pawnstorm | DUNGEON ♛ LIEFSTE CARNAVAL

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DUNGEON ♛ LIEFSTE CARNAVAL

LIEFSTE CARNAVAL
20 JULY (DELPHINE) 2016

The Heroes chosen for this dungeon may reach Petrosian by any means they choose (by Airy with passports, by foot, by train, etc.) but they must travel to the area under suspicion by a smaller train, sponsored by VIPs; from there, they will take the fifteen mile, bumpy ride from the quaint town station to an open valley downstream. As you’re jostled around in your seat, a cheery announcement informs you that this train ride was sponsored by the illustrious Ryder, who felt it was necessary to express his gratitude to the Heroes and their admirable efforts that just barely saved his life last month. How thoughtful of him.

As the train chugs to a stop, beyond the forest and behind our Heroes, endless fields of gold seem to stretch out as far as the eye can see. What was once rich green grass has been painted yellow by the sweltering heat and clear summer sky. Few trees offer shelter from the sun, but most Heroes will have to provide their own shade as they wait for Secretary Verdoni and Ryder’s quick debriefing.

	Verdoni [ he looks so done with Ryder, but he has a job to do ] Every year, this field serves as the site of the famous Liefste Carnaval. For obvious reasons, we do not usually spend money to send our forces here, and if anyone would like to convince me otherwise, I shall have them entertain their fellow rapscallions at St. Amant.
	Ryder [ coughs ]
	Verdoni [ shut up ] However, due to financial constraints and missing people reports in the area, the carnival was canceled. And yet it is here. We have reason to believe that the reports of missing individuals tie into this carnival. Furthermore, our researchers say there is an abnormal amount of mana activity in the area. Given your previous experience with those, I don’t believe I need to elaborate any further. Your job is to investigate the carnival, find the truth behind it, and retrieve the dungeon core. As for your transportation, we’ve arranged a—
	Ryder Thank you, Secretary. Heroes. Out of gratitude for your heroic rescue, the least I could do was provide some incentive to fetch me a souvenir. This train, the Big Red, was built by one of Gammon’s finest mechanics. I had it shipped here under great expense so that you could enjoy the luxury of Gammon. I hope you Heroes are fortunate enough to visit my land soon. [ and as an afterthought: ] Ah, and rescue those people. Of course. By the way, this weather is absolutely dreadful. My skin was never this dry back in Cochrane. Guard A, Guard B, set up camp. We don’t want to faint from the heat later, do we?
	Verdoni [ why is this guy even here ] To answer the question on everyone’s minds: yes, there is a point to collecting these dungeon cores. Apart from restoring natural order to the land, we have reason to believe the dungeon cores may hold the key to finding a way home for you Heroes... Once we have proper confirmation, I will soon be able to make a formal announcement. Secondly, yes, Commander Lisbrand is still recovering from the Noir attack. We are hoping that she’ll be well enough to join us soon. For now, we do what we can.

Basic info on the dungeon can be found here. Dungeon mechanics can be found here. All OOC questions about the event may be directed to the thread below.

ONE ♙
Welcome to the Liefste Carnaval! Don’t be shy, come on in!

There’s nothing of note when you approach the carnival’s entrance. The hustle and bustle of any other fun-filled festival can be heard from the outside, complete with excited shouts and distant music. The smell of popcorn and other saccharine treats waft over and make your mouth water…

Before you satisfy your cravings, you should get a ticket. You’ll be greeted by a vaguely humanoid ticket seller entirely covered in confetti and pieces of torn tickets, with a rattling breath as if it caught a cold. It doesn’t speak and merely points to a sign that says 500 colle per person! What? Not everything comes for free. An item of similar value will also suffice.

If you refuse to pay and shoulder your way past it, you’ll find yourself shoved onto your back, face to face with the ticket seller himself. The bits of paper on its face rustle before it shuffles back over to the stand. Try again and you’ll find yourself getting further and further away from the entrance as a minor curse begins to settle upon you. You may come up with your own curse (e.g. loss of voice, speaking in gibberish). Thankfully, the curse doesn’t last long, but the message should be clear: pay for your ticket.

Once you have acquired your ticket, you are free to enter the carnival at your leisure. Should you turn around to ask the ticket seller for more information, it will vanish into thin air, leaving nothing but a small heap of confetti.

