TheRoon

"I can understand that, guard duty for royalty is never easy. I'm glad I could help." He did his best to keep his eyes away from obvious points, but when she asked him if her name rang any bells he answered with a serious expression on his face. "Well it's just..." He paused for a moment, as he considered how to approach the subject. "If you're the Alouette I believe you are I hope we can have a minute to chat, I have something to ask of you." He turned away for a moment. "Until then I'll let you enjoy the night, you've earned it." Ali may notice the tone of his voice wasn't one of a flirtatious man, he really did have business with her. Before she had a chance to ask he walked off to take a seat near Eve. "Oh, one more thing." Eve spoke up. "The festival starts tomorrow, and you all can more or less do whatever you want until tomorrow evening when we meet the sponsors." She smiled. "Work will start very soon, so enjoy what free time you all have until then." With that last word the party went on into the night, and eventually the time came for everyone to rest. Alister, Alexandra and Lorelei had bid good night to their charges as Nate escorted them back to the castle. Eve led the group to the Sheltered Rose, an inn just down the block from the restaurant. Everyone was assigned their rooms for the night, and after a long day they had a well deserved sleep. ----------- It wasn't long until morning had arrived over the city, and the alliance squad would wake up to a shining sun and birds chirping just outside the inn. While the inn had been somewhat quiet there was some sound outside. The shopping district had begun to prepare for the festival, a lot of people had spent their time preparing for the day ahead. The streets and shops were decorated with flowers and flags, it was quite a pretty sight. Eve was already out of the inn pretty early, though Nate was still in his own room, everyone else would wake up at their leisure and do whatever they wished as Eve had stated. Though Alouette would notice there was a letter in her room, slipped in from under the door. It was from Katherine Baroque, a name she would recognize. If she were to open and read it she would notice it was an invitation: I hope this letter finds you in good health, my dear friend. I had hoped to greet you in person, but business and the festival has taken my attention. That being said, it is your birthday so we MUST celebrate! I invite you to the manor today at noon for a tea party, you may bring one guest and I will accommodate them. I'll be waiting! - Katherine. PS: Don't worry about my brother, he'll be gone before you arrive.

The fight had absolutely broken out by now, all Leon could do was focus on what was in front of him. "Eat this!" He lifted his heavy halberd and rushed in to smash it down onto a nearby Lancer! Leon moves 18. 17 to swing his Heat Halberd at Lancer 3!

Alister couldn't help but chuckle at Mikhail's response. "Aaah, the fabled son is in his element at long last. I'm happy for you, Mikhail. There's plenty of feasts in your future I assure you." He took a seat. "Soup, hm? Well, sounds good to me!" "Heh, of course Miles! It was easy pickings if you ask me." She chuckled as she looked over the menu. "I hope you've been getting along with everyone, sounds like you guys did great work yourselves! That's why I chose you after all, reliable and strong." She looked back at him with a smile. Lorelei gave an apologetic expression to Alouette's pouting. "I'm really sorry, Alouette. But it does seem like you made up your mind." She took a seat next to her. "You've been with us for so long, I really do appreciate all of your hard work and I'm sure Eve will too. It's only for half a year, but I hope you bring me back a lot of great stories." She gave her a smile, and noted her declaration of being a representative of Phantasma. "Your contributions will help us get one step closer to officially entering in the alliance, thank you Ali." She turned back to her menu and was lost in thought for a moment. Now it's up to me to make sure Phantasma stays on the path I need it to be, it won't be an easy battle... Eve heard Ichika's offer and she tilted her head toward her to listen, when she brought up her experience with magical weapons she locked eyes with the samurai priestess. "Oh, is that right?" Wait, I may have heard something like that before. Eve took a short moment to try to recall what that reminded her of. Is this why Adam had his eye on her? I'll have to ask him later...after I beat him. "That's actually very good to hear, Ichika." She put on a smile. "I'll be sure to keep your own ability to sense out Regalia in mind, all I ask is that you don't bite off more than you can chew. I have a few things I wouldn't mind discussing at some point, but until then let's just relax into the coming night." Eve gave Ali one more nod. "I am blessed to have such a reliable team already, thank you Alouette." Nathan had taken a sigh, his guard duty had ended now that all of the royals had settled in. Granted, he found it funny that he was placed as their escort. He knew all three of them were significantly stronger than he was. The blond walked along to find a chair when he noted a cute red head stop him to express gratitude, but he also noted how...'bouncy' she was as soon as she loosened her harness. "O-oh!" He was surprised, but he tried his best to recover with a quick eye turn. "No thanks needed ma'am, I was just doing my part..." Aaah, settle down Nate. She's just saying thanks...wait, what was her name again? "Wait, did I hear that name right? You're Alouette?"

