Fire Emblem: Curse of the Goddess [IC/PG-16/Not Accepting]

Yui · December 21, 2017

"Of course." He didn't sound particularly pleased with Azar showing up to ask questions. "Ask me whatever you want, and I'll do my best to answer."

"You sound stressed. I'll get to the point: What can you tell me about Inera and healing magic?" Azar made a point to pay close attention to whatever she was about to be taught, if anything. Hopefully it would be useful information that could bring her that much closer to perfecting the Rashido Method. "It's for research," she added, realizing that it may have been a bit odd for an Isaurian shaman to ask about a goddess who was defeated by the very form of magic in which Azar specialized.

Sethera · December 29, 2017

The night wore on in a dread march, cold and, perhaps, painful to some. Conversations were begun, suspicions were roused, and painful migraines were had. The patter of soft feet and a brief bark of purpose. These were the only things of note aside from how slowly the night seemed to wane. When morning finally came, it brought with it an end to the headaches of the night before. The lancing sensation had subsided to a dull thud, a background pain that could be ignored.

Catriona woke in the misty dawn, observing the dew that lingered on the broken wooden floorboards, and the chill breeze that swept through the building, mitigated somewhat by the pale sunlight that managed to peek between the trees and reach even through the shattered windows of the shack they had slept in. She noticed absentmindedly that the wolf cub was gone, seeming to have disappeared sometime during the night.

Soon after, the black fox woman from before entered, with a foreign yet plain breakfast of rice, soup, and more fish. A smile hovered about her lips, yet it was odd, as if the person herself was unused to the expression. "Good morrow," she greeted. "The chieftain has been informed of your presence, and will meet you after breakfast."

That was good enough for the lord, who gave her a short nod of gratitude before digging into her simple repast.

It would go similarly with Penelope and company. They would find themselves greeted by the chieftain himself. Sandara, he explained to Sienna, was still in the shrine. As he had said earlier, she had decided to sequester herself within and pray for the beads' safe return. Though she was delighted at her daughter's return, there were some duties she just could not put aside, and this was one of them. On the off hope that she would succeed, she would remain within.

Rufus looked at them all before bowing his head, a look of shame upon his face. "I apologize for my earlier misconduct," he said. Though he looked reluctant to have to say such words, one could tell that he meant them. "Times have been trying lately, and I have not been handling them as gracefully as a chieftain should." He brightened soon afterward. "However, it seems your companions have arrived in search of you. Licorice will bring them here as soon as they have eaten, and as soon as you have as well." Their breakfast would be identical to what the others ate, if a little more lavish.

Soon afterward, both groups would find themselves standing in front of the chieftain, Licorice standing off to one side respectfully along with the twin fox brothers Gamboge and Persimmon, though she would shoot Penelope glances every so often.

Rufus opened with an apology. "I am deeply sorry for the misunderstanding we had before. We had thought you kidnappers, bandits who sought to steal my daughter away for slavery or some other such dreadfulness. This, compounded with the fact that we have had bad experiences with bandits as of late, well, we decided we would interrogate you and then give you a swift end. However, we were mistaken, realizing our error soon after your friends' capture," he explained. "I give you my word they have not been harmed by us." He paused, perhaps thinking about the shrine trial, but moved on. "Therefore, you are all free to leave, and may go with our blessings."

Catriona would have left it at that, relieved to see her sister safe and sound, however, this was an opportunity she could not miss, to find out from the fox chieftain himself whether he knew of any vulpine involvement in the murder of Sir Cyrus. "I am grateful for my sister's safe return," the cold way she spoke her words left no doubt how she would have reacted had Penelope not been returned safely. "However, before we leave, I have one last question. The frog tribe believe a fox responsible for the death of one of their own. I would have you answer this."

Her commanding tone did not seem to sit well with the chieftain, whose eyes narrowed. "They speak nonsense! We are not responsible for his death, despite what they will tell you." He shot a dismissive glance toward Shiro. "If we are to point fingers, then I will make note of the fact that we still do not know who stole our sacred treasure, and that it is quite likely that they are the perpetrators, and are accusing us of this to cover their own tracks."

"Both Glenn and Shiro reported that they saw a large white fox Protean standing over the body of Sir Cyrus," the princess pointed out. She still found it difficult to believe that the famed Sir Cyrus of the King's Guard was a creature of myth and legend, and a frog at that.

"Impossible!" Rufus roared. "Sienna is the only white fox alive, the first one to be born since the last century." A sharp observer would hear a note of panic mixed in with his frustrated indignation.

--

After a period of wide-eyed staring, Gunther managed to croak out. "It's good to meet you, sir. Would you mind if I...sat down, for a while. I find myself feeling...out of sorts. I did not expect this day to go this way." He seemed to realize something. "I hope my friend is alright."

"Hah, days usually don't go the way we want them to!" the redhead snorted. "Fact, they usually go the wrong way. But sure, sit down all you like. As for your friend, he should be fine, lest Ahri decides to try something funny." He frowned. "Actually, mightn't be a bad idea to check up on him. She can be a little...much."

Meanwhile, Ahri was still in the midst of what looked to be a right tantrum.

Alois bent down and patted the fox girl's head. "Listen, kiddo. If I told you you could choose between either traveling with me and the big guy or living with Robin, you'd choose him right? 'Cause you're like, best friends or something, I don't really know." He quickly got off that before saying, "anyway, it's the same for me. I can't stay because as nice as this place is, I got...friends," the boy seemed to struggle to admit the fact, "that I have to travel with. So, I can't just leave them. And besides, they need me there as well. I kind of keep everything running," the boy joked. "So yeah, but hey, maybe I can see about visiting this place once in awhile?"

The girl seemed to calm somewhat at that, though big fat tears still trailed down her face, and she hadn't stopped sniffling. "R-really? Do you promise?"

[spoiler=OOC]

- Both groups have reunited now!

- Gunther and Alois are still separated, however.

- Post with your reactions and stuff.

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · December 30, 2017

They were surrounded. The faceless enemies closed in on the group. All their healing was gone. The path behind them was blocked off with a rock slide. She had led them here. This was the path she chose to take. She had thought the pass was hidden enough that the enemy wouldn't know to check it. However it seemed the enemy tactician was better. They had anticipated her thoughts. Or perhaps the enemy was so numerous they were able to block off every possible route.

Whatever the case, they were in grave danger. They all looked to her for advice, for tactics, for a way out. Catriona, Gunther, Alois, Edrick, Link, Sienna, Tsetseg, Azar, and others whom her conscious brain could not recognize.

But she had nothing. She was out of tricks. She failed them all. And now they would all die.

The enemy closed in.

Penelope awoke in a cold sweat, her arm stretched out in front of her. As though she were attempting to ward off a blow. It took her a few moments for her breathing to slow back down to a normal rate

Once it did she remembered where she was and, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, she got up and made herself presentable as best she could given the circumstances.

The chief came in soon after and greeted them. He seemed less emotional than before as he gave his apology. Penelope nodded politely as he spoke, not wanting to incite his anger again when he was trying to make amends.

As she heard about her companions, a smile crossed her face. She knew Gunther would be worried sick and she was eager to see him and make sure he didn't fall apart without her presence.

-----

The groups were reunited again. However Gunther, and Alois, were nowhere to be seen. Instead there was a stranger, likely a Frog Protean from all Penelope had seen and heard so far, standing in their midst.

She wanted to ask Catriona but, also, she didn't want to bring it to attention that there were two missing. She doubted her sister had some strategy but it could be useful to have unknown reinforcements on the off chance something went wrong.

She also wanted to greet the Frog but two things kept her from it. One was Licorice, whom Penelope kept catching glancing in her direction. Their eyes would meet every once in a while, and Penelope couldn't help but wonder what it was the girl wanted.

And the second was Rufus apologizing once more. His reasoning were sound, to Penelope, and she confirmed that they were all unharmed. Overall it was an unfortunate situation but not one to cause much a stir over now that they were, mostly, reunited.

The girl let out a soft sigh as Catriona spoke. As tactless as ever she practically threatened Rufus and accused him all at once. She couldn't help but appreciate that her sister was evidently willing to fight to help her but this seemed unnecessarily confrontational.

Though this new information was certainly...interesting. The frogs were having issues, as well, it seemed. A murder...wait Sir Cyrus? That name was familiar to the girl, though only vaguely.

"Sienna is the only white fox alive, the first one to be born since the last century."

Penelope took a step back as the man's anger returned again. She wanted to press him about this, especially the tone, but...the moment she began to speak, and she saw his eyes, full of anger once more, dart in her direction, she couldn't bring herself to do it. All she could manage was a simple. "I'm sure Catriona didn't mean any harm; she's just concerned." And for good reason. Why would the Frogs, who likely had some idea how rare white fur would be, specify that the attacker had been white in color?