Walk past the first booth; a gaggle of happy children with balloons approach you with boxes of welcoming gifts. Though you might want to remember what all children are taught: don’t take candy from strangers.

MONSTER ♟ Wicht
Weak against Fire, Holy	Strong against None	Immune to Dark
A demon possessing a wooden puppet painted and carved in the form of a happy child with rosy cheeks. It offers BOXES OF CHOCOLATE to unsuspecting victims. Be warned: the chocolate will give you CHILLS AND MALAISE, and eating it will prompt fellow Wichts to link their hands together and circle around you as they chant RING AROUND THE ROSIE. This is not an innocent game, but a spell that accelerates the progression of the disease inside you, manifesting in RASHES, FEVER, SNEEZING AND COUGHING. The Wichts have no sympathy to spare; they’ll keep chanting ‘til you all fall down! Don’t feel like chocolate today? Oh, the Wichts insist. As they shove their boxes at you, their giggles turn into maniacal laughter. Their cherubic features melt into something sharper, harder, and you barely have time to react before they try to rip your heart out with their SHARP CLAWS. Catching Wichts is not easy. They use the wind magic of their BALLOONS to fly out of harm’s way, and the more mischievous ones will inhale the helium inside to release BANSHEE-LIKE SCREAMS that will stun and knock your party back. You can eliminate these demons by any means, but defeating these wooden puppets with HOLY MAGIC will banish the demonic spirit inside them, rendering them lifeless with the angelic features they originally had. These Petrosian-style puppets show really good craftsmanship! DROPS: Colorful Balloons, Gift Boxes, Petrosian Puppets, Wicht Claws, Mana-infused Wood

Suddenly, the cheerful and festive atmosphere vanishes. A flag flutters against a strong, abrupt gust of wind. Shadows seem to whisper and point and watch with gleaming, uncountable eyes. The paths are deserted and what was a vibrant place full of life is now anything but.

TWO ♙
In the chocolate box of the first Wicht you defeat, you will find a hand-drawn map of the carnival. It is extremely detailed and meticulously labeled with every ride, shop, and sideshow. Does this cartographer have a perfectionist streak? There’s a crudely-painted red heart circling one attraction in particular: the tunnel of love. But from the way the color dried, you’re starting to think that’s not paint…

Before you reach the tunnel of love, you have to pass through game stalls and the haunted house. Move quickly; those familiar Wicht giggles are approaching and they will not take no for an answer. Hide behind stalls or large crates to avoid them. Perhaps Rooks or Illusion Queens can cover the party’s tracks!

If you choose to hide behind stalls and crates, a cold draft might hit your back, send a shiver down your spine and make you whirl around to confront—no one. But you could have sworn you saw a shadow in the corner of your eye… Before you can think, something too close for comfort bursts into hysterical laughter, attracting the attention of the Wichts and forcing you to abandon your shelter.

However, Wichts can’t touch you if you join in the fun, and the carnival offers a variety of games to play, from dime pitch games to shooting galleries. A man next to a strongman game might even holler at you to step right up and test your strength. Neither firearms, ammo or hammers will be provided, but you’re Heroes, right? Improvise! Win, and you’ll be greeted by...

MONSTER ♟ Steun
Weak against Holy	Strong against Dark	Immune to None
Carnival staff manning the stalls with smiles that will haunt your nightmares. People who win their games infuriate them! Their weapon of choice depends on where you find them. Food vendors will be eager to hurl BOILING OIL or throw an entire GRILL at your face, while those at the shooting galleries might come at you with FIREARMS—real ones! But sometimes, a bullet won’t kill you. Instead, it will make you smell like cotton candy. It will also cast CHARM MAGIC on you, making your party members fall in love with you. Only strong willpower can break the spell… or you know, a good, old-fashioned kiss. Staff members may also toss stuffed toys at you, but these cute and cuddly things aren’t a gift of goodwill. They’re enchanted grenades that explode into heart-shaped confetti and release a gas that will make you LAUGH UNCONTROLLABLY for a good five minutes. DROPS: Assorted Guns and Bullets, Carnival Food Items, Stuffed Toys, Carnival Staff Jacket

Glad that’s over! Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the last area you needed to traverse. Checking the map again reveals that the haunted house is up next. But that shouldn’t be a big deal; you can usually avoid those by simply walking past, right?

