Akane faced the assembled, there still were two who were not awakened, Çetinkaya and Yoichi. The two were still asleep but not for long. Their sleeping figures started to stir as the Lord of the Forest invaded their minds. Their consciousness was wrenched in to the forefront of their minds but their bodies refused to acknowledge their commands. Their bodies arose lazily, their movements stiff and unnatural.

"They're being possessed by the Lord of the Forest, hurry up and subdue them! Whatever you do, stay awake. And someone shut that drunk fool up."

The two trained exorcists she had on hand were busy so the only course of action was to keep the possessed under restraint. The real battle would be in their minds as they fought off the demon.

Çetinkaya's vision was the empty campsite, devoid of all life and warmth. Here he stood alone as a cold fire crackled and from the depth of the darkness he could hear voices, each one belonging to a member of the caravan. They all repeated the same statements over and over again, an incessant chorus of condemnation.

"Ignorant fool. Arrogant braggart. Rude fellow. Shameful display."

Yoichi was stuck in a similar nightmare. Except here, he stood face to face with himself, though his copy had no face. Instead of insults, he was questioned.

"Who are you little man?"

On another side of the camp were the two busy exorcists. Sasaki had seated herself and after a petty interruption had started her chants. The wolves edged closer to the circle but Suzu stood firm between them, using her resolve to form a spiritual barrier that kept Sasaki safe.

"Louder Sasaki, if I can't hear you then the Lord surely can't."

Each verse was five sentences long, an adulation to the each specific lord and location, so it shouldn't take more than a dozen seconds to vocalise each verse. Assuming Sasaki had a flawless memory, they would be done sooner than later.

Shu fought the effects of the valerian as much as he could, but it wasn't nearly enough. He nodded off for a second, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground. Instead, he found himself being held up by Isamu.
"Thank you," The practitioner uttered, "But I'll be fine. I just need to-" He was interrupted by Akane's urgent shouting.
"They're being possessed by the Lord of the Forest, hurry up and subdue them! Whatever you do, stay awake. And someone shut that drunk fool up."
Shu would gladly have obliged, but he was in no condition to be shutting anyone up. Staying awake was clearly the top priority. The herbalist lumbered drowsily over to where his satchel lay on the ground and began fumbling through it. He withdrew another root, a variety of panax known as Ginseng. This plant was very well known in Talayan medicine as a stimulant, among other things. With no time to properly prepare it, he took a reluctant bite and chewed until it was fine enough to swallow. It would take a minute for the effects to kick in, but at least now he wouldn't doze off.

For a moment Yoichi stood silent and gazed forward into himself as his eyes fixed upon the blank visage, it was some time before his hand pulled away the pipe from his mouth and allowed a cloud of smoke to seep delicately through his lips. "I wouldn't know, really." he answered as his playful expression turned serious. "I've gazed far too long into darkness, I suppose now I know little of myself or any immediate tribulations." Yoichi showed general disinterest in speaking of himself, he instead returned the his pipe to his mouth, allowing the soft embers of the burning tobacco to create a gentle phosphorescent light in the darkness that swam about him.

"I wouldn't know, really," Yoichi replied, "I've gazed far too long into darkness, I suppose now I know little of myself or any immediate tribulations."

"You amuse me boy," the face of Yoichi appeared, "I suppose if you don't know then you shouldn't mind if I borrowed you for a moment do you?"

The copy faded, replaced with the reality of the situation. Yoichi could see the gathered members, or most of them, staring at him. The caravan master was saying something, he could not hear as real sounds started to fade back in as she finished. Fishing in to his clothing, he extracted the dagger slowly, and clumsily, unable to stop. Unsheathed, he threw it at the man he recognised as the guardsman he met earlier that night.

"Louder Sasaki, if I can't hear you then the Lord surely can't." spoke Suzu as she maintained the spiritual guard between them and the growing chaos within the encampment.

Mitsuki nodded and pressed on with greater enthusiasm. Honestly, she wasn't sure what forest lord they were dealing with, there were so many. She had personally prided herself in memorizing the various sutras for most of the mountain lords, the river lords and a good chunk of the lords that dwelt in the plains, though the forests always seemed to allude her. Mountains and rivers were distinct, so they were easier to remember, and the spirits that dwelt in the plains were few because they were the most often travelled, the forest to her was just trees and trees and trees. How was she to remember what spirit governed one patch of trees to the next?

Nevertheless, she spoke the next sutra that came to her mind, with vigour and command.

Suzu had little time to admire how Sasaki skipped the unnecessary mountain and plain verses. She could hear the Akane shout something about possession.

Çetinkaya's body, lacking it's rightful owner at the moment, had turned towards the exorcists. Levelling down, the great mass of Tartariya charged.

((The less you post the more stuff happens without your input.))

Ryouichi saw the brute of an oil wrestler charging towards the exorcists. He was unsure what the two women were doing, but knowing Sasaki, it would be something mystical, vital to the group's survival. Ryouichi acted on his instincts and charged at Çetinkaya from the side. Shoulder forward, Ryouichi put all his weight on the oil wrestler's body in an attempt to stop him.

((Unable to post this weekend, feel free to move on without me.))

