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

King K. Azo · June 21, 2016

[spoiler=Crit Stick C Support]
Asura’s grip on his Killing Edge tightened as the feeling of somebody watching him grew intensely. Sure,there was the occasional bystander that stumbled on him training, but the feeling he had reminded him more of someone that was actually looking for him, not some curious civilian. He turned around, careful not to swing his sword, only to see Link standing there. Asura shook his head and rested Medea on his shoulder.

“What do you want, Fairy Boy?” Asura growled. He wasn’t sure why he called him ‘Fairy Boy’, but it seemed right to him. He began to wait for an answer as patiently as the inpatient swordsman could.

Link looked rather sheepish at having been caught, and shrugged. He motioned towards to the guards waiting outside the entrance back into Ithome, then to Asura, then at himself, and finally back to the guards. It was a very convoluted way of saying ‘I came to make sure you could get back into the city’.

Asura watched Link point at three different directions, his brain working overtime to figure out the silent puzzle. “... I… And you… Are going to take out the guards?” No, no, that can’t be right. They scolded Asura for even attempting that. “... You and I… Need to talk to the guards?” No, that didn’t seem right either. “Little Timmy fell down a well?” That was his final guess, and he was pretty sure that wasn’t right. Wait.

Link was a guard. They were guards. Perhaps he was going to use his guard status to get them back into the city without the hassle of Asura sneaking in for the umpteenth time? That was actually pretty generous. “... You want to make sure I can make it back in…? … Thanks,” he looked back at the city before sheathing his Killing Edge and strapping it to his back. “Since you’re here, you can make yourself extra useful and do me a favor,” he stated as he bent down to grab a bag he filled with some food… And two Bronze Swords. He tossed one to Link before assuming a stance.

“Fight me,” Asura stated with a wild grin. “I know you’re stronger than you’re letting on… Come on and show me!” He was determined to get Link to battle. “There’s no princesses or libraries to stop us, after all,”

The sword lodged itself in the ground between the guard’s feet, but Link made no move to pick it up. He put his hands up defensively, shaking his head and backing off. “. . . .”

“What’s with you?” Asura asked as he saw Link back away. “I may be over gauging your strength, but I know you can fight. Why don’t you?”

“. . . .” Link was visibly uncomfortable. He hadn’t sharpened his skills nearly enough since he had arrived in Ithome, sticking to himself and sparsely sparring with the other guards, but he wasn’t scared to spar. Some things weren’t possible to forget, and swordplay was one of them. But…

It always triggered the awake-dreams if it got too intense, and Link couldn’t afford for one of Catriona’s new companions to think he was ill. Thinking quickly, he reached down to his belt and grabbed the stick that the myrmidon had thrown days before in the library and offered it to Asura. “. . . .”

Asura looked at the stick being offered to him. He still had it? It wasn’t like it was that good, it only nearly killed a man in a fit of rage… Oh. Nevermind, it made perfect sense why he kept it. Asura dropped his sword and reached out slowly, taking the stick, and feeling it in his hand.

“... Thanks,” he said, flipping the stick in his hand. “... You like apples?” He reached into his bag, pulling out a nice red one. “I should stop swiping these from the wagon, but do you blame me? They look good,” he tossed the apple into the air, swinging the stick at it as it fell back to earth, slicing it into two halves. Asura tossed one half at Link before beginning to eat his own.

Link snatched his half of the apple out of the air, staring at it like it was a magic tome. Was he really going to give up that easily? He had seemed more determined than that, but... Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he took a bite out of the apple, just to be polite.

Mmm! It really was good.

Asura looked at the sky before looking back at Link. “Let’s head back. You don’t seem ready to fight just yet, and gods know my drive was just killed. Sharing an apple does that,” he gathered up the two Bronze Swords and tucked them away in his bag. “Lead the way,”

It seemed Link was working his magic with the guards. Some of them actually understood his hand waves. Well, that was good. However, the demands they had were... ridiculous!

"First, you all will leave your weapons with Mirana,” the one named Marcus roughly gestured to the girl over his shoulder, and looked over them all. “No exceptions. If you will not disarm, you cannot enter," Screw that. He was not handing them his sword.

"SECOND. I will accompany you, and when I say you leave, you must. If you do not, we will have no qualms cutting down each of you. No exceptions," And Asura had no problem cutting him down. "

"THIRD. We will see if Master Silas has time to speak with you, but if he does not, you will leave. We will not interrupt any important business for whatever trivial matter this most certainly is. FOURTH.” At this, he paused for a moment, and gestured to Catriona and Penelope. “Link said you two are the leaders of this merry band of morons. Only you may enter to speak with Master Silas, if he will see you. The others must wait outside. I will not risk a coupe.” Asura shook his head.

"Oh great warrior, how brave you must be, insisting we leave our weapons and then threatening to kill us," Asura spat out. "I'll stay out here. If one of them doesn't return, or they are hurt, no force on heaven or Earth will save you from my wrath," He stated. Besides, they didn't need a bloodthirsty monster for such a delicate operation, right? Wait... did he just make it worse?

... Crap.

JessicaMuddy · June 22, 2016

"I don't think we ever did catch your name." She named everyone around her with speed almost matching Tarizo's. "We are merely discussing our next course of action. It seems that there are some reservations about asking Silas. However, from what I've heard, it is rather difficult to get an audience with the councilmen without booking an appointment months ahead of time. And we do not have that long. Link's offer to get us past the guards might be the key to finding the Great Dragon all the sooner. It is an opportunity I cannot overlook."

"Right... Well, since you asked, I'm Tarizo. An archer, though you probably already know that, judging by the bow... and the arrows." She seemed to remember everyone in the group quite well, but paused for a moment when she saw Link, and started scanning faces once more after remembering where she saw him from. The only reason her memories of him were so vague was because she tried not to look when she passed by the library, for the fear that she might actually seem interested in it one day.

After the leader of the group finished the meeting, she gave everyone two hours to go about the city, doing as they please. And one of the men of the group, the one wearing an enormous suit of armour, approached Tari. "I guess we didn't exactly hire you on, did we? Lucky we ran into each other. We're a bit, uh...down on troops. That is to say, oh I don't know if I'm supposed to do this, er...If you stick around our leader might be wanting to hire you on. You...are a mercenary right?" As his face turned bright red partway through his question, Tari's did too. It had been some time since a man reacted like that when speaking to her, and she couldn't help but feel awkward. The question hung for several seconds before Tari replied, but her words were still as fast as ever when she did.

"Well, I am a mercenary, so yes, if you need any assistance at the city hall, you can count on me, 'cause I'll be there! Don't worry about whether you should be doing this now, we can worry about that if we get into any fights later."

The next to hours didn't consist of much, but Tari was happy the leader gave her the time. If Tari's boss didn't get his delivery, or if she didn't get back to the mercenary agency in the few minutes after she did, Tari would have been in some deep manure. When her boss, Pastow, punished his workers, he punished his workers. So, she delivered the package, told him about her new job, then chatted for the next two hours before Tari left.

At the gate of the city hall, charades ensued. A pseudo sign-language game took place between Link and the guards, and Tari was trying her hardest not to burst out into laughter. After the guard lay down the ground rules for the meeting, Tari looked up at Gunther, raising an eyebrow, to say "So... what do I do now?"

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · June 22, 2016

It seemed that Penelope's words were less than effective, which was admittedly expected. She didn't think they'd have an easy time with this route but she wouldn't give up just yet.
Though it was lucky that Link was able to arrange a sort of deal. Though how he did it she wasn't sure. She was able to follow most of his conversation, discovering a strange aptitude for his particular brand of sign language, but she missed some things.

Regardless, they were being allowed in with some stipulations.

"Oh great warrior, how brave you must be, insisting we leave our weapons and then threatening to kill us," Asura spat out. "I'll stay out here. If one of them doesn't return, or they are hurt, no force on heaven or Earth will save you from my wrath."

Penelope sighed. She didn't like where this was going. Sure, she didn't want to let go of Katarina but it was the only option to avoid trouble. She also didn't want to get into an argument with Asura but he WAS their hired sword so... "He is just doing his job, Asura." Penelope said. "Like you are. Your decision to wait here is fine, it would be nice to know someone is just in case there's trouble." She paused, and looked to the guard. "Which of course there wouldn't be. Your terms are more than acceptable, and we'll be happy to go along with it." Penelope looked towards Catriona. She had no idea how her sister would react but she felt an urge to follow with "There's no reason to disagree after all. This is important."

With that Penelope turned over her blade and tome. She then approached Gunther and told him in a low voice. "Keep your eye out, if there's trouble you and your armor are the closest things to weapons we have."

Gunther gulped. He hadn't been concerned about the guard's request as he figured there wouldn't be any need for weapons inside. But apparently Penelope was worried. Or was she just being cautious? It was hard to tell with these tactical types. "Yeah, sure." He muttered, despite his concern about the implications. Did Penelope plan on throwing him at the enemy? A brief image of the tiny girl hefting him and tossing him on top of some soldier flashed through his head.

Then he noticed the archer looking at him. Why? Was there something in his hair? He ran his hand through it nervously and realized he had actually forgot to brush it properly today. Penelope usually nags him about it but she was preoccupied and must have forgotten. Great, just great.

Oh wait.

"Er, you could wait with Asura if you want...or come with us, uh..." Gunther looked towards Penelope for advice but found she had started to yammer to Alois. Something about the historical significance of cheese.

He sighed. "I guess whatever you decide is fine. Sorry we're not the most...uh....decisive group."

Sethera · June 28, 2016

Marcus glared at the man who had spoken. He looked like a vagabond, with his rough clothes and bandanna. Not only that, but his disrespectful tongue was making him less and less inclined to let this group in. Still, despite his background, Link had never shown himself to be anything but trustworthy, and he knew he'd never hear the end of it from Mirana if he backed out now.

When the younger-looking of the two girls spoke, he blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected such courtesy from an outsider. Eyeing her clothes, which were of fine make despite their wear from being on the road, he wondered just who exactly she was. Link hadn't spoken much about his past, though one of them, that armored man, looked clearly Galtean. Still, they were such a mixed bag he couldn't help but feel wary. Such a group were most likely mercenaries, and mercenaries were known for their fickle allegiances. They could very well be here to plot an assassination. Which was why he had them remove their weapons.

