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Faith in the Spirits Arc 1: To Align the Stars


Mercenary on the Winds
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Laniva blanched a little after being suddenly put into command; she winced as the light spell struck her, and again as Miria crumpled next to her. Damn, this is too sudden - what am I supposed to do...?! 

Before she could figure it out, though, there was the glint of a blade in the air, and yet another flash of light. She glanced back to see Siorel on the ground, as well as narrowly in time to avoid Cin dashing past her and venting some frustrations on the monk responsible. The other was promptly turned to stone, and she used the brief lull to take a deep breath. Okay... situation, situation...

"Someone get Siorel back on her feet! We need to hold the rest of their forces near us here." It wasn't much of a strategy, especially given that most of them were essentially already doing so; but the Chief had left her in charge, so that's the way things were.

"Miria, you alright? Up you get; that looked like a nasty blow, but unfortunately a proper rest will have to wait until this is over."

Laniva holds position and uses a Vulnerary.

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It sounded like a lot was happening on the west side right after Natalya had left it to the others, but the appearance of the additional reinforcements mandated she stay here or get horribly pincered. Dodging out of the way of Nyx's shot wasn't a problem, they'd just have to gradually fall back while there were too many opponents to deal with, and hope the west could manage with a few less people. And that the Knights wouldn't make some sort of deal with the many-tailed fox. Not that that seems likely with how much they hate Clouded.

Aly was already repositioning, and Tasha would do the same, moving to hold in between her two allies in the hopes of attracting some of the attention the white lizard would otherwise be getting. "Come on, suckers! Let's see you fight a tiger!"

Natalya moves to 12-9 and equips the Monster Carver.


Hesitation was fine. Nobody looked like they wanted to step in and challenge him, and so Ferid could proceed with what he was there for in the first place. "Good. Comments on Artorius aside, are you going to stand for your captain's orders? The fools have all jumped to action. This is your chance to do what you believe is right, not what a rabid glory hound has told you to. And if that's not enough for you, I will take responsibility for your disobedience, unlikely as it is to cause consternation for Celine." The battle wasn't too far from where they were, making him turn to see what the distant shouting was about. Either the mercenaries were having trouble, or the opposite, but whatever the case, the rest of the Knights were well and truly distracted. "So, what do you say? Shall we free our people from their pointless detention?"

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Nyx notches an arrow, and takes aim at Cav 8!

[7, 84]

Bending the arrow about Tasha's frame, the arrow pierces Cav 8's neck, and he slides off his confused horse. Cav 8 Felled! 

Nyx gains 34 EXP, and +2 Bow EXP! 

Renais panics, but mends Miria to the best of her ability! 

Renais heals Miria for 26 HP, and Miria gets back on her feet! 

Renais gains 23 EXP, and +3 Staff EXP 

Ullr decides to become Chris Redfield, and punches a boulder that is also Monk 1! 

[64, 97], [75, 47] 

Ullr punches a man boulder, and deals 14 damage!

Monk 1 is stoned, and cannot engage in self defense! 

Ullr gains 10 EXP, and +2 Brawling EXP 


The knight paused a moment, staring at Ferid. He pondered a moment before shaking his head. "I said before, don't consider that man my captain. He doesn't deserve the rank, and you needn't put yourself out there for me like that. If my actions here mean that I am no longer a Knight of Altair at the end of the day, then I was never a Knight of Altair. I didn't think I could do anything here on my own, but I'm not much alone any longer, am I?" The knight saluted at Ferid, "Noah Zeris, at your service, Sir Gead." 


Sari had sped off from the village, a little mad, frustrated, and shocked that the man that ran the place lived so far away from it. “Stupid, damn, ‘nobility’, stupid, out of, city, villas…!” He was pushing himself extra hard, not wanting to waste a second to make it to the Evokers… Luckily, Javier had made it there before him. Tio and Elisa were coming into view, Versaris finally slowing down to meet them. Elisa met him first; he wasn’t surprised. “Good, you got my message… A group of Hecation Knights rolled into town with a Clouded on display, started pointing fingers, demanding to search our wagons. Their Captain put out an order to search things anyway, despite requests for him to come with us to meet with you… Said to use force if we didn’t agree. You can guess how well that went.” Sari had no idea about what was going on in town; he hadn’t looked back since he’d started running.

Tio had finally caught up, Versaris nodding. “Now, we, we seriously need to motor, so–” Without another moment to wait and knowing that Tio wasn’t the best runner, he moved to pick her up– “Oogfh…!” Why was she so heavy!? “... Never mind. Elisa, you carry her. Didn’t think those would weigh so much– Not the point, we have to leave. Now.” It was now that he’d turned back to see the fire plume emanating from the village, the light brightening up every building nearby with the evening approaching. “Fuck.” He didn’t wait to make sure Elisa could carry her wife, he was off again. “If you’ve any questions, ask them on the move!”

“Trust me, I’d rather be sharing a bed with you than having an evening run right now,” Elisa said back to her wife as they approached the village, with Ingverd shortly coming into view… and the flames from earlier getting a whole lot bigger. “Sounds more or less like what we’d figured out already, but-- Hey, what are you?” Amusing as his stumbling about with Tio was, this was no time to laugh about it, and the less fit lady was surely not going to appreciate the remark. “That’s what I was gonna say! Coming right behind you!” She quickly swept her wife off her feet with much more grace than Ingverd’s attempt, carrying her without too much effort and sprinting after the man. “That’s not anything Miria’s armor seemed capable of, so that has to be Cinaed, right? Or something weirder than anything we’ve already seen is going on.”

