Ether

So this was Eslcas... an oasis city on the edge of Islexia, one where clouded and monsters need not fear. If she had not witnessed it herself, Roxanne wouldn't believe such a place existed. But here it was... she had finally removed the hood of her cloak upon entering, and despite her pronounced ears and obvious horns, she did not receive the scornful glares one of her sort would expect in this place. The odd one here or there perhaps, but she had not been accosted. But alas, there was little time to soak in the sights. It had already taken two days travel by boat and by land to make it here, and Roxanne was on borrowed time. "Still, Boss made a good call to choose this place..." She mused under her breath. Eslcas was abuzz with activity. She had already managed to glean that Kazran had attacked in the not so distant past, there was no love for the warlord here, and from what whispers she had caught, it seemed that something... or rather, a large amount of someones, were causing a stir in the town. A large force of clouded had just rolled in, and had been escorted directly to the palace. Something was afoot in the border province, the Gaffneys were making some sort of move. Which suited her just fine, it meant that tensions with Kazran were at an all-time high. She could get what she needed, she had to. Getting an audience with the Gaffneys themselves though? That would be a tall order... but maybe these clouded would be more loose of tongue... if nothing else they would be easier to access. With any luck, they would be related to the current goings on with Darmill... if not, well, things would become far more difficult in the few days she had remaining. Sitting herself at a small cafe within the market and slowly sipping at a cup of coffee, Roxanne kept her eyes trained up the road towards the castle. Once folk started to exit, she could try to pick their brains. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long of a wait. Looking down at herself and setting her cup down on the table, Roxanne straightened out her skirt, made sure her tight lacked any rips or tears. It wasn't like they could see her shirt under the cloak, but may as well keep herself presentable.

Well, Miss Prisoner seemed to at the very least be accepting reality, though her insistence on protecting the Princess', or Empress as she was now insisting, honour felt tone-deaf. Rivane had covered the basics well enough... in a perfect world there would be no need to such things, but perfect was the last word to describe the world as-is. "Well you heard the man, Cyrus. If you're watching Empress, and she's talking to Ms. Feisty here, I'll keep you company for the time being. As for you... it's as Rivane said. It'd be great to not have to resort to stuff like this, but that's not the hand we were dealt. If you want to keep your Empress clean... take her place, or pony up another idea. If we're going to Bravia in the middle of all this, we'll need even more supplies than we thought..."

Well, it seemed that conflict had stopped just shy of coming to a head. Rivane felt enough sincerity from the Princess, citing that her demeanor was sufficiently removed from what he knew of the nobility, that he believed her words held merit. What Cyrus would say next would place just how much. "Whatever you choose, Boss, I'm with you. I trust your judgment." Willow noted in the man's direction... this was no time for infighting. They had just put themselves on the knight's radar in a major way, and she trusted Rivane to know the best course of action more than anyone else in the camp. Still listening, Willow reached down and grasped their captive's shoulder as she began to struggle against her bonds. "None of that, now. If you try to break out I'm gonna have to shove you into the dirt, neither of us want that." Willow noted to the woman, watching her intently. She was clearly in denial about what was going on here... or was she just a fine actress? That sort of thing was popular among the upper crust, wasn't it? Willow didn't really know. "Are you in denial, or are you just acting? Princess can maybe shed some light on whether you would have just been kept out of the loop, but you saw your Captain swing at her with your own eyes, didn't you? Why would they try to kill her off if the Mad King was just taking bed rest?"

So Cyrus was Bravian, and military at that, huh? It was certainly a surprising revelation, but Willow didn't take it as quite so much an issue as the others at first blush. "Does it matter that he works for Bravia? Unless he's been getting food delivered and eating it without offering us any, Cyrus has been roughing it with the rest of us. That said, Princess... I think you might not have much choice here. Rivane is the best we've got, by far. If we're taking you to Bravia, something you need to sell him on, well... if he manages to get himself captured..." Willow took her thumb to her own throat and drew it across before continuing. "You? Me? All of us are already dead. And Rivane would go down fighting with us before he would let that happen. Someone like me doesn't need to know whatever you've got cooking in that fancy dress of yours, but unless the boss doesn't care to know... he's the one who decides what we do with you."

