roymbrog

Oh, so that was the woman? Kimiko looked over to Nadya after Alphonse pointed her out. Greta waved the nomad over and Kimiko took note of her name. It was also around this point she began to notice the sorry state of some of the new arrivals, with both dried blood and injuries around. Between the darkness and the distance, she hadn’t picked up on it the first time. Just what had these people been doing? As Nadya arrived and asked her question, the alchemist began weighing her options for response. The nomad was straight to the point, and would probably appreciate a straightforward reply. “My name is Kimiko Junabara, and I am an alchemist in need of a loan,” she explained, bowing slightly. “Some of my goods and transportation were destroyed in the attack of last night, and my funds are not sufficient to replace what was lost. Greta explained to me how you invested in her business. If you would be willing to do the same for mine, I would most appreciate it. I am also headed to Kigen.” --- It seemed the consensus was that they should wait for the Rexian to return, and so that’s what Valter was going to do. And maybe. Take a nap. Before they had to go… Joanna and Liam were having their own discussion in Quilesh, but he was too tired to ask what it was about. Probably wouldn’t have anyway, it was none of his business...

I changed stats and items around, so I'm reposting those parts Name: Kamal Nizzar Class: Hero Weapon proficiency: Swords Weapon of Choice: Shamshir Inventory: Composite Sword Skillbook 2 Sidearm (Largepack) Chainmail (->Platemail) (Weapon Affinity) Raw Stats: 2/1 HP:9 Str:9 Skl:8 Spd:5 Luk:2 Def:2 Res:1 Simplified Stats: HP:27 MT:9/11 (4/6) Hit:10/12 AS:5 Avo:7 Def:6 Res:1 800 point start -400levels 2/1 = 400 +20 Iron sword = 420 -80 Composite sword = 340 -100 skill book 2 = 240 -60 Sidearm = 180 -70 largepack = 110 -30 chainmail = 80 -60 weapon affinity = 20 +20 sell iron sword = 40 -40 upgrade chainmail to platemail = 0 points

“Right, we’ll head over there,” Kat agreed, and turned Volga back towards the complex.

