TheRoon

The fight against Luthier was intense, and as Renais composed herself she rushed in as close as she could and thrust out her Rescue staff toward Sari. Renais moves 24, 13 and uses the Rescue staff on Sari and... "Luthier!" The pinkette called out to the man. "You know who I am, and you must be responsible for...whatever it was that impacted my life, but I don't care about that right now." She gave him a glare. "You're on the backfoot, we all know it. Now tell me where my Mikoto is now!" Renais still felt some small shakes, but she did her best to hide them and keep her composure. Everyone put in their resolve and strength to make it this far, she couldn't let them down after all of that.

Taka rushed toward the Female Mage (8, 12) and sliced at her side for a clean 12 damage! (22, 67) The Female Mage did not take too kindly to that and fired back with a fireball...but just missed the elusive ninja! (88, 94) After that dodge, Taka swung back to finish the job for another 12 damage! (44, 56) The mage dies on the spot. Taka gains 34 exp and +3 Hidden Weapons exp. Ichika presses her ferocity against Archer 2 who was not prepared for her to dart in (8, 6) and swing right for his arm for 8 damage! (43, 70) Ichika gains 12 exp and 1 Sword exp. Ichika has reached Level 6! +1 to HP, STR and SPD! Alouette resolves herself, and moves close (7, 3) to burn away Brigand 2, and cleanly succeeds with 16 damage! (90, 53) Alouette gains 34 exp and +2 Anima Magic exp. Miles saw his opening thanks to Ichika and ran in (8, 4) to finish the Archer with two clean 6 damage swings! (37, 67, 45) (83, 45, 52) Miles gains 34 exp and +3 Sword exp. Despite Luce's playful nature, the dancer was determined to clean house. So they slid (7, 5) past the bandit, waved at the pinkette, and burst him down with light magic twice for 10 damage a pop! (49, 81) (89, 68) Luce gains 34 exp and +3 Light Magic exp. Even on the verge of passing out, Mikhail was determined to do his part. So he dashed behind another tree (3, 5) and threw a knife at Archer 1 to finish him off for 4 damage! (7, 21) Mikhail gains 34 exp and +2 Hidden Weapons exp. Eve folded her arms and giggled at Luce's silly excuses. "Well if it isn't my favorite stray cat, and Ali! Finally glad you both made it. Though it is a shame all of this is happening..." She looked at the five as they cleaned up the men south of her. "You all did well, and I mean it. Thank you. Time to do my part now." In an instant, the woman dashed off toward the ice wall like a white blur. Her movements were abnormally fast, even compared to the ninja on the field. She reached a point she wouldn't normally reach (9, 12) and with a brief and quick fan the hammer technique, she dropped two shots into the Fighter as she reached her point. (78, 15, 76) (9, 78, 15!) The first bullet connected for 14 damage, but her second bullet struck for 16 damage as her Reflex kicked in, which allowed her to adjust the shot toward a more vital point. With that, the Fighter is downed immediately. Eve gains 18 exp and +3 Gun exp. Arkham watched in shock as his man had dropped like a fly. "You...you'll pay for that!" He felt it was time to get desperate... Enemy Phase 3 "MEN! Charge the group down south! They're all weak! Do not engage the pink haired woman! I repeat! Do NOT engage the pink haired woman!" "Someone's scared of holding a loss." Eve grinned. "If you drop your weapons now I'll go easy on you." "Hmph." Arkham, infuriated by the situation, threw his Javelin at the pillar of ice before him, with his full might behind the Javelin he broke through (17 attack) the 12 HP pillar (0/30) and it shattered apart before the woman's eyes. "That is my answer, you wench!" "...of course." She let off a small sigh. The last mage followed his leader's orders and rushed down south to support his allies. (12, 8 ) The mercenary moved forward too, steadily but cautiously! (11, 7) Archer 4 also moved cautiously. (12, 7) Archer 3 on the other hand moved (10, 6) close to Ichika to put in some damage (21, 57) and landed 4 damage on Ichika! Player Phase 4