"Hah, days usually don't go the way we want them to!" the redhead snorted. "Fact, they usually go the wrong way. But sure, sit down all you like. As for your friend, he should be fine, lest Ahri decides to try something funny." He frowned. "Actually, mightn't be a bad idea to check up on him. She can be a little...much."

Gunther nodded, trying to steady himself as he sat with his hands on his knees. Either this man was insane or he truly was an ancient hero. Which would mean they were in the past...And that girl, whom Alois was playing with, was someone who lived many years ago. Who knows what trouble they could bring upon themselves if they lingered here.

He thought about the last thing Robin said. Yes, he had to find Alois. They shouldn't stay separated. Not with all this happening. Internally cursing himself for letting him wander off, for letting his guard down, Gunther got back up. "I'm going to check on him, excuse me, sir." Gunther gave a short, polite, bow and hurried off in the direction he last saw the two go.

Maeriberii Haan · December 30, 2017

"Seriously, what is with that fox girl and murder accusations?"

Ciela chose to remain silent for the time being as the tension between the foxes and the frogs steadily increased before her, only mumbling to herself in wonder. She fell asleep early last night, and for the most part she was out of her depth in regards to whatever was happening now. She was aware about the accusations regarding the beads, but other than that, not much really passed on her mind now. She felt like she was going to do something important last night, but she couldn't remember about what it was, as she passed out way earlier than she should. Enough of that however. Apparently, the other half of the group apparently got caught up with this mess on the other side, which seemingly complicated matter further.

"I'm sure Catriona didn't mean any harm; she's just concerned."

Oh yeah. Not being near her for a day made Ciela forgot just how much that disclaimer was necessary when it's about dealing with Cat. Right, that reminded her, as she just now observed past the heated interaction between Cat and the fox leader, and into who's actually available right now. Gunther and Alois was missing. Gunther probably would've attempted to softly reduce the tension on Cat's side maybe? And as annoying as he was, the lack of a short quip from Alois made the situation felt like it's missing some good salt and seasonings.

"Right so uh yeah, this really starts off unpleasantly." Were their teammates that were on the frog side felt some investment regarding the tribe's arguments? While Ciela definitely appreciated the food and the exquisite rice the foxes served, she zoned out on too much of yesterday to really form any personal opinions regarding the foxes, though she did feel some discomfort regarding Rufus from what little she saw of him so far. Though for the most part, the rising tension this early in the morning would do bad things to her mood for the rest of the day, and even Remy felt unease at the thought of having a battle already. Or maybe that's just because she didn't tend to him this morning.

"If we're going to play murder mystery again, at the very least let's just cross out Sienna from being a suspect from the start. We did that song and dance before to unpleasant results, I'd rather not have a repeat." Not to mention, how would someone like Sienna, scary as her transformation was, even kill someone that sounded like he's a well-respected knight? At the very least Ciela was aware that the other side didn't actually blame Sienna (not even Cat would be that unreasonable), and her words were more for the foxes.

"So yeah, big scary white fox on the murder scene of a big name Sir. Since Chief Rufus said there's no other white foxes running around lately bar Sienna, either the frogs misidentified whatever the killer was, or it was something that tried to look like a white fox, or there's just a white fox that we didn't know about yet. Hey, that thing happens. Sometimes the world just forgets you exist, or at least tries to.

Assuming both sides tells the truth, all three situations are likely in their own way. I'd personally like to see if that really is the case, but we're going nowhere if you all are still this tense." Oh the goddess be blessed, pointing finger at people was exhilarating. Ciela acknowledged that usually she's the first to raise her voice and be tense in this kind of situation. Which was why Chief Rufus rising his before her rubbed her in the wrong way.

"So yeah, drop this topic or just discuss it in a way that wouldn't end with someone or a few getting maimed."

After all, if it's Ciela herself, going on a rant of truth would always be fully justified.

Alaina · January 2, 2018

Alois was relieved to see that the fox girl had calmed down a bit, not really sure what else to do if she kept crying, and said, "yeah, sure. I promise." While Alois wasn't lying that he would want to come back here when all was said and done to visit, he had absolutely no idea how he would go about it. All the same, he felt it better to let sleeping dogs lie, and left his promise at that. Looking around, Alois took in the beauty of the area he was in for a brief moment, unsure of when he might see something like this again, before taking a deep breath in and saying, "now come on." The boy gestured back towards the house. He realized that they were pretty far out, and that being far out in the unknown was definitely cause for concern. "We should get back, others are probably worried. Well, Gunther probably is at least, damn worrywart." The boy shook his head for a bit, before starting to walk out. Looking back to Ahri he said, "oh and uh, let's keep this between us. Sound good?" The boy was, after all, a bit embarrassed to think about how the others would act if they knew what he said about them.

Hakima · January 3, 2018

The night went by slowly for Link. For the first few hours, nothing of note happened. Princess Penelope rolled around in her cot restlessly, and he considered waking her up but decided against it. Even a rest plagued with nightmares was better than no rest at all.

A little bit after that Tsetseg got out of bed. The Galtean soldier regarded her quizzically as she sat up, looked about the room, and then pushed herself out of bed and took up a position in the corner opposite of him. She must have been able to sleep, and gotten out of bed to stand guard with him, he realized. Unlike the princess, Sienna or Ciela, she had traveled with a military patrol before—or at least something close to it—meaning that a rotating night watch wasn’t anything new to her.

"Hey Green Man, hey, hey. Are you awake?" Link jolted slightly. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts, he hadn’t heard her approach. She had a surprisingly light foot. "So like, I couldn't get to sleep, so I saw you and was like, 'maybe the corner is a better place to sleep,' but it wasn't. So I was like, 'maybe Green Man has some sort of super awesome corner sleeping technique.' So why are you in the corner instead of like, a bed. Because those are comfier. Is it because you have some sort of cool corner sleeping technique?"

Link didn’t respond to her question—or even show any inclination that he had heard it—at first.

Special corner sleeping technique…? She was taking the piss. She had to be.

He realized with growing horror that she wasn’t as the silence reached awkward territories, and she maintained an expression of childlike wonder and curiosity. Just what kind of patrol was Urvan running? Surely they kept a night watch going. Then again, the Pelinna patrol was still, no matter how impressive, just a volunteer force. It was bound to lack in quality in some areas when compared to an actual military company.

Realizing that he had let the question hang in the air long enough things were getting awkward, he shifted over to stand more directly in moonlight shining in through the window, mumbling something about ‘the night watch’.

The girl’s eyes went wide, as her voice rose a bit saying, “oooooh. Sounds fun.” She nodded. “Can I join?”

Link blinked, tilting his head in a manner very reminiscent of a curious dog, then nodded once. Who was he to stop her?

Smiling at the idea, Tsetseg crouched down, against the wall, and sat there. Her eyes seemed laser focus on the door, and would remain that way until enough time had passed that fatigue took over and she fell asleep.

