Namari Shioh's Story

The olive-skinned man continued to pitch his idea from the stage, holding twin blades high above his head; Ginchiyo had to admit it was an impressive show, she may have even stepped forward to join him if it wasn't for the look on Ro's face. The people who did join the Olive-Skinned Stranger were all a curious bunch, and they seemed to be losing the crowd. If something wasn't done soon, a fight would certainly to break out. Ro started towards the man, and within a minute the Olive stanger seemed to have lost all credibility. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the whole situation; how had this stranger managed to fabricate a report that fooled the entire prefecture?

Before Ginchiyo truly had a chance to think further on the matter, a bright light lit up the night sky as the statue of the Mayor began to glow with the ire that only fire could truly bring. She began to loop chi through her body, bracing herself as the Mayor's steel body double erupted into a conflagration that lit up the town square, seemingly determined to burn down the place he had helped build.

Stone and molten rock flew through the air, bits of it spattering against Ginchiyo like a rain of hot oil. It stung, but no more than it stung when oil popped and landed on your skin while cooking. She raised her left arm to block a large rock, causing it to split in two, landing on either side of her. There was a crunch as the piece on her right landed, indicating it had probably hit someone who hadn't scattered fast enough. There was no time to check, as a littler over a quarter century of Tengu exploded into action.

Ro was nowhere to be found, which was just as well, it was easier to fight without looking out for others. One of the feathered idiots locked eyes with her and darted straight for her, Naginata brandished for a great swing. She patiently waited the second that felt like twenty that it took the Tengu to reach her, and as its blade clanged impotently against her neck she smashed the wooden shaft of the weapon with her right hand. The bird-man left out a caw of confusion and shock as it tried to back up. Her footwork followed his exactly as she moved forward with him. Her left hand cocked back for a quarter second, then she shoved her hand through the side of her assailants skull. Bone gave way with a squelch as she flexed her hand in his grey matter.

Stopping to wipe her gore covered hand on the Tengu's robe, she looked for the next Bird to hunt. The air was hazy with smoke, and only glimpses of the carnage about her could be seen; a pair of white ears here, a tall dark skinned man just over there. But where was the Olive-Skinned Stranger?

Ren had been taking in the commotion of the city from the walls with the Snow Oni, the disconcerting news of the 'army of bandits' soon being relieved as some Prefect took to the stage to declare some fellow, Yuwen Fortune, a fraud? He was prepared to fight if he had to, but Ren supposed it was for the best that the tiny town wasn't forced to fight off 300 bandits. Numbers that were this skewed rarely translated to success.

Before he could truly relax though, the tower at the center of Poyo erupted into flames, bursting apart and sending bits of stone and wood across the town square. Hoped too soon it seemed, but the arrival of Tengu warriors struck the sellsword as odd. A fake attack immediately followed by a real one? Strange timing. And that Goblin that had been running away from the town, what was that about? Had they helped coordinate this?

The Snow Oni had darted towards the battle, leaving Ren with the briefest of moments to consider what he would do. There really was no alternative but to fight, but what was the best way? He took a glance around the part of town he could see, noting several men, women, and children cowering. The men, while not exactly impressive warriors, had the strength one would expect from farmers. Good enough? He hoped.

Ren dropped down from the wall, making his way around some of the hidden corners of the side streets, signalling to the men in hiding. "You men, get a hold of yourselves. Your wives and children are in danger, time to step up to defend them. Go grab some tools and weapons. Knives and short blades, make sure you have them tucked into a belt. Grab spears, shovels, pitchforks, and knock the metal parts off. It'll weigh them down and slow your attacks. Use the spears and makeshift poles to keep those Tengu at a distance from you, and when they get too close, use your knives to stab at them. Aim for the heads, don't bother with the armored areas."

They looked terrified at the Yeuxkyenan. "But... We're not skilled enough to fight them! What are we supposed to do!"