"We haven't ruled out the possibility of Garmr being involved, Miles. At the same time, we have no proof just yet. Still, I wouldn't put it past the great mind of the Platinum Strategist to have cooked up a whole scheme to gain an advantage in the war." She turned back to Ichika. "That's more or less the plan, but the important thing to note is to avoid engaging anyone wielding Regalia alone. They give the user super natural abilities, if you run into one let me handle it. If possible anyway..." She realized that she may not be around all the time, even with the enhanced speed the choker gave her. "No apologies needed, Alouette. We all worked hard to bring you out of that life, I would never throw away our hard work." She wished she could find a way to reassure her, but perhaps another time. "Well, it seems like we're all in agreement for the moment! Thank you all, truly." She turned her eyes across the table to view everyone. "So before any important work can begin at least half of the members here still need to see their escorts to their meeting, after that then work will begin. Until then, the festival will begin in the morning! Inn rooms will be all set and paid for. If anyone has any questions by all means pester me any time! You can also pester Nate, the big guy in the jacket. He's also a member of the squad, with uh...special circumstances. He's not really my second in command, but he still knows a lot!" A moment later the big blond fighter stepped in and gave a wave to Eve, and behind him were Alister, Alexandra and Lorelei. The blond spoke up. "Seems like we made it in time for dinner...all this running around was a work out..." Alister approached Mikhail and gave him his usual soft smile. "It seems like you're already adjusting just fine, what did you order? I might have what you're having." Alex took a seat next to Miles and let off a sigh. "What an irritating day, those idiots just wouldn't stop running. You have no idea how long it took me to chase them all down." Finally, Lorelei stepped up to the seat next to Alouette. "I'm glad you're alright, Alouette. I hope my gift helped you all." She leaned in a little. "It seems like Eve found you too, I know this is all last minute but I meant to tell you along the way...but you know what happened."

"AI controlled, huh? Perfect." Looks like Kazue didn't need to hold back in this case, and Leon could feel less bad about himself. So with a smirk on he loaded his shotgun. "Those tanks hit like a truck, keep careful guys. Don't do what I'm about to now!" With gusto behind him, the red haired man charged right for a tank to blow a hole in it. They were durable and tough, but so was he. Leon moves 18, 14 and uses an explosive shotgun blast on Tank 3.

It seemed like Ichika was convinced, though she noted Luce had really rubbed her the wrong way. "Thank you, Ichika. I promise I'll make this worth your while." Mikhail and Miles were also in, though Miles was quick to challenge Ichika. "Being a protector can teach one many things, but this job comes with more than just protection, Miles. Be at ease." She sought to keep things as civil as possible, she didn't want things to sink on the first meeting. Which only had her turn to Ali in slight surprise. Then again, probably not so surprising given what she had done for her in the past. "...you do bring up excellent points, miss Alouette." She had grown serious herself, almost deadly serious. "Then in that case, I will pull the curtain back." She reached for her scarf and pulled it off to show a jade stone embedded into a black collar around her neck, and as soon as the scarf was pulled away from the jewelry Alouette could sense intense magic about the stone, and a sword by Ichika's side shook slightly. Not a lot, but enough to possibly alert her. "I'm sure you all know of Heroic Regalia. The princes of Lohengrin and Gottfried were both entrusted one to use, in fact every region was entrusted a few as gifts. A symbol of what their ancestors had done during the Requiem Wars." She put a finger on the stone. "There's a group of people who, one way or another, got their hands on a few of the Regalia. The church gave me orders to find them and recover the items. This choker was given to me to help level the playing field, and one who is adept or gifted with magic can sense them out so long as they aren't covered by special obstructions. This scarf is one example of that." She lowered her finger. "That's more or less why Albion wanted to be involved, of course this is all for the safety of the people, it's just a more...delicate concern, one they don't want the public to hear about. The fact I'm telling you all this, while necessary, could also be dangerous." She looked Ali in the eye. "But I want to make myself clear: I may represent the church, but I am not a blind follower to everything they ask of me. Everything I do is through my own beliefs and values, if you decline here I will simply drop it. The safety and well being of my comrades is the most important thing to me, even if we haven't known each other for very long." The tone of her voice seemed more intense there, a sore spot potentially, but she also wanted to show some grit.

