Ronove' - The Struggling Imuchakk [Yaku/Noir/KILL VIABLE]

Yakuroro and Noir had both been in a dungeon before, so they would find the sucking, pulling sensation to be somewhat familiar as they were transported from Heliohapt and the Gate into the depths of Ronove’s domain. The pair would not have much time to orient themselves to the dark landscape of grass and lightning before, not ten meters away, a lightning strike would touch down and ignite a small patch of grass. It seemed the danger Yakuroro had spoken of was very real, though it was not poison that would imperil the pair. The fire would flare for a moment before fizzling without the power of the lightning to keep feeding it, fire did not tend to spread too far on healthy, green grass.

If the pair were to look around, they would not see any of the others from the Gate in their vicinity, but they would notice a small plot of land about 40 meters away, ploughed and ready for planting. No humans were nearby, but if the pair were to approach, they might notice that, near a small tree at the edge of the plot, a shadow appeared to be napping under the protection of the leaves. The pair would find it a struggle to move, though, as an invisible force of electromagnetism would engulf them as the former lightning strike faded away, enveloping them in a 20-meter pocket of increased gravity that would slow their movements to a near crawl.

If they chose not to approach the farm plot, they would find themselves wandering across a grassy plain dotted with burn-scarred trees and singed grass. It would be quite hard to see in the dim area until a lightning flash would illuminate other small farm plots and the occasional silhouette of what could be a harmless pet or something far more sinister in the far distance.


OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post.

In Yakuroro's depravity driven madness, he had forgotten how rare it was to encounter anyone else inside the dungeon early on. In fact, it was something that he had only experienced towards the end when the djinn's chamber was just within reach. His arrival inside the dungeon with no one but Noir nearby was a sobering blunt wake up call. The clouding of his mind settled and the insane look upon his face melted away as the Imuchakk observed the plains that had been brought to. Yakuroro's eyes jumped a tad when the lightning struck, but it was distant enough that no harm came to them even when flames licked at the nearby grass where it had landed. Still, a simple look around made it clear that it was probably not safe to be standing tall out in the open like this.

Yakuroro had little time to comment on his thoughts to Noir however as the lightning strike brought with it a wave of gravitational force that made the Imuchakk's knees buckle for a moment before catching himself. "W-What...is...this?..." Yaku struggled to groan as he slowly stood up properly in retaliation to the forces pressing down on him. It would be then that the magician took notice of the farm-like establishment not too far from them. A test of the djinn lied in wait there no doubt. Yakuroro grit his teeth as he resolved to investigate, taking burdened steps towards the farmland. "It looks like people might be living there. Perhaps they know of a way to remain safe from the lightning. We should go take a look." Yaku's voice was strained due to the gravity, but calm. Quite different from how it had been just moments ago.

Yakuroro would attempt to approach the shadow figure beneath the tree hoping that the existing lighting would make it easier to see the true shape of the form once they got closer. Assuming the being did not attack once they were within earshot, Yakuroro would call out to the enigma, "Greetings, I see you have a field here. I can make plants grow instantly and would be willing to assist you in creating a fine harvest. In exchange, would you mind answering some questions?" A true and real offer, assuming the being was intelligent and tame enough to care.

Noir and Haku were experiencing the same feeling again, it was just like when they were entering Dantalion. Now in her second dungeon exploration, she was with her mentor again but unfortunately it was not her previous mentor that she went together to Dantalion’s dungeon, it was a mysterious yet interesting Imuchakk whose rukh was as black as the darkness. The moment she opened her eyes, she could feel her whole body suddenly being pressed to the ground by some kind of unseen force. It felt heavy, as if someone was stepping on her and attempted to crush her, there was nothing that she could do except crawling on the ground but she hesitated to move because it was dark there. “Haku…” She whispered and she could feel her liger presence right beside her, whimpering because probably he could feel the electromagnetic force pressuring his body too.

The black haired girl used her strength to get up and she managed to do it even though she could still feel the pressure on her body before petting her liger for trying hard to get up as well. “It seems like an electromagnetism force…” Noir said to Yakuroro, knowing that because she was using a lot of lightning magic and did some research on what electricity could do. Hearing Yakuroro suggested, Noir nodded and looked around when the lightning was striking the ground and she was able to see a small plot of land before darkness crept in again. Assuming that was where they would go, the female magician followed carefully with her liger walking beside her and noticed something was napping under the leaves before her mentor decided to talk to it. She would then waited for another lightning to reveal the form of the shadow while being very careful to not becoming the target of lightning strike.