The warrior raised a hand to calm them. "This isn't about fighting them, it's about controlling the battlefield. They already blew up the tower, we do not want them burning the whole town down. We keep them here in town square. Guards and Prefect's can deal with any saboteurs, and town's folk can help prevent fires."

The terror remained in their eyes, but Ren's face remained stoic and unaffected. "We will save the town. Do what I said, support the guards and Prefects, and we will be victorious." With that, the townsmen ran off to either follow the sellsword's orders, or to flee, and Ren made his way to the town square, grabbing a deserted guard's spear that had been lying on the ground.



Another Tengu dove towards the female Rabbit Beastman and Yuwen, intent on ensuring their target wouldn't escape. Before it could reach them however, and wooden rod swung past the Rabbit, through the air over Yuwen, and collided with the face of the flying assailant. A loud *CRACK* resounded as the Tengu was pulled along with the spear, being cast down into the pavement head first with a loud thud.

Ren gave a nod to the Beastwoman and the Adventuring Charlatan.

"Happy Emperor's Day."

The Tengu was very good, Sunaarashi had to admit. The way he held his sword, the extra weight behind his blows afforded by the practiced use of his wings, his footwork; it was all impeccable. The Tengu was also smart, Sunaarashi realized, as his opponent broke away from their duel unexpectedly, flipping backwards to hover above the stage, glowering down at the sand warrior.

"You are the shadow of Sune," the Tengu said, the voice holding a hint of confusion. "The one they call the Hunter. For what reason are you in Poyo?"

"Why else would a hunter go anywhere but to hunt?" Suna said, shrugging. "But it seems I've traded one kind of prey for another."

"I have no wish to die today, Hunter," the Tengu replied with what was undoubtedly a sneer. "I draw my blade for coin, not purpose. Perhaps we shall meet again."

The Tengu didn't spare any more time before launching upwards with a blast of air, the opera mask it had wore dropping from above, cracking in half as hit the stage. Sunaarashi watched the black-winged Tengu speed away, then returned to the bag he had dropped.

"To hunt birds," Sunaarashi mused, sheathing his blade and unbuckling a strap. "You need bows." To this end, he pulled one free from his bag, along with string and a quiver of arrows. Quickly stringing the bow, Sunaarashi pulled an arrow free, and with a casual pull, sent the projectile forward and through the throat of a Tengu as it passed.

The winged enemy hit the ground with a heavy thud, and Sunaarashi drew another arrow from the quiver.

Shuin casually roasted his kebab over an open fire while the screams of panicked citizens rang through the square around him. At his side, Namari rested her hand on her hip and observed a trio of armed tengu begin to slowly encircle them. On her own she could defeat them all easily, but when she was chained to this idiot...

"Hey. Mud crawler. We're surrounded."

"Could you... give me a minute?" he responded, biting off a freshly cooked fish ball. "I'm... recharging here..."

The winged assailants charged the two stooges simultaneously. Licking the wooden pick clean, Shuin flicked it at the nearest tengu. The masked warrior flinched for a half-second -- plenty of time for peasant boy to grab his distracted opponent by the hair and send his knee crashing into his nose. From behind, the second one aimed to decapitate them both with a single stroke of his sword. Namari ducked under the passing steel, but the sudden jolt of her chain dragged an inattentive Shuin down with her as he lost his balance and dove shoulder first into the cobble.

Sensing opportunity, the third tengu angled his spear down and stabbed viciously at Shuin. The pointed head was deflected with a sharply timed kick of his cloth shoe, as it lunged mere inches away from his exposed torso. Clambering to his feet, he almost tripped again as he was pulled forward by Namari who thrust her sword halfway out of its sheath, jamming the blunt pommel into the windpipe of the tengu before her. She grabbed the reeling assassin by the collar and spun around, taking the staggering Shuin with her and throwing her meat shield into another incoming spear strike by his buddy.

The tengu let out a pained gasp as he was accidentally impaled through the back by his own comrade. The winged warrior holding his limp weight up scowled and shoved his dying partner aside, spear and all, drawing his sidearm. The first tengu with the broken nose held his bleeding face with one hand and came around the other side.