They’d approached the village much faster than the trip up, but by the time Ingverd came into view and explained what was happening, Tio was huffing and puffing. “I swear… Nothing can ever–” About that moment in time, Ingverd swiftly moved over and tried to lift her, realizing that she was going to slow them down, only to struggle. The attempt was appreciated, but the response was much, much less so. Tio just slowly turned to look at Ingverd, a small scowl on her face, “ex-cuse me?!” No sooner had she gotten the words out, the plume of flames in the distance seemed to grow, Ingverd had already started moving again, and she was now in Elisa’s arms. “Mmmmm… I’m not heavy…” Accused knights, stupid Ingverd… first forcing me to run back, and now this? Ughhhh, someone is going to get it… She shook her head; she had to focus on the actual matter at hand, and not the number of threats going through her head.

“Cinead’s the only one who it could be… unless…” Tio thought about the possibility of Alvira, and that flare up she had during her practice with incantations. Highly unlikely, but a possibility. “Ingverd.” There was an unmistakable air of annoyance in her voice, “Did they perhaps say what was stolen? We learned that it was a relic from Axios, but Sarasin didn’t know what.” 

“It’s Versaris now, not Ingverd; I’ll explain later!” He didn’t want to spend time correcting that beyond a single mention, a little afraid to answer her question about what was stolen. “A few things. One, unless Alvira’s recovered her magic in a blaze of glory, that’s definitely Cinaed. Two, you’re not overweight, but you’ve got a large chest and I wasn’t ready for it. Three… Escaflowne. This is serious.” He was ready for Tio to blow up over two things now, bracing himself for the worst.

Cinead with all of that magic about him sounds incredibly worrying. Cinead may have been hard headed, but if nothing else, he cared deeply about the Tigers. Something had to have happened. Tio, however, hung on Versaris’s last words, whipping her head towards him. “I’m sorry… DID YOU JUST SAY ESCAFLOWNE?!” Tio’s surprise, and anger all broke out at once. The legendary sword of the Hecatian Hero Galari, and the leader of the twelve heroes responsible for leading the world against the Holy Lufirian Empire twelve hundred years ago. Suddenly, the knight’s frantic search made sense; a relic of that caliber being stolen is a blemish unlike any other, and they would probably do anything to find it, and punish the thief. “Damn it! Incredible. Incredible! How exactly could anyone have expected to find ourselves embroiled in this?! If it’s Escaflowne that means there’s a good chance that the less scrupulous knights would be willing to do particularly heinous things… We learned that the attack at Axios was mainly carried out by Clouded, so you know how that could go.” 

Tio continued to stare daggers at Ingverd, her hair starting to turn a shade of green. “You’re really not improving things, In–” Tio paused, “Versaris? When did? Ugh, never mind!” Tio huffed,  “I’ll worry about your thoughts on my weight later. Stopping the knights comes first… and if they have actually harmed someone… I won’t mind letting off a little steam.” What an awful evening. Rest and relaxation ruined, and now this. There were two scenarios now; either the knights simply screwed up royally, and an average, everyday thief stole the blade, or the thief was competent enough to not only get by the knights, but evade them as well. In both cases, average monsters and clouded were in serious danger if they were unlucky. Damn it all…

He better, because a name change out of nowhere was suspicious as hell. Maybe ‘Ingverd’ was a cover name for public-facing work, but if he’d not told this to Iseria either, then things were not as straightforward. Elisa’s thoughts on that stopped from the sheer volume of Tio’s voice, staggering for a moment to keep balance. Even I know what that is, and I’m not the ancient ruins and relics girl of us. Who can even pull something like that off? Could be the Knights are just as worthless as Artorius, but they’d spare no expense to keep the single most important thing in Axios Hall safe.

Tio echoed the rest of her thoughts, albeit in a more incensed tone. “You know, I don’t think there’s a question as to whether that’s happened when that’s going on in front of us? Might piss them off more, but I won’t stop you, more reason to not if they’re making progress against the Tigers.” That, or they’d piss their pants instead. Decently certain that nobody else among their group had seen how strong they actually were, Elisa could imagine how much of a shock it would be to witness.

Sari had to cover his ears at Tio’s exclamation, expecting her to shout, but not quite that loud… He focused on his running as she rattled off her frustrations, questions, thoughts and groans, leaving him without much else to say. Only one thing he could really correct, giving them both a glance and sighing once more. “Versaris Didarion, of the infamous Lufirian spy and assassin family, at your service and attempting to turn over a new leaf because I let myself fall in love with a Monster of dubious origins! A pleasure. If you’re going to start unloading magic once we arrive, just give me a moment of warning. I don’t want to rush in and get caught near the blast…”

Tio’s eyebrow raised as Ing–Versaris, revealed his name, origin, and why his name had changed in the first place. “So that’s what this is about, hmm? I’m sure Lady Iseria knows all of that, right? If so, other than my short temper at the moment, I don’t see any reason to be wary of the sudden shift. Versaris, it is then. Glad to see you’ve figured something out.” Tio then focused back on the road ahead, “I’ll be sure to. If things can end without either of us doing anything, I would prefer that. If not, there will be some knights missing. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve gone rogue, and I won’t tolerate knights, or anyone for that matter, terrorizing the people they’re sworn to protect.” Her hair finished changing to its brilliant green. “If that means that a whole battalion of Altair Knights suddenly vanishes, so be it. I’m sure Celine Altair would understand.”  

“I work under Jeremiah Noire. He knows, and he would’ve definitely informed the Queen if I hadn’t already. Not even Lufirian intelligence is completely above the royalty of other countries.” He didn’t want to lie about anything at this point. Tio was already upset enough. They were quickly coming up on Liste proper, so hopefully those knights were close to being defeated, else they soon would be… Aly, please be alright.

ENEMY PHASE TURN 5!

The Lieutenant flinched at Alvira's return, his eyes, and lance turned to her. "I deserved that. I did say for you to bay at the moon. You're much louder than I expected, and I regret that you were left alive. I'll fix that after I'm done with your friend." He then turned to the flaming dragon approaching him. For a moment, there was abject fear upon his face, and much of his body told him to abandon his fight with the dragon. Then, it turned to a smile, an audacious smile. This was simply the reality of fighting monsters. "T-that's right. Come closer. I won't miss this time, boy! COME ON!" The Lieutenant rode off, charging at Cinead.

