Biting Cold [Event]

[Master Game]

    Far away, in the snow white outskirts of the Frost Nation, a lone wooden caravan moved steadily through the frigid and unwelcoming landscape, pulled along by the physical fortitude of two pure-bred stallions. The environment was almost monochrome; a mesh of seldom anything other than white, a few brown and grey colours that filtered through. As the wind howled non-stop, static shapes grew smaller and faded away from view. It could be hard to swallow for some, that they were actually nearing their destination instead of getting further away from it. Alas, this is the reality of the small villages that dotted Shimo no Kuni's outskirts. The weather conditions were twice as dangerous and daunting as the already chilly capital city. The inhabitants of such villages could only make do with what they had to survive and occasionally trade with other villages and towns in the summer seasons(The only time the weather let up to allow consistent travel). This particular village, named long ago by the brave pioneers that first settled to call the land home (long before the nation itself formed), was called and is still being to this day; Voeld. Of course, all of the mercenaries in the caravan would already be briefed on this. A legitimate map of Shimo no Kuni would reveal that Voeld had no other outskirt villages as close neighbours, and a large mountain range hugged its borders. Particularly isolated, Voeld probably suffered the worst out of all the outskirt villages, possibly leading to the current situation being faced. The information the mercenaries already knew let them know whoever or whatever they would encounter would likely kill them on sight.


    The caravan driver sat in silence with a smoking pipe between his lips that he would periodically remove to blow a puff. He was sitting at the front of the caravan with the passenger compartment at his back. The mercenaries contracted to undertake this assignment would find themselves seated on a single wooden bench at the back of the caravan's passenger compartment facing the driver but not able to see him. Right next to each person was a contract document rolled up into a scroll that they were free to read at any time. The hardwood casement windows at the parallel sides of the caravan were sealed shut to keep out the unruly cold, and a single candle was affixed at the top of each of the four walls of the compartment, providing the only illumination. For the meantime there was a foreboding awkward silence, if there was ample time for the different mercenaries of different backgrounds to get to know each other, it would be now.


OOC

SPOILER: Click to show

After the initial entry posts, there will be no posting order for a period of time until the caravan reaches its destination. This is to allow your characters to freely converse and get to know each other, as it will be somewhat crucial filler for the sequence of events yet to come.

[Sabolian]

Sabolian sat quietly in the caravan as it traveled, him and Yis most likely exchanged greetings once again since Sabo must of saw him as they both entered. The missing ninja had only ever come to the Land Of Frost once, which was to buy a few things from an interesting shop. Sabo would turn to whatever side and see the other one who accompanied Yis and him on this mission (Quino) Sabolian wouldn't wanna talk much in such an enclosed area who knew what could happened. The former shinobi of grass just sat back and waited for the caravan to reach it's final destination where ever that was.

Sabo wore his usual outfit; He wore a black shirt that had a hoodie and a white jacket over that, his tie was lose and green, his Tsubasa falcon gloves were also worn, his black trousers fitted him well, on his shin was his greaves and he wore black shoes to cover a few scars yet to have healed from his vigorous diable jambe training. Sabolian wore his googles over his forehead with many lenses implanted into it, while he had the ability to switch over them, no special lense stood active at the moment. (Anti flash lenses, Under water lenses, night vision and x ray vision lenses)

Sabolian held his assault bag pack on his lap inside of it was his gas mask, re-breather, his essential binoculars, a compass and his explosive tags of fire and force. Sabo also had a pouch on his left thigh, one held a slot of hira shurikens and his right thigh pouch held a slot of bo shurikens with one kunai. Sabo turned over to Yis and spoke into his ear "So, what did your kage say about your chunin promotion" Sabolian asked quietly, so that nobody else in the caravan would hear. The missing ninja paid no attention to the scroll next to him.

[quino]

Aranea hated being cooped up inside the carriage house it’s these other people.She already had her assault pack  between her legs along with her stormium katana and anti gravity great sword both between her legs to make enough room inside the carriage. Instead of making any conversation however she decided on reading the contents of the scroll reading over the details of the assignment they had all signed up for. Other than her two swords and assault pack Arsenal had only her surgical enhancements such as filtered lungs and the ability to sense true north.Lastly  she could cleanse harmful things out her person.
Other than that she wore her typical black dress and black combat boots. Her platinum blonde hair neatly tied up into a bun.

