But For A Stone (A Matou Shinji Series AU)

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Draw the enchanted knife as they move.

---

As they moved, the boy drew his knife, hoping that its metal blade would be dun and dark, but as the steel sang free of the sheath, it disappointed him by glowing with a baleful blue light. Enemies were about, it seemed, though how near - and how many, Shinji had no idea, as the only thing the note on the scabbard had said was that the blade glowed in the presence of enemies.

Though...perhaps he wouldn't have to imagine for long, since, as he looked on...

'...is the glow getting brighter?'

"Do you see that?" Selina asked, tugging on the boy's sleeve so that he came to a halt. "Whatever the blade is reacting to, we're walking right towards it."

"...or its coming towards us," Shinji replied, noting that the brightness of the blade was indeed increasing, with what had been a faint glow now blazing as brightly as a newborn star. His eyes darted wildly about, but with the fog about them obscuring visibility beyond a few meters, and muffling sound to a degree, none of them knew what was coming for them - only that something was.

It was blind luck, really, that they managed to catch sight of their pursuer lumbering out of the fog.

"Wait...isn't that..." Shinji asked, recognizing the form of their enemy. "But that...it was..."

"Undead. Undead troll," Selina whispered, her complexion ashen as she looked upon its mangled form, and the way the ice riddling it's body seemed to pulsing with an unearthly light.

It's gait was ungainly, and it didn't seem to be able to see them, though it didn't have to see them to be a threat, as it seemed kept coming at them.

Was it smelling them? Or...

'...is it the knife?'

What does the duo do?

[ ] Toss away the knife
[ ] Keep the knife on them

And their plan of action, after that?

[ ] Run into the bog - its their only hope of escape
[ ] Fight - maybe they can shatter the ice
[ ] Run, run as fast as they can
[ ] (write-in)

[Daiki]

[x]Keep the knife on them..
[x] Sheath the knife & Change directions to see if it still tracking

Let's be sure how the undead detects them first. It didn't react to the sheathed knife so there must be a reason.

[Skull Leader]

[x]Keep the knife on them..
[x] Sheath the knife & Change directions to see if it still tracking

Since I am fairly certain it sensing magic, I rather not fight it throwing spells around. Hopefully sheaving the knife is enough to get it to stop perceiving them so that they can retreat.

Running into the bog is a bad idea if it can sense them still, cause all we are doing is blinding Selina and Shinji by going there.

[shanagan]

[x]Keep the knife on them..
[x] Sheath the knife & Change directions to see if it still tracking

[skulkidcachi90]

[x]Keep the knife on them..
[x] Sheath the knife & Change directions to see if it still tracking

[alfheimwanderer]

[x]Keep the knife on them..
[x] Sheath the knife & Change directions to see if it still tracking

---

Thinking quickly, Shinji placed the blade back in the sheath, hoping that if the troll wight was indeed tracking them via the knife, it would lose interest once the blade wasn't out anymore. Sadly, things were not that easy, as the troll continued to lumber forward, even if it had paused for a moment.

The boy changed directions, tugging Selina after him as--

A blast of sound and fury sent him sprawling, with his blade falling out of his sheath by his feet - and as if noticing it, the troll advanced once more.

What does Matou Shinji do?

[ ] Attack!
[ ] Get to his feet, leave the knife
[ ] Take the knife and throw it at the troll
[ ] Tell Selina to run, he'll hold it off!

[shanagan]

[x] Get to his feet, leave the knife

[Skull Leader]

[X] Get to his feet, leave the knife

[Daiki]

[x] Take the knife and throw it at the troll.

If you're running away and leaving the knife behind, you might as well try to harm it beforehand.

[Skull Leader]

If you're running away and leaving the knife behind, you might as well try to harm it beforehand.

