[ We find Our Heroes walking through the mountains of the Dragon lands in northern Rokugan. It's very... mountainous. ] [ This is a sort of terrain Our Heroes are largely unused to; most mountains they know are in the frozen upper lands. But then, most of Rokugan's terrain has been unusual so far. ] [ So far, Kenji has been fairly cryptic about what exactly you're here to do, as distinct from what you're here for. You know you're here to climb Togashi Mountain; Kenji has said it will involve more than physical exertion, however, and has yet to clarify. ] [ Right now the path is simple and straightforward; that there is a path at all is remarkable. The mountains started as especially large hills, but have grown incresingly more severe as you ventured further into them. ] [ You may or may not be nearing the goal; one mountain stands out amongst the others as especially tall, ominous, and... odd. It's hard to focus on it completely. ] [ Session Start! ] * Tia is belting out Ganache's awful song in emphatic Draconic as she cheerily follows the path before her. She seems to be amusing herself by half dancing as she hikes. * Takara is on foot like the rest of them. She's done a fantastic job of not making a mess of herself until... now, really. While before she glided between peasants and casually avoided horse dung, it's obvious this isn't her home turf. She straggles along the back most of the time, sometimes tripping over this, sometimes batting away that. * Alcinoe walks. She doesn't clank, because kimono still. And she's not graceful, but she does plow through. Yup, that's Alci. * Alcinoe is also focused on that mountain. It's hard to do, but she seems determined to make a good effort. * WillS is slowly straggling in the back of the party. He's out of breath, covered in sweat, and misses his mount very dearly. * Musa thunks along with Takara. This is much more his element than it is hers, and it's obvious by how he doesn't seem to care about the dirtyness getting to him, only that he's doing a good job and that Yoshi and Takara are happy. * HKenji pays little attention to the terrain, seeming as at-home here as he is riding a horse, walking down a paved road, running up the side of a building, or walking on thin air. Y'know, Tia, that still sounds awful. * Tia glances back at Alcinoe, and her ears flutter as she giggles. "Oh, sorry, Alci. It gets stuck in my head...and it's actually sorta catchy if you don't listen too carefully to the lyrics." She grins and wags her tail. * Patrick is taking to the terrain easily, walking along nimbly as he would down any path, trail, or walkway. The grin's everpresent on his face as he keeps going torwards the mountain with his companions. We're almost there, I think. Still sounds pretty bad. * Seylin seems more disturbed by Tia's singing than she is by the terrain. * Tia giggles and stops singing for the sake of her friends, but she can't help but continue humming the tune. * WillS is so concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other that he doesn't even notice Tia's singing. * Takara trips and catches herself by hastily grabbing a nearby branch. "" she mutters to herself, "" [ Mist rolls in very suddenly, and is gone just as fast as it came. You find yourself nearly at the foot of the mountain that was at least a mile off a moment before. ] * Alcinoe starts and stops for a moment, blinks, and either makes or fails her roll to disbelieve, but it's still there. "Huh." * HKenji clears his throat. [ It's... really big. And it still confounds the eyes, standing there and seeming somewhat more or less than real as it fades in and out of focus. ] * Seylin blinks a few times. "Was that supposed to happen?" * Tia blinks. "...Huh?" Welcome to Togashi Mountain. * Tia blinks a few more times and goes crosseyed trying to follow the fade of the mountain. * Takara chuckles. "" At the top is Kyuden Togashi, the high house of light, where it has been for over a thousand years. That's where we're being called. * WillS bumps into Tia before noticing that the party came to a complete stop. "Oh sorry Tia... We're here?" * Takara brushes her hair from her face. A few locks were dislodged from their pins. * HKenji laughs. 'S okay, Will. * Alcinoe looks up. She squints. So we gotta climb to the top. No, we're not here. In fact, the hardest part of the journey hasn't yet begun. * WillS groans. * Patrick whistles. "Dang that's impressive looking." [ Up ahead is a simple flat stone pavilion connected to a path leading up the mountain. Off to one side are a small group of people camping; other than that and a few large but scrabbly-looking bonsai trees, the area is pretty barren. ] * Alcinoe nudges Will with her elbow. "Stop soundin' ll=ike such a wimp." * Musa grins goofily. "" * Takara rolls her eyes. "" * Tia calls out to the people in the distance. "Hello!" They won't pay you any attention, Tia. * WillS grins wryly at Alci and stands a bit straighter. "Will try." * Tia waves her arm wildly. [ One of the campers waves nonchallantly to Tia, but otherwise the group is unresponsive. ] * Tia jumps up and down. "Someone waved back to me! Did you see that?" * Seylin giggles. "Yep." * Alcinoe nods. She peers up the mountain. "So... what's the catch?" So what do we do now, Kenji? And who're those people camping over there? Now, we go up the