If Valter was tired before, he was absolutely exhausted now, and it was showing. He had never done well through long periods without sleep. Once they arrived at the meeting site he made a beeline for Phyllis, ruffled her mane in greeting, unhitched her from the wagon, and led the mare back to where Amon was speaking with people. Once there, he leaned against the horse’s side, intending to hear the current situation while exerting the least required energy to do so. He only heard the tail end of the conversation, but from what Valter gathered Malik had successfully retrieved the emblem, but wasn’t here. He didn’t think the Sanctuarian would just make off with it. There had to be a reason for his disappearance. Probably? It was hard to think right now. “Are we going to wait for Malik, or send someone after him?” he asked. If the latter, he was not volunteering for that job right now. --- OoC: Need to ask Phee a thing might be edited [spoiler=A Little Bit of Kindness] Focusing on the road, as mundane as that was, was all Glen could do not to think about, and worry about Joanna and her would-be rescuers. At least the royal guard probably wouldn't be out in force their with the king already gone. That just left the wrathites and the regular guards, both of which they seemed good enough to handle as long as they weren't surrounded or forced into a closed space. "Urgh ... I hope they're alright in there," he muttered to himself as the wagon was dragged along. He didn't even notice what was happening nearby. "Whoa whoa, hold on a sec," Greta spoke up from in back, "They look like they could use some help over there." "Huh?" Glen looked up and over to his left to see what looked like woman and an avian trying to haul a cart. It shouldn't have been that difficult, but Glen soon realized why they were having so much trouble. "Okay, maybe you're right. We need to get moving but I suppose stopping to help them is a good idea. After all, if we can't be bothered to stop and help others when they're in need, there'll come a day when no one bothers to help us and we'll look back and be filled with grief." Greta didn't quite catch the insightful quip, as she'd leaped from the wagon just before it came to a complete stop. Noticing he'd wasted the line on her, he sighed. "I'll just wait here." Alphonse could help if they needed some muscle, after all; Glen was the designated driver for the time being. "Hey there," Greta waved. Kimiko and Elliot had been pulling their damaged cart for a while now, and both were beginning to tire out. The alchemist and student hadn't paid the approaching wagon much mind until it stopped nearby and a girl hopped off to greet them. "Hello," Kimiko answered, slightly out of breath, and Elliot watched Greta curiously as they slowed to a stop. Ever since they'd actually pulled away from Amon's team, Alphonse had been feeling unwell, as though he had made the wrong decision. It was a selfish desire, but he still wished he'd been able to go with the rest of them, he knew that someone had to defend the others and their new wagon, the swordsman just wanted it to be other than him. At the moment though, Al was standing next to Glen on the wagon to keep a look out, one leg resting on the driver's bench, and the other on the floor while his hand was on the top of their vehicle to steady himself. Really he would have preferred to have a wagon with a solid roof that he could sit on, but this position would have to do for now. Spotting the pair that Greta had mentioned, hesitating for a moment and looking to Glen "Keep an eye out while we're handling this, I'd rather we not completely lower our guard." Before jumping off after Greta and following her, giving a nod to the people they had stopped for. "Looks like your cart has seen better days, no offense." "Err-yeah, pretty much," Greta mused aloud. "Did y'all want some help? Seems like we're goin' the same direction anyways," she offered with a shrug. Elliot made a face at Alphonse and mumbled in Neviskotian, “<Looks like your face has seen better days, no offense.>” “<Be polite, Elliot,>“ Kimiko told him, albeit quietly. The last two days had been stressful for everyone but she was not going to let it color her interactions with others, she told herself, and breathed a sigh of relief when Greta spoke up again. “Yes, yes we would be most grateful. Our cart was damaged in the attack last night, and… my animal as well. Are you headed out of the city?” she asked. The alchemist had a bit of an accent, something odd and likely placeable as a mixture of Neviskotian and Kigenese. "Yeah. We're meetin' up with some friends in a little bit, but I think we've got time to help y'all out too," Greta answered, choosing her words carefully. The news of them losing the animal that was supposed to be pulling that cart was a little disturbing, but hardly surprising. She glanced over at Alphonse to try and gauge whether he was in the mood to do any grunt work. "Right then..." Alphonse muttered before shrugging out of his jacket and handing it over to Greta, leaving him in a short shirt. "Hold onto this will you? I'd rather it not get in the way." Looking over the wagon again, there wasn't a pretty sight to be had. "We can pull this thing for a while, but with the way that wheel is damaged I don't know how long it might last." He mused, shrugging afterwards "Oh well, daylight is burning so we might as well get started." “Thank you,” Kimiko replied, nodding to the both of them. “Hmm... We should introduce ourselves. My name is Kimiko, and this is my student, Elliot. Elliot, would you come help me pull this side?” “Yes, Miss Junie,” the young avian answered. There were two beams in front of the cart meant to attach to either side of a work animal, and he ducked under one to grab the other. Alphonse was left with one beam to himself. Looking up at the sky, the swordsman was right, it was starting to get late. They likely wouldn’t make it too far before it got dark. “If you could help us to an inn, that would be wonderful. I suppose I will figure out what to do with my stock in the morning…” Greta folded up Alphonse's jacket and kept it safe under her arm. "Wait, you're a merchant?" she asked Kimiko, a little surprised at the information. 