"Follow after him! Meet the enemy head on! For the glory of Hecatia!" Maraval shouted, urging his forces on. 


"Come on boys! Let's skin these half-breeds! Looks like there's onl-- Eh?" In the middle of his speech, a woman with multiple tails approached one of the soldiers. Spouting something about a purchase, and fighting being beneath them. He swaggered over to her, "None of us are interested, demon. I have a deal for you however." He hefted the axe above his head, "I'll just kill you now, and maybe you'll have enough time to find your place in hell before the rest of them arrive!" 

Fighter 3 engages Mikoto! 

[80, 70] 

Fighter 3 swings... but Mikoto had almost literally vanished from sight. 

Mikoto counters with Nosferatu! 

[53, 2

Critical! 102 Damage! 

Perhaps her frustrations had hit a peak on this day. Perhaps she'd gained a better handle of her magic. Perhaps this human was simply that weak. Whatever the case was, as the axe flew by her and missed with the most brief of sidesteps, she snarled, baring her fangs in a bright smile! Mikoto's pupils dilated into slits, eyes wide, a purple aura encapsulating the fighter... With a sickening scream that lasted but a second, his body began to compact as the spell she'd cast worked its magics, crushing and compacting his form, inch by grotesque inch, cracks and squirts erupting as a cacophony of sound...! Until it was done. Not ten seconds had passed. The knight that had once stood there was now a small, dark sphere, no bigger than a sweet treat. With a quiet, triumphant giggle, Mikoto picked the orb out of the air with her fingers, opened wide and swallowed it whole. "Mmn... They're better alive... mnn, but this will suffice as a snack~ Anyone else? Sales are still on the board, should you wish to be less... Barbaric." Her eyes and form had returned to normal, but there was clearly nothing normal about her...

The other knights looked on in horror as the man who had riled them had disappeared in a wave of dark energy leaving only a sphere of... something. A woman in bulky armor stepped forward, after having mouthed the words, "Holy shit." She cleared her throat, offering a stilted bow. "...I, uh, apologize for our leader's affront. We recognize that you're not with our main opponent, and will not bother you again." She looked at the others, "Engage the mercenaries, but leave this woman, and anyone associated with her out of the fighting!" With a terrified nod, she and the other knights moved on. 

The Knights will no longer attack Mikoto under any circumstances! 

Mikoto gained 5 EXP, and +2 Dark EXP 

Cav 5 rushes Cinead, grin on his face, monster pike in hand! "I'm glad to see that your friends being harmed draws out the monster in you! It will make it sweeter for you to fall next!"

[77, 40]

The flames surrounding Cinead's body threw off the man's strike, causing it to narrowly veer wide! Miss! 

Cinead took advantage of the lacking attack, to strike back! 

[26, 49] 

Cinead slammed his fist into the Lieutenant's stomach for 8 damage!

Cinead gained 10 EXP, and +1 Brawling EXP 

Cav 3 engages Alvira! The incoming rider looks a little bitter about something, unsure of what it could be.

[90, 46] 

In her bitterness, she forgot that her sword was supposed to impact Alvira, and not fly past her! Miss! 

Alvira on the offensive after the miss! 

[82, 72]

The Cavalier was better at dodging than she was connecting. Miss! (Riveting combat) 

On the right side, Merc 3 engages Natalya! 

Vantage activates, so Natalya attacks first! 

[22, 72] 

Merc 3 goes down before he gets a chance to ready his finishing move! 

Tasha gains 10 EXP, and +2 Axe EXP

Lead by Example upgrades until the end of the turn! 

Sword Armor 3 does not want any part of that, but attacks using the Wind Sword! 

[61, 33] 

The blade of Wind strikes Tasha for 13 damage!  

Lance Armor 3 aims their Javelin at Nyx! 

[32, 27] 

His Javelin was much more accurate than his compatriot, and nails Nyx for 11 damage! 

Nyx returns fire! 

[72, 18] 

The arrow pierces armor, but the wave continues ever closer... 

Nyx gained 12 EXP, and +1 Bow EXP! 

Mage 3 throws a blade of wind at Aly! 

[46, 98]

The blade narrowly careens wide! Miss! 

Aly counters! 

[2, 60]

Aly knifes yet another mage! 10 Damage!

Aly gains 8 EXP, and +1 Hidden EXP 

Mage 4 can't find an opening to attack Tasha, but find Aly in a set of trees instead! Only he can cause forest fires!

[86, 99] 

He might have actually set the place on fire, because he sure didn't set Aly on fire. Miss! 

Aly spins the knife! 

[6, 31] 

The Knife spins through the mage's cloak, and deal him ten damage! 

Aly gains 10 EXP, and +1 Hidden EXP! 

Aly reaches level 6! 

87    95    42    15    63    32    60    17

+Skl, Def, Res!

Priest 3 however, didn't like that, and healed him up to full! 

Lance Armor 4 slides in close, and switches to his Iron Greatlance!

[93, 18]

Aly nimbly evades the strike! Not even close! Miss!

Aly counters immediately! 

[42, 30]

The knife couldn't miss, but the knights armor remained intact! 4 damage! 

Aly gained 12 EXP, and +1 Hidden EXP! 

PLAYER PHASE TURN 6!

After what felt like an unnervingly long time, Versaris, and the Evokers arrived to the north of Liste. At a single glance, the situation didn't look the best. They were holding the main bridge well, but the eastern part of Liste seemed close to being overrun. It didn't look like there would be a simple diplomatic solution here. Tio sucked in a deep breath, "Elisa, could you put me down, please?" The moment Tio's feet touched the ground, her staff appeared in her hand. The crystalline object then broke into six pieces, and started circling around behind Tio. "We assist the Tigers until the threat is subdued. I would appreciate the commander of these knights to be alive so we can talk. Versaris, if you could find that unfortunate person, and if the Tigers have already dealt with him, find the next best person. This is unacceptable." 