mountain. And I don't know who those people are. Okay! * Tia looks for a way up the mountain. [ There is a single path up the mountain. It's pretty straightforward. Although Tia, being a dwagun girl, might be able to fly. ] We're going to have to climb. * Tia would fly if it didn't mean leaving her friends in the dust, but she instead makes a mad dash toward the path. "Yay, more hiking! Last one up is a rotten egg!" * HKenji winces. Tia, wait! Whoa, Tia! * Patrick asides to Kenji. "This isn't as easy as it looks, is it?" * Tia skids to a stop and wheels around. "Huh?" Tia! Wait up! If the path to enlightenment were that easy, everybody would be enlightened. We can't go quite as fast as you, Tia. We would only be so lucky. * Tia grins sheepishly. "Oh, sorry." The path only works for people who have already been to the top of the mountain. Anybody else just climbs endlessly, never reaching the top. * Tia wags her tail. "So I would be climbing forever?" Yes. Oh. What if I tried to come back down? No telling. I know that people have died on the path. I do not know if it was because they never realized, or because they could not turn back. * Tia 's tail stops in mid-wag. "...Oh." * Seylin looks over at Takara. "Aww, that's a shame. Will you be waiting for us at the top, or will you stay down here?" Brutal. So, um, how do we get up there, Kenji? We climb. But not on the path. Enlightenment is at the top of the mountain, and the monks reveal only two things about the path to enlightenment. First, that the path to enlightenment is never easy. Simple, but never easy. And second, that every person's path to enlightenment is different. * Tia nods at Kenji's comment. "I could never go on a diet!" So we're going to be splitting up, if possibly inadvertently? Yes. In theory. Of course, if you ask the monks about Togashi Mountain, they reply "The mountain exists only in your head." But who can fathom what the monks say? I have a very good imagination, then, if what they say is true. * Takara sighs. So if I think really hard, can I make it disappear? * Tia screws up her face in concentration. Ahh, I see. * Musa nudges Takara. "" * Takara looks at Musa. "" * Musa manages to stifle a giggle. "" * Alcinoe frowns a little, looking up the mountain. "Anythin' else we need to know?" [ Tia fails to disbelieve the mountain. ] I hope so, too. I'll look forward to seeing you back here, then. If I could tell you more, I would. * Takara almost glares at her bodyguard. "" But my... friend never returned from the mountain. * Tia opens her eyes and looks disappointed when she sees the mountain in front of her still. Ah'm sorry, Kenji. * WillS gently pats Tia on the shoulder. "I don't think the path to enlightment would be that easy, Tia." * Tia turns toward Will as she chews on a knuckle. "But what if I don't want to be lighter? I like myself the way I am!" Not. Going. To. Comment. * WillS laughs. "Enlightment doesn't mean you'll get lighter, Tia!" Oh. Um. What does it mean? It means ya can solve the void puzzle. Ooh, the black stuff in my box? * Alcinoe nods. "Ah think so." * Tia digs around in her bag until she finds it, and she takes it out. "I haven't figured it out yet." * WillS raises an eyebrow at Alci's definition of enlightment. * Takara smiles at Seylin after giving Musa one last half-glare. "" * Tia suddenly grins. "So does that mean I'll be able to figure out the box once we reach the top?" Ah think it's more likely, at least. Ooh! Can we start climbing now? I wanna be enlightened! * Tia crams the box back into her bag. * Seylin bows to Takara. "Thank you." * Tia turns to Takara and Musa. "So are you guys taking the path up? The one we can't take?" No, Tia. They are not called. Now go, and climb the mountain. * HKenji starts his own walk to the base of the mountain, to look for his own way up. Okay! * Tia dashes for the mountain again, this time looking for another way up. * Takara bows to Seylin, then steps in and gives her a hug. She steps away almost immediately after. "" Hm. * Alcinoe looks to Kenji for a moment, then to the mountain, then nods to herself. "Ah'll see y'all later, Ah hope." And she walks towards the mountain, not looking back. * Seylin blinks a few times, then grins at Takara. "See you in a bit!" * WillS waves to the rest of the party before heading up the mountain. "See you guys up top!" * Takara smiles. "" * Patrick walks next to Seylin and gives her a brief hug. "Best of luck. See ya up there." * Musa waves to the leaving people. * Seylin hugs Patrick back. "Absolutely!" * Tia turns around briefly to wave at everyone before continuing toward the mountain. She shakes her wings free as she runs, then springs into the air and attempts to make for the peak. * Patrick starts heading up the mountain after releasing Seylin with a grin. [ Kenji looks like he's about to make a jumping start up a mountain, and then he vanishes. ] * Patrick looks for a good grip for a few moments, then vanishes. [ Tia vanishes as she makes a tackling run at the mountain. ] * Seylin waves to Musa, then takes to the air and looks for a good spot to start climbing. [ One by one the climbers disappear, until it is only the mountain, the trees, and the campers. ] * Takara watches them each vanish, then turns to Musa with a sigh. * Musa sighs to Takara. "" * Takara nods. "" [ Session End! ]