Beneath the tree, the shadowy figure raised its head as Yakuroro approached, lifting the beaked face from under the feathered wings. It almost appeared human, if not for the feathered arms, taloned feet and beaked face. The Young Harpy blinked its eyes a few times to clear the vestiges of sleep away, its head cocking to the side in curiosity as the Imuchakk man approached. Another strike of lightning would illuminate its figure to the pair, showing the outline as the Young Harpy stretched its wings to finish waking up. It would show no hostility as the pair approached cautiously and it would listen to Yakuroro’s offer before giving a caw of humor, shaking its head.

“Arrogance, to assume you have anything to offer that I desire. You know nothing of how to make these things grow.”

The Young Harpy spread its wing towards the field full of twisted plants that, in some other world might resemble corn. But the stalks were gnarled and the ‘ears’ of corn seemed discolored. The plants had become accustomed to the harsh living conditions, it seemed. The Young Harpy looked back to Yakuroro, its gaze appearing lifeless, but its conversation evidence enough that there was intelligence there.

“You have nothing to offer us. I, however, will offer you one piece of advice. The trees are your friend, Giant. You are far too tall to avoid the dangers here.”

As though to prove his point, a lightning bolt careened just over Yakuroro’s head and struck the tree protecting the Harpy, leaving the scent of burning ozone in its wake, though it seemed to burn away the electromagnetic field the pair had been struggling through. The Harpy appeared content with the warning it gave and sat back down, its eyes turning to the east as an odd sound echoed across the plains that told of something entirely different waking up. The Harpy looked almost worried before shrugging back down into his wings again. The echoing sound was not intended for him, he knew.

Young Harpy:

OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post.

The creature that Noir saw was truly fascinating, she couldn’t take her eyes away from the beauty that this winged being had. His dark wing, his humanly body, that beak and his bird-like feet were interesting features for her and she wants to know more about him, but it would be best to hear what he had to say for Yakuroro’s request to help him with the crops. His answer was quite expected, perhaps it require a different way to bring the crops to come back to life and this winged being might know how, she could try to find out and help him to do it. Just when she wanted to speak, a lightning bolt struck the tree and suddenly the pressure that she felt on her body was gone, letting her to be able to walk normally again.

“I apologize for disturbing your time, Sir. My name is Noir and I am curious about how to make those things grow? Perhaps we can offer help?” She kindly asked and never intended to seek rewards from the young harpy if she was able to help since it was just her curiosity that triggered her action. However, Haku growled when he heard an odd sound echoed but quickly stopped by Noir, afraid that he might attract enemy by making his growl audible. She looked at the east side, right at the area where the young harpy had lay eyes at. She wondered if there might be some other interesting creature and thinking it would be easier to ask the winged being first about it, probably she could get a hint about what was letting out the sound. “Do you happen to know about that odd sound from earlier, Sir?”

The harpy was an odd sight, but not a surprising one when compared to the lizardmen Yakuroro had encountered in Gremory. The Imuchakk listened to the creature's retort with a ever present smile and keen observational eyes. Its eyes were impossible to read, seeming almost empty and void of emotion. However it was clear that the avian humanoid held a strong disbelief that the magician was capable of offering any help. The wording it used almost suggested that the Imuchakk's proposal had perhap even insulted it in some strange way. Yakuroro would have been a fool to not admit that these plants were unlike any outside the dungeon. At least out of all the produce he'd seen before. Yet even so, he felt compelled to prove this young Harpy wrong.

"Is that so?...My apologies, thank you for your advice."

The magician looked up when the sound was made from somewhere far away but decided that it was distant enough to not be an issue that demanded immediate attention. As Noir began to talk to the harpy, Yakuroro slowly stepped away towards the plot of farmland that had been plowed but not yet planted. Patiently, he looked around scanning the area for anything that might look like seeds. If the Imuchakk found some, he would decide to ask for forgiveness later rather than permission now and set about attempting to plant a handful of them spaced out the same distance that the grown stalks appeared to be set apart. Assuming he was able to accomplish this task, Yakuroro would then cast Bountiful Harvest on the planted seeds to observe the results. If it went well, the otherworldly corn stalks should grow into an impressive yield far larger than the natural ones the Harpy had already been growing.

Abilities:

The Young Harpy began listening to Noir, head cocked to the side as she asked about how to make the plants grow before he noticed the Imuchakk reach into the supply of seeds and attempt to work his magic. While the life magic did, in fact, encourage the plants to grow immensely fast, without the tempering of time to acclimate the plant life to the latent electrical charge in the air, it took no time at all for the plants to become singed and burnt. The Harpy grew agitated and then angry when he saw the waste the man had made of the seeds intended for later in the season. That anger displayed itself in his voice, the already harsh tones coming out on an angry seethe.