With a bright flash of Light, and a very strong pulse of magic, Tio started walking towards the eastern side of Liste, "If you need me for anything, I'll be over there. Coming, Elisa?"

Tio, Elisa, and Ingverd have all arrived, and will join the fray! 

Tio's Inventory, and Stats have changed! 

Chapter3 T6.png

Edited by Mercenary on the Winds
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Alvira gasped as the blade almost struck her, her ice going wide in an attempt to counter. She slammed her tail against the ground again, glaring fire into this woman. "You really sure you wanna do this!? If this next spell doesn't kill you, you've got ONE chance to run away! I won't chase you down if you make the smart move to turn tail!"

Alvira to 2,9, Light the cav!


Mikoto sighed, folding her tome back into her kimono. "Alas~ Perhaps if any of you survive, you'll be more talkative. Your friend was delicious, by the way~" She grinned with all of her fangs once more, eyes popping wide as all the knights ran past her. "It's no fun when they don't fight back... Ah, well. I took an oath. I must abide by it... You're all safe. From me." The other Clouded and Monsters seemed like they would be able to handle themselves.

Mikoto strolls casually to 13,10

"Good evening, miss Tiger~ Having some trouble, are we?" She idly waved at some of the knights, giggling over their terrified expressions. "Don't mind me. Just here to watch. They've learned their lesson."


Versaris stormed onto the field and didn't stop moving, rushing straight towards the first group of Tigers he could spot. Luckily, it contained Natalya. "Got it," he gave Tio, bolting towards the Tiger of the Tigers. Nyx was near her, seeming no worse for wear, and... Alriana! She was beyond surrounded. His legs couldn't carry him fast enough!

Versaris to 13,14!

"Natalya! Aly! Nyx!" Sword drawn, he was still a bit out of the combat, but another bit of running would solve that. "I brought help! Keep one of these bastards alive in case the rest of the group knocks that asshole too far off his horse."

 

Edited by Mel the DM
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Even with Gean's words, Renais was still in a panic, but thankfully once Miria was back up her stress was alleviated somewhat. Now that her best friend was taken care of it was time to pick up her new friend, so the pinkette rushed to Siorel's side and used her staff once again. "Please get up... please..."

Renais moves on 5, 11 and Mends Siorel away from an early grave.

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The pain had been nearly unbearable... Until it wasn't. Siorel blinked, vision coming back to her. "Hah, wh... Ahh... Thank you, Renais. Thank you so much... And I'm sorr--" Her eyes focused as she sat up, the sight of what Cinaed had become making her flinch. "Wh-What happened!?" She'd been out for a minute, tops!


Sixteen rubbed at her eyes as much as she could, huffing a little. Using this power always hurt them a little, even if they'd recovered every time... "Hh, one more, time..." There was someone she really wanted to turn into a statue. That overconfident blowhard that had the wolf tied up.

Sixteen moves to 9,10 and attempts to Stone Maravel!

Edited by Mel the DM
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Cinaed braced himself as the Lieutenant charged, fists up, ready to feel the bite of a pure weapon once again. However, as the man struck, the flames around his body swirled, seeming to redirect the spear just slightly. Enough that he was left whole. A grin spread on his face, one echoed on the dragon flames. Looking up at the mounted man, he pulled a fist back, pausing just long enough to say, "See, I would always rather be me, even if I'm visibly the monster you think I am. That's so much better than being the twisted hidden depraved monster hiding inside of you. I'm glad to rid the world of someone like that."

Cin elfire fists and punches the lieutenant into next week

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Holy shit, that spear hurt like hell! At least Nyx managed a good shot back in return, but… man, that sucked! She tried to pull it out, but it was a lot more pain than it seemed worth - fine, then, she’d just have some guy’s lance poking out of her for a bit.

Might have been more enjoyable if he wasn’t a racist - and probably ugly too.

On top of that, now she had Ingverd running down yelling high hell towards the fight, and Nattie looked like she was in trouble. Things were really going to hell in a handbasket, huh? “Ye got some funny ass timin’ there, Ingy!” Keep one alive in case they needed someone to grill, huh? Yeah, they could do that- wait, who the hell was this fox lady that just slid up next to her?

”Fuck!” Nyx shouted, both in surprise and the fact that her reflexively jerking backwards away from her caused her body to twist in just such a way that the javelin embedded in her hurt even more. “Shit, ye scared th’fuck outta me.” Nyx grumbled out as she glanced back over towards the approaching force, and immediately thought better of engaging; instead, she took off in the direction of the village, hoping that maybe she could get some assistance there - especially in getting this damn lance out of her.

Nyx moves to (11,13) and visits the middle village!

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Alvira Flash! 

[38, 6] 

The flash of light sears the Cavalry woman, but she remains in her saddle. 12 Damage! 

"You can fuck off! Don't you dare speak about him like that!" The woman fumed, unable to swing at Alvira again. 

Alvira gained 10 EXP, and +1 Light EXP!

Renais gathers her bearings, and mends Siorel! 

Renais heals Siorel all the way to full! 

Renais gains 22 EXP, and +3 Staff EXP! 

16's eyes started to glow menacingly. Maraval noticed her in the distance, and remembered that it was her that had turned his subordinate into stone. "Oh shoot!" Maraval tried to charge, and skewer the girl, but it was a little too late. 

16 casts Eyes of the Medusa! 

[45]

Maraval was not able to escape 16's gaze. Her glowing violet eyes, feel on him, and he felt his body become rigid. "Curse you demon sp--" His words caught in his throat, another stone to add to the stone that he had become. 

Maraval has been Stoned! +10 Def/Res, but cannot counter or evade. 

Cinead engages Cav 5, with burning, lethal intent. 

