Blackblade 20.0 - Double Down

The group of adventurers, heading for Saitama Castle, traveled west through the Hokubu Woods. It became increasingly apparent that their current companion, Mako, was not going to leave in the immediate future, and so Broken Tusk, offended at his obviously antagonistic attitude, temporarily split ways with the rest of them, with the invitation to call him back when the gensui had left. Later that afternoon, they crossed over a road; it used to be nothing more than a rough supply path towards Sakaime Fort, but it appeared to have been recently widened to accommodate more traffic, which Mako attributed to the Hobgoblin Army. He also added that they may as well follow the road south, since if they weren't going to walk the whole night through, they may as well stop at the logging outpost for the night, citing his desire for clean clothes to be a main factor. There was some resistance, particularly from Caelan for obvious reasons, but eventually they agreed to at least pass through. When they approached the edge of the logging camp, they found it to be under heavy construction, as hobgoblins were busy tearing down old human buildings and constructing new ones that better suited their tastes. Mako ran ahead and cleared their passage; when he came back, he had a private bring him a large jug of moonshine, which Caelan nearly drank all of. The gensui, using Raito's pen, drew hobgoblin insignias on Raito, Caelan and Ragoom's forearms, which let them more officially visit the outpost. Mako pointed Caelan over to where he could stable Kirsikka with some cart horses, showed Ragoom where the commissary was, and then went over to the quartermaster to see about getting a change of clothes; Raito followed him and collected some clothes, though unlike Mako, he didn't change. After fulfilling his goal, Mako returned to Caelan, who was regarding the horses with almost a measure of confusion. The Yetoman told Caelan to instruct a private, who was obviously in charge of the horses but had been nervously avoiding the Northman, in what he should do with Kirsikka. He complied, though not in the friendliest tone; the stable boy appeared terrified. The three men then left and found the local bar, where Mako found a soldier named Felix who he knew. They joined him and his friends, and the group had a long night of drinking, where Raito remained almost silent, and the hobgoblins and Caelan learned a little bit about each other's culture, and that maybe they didn't really need to fight after all. Meanwhile, Ragoom, who could not speak Hobgoblin, caused a small stir at the commissary, where no one spoke Common, and eventually the foreman was called in regards to a strange misplaced human who seemed to think that he should be there. Before anything untoward could occur, they were informed that he was with Mako, and Ragoom finally got his sandwich.
The next morning, the group traveled as quickly as they could easily manage, using the Rod of Emergency Teleport to speed their way. Two days later, they finally entered the city of Saitama, where they hoped to learn something about Ko or Junko from the local court wizard, Arata Sekozawa. Figuring that the best way was the most direct way, Ragoom lent Mako his Hat of Disguise and was told to watch Kirsikka, while Raito, Caelan and Mako set out towards the castle. With an almost unprecedented level of coordination, the three purchased a load of fish from some vendors (along with the barrel, carrying poles, and the vendors' clothes), disguised themselves, and walked up to the castle gates. The attending guard was tired, bored, and paid very little mind to the fishmongers. They went around to the back and delivered the fish to the kitchens, leaving before the cooks had time to double check if they had, in fact, ordered fish that day. Sneaking around to some bushes, Raito cast Invisibility on the group of them and, using the hook shot they had purchased from Riolythe, they scaled the wall directly to the wizard's room. With barely a second's hesitation, they pulled the window open and charged in. Caelan grabbed the man, gagged him and put him in an armlock, Mako went to the door and ensured no one was coming in, and Raito opted to stay invisible. Since the coast was clear, Mako rejoined them, where Arata was struggling. A harsh threat from Mako terrified the man, and his struggling ceased immediately; unfortunately, upon asking him a single question, he proceeded to burst out crying. Mako and Raito alternated asking him questions, with Raito relying on his smooth tongue and Mako preferring more heavy-handed methods of persuasion. They learned, amidst his sobs and exclamations of self-pity, that he had been blackmailed by Ko into assisting her with spells and charges for her staves; when she came to him wanting access to the castle's anti-magic jail cell, he originally refused her, since there was no way she could use it secretly, and so she threatened to reveal his secret: that he was also being blackmailed by the Thieves' Guild. Panicked, he told his bosses in the mob about it, and a few days later, they responded by informing him to tell Ko that she could use the cells possessed by the Guild. All of this information was broken and garbled, coming from the mouth of a sobbing man who could not take any more stress. He claimed that he didn't know anything more, or where the Thieves' Guild was, other than that they were based in Nagaoka. With a final threat, Mako browbeat the wizard into teleporting the three of them directly to the merchant city. Without argument, Arata took them there and immediately left. 
