Discontinued Private Isulus Keyless Guests

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno's shoulders dropped in relief seeing that, in one way or another, the two of them were fine. The wounds were still there, but Hanno trusted that Harveste would do her best to soothe them, and he knew for sure that she would be caring for the little girl.

"Thank you, Harveste... And yeah..." Hanno frowned, looking at the fallen Ugly Ones. "We should keep going. The more time we lose, the more in danger little Petho is." With a huff, Hanno stood, preparing himself to keep going.

With Harveste's embrace and healing, Nawa slowly calmed down, burying her face in the Faerie's chest before sniffing one last time and holding her hand tightly.

"L... Let's go..."

Spoiler: Theme Music

Taking the path by following tracks and clues left by the fallen Ugly Ones, the group would soon see from afar giant mushroom structures, with lamps carefully hanging on top of them, highlighting in the eternal twilight that this plane held with it.

Approaching the giant mushrooms, it was easy to see the constructions that were made around some of them. It was different from the cozy mushroom town from before, this one looked stiffer and much more well guarded. Ugly Ones of all kinds guarded the surroundings with wary expressions, some of them clearly tired of their position but still remaining firm in it.

Hanno took a deep breath, analyzing the watch and how the guards moved before glancing at Harveste and Nawa.

"The security will be tough, we can try to sneak in... But maybe baiting the enemy while some of us try to rescue Petho is also a choice... What do you guys think?"

The camp of the Ugly Ones can be seen from afar, and the group must now decide how to take the next path...

• They may try to sneak their way through, by using a Knack Skill Check, Knowledge Skill Check, Presence Skill Check, and Mastery Check, as long as it is within reason (Shadow Arts or Illusion to become invisible, for example).
  
  
• They may charge in and try to run past the enemies for rapid rescue. This will trigger a skill event involving Fitness Skill Check, Awareness Skill Check, Presence Skill Check, and Mastery Check, as long as it is within reason (Crush Weapon or Dynamism to trample your way through, for example)
  
  
• They may charge in and attack the enemies. This is catch enemies off guard and will grant the group two actions instead of one in the first round. This will trigger combat.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

"I'd rather we stick together... It's too dangerous if we let someone be bait. It would have to be me or Nawa, and I don't think it's safe for Nawa to be in such a position... And I'd worry too much to do my part if I left you two alone. Hanno is strong, but when you get angry when we get hurt, it's kind of scary how reckless you can get. Being reckless is my thing."

She tried to think of other options, but nothing came to mind. "We could rush at them... But while we'd have advantage of surprising them, it'd cause an alarm of some sort. We could sneak in, but... Do any of us have skills that would let us do that? Nature magic isn't exactly sneaky, and well, we're also martial artists..."

She glowered at the scene of the Ugly Ones' town. It was so guarded, it almost felt like a military operation rather than a home anyone would come back to. "I feel like fighting is the only way, but... I really don't want that to be the case. I just want to find Petho, and fast..."

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

Hanno scratched his head, slightly sheepish about Harveste's words. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you or Nawa." He sighed, crossing his arms and pondering about it. Being quiet was far from one of Hanno's abilities, and leaving the two of them to go sneak in by themselves wasn't what Hanno considered to be 'ideal'. After all, the whole point of the discussion was that parting paths wasn't a good idea.

"If we aren't the best at sneaking, but fighting isn't ideal... Maybe we should try to go in and rescue Petho as fast as possible? It would be tough, especially since we don't know where he is. But... I suppose it is one of the many ways we can do it."

Hanno had to admit, while that was probably the easiest way for him, he was a bit unsure about it. The number of things that could go wrong was many, but of course in such bad odds, any plan they had would have a great chance of failure.

@Harveste

 

[Harveste]

"I'm not particularly fast," Harveste mused, thinking to herself aloud. "I fight better than I run... And I support better than I fight. Is there some way I can use that to help us run faster?" She leaned her head on one shoulder slightly, putting a finger to her lips. "I really want to get Petho back quickly, because we don't know what they might be doing..."

A soft sigh left her lips. Strategizing wasn't really her strong suit- which was a problem in many cases, but not quite many like this one. She turned to look at Nawa with a sideways glance. "You know these aberrations better than either of us, most likely. What do you think would be the safest way to get Petho back? And what do you think they're planning to do with him?"

She frowned. Asking a little girl about the danger her brother was in felt awkward- but it was information they needed to make a well thought out plan.

@Hanno Futaba

 

[Hanno Futaba]

"I am not particularly fast either. Not that I am slow, but y'know. Heavy armor makes it tough to run through obstacles." Hanno sighed, shrugging slightly and then frowning gravely at the mention of what they could be doing to Petho.

That reminded Hanno that they had a time limit, one that they didn't even know if it had already passed or if there was still one second, minute, hour, or day.

"Regardless, Harveste. We gotta make a choice. I believe that you could support us well no matter what path we take." Hanno said firmly, slowly peering at the little girl and pursing his lips at Harveste's question.

It was tough to ask something like this to someone as young as her, but it was hard to think of another solution.

Being mostly quiet until now, Nawa was startled when the question was redirected to her.

"I... I don't know..." She gulped. "But I know the Ugly Ones like to make others become like them..."

@Harveste