[17, 5

With not much more sound than the air being parted by Cinead's rocketing fist, the exchange was over in a single punch. The Lieutenant found himself launched from his horse, the elfire empowered fist piercing his armor and scorching his skin. He, of course, never felt anything beyond the crushing blow having already lost conscious on contact. He ragdolled away, leaving only a very, very confused horse. Critical. 48 Damage!

Cinead gained 30 EXP, and +2 Brawling EXP

Cinead acquired the Paladin Band! 

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“Well, there’s no doubt this is something Sixteen did.” Syndra was taken aback at the knight’s commander, now nothing more then a statue. But there wasn’t time to relax yet, there was a little cleanup still left to do, so with the relative safety now provided, Syndra crossed the river to pick off the other horse rider.

Syndra moves to 7, 8 and casts Ice at Cav 4.

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"Oh, would you just look, you stupid bitch, you've lost! LOOK!" Alvira gestured wildly at the scene unfolding. The lieutenant getting flung from his horse in a crumpled pile, Maravel turning to stone. "Make the smart choice! Save your life! You only get one, and I get that you're beyond blinded by rage, but surely, SURELY, you don't want your legacy as a knight to be 'killed by Clouded mercenaries for personal beliefs!' Right!? You've still got a brain in there! Use it!" Alvira couldn't believe these people, well and truly. This would be the last time she'd attempt an appeal to reason before lighting her up once more.


"Hah! Haha! No more words from you, stupid!" Sixteen was wincing and blinking hard, but she could clearly see her success, collapsing onto her butt and holding her face, eyes stinging. "Ahhh...! Worth it to shut... You up...! Hh, hahaha...!"

Edited by Mel the DM
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And in one fell swoop, the team had flipped things back into their favor. The prideful lieutenant a charred mess and their boss a chunk of stone, Gean could almost laugh at the sight. All that remained where was some unfortune stragglers. However there still was an entire force on the other side of the village that Tasha had mentioned. Gean could only assume Aly was over that way. "Lani I'm worried about Tasha and the group on the other end. Some of us should move on while the rest of us clean up shouldn't we? I'll finish off that knight Syndra's working on and you can figure out who moves and who stays. Someone should watch over 16 as well." 

The bridge was packed, so no way to pick off the horse rider from there. Luckily things like a river meant nothing for a Seafolk. Moving quickly over the river Gean swooped in the knights blind spot ready to swing. "Blame your comrades or the goddess for your misfortune."

Gean strolls up to 5-7 and swings at cav 4!

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Alriana's annoyance with this wind mage had grown to new levels, being the only person she was had been unable to dodge, if only once, in the absolute mess that was attempting to crash down on her. If she could remove him, then she should be in the clear.

Alriana dagger mage 3.

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"What on--" The knight looked over the water, and her eyes widened. Captain Maraval had been turned stone, and she watched as the man she idolized flew back down the mountainous path, lifelessly. She turned back to Alvira, the white hot flame in her belly seemingly growing in size... until it didn't. She let out a pained whine, as the blade in her hand fell to the ground. "...Curse all of you. Beings like you. All of you. First, you take my brother at Axios, then, then..." 

She put her hands out towards Alvira, but there was a look of unbridled hatred in her eyes, "...I know he wouldn't want me to die here. Fighting demons like you. Fine. You win. But I hope that someone comes for all of you just like you deserve."

Cav 3 surrenders, and will no longer attack!

Alvira gained 40 EXP! 

Alvira reached Level 6!

82    23    43    47    69    59    90    31

+Mag, Res!

Alvira reached BMAnima Rank C, and learned Blizzard! 

Note: Enemies can rarely surrender if the conditions of battle make sense for them to do so. Many will not take your generosity at face value, and ignore your call for reason. Others might if your argument is persuasive enough. If successful, the person in question will receive the EXP * 1.3 from defeating the target, but not the weapon EXP that they would have if they had slain the opponent. 

TL;DR if you decide that trying to spare someone is in character, and it works, I'm not going to punish you out of EXP. 


Nyx enters the Central Village!

Luca peered over a counter at Nyx walked in, "...You're not one of the Knights, yeah? Though, I guess if you were, you'd be moving for your weapon. Ugh... Sorry, I hate fighting, and things, and I... whew, I don't want to know what's going on out there. I'll just hope that you guys are winning. But... just because I don't want to see the carnage doesn't mean I can't appreciate what you're doing, yeah?" Luca rummaged through some things, before pulling out a feather. 

"I got this a while back. It's apparently a harpy feather, rare little things these are. I thought it was a Pegasus feather, but this little feather is supposed to make you a little faster. Or so it goes, I've never tried. Take it. It's better off in your hands, and if the knights do come in here, it won't be here for them to get mad at, yeah?" 

Nyx acquired a Aged Harpy Feather!

 

Edited by Mercenary on the Winds
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"Ungrateful piece of shit! You're gonna call me a demon!? Call me a demon when you KNIGHTS OF THE FUCKING REALM started flinging insults, demands, curses, slurs, all sorts of shit, and why!? Because I have wings!? Because I have a TAIL!? So fucking what? At least I have COMPASSION; a fucking moral compass! The very reason you're still alive! Ugh... Worthless! You're worthless! Run! Run off with your hatred! I hope it kills you!" Alvira was beyond furious. "So some Clouded killed your brother. Would you be condemning humans if they had instead? No. No you fucking wouldn't! Double standards, cherrypicking, so long as it suits your feelings it doesn't matter how many of us DEVILS you put to the sword, huh!?" Alvira felt herself getting angrier, throwing her hand to the side as a blast of ice shot out. For once, she felt it. And it hurt... She grabbed her arm tightly, shuddering under the sensation. It at least brought her out of rescinding her mercy.

"I still feel the same as any of you, dammit! Fuck! Fuck, this is so stupid and pointless... Fuck...!" Alvira's tail cracked against the ground again, turning away as a few tears slipped out, the pain from the spell and her overflowing emotions mixing to drive her over the edge. "At least killing sellswords felt right. You guys are supposed to be the good guys. Knights. Fucking knights. The people sent to keep everyone safe. Everyone includes Clouded and Monsters, damn you..." I used to be no better. I'm glad I realized before I sunk to this depth... All this pointless fighting is teaching me one thing. I'll make good on it after this is over...

