1 Gold and Iron (ting) Thu Nov 08, 2018 4:39 am
Yōsei
S-rank
- Mission:
- Mission name: Red Turnt Yellow.
Mission rank: S.
Objective: Locate and Liberate Chūnin Hopeful.
Location: Hi no Kuni Border.
Reward: 2000 Ryo + 5EP
Mission Description: There are a number of entrants missing from their bracket matches, with no discernible pattern in village or other behavior to explain the multiple dropouts. Considering the lack of any correspondence, foul play is suspected.
Mission Details: Cults present in the Land of Fire have taken to indoctrinating the Genin who have traveled to the exams, and are doing so by force. Deep in the wilderness of Hi no Kuni, an S-ranked cult leader in golden robes commands a mixture of A and B-ranked non-ninja worshippers who have forcibly kidnapped entrants. All are equipped with A and S-ranked weapons and the Leader is a Raiu Clan member with all library techniques for his Suiton and Raiton elements, as well as Ninjutsu. This mission can be taken to rescue a PC contestant in the exams as if it were an opposed mission, counting as if both players had completed this mission twice.
As nostalgia swept beneath the current of Konoha's fanfare, the entourage of Iron Country veterans surrounding the midnight lodge, humming with boisterous laughter and songs of ancient tidings, stood tirelessly at their posts, faces obscured by baroque masks depicting beasts of fortune. Horses lingering at the edge of the forest, perking ears up as trees snapped underfoot, munched quietly at bales of straw, turning their eyes toward silhouettes piercing the dark into the amber glow shining from windows at the township's precipice. Twin messengers draped in burgundy armor, markings of the Land of Iron hung across banners sewn to their regalia, marched toward the house, grim faces hung low beneath shadowy news. Greeted by solemn nods and foreign codes, the pair found purchase in the rented manor, following the dimly lit halls and stairs until the fist of them slid away the door of wax paper, revealing the congregation within.
Sat beneath a wall-to-wall painting depicting Fire Country's endless forests, and the mountains framing them, a group of samurai remained cross-legged, their conversation halting to meet the scouts. Returning so long after the day's withdrawal meant doubtless bad news awaited, and after the severe eyes met with their commanders, each of the room's attention drew inevitably toward the man who sat alone at the head of the table. Rivers of black hair trailed down the Shogun's shoulders, painting strokes of dark ink across the blue and white robes, layers of silk upon one another which marked him not only as a man of means but the leader of this samurai troupe. Silence lingered just a moment, long enough for the leftmost messenger to catch his Lord's eyes and proceed.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Lord Xiahou, but the men in gold you seek, we believe that we have found them,"
Without a word, the Shogun rose his hand to gesture all but his scouts away, the chief guardians of Xiahou's treaty with relaxation gave their parting remarks, tone shifting away from the sound of vacation to the business they had come here for. From the distant lands of Steel Country, the delegates represented something distinctly separate in the Land of Fire; with no competitors so to speak, Lord Xiahou represented the interests of his nation without bias, overseeing the shinobi and their blood sports while negotiating the future between their two worlds. Standing slowly and sweeping the ebon locks behind him, the Shogun made his way forward, beckoning the scouts to continue while approaching ornamental displays of red and gold armor fitted on statues to his right. As they spoke, he would dress, obscuring the finery of his robes with crafted steel, the elegant armor nearing that of ceremonial.
"Several miles into the forest, near the Fire Country border, we saw six men carrying urns, dressed in gold, toward a site surrounded in red lanterns. As you requested, we returned immediately and marked our path back for you to follow. Lord Xiahou, I know what you requested but, are you sure you wish to go alone?"
"Send word to Zhi, she will instruct you on how to proceed. We Lords of Iron are not without battle scars of our own, and I will undertake this errand in solitude, as a show of faith to our most gracious of hosts."
"As you wish."
Drifting from treetops in the autumn midnight, leaves the color of Hi no Kuni's namesake flirted with the crimson hue of Xiahou's armor as he made headway into the treeline. Gold buckles in the shape of horse heads and the iconography of his Shogunate caught the faint pillars of silver moonlight, sparse as they were through the canopy of neverending foliage which even in the fall cast a sheet of black across the forest floor. The clapping of galloping hooves resounded in the ghostly evening, auburn mane of the Shogun's chosen steed flailing with the momentum of his ride as the blades on his hip clattered in tune with the horse's gait. Atop the Lord's crown of jet black hair, which was now mirroring his companion's ruff, flowing behind them as they sped through the trees, a totemic helmet fit with horns raised high like fingers grasping at the moon, split into jagged patterns reminiscent of a stag, and the single golden seal of his house held in the center of its forehead. Hidden beneath the facade of Shogun lord, a familiar pair of eyes disguised themselves, drinking in the love of a land that he called home, and set upon the targets who slumbered deep in the heart of his beloved Konoha, polluting its children, and stealing its heart.
Whatever profane acts awaited him this night, Xiahou would not allow himself to show mercy to those who would desecrate his secret homeland, that much, the Samurai knew. Fast approaching, he could see the first of his scouts' ominous warnings, red lanterns swaying in the wind, welcoming the Shogun to a den of Godless worship.
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