931 replies to this topic

[Phoenix]

Breakfast

"... ah ... I see." Well, now what are we supposed to do? Morgan's not going to be comfortable talking about anything with Miranda right here. She already looks a little agitated. What is that, 'hate eating'? How do you hate eat a pie?

"What's wrong, Levski? Aren't you going to dig in too?~"

Hmmm, yeah I think I understand now. She's annoying ....

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan

"You might as well eat, we can practice afterwards I suppose...though the summit should be beginning soon," she said to Lev, gulping down her meat pie in the meantime.

[Phoenix]

Breakfast and a Demon

"Well, I am starving," Lev admitted before grabbing a nearby fork and cutting open his meatpie with it. Miranda just watched the two of them with an annoying grin on her face.

Summit and Heroes

The following day seemed to promise more bickering, as those who had arrived early had already gotten started in their own little arguments. One of interest was an exchange between Elysima's grand marshal and the lords Harold and Percival. The issue only remained confined to Elysima for the first couple of minutes, however.

"You know what's going to happen, Reese. As soon as we start talking strategy, Halton is going to play the 'victim of geography' and try to lead the counter offensive at the same time." Harold explained.

"Have you considered the possibility that them leading the counter offensive might be in everyone's best interest? I honestly don't care if they take all of the 'credit' since our own history books will say otherwise." Triton replied.

"Sure, but then we look bias."

"He's right. Whatever we do, we must ensure that Elysima ... and I ... are recognized for our contributions to this victory." Percival added.

"What's the matter with you two?! We haven't won, yet! Have you both forgotten about that massive demon that tore through Septimus with ease?! Who is going to deal with that monstrosity, let alone the demon king if he indeed has returned? The two of you? Wake up; the nations aren't as strong as they were during the last war, and there's a very real danger that we're in no position to launch a counter offensive at all!"

"... pessimist." Percival muttered under his breath.

"There's no need to raise your voice, Grand Marshal. I for one appreciate the enthusiasm, despite how ... mmm 'stubborn' it might be." came Cassandra's voice. "I'm hoping that things will go similarly to the end of the last war; those rallying cries that held up no nation's flag and left us all with no choice but to focus on the enemy in front of us."

"Well, I'm not officially Elysimian ... so perhaps." Harold interjected.

"Actually, you are, Harold." Triton corrected. "As for a rallying cry ... those crimson wielders certainly look up to the task."

"Hmm, I don't know ... they're just a bunch of kids with a few officers mixed in. Oh and let's not forget that their leadership consists of one attractive but ... sadly unqualified woman."

"We settled this issue yesterday, did we not?" Triton came back with his eyebrow raised. "Just let the matter be."

Cassandra nodded. "As long as she can be reasoned with in a crisis, I think they'll be fine as they are." That's something I've had to come to terms with, and it wasn't easy ... "For now, I think it's best if we focus on a general strategy for defeating the demons we've already seen."

"Indeed. Is anyone else from Halton here, yet?"

"Ambassador Hustler is out in the back having a word with the gardeners, but he's the only one I've seen so far."

"That's a shame; I was hoping we could get started a bit early if possible." Triton frowned as he replied.

Ilyphina Under Siege

When the ground finally began to crack, several commoners feared an earthquake was starting, but the truth was far more alarming. One man found himself standing just above a creature that seemed to be nothing more than eyes and tentacles. The swift appendages reached out above him and came back down all around his body. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late, and he was pulled into the tunnels and killed. This sort of thing repeated itself all over the place, with people running frantically only to be attacked by a demon at random.

Finally one of the 'officers' appeared. Shanice leaped out from the tunnels and unleashed a torrent of ice that stopped everyone nearby in their tracks. Those that weren't stuck to the ground slipped on the ice and fell to the ground. Hell hounds appeared behind Shanice, most of them hopping out of the same hole and fanned out to kill everyone Shanice had stopped. "Ahahahahahaaaaaaah, the crimson weapons can't screw this up! They're hundreds of miles from here, hahahahah!"

Before long flying demons emerged and began trying to wrest control of Ilyphina's skies from the pegasus knights. And some of them began to raze buildings to force people out of hiding. All in all, the city was caught completely off guard, and the general commanding in Triton's absence gave out a very controversial order. The defense force complied, however, and regretfully fell back, leaving the citizens to fend for themselves so that they could put all of their remaining strength into defending the palace and the royals. Only those already caught up in the fighting stayed put. Some of the messengers sent to get reinforcements didn't make it out of the city, and if not for several spirit dolls that would eventually be put to use, the demons would claim the entire city within a couple of days with little outside interference.

The Lurker

"What's this ...? What are those little bastards doing, now? Is that a declaration or war, or bait for the crimsons? I can't tell at a glance .... Hmm, if they do come, though, it would be the perfect chance to take the weapons for myself, though, wouldn't it? First, I'll wait and see how the others respond ..."

Edited by Phoenix, 16 August 2012 - 04:24 PM.

[-Cynthia-]

Breakfast and a Summit

Morgan ate her meal in silence, mostly due to Miranda's irritating presence. She then made her way over to the summit, where some were already engaged in conversation.

"If we are going to discuss how to defeat the demons, the Crimson Weapons should be at the forefront of any strategy. Bethold made the weapons for this very situation I presume- defeating the Lord should be our primary objective," she laid out plainly.

More Summiters

Charlotte made her way towards the governor's mansion, where she stood outside a bit nervous. I wonder if Jace is inside...I'll need to access his spirit doll to speak to Eric. Heh....just listen to me, wanting to find Jace. Goddess help me this has been one strange journey, she thought to herself, holding her head.

Brunhilde sat while the others were discussing, just observing for the moment. Too busy posturing themselves to actually discuss fighting demons. Typical politics. she thought to herself with a derisive snort.

Tristan got back to the aerie after flying Bellerophon around Larien. I wonder if I'll be late for the summit...I wonder if I can skip the summit. It is rather nice not to have Mother nagging me to go. he thought to himself, lazily trying to hitch an indignant Bellerophon.

Ilyphina on Fire- Demons

"There will be no need to take anyone alive," Petros said simply, coming out of the ground and throwing a nearby woman through a building. The demons were dealing with the nearby townsfolk rather handily so he turned to Shanice. "There are threats here other than the weapons- we need to deal with the mage school as well as any heroes that may be nearby. Humans are inferior but they did win in the past- vigilance is necessary," he instructed. Most demons are too difficult to control without the Lord- their bloodlust overwhelms any strategy we could use. Hopefully Shanice is at least wise enough to heed me temporarily.

Ilyphina on Fire- TISME

"Do it again Max. Try to keep your spell entirely within the radius of the circle this time," Madison instructed, viewing the exercise critically.

"But this is sooo bor-" the young purple haired mage began before he felt the ground shake beneath him. "Uhh what was that...?" he questioned, the tremors subsiding after half a minute or so.

Ilyphina hasn't had a natural earthquake in any recorded history...and it was too long to be a spell gone awry... Madison mused. "Stay here and practice your spells," she ordered her brother sternly, grabbing her spirit doll and heading out into the main quarters.

