Yasunori Saves Modmas

[Kamo no Yasunori]

Yasunori sat in her home as the cold snow fell. As a sweet smoke filled the air, she began her daily ritual of divination to see what portents may unfold before her. But her eyes widened as the first bones were cast. An unearthly intrusion had arisen from the depths of shadowy and forgotten places. The land was threatened by evil! Worse yet, it was the time of Modmas. A time of great joy and celebration!

How could fiendish creatures martial their forces during such a holy time! Extinguishing her candles and collecting her most powerful spells and talismans, she adorned herself in the garb of war and set out to face the beasts head on before their assault could lead to tidings of ill-cheer to all.

She opened the door to her abode and stared out at the frosty landscape, the snow that covered the trees and land gave a haunting sensation of solitude while at the same time displaying a solemn, glistening beauty.

Letting out a soft sigh, Yasunori began her trek to find the denizens but before she had even traveled far from her realm she was paused by a lurking presence.

"So they've already gotten this far?" She said calmly surveying the area for any sort of break in the endless white. Suddenly her eyes were met with a flash of green!

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 5
Rolled damage: 9

Attack unsuccessful.

Remaining enemy HP: 40

Remaining daily attacks: 1

Quickly she dove to the ground, scooping up a clump of snow and twisting her body to hurl it at the sudden assailant. She bristled as her body sank partly in the snow and turned to see what had caught her off guard.

A grunny had appeared and tried to catch her by surprise, aiming to bite her with it's sharp teeth. Her quick reflexes had saved herself from harm but in her haste her attack consisted of nothing more than a lump of snow. It had only coated the green creature in a thin layer of white dust which it had shaken off quickly.

"Ineffectual..." She muttered as she rose to her feet, locking eyes with the grunny's beady red ones as combat truly began!  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

"Of course snow wouldn't work." She said, amused at herself for the strange way she reacted to the Grunny. "But it is a mere Grunny after all. I should hardly need to waste my efforts upon it. Yasunori made her way towards the Grunny as it seemed content to hiss at the mystic from where it rested. Stroling with confident, Yasunori lifted her boot when she got close and prepared to simply crush it under her boot!

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 3
Rolled damage: 1

Attack unsuccessful.

Remaining enemy HP: 40

Remaining daily attacks: 0

At the last second, the Grunny hopped away and Yasunori stomped into the snow. But as the Grunny's body was light and Yasunori's was heavy and traveling fast enough, her foot did not stop when she hit the snow. Her eyes widened as she saw her entire stockinged leg disappear into the depths of the snow bank. Soon the rest of her followed. Her own disturbance of the snow pile caused it to collapse inward partially burying her.

She let out a shiver as she began to try and claw her way out. As she pushed snow away from her face she caught a glimpse of the Grunny.

'Is it... laughing? No, it couldn't be. It must be hissing still. It couldn't be smart. It must have obtained some sort of favor to receive luck like this. Is there a Divine Grunny lurking in the heavens?  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

Yasunori was growing frustrated with the way this small green pest was making a fool of her. She stopped digging for the moment and listened as a cool silent breeze echoed in the air. The near silence was broken by the angry squeak of the rabid creature. Yasunori knew it was coming and with one hand she deftly produced a magical ofuda. A paper charm that was infused with magic and used in exercising demons.

When she felt it was close, she sprung forward, pushing the last bit of snow away with one hand and launching the glowing talisman at the Grunny with the other!

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 12
Rolled damage: 6

Attack Successful!

Remaining enemy HP: 34

Remaining daily attacks: 1

Yasunori couldn't believe the uncanny speed of the Grunny as it deftly dodged the ofuda, quickly pivoting and breaking away from its charge. The charm slammed into a nearby tree and Yasunori looked as snow and pine needles began to fall. With quick reflexes she raised her hand and caught the pine needles in the air. Suspending them for the moment. She then pulled out a magical fan and waved it, coating the needles in a magical glow before dropping her hand down swiftly. The Grunny caught by the needle shower and the needles, hardened by the power of Yasunori's magic was pierced. It shrieked and hopped away but it had been damaged enough to allow Yasunori to release a small sigh.

"As long as it's not invincible, I should be able to handle it..." She muttered.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

The Grunny ffled from Yasunori's assault until it was a few yards away. It then turned and hissed at the mystic before lifting it's front paw up to run through it's ear.

Yasunori frowned at the site. If I didn't know any better, I would swear it was mocking me..

"Fine! I'll show you beast!"