Wrong. As you enter the area, you’ll soon realize that the roads around the house are clogged up by cotton candy and popcorn which might serve as convenient snacks to replenish your mana. The only free path leads to the front door.

THREE ♙
The floorboards creak as your party enters the haunted house. A flash of lightning preceding a crack of thunder reveals a large, arachnid leg. Clicking noises of pincers are the only warnings Heroes get before your party is grabbed and hauled upwards, one by one. Tough strings like silk trap your bodies in a tight cocoon that dangles from the ceiling. Resistance is futile, as struggling will damage your clothes. Don’t worry about flashing anyone; the spider is more than happy to cover your bare areas with more form-hugging strings. The spider silk seems to be enchanted, since captured Heroes cannot escape on their own. You must help them to proceed!

As the spider works on hauling its prey upwards, the others must rescue their comrade before it’s too late! Unfortunately, your entrance has awoken a sudden rush of monsters, and the blood and drool they’re spewing make it hard to believe they’re in costume. Hobbling and groaning zombies, scarecrows and half molten blobs or something in between are eager to have you for dinner themselves. The enemies themselves are not particularly dangerous; it’s their sheer number and the furniture they’ve knocked over which make this fight a pain in the neck. Kick and bat and suplex your way through the enemy ranks until you reach the rickety stairs.

Climbing with care, you finally make your way to the second floor. There is a spider lurking in a corner...

MONSTER ♟ Heer Spinnekop
Weak against Water	Strong against Earth, Wind	Immune to Lightning
“I must say, that was very rude of you. No one has ever turned down an invitation to my tea parties.” A calm and chipper tea-sipping, monocle-wearing SPIDER too big to fit through the front door. The wealthy Lord Spinnekop studied in Gammon for a time and the accent has stuck with him ever since. Despite his manners, he isn’t too pleased to have his snack stolen from under its nose. What’s he going to dunk in his tea cup now? So he’ll try to trap the Heroes once more with his SILK THREADS, please and thank you. His threads will wrap around you in patterns that bind and appeal to the senses. “Ooh, could you do that again? It makes my spinneret tingle!” For some reason, LIGHTNING MAGIC doesn’t work against the monstrous spider. But continue to refuse him and he’ll splash piping hot Gammonian Breakfast tea at your face… or shirt. Let’s hope you didn’t wear something thin and white. As the battle goes on, he’ll crawl from corner to corner, and soon, you’ll notice a method to his madness: he’s been weaving a HUGE, STICKY WEB for you all! “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong. I’ll wash you down—after I chew and swallow!” Heroes he likes, he’ll trap in his web and eat. Heroes he doesn’t? He’ll toss them in a giant KETTLE of water he’s been boiling in the kitchen! How does Heroic tea sound? However, chatting with the spider (and boy, does he love to chat) will reveal that despite growing up in the lowlands of Petrosian and living in rainy Gammon, he detests water. WATER MAGIC might just wash the spider out! DROPS: Fancy Tea Set, Top Hat, Monocle, Gentleman’s Gloves, Silk Threads

You’ve had it with this @#$%ing spider in this @#%$ing haunted house! Goodbye and good riddance. The doors upstairs seem to lead to nowhere so you’ll have to climb through the open hatch in the ceiling to exit. On the roof, you can finally survey the entire dungeon, but don’t linger for too long. Otherwise, you’ll be compelled to jump off the roof!

Hope you’re not afraid of heights, because the only way to advance to the tunnel of love is by jumping from roof to roof.

FOUR ♙
Finally, the infamous tunnel of love rests before you in all its glittery, pink glory. Rose petals coat the sign and flower chains hang from the tunnel ceiling. Echoes of sensual moans can be heard from the outside, but there’s no turning back. Once you’ve secured yourself a swan boat, you’re in for quite the joyride. The dulcet tones of a romantic serenade give you something else to focus on other than the disturbingly intimate shadows on the walls, but even the music stops every now and then to amplify the voices further in.

Then all of a sudden, the water of the tunnel starts flowing in the other direction. Due to the shape of the boat, Heroes get doused in cold water, and that’s the least of your problems. More Steuns will come out of the woodwork and take potshots at the Heroes with their guns. Talk about wet and wild! The tunnel’s heart-shaped props might also come to life and attempt to drown Heroes. Why not? It’s not like couples ever want to leave.