It was finally time. Even with her vision slightly obstructed by her allies, she could see Luthier thanks to her sharp eyesight. She also saw Sari take a severe blow after he actually dealt damage to him, and Aly follow up with a powerful attack of her own. The man stared her down with a glare that could melt ice. "...ngh." Renais could feel her knees shake, despite her best attempts to stop them. Even if Luthier hadn't noticed her yet, she could feel how strong his magical aura was. Despite using the same magic type as Tio, the two couldn't be more different from each other. His aura was so...grusome, it actually shook her to the core. No...no not now. I made it this far, I said I would defeat him...so why am I scared now?! She grit her teeth and pulled her head down to see her own chest in Mikoto's kimono...which quickly reminded her what she fought for. "...ah." On top of that, she heard Sari's taunts toward Luthier, and remembered Tasha's words that she would make him fear death. Everyone had put their lives on the line, all for a slim chance to bring down the devil himself. ...I'm terrified, but I can't let that stop me. I can't. Not when everyone else is giving everything they have here. She took a moment to breathe and stop her shaky body. I can make a difference, I can ruin his plans too. As Renais calmed herself, she kept a close eye on the situation and waited for an opportunity to move. She felt this next minute could be the difference between life and death for everyone, so she kept her eyes sharp and on the fight ahead.

The meeting continued on after Daeran put in his thoughts, and it was an expected answer from a politician's son. Leon simply left things where they were and refocused on Alrenne. It seemed like the peacekeeping tour was more legit than he thought, he just hoped it would stay that way despite his better judgement bothering him. Alrenne moved onto the next step in the plan in that some of the pilots would have to be security for some diplomats, it seemed like it was up his alley and Kazue had volunteered already. He moved to do so himself, until he heard a familiar name. "!" Virion Altair. While they hadn't met face to face, the name still got to the red haired man. He was a target in one of his most important missions, and on top of that it was a mission that went wrong. "..." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. The normally talkative and open man became as quiet as a mouse, it was quite out of character for him so he expected to be called out. Settle down. He doesn't know your face, at least...I don't think he would. That mission was behind closed doors.

Renais simply took in her response, she could feel the fury in her voice. She truly meant to trade her life for Alvira if it meant saving her and defeating Luthier. It was a feeling Renais knew all too well, she wanted the exact same thing. "Do what you will. Even if you can't give me that promise I will give you mine. Give him hell." She left the conversation there, and meant to follow up on what needed to be done.

Even Renais didn't need her sharp hearing to pick up on that voice, he was very close by. "..." Renais gripped her staff, and took hold of her emotions as best as she could. She couldn't face him, and while she truly wanted to it was not the win condition. The win condition was to find Mikoto and Alvira, and then help them and the other Tigers out as safely as possible. So with that she turned to Tasha and approached her with her Mend. "Commander...Tasha." She looked her in the eye. "I know we haven't talked much, but as Gean's girlfriend I have to watch out for her family. You're not allowed to fall while you're under my watch now, remember that." With that declaration, she lifted her Mend staff to patch up the tiger. Renais moves 22, 11 and uses Mend to heal Tasha's wounds.

