The Keep lies days to the south... and you ride hard; Nishi pushing Dai (and by extension your dog and the both of you as well) hard to make the best possible time. Miles fly by at a pace that even a horse couldn't match. It is about ten hours in that you realize the elf-girl has used some form of magic to speed and strengthen the mounts for an extensive overland run... though, she didn't bother to take the time to ask permission or mention what she was doing. Within a couple hours you've covered a days worth of distance... within five you've gone as far as two and a half days of hard riding and both animals begin to flag, at which point she reluctantly drops the magic and calls a rest.

After a couple hours you continue on at an unaugmented pace. You enter some high hills, or low mountains if you prefer.

Moving into a wide pass you'll see that it opens into a valley within the hills. A walled keep lays at its far side, three walls with the semi-steep mountain slope as the fourth. Goblin looking creatures (surely demon touched and definitely evil) patrol the walls and a pair of what look to be something akin to ogre's guard the main gate with massive polearms in their hands.

From your vantage point at the top of the pass you can see that within the courtyard there don't seem to be any guards patrolling. Instead a bunch of very large (as big as you) birds that look like a demented child's nightmare version of a chicken wander randomly pecking at the ground.

Nishi, "Those birds are Basan. They are... something between lizard and chicken and breath fire. They're also very mean."

The main building is surrounded by several smaller ones (all within the walled courtyard) but there are no blatant signs of what each building is for, save for the stables which are obvious. A pair of very huge (size huge) animals... a cross between lion and dog it looks like, sit beside the main door to the main building.

Nishi, "Those are Shishi. Guardian beasts, they're usually used for temples and the like. I don't know how an Oni would have such or if they are some variant form. They're tough critters and very hard, if not impossible, to kill."

It looks like there are three ways in... over the wall (which would be tough for a dog and the goblin things are waiting), through the main gates past the ogre creatures, or through the low mountains to the "open" side. What lays in the mountain route is hard to say, but surely something. And beyond those first dangers lay the Basan,the Shishi, and whatever else waits inside!

Nishi will look at you, "Well? What do we do? I'm not much of a tactician when it comes to assaulting keeps two on... well, lots."

"Sneaky is not too much of an option for me because of my boots. The "open side" seems to be the most viable option."

Nishi, "Oh, well you should tell your boots to be more quieter."

Going around through the hills takes a bit more time of course.
But it seems like it will be the easier, 'safer' way into the keep,
And, it does turn out that way...
Until you are about half-way there and thats when trouble finds you.

The come floating down all over you like a bunch of tiny motes of light.
At first they seem almost like an ineffective defensive spell, but then you look closer and see the truth!

They are tiny creatures (no bigger then a joint of a grown man's finger). Each of their four limbs ends in four pronged pincers which they use to cling to you. Their heads are bulbous and misshapen almost entirely mouth with a single eye and they have two pairs of tiny wings. Their entire bodies glow in seeming random colors of light. A brighter glow comes from their mouths, which they are fastening to armor and any skin they can reach.

The armor they mouth slowly begins to heat.
Where they find skin, it begins to burn, not enough to get through fire resistance (at first) but it seems to be cumulative based on the number attached to you and more keep coming while others seek to penetrate armor (beyond those that climb through eye slits and such).

Nishi, "Hinokuchi! They'll burn through our entire bodies to get at the marrow in our bones!"

I will call up my essence and have him hit us with a blast of electricity.

I presume you mean you star manifestation and not your carried essence? Cause carried essence can't do that... you do mean your manifestation dog right?

Doing so will seem to agitate the little critters making them frantic (maybe even speeding up their motions) but it doesn't seem to harm them (it hurts Nishi and Dai though).

Nishi, as she smacks at the things, will shout at you, "NOT ELECTRICITY OR FIRE! They thrive on such! Sound is good... they can't stand high end sonics if you have anything like that!"

"I do NOT have anything like that!" he says frantically, while slapping at the beasties.



I don't have anything like that do I?

No you don't have anything like that.

Nishi, "We gotta get rid of them somehow or they're going to get inside us!"

The voice comes from nearby. Glancing over you see a pair of young girls sitting on rocks. The pink haired one is speaking and sounds as if shut thinks she is giving you a brilliant insight that ia beyond your ability yo comprehend...

"You know, you should really get them off of you. When they burrow in and eat your bones it will hurt alot."

At the dame time a swarm of them flies at the girls. The black haired one, sighing and looking bored, raises a hand and the critters pop like grapes.

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Still slapping, "We don't have anything to destroy them. Not without causing a huge commotion."

"Aw that's so sad. The poor little things are going to die Kurobara. Maybe we should help them." Says pink hair.

"Don't be stupid Mirabara! Watching them die will finally give ne something interesting to do!" Is her companion's reply.

Mitabara, "But I thought we..."

Kurobara, "Well stop thinking it'll just get you in trouble."

"Will you help us please?"

Mirabara, "Well... I would like to but neither of you serves our boy so I can't. Well, unless we get something out of it."

Start looking around for a bell or a gong or any other kind of noise maker.