Fire Emblem: Wretched Whispers, Act 2: Warpath

[Shin]

Orpheus took a few seconds to process the information. Mercenaries, the old man from the bar, the free room. It all made sense, he was mooching a room that belonged to these people's group. Extending his hand in return, and half expecting it to be crushed, Orpheus shook her hand.

"I'm Orpheus, it's a pleasure." he replied, wondering what he was getting dragged into. "How's the work going? I can't say I've had much like myself. I've been roaming the country for a good month or two and it's been pretty sparse."

[charlie_]

The Gem Catalogue

"You really want to know all of them?" The trader asked, slightly irritated. "Well, alright..." He consulted his notes again - lord knows he needed them, and began to read from them. "The red ones are uh... Vitality Gems, apparently, and they're supposed to increase your endurance? Or something like that. The dark green ones are Might Gems, which uh... makes you mighty or something, I guess. It says that the light green Shield Gems are apparently the opposite, and helps you to take hits from punches and weapons and stuff like that. Then there's the... Innovation gem? Who named all of these things?" he groaned. "Anyway, it apparently boosts your magical power or something and helps you to cast more easily. It's dark blue - and the light blue one increases your resistance against magical attacks? It'd probably still hurt though... The orange one is... an Agility Gem? These names are really lame..." Just how many more of them are there?. "Anyway, it makes you quicker on your feet and helps you react to stuff more quickly. I guess that sounds useful? You alreay know the Ability Gem, and the Prosperity Gem is..." He frowned. "It makes you lucky? How does that even work?"

The Unexpected

Norman had expected Ivan to struggle against the world circuit, so seeing him not only clear it with very few problems, and then take on the owner and win on top of that, came as a surprise to Norman. "Did you know he could do that?" Norman asked Wolfgang, obviously impressed by Ivan's performance. It seemed that the man was way tougher than he looked. "I thought that he was going to lose for sure. You weren't too bad yourself, by the way. I figured you would struggle, being a mage and everything, but you got pretty far. You seemed to miss quite a bit though..." Truth be told, he wasn't sure if Wolfgang had been just playing around, or if his aim was genuinely that bad...

Edited December 13, 2014 by SB.

[Xinnidy]

Magali took her payment, though was distracted counting her earnings on top of their job payment to realize most others had come and left the theater's entrance --well, most sans Lugos.

Considering they've never really talked much before, Magali figured she might as well, what was stopping her? "Oh, it seems we were left behind, Lugos." She broke the silence and glanced at him. "Have you ever been to Bonvale before? It looks so nice, but we'll only be here for a while, so I wondered where would be good spots to sightsee... and it would be nicer with some company." She said coolly, though the sweetness is her tone and the tilt of her head with a light smile were giving her invitation to tag-along. Subtle. Hmm, you're not that younger, and I don't ever see you being talkative. Come now, don't be that shy~.

[Percivalé]

Vale tilted his head again slightly. This really sure was a strange one; he couldn't quite wrap around what Declan exactly wanted, despite being--intentionally or unintentionally--obvious with it. He scratched his head, fingernails digging firmly into his scalp; the sensation helped him think clearer. "Well, I mean, if that's what you want to do... perhaps we could go somewhere less noticeable to the public eye? You mentioned you might get some shit from people here, which obviously isn't, uh," pause, "ideal." He truly did worry about that, after all--if something so simple as the argument in the bar jarred his own unpleasant memories, going anywhere in this place where Declan might encounter something similar would destroy him at this point. He obviously had his guard down, which made him vulnerable. But then again, Vale thought, perhaps he underestimated him...

He shrugged off the thought train, suddenly. "Well, it's whatever you want to do. You can lead the way and I'll follow, yeah?"

[Bluedoom]

"No, I've only seen him picking locks and opening chests, if anything. I know that wield a lance but wow, I never thought he was this strong!" replied Wolfgang in awe. He continued, "And me? Well I wasn't sure I would go that far myself, but I suppose magical fists can be quite good in boxing. I did miss at times true, I suppose I can't take hits very well, heh." he replied sheepishly, his fingers ruffling though his hair.

" Oh yes, I have to ask, what's the story behind your axe? I feel lots of energy emanating from it... and it piques my interest." he coolly asked Norman.

Edited December 13, 2014 by Bluedoom

[Ether]

"Hmm... out of all of those, the first one seems like the most useful for me..." Celestia replied, grabbing the original gem, and placing the 500 gold onto the counter.