“You respond to my claim of your arrogance with yet more arrogance. First, we do not need food right now, that was for later this season. For two, you have wasted those seeds. Making them grow too quickly does not allow them time to adjust to the environment, and using water will only intensify the effect of the charge in the area. The only thing that can make these plants grow successfully is a steady exposure to the lightning in the area.”

His eyes turned to Noir, some of the anger settling on to her as well.

“Your partner has wasted my supply for later in the season because he could not accept that he was ignorant to this area. Your support of an ignorant, arrogant man has lessened your value, despite your curiosity. You should both leave. Now.”

He looked back to the field where Yakuroro’s plants had grown and been unable to handle the electrical charge the ground held, what few fruits had spawned were deformed and useless, the plants themselves were blackened and burnt. He knew that the later harvests would now be short. He had no way of comprehending that the existence of these strangers meant his world might not be around for much longer. He immediately made himself busy, using his talons to rip the plants from the ground and pecking what useful seeds he could from the ruined plants. Perhaps he could salvage enough to minimize the damage.

This time, when the sound echoed from the East, he did not even glance at it. The pair deserved whatever challenge would be issued. The sound was closer this time but the flashes of lightning would illuminate nothing on the horizon.

Young Harpy:

OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post.

The black haired girl was surprised that her mentor went ahead to grow those plants by himself without asking the young harpy first about it and the worst had happened when all the plants got burnt because of the lightning. The tone of the harpy’s voice was not good, he was angry and he was not happy with their presence now because Yakuroro made a wrong move. She would stare at the harpy right on his eyes but then she looked down to the ground before giving him a deep bow and plead, “My apologize for our recklessness… but the least that I can do is to help you. I am sure there are some useful seeds scattered there, please let me help...”

Noir would then made her way to the farm and tried to help the winged being to get some useful seeds if there was any. They went in as a team and whether he was arrogant or not, whether his personality has lessened her value, she didn’t care since he was her partner. All she knew was she promised to help and she would take responsibility to the things that they did together even if she didn’t do anything at the moment. Noir would then call Haku and command him to guard them from the sound echoed from the east while she helped the harpy, wanting to keep her guard for whatever that would appear from there. “Yakuroro, it is fine… please wait for me and also, be careful of the lightning.” She was worried about this man; at simple glance this Imuchakk was full of knowledge, strong and charming. However he had a childish side inside him; a curiosity inside that he couldn’t really held without doing anything to satisfy his desire. A sigh escaped from Noir’s lips and she hoped that the young harpy would let her to help him.

Observing the wild growth turn to singing and burning was a fascinating sight for the ever curious Imuchakk. He watched the spoiled crops with a smile of wonderment and made a sound of intrigue. "Hooo~ So this is what it meant..." The Imuchakk muttered to himself as he began to inspect the stalks in order to discern the cause behind the failed maturation. It was almost disappointing that the Harpy's frustration led to an explanation being spoon fed to the magician, however it was still a moment to be enjoyed for the eccentric mind of Yakuroro. He understood why the Harpy would be upset, although he did think it was somewhat of an over reaction. Yakuroro had only used a handful of seeds after all, it was far from an entire harvest's worth that had been squandered. It was not like the Imuchakk had cast his spell on an entire field of crops. Nevertheless, he had irked the harpy's ire now and an appropriate response was needed.

Collected eyes rested on the creature as it turned to address Noir. Yakuroro casually approached the avian stopping as it finished speaking to his companion. The Imuchakk smiled, his demeanor filled with bravado and yet humble at the same time as he held out a hand to stop Noir after she offered to help. "I admit, I know little to nothing about these plants. But how much did you know about what means I would use to grow them?" The Imuchakk posed this question to point out that the Avian had not given any direct information that suggested Yakuroro's method wouldn't work. "What you call arrogance, I proudly declare is a thirst for knowledge. You would not explain your plants to me, so I had to learn about them first hand."

The hand blocking Noir dropped and gave blessings for her to continue with her intended actions with a gesture. This action was simply a preface however, Yakuroro real action was to slowly begin to kneel. "That all being said, my curiosity has cost you." The kneeling position led to a slow bow. "My recklessness often brings consequences down upon myself, and I am always fully prepared to accept them. However, this time, the price for my selfishness has fallen upon you." The sentences ended with Yakuroro's head touching the ground, his body prostrated before the Harpy.

"For this, you have my sincere apologies. Please accept Noir's assistance."

The Imuchakk would remain this way until the Harpy reacted.

It seemed the Imuchakk’s ego was so great that he would indicate it was the Harpy’s own fault for the ruined crops for not offering information about his plants. When the young girl began attempting to help the Harpy, the young winged creature would freeze before listening to Yakuroro’s words. The more the man spoke, the angrier the Harpy became until it finally gave an echoing caw of displeasure and retreated back under the tree, abandoning the lost crops. His tone would have been angry, if it were possible for such a flat tone.