Having recently ascended new levels she felt confident about this assignment. Hopefully some save the world type phenomenon shit would happen  entertaining her in the process. But regardless she was hoping to maybe find things of a magic nature the most. That would be to the best of her liking.  With a small smirk she sighed wondering when they would finally get off this smothered death trap although the winter cold was not much more inviting.

[Master Game]

Aranea opened the scroll and would be able to view the contents of it without an issue.

If you are reading this document, then you are one of the few brave warriors willing to investigate an unnerving disturbance in the small village of Voeld. As you might already know, all communications have ceased from Voeld, as if they’ve been completely cut off from the world. I assure you however this is not a mere matter of boycotting taxes, as Voeld cannot survive on its own and seasonally trades with other outskirt towns and villages. An emissary had been sent prior to investigate whatever the problem may be. Unfortunately he has yet to return.

Fearing the worst, the Land of Frost government wishes to commission you for the task of discovering what is going on in Voeld. Furthermore we wish for you to subjugate whatever physical menace may be afflicting Voeld.

A hefty reward of 50, 000 ryo will be given to you upon obtaining valuable intel regarding Voeld. Another 50,000 ryo will be your reward if you, along with your new cohorts, are able to put a stop to the problem we fear may be beyond us. We are not liable for any unfortunate circumstances that may occur during your assignment.

If you agree to the terms and conditions please write your name and signature below.

Kind regards,
the Daimyo.

OOC

SPOILER: Click to show

The caravan will be arriving soon.

[Sabolian]

Sabolian sat in the caravan awkwardly with Aranea, Sabo thought it would be best if he got to know her since they would be doing an important mission together. The missing ninja would then decide to look at the scroll, just so that he wouldn't be left for dead on important information. After reading the scroll, he would drop it back in it's original position and grin 'this will be interesting' Sabo thought in his mind.

Sabolian turned his attention to Aranea "I'm Sabo, nice to meet you" Sabo muttered with an awkward smile on his face as he attempted to exchange greeting with her.

[quino]

Quickly reading over the parchment Aranea was quite pleased with offer granted to them. However she had a feeling that once they entered escaping wouldn’t be so easy to do. However she might just be paranoid.Biting her thumb to draw blood she wasn’t too focused on the other individual trying to talk to her. His name was Sabo and she didn’t pay him much mind as she signed her name in blood as proper contracts should be done.”Aranea... what are your abilities? As you can see I use blades what can you do? “ She asked loosely rolling up the scroll and putting it back. Looking over to him as she rested on the pommel of her katana. Team cohesion was a good thing when it resulted in life or death.

Hopefully the problem was not something of the other world. She desperately struggled fighting such opponents with her current skill set.However something with flesh and bone was easily killable. If it bled and breathed it made them just like her only flesh and spirit. Being able to cut one of those down was all she needed to get the job done. Not to mention her stormium blade would be quite deadly against such ghastly apparations.

[Sabolian]

Sabolian watched as she signed her name in blood and thought he should do the same to prove he's doing this for real, the blonde haired missing ninja bit his left thumb and then opened up the scroll once again with his right hand, he would then wright in his signature with his bloody thumb. After that, he rolled up the scroll and placed it back, looking onto his bloody thumb, he would let out a little sigh.

"Hmm, I can kick people and fly" Sabolian muttered hoping he wouldn't look too pathetic. He would then think of heating his right leg, but that could burn a whole in the caravan and he would like to avoid that. "You will see my abilities better when the important stuff starts" Sabo said confidently this time.