"But sis I can-" Maximillian started. "STAY!" she ordered sternly, before heading into the hall and speaking into the doll. "Did anyone else feel that? Do we have some kind of situation on our hands?" she asked her doll, which would reach the central doll of TISME, broadcasting the message to all the senior mages of the academy with their dolls on hand.

[Mercakete]

Well, he'd decided. There wasn't anyone he knew too well staying at the Halton embassy so, he'd gathered his things and flown off to the Septiminian embassy, deciding to land in front of the building again. After dismounting, Tas walked over to a guard at the door. Up until this point, he'd tried to keep his confidence up and managed a sheepish smile. "Hello," he greeted, "Um, so... Do you mind if I stay here in this embassy while we're here? The summit's going on and I figured I didn't know anyone at the Halton embassy and...so... Well, I thought that since I'm Septiminian -- I think, anyway -- and I know someone who's staying here, maybe I should stay here, too, so..." Well this was going just swimmingly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, after that lovely, deep, meaningful conversation, Esphyr wound up going to the summit because she really had nothing better to do. She would up just milling about in the conference hall, looking around boredly. Well, maybe things would get interesting later on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day was spent on meeting candidates for overseeing his actions and selecting workers to begin the reconstruction of Bellmire Estate. Of course, this wasn't nearly enough time to cone to a decision on who the new duke would select for either task. The workers he'd need for the latter selection were numerous and he wanted to be sure to check their work records to make sure they were skillful and trustworthy, even if the majority came with recommendations. Though there was less research involved with selecting an overseer, Beau didn't see the selection as a decision to be made lightly. So, he asked for a resume for each of the candidates to read over to narrow down his options. The plan after that was to spend time with each of the possible overseers to narrow the options further.

Beau was certainly busy for the rest of that day. For the most part, Raemond hung back quietly, occasionally giving Beau his opinion on things as he hovered when none of the royal servants were around. Somewhere throughout the course of the busy day, Beau had been given a guest room to use while he sorted out whom he would select. There wasn't any use returning to Bellmire Estate's grounds until these choices had been made, after all.

It was late and some candles were aglow as Beau scrutinized a record of one of the workers' records: who he'd worked for in the past, what they'd had to say about him, what he specialized in, etc. Raemond was leaning against the wall behind the desk Beau was at. It was littered with papers, some he'd read and set aside in one of three piles and some he had yet to read. The Templar has just about nodded off where he was standing, his chin on his chest and his eyes only slightly open. He was spent from the day and the dark bade him sleep. It was quiet, too, and the candles were making him drowsy. Beau seemed to be unaffected, engrossed in his work.

The man had just about drifted off when something roused him enough for him to lift his head and look around. Something just didn't feel right. I wonder what's wrong. It feels like something bad is going to happen... He shook his head a little to try to clear it. I'm probably imagining it. This is all new to me. I guess I'm just worried about Beau. He may have grown up with this sort of lifestyle, but it's probably hard on him, even if it doesn't look like it. He certainly has taken to it, though. "Beau," Raemond addressed.

The young duke apparently didn't hear him. His attention was still on the document. Sighing, Raemond pushed off of the wall and walked the few paces to stand by the new duke. "Duke Bellmire."

"Hm?" was the only reply he got. Well, he could work with that. "Don't you think you should stop for tonight and get some sleep?"

"Hm." Well, that wasn't exactly the answer he was hoping for. "Beau, you should go to bed. You have plenty of time to choose who you want to help you."

This time Beau didn't even make a sound. Raemond wasn't sure whether to pursue the issue or not. On the one hand, Beau was a duke now. He really didn't hold any sort of authority over him. On the other...Beau was a duke now. Raemond wasn't too keen on the idea of him regretting any actions he might take the next day due to having a foggy mind from lack of sleep. So, shifting his concerned face into a somewhat irritated one, Raemond effectively plucked the paper Beau was holding out of his hand. And Beau's attention snapped to him with a glare.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"So now you pay attention?" Raemond sighed, then went on, "You need your sleep, lord Duke."

"I have other things I still need to finish," Beau returned, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. It was probably too big for him, actually, that chair.

"They can be done tomorrow," Raemond replied as he set the paper down in front of Duke Bellmire, "after you've rested. You don't want to be dull-minded tomorrow, do you?"

Beau kept his glare fixed on Raemond as the monk returned a calm, unwavering gaze for a full minute before he finally, quietly snapped, "Fine." And with that, Beau got up to prepare for bed. The monk watched him go and waited a moment to make sure he wasn't planning to just come back when he wasn't looking before letting a small, satisfied smile appear on his face. He'd won this debate. Beau is probably exhausted. It's no wonder he's cranky. I should get ready for bed, too. And so he did and so there was sleep.

--------------------------------------

The next morning, Raemond woke up in the room he'd been loaned (which was right by Beau's, seeing as people are under the impression that he was Beau's attendant) with a start. I have a terrible feeling... Something's coming. It can only be something demonic. It was on his mind all while he got ready for the day and kept him from enjoying the breakfast that had been delivered to his room...and it only grew as time went on. As soon as he could, Raemond went to Beau's room and knocked on his door. Through it, he heard Beau reply to the knock: "Come in."

When he entered, he was greeted with more familiarity. "Ah, Brother Raemond," the young duke began before frowning and finishing the greeting, "You look terrible."

Raemond opened his mouth to reply, but there were so many thoughts that tried to come out at once that he wound up not saying anything, getting somewhat frustrated with himself and having to start over. Beau commented before he could. "What's the matter?"

That made the answer simpler. "Demons."

"'Demons'?" Beau echoed, not entirely sure what the monk meant.

"I sense demons," Raemond clarified, "There are demons nearby -- many of them."

"Calm down," Beau instructed, raising a hand redundantly, "Are you saying there are many demons around us?" He was clearly perplexed.

Raemond shook his head. "No, no, there are many demons nearby."

"Nearby the capital of Elysimia?" Beau repeated skeptically, "Is this process stressing you so terribly that you believe there are demons in Ilyphina?"

Raemond could hardly believe the question. "What?"

"If you need a day off, I can give you that and manage just fine. You shouldn't be so worried about me. I was raised to hold this office -- don't worry so much," Beau replied, concern on his face.

"No, you don't understand -- I'm not imagining this! I know it may seem unlikely that such a fortified city would have demons in it but--!" Raemond was interrupted by the commotion from outside that suddenly started, but neither cared. Their attention was drawn to the window. There was definately some sort of attack going on out there...something not human, and lots of it. Beau just stared. Raemond could sense that there were many, some of them felt stronger than others, but they blended in so much with each other...

"I...think I'm going to see if I can find more demon-slayers..." he slowly articulated before turning and exiting the room, first at a walk and steadily increasing his speed until he was running, trying to find anyone who might be a Templar, only stopping in his room to pick up his tome before returning to his search. There's no way I can fight that many on my own!