And then the other girl, the older-looking one, spoke. "Yes, that is acceptable," though she cast a brief look at the people assembled behind her, which almost looked apologetic but came across more as if she were feeling constipated. She then nodded at Link before climbing up the stairs, accompanied by the younger-looking girl. Actually, looking at the both of them, they looked as if they were siblings, but the way they stood next to each other didn't give off any such vibes.

"If you are all ready," he began, "Then let us enter." He eyed the vagabond distastefully for a second longer before turning around and opening the doors, gesturing for the others, including Mirana, to follow him. He also signaled to the hidden lookouts posted nearby to replace them temporarily. He didn't trust that swordsman to behave himself without a guard.

When the door closed behind the group, the replacement guards marched up to the door. One of them even spoke up. "That Marcus, thinks he's so great. Why do we gotta listen to his orders?"

"Shh," the other shushed. "You're always so undisciplined."

"No I'm not. I obey the captain, not that jumped-up prick. Hey," he glared down at Asura. "Better not try any funny business, you hear? I'm not in the mood to deal with an outsider's crap today."

"You're never in the mood," muttered his companion.

--

When the group stepped inside the building, they found themselves in a large foyer. To Catriona who was used to the opulence of the palace, it seemed elegant yet Spartan in decor, beautiful yet cold in the sheer whiteness of the room. The only spots of color were the paintings and plants, as well as the carpeted staircase.

"Time to remove your weapons," Marcus snapped at the group. "Yes, that means you too, Link."

Catriona glanced at him before turning away. Although the tone of voice he was using on them irritated her, it wouldn't do to let her anger show. Instead, she unclasped her scabbard from her belt and handed it to Mirana, who handled it with appropriate care.

When everybody finished dispensing of their weapons, Marcus rapped his spear butt against the marble floor. "All right, you two," he glared at both Catriona and Penelope. "You are to come with me, and you two only," he swept his gaze across the room before leading the duo up the stairs and around to the entry side, where a single white door and another guard awaited them. "Is the councilman available?" he queried politely.

"Yes, he is," the guard replied, casting a curious glance over the group. "I'm surprised at this, Marcus. You're not normally the type to let in any group off the streets."

Marcus ground his teeth. "I have reason to this time, Hilarion. Both Link and Mirana are vouching for them."

"Oh?" the other guard raised a brow before seeing Link. "Oh, heya Link! How's it going? Don't forget we need to spar at some point. I still haven't kicked your--uhh, I mean I still haven't won yet," he amended after Marcus' glare. "Still, if you people are with Link, you should be good to go. Master Silas is free...though, are you sure about this?" he whispered the last phrase.

"Who am I to question their judgment?" Marcus asked sarcastically. "If they're not smart enough to figure it out themselves after their time in this sector, then that is their own fault."

Catriona stood stiff and straight, but inside, she felt worry. Was this really the right choice? Regardless, she had made her choice, and she had to abide by it.

Marcus announced the group, and when they heard a stern voice telling them to enter, the three did so, leaving the rest of the group to wait in tense silence. Tense, at least, until Mirana opened her mouth. "Hey, listen Link! Link, you have to introduce me to your friends!"

"Yeah," Hilarion chimed in. "Any of them good at fighting?" He looked at Alois skeptically. "You don't look nearly strong enough to carry that big axe around, let alone two of them."

"Hey, appearances can be deceiving, Hilarion."

"True. Just look at Link, after all. He looks like a puff of wind could knock him over, but he still manages to beat my ass on the training ground."

"That's because Link's the best!"

"I don't know, I've heard you've done some pretty cool things yourself," Hilarion winked at Tarizo. "Whaddaya say we...go out for a bite to eat sometime? Get to know each other a bit."

"Liiink, Hilarion's chasing skirts again," Mirana whined. "Stop him before he gets out of hand."

--

The office of Councilman Silas wasn't much different from the foyer. Same color scheme, same white walls and ceiling, with a patterned rug to cushion their feet. There wasn't much to the room itself. Windowless, it was bare of decorations of any sort, aside from a single ebony wood desk, clean except for a stack of papers in one corner and a candle in the other. Behind it sat an older man with a sour expression that soured even more when he saw them. His clothes were simple, and if it weren't for his haughty demeanor, as well as being the only man in the room, Catriona would have thought him a clerk of some kind.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked Marcus sharply. "You told me these people were friends of Link, not the royal princesses of Galtea."

Catriona's breath hitched for a second before her expression smoothed. "Ah. You recognize us, then?" She ignored Marcus' flabbergasted look.

"Of course I do," Silas replied. "The royal family of Galtea has long been known for their silver hair, inherited from the hero-king Augustus." He spoke the last words sarcastically. "However," he curled his lip. "I digress. My name is Silas Mundis, one of the Council of Three. I already know who both of you are. Catriona and Penelope Nabudis. I assume you are Catriona," he nodded at the princess. "What is the purpose of your visit here? I highly doubt this was a visit of state, seeing as neither of you revealed your names to the guards."

This already wasn't going well. "You are correct," Catriona said. "We are not here on behalf of Galtea, nor as princesses, but as people. We require information on the Great Dragon's whereabouts."

"And just why do you think I owe you such information?" Silas replied, eyes narrowing. "I'll tell you straight out, since I despise the courtly wordplay you Galteans are so fond of. I have no love for Galtea, especially not for its bloodthirsty royal family."

"Such statements could be seen as aggressive," Catriona warned, though her voice lacked the bite of her words. Still, it shocked her that this man would be so frank, let alone so hateful toward her family.

The man laughed, a cold laugh. "You told me you were here as people, not as princesses. Then what should it matter how I speak? Though I will tell you," he clasped his hands in front of him, one of them bearing a solitaire emerald ring, "if you come as royals, then your chances of receiving the information you seek are close to none. I owe your king nothing, rather you can say that he is the one who owes me."

Catriona paused. What did he mean by that? Either way, she had to figure out some way to convince this stubborn man to tell them what he knew. More than just her life was on the line here.

King K. Azo · June 29, 2016

Asura sat down on the ground, folding his arms and leaning against a wall. He needed to calm down. That coward Marcus wound him up, after all. He didn't want to snap in such a delicate moment. Kind of like how he already did. Damn, he was a liability, wasn't he? Hey, even the tiny princess thought so, because she politely told him his idea was a good one.

Which obviously meant that she didn't want him near them at this moment. This group wouldn't think a bloodthirsty hired sword had good ideas, only that he sought blood and violence. Maybe he was dwelling on this for too long, but he never found people that thought he was an unreasonable beast. A battle hungry warrior, yes, maybe one that jumped the gun, but never mindless... Maybe this is why he lost sight of those stars. Maybe he was nothing more.

"That Marcus, thinks he's so great," a voice spoke up. It must have been replacement guards. "Why do we gotta listen to his orders?"

"Shh," the other shushed. "You're always so undisciplined."

"No I'm not. I obey the captain, not that jumped-up prick. Hey," he glared down at Asura. "Better not try any funny business, you hear? I'm not in the mood to deal with an outsider's crap today." Asura didn't respond, instead opting to look at the clouds. He was being to miss home. He didn't realize how close minded the world was, how they judged so quickly. He couldn't return home though... He had nothing to show for his journey... He would be a failure...

He drew his Bronze Sword, inspecting it. Maybe fighting was all he was good for... Did he really want to do that for all his life? But what else could he do...? Perhaps it was better if he just let his spirit pass on to the next life. He stared at the sword. It looked inviting... He could just thrust and it would be done... He wouldn't do it here though. He wouldn't let others know they won... He put away the sword, sighing and staring at the clouds. That one looked like a deer... That one looked like a hammer...

Alaina · June 29, 2016

As the diplomacy between the guards and their own group continued on, Alois just kind of continued to stand back and let the others do their thing. Given that they seemed to have everything handled, he had basically nothing more to offer to the situation and instead stood back, awaiting the results. During this time, Penne had decided to "educate" him on a the historical importance and significance of cheese. It was a...less than interesting topic, and he wasn't even sure if half of what she said was even true due to either how outlandish it sounded or contradictory it was to things he had already known. Nevertheless, he just gave her a few nods every now and then and a "is that so?" during this rant of hers to feign interest in it. However this eventually came to an end once Link had returned to the group.. It seemed that they had managed to gain an audience with this councilman, but they had to, predictably, remove their weapons off of them before going to see him. Feeling there was pretty much no need for this, Alois shrugged before following the rest of the group into the room.

The room, quite like every other building and person in this city, was white. He briefly wondered why everything in this city was white to begin with, though passed it off as builders really liking the color and went along with the rest of the group. As the time came to relinquish their gear, Alois wasn't uncomfortable to the idea, yet the outwardly abrasive attitude of the guard that ordered them to do so made him less accepting of it. Nevertheless, he surrendered his gear and simply stood around with the rest of the group, as the princesses went on to speak with the councilman. While he was sure that they could handle themselves in there, he briefly looked to pansy face, wondering whether or not the man would be able to function properly not being right by his lord's side.

This attention of his was then drawn to another guard, as he made a comment about his strength. Was he being called weak? By this punk? Alois looked at him, and height aside, he didn't seem all that bigger, if at all, to Alois. As the man, Hilarion, then went on to flirt with the walking tree of their group, he retorted, "I could say the same about your scrawny ass. What are those, toothpicks?" He directed his comment towards the man's own arms. He then put on a smug smile on his face, saying, "but hey, who am I to judge here? Just be sure before you try to sweep a girl off her feet you've got the strength to hold her up, otherwise you might go from Hilarion to Hilarious."

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · July 1, 2016

Penelope glanced around at the foyer with a frown. It was pretty yes but...she could spot several defensive weak points. Were she to arrive here with an invasion force this place would be quick to fall with a few simple maneuvers. Shaking her head she focused on the task at hand. She would have to use diplomacy. While she knew how to manipulate situations she was bothered by the fact that she had to confront someone as famously bull-headed as Silas.

She surrendered Katarina, after whispering to the sword an apology, without any fuss and was led to Silas' office.

She nodded, not surprised, as Silas called them by name. She looked over at Catriona with a somewhat frustrated expression. How could she have not thought this would be possible? It wasn't as though they truly were in a disguise. They didn't even so much as throw on a cloak to cover their obvious features.