Link would move her back to her cot once she fell asleep, putting a blanket over her, and wait out the last hours until dawn on his own. During his vigil, there was one thought he couldn’t shake: what a strange girl.

~~~

Link listened quietly to the chieftain, but he struggled to focus. A persistent chill had taken him sometime around dawn, and he was more preoccupied with basking in the heat radiating from his food than he was absorbing the new information the chieftain was providing.

He was relieved to have been reunited with Princess Catriona and the rest of the company, though he didn’t miss that Gunther and Alois were missing. After that everything went to hell. Catriona and Rufus seemed to be having some kind of power struggle, and then Ciela opened her mouth and—unsurprisingly—did nothing to defuse what was already a bad situation.

Link fought down another cold chill, sniffled, and stepped forward to stand to Catriona’s right. ”You should have him tell his side of the story, your Majesty. Best to hear all three; fox, frog, and truth.” He spoke quietly into her ear, and then slipped back a few steps. He wasn’t meant for this sort of thing.

Wind Rider · January 4, 2018

The night seemed to drag on for Sienna, the headaches stopped at one point but even still, she had a rough time trying to fall asleep. The following morning, Sienna awoke with a loud yawn, she barely had any shut eye. Licorice gathered everyone up to go meet with Rufus and even informed them that the ones who were separated during the ambush a day or so ago would be rejoining with them today. Sienna was relieved to know that they were ok and quickly got things together to meet with her father.

Rufus informed her that her mother had stayed back in the shrine, praying for the beads swift return. It saddened Sienna that she couldn't catch up with her mother, but her duties were more important at the moment.

"I apologize for my earlier misconduct," Rufus said. Though he looked reluctant to have to say such words, one could tell that he meant them. "Times have been trying lately, and I have not been handling them as gracefully as a chieftain should." He brightened soon afterward. "However, it seems your companions have arrived in search of you. Licorice will bring them here as soon as they have eaten, and as soon as you have as well."

Sienna wondered how the others fared with being separated from the group, the sisters may have had the worst time come to think of it. They'll be together again soon though, right now Sienna was hungry for breakfast, though she had a bit of a hard time keeping her eyes open.

After breakfast was done, and the others were reunited (save for Gunther and Alois who seemed to still be absent), Rufus addressed everyone. "I am deeply sorry for the misunderstanding we had before. We had thought you kidnappers, bandits who sought to steal my daughter away for slavery or some other such dreadfulness. This, compounded with the fact that we have had bad experiences with bandits as of late, well, we decided we would interrogate you and then give you a swift end. However, we were mistaken, realizing our error soon after your friends' capture," he explained. "I give you my word they have not been harmed by us." He paused, perhaps thinking about the shrine trial, but moved on. "Therefore, you are all free to leave, and may go with our blessings."

Cat had one more question though and it seemed to upset Rufus again. "However, before we leave, I have one last question. The frog tribe believe a fox responsible for the death of one of their own. I would have you answer this. Both Glenn and Shiro reported that they saw a large white fox Protean standing over the body of Sir Cyrus," That last part seemed to get to Rufus.

"Impossible!" Rufus roared. "Sienna is the only white fox alive, the first one to be born since the last century." Cat seemed to have a knack for asking questions, especially ones that ticked people off. Rufus had a point though, Sienna was the only white fox, so who or what was this frog murderer?

Sethera · January 6, 2018

"I'm sure Catriona didn't mean any harm; she's just concerned," Penelope's reasonable tone did much to flatten Rufus' metaphorical hackles.

"If we're going to play murder mystery again, at the very least let's just cross out Sienna from being a suspect from the start. We did that song and dance before to unpleasant results, I'd rather not have a repeat.

"So yeah, big scary white fox on the murder scene of a big name Sir. Since Chief Rufus said there's no other white foxes running around lately bar Sienna, either the frogs misidentified whatever the killer was, or it was something that tried to look like a white fox, or there's just a white fox that we didn't know about yet. Hey, that thing happens. Sometimes the world just forgets you exist, or at least tries to."

At that, Rufus started to open his mouth in what was likely a protest when Ciela continued to speak.

Assuming both sides tells the truth, all three situations are likely in their own way. I'd personally like to see if that really is the case, but we're going nowhere if you all are still this tense.

"So yeah, drop this topic or just discuss it in a way that wouldn't end with someone or a few getting maimed."

Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, it was Catriona who seemed to react negatively to those words, her stance becoming even stiffer as she prepared herself to fight her way out of this situation were the chieftain to try to attack.

”You should have him tell his side of the story, your Majesty. Best to hear all three; fox, frog, and truth.” Link saw a way to yet salvage this tense encounter, however.

Taking a deep breath, the princess softened the hard line of her shoulders, though her eyes remained coolly cautious. Giving a slight nod, she began, "I...apologize for any misinterpretation," the words tasted like ash on her tongue, to give respect to a thieving fox. Chieftain he was, but he had still ordered the capture of her sister. Still, this was not Galtea. Nobody here was required to bend the knee to her will, and though this man was of lower rank, he was still a leader, and still very much able to have them all slaughtered if he wished.

"The frogs attest that a white fox was the one who murdered their kinsman. However, we have not heard your side. If you have any knowledge of that night, then that would be greatly appreciated." Normally, Catriona would not bother with the murder of a man, but this was not just any man. This was Sir Cyrus, former Captain of the King's Guard. For a time, there was only one man higher than he in the Galtean military--aside from His Royal Majesty himself--and few equals. The fact he had cast aside his spurs, his famed position, to disappear into the wilderness, had been the primary subject of courtly buzz for moons. And now, to think he had been right here this whole time, and before she could even meet him, he was murdered.

Murdered. Not just an accident, not just killed in a straight fight, but murder. No, there was more afoot, and the princess could not help wondering just what was going on.

"There is nothing to say," Rufus replied shortly. He seemed to have gotten control over himself, to Catriona's slight disappointment. It would have been interesting fighting a man like him. "That night, the second night of the harvest moon, or Ramesoth as you humans prefer to call it, we had our own problems to deal with. The theft of Inari's Beads, our sacred treasure." He paused. "I do not know where you were during that time, but I doubt it was here, and Sienna being the only white fox in a century, there is little chance of the murderer being one of us. More likely the frogs are accusing us to cover their own guilt, or," he held up a hand to forestall Catriona's protest, "they mistook the murderer for one of us. There are any number of white beings in this world, such as the--" he stopped and shook his head. "Well, that is neither here nor there. Either way, it is impossible that it is a white fox, and that is that."

"I see," Catriona didn't know what else to say. It seemed as if the man was fairly confident that it wasn't a fox, however, something still seemed...off about all of this. Or perhaps that was just her overly suspicious nature.

Whatever more she had to say would have to wait, however.

BGM

"Chief, we're under attack!" a fox ran in, out of breath. "Though it's just one man..."

"Who is it?" Rufus asked, face like thunder.

"It's, uhh, that green guy. That one frog man. The one who likes to fight with a sword."

"Inari's claws!" the chieftain swore, before recovering himself. "If you'll excuse me, I'll have this taken care of shortly," and he left the building without waiting for an answer.

"I will follow," Catriona demanded. She had a feeling she knew exactly which Protean they were talking about. Though the other foxes attempted to stop her, she stomped past them. She had little patience for any shapeshifter of the bushy tailed kind at the moment.

The sight that greeted her, and any who chose to follow, would be that of a familiar frog Protean managing to somehow hold his own amidst a crowd of fox Proteans. "Dastards!" he cried. "You have stolen not only innocent human beings, but also Shiro, my stalwart friend, and for that, you must pay!"

Beside him, a small, grayish-green wolf puppy barked at the foxes, nipping at their ankles every so often. Oddly enough, none of the foxes seemed eager to get close to the cub. Then again, Catriona had seen foxhunts before, and the very sound of their baying could send a tod scurrying for his den. Perhaps it was the same here.

"You!" Rufus hissed. "You have done quite enough to us in the past couple days. You and your friend!" The chieftain looked like he was ready to jump down there and fight the man personally.

--

Robin waved merrily at Gunther's back. "Nice fellow, if a bit high-strung," he commented to himself, then gasped, before slumping his shoulders. "Oh, he never did get to try my tea, did he?" he took a sip from the beverage and made a face. "Mayhap that was for the best...reminds me of the ditchwater I drank when I was still an outlaw."

Gunther would find himself hopelessly lost within the first minute of trying to retrace Alois's steps. However, it wasn't too difficult to follow the fighter, as he, and Ahri, had left a trail of--not exactly destruction, but close to it, in their wake. Eventually, he would find the trail ending at an innocent-looking wardrobe that opened up to reveal...nothing but clothes inside, though strangely some of them looked a little dirty, as if they'd been outside.

Meanwhile, Ahri and Alois were still standing in the clearing. "Yeah, sure. I promise." He walked forward, ready to leave. "Now come on. We should get back, others are probably worried. Well, Gunther probably is at least, damn worrywart." The boy shook his head for a bit, before starting to walk out. Looking back to Ahri he said, "oh and uh, let's keep this between us. Sound good?"