Shortly after Raemond left, Beau turned his attention away from the chaos and shut the window, locking it. "I believe it would be wise to move away from any possible entrance, wouldn't you?" he asked Tiria before grabbing the things he'd brought with him to the palace and walking out of the room, deciding it would be a good idea to see what he could personally do to assist.

Edited by Mercakete, 18 August 2012 - 09:47 PM.

[Script]

Dudes from Directus

Indecision cut to the bone and set time squandering until nigh upon the time of the meet. The assembled Directus forces selected for the day and departed the relative safety of the Septimus Embassy for the high-speed stakes of the governor's manse. As Councilman Richtor predicted, Jeanne Altair did ask if she could join the interior team this time, and like Richtor planned, he allowed it. Luc kept silent the whole time, thoughts focused on other matters.


Talos

"A feast of blood and skulls await!' Talos roared as he waded into the slaughter of the pathetic and defenseless humans.

[kdanger]

The storm

Headmaster Athenais had been up before dawn. There were no outward warning signs, but something seemed off to her; the animals of TISME were uneasy, as were some of the faculty, pacing the halls or their studies without being to explain what was bothering them.

It had not been too long ago that the city of Ilyphina had been under attack, and Athenais could not rule out the possibility of another in what seemed to be increasingly troubled times. Indeed, upon her assumption of the role of headmaster she and the other faculty heads had begun to draw up emergency plans to replace the outdated ones that had been employed last time round, and she now found herself glancing at the pages of orders that had been drafted in those meetings.

Sunrise came and the school's usual routines commenced, but the air of anxiety only increased as the day wore on. Athenais went about her usual duties, but continued to be on edge, keeping track of the students she knew to work as message couriers and looking to the skies occasionally, as if expecting an oncoming storm.

The thunder, so to speak, finally began mid-morning. The ground shook, and throughout the city fissures opened up, spilling demons out into the streets and air. As panic rose outside the school, Athenais headed to her office, bringing with her as many faculty heads as she could.

The orders went out. The faculty heads who could use offensive magic were of course the strongest in their disciplines; they were split between the roof and the outer wall of TISME, to try and clear the way. Many of the other stronger faculty members joined them. The head of healing was readying the infirmary and expanding it into the vacant dormitories; the school would have to act as a hospital now that the city was under siege. The rest of the teaching staff split between leaving to fight on the walls and staying to bring the younger students to the safety of the basement levels. The older students were helping too, with some ready to fight, some shepherding the younger ones, some manning the infirmary, and plenty more running messages for the faculty. The couriers who passed through Athenais' office barely had time to stop for breath as she issued instructions.

It soon became clear that the military would be of no help to the city. Athenais instructed the contingent on the roof to first clear TISME's airspace, and then go after anything else in the sky they could hit. The walls were to remain defended, but once they were clear, some mages began to venture out short distances into the city, blasting demons. The gates were opened and guarded heavily, to let civilians begin to take refuge. They also allowed a handful of riders out: in addition to sending a distress call over as many spirit doll connections as possible, Athenais knew that messengers would be necessary.

The day wore on. The sky around TISME was filled with multicolored flame and lightning, standing out as a beacon above the smoke of the burning city. The mages' efforts were valiant, but they were by and large students and teachers, not soldiers, and they could do little more than defend their own position and a small area of city around it, and hope that aid would arrive soon.

The calm

Spoiler - The previous night

Sensing there was quite a bit more to the story then that―and not sure she completely believed the explanation, there had to be some basis for all those nomad stories, even if it got embellished―but realizing it was just incidental to what she'd really started up the conversation for, Iris made use of what she could to get things back on track. "What she could use" was the sudden look of displeasure that had crossed over Kelas's face, which provided her with a bit of a springboard.

Folding her hands before her in a bit of a steeple, Iris replied, "That look... Do you mislike me? This is not the first time you've suddenly gone stony, though perhaps I did overstep with that last remark. But there's been more than that." Looking solemnly at the other woman, she asked again, "Do you not trust me, do I worry you? Or do you just think me some idiot getting in the way? I prefer you not have to mince words or hide feelings. As I was telling His Highness earlier... I very much value openness and honesty. If you have a problem with me, I'd like to know it."

"Of course I don't trust you. I just met you. You're military, your people are in total control of where we are right now, anyone who might object to anything happening to me is currently away, and you consider me a potential threat. If I didn't think my friends were coming back shortly, I'd have gotten out of here already." Kelas glanced toward the door. "I'm still considering it." She couldn't predict how Iris might react to further explanation of how making assumptions about nomads had set her on edge, so she left that out for the moment.

"Well this is a start," Iris nodded with a wisp of a smile. "I'd offer to go somewhere else, if current surroundings are so uncomfortable to you, but leaving their highnesses behind completely..." she shook her head.

"Though, I do say, I would have preferred if rather than distrust it was dislike or even hate. While obviously best would be a... how do you say, <amicable>... a friendly sort of understanding, a trust is working middle ground. I am completely serious when I tell you that I am holding in mind the best interests of the prince and princess."

Iris breathed out a bit of a sigh and took another swallow of drink, "Maybe this will help some? On our way from Zaftra I asked about the group, who were friends who to watch out for, things like that. The prince, he said something like, 'Kelas is my only friend. All others died.' Now maybe you say, 'If you knew this, why did you make such a stink about the ride arrangement this morning,' and then I confess a weakness of temper at having been lied to concerning 'Francis'. Maybe some lingering suspicion of you still, which is mostly cleared up now but... But we can each protect the prince better if we're not so worried about the other, no?"

The lieutenant decided to work with this for now, maybe get some sort of understanding before she would move to the topic that would perhaps lead the nomad to actually hate her. But it there was trust despite that hate, well, she could live with that, so a reaction test here seemed to be the proper course.

"Look, I'll trust you once you've proved to me that I can. That's gonna take a while, that's the way I am. It isn't personal. If I trusted people right away, especially soldiers, I'd be dead or worse by now," Kelas explained. She paused for a moment, trying to puzzle through the lieutenant's next comments. "Wait, what about this morning? You were thinking I was a threat to him, or something?"

"Heh, well as long as that happens before I'm dead. Your trusting wouldn't be doing me any good then," Frederikov snorted. "I don't know your circumstances, though, so I guess I can't ask for more." She shrugged a bit before tackling the segue that the plainswoman just provided.

"As far as 'threat' goes, certainly not to his health, but well..." indulging in a nervous gesture, Iris reached up and brushed back some loose hair that had fallen across her eyes, tucking it back up behind her ear. "I asked you to be honest with me, so I'll be level with you too. Part of my job, and far from my favorite mind you, involves 'protecting the succession', so I have to be sure that the prince doesn't light any fires by dipping his wick. Now I don't know, nor do I care, if that is or was your relationship in the past, and I'm not going to ask, but... it certainly won't be in the future." This was said with an air of finality, and the lieutenant made sure to look Kelas direct in the eyes as she delivered it. She added a further statement after a pause, to perhaps soften the blow, "Friends though, friends is fine, so don't worry too much on that account."

