Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » The Wailing of the Mist (Closed)

"My familiar is supposed to be getting a lay of the land from above to tell me just how much of the area is affected. But his report only gave me a direction," Manaka said. "I assume it's because he caught sight of something. Luckily, I suppose a crow is more reliable than a compass or the GPS on a phone at current"

Manaka then pointed in the direction Toshi had his head turned when he spoke to them. West.

"'West. West. Be careful.'" Manaka said, repeating Toshi's words in English before putting her arm back down at her side.

"He can only say so much, unfortunately," Shou informed Kiran. "Though, our work in the past mostly has us locating the object or person that the curse comes from before attempting any form of purification or destruction. If neither can be done... well..."

Shou gave a slight tilt of the head as he shrugged and looked up and around the trees. "I'm sure it'll be a suitable snack to this particular familiar. Granted, we'd prefer not to feed cursed objects to the familiar. Indigestion really puts a damper on a familiar's want of cooperating. That, and just having a familiar carry around a curse within it isn't exactly ideal while it digests."

"I prefer purification methods if at all possible," Manaka mentioned. "Destruction has the potential to give unwanted results. I don't suppose you've dealt with any curses?"

Kiran listened carefully to what was explained, absolutely fascinated by it all.

“That makes sense…to purify rather than contain it…best to have it gone and sorted with.” He agreed. He continued to listen while grabbing a snack bar from his bag to casually munch on.

“Curses? Not sure that I have really…” he looked nervously between the two of them, weighting up how much to tell them “I deal mostly in Life Magic…” that sounded nicer than blood magic and a form of necromancy. Especially since it was deeply frowned on back home.

“Mostly offensive spells but some protection and some to support my day job as a doctor..”

"Dangerous category of magic to practise in," Manaka remarked. "Though, if it works for you, it works."

It was not any of her business, after all. It truly was not as if she cared past the surface unless there was a reason to believe her life was on the line. Besides, she knew a number of magic and spiritual practitioners, and people she would even call friends at this point. Mudang and baksu from Korea; wu, xi, and tongji from China; balyán or babaylan from the Philippines; and interestingly enough, shamans, pagans and wiccans, and brujas or brujos that lived within North America.

That last one really was an interesting melting pot of a place to observe.

"Either way, I'll assume you have spells or abilities that allow you to defend yourself if need be? I'm not sure what exactly we're working with just yet. Though based off of a book I bought not long ago about the spirits and folklore of the land, a banshee might not be out of the realm of possibility." Manaka said, adjusting her purse once again.

"I'm an aruki miko. Many of my specialties lie within warding, purification, and communication with the kami -- or gods and spirits." Manaka informed Kiran since he had shared his own practises.

"Which makes me--" Shou started.

"Annoying." Manaka interjected.

"Which makes me," Shou repeated with emphasis. "A geki. An overseer, if you will, of certain practises and events."

"So like I said. Annoying," Manaka reaffirmed.

He simply nodded “Yep, works for me. Defend myself and others if need be…” A banshee? not good, he hadn’t had much dealings with spirits and such but it seemed he self inserted himself into their little adventure.

Kiran was glad for the explanation because it all meant nothing to him. The pair did seem to have a long history given their back and fourth banter, he smiled in amusement. “Perfect for the job then of removing cursed things or creatures. so…you guys go from place to place hunting these sorta things down?” he snickered to himself.

"If funds are running low," Shou said in response to Kiran. "Though, sometimes Manaka seems to allow her heart to guide her in those instances if she happens to be in the area."

Placing a finger to her chin in order to cup it, Manaka tried to recall what she had learned from the book. Especially seeing as it was not currently on her person.

"The book said something about banshees mourning the death of family members as being a common thing for them," Manaka began to explain. "Oftentimes, they are heard wailing or keening. Which could potentially explain the spirit we've been hearing while out here. In Japan, we have something similar documented in our known yuurei and yōkai. An ubume -- a woman who dies during childbirth, or during her late pregnancy, and so haunt the area where she or they died due to motherly anxieties and care for the potential newborn still strongly tying them to the world."

Dropping her arms back down and placing her hands on her hips, she goes on; "I'm hoping that perhaps there's some merit in having dealt with an ubume before to combat a banshee if it does happen to be one. But... usually one of two things happen with an ubume who can't move on. If they died with the child in any capacity, they often try to offer the 'child'," Manaka used air quotes here, "to someone they happen to pass by. If someone accepts the child, the bundle that was offered becomes heavy, crushing the recipient under its weight."

"That's... typically the worst case scenario, though," Shou clarified.

"... Indeed. Because if an ubume did have their child, and it is alive and healthy, they will often try to care for it. They either do this by trying to make purchases at stores for goods for their baby with dead leaves to imitate yen; or they lead people to their baby -- often relatives or close friends -- to adopt it."

Manaka's shoulders heaved with a silent sigh. "If a banshee really does mourn the dead, I believe the best way to remove it is through a sense of closure if there is any to be had. But that's also just a guess on my part."