'Peddler' didn't always carry positive connotations even though it seemed a bit more accurate given the size of the cart, so Greta stuck with the general, more flattering term instead. Suddenly she was even more sympathetic to the woman's plight. She'd lost her animals and merchandise to a 'monster' attack not too long ago, as well. “Alchemist, actually,” Kimiko replied, though after a moment seemed to think better on her answer. “I suppose I am a merchant as well, to pay expenses. I sell imbued items, not only weapons, and repair delicate objects. The supplies are in the cart,” she explained. "I see," Greta said, thinking back on her life prior to that terrible day. "Well my name's Greta. I'm just a regular old merchant, myself. No special skills or nothin'. I lost everything when we got attacked by 'skotians and their blasted dragon around Ursaea. That wagon over there ain't actually mine by the way," she pointed over with her thumb, not wanting to confuse Kimiko. "Guess it's a loaner or somethin'." "I'm Alphonse, mercenary by trade, I've been with Greta for a while now." The swordsman explained. "So, pick up any good business today after everything that happened last night?" He questioned the alchemist as he lifted his side of the cart. “There was a… Neviskotian dragon in Ursium?” Elliot asked. It was the first thing in this conversation that had interested him so far, so it was worth breaking his silence. Kimiko’s brow furrowed in confusion. She had seen maps of the country before, and how would a dragon make it that far from the border? Regardless, she felt that after last night she could emphasize a bit with Greta’s experience. The alchemist nodded sympathetically as Alphonse took up his position on the other beam. “A loaner is better than nothing, I suppose. I wish your business well. Perhaps one day you can regain a portion of what you lost?” At the swordsman’s question she hesitated a moment. After an event like last night would be a prime time to sell items for self-defense, but using such a tragedy as a boost in income wasn’t in her nature. “No... We stayed in the Cathedral most of the day, and only recently returned for the cart,” she replied. An idea hit her, and she smiled. “Would you be interested in buying anything? I would gladly give a discount for your help. Truth be told, I will need quite a sum of money before I can travel again….” "I think I've got just about everything covered for what I might need in the future, though if you know anything about runes I'd certainly be willing to pay for you to take a look at my sword. Magic isn't my forte, so I kinda have to rely on others to see if that part of my blade is holding up as well as the rest of it." Alphonse replied to the merchant. "A portion is all I can hope for, really," Greta frowned, thoughts of her family forcing their way to the forefront. She glanced at Elliot when he asked about the, normally, rare occurrence. "Yeah, there sure was," she nodded gloomily. "But enough about that awful day," she forced a smile, "I told myself I'd keep lookin' forward so that's what I'm doin'. I'm teamin' up with a girl that's travelin' with some friends to help get things up and runnin' again, but we're goin' to Kigen so things could be a little rough for awhile. Maybe you should stick around for a bit and see if she can't invest in another cart for ya. Those ain't nearly as pricey as full blown wagons." “I would be willing to look over your sword; runes are my specialty. Discount still applies,” Kimiko replied to Al with a smile. Elliot believed Greta’s dragon story, if only because of how sad she looked about it. He didn’t want to make her talk about something painful, so instead piped in on the next thing that caught his interest. “We’re going to Kigen too, it’s where Miss Junie’s family is from.” “Indeed we are,” the alchemist confirmed. “If your friend is that generous, perhaps… Hmm. I would be willing to speak with her. If it meant I wouldn’t have to stay in Europa for several weeks, I could repay her investment.” "Alright then," Greta smiled, "they shouldn't be too much longer and when she gets here I'll introduce ya and y'all can work out the details.” She still wasn't too thrilled about trying to start her own business back up in Kigen but this situation she found herself in seemed like a good thing. It might even serve to help her in some more direct ways. "Good to hear." Alphonse said with an added nod "My Father is from Kigen as well, so it'll be interesting to actually see his home country with my own eyes after hearing so much about it." Elliot had long since fallen asleep, but Kimiko saw no reason to wake him as the rag tag group approached. The druid walked over to Greta after the latter had greeted them, and tapped the girl on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Greta? Is your friend with them?”