"I'll tell you straight out, since I despise the courtly wordplay you Galteans are so fond of. I have no love for Galtea, especially not for its bloodthirsty royal family."

"Oh no." Penelope thought. "He's an old man Catriona." This would be even more difficult to deal with than she had anticipated.

She nearly snapped at Catriona for her response, however Silas' words that followed made her think. Why would they owe Histia...ah, that's correct.

"In the last great war, Histia, who had remained neutral up until then, chose to ally itself with Galtea. This was due to Councilman Harris' decision. Councilwoman Olivette eventually agreed, and only you, Councilman Silas, opposed. Seeing as two of the three agreed on this course that was the decision. This is how your government is set up and it would be considered against everything your country stands for to not stand by this decision. Many of the soldiers I spoke to tell me how Histian Pegasus Knights won us many battles. Without their skill and maneuverability the we would have been in a much worse spot. It is true that we owe much to Histia, however, I must repeat that it was the decision of your own system to join us." Penelope paused for a moment after her brief history lesson and then continued. "The reason for helping us is simple. You know the legends of the Great Dragon I am sure. Its power is not one to be used for anything but the most important goals. When it comes to the Great Dragon it's not a task that only affects one country. For some simple information you would be aiding your people. There are no downsides to this decision."

The guard's banter reminded Gunther of his time in the barracks. Which was both a good and unpleasant experience. He thought back to how he had dealt with their boistrous attitudes back then and realized it was mainly by sitting back and doing nothing.

However he couldn't just do nothing here, could he? With the princesses gone he technically was in charge of these people. He couldn't just have them get into fights right off the bat.
Which is where Alois came in. What a grand job that one was doing with the "not causing trouble for them" plan. He didn't know how these people would react to his attitude after all. But then again soldiers often joked around like that, maybe it would be best to stay out of it? While he pondered the question he noticed the female guard from earlier, Mirana, looked towards him.

"Er, hello." He said awkwardly which seemed to amuse her.

"For a big guy you're awfully quiet ain't ya? What's your name big guy?"

"Yeah big guy, speak up."
"Maybe all that armor is going to his head. Your brain's just full of metal is it, big guy?"

Gunther stepped back for a moment, having unexpectedly been verbally ganged up upon. But he couldn't falter, he had to show them what Galtean soldiers were made of! "Ha, that's...funny." He said. "Uh, I'm Gunther...Yeah."

"Nailed it", he thought sarcastically. He took a deep breath. "It's nice to meet you all."

Hakima · July 2, 2016

Now that his part of the job was done, Link found himself content with fading back into the background. It was, surprisingly, a good feeling to be doing something again. His days in Ithome had been standard and routine, but the warm and happy feeling in the pit of his stomach that he was feeling because he had been able to help out a friend, it was a welcome change of pace. He had almost forgotten what it was like to have a purpose, and have people that were willing to put their faith in your abilities. It felt… nice.

Smiling almost imperceptibly, Link followed everyone into the building. He had been inside the building a few times in the past, on guard duty, so the bland decor and lack of any sort of color didn’t seem to surprise him. Marcus lead them to what he knew to be Councilman Silas’ chambers, and then insisted they disarm. Link unbuckled his scabbard from his waist and handed it over to Mirana, but he made no move to relinquish his shield. She looked over, and her gaze lingered on the shield for a moment, but she didn’t question him.

He was a guardsmen, after all. And what was he going to do, sling it at someone? It wouldn’t help much against the guards if they tried to capture him anyways. There was no harm in letting him keep it.

Link dipped his head slightly, grateful to her. The thought of giving someone else his shield made him want to panic; it was his anchor to reality, and his reminder that he had done some good during his time in the Garou Regiment. A sword was only used to kill, but a shield? It saved lives. It protected people.

While he had been internally panicking, Catriona and Penelope had begun making their way toward the door to see the councilman. Link briefly waved goodbye, but he wasn’t able to check if the sentiment had been returned before everyone began to talk at once.

"Hey, listen Link! Link, you have to introduce me to your friends!"

"Yeah, any of them good at fighting? You don't look nearly strong enough to carry that big axe around, let alone two of them."

"True. Just look at Link, after all. He looks like a puff of wind could knock him over, but he still manages to beat my ass on the training ground."

"That's because Link's the best!"

"I don't know, I've heard you've done some pretty cool things yourself. ... Whaddaya say we...go out for a bite to eat sometime? Get to know each other a bit."

"Liiink, Hilarion's chasing skirts again! Stop him before he gets out of hand."

Link’s head was spinning trying to keep up. Wer-- wha-- what did they want him to do? He took a deep breath in an attempt to mentally regroup and gather his scattered brain.

"I could say the same about your scrawny ass. What are those, toothpicks? But hey, who am I to judge here? Just be sure before you try to sweep a girl off her feet you've got the strength to hold her up, otherwise you might go from Hilarion to Hilarious."

That was Alois, talking to Mirana -- no, that didn’t make any sense. He had even said Hilarion’s name--

"For a big guy you're awfully quiet ain't ya? What's your name big guy?"

"Yeah big guy, speak up."

"Maybe all that armor is going to his head. Your brain's just full of metal is it, big guy?"

So many people talking at once. Link couldn’t make tell which guard they were calling “big guy”-- or was “big guy” one of them, and it was the guards talking? He looked around. Hilarion was as tall as Gunther, but the armor made such a big difference he looked like a twig compared to him. That probably meant it was Gunther that they were all calling “big guy”, and he looked flustered.

Deep breath. Don’t freak out. It’s just talking.

Link repeated the mantra over and over again in his head until he was sure he was in control enough of himself that he wouldn’t accidentally puke on anyone. Once his stomach had stopped doing flips, he watched Gunther interact a brief amount with the guards. He looked like he was also having trouble keeping up, though to a less severe degree, and was doing his best not to look nervous or vulnerable. Link recognized the look on his face as the same one new recruits used to wear back in the barracks, when the senior soldiers would hassle them.

Feeling sorry for the younger warrior, Link approached him and nudged his side. If the knight chose to look down at him, he would see Link giving him a reassuring smile that seemed to say ‘this is normal, don’t worry about it’. Link’s gaze then shifted back to the door the princesses had disappeared behind. He hoped they were faring better inside, with Councilman Silas, than they were out here.

Asriel Dreemurr · July 4, 2016

Edrick had inevitably woken up in the Library when the others left, and as those more experienced soon told him the worsened soreness was exactly why you never fell asleep in armor. Between this newfound pain and the exhaustion of the climb up to Ithome in the first place, he was more than happy when they got an inn for the night. He didn't even initially notice that Asura was apparently angry with him, or that he was left with a room to himself while the others paired up. The next morning though, when he was well-rested and had managed to stretch out the worst of his aches, he was all too aware of Asura's half glare and the looks of suspicion he was receiving from a few of the party. He never got the chance to ask what that was about, as they quickly went back to the library to continue digging around for books about...something. He'd not been clued in on that either, and asking Penelope what they were looking for only resulted in a deluge of facts about various large reptiles that he didn't understand.

In the end, while the others were at the library, he found his way to Jake's shop and knocked on the door. When the Blacksmith answered, he promptly explained that he felt indebted to him for the lance and wanted to work off his payment of it. When that was refused by the oh so generous man, he brought up that he was certain the armor he was wearing was ill-fitting, and that while he couldn't pay to have it fitted he would be willing to work to pay off that.

"Well, I guess I could use some help around the shop..." Jake had said, before finally relenting and putting Edrick to work after taking enough measurements to get the armor squared away. Thus, he spent his days helping the blacksmith while the others worked late digging up every piece of information they could on whatever they were looking for. Mostly, he just put his muscles to work carrying big heavy things around the shop. He even got put to work using a hammer from time to time, putting force to work while Jake guided where he should strike the hot metal to shape it. Just the general sorts of things an apprentice does. Even though this inevitably left him dog tired at the end of the day, he put the evenings to work in trying to get a hang of wielding his new spear. Truth be told, he would have made no progress with it at all if he hadn't gotten some help on the first night.

At the time, Edrick had been in the narrow street which ran behind the Inn in which the party was staying. There wasn’t much room to be had, and it was used for little more than deliveries of goods to the establishment in the morning, so in the evenings it was effectively deserted. The perfect place to try and work out how to fight with a new weapon without risking harming someone. His stand-in for a dummy? A broken barrel he’d found discarded back there. Still intact enough to stand up, but the large hole in one side made it useless for carrying anything. At present, he was making a fine fool of himself with it. The blade on the end of the haft, intended for thrusting, was at present being swept about in long arcs that had it bouncing harmlessly off the barrel, which was rapidly growing to be an enormous frustration for the farmer. One such strike in fact set the sturdy weapon shaking so violently that it flew out of his hands and clattered off to the side.

“Zeita naiba!” He shouted, before promptly kicking the barrel in frustration. A familiar green hat poked around the corner of the building following the commotion. Link had just exited the inn after a brief (one-sided) conversation with the princesses, but he had not gotten very far before someone rustling around behind the inn had caught his ear, followed by the clang of steel meeting stone. On-duty or not, it was his duty to protect the citizens, and so he had stopped to make sure nothing was wrong. He looked out just in time to see the young pontic man muttering some much more colorful curses in his native tongue whilst he picked up the lance once again, and proceeded to swing it in both hands towards the barrel once again. It wasn’t very hard to tell that he wasn’t very versed in how to use the weapon, even at just a glance. His movements were wild and uncontrolled, and he looked more like an angry farmer trying to mow down a field of wheat than a battle-ready warrior.

Link stepped out from around the corner and continued to watch him assault the barrel. The more he observed, the clearer it became that the young man had never had any sort of formal training. Not only was his execution a mess, but the way he held himself left something to be desired. The first thing a soldier was taught was to be relaxed but ready, not tense and easy enough to read that a blind woman would be able to predict their attacks. Of course, Edrick’s growing frustration with the lack of success he was having in slaying the barrel meant he eventually turned his attention elsewhere...and immediately leveled the tip of his spear with the Galtean soldier’s chest when he recognized him as the man from the Garou Regiment.

“Just what in the Goddess’ name do you think you’re doing, sneaking up on me like that?!” The farmboy questioned, his accent far more pronounced than usual thanks to the start he’d been given.