Mikhail dove right for the trees for safety (4, 4) and healed Ichika for 7 HP! Mikhail gains 9 exp and +2 Staff exp. Miles rushed (5, 2) to face Mercenary 1 with his Iron Sword! He struck true for 5 damage. (46, 26, 35) Mercenary 1 swung back and hit Miles for 4 damage. (10, 33) But Miles wasn't done yet, he sliced into the Mercenary once again for 5 more damage! (93, 74, 85) Miles gains 12 exp and +2 Sword exp. Alouette saw an opportunity to bring down one of the mercs, so she moved in range(6, 3) and with a quick fireball she did just that for 14 damage! (68, 63) Mercenary 2 took it head on, and just as she thought they were absolutely not trained to handle magic. "GUH!" So the man fell back onto the ground as his body was set on fire, but...at least he had a pretty sight before he faded out. Alouette gains 38 exp and +2 Anima exp. Luce, impressed by Ali's display of magic, simply had to see an encore! With a quick step and a pat they motivated Alouette to another action! (6, 2) Luce gains 10 exp from dancing. Ichika rushed toward Archer 1 (6, 5) and swung her sword out at the lightly armored man for 9 damage! (27, 20) Ichika gained 12 exp and 1 Sword exp! Finally, Alouette found yet another opportunity to bring down yet another mercenary. She shifted positions (5, 1) and dropped a fireball onto Mercenary 1 for 12 damage. (82, 92) With a chilling scream the swordsman fell to the ground and his life was snuffed out by the flames. Alouette gains 34 exp and +2 Anima exp. Enemy Phase 2 The mercenaries have been defeated, and the rest of the unit took that personally. So Ichika unfortunately had to take the brunt of their wrath. Brigand 3 rushes toward 6, 4 and swings his Steel Axe at her. It's a clean miss though (90, 34), and it gave Ichika a proper opening to swing back and take 14 health off the big man (45, 30) (99, 99). Ichika gains 12 exp and +1 Sword exp. Brigand 2 follows suit as he plants himself onto 7, 5 and swings his axe down at Ichika. Surprisingly, he hit! (6, 8). Ichika took 5 damage, and counted back for 18 damage (69, 11) (62, 76)! Ichika gains 14 exp and +1 Sword exp. Archer 2 wouldn't let Ichika breathe, he moved onto 8, 5 and loosed an arrow into her shoulder for 2 damage (4, 20). Finally, Archer 1 would decide to find a more vulnerable target for his arrows. He just spotted out Mikhail hiding near a tree, and he decided to take an angle (4, 6) to shoot him down. The archer thought he had him dead to rights with that shot, but it seemed he misjudged the angle and the arrow only hit his side, and just barely missed his vital point (15, 91). Mikhail wouldn't go down without a fight however, so he threw a dagger back in retaliation and it connected for 4 damage(94, 85)! Mikhail gained 12 exp and +1 Hidden Weapons exp. Meanwhile, the two mages continued to burn down the pillars. The female mage brought it down to 8/30, it was quite close to being a puddle at this point. The male mage brought his down to 12/30, but despite his slower progress the situation still looked dire. Meanwhile, Arkham looked back at the battlefield. He was quite surprised to find his unit had mostly been cleaned out. "Tch, unbelievable...EVERYONE! Wake up! We need to crush these attackers before this gets out of hand!" He slammed his spear down, and unfortunately for the five down south more men jumped out of two wagons close to the pillars. The fight wasn't over yet... Thankfully, it wasn't all bad news for the group. They had reinforcements as well. Two figures ran from roof top to roof top to reach the wall, and they finally reached the point where they could jump over it and drop down. One was a ninja, another native of Akatsuki. The other was a familiar woman to Alouette and Luce, though her hair wasn't red anymore, it was pink. The magical feeling Alouette sensed was around the pinkette, and she could possibly see that her eyes were bright green once again. "...Taka, take care of that mage. If that ice wall goes down we're in for a world of trouble." She looked toward the group and spun a revolver in her hand. "I'm going to go help our allies, they're in danger." Eve and Taka have joined the battle! In order to reach the fight as soon as she could, Eve has activated ???, she has spent a full turn to make it in time, so she has 2 turns left until the effects of ??? wear out. Player Phase 3

The five had taken the initiative well, but the time came for the enemy to react. Enemy Phase 1 The mercenary saw an opening between their small ranks and rushed after Mikhail for a sword swing! Mercenary 1 moves onto 5, 3 and cleaves at Mikhail with his Iron Sword! [17, 32] Mikhail takes 7 damage, but is able to take some revenge with a stab to the Merc's side for 2 damage! [63, 71] Mikhail gains 12 EXP and +1 Hidden Weapon EXP His boon companion, Mercenary 2, decided to join him in his assault and jumped at Ichika for his own slash. Mercenary 2 moves onto 7, 4 and swipes his Steel Sword onto Ichika! [28, 20] Thanks to her superb stance, she reduced the damage down to 5 from the stinging of the steel, and with a good counter she was able to damage him back for 7 damage! [23, 91] Ichika gains 14 EXP and +1 Sword EXP Meanwhile, the archer moved onto Ichika. Alouette seemed like a tempting target, but he was quite intimidated by her magic. Archer 1 moves 6, 6 and fires an arrow at Ichika! [17, 20] She simply takes 2 damage thanks to her powerful stance. Ichika gains 1 EXP Meanwhile, the rest of the unit had slowly moved to attack the five fighters, while the mages up north began using fire magic to start melting the pillars. Each Ice Pillar blocks off entry to the castle town and has a total of 30 HP each. The female mage moves onto 7, 12 and casts a fireball at the pillar on 8, 13. Pillar HP: 19/30 The mage mage moves onto 12, 12 and casts his own fireball at the pillar on 11, 13. Pillar HP: 21/30 The knight refused to move, he instead chose to direct the mages toward each pillar. If they get closer then I'll have to order the reserves to ambush them... Player Phase 2

