29 - Autumn Leaves

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Uncover the remaining secrets of the mysterious forest.
When: Nov 29 - 30
Where: Chichibu National Park & the Central District
Summary: A heavily forested wilderness area in Chichibu National Park is attracting dangerous numbers of ayakashi, and Heaven's forces suspect that this might be the mortal forest that was connected to the Heavens in order to kidnap gods and shinki a few weeks ago.






Walk in the Woods

On the morning of the 29th, Heaven's messenger doves drop off small folded cards at the doors of every temple. The cards read,


We believe that we have identified the location on the Near Shore where the human accomplices were working. As it is a large area, we offer you this information, in case you are able to assist us in searching for clues to the identity of the culprit. Please investigate with caution: there are reports of ayakashi in the area.


Attached is a map to a large national park in the Kanto region, with a section of the park cross-hatched in red pen. Anyone who goes to investigate the marked area will discover that it is heavily forested and contains about a mountain and a half; the ground is steep, muddy with autumn rain, and slick with dead leaves, though some red and orange colors are still grimly clinging to the branches overhead. Watch your step! The supernatural menace seems to have faded, but the purely natural hazards can do almost as much damage.

Heaven's forces, wearing white short jackets with gold chrysanthemum emblems over much more sensible jeans and hiking boots, can be seen here and there throughout the forest, searching for clues themselves. If somebody gets in a real jam, they might be willing to lend a hand.

Mysterious Trees

Towards the center of the cross-hatched area, investigators may begin to see some familiar signs. Are those bits of torn-down spell papers still fluttering from nails driven into the trees? Vines and tree branches cut and broken by the hostage rescuers breaking through? Footprints, torn bits of black hooded cloaks... there are clues aplenty here.

There's something else, too: a mysterious presence still seems to haunt the forest. The trees might not move when anyone's watching, but it seems like they're in slightly different positions every time you look away and back. And what was that flicker of movement in the underbrush? Is there still someone here?!

Comment on the NPC REQUEST/CLUE SEARCH thread below to request specific details, or to go hunting for that mysterious presence.

Ayakashi Attacks

There's more than one mysterious presence in these trees... and some of them are definitely not friendly. The forest's aura is unsettling and creepy enough to partially mask their approach, but ayakashi of all types and sizes seem to have been drawn here. Some wind along tree branches or soar through the air on fleshy, wide-spread wings. Others crawl or even burrow in the ground.

And all of them are excited at the possibility of a divine meal. Look out!

Autumn Leaf Viewing

An area of the Central District planted with maple along a stone-walled canal has been decorated with hanging lanterns, comfortable spread mats and cushions, and an abundance of delicious food and drink on the afternoon of the 30th. Everyone is invited: new gods and old, those who helped investigate the Near Shore forest and those who didn't. For those who did investigate, though, one or two of the white-robed shinki who are helping with the party preparations and enjoying the food and drink themselves will take the opportunity to pull them aside and ask about their findings.

The party includes games as well as food and drink. Kites, poetry games, tag, hide-and-seek, card games and dice games are going on all over. There's even some determined board game and mahjong players who have brought their favorite game to the outdoor venue and are setting up on mats with immense care.

At one edge of the landscaped area where the party is being held, the ground slopes up, and is planted with a riot of bright gold, white and rust-red chrysanthemums. Like the ones that bloomed everywhere a few months ago, these flowers exude a sense of peace, confidence and security to anyone nearby, and especially those who pick the blooms to wear in their hair or their buttonhole.

In Summary:

• Investigate a wild forest
• Watch out for nasty trees
• Exorcise an ayakashi infestation
• Enjoy some hard-earned relaxation
• Have fun~

Comments

[silentscales]

[Once they've managed to creep close enough Snake lets his tail fall from a branch. The very tip twitches, beckoning her up. He'll pull her up by wrapping himself more around the tree.

From the position he's in, he's fairly sure he can launch across the canopy and strike if they get even slightly closer. Or it gets closer to him. Sure, he could strike it himself, but he still needed Marinette to rend.]

[doodlebuginette]

[Just as she was beginning to look up at the trees to try and figure out a way up, opportunity fell in her lap in the form of Snake's tail. Shrugging slightly, she moves over as quietly as she can manage and grabs hold of her shinki. She probably wouldn't have thought of it on her own, and she's not even sure how well it was going to work.

Once he'd pulled her up, she realized they were actually in a pretty decent position for this. Maybe they just needed to get a little closer first, but this could work. So she's nudging Snake's side and gesturing at the ayakashi with a tilt of her head.

In the meantime, her grip on his tail tightened a little and she tried to brace herself with her feet against the branch they were standing on.]

[silentscales]

[Snake encourages her onto his back so that he can move over another tree without risking losing her. Just a little bit closer and he could strike....

At least as long as it didn't wake up.]

[doodlebuginette]

[Moving as silently as she could, Marinette climbed up onto his back. She wasn't crazy enough to move too much, though, because the prospect of sitting too close to his head when he struck was not something she even wanted to consider.

In the meantime, she's shifting a little and making sure she has a good enough hold on him to keep from falling off. Because she's pretty sure she has to be touching him for the rend to even work, and falling out of a tree would just put a damper on the whole day.]

[silentscales]

With her on his back he feels comfortable closing the distance, and then he's practically flying through the air, his body flattening, letting him just get a little more distance.

He gets his mouth on the hulking creature and takes it with him, and thus Marinette, to the forest ground, unable to quite reach the other branches, and several underneath him breaking under his weight. It's his first real ayakashi battle, and he's taken a little aback at his own striking power, though he wasn't as agile as he had thought.

The demon is thrashing about as Snake struggles to keep hold of ayakashi. "Get back, Marinette! He has to wrap around it!" He's not a constrictor type of snake, but it would still take some time for his venom to break down it's defenses, and with it thrashing on the ground, Snake had no choice but to roll with it's movements or let it go. Marinette trying to cling to his tail, even if the fall didn't knock her off, would put her in danger.