“You blame your arrogance and ignorance on me? I owed you no explanation, you are not native to this land, I owe you nothing. I offered you the only help I had to give and declined your offer for help. In response, you ruined part of my crop and then deign to blame me for your ignorance by claiming you had to find out on your own. And then, in a further sign of your disrespect, you and your partner once again ignored my wishes that you leave.”

The Harpy angrily began grooming its wings, feathers flying out in his angry tearing as it moved to hop into the tree.

“It is obvious you care not for my wishes, so do what you will, satisfy your curiosity, ruin whatever you like. I will not accept your apology as long as you believe that any part of this could have been prevented by me. It is your arrogance that has done this and it is not something you can undo.”

The Harpy would retreat into silence in the tree, refusing to acknowledge the pair of invaders. His eyes would keenly watch Noir’s attempts to assist, but her actions did not make up for what her partner had done or how he had foolishly chosen to approach the situation. The odd sound from before came again, this time much closer, and with the next flash of lightning, a serpentine shadow could be seen approaching the tree the Harpy had taken refuge in.

Young Harpy:

OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post.

Yakuroro rose from his bow but remained in a kneeling position as the Harpy went off on a heated rant. Such closed mindedness disgusted Yakuroro, his stomach turning at the thought of a being such as this being representative of the Djinn the dungeon held. If that were the case, he would need to dominate it rather than prove his worth. No matter, subjugation was a path he had already resolved to walk. The Imuchakk pondered on whether or not the power of Marax would be able to contend with another djinn inside of its own dungeon while the bird creature continued its tirade. The words fell on Yaku's words empty and void of weight, though his face offered up a grimace of regretful sorrow in response. That is until the words "satisfy your curiosity" came flying out of the Harpy as it retreated into the tree.

"Whatever I like?"

A sly smirk came across Yakuroro's lips as he stood and turned to face the tree, shield on his arm and staff in hand. If the olive branch was refused, then Yakuroro would employ the cruel bludgeon of violence to reap some kind of gain from this place. "Very well..." Yakuroro then pointed at the tree the Harpy had perched in, "I'm interested in how that tree works as well. I'll leave, but I'm taking it with me~" The magician then prepared to approach the tree, drawing his greatsword as he did. Yakuroro would have proceeded to try and chop the tree down if it weren't for the sudden appearance of the shadowy creature that encroached upon the farm.

"Noir..."

Yakuroro called out his companion's name as he stared at the figure, hoping that she would also give it her attention. Hopefully it would be just as foolish and cowardly as the Harpy had proven itself to be so far. But it was safer not to assume as much. Yakuroro stood 5m away from the tree and held his position there, waiting cautiously to see what kind of threat might be coming their way. He was also keeping an eye on the Harpy's movements, weary that it would lash out in response to his threat to chop down and steal the tree.

When the young harpy spoke his thought, Noir would just stare towards his eyes with an apologetic look. She felt bad for insisting to help him even though all he want was for them to leave him alone, she wondered if the lack of her social skill made the harpy became mad at her as well. She couldn’t even utter any words to the harpy as she knew another apology wouldn’t be accepted by the harpy and it would just make him lowered her and Yakuroro’s value more because if they did that, it meant that they still didn’t care about his wishes at all. She cared about it but she didn’t know how to gran his wishes and by insisting to help even though she didn’t know how or was not sure whether or not her strength alone could help the harpy to grant his wish would also be considered as an arrogance… so this was arrogance… Noir looked down when the harpy flew to the tree, stopping anything that she was doing with the burnt seeds. A lot of thought was in her head and she was asking over and over again to her head about the arrogant act that she did, mentally hurting herself with all the complicated thoughts.

But then her mentor started to do another thing that would surely make the harpy angrier and the last thing that she wanted to happen was to see the harpy decided to look at them as enemies and decided to attack them. She didn’t want that and she prefer it didn’t happen, so when the Imuchakk was calling her name, she looked at him before looking at the harpy who was seeking refuge on the tree before looking away and noticed the serpentine figure that seemingly was approaching the tree where the harpy was at. The first though that was on her head was to decide if this shadowy creature was hostile or not, it would be bad if it approached the harpy with bad intention filled in its mind. Second thought was just for her to approach her mentor, so she walked with Haku to stand beside Yakuroro. But there was something else in her mind; she wanted to do it because she thought that this man was acting strange ever since he entered the dungeon. Well, she wouldn’t lie, she didn’t know much about this man but she needed to make sure about his behavior. So while waiting for the shadowy figure to come closer, she would tug the giant’s sleeves and asked if she could whisper something until he brought his head down before taking the chance to hit his head with her own head as hard as she could. “My mentor is acting like a whiny child that wants everything around him to be his even though he looks like a grown man, it is amusing.”  When Noir referred to Yakuroro as her mentor, her tone was clearly stressed and filled with sarcasm. She would wait until her mentor reacted to what she just did while keeping her guard until the shadowy figure revealed itself.