Gean and Tasha were both incredibly motivated, they took down those soldiers in an instant. Renais couldn't help but keep her eyes on the mother and her adopted daughter, they were very strong. The pinkette kept a tight grip on her staff as she followed close behind, she kept an eye out for any danger she or the others may have to deal with too. Renais moves toward 23, 9 and keeps on guard.

The battle had begun, and the front liners had taken a flurry of light rays! Merc 3 stood no chance again Ali's light energy [56, 46] and was swiftly defeated! [5, 5] Allouette gains 34 EXP Brigand 1 has taken severe damage from Luce's attacks [80, 59], but still stands strong compared to his fallen companion due to his healthier build! [4, 5] Luce gains 14 EXP and +1 Light EXP! However, even with his stronger build, he succumbed to his wounds and fell when Ichika drove her blade into the man's chest. [20] [6, 4] Ichika gains 38 EXP and +2 Sword EXP! Miles had decided to approach the nearest cart to search...and inside he would find a lizard man cowering in fear. "D-don't hurt me...oh, you don't look like one of those ruffians." One look at Miles' expression had been enough, but really he just saw his appearance as motivation to leave. "Thank you, sir. Please be careful, I heard one of those scoundrels say they had more reinforcements hiding in their wagon. I don't know which one that would be, but be on guard either way!" He quickly made his way past Miles to high tail it out of there, but before he left he quickly put something in the swordman's hand. Miles has obtained a Vulnerary!

The attackers had noticed the five approach, and as soon as they did... "...I don't like the look of those five. Be on guard!" The armored man shouted out, and with that... The Wheel of Fate turns... Turn one begins!

At last, it was time. The pinkette in the kimono held her staff close to her chest as she watched Gean step inside. She had several goals to accomplish while they were here. Her biggest goal was to make sure Mikoto was safe and sound, though sound may be hoping for too much, she knew Luthier was too demented for that. Confronting Luthier about the boat was her second mission. He won't give straight answers, but she can at least try. "...here we go then." She spoke to Gean as she stayed close. Not today. I will not give into my fear today of all days. I can't lose track of someone I love ever again. Renais moves 23, 6

The battle within the smoke seemed to slowly die down, but some voices could be heard briefly from a few figures hidden in the smoke... "Tch, the Lohen princess is giving us some trouble, sir!" "Then we'll split off. I'll take our strike squad past the walls, you gather the remaining forces after the smoke clears and follow us in. We'll scatter throughout the castle town." "Leave it to me." The princess did her best to help the guards, in a brief moment however she noticed several figures move through the smoke, and she let out a frustrated groan. "Dammit!" She ran off through the smoke to chase them past the gate. "They're going inside! Miles, I'll leave the rest to you!" She shouted as best as she could before the smoke finally cleared to show a heavily armored knight and a few ruffians left. They didn't seem to have any emblems or markings to indicate what nation they served if any. Unfortunately they were the only ones alive, the gate guardians were all dead. "Men! Form up! We must join our comrades past the gate!" The command managed to get an agreeable shout from the remaining fighters. Alouette was determined to help the small group with their battle, Lorelei noted how strong her will power was. "Very well, I trust you'll be fine Ali. However..." She eyed the unknown soldiers as they approached the gate. "I noticed a small group slip in already. I know lady Alex will hound them until the day they die, but if the rest enter it will only complicate things further. So before I leave allow me to give you a gift." She brought a hand over her jade eye, and through her parted fingers it gave off an intense glow. Ichika may notice one of her swords rattle slightly, not enough to give away her secret but it was still noteworthy enough. Alouette could hear the princess mutter a soft chant under her breath, as a chilled wind flowed around her. The soldiers had nearly reached the gate, but stopped when they felt that same wind around Lorelei. "What in-!" The armored man gasped out as four pillars of ice had materialized and erected between them and the entrance of the castle town, they stood tall and proud, and acted as a shield before the dastardly men. "Argh, blast! Mages, melt down those pillars!" He commanded, determined to break in as quickly as possible. Lorelei staggered for a brief moment and took a breath, but she held herself well enough. "...I should be thankful we haven't experienced Isolde's infamous summer heat, otherwise those pillars wouldn't have been as effective." She looked at the group. "Still, that will only buy you so much time. Wipe them out before they break through, good luck." She gave Ali one last nod before she rushed off to help the fleeing civilians. The group was on their own now...