Nari was a man of improvisation. He saw the Brute charging. Ok. Ok ok ok... I must stop this beast. Let's see, he's oily... Oil burns. There is a spirit inside of this man, clearly. Killing him wouldn't be a good idea. But the spirit? Let's see. If you were possessing someone, you are only as strong as they are... Oil. Oil burns. Burns hurt. Thus, hurting the sprite. When you are hurt, you are weak. A weak spirit can be killed with low spirit wards...! Nari cracked open the orb he had, took the powder and took out his little sliver out of the pocket of his knife. He took the ambers, and hit them against the sliver, he took his torch and hit it against the sliver. It was aflame with a warding powder on it. Perfect. Now, this substance in it's pure form doesn't need any fancy magic, as it is unsealed. Nari jumped down from the rock he was in, sprinted straight towards the wrestler threw the sliver into the man's thigh, running under him, and took back the weapon. He jumped just in time to avoid Ryouichi, as he just saw him. Nari rolled to the side, exhausted. "Uhhh, I set him aflame... MAY HIS WRETCHED SPIRIT DIE IN FLAME AND WARD... Oh, I hope the oily guy doesn't die, though." And Nari put himself against a tent. I'm so smart...Right?

Ryouichi could barely contain Çetinkaya's charge. They were deadlocked just in front of Suzu until Nari put a wound in the possessed man's thigh. It was a scratch, nothing significant but it allowed the guardsman an opening to overpower the wrestler.

Yoichi's body having fail at doing anything at this point turned its head unnaturally fast towards the exorcists. Akane could tell what was coming.

"Protect the exorcists!"

Both possessed and herself leapt towards their charges.

Shu was back on his feet as soon as his drowsiness dissipated. There was no time for rest in battle, and the problem of possessed party members was in need of addressing. Shu had recovered in time to see the Tartariyan make a barreling charge toward Mitsuki and Suzu. Ryouichi and Nari quickly jumped in to slow him down, but Katakurk was a powerful man. It would likely take more than just Ryouichi to subdue him. Shu moved toward the two combatants with the intention of helping, but Katakurk wasn't the only possessed. Yoichi had finally moved, making a rush for the exorcists. In spite of his better judgement, the herbalist put himself directly in the man's path. He planted his feet firmly, preparing for contact. The two men clashed, their hands locking together in a struggle. Shu nearly toppled over backwards, but managed to shift his weight and maintain balance. Yoichi was clearly stronger than the practitioner and, under normal circumstances, would have easily moved him out of the way. However, the herbalist's dextrous hands bent Yoichi's fingers at an unnatural angle, making it extremely painful to press forward. On top of that, Shu worked constantly to keep his possessed travel companion off-balance, preventing him from making full use of his superior strength. As much as he tried, though, Shu wouldn't be able to hold Yoichi for long.

It didn't take long for Sourou to calm down and notice the commotion in the camp below. The bounty hunter, who knew nothing of spirits or lords despite the voice in his head earlier, simply attributed the ensuing chaos to whatever the caravan was transporting. From his position atop the hill he could clearly see the group's herbalist being attacked by the man who joined alongside him.

It was obvious that the herbalist was fairly meek and laid back; there was no way he would simply assault that man. It was most likely, he decided, that the gray-haired stranger had joined the caravan for the purpose of attacking in the dead of night. Sourou had already decided these people and their secrets were more trouble than they were worth, and there was still the issue of the voice in his head, but neither of those things made it okay for an innocent man to be murdered in cold blood.

He swiftly made his way to the bottom of the hill and readied one of his chakrams. The sharp steel was hard enough to cut through decent armor, but due to the size and shape they were only deadly if the user wanted them to be. With the practiced eye of peaceful detainment, he aimed for a spot between the mid-back and left arm, which would almost certainly incapacitate the man when hit, and threw the device with the slower but more accurate vertical method.

It was then that her mind connected the dots and she remembered the verse. Feeling confident, Mitsuki boldly spoke as she drew upon spiritual energies from around her vicinity to add emphasis to the power of the Sutra of s****.

"Majestic one of boundless form, we humbly come, oh forest lord.
Grant us mercy in your lands, for this domain you hold command.
Your power is fearsome, we tremble in your wake,
We seek your grace, for we know it is great.
To you we honour, all in one accord,
For it is you who is the true forest lord."

As the young exorcist intoned the words the mist surrounding the camp started to dissipate. The men who were struggling with each other ceased. Çetinkaya crumpled as Shu tackled him, the momentum sending the three sprawling across the ground. Sourou's chakram also did its work, striking Yoichi precisely. The caravan master Akane caught him as he tumbled but he was still breathing and probably going to be nursing the pain around his neck.

A quick survey later and it seemed that most of the camp had suffered only minor injuries. The two that had been possessed had been asleep and so were the easiest targets, though with the lord of the forest now appeased there was little else to threaten them on the spiritual side. Akane spoke to the assembled.

"That just now, was the lord of the forest. I am not one who can discern the goals and motives of such yure so just to make sure, did any of you encounter anything strange during the attack? Did you hear voices or feel an unnatural chill or heat? Anything noteworthy at all, the exorcist and I are here to listen to your concerns. If you don't believe you have anything to share then you may keep silent and go to bed."

posting tomorrow, too tired today