Link blinked a couple of times in surprise. For someone who was so unaware of their surroundings, he had certainly reacted quickly once he noticed him. “. . .” He wrapped his hand around the haft of the of the spear and slowly pushed it away from his chest, not breaking eye contact with Edrick. “You’re aiding the princesses on their quest?” It was a question that wasn’t intended to be rude, but Link had never been a linguist. Still, it helped he was so soft spoken.

“I uh…” Edrick, still startled from the appearance of the soldier, needed a moment before it completely registered what he was being asked. “I guess? I just helped them out with some bandits, and I’m traveling with them since I figure it’s better than going alone.” He spoke frankly, as was his usual manner, and tried to relax a bit as it seemed he wasn’t in danger. Still, with the stories he’d heard about the man’s regiment, he could only calm himself so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8FJx7MWxnA

Link studied the Pontic for another moment, not verbally responding, and then walked past him to pick the barrel up from where it had fallen and dust it off. If he was going to be in the company of the princesses, he might as well know how to handle himself in a fight. Link patted the barrel and took a step back, motioning for Edrick to strike it again. Momentarily suspicious, the Farmer looked at the soldier for a few moments. Eventually deciding he didn’t have any ill intentions, Edrick swung the spear horizontally and struck the barrel with the side of the blade. It was knocked back by a foot or so, but the most damage it had done to the wood was a minor scratch. Just another among a few dozen or so similar marks.

The Galtean shook his head and stepped forward again, towards the farmer. He extended his hand and made a “hand me that” motion directed at the spear. Blinking once, Edrick handed the weapon over with a curious expression on his face. Link hefted the spear experimentally, testing the weight. It was much heavier than anything he could effectively wield in battle without getting tired, but he was a few inches and some odd pounds smaller than who it had been made for, and it seemed balance enough for a demonstration. He stepped up in front of the barrel, gripping the spear closer toward the blade than the butt, and examined his target, one of the knicks left by the previous attacks. Confident in his aim, he prepared to strike. Inhale. He drew the spear back with a single sharp movement, twisting himself in preparation for the payoff. Exhale. He pivoted on his heel and put his entire weight into the attack, thrusting the blade forward. It sent the barrel another foot or so back, but instead of a scratch, the blade of the spear had been buried halfway into the wood a few inches off where Link had been aiming.

He walked up and planted a boot on the barrel, pulling the spear out, and then handed it back to Edrick and pointed at the barrel once again. Taking hold of the weapon in both hands, Edrick looked first at the soldier, then at the barrel, and did his best to mimic his stance and motion in the attack. It was far from perfect, his lack of training making him obviously clumsy, but sure enough he struck the barrel squarely and sent the weapon sailing through it clean to the other side, if well off center. He let out a surprised cry, and was about to gloat about his success to the Galtean when he turned his head and saw that Link was already gone.

The rest of the nights went much like the first, though now he drilled himself in the technique that the man from the Garou Regiment had shown him. It was strange, learning something from a man that should have been his enemy above all others, but he took it to heart all the same. If nothing else, it seemed to be more effective than slashing at the thing. So that was how he spent his evenings for the few days that they were there. At the end of the third day, Jake told him that he thought the boy had paid off the work on his armor and that he could sleep in the next morning. So Edrick did just that, and awoke long after the others were no longer in the inn. Rolling out of bed, he grasped his Icon of Inera in both hands, knelt facing the open window, and muttered a prayer.

"Inera, Mistress of Undeath
Give to me the strength to meet the challenges of the day
Let me emerge from them stronger,
As you yourself have from death
And grant me your mercy,
But refuse it to my enemies."

Finishing his prayer, he kissed the Icon and slipped it back around his neck. He grabbed up his Iron Lance from where it lay beside his bed, and made his way down the stairs intent on going to retrieve his armor from Jake. Just as he was reaching the door, the Inkeeper shouted at him from across the bar.

"Hey kid! Your friends went off to City Hall with that guard earlier." Blinking in confusion, the farmer-turned-lancer took a moment to consider what they could be doing there. After just a moment, he offered the keeper a polite wave of his hand.

"Thanks for telling me!" He said as he made his way out of the building, dashing across the cobblestone road to Jake's shop. He wanted to show off the armor now that it properly fit him, and was eager to see just how much of a difference that made. When he arrived, stopping just inside the door to the smithy to catch his breath, Jake was already standing there with the armor on a rack beside him.

"Ah, there you are Edrick." He chuckled, and motioned for the boy to come over. "All finished up. Should fit you like a glove now!" It was obvious the man took pride in his work, just like the smith back home who had so often helped with repairs around the farm. With Jake's help, it was easy to get the armor on quickly. Just as he'd been told it fit perfectly now that it had been worked on, and a few experimental movements told the farmer just how much a difference it properly fitting made. It was like wearing his own pants instead of a spare pair of his father's.

"This is amazing!" He exclaimed, hardly believing that it was even the same thing that he'd worn a few days before and been so tormented by.

"Ah, it's just a refit." Jake said, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Just be careful of that gap over your chest, okay? I'd hate to see you cut open again." The two shared a laugh at that, and then Edrick made his way towards the door.

"Sorry I can't stay longer. I've got to catch up with the others." He said, though he paused just before leaving the shop and raised a hand in farewell. "May Inera grant you a long life, and a peaceful death." With the half blessing/half goodbye said, he made his way out of the shop and set about finding how to get to the city hall. It was a long walk, but he eventually found his way towards it. In fact, the building itself was just coming into sight, with Asura standing in front of it, when a trio of cloaked figures blocked his path.

"You're gonna regret messin' with me, kid." The one in the center said, before drawing a wicked looking knife, the other two following suit. It took Edrick a while to remember who he had "messed with" in the city, and then he recalled the thief he had punched forcefully in the neck. This must have been him, and the boy doubted that a fist would do its job. So, he lifted his spear and shifted into the stance he'd been practicing the past four nights. Not quite perfect, but it would do.

"Tell me, thief," he asked, momentarily taking a hand off his spear to pull the Icon of Inera out from where it had slipped behind the collar of his armor, "do you fear death?" A glint came to the boy's eye as he said that and once more took up his ready stance. The sort of thing that you saw in the eye of a madman or a zealot. Of course he didn't give the thief a chance to answer. "Zeita te ia!" He shouted, likely loud enough to be heard a fair ways away, as he charged forward and thrust the blade of his spear towards the thief's chest. That was something his father taught him. If you're gonna get into a fight, make sure you throw the first punch.

Sethera · July 6, 2016

"In the last great war, Histia, who had remained neutral up until then, chose to ally itself with Galtea. This was due to Councilman Harris' decision. Councilwoman Olivette eventually agreed, and only you, Councilman Silas, opposed. Seeing as two of the three agreed on this course that was the decision. This is how your government is set up and it would be considered against everything your country stands for to not stand by this decision. Many of the soldiers I spoke to tell me how Histian Pegasus Knights won us many battles. Without their skill and maneuverability the we would have been in a much worse spot. It is true that we owe much to Histia, however, I must repeat that it was the decision of your own system to join us."

Silas raised an eyebrow, impressed despite himself. He hadn't paid this girl much attention at first. However, it seemed there was more than meets the eye with her. "Thank you for reminding me," he gritted out when she paused. Much as he was against the decision, he supported the system itself. It was a fair way of doing things, though he despised the outcome.

"The reason for helping us is simple. You know the legends of the Great Dragon I am sure. Its power is not one to be used for anything but the most important goals. When it comes to the Great Dragon it's not a task that only affects one country. For some simple information you would be aiding your people. There are no downsides to this decision."

"Bah, you say this, but you Galteans are cut of the same cloth. How am I to know that you're not secretly after its power to start another war? It wouldn't be the first time Galtean royalty has started one, and it won't be the last."

Catriona straightened her shoulders. "I swear on my name that we do not mean any harm to Histia or its people."

Silas sneered. "Your word means nothing. I have thought over your proposal, and I have made my decision. I refuse to give you information that could lead to the downfall of this country. Now begone!" he dismissed.

Marcus led the two out, eyes cold. "This way, your highnesses."

Catriona bit her lip as she walked out. Did he even consider granting our request to begin with?

--

An unwelcome voice interrupted Hilarion's play. "I could say the same about your scrawny ass. What are those, toothpicks?" The soldier scowled, swiveling around. "But hey, who am I to judge here? Just be sure before you try to sweep a girl off her feet you've got the strength to hold her up, otherwise you might go from Hilarion to Hilarious."

"Okay, that's it!" he growled, hands forming into fists. "My name is not Hilarious."

"Of course that's what you focus on," Mirana sweatdropped. "And stay calm. These guys are friends. Or at least Link's friends." She glanced sideways at the blond mercenary before resuming her conversation with Gunther. "Gunther, huh? Nice name. I like that armor too. Kind of different from ours, but--" she started to carry on about armor and its different qualities.

Meanwhile, Hilarion was busy glaring at Alois. "Hmph, what do you know? Just because I'm not as big as that armored guy doesn't mean I can't still knock you off your ass."

It might've devolved into a fight then and there, but for the princesses' return. Catriona glanced at everybody for a second before shaking her head, and walking over to Mirana to pick up her sword.

"Wow, that was fast," Hilarion whistled. "Guess Silas really hates these guys." His comment caused a brief, awkward silence.

"Heeey, sorry Link, but you tried, right? Ooh, wait, what are you going to do now?"

"He's going to leave with the rest of them," Marcus replied balefully. "You never told us they were princesses," he muttered to Link, sounding almost...hurt.

--

The two soldiers guarding the building glanced at each other a bit worriedly at the myrmidon's lack of response. "Hey...you okay there?" one of them, the not-so-antagonistic one, asked.

"Pfft, he's probably just sulking that he wasn't let in without his weapon. What a little bab--"

"Hey, Trumpion, there's a limit to your goading," the other cut in sharply. "Just leave him alone, man."

"Fine, but I still think we should've repaired our wall."

"You and your wall. Just let that go."

Caught up in their bickering, the soldiers didn't even notice the door opening, until Marcus brained the both of them with a fist. "What are you two dunderheads doing? Have you even been paying attention to your surroundings?"

"Oh! Marcus. Hi! Uh...yes, the surroundings look," the other guard paused to look around. "Great! Heheh. Heh."