After several merry minutes, the water will be drained out completely. Who doesn’t enjoy being stranded in the middle of enemy territory? As you walk down the tunnel, there’s a point that diverges into several paths. Following the path that smells like roses will appear to put you on the right track, but leads to a dead end. Looking around, you’ll find a raised, heart-shaped platform with graffiti that says, NOW DO IT! ❤

That’s awfully specific. Considering where you are, you probably meet the riddle with mild surprise. Maybe if you try to kiss someone, you’ll be able to advance! But actually, if you wait long enough, a simple hug might yet suffice.

Once the riddle has been satisfied, the wall opens to reveal the inside of a circus tent. Vacant bleachers surround the stage, and though they are empty, deafening cheers seem to come from people filling the seats. Without warning, all the lights go out, save for a single spotlight...

BOSS ♟ Y. U. Lyon the Spelleider and his Circus
Weak against None	Strong against Fire	Immune to Dark, Status Effects
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to the best show in the world! I’ve travelled the seven seas, so I should know.” An outstanding and prolific RINGMASTER who recently fell out of the limelight. After some soul searching, Ser Lyon’s back with a bigger and better show that’ll knock everyone’s socks off! Eat your heart out, Cirque du Etoile. As the leader of this circus, he has the fully loyalty of his performers—and pets. With a crack of his whip, he summons large, maned LIONS that growl as they bare their sharp, white fangs. They attack the Heroes on his orders. Don’t let the large felines jump through those flaming hoops, as these will ENGULF THEM IN FIRE, too! Use WATER to put the flames out. ”Such teamwork… Geluk and I were the same. Why am I thinking about him at a time like this? For our next act…!” Should you defeat his precious lions, he will send out his beloved CIRCUS PERFORMERS: acrobats that can kick your butt, contortionists that can bend themselves twice over as they lock you in a CHOKEHOLD, unicycle-riding jugglers waiting for the right moment to toss you a KNIFE or MOLOTOV COCKTAIL, and tightrope walkers ready to DROP DEADLY SPEARS onto unsuspecting Heroes. You might even get tackled by the occasional cannonball man and GET LAUNCHED OUT OF THE TENT with him! Circus performers of all kinds will try to steal the show, and your imagination’s the limit. Unlike the ringmaster, these people are WEAK TO STATUS EFFECTS. ”He told me to meet him during the Festivale de la Ceinturonne, but I had a show that night. I couldn’t abandon my circus! That was years ago… I haven’t heard from him since. I wonder what would have happened… if I had gone to see him… If I had gone to see him…!” Although his stars are gone, the show must go on. As the drum rolls, the lone Ser Lyon reaches inside his mouth to pull out a sharp SWORD with a flourish. How long has that been in there? Not important. Forget about admiring his top-notch swordsmanship, too—he’s here to kill! Even as you keep your distance, you can’t escape him when he strikes you with his WHIP and singes your skin with his FIRE-BREATHING SKILLS. From time to time, he pulls MAGICAL BIRDS out of his coat to distract Heroes. They will disappear the moment you strike them. ”Bravo, bravo. The circus is my life, but… your teamwork has reminded me of something far more important. Still… we put on a good show, didn’t we?” Before his last breath, he pulls a lovespur out of thin air. It was his closest friend’s favorite magic trick. A DUNGEON CORE rises from his chest, and he ends the show with an elegant bow and a smile. DROPS: Ringmaster Staff, Ringmaster Coat, Lion Mane, Juggling Balls, Sword, Hoop, Balance Pole, Torches

Once Y. U. Lyon the Spelleider and his lackeys have been defeated, the phantom cheering cuts off. The bleachers are suddenly occupied by the missing Petrosians, exhausted and confused as to how they ended up here. The dungeon magic appears to have compelled them to act the way they did. Reassure them, help them down from the bleachers and make absolutely sure you leave no one behind.

Soon, the carnival gates open. The show is over and it’s time for everyone to go home.

FIVE ♙
Once you step out of the gates, there’s a flash of light and a final pop of confetti. The next time you blink, you’ll find yourself in a campsite. It seems like Ryder kept his word and set up a rest stop for everyone exiting the dungeon. You’re back in one piece and the area seems to be back to normal as well. Relieved murmurs spring up from the rescued Petrosians who are quick to thank the Heroes profusely before they are whisked away by Blanc’s medics for a check-up.