"Not that it's any of my business, but... if I wasn't a mage, and couldn't feel the magic in these things, I probably would have dismissed this as a joke and told people to stay away. You might have gotten roped into it or something, but try to think about how you're affecting the guy who runs this place when you're completely obvious about not caring... like it or not, right now, you're representing this store, aren't you?" Celestia noted, hoping the man would take it as advice rather than be affronted by it... she'd hate to see what looked like a family store go under due to lack of choices to cover the store front.

[Oersted]

Lugos took his payment and his mind immediately wandered into how he'd spend it. He'd never really had gold before he started this whole mercenary thing and having so much in just a few days felt weird. He was surprised when Magali suddenly spoke to him, mainly because he figured she'd left already. "Oh, I guess we were," he said sheepishly as he looked around to confirm what the dancing cleric had said. "Nope, first time here. First time I've been in a city now that I think about it," he added on. Turns out there weren't many cities on the Sloktan-Angala border, who'd've guessed. "We could look around together, sure," he said, easily picking up on her invitation. It wasn't exactly subtle. Heck you'd have be as dense as a... bird to miss that.

Edited December 14, 2014 by Oersted

[riariadne]

Meetings

Sheikah was a bit embarrassed when Taima ended up making the decision to leave much quicker than her, waving at the birds as she left and running into a man even taller than her. Why's everyone got to be so tall? But the man mentioned he was looking for some work. "A mercenary? We could use another. I'm Sheikah Hart, and my troop is Hart's Hollows. I mean, we've picked up a bunch of random people... someone with past experience is welcome if you're up for it. What do you say?"

Arcane Mastery

"Lying around? That's not... it isn't an object. It's a spell that my teacher cast, one far beyond my understanding. Perhaps if he were here..." The thought seemed to linger for a moment, before she shook her head. "No, even though you express interest in it, I wouldn't ask that of you. I am sure you are excited to become a proficient mage, but this is a wretched path, sometimes one that haunts me. You... wanted to look at it closer earlier? If you want to, you can." Mina eased herself off the couch, sitting next to the mage and extending her hand. "I'm feeling... slightly better, too. Perhaps I could help instruct you with one of these tomes."

Champion

The crowd was totally awestruck as Ivan defeated the Captain, who stood up, saluted, and exited the ring. As Ivan left, the man at the arena's entrance approached him. "Hey, here's your prize money. Great fighting out there. Captain says anyone who can beat him gets a special prize too- pick one of these, got it?" He held up a small shield, and what appeared to be a peculiar wing. "They're enchanted- they'll help you out in a fight, not that you might need it."

Axing Questions

"We can give you a pretty solid beginner's training session for that. Just a moment," the instructor replied, walking off to the side and fetching two training axes and handing one over. "If that's your final price, then take this and give me your best stance."

[eclipse]

Peter hefted the training axe a couple of times. Definitely heavier than what I'm accustomed to. "Alright, let's start." He swung the axe towards his opponent's chest. Should be easy enough to guard, but what happens after that is where I get lost.

[Nanami Touko]

"Oui. A spell, I should 'ave, er... Oui..." Mel flushed red at the realization that the symbol on Mina's hand had not been caused by something physical, sighing. And she was a bit disappointed to hear that she wouldn't be allowed to join Mina on this path of ancient magic. It was most disappointing, but... "Eef zat ees what you sink, Mina, zen I will not argue wis you... You are ze one zat 'as zis on zemselves, donc, you would 'ave ze experience. 'Oo am I to argue?" she shrugged slightly, and then made some space for Mina to sit next to her.

At least she was allowed to look at the symbol. She gladly took Mina's hand and started looking the symbol over. "Ze lune, eh, does eet mean anysing?" she asked, absently, as she continued to observe it. Then as she was holding her hand, the symbol started to glow an eery white. Mel looked closer, and could even feel it... Radiating magic. Almost as if the symbol was giving some magic to her. It was an incredibly odd feeling.

She did let go of Mina's hand (it sure would be hard to teach anything with her hand being held forever, and that magical radiation was starting to scare her, if only slightly), and picked up a Carreau tome that was sitting on the floor. "Zis one!" she said, happily. "I 'ad a lot of trouble wis eet during ze show, donc... Eet would be nice eef you could 'elp me wis eet, a little bit." She smiled, a bit embarrassed.

