, Lyriel moved from pretty much from one corpse to the next one, including the fallen golem, though did put her opinion on the current matter as well. "Considering we made it this far in just one day, I doubt, if they are still alive, we would find them lingering around here! So let's just move on! I can blast that piece of rubble easily away!"
On her looting spree, Lyriel didn't leave out the corpse of her team-mate, though the only usable component she could get from her was the damaged bow, which, if no one bothered her, she would keep for now.

+3 small Seelensteine
+1 medium Seelenstein
+1 broken highly mechanized crossbow.
[stabs]{slide=Stuff|center}
∞ Not-so-awesome lame standard Cartridge
3x Scrub-da-Ground Cartridge
2x Lame Health Potion
2x Cool Health Potion
2x Exploding Fireball
3x small Seelenstein
1x medium Seelenstein
1x broken highly mechanized crossbow
Foodstuff
Crayons
{/slide}[/stabs]

 

[daird]

Arina broke off her spell, letting it dissipate into nothing. "There's no point in staying here. We need to push forward through this canyon, at the least. Once we're out in the open, we can decide where to go next."

She heard a rustling sound behind her, and turned to find Lyriel pillaging Arihata's corpse. "What are you doing? Have you no respect at all for the dead? We should be honoring her spirit, not desecrating her body!"

 

[Asuras]

Health: 4/4| Sanity: 95% | Anger: 0%
Health: 5/5| Sanity: 95% | Anger: 0%	Health: 5/5| Sanity: 80% | Anger: 0%	Health: 4/4| Sanity: 80% | Anger: 0%	Health: 3/3| Sanity: 95% | Anger: 0%
	Arina Samala
Health: 3/3| Sanity: 70% | Anger: 0%	Health: 4/4| Sanity: 95% | Anger: 0%

---

Site of the carriage wreck​

Sochi shook her head at Minte and crossed her arms. "As far as I'm concerned, this is now a rescue mission, and no longer an expedition. We need to find the ones before us, at the very least, before we return to the city." Starting back for the carriage, she called out half to Homura, half to the rest of the team.

"Indeed, Homura. It'd be best to see if there's anything at all that could lead us in the right direction." Sochi looked up and around at the persistent fog, "Though we should try to hurry. I'd like us to be out of here as soon as possible. Gods only know what else lies around us," she mumbled to herself. As the group neared the boulder which had so quickly killed their teammate, Sochi stopped and frowned. The boulder was far too large to lift, and she was unsure that the rest of the team would want to witness what lay underneath.

"Perhaps it is best to leave it as it is? Perhaps..." she thought to herself. Sochi reached for her spear, and in a flash had it extended and spinning about her. Three cuts in quick succession were made, dragging streams of liquid from the wet earth into sharp whips. The large boulder was sheared in several places as Sochi moved about its sides, until the rock was turned into a vaguely rectangular shape.

Hesitating to continue, she took a step back and spoke, "Well then... any final words?"