ACT COMPLETE Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 2

[Ether]

"Well, I was checking the shops. Or rather, was trying to, before I was so rudely interrupted." Adele replied to the hooded figure, her expression contorting into a distinctly unfriendly, and all-over rather terrifying scowl.

"Say, I've got a better idea. How about I relieve you of your purse, and you and the alley pave get to know each other?" Adele continued, at the same time grabbing back at the man's arm, with a far more forceful grip than his own, and giving him a sharp tug, intending to pull him straight into the knee that was now flying towards his gullet.

[Shin]

The man licked his lips, drawing his sword with his free hand. "'Ow about this idea. Me an' my pals, Toothless Jimmy an' Bobby'no Nose come an' join for some fun." he began, only to be cut off by Adele's attack. He gasped for air, not quite being floored by the move but enough for him to release his grip. Staggering backwards, he howled out to the alley.

"What are yer fellas doin'! That was yer cue, you mooncalves!" he groaned, nervously darting his eyes between Adele and the alley. "I can't take 'er by meself!"

[Ether]

"My my, such a big, tough guy and you won't even dance without your friends? How disappointing." Adele replied with a wide smirk, drawing Nacht as she saw his blade.

"But sad to say, that means I'll need to take care of you before they show up~ Too many people crowds a party, you know?" The young Lady Herman continued, charging the ruffian and swinging her axe at him.

[Nanami Touko]

Now this, this was nice. A dirty princess over a dead one, huh... Cass smiled, really enjoying being here. Even if she was still being addressed as princess, she was being taken seriously, and even being treated like one of the recruits. "You're wonderful, Hogan," she said, giggling a bit. Perhaps a bit out of place with the situation, but she was pretty pleased with it all.

Less pleased with Angus' suggestion. "Angus, I give you a big talk about keeping safe, and the first thing you want to do is get beaten up by Hogan? Gosh, you're such an idiot~" She didn't scorn him with disdain this time, simply laughing after saying that, still too chuffed with the situation to get actually upset. "Just don't get beaten too badly~ Make sure my favorite squire's still breathing after this, hmm, Hogan?" Cass folded her arms under her chest and cocked an eyebrow at Angus, smiling and shaking her head some. "Do your best."

Edited March 28, 2016 by Melissa

[Dandragon]

He had little time to react to the thrown bottle, and even less to the liquid covering the bottom of his pants. He stared at his soaked leg for a moment before standing up. "Excuse me for one moment, my friends." He took his bottle, not necessarily finished with his drink, walked over to one of the men getting ready to fight, and threw some of his drink on one of their shirts. "Oh, I'm sorry. I couldn't help but notice you two acting like a bunch a mooncalves trying to one up each other. It just looked too fun not to join. ...You don't seem to understand what I'm saying, do you? Fine, let me say this in a way you'll understand." He quickly smashed his bottle on the nearest table and held it at the ready. "Ye wanna get nuts?! Come on! Les get nuts!" Serge had a wild look in his eye. It was mostly for the sake of intimidation. He had no real intention of killing of killing anyone, he was just hoping he could perhaps get these two to sit down and stop making a mess out of things. But he was prepared to fight if he had to.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Dandragon

[scorri]

"Oh goddammit, I really hired a good one here, didn't I? Doug, get Larissa out of here, I'll be right behind you." Walking towards the fight but staying a somewhat safe distance away, Niko kept a hand on his tome as he yelled at Serge, "You idiot, drop the bottle and get over here. You've no reason to be involved in a drunken fight and you need to be alive to get paid!"