She waved her fan at the tree, creating a breeze that shook the branches. Her other hand began to glow and she pulled it down once more. This time a shower of needles rained down upon the Grunny. Dozens of needles barraged the green creature for a few seconds.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 11
Rolled damage: 4

Attack Successful!

Remaining enemy HP: 30

Remaining daily attacks: 0

The Grunny once again cried out but when the needles no longer blurred the Grunny, Yasunori inspected her efforts, seeing a needle stuck in the Grunny's neck. However. the beast looked only marginally less damaged than before as it shook off the needle and hopped away from the green pile around it.

"It looked like I did less damage than before! But I had many times more needles. Curses." Yasunori grumbled as she closed her fan and tapped it against her chin in thought.

"I could certainly win this battle with 'death by a thousand cuts' but I can't waist my time on this thing forever."  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

Yasunori had grown quite irritated with the Grunny's stubbornness to continue living. She reached into one of the many concealed pouches on her person and pulled out another talisman. She held it between her index and middle finger and eyed the Grunny for a few seconds before throwing the Ofuda at the Grunny. The green beast dodged the glowing paper but Yasunori smirked. With a flick of her wrist the fan in her other hand opened and she waved it forward, letting out a mighty Kiai shout as she attacked.

"Hyaaaah!"

Snow shot up from the ground at the Grunny. It was coated with a red glow and as it traveled began to form into swirling tendrils of ice that seemed to lash out at the Grunny.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 5
Rolled damage: 16

Attack unsuccessful.

Remaining enemy HP: 30

Remaining daily attacks: 1

Yasunori brought her fan to her face, covering her mouth as she watched the scene unfold. The ice grabbed the Grunny and wrapped itself around the creature before slowly covering it and freezing it in place. It looked as though an icy hand had gripped an equally icy Grunny. She turned around to begin walking away when her eyes widened. She turned and saw the ice cracking, a glowing beady eye slowly appearing beyond melting ice.

"N-No..."

Yasunori whispered to herself. Her attack was powerful but as the Grunny leaped through the air, leaving shattered ice on the ground as it sailed towards her with an open maw of razor sharp teeth, she realized this attack, too had no effect.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

Yasunori was frozen stiff by the ferociousness of the beast. She saw pure rage in its glowing red eye. For a moment the mystic actually felt a tingle of fear run through her. The Grunny shot at her like a green bullet. Yasunori's only plan of attack, if it could even be called that, was to lift her fan up and desperately try and save her face from the biting and scratching of a lifetime.

The fan was enchanted after all. Maybe some residual magic from her last attack would thwart the Grunny's efforts or possibly even injure it.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 3
Rolled damage: 2

Attack incredibly unsuccessful.

Remaining enemy HP: 30

Remaining daily attacks: 0

It was not meant to be. The fan saved her face from attack as the Grunny scratched and bit at it but the momentum carried both the Grunny and the fan towards her, slamming her in the face hard. She let out a gasp of pain as she fell backwards into the snow.

Trying to regroup, she looked around for the Grunny who was now behind her making a hissing noise but not looking directly at her.

Why is a mere Grunny so strong? They are a pain but hardly require THIS much effort...

Soon the mystic had her answer as 6 new pairs of green rabbit ears popped out from under neath the snow. The a small cloud of snow shot out from where the ears were and soon more green began to appear as the snow cleared. Her eyes widened in shock as She saw six new Grunnies before her eyes.

Now the truth had been revealed! What she thought had been a normal sized Grunny was really a giant sized Grunny. Next to five of them, it looked about twice their size. And one more, that was very close to it seemed to be in between the size of the big one and the smaller ones. The reason it had been so tough and fought so fiercely was because it was a pack leader and Yasunori had unwittingly stumbled too closely to their nest.

She uttered a curse as the situation seemed to be getting worse by the moment.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

Yasunori scrambled to her feet stumbling as she began to run fromt he pack of Grunnies. She had to get some distance fromt hem so she could clear her head and think. She needed to buy time to plan her next attack but the green beasts saw her flight as a sign of weakness and charged at her in hopes of subduing and finishing off the beleaguered mystic.

Yasunori ran for what seemed like ten minutes, dodging through the forest to try to keep the Grunnies at bay. She could feel her lungs aching and stopped to catch her breath. As she panted she scanned the area. From all around her sets of beady little eyes began to appear int he darkness.

"Hah... Hah... Hah... fine..." She muttered as she stood up straight and unfolded her fan, prepared to make a stand as the first Grunny leaped from behind a tree at her. She yelled a battle cry once more and spun on her boot hoping to catch the creature with the edge of her magical fan.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 2
Rolled damage: 14

Attack extremely unsuccessful.