"You've got gall for a pair of worthless, runaway slaves!" The tengu swung his blade down and Shuin responded in suit by swiftly blocking with his own sword -- elbowing Namari in the face in the process.

"You stupid little... watch where you swing!" she hissed.

"Yeah? Maybe your ugly mug shouldn't have been in the way of my elbow!" Shuin expertly parried the next attack and cut the tengu down with a clean cut from shoulder to waist. As they both turned to face the last one a bit too quickly, the chained duo accidentally smashed their skulls together, sending them both toppling backwards in an almost splitting mirror image, grabbing their bruised foreheads with their free hand.

The tengu swept the legs out from under them both in their moment of foolishness, his eyes glowing with bloodlust as he thrust down with his weapon to finish them off. Shuin and Namari rolled in opposite directions, evading the piercing blow by a hair's breadth. The peasant pulled his arms inward to gain leverage for a rising heel kick into the tengu's temple, sending him careening into Namari who grasped the bloody blade of a fallen tengu beside her and jammed it deep into his flesh. Slowly, he fell over, dead.

The two rose to their feet, dusting off various folds in their clothes before immediately shooting each other an annoyed glare.

"Idiot."

"Pampered dog."

Namari fixed her messy hair with a hand behind her head, sweeping the scene with her senses. She overheard an oni -- the same one they'd run into earlier, and a conversation between Yuyu and... some woman. Something about treasure, it seemed. Was everyone in this land so barbaric?

"Did someone say treasure?" Shuin called out loud, suddenly pulling her along with a great grin on his face.

Lo-Muna turned towards the newcomers, raising an eyebrow as she recognized the man from earlier who had flexed. The woman was also beside him and the rabbit beast-woman was able to get a better look at her. She noted the fine things she wore and also how lovely the woman looked, albeit a bit out of place with everything.

She didn't have time to dwell on it however as she slid an arm around Yuwen's shoulders, a cocky smirk on her face.

"Sorry, kiddos, that's our business. Besides, we still got Tengu to fight in case yall hadnt noticed," Lo-Muna said, brandishing her chakrams.

At the outskirts of the the town square Ro and a few of his men had managed to recreate formation, stabbing their way through a downed tengu and approaching Samyan and Sunaarashi. "You're right, " He spat, wiping his blade away. "They've not gone after the townsfolk, they want something else."

Ro watched as the few remaining Tengu flew over, dividing and changing tactics in the air. Some switching to go down and fight while others disappearing into the black smoke of the burning heap where the town-tower and statue used to be. "...Why blow up a tower... unless there was something underneath it," Ro whispered, turning to Sunaraashi and Samyan. "We have to attack them at the base of the tower, in the smoke - they're doing something there, I know it."

At Shuin and Namari's appearance Yuwen immediately uncoupled himself from Lo-Muna, swinging away from her arms to face the two. Yuwen combed the curly bangs out of his face as he approached the two. "Yuwen Fortune," he introduced, grabbing Shuin's hand and shaking it. He took Namari's, but instead rose it to his mouth and placed a kiss like a true yunish hero. He paused, his face scrunching up. "Sorry, you look..." He blinked. Familiar...

Suddenly there was a roar, like the sound of a beast wounded. Yuwen turned to find the source of the sound. Across the square Kaor, the mighty beast-woman he had spoken to earlier, was surrounded by a duo of Tengu. "This is no time to be divided," Yuwen whispered, turning to Lo-Muna, and then the others gathered. "That beast-woman needs our help."

Lo-Muna didn't stick around to hear the last of Yuwen's words. Her heart had raced when she had seen the bear beastwoman in danger and there was an anger that bubbled within her. The ears on her head straightened, pointing towards the sound of the Tengu's steps.

It had annoyed her when Yuwen had removed himself but she was glad of it now. Her feet had begun moving and the grip on her chakrams tightened. She was running and then, in the air. One of the duo raised their swords but it was knocked out of their hand, one of the chakrams clattering beside it. Lo-Muna landed nearby, the other weapon raised and ready to come down on their heads.