Edited March 28, 2016 by scorri

[Jotari]

Emmet gave an embarrassed smile. "I thought you weren't going to ask that. Let's just say my life never really panned out the way I intended it to." He gestured towards the documents she had shifted to make room for them on the table. "My own keen eye for observation notes that you too have studied magic. Though since you don't seem all that familiar with the local mage's guild I'm guessing it was abroad. Probably in Whitwar like myself. However where it seems you've devoted yourself to the art, my interest was less...enthusiastic. But you're far too much of a stranger for me to start telling you the sad little story of my life. I think we ought to discuss payment for my services instead. You've taken several hours out of my day where I might otherwise have been doing something more profitable. No, I'm not looking for money." He glanced around the house again. "Unless you really want to give it away of course" he said with the slightest hint of desperation. "But what I really want, is to see this matter through to the end. I'm a bit of a Jack of All Trades and a Master of None. Yet still, knowledge in many trades can be invaluable, especially when pursuing a legend. Clearly from the reaction you had when I first mentioned resurrection, there is more to this story then you're telling me. That elixer there isn't something you picked up in the market. If it really is a sample from the Fountain of Ages then I want in. What do you say Miss..." he left his words hanging, waiting for her to reveal her name.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Jotari

[Shin]

Larissa knew a barfight when she saw one, quickly making sure she was out of harm's way.The two men looked at Serge, both their ugly faces grimacing. "Yer don't want to be bitin' another man's rabbit, boy." one snarled, cracking his knuckles. "Da Codger says not to get yah nogas in another man's rabbit. This ain't your rabbit."

The other nodded in agreement. "Take yer fancy little sabogs an' ookadeet if yah get my pony." he added in, brandishing a rather vicious looking club. "Go find another way to spend ya rez, otherwise we'll get bored with the sarky and stop bein' so sammy."

Patrons around the room started to look over the ruckus curiously, all staying in their seats. Whether this was the norm or they were looking forward to a good beating wasn't clear, but they seemed more than happy to spectate. The bartender wiped a glass with his rag, muttering something about scraping something off the floor.

--

The rogue let out a cry as Adele's axe struck his chest, dropping to the ground as red spread across his vest. "Bobby, where yah be?" he spluttered, falling to the ground. His face went rather pale, his tongue lopping out of his mouth. "Yah were meant to grab her... grab her... nice an' hard..." he muttered, his body becoming still and silent. The rogue had fallen to a single swing, Adele had become rather potent over the last week.

Two bodies flopped out of the alley, one of them noseless - supposedly they were the man's two allies. Both of them had their throats cut, as dead as the ruffian Adele had apprehended. Whilst it wasn't as if she would come into any trouble from the situation, leaving now would avoid a headache from the authorities.

[Terrador]

Angus chuckles at the pair's concern. It was just an ass-beating; even from Hogan, that wasn't terrifying. "Oy, all fairness here! Th'man doesn't want me crippled. I'm perfectly safe, just not gonna enjoy this s'much~" He gives Cass what he hopes would be interpreted as just a cheery wink, then braces himself for impact.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Terrador

[Ether]

"Bah, what a bother." Adele replied to herself, wiping her axe clean before looking over at the two others. Well, there was certainly someone else at play here, that much was undeniable.

"I appreciate the help, though it'd be nice if I could see the face of whoever it was that decided to dispose of those two thugs. Care to show yourself? I mean you no harm, so long as you feel the same."

[Nanami Touko]

Cass rolled her eyes and sighed, the faintest blush on her face over his wink. "Just don't get TOO hurt." She supposed that would be good enough a warning. Hogan was a huge man, even if he was getting on in years. She'd be surprised if Angus could so much as dent the monster with nothing but a wooden weapon. There was a reason she didn't have the gall to challenge him, herself!

[Dandragon]

As Serge was getting ready, he heard Niko call him like a disappointed and annoyed mother to her child. The men also were not backing down and one pulled out a club. He just got a new job and really didn't want to get fired. On the other hand, not only were his pants ruined, but also these two were most likely about to kill one another. Intimidation was not working. He weighed his options and decided against further pissing off his new boss. He sighed and lost his fighting stance, went over to the bartender and took out a small pouch, dealing out almost all of the gold pieces he had. "This should at least cover the broken bottle. Whatever those two do is on them." He walked back over to Niko. "Well, about that drink...Yeah, gonna have to give you an IOU on that one." He said, jokingly giving a thumbs up. "Let's uh...get outta here?"