Kiran remains quiet and munches on whatever food he found in his backpack. Happy to sit and receive the lesson on ghosts, banshees and whatnot. He had very little to contribute to the conversation, having never faced off with any sort of undead other than the ones his sister raised. But those were for the most part harmless and easily dealt with.

"So how exactly…” talking with his mouth full he pauses to clear his throat “So how exactly does this connect with the mist and the moss and the animals? Is this something they do as standard or is there anything else at play at the same time?”

“And how long are we safe in this little bubble?”

"I didn't read anything about that in the book that I got..." Manaka admitted, frowning. "But it seems clear that it's part of the stage, if you will. A means of trapping people in the area, especially given that, even with a map, other means of directing yourself out of here seems impossible to normal people."

Taking out the rest of her eight talismans, Manaka looked to them and continued, "it seems fortunate enough for us that we're not exactly 'normal' people."

Separating another warding talisman, Manaka showed it off and went on to say, "ofuda last upwards to a year before needing to be replaced. Out on the job, however, anything could happen. There are variables I can't account for that could end up tearing or removing the ofuda within a short amount of time."

Shou, however, had thought about the situation himself, considering Kiran's words carefully.

"There... could be a chance there are more than one spirit at play," Shou spoke. "It's certainly not unheard of. We've dealt with an aka manto, akaname, and kurote all in one junior high school at once."

Manaka's face contorted in disgust. "I hate being reminded of that... but it is a good point to keep in mind."

“You mean the sticker?” just so he knew they were on the same page. Ofuda = sticker she stuck to the tree. She seemed to at least be prepared for the final part of their job, just not the bit that led up to it. “So as long as that’s there it ‘could’ last a year, I hope we aren’t here in a years time!” He smirked in amusement and continued to finish off his snack, putting the wrapper back in his bag.

“If it’s got a physical form I can deal with it, otherwise the incorporeal critters are all yours.” Offering to help them out since they were now stuck together on what was effectively a tiny island safe from the fog.

Manaka gave a stiff nod to the association of 'sticker' meaning ofuda. It was another thing that would not have been a first when it came to those from the west giving names to her tools.

"It's possible that whatever is out there could have a corporeal form. I assume that it's a banshee, but as Shou mentioned, there could be multiple things at work," Manaka said, putting her talismans back into her pocket before whistling. After a couple moments, the albino crow returned, perching onto Manaka's outstretched arm.

Unlike before, however, Toshi seemed cleaner. No moss was stuck upon his wings, causing a slight 'hmm' to come from Manaka as she reached out and gingerly outstretched one of his wings to observe it further.

"Great... it seems the fog might also create illusions, or induce hallucinations," Manaka commented.

“That would be handy indeed…” Kiran tilted his head back and looked up at the sky, it was well past midday now and the summer sun was slowly fading away. “So whats the plan? camp in this safety bubble until the morning? even then the fog will still be here around us…”

Watching as she whistled and the albino crow returned he couldn’t help but snicker at the sight of it all.

“Hallucinations? so they had no moss on them from the start?” If such was true it didn’t bode well for them as soon as they stepped out of the safety zone.

"If worse comes to worst... yes..." Manaka replied, letting go of Toshi's wing and watching as he preened himself.

"In the meantime..." Manaka crouched and put Toshi on the ground, murmuring something in Japanese. After a few seconds, a small portal opened in the middle of Toshi's back before Manaka reached into it and pulled out a spool of bright orange thread. Putting that into her pocket, she reached in again and pulled out a well-worn travel backpack with a rolled sleeping bag attached -- the portal it came from stretching appropriately to allow it out.

While Manaka put her backpack against the tree, Shou looked to Kiran.

"From the look of things, it's quite possible the animals here are minding their own business. Whatever's here might not care about them or their souls enough to want to cause them harm nor hunt them," Shou went on to say. "With this area as a safe zone, we might want to ensure we can get back to it if we venture outside of it."

Kiran could help but continue to snicker quietly to himself as he watched the pocket dimension open up from the back of a white crow. “I’m not saying anything..” his laughing said it all for him. “Looks like your kitted out then, as long as it doesn’t rain I’ll be alright.”

Looking over to Shou he nodded “So they only look gnarly rather than actually being possessed monsters? Saying that..can things come into this zone? and if I were to step out now for example can I come back in?” highly tempted to test that theory. “How would we make sure we can come back to it?” wondering if that orange thread had anything to do with it..

There was more than enough opportunity for Manaka to reply with pedantry to the comment, though she opted to ignore it for now. She was not entirely sure what was so amusing, but she was not going to question it, either. Instead, she finished up getting her materials by withdrawing a small bag of cat food and pouring out a small bit for Toshi to snack on. He seemed much more responsive to that than the raisins prior.

"That may be," Shou replied, not saying anything concrete to the matter. "As for the safe zone... you're free to come and go as you please. So long as you aren't actively malignant, you shouldn't have any worries."

