☼ Rouran (The Old Capital)

[Ergo War]

XAyame_HatakeX

The only things that Ayame would find were the lantern and the pack of cards. As she spoke into her radio, she would hear the soft echoes of her voice in the quiet room. Above them, Daichi hear nothing distinct about the sounds of the city, at least nothing that would give away their position. Somewhere nearby was the roar of a forge, but it was significantly muffled.

Footsteps walked up toward the front door upstairs, and the sound of a key scraping against the lock could be heard. It caught on something and the new arrival swore. This would be Ayame's chance to escape undetected, though this was by no means the only course of action she could take.

Jaxdrill

The big man perked up at some unknown sound and stared off into the distance. His lips curved down into a ********, man, don't you have any control over your borders?" the shorter one asked. "The Leaf's freaking invading you and here you are with your thumb up your a**!"

The larger one nudged his companion in the shoulder and got nudged back in return. He seemed worried about something, like there was a large beetle incoming.

Yo-ko

San's sensory techniques would start up again as soon as he stepped out onto the street, and almost immediately he'd have something to look at. A strange bird was flying overhead, its body and wings made of metal but its claws made of what had the texture of wood. Clasped in its claws was a large glass vial of something dark red. San would be able to go to where Knives was without difficulty, but would he want to leave that bird alone?

 

[Ergo War]

Jaxdrill

While Knives was busy talking into his radio, the two who had been confronting him turned and ran away. They headed away from the giant plume of lava that had suddenly burst over a nearby neighborhood, almost as if they had seen it coming. The tall one picked up the short one when the latter started to fall behind, apparently more alarmed about the lava than their earlier loss of product.

Yo-ko

As soon as it was caught, the bird would let out an ear-piercing screech and its wooden claws would clamp down on the vial. It, the vial, and the entirety of the block would quickly be consumed in a violent explosion of molten rock emanating from the vial it had been carrying.

XAyame_HatakeX

The wick in the lamp lit on its own as the sounds of light footsteps echoed around the basement. The door swung shut with a heavy thud that shook the floor ever so slightly. There was a metallic sound as something was dragged across the floor overhead, a click as the object was unlocked, and then the distinct sound of paper rustling before another click. After this, the metal object was shoved back into its place and the footsteps walked toward the door leading into the cellar.

The woman coming down the stairs hummed softly under her breath. She had dark skin and an aura about her that was very intimidating, almost as if she had hidden energy in spades. It almost seemed as though the Kazekage had walked in.

"What are you doing down here?" the woman asked without looking Ayame's way. She knelt down next to the well and looked at one half of the grate. "Oh, now the rats will get in again!"

 

[Ergo War]

Yo-ko

The ground between San and Knives would open up and a large plume of blue-green liquid would rise up between them. At the same time, the crowds would clear and a car-sized vehicle that looked like a Chakra glider but with blue-green sails instead of wings would appear. The two sails were pinned back to make full use of the strong winds that were blowing, and between them sat a heavy kunai launcher. A barrage of kunai would sail toward the Sannin, leading him by a few feet to make up for the distance he was likely to cover.

XAyame_HatakeX

The woman tossed a small blue stone down the well, kicked both halves of the grate back into place and put another seal on them. She made a hand seal and the well filled with blue light. There followed a boom that echoed throughout the city.

"You say that, but you had to have destroyed my grate to escape the well. I don't like it when people lie to me, you know," the woman said, standing up and looking contemplatively at the fading blue light below. "The door's open if you want a head start. I doubt you'll be able to escape this city, regardless."

Jaxdrill

As Knives chased after the two escaping informants, he would feel the ground start to shake. The road would start to collapse and turn into dust beneath him as the tremors grew worse, and the destruction would be accompanied by a mechanical roar. It was clear that something was digging underneath him, and just like him, it seemed to be following the informants.

From an alleyway would come a rain of senbon targeted at Knives. Two heavily armored warriors shot out from between the buildings, riding the gusts of wind with their sailboards. The freshly pulverized road proved a perfect surface for them to sail on, and they soon passed Knives. One of them stayed back to continue the barrage of senbon, which were being launched rapidly from a steel box mounted on the back of the surfer, and the other went ahead to catch up to the informants.

 

[Ergo War]

Yo-ko

The kunai would bounce off of a blue-green barrier that would surround the vehicle, then fall to the ground. It seemed whatever this barrier was, it could temporarily interrupt Chakra as well as intercept physical objects. The barrier began to fade just as the river of mud formed, sending the ship sideways down the street. The pilot was able to bank it hard enough off of a building to get away from the mud river, but now they were going the wrong direction. They tore a path down the street and rounded a corner. They would speed off into the city if nothing was done about them, terrifying the citizens as they did so. Whatever their plan was, it looked like they needed time to set it up, unless this was a trap or they were intentionally baiting San away.

XAyame_HatakeX

Ayame would make it out of the building without any resistance, but would find herself in an unknown part of the city. Judging by the direction of the sun and the location of the nearest exit, she would quickly gather that she was on the complete opposite side of the city from her comrades.

The traffic here was bad and many people stopped to stare at her now that she had Lightning Armor on. The city smelled no different over here than it had at the entrance.

"Help!" the woman called from inside the house. "I've been robbed!"

The traffic all but stopped in response to this. Someone called for the police, and others--men mostly--formed a circle around her, as if trying to box her in.

Jaxdrill

The shuriken flew toward the surfer in front, but bounced off of a strange barrier that popped out of the person's armor. The closer one kept up the senbon barrage, but aimed slightly ahead of Knives now that he had put up the Sand Shield, hoping to slow the Shinobi down by coating the ground in needles.

The two informants hitched a ride with the foremost surfer, who became noticeably slower for a moment. A spark of blue-green energy from the armor boosted the speed back to normal. The two surfers made a sharp turn down a side street as soon as they could, seemingly trying to shake Knives off of their trail.