[Shin]

Hogan readied himself. "If yer can lay a scratch on me this time, I'll forgive yah for yer shitting bear." he laughed, somewhat intrigued by Angus' possible progress. "I'll even take a lance, to give yer a chance." Taking a wooden spear from the side, Hogan readied himself for the young knight. "After yer, I never like whackin' my students before seein' what they're capable of first."

[spoiler=Angus gets wrecked: the movie]
Angus vs Hogan

4 Atk
81 Hit
-% Crit

vs

13x2 Atk
98 Hit
-% Crit
Charge

Hogan allows Angus to strike first!
(61 20)
Angus strikes for 4 damage! (41/45 HP remaining)
Hogan isn't impressed!

"Swing like yer mean it! At least it didn't tickle this time!"

Hogan responds!
(41 40)
Angus takes 13 damage! (22/35 HP remaining)
Hogan strikes again!
(39 28)
Hogan deals another 13 damage! (9/35 HP remaining)

Hogan charges!
(23 65)
Angus gets wrecked!

Angus gains 5 XP!
Angus gains 1 Axe WEXP!

--

"My apologies, Lady Adeltrudis, I did not wish to startle you... or alert you that I was following you." a young voice called from the alley. Stepping forward, he was a young man, probably in his twenties, dressed not too dissimilarly to as Jeeves had, albeit partially covered in a cloth garb. Bowing politely, he sheathed a bloody dagger.

"Do not be alarmed, I am Sebastian, your father has assigned me as your replacement butler. His instructions were to remain hidden, but alas, here I have been... so skillfully discovered." he laughed, his effort to hide himself less than lazy. "There have been some unsavoury types around the city recently. Although you seem more than able to handle yourself, I'd rather avoid you having to cleave ruffians in half."

Sebastian joins the party!

--

The men grumbled, looking at Serge's retreat. After a few seconds, both of them began to laugh, one patting the other on the back. "Ha, look at that, my fellow droog. I was feeling a little faggy anyway!" he laughed, walking back with the other man to a table. "We be pretty dank enough, we nearly cracked his gulliver! Just like a little eggiweg! He's like an eggiweg, isn't he?"

Disappointed, the other patrons returned to their drinks and own business, the failed fight having been something they'd looked forward to. Larissa leaned over to Niko, giving his arm a tug. "Probably don't want to visit with him too often, boss man." she whispered, her lips practically touching his ear. "Those two are notorious for their short tempers. They'll probably start another fight after we leave."

[Ether]

"Well, I suppose I appreciate the sentiment, at the least. I can't say that I believe we've met before, Sebastian, but I could say that about a good deal of my father's... private staff." Adele replied, looking the man over. It was clear from his gait that the man was a tad more than just wait staff, to say the least. Likely one of her father's special ops, masquerading as a butler... or he could have been a butler to start with and have been given training, she supposed.

"Now then, I'll assume that you'd be well prepared for the possibility of being discovered. As much as I am grateful, without seeing a seal of some sorts from my father, it will be... difficult for me to fully trust your claim, given that this is our first true meeting."

[Terrador]

[spoiler=Angus gets wrecked Gaiden]The squire hesitates for a moment. Every part of Angus knew that he would be laid out if Hogan took the initiative, yet... this felt like running into a trap. He chokes up on his axe, stepping forward once--no motion. Twice--the tiniest movement. Hogan wasn't trying to keep him out. The squire lunges, meeting ribs with a satisfying smack before Hogan can get his lance into position.

"Swing like yer mean it! At least it didn't tickle this time!"