I would have picked that option if we had A) picked training with a knife so that it could hit the troll or B) under the influence of luck potion. Considering that this throw is under distress, I do not hold my breath to it landing and effecting anything other than waste precious time.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Get to his feet, leave the knife

---

It was with some regret that Matou Shinji left the knife behind as he got to his feet, but such were the necessities of survival. Obviously something about the the knife was catching the undead troll's attention, so if he had to sacrifice it to lure the creature away from him while he and Selina fled, he would.

...and it worked, as the troll lumbered over to the knife and stopped, giving Shinji the chance he needed to grab Selina and run before it changed its mind.

They ran. They ran and ran and ran some more, their feet carrying them far and fast, not really caring where they ran, as long as it carried them away from the deadly creature that had stalked them through the fog.

Eventually, they came to a halt, with the mist seeming denser around them somehow. Where they are now, neither of them know for sure, only that they've lost sight of the bog and that the ground is dry and flat.

"...I..." Shinji panted, his face red as he swayed back and forth. "I...we...got..."

"We got away," Selina murmured. "But now..." she paused, shaking her head. "Where are we?"

"Does that...does that compass tell us?" the Japanese boy asked, his heart pounding away in his chest as he glanced at the blonde girl, whose face seemed...flushed.

"Let's see," she whispered breathlessly, taking the aforementioned device out of her robes and setting it to work. She looked at the two hands, and to where they pointed, frowning. "We went north-east, when we need to be going west," she said after a moment.

"Oh."

"We could rest here for a bit, if you want. Or we could go north for a while longer, maybe get clear of the bog entirely...or..."

"Or?"

"Or we could go back towards the bog and keep following it. Up to you."

[ ] Rest a while, use a set of dirty robes to camouflage themselves
[ ] Just go north for a while, slowly
[ ] Head back towards the swamp, as they don't really know where anything is
[ ] Wait for nightfall, so the fog clears

[Skull Leader]

[X] Just go north for a while

[shanagan]

[x] Just go north for a while, slowly

[Daiki]

[x] Just go north for a while, slowly.

Well, since they distanced themselves from the destination, they might as well move while restoring stamina. While it doesn't seem optimal, it ought to be better to walk on dry land than progress inside a bog anyway.

[alfheimwanderer]

[x] Just go north for a while, slowly.

---

Seeing no better option to do, the duo moved slowly north, making their way as best they could as their breathing recovered, and the relief that they had escaped certain death at the hands of that troll wight finally seeped in.

"What...could do that kind of thing?" Shinji asked quietly. "Using ice to reanimate a troll."

"...some kind of necromancer?" Selina suggested as she walked beside him. "Or maybe a shaman of some kind, if the corpse is being possessed by some other spirit?"

"...you know a lot about this," the Japanese boy stated - not accusingly, just stating a point of fact. "Dealt with the undead before?"

"You could say that. Usually helps to have a cleric around though..."

Shinji grunted.

"...that is about one of the few things the Church is good for," he muttered to himself.

"Hm, what was that?"

"Nothing," Shinji said evasively.

Fortunately, they didn't encounter anything else that seemed too hostile, save for the Pogrebin which Matou Shinji utterly obliterated with an overpowered knockback spell, with Selina commenting that she didn't know that Flipendo was capable of such damage.

And as the day began to draw to an end, the mist began to clear, revealing three things...

...to the North, a weathered ruin, something like a tower, or perhaps a wall.

...to the north-west, a grove of trees.

And just to the west of them, some kind of odd mound - all of which can be reached in under an hour of walking.

Which way do they go?

[ ] North
[ ] North-west
[ ] West

[Daiki]

[x] North-west.

[Skull Leader]

Alf you told me what is North, North-East and West from Shinji, yet we have a choice of North-West and not north-east. Are the trees to the north-west and not to the north-east like you have it?

Either way I rather go North and explore this ruins.

[Daiki]

My intent was to go NW btw (hence why I picked the wood grove). If it's not, I will go towards the next best thing.

[alfheimwanderer]

My apologies.

The Trees are to the North-West, as per the choice.

[shanagan]

[x] North