Standing in the merchant city, they wondered where to go next. With little other direction, Raito suggested that they drop in on an old friend. Travelling to the estate of the Shimoru family, wealthy traders who profited off of the goods that traveled over the Mirovian Bay, Raito introduced himself to the maid and told her that he would like to speak to Charlotte. After a pleasant wait in a sitting room, Shirley graced them with her unamused presence. She commented on how Raito had seemed to have lost the majority of his entourage; he replied that they were elsewhere at the moment, but he had with him currently Mako Murakami, which seemed to unsettle her some. Raito cut to the chase, and asked her if she knew where to find the Thieves' Guild. With some reserve, she mentioned that there were rumours about two places: a warehouse down by the wharf, and an entertainment establishment. She jotted down the addresses, with the intent that it would get Raito out of her house faster. Her gambit paid off, and the group left almost as quickly as they had come.
They hurried over to the wharf, and quickly located the warehouse in question. It was a ramshackle building, and was likely condemned. The three of them, using their Hats of Disguise, drew their swords and disguised themselves as fishermen holding rods. The door to the warehouse was locked, so the three shrugged and broke the door down with a well-timed charge. An alarm was triggered, so the three spread out quickly; Caelan managed to spot the hidden trapdoor that two men came out of in response to the ringing. The men, in turn, saw Caelan. They approached him menacingly, yelling questions, but Caelan merely stood resolute. When they approached, one of them took a swing at the "fisherman", who dodged easily and responded with his "fishing rod", which killed the man. Mako, nimbly rolling and passing through the empty shelves, appeared suddenly behind the second man and executed him easily. Raito disabled the alarm while Caelan and Mako modified their disguises to appear like the two dead men. Mako decided to keep his sword looking like a fishing pole, since he was apparently not yet finished with the joke; the three regrouped, stashed the bodies, and descended down the passage beneath the trap door.
The door led into a tunnel that stretched out in either direction, with a scattered door here and there. A nearby door muffled some noise; a surreptitious glance revealed two men sitting at a table where a 4-player card game appeared to be in progress. Mako and Caelan nonchalantly walked in, responded casually to the questions of the men, walked behind them, and executed them both with a single swing each.  Raito took on the appearance of one of them, and the three pressed on.
Following the tunnel along the direction of the shore, and away from it when they had a chance, they found nothing of immediate interest. Small doors led to storage caches and common rooms, and periodic ladders appeared to lead up to various buildings. Occasionally, they passed another man, but no one paid them any mind. Eventually, they came across a widened area that contained a few doors. Using Detect Magic, Raito found magic signatures in three rooms; one had talking people on the other side, and another contained several men napping in bunks. The third room, with the strongest readings, opened up into a large, sunken room with several entrances. In the center were two large metal cubes, that appeared to be the lead jail cells they were looking for. A more concentrated effort revealed that one of the cells had been extensively trapped, with three alarms (two of which were remote), a fireball spell, a lightning bolt spell, and two additional fire spells that had been set to trigger only on the approach of a specific target. Almost on cue, they heard a voice remark from behind that it was almost certainly for him. With little surprise, Raito turned and addressed Osamu, who had appeared from nowhere. Obviously in short temper, he was in no mood to converse with Raito. He informed him plainly that he was not to kill Ko, and then strode purposefully towards the cell where Junko was ostensibly being held. As he stepped over the threshold of the spells, his image appeared to shimmer before it was consumed in flames. An alarm pealed out, and the three got ready for combat. As the flames and smoke cleared, they were greeted with a rather ominous sight: Osamu was still standing there, unharmed but drastically altered in appearance. Though his face was the same, he now had wings, horns and a tail; his skin and hair were white, and his nails, teeth and ears had all taken on noticeable points. Without any word or explanation, he drew his sword, and repelled the black sword of Ko's as she teleported in beside him. The two began a deadly struggle, while thugs armed with bows ran in from every entrance. The guildmembers were child's play for the two trained soldiers, who began to cut their way through the mob with indifference; Raito, on the other hand, used the distraction to evaluate Osamu's abilities and to bolster himself with a variety of spells. Ko was no match for Osamu, which was quickly apparent, but for reasons unknown she did not try to escape, rather, she just kept on attacking with increasing ferocity. It took only three magically-charged strikes for Osamu to bring Ko to the brink of unconsciousness, and with a final lash, Ko fell. Deftly, Osamu claimed the staff which Ko had been using to teleport, picked up the fallen swordsman, and teleported the both of them away with its power.
