 t's very, very cold. It's cold enough that you'll see your breath fog in the air before you, that goosebumps appear on your arms and legs and a chill goes up your spine. You're inside, in a huge palace with sweeping arches and rooms, but it's no real shelter from the cold -- it's just as cold inside as out.
There's a throne room, a kitchen, various rooms and even a dungeon to be explored -- and outside, a frigid, frozen garden, a lake that's naturally frozen over, and miles, and miles of snow as far as the eye can see.
But be careful while you explore. The snowflake soldiers are naturally dangerous, but even more dangerous than that...there's that creeping sensation of numbness going up your arm, a pang through your chest, and the slow, slow freezing from the inside out.
Try not to leave any of your friends behind, okay? Even if they might look a bit too uncannily like some of the statues hanging around for decoration when they're frozen over.
Welcome to Awash's fourteenth event log, everyone! Further information on this event can be found here at the OOC post. You are welcome to make your own logs for this event, but please keep in mind the lack of laptop function during this event when it comes to forum posts!
If there are any questions, please ask them here. Thank you! |
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But Archer's choice of words there sure as heck did.
It brings his memory crashing directly into the conversation he had with Maya-dono at the fireside during camp. His stride breaks and he looks at Archer with a wide-eyed expression of surprise, his blush reaching right to his ears this time.
"How did--?!" No, wait, 'how do you know that' isn't the right thing to say. It's unlikely that Maya or Lupin spoke of it to someone else. ... Isn't it?
"Th-that is--" his expression becomes more serious, although his face is still burning, "such a term that is used for an object cannot be used for a man."
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But, as Tonbokiri has himself observed, Tristan is not a man to miss out on the little details. “And you are man enough. There is no harm in enjoying yourself like one.”
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He is still astounded, and speechless for a moment. How even are they having this conversation...? It's not like he's going to hide from it, but it's an entirely unexpected topic, especially given that they haven't known each other for all that long.
"Yes... You are correct. I am entirely a man. However... I suppose I have not given much thought to that kind of 'enjoyment', since all of my comrades are men."
Have been men, up until now, being in Chroma.
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“Forgive me, my friend. I merely tease.” And it’s clear enough that Tonbokiri’s uncomfortable with the subject, so he’ll let it slide. Not everyone is really into that sort of thing, least of all when they have more pressing business to attend to. The trail seems to bring them further and further away from the supposed center of the palace, and it is beginning to worry him.
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"Thank you for saying so. I don't mind that topic, however I admit to being surprised by you bringing it up so easily. Perhaps it would be better suited to a time when we have a bottle of warm sake between us."
He's not forgotten his promise, but the right opportunity will take a while.
As for the path, he's following Archer's lead easily, unconcerned with exactly where it will lead them, but rather with how many enemies will be there.
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“But you have the right of it, in that we’ve little time to waste on such matters at the moment. Our quarry appears to be quite the wanderer.”
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Yet, looking towards the grand entrance of the palace, he sees no grouping of guards. There might be one or two on the other side of the open door, guarding it as would be proper, but certainly nothing worthy of an 'origin' of these snow soldiers.
"That said, the front entrance is no barracks. Could it be we simply tracked one back to its post?"
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But not enough to field a standing army, from the looks of things. And certainly not enough that they’d be serious threats to most people within the palace. Still, his frown grows deeper, his eyes cracking open to stare out into the snowy wilderness beyond the open doorway.
“Unless these soldiers did not originate from this palace at all.”
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"Not from here? ... Then what reason would they have to defend this castle? An allegiance? Is there another castle out there? But it is nothing but ice and snow as far as the eye can see, and the soldiers were here when we were."
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And there’s no mage to make sense of it all. This is incredibly vexing.
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"It does, however no information is in vain. Thank you for trying to track them, Archer-dono. Perhaps we can still try tracking one by sight..."
Turning to go back by the way they came, he finds that several snow soldiers have noticed them and, in their aggressive manner, are headed straight for them. Hefting his spear, he grins.