Verdoni
Good work, Heroes. What you do with the dungeon cores is your business alone, but all efforts to assist us in assessing them will be appreciated. That includes providing us with said dungeon cores, of course. I will report our findings as soon as we can. Thank you.

As he leaves, he catches the sight of Ryder and clicks his tongue. That Gammonian is making good use of his human footrest again. Some things never change.

Now that Heroes have left the dungeon, they are free to do whatever they want to. Rest in the tents? Fill your rumbling tummies? Treat injuries? It’s up to them!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She can agree wholeheartedly with that. Even if she's not a super potty mouth, the sentiment remains. She hates these fucking things. Luckily, the one that keeps on Yukari's ass the entire time mostly meets her bow over and over again, though its claws do scrape at her hands and knuckles as she keeps the bow sideways and shoves it away with every lunge. At least until the second Wicht goes down and grabs attention back off Yukari, finally.]

Oh now it realizes it's totally outmatched. [Her lips press together as the Wicht follows Kaede, and she passes a hand over the little gashes on her knuckles to alleviate the pain, before raising her bow, following the movements of the creature for now, but unwilling to shoot, lest the arrow goes wide and catches Kaede. A real threat with this bow.

At the same time, Yukari also takes it having its attention on her partner to glance around for a moment and make sure nothing else is stalking up to them, but, aside from some fire, nothing really seems to be, so they might be free and clear after this.] ... Hey, I wouldn't mind if you lit another stall on fire with it. [Yukari don't encourage arson.]

[DID SOMEONE ASK FOR MORE FIRE

Kaede can provide!

Well, in a bit. She has to stand still to start casting, which she does; planting her heel with finality.]

It'll take a second.

[But before Kaede completely commits, she shifts her grip on the axe to hold it near the end. It was a little bit easier to read these things now; uncannily doll-like they might be, they at least sometimes moved within the limits of those ball-jointed arms--if fast. And Kaede was used to fighting people like that. Now, as long as the Wicht didn't pop one off and throw it at her...

It lunged instead, darting quick with its claws raised. Kaede hooked it with her axe instead of smashing it aside, grimacing a little at her miscalculation even as she pivoted to flick it off to the side. The creature's flight stopped well before the abandoned booths, caught by its balloon.

But Kaede wasn't in the way of Yukari's arrows this time.]

[SOMEONE ABSOLUTELY DID ASK FOR MORE FIRE. Or rather, she is just going to conveniently look the other way if more fire happened and it also happened to start burning down the whole carnival, because Yukari is already Done with this whole thing. Done and Done completely.

In the meantime of Kaede starting her cast, Yukari raises her bow, leveling it at the remaining wicht. It seems mostly concerned with Kaede, which holds Yukari's firing, if only because she knows this bow is fickle and prone to missing, even at this close of a range - plus the little bastard is fast - so she bides, waiting until she has a better shot.

It comes a moment later, as Kaede tosses the critter aside. Now no one's in the way and she's more than okay with this. The bow looses an arrow, and, it seems, she's fired at the Wichts enough that the arrow flies right through... the balloon, popping it and causing the creature to drop out of the sky with a screech. The next arrow is fast afterward, and it skims the creature's head, blowing a chunk of it out.

There's no blood, though. Just the Wicht chittering and laughing at Yukari through a half-broken face.]

[The rest of the cracked, smirking face vanished in a sheet of flame, as a fireball with a psionic core bowled the Wicht head over ball-jointed heels. The Wicht's screeches warp as its voice...box seared away to its bare metal components, and the horrid little thing spun wildly in place until it tripped, sending itself tumbling into a stall in a jumble of smoldering limbs. Even Kaede winced a bit at the sound.

But soon it was quiet, save for the crackle of embers. And she relaxed just slightly.]

Hmph.

[Kaede flexed her injured hand, shaking the blood away from her palm. She'd have to take care of that soon. But in the meantime, the diclonius prodded over one of the discarded boxes with the spear point, frowning at the sheaf of paper that fell out of it. Was that a map...? Or something that got candy smears on it?

...no, she knew what faded blood looked like. Ugh.