"Un!" Ahri nodded vigorously, before approaching the man shyly. "Um..." she looked down, suddenly shy, before looking back up, eyes frantic. "S-since you promised and all, I wanna give you this!" she thrust out a spade-shaped leaf toward him. "This is what I use to transform between my beast form and back. But, I don't think I need it anymore," she started to trace circles in the dirt with her toe. "It's imbued with some of--well, Verie says it's my a-ni-ma," she pronounced the words carefully. "Something to do with magic and spirits and reason and blahblahblah I don't know I stopped listening right around then," she grinned, unrepentant. "He's boring anyway though. But what I mean is, that it should help you out if you need an extra boost!"

BGM

The duo started to head back after that, and eventually reached the mansion. There was no sign of the wardrobe door from earlier, which Ahri didn't seem to find strange at all. She would seem to drag her feet as they got closer, though. "You really have to go then?" she asked. However, she didn't seem to expect an actual answer, as she continued until they reached the front door, where she paused. "All right," she said. "Mata yo--I look forward to the next time we meet," she bowed formally.

Meanwhile, Gunther's search would eventually lead him outside, where he would see both Ahri and Alois in front of him, Ahri facing away toward the fighter mid-bow.

She straightened, turned, smiled at him with a simple "Goodbye," and brushed past him, closing the door quietly behind her. At that moment, the wind seemed to pick up, driving the duo down, through the gated tunnel, to the dock where the boat that had brought them there rested quietly, with the silent old man from before.

Were either of them to turn around and look at the mansion, they would see it in a state of dilapidation, as if it had been abandoned to time for decades, perhaps centuries.

[spoiler=OOC]

- Ha! You thought I forgot about the Halloween stuff! Well I didn't! Alois gets a treat--a leaf that will temporarily increase all his stats for the duration of one map battle.

- Also Rufus looks like he's gonna go toe to toe with Glenn. React and do stuff.

Asriel Dreemurr · January 6, 2018

"I'll get to the point: what can you tell me about Inera and Healing Magic?" Now that was a question Edrick had not been expecting from the witch- shaman...at all really. Though when she added that it had something to do with research things made a little bit more sense. Of course she was not interested in the true faith, but that was something that could be changed with time. At the very least it was something that he would be trying to change with time. So he turned about where he had knelt down to pray and gave Azar his attention.

"Well," he began, collecting his thoughts even as he began to speak, "what most of the world calls 'Healing Magic' we hold as the direct intercession of Inera in events. The Goddess' ultimate enemy is Death itself, and so she offers healing to certain individuals whose faith in her is strong. That we have maintained this access to healing even since the alleged death of Inera is why we in Pontus have never accepted that she was gone. What dead goddess could intercede in the favor of her followers?" That was what he believed at least, and when one believed in something that was true such was as good as fact. "I admit there is more to say, but it'd be better if I said that later." With that he turned his back to her, and as he had removed his Gambeson so that he could sleep through the coming night the twisted, burnt scar from Azar's magic was plainly visible on his back.

---

In the morning, Edrick ate the breakfast that was offered to them and went along with the rest of the party as they went to speak with the chief. He of course had words he wanted to say to Rufus, but with the others so intent on saying what they had to he had little chance to himself. Ciela especially seemed to want to just move past this, but the more he looked up at the Fox Chieftan the more Edrick got the sense that there was more to this than met the eye. Rufus certainly sounded quite intent in his refusal that there was any white fox among their tribe other than Sienna, but all the same he could not help but wonder if the man was being truthful. He looked nervous, like a child caught doing something suspicious and trying to defend their actions. For his part, Edrick resolved to find the time to speak with Rufus more directly. In fact, just as the chieftan began to explain he was finishing formulating his question- or was it an accusation? Though it seemed Rufus had some idea of what could have passed as a white fox, one of these other "white beings" that he mentioned before cutting himself off. This was a curious situation.

And before Edrick could even have the chance to get a word out, it was made apparent that the village was under attack. By just...one man? Now that was an interesting situation. The Chief was quick to run off, and Catriona was quick to follow. Edrick himself followed as well, and readied his bloodstained spear in case there was to be a fight. When they arrived, it seemed that Glenn was trying to push his way into the village...and that Rufus was about to leap into the fight. Well, Edrick leaped in first.

"ENOUGH!" He shouted as he came between the Fox Chieftan and the Frog Knight. He drove the head of his blood-stained spear into the ground before him, and turned his gaze back and forth between the most noteworthy among those present. First he turned to the Frog. "Sir Glenn, I'm sorry that our failure to return caused such an issue. We haven't been captured, we stayed willingly as a show of good faith, and our friends are alright too. Shiro shouldn't be too far behind us." Even as he tried to be diplomatic, there was a certain frustration obvious in his voice and on his face. Now he turned to Rufus. "Chieftan, I'd say it's time someone tells you why it's so important that we know who or what was mistaken for a white fox. In Ithome, there was a murder committed by something that was close enough to a giant white fox that we had to defend your daughter in court. Since she's walkin' free, you can guess how that ended up. However, that also kept us in Ithome much longer than we expected to be. Whoever committed the murder also stole scrolls about the Great Dragon, specifically its location, and kept us from quickly finding it. Now, when we entered this forest we were attacked by Bandiți, and without the Pelinna Patrol we'd probably be dead. Now, these bandiți also kept us here longer than we meant to stay. So this White Fox, or impersonator, delayed us, and the bandiți delayed us, and now we've been delayed by getting caught up in this feud between your tribes. So, I think this 'White Fox' person," he mimed quotation marks with his hands, "and the bandiți are working together. We already got the Frogs to agree to help us attack the sediu, the hiding place, of the bandiți so we could learn the truth. If I'm right, then whoever stole Inari's Beads from you is the same 'White Fox' who's been causin' us trouble and who's got you and the frogs at each other's throats. So I got a question for you, Chieftain: are you just gonna stand by? Are you gonna let these...these thieves make off with what they been doin'? And if ya don't believe me yet, who else is gonna benefit if you Foxes and Frogs are killin' each other? By my Uncle's bones, why would the Frogs even want to start a war with you?" He finally went silent, panting and bringing a hand up to rub his throat from the shouting.

"Also uh..." he started, remembering something important, "could someone get Ciela? I uh...need her to look at my back."

Maeriberii Haan · January 6, 2018

The situation only got worse. Or maybe Ciela was just starting to get pessimistic again.

Cat was as painfully stiff as always, and Rufus' temper barely helped the situation. Though in the meantime, Ciela started to remember a few things about who Cat might be talking about. She had heard about one high-ranking official of the military that just disappeared one day, and she recalled the name was like Cyrus or the like, not that she personally cared much about politics or the military of her nation. But...he was a frog?

Well, a frog Protean. That would only be if he really was the person Cat was talking about. But still, a frog? While she feared foxes, to tell the truth Ciela had a hard time taking frogs seriously. She knew that the other side was frog proteans, but at least they're not transformed now. But thinking that such a high ranking knight was a frog...they're still going like, ribbit ribbit at night, right? How would a knight croak? Now she imagined a green frog in armor yelling the emperor's name while defeating the Pontic infidels.

That mental image made her laugh.

Right, but it was cut short before it went anywhere as Rufus answered Catriona's question. So the two crimes happened at the same night. Obviously the easiest thing to do now was to connect the two with each other. Either one lead to another, or both happened for the same reasons or motive. Obviously the easiest thing to do would be to just say that someone was trying to set the two sides up (If the frogs as a faction stole the bead or claimed the bead was theirs, it would have been mentioned by this time), though Ciela really only took that as an option to consider because she wouldn't like trying to find another more neutral sounding option that wouldn't lead to one side saying she's against them.

Or well she could just accuse both sides with a crime to stay neutral, but she didn't want to die that bad yet.

Before she could say anything however, the news of an attack ended the discussion. A frog was attacking separate from Catriona's bunch. Rufus rushed towards the scene, followed by Catriona and a few others. Ciela was unsure for a bit, but ended up following them too. In the end, she was shown a sight where Rufus was on the verge of brawling with this frog. That sure would end well for anyone involved.

But before it would go into anything terrible, Edrick came in between them.

Ciela never heard him speak for this long before. She stood there dumbfounded that Edrick managed to put things together in a more concrete way than she could for a while, but Edrick's request at the end of his speech snapped her back into reality. She had Remy bring her to approach Edrick.

"Were you wounded? I would uh...definitely need to see what kind of wound it is and how bad for a more thorough process, but if you want a quick fix, then sure, I'll give it now." Ciela coughed for a bit before turning to the rest. "And yeah, what he said. Also, the creature that committed the murders in Ithome left a lot of white furs around so at least that part is clear, and the bandit activities in this forest seemed to have been gone for quite long, with how they're able to immediately surround our group in a planned ambush rather than simple mugging.

We would need a lot more information before this investigation of both crimes would go anywhere, so I'd rather see less yelling and threats of maiming and more civil discussion, please and thank you." Ciela huffed haughtily. She really was enjoying her position. "And I'd rather not work overtime today. Poor ol' me wouldn't be able to handle the aftermath if you foxes and frogs start killing each other here."

Yui · January 6, 2018

