Questing for Mutant Broccoli Monsters [Big EXP! And spices.]

Mia waved her katana around as she led her dear companions into lands unexplored--the Mutant Broccoli Forest of Youkai Mountain. Though slightly unready to act as a party leader, she made an attempt to do so regardless.

"Come out, terrible demons! It's not too late for our mercy!" Turning to her party, she took the time to make sense of things. "They *are* here, right?"

Kyouko took her place next to Mia with a warm smile, she held her broom with one hand behind her back. Her ears twitched once or twice whenever a twig snapped under someone's foot. Kyouko looked at Jade with her bright blue eyes for a moment, then placed her attention back to Mia, she placed her free hand on her chest and nodded.

"I believe they are, unless there's a mistake on the map."

Even though he wore heavy gear, Bass was still quick on his feet, waving his left arm as though there wasn't a shield strapped to it. "Of course we'll have to be careful not to cross the Tengu guarding the place," he added.

Jade walked behind Mia and Kyouko with her scythe resting on her shoulders. She's never really stepped foot on Youkai Mountain before, so she wasn't completely sure what to expect, but she didn't want the others to think she was nervous.

"I think this is Tengu free zone around here, so we shouldn't have to worry about them."

Mia sighed with relief. "Alright. I dunno if I can handle any sort of Tengu, yet. It's not like they'd guard the Mutant Broccoli Monsters, right?" She trod as quietly as she could, hoping to avoid any sudden confrontations with the local obscenities.

"It's highly unlikely that they'd guard the broccoli, but they do keep intruders away from the mountains." Bass looked up, covering his eyes to avoid the glare. "I mean, there are gods residing in the place, but that might be only one of their numerous reasons."

Jade lifted a finger and spoke as if she knew everything about everything. "As long as we don't go trespassing in any Tengu outposts, we'll be fine~!"

Jade stopped for a second before turning to Bass. "Uh...wait, where ARE we on the mountain?"

Kyouko let out a soft sigh and continued down their path as if she knew where she was going. Kyouko closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air, smiling, she took several more steps before looking back at the others and motioned them to continue.

Bass did a quick check on his electronic device. "Seems like we're close by the Untrodden Valley," he said, tapping his device a number of times. "The kappas shouldn't cause too much trouble for us."

He looked up and saw Kyouko beckoning. "Guess she knows the way. Let's go."

From the mention of her beloved, Jade turned back to the front to see a confident Kyouko waving towards the party.

"Hm? You know where we're going? Well, alright, I'll trust you~" Jade smiled as she took the scythe off her shoulders and used it as a walking stick, following Kyouko.

Mia noticed the others and followed suit, keeping her eyes on the colorful but hostile environment of the mountain. She said nothing but gave a friendly nod to her friends. As she scanned her surroundings, she kept her hands firm on the hilt of her katana.

Panting, Showa runs up to the others, an anger tick obvious on his forehead. "Hey, how come I wasn't invited!?"

-Watches closely from a nearby tree.-

Showa Kitashirakawa wrote:

Panting, Showa runs up to the others, an anger tick obvious on his forehead. "Hey, how come I wasn't invited!?"

Mia responds with a light sigh. "Our party already has four people in it. We can't take anyone else along, or we wouldn't be Warriors of Light anymore."

Rumia Dark wrote:

-Watches closely from a nearby tree.-

Upon explaining things to Showa, Mia continued to tread onward, but not without noticing the small Youkai hiding behind the resident plant-life. She, unaware of the stranger's fiendish nature, tilted her head a bit and inquired into her background.

"Heya, there, stranger~what're you doing here? Are you lost?" She attempted to sound welcoming and hospitable, in spite of her fear of an untimely demise on Youkai Mountain.

Jade turned to the sudden arrival charging full speed towards the party from the direction they came. She laughed nervously, before responding with "Eheh, sorry, the party was formed while you weren't around. No hard feelings?"

After assuring the newcomer that they had a plausible reason for not inviting him, she turned her attention to Mia who, as far as Jade knew, was speaking to a tree, for she couldn't see the figure behind it. "Uh...Mia? Who you speaking to?"

"Eeep!" Flies away, quickly out of sight.

The adventurer turned to the succubus and spoke. "Oh, I'm talking to this person right here~" She began to gesture in the youkai's direction, however, to her embarrassment, not a soul was there. "...Eh? There was a girl right here, just a moment ago. Seriously!!"

"Next time, let me know!" Showa grumbled before building a tent. "Since I already came, I may as well do something. I got some weapons, armor, and Items. But they aren't free!"

Jade sighed as she lightly slapped her own forehead with her palm. "You're probably just seeing things. C'mon, let's keep go- eh? A store up here?"

Jade wrote:

Jade sighed as she lightly slapped her own forehead with her palm. "You're probably just seeing things. C'mon, let's keep go- eh? A store up here?"

Showa facepalmed as he grumbled. "I have to pay rent somehow. So, what can I get'cha?"

Kyouko had continued to walk unknowing that the team was not behind her. Soon all the trees started to look alike, and before Kyouko noticed, she was lost in the forest. Kyouko placed her index finger on her bottom lip as she looked around, she had forgotten which way she and come from and which direction she was heading.

Without saying much to the shopkeeper, Mia spent precious time eying up the newly erected store's inventory. She murmured under her breath, "These blue plates look nice, but...the brown ones seem to last longer." She held her hand up to her chest as she began to ask, "Hey, Kyo, which do you think is a better choice...?"

The myrmidon received no response, but her eyes remained fastened on the merchant's inventory. She repeated her question. "Kyo? I really can't decide, which will work better...?" She finally spun herself around, growing impatient with her ally's response, only to see nothing but a seemingly endless sea of plantlife.

"...Um, Jade? Boss-but-not-Boss-Man? ...Where's Kyo?"

Slowly, a figure in the distance approaches the party. Walking at a lagging pace, a red haired female can be seen through a break in the trees. It can be seen that the mountain has taken its toll on the red haired female. She holds her shoulder, gashed by the claw of an unknown origin. She approaches the party in the tent.

The fatigue of her failed journey can be heard through her lips, "The path up ahead. There are many dangers. Tread cautiously, for there are hostile creatures up ahead."

She then cringes in pain, trying to speak. She then faces the makeshift store's owner. Her face as pale as the moon.

"I need... i need"

She coughs blood into her hand and falls over. Her life on the brink, her eyes slowly turning white.

Showa wasted no time in letting the female axe-wielder lay on his sleeping bag as he doctored her wounds.

Jade looked quizzically at Mia. "What do you mean? She's right...uh...right...Kyouko?" She looked around the area, spotting no traces of her beloved. Jade very quickly began to panic. "Kyouko?! KYOUKO?!! WHERE YOU ARE?!!!" She shouted, forgetting they were trying NOT to anger the local Tengu.