Before she got to investigate the paper too much more, the sound of giggles made her head snap around.]

There's more of them.

[Of course.

Maybe there'd be places to lose them further in the ruined carnival. There were enough wrecked booths that weren't on fire; the voices were almost directionless, save for coming from somewhere behind them. Kaede didn't want to deal with those things again any time soon.

Or, well, anything, but those especially.]

[Yukari takes a moment to breathe, even though there's the ticklish edge of smoke to the few deep breaths she takes in the aftermath of the battle as the flames slowly begin to spread about.

Right, Kaede got hit, though...] You need me to heal ya, or will you be good until we get further? [She's pretty sure neither of them want to do any kind of mana exchanging, so she's still focused on trying to conserve as best as possible, but... a little healing spell probably wouldn't hurt.

... Even as the noises begin again.] We should keep moving. What's that paper? We can look while we head further in. There's gotta be an exit somewhere.

I'm fine. [Came the grumbled answer; look, see, she was so fine she was picking up the paper with her injured hand, see!

...and getting a few bloody fingerprints on the back, but shh.]

I think it's a map.

[Kaede spared a glance over her shoulder; the smoke from the fires was still profuse and cloudy, but there was a slight glow that almost made her feel...cheerful?

In either case, the stupid dolls wouldn't be following right behind them. So that just left...everywhere else. Great.

But Kaede followed Yukari's suggestion without further comment, winding her way further into the buildings and stalls. There were identifiable features to them now, more than faded banners; half-broken targets, stacks of bottles, ragged stuffed animals.

She stopped abruptly when she saw a person—sudden but ostensibly real—scowling at them even as they smiled at her. They were still a ways away, but he didn't seem to be alone. Other people had emerged from the silence and dust like employees attending the stalls and broken games.

Kaede immediately trusted none of them.]

A map? [Well that's.

Helpful.

She guesses.]

Does it look like it's pointing anywhere?

[Might as well keep the conversation going as she continues on and... oh. The stalls are changing.

.... The tenders are. Creepy. To put it generously - their smiles are even more fake and unnerving than the dolls, which is weird, because they at least appear to be vaguely human.ish.

But, at least Yukari is right there in the boat of 'not trusting any of them', especially since everything is just so creepy thus far, and this isn't making her feel any better.

"Step right up and try to knock down these milk bottles!" yells one of the employees in what appears to be an old milkman outfit from the 1950s, motioning toward them. Yukari grips her bow a little tighter.]

... Are we supposed to play the games?

["Strong man competition! Are you mighty enough to hit the bell!? Come test your might!" another calls from the other side of the avenue they're walking down.]

[Kaede frowned at the map, shaking her head a little.]

One thing's circled- [heart...ed...? No that sounded awful] -but there aren't any arrows.

[The employees weren't immediately hostile or attacking, just...smiling. A bit too wide for faces to normally smile.

She'd have strongly preferred the former. At least then there would be no question about what to do next.]

I don't know; maybe? [That seemed suspiciously straightforwards. Not as convoluted as making an offering out of literal eyeballs, but what was the catch going to be?] As long as they stay on that side of the counter.

[She folded the map away into one of her jacket pockets, leaving the milkman (really?) to Yukari while eying the post and the bell and the far-too-cheerful employee attending it.

Abruptly, she drew her axe back to her shoulder, gathering just a tennis-ball sized knot of flames in the blade—and swinging, launching the projectile in an arc until it smacked into the bell dead-on. The blob of psionic energy in its center made it ring cheerfully!

...nothing else seemed to happen, though.

"Now, now, miss! Be a good sport, play fair!" The man chided, uncanny smile never wavering.

Kaede, predictably, just scowled at him.]

How about I knock your stupid head into it?

[He seemed undeterred, if he was listening at all; he only gave that solicitation speech again.]

[Yukari frowns, but turns toward the stall that had harked at her - just enough to look over the counter to see what may be going on, but still glancing frequently over toward Kaede, since they were separated a little.]

... Um, but there's nothing to knock down the bottles with?

[The tender just stays where he is.

"Well, just knock it down any way you can!"

Yukari frowns, looks over at Kaede one more time, then turns back, and lifts her bow. The tender makes no move to stop her from using her weapon, so she looses an arrow into the middle of the bottles. It veers just enough to knock down a part of them from the side, but not all of them.