[Master Game]

Meanwhile, as the two conversed, a third figure in the caravan could be seen. The woman wore white clerical robes, with a big hood that obscured most of her face and had her legs crossed. She was a young woman, with long brown hair, but whose eyes could not be seen for the most part. It was hard to tell if she was sleeping or awake, but her hand slowly moved to the scroll next to her before unrolling it and reading it through. After a while she paused, there was look of uncertainty on her face, as if she wanted to ask a question, but merely kept silent. She stole a glance at Aranea and Sabo, looking over at their bloodied fingers. If either of them looked back at her, it would briefly reveal a pale, marble-like complexion, high cheekbones and a tiny nose and pale-green irises that would look away with a red tint now present in her cheeks.

Sighing, she reached to the leather messenger back by her side and rummaged through it for a while. She retrieved a feathered quill, stared at it up close for a while, before bringing it to her finger. Closing her eyes, she dabbed at her palm quickly to draw blood, then she proceeded to scrawl into her own contract document. Putting the document and quill into her bag, she tried to relax her back into her hardwood seat. From inside the caravan, the mercenaries could hear the incessant galloping of horses drawing the caravan.

[quino]

“Wonderful we both can fight up close. What about you?” Aranea would have cooed at their third companion. She seemed to be scared shitless taking the time to observe her face. It was actually pretty adorable and the quick glance at her face proved worth while. Aranea always had a burning passion for gems and she had certainly found one. She would calmly wait for a answer drawing her full attention to the women waiting for a response. Once her curiosity was peaked Aranea would not stop it. It was a force to be reckoned with and a deadly one.

However if the woman responded or not Aranea would have spoke.” Besides formalities I’m trying to assume what we are up against. Something that can be harmed by blades and feet from the look of things. Sounds to me it might be a giant animal of some sorts however that is mere speculation on my part.” Battle plans were always a necessity. Especially with such a small team as this against an unknown target.

[Sabolian]

Little mistake

[Sabolian]

Sabolian was at least happy that he didn't seem so useless to Aranea, even though it was what it seemed on the outside, he could never know what the swordwif was thinking 'Oh, so i'm surrounded by two beautiful women now' Sabolian thought in his head with a perverted grin strapped across his face. It seemed that they was a third figure that the missing ninja did not notice until now, he must of been distracted by Aranea's beauty.

Sabolian was also very curious, he wanted to know what she would could bring to the team. After Aranea had said her part, Sabolian would open his eyes wider at the mysterious women "Ooh and also what's your name, mi lady" Sabolian said confidently, the two had already noticed that she was shy, he just hoped the hooded woman would answer both questions without stress.

[Master Game]

“My name is Freya.” She would announce. Swallowing her shyness, she shifted her head to face the duo.

“Sabo right? And Aranea? Happy to be working with you both. I’m a representative from the Golden Ordinance Church...” after a brief pause she would add. “We are part of a small religious sect based around the outskirts of the country. My mission here is aid those who might be suffering in Voeld and provide some assistance to you, er... mercenaries.” She would offer a harmless fake smile not directed to anyone in particular.

Then suddenly, the sound of pounding hooves drew to a close. The passengers could all feel as their vehicle came to a halt. For five straight seconds, there was strange silence. But then a wooden sliding window opposite to the passenger's seats drew open. A gloved hand, and a face obscured by several layers of scarves and a big raccoon-skin cap appeared. An elderly, masculine voice behind the face announced:

"We've arrived. Your contracts... if you've signed them give them to me." The gloved hand would stretch out and wait for the scrolls. It seemed the mercenaries had been given ample time to think it through and would now have to present the signed contracts to the caravan driver in order to proceed.

If the the passengers approached the window they would notice the chilling cold that blew in like a wave. They would only get a small taste of the uninviting frigidness of the weather, but it served as a frightening prelude of what was to come, should they step out of the caravan.

[quino]

Sadly the woman didn’t answer what Aranea truly wanted to know which would make the coming battles more difficult. Although learning that she was part of a religious sect did leave to the imagination something of a cleric possibly being a healer of some sorts. Regardless the stopping of the carriage caught her immediate attention as the white gloves hand reached in and asked for the contract. Reaching for hers she dropped it into the gloved hand stretching our her arms and back with a comfortable crack. Gripping the pommel of her blade for comfort she grew a dangerous grin that was only mischievous the fun was soon to begin.