Edited by Mel the DM
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"I sure am. That's a lot of knights and not a lot of Tigers, so how about we lend them a hand?" Elisa ran in front of Tio to get the first shot off, not being quite as serious about things, but still wanting to put some effort into protecting the place. "I'll give you the usual, so blast away!"

Elisa's normal skills activate, and she moves to 13-15, dropping a big rock on Sword Armor 3.


The fox had approached Natalya with unclear intentions, feeling as if she wasn't really on anyone's side, what with saying she just wanted to watch. "I don't know what your deal is, but there's a dog buried in it somewhere," the tiger responded, quickly turning her attention past the apparently very powerful lady and to Ingverd's callout. "Great timing! We were just about to be pushed ba..." Tasha's sentence trailed off as a bright plume of fire crashed down from above, instantly crushing and incinerating the knight in front of her. She could barely even see Elisa, but they could attack from that far away? ...I'd hate to not be on their side. It likely wouldn't take long for Tio to answer with her own equalizer, and with Aly getting rid of another of the big threats to her, the commander could afford to finish off the knight that had attacked Nyx.

Natalya moves to 12-11 and attacks Lance Armor 3 with her rifle.


Correcting the other knight was just going to waste time, and they would have to use it to free the captives. "Unhand the detainees, if you've restrained them. If not, just give them a sitrep. How the battle goes will determine how we proceed with them." And just then, the sky lit up over the village, raining spells of a strength no mere rank-and-file knight or Clouded would have been able to cast. So then the Evokers are here... And they've won. There isn't a person in Hecatia who could defeat them. "I believe that's our answer. Tell them what's going on and march the convoy into the village. Maraval will be lucky to be alive, or even a pile of ash." Now, the only question that remained was what the Evokers were doing in Hecatia. Ferid knew that people that important wouldn't just casually stroll in here with a dozen-strong entourage of mercenaries.

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Miria was starting to feel weak. The effects of her armor were really starting to kick in. But with the stoning of the knights' leaded, this means they have to be close to victory. The little Kanseian could make it through the rest of the battle. She had to.

Miria to 7,7, Iron Swords Priest 2

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The situation on this side of the battle seemed to be under control. Standing just behind the front of the line, Laniva surveyed the fight; the officer was out of commission, a knight surrendering... yes, things were about settled. Especially so, given the motivation behind some of the Tigers here - some, particularly vocal in comparison to others. But that was just fine.

Still, the other side of things wasn't going as smoothly; the Evokers had arrived, but it would still be prudent to involve herself in the situation; letting their employers do all the work would reflect rather poorly on them.

"I'm going to help the others - catch up once you're done here!"

Laniva to (11, 11).

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Syndra moves in, and targets Cav 4! 

[51, 70] (74) 

The hailstorm pelts Cav 4, dealing 14 damage! 

Syndra gains 12 EXP, and +1 Anima EXP! 

Syndra reaches level 5! 

6    34    68    13    1    4    56    31

+HP, Skl, Speed, Luck!

Aegean crosses the river, and pincers Cav 4 with Syndra!

[86, 14]

Aegean's strike was powerful, her intent spot on, but Cav 4 reacted perfectly. He nimbly evaded the strike, but he felt the pressure from the strike. He knew that he'd evaded death. 

Critical, but missed!

Cav 4 comes back around, sword brandished! 

[43, 60] 

He made sure his sword struck true, knowing that he needed to make quick work of the woman if he was going to come out of this. Aegean took 12 damage! 

Aly has had enough of Mage 3, and his gusts of wind! 

[30, 85] 

The knife made a more weighty impact, perhaps because of Aly's annoyance with the mage, and it was enough to send him to the ground. Mage 3 Felled! 

Aly gained 22 EXP, and +2 Hidden EXP!

Elisa makes her presence known by dropping a Meteor on top of Sword Armor 3! 

[21, 73] (74) 

Sword Armor 3 vanishes in a plume of smoke and fire! Sword Armor 3 felled! 

Elisa gained no EXP, or weapon EXP! 

Tasha decides to add a bullet hole to Lance Armor 3's arrows! 

[69, 32] (96)

Click, click. Bang. Lance Armor 3 finally stops moving! Lance Armor 3 sniped! 

Tasha gained 10 EXP, and +2 Gun EXP! 

Miria was back on her feet, and back into the fray! This time, to commit war crimes on priest 2! 

(I wasn't going to roll this fight because Miria auto hits, but look at this shit) 

[100, 53], [85, 87] 

With two quick swings, the Priest was rendered unconscious! Priest 2 downed! 

Miria gained 26 EXP, and +3 Sword EXP!


Elisa sped off ahead, opening with her own attack. Tio threw her arm out to the side as she started to walk behind Elisa, the crystal shards circling behind Tio began swirling about her arm. "Versaris, you're going to want to wait a moment. I won't hit you, but it would be much easier if you just waited." Tio performed an "up" motion with her hand, and one of the crystals flew into the air above her, and started to glow with magical energy. The others continued to swirl around her hand, as she stepped alongside Elisa. Her target was well off in the distance, obscured by nightfall but Tio could see him clearly in her mind's eye. A visual link that allowed her to use the crystals for added sight, an incredibly versatile targeting mechanism. Alriana was nearby, but Tio was confident in her accuracy. "I suppose there's no better time than now to announce that we're here."

Tio chooses Lance Armor 4 for the demonstration. 