"Well, what most of the world calls 'Healing Magic' we hold as the direct intercession of Inera in events. The Goddess' ultimate enemy is Death itself, and so she offers healing to certain individuals whose faith in her is strong. That we have maintained this access to healing even since the alleged death of Inera is why we in Pontus have never accepted that she was gone. What dead goddess could intercede in the favor of her followers? I admit there is more to say, but it'd be better if I said that later."

Interesting. While there was definitely more to learn about the root of healing magic and the craft itself, this was a good enough start. She'd have to take notes. ...a mental note should do just as well. Healing magic comes from the Pontics' faith in Inera, and because they can still use it, they believe she isn't dead.

"Good morrow. The chieftain has been informed of your presence, and will meet you after breakfast."

Breakfast in quesiton was a simple dish, but not one Azar was entirely used to regardless. After everyone had eaten, everyone - meaning both the group Azar had been with, and the one that got separated from the rest of the party - was brought to meet with the fox chieftain himself. Seemed he hadn't been taking this troubled times as gracefully as a leader should have, based on his earlier apology during breakfast.

"I am deeply sorry for the misunderstanding we had before. We had thought you kidnappers, bandits who sought to steal my daughter away for slavery or some other such dreadfulness. This, compounded with the fact that we have had bad experiences with bandits as of late, well, we decided we would interrogate you and then give you a swift end. However, we were mistaken, realizing our error soon after your friends' capture. I give you my word they have not been harmed by us. Therefore, you are all free to leave, and may go with our blessings."

"I am grateful for my sister's safe return. However, before we leave, I have one last question. The frog tribe believe a fox responsible for the death of one of their own. I would have you answer this."

"They speak nonsense! We are not responsible for his death, despite what they will tell you. If we are to point fingers, then I will make note of the fact that we still do not know who stole our sacred treasure, and that it is quite likely that they are the perpetrators, and are accusing us of this to cover their own tracks."

"Both Glenn and Shiro reported that they saw a large white fox Protean standing over the body of Sir Cyrus."

"Impossible! Sienna is the only white fox alive, the first one to be born since the last century."

"I'm sure Catriona didn't mean any harm; she's just concerned."

"The frogs attest that a white fox was the one who murdered their kinsman. However, we have not heard your side. If you have any knowledge of that night, then that would be greatly appreciated."

"There is nothing to say That night, the second night of the harvest moon, or September as you humans prefer to call it, we had our own problems to deal with. The theft of Inari's Beads, our sacred treasure. I do not know where you were during that time, but I doubt it was here, and Sienna being the only white fox in a century, there is little chance of the murderer being one of us. More likely the frogs are accusing us to cover their own guilt, or. They mistook the murderer for one of us. There are any number of white beings in this world, such as the-- Well, that is neither here nor there. Either way, it is impossible that it is a white fox, and that is that."

But if they specified a white fox, but Sienna's the only white fox and she's clearly not the killer... either somebody's lying, or our killer's a fake. Azar didn't have much more time to think about the situation before it got a whole lot worse. It seemed the fox village was under attack, and the group went to investigate. Some frog protean with a sword. Azar couldn't bother to remember the name.

"Sir Glenn, I'm sorry that our failure to return caused such an issue. We haven't been captured, we stayed willingly as a show of good faith, and our friends are alright too. Shiro shouldn't be too far behind us. Chieftan, I'd say it's time someone tells you why it's so important that we know who or what was mistaken for a white fox. In Ithome, there was a murder committed by something that was close enough to a giant white fox that we had to defend your daughter in court. Since she's walkin' free, you can guess how that ended up. However, that also kept us in Ithome much longer than we expected to be. Whoever committed the murder also stole scrolls about the Great Dragon, specifically its location, and kept us from quickly finding it. Now, when we entered this forest we were attacked by bandiți, and without the Pelinna Patrol we'd probably be dead. Now, these bandiți also kept us here longer than we meant to stay. So this White Fox, or impersonator, delayed us, and the bandiți delayed us, and now we've been delayed by getting caught up in this feud between your tribes. So, I think this 'White Fox' person, and the bandiți are working together. We already got the Frogs to agree to help us attack the sediu, the hiding place, of the bandiți so we could learn the truth. If I'm right, then whoever stole Inari's Beads from you is the same 'White Fox' who's been causin' us trouble and who's got you and the frogs at each other's throats. So I got a question for you, Chieftain: are you just gonna stand by? Are you gonna let these...these thieves make off with what they been doin'? And if ya don't believe me yet, who else is gonna benefit if you Foxes and Frogs are killin' each other? By my Uncle's bones, why would the Frogs even want to start a war with you? Also uh... could someone get Ciela? I uh...need her to look at my back."

Well... Edrick sure had a lot to say on the matter of the recent hostilities. At the same time, however, the mention of the possibility of an impersonator did work well with what Azar had been thinking about the whole thing.

"It's a bit of a barbaric suggestion," Azar started, "but is it possible a fox protean has been coloring his fur white somehow? With paint or dyes for instance? Or even flour if they happened to have enough lying around. Proteans are a bit out of my field of expertise, but it would explain a white fox protean running around when Sienna is supposedly the only one and is decidedly not respsonsible for any of this. An impersonator, just like Edrick suggested."

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · January 6, 2018

Penelope's words, as hastily spoken they had been, seemed to calm the chief to some extent. The Tactician stiffened when Ciela spoke, worried she'd say something to bring them back to square one, but it mostly seemed to have the effect of causing Catriona to speak up in...a much more reasonable manner than usual.

Penelope had half expected her sister to challenge Rufus to a duel.

There are any number of white beings in this world, such as the--"

No, no, that was most certainly here AND there. Something important was about to be said and Penelope knew it. She considered it might just be a dead end but what if this was the information she was lacking to figure this all out?

Before she could ask, however, chaos broke out. A frog had attacked, mistakenly thinking that his companion, Shiro it seemed, was being held prisoner. This Protean was odd, using a sword, which made Penelope once more think of Sir Cyrus, whom upon further reflection she recalled more vividly.

Whatever the case they had to act fast. To calm the situation and make sure it didn't come to blows. "Link." She whispered to the soldier. "Try and get closer, but don't make it obvious, if worse comes to worse you may have to knock the Frog out, to prevent bloodshed."

Then she prepared to interject, to soothe things over...and that's when her companions, curses they made it hard for her to do her job, acted.

Edrick's words almost caused her to panic. Mentioning how Sienna was held suspect may worsen relations with the Proteans and those in Ithome. She did not wish to cause any diplomatic issues between the two. It was similar to the fire situation from before. Even to complete their quest she'd rather not risk damaging the world as they went...

And then he gave up the information of their quest, loudly, to so many people. If any of them were a spy they'd know exactly what they planned now.

But she could work with that, at least she knew they knew, she'd just have to keep an eye on the entire village to see if she could spot any suspicious activity or response.

It was Azar's words that caused her the greatest concern, however.

She stepped towards the woman, and gave her a look of reproach. She spoke to her, but made sure to be loud enough for Rufus to hear. "I do not think that any of the foxes would resort to such a trick, there is no need for such an accusation. After all.." She looked at Rufus this time. "There could be something else entirely that caused this."

With that said, she looked back to the Frog warrior. "I'm sure meeting with your friend will soothe things over, yes? There need be no fight if he's unharmed is that correct?"

The girl couldn't deny she was nervous. If a fight started now they'd be forced to take a side. And it was clear whose side they would need to be on, in the midst of all these foxes.

He finally found them, and, with a sigh of relief, he noticed Alois was fine. The girl was bowing to him, which felt odd, and uncharacteristic. He wondered what had transpired here.

Gunther couldn't ask as Ahri immediately left after that. He waved goodbye to her, giving the girl a fond smile, as she made her way back inside.

"Well, this was..." was all he could get out before being blown over, a difficult thing to do to the Knight, by the wind. When it had stopped they were once more by the boat and the oddly silent man from before.

He turned towards the mansion and saw that it was just as broken down as it had been when they first came here. Gunther took several moments to stare at it, and then slowly turned to Alois. "I, that is, er...shall we agree that this was a very unusual night?"

Gunther looked at the man in the boat. "I don't suppose you have anything to add?"

Whatever the case the Knight would suggest getting back into the boat and returning, unless Alois wished to explore the area more. Gunther, for his part, would prefer to stay away from the building for the rest of the day.

Hakima · January 7, 2018

Link followed the chain of events wordlessly, ghosting behind the group, ready to intervene if he was needed. A frog protean with a sword—one that Princess Catriona’s group seemed to recognize—was somehow fending off several fox proteans at once, all the whilst shouting threats in very prim and proper Galtean.

The soldier would have found it rather hard to take him seriously, if it wasn’t for the fact that the presence of a certain wolf cub had caused him to snap to attention. There was no mistaking that it was Rohns, but what? Why was the wolf cub snapping at the foxes? Why was he here? They seemed to be ignoring the pup thus far, but Link grasped his sword a little tighter, grinding his teeth so hard he thought they would break.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Edrick throw himself between Rufus and the frog protean, and a part of him wanted to scold the young Pontic. Another part of him appreciated the distraction, taking the heat off the wolf cub in the midst of the mass.