"Back off," she growled before charging towards one of the Tengu.

Ren raised an eyebrow at the Yunish man, who thanked him in fairly good Yeuxkyen, with a dialect far better than most foreigners could manage. "Bin qui." Came a response of 'you're welcome' in Yunish that bore the marks Ren's of foreign accent. The rabbit woman's response had been far less formal, leaving Ren cocking a smile and giving a slight bow of the head in response.

Before he could respond further, a Tengu had been thrust in his direction, instinctively triggering Ren to grab at the winged warrior's closest arm. Ren gripped tight as he pulled the Tengu's right arm up and over the Yeuxkyenan's right shoulder. The attacker's chest met Ren's back, and before he could fight back to regain control of his arm, Ren dipped down slightly as he pulled the Tengu up and over his shoulder, slamming him down into the stone street with crushing force.

The arm, already heavily damaged, was finished off by Ren using his foot to break it. He considered mercy for the briefest of moments, but after a brief look of the battlefield realized now really wasn't the time. The swordsman quickly and efficiently drew his blade, pierced the chest of the Tengu, and quickly wiped the sword clean of blood. He let out a slight sigh before having his attention caught by talk of... Treasure?

Interesting twist to all this. The arrival of a prefect helped confirm the import of this attack. Ren almost moved to question the Yunish man, 'Fortune', about the treasure more, but he was interrupted by the roars of the bear beastwoman from the Inn earlier.

He supposed it would be prudent to lend his assistance. Before he did though, he briefly turned to Ro. "Backup? Is there any forces that can help us in taking the tower from them?"

Xanth tried dodging the stampede that didn't bother looking down at what it was trampling over when the attack launched. After getting beaten around by elbows and knees, she flattened against Kaor's backside. She slapped away Kaor's signed command for her to get to safety with one hand as she unlatched the bracelet of a woman running past her and pocketed it with the other. The Mayor was on his way out, but he still stood for the town's will. Violence was a language Xanth could speak and she wanted to be paid for it. She signed Kaor the plan, and dashed off, leaving the dog to guard the beast woman's back.

In shadow, Xanth skittered up a wall. It was a simple strategy, but one that served them well during their time as mercenaries. Kaor stayed on the ground and drew attention while Xanth assassinated them from above. She had to be careful here, she reminded herself as she slipped over the roof and hid herself beneath an overhanging fixture from a Tengu swooping overhead, she didn't have the high ground advantage that she normally did. Xanth drew her twin daggers and waited.

As was the life of an assassin. A far cry from the invulnerable mass murderers myth had conjured them to be of late. An assassin that ever found themselves in the position of having to take out twenty people at once was a miserable excuse for one. Assassins had one job, and one job only, and that was killing a target before they knew death was coming. Most of Xanth's extensive kill count found their deaths in their own beds or, if they were lucky, the latrine, where the corpses could defecate respectfully. The gig wasn't glamorous. If she could tell them the truth, she would.

Black wings swooped past her hiding place. All the tension in Xanth's body exploded and she sprung out, latching onto the Tengu's back with claw-like knives into the base of his neck. She rode the hurtling Tengu down. His body took the impact of the fall, and they skidded to a stop, punctuated by Xanth splitting him open from his shoulder to his jugular. She cut off his nose in one swoop, pocketed it for proof, and was out of sight in a blink. She climbed to the rooftops, tucked herself into a little crevice, and began the wait again.

The second advantage came quicker than the first, and Xanth shot out for it - but the Tengu turned in his flight, and her dagger made its mark in the joint of his wing. She dangled with nothing to push herself off with until she was shaken off. She gripped one of her daggers between her teeth mid-air and planted herself on the wall she'd been tossed into. Foolish. She began her hobble of shame back into the shadows, when a horrible sound struck her ears. Her head jerked to catch her companion's snout turned up to the sky, her maw wide in a howl of pain. The world seemed to shake as the great bear was brought to her knees.