[41, 78] (13)

A large pulse of magic, and the five remaining crystals all took formation about Tio, as the spell all but just manifested in front of her. The crystals then seemed copy the spell,  "For once, the name of this spell happens to fit. Purge this place of those who have no right to call themselves knights." A bright flash lit up the town of Liste. Where Lance Armor 4 had stood, there was naught but a helix of light that remained for several moments. When it faded, there was nothing left. No armor, no weapon, no proof that anyone or anything had existed in that space before now. The first attack had been well more than enough, the continuous casting not even necessary. Tio just looked over at Ingverd, hand still raised, and the other spells at the ready, "Now you can go find him. That should have been more than enough of a warning shot."

Tio procs Astra, and Criticals. 81 Damage! 

Edited by Mercenary on the Winds
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"A dog?" Mikoto didn't quite follow, but she wouldn't have time to ask much further. Her whole body tensed as some rather large magics crashed into some of the nearby knights, reducing them to atoms... Someone stronger than her was here. Curses... I'll have to play damsel, hide everything else I can do. Just do your sales pitch and move on afterwards... These two are far too dangerous to mess with.

Versaris swallowed hard. "Don't let me ever get on your bad side, you two."


The enemy charge had crumbled quite quickly, leaving some stragglers to be dealt with... And Cinaed to calm down. Hopefully... "Okay, let's try this again... Just gonna have to take a quick dip." Siorel bent over, took off her shoes, lifted her dress, and made a quick dash through the water to the bit of tree on the other side. "Don't want to ruin anything just because I have to kill a man~ Now, let's see..."

Siorel to 5,8, knife Cav #4!

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"Haah..." Throwing punches at rock wasn't at all pleasant. Üllr was thankful he was wearing the knuckles at this point. It felt a bit weird to punch the man turned to stone and seeing it crack. He wasn't about to stop now, though.

That annoying knight had taken a good beating from the big draconic man, and the other one had been turned to stone, it felt like such a quick turn of events... almost too quick. Üllr wasn't at all used to a skirmish of this level, and those that were fighting on his side were quite strong...

That was nice. Gave a lot of confidence.

Üllr to (6,8), punch the monk 1.

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Siorel takes a moonlit dip, so that she could stab Cav 4 in the back!

[13, 41], [60, 75] 

With two unseen quick knives, Cav 4 slowly slumped over his horse's back as the energy slowly left his body. Cav 4 defeated! 

Siorel gained 30 EXP, and +3 Hidden 

Ullr continues the Chris Redfield regiment, guaranteed to deal damage to Monk 1!

[58, 32], [65, 47] 

Ullr continued to punch until finally... the statue broke in half at the waist. Even if the man eventually woke up from his stoning, he most certainly would not be waking up from that. Monk 1 Shattered! 

Ullr gained 30 EXP, and +3 Brawling EXP


"Right, of--" Noah had been ready to do as asked when the skies above Liste lit up. "...What in Galari's name was that?" Noah then turned with a bewildered look on his face towards Ferid, "What do you mean that's our answer? Do you... mean to say that the mercenaries did that? Or was there someone else?" He paused for a moment, and then realized that it didn't really matter to him. The hostages were his first and foremost concern. The other knights were just as bewildered at the brilliant lights that had appeared over Liste. 

Noah moved towards the others, "I think that was the battle ending, if Sir Ferid's call is correct. Prepare the wagons, and get ready to move towards the square. Inform the detained, and unbind them if they were bound." The other knights looked at one another, and then all slowly nodded as they began preparing. He turned back to Ferid, "It seems like whatever that was, was enough to convince the others without many questions. Hopefully... Captain Maraval is a pile of ash after all of this." 

After a couple short moments, the caravan was ready to move. "Let us lead the way."


The woman looked at Alvira with a sneer. "You know, I thought that too once. We're supposed to protect everyone in Hecatia. Even the monsters and clouded, and I believed in that once. It's hard to believe in that anymore when all it seems like is that the people you're trying to protect just try to bring you down. My brother gave his everything to live up to that ideal, and more than once, it stabbed him, and me, in the back until it finally took his life. He was that good guy that you thought that I, or any of the knights here were supposed to be. People like you killed him. People like you attacked Axios, and killed him and so many others." 

She put her arms out as if inviting Alvira for a hug, but the intent was much less inviting. "You're right, I'm ungrateful that you spared me. I don't even think I'd mind if you proved me correct, and struck me down right now. The only reason I stopped fighting was because I know that neither the Lieutenant, or my brother would want me to throw myself away. Think it petty or whatever; I don't care. It's all people like you have left me with."

ENEMY PHASE TURN 6!

The mage had followed behind the woman who had assumed combat of their group, and had joined her to engage an annoying nimble lizard personthing. It had evaded all but one of their attacks so far, and he had been about to suggest pushing her out of the forest somehow, when he felt something unnerving. First, an armored unit to the north vanished in a plume of flame. That had to have been a meteor spell, but from where, and who? Then, there was a second, much more powerful pulse of magic. A powerful, blinding flash of light overtook the skies, and where his leader had stood, there was only a helix of light. As the energy dissipated, he realized that she was gone, and not just gone, but it was almost like she had never existed in that space at all. Everything, including her, was gone. 

"Dear Galari..." 

The young man realized that he was trembling now. Who could cast a spell of that kind of power? Light Magic was powerful in the right hands, but to obliterate someone like that... The kind of power necessary for that... Gathering a bit of his nerve, he turned over his shoulder to see what the others thought, and watched as the spearman charge in anyway, gunning right for the lizard. Well, that was clear at least. He looked at the priest. 

"I think we can--" 

"Hell no. I'm not taking part in this anymore. Surely you just saw--" 

"I.. I can't abandon one of our own! If he believes that we can still fight, then it is our obligation as knights, nay, men of Hecatia to surge forward!" The mage looked around for a suitable target. He could continue his assault on the lizard, but there was an armored target not too far from his location. He remembered that armored targets fared worse against the effects of magic, and so, he prepared to run off... only to run face first into a staff that was swung right at his head. Knocking him out immediately. 

The priest kneeled down next to the unconscious mage, "The oath I swore to the knights was to keep you all alive. It was not explained to me how, exactly, I was supposed to that. Only that I was." 