"Link." Penelope whispered to the soldier. "Try and get closer, but don't make it obvious, if worse comes to worse you may have to knock the Frog out, to prevent bloodshed."

Link was moving before Penelope had finished the order. He slipped between the crowd effortlessly, skirting to the edge and circling silently toward the frog protean. His eyes stayed glued on Rohns, still snapping at anyone that got within his reach, teeth gnashing as he growled. It would have been threatening—that is if Rohns wasn’t the size of the average boot, and his growl wasn’t a high pitched keen that drew more sympathy than fear.

Link eyed his target, then Rohns, and made a split second decision. He stayed close enough to intervene if the call was made, but stepped closer to Rohns, whistling quietly and motioning for Rohns to come to him. This was the closest he had come to disobeying an order in years, but he wouldn’t let the cub get caught up in all of this if he could help it.

Alaina · January 7, 2018

As the boy was getting ready to leave, he looked back to the fox girl as she gestured to give him a gift. Taking the leaf, he looked curiously at it unsure of why the leaf was so important. He wasn't exactly sure what it was she was explaining when it came to it either, but figured if there were ever a place to get a magic leaf it'd be here. Still a bit curious about it, the boy pocketed it saying, "thanks kid." As the boy began to walk back to the mansion, fox alongside, he was confused as to where the door they had come from was, but at the same time, the door they had used was located in a wardrobe to begin with. Puzzled, the boy merely nodded as Ahri asked if he couldn't stay, she bowed giving him a farewell. "Until next time. Oh and kid," he patted his own head and pointed towards her, "next time, you're it."

As the knight began to speak, a large gust of wind came knocking the both of them off their feet. Being a bit dazed from it, the boy slowly picked himself back up only to see that the mansion was at it was when they had first found it. Alois was at a loss for words when he saw this, and just nodded when the knight spoke, "Yeah this was...very weird." With that, the duo got back on the boat to go back, and though Alois had many questions about what had just happened, he was looking forward to things making sense again.

When the archer awoke, she felt that something was off. The feeling of the ground she on top of now, was definitely different than the one she had fallen asleep on. Moving her hands around on the surface, it was clear that this was definitely softer than the ground. Opening her eyes, the girl saw that she had ended up back in her bed, though she was entirely confused as to how she had ended up there. While she tried to figure it out, she didn't think about it for more than a few moments before merely getting out and joining everyone else for the day's activities.

The girl merely sat around as everyone started to talk about the theft problem. The girl didn't add much to the conversation, as she merely swayed back and forth in her seat thinking about the whole situation herself, though not getting very far. Her mind was also preoccupied with the reunion of the friends she made not a while ago, but was wondering where the annoyed looking guy and the big guy were, and who exactly the new person was. All the same, the girl eventually perked back up as the situation seemed to change. Following after the rest of the group, Tsetseg was a bit nervous about how things were going, as everyone seemed super on edge and ready to brawl, but as everyone began speaking, Tsetseg looked to the Isaurian and shook her head saying, "no, no. See, see, this." She walked over to the girl, pulling out the white hair she had found yesterday, rubbing it a bit to reveal that it was still white before saying, "see, it's not flour or paint or something like that." She was practically shoving the hair in the girl's face at this point.

King K. Azo · January 9, 2018

Shiro had been, in a word, quiet, the entire morning. He didn't want to say something out of line. After all, deep in enemy territory, he could get the group killed if he spoke wrong. He stayed in plain sight, standing with his hands in plain sight, so everyone could see what he was doing at all times. He had to make sure that they didn't suspect him of foul play. He listened to the chieftain's words closely, to make sure there was no deceit.

"I am deeply sorry for the misunderstanding we had before. We had thought you kidnappers, bandits who sought to steal my daughter away for slavery or some other such dreadfulness. This, compounded with the fact that we have had bad experiences with bandits as of late, well, we decided we would interrogate you and then give you a swift end. However, we were mistaken, realizing our error soon after your friends' capture," he explained. "I give you my word they have not been harmed by us. Therefore, you are all free to leave, and may go with our blessings."

"I am grateful for my sister's safe return. However, before we leave, I have one last question. The frog tribe believe a fox responsible for the death of one of their own. I would have you answer this." Her commanding tone did not seem to sit well with the chieftain, whose eyes narrowed.

"They speak nonsense! We are not responsible for his death, despite what they will tell you." He shot a dismissive glance toward Shiro. "If we are to point fingers, then I will make note of the fact that we still do not know who stole our sacred treasure, and that it is quite likely that they are the perpetrators, and are accusing us of this to cover their own tracks." Of course, the fox trying to misdirect the blame onto the frogs. Typical. Nothing has changed. Still, Shiro remained silent still.

"Both Glenn and Shiro reported that they saw a large white fox Protean standing over the body of Sir Cyrus," the princess pointed out.

"Impossible!" Rufus roared. "Sienna is the only white fox alive, the first one to be born since the last century." A sharp observer would hear a note of panic mixed in with his frustrated indignation. Shiro's eyes instantly darted over to the daughter of the chieftain. Was it her? Did she do it? His hands twitched, but he didn't nothing. Trying to kill her here would cause more trouble than needed. The other humans filled the air with their opinions, and yet, he remained silent. A hasty frog wouldn't catch a fly, after all.

"The frogs attest that a white fox was the one who murdered their kinsman. However, we have not heard your side. If you have any knowledge of that night, then that would be greatly appreciated."

"There is nothing to say," Rufus replied shortly. He seemed to have gotten control over himself, to Catriona's slight disappointment. It would have been interesting fighting a man like him. "That night, the second night of the harvest moon, or September as you humans prefer to call it, we had our own problems to deal with. The theft of Inari's Beads, our sacred treasure." He paused. "I do not know where you were during that time, but I doubt it was here, and Sienna being the only white fox in a century, there is little chance of the murderer being one of us. More likely the frogs are accusing us to cover their own guilt, or," he held up a hand to forestall Catriona's protest, "they mistook the murderer for one of us. There are any number of white beings in this world, such as the--" he stopped and shook his head. "Well, that is neither here nor there. Either way, it is impossible that it is a white fox, and that is that."

"I see," The princess stated. Shiro wasn't buying it, not even for one second. Where they implying someone was outfoxing foxes? Surely they jest. However, it seemed any confrontation would have to wait.

"Chief, we're under attack!" a fox ran in, out of breath. "Though it's just one man..."

"Who is it?" Rufus asked, face like thunder.

"It's, uhh, that green guy. That one frog man. The one who likes to fight with a sword."

"Inari's claws!" the chieftain swore, before recovering himself. "If you'll excuse me, I'll have this taken care of shortly," and he left the building without waiting for an answer.

"I will follow," and the princess left. And for the first time this morning, Shiro spoke.

"Oh goddammit Glenn...," Everyone headed out, and the sight they saw before him was pretty much what he expected. Glenn was making short work of those that opposed him.

"Dastards!" he cried. "You have stolen not only innocent human beings, but also Shiro, my stalwart friend, and for that, you must pay!"

"You!" Rufus hissed. "You have done quite enough to us in the past couple days. You and your friend!" The chieftain looked like he was ready to jump down there and fight the man personally.

"I was quiet and respectful all morning, what else do you want from me?" Shiro muttered inside of his head as he prepared to help Glenn. The two of them could clear a path and get the hell out of--- well, no, the humans decided to cause some chaos by speaking and things and... they weren't a cohesive group, were they? This outta be fun... Still, Shiro noticed that one of them was edging his way to Glenn... one he didn't much of, so he had no idea of his character. Silently, he slipped through the chaos, until he was by Glenn's side.

"We're okay for now," He told Glenn as he got close, his voice a low whisper. "The foxes didn't harm the humans, nor did they try to do anything. However, they deny that a fox murdered Cyrus. We have perhaps one suspect, but nothing solid yet," His eyes darted to the direction of Sienna. "Do you have a dagger? I didn't think we'd find a lead so... soon, and I was planning to rely on my Frog form for my fight... but with the murderer possibly nearby, I need anything to make sure we can put an end to them,"

Wind Rider · January 12, 2018

Things were already rough enough as it was with everyone hearing the Chief's side of the story. But things seemed to get rougher when another frog was in the village. Everyone quickly headed outside to see that it was Shiro's friend from earlier.

"Dastards!" he cried. "You have stolen not only innocent human beings, but also Shiro, my stalwart friend, and for that, you must pay!"

Great... Here they were trying to fix this whole conflict, and now a frog has hopped right into the village, threatening everyone. Sienna side and face palmed. "This is all we need right now..." she said. Looking over she noticed that Shiro was beside the frog, and he seemed to be looking her way. She raised a confused eyebrow, what was he thinking? Either way this shouldn't become a full blown conflict.

Sienna stepped forward to the frogs. "Look, I assure you none of these humans have been hurt in any way, including your friend. We're trying to solve this conflict with our tribes, now please... Drop your weapon... I don't want to see anymore unnecessary fighting..."

Yui · January 14, 2018

"I do not think that any of the foxes would resort to such a trick, there is no need for such an accusation. After all... There could be something else entirely that caused this."

"No, no. See, see, this. See, it's not flour or paint or something like that."