"I'll be holding you to it then, big guy. Get me something nice." Willow shot back at Silvano, letting the man go to accost Cyrus. Unlucky was a word for it, almost cosmically so. There was a chance the mage was just that good, but given that they had fumbled the counterattack and had only capitalized on Silvano's blunder with the assistance of their fellow knights, that was probably the beginning and end of it. As for Kagi, they didn't want to leave to stop watching their little noble. Which was fair enough, she had been assigned to them, and as the axe-cat had put it, there wasn't much else to do. It wasn't like the only thing of note going on wasn't already within their earshot. "Yeah, seems like we'll have no end of fighting for the next little while. But, we expected that taking on a job like this one, even if... all of this, hadn't happened. And yeah, she does look pretty strong, I guess that's the difference between formal training and actual field combat. Manuals and one-on-one sparring can only prepare you so much for an actual fight. She's probably still green. As for her destination, she either has a reason for trusting Bravia, or she's naive... if she's wrong, maybe they'll buy her off our hands. It's up to the boss." Willow replied, glancing over at their princess. She certainly was pretty... there was a very distinct regal air about her, she was properly bathed and in a nice dress, far above what they could manage out here, even with the proper use of herbal soaps and the river. Still, even looking away for a moment, Willow caught Kagi's continued poking of the unconscious girl, drawing a snicker out of the Dryad. And something else it would seem, as the knight began to stir. She quickly rose to a sitting position, but didn't appear to be trying to do any more for the time being. "Easy there. Welcome back to the world of the waking, and don't try anything funny. Make sure you pay close attention to your Princess... she's spinning quite the tale. I don't know how much of this you were aware of, but it's quite something." Willow noted, glancing back in said Princesses direction. This was quite the ways over her head, but things were getting deeper and deeper the more words left her mouth. Would Bravia winning this war be for the best? Probably. The heart of the Wood was in Bravia, and things on that side were hardly in such a dire state as over in Halspria.

It had been a harrowing few moments, but the Falcons had managed to get out of the Knight's grasp, and disperse into the woods. Well off the beaten path, they finally came to the clearing that the bandits called home, at least for the time being. There was a lot to unpack, and most of it wasn't good. Rivane and the Knight Captain had some level of familiarity, with her being able to pick him out on sight. Whatever it was that had happened with the Princess, the specifics of which Rivane was in the process of uncovering, left it highly likely that their whole operation had ended up a bust, as far as ransom was concerned. Silvano, despite his usually cheery personage, was understandably a bit dour and quiet. Listening to Rivane begin to question the Princess, Willow swerved towards where Silvano had seated himself, the man fidgeting with his dice... he always did that when he had something on his mind, the what in this case being rather obvious. "Oi, Silvano. Don't go worrying us like that again. Falcons won't be the same if you get yourself locked up or killed. Dumbass..." Willow noted to the man, giving him a rather hard clap on the back. Probably more than the injured man would appreciate, but obviously held back. Silvano had taken a fist to the face before, this would have been nothing. Despite the rather harsh content of her words, Willow's face betrayed that she was more worried for the man than upset with him. "Make sure that Cyrus gets a good look at you." She noted in parting, giving a wave in the man's direction. She sat herself down not too far away from him. Close enough to hear what was going on between Rivane and the Princess, but also closeby to their other... or perhaps given the circumstances, only captive. She was bound, but at the moment still unconscious. She certainly looked like a noble... if she wasn't, then that was basically the last potential positive of this whole thing down the drain. A shallow sigh left Willow's lips as she looked over the girl, ready to knock her down if she awoke and tried to bolt. "I can take over, Kagi. You must be restless, watching her for so long. What a mess this turned into..." Willow muttered. Kagi had her sword, and even if she broke free of her bindings, she didn't really need multiple guards if the axe-wielder wanted to stretch their legs. "You spent a little more time with her than the rest of us. What's your take on Princess?"

Whoever this woman was, she cleared had some history with Rivane... or at the very least knew of him. Willow would need to inquire about her later, but for now... Rivane had extracted Silvano, and with his head start they would never catch him. It was over. "Let's get outta here Cyrus." Willow noted, following after Rivane, looking behind her to make sure the healer and his passenger were keeping up. Willow to 1,7, escape!