Remaining enemy HP: 30

Remaining daily attacks: 1

There was a flurry of green and and red as fur and magic flew around the small space in between trees. Ducking and weaving, using the trees and anything else she could spare, Yasunori unleashed a fury of attacks. By the end of it, she was on one knee, panting, her outfit torn in a few places, a casualty of the attack. She panted once more and looked at her fan. It was smoking, the edges burned from over use and a teeth marks in it from fending off the rabid creatures.

"Fourteen attacks... at least..." She looked around. "And not even a a tuft of green hair removed from the lot of you."

She closed her fan and tucked it away. She'd have to repair it later. She then looked around just as a small green clump of hair floated down and landed on her nose. She furrowed her brow and blew it off before smirking.

"No need to patronize me..."  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

The Grunnies wasted little time attacking Yasunori once more and again the mystic was on the run through the forest. To try and ignore the pain in her legs and lungs, she tried to think of a way to defeat the Grunnies. After a few moments of running she stopped and turned, reaching into her garb and pulling out a small looking doll. It looked like it was stitched together from straw and burlap. It had no face but a symbol drawn upon the spot where its face should be. Turning around, she threw the doll to the ground and raised her hands, calling out a chant.

"Kami of the heaven and the moon, Oni of the mountains, Kappa of the sea! All spirits revered. May you lend your strength! I call upon you to awaken, Shikigami!"

The smaller Grunnies were not stopped by the appearance of the small dool or curious as to what Yasunori had yelled. They continued to swarm towards her , running past the Shikigami doll. As they did, a burst of light began to engulf the area.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 10
Rolled damage: 8

Attack Successful!

Remaining enemy HP: 22

Remaining daily attacks: 0

Yasunori lifted up her hand at the light and Grunnies came at her but was soon bathed in a soft warm glow. She blinked as she felt the heat wash over her and the stiff cold bite at her extremities once more.

As her vision returned, she saw the doll glowing before her, floating in the air just at eye level. Below it the snow was melted and all around it were Grunnies. Four of them lay unmoving and smoking, their fur charred Only one had managed to come away from the scene unscathed as it hopped away back to the two bigger Grunnies who eyed Yasunori, bristling their fur in anger.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

Yasunori was pleased with herself after having eliminated much of the problem that had arisen. However the large Grunny who had given her so much trouble thus far was still around, sitting just behind a tree. Its beady red eye glaring at her. She furrowed her brow and looked at her Shikigami doll which began to glow before her.

"I Shouldn't have to do any more. That last attack seemed pretty effectiv.' She said as she waved her hand and the glowing doll shot forth towards the remaining Grunnies.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 9
Rolled damage: 2

Attack unsuccessful.

Remaining enemy HP: 22

Remaining daily attacks: 1

The Shikigame doll flew towards the Grunnies and they scattered as it hit the ground where they once were. It sent out a burst of light but the Green rabbits hid behind the trees, leaving the trunks charred but dealing no damage to the green monsters.

Yasunori clenched her fist in anger but knew at least she wasn't the target now.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

After the Shikigami's attack it landed in the snow and stopped glowing. Yasunori looked at it and smiled. "Forgive my insolence. It seems that I I have disrespected you. Very well!"

Yasunori's eyes began to glow as she held out her hand. It glowed with a powerful light as well and soon the Shikigami began to glow once more. It began to shake and the red energy suddenly turned black.

The large Grunny let out a cry and the other two green beasts charged forward with the smallest one leading the way and the largest in the rear. Suddenly a crackle of black electricity surrounded the Shikigami. As the smallest one approached, the electricity arced towards the group.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 17
Rolled damage: 13

Attack successful!

Remaining enemy HP: 9

Remaining daily attacks: 0

The smallest Grunny vaporized when it was struck by the electricity. The next one was consumed by a growing black light The largest Bunny halted in its tracks and then turned and began to flee the opposite direction.

Yasunori's hand dropped to her side and her eyes returned to normal. She looked on as the black ball of energy exploded on a shock way and out flew a black streak. It dashed past the giant Grunny, leaving a cut along its body before zipping towards Yasunori and and halting just above her, casting a shadow over the mystic. Yasunori smiled and held out her hand. "Come." She said bowing her head. Above her was a very large crow with a horn sticking out of its head. Despite being quite large, it landed on her waiting arm and pulled up, letting out a shrill caw.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

Yasunori watched the Grunny carefully. The time to finish things was now and she had the perfect ally to make sure she could. Without a word she closed her eyes. The Raven on her hand unleashed a caw that reverberated through the forest, casing the trees in front of it to rattle and drop snow. The shriek did not seem to effect Yasunori but the large green beast dug its claws into the ground as its ears were pressed back against its head by the cry.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 14
Rolled damage: 2

Attack successful!