An eyeroll and judicious application of palm to forehead had become reflex when it came to such implications, and Kelas hoped that they hid the fact that said implications were now much closer to actually being true. "Everyone always assumes that," she complained. "Even knowing his last two lady friends were mages, do I look like a mage or something? I don't know why they do but it's damn annoying. 'Sides, I don't want anything to do with anyone's politics. You don't need to worry about me going anywhere near your line of succession or whatever." She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she did eventually interfere in such a way, but she tried not to think about it; not only was it far too early to even consider that, but she needed to keep a straight face for the conversation.

The response had come with more than a hint of exasperation, and perhaps not undeservedly. Her deliberate observation only really informed Iris that the nomad was embarrassed. If there was a bluff involved, there was more than enough truth in it to cover the edges and make it believable.

And that might be the more frightening prospect.

Completely disregarding the I specifically said I wasn't assuming that she had been prepared for, a reassessment of how to proceed was quickly underway.

Very quietly Frederikov began, "Two previous affairs? Nobody has yet mentioned anything of the sort. Both mages? Care to tell me anything more, including where they might be currently?"

Kelas sighed. She didn't want to explain too much if Isotov hadn't already; sharing his history was his choice. She could probably provide a basic explanation, though. "You said he told you all his other friends were dead, right? The Crimson weapons attract demons to their wielders and the people they travel with. The one that's been trailing him is especially nasty. Likes to break its victim's spirit by killing or hurting everyone they care about. When he joined the rest of us after losing his original traveling companions, it started following this group. Managed to steal some of the weapons at different times too, but we got them back. No doubt you'll end up meeting it," she told Iris grimly. "If everything works out you'll only meet it once, because I'm going to kill it."

The nomad hadn't quite answered the question as fully as would have been liked, no names, no real details at all, but given the nature of the implications associated with the story relayed, they were confirmed deceased and no little royals would be popping out as a surprise at any point down along the future. Thus there really was nothing of further consequence regarding the exact specifics, at least not that Iris was concerned with. All that was left to return to then was Kelas's assertion that they were not involved in that fashion, and that Isotov tended towards those of a magical bent... though clearly not all mage girls, given his frosty opinion on Morgan. This was noted as a point for future observation, and perhaps research.

Taking another drink, she turned back a bit, to another line of thought. Was this frustration just displayed previous in fact due to a professed lack of attraction from the prince; was there something unrequited hiding beneath the surface? Hard to say, especially considering the distraction of following up on the revelation of Isotov's other women meant the lieutenant had lost focus, and lost an opportunity for followup. Regardless, though, Kelas's frustration at politics, soldiers, and the military definitely seemed to be genuine, and ought to provide for future deterrent any pursuit to change the status quo assuming she was carrying a torch. It seemed to Iris that all she would have to do would be continue on, stick around, and serve as a visible reminder of his forever altered position in society.

Setting the glass down finally, after having reached her conclusions, she nodded, returning to the most recent thread of the conversation. With that other issue more or less settled in her mind, Iris saw a good chance to gather more information that would help with the mission of keeping him alive, and not just out of trouble. "It's starting to piece together. That would be this Shanice shapeshifter that also killed his mother, and her husband? I suppose another confrontation is indeed inevitable. But... you're going to deprive him of his revenge by killing it yourself? Do you also bear it a grudge of some sort?"

"So far, in addition to everything it's done to him, the damn thing has tried to seduce Irina, tried to have its way with me, and nearly killed my brother and Isotov by stealing their weapons," Kelas explained. "I won't deny him his chance at revenge if he gets one, but frankly I don't think he'll be able to manage it on his own. Last time we saw Shanice Proxima was stolen and he went blind. I figure if we work together maybe we'll be able to take it out."

"To working together then!" After having finished listening with a bit of a grave expression, Iris drained the rest of her glass and slammed it back down.

Before the conversation could continue, a page had appeared and tapped Iris on the shoulder. "<The other delegates would like to meet their new prince and princess,>" the page told her. "<Where can I find them?>"

"<They're currently unavailable, magic lessons,>" Iris explained. "<Shall I come explain to the delegates?> The other Zaftran nobles here want to meet the prince and princess, care to come with me while I explain where they've gone?" she invited Kelas after translating.

"No," Kelas said quickly. "I don't want anything to do with any nobles I don't already know. You go, or whatever."

That was not quite the reaction Iris had been expecting. "<Actually, can you just tell them they're unavailable? I should handle some other things,>" she told the page, who nodded and ran off. "Hmph," Iris snorted at Kelas's words while pushing herself up out of her seat. "That's a silly approach. Not particularly fan of the old guard myself, but sometimes you gotta deal with it to push through for change. And how does the saying go again? Nobles are kind of like wine, some good, some bad, but you not going to know which is which until you crack them open."

Stepping back a bit and pushing in her chair, a bit of a smirk she offered some parting criticism. "Something tells me you weren't always familiar with the Prince Tristan, the Princess Charlotte, the Prince Tora, the list goes on... Now, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but if your problem is really just with Zafta and with her nobles, her military... Don't try to dress it up as something else. And do us both a favor and get over yourself sooner than later."

Frederikov folded her arms atop the chair-rest and leaned there for awhile, curious just how her provocation would be taken.

Kelas shook her head. "You say there's good ones and bad ones. When I was younger the good nobles were the ones who acted like we weren't there. The bad ones threw us off their lands, some of them even set their dogs on us for laughs. Once I was on my own I knew better than to even find out whether one was bad or good.

"I don't even know anything about Zaftra, other than it's too cold for me to ever want to go there, but I know that I don't want to mess with nobles if I don't have to, even if they're in a setting where politeness dictates that they leave the royalty's pet southern hellion alone. It could be Zaftra or anyone else. You haven't even seen me with the rest of the group yet," she added, "so for all you know I avoid them like plague. Which is partly true. Charlotte's all right for a noble and Aiya's all right for a soldier, but the rest I either barely know or don't bother with. Only reason I trust 'em not to throw me under a carriage is if they'd wanted to, they would've done it by now."

A bit of a grin spread across Iris's face as the nomad went into what was perhaps the longest uninterrupted explanation of the evening. Even if it did recount some somber events, and was spiced with a little bit of spitfire, it was much preferable to the close-lipped and taciturn demeanor Kelas had seemed to be comfortable shielding herself with. Maybe it was due to the alcohol, but the fire mage was rather enjoying this.

"All right, I get the drift. Like you say, don't get the tribes up there on account of the weather, so no real way to know just how you or your folk've been treated or what you're used to. All we get are stories, and it seeming those may not even be half true at that. You yourself aren't quite what I'd call a 'hellion'―reckon I'd be more apt to fit that title, I mean look at tonight, I've certainly been giving you worse than I've been getting―but even if you were, I'm having some serious trouble imagining you for a 'pet' type. Course that's just me, and who knows about any others, least of all proper nobility."