Raz had taken out of the pursuing armoured knights, but they were closing in fast, and the scout was exposed. They were running out of room to operate here, they needed to shake these guys off. "Damnit, we've gotta get Silvano out of there fast or it's over for all of us. Cyrus, grab Raz, I'll cover your flank. The rest is up to you, boss!" Willow to 4,9

Shit. Willow had managed to take down the bowman, and thus little Razzle's chances of becoming a pincushion fell severely, but perhaps the mage had been the more pressing issue. Cyrus had shot him but he remained standing, and stepping back just away from Silvano's blade meant- Yup. A quick one-two punch and he was down for the count. And with the knights quickly closing on them, there was no way that Cyrus and Willow could extract him without almost assuredly getting themselves captured or killed alongside. She was all but prepared to have to leave the man, when the cavalry, quite literally, arrived. Rivane had gotten wind of Silvano's fumbled and had doubled back. With him charging in, there was a chance. Either way, she couldn't leave him to do it alone if Rivane intended to force the issue. "You got it boss. Get him outta there." Willow to 7,8, pummel Mage 2!

Things had started out smooth as butter. They had swiftly routed most of the carriage guards, and Kagi had grabbed the Princess... the armed Princess. The armed Princess who soon got into an altercation with one of the knights? The information she was dropping seemed impossible, but... "Damn it all. Why is nothing ever simple?" Willow cursed gently, nodding at Rivane's orders. They had what they came for. Clean up and cover the retreat. "You heard the man! On me, boys!" Willow rallied, rushing towards another bowman. Just a coincidence, really. They could really do some damage to little Raz if they stuck an arrow in her wings, and that was just no good. Willow to 7,9, dunk on Archer 1!

So she was to form a vanguard alongside Rivane and Silvano. Kagi would wheel around the rear... as they near always did, the boisterous energy from their axe-wielder nearly catching Willow by surprise again. So long as they kept their activity merely climbing the trees... but that axe throwing was always something else. "Understood, Rivane. To Wing." Willow echoed, striking her fist against her chest for a moment before setting out. ___ There they were. They were actually here... Raz was reliable, her reports had no reason to be doubted, but... they were actually here. It all came down to execution now. As the carriage passed by Rivane's direct line of attack, and was about to enter hers, Willow took note of a large man with an impressive bow. That would hurt... the two swordsmen closer to the carriage looked impressive, but she couldn't reach them as of yet. Kagi would hopefully funnel them in and rattle them. But for now... get rid of the suppressive fire. Rushing out from the woods and towards the unsuspecting bowman, it was time to begin. Willow to 8,5, turn Archer 3 into paste!

The hurried return of Raz could only be fortuitous. There would have been no such haste were nothing there... and while perhaps some of the Falcons held reservations about turning their blades on Royalty, Willow held no such quarrels. The royals, the nobles... they were responsible for their country falling to ruin, for forcing savages onto the outskirts, into the forests that they would ravage. Plus, if they pulled this off, there was a large payout waiting for them. Of this, Rivane had been sure, and she trusted the lead Falcon's judgment. To both strike a blow to the callous nobility and secure such a high-value "package", this would truly be a fortuitous day. They need only stick the landing. "Is it time then, Rivane?" The dryad asked, approaching their leader with a subdued, yet hopeful look. Tightening the wraps on her hands and wrists and rolling her shoulders, the young woman looked up at Rivane expectantly. "How do you feel we should deploy?"

If you have the right to complain about something unrelated to the banner at hand, I have just as much right to say that I think those complaints are past the point of being useful and that honestly, seeing them here too when they already come up so often in the refine threads is getting stale. But whatever, I'm not wasting anymore time on this.

Okay...? Feel free to keep working yourself up over it then, I guess? It just seems silly to harp on about something that is clearly settled by this point, especially on a banner that's entirely unrelated to them aside from the weapons sharing a single mechanic. It's something I see a lot of all over the place so I commented on it. And Heather is a fine choice, who fits the banner. It's crazy to me that people will get upset at unrepresented characters getting something, because it's "the wrong one".

Folk need to get over the gen 1 refine skips already. If they had any intention of going back to them, they would have by now. Give Hector the weapon refine he did get, or give them arcanes and stop giving yourselves an aneurism already. Anyway, banner looks neat. Hopefully I get one of Heather and Sisters duo along the way to spark, though the latter is priority if I don't. Zelgius looks annoying so I hope he's flavour of the month so I don't need to see him for too long.