Edited December 15, 2014 by I have opinions

[Shin]

Orpheus had hit the jackpot, he'd solved his work woes and gotten away with accidentally taking a room in one fell swoop. It meant he didn't have to use his back-up plan - blagging that he'd already been hired by them didn't seem like it would work on the group's leader. He wasn't so sure about what the group were actually doing, but it was better than sightseeing.

"I have a good feeling about you people." he replied, nodding in response. They didn't even ask anything. He could have been anyone, it looks like they really needed some help. "Tell me what needs doing, and I'll be darn sure to get it done."

[Tryhard]

Ivan frowning, Ivan not be like the wings. They reminding of flying nightmares.

"Justice shield good enough for Ivan!"

Taking, thank arena man and being leave. Ivan happy with punch, but be wanting sharpening skills in weapon. Find train area not soon after, Ivan hope could being of something use.

Edited December 15, 2014 by Tryhard

[scorri]

Taima grinned. "Good to have another fighter. What sort of weapon do you use? I'm assuming not magic from your grip, but I could be wrong I suppose." She didn't see any obvious weapons or armor so was possible she could be wrong but still, the grip and calluses on his hand seemed to indicate otherwise.

[Grace]

Diana pondered for a moment. "Sure. That will be fine." Diana responded to the shopkeep. After receiving the gold, Diana thanked the shopkeep and left.

Well that should be enough gold... I think it is time to check out that gem shop now. Not too soon after Diana finished that thought, she suddenly felt dizzy. With nothing around to support herself on, on the open path, she tried to steady herself as best she could. What... is happening? Diana couldn't keep herself up, and as such fell down to her knees. Feeling a sharp stinging pain from the contact with the gravel path, the dizzy spell started to subside. Slowly gathering her bearings, Diana shifted herself to a more sitting position. Glancing at her knees, she noticed that they had grazed against the gravel slightly and had made an open wound, with a small amount of blood forming around it. With strained motions, Diana reached for her belongings, more specifically the set of fabric bandages and medicinal herbs she kept with her healing materials. Diana gingerly applied the small amount of medicinal herbs around the open wounds. Diana paused to let the herbs at least take some effect before carefully wrapping the bandages tight around both of her knees. Diana still cringed when the bandages contacted the open wounds.

That was not pleasant in the least. Diana mused to herself. Maybe I should look into some sort of knee guards at some point... Diana slowly rose from the ground, still slightly disoriented. Explaining this is not going to be good... I should just get back to what I was doing. Diana headed in the direction of the gem shop.

Upon arriving, Diana noticed one of the group there. She couldn't recall her name though, her mind was still slightly hazy from earlier. Not wanting to risk an awkward situation, she turned her attention to the array of differently colored gems. So many... which one do I want? Her eyes drew toward one of the dark blue gems. Inspecting it visually, she felt a faint magical force, not dissimilar to what she feels when she uses her healing staves. Am I... feeling that? Or is it my mind playing tricks on me again... I don't know. Taking a brief moment to recollect herself, she decided to just ask about the gem. "Excuse me... but how much gold for this gem?" She asked at the shopkeeper, even though it seemed like he was still busy with the other mercenary.

[riariadne]

Conscripted!

"Well, welcome aboard then!" She hit the man's shoulder somewhat awkwardly as a joke, then moving her hand away and coughing lightly. "Uh, but anyway... we're here to help reinforce the Irskan units in two days, up against the main Angalan force. You still up for it?"

Ages Past

"This rune? It signifies knowledge through ages, a wise and revered power. It is named after the farseers long ago who divined far into the future, though it is a magic we no longer know. My teacher, his dream was to delve into these mysteries and reawaken the magics we have lost, much like Arine once sought to do as well. Long ago, tomes never existed and magic was untamed." Mina seemed somewhat surprised when it reacted strongly to Melanie's touch. "Hmm... your potential is strong, if the Seal shines for you... well, regardless. We should begin." She looked through the tome quickly. "This one should allow you to focus a bit more easily than the one you have. I have been working on my own edits of tomes recently. Give it a try."

Battle Technique

The instructor blocked Peter's swing with relative ease. "Not bad, but it could use refinement. Go ahead and give it another shot." He stood in a more ready stance this time.