Marcus sighed, slapping a palm to his face. "Just...go. Please."

"Will do!" they replied, before dispersing.

Marcus turned to the group. "Well, you've had your fun, but it's time for you to leave too." He looked at Link once more. "I know you meant well, but you should've realized from the beginning that this wouldn't work." He paused, hesitant, before speaking once more. "Well, you might have better luck with Harris in sector one. Just be quick. It won't be long before the monthly meeting."

"Are you going with them, Link?" Mirana asked. "If so, don't be a stranger!" she waved. "You too, Gunther!" she beamed at the knight.

--

The thief grunted in pain as the point of the spear made contact. However, he had jumped back, so it did little more than graze him. Still, first blood was Edrick's.

"You'll regret that," he growled, and lunged forward, along with the other thieves, all three closing in on Edrick. Try as he might to avoid it, he would end up finding knives at every side except for behind, pushing him down the stairs, and away from sight of the city hall.

[spoiler=OOC]

Again, don't forget that you're not allowed to kill off the enemies in your post. We don't want a repeat of last time. Also Edrick is the only person on the map, barely in view of the city hall. Currently the thieves are pushing him back even further. Everybody else is beyond the north side of the map.

Linus - Thief

-Iron Sword

-Elixir (Droppable)

Thief x2

-Iron Sword

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · July 6, 2016

"Your word means nothing. I have thought over your proposal, and I have made my decision. I refuse to give you information that could lead to the downfall of this country. Now begone!"

"I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so"

Penelope was angry, and annoyed, and clearly not in the mood to talk. She just continued her inner mantra while they were being, somewhat rudely, escorted off the premises. She didn't want to say it in front of all these strangers and so Penelope kept it inside as best she could, despite the terrified look on Gunther's face that meant he clearly knew what she was thinking. Stupid stupid sister! Not only did she not take her advice but her stupid bull-headed nature ruined any chance to have succeeded.

She couldn't keep it in for long. As they exited the premise she turned towards Catriona. "I TOLD YOU SO!" She said, surprisingly loud, before awkwardly looking away and angrily gesturing Gunther over. She dug in his pack for a while and pulled out a book before angrily cracking it open and reading with such intensity it was surprising the pages didn't start on fire.

It was clear she wasn't going to be saying much at the moment, though she had already given her opinion on where to go next.

Gunther groaned as Penelope came out, looking like she was trying not to look angry. He wasn't sure the others would catch on, but he already knew the result before having to be told.

He had actually been starting to converse with the female guard somewhat, having been steered into a conversation he was at least somewhat knowledgeable on, though not necessarily interested in.
However it seemed they wouldn't be able to stay here much longer, as it was time to move on already.

"Are you going with them, Link?" Mirana asked. "If so, don't be a stranger!" she waved. "You too, Gunther!"

He waved back with a small smile. "Yeah. Um, see you around, I hope." He said, right before Penelope had her outburst and practically yanked him away with a mere gesture to get a book. "P-Penelope, maybe...er, never mind you seem...busy."

He looked around at the group and his eyes settled on Link. The big man put a hand on his shoulder. He might have not taken the recent events well, if Gunther interpreted it right. "You...okay?" He asked softly, trying not to bring too much attention to it. After he turned his attention to the older princess. They had to get going soon, it seemed.

"So, sector 1 then?" Gunther asked Catriona. "It's farther than sector 2 but...well, I'm not sure after this...that speed is really..." He glanced towards Penelope, who was still in her book, and sighed.

King K. Azo · July 7, 2016

Asura paused from his thoughts of passing on to adjust his bandanna. As he listened to the two guards, he gathered that Trumpion was a xenophobic little bugger, and so was the rest of the city. If he was in a higher position of power, he was sure the idiots of the city would love him.

"Hey...you okay there?" the not-so-antagonistic one asked.

"Pfft, he's probably just sulking that he wasn't let in without his weapon. What a little bab--"

"Hey, Trumpion, there's a limit to your goading," the other cut in sharply. "Just leave him alone, man."

"Fine, but I still think we should've repaired our wall."

"You and your wall. Just let that go." Asura ignored the banter of the two guards, instead focusing on the sight in front of him. Edrick had his suit of armor refitted. Good, good. Perhaps now he could walk like a normal person instead of a rusted iron man. However, three shady men forced the armor boy down some stairs. It was a fight! Asura's muscles tensed, his breathing grew just a tad quicker. There was only one logical thing to do...

He yawned, closing his eyes and folding his arms over his chest, his bandanna sliding over his eyes. Farm Boy made it quite clear that he did not want Asura's help, and he wouldn't fight someone else's battle for them if they didn't want it. Besides, with that suit of armor, Asura was sure Farm Boy would last until the others came out.

"I TOLD YOU SO!" Asura heard Book Worm scream. Shaking his head, he stood up, yawning and stretching. It seems they were already done. That was fast. Then again, he wasn't sure how long these things lasted. He saw Book Worm pouting, reading a book as Flower Boy was looking sheepishly over her shoulder, unable to get words out. Whatever he said was probably a lie, anyways.

"You all seem... physically okay," He stated flatly. "Seems they said no though. Figured they would," Seeing how just about everyone else around this damn city was, it wasn't too hard to guess. "Oh yeah, Farm Boy got cornered by three shady people. You all might want to do something about that," He jabbed his thumb in the direction he saw them go before shaking his head and leaned against the wall. "Order me when you need me,"

It was in that moment Asura realized something was wrong. A fight wasn't exciting him? Maybe he should see a healer...

Hakima · July 7, 2016

Link was emotionally crumbling, each new revelation of just how badly he had been messed up feeling like another kick while he was down. Marcus was right. He should have expected that, told them that they should have gone to one of the other sectors, and now he had wasted everyone’s time. The princesses had seemed to believe this was a very urgent matter, and yet he had stupidly believed that speaking with Silas was the wise thing to do. Spirits, why was he this useless?

The Galtean Soldier felt sick to his stomach, and was glad he hadn’t eaten anything save for the few bites of bread and cheese at the inn. He wouldn’t have been able to keep any more down. Deliberately avoiding Marcus’ gaze, he collected his sword and slowly buckled it onto his back, studying the ground. Not only had he failed as a friend of the princess, and failed his duty to help them, but he had betrayed Marcus’ trust and probably lost what little bit of respect he had earned from the Histian. Why had he ever thought that it wouldn’t end this way? The only thing he was good at was killing other soldiers (fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives), fighting for his country in another dispute over land that he had no position in.

He was a soldier, first and foremost. His duty to his country, to the crown, and to his brothers-in-arms, came first. They had drilled that into his head for six long years, and he had followed it the best he could. Link came second; duty came first. But when the war was a thousand miles away, and his service was over… how did he stop following the only logic he had known since he was barely a boy? Who was Link when he wasn’t a soldier? He didn’t know how to the answer that, and so for now, he would still be Link the soldier. The soldier was useful, with a purpose and a deadly swordarm. Princess Catriona and Princess Penelope had no need for regular old Link; whatever quest it was they were on, they would need Link the soldier.

And so when Marcus said, "He's going to leave with the rest of them," Link knew he was right. He had known since the moment he had recognized the small girl that had bowled him over outside the library as Princess Penelope, that his time as a guard in the city of Ithome was coming to an end, but he hadn’t wanted to think about it. Ithome was peaceful, quiet and not very violent, so much different from the last six years of battle and bloodshed. When he looked back on it now, all of it seemed almost like a dream. Something he hadn’t appreciated until it was over.

"You...okay?" A hand clasped on his shoulder, and Gunther quietly asked him a question. Link nodded, and his face was the definition of expressionless. He was too used to acting like he wasn’t hurt. It came too easy.

He blinked, tuning back into the world outside his head. They were back outside the City Hall now. Marcus had returned to his post at the entrance of the City Hall after scolding the two guards who had replaced him, and Mirana joined him with a smile and a shout of “don’t be a stranger!”. Asura was not far from them, casually reclining, easy enough to dismiss as being asleep if you didn’t look close enough.

The sound of someone swearing loudly caught his ear, distracting him. The language was Pontic in origin, but that was all he could tell. It sounded like they were involved in some kind of struggle. Right on cue, Asura shifted and sat up, speaking. "You all seem... physically okay. Seems they said no though. Figured they would. Oh yeah, Farm Boy got cornered by three shady people. You all might want to do something about that," He jabbed his thumb in the direction he saw them go before shaking his head and leaning up against the wall. "Order me when you need me.”

Link looked back in that direction. Stairs, which meant that they had forced him below the sight of any guard. Link started to breath quickly, bile burning the back of his throat. His eyes were haunted and far away. He took a slow and steady breath of air, steeling his nerves and fighting down the memories eating at him. His hand hovered over the sword on his back, a second away from pulling it. This was his chance. To prove to the princesses that he wasn't as useless a person to have around as they thought. This was the only thing he was good at. Fighting and death...

His gaze lingered for a millisecond on each member of the ragtag group. Was this his home now? No. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, have a home ever again. But he would defend them. It was his duty.

Link sprinted toward the fight, drawing his sword. His first priority was to get Edrick away from them, before they’d have the chance to overwhelm him with numbers. Everything after that… Princess Penelope was the tactician of the group. She would come up with a plan. He was just a soldier.

[spoiler=OOC]

It was brought up that I forgot to say it so, when Link gets to a thief, just assume he attacks them. His main goal isn't to kill, just get Edrick in a better position before anything bad happens. Maybe he tries to bash one out of the way with his shield? Whatever you think he should do.

Alaina · July 7, 2016

His smile seeming to not wane at all as it seemed that he had managed to step on a rather sensitive subject for the guard, it appeared. As the man seemed to believe that he was fully capable of beating Alois in a test of brute strength, Alois couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and have the smile on his face gain a hint of annoyance behind it. "You think you can knock me down Hil-boy?" Alois cracked his knuckles as he looked the guard dead in the eye saying, "well I wouldn't mind proving you wrong right now-" his challenge to the guard was interrupted, though, by the reemergence of the two princesses. Alois wasn't that smart a man, but when asking someone of that big of importance a favor went that shortly, and the askers had those kinds of expressions, it was plain to see that things hadn't gone well. After some scolding or whatever, that was going on between their guard friend and the one who had a stick too far up his ass, they had left the building and gotten outside.