The Harpy gave a snort of disgust at Yakuroro’s threat to take its tree, it was obvious the spoiled, arrogant man had no respect for anything around him. When Noir confirmed his childish nature, the Harpy shook his head. That she had chosen to follow such a man did not speak well for her, she obviously had made no attempt to stop any of the Imuchakk’s behavior, too timid to speak out against the man. As the serpentine figure approached, the Harpy would make its way high into the tree, trying to make sure the attention was only on the two intruders to his farm and nothing else.

The Serpent had responded when it had sensed a change in this land it surveyed and decided to investigate to ensure nothing was in danger. When it sensed the Harpy’s presence huddling in the tree away from the two on the ground, it immediately went into defensive mode, knowing it would need to protect this land. The Harpy was a rather laid-back creature and with it hiding, the Serpent could only assume something had happened to frighten it, so the Serpent wasted no time as it came to circle the top of the tree, putting it almost ten meters away from Yaku and Noir before using Volt Pool to try and ensnare the pair.

Young Harpy:

Lightning Serpent:

OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post.

The black haired girl hissed in pain, it seemed head-butting an Imuchakk was not really a good idea but it worked well to relieve her from the stress after seeing her mentor’s strange act. However, the serpentine shadow became more visible and the moment it came closer, Noir could only stare in awe towards the creature that was emitting lightning all over its body. She thought the creature was deadly but beautiful and that she wanted to know more about it. Yet it was not as ‘friendly’ as the young harpy that would still talk to them at first, the serpent created a pool of lightning and it was directed towards Yakuroro, Noir and Haku. Seeing that as something that would surely hurt them, Noir decided to clash that pool of lightning. The female magician flicked her wrist to move her wand before summoning her rukh to form the blizzard behind the enemy and expanding to envelop it with its edge stopping 1 meter before reaching Yakuroro, Noir and Haku. She could only hope the blizzard was fast enough to stop the pool of lightning as well even though she was not sure about the intention of the serpentine and it would be best if she teamed up with her mentor for this matter, so with a calm tone, she called the Imuchakk’s name, “Yakuroro, perhaps you have any ideas?”

Magoi: 260/300

Ability:

There would be no need for the cat eared girl to spend her efforts towards neutralizing the Volt Pool as the Imuchakk magician was taking his own actions in response to the guardian's attack. After being interrupted by Noir, Yakuroro kept a stoic gaze locked upon the serpent. Even when the girl bonked heads with him, the magician simply stood back into a composed posture. Her words on his behavior weren't ignored, but they held no weight when they fell upon his ears. Yakuroro would explain the importance of the aggression later, but for now he knew that remaining vigilant would be key to their survival. With that in mind, Yakuroro gripped his staff and began channeling magoi into it as he watched the lightning snake begin to coil its way up the tree which had the Harpy inside of it.

Fear and paranoia were not traits of the mind Yakuroro preferred to rely on, but one was not always able to keep such things in check. The movements of the serpent struck Yakuroro as defensive actions, it's positioning implying that it would protect both the Harpy and the tree the Imuchakk sought to steal. Anything standing in Yakuroro's way would be destroyed, but if possible he would prefer not to damage his desired bounty in the process. Fearful that the serpent would attack before it even had and hopeful that he could move both snake and harpy alike out of the tree, Yakuroro case Deep Blue. The Imuchakk formed a 25m sphere of water overhead and sent it forward at a downward angle allowing the bottom of the sphere to crash into the earth. His intentions were to wash both creatures away from the tree so they could be fought without worry of harming his potential new lightning deterrent. However, the serpent's pool of lightning manifested simultaneously and the two abilities clashed canceling each other out.

Noir's blizzard spell would prove to be an unexpectedly opportune sneak attack following up the elimination of the Volt Pool. As the spell formed behind the foes Yakuroro and Noir faced, there would be little to know way of knowing it was coming or to execute proper defenses before the rushing winds and chill was upon them. If the spell succeeded in engulfing the dungeon beasts and eliminating them, Yakuroro would laugh and pat Noir on the back with his large Imuchakk hand. "Well done, Noir! That was a fine attack!" He would seem overjoyed and congratulated the girl on her unintentional murder of these relatively innocent and without sin beings. Yakuroro himself not being aware of the fact that she had only been trying to cancel out the attack that was headed their way.