Frederikov exhaled thoughtfully before continuing, "You mentioned you were thinking of splitting if their highnesses weren't coming back soon. That still the plan? They may be quite a while, but let's just say you're better company than none..."

"Well, I haven't seen any food yet, and nobody's paying any me mind in a way that makes me worry too much," Kelas conceded. She noticed that Iris' glass had gotten considerably emptier, and her demeanor seemed to be changing. It occurred to her that if she stayed, maybe she could find out a few things from the bodyguard that she wouldn't want to ask Isotov or Irina, either because the questions would be too stressful or because they might not know. "I guess I can stick around for a bit. I figure it won't be long before one of them gets tired of introductions."

Iris nodded absently ran her finger around the rim of her glass, contemplating another. She couldn't let herself go all out, even here in the embassy. She did have a job to do, after all, and Borodin was counting on her. Yet knowing what sort of things lay ahead, and how much more difficult the job would be after they left...

No, no. She should really distract herself with conversation instead, the lieutenant decided. That would be the smarter move here, she was already at a pleasant level of intoxication, and didn't need to go further yet. Maybe again in a half hour or so.

"I am wondering if I should ask you your opinion on the rest of the group member. Everyone so far I talked to seemed to think differently, Lev, Irina, Isotov... and I have only just begun to make my own opinions after all. As you rightly pointed out I haven't even seen the half of the interaction and who does or doesn't speak with who. Or maybe you have things you want to be asking?"

"I guess I could tell you what I think about the people I actually know," Kelas replied. She would start with questions afterward, she decided. "Primary group members are the Crimson weapon wielders. Arrin, Isotov, Esphyr, Chase, Morgan, the general, Damian, Reika, and Helios. Arrin's my brother, he's a good kid even if he is a little weird. Esphyr's a bit mad it seems like, but I guess she's been better lately... Chase used to get in arguments a fair bit but he's pretty quiet anymore. He's about Arrin's age." She paused, then decided not to talk about Morgan. She didn't know if anything she said would work its way back to Morgan's hearing and she did not particularly want yet another argument with the druidess now.

"Don't really know the general, he doesn't seem to be the sort for interfering with anyone, at least. Damian's a bit too friendly, and that damned spear of his has made him go crazy a few more times than I'd like, I don't get too close to him." Her hands began to twist into a sign against evil, but she caught herself. It wouldn't do for a gesture to be misinterpreted, she thought. "He went off with that druid of Ivanko's--" she failed to prevent another sign at mention of Ixion-- "to try and stop the madness, but no way to know if that worked or not. Reika's a malicious little fiend. I've met friendlier scorpions. Then there's Helios, he's just insufferable. You'd think exile woulda taught him that it's not all about him, but apparently it didn't."

"I don't really know everyone else. Charlotte's a good sort, even if she's completely naive. Tessa's our other healer, she's about Arrin's age too, she's a good kid. Shame she got caught up in this nonsense really. Aiya's Damian's officer and I guess his betrothed or whatever, she's okay. Obviously you know Irina, and that head-in-the-clouds friend of hers. Who else... there's that pegasus knight officer of the general's, she's a bit more, I dunno, prissy than one would expect of military I guess, but whatever. There's a servant kid that followed us after the raid on the palace in Septimus who she's sort of adopted, he's a real gossip. There's Alferis, he's Reika's bandit friend, I don't trust him any further'n I can throw him. Then there's others, but I don't really know them."

"Hmmm, hmm," There were a lot of potential avenues to investigate, but Iris decided just to investigate those closest to her charges for now, getting the outside perspective from what Lev and them had already told her. "Yeah, I know all about Tas... I may have to take steps there too, but hopefully not..."

Moving on she proceeded, "Tell me a little more about this Esphyr. Mad you say? I'd heard there'd been some issues of... bad blood, or such, between her and Her Highness, but she wasn't really interested in going over the specifics. Aside from that, she and Lev had mentioned that despite the prince's protestations of being all alone in the world but for you, that he actually got on rather reasonably with Arrin and Tessa, so maybe a little more elaboration on that? Was that only brought up because he's your brother then you think, or...? Also, apparently this healer had an altercation with the princess at some point, do you know what that was about?"

"I don't think I ever saw Esphyr fight with Irina, but knowing her it was probably over something idiotic and went farther than anyone would consider reasonable." Kelas shrugged. "She lashes out and gets horribly depressed at intervals, never know what's going to set her off either shouting or crying... like I said though, quieter lately. Tessa... I almost remember that. We'd been in a fight, some religious nuts-- there was this girl, Kamilla, she'd traveled with us for a while because Morgan made her after... things. Got away eventually and came back with the templars. Probably led them to us. Anyway, Irina attacked her in the fight. I think what happened was Tessa was just too upset after the fight... she'd been one of the few people Kamilla'd even talk to, see, and, well, she hadn't seen fighting before she joined us, so it's hard on her. She's really not a threat." There was no way she was going to let Iris bother Tessa with her suspicions, or Arrin if he was for any reason suspect.

"Yeah she and Arrin get along okay with Isotov, but they don't exactly go out of their way to talk to him usually... I'm the only one he talks to on a regular basis, is probably why."

Hearing about Esphyr's peculiarities in a little bit more detail brought a bit of a troubled look to the mage's face. Whatever the particulars of her clashes with the princess were, it sounded more like just symptoms of an unstable personality... and if Irina was a frequent focus for it, then that made her dangerous and unlike the thing with Damian's lance, likely a problem for her personally.

"Shame you didn't see anything directly... I was told there were at least three occurrences with Esphyr. Unfortunately since she can't rightly be replaced, even if she is acting out less, I really don't like the sound of this."

Learning that the issue with the healer was a non-starter was an upside though. Not unexpected, considering the 'fight' had only been mentioned as an aside in the first place, and quickly downplayed, but without confirmation you never knew. Still, there was something in there that was yet of concern...

"The Tessa thing seems like a more minor squabble... except one detail. This Kamilla, and these templars. They want Prince Isotov dead specifically, yes, and the healer is still on good terms with them?"

"Not after that fight she's not," Kelas said with a grave headshake. "She didn't want Kamilla killed because she thought Kamilla could be turned to our side, and she was hesitant about hurting clergy initially, but she's also the one who took out their commander at the end of the fight. I don't think she's going to need more than one lesson about not all the church being good."

Iris sat up in her chair and raised an eyebrow at this latest. The news Kelas just delivered had been completely unexpected, considering how she'd just billed the girl as not a threat, and not a fighter. "Well... I see. That... does change things some."

The girl might be a bit of a wild card, but everyone seems to trust her, so not a priority? The lieutenant brought a hand to her chin and paused in thought, silent.

"Seriously, don't worry about it. Tessa fights when she needs to, and only then."

The bodyguard had paused and Kelas figured she'd waited long enough. "You said you could answer some of my questions, right?"

Iris nodded in affirmation. "Fire away. I'll field what I can. What is on your mind?"