If the guards didn’t believe her story before, they certainly did after those gunshots. What was going on over there now? Well, they told her to leave, so leave she was going to. Their crescent shaped formation allowed enough room to reenter the alley leading back to the wagon, but she wasn’t sure she should go for it. Maybe they were distracted enough? Eh. Better safe than sorry, she thought, and started jogging the long way around the second building to swing back around. --- “I don’t think Jericho would approve of that idea,” Kat said, chuckling. Volga took off, gaining some height before flying back the way they came. While they were passing over the second alley again, the gunshots rang out, and Kat looked in the direction of the org-wrathite conflict. “Do you think we should go see what happened? It’s not like we can’t catch up with those on the ground later.”

Amazing

“Maybe you should get your buddies together and go check,” Synthia suggested. “Come to think of it, I think I did hear some odd noises from that direction earlier…” Amp up the fake worry, pensive frown, aaaaand maybe the thoughtful hand on chin. If by chance she could get them all to leave, ignoring both Gytha and those with the wagon, that would be the ideal situation. Or they could consider her suspicious and try to cuff her on the spot. In which case she was going to run like hell, and pray to whatever god was listening to give her parkour skills back.

Valter wasn’t surprised by Joanna’s response, but he didn’t look happy about it. “Joanna, you-“ he started, but cut himself off and sighed. He wasn’t going to change her mind, and he didn’t really want to, but it was still discomforting. “Alright,” he said eventually. To Liam’s implied question, he clarified what Lumi had explained. “She’s right; Malik split off to find it. If all goes well, we’ll meet up with both him and the emblem piece soon.”

After a few moments, and the second shatter, Kat eventually realized what had happened. “COWARD!” she shouted into the alley, though Hayato was probably long gone to hear it. Wrathdammit all. “Fine, we’ll just… Ugh! I don’t know which direction he went, and he could just hide out in one of these buildings if he wanted to… We’ll see if the others lost him too, then head back,” she said back to Zach, as Volga reared back up to take off again. --- To Synthia’s dismay, she was not home free, as one of the guards figured out it was more important to ask her questions than warn her to leave. The org building was her first guess as to what the contractor’s building was. If it would get them off her back, she could give them some information. A half-truth was easier to believe than a lie, anyway. Shrugging, she answered back, “I think I saw some Wrathites headed that way earlier, all armed up and everything.”

With so many of their group gathered here now, it was becoming more dangerous to linger, but they couldn’t leave until everyone was out… Valter could only pray the warpers moved quickly to move Amon and the others. It should only take one or two more… At Joanna’s question he turned to face her, and this time she had his undivided attention. “You’re right -- It’s not. We were supposed to meet with Amon’s friend, Haythem, and his wyvern would fly you out of city limits. The rest of us were going to join up with Glen and the wagon. Once we’re out of the city we’re heading south, towards Kigen,” he explained. There was more to be said on long term goals and what exactly they were doing in Kigen, but there would be plenty of time to tell her about that later. Right now, the words he couldn’t find in the cathedral were starting to come to him, albeit only some of them. He hesitated for a moment, transitioning between an unsure to slightly pained expression, before speaking again. “Listen, Joanna, I… I’m sorry about what happened, in the Cathedral. I knew violence was inevitable when I walked in, though hoped it wouldn’t be. I’m not asking you to forgive me or accept my actions; in fact, you shouldn’t. But I am sorry I caused you pain.”

The guards were pulling out weapons… perhaps this wasn’t the best idea. Synthia stopped midway through the street as half of the soldiers charged into the alley, wondering how best to deal with this. She was only a few yards away from the group, but they either hadn’t noticed her or didn’t care… Maybe if she went around the building she could meet up with the others on the other side? The mage attempted to walk quietly back the way the guards had come from, since she was stuck on that side of them anyway. --- Coming over the opening on the other side of the buildings, Volga landed noisily just outside the alley exit, or at least the one Kat had spotted from the air. “Halt, or we’ll shoot!” she yelled to the darkness.

If the situation directly before the warp was disconcerting, Valter wasn’t sure what to call the situation afterward. Had they nearly managed to warp him right on top of Joanna? ...In Joanna? How would that have worked anyway? “R-Right,” he replied to the avian’s advice, and took a few steps away from where he had appeared to stand next to her. Which in some respects was the opposite of what she advised, but he wasn’t entirely listening. Apparently the second group had been transported into the air though, according to Angelica. That certainly caused him to rethink his earlier frustration. At least he’d landed on the ground. Things could be worse...