The responses she got so far were fairly mixed. She expected Ichika would be a tough sell, everyone else was a little easier...though Miles brought up that Alex forgot to mention this project to him. "My do I have some explaining to do." When Luce mentioned Adam, Eve's brow had twitched a little. I will certainly have to repay him for making this difficult. So after a moment she cleared her voice to get attention. "I'm sure you would know this better than any of us, Miles, but the war against Garmr has grown incredibly intense as of late. Lohengrin is the only thing standing between them and the rest of Arkus. Prince Gaius and Alexandra had done well to keep back their invasion, but I've been to the warfront not too long ago. The things I've seen are...not good to say the least. I'll spare you all details." War was hell, there was no question of that. But it also wasn't a good conversation for the table. "The point is Lohengrin's had trouble lately, so much so they had to request aid from the alliance. Gottfried and Isolde had given support, even Phantasma's princess wants to help. The only issue with this is that each nation has less man power than desired." She folded her hands together. "Which brings us to the unit I brought up, we are the first of a few squads to keep the peace in Arkus while the war goes on, there's a hole that needs plugging up and this was the solution. There's a lot of support behind this project, and we have a few sponsors backing us up. You would know who one of them might be, Alouette." She turned her attention to her. "Even the church has it's finger in the pie, which is why I'm here, I'm a mercenary contracted with Albion. I've been appointed the leader of this squad." She looked at Ichika. "Truth be told, I would only need you for six months, and I promise you we won't idle. Our missions will take us to quite a few locations, I have a feeling you might learn more than you expect Ichika. Though, again, it is your choice." Adam picked her for a reason, she'd have to ask later but she could only go far with this before she wouldn't accept at all. "As for you Alouette, truth be told I can't tell you everything the church has planned, they kept me in the dark on quite a few things in fact. But I can say you were chosen for a reason. You are a woman of many talents, and magic is your strong point. You have the ability to sense magic in many forms, I realized that myself the night we met. The church wants to put that ability to use. I realize this sounds like they view you as a tool, but I can assure you I won't."

When the red haired man got in his HEX he had one last look at his messages. Viv's message got a chuckle out of him, whereas Kazue made him feel a little better about her choice. "She's technically a civ, but if there's any civ I trust out there it's gotta be her." He still resolved to look out for her. When the whole unit dropped onto the field Leon noticed worker machines doing their best to run from a desperate looking situation. Lancers with AHI markings upon them, firing without caution toward the fleeing machines, Leon had no idea how the situation went down of course, but he knew that this match was one sided as hell. "I'm willing to bet the people in those worker machines aren't even battle hardened, we sure got our work cut out for us." He revved up the engine. "Stay on your toes guys!" Off he went! Leon moves 18, 9

The look Kise gave had surprised Renais, she never saw a stare like that from Mikoto. It really did seem like the two were very different, and Renais wasn't sure how to take it. Though she wasn't scared of her at least. "...just don't forget I'm here for you, Kise. No matter what." With that last word she gently squeezed back and followed the rest.