"Really I only got one question. What's going to happen to them when this is all over?" Kelas asked with a sigh, but it occurred to her that maybe she ought to elaborate. "Isotov said it's pretty clear that nobody really wants him on the throne, and that nobody's even going to make an effort to make him fit for it. Which is probably a lost cause anyway, because all he really wants after this as far as I know is some rest and quiet, and there's no way he'd do a good job of ruling anything at all the way he is now. Not to mention the last thing he wants to do is help his da with anything, and I can't really blame him. I don't know Irina as well, but I'd wager it's mostly the same with her, maybe she's a little more willing to help her uncle but that's it. So what's going to happen?"

Skipping straight to the chase, huh. Good on her, Iris thought, cracking a bit of a smile before wrinkling her brow and pondering how to proceed. That line of question was about the only one she couldn't really handle freely, not here at least, and not until she was a lot more comfortable with the woman.

In an attempt at being genuine, she offered, "I can't tell you for sure, because I don't rightly know. What would have been the case in Denisov's Zaftra may not be the case in the Orlov one. It's probably harder on the prince, being direct bloodline, but for the details? Maybe they live out their life peacefully in a remote villa, maybe they're forced to join the army, maybe the world ends before we have to worry about it. I'm not going to speculate more on that just yet, you'd have to get me a lot drunker for that," she concluded with a laugh.

Kelas just nodded, her suspicions confirmed. There would be no freedom for Isotov after the dust settled, unless something fairly drastic was done. She'd have to ask him about that later.

She could tell there wasn't much more she could get out of the bodyguard, so after a bit more conversation, she took her leave and left the Zaftran quarters, heading back to the embassy to trade one uneasy environment for another. Still, she forced herself to get some sleep. Tomorrow ought to be nothing more than tedious politics, but given the group's luck so far, something far more dangerous would occur.

Editing in wakeups shortly.

Edited by kdanger, 17 August 2012 - 04:14 PM.

[scorri]

Tiria
Demons. Of course. What else can get thrown at us? Bandits that razed an entire estate, dealing with all these nobles, and now demons. Makes sense. Ugh. I feel like I should be going out there and helping them fight, but right now I need to stay by Beau. He is my charge. If I can make sure that he gets out of this safe then I will have fulfilled my duty. It matters not what else happens.
Tiria walked after Beau with her thoughts just flying through her head. She unsheathed her sword as the noises got louder indicating that the demons were closing in on the palace. She had never fought demons before and wasn't looking forward to this first experience very much. Hopefully they die the same as anyone. With a sword through their head.

Arich

Sitting in his tower working on his experiment, Arich heard the commotion early on. He paused only momentarily to mutter a few words under his breath and make a gesture towards the windows and then continued working in his now soundproofed tower. However, when his spirit doll activated, he could no longer continue to ignore the destruction outside. Muttering under his breath about distractions, he pulled on his robe and stalked up to the rooftop. Ignoring the glances he was getting from the other teachers who rarely saw him out of his tower, he gazed upwards for a few seconds, picked a target, and proceeded to blast the demon out of the sky. With a slight grin, he chose another target and repeated the process.
Ah well. I suppose if I can't be with my work, this is not a bad alternative. The practice will be good for me. And besides. The sooner we get done with this, the sooner I can get back to work. Anything that messes with my work though should be extremely worried...

[Tyrant Sage]

Warrior
The conversation concluded, Alf simply sat in the hall, thinking to himself.

Whatever happens at the summit, there's one thing that's not going to change and its the fact our group is very vulnerable to demon attacks. There's the fact we're always at each others throats, which weakens our effectiveness and makes us more vulnerable to infiltration. Then there's the fact that we seem to have a hard time fighting the demons by force. We managed to kill one, but even when we were prepared it was a challenge and those demons don't fight fair at all. We should probably come up with some strategies for dealing with them in battle, but I dunno how we're going to get everyone to follow them or who I should even talk to about this...well, maybe the rest of it will come to me soon.

Reika
Reika was already at the summit and not feeling particularly hungry, she elected to skip breakfast and instead sit in the common area. She was in a precarious position regarding what she could do. While she wanted nothing more than to get away from these madmen, Reika knew that they would very likely catch up to her and wipe her memories. Betraying them would also lead to a memory wipe and while she would probably not be killed, she would undoubtedly be severely punished. On top of that, Alf was noticeably less enamored by her and it was obvious he was not going to put up with any BS she'd pull. All that was left to stay with this group until their mad quest was over and then do nothing but run for the rest of her life.

Running...I'm sick of running

Sadie
One thing was on Sadie's mind that morning and that was how her mother was doing. She had recovered from her illness, but Sadie was still concerned that she had gotten ill again or was worried about her safety. Sadie had to admit she was more at risk now than before traveling with this group but there did seem to be a payoff to it. Not in money per se, but in experience and knowledge and if these people succeeded in her goal, she could write possibly the best ballad of the journey, having had first hand experience and all.

She decided to write a letter to her mother and found a quiet spot for her to sit, in a corner of the common room. The only one there was Reika and Sadie knew Reika was not likely to disrupt her concentration. The hard part now was actually thinking of something to write.

OOC: Edited for great justice and canon.

Edited by Tyrant Sage, 19 August 2012 - 09:31 PM.

[kdanger]

Morning, at the summit

Kelas

Kelas woke early and spent the morning restlessly looking for things to occupy herself. She took Amari out for a ride, checked on Arrin, double-checked her weapons and supplies, eventually remembered to eat, and continually paced around like a caged wild animal. Towns didn't suit her, and while she supposed she ought to be grateful for the temporary safety the summit ought to bring, she had no idea what to do with herself when forced to stay put.

Arrin

Arrin slept late, having been up late reading with nobody to stop him. When he finally awoke, sunlight was streaming through the window of his room in the embassy, and he got up and ready for the day at a leisurely pace. Today ought to be another restful day, with plenty of time to work on his teacher's book and spend time with Tessa. He set out to find breakfast, cheerfully greeting Kelas on the way. She barely responded; she seemed distracted, but Arrin was too hungry at the moment to find out why.

Slightly later, in, around, and concerning TISME

The walls

The outer wall of TISME was the school's main line of defense, and they would not be allowed to fall. About half of the highest-ranking sages were spread out along the top of the wall, with others filling in the gaps. The most brilliant minds of TISME were by and large none too amused with the current situation: it was interrupting their class and research time.

Master Draper was one of those cross elites, and he wasted no time in clearing the ground before his section of wall. As he took his post he drew a shimmering curtain of black fire across the wall before him, and dropped it with an abrupt gesture upon the demons trying to scrabble up. As that first wave fell burning, he set about blasting their replacements a handful at a time. It was going to be a long fight.

The infirmary

There would not be casualties within TISME itself until the fight had had some time to progress, but the infirmary was already busy preparing. It was mercilessly loud, with orders being issued right and left, and Katie could barely be any more frustrated. Since the head of healing had been looking out for her ever since her return, she was stationed here, but she could not shout to give or acknowledge instructions and most people were too busy to notice her hand-signs. It was quickly becoming too much to stand, and the same nagging feeling that had plagued her throughout previous battles was back: she ought to be part of the fight, but could not. Fury at her perceived uselessness caused her to speed up, setting up workstations and readying materials for the healers faster than most of the actual trainees. She could at least do that much.