[Sabolian]

Sabolian had no words, because he knew not of what Freya was talking about when she started mentioning the religious sect. When the gloved hand came in to collect the papers, Sabo handed his in realizing that the caravan had stopped, since the scripts were being asked for, they must have reached their final destination. The missing ninja would leave the caravan immediately.

He turned back to his allies "I think we have arrived at the final destination" Sabo turned north, he scanned his environment(125 Observation), but he couldn't help but think of how cold it was. Sabolian turned back to the caravan once more and took his assault bag out of it and wore it around his bag, if his observation check brought something to his eyes, he would immediately focus on that particular thing "Freya, do you know which way were supposed to go" Sabo said still facing straight and not looking at the young woman.

[Master Game]

Freya was the last to deliver her scroll into the large gloved hands of the caravan driver. She muttered a short prayer underneath her breath as she dropped her scroll, and the man retracted his hand. After some fiddling, the window slammed shut. Sabo's attempt to exit the vehicle, would occur by simply opening the door and would not be impeded in any way. However, upon immediately exiting the caravan, the young man would be stricken with a Biting Cold. Despite Sabo being fully-clothed, he would be able to feel the sinister chill over his bones and his mind would urgently nag at him to find some form of refuge from the elements.

The cloaked brunette, seemingly not wanting to be cooped up in the caravan any long, would exit the vehicle along after Sabo. She would experience feelings similar to Sabo, and if Aranea decided to exit the vehicle she would also feel the same.
Visually, the environment would be somewhat intimidating to one not used to it.

Grey skies loomed over the snowy land like silent judges, observing all of its inhabitants with frightening indifference. The sun was no doubt lost somewhere among the voluminous clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was severely windy, but that was to be expected in a region incessantly burdened by snow. Three things would stand out to the group of young mercenaries:

A wooden sign; pitched into the ground ten metres in front of the caravan would be a wooden sign. Each individual in the group would have the visual prowess needed to comprehend what was ascribed onto the wooden surface despite the long distance. The word "VOELD" could be seen, confirming that the destination lay ahead.

A stream; two metres in front of the sign was a stream that ran as far as the eye could see horizontally. Slow-moving and silent, it would be hard to guess the temperature of the water body. It spanned roughly twenty metres from one bank to another. On the opposite bank of the stream, spindly spruce wood trees dotted the snowy landscape, and a paved road lead deeper into the land. If one could looked well enough, faint brown structures could be seen far off in the distance following the road. 

A bridge?... or at least what remained of it. The only thing that implied a bridge had ever been there was the small portion of brickwork that remained on both opposite banks of the stream. If anyone in the group looked to the driver for an explanation they would just see the excessively-clad man shake his head ruefully, then spur his horses to turn around in a three-sixty to start pulling the caravan in the opposite direction. Within 12 seconds he would be completely out of sight.

Freya looked out-of-place as she took in her surroundings. She stood around awkwardly for a bit, waiting for someone else to take initiative, or at least say something.

[quino]

As her two companions exited the carriage she had placed her hand on her chest spreading the warmth of her soul.The cold and even extreme heat would now be bearable for her as if she were in regular weather. Grabbing her belongings she stepped out of the carriage with a soft thud and crunch in to the winter wonderland. She sling her great sword over right shoulder across her back and her katana on her left hip. The final piece was the black Assult Pack looking her arms through both straps as she stretched once more. Surveying the area she noticed the sign,bridge remnants and stream.Her main focus was on the rode ahead leading to the town off in the distance.

” We have no idea what lies ahead as such we need to constantly be on our guard. With that in mind we will walk in a straight line one in front of the other.I’ll take the lead , Freya in the middle, and Sabo in back. Be ready to fight or dodge.” She would say walking in front of the two. She would stop and turn to them seeing if they had any objections or other ideas. If not then she would keep walking towards the village her hand resting on the hilt of her katana for comfort.