After only a short walk, it didn't take long before the boy winced as the piercing yell of the littler princess rang throughout probably the entire city. Not really feeling downed by the whole situation at all, thinking of it only as a slight waste of time and pretty much nothing else, Alois couldn't help but mutter, "humble. I like it," directed towards Penne. The girl was likely not to hear him, though, given her huff away from them. Nevertheless, as they continued away from the city hall, Alois could be sure he heard shouting of some kind. He wasn't sure what was being said, or even if they were real words to begin with, but the voice seemed familiar enough. Not bringing it up, though, Asura had eventually wandered his way over to the group and seemed to tell them why Alois thought the voice was familiar. Apparently Edrick had managed to find himself getting into some kind of a tussle with bandits.

As Asura told them this, though, Alois couldn't help but feel that there was a real problem going on here. That problem being, what the funk was Asura's problem? It wasn't as if they had known each other for very long, but he seemed like a drastically different person than he had initially met. Right also the guy who was traveling with them was in a fight or something, that seemed like a problem too. So much so that the incredibly silent one of their group just dashed off, sword in tow, to get into the fight. While Alois definitely thought that doing so would be a good idea, the boy understood that he wasn't fighting bandits in some kind of open field. The entire place of combat and given the kinds of people he saw as non guards, the opponents themselves were probably not something the young male could just rush down to death. So instead, he decided to bide his time on actually approaching it and have everyone else get into it, looking at them and asking, "so we should probably go help them, right?"

Asriel Dreemurr · July 7, 2016

To say things were not going well was a bit of an understatement. Surrounded on three sides, with his only option of retreat being somewhere to the back of him, Edrick by all rights should probably have been afraid. There were two reasons that he wasn't, though. The first was that this new technique he had been practicing after Link's instruction had proved useful, the tip of his iron lance now stained with blood. The second was something that his mother had instilled in him from a very young age.

"Remember, my son," she had told him when he was young, "As long as you remain true to the Goddess, keep your faith in her and offer her your prayers, you will not need to fear death. Inera watches over her faithful." Some would question if it was true, and Edrick would be very quick to call them heretics for questioning it. He, perhaps more than any of the other boys in his village, put his faith in the Mistress of Undeath. So surrounded by those who threatened to kill him if he did not do what they wanted, he was not afraid. Far from it. The glint in his eye was joined by a smile as he looked at those around him and decided that the thief to his right would make a fine first target. He did need to get some more mobility in here.

"I TOLD YOU SO!" Even here in the alleyway as far removed from the source of the noise as he was, the sheer shrillness of Penelope's voice when she was angry made him wince. He was fairly certain that the thieves weren't fond of it either, but there wasn't much room to worry about that. So, with the trio of thieves advancing on him and their own proximity to each other limiting his movement, he made his attack. He stepped forward, hoping to make the thieves think he was going to strike at their leader again, and then turned to the right and thrust his spear towards the man's gut. As close as he was to the wall, and given that one's immediate reaction when faced with something sharp was to back away from it, Edrick hoped that his foe would pin himself and end up skewered by the spear.

"Am oferit-ți viața Zeita!" He shouted, hoping both to intimidate his foes and to draw the attention of his allies, or really anyone who would help him, to the fight. As it happened, a cursory look past the thieves revealed a figure in green charging in with his sword out and his shield at the ready. It was strange, given the horror stories he had been told about the Garou Regiment, that he was glad to see the man coming to his aid. He did not fear death, but suffering too many wounds from these three would certainly make it difficult for him to function in the coming days if he lived through the experience. He certainly did not want to have to hike down the path to Ithome with fresh stitching somewhere on his body.

JessicaMuddy · July 9, 2016

The group was let inside and guarded by Link's two colleagues while the two bosses of the group went to negotiate with the councilman. As soon as the two girls left, the female guard started. "Hey, listen Link! Link, you have to introduce me to your friends!" Her male partner replied, and the two chatted for a short while before the man, Hilarion, turned to Tarizo.

"I don't know, I've heard you've done some pretty cool things yourself, whaddaya say we...go out for a bite to eat sometime? Get to know each other a bit." He winked, and Tari stared back wide-eyed until one of the guys in the party she was in retorted.

"I could say the same about your scrawny ass. What are those, toothpicks? But hey, who am I to judge here? Just be sure before you try to sweep a girl off her feet you've got the strength to hold her up, otherwise you might go from Hilarion to Hilarious." Tarizo grinned widely at this comment, then spent the rest of the time in this room waiting for more witty comments to come out of the guy's mouth, giggling a little at each one.

When it was time to leave, it was easy to tell there was a bit of tension between the two girls, and before long, one of them snapped. "I TOLD YOU SO!" However, before the argument had a chance to begin, a couple of the members of the group notice one of the others being attacked by some ruffians, the library guard immediately going after them. It wasn't long before Tari was after them as well. She immediately pulled out Lillith, and from a small compartment of her long strips of armour, grabbed an arrow. She immediately drew her bow so the arrow was ready to fire, then slowly began to approach to get a better view of her targets. The green guy was already going to take one of them down, so Tari fired at the one closest to her, making sure the library guard was out of the way before letting the arrow fly.

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · July 9, 2016

As Penelope started to wander from the group, tearing through page after page of her book, and not comprehending any of it, Asura announced that Edrick was under attack. She paused, heart sinking, as she scanned the apparent battlefield. "Three against one" she thought. "They're focused on him, and there's more of us, however..." She glanced at the multitude of openings where more enemies could emerge. She’d need someone she trusted watching their backs. If she wanted them to get out of this unscathed she'd have to be careful. Thieves like this were known for their speed, and so the best option seemed to be.

"Okay listen up here's the plan. Alois, use that hand axe and attack the nearest thief. As soon as he does, Catriona, strike at the thief. He shouldn't be able to dodge both. Meanwhile I will use my Wind magic to attack the further thief. Asura, you'll do similar to Cat and attack him afterwards. Link should attack their leader, that man in the middle, and pin him between himself and Edrick. Gunther, get to that alleyway above the stairway and make sure no one interrupts. New...archer girl you...archer girl?"

She looked around and realized the girl had ran off already. "Gosh...darn it, Catriona, go in there now. Alois...Keep close to Gunther." With that she rushed off, to head to her position and attack the farthest thief, only to notice Edrick had already attacked it. No matter, her plan should still work more or less as long as the rest followed through. As she passed by Link she gestured quickly towards his target. She sent a blast of cutting wind at the Thief. However as she went to attack she hesitated briefly, memories of her previous fight flashing through her head. But, it would be alright, right? Katarina was safe inside her sheath....Penelope nodded firmly and carried out her attack.

Gunther grunted, happy to see Penelope in her element again, hoping it’d last longer than the fight. Of course, his job was a simple one. He was used to such a thing. Especially given his failure back with the guards. He was glad that Alois would have his back, at least. He probably wouldn’t screw it up too bad if he had an ally with. His goal was two-fold. Keep any citizen away from the fight, and watch for reinforcements. He could do that...right?

Sethera · July 13, 2016

Silas stared at the doorway long after the group left. "They had to pull this right before the monthly meeting," he grumbled to himself. "Still...this could work to my advantage." He steepled his fingers together. "No doubt they won't give up so soon. If they approach Harris, they'll likely get there the same time as the meeting, meaning I can run interference. However, Olivette..." She was a wild card. She could swing either way, which made her unpredictable. "I will have to see if I can convince her beforehand," he muttered to himself, taking out quill and inkwell. "Even if they rush, a pegasus knight flies faster than a horse can gallop, especially with our mountains."

Just outside the door, Hilarion growled to himself. "Hil-boy, huh? I'll show him Hil-boy. Skinny little s*** probably weighs less than I do."

"Hilarion," Silas barked from within.

"Y-yes sir?" he replied.

"I've decided. You'll be one of those accompanying me to the meeting."

"Really? Thanks, sir, I'll do my best."

"You'd better. Especially if those Galteans appear again."

Hilarion grinned wolfishly. "Yeees, we wouldn't want that to happen, would we sir?" He turned away. "You'd better watch your step, toothpick boy. Or you might fall over from the wind. Wait, that sounded better in my head..."

--

Catriona was disappointed with the conclusion of their endeavor. It seemed as if it were all for naught. Nay, perhaps it had been a doomed venture from the beginning. I am...sorry. Yes, tell them I am sorry. That's what you say in this situation...right? But no, father told me that a ruler must never apologize to their subjects. Except they're not my subjects, well, except for a couple, but regardless, I'm no ruler.

However, all thoughts halted the minute they exited the building and Penelope whirled on her. "I TOLD YOU SO!"

Catriona stiffened. This was blatant disrespect, not a way a younger sister should act toward their elder. She opened her mouth to tell her so, but thought better of it. After all, Penelope was right, wasn't she? She had told her so, but she had gone ahead with it anyway. Still, her tone of voice was unacceptable. Regardless, it was doubtful the girl was up to listening to her now, and she had rather not continue this conversation right outside city hall anyway.

Gunther was the next one to speak to her. "So, sector 1 then?" he asked. "It's farther than sector 2 but...well, I'm not sure after this...that speed is really..."

Catriona held back a sigh. "Sector 1 holds Harris, who from what I have heard, would be the most receptive to our pleas. It makes sense," she just prayed that she wasn't leading them into yet another dead end. Which reminded her that she still hadn't apologized for wasting everybody's time. Except that it would be awkward to do so now, after having been told off already. So do I just say nothing then? she wondered.

That question would have to be answered at a later date, it seemed. For she could hear a familiar voice swearing in...Pontic? She thought she could make out a couple words as well. Zeita...that had been the name they had used for the goddess, hadn't they?

"You all seem... physically okay. Seems they said no though. Figured they would. Oh yeah, Farm Boy got cornered by three shady people. You all might want to do something about that," Asura informed them. "Order me when you need me."

Immediately afterward, Link charged forward, drawing his sword as he did so. He always was good at acting during motion, Catriona thought briefly.

"So we should probably go help them, right?" Alois asked, as laid-back as Asura was.