Kise seemed more forward than Mikoto, it was more confirmation they were not the same person. To just walk up to Jeremiah and tell him he's earned respect for a day is quite astounding. "...Kise, be nice please. We all came this way for you." She reached out and grabbed her hand. Though, Renais came for Mikoto she was the same fox...at least she believed so. "I know you've been through a lot, but it really makes me happy you're safe. I won't go on about how you're only here because of me, I don't think you'd want to hear that." She squeezed her hand. "So instead I'll make a promise to be better, redouble my efforts until I can stand by you and keep you safe. I think...that's part of what my love could mean." The pinkette started to understand what it meant to go so far for someone, though she felt she had a long way to go for the moment it was enough. So she gave Kise a big smile and pulled her off to follow Gean.

"Order whatever you like, Taka. Like Luce said, it's on...well our sponsor not me." Alouette and Ichika were both quick to suspect the situation at hand, which only spurred Miles and Mikhail to throw their own words in the pot. "I suppose this all does seem rather oddly timed, doesn't it? The truth is I have prepared this meeting in advance, though it was meant for tonight not now. It's for the first meeting of the alliance's special squad....the name is still pending" She paused there and gave a smile. "But after today's events, I simply wanted to thank you all for your hard work. So a rest and a lunch is part of that." She looked at Mikhail. "Yes, Mikhail. Prince Alister and princess Alexandra had told you both about this unit, and that you both would be joining it upon their orders." She looked at Alouette and Ichika. "As for you both, I will be frank we are rather short handed. The church has more or less been scouting for extra hands, miss Alouette you technically owe them a favor though you can repay them in other ways. But you have no ties to them whatsoever miss Ichika." She folded her hands on the table. "In both of your cases it is entirely up to you whether you decline or accept, but before you do the only thing I ask is for you both to hear me out."

"Yes, a lot has happened." She looked to the side and stared out for a moment. It really has been a while since she spoke with him, she was a different woman back then. I only hope I changed enough, but even then I'm not done growing. She turned her head back to Jerimiah. "I've had no luck, but honestly she hasn't been a priority these days. Either way, I know you'll be very busy for a while. I won't take up much more of your time, I just wanted to-!" Before Renais knew it she was tugged into a hug by her favorite fox, she nearly stumbled into her grasp but she managed to stabilize herself. Though her cheek was now right into's Kise's cheek. "Ah, M-Kise...are you injured?" She pulled her head back a little to look her over. "Let me give you a quick check up, oh hey Gean." She looked over to her other girlfriend briefly.

Sari and Aly's argument got very heated over time, and Renais could do nothing but flinch from Aly's shout. Not quite fearful of the girl, but stunned it went this far. This is bad, what would Tio do... She reached deep inside to find inspiration to solve this problem, she wanted to help people after all. Before she was able to voice her concerns, the situation settled down, and at the same time a familiar man stepped in to greet the group. "...!" The pinkette's eyes were drawn to the man, she stared him down, almost speechless. She remembered his face, and his name indeed, but this time around it carried a lot more weight now that she knew who he was. Sari began giving a report to the gentleman, but Renais couldn't wait. "...pardon me, Sari. Just a moment." She stepped up and looked the man in the eye, not quite upset, but she did have a serious look about her. "It's been some time, sir Noire. Have you...had any luck with my sister?" That last bit almost seemed scolding for their conversation, but it did carry some concern with it too.

The battle had ended, thankfully so. Renais took a large sigh of relief, and was tempted to give into temptation given there's quite a foxy woman by her side, but duty calls! There was far too much clean up to do here. So at Gean's request, Renais quickly made her way to Sari and thrust her staff toward him. His body slowly rejuvenated, hopefully before Aly could crush his bones. "You have done so much today, Sari. I owe you a debt, and I will see it repaid." May as well start with the obvious. "Aly, please. I may have healed him but you'll undo my work at this rate. Without him we would have been in huge trouble."