((Will respond to Noir's question IC if the blizzard doesn't kill the monsters. Obviously her question probably wouldn't happen if they are killed as I hope))

Magoi: 260/300

Abilities:

The serpent was unhappy as its Volt Pool was destroyed by Yakuroro’s Deep Blue currents, giving a roar of disapproval. Its anger would be short-lived, however, as its focus on the initial attack distracted it from Noir’s Tormenta. The blizzard would ravage not just the Serpent, but the Harpy and tree as well. The Harpy gave a crow of pain as its wings froze and shattered before its face turned blue from the cold. The Serpent fell to the ground with a thud as its body froze over, the ice crackling as the large body slammed to the ground. The tree, too, was not immune to the effects of the ice, the branches coating in snow and ice before the force of the winds would snap the branches and eviscerate the natural lightning rod. Once the storm cleared, the pair would see the reason the trees were so effective at drawing lightning, veins of what appeared to be metal twining through the interior of the tree which helped it to draw the electric currents. Unfortunately, there was not enough of the tree left to help anything and a crash of lightning would come striking down to hit the now tallest thing in the area, Yakuroro; the force of the lightning bolt unfortunately strong enough to also strike Noir and Haku.

Young Harpy:

Lightning Serpent:

OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post (D-tier).

Surprised and remorse… were what Noir felt in her mind and heart at the moment, it was such a foolish move and she should have known about it. She should be able to know that this kind of thing might happen, yet she gave in into her defensive instinct without actually gave more thoughts about it. The black haired girl’s knees weakened as she almost kneel on the ground but she was strong enough to prevent that to happen. Yakuroro’s big hands gave her back a pat and he praised her with joy, as if she was doing a great job. She slowly shook her head while looking at the serpent that now was on the ground with frozen body, but her gaze was more fixed into the frozen harpy and his face color that turned into blue. His frozen wings shattered into a sparkle, but the female magician didn’t find it as beautiful scenery. Her lips trembled but she tried hard to let out some words, “I…I was…just…going to…” She gulped, feeling the dryness in her throat, “I didn’t… mean to… kill the harpy… he is…innocent…”

She was lost, she didn’t know how she should react or feel about this. She never intended to kill the harpy and the serpent, they had not even received forgiveness from the harpy as well and yet… she killed him. “No…” she looked at Yakuroro before she continued, “That was not a fine attack… that was… a mistake…” She looked down right after before biting her lips and gripped her wand tightly until her knuckled became white, even Haku’s presence didn’t help her to feel better about the murder that she was just committed. It seemed that she really was giving a deep thought about it to the point she didnt even realize the lightning strike that struck her mentor and Haku was strong enough to get her as well. She did feel a little bit dizzy but that was not the only thing that made her became even dizzier, her golden irises switched into crimson and turned back again into golden for around three times as if something inside her was trying to come out. Then she would hear a faint laugh in her head, a voice that sounded like her own voice and she knew who it was… it was the beast within herself.

“Don’t you worry, my poor little Noir… Those filthy creatures were only obstacles for you to attain power… Go forward; show them that you won’t be affected by the murder that you just committed.” The voice laughed again before continuing, “Kill everything that got in your way… or let me out from this boring empty room…”

Noir gritted her teeth and shook her head before trying to shut the voice, she knew she needed to regain herself back but looked like it was too much for her because she was just killed an innocent creature with her own hand. So until Yakuroro said something, Noir would stay still and waited while she calm herself down.

The truth behind Noir's intent became clear in her response to Yakuroro's congratulations. The Imuchakk silenced himself, but not out of respect for her feelings. The quiet was brought on by disappointment and even some degree of disgust. He had known that Noir's heart was a kind and generous one, but he hadn't thought she would be so burdened by the death of a mere sub-human. Was it because of those cat features she possessed? Did she sympathize with the harpy seeing herself as sub-human as well? Either way, it didn't matter. The girl showed weakness and blind compassion towards creatures that probably didn't even really exist on their own outside of the dungeon anyways.

"This is just a test of the Djinn, Noir. Stand up, don't be so-"

As if the djinn itself had chosen to punish Yakuroro for speaking so heartlessly to the girl, a bolt of lightning struck upon the Imuchakk's head. It was like the mighty hammer of a sky god swinging down from the heavens and the anvil was Yakuroro's skull. The sudden impact and shock stunned Yakuroro causing him to fall over crying out in pain. "Gah!" The magician's entire body was smoking and the scent of singed hair filled the air. Thankfully, the bolt was far from the lethal state that a natural one outside the dungeon would have possessed. In no time at all, Yakuroro was wobbling back to his feet, his vision doubled and disorientated.