Luckily, by now, the giggling seems to have totally abated - so that's one less background sound to have to jump at every time it shows up, but...

"Oh, that's too bad! Try again!"

Well, she will in a moment, time to look over and see what Kaede is doing.]

You think we win something if we can... actually win at this? I don't see any real prizes around.

[Kaede seems to be encountering some difficulties over there. Namely that she's getting increasingly pissed off. Not that...that was particularly hard, given who Kaede was.

She didn't like his stupid face or his stupid smile or the way the man kept repeating the same stupid speech like he was mocking her. She was right up in his face, hopelessly short as she was, shouting and hissing and spitting and not paying much attention to Yukari now.]

Fuck you!

[Kaede whirled suddenly, smashing the hammer end of her axe against the lever. Ghost-silver energy rippled from the impact, and the bell at the top rang cheerfully.

And the man stopped smiling.

With a howl of rage, he smashed one of his ham-sized fists into her torso and flung the diclonius backwards, across the street, bowling right into the tower of bottles and breaking the empty shelves behind it. The same resonant silver strands kept Kaede's ribs from outright shattering, but she was still rather dazed from all of that. To say the least.]

[You know. Yukari hadn't expected that - nor did she expect Kaede to go flying quite as well as she did. A third thing she didn't expect was the crash through the bottles to topple all of them and apparently piss off the milkman in the interim.

"Congratulations! You won! I hate it when you win! I'm going to kill you both now!"]

W-wait, what do you mean I won, your buddy over there is the one that used her to bring down all the milk bottles - ack!

[And, just like that, the milkman takes one of the fallen milk bottles, and smashes it against the edge of the stall, before vaulting over it with his milk bottle prison shank, and baring right down on Yukari, who squawks, and, with a little luck, manages to pull up a binding spell just before he can swipe at her.]

Kaede! Are you alright!? [She's going to drain her mana faster than she likes, but she's ready to go with another healing spell in the brief pause afforded by capturing the milkman.

... At least until the strongman comes after her, as well.] ... ACTUALLY, I'M NOT ALRIGHT, GET UP!

[Hark, a small but angry voice from under the wreckage of bottles and bookshelves!]

Give me a- [wheeze] -second!

[She dropped her axe when she was launched, but she didn't need that to cast this spell.

Silver energy gathered in the heap, concentrating into a chill not-quite-wind before bursting out in a resonant wave. The first did little, mostly blasting the debris away so Kaede could clamber out. The second wave smashed into the booth's remaining walls, making them shudder and groan.

The third bowled the front counter off of its stubby wooden legs, sending it into the strongman's path and fouling his charge momentarily. The pulses stopped now, and Kaede was able to clamber out of the broken bottles and boards, one arm cut in multiple places and the back of her coat cut up in more.]

[SMALL ANGRY THING NEEDS TO GET UP AND BE MORE SMALL AND ANGRY AT THE ENEMIES. Yukari finds herself making something of a tactical retreat as she tries to line up a bow shot, but man, the strongman's coming along too quickly. She levels the bow, but luckily it comes at the same time as the explosion to stop the strongman.

That's good!

What's not as good is Yukari makes the mistake of trying to make sure her teammate is okay, and blanching at the blood. She has to stop to cast her spells, which means she lets her guard down momentarily, and her cast is interrupted halfway by shards of glass from a bottle sinking right into her back, making her screech instead.

The good news is that the structural integrity of the bottle isn't so great since it's already broken, and the whole thing finishes shattering in her back, leaving shards lodged in the skin, but, luckily, not quite as deep as they could have been.

The fiery pain of the glass raking down her back at least causes her to jump, and she turns and looses an arrow into the milkman's throat - one that doesn't get nearly as much draw strength behind it as it could with the injury to her back, so the milkman is momentarily stunned, but not down for the count.]

Ow ow... keep the strongman off my back, I'll take this guy!

[All this broken glass, ugh. Kaede doesn't nod or say anything in the affirmative (there was no time for that), only spun on her heel as the strongman practically tore the splintered remains of the counter off of him like irritating and fragile paper. He didn't need any further excuses to shift his attention to Kaede, as she was right in the way. He charged, with a shrieking howl more animal than human. In the distance, more shrieks seemed to answer it.

Great. They'd have company if they didn't end this quickly.