Well, the archer didn't seem to be wrong or anything. Though she didn't have to more or less shove the hair in Azar's face to prove her point. Azar, in return, set a hand on the archer girl's, then pushed the hand away from her face. "Like I said, I don't know much about Proteans, and it was a barbaric idea to begin with. Honestly, I'd be more surprised if that was the case at all." As much as she didn't like being wrong, and while she admitted her idea wasn't the smartest in the world, Azar was fine with being mistaken this one time. It would have been rather underwhelming if that was the case from the start, right? But that still left the question of who this mystery fox was. It wasn't Sienna, who was apparently supposed to be the only one of her kind right now.

Either there was a piece of the puzzle missing, or somebody was lying. She wanted to work out a possible solution to this whole white fox mystery. The weirder it got, the more enticing the idea of being the one to crack the case got to Azar. If it wasn't paint or dye or anything like that, it meant there was probably another white fox protean. But Sienna was supposedly the only one. Perhaps the only one the village knew about? But that meant a renegade protean was running around - a lone ~~wolf~~ fox so to speak - and someone like that would be easy pickings for the frogs, given the current tensions between the two, if they were actually operating alone. Either they're working as part of a larger group, or they're hiding here. That, or someone's lying to us all. And here I thought Pontics would be the headache of this little quest of mine. Although, I think I know how to rule two of those possibilities out if all goes well...

"We're okay for now. The foxes didn't harm the humans, nor did they try to do anything. However, they deny that a fox murdered Cyrus. We have perhaps one suspect, but nothing solid yet. Do you have a dagger? I didn't think we'd find a lead so... soon, and I was planning to rely on my Frog form for my fight... but with the murderer possibly nearby, I need anything to make sure we can put an end to them."

"Look, I assure you none of these humans have been hurt in any way, including your friend. We're trying to solve this conflict with our tribes, now please... Drop your weapon... I don't want to see anymore unnecessary fighting..."

"She's been a bit of a road bump in figuring out this whole white fox mystery, but the girl's right," Azar agreed. "Whoever's behind this, it would only be easier for them to deal with all the other frogs if your villages keep fighting like this. If that's what they want, anyway. We're working on setting things right, so put the weapon down. As for our mystery killer..." Azar glanced around, taking note of any fox proteans nearby. She nudged Sienna with her elbow. A bit more quietly, she said, "See if you can convince everyone in this village to transform. You're the chief's kid, right? If our mystery killer is a white fox and isn't you, and on the off-chance that they're in this village... see where this is going?"

Sethera · February 23, 2018

The frog squire and the fox chieftain looked to be one breath away from attacking each other, when Edrick leapt between them, shouting for them to stop. He then reassured Glenn and explained the group's goal to Rufus, however the fox chieftain did not seem too surprised by those words. Nor by the subsequent words, about there being a third party behind this. He did, however, blanch at Penelope’s insinuation.

Glenn, on the other hand, seemed taken aback. "Truly?" he muttered. "So the white fox has also targeted your group…" He still seemed ready to fight the foxes even after Ciela and Penelope’s words, that is, until Shiro approached.

"We're okay for now," He told Glenn as he got close, his voice a low whisper. "The foxes didn't harm the humans, nor did they try to do anything. However, they deny that a fox murdered Cyrus. We have perhaps one suspect, but nothing solid yet," His eyes darted to the direction of Sienna. "Do you have a dagger? I didn't think we'd find a lead so... soon, and I was planning to rely on my Frog form for my fight... but with the murderer possibly nearby, I need anything to make sure we can put an end to them."

Glenn’s eyebrows furrowed, obviously indecisive at the idea of stabbing another in cold blood, murderer or not. Though born a frog, he had lived more than half his life as a squire, and some principles could not be so easily swayed. "Aye," he replied softly. "Though it sits not well with me to attack an enemy unprovoked." He seemed to think this over for a while.

Said white fox stepped forward, "Look, I assure you none of these humans have been hurt in any way, including your friend. We're trying to solve this conflict with our tribes, now please... Drop your weapon... I don't want to see anymore unnecessary fighting..."

Even the taciturn shaman had spoken up in the name of peace. Glenn looked to Catriona lastly, but the lord stayed silent, her eyes fixated on Rufus, expression cold.

In the end, the green Protean lowered his blade, though he glanced at Shiro multiple times. "Glad I am to see you unharmed, friend," he said, before glancing at Sienna. "If I were to believe thy words, thou must give proof! Thou art a white fox, and the only one in all Mysia. Sir Cyrus was killed by a white fox. Forgive me if I do not quite trust what thou sayeth."

"How dare you!" Rufus screamed. "My daughter would never lie!"

"If she is as slippery as thou, then I beg to disagree." Glenn gazed up at Sienna once more, before nodding to himself, as if coming to a decision. "If thou wouldst like to prove thy honor, then I would challenge thee to a duel! Whoever wins has justice on their side." he tossed a metal-reinforced gauntlet at the white fox, smacking her in the face. As the glove slipped down, the surroundings became dead silent. Nothing could be heard save for the soft thud of the gauntlet hitting the ground.

Catriona glanced at Rufus. He seemed a little confused by what was happening, but also furious. That's right, she thought. Duels are a Galtean custom. Still, it would be hard to interpret his sentence as anything other than the challenge that it was.

--

Meanwhile, Gunther and Alois, upon stepping into the boat, would find that the old man seemed neither surprised by what had occurred nor willing to say anything about it. He merely grunted or remained silent, rowing them back to the frog village. Upon arrival, he paddled the boat back to the center of the lake, where it looked like he would stand there fishing.

A nearby frog would look surprised that "Old Man Toichi" would row them anywhere, as he was known for being somewhat of a hermit, but would eventually shrug and inform them that their friends had not yet returned from their scouting. Oddly enough, it seemed that what they had mistaken for an evening sky on their return was actually a morning sky, and night had passed while they were at the mansion.

The Great Frog Sage would summon the two shortly after their arrival, his brow wrinkled with concern. "There has been no word of the scouting party that was sent out," he said. "They should have been back already, but they are not." He shook his head. "I fear that they might have gotten captured by fox scouts. Whether that happened before or after Glenn separated from them I do not know. Either way, it is likely that they are being held prisoner in the fox village."

He paused. "I sent out scouts to the bandit hideout to make sure, and it is rather quiet there, leading me to believe it the work of those conniving vulpines." He curled his lip. "They have gone too far this time. We cannot afford to wait for the Pelinna Patrol, lest we find our allies dead before our first strike. My tribesmen have been preparing for this day for a while now, thus we are ready to launch an attack against the foxes. Would you two like to join us?"

Alaina · February 24, 2018

Alois raised an eyebrow at the old man, as he seemed entirely nonplussed by the whole experience, but didn't say anything on the matter. Instead, he just sat in increasingly awkward silence as the boat ride continued, trying to digest everything that had happened today. Reaching into his pocket, the boy took out the leaf, seeing that it was indeed still there and indeed real. Pocketing it again, the boy stepped off the boat when they had arrived at their destination, with the old man who rowed them back saying that their friends hadn't come back yet. Looking at him curiously he said, "how did you-" stopping himself, instead shaking his head saying, "thanks man. Thanks." Looking to Gunther, he said, "so we can both agree this has been one weird da-" he stopped himself again. Looking at the sky, he realized it was an entirely different time of day then it had been when they left. In fact, it looked as though an entire day had passed. Sighing, hanging his shoulders low in resignation he said, "I give up."

As the Sage summoned the duo back to his abode, Alois reluctantly followed after him. As the elder informed them of their friends being missing, and likely prisoners, Alois sighed saying, "of course they are. Why wouldn't they be?" He shook his head looking to Gunther saying, "I swear, these people." As the Sage proposed them going on an assault to go get them back, Alois, with far less enthusiasm then he normally would have said, "sure, why not? If our team is in trouble then I guess we gotta go bail them out." After saying this, he realized something. "But uh, aren't you guys more about sneaking then upfront assault? I don't know if you've noticed but we aren't exactly the stealthy type." He pointed between both him and Gunther.

Tsetseg nodded, with a somewhat triumphant expression on her face, as the Issaurian agreed with her. While the frog who came here seemed to be swayed by the words of the others, he still didn't seem wholly convinced. Instead, he looked to the fox chieftain, seeming to want to do something in regards to honor and justice, then back to Sienna. Following that, a glove he was wearing was thrown, the Sienna in the face. As silence passed, and the glove fell to the ground, Tsetseg merely looked in some kind of fascination, before letting out a, "whooooooooooa" in surprise. She had no idea what the glove throwing had to do with either honor or justice, but nevertheless, she seemed in awe of what was to happen next.

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · February 24, 2018

The situation had...well, calmed was not quite the right word. It had changed at the very least. And there wasn't any bloodshed. Though from the expression on the fox chief she couldn't be sure it wouldn't go that way.

She was somewhat baffled that the frog warrior would challenge Sienna to a duel. It was apparent that he had taken a lot from Galtean culture in his time there. This could be helpful. Perhaps, then, he would respect her word as a princess.

She stepped towards him, head held high, as he stared down Sienna. She had to be sure to reassure Rufus that Sienna would be alright. "As you must know, Sir Glenn, a duel is usually between two martial opponents. However Sienna here..." She gestured at the young fox. "She is, well, lacking in the martial skill department. She is a magic user, you see, so a duel of the kind you wish for would be somewhat difficult." Hopefully this would dissuade the man. And, as a bonus, if the fox they are looking for didn't kill with magic it would take some suspicion off the girl.

Though had it been magic...then even Penelope would have to question it.