"Yes," she answered, confused by their indifference. She had already started to run, but quickly stopped when she noticed Tarizo drawing her bowstring back next to her. And then Penelope spoke. "Okay listen up here's the plan. Alois, use that hand axe and attack the nearest thief. As soon as he does, Catriona, strike at the thief. He shouldn't be able to dodge both. Meanwhile I will use my Wind magic to attack the further thief. Asura, you'll do similar to Cat and attack him afterwards. Link should attack their leader, that man in the middle, and pin him between himself and Edrick. Gunther, get to that alleyway above the stairway and make sure no one interrupts. New...archer girl you...archer girl?"

Catriona glanced at Tarizo, who had already let an arrow fly, mouth twitching. She has good reflexes.

"Gosh...darn it, Catriona, go in there now. Alois...Keep close to Gunther."

The lord was surprised at Penelope's turnabout. Not too long ago, she had yelled at her in a fit of pique, and now, she was barking out orders like a soldier. When had she learned to think like that? the white-haired girl wondered. Still, the plan seemed sound, so she started to run. Well, she had already planned on helping anyway.

--

"Shouldn't we help them?" Mirana asked.

"No," Marcus grunted. "Our job is to guard the city hall. It'd be just our luck if this was a planned distraction on their part, and assassins decided to sneak in while we left the entrance."

"You're too paranoid!" she punched his shoulder. "Ugh, well let's hope that Trumpion and Gelasius can do something."

--

"So as I was telling you before, we need to fix that damn wall before we do anything else. I've tried telling the captain that, but do you think he listens?"

"Hey, shut up for a second, Trumpion. Do you see that down there?" Currently, both guards were on the rooftops, looking down.

"Isn't that...hey, that brat stole from me a couple days ago!"

"Never mind that. It's three against one, and more are coming. Let's go."

"Nah, he's an outsider, plus, look. More of his outsider friends. He'll be fine."

"Well, Link's already running to his rescue, so technically, we don't need to do anything. The city guard's already helping."

"Yeah, so relax Gelasius. Anyway, about that wall--"

--

When Link reached Linus, the lead thief, he bashed his head with the shield. The thief, not expecting that, took a direct hit. "Son of a motherf***er!" he swore. "What whoreson did that to me?"

Link obviously didn't reply, so he turned around and stared the Galtean dead in the face. And then he sweated. "S***, it's Link." Though he hadn't been there long, Link had already gained quite a reputation amongst the unruly in Sector Three. Briefly, the thief contemplated retreat, before he remembered the backup. He whistled, the note piercing the air.

Meanwhile, the thief Edrick had thrust at backed away, till his back brushed the wall. Thinking fast, he jumped to the side, so the spear didn't catch him in the stomach as intended, but rather his side. It was still painful, however, and he couldn't do much in that position. It didn't help when he got blasted in the side with Penelope's wind spell, inadvertently shoving him further onto the spear.

The thief on the other side took the opening that was given to him, and stabbed Edrick in the back. Or attempted to, anyway. His dagger glanced off the armor, and he cursed, not used to dealing with armored foes. Most of his enemies were toga-wearing civilians, and just the sight of a weapon was enough to make them give up their money. In his distraction, he didn't notice the arrow soaring his way till it grazed his own back. If he hadn't lunged forward to stab the farm boy, it probably would've hit his heart.

Meanwhile, more thieves poured out of the alley, rushing to aid their fellows. Only a couple made it past Gunther, however. The rest were bottled up, and while most retreated, snarling, one decided to try his luck against the knight, but his knife made little damage to him beyond scratches to the paint job.

Only one of the two that made it past managed to join his companions, however. The other found himself stopped by Catriona's blade. He shifted from foot to foot, crafty eyes waiting for an opening. However, she didn't give him one, feinting for his eyes before stabbing him in the foot. Howling, he leapt back on one foot, eyes stinging, and threw a dagger her way. Swerving to the side, it took off a lock of hair. Too late, did she realize that dodging it might not have been the smartest thing to do, and watched in horror as it made its way toward Tarizo.

Meanwhile, the other reinforcement went for Link, distracting him with a stab in the back. "That's for hitting me back in the Lucky Goose! I nearly had that guy afore ya stopped me!" He seemed to be referring to a past fight the blond had broken up.

Seeing his reinforcements distracted, Linus let out a frustrated scream. "Graaah! I'll teach you a lesson if it's the last thing I do!" unlike his companion, he aimed at Edrick's left arm, managing to score a shallow cut. "Ha! Hahaha! See? Told ya you'd regret it." He seemed a bit loopy, likely because of the blow to the head.

[spoiler=OOC]

Basically, this is what happened.

-Link attacks Linus with his shield.

-Edrick attacked Thief B and almost gutted him were it not for his quick reflexes (and yes, I rolled a die to determine whether he'd do that or just flat out die).

-Tarizo hits Thief A in the back.

-Penelope hits Thief B in the side with a Wind spell.

-Thief A attacks Edrick in the back but not for much damage.

-Thief B doesn't do much since he's badly hurt.

-Linus whistles for backup.

-Thief C and D manage to make it past Gunther.

-Thief C is stopped by Cat who stabs him in the foot. He throws a dagger that heads for Tarizo.

-Thief D decides to go for Link instead of Edrick, stabbing him in the back.

-Thief E plinks against Gunther.

-Linus resumes attacking Edrick, but he's also kind of out of it at the moment.

There were more thieves, but they retreated when they saw Gunther. Also the guards are doing nothing.

Asriel Dreemurr · July 13, 2016

Well, things were actually going well for Edrick it seemed. Even before the timely arrival of his friends, his method of attack worked out in his favor. Sure he hadn't gutted the thief as he'd wanted to, but with a spear stuck in the man's side it wouldn't exactly be hard to finish him off. Before he could move to finish him though, a number of things happened to distract the young farmer. The first was the sensation of something hitting his back, and a quick glance revealed it to be the sword that the thief behind him was wielding. Of course it had glanced off his armor without doing much harm, but that wasn't what bothered him about the current situation. Oh no what was bothersome was not only that Penelope had, intentionally or otherwise, shoved his foe further onto his spear with her accursed magic, but also that she was close enough to see what had become of the strike to his back.

"Dammit, she'll never let me live this down." Was his first thought, rather than any concern about the Goddess' perspective on his fighting alongside a witch. But she wasn't really a witch, was she? Witches didn't use swords...he'd have to talk to her about it later! Right now, he had a man to finish off. Sure he wasn't much for hitting with a spear, when he helped his father slaughter pigs he'd needed someone to hold the animal still so he could get a good hit in, but he knew what to do once he'd gotten it in place. A quick twist of the weapon inside of the man to free up its blade from anything it might have been stuck on, a moment to angle the weapon up towards his chest cavity, and a nice hard shove that had the spear left jutting out through the man's ribs. If he wasn't dead already, he would be shortly. Another bit of advice Edrick's father had given him came to mind in that moment. Son, if you ever put a spear through a pig's ribs, pull it out by the head. If you try to pull the head back through, it'll just get stuck and you'll have to cut it out. A bit morbid to apply to another human being, but the advice held firm. He grabbed his iron lance just beneath the head, and tore it the rest of the way through that unfortunate thief. Without waiting to see if he'd fallen to the ground or not, he turned back to the fight and noticed a few things.

Firstly, the rest of the party had come and joined into the fray. Notably, Link was on the other side of the now apparently dazed leader of the pack. Secondly, more thieves had come along to counter the reinforcements he had received. Thirdly, his left arm was bleeding from a shallow cut on the bicep. He really was going through shirts more quickly than he had ever expected to, now wasn't he? Of course it also registered that the man was mocking him, saying something about making him regret.

"Regret?" He asked aloud in the common tongue as he turned on the man, zealous fervor burning in his eyes. "Oh no, I don't regret anything that puts me in danger," he used the word mockingly, "of dying! By all means, let me show you the Goddess' power!" He laughed aloud as he leveled the tip of his spear once more with this leader of thieves, blood and gore clinging to it from the dead man. "Or better yet, let me send you to her so you can see it for yourself!" With as crowded as the alley had become, Edrick saw little risk of the man escaping his strike. So it was that he lunged forward with all of his might, sending the spear in the rough direction of this Linus's torso. He still wasn't so good at the whole aiming thing.

Alaina · July 14, 2016

With two of the members of the group already rushing in to aid their traveling companion who had got himself held up in some kind of trouble, it was already obvious to him what the older princess's answer was going to be. As she gave the rest of the members the go ahead, the littler princess then went off telling the group just what exactly it was that each and everyone of them had to do. As far as Alois was concerned, what she told him was just attack anything that gets close, which was basically what he was going to do anyway, aside from the added stipulation of being next to the flower faced wall of theirs. Shrugging at the orders, Alois then looked back to the guy "only good for stabbing things," with a bit of a smirk on his face, chiding the grumpy looking guy. "Well far be it from us to keep the ladies waiting." With that, Alois took off, axe drawn, and ready to go aid the others in the fight.

The scene looked like it had become a real fuster cluck, really fast. When the fighting began, he was pretty there were only three thieves to begin with, all of them surrounding one person. Now looking at it, there seemed to be five just kind of, scattered about in one giant mess. Nevertheless, it didn't really matter what they were all doing or who they were all attacking, because at the end of the day there was only thing Alois was going to do here. And that was attack the nearest thing to him. After closing the distance between him and the thief, Alois brought the blade of his axe around and struck at them with it as best he could.

[spoiler=tldr]

Alois attacked thief D. He should be adjacent to Penelope and Gunther now.

King K. Azo · July 19, 2016

"Okay listen up here's the plan. Alois, use that hand axe and attack the nearest thief. As soon as he does, Catriona, strike at the thief. He shouldn't be able to dodge both. Meanwhile I will use my Wind magic to attack the further thief. Asura, you'll do similar to Cat and attack him afterwards. Link should attack their leader, that man in the middle, and pin him between himself and Edrick. Gunther, get to that alleyway above the stairway and make sure no one interrupts. New...archer girl you...archer girl?"

She looked around and realized the girl had ran off already. "Gosh...darn it, Catriona, go in there now. Alois...Keep close to Gunther."

Asura heard his orders, so he walked slowly to his target, dramatically drawing his Bronze Sword. In reality, he was just waiting. He was sure the thieves didn't know who exactly he was attacking. That would hopefully throw them off balance enough so the others could take them down. He glanced at Book Worm, waiting for her attack. As soon as she launched it, he dashed off. He was nowhere near as fast as magical winds, but he was fast enough to follow up, even from how far he was from the target. When the winds struck, he leapt into the air, ready to bring his sword down silently and swiftly.