Well, Leon expected this at some point. If anything he was about to bring it up if Louise didn't. Not everyone answered yet, but Kazue did admit to not being able to take a life. He gave her a glance, a neutral one at that, but the man was worried for her well being. That's one, guess I'll do my best to look out for her. Bonner was the one he was least worried about, Markus and Esther answered and while they were satisfactory he wondered about Markus a little. Esther he had no grasp on at all. Alrenne did his best to move the topic along, but Louise was quick to bite back. "Heh, you're gonna go far with drive like that, Miss Park." Leon spoke up and looked her in the eye. "So you say you're fine with taking a soldier's life if need be? You seem like one of the pilots I need to worry about the least, but I hope that confidence can carry you to the point where you have to pull the trigger." The red haired man turned his gaze back to Alrenne. "I also agree, this is important. I know everyone here signed on the dotted line, but as a team we need to be on the same wavelength. I'm not expecting us all to sing Kumbaya around a campfire and be best friends, but we have to work together to survive. So knowing each other's MO is important." He turned his gaze to the rest of the room. "Regardless of how people feel about me, I will kill to keep my team safe. I want everyone back on this ship in good shape, so if I get a little crazy out there I apologize. Just all part of the job." He gave off a small smile.

Despite wanting to stay quiet, Louise voicing her concerns got the man to reconsider. "Yeah that's about the size of it, miss Park. Even then I'm just a random merc, so it only makes it a bit more interesting in my opinion. Aha!" The rank skip did get a small laugh out of the redhead, but he cut it a bit short. "Wouldn't exactly say it's pessimism when realism is more accurate, I had the same questions itching at the back of my head too ever since I got onboard. I can't imagine how much bank the federation put down on a project like this, but I did expect an elite core to go with the high end tech. No offense to any present company, of course. I also feel like this 'small' mission might not be so small." He folded his hands and leaned on the table slightly. He had a lot more on his mind, but he figured this was enough for the moment.

Renais wasn't too far behind Gean and Cin. Though she was not in her usual attire, she wore a familiar pink kimono with a purple flower pattern across it. The pinkette had tied her hair in a high tail and made sure it and the foreign outfit were as secure as possible, despite the chest area fighting back slightly. For the most part, she and Mikoto were about the same size so it was a decent enough fit. She held a staff in her other hand, she wasn't as visibly angry as Gean, but it really just showed how good Renais was at keeping her emotions in check when she's motivated enough. When Cin had moved to stop Gean, she rushed up to the two and gently put her hands on Gean's axe hand. "We'll find her, Gean. I'll never stop until we do, but please be calm. For me..."

Leon just gave Iskra a nod, he knew she was withdrawn so he just left the conversation to it's end right there and turned back to Sia. I am a bit of an intimidating guy, she's probably not interested in getting to know me. That's fine. Sia looked about as good as Leon had expected, but this wasn't the place to start flirting with her. Then came Kazue, with a hell of a kick that almost broke the doors down. The red haired man couldn't help but snicker quietly to himself. She was another withdrawn case, but with a raging fire inside that came out in bursts. With almost everyone here, Leon assumed the meeting would move forward, and Louise was the first to voice out. The former merc was on the same wavelength, he knew something was up, but for the moment all he could do was mentally prepare himself for the worst.