Angus swings his axe in an arc in front of him, in the hopes of parrying the captain's lance, but to no avail. One blow is met by two, using the squire's own refusal to give ground against him. He falls forward, and the third blow catches him just below his ribs and pops him up off the ground. Angus desperately tries not to vomit, but to no avail. He's frankly surprised there's no blood in it! The squire wipes away some reflexive tears, barely holding himself up on all fours.

The squire looks up, shaking his head. "I wouldn't've got that hit if you took up the sword." He waves dismissively in Cassandra's direction. "Don't bother, I'm *hrk* fine Jus' need a momen'." With support from Geoffrey, Angus eventually makes it onto two very unsteady feet. "If y'll excuse me, I ah... think I c'n actually give some grunts a fair workout now." The squire turns to hobble off, slowly recovering sureness of stride.

[Nanami Touko]

How disgusting, but, expected. The vomit was less than palatable, but at least he'd managed to land a single hit. Perhaps the weapon advantage had given it to him, but he did it. And now he was being stubborn. Cass felt her eyes rolling before her brain even told them to do it. "Sit still, moron," she said, easily catching up to him and dragging him back. "Hogan, please do me a favor and hold onto this one, so I can bring my staff over and fix him. I'd rather he not do any permanent damage after taking hits like that. So... Yes. I will be right back." Cass brought the wounded Angus over to Hogan and expected him to be held if he tried to walk off again, quickly jogging off herself, to get back to her room. It would take a moment to slip in and grab her staff, so Angus had best stay still while she was!

[Shin]

Sebastian laughed, it was only natural of Adele to be suspicious. After all, what kind of... "butler" carried around something he could be identified by. "Very true, I'm glad to see my lady has cunning about her. Of course, I could be anyone, even an assassin after your own life." he replied, adjusting his belt. "I cannot say I have any proof on my person. However, my mentor spoke very fondly of you, Lady Adeltrudis. I believe you were very familiar with him... the name Jeeves? His final letter spoke of your exploits on the journey towards Baron Dettard, no? I cannot say this is exactly proof, but at least I'm in the loop."

He gestured towards the herbalist store, Adele's original destination. "I can remain hidden if you so wish, I believe you were looking to make a purchase."

--

Hogan had barely broken a sweat, Angus still had quite the way to go. Still, he put his hand to his side, the mooncalf had given him a good whack... perhaps there was some talent hidden under all that dirt. Grabbing Angus in something not too far dissimilar from a wrestling hold, Hogan laughed. "Yes, ma'am. Probably went a bit rougher on 'im than I should, but hey, didn't break him completely."

Edited March 28, 2016 by Shin

[Nanami Touko]

The castle halls were awful, but she knew them in and out, so it only took a few moments to get back to her room... Which was still in a bit of disarray after her talks, but she'd deal with that later. Staff, staff... There it is~ Wonderful. I really wish I understood how Angus took such a beating and still tried to get back onto his feet. At least take a break! He'll break himself if he doesn't. Shaking her head and leaving the room, once again locked, she started her way back down the halls. She hadn't seen any of the castle staff in a while, but that was all the better for her. The last thing she needed was nagging.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Melissa

[Ether]

Well, he certainly knew his stuff. It didn't... entirely discount the possibility that he was not who he said, as with enough research, one could find out the bulk of what he had said, but that, along with his prior actions, was enough to let him off the hook, at least for now.

"Very well, I'll have my father confirm your affiliation later on, but as for the moment, your knowledge, along with you not taking the opportunity to simply lend in with those thugs and attack my back, will have to suffice. But, there is no need for you to hide, in fact, until I'm absolutely certain, I would much rather be able to see you." Adele replied, as she began, finally, moving to enter the Herbalist, after cleaning her axe and putting it away.

[Terrador]

Angus groans, patting the bear with his free hand. "She doesn't seem to get it, Cap, no matter how hard I try!" He chuckles, then winces--laughing hurts. A lot. He was nowhere near on the old man's level yet, though... he really hadn't learned anything new. He'd gotten a hit in, sure, but so what? He wasn't anywhere near strong enough yet.