Jutsu Used

Controlled Soul
Rank: "D"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: User's soul can adapt souls to temperatures normal people could not handle.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: A personal or touched based technique. Works on 1 creature at a time. Duration of the Jutsu is 5 hours per Class Level. A creature protected by Controlled Soul suffers no harm from being in a hot or cold environment. It can exist comfortably in conditions between -50 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit (-45 and 60 degrees Celsius). The creature's equipment is likewise protected. Controlled Soul des not provide any protection against other environmental hazards such as smoke, lack of air, and so forth. User also gains 10 fire and cold resistance (this stacks with any they may have already).
Limit: Must be a Soulcaster.

[Sabolian]

Sabolian heard the instructions by Aranea, he couldn't care less so he would follow orders and proceed to form the line at the back. "Hmm, after a while, I will have to stop to and cut some trees down then light a fire to keep myself warm" Sabolian said to the two. On the river bank the team was, Sabo noticed the sign that said 'Voeld' ten meters away.

The 6ft missing ninja looked over the women's heads to see what was up next in their path. Sabo saw the 20 meter stream from one bank to another. "I don't think anyone should swim in there, it must be blistering cold" Sabo muttered, feeling the effects of the cold himself, if the team reached the end of the riverbank. Sabo would step out of the line.

He wondered how long his wings would last in the cold, he had to get across the stream. Sabo would use the Ram handseal and then sprout his wings out from his shoulder bones, the wings were at 2 meters long, and he would attempt to fly over the stream(Flying 10ft high), if his flight was successful he would land on the other side of the river bank with his wings retracting. "Might as well get over this" Sabo said turning around to the group.

SPOILER: Click to show

Tsubasa Sodachimasu no jutsu (Wing Grow Technique)
Rank: C-Rank
Skill: Ninjutsu
Effect: Lets the user grow wings of a bird out of their shoulders.
Special: Ram
Drawback: The user may feel some pain, due to the initial outburst of the extra shoulder bones that are used for the rest of the wings to grow on. Cannot Re-grow wings that were ripped or severed from the body. If one wing is removed then it is impossible to retract the wings. If a wing is injured somehow, once retracted they cannot be used for 2 weeks OOC.
Description: The user forms the handseal, and then the extra shoulder bones that come from the Ritual of Talon and Feather burst through the back of the user and they start to grow into wings of any given bird, through chakra increasing the length of the bones, (user chooses) that are twice the length of the user’s arms. Chakra will numb the pain, but it will still hurt. The chakra will also accelerate the growth of the skin, but it will come out with feathers, having stimulated the chemical. The user may then use the wings to fly and perform other techniques that require this jutsu. When the Tsubasa wishes it or has an injured wing they can retract the wings into their body to heal over time or simply to hide them.
Limit: Must be a Tsubasa, must have Ritual of the Talon and Feather performed on them.

Wing Control
Rank: C-Rank
Skill: Supplementary
Effect: Allows the Tsubasa to properly use their wings for flight.
Special: ---
Drawback: Guidance of an experienced Tsubasa. [PC or NPC]
Description: This training will allow the Tsubasa to control their wings properly after growth. Without the training control of the Tsubasa's wings will be jerky and extremely difficult. The control will be harsh enough that the Tsubasa will be unable to fly without it and merely have the wings for show. With the simple exercises and control methods taught by the experienced Tsubasa, the user will rid them self of the problem of controlling a new appendage and be able to use their wings as if born with them naturally.
Limit: Must be a Tsubasa, must know Wing Grow, must have Ritual of the Talon and Feather performed on them.

[Master Game]

Aranea

Aranea's attempt to make it towards the village would be hindered by her own lack of foresight and/or perception of her surroundings. Reaching the end of the stream's bank, she would failed to account for it and would plunge feet first into the bone-chilling body of water. Her previously performed soulcaster technique protected her against the absurdly low temperature that was even more severe than the atmosphere surrounding it. However the stream was 2.5 metres deep and she immediately began to sink. If Aranea did not make an attempt to get herself bank to shore, or to swim across to the opposite bank, she would inevitably drown.

Freya

Freya, winced as she watched her new comrade Aranea walk straight into the stream that lay ahead. She wondered how she didn't notice that, there was no obvious way over the stream and the bridge remains reinforced that. "Strange" Freya thought as she ran over to the stream bank and looked to see if Aranea was alright, attempting to help her by putting out a hand if she was having trouble.