One good thing about being short was how much other things had to punch down at you. A problem if you were grappling, since the greater reach made things complicated.

But Kaede wasn't interested in grappling. She had a knife.

She ducked under the strongman's fist this time, obsidian knife flicking out from her undamaged sleeve. She didn't go for the ribs or torso; too many blade-chipping bones to avoid. No, she stepped right in close, easily in reach of his arms—and sank the dagger right into the strongman's throat. His arms had started to curl inwards, but lost their strength as the knife split his neck from ear to ear in a horrid mockery of a smile. Dark blood sprayed from the wound, splattering Kaede's arm and front of her uniform.

Really, who decided white was a good uniform color.

At least the strongman wasn't being an um, opponent now. Just an obstacle.

Thanks, brutal pragmatism.]

[Yukari has a little less luck with her end of the bargain. She glances briefly in the direction of the shrieking - yep, definitely going to have company if they didn't hurry up, and ducks a backhand toward her.

Pure adrenaline helps her lift her bow again, pull back on it until it's more taught than before, even if her back screams in protest of using the muscles when they're damaged like this.

She has to duck another swing, and it puts her aim off. Her bow's shoddy even at closer ranges, though, and what she thinks is going to sink into the strongman's leg pierces into his gut instead, and he stumbles, nearly falling, grabbing at the arrow to pull it out.

These things aren't human, right?

... Right?

Cuz she lifts her bow again and catches him in the shoulder this time, though she was almost aiming for his neck, and he stumbles again.

This whole... trying not to kill her opponent thing is going to End Poorly. Halp.]

[It's okay, Kaede's here to help save you from inconvenient manslaughter!

By doing it herself.

...yay?

After cutting her first opponent out of the equation, Kaede's next movements were easy to predict.

She reached out to grab the milkman under his chin and yank his had back as he staggered with those arrows in him, knife still extended—and slashed his neck open. Sorry for that front row trauma, Yukari. That blackish not-exactly-human(?) blood will wash right out! ...hopefully!

Kaede let him fall, and paid no more attention to the crumpling corpse. She shook the blood off of her knife, retracted the blade—and took off at a sprint in the opposite direction.]

Let's go!

[You have summoned the horde and Kaede wants none of that, no sir.

She picks up her axe with her good arm and continues running away from the shrieking and footsteps, towards a hulking and tacky looking house on a hill.]

[Well that's going to haunt some nightmares for a while.

And now she's splattered in not-human blood. At least she's pretty sure it's not human blood - it is dark and smells weird.

That was just extremely traumatic.] Let's... r-right!

[FOLLOWING RIGHT ON BEHIND HER DPSTANK like actually she would do with Minato anyway in Tartarus. Good little duckling Yukari. With her shoddy navmeshing. At least it looks like a straight shot to the building, even if they're being chased.] Wait... is that a haunted house!? Are we seriously going to just go in there!? [She'd almost rather fight the horde...]

[SORRY FOR THE KETCHUP SPILL

A bullet whistled over her head, making Kaede duck and flinch and really not want to listen to any arguments to the contrary. She was already bleeding from various wounds, she really would rather not add to the impending blood loss.]

There's nowhere else to go!

[There were even flickers of movement visible between the stalls now, along with the sound of stampeding feet.

Or, a whole lot of NOPE]

Do I need to point out there's probably worse things in there!? [There's already so much NOPE about the haunted house.

... It's either that or they end up on the wrong end of the horde.

Damn it, there is no winning this.]

Oh whatever, you better hope that door holds!

No, I can fucking guess myself!

[So much for kicking down the door. But it thankfully wasn't locked, though Kaede practically tore the doorknob off opening the door itself. And she didn't slam it in Yukari's face (she's not that much of a dick.) She did close it on a Steun's face, though—she could hear the thud and see the wood bend, but it held. The howls and inhuman screeches were all outside now.

It'd probably make leaving an...interesting experience, but for now they were left alone, with the...low-budget spooky decorations, how fun. The candles were real, the parlor furniture looked too shoddily made and dull to even be knockoffs. The paintings looked more like printings, and there were obnoxiously red splatters of fake blood here and there-

-oh, right. She was bleeding. That should probably be fixed.]

...ugh.

[Kaede. Kaede it's called "asking for help".]

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