The dog made the valiant effort of biting at her attacker's ankles, managing to tear one off her and shaking their leg so violently Xanth could hear the bones breaking. Her vision went red. The lines around her eyes grew deep and harsh, and she took off sprinting. Her body jutted out sideways from the walls she ran over until she was upright on the rooftops again, not bothering to try hiding herself from their airborne attackers. She took the dagger from her teeth as she arced around and bared them in a snarl as she leapt, sailing over the heads of those coming to Kaor's aid, her knives out, an agent of quiet fury and death striking from above -

Thwack. Xanth was intercepted. A bandit had played her trick and swooped her from above, plucking her away from vengeance. Her targets and friend grew smaller beneath her dangling feet as she was carried away from the battle. A dagger twisted in her side, which Xanth didn't realize until it was already going for her throat. She immediately turned on her kidnapper, struggling and stabbing at them as they attempted the same. Their battle continued on in the sky, a scramble that kept ducking mid-flight and threatening to plummet. Her attacker quickly became fed up with the little rat climbing and bleeding all over him and he tried dropping her to her death. Xanth's hand shot out as she fell and glued onto his shirt, yanking him down with her as she swiped out at his nose with her knife. He roared out in pain and gave his wings a mighty flap. The fabric tore and Xanth fell down towards the alleys with the Tengu's nose, a scrap of cloth stuck to her outstretched hand.

Yuwen entered the square behind Xanth. He stepped beside the kneeling woman and her hound. Yuwen glanced down at her and smiles, "You don't talk much, do you?" He commented with a heavy exhale. He gave a nod to the woman before running forward. Yuwen leapt over fire and rubble, entering the burning square just as the festival combatants took down the last of flying tengu.

"This village is small, and ugly, and the festival food leaves something to be desired," The injured tengu nodded in agreement with Samyan's statement. In response Suiken grabbed the weapon lodged in the tengu's wing threateningly. The tengu's breathing increased, short bursts of air out of his nostrils. "But it is also home to something old..." He managed to say. "Very... old..."

"Very old?" The voice of Yuwen Fortune came. Suiken and Samyan turned to see the swordsman approach, his body covered in the blood of others. Yuwen squinted at the sight before them- the statue and the collapsed tower were now just fiery ruins, collapsing into a pit. Before Yuwen could speak more the rabbit girl he'd fought beside earlier ran passed, and without a second thought, dived directly into the opening of earth.

Yuwen ran forward, his feet stopping at the ruined cobble-stone edge of the pit. Yuwen turned back toward the rest of the group. "The last of the tengu are down there," He breathed. "So what are you waiting for?"

Yuwen leapt after Lo-Muna, into the darkness.

A few moments later Yuwen's legs buckled as he smashed into the earth, sliding to a stop at the bottom of the pit...

Suiken released the weapon from the Tengu's wing. "Leave this place, Tengu. Your brethren are falling. Leave this town to live and fly another day," he instructed, standing up and walking over towards the pit and taking a leap downward, digging the pointed end of his mallet's into the wall to slow his descent.

The tunnel had begun to get crowded and voices filled the space. She was walking ahead of the others, ears turned back slightly as they all conversed. The obvious conversation of Yuwen's dubious nature had quickly sidetracked into one of philosophers without any sort of confirmation from Yuwen as to his intentions. Lo-Muna found this pretty damning but she figured getting to the chest first would render the point moot overall. With the treasure, she could perhaps bargain with the remaining Tengu for information on...

More footsteps, a hard landing, and someone... sniffing?

Lo-Muna finally turned around to face the group of fools and stopped dead. Her ears pointed straight up and her mouth agape. She saw the small human on top of the massive dog who seemed to be on some sort of scent. Her plan to avoid them seemed pretty dumb now that the human woman had chosen the same path as her. Lo-Muna could feel her heart beating faster, wondering if they were tracking the bearwoman's scent down. Down to the rabbit who had been in the vicinity of the beastwoman. And if she had been in the vicinity...