“Oh my gooooods, why do they keep running into alleys?” From the air Kat had spotted the two brothers when they crossed the street past the guards, but with the time it took to wheel Volga around in that direction they’d already disappeared between two other buildings much too narrow for the wyvern to fit through. As far as she could tell from her vantage point, the first escape route from the alley had enough room for Volga to land, and so she flew there hoping to cut Hayato off. “If he comes out over here, help me stop him.” --- Synthia had been a ways behind Gytha, and though she had steadily been catching up, by the time she reached the guards there was no way she was getting through unless they let her, or she knocked them out of the way with wind magic. The latter didn’t seem like a good idea, so she was hoping the former would be true and attempted to run around them instead of through them like Gytha had.

"I'm in the next group," Valter said, stepping foreward.

The first group had already been warped out, including Joanna, and Valter was anxious to get out of here. That there was no room left on the second trip wasn’t helping matters. He still had the self-control not to complain out loud about it, but he looked agitated all the same.

Synthia had just been climbing in the wagon when Hayato bolted and Gytha started off after him and Jericho. Well, so much for leaving. The mage hit the ground again and chased after them into the alley. “Gytha!” --- There were no more lightshows over by the now ruined building, so Kat had taken a glance back down at the transport as people began reaching it. Two shocks of red broke off between some of the buildings, leaving her a bit confused, at least before she saw Gytha wave towards the sky and dart after them. Those were Jericho and Hayato, weren’t they? She couldn’t see them in the shadow of the buildings, and Volga was too big to fly through them, but if she flew over to where they should come out… “Hey Zach, did you see Jericho and that other guy run into that alley?” she asked, wheeling Volga around. “Help me look for them?”

Synthia heard some of the others discussing Lilith, and lo and behold, looking back over her shoulder revealed the vasilus taking up arms. Was she going to slice Samael to bits? The mage sure hoped so. They were nearing the wagon now and Synthia figured if anyone was going to tell the drive what was going on, there was no reason it shouldn’t be her. “We’re leaving!” she shouted ahead. --- Volga had long passed those on the ground, and Katrina had her bank into a turn just as they went past the wagon. She wanted to stay level with them from the air if at all possible and was going to circle until they actually left. The maneuver gave her and Zach a decent view over the complex, however, and Lilith’s white wings stuck out like a sore thumb. “When did she get here?” Kat mused.

These were the warpers? “Mercy help us,” Valter muttered, hand on forehead. Then the thought hit that it was basically sacrilege saying that, with what they had just done, which led into a sigh and another muttered, “Nevermind.” Well, it was time to get this over with then. Stepping towards the front of those inside, he asked, “Is there anything we can do to make this easier for you?”

Athrun had a point (many points, actually), but Valter couldn’t bring himself to care as much as he probably should’ve. The stress and lack of sleep of the last two days had caught up to him a while ago and his mind was on other things, but it was likely the words would come back to him later. What was important now was that they needed to get out of there, and with Liam and Amon both moving out of the room, there was no more reason to stay. After the two avians passed he fell in walking behind them and kept glancing at Joanna over Liam’s shoulder. It would be unfathomably stupid to ask if she were ok, but he felt he should say something to her after all of this. The words just weren’t coming to mind at the moment…

seeing if posting works I guess

Synthia could tell things were going on behind her, something bright, but didn’t turn to look until Clover was screaming Desmond’s name. Witnessing the carnage caused by Samael’s spells had her booking it out of there faster than before. --- When the last of the stragglers hopped on her wyvern, Kat gave Volga the order to go, and after a few powerful wingbeats they were airborne and overtaking those on the ground. “I don’t think you’ll need to,” she eventually replied to Zach. “Did you see that lightshow on the ground? I think that light mage guy got his target.”