The students

Inside TISME the atmosphere was not quite one of panic, but tension was incredibly high. All students and staff had their orders, but the few visitors of the day were left in confusion. A short, round, green-haired woman with a small daughter looked around frantically for direction. "We were visiting-- where do we go to shelter?" she asked over and over, to no avail. Her daughter, who had only been expecting to be tested for magical potential, hid in the corner of a classroom, terrified by the chaos of the halls.

The travelers

The call had gone out to TISME's mages in the field. Far from Ilyphina, a man in a long, worn traveling coat and carrying a battered but serviceable old warp staff made his way through a crowded marketplace. "Looking like a dead end," the man was saying to himself, "which of course means that it isn't-- well, probably-- and there's bound to be something out of place that I just haven't noticed yet-- ah." A sort of low, muffled ringing was issuing from one of his pockets. He dug for the source of the noise, producing a very old spirit doll. "This had better be a distress call, I'm not coming back if it isn't," he told the doll before activating it. "All right, all right, it's Eoin, your call has been acknowledged."

"--all traveling faculty higher than the sixth circle return to campus. Repeat, Ilyphina is under siege, all traveling faculty higher than sixth circle return--"

Eoin's face turned grim. "I suppose that means I do have to go back." He dodged out of the way of pedestrian traffic, which he had been blocking a bit, and held up his staff; the blue crystal blazed and let out an odd noise of protest, but did its job, and he vanished from the streets.

The skies

Miles and miles away, out over the ocean, the spirit some people knew as Mana slowed down. The threat, whatever it was, was finally far enough to not register to her senses anymore. She began the arduous task of remembering what she was actually doing out here, piecing together bits of human memory and trying to match them to what her senses were telling her. Collecting her thoughts was going to take quite a while.

[Mercakete]

It only took some searching before Raemond found someone who seemed to be one of the palace's holy men -- a Reformist, by the looks of him. It's a good thing we're so wide-spread. "Excuse me!" he called as he managed to get through the foot traffic separating them. Once within a reasonable talking distance, he began speaking to the man again, "Hello. Are you one of the Reformist Templars? If you aren't, do you know where I can find some? The city is under attack by demons and I'll need help if I'm going to be of any use." Raemond himself didn't look much like a demon-slayer at the moment -- actually, he looked more like a higher-ranking servant or lesser noble with the clothes he'd borrowed on -- but that didn't really register with him at the moment and, quite frankly, he couldn't care less about appearances right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, the flow of traffic went to various places, but the wanderings of Beau and Tiria eventually landed them near the entrance to the castle, where what appeared to be the royal guard was being briefed by one who appeared to be their commander. He was talking about tactics that would be effective against demons.

"Hm. I wonder if he knows what he's talking about," Beau nonchalantly mused aloud as he listened in and leaned against the nearest wall, "Well, it can't hurt to hear this, I suppose. Captain, you might want to pay attention, too. This might be helpful."

[scorri]

Tiria acknowledged Beau's comment with a slight nod, and edged closer to the group so that she could better hear what the commander was saying. She sheathed her sword as to not cause any alarm, but made sure to stand in a position where she could both hear the discussion and keep an eye on Beau.

[Phoenix]

Summit Day

"Do you crimson wielders even know how to defeat the lord with those weapons? I sincerely hope you're not just planning to make things up as you go." Reese replied dubiously after Morgan walked in. Lev hadn't finished his breakfast when Morgan left, so he left more than enough money at the table hoping to the goddess Miranda wouldn't find a reason to steal it and followed closely behind. He had finished it by the time they arrived and was standing a little ways behind her.

Doomsday

"Alright, listen up!" the commander began. "We've got reports of gorgons out there. Now I dare to assume you ignorant jackasses know what a gorgon is ..."

"Yes, Commander!"

"Then tell us, private, what is a gorgon, and what is it capable of?!" the commander replied loudly and expectantly. He was either blowing off some steam or sobering the crap out of these men in preparation for the upcoming battle to hold the palace. Possibly both.

"Commander! A gorgon is a hideous beast to approached cautiously!"

"No credit for partial answers, Private!"

"A hideous beast that is capable of turning almost anyone into stone with its deadly gaze!" the soldier amended.

"THAT'S RIGHT!!! And do you know what that means, men?!"

"Errrrr-"

"It means that gorgons are the deadliest abominations to crawl out of the lord's womb since Jace! If you value your life, you will not look those things in the eye, you will not look the little snakes on their heads in the eye, and you will most certainly not let them grab you ... because then they can turn you to stone anyway!"

"... theeere's a lot of guys getting turned to stone out there right now ..." one of the soldiers quietly assessed as the commander laid out the 'do not's.

"Next up, is the gargoyle ..."

Edited by Phoenix, 21 August 2012 - 12:15 AM.

[scorri]

Tiria listened intently as the commander continued to list off different types of demons that were attacking the city. Ugh. These are like nothing I have ever faced before. I am used to humans. Not these... monsters that can turn you to stone, or are stone themselves or... But no. It does not matter. I need to fight them to protect this city and the duke. She glanced back over at Beau and nodded to herself. His protection is the main goal. And to do that, I need to know how to beat these things. With that, she turned back and devoted her whole attention to what the commander was saying.

[-Cynthia-]

Summit

"The weapons break the seal then we use them to defeat the lord, it is not terribly complicated. The issue of course is that there are too many demons for the Crimson group to tackle alone, but some people would rather pursue arson charges than actually protect their citizenry," Morgan said to Reese rather pointedly.

Septimian Embassy

"Sorry, but we only allow people inside who have the proper authorization- Septimus isn't in the state to be trusting anyone who comes along. If you wish to stay as a guest of someone here I'll need their personal or written approval on the matter," the guard told Tas brusquely.

Ilyphina-Palace

"Oh...hello?" the man turned around to Raemond, somewhat confused at being approached. "I am Brother Tommen, a Reformist, but not a Templar- merely a delegate sent here because we felt the Reformist presence in Elyisima was rather lacking. Most of the Templars should be in Septimus I imagine- a shame really we could use them right about now," he said rather sadly.

Ilyphina- Streets

Shanice has ignored Petros. Probably off pursuing his own violence or...other things. Petros thought to himself with disgust. He noticed that several demons were charging towards TISME, which was not what he had in mind when he said that the magic school was a priority. Burrowing towards the building with surprising speed, he found that the mages had already prepared a defense and the demons were charging into it mindlessly.

"STOP AND FALL BACK!" he ordered them, which did encourage at least some of them to turn around and head towards him. We'll need to gather our forces in substantial numbers here and think of a plan to breach the walls- hopefully I can get everyone to wait long enough while I think. The demons began to congregate in the square around TISME, the area now being completely devoid of human life.