Despite this seemling divine punishment, Yakuroro committed to his previous statement, not realizing that Noir was having a mental break down since his own sense were dulled at the moment. Speaking sloppy words through a numb mouth, Yakuroro fought against the increased gravity that would surround them again and attempt to strive onwards. "Camon Nnnorr...Ifth I can hamdllle bein shhucked den youshcan handaal killin tha burdfreek." Using his staff and greatsword as dual walking supports, he began to shuffle towards the open plains like an old man using crutches.

Cooldowns:
Deep Blue - 7 posts

With the Serpent and Harpy defeated and the tree destroyed, the two would need to keep moving and hope to find another natural lightning rod or risk being struck again. The frozen bodies of Noir’s victims would remain on the ground, glimmering from the icy shards covering them. In one direction, a small hill might be spotted with a tiny foot path leading over it. In the other direction, a massive tree could be seen a few meters off, large enough that it might be able to be used to search out a more promising direction. It would ultimately be up to the adventurers to decide which direction to take.

OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post (D-tier).

As the numbness in his mouth wore off, Yakuroro set his eyes on a nearby footpath and gestured towards it with his head in defiance of the gravity field. "There, we should head this way..." He said to Noir before starting to force his path forward towards the makeshift trail. There was a large tree in the distance they could have headed towards instead. Chances were, the standing landmark would have also served as a fine lightning rod and perhaps even given them an opportunity to scout the surroundings from a high vantage point. However, there was no telling how many times lightning would strike at them between where they were now and the tree. Yakuroro explained his reasoning to Noir in case she had doubts about not heading to the tallest thing around them that they could see.

"This path means the things that live here travel this route. Surely it should be safer from the lightning than randomly wandering the fields."

In the corner of her eyes, she saw Yaku started to walk away and with a head down, Noir followed her mentor. She got nothing to say and she was still depressed to the point she put back her wand inside its sheathe before slowly walking to catch up with Yaku. If it was not for Haku growling at her and lowered his head to signal that she could sit down on it, she would still walk slowly and the chance for her to get struck by the lightning would be higher. Being a very supportive partner, the liger stood strong to bring Noir and caught up to the Imuchakk. The words that her mentor said was clear but her mind couldn’t process it correctly to produce an answer or even an opinion. She could only nod to what he said without saying anything, but following this route might be right and safer because of the same reason that Yakuroro gave to her.

What made her mind cloudy was because the force from inside of her mind that keep trying to speak to her, making it so loud inside her head. This other being inside the girl was trying to get out and gain control, Noir’s depression just made it stronger and the voice was louder each time. The female magician gritted her teeth and put her hands on her head only to press it as hard as she could to remove the pain. She grunted when the pain spread to her eyes, making the irises glowed in crimson only to shifted back in golden for several time. Then, knowing that she needed to focus in the dungeon or she would die, Noir brought her left hand to her mouth and bit it as hard as she could until it was bruised and bleeding. It did help her to remain sane and she would greedily breathing the air to calm herself down while still sitting on Haku to wait what would appear in the path that Yakuroro who was standing beside her had chosen.

The pair chose to follow the foot path going over a small hill. It would be relatively uneventful, any creatures in the area giving them a wide berth after hearing the death cries of the Serpent that had so often guarded and kept peace in the area. As they crested the top of the hill, in the distance, a small wind mill would be spotted, the first true structure to be seen in the lightning wasteland. A strike of lightning would illuminate the building, lighting it up like a beacon of hope to the adventurers. If they could safely make it to the windmill, what they seek might be found inside.

---

Ronove’ watched as the Imuchakk and the tiny magician girl traveled from her Chamber, a shallow dish of water providing a view of them as they traveled. She frowned, the actions of the Imuchakk man speaking of arrogance and petulance. The girl with him was too quiet to have attempting preventing much of his actions until the end. She would keep a close eye on them as they moved through the dungeon, seeing how they would handle the future challenges of the dungeon, but so far the Imuchakk had shown no willingness to listen to their partner or to even consult with her, really. And a good supporter knew the importance of guiding and offering advice to those they chose to support. Perhaps it was too early to judge their actions, though, so the djinn would simply continue to observe.

OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post (D-tier).

Hobbling along until the gravitational field no longer burdened him, Yakuroro proceeded down the path until the windmill came in view. The Imuchakk smiled and returned the greatsword to its place on his back before turning to face Noir. "Look, there is a..." The magician was eager to explore this new location, but the girl's state was troubling. Yakuroro frowned and attempted to grasp Noir by the wrist, wrenching her hand from her mouth. As blood dripped from her appendage, Yakuroro locked cold eyes on the girl and made a grunt of displeasure. "A couple sacrifices and you collapse into self harm? Where is the bold ruthlessness you displayed when those men attacked Reim's Historical Society, hmm?" His voice didn't raise, but the antagonizing tone would be unmistakable.