Not far away, Dervas approached Ivan after finishing a drill with several recruits. "Are you another one of the Hollows? I am General Dervas. Do you seek training here?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Vraiment?" was all that Mel could manage to say in the face of such a deep explanation. All this ancient magic was nothing that she'd ever heard before. She was almost feeling left out by what her parents had taught her... Had they known any of this, though? It seemed so out there. She set down the tome for a moment, and took Mina's hand again, letting the magic start to radiate again. She ignored the weird feeling this time; if this is what ancient magic felt like, she'd grin and bear it. As for what to say towards Mina's comment of potential, she let go of the woman's hand and flushed a bit red. Compliments on her magic were something she didn't really know how to deal with, so directly. "Merci," she decided on, taking the tome and trying to cast the spell into a rather open part of the room, as to not hit anything. She cast it, and decided to try and hold it as she had during the show, and...

She could. Far easier than with a regular tome. There was barely any strain on her mind, as the orbs stayed there. "W-Wow! Zat ees magnifique! 'Ow could you 'ave reduced ze strain so much wis just a few edits?" Mel smiled, watching the magic. She decided to keep the spell there; there was no point in letting it go so quickly if there wasn't as much strain, anymore!

[eclipse]

"Alright," Peter said, not particularly surprised by the block. He swung again, this time attempting to hit the opponent's shoulder at an angle.

[Tryhard]

"Ya, hollow be. Ivan would be have some time with this lance."

Ivan spin lance around few time, try being little flashey.

Ivan dumped 300 gold on the table to train his lance skills.

Edited December 18, 2014 by Tryhard

[charlie_]

Enchantments

"The axe? Well..." Norman hesitated. "It's an enchanted iron axe, basically. It has some kind of mage-slaying magic imbued into it. I don't really get how it works, but it doesn't matter. I haven't really needed to use it since I got it though..." he shrugged, lost in thought.

Advice

"Uh... yeah, sorry. It's not so much that I don't care, I just had this thing kind of dropped on me by my uncle. I've never tried to sell anything before so like.. it's sort of overwhelming, you get me? Thanks for the advice though." He barely had time to compose himself when Diana came in. "Uh, that gem costs 500 gold - they all do. Oh, do you know what it does?" he asked, trying to be helpful.

[Ether]

Looks like he'll be just fine, Celestia noted to herself, crushing the gem in her hand as instructed, feeling it's magic swirl into her. It was an interesting feeling, but she could feel her vision sharpening a tad already, and it would supposedly show more effect as time went on.

[Grace]

Diana took note of the shopkeeps explanation to the other mercenary, and his slight hesistance on answering her. "I'm not exactly certain, but I have a guess. What does it do, by chance?" Diana asked. Well I'm fairly certain what it does... but I feel this is better for him.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Curly Brace

[Bluedoom]

"An enchantment, huh? Interesting...Oh! That reminds me, I was planning to go to the library to read up on something...You can come along if you wish to." he told Norman as he quickly and silently made his way out of the boxing arena.

Soon enough he found himself at the library, filled with much enthusiasm and nostalgia. "Heh, I would consider getting back into the Irksan army but...I get more freedom as a mercenary, and nothing beats that." he thought to himself as he entered the building.

Edited December 22, 2014 by Bluedoom

[Shin]

That sounded a lot like hard work, really hard work. A battle between countries? That was far bigger than anything he'd seen before, far more dangerous. It was the adventure of a life time... but also perhaps the end of it too. Orpheus paused, was this really what he wanted to do with himself?

Of course it was.

"I'd have to be taking them all on myself for it to be a problem." he boasted, half-jokingly. "As long as there's somewhere to go to, I'll be walking with you."

[riariadne]

Numbers

"Confidence in your abilities has to be a good sign, yeah? Nice to have you around. Strength in numbers, especially up against an army, you know?" Sheikah reasoned, fidgeting with her hair a bit during the pause in conversation. "Sorta forgot what we were doing before this..."

Revisions

"Well, that is a newer version... I have gone back and edited the tomes here carefully many times," Mina explained, slightly embarrassed by the praise. "I still have much to learn, as well. Is it... really that much easier? I had not thought it to be such a significant improvement."

Practice Practice Practice

"I see. Then we'll begin," Dervas spoke jovially, retrieving two practice lances and passing one to Ivan. "Let's start off simple- come at me. I am well trained and well-armored, so don't hold back."

Meanwhile, Peter's instructor had a more difficult time blocking than before despite his stance, though he managed to do so successfully still. "Good, good. It's important to keep your guard up as well, however, so think fast." The Captain swung with his own axe, aiming for Peter's upper leg.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Reinfleche

[scorri]

"We were heading to go shopping I think. We could also head elsewhere if you had a specific destination in mind Orpheus. We were mostly just going to be wandering, I'm pretty sure." She grinned at the man, clearly happy to hear that a competent fighter was joining their group.