While the royals and their entourage had taken the time to decide who would check, if at all even, the situation took a turn for the worst. A wagon was at the front of the line, and it was under inspection by the guards. It seemed to take a little while, as the guard had been in an argument with the driver for some time. Though eventually, things had come to a head. "Be that as it may, sir. You'll find my documents are quite-" "I care not! You will allow us to scan through your goods, or be turned away!" "...feh." The driver fixed his cap over his eyes and took a heavy sigh. "Dearie me, I knew deep down this was unavoidable..." "!" The guards took that as a sign of hostility, but they were too late to take action. Smoke had rushed from the back and sides of the wagon, a lot of smoke. It flooded the area and enveloped the knights of Isolde. The air filled with confused shouts and cries, as figures moved through the black smoke and took their chance. A battle had broken out, sounds of steel against steel reached the guests who were still in line, but by this point quite a few of them started to flee the area. The sound of combat had even reached both of the royal carriages. Lorelei's head instantly jerked to the window, as she tensed up. "What...is this an ambush?" She turned to the trio in the card. "Alli, Luce, Ichika, we must evacuate." That being said, there weren't a lot of options for them other than the fields...but she realized there might be danger out there too. Meanwhile, the alliance carriage had decided on a different approach. "Hear that?" Alex spoke out, and opened the door. "An ambush. Miles, with me." The woman wasted no time getting herself out there, she was ready for something to happen and this was most certainly it. She looked ahead to see a large cloud of smoke slowly creep its way around the gate and waiting area. "Dammit, this is bad. Miles check the carts and make sure everyone is safe!" She pointed at Lorelei's carriage in particular before she ran off toward the smoke. Alister on the other hand hand narrowed his eyes at the situation. "Mikhail, go with Miles. I have a bad feeling this isn't it." He stepped out of the carriage himself and grabbed a short sword nearby. "I saw quite a few guests flee toward the hills, if this really is a planned ambush it's likely they have reinforcements outside. I'll secure as much ground as I can. I'm counting on you to help out here. Can I trust you to do that for me?" He eyed Mikhail, determined to keep the peace as best as he could.

The talk with Sia the other day was quite enlightening, Leon had prepared himself for the day as best as he could. It was a peacekeeping tour, but knowing how these things operate the situation can and will take a turn. The red haired man walked into the briefing room and scanned it quickly, hoping he would find Markus or Kazue. Guess they're both late. He meant to have a talk with them about what had to be done, but he found the topic pretty awkward and a good itme never came up. He wondered if it will during the meeting. Either way, the merc took a seat. At the moment, only Louise and Iskra caught his eye. He waved to Iskra and smiled. "Welcome, welcome. Good luck on the mission, eh?" He knew she happened to be one of the quiet ones, he found it hard to approach but now seemed good.

Renais had left Gean and Tasha alone, and went with Tanya as she offered to keep her safe while they help the others up. The pinkette didn't say a word to the cat, she just stayed in her thoughts. This is the second time I lost track of someone I love...then again, it's probably not just two times. She cursed whatever five years was behind her, Luthier seemed to know a lot more than she thought he did. Renais did her best not to cry, she did her best not to break down like she did when Liza left. That sadness was replaced by her frustration, she couldn't do anything to stop him from taking Mikoto. I am nowhere near the strength of everyone I care for, the Evokers, Mikoto, Liza, even Gean. One day, that dream will be reality, but until then I will do everything I can right now. Mikoto, wait for me...

Alexandra turned her eyes back to her retainer. Even though she didn't see him tinker with his arm, she still heard enough to assume that was the case. Though she didn't seem to mind in this case. "Heh, a little warm up is never a bad thing I say. That being said I wasn't bored at all, you all kept me pretty entertained." She eyed Mikhail with a grin. "I like your man, Alister. He's a little to himself, but I respect that." "There's few people in Gottfried I trust more, even if he daydreams a little too often." The prince couldn't help but tease his companion a little for his distracted state. "Mm, not that I blame him. Isolde continues to be quite a beautiful land." He looked out his own window and eyed the assembled carriages and gate. "The inspections seem to be a little slower than usual, I've come here often enough to know that. Even if there is an important festival." He looked over at Alexandra. "Do you think we should simply approach ourselves and see what's going on?" The battle hungry princess took in his words for a moment. "Lohengrin always encourages initiative, I don't see why not." She turned to Miles. "Fancy a walk to the gate, Miles? Or do you wanna stay here and chat with the boys?" Alister couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "...it was my idea to check you know. I'm a little insulted you think I'm staying." Lorelei's group didn't seem much better off with their own concerns. Alli's princess couldn't shake her expression, even with the support of everyone onboard. "I'm sorry, I really don't mean to worry you all." She shook her head. "My senses are a little sharper than your own, Alli. I thought I picked up a spike of something magical closer to the gate, perhaps it's the guards, or maybe some of the guests." She looked out the window again. "That's the issue with festivals, it can attract all kinds of people." A small part of the princess really wanted to approach the gate as well. It really didn't help that the line barely moved, but before the princess knew it they were about two carts behind for inspection. "Oh, it's not much longer now. Good."

