Mercenary on the Winds

“Runeweaving… do you mean Runic Magic?” Sestina cocked her head slightly for a moment. She looked around to make sure that no one was giving them undue attention, before quickly writing out a symbol in the air in front of her. As she finished, there was a bright flash of light, before it faded out of existence. “Do you mean something like that…?” Before she could get to her explanation of her current situation, Kleo explained what happened to her. Sestina visibly flinched, “Circuit Rot… I am… very, acquainted with it.” Sestina shook her head, no reason to talk about that. Memories best left shut inside, especially in her current situation. “Hmm… you must have used conjoining magic… I’m afraid I don’t really know how Lufiria feels about it. I rarely leave the enclave, but given its origins… safe to say they aren’t fond of it.” Sestina tilted her head back and forth, “Hecatia… that’s the country to the west of here, right? Hmm…” “Uh, wait, you’ve met Lady Genevieve?” Sestina’s eyes widened, and then her gaze lowered, “...She’s… I don’t actually know. Because, well… the reason I’m here is because someone attacked us trying to capture her, her daughter… and what we found…” Sestina’s eyes were almost boring a hole into the wooden stall. “...I don’t even know if she’s still alive. She… got all of us off of the ship, but…” Sestina shook her head, she’d played that evening over and over again–unable to do much of anything to affect the outcome, only to be saved by Genevieve in the end. “...R-right, wares. Mmm… I, well, all of my things were, uh, lost in the loss of our ship, so I’m quite literally working with what little I have… b-but, you mentioned this… ballista, thing? If… I could look at it… maybe I could craft something for it? Or… if you have… older tomes, or something similar, I could… repair them.” “It’s foolish of you to think that I haven’t.” Ling stared back into Talulah’s light purple eyes. “I don’t think you can claim to know anything about what I have and haven’t done. Nor what I do, and don’t believe.” Ling scoffed, now visibly frowning, “Many of them were close to me too. I bet you don’t remember any of their–” Ling caught a mouthful of violet hair as Talulah turned to exit, the elf deliberately battering her. Ling exited a moment later, her eyes narrowed, but the frustration very quickly melted away as Talulah’s annoying comfort of speaking down to her despite the clear gap in martial skill vanished in the face of questioning eyes. “I’ve already said my thoughts, but I guess you can just leave it to the floor~” Ling then looked over at Miria, “Correction, we don’t get along, it’s just so incredibly easy to tease someone so rigid. I mean, just look at her, you could probably guess that she wouldn’t know the first thing about a dress if you asked her. Even I, a better swordswoman, know how to at least put a dress on myself.” “Your very presence is a problem.” Tiernan replied, through gritted teeth. Had it been one of them, he’d probably have unleashed the torrent of insults broiling inside of him, but with two of them, it was far less likely to go well. “I am going to speak with my Kanseian knights, which has no need of your ever watchful eyes. And if it sees fit, perhaps procure some mercenaries for our support… Lady Celine was clever enough to have such foresight, so it is best that I follow in her footsteps, in this regard. Unlike you,” Tiernan looked at Saoirse again, “Lady Celine has something called restraint, tact, intellect. She at least has control over herself unlike a half-breed such as yourself–laying hands on a noble of Kansei… were this a proper time and place, you’d be begging for mercy. A shame that Lady Celine has knighted someone such as yourself. Now if you would just, hmm?” Upon approaching the barracks where his knights were to be staying, the doors swung open, and a dark robed figure stepped out the door. Their face was covered completely, a dark mask upon their face. They looked up, and stared at both Raih and Saoirse, before looking over at Tiernan. After a quick moment, they simply lowered their head, turned, and began walking the other direction. Tiernan turned to look at the two clouded, “...Another one of yours?” Solari heard Renais’s words, but she was instead completely focused on what was in front of her. The tension appeared to have finally snapped, and now Fran appeared to have picked up on what was wrong. A short moment later, Laela vaulted her way off the ship. Fran’s eyes were on her father’s, now resting against the back railing. Fran’s eyes widened. Laela and her father knew each other, and in