He raised his hands, and slid in front of the prone mage, "Neither I, nor my compatriot here will engage in further hostilities." 

Priest 3, and Mage 4(Without his consent) have surrendered! 

Soldier 3, like a goddamned psychopath, charges Alriana! 

[20, 35] 

In a last ditch effort, Solder 3's spear pierces Alriana's body, dealing 16 damage! 

Aly counters! 

[49, 81] 

Aly gained 8 EXP, and +1 Hidden EXP! 

PLAYER PHASE TURN 7! FINAL TURN!

Tio's eye twitched as she watched one of the soldiers charge right after Alriana, and scored an impressive hit. She had half a mind to saunter her way over, and if not use her personal spell, perhaps a Gamma Ray... but that idea was quickly halted when the priest halted the mage from doing something incredibly silly. Tio, however, did not drop any of her spells yet. If the knights were going to make a show of force, she was going to make one right back. 

"Let's go find ourselves our commander, shall we?" 

Chapter3 T7.png

Edited by Mercenary on the Winds
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Alvira was too tired. Too spent. This wasn't right, no matter how much this woman had been hurt. "... I used to be like you. Just a few weeks ago, even... Humans were the enemy. They were all out to get me. They all want me to fail; to die. I lashed out at some of them... But that wasn't right. It'll never be right. There are good humans." She sighed, folded her light tome, and turned away from the knight. "You surrendered, so you get to live. I'm not the monster you think I am, or want me to be... So that's my punishment for you. Keep living. Maybe one day you'll realize that there are only good and bad people... And we're all people, miss." Alvira bowed slightly, sniffling a little. It just ate her up inside to think about. For years she'd hated humans, for what? Some of them had tried to be nice to her. Not out of pity, out of genuine concern. She couldn't let a few rotten eggs spoil the whole cart.

"Goodbye. I hope if we ever meet again, that you've thought long and hard about all your pain. I'm sorry for your brother."

Alvira moves to 5,11... And...

As Alvira turned back towards the rest of the Tigers, with everything starting to calm down, she saw the one person she needed to start with to make good on all the preaching she'd just done. "Sorry if this comes as too much of a surprise, Renais, but..." The dragon didn't wait for the girl's acknowledgement, simply pulling her into a hug and holding her tight for a moment. If she tied to push away or break it off, Alvira wasn't going to struggle. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Renais..."


Sari didn't bother waiting, rushing towards the soldier that thought himself a 'hero'! "Get the fuck away from her!"

Versaris moves to 14,10!

With the knights more than dealt with, Sixteen picked herself up and wandered towards the middle of the group, looking for... "Üllr!" She smiled, still rubbing at her eyes. "You're safe! I'm so glad... We did it! We killed them all! Well, most of them... Still! Great work~ I don't get to punish bad people often, so this was a nice feeling."

Sixteen moves to 6,8 and grumbles over her eye predicament

it looked like the fighting was over, now... but there was a pretty serious issue still looming over them. "Cinaed!" Siorel rushed over to him, getting as close as she could despite the flames... "Hey! You in there, buddy? The fighting is over... Can you turn these off? It's kinda hard to talk over them... A-Are you alright, even? Cinaed?" Hopefully this wasn't permanent...

Siorel moves to 7,10 and tries to talk to Cin

There they were. The duo that had performed those magicks. Mikoto bit the inside of her cheek, trying to maintain composure. It would be a good idea to present herself as harmless to them right away before any of the mercenaries could talk about her. Ignoring the plight of the lizard, she made her way over to the women, giving them a deep bow. "Greetings~ That was quite the magic show! I'm very impressed... My name is Mikoto. Just a merchant, passing through this mess... I was quite surprised to see the knights of Hecatia going toe to toe with these mercenaries... Would you happen to have any idea of what caused such a commotion? It got bloody quickly..."

Mikoto moves to 14,13 and gets pleasant

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The flames surrounding Cin only flared higher as his fist crunched into the lieutenant, sending him flying like a rag doll. These people had come into an innocent village, threatened the people living here, threatened his friends, all because they were the same kind of people that had stolen some weapon. Because they fit the twisted racist bias of these supposed knights, his friends were getting hurt, almost dying, to protect an innocent village from who knew what horrors. As the other enemies around him fell, his flames grew as he started to make his way towards the captain. Stone or not, the man would pay.

'--nead!' A voice pierced through his anger. 'over... --turn these off? --Cinaed?" He turned, flames roiling in the fiery dragon shape, almost as if threatening to breathe fire on those around him. And there was Siorel. Perfectly ok. Nearby was Miria, back in her golden armor, seemingly no worse for the wear either. And suddenly it hit him. What he had done, what he had let happen. The flames vanished as he staggered, suddenly hit by the effort of unconsciously maintaining the spell now that his anger had been pushed back. He looked around him, at the scorched earth underneath his feet, and all the anger was suddenly replaced with shame.

"I. I didn't. I'm. I'm sorry." The words escaped his mouth in a jumbled mess as he turned and fled the scene, desperate to get away before his temper flared again and he hurt someone he didn't mean to. As he stumbled along, he summoned a small flame, trying to run through his exercises. The flame changed to a circle. Then a square. But as he tried to form the next shape, the spell suddenly flared up, starting to form a scaled claw around his fist. "No no no no no. Come on! Focus and calm!"

Cin to 3-10, and don't stop running

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Alriana watched as the two armored knights surrounding her were reduced to both fine ash and a lack of existence, for failure to word it better. That must've been the evokers, though the fact that they had so much power did unnerve the lizard a small bit; it was a first to have her flight of fight response triggered by an ally no matter how brief. However, that small moment of distraction was enough for the final enemy to charge her and spear her in the side, the pain snapping her back to the much more immediate present. She snarled as she disengaged, leaving the cover of the forest to ensure she couldn't be stabbed again as she counterattacked.

Aly to 13,8 dagger the soldier.

Edited by Ursali
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