Kaji Okada’s Hunter Chronicles, Entry №3
The Banshee
The Banshee
Continued from: Explorers of the Dale
The constant howl of frigid wind continued to cry over the mountainous wildlands known as the Spine of the World. The chorus of singing winds was joined by the constant creak of iron-banded, wooden wheels, aching as they continued to turn in the snow. The trail was long heading down and through the valley of the region, which was still far from civilization. The sun was still high, and the days ran longer when spring approached, but it did nothing to soften the bite of the cold for Kaji, Tatsuo, and the two merchants who eagerly welcomed them as their company.
The two merchants resembled a father-daughter pair and were hauling a shipment of butchered reindeer and goat meat from their farm, with wheels of varied cheeses, and large drums of pasteurized milk. The elder of the two merchant farmers held the reigns to the two sturdy yaks pulling the wagon and had the vehicle trudging forth at a steady pace. The old driver was a veteran on this course and steered with his eyes locked dead ahead, focused, and hardened by a lifetime spent building an immunity to this savage land’s icy grasp. A bristly salt and pepper mustache blew with the snow flurries, as did the stream of smoke barreling out of the long wooden pipe he kept to his lips. He was covered in thick furs, as was his daughter, who moved to the back of the wagon. She held a hunting knife long enough to pierce a basilisk’s hide, but she used it to cleanly slice apart links of smoked reindeer sausage, which she shared with the boy beside her.
Kaji was seated to the right of the seasoned driver and felt nauseous as the plumes of white smoke kept reaching his lungs. As a former smoker himself, the process of quitting a much worse smoking habit in his past left Kaji feeling repulsed by the putrid scent of the stuff. However, as unnerved Kaji was during their passage, it was not the odor of smoke that placed Kaji in his restless state.
Eventually, Kaji had to act on a sensation coursing through his bones, and a chill much worse than what the Spine of the World could force into him. While he was a shinobi first, Kaji’s connection to the wild let him naturally attuned to the world around him. Though he and his latest apprentice had handled the small horde of spiders endangering their fellow travelers, Kaji still felt a stirring sensation hinting that all was not right in the area. The same sensation that drove his urge to travel there had yet to cease, and he knew that something vile still lurked on these mountains.
Kaji was forever the bold one and told the party aboard the vehicle that he would scout ahead on the trail. He was sure that the party would make it to Port Cirrus whether he returned or not, and left Tatsuo with the friendly companions they had made on their adventure. Confident that the boy would return to the Hokage safely, Kaji split off on his supposed scouting run.
As Kaji watched his companions roll away, he dropped to a knee and performed the ritual to summon his trusted mount- the incomparable mare named Kukki. A plume of interplanar steam shot out from the rift he created, and with a disagreeing neigh, the Sunan mare emerged. Kaji became apologetic, and Kukki was demonstrating her hatred of the frigid land, intelligently shaking her head and backing away from Kaji. After a moment of pleading with his close equine ally, the horse allowed him to climb onto her saddle, and off they galloped through the misty mountainside.
He was a guardian of the wilderness, and in accepting that title, Kaji took an oath to protect the land and did so without a concern for statehood or other boundaries set by mankind. On horseback, he trod through a fog that filled the valley between three tall mountains. He had not gone too far off the trail from his companions, but regardless, Kaji always managed to find his way home. But there was an innate sense within him, guiding him into a spot of shrouded lowlands, protected from the light of day by tall redwood trees. Kukki slowed with hesitation, signaling to Kaji that his senses were spot on. His senses guided him to where the mist was it’s thickest. Kaji then dismounted from Kukki and gave the mare a comforting pet on the scruff of her neck before proceeding towards a tall cave at the end of the path.
An evil presence hit him like a permeable force as Kaji entered the arched portal at the face of the cave. There was no darkness to be found there, only a soft blue glow and a graveled path leading downward on a steady slope. The hunter embraced his strengths and weaved his hands together to make several precise hand seals. A shadowy veiled became one with Kaji, concealing his movements and further dampening the faint sound of each light-footed step. The mithril cast scimitar at his waist was drawn in slow motion and lifted into a defensive stance.
The path he took was not a long one, in fact, the light at the end of the tunnel was quite close, and the opening expanded to a broad cavern where countless stone and crystalline formations hung from a high ceiling, and arose from the cavern floor. Within this hollow ground, the blue light was revealed as an abundance of royal blue flora, resembling an illuminated garden that grew in an abundance along the chamber floor. There must have been forty feet or so of space within the chamber, though Kaji hadn’t taken out the measuring tape to be sure. And at the center of this forgotten place sat the pale image of a human-like female, void of defined features, with the exception of skin as smooth as silk, milky white eyes, and incredibly long, azure hair which flowed down her shoulders and backside. She was without a wardrobe but used the long hair to tastefully censor her body while sitting ladylike upon a throne composed of one large mushroom. Though her kind was truly a rare encounter, Kaji would one day know her species by name: he had answered the alluring call of a Banshee.