Remaining enemy HP: 7

Remaining daily attacks: 1

The Grunny held fast for a moment but was soon upheaved and thrown backwards. It slammed into a tree and slumped against the ground. The large green creature seemed dazed momentarily and with its previous injuries looked more worse for ware but still not out of the fight yet.

"Finally..." Yasunori muttered as she prepared for what would hopefully be the final attack.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

Yasunori lifted her arm up and the Crow spread its wings hovering in the air for a few moments before darting in a flash towards the Grunny. The breast's beady eye seemed to widen and Yasunori thought that it could sense the fear of its impending demise as the attack was launched.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 9
Rolled damage: 8

Attack unsuccessful.

Remaining enemy HP: 7

Remaining daily attacks: 0

A a flash of black enveloped the location for a moment as Yasunori watched on. She allowed herself a sigh as it seemed the Grunny had disappeared. "He must like the taste of Grunny." She said before suddenly seeing an ear pop out of the ground.

Another followed and the Grunny shook the snow off it. In plain veiw the beast stood, still unscathed by the assault. Her bird was no where to be found as well and Yasunori clenched her fist.

"Why do you curse my fate, Oh Heavens!?" She said as she cast her eyes skyward.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

As Yasunori contemplated her luck she saw movement in the nights sky. She knew that her Shikigami was flying above her but she did not know why it had missed the attack.

"At least it did not use up too much power in the attack." She muttered as she looked at the Grunny who seemed to be creeping towards Yasunori.

"What do you want? She scoffed in an irritated tone. But as she did the green monster charged at her. Yasunori's eyes widened and she turned and ran from the Grunny who chased her. She glanced skyward and noticed no change in her creature's flight path. But her ear twitched as she heard the echo of a caw it had unleashed and soon she began to hear what sounded like loud cracks and snaps coming from hear her.

Quote:

Enemy: Grunnies
AC: 10
HP: 40

Rolled AC: 20
Rolled damage: 7

Attack successful!

Remaining enemy HP: 0

Remaining daily attacks: 1

It sounds like the forest is falling down around me! Yasunori thought as she turned back to see how close the Grunny was. Her eyes widened at what she saw and she pivoted quickly on her heel and whipped an Ofuda at the Grunny.

The paper talisman smacked into the charging Grunny and it covered its eyes. It writhed and clawed at the paper trying to remove it. Yasunoru nodded and lifted her hand to her mouth and uttered a short prayer.

"May the kami send your spirit to the netherworld!"

As she spoke falling towards her was a tree. It had been slowed as it hit other trees but was crashing down. The mystic looked at it but dit not move. For all the ways it could have fallen, it seemed to have hit just the right amount of trees at the right angles to fall before her. The tip of the tree lashed out as it shook the ground and slammed into the Grunny like a whip and finally ending the beast.

Yasunori let out a sigh of relief as she walked along the trunk of the tree, tracing her finger along it and feeling its energy.

"Your time had already come. Your rotting corpse was beginning to choke the life out of the other trees. Heh. Even in death you were proud and mighty. After this is over you shall make fine firewood."

As she got to the stump she noticed it was cut smoothly as if done by a saw.

"No.. even cleaner than a saw." She noticed the cut seemed to almost shine like glass and noticed a feint residule of energy around it. She cast her eyes upward to the circling Shikigami and smiled.

Grunnies Defeated.  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

After the defeat of the pack of Grunnies Yasunori took a short break to recover herself and regain as much strength as she could before continuing her trek through the forest. She knew Grunnies were a problem but they were rarely that much of a challenge. Had someone created even stronger Grunnies? Were they going to use them to to destroy Modmas once and for all? Yasunori clenched her fist. She could not let that happen no matter what.

After about fiteen miinutes, she knew she was nearing the edge of the forest. She closed her eyes and inhaled the frosty air, letting it linger in her nostrils before forcing her eyes back open.

They were glowing and the mystic seemed to be in a trance. After a minute she closed her eyes and looked upward.

"Thank you for lending me your sight. Using your eyes I was able to see a man in the valley below the forest. But who could it be?" He was dressed as a doctor..."