"So Cap'n, case in point, I'm fightin' this monster of a man, yeah? He's slow enough, I c'n just pepper 'im, but for infantry it's suicide, right? So I'm handlin' 'im good, tell 'er to bug off, she's got no business near the thing without a horse, then her an' ev'ry other noble worth a damn in the place gangs up on 'im like they've got a death wish." The squire sighs, still sore over that. He barely even cared that they horned in on his glory. "Dunno how to handle 'er, frankly."

Edited March 28, 2016 by Terrador

[Shin]

Sebastian nodded, following after Adele obediently into the herbalist. Unlike the armoury, it was a prim and proper establishment, the wooden shelves lined with all sorts of powders and spices. The mixed aroma of the store was rather heavy, the scent shifting after every step she took. It was rather musky, so many familiar smells, yet none of them she could identify. A rather jolly looking man sat at the counter, barely noticing Adele as she entered.

"Oh? A customer?" he chortled, putting a small pouch of powder down. "Take a look around, see if there's anything you take a fancy to."

Herbalist inventory revealed!

--

Hogan dropped Angus to the ground, letting him wait freely. "It's the job of us grunts to keep the royals safe. Mind you, I'd probably be dyin' fer yer on the battlefield, even lesser nobles be more important than a wally like me." he replied, looking sternly at Angus. "We don't get much thanks, but the fact yer both be alive to tell the tale speaks a lot. Don't be forgetting that."

--

As Cass passed through the castle, it seemed eerily empty, not a single servant to be seen. It was almost unnatural, she'd never had such a clear run. As she left her room, the princess heard footsteps from around the hall's corner, although looking back would reveal nothing. Was somebody tailing her in her own castle? Probably one of the meddling servants, although they had no authority over her, it was the other way around.

Getting back to Angus was simple enough, Cass had evaded trouble - thus far at least.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Shin

[Ether]

"Thank you, I will." Adeltrudis replied to the jovial shopkeep, taking a moment to peruse his wares, they were mostly to be expected of a herbalist, and while he had several interesting salves, Adele wasn't sure how much stock they had, and whether they were in need of such things. Best to come back later, if it turned out to be the case, at any rate. Though what did catch her eye was a rather interesting bundle of powder, of the magical variety, She had seen it before, but a look at the price tag told her that she did not have quite enough on her person to purchase it... not that it would have been much use to her, at any rate. Something she could afford, however...

"Ah, this seems an interesting tea blend. Imported from Wihtwar, is it? What can you tell me of it?"

[Dandragon]

Upon hearing be called an...eggiweg...Serge began weighing his options again. He was better than this. That little outburst before was not befitting of a new Reliant. And yet...who would miss those two? While he smiled at Niko, he did not show him that he was gritting his teeth in an attempt to contain his temper.

...Fuck it. "You wanna say that again at me, you fat tubs o' lard?"

Edited March 28, 2016 by Dandragon

[Terrador]

Angus nods along with the lecture, agreeing wholeheartedly with the old captain. Though he had a very valid point that he'd done his duty that time... what about next time?

"Should it ever come to that, I'll be sure the world's on fire!" he chuckles. "I guess... I just dunno how you create that presence. An' I think I might need it to keep 'er living."

[Nanami Touko]

How odd... Those footsteps were a bit worrying, only because she couldn't put a face on them, but if no one was going to show themselves, then she wasn't going to dawdle. That always brought about something bad. The good, was that Angus had managed to sit himself still long enough for her to get to healing him. She smiled. "Good, you can listen. What a shock~ ...Sincerely, thank you for sitting still. Here." She began to heal his bruises, making sure he was all filled up before stopping. "Alright then! Now, you can go get yourself beat up by the others. Play nice." Cass couldn't help but giggle again, enjoying herself more than she ever thought she would.