"Ah. Good timing. One of those would do."
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But all the same, he can’t help a little chuckle. “Then let us see which of us can snare a snowman first.”
He’ll even put his harp away for fairness’ sake and draw his sword.
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Oh, it’s on.
All they need is one or two to follow, right? Tonbokiri sprints forward, spear meeting the forerunner snow knight’s icy sword with a strange sound. As with all the ones before, it take him just a short time to force an opening and he cuts the first down into a heap of snow while a second knight slashes at him. One thing that makes these fights difficult is simply how recklessly aggressive the knights are. Tonbokiri flows from offense to defense then abruptly lunges out again to cut off the arms of the second knight. Its arms and weapon fall to the ground uselessly.
Taking a beat to assess the situation around him, Tonbokiri notices that the commotion has attracted the attention of the gate guards.
“I’ll get the ones behind us,” he calls out to Archer as he sprints away from the melee, confident that the man will have it well in hand.
So, unnoticed by him, the soldier whose arms he’d cut off kneels by the heap of snow that was its fallen comrade, and from that snow starts magically reforming its arms…
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“They are quite hardy.” Up to a certain point, anyway—strong enough to shove people into dungeons, but somehow brittle enough to give at the point of his blade. By the time the gate guards have arrived Tristan’s already managed to shear through a column of these knights, having lopped off their limbs or heads or torsos by accident—it’s hard to fight them and keep them intact, who’d’ve thought?
With an affirmative grunt at Tonbokiri’s call, he turns to focus on the others, and—hello? He slashes at a nearby enemy, this time with full intent to kill, watching it go down into a pile of snow. By now the hallway is packed with snow, which is handy for slowing down the other incoming knights, but this time Tristan sees that some of them are already beginning to reform…
Of course.
“Slay them all!” His warning is cut short as he meets the blade of another oncoming knight. “We cannot let them outnumber us!”
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Tonbokiri simply acknowledges the command with a shouted "Yes!", then turns from disabling his foes to outright killing them. Working his way back to Archer's side, it is hard to miss the man-sized mounds of snow starting to choke the hallway. Nice work, Archer-dono.
"It was quite the offensive this time," he comments as he finishes off a couple last ice knights. It seems that the rush has abated... If anything, they've probably killed off all the knights in the area!
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Not that Tristan gets to enjoy that feeling for long as he turns his attention to the remaining knights. A swift clash of steel later and he nods to Tonbokiri, frowning with deep concern as he surveys the carnage.
“Does anything strike you as strange about these warriors? They were too easy, far too easy…”
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He shakes his head, pausing a beat before adding, "If what happened with Farrow-dono before is an indication, at least it seems that they will only try to imprison those who don't try to fight them. If only they could be reasoned with. We are trespassers, it is true, but not by choice."
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“What could be more tragic—that they must be slain, or that we must spend an eternity slaying them?”
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Eyes wide, Tonbokiri instinctively places himself between the moving snow and Archer, his spear at the ready.
"What is this? ... They cannot be killed entirely? Is this why you said we'd be outnumbered?"
With a frown he slashes at the human-like snow before its icy armour can form, and the body crumples into snow again.
"... It is indeed a tragic fate. Although for our part, I hope that we can be free of this place soon, so at the least we do not have to continue cutting down these soldiers."
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“So it appears that my harp had indeed led us to the true source of our enemies. There is no longer any need for survivors.”
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"I see. We kept being led around because they are made of the snow that is everywhere here."
He frowns down at the piles. Although he has had some thought-provoking conversations about what it means to be 'alive', he is quite certain that these snow soldiers are not. Still, as Archer-dono said, it feels like a tragic existence. A thought that seems punctuated by the man's sombre harp music.
"Yes, we found out something important. And if they simply reform themselves of the snow, perhaps we will have to consider using fire or water to subdue them completely. Shall we return to where everyone is making camp as we think over our options from here?"
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“That would be for the best. The others will need to know about this.” But he keeps playing as they turn toward where the others are, if only to keep the knights around them at bay.