The fox woman's show of affection nearly threw Renais off, but for a moment her dirty side took over and she let off some small groans of delight while her kimono slipped off her shoulder a little. "A-ah..." Now more than ever, she wished she could accelerate time to the point where they were in a bedroom with Gean again. Well, for the first time in this case, since this wasn't Mikoto. When the kitsune pulled away and explained herself, Renais looked her over with a very confused expression. The only thing she can say is: "...what?" So much had been said in such a short amount of time, it was almost like she forgot they were in a hectic situation...like Renais almost did! "Miko-Kise...you'll have to explain this all later when we're safe with Gea-" Then, out of nowhere, sounds of thunder had went off just around the corner. Gean's scream also reached her, both made her wince and jump. "GEAN!" She turned to Kise. "I have to get back in there, I'll heal you and find a way to break your chains soon enough. But please, don't put yourself in danger. Just stay by my side." The Kise situation would have to wait, there was still clean up ahead of them. With her mind resolved (and clean for the moment) the pinkette lead off back into the room. She took stock of the situation, Sari was in severe need of healing again, but Renais couldn't reach him for now. "Hang in there!" She called out to him and turned to Gean. "I'm here!" Renais rushes back into action and moves 26, 24, to Mend Gean!

Miss Zero-One had left him something along the lines of blackmail in their PM. Part of Leon just wanted to leave it alone, but the cute message actually got a chuckle out of him. [One minute you tell me not to die, the other you're tryin' to blackmail me. Has anyone ever told you you're cute sometimes?] [:P] [You won't hear back from me for a while, gotta make sure my squad doesn't bite the bullet. Keep yourself safe now, y'hear?] He ended it there, but he wasn't done with texts. He scrolled down to a familiar martial artist and opened that conversation. [Kazue, it's Leon. I know you said you won't take lives, and I respect that. Just know that as your teammate I'm not going to let you die out there no matter what, I hope you can understand. I've got your back.] He wanted to tell her in person, but he could sense they may not have time for that. So a message will have to do for now. Party time. He was determined to keep his word no matter what happens out there. With his business done he put his phone away and rushed off to get into action.

The pinkette took Miles' hand and shook it. "I know who you are, Miles. It's nice to finally meet you! Alex told me you were reliable, seems like she was right. Please, call me Eve. Same goes for everyone here!" She called out that last part. "Anyway, let's get moving shall we? The table's waiting!" She moved along to the gate. When she did the tall man in the leather jacket stepped up to Eve and whispered. "Eve, did you get any info here before they dropped?" The woman turned her head to her friend. "The armored one said something about a master "Rei". It's an Akatsukian name, that's for sure." She looked forward. "But Rei can either be a man or a woman, could be short for something...or for all I know it could be a feint." She sighed. "I just hope Grayson's guard caught one, maybe we can confirm some stuff." "...I guess so." With that they continued onto town and lead the rest of the group. ----------------- About a half hour later, the entire group had entered town. The streets were mostly empty, save for quite a number of guards spread out about the streets. Though there were stands and decoration set about the place, the intrusion lead to an evacuation. It was almost like the festival had been frozen in time. Eve managed to get the group past the guards toward a nearby restaurant simply called "Tree of Life". Eve managed to get the group settled down at a large table that so happened to have menus out, and she sat at the center. "Don't worry about the civilians, the guard I spoke to said they were all pulled away from potential danger as soon as the intruders broke in. Seems like they managed to round all of them up, thanks to your fiery princess." She looked at Miles, then turned to the rest of the group. "Things will go back to normal in an hour or two, they just need to confirm we're absolutely safe. Oh, and I sent Nate to the castle to gather your royals, they'll be here very shortly." She smiled. "Until then, order whatever you like! We got the whole restaurant to ourselves, so take advantage of it and rest. You're all heroes for the day after all." She folded her arms and leaned on the table. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me too, and I'll do my best to answer them. Just let me start by thanking you all for everything you've done. If you didn't take action, things would have ended very badly."

Renais was prepared for a lot today, at least she thought she was. When the kitsune woman thrust herself into her arms, blood, chains and everything in between, Renais let off a small gasp. "Oh!" She held Kise back, mostly to keep her from falling, but she was careful not to get blood on her kimono. Though she couldn't help but get some on her cheek. "Mikoto, please. You're hurt. Don't push yourself..." She pulled back a little, as much as she wanted to hold her for longer there was too much to do. "Ah, right. You're using your other name now..." She really wondered what happened to make her change her mind, but at the same time she seemed a little...off somehow. The pinkette pulled the gag out of her mouth and sighed. "I'll heal you in just a minute, just don't do anything harsh on yourself until I do ok? We can talk about...things later." Renais had so much to say, and so much to do, but she reigned it in to keep focused on the situation.