[Mercakete]

"Yes, that makes sense," Tas replied a little sheepishly, "So, that means I need to ask Tristan directly, right? And have him tell you himself?" He felt fairly out of place now, but that was what it sounded like he was being told.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Brother Raemond of Ursibus," he introduced himself, figuring out his next steps even as he explained, "I was hoping to find some trained in demon slaying and detection. I have been, but I am only one man -- I cannot hope to defeat this many alone. Are you certain there are no others here?" Well, this is discouraging if that's the case.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beau watched the scene play out, becoming somewhat confused as he listened in. How did these soldiers learn about demons? This all sounds a little...inaccurate and far-fetched. Though I've only seen one demon before, it wasn't anything like what he's describing... And if some of them were like what he's saying, then wouldn't we have lost the last war with them? Well...even if all this is just fantasy, I suppose it might be of some...minuscule...use...perhaps... Bah, they should just get out there already! A little impatient what with the events outside, the young duke began to irritably strum his fingers on his healing staff.

Edited by Mercakete, 22 August 2012 - 04:08 PM.

[Phoenix]

Summit

"What do you think criminal charges are for, woman?" Reese shot back. "It's still not entirely clear if your strategy will even work, and whether or not it will does not put crimson hosts above the law. The unfortunate truth is that both you and your weapons are a means to an end, and if you want to be free to reap the benefits of that end, I suggest you try a little harder to abide by the law in the future. You've little excuse not to with the aid you'll be receiving."

"I'm still surprised they were even pardoned. Burning down an inn is one thing, but attacking me? Percy?!"

"You needed the exercise." Harold cut in.

Cassandra just quietly observed the exchange. If only everyone in Elysima was as moronic as these two ...

"The inn wasn't 'burned to the ground.' The fire was contained in time. More importantly, they inadvertently exposed some real outlaws that the local patrols had lost track of. Couple that with the apparent difficulty of replacing a wielder, and it's worth dropping the charges ... and if I have to revisit your little episode with them in the woods one more time ..." Reese never finished his sentence. He merely stood there shaking his head after the pause.

Slick Rampage

Rather than focus on TISME which seemed akin to approaching a bonfire, Shanice ran down the streets impaling anyone he found with ice stakes. The demon never slowed down and kept its pace as it drew closer and closer to the battalions gathering near the palace. That group had come close to establishing route from the palace to TISME, but the circle of demons surrounding it cut them off at the last leg of the trip, and then Shanice sliced through the middle of the route at high speed, killing several soldiers as he passed. Had Shanice lingered, it would have been quickly overwhelmed, but it knew better and pressed on, keeping a high body count by striking just one or two targets and then leaving just as quickly.

Soon, a prime target appeared. A garrison of soldiers that were unable to make it back to the palace had instead set up a ballista to try and deal with the aerial threats approaching the palace and TISME. Shanice closed in and hurled a stake at the ballista just before it fired. The projectile it launched was completely knocked off course by the ice attack, and Shanice had followed up with another before they realized they were under attack. The man operating the ballista was struck in the shoulder and toppled over as some other soldiers rushed to shield him. With his target still alive and half a platoon standing between him and the operator, it had no choice but to back off, and broke left and disappeared into an alley.

As Shanice emerged from the other side, he saw a fellow demon hoisting a civilian off the ground and grinned. Instead of letting the demon impale the human as it planned to, he did a rapid spin and used that momentum to hurl an ice spear that impaled the human through the skull and sent them right out of the demon's grasp. Only then did Shanice finally slow down and slide to a stop. "Be quicker, next time. These humans aren't going to kill themselves." Shanice said in a somewhat friendlier tone than usual.

Palace

"Let's see here ..." the Commander had pulled out a little booklet that was filled almost entirely with demon renderings and short descriptions thereof. He had turned to face away from his men while he checked his source. "Hellhounds? No ..."

"Commander?" another soldier spoke up.

"Shut up, I'm thinking. Ah, right!" he quickly turned around ... that booklet was gone, like it never existed. "There's one more demons you'll need special instruction on ..." One of the soldiers gulped in anticipation in the middle of the commander's long pause. "... giant spiders."

[-Cynthia-]

Summit

"And you have little excuse to detain us over minor grievances such as wounded pride when there are demons to deal with," Morgan said, casting a glance at Percy. "In any case, we need to devise a strategy that allows the wielders to reach the Lord of Azure Flame. That would be somewhere in Halton if I remember correctly...although the exact details were never revealed to me," she admitted.

Septimian Embassy

"A signed statement by the prince will also do," the guard said in a bored tone. I doubt he actually knows Prince Tristan...though the prince is said to keep odd company. Not my business, he either gets permission or he doesn't.

Palace

"Not as far as I know- people in Elyisima still have not caught onto Septimian Reform. I was planning on sending the Grand Cleric a report on my progress here- but perhaps that report should be about the demons instead. Perhaps he'll send reinforcements...though I'm not sure how the Templars are doing after what happened to Sister Althea," Brother Tommen said rather sadly.

[Mercakete]

"Right, thank you," Tas replied, feeling a little awkward and out of place, but at least he knew what he needed. I don't think I'll be let into the summit, either, but I guess if I wait there, I can meet with Tristan when his meeting's done and we can just come back here together. With that thought, Tas mounted up on Namid again and took off, trying to remember where the summit was supposed to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raemond felt a hollow churn in his stomach and grimaced at the mention of Althea. "Neither am I," he admitted, slightly and momentarily disheartened. Shaking that, he moved on, refocusing on the needs at hand, "Do you have a way to contact them in time? This city could certainly use their help."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That does it. "Are you quite finished yet?" Beau asked as he approached the soldiers, clearly exasperated as he addressed their commander, "Honestly, at this point it seems to me like you are only stalling. Right now there are many others out there dying because you are either going over things which should have been studied in case of an emergency like this before the actual emergency or just pretending to prepare yourselves while you wait for the demons to just vanish! How much of that information is even accurate?"

Edited by Mercakete, 22 August 2012 - 09:42 PM.

[Phoenix]

Summit

"We locate the tomb, build a team of escorts to push through any resistance and secure the location. That seems simple enough to me." Harold said with a shrug. "What else would you do?" he added quizzically.

"Yes, let's just assume nothing will go wrong, even though it always does." Reese interject.

Palace

"Ahem," the commander stood straight as he turned to face Beau and Tiria. "Lord Bellmire, with all due respect, the successful defense of the palace depends on each division of troops being thoroughly briefed on what they could encounter and how best to respond. We've not faced a threat like this in twenty-five years, and our esteemed leader Grand Marshall Triton is off playing politician to put a stop to this before it escalates any further. I see no hope in sending our men out with generic tactics and generic orders. These are not generic enemies. As for the accuracy of the information ..., well we use whatever we can find. If you ... know anything in particular about these monstrosities, my men and I would appreciate some input." He did a very good job of masking his own irritation with the noble, but the truth was, he was far too worried about the developing situation to waste time trying to shoot back at the new duke when he could be preparing his troops.