Seeing an opportunity with the way to the cell clear and Mako occupied with the guildmembers, Raito ran forward and opened the cell door, suffering an electrical blast as he did. Inside was an annex with a revolving tray and a door on the internal wall, designed so that the prisoner could be fed without breaking the lead shielding. The door was locked, but Raito managed to break down the door with some effort. Inside the sparse jail cell was a little girl, who looked like she had been crying at the expense of sleep. Raito's sudden intrusion startled her; though he was unable to calm her down, despite his insistence that he was saving her, she did not fight him when he picked her up. Calling for Caelan, Raito stepped back to the entrance of the cell. Seeing him, the Northman jumped down and ran over to where Raito stood. Mako, for his part, saw what was happening and followed after, managing to easily grab Caelan's arm before Raito could finish pulling out and activating the Rod of Emergency Teleport.
The rod left them somewhere in the southern Seldarin Mountain range, several days outside of Nagaoka. The ground was craggy and uneven, with steep drops and small outcroppings all around. With the caution of barely-restrained anger, Mako told Raito to put the little girl down. Raito politely refused, using the Fly spell he had cast earlier to easily make his way up the mountain to a more defensible location. Caelan was both confused and frustrated with Raito's shady behaviour, but he would not relinquish the girl to him either. He placed her down on a small outcropping behind him and tried to placate the two soldiers with his honeyed words. Junko huddled away from him, keeping her face away. While Raito tried to explain that he was only trying to keep her safe, Mako mentioned that it was all irrelevant now anyways. Suddenly, the imposing red figure of the devil who had attacked theGroggy Goose was behind him. Raito lept back out of his way, as the creature scooped up the little girl and hopped back down the mountain to stand behind Mako. Seconds later, Osamu, back in his human form, appeared beside them. He rushed over to Junko and embraced her tightly. Barely a moment later, two women also teleported in: the court wizard Masumi, and a teenaged girl who, by appearances, was Masumi's older daughter. Osamu passed Junko to her mother, who hugged her just as gratefully. Raito and Caelan stood silently through this reunion. Finally, Osamu told Masumi to take Junko home, and the older daughter, Hikosa, to take Mako back to Nagaoka before going home herself. They all readily agreed, and so it was that Raito and Caelan were standing before Osamu alone. Raito began to speak, but Osamu cut him off, saying he was in no mood to listen to him. He informed him that he had one week, 10 days, to arrive at Miyagi Castle to deliver Takuetsu. With that, he teleported away himself. 
Caelan and Raito began walking back down the mountain, forced to sleep overnight among the rocks until morning when the rod recharged itself. They returned to Nagaoka and used the ring to call Yomiel and the others and the post service to Send to Ragoom and Broken Tusk to update them and tell them all to go to Shizuoka. They then purchased a pair of horses to take them swiftly to Hikon, which they reached by midnight. Raito found his wife, explained the situation and that he might not be coming back again, and then they spent the night and following morning making a last-ditch attempt to make an heir for Raito. After brunch, the two men, having traded their horses, rode out again and, using the teleport rod, made it to Nara in good time. Raito had a drink with Masanori and filled him in, so that someone could tell his story should he die. Not staying more than a few hours in the city, the two pressed forward. They made it to the port on the south side of Kikan Lake, and caught a boat on the next morning that took them right into Shizuoka City, where they met Yomiel, Vol and Ridley, who had arrived there first. The group had a long discussion about what they all knew about the situation: the Blackblades, what Osamu wanted with them, the magic circles, their purpose, and how all of these things fit together. Eventually, they all split up, everyone needing some time to consider their plans and their personal thoughts. 
Category:Banishment of the Blackblades