Yasunori made her way to the edge of the forest to get a better view of the man. She saw he was wearing scrubs and a lab coat but on closer inspection the coat was stained with blood. The man's eyes looked bloodshot and unfocused and he seemed to be trudging through the snow with purpose. She could see tracks marring the otherwise pristine snow and followed them up the bank of the hill and near to her position. Several of them that looked like animal tracks. "Could it be?" She asked herself.

"A labtech?" She narrowed her eyes. No doubt this scheme is further unraveled. I didn't stumble into a mere nest of Grunnies. It seems as though someone or something has obtained the 'special skills' of these infamous scientists and have had them working on bigger and badder Grunnies.

She pondered motive for a moment before hearing the cry of her Shikigami. "Yes. No matter the scenario the means and the ends could be nothing but nefarious!"

She then knelt and began to draw in the snow with her finger. She formed a pentagram enclosed in a circle and drew the necessary markings before reaching into her clothes and taking out a small vial of red liquid.

I must use the element of surprise while I still can and this will give me the perfect opportunity to create a summoning circle in case the battle should become fierce.

"I dislike having to waste this special ink but in this instance I should be thankful if that is all I must waste."

Standing up she took out the fan that had been damaged from the fight with the Grunies and began to wave it in a particular way, causing the circle below her to glow.

I should still be able to use the fan for simple matters such as casting since I already have other elements in the spell.

While her circle began to glow and magic flowed out from her, behind the Labtech a similar circle appeared. From it reached out a giant demonic arm that was as big as the labtech. As it burst from the ground, it slashed downward at the scientist.

Quote:

Enemy: Labtech
AC: 12
HP: 60

Rolled AC: 16
Rolled damage: 1

Attack Successful!

Remaining enemy HP: 59

Remaining daily attacks: 0

The Labtech turned as it heard a rumble from behind him. His wired eyes widened as he saw the claw slash down at him. He fell backwards tot he snow and patted his body For a moment he was in shock but in his searching he found nothing until a small trickle of blood fell onto his lap. He wiped his brow and found the source of the blood. A small cut on his forehead. A superficial wound at best.

The Labtech let out an inhuman growl and jumped forward, intent on wrestling the giant hand. But as it swung its arms out for the grapple, he stumbled forward, landing back on the snow. The arm faded, away leaving only a glowing circle underneath the technician.

"This isn't good." Yasunori said from her position. "That illusion can effect reality for a few seconds after it's created. The fear causes one to let down their guard and the shock creates real injuries as though actually sliced by the talon like fingernails. A normal human would have been shredded but I see only a minor cut. Just what have these men done to themselves for the sake of science?"

Yasunori shook her head.

"No. They aren't men and science had nothing to do with this."  

[Kamo no Yasunori]

"We must finish this quickly!" Yasunori shouted as she stepped from the clearing and pointed at the Labtech. The scientist turned and looked at Yasunori and bellowed out in anger.

"Have you seen my Grunnies!?"

Despite the hulking nature of the man it seemed capable of intelligent speech. Yasunori widened her eyes. As she contemplated this new foe.

Normally with body modifications like that their minds would have regressed into something more bestial.But to retain their faculties and to possess such inhuman fortitude is frightening indeed.

Yasunori smirked. "I've seen them.They'll plague this land no more. Just like yourself shortly."

The Labtech growled and began charge after Yasunori, long strides allowing him to gain ground quickly. But as the technician leaped for an attack, the mystic did not even flinch.

Quote:

Enemy: Labtech
AC: 12
HP: 60

Rolled AC:16
Rolled damage: 20

Attack critically Successfull!

Remaining enemy HP: 39

Remaining daily attacks: 1

The Labtech's leaping attack was halted in mid air as a wind violently began to whip Yasunori's hair and clothes. She lifted her hand up and shielded her eyes which she had been forced to close for a moment. But when she opened them, she saw her Shikigami underneath the Labtech, the mutated scientist had been pierced in the chest by the Crow-like creature's horn and was now angrily writing in place.

Bowing its head, the Shikigami let the Labtech slide off and onto the glistening white snow, causing it to be stained in blood. Yasunori let out a sigh as she watched the grizzly scene.

It seemed easier than the Grunnies but I was using a large portion of my power.

But as she thought about it, she gasped in surprise. The Labtech was slowly marching towards Yasunori. One hand holding his wound while it marched up the hill in a slow, gorilla like fashion, its eyes giving an angry, piercing stare to Yasunori.