Valter hadn’t made it out of earshot by the time Athrun started speaking again, and once he heard the first sentence he stopped to hear the rest. That explained why the Wrathites needed her imprisoned along with the emblem, but only made the act all the more unacceptable. Even if the imprisonment was ‘lenient’, if there even came a time when her living became an issue, he didn’t doubt they would’ve killed her. From his position in the hall he glanced back with worry at the avian still curled in Liam’s arms. The prince was giving them permission to leave, which Valter had half a mind to do right now, but now he was anxious and decided to wait until Joanna and Amon were out of the Hall of Wrath as well. He only partially listened to Angelica’s plea to Athrun, but more out of curiosity for the prince’s response than the content of the message itself. He was pretty sure she didn’t know the guy as well as she claimed; she was definitely overstepping bounds here.

I'M ON A ROLL ADDING ALL THE QUESTIONS SO MANY QUESTIONS also updated a bunch of my guys answers because i was dissatisfied This ask sheet is the best thing I applaud everyone who came up with it

Prince Athrun suddenly appeared by the doors, and Valter spared a startled glance towards him. How had he gotten inside? The prince seemed to be in more than a bit of shock as well. It would really be best to use this opportunity to leave, before he decided to stop them. Evelyn’s allies would be able to warp them far enough and were apparently just down the hall. Valter started off after the others heading there, but not before leaving the royal guard with a nod and sincere “Thank you”. Her actions and reasoning had been admirable, in his opinion.

Name: Kamal Nizzar Gender: Male Age: 21 Class: Hero Affinity: Fire Weapon proficiency: Swords Weapon of Choice: Shamshir Inventory: Composite Sword Skillbook 2 Sidearm (Largepack) Chainmail (->Platemail) (Weapon Affinity) Raw Stats: 2/1 HP:9 Str:9 Skl:8 Spd:5 Luk:2 Def:2 Res:1 Simplified Stats: HP:27 MT:9/11 (4/6) Hit:10/12 AS:5 Avo:7 Def:6 Res:1 Occupation: Troublemaker [spoiler=Appearance] About 5’10”, muscled, caramel complexion with somewhat shaggy brown hair. He wears a salmon colored short sleeve shirt, grey pants, leather boots with greaves, leather lamellar with steel plates, a thick leather glove on his sword hand, and a leather and steel clawed gauntlet on his left. His sword is carried horizontally at his back with the sheath clipped to his belt. Nature/Disposition: There isn’t a modest bone in this man’s body. He’s extremely self-absorbed, nearly to the point of narcissism. He's impulsive, will often lie on a whim, and is not averse to thievery. Flighty is an apt description, though he actually is fairly intelligent, it just doesn’t always show on a daily basis. His most positive character trait is his loyalty, if you can get him to respect you. Connections: Rida Nizzar (his sister), Fizza, the Tide Backstory: Kamal spent most of his life with his parents and younger sister in the desert of Rex Avaz. With his father being one of the higher ranking members of their Tide faction, he was indoctrinated with the hatred of Sanctuary and injustice of Aisha throughout his early years. When he was old enough, Kamal’s father taught him swordsmanship and martial arts, and he joined what he saw as a noble cause, the retaliation against oppression. His father was killed in action while Kamal was in his late teens, and no one took the news harder than his mother. She succumbed to illness a few months later. Both events left Kamal severely disillusioned with the rebellion effort and the desert, which he reacted to by defecting from the rebels and fleeing with his sister, Rida, up into Kigen. There was no point staying in a place they had no hope, just to die fighting against an impossible enemy. Once outside the Tide’s influence range, the two took on odd jobs to pay their way as they traveled and eventually made their way towards southern Ursium, where Rida grew tired of her brother’s behavior and settled down without him. That had been about a year ago, leaving Kamal plenty of time to let the loneliness set in, something he’s dealt with by causing trouble almost everywhere. 800 point start -400levels 2/1 = 400 +20 Iron sword = 420 -80 Composite sword = 340 -100 skill book 2 = 240 -60 Sidearm = 180 -70 largepack = 110 -30 chainmail = 80 -60 weapon affinity = 20 +20 sell iron sword = 40 -40 upgrade chainmail to platemail = 0 points