Thoughts raced and Lo-Muna was fully aware of how odd she looked. She started breathing through her mouth and she suddenly had an urge to preen her nails. She lifted her hand up to examine them, calling out to the group first, "IF you all have time to discuss philosophers, perhaps we could move faster? The Tengu have a lead after all."

"And you..." she began, looking up from her nails to look directly at the poofy-haired woman. There was a nervousness in her gaze as she tried to urge herself to just ask. If she was wrong, she could end the anxiety. If she was right, well... They couldn't catch her right?

"Did you... did you happen to be traveling with a bear beastwoman?"

All Xanth's features grew wide. The whites of her eyes and teeth stood out bright on her surprised face. She shuffled forward on her mount, when the dog's head jerked, catching a different scent. Kaor lingered here, mingled with the Tengu and the scents of new arrivals. The dog's ears flattened and he let out a low growl at Lo-Muna. Xanth's face didn't look so bright anymore. Her teeth were sealed behind tight lips and her eyes narrowed down at the dog. She whistled a few calming notes to him, something akin to a lullaby, and he stopped growling. Xanth turned her head back up to the beastwoman and gave her an apologetic smile. She gestured to the dog, made bunny ears with her fingers atop her head, then made quick scratchy, galloping motions on the back of her left hand. She patted the scar on her throat, shook her head, then made claw gestures at the air, and shook her head again, as she and the dog got closer.

"Ah, understandable. Have a nice day," Lo-Muna said as she walked away awkwardly.

Yamato walked the tunnels, the voices of those who'd entered before becoming clearer with every step he took. It wasn't long before he came upon a Beastwoman, an Oni, a woman on top of a large dog, and a woman whose race he couldn't quite place. There seemed to be some tension lingering in the air between them all.

"What a motley crew." He said with a grin, "I trust one of you can tell me where the exit might be?"

As the Tengu had been driven off, Ren watched somewhat helplessly as the bear beastwoman from earlier got carried off. There was a moment of thought where he intended to give chase, but it was already too late. Others had tried, and failed, and his attempts would likely do no better. He felt his jaw clench as he cast his gaze to the ground, forming a silent prayer in his mind, either for her safekeeping, or painless end.

Once gone, warriors from around the battlefield began to charge towards the destroyed tower, throwing themselves down what he overheard was some kind of pit, or a hole? Ren shrugged, and promptly walked the opposite direction. "I guess we're done here. Town's safe, probably time I start deciding how to leave." He muttered mostly to himself, and passingly at Prefect Ro.

Ren walked for a few minutes before the docks and market stalls came back into view, and with it a rather pleasing sight. The citizenry he'd armed earlier were fast at work putting out fires, where directed by the local guards, and a few of them carried off the bodies of Tengu that apparently they'd managed to fight off. He couldn't exactly remember the faces, but he noted very few casualties seemed to be among them, mostly just those who were wounded.

He looked back at the ruins of the tower for a moment, milling over in his mind what was truly the best course of action. Well, the likelihood of being paid at this point was... Questionable. And a roaming warrior needed to eat...

With a sigh, Ren turned around and charged for the tower, and once he reached the lip of the tunnel, allowed himself to slide down with relative grace. At the bottom of the hole, there was no one to be found, but he could hear the sound of voices from ahead. He moved forward, quietly so as to not cause too much of a ruckus. At the back of the group was an incredibly tall woman, with a slim figure and long black hair.

"S'cuse me..." He muttered to her in quieter tone than most of the others. "I'm a little late for all of this, did I miss anything important?"

Yuwen held out the torch, it's light refracting and illuminating off the stones lining the tunnel. He'd heard a few of the conversations, snippets and words, but had not spoken himself. From the distant-growing hole to the town-square more had climbed down and joined. He'd been leading them for several minutes now. He occasionally gave a glance back at the assembled group but for the most part kept his mouth shut. But there was one thought that prevailed in his mind when he looked back. A feeling unmistakable in the glint of his olive eyes. This was a guild.

"This way," Yuwen said as he marched, noting the boot-prints on the ashy floor before them. "We're getting close."