JessicaMuddy · July 21, 2016

Ignoring the plan and rushing ahead before it was even constructed, Tari successfully fired a shot. It appeared to be heading directly to the target's chest, but he saved himself by jumping forward and continuing to attack the party's ally. The hit only appeared as a shallow slice, because the man was still easily moving. "Cow dung!"

Seeing this, Tari prepared another shot, aiming at the man's shoulder and attempting to put his stabbing to a stop. Just as the girl was about to release the next projectile, one of the enemy's own came flying past her cheek, and severed the string of her bow, turning it into two limp noodles hanging from the wood it had worked with for so many years. The arrow about to fire dropped to the ground, and Tari panicked as she picked the arrow up off the ground and charged at her previous target.

This was bad. A woman trained her whole life only to use a bow, and who had almost perfected its art, didn't have one to use in the middle of a battle. Being obstructed at all sides, by the bodies of allies and enemies, didn't exactly help either. She tried to shake off the thought, and went for a stab with her arrow into the already cut open back of the bandit. She knew the arrow wouldn't make it in too deep, but it would to enough to keep the man off his target.

[spoiler=OOC]

The knife cut the string of Tari's bow, so she went in for a stab with an arrow on Thief A.

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · July 21, 2016

As the knife made its way towards Gunther images of it finding a gap in his armor and stabbing into his skin flashed through his eyes and he almost recoiled. He just barely managed to hold his ground, knowing he was being relied on, and his decision was rewarded with the "tink" sound as the knife did absolutely nothing.

He had only stopped one, though hopefully his presence had slowed the other two so that his move wasn't entirely a waste. He'd hate to turn out to be useless here. Of course, there were those others to worry about but hopefully they were gone for, they did seem quite unwilling to advance.

With Alois at his back he felt much more confident. He held his Steel Lance and stepped towards the Thief. He didn't need to hit the man, but as long as he pushed him back, which should let Gunther press forward and better hold the pass, he'd consider it a success. And so he thrust forward, aiming for the Thief's chest.

Things had gotten much more hectic than she wanted. Her plan was sound but it was implemented a bit too late. Had Gunther been able to reach the location faster...no, she should have planned for that. Sending Asura there would have been faster, but also put him in more danger. But now they were surrounded...though they also surrounded the thieves. She had to think fast.

The thief they had attacked was completely out of commission as they suffered attacks from three of them at once. "Good job Asura." Penelope said. While his attack likely wasn't needed, at least he was following orders.

Alois was at her back, attacking the Thief who was behind Link. Edrick was attacking the leader rather recklessly,however Link was there as well. And Asura was right there, in a good position to surround the leader entirely. "The leader now, Asura, work together with Link and Edrick."

Glancing over she saw their archer....attacking close combat. Who was this girl and why was she so...stupid? "Cat, guard the archer, quick. Else she'll be flanked." Penelope called out, forgetting the archer's name.

And speaking of flanked...Link was also in danger of this. She had to stop that. Alois' attack likely wouldn't hit the Thief, so it was up to her. She gathered up her magic and sent a cutting blast at the Thief behind Link, hoping to get a lucky strike.

[spoiler=OOC]Alright a lot happened here. First, Gunther attacked Thief E. If Thief E backs away Gunther will pursue.

Penelope is still in same place and attacking Thief D.

Her orders are as follows.

Asura: Stay in the space below her, attack the leader.

Cat: Since Tari, I believe, is one space down, move to the space Tari was before and continue attacking Thief C

Granted they don't have to do this, and the thieves will be moving before we can so...gosh being tactician is hard.

Sethera · July 25, 2016

Linus continued to laugh, before his opponent started to laugh too. "Regret? Oh no, I don't regret anything that puts me in danger of dying! By all means, let me show you the Goddess' power! Or better yet, let me send you to her so you can see it for yourself!" And with that, he jumped forward. In the close quarters, hemmed in by Link, Linus couldn't back away from that lance. However, he could jump to the side. And that he did. Despite his wooziness he managed to avoid the lance entirely, aided by his natural agility.

"Ha! Too slow!" he crowed. "That's what you get...for messin' with the great pumpkin, wait no. I mean, the great Linus." He attempted another stab, this one managing to hit the right armpit. Thankfully, it didn't seem to have hit an artery, so there was no spray of blood, rather, a dark splotch appeared on Edrick's new clothes.

Meanwhile, Alois' axe swept harmlessly past the other thief, almost beheading Link, were it not for the fighter realizing the danger at the last minute. However, that attack had managed to distract the thief enough that he didn't follow through with another backstab. Link had seemed to pay no mind to the fact he was bleeding from the back. No, he was focused wholly on Linus, though he wasn't able to prevent the leader's leap to the side, and almost got gored with the spear in the process, were it not for his shield blocking the attack.

By the time Asura attacked the thief, the opponent had already slid to the ground, lifeless. However, his attack did manage to confirm that yes, he was dead.

Nearby, the knife severed Tarizo's bowstring, and the girl, picking up an arrow, charged desperately at the thief she had shot at before, who had ignored the pain in his back. However, he couldn't ignore seventy kilos of archer rushing at him, along with the freshened wound caused by the arrow she wielded. Crying out in pain, he tore the arrow free of his shoulder and threw it at her, following through with a stab from his knife. However, Tarizo managed to nimbly avoid both the thrown arrow and the knife.

The thief shook when his attack did nothing. Crap...what did I get myself into? he thought. And then the knight made an attack of his own. Though it missed, the thief's eyes widened. Look at the size of that spear. If that thing hit me, I'd have been killed on the spot. He turned around to flee, "I'm outta here!" and ran for it.

Not too far from where Gunther stood, Penelope was giving orders. "The leader now, Asura, work together with Link and Edrick."

Had said leader been in a clearer frame of mind, he would've realized that her words didn't mean anything good for him and tried to take her out. As it was, he was fixated on Edrick, and tuned out the girl. "Just give up. You can't win against the great Linus!"

Catriona, not for the first time, wished she were faster. Swordsmen were known for their speed, and yet she had let Tarizo become a liability on the battlefield. And then the girl had ran at the thief she had hit before with an arrow like a madwoman. Resourceful, but not all that bright. Still, it was better than doing nothing.

"Cat, guard the archer, quick. Else she'll be flanked."

Every time the lord heard her nickname leave Penelope's mouth, she couldn't help but feel a trace of nostalgia. If she can still call me Cat...then there might still be hope. However, now was not the time to think of such things. Nodding briskly, she ran past the thief she had been fighting when he made to take advantage of Tarizo's open back. Oh no you don't. However, in her haste, she wasn't able to block his knife, and winced in pain when it left a wide gash on her chest. Curses. Taking her sword, she swiped quickly at the retreating blade, knocking it out of the thief's hand. She didn't account for the second knife he took out, however, and ended up leaping backward to avoid that. Unlike before, she was wary of outright dodging, as that would leave the archer in the line of fire. However, in doing so, she almost bumped into Tarizo.

Meanwhile, a blast of sharpened wind hit the immobile thief in the face, opening up multiple wounds. Screaming, the man dropped to the ground, clutching his bloodied face.

[spoiler=OOC]

-Linus evades Edrick's attack and stabs him in the right armpit with a knife.

-Alois badly misses his attack and almost beheads Link.

-However, he does distract Thief D enough that the thief doesn't attack this round.

-Meanwhile Edrick's attack almost hits Link were it not for the fairy boy's shield.

-Asura confirmed for everybody that Thief B is as dead as a doornail.

-Tarizo hits Thief A for more damage.

-Thief A retaliates but misses.

-Linus ignores Penelope's words

-Catriona rushes to cover Tarizo, getting wounded in the process. She does knock the knife out of Thief C's hand.

-Thief C has a backup knife that Catriona has to leap backward to avoid, almost knocking into Tarizo.

-Penelope's Wind spell hits Thief D and cuts open his face.

-Thief D loses focus because of the pain.

LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow · July 26, 2016

Out of the corner of Penelope's eye she took note of the results of their attacks while her magic made its way towards the distracted thief. Alois' and Edrick's attacks were...less than accurate. She would have to take note of this for future maneuvers. It was easy to forget they weren't soldiers and thus unused to fighting this close to allies without friendly fire. Catriona followed her order, unexpectedly, but also got injured in the process. If only they had a healer she wouldn't be so worried...

The Archer..Tari if Penelope was remembering right, seemed safe for the time being but how long would that last?

She glanced over at Gunther, who met her gaze for a moment, as they silently communicated over the distance. He would know what to do next. They outnumbered the enemy but only if no more slipped through.

That was as far as she got in her brief observations before her attack landed upon the thief. Her heart clenched tightly as she saw the spurt of blood and the cry of alarm. It brought her back to the last fight, during which she killed a man. There had been so much blood then, too...She tore her gaze from the thief and shakily spoke up to the rest.

"Cat be more careful. Link, Asura, keep focused on the leader." She knew Alois would press the attack on the thief without her command, or rather, she assumed it. "Tari, don't leave yourself open." Attacking without a weapon was a dangerous game. There was no reason to risk further injury this close to victory.

As for herself...she couldn't bring herself to attack the wounded thief. She was unsure she had it in her to kill him and her next attack could likely do that.

The leader had injured Edrick, now that she looked at the boy, despite the armor. She would prefer he help Tari but if the leader was going after him that'd be impossible, even if she could get through to him.

Her mind made up, Penelope attacked the leader with her Wind magic, aiming for the man's sword arm.

Gunther took Penelope's gaze and instantly interpreted it. His job was to be a wall, and so a wall he would be. Though the thief escaped there was no guarantee he wouldn't return and, if he did, he might bring friends. There was still a sizable gap that enemies could slip past him where he was standing. And, though it worried him to leave both his and Alois' back unprotected, he had a job to do.

He hefted his lance and headed forward, towards the alley in front of him, keeping his eye out for any other thieves.

[spoiler=OOC]As always don't need to follow Penelope's orders.

What was done here is Penelope attacked the leader, and Gunther moved to the right (on the map) two spaces (or one if that'd block the path, can't QUITE tell.).

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

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