Gunther used the boat ride to think more on what they had just experienced. However the more he thought about it the more confused he got. What had happened and why wasn't this something that the frogs who surely must have visited this place before known about? Was it some kind of magic trick? Did they really get sent into the past? And if so did they actually do something wrong?

Whatever the case he was glad they had gotten back in one piece. However...

"I give up."

Upon realizing how long they had been there, Gunther was inclined to agree. "Let's...not talk about this for...a while." Gunther said, nodding in agreement at Alois's assessment.

---

The Sage's words worried Gunther for many reasons. If their group truly were captured then they had to do something about it. But what if whatever they did ruined a plan the princesses had come up with?

Alois agreed to join the frogs in their attack, mentioning the obvious issue with the plan, but Gunther wasn't so sure they should attack at all.

Knowing the princess's he was certain they had this figured out. He wouldn't want to add more trouble...But he had to do something. Both of them were in danger after all.

"I ask that you let me go first." Gunther said. "They may hesitate when seeing a single human instead of a band of warriors. Let me find what happened to my people and...draw their attention." He coughed awkwardly. "I'm...somewhat of an obvious target." He concluded nervously.

Asriel Dreemurr · February 25, 2018

Honestly things were going better than Edrick had expected them to. Perhaps the Fox Chieftan was calmer about all of this than he should have been, surprised by very little that he had said and only reacting once Penelope suggested that something else could have been behind this. Why would he be so afraid of the blame shifting away from his daughter? Was there really a fox to blame, or was this possibility that had not been considered something that was terrifying to those who knew what it might be? Edrick thought on that for a moment, and then the pain in his back got to him again. Thankfully, Ciela had come up without anyone having to find her. It was good to see her again, and worrying that she had not recovered enough to come off of Remy.

"Were you wounded?" She asked, and before she had even finished making the rest of her statement regarding the injury he set about removing his gambeson. It was not as cumbersome as the armor he had left with the foxes, but all the same it was not particularly easy to pull off. Like a pit trap it was easier to get into than it was to get out of. Even so, he was bare from the waist up soon enough, his symbol of Inera's War and Death aspect, Our Lady of Bones as the proper name for her translated from Pontic, now hanging plainly out for all to see.

The wound on his back was an ugly one to be sure, that strange mix of burn and blunt impact that dark magic left when it struck living tissue. Even now it showed some signs of infection, which was not something that could be entirely unexpected. Dark magic was a twisting and corrupting force, after all. As bad as it looked though, a practiced eye could tell it was not nearly as bad as it could have, or indeed should have, been given he had been struck almost directly in the back by a misfire from Azar. There was also the matter of the scabbing that had been torn off the wound when he removed his gabeson, which had been soaked by the blood from it and stuck to the surface of the wound, so he was bleeding slowly.

"Now hold on there!" Edrick shouted as he saw Glenn throw his gauntlet in Sienna's face, and with no concern for whatever progress Ciela had or had not made in seeing to his wound he stepped to the side so that he now stood between the frog and his vulpine companion. He had been about to say something else, which would no doubt have been insulting from the look on his face, when Penelope cut in and put things more eloquently than he could. That also gave him time to collect his thoughts, and indeed inspired an idea. "Penelope- _ouch -isn't lying, Sienna's not much of a fighter. 'Course, if you're feelin' like you need to fight someone for some reason the Galteans taught you, well I don't have a Vexillum but Edrick Roransson'd be more than happy to accept your challenge for her." It was, of course, perfectly normal in Pontus for someone to accept a challenge on another's behalf. So normal in fact that Edrick did not even think for a moment that he might be insulting any of those involved in doing so.

Maeriberii Haan · February 28, 2018

"Now hold on there!"

"That's my line for you, Edrick! Now get back here like a good boy, will you?"

The development of the situation was not as concerning as Edrick suddenly walking away when Ciela was busy healing him in response to one of the frogs challenging Sienna to a duel. His wound was terrible, but it was not deep nor it hit his vitals. It had shown signs of turning to worse though, so Ciela couldn't afford to half-ass the healing. Yet he only made the process harder for her.

Of course, the entire thing about the frogs asking for a duel with Sienna of all people was nonsensical. Ciela was aware of the importance of duels in settling debates, but...hate to admit it, but Ciela thought the same with Penelope - challenging someone so inept with martial art into a duel was not honorable at all. She was ready to start yelling again, but in the end, Edrick running around with his wound still open took most of her attention.

"No amount of faith will save you if you fight with that wound, Ed-boy. Now now, just let Miss Ciela here heal your troubles away."

Wind Rider · February 28, 2018

"If I were to believe thy words, thou must give proof! Thou art a white fox, and the only one in all Mysia. Sir Cyrus was killed by a white fox. Forgive me if I do not quite trust what thou sayeth."

The frog's suspicions were understandable, Sienna couldn't explain how there could be another white fox running around the place, only that it had to be impossible. It was clear though that her father was running out of patience.

"How dare you!" Rufus screamed. "My daughter would never lie!"

"If she is as slippery as thou, then I beg to disagree." Glenn gazed up at Sienna once more, before nodding to himself, as if coming to a decision. "If thou wouldst like to prove thy honor, then I would challenge thee to a duel! Whoever wins has justice on their side."

The frog then threw a gauntlet at Sienna's without warning. She covered her nose after it hit her, the whole village went quiet as the gauntlet hit the ground. She picked it up curiously, a duel?

Both Penelope and Edrick seemed against it, with Penelope pointing out Sienna's lack of physical strength and Edrick presenting himself for the duel, instead of Sienna. She shook her head at the sight. "Edrick... It's ok, you're still wounded..." Sienna said pulling Edrick out of the way.

"I have to do this... If this will prove that my tribe had nothing to do with the murder of your friend, then I accept your duel..." Sienna said bowing politely to Glenn.

Yui · February 28, 2018

If I were to believe thy words, thou must give proof! Thou art a white fox, and the only one in all Mysia. Sir Cyrus was killed by a white fox. Forgive me if I do not quite trust what thou sayeth."

"How dare you! My daughter would never lie!"

"If she is as slippery as thou, then I beg to disagree. If thou wouldst like to prove thy honor, then I would challenge thee to a duel! Whoever wins has justice on their side."

This might get violent. Given the recent tensions the frogs and foxes were apparently dealing with, Azar didn't fully trust either side to not get violent with the other in this type of situation. Even if they did end up fighting here and now, which side was Azar supposed to fight for? She definitely wasn't going to just sit back and watch if it happened, but there was no way of knowing which side was in the right here. Trusting her gut would have to be the way to go in that situation. As a precautionary measure, Azar reached for the tome at her side.

"I have to do this... If this will prove that my tribe had nothing to do with the murder of your friend, then I accept your duel..."

Well, Sienna had guts. Fighting a martially superior opponent in what was supposedly going to be purely a test of martial skill, to prove her innocence. She couldn't help but root for the girl a bit in her head. Even so, she couldn't help but shake the feeling something would go wrong. It seemed that being near this unlucky group, everything seemed to go wrong. Somehow. She made her way toward Catriona.

"Any guesses on who's going to win this duel?" she quietly asked. As much as I hate to say it, I'm not sure if the fox girl will pull this one off, depending on if she's allowed to use magic or not.

Hakima · March 3, 2018

Link pursed his lips and whistled softly, catching the wolf cub’s attention amidst all the chaos. Rohns stopped, tilted his head to the side, then looked over and saw Link motioning to him. “C’mere,” he murmured, his voice scratchy with disuse. Rohns slowly prowled over to him, still nipping and growling at any foxes that wandered within reach of his snapping jaws. Around them, the screaming and shouting continued to consume any shred of attention that either would have attracted.

The reunion of wolf and man was silent and swift. Link didn’t reach out to pat him, just slid him the last pieces of dried jerky from his rations, and Rohns gobbled them down and took his place at Link’s right side. Always a few steps ahead of him, never beside him or behind him. Peculiar dog indeed.

"How dare you!" Rufus thundered, drawing Link back into the present. "My daughter would never lie!"

"If she is as slippery as thou, then I beg to disagree." Glenn gazed up at Sienna once more, before nodding to himself, as if coming to a decision. "If thou wouldst like to prove thy honor, then I would challenge thee to a duel! Whoever wins has justice on their side." He smacked Sienna in the face with a metal gauntlet, and for a moment, there was nothing but dead silence.

Link frowned. A “duel” was a custom among Galtean nobles, to settle disagreements of “honor and character” by battling to forfeit or death. It was a fool’s parody of real combat. He had engaged in one himself, when he had been in training for the military, after insulting a student of the Knight’s Academy. He had “lost” the duel because throwing dirt in your opponent’s eyes was apparently ‘barbaric and dishonorable’.

Edrick stepped up to try and champion for Sienna. He was wounded and Link knew for a fact that the Knight would have trounced him in single combat because Edrick wasn’t used to having an opponent solely focused on outmaneuvering him. Sienna stopped him from getting himself killed.

Link decided it was high time he intervened. Hidden away behind the gathered crowd, he had been basically forgotten amidst the chaos. The only person who had any hope of seeing his approach was the frog’s friend, but Link made sure to wait until his focus was in front of him, then crept up behind the two and smashed the pommel of his sword into the back of Glenn’s head.

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Fire Emblem: Curse of the Goddess [IC/PG-16/Not Accepting]

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