The fight has begun once again, Renais has clearly heard Mikoto-err Kise. She even had a glimpse of her state, she was upset but she kept her composure. "I have you, don't worry!" So with her plan set she moved behind the wall and lifted her staff up. "I hope this works..." Renais moves 23, 22 and uses Rescue on Kise

The young man in white sensed he had crossed the poor red haired woman, so he jumped out of the wagon and approached. "Ah, it appears I've crossed you. Honestly, you have my apologies madam Alouette." He took a bow before her. "Truly, I didn't mean to startle you. You have risked your life to save me, yet I've nothing to reward you for such efforts." He lifted himself back up. "Still, I will not forget this good deed, and I promise you I shall repay you and your companions one day." He eyed the rest of the team on the battlefield. "So until then, I will leave you with a name. You may call me Lindt, a humble storyteller from the desert sands of Saratara." He gave her a wide smile. "That is all, I'll not take more of your time. So off I go to prepare myself for the festival." With one last bow, he turned to walk toward town. The blond man let him pass, but couldn't help eye him as he went inside. "....hm." Eve noted how...eccentric that person was, but now was not the time to prod at random people. "Alrighty then, seems like our hungry friend is beating us to it, but if I could have everyone else follow me inside town I'd be extremely grateful!" She lifted a finger up and smiled. "You'll all be treated to a nice lunch at a sponsor's expense, just one of many rewards for a job well done. We will discuss a few things there, like payment..." She eyed Ichika as she said that. "You'll be reunited with your charges, who are all safe and sound I assure you." She eyed Miles and Alouette, hoping the town guard did their jobs properly. "And on top of that, you'll all have as much FOOD as your STOMACH desires!" She called out to Mikhail as he nearly left everyone behind. "I'm Evangeline Hart, and I'll be your guardian angel for today! Just as long as you give me an hour of the day, please!" She clapped her hands and lowered her head, as she almost begged for understanding and compliance. "...oh, and this ninja is Taka and the big guy in the back is Nate, they're uuuh...the angel's helpers!" "...is that what you're callin' me now?" Spoke the muscled man as he lifted a brow.

Leon spent some time laid back in his bed in his room, he stared up at an old unloaded revolver in his hand as he pondered to himself. ...Virion, huh? This really is a cruel joke. He put a thumb on the cylinder and spun it. I wanna volunteer, can't let Kazue handle it alone but...I really wonder if a tiger can change it's stripes. Before Leon could dive too deep into his potential depression, an announcement had been sent throughout the ship. Unknowns ahead, a familiar order. "...hm." Despite the situation, the red haired man took a little more time to collect himself. He jumped from his bed right back on his feet and spun the revolve by the trigger guard. "Welp, time to get to work. S'only thing I'm good at." He put the revolver away in a box and suited up. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall with his game face on to keep up appearances.

Renais picked up on a familiar voice, one she had been desperate to hear again. "M-Mikoto?!" She gasped out, she WAS alive! From the sounds of her tone she seemed very excited too. Damn Luthier, he really did want me to believe she was dead. She was so close, once she was in view Renais was going to Rescue her back to her side. Until then, she meant to fulfill her promise to Sari by bringing up Aly. So she rushed to the girl's side and used Mend on her. Renais moves 27, 22 and used Mend to get Aly up.