When gave confirmation she was stable enough, Renais nodded in respect to her wishes. "You're right, this attack isn't a coincidence. I was supposed to be one of the targets, I believe the man in charge is responsible for...a traumatic event in my life. In fact they took Mikoto in my place." She let off a small frustrated huff. Renais did her best to keep composed and focused on her job, but she really wished she could go after them now. "As you wish, commander. I'll take care of the others. Speaking of which..." She turned to Cin to look at his injuries. "...don't push yourself, Cin. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but promise me you'll keep yourself alive and safe too, please?" She knew Cin was just as angry, and she hoped that last word might help keep his fury from a grim result. After she put her own feelings out on the matter, she raised her staff and began to heal the dragon's wounds.

"The meeting won't begin until every member is present, I'm not worried about missing it." Spoke the princess as she eyed the inspection ahead with a worried expression. "...though if I may be honest." She turned back to the group. "Between what I sensed in our trip and this, I have a feeling something may have happened. This certainly is an important day, and we've expected some difficulty. Even so, I can't help shake this feeling that there's something amiss even under these circumstances." The woman turned her head back to the window, and noticed another carriage pull up from behind. "All I ask is that everyone stay on their guard." Lorelei took a moment to herself to scan the area of anything magical, she had realized the cart that had just arrived had some traces of magic onboard. I can only hope they are also late arrivals. Similar to Lorelei's, the new carriage carried some important figures. Four individuals were onboard, two royals and their chosen bodyguards. While they were both members of the Alliance, they came from different nations. "...a line, hm? It seems like we'll be among the last ones inside. A little disappointing I must say." Spoke a dark haired man in a suit. "Mikhail, how did you enjoy the ride? I'm sorry it took a while, I wanted to enjoy the scenery." "Pfft, nice lie, Alister." Spoke a female voice who sat across the two men, it belonged to a purple haired woman in a white military uniform. She carried the emblem of Lohengrin on her shoulder cape. "You wanted to take the scenic route to make sure there weren't any uninvited guests right?" She folded her arms and gave him a sharp glance. "Honestly, if you're that worried I could take Miles and make another lap around the hills. Hell, by the time we're done the line will have died down!" The gesture got a laugh out of the black haired prince. "Ahaha, perhaps. Really I just needed some peace of mind, lady Alexandra. Today is an important day for us all. You know as well as I do that means difficult times are ahead of us."

When they had reached the commander's room, Renais had hoped both of them were inside and not at death's door. Unfortunately she was half right, and Tasha was there with Cin by her side. "...alright." When Gean gently let her back on her feet, Renais grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can heal her physical wounds, but when you're ready I think she needs her mental wounds mended as well. I'm not as close as I'd like to be for that." She looked back at Gean. "When you're ready of course." With one more squeeze she let go and rushed into the room. She lifted her staff up and got to work healing the commander and Cin of any wounds they may have had.

"Well, as an old hand of the battlefield..." Spoke the man with a sly grin as he leaned forward in his chair. "I, for one, think the group did pretty well overall. So I agree with miss Park's assessment." He scanned the room for a moment, and gave Kazue a glance himself. "I admire everyone's willingness to learn from their mistakes, just as much as I admire their passion in the heat of battle. I can relate on both accounts." He looked back to Sia. "The important part at the end of the day is coming back alive, I just hope that's everyone's first priority."