- WC: 1067
- Kaji has entered the thread.
<i></i>The constant howl of frigid wind continued to cry over the mountainous wildlands known as the Spine of the World. The chorus of singing winds was joined by the constant creak of iron-banded, wooden wheels, aching as they continued to turn in the snow. The trail was long heading down and through the valley of the region, which was still far from civilization. The sun was still high, and the days ran longer when spring approached, but it did nothing to soften the bite of the cold for Kaji, Tatsuo, and the two merchants who eagerly welcomed them as their company.
The two merchants resembled a father-daughter pair and were hauling a shipment of butchered reindeer and goat meat from their farm, with wheels of varied cheeses, and large drums of pasteurized milk. The elder of the two merchant farmers held the reigns to the two sturdy yaks pulling the wagon and had the vehicle trudging forth at a steady pace. The old driver was a veteran on this course and steered with his eyes locked dead ahead, focused, and hardened by a lifetime spent building an immunity to this savage land’s icy grasp. A bristly salt and pepper mustache blew with the snow flurries, as did the stream of smoke barreling out of the long wooden pipe he kept to his lips. He was covered in thick furs, as was his daughter, who moved to the back of the wagon. She held a hunting knife long enough to pierce a basilisk’s hide, but she used it to cleanly slice apart links of smoked reindeer sausage, which she shared with the boy beside her.
Kaji was seated to the right of the seasoned driver and felt nauseous as the plumes of white smoke kept reaching his lungs. As a former smoker himself, the process of quitting a much worse smoking habit in his past left Kaji feeling repulsed by the putrid scent of the stuff. However, as unnerved Kaji was during their passage, it was not the odor of smoke that placed Kaji in his restless state.
Eventually, Kaji had to act on a sensation coursing through his bones, and a chill much worse than what the Spine of the World could force into him. While he was a shinobi first, Kaji’s connection to the wild let him naturally attuned to the world around him. Though he and his latest apprentice had handled the small horde of spiders endangering their fellow travelers, Kaji still felt a stirring sensation hinting that all was not right in the area. The same sensation that drove his urge to travel there had yet to cease, and he knew that something vile still lurked on these mountains.
Kaji was forever the bold one and told the party aboard the vehicle that he would scout ahead on the trail. He was sure that the party would make it to Port Cirrus whether he returned or not, and left Tatsuo with the friendly companions they had made on their adventure. Confident that the boy would return to the Hokage safely, Kaji split off on his supposed scouting run.
As Kaji watched his companions roll away, he dropped to a knee and performed the ritual to summon his trusted mount- the incomparable mare named Kukki. A plume of interplanar steam shot out from the rift he created, and with a disagreeing neigh, the Sunan mare emerged. Kaji became apologetic, and Kukki was demonstrating her hatred of the frigid land, intelligently shaking her head and backing away from Kaji. After a moment of pleading with his close equine ally, the horse allowed him to climb onto her saddle, and off they galloped through the misty mountainside.
He was a guardian of the wilderness, and in accepting that title, Kaji took an oath to protect the land and did so without a concern for statehood or other boundaries set by mankind. On horseback, he trod through a fog that filled the valley between three tall mountains. He had not gone too far off the trail from his companions, but regardless, Kaji always managed to find his way home. But there was an innate sense within him, guiding him into a spot of shrouded lowlands, protected from the light of day by tall redwood trees. Kukki slowed with hesitation, signaling to Kaji that his senses were spot on. His senses guided him to where the mist was it’s thickest. Kaji then dismounted from Kukki and gave the mare a comforting pet on the scruff of her neck before proceeding towards a tall cave at the end of the path.
An evil presence hit him like a permeable force as Kaji entered the arched portal at the face of the cave. There was no darkness to be found there, only a soft blue glow and a graveled path leading downward on a steady slope. The hunter embraced his strengths and weaved his hands together to make several precise hand seals. A shadowy veiled became one with Kaji, concealing his movements and further dampening the faint sound of each light-footed step. The mithril cast scimitar at his waist was drawn in slow motion and lifted into a defensive stance.
The path he took was not a long one, in fact, the light at the end of the tunnel was quite close, and the opening expanded to a broad cavern where countless stone and crystalline formations hung from a high ceiling, and arose from the cavern floor. Within this hollow ground, the blue light was revealed as an abundance of royal blue flora, resembling an illuminated garden that grew in an abundance along the chamber floor. There must have been forty feet or so of space within the chamber, though Kaji hadn’t taken out the measuring tape to be sure. And at the center of this forgotten place sat the pale image of a human-like female, void of defined features, with the exception of skin as smooth as silk, milky white eyes, and incredibly long, azure hair which flowed down her shoulders and backside. She was without a wardrobe but used the long hair to tastefully censor her body while sitting ladylike upon a throne composed of one large mushroom. Though her kind was truly a rare encounter, Kaji would one day know her species by name: he had answered the alluring call of a Banshee.
- WC: 1067
- Kaji has entered the thread.