Miles peered into the cart, no one was there they seemed to have fled long ago. But there was an Iron Sword laid against a seat in the wagon. Eve couldn't help but giggle at her friendly cat's summary, it seemed like they've been through a lot today. "Ahaha, well I'm sorry to say but-" Though before she could tell Luce more, Ichika had stepped up to attempt to end their contract. She eyed the two briefly, and it seemed like the two did not have a good time on the road together. Adam really paired a serene and serious samurai with their loose and slick stray cat? Ooooh Adam, you and I are going to have a hell of a talk when we next meet. Eve would deal with him later, but for the moment she gave Ichika a smile. "Your assistance is greatly appreciated, really you have no idea how grateful I am miss Ichika." She stepped up. "Though that said, I will have to ask you to come with me. You see, our deal isn't quite over yet. You still need to be paid for your services, even more so considering things didn't go according to plan." She looked around at the bodies and sighed. "My name is Evangeline Hart, and I'm the leader of the new Alliance Special Squad...name's still a work in progress. We still have work to do in town, so if you could follow us I'd greatly appreciate it. We can discuss payment along the way, and I promise you will be paid." Nate tried to rest from the run he had, especially given it sounded like they had to go back inside to help with the attackers that made it through the gate. He leaned against an ice pillar and instantly regretted his actions. "Whoa!" He stumbled away from it and huffed. "Damn, these are cold...wait, how long have these pillars been here?" Even now, the frost pillars stood strong. Well, two of them anyway. Which was still impressive. Alouette approached the furthest cart on her own, curious to see who was inside, if anyone had still remained anyway. When she peeked inside, a sticky web fired out just past her head. "...oh! A thousand apologies!" Gasped a young man's voice. "You do not seem to be one of those thugs...please do not prove me wrong. Despite that attack I'm not much of a fighter." He let off a chuckle. The young man was dressed in white, and had an eye patch over his right eye. He quickly pulled his right hand under his cloak, but Ali may notice the hand was a little different. He seemed mostly human, or at the very least he tried to pass off as one. "Am I to presume you are among the ones who cleared out those ruffians? If so then you have my eternal gratitude milady." He bowed his head and picked up a bag he kept beside him.

Ironically, Renais picked up the conversation with Luthier and his henchmen. She didn't need her sharp ears to pick up his screams and anxiety. While she partially enjoyed the karma, a title stuck out to her. Moonless Arbitrator? Wait, is that...? Though the pinkette didn't give herself much time to ponder on that, she noted Aly had dropped and they needed to press further now more than ever. So she healed Sari as much as she could. "I'll save Aly, I promise you that. But you have to get back in there." Renais moves 26, 18 and uses Mend on Sari.

Arkham's eyes turned to Luce approached (10, 11) as they let loose a giant explosion of light. He let out a painful scream as he had been completely overtaken by the burst for 30 damage from a crit! (67, 1!) "ARRRGH!!!" He fell to the ground with a very loud thud and a clank, as he dropped his shield and javelin. "Tch...master R...ei..." And his life had been snuffed out just like that. Luce gains 74 exp and +2 Light exp. Luce levels up! HP, Mag, Skill, Spd, Luck! Spicy! Take goes to finish the battle by attacking (13, 9) the mage who tried to flee for 11 damage! (99, 71) The mage fires back! (13, 67) but Taka endures and finishes him off with skillful knifeplay! (63, 93) Taka gains 34 exp and +3 Hidden Weapons exp. With the final enemy defeated, there was nothing left. Eve took a good look at Luce. "Good work, Luce. Really." She smiled and stepped up. "I think that's all of them so..." She reached to give them a pat on the head, but stopped just short when she heard someone approach from behind. "!" It was a blond man in a coat! "Hah...hah...made it...agh..." He looked at Eve. "Sorry I'm late...the streets got chaotic and...well you two took the roofs and I couldn't...what'd I miss?" Eve looked the man in the eye and laughed. "...oh you poor man." MAP CLEAR! Mikhail heals Miles, Ichika, Taka and Luce. Mikhail gains +10 exp from healing Taka to full. 13/22 - 22/22 Mikhail gains +7 exp from healing Miles to full. 15/19 - 19/19 Mikhail gains +6 exp from healing Luce to full. 28/29 - 29/29 Mikhail gains + 17 exp from healing Ichika to full. 8/20 - 20/20 Total exp: 40 exp and +8 staff exp! Mikhail levels up! HP and Luck! Ichika tops Mikhail off 11/16 - 16/16 Total exp: 8 exp and +2 staff exp! Miles checks the wagon and finds a Thunder tome!