Sabo

Having crossed the stream, if Sabo turned around and faced the paved road he would be able to see the silhouette of houses just ahead. The distance between the young mercenary and the nearest house would be a hundred metres. Once he traversed that distance, he would be able to clearly make out the buildings and doing so, he would immediately notice several things:

The complete absence of light, movement and sound. The village was a ghost-town. Most of the buildings were decrepit and in an outright state of disrepair. Rather than due to neglect, the buildings looked to be a result of direct sabotage. Doors ripped off hinges, window casements and fencing broken, wooden beams and pillars collapsed.

The smell. The horrid stench of death invaded his nostrils as soon as he got close enough to the first building. If the missing ninja was familiar with the odour of corpses, he would know exactly what he would be smelling. Someone had died in this village, and it would be evident to Sabo by not only the smell, but the dried dark stains imprinted into the snow that seemed to lead from several different houses.

If Sabo properly surveyed his surroundings, he would see that the village was very small, perhaps no more than two dozen homes, a few establishments, and a single large building far off by the mountain that tightly hugged the northern part of Voeld's circumference. The icy mountain range obscured all vision beyond the village, peaking at a height of several hundred metres. The building that sat by the base of the mountain to the north of Sabo was the biggest of them all, and was roughly 400 metres away, past all the other buildings. That would be all Sabo could glean without getting closer.

The village before Sabo is the epitome of isolation.

SPOILER: Click to show

Visual concept for Voeld (Not fully accurate, provided as inspiration or reference to how Voeld might look):

[quino]

With the resulting mistake of not properly gauging the depth of the water Aranea plunged into the icy water as she held what breath she had to keep from swallowing water.Kicking her feet  to swim up while she swung her arm out to catch the edge of the stream ignoring Freya’s hand. Aranea would attempt to pull herself out and move next to Freya before standing up.”My chakra does not want to work for me today.” Channeling chakra to her feet Aranea would now attempt to walk over the stream and to the other side with relative ease. She would do her best to wring out what water she could from her dress. After making it to the other side Aranea would wait for Freya to cross over. Despite the little mishap she had kept her guard up waiting for any enemy to attack or something.


Jutsu Used

Suimen Hokou no Waza - Act of Water Surface Walking
Rank: "B"
Skill: NinJutsu/Supplementary
Effect: Allows a Non-Ninja the ability to perform even more Advanced chakra techniques.
Special: ---
Drawback: Non Ninjas must learn in order to learn Advanced chakra techniques. Ninjas gain this technique for free in the beginning however does not add into Character Class like other starting techniques. Does not work on Animal Companions.
Description: A variation on the Kinobori no Waza (Act of Tree Climbing), the art of water surface walking allows a ninja to walk on water as if it was a solid surface. Focusing an even amount of chakra out of the soles of their feet, they can balance themselves on the very surface of the water. Allows a user to learn up to Any Rank Chakra related Techniques within the rightful restrictions.
Limit: Universal NinJutsu Technique. 

[Sabolian]

Sabolian stood quietly waiting for the two to cross over, when Aranea had crossed he just awaited Freya to cross over, if she did the young man would assemble the line once again attempting to stay at the back of the two. Whether Freya arrived or not, he would circulate chakra around his fingertips, the young man then squatted down to the ground and placed his fingertips on it. If he noticed anything he would stay on complete guard while walking with the team, if he didn't notice anything he would continue to walk casually.

Earth Ear
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: User can identify creatures within a certain range by touching the ground.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: Range of this technique is personal. Target is the user. Area of effect is 30 meters radius. Duration of this technique is 5 meters per Class Level. User places their ear to the ground in an effort to determine the location and size of creatures moving above or beneath the surface of the ground. With a successful Observation check (Difficult + 5 per 2 meters of distance) user can determine the size, distance and direction of creatures walking on the ground or traveling beneath it due to the vibrations they create. A separate Observation check is required for each creature. User may place their fingertips on the ground instead of their ear.
Limit: Must know Earth Release