***

"Sir, I urge you we must go," A snivelling Tengu pleaded as he looked back at the tunnel leading to the chamber where two Tengu soldiers stood, spears in the air: preparing for any intruders who may come storming in. "Sir, the others are dead... we came with a force of forty and only the four of us remain," The Tengu whispered to his leader. "The Emperor must have known. Why else would this village house so many mercenaries?"

The leader, an elderly, grey bearded Tengu shook his head slowly. "No one knew, Shinji... we were simply unlucky." The leader reached forward and placed his hand on a door at the end of the chamber. His long fingers traced the stone carvings until they reached a mechanical key-hole. "...It seems this chest needs a key," The leader whispered, before raising his hand. The honey stones built into the stone began to glow, as the statue above had earlier. Then they abruptly burst into flame. The burning disappeared after a second, and the smoke a second after that. The rock door was damaged, bit it still stood. "...for I cannot open it with force."

Suddenly a sound echoed from the passage. The leader glared at his assistant. "They've arrived."

The assistant nodded and began to move with the other two Tengu back toward the pit entrance. The leader swallowed. "It needs a key..." He repeated to himself before raising up and flying toward the ceiling of the chamber. "And it's a key they will have." His sharp boots hooked into the rock and he knelt behind a stalactite. And so he'd wait, on the ceiling, in silence...

Exhaling quietly, Ginchiyo fought the urge to question why their group kept getting larger, she had leaped down here without really knowing why herself. Really the only thing that currently mattered was how many people here were secretly working with Mr. Fortune. First came a wisp of a creature, riding a squat powerfully built dog. The pair almost made a bee's line straight towards the White Rabbit, beginning an animated discussion between the Rabbit and the Wisp. The Ashura and Oni quickly began making quips and for a few moments, she felt like dropping her guard; the group reminded her of leading an agelai into their first mock combat.

However, the sudden arrival of a red-skinned man set her back on edge, causing her hackles to rise. The group kept getting odder, but it was all starting to come together, he was probably Fortune's liaison to the tengu. Footfalls sounded off behind her, rhythmically, causing her to steal a glance behind her; a man in mostly black was approaching her.

"I'm a little late for all of this, did I miss anything important?"

Her eyes locked back onto the Red Man before quietly answering the newcomer, "Mr. Fortune, the man the prefects were trying to arrest, definitely knows that Red Monkey. The Monkey has a key and seems to think it is why Poyo was attacked." That practically summed it up, at least as far as she could be bothered to explain.

The sound of weak footfalls sounded ahead of the group, slow and steady; as if purposefully conspicuous. She drew both of her daggers and settled into a ready position, "They approach."

Lo-Muna's ears perked up at the sound of crackling and distant steps. Her nose twitched as one ear swiveled to sounds further into the tunnel and another faced forward as two newcomers arrived. Another grunt as she saw a Tengu had arrived but behind him was the sword wielder of earlier. It seemed he was going to lend a hand to her and and Yuwen again. The raven haired woman spoke a warning.

"Two, no, three pairs of footsteps," Lo-Muna added as she rose from the ground, grabbing hold of her single chakram. "Maybe more. Can't tell for sure but I hope you have a tight grip on that key, fellow beastmen."

"Three?" Samyan quirked an eyebrow at that. "Is that all?"

She looked around the others in the group, ticking them off on her fingers. Blue frog, furry monkey, bald monkey, rabbit, dog cavalry, sexy lady- ah, two more joined from the rear. A... goth? And some guy in dark armor. She clicked her tongue impatiently, placing a hand on her hip as she turned her head in the direction the rabbit had heard footsteps, using the beast woman's giant clown ears as guidance.

"Hey, you should know there's like... eight of us," she called out. "Oh we haven't actually introduced ourselves yet, have we?" she muttered in a quick aside, before raising her voice again to speak with whoever approached. "You wanna just call it quits and go home? We'll just let you leave, I think. The party brawl's pretty much over, anyway."