At that, Manaka shot Shou a look, but she stayed silent for the most part. Another sigh escaped her before she put the baggie of cat food with her backpack and she withdrew the thread. Turning to Kiran she affirmed his question: "the thread will be used to tie between branches. The thread itself should catch one's eye -- whether or not they're colour blind. I tried marking things with them in the past, but it's still an easy task to get turned around when there are only markings and not an actual trail."

“So if not actively malignant as you put it whats stopping a curious deer wandering up and chewing that sticker off the tree?” he was full of questions having never done anything like this before.
Kiran would idly watch the bird eat his cat food on the floor then look back up to Manaka.

“That makes sense…so we just wait around now till daybreak? I might have a small pack of cards in here…” opening his bag again to shuffle around and have a look. Pulling out one of those tiny playing card packs one would get out of a Christmas cracker. “Since we’ve got time to kill..or is there stuff we can prep in the meantime?” Straight after saying that he checked up make sure he had his own combat supplies, he never left home without something and this time was no different. Reassuring himself he closed his backpack up again.

"Actively, passively... pretending to be good..." Shou went on to say, rolling his hand with each item he listed as he attempted to think on the words that he had available to go on. "There have been some rare instances of breaches to the protection zone, but they're usually coupled with spiritual bonds or possession."

"Much to my dismay when it happens," Manaka said, going over to the tree to tie one end of the thread around it and get started. "I don't intend on waiting until daybreak. I'll be heading out to go as far as I can, leaving a trail as I do. You can stay here, you can come with me... it doesn't really matter. Toshi will come with me. If he returns without me... well, then something happened."

"She hates wasting time," Shou said, knowing that this lull in the hunt has annoyed her.

"I do, so I don't intend to waste more," Manaka said, whistling for Toshi and starting off. The spool of thread left behind a bright orange trail after her.

“Alright then! lets go!” stuffing the cards back into his bag and standing up to follow. Before stepping out of the protection zone he turns back to Shou “You coming along?” he’d wait to see what he was going to do before lightly taking hold of the orange thread and following it.

Once in the fog a heaviness overcame Kiran that he hadn’t noticed before when entering the forest. It didn’t take him long to catch up to Manaka. “Hello again!” surprisingly upbeat despite the dire conditions they found themselves in. Lost in the forest covered in hallucinogenic fog possibly in banshee territory and god knows what else lurking out of sight.

For his own sanity he dug around in his pocket and held onto a small glass vacutainer tightly.

"I don't fancy myself much of a labourer. I'll be staying to 'hold down the fort', as you westerners so put it," Shou said with a smile on his face as he waved Kiran and Manaka along. There was another reason that he did not want to step out of the protection circle, though some things were better left unsaid... such was the philosophy of the creature that lurked beneath the guise.

Once the two were past the barrier, Shou had taken up the backpack to see if there were any snacks that he could satiate himself with while he waited.

Meanwhile, Manaka only offered a glance in Kiran's direction when he arrived. She allowed a moment to pass before uttering a simple "hello" back. She certainly was less chatty than her counterpart, though diligent enough in the duty she accepted.

They walked through the fog in silence as the light faded away by each minute. The forest was disturbing in that there were no birds, no breeze or wind to speak of, only a dead silence and the pair’s footsteps as they walked.

“Sooo…..Where are we going? He’d break the silence by asking her a question. “Got any clues to finding this Ban-“ he stopped as the faint sound of crying in the distance could be heard.

One hand on the rope and the other in his pocket, he hoped Manaka knew what she was doing because he didn’t have a clue.

"The only clues I have are to go west and be careful. Not that I really needed solidification on the latter," Manaka said, pausing at a tree to tie some of the thread around it before continuing.

"What I find interesting is that the banshee is said normally to mourn the death of a family member..." Manaka continued. "There are also notes about its crying heard by members of its family coming to mean that they will die soon. A kind of foretelling in some instances. Which brings me to believe that we're dealing with one that is simply mourning the death of a family member."

Manaka paused before facing Kiran.

"What I don't know is why. If the forest is haunted, why would a banshee have been here to cause disturbances for the townsfolk if its appearances are not typically malicious in general, nor are often made to just anyone?" Manaka found flaws in her own assumptions of what the greater force out there could be. It had been evident that she might have been overthinking this in her silence.

"What if the banshee is a product of the forest, but not necessarily the sole reason for the forest being the way it is?" Manaka asked. "I just... don't know enough about the spirits and beliefs of this land to point at anything else just yet."

Turning back toward the direction she was told to venture toward, Manaka started walking again.

“Could that girl you're looking for be related to the Banshee then?” he shrugged as they continued to walk through the dense fog.

“You know far more than I do thats for sure! but yes it makes sense by what you’ve said that this may not be as simple as a Banshee in the forest. Theres more at work here….
If they are a product of the forest..then that would mean something else killed two people and one turned into a Banshee and now can’t leave this place?”

“I’m just stabbing in the dark at this point..”