"This is a dungeon. It poses a far greater danger than those thugs did. The creatures in here are aren't even real as far as I can tell from the several dungeons I've entered. They are simply shadows of the djinn meant to test those inside. Do not waste emotions of guilt or regret on their ilk."

Yakuroro let go of Noir's hand, his presence once again surrounded by black rukh albeit only a few, as he cursed the life fate had given this girl to induce such a breakdown after something so trivial. The spite Yakuroro felt towards fate was the main reason he was being so harsh with the girl, depravity clouding his judgement and preventing his mind from seeing how counter productive the foul attitude could be. "You are a King Vessel. You possess the might of a Djinn. Act like it." With the sharp statement made, Yakuroro would swipe his hand through the air to discard some of Noir's blood to the earth.

((I give Noir permission to state Yakuroro's actions to the point of approaching and entering the windmill in her next post. I'll cover my reaction in the next round of posting.))

No words coming out from Noir’s lips as Yakuroro talked to her, holding her bleeding wrist while the blood dripped to the ground. His words were true but it was a different matter, at that time they were doing the wrong thing and they deserved to be punished. Yet the harpy was not even at fault, in fact the one that was guilty was them. They were the one who made the harpy angered with them and by killing him meant they didn’t acknowledge their own fault, especially her mentor who turned out was a heartless one. She agreed with his point about dungeon though, knowing that this place was not a friendly one to those that seek a great power but that didn’t mean the entire creature inside the dungeon would try to fight them even though they were not real and was created by the owner of this dungeon. They passed their territory, their home, so Noir, Haku and Yakuroro would be the one who needed to be careful when they crossed the path, it was natural if most of them felt threatened but Noir felt that they didn’t need to try and kill those who were not trying to being hostile towards them.

She could see the black rukh around her mentor and could feel her eyes reacting again, giving off a bearable burn from there that caused the black haired girl to cool her eyes by using natural source, by crying. “Act… like it…?" Noir finally reacted to Yakuroro’s word and it was confusing for her, to act like one but she had no idea how to act like it. Was Yakuroro’s act could be a great example for her to know how to act? She was not sure…

“Ahh… he did it… I wonder why he said that… perhaps you are not suitable for exploring the dungeon after all? Should I explore it for you?” Familiar voice spoke inside Noir’s head once again and caused the girl to shake his head to remove the voice. “No!” She yelled to the voice inside her mind but Yakuroro might hear it as something that his mentor was saying to him.

“No? Then why your mind is all cloudy? Killing is an easy task…don’t you feel something when you saw that harpy’s face turned into blue? That was gorgeous… he was pretty and too bad we cannot keep him with us… Now, Noir… you won’t be able to continue like this…let me—“

The black haired girl gritted her teeth, never before she felt that her other side would be this strong. “No! No…! Ugh… Aaaaaaah! S-stoooop…” It felt like her head was splitting and her eyes burnt even more as her other side was trying to get out and control her. Noir’s will power usually helped her to seal that person back inside her but she couldn’t at the moment, it felt like the more she tried to suppress it, the more it became stronger and forced itself out. Then the last thing that Noir heard from the voice was not words but it was a laugh, mocking her weakness as the girl couldn’t control it any longer. She moaned when her golden irises shifted to crimson again, giving some sort or beastly feeling from the eyes. Noir would suddenly laugh maniacally as if she was satisfied with something and would look her mentor right away after that, locking her crimson eyes with his eyes and showed a smile that she never showed to anyone before.

“Well… hello there, dear mentor…” She giggled before continuing, “Hmm, it feels great… Shall we enter the windmill now?” The girl would pet Haku before climbing down from him and proceed to look around the area first to check if there was something there. Then if there was nothing there, she would push the door to the windmill before entering it with both Haku and Yakuroro, wondering what kind of amusing thing that she might found inside.

When Yakuroro and Noir would enter the windmill, they would find a massive door on the opposite wall, far too large to be in such a small building. Etched on the door was two handprints, one obviously Imuchakk sized, the other a perfect fit for a small human hand. In the middle of the room, between the entrance and the large gate, sat a small table. On the table a small stone with a lightning bolt rune etched into it sat, the lightning bolt shimmering purple. Otherwise, the room was empty.

OOC Note: Players will have 48 hours to respond. If within an electromagnetic field, all movement speed will be halved (this includes with the use of any mounts, biological or otherwise). If struck by lightning, the player will suffer disorientation for a single post (D-tier).