Painted Star

"If you really think you can handle this without a weapon, I can not stop you from going unarmed..." Kane said with a defeated expression, then looked at Samurai Equine: "And about enchanted or cursed weapons, there is one sort of... special katana I have. I was told that it was made by the spirits, and was given to my great grandfather for a good deed. It does not have active magical powers, but it most certainly an excellent sword. I am willing to give it to you, but I beg you, take good care of it. It's family heirloom after all... Now, the rest of you, do you need a weapon?"

Aw, your art is super cute. ^^ I love the faces you draw. And your colouring. And the proportion you use. And basically everything else about your drawings as well. Now I shall go,and follow you on dA. :3

Thank you! I also like my shading, for this one time.

@Stardust Balance, JonasDarkmane Thank you both! I am truly glad you like my art.

I drew Twilight Sparkle!

Thank you guys so much! I am happy you like my art.

I finally drew my second newest (that means almost a year old) OC! And I have a new style once again... It is so sparkly...

"Uh, a picture...?" Kane said, with a confused look. "I do have one painting of her, I could give it to you..." With a motion of his hoof, he sent his servant to get the picture. "I understand, you need to know what she looks like to find her, but are you sure you don't need an actual weapon?" he continued, with some worry mixing up in his puzzled expression.

"It would be terrible to even think Kare would, uh, have an interest in my daughter, but it is very much possible. I think I can see how that could be an advantage, but it would also be one more reason for you all to hurry up." Kane said, looking really worried. "Now I have a question. What weapon is each of you best with? I'll ask a servant to get it for you."

"The enemy, unfortunately, is strong. Kare has some amazing masters at his service, I don't think you can defeat them in a face-to-face combat, but you may be able to trick them. About the reward, I don't know what is important for whom, but I was thinking about a good deal of money, at least thousand gold coins for each pony taking part in the search. And of course, I will treat you all to a rich dinner here, at my home." He said, shuffling some papers on a desk. He was looking for the maps of the surrounding area. "Oh, and you may keep the weapons you take for the search, or ask for almost anything else as well." He added quickly, hoping the reward sounded reasonable to the ponies. Hearing the word dinner, it was decided for Onaka. She needed food, and not only was the money a small amount, she could finally have a good meal, something other than rice.

Onaka trailed behind the small group in silence. She really didn't want to risk anything, but she was hungry, and she did search for jobs here before, not finding anything. She sighed, as she continued walking, until the rich stallion reached his home. Kane opened the front door to her home, and invited the ponies inside. "Please, follow me." He said, as he led them across his countless corridors to the guest room.

"Please, good stallions, do not argue! I do have something Kare would need, but if you do use it as payment for my daughter, you must get it back. It is an ancient statuette of a fisherman. Seems like something ordinary, but it is said to give it's owner great power, it mustn't get in the wrong hooves." Kane said "Anypony who is willing to join the search party, please follow me. At my home, I will give you maps, weapons and the statuette." He then turned around, and walked out of the ryokan, glancing back now and again, to see how many followed him.

Lumina shook her head. "Where did you get the idea to spread out? That's the worst choice you could make in a situation like this. We'd better stick together, and inspect rooms together." She thought for a moment, then added "And you should know this is serious when a pony who hates sticking together with others says it."

Lumina jolted back to the kitchen, running like a scared little rabbit. Reaching the room, she slowed down, and walked in as if it was pleasant sunny day and she was on the streets of Ponyville. She was too proud to run around like crazy in front of others. She calmly walked to the counter, and dropped the knife back to where she took it from. "Any of you have an idea which way to go from here?" She asked the other ponies coldly.

Lumina stopped walking, and stared intently where she suspected the presence of the figure. She regretted that she never put much research into the supernatural, it seemed like it would be useful knowledge at the moment. Well, she decided to see what the other pony could come up with. She would never have admitted it, but she felt pretty much defenseless against whatever was haunting this place.

Kane nodded at Samurai Equine's question. "Yes, I can tell they are the men of Karai Kare, another pony you may know. We are rivals, you see. Other than causing me trouble, I don't know his motives. He didn't contact me with demands so far." He explained, looking rather downcast. "I'd be happier not knowing her is the one behind this." He added, shaking his head. Onaka stood at the edge of the crowd, trying not to call ponies' attention on herself. She was inspecting the two who were opting for the role of the search party leader, thinking about who to choose if it does come to voting.

Seing how Star left without saying anything to the others, Lumina shook her head. She picked the bloody knife up with her mouth from the counter, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She quickly trotted after the pegasus who just left. She could care less about the other pony, but right now, she felt like having more living beings around then dead could be a great advantage. It would be a shame if somepony died this soon, and going into the dark corridors alone seemed to be suicide.

Lumina barely noticed the slam of the window, and she inspected the kitchen with the expression of a professional. After her eyes registered what little could be seen of the room in the dark, she started walking around and picking objects up to take a closer look at them. She nodded her head a little now and again, and muttered a few words to herself, seemingly ignoring all the other ponies in the mansion with her.

Onaka noticed that there was a small group of ponies already gathered around the stallion. She didn't need to ask him any questions, for when he saw that there were no more ponies walking towards him, he started explaining what the job was about: "I am Kane Hidzume, you probably heard my name before. As well as my daughter's, Midori Hizdume's. You probably do know that she is a beautiful and well-mannered young mare, the pride of my family. She was kidnapped yesterday evening. Me and my wife don't know where she is, but we fear she was taken into the mountains. I want you to find her, and bring her back to me. I will give you supplies with your travel, it is all prepared. Please, if you are brave enough to face the dangers, start looking for her before it's too late. If you're successful, I'll give you anything you wish for." He seemed desperate for help, even small drops of tears could be seen in the corner of his eyes.

OOC Welcoming new role players at any time. Please go to the OOC discussion to join. The sun was shining bright above the small town of Umakawa. The streets were bustling with hard-working citizens, all of them minding their own business. Recently, a new ryokan was opened in the town. Attracted by soft tatami and tasty meals, travelers and townsfolk gathered there. Everypony was sitting on the ground by their tables, when a stallion in an expensive-looking yukata burst in. His bald forehead was sweaty from the summer heat and he seemed to have been out under the sun for hours. Even so, he wasn't looking for refreshments, he was frantically searching for ponies who'd do a dangerous job for him. He offered huge amounts of money as payment, it was not surprising that a small group gathered around him. Onaka's stomach grumbled, as she counted the bits she had left. It wasn't much, barely enough for a small bowl of rice. As she was about to order, a stallion burst into the ryokan. He started talking quickly, in a hoarse voice: "Everypony! There is an urgent job I need a brave team to do. I of course pay you well, come here if you are interested, I can tell you the details." Onaka, hearing 'pay you well' decided to inquire about the job. She knew she wasn't what you'd call a brave pony, but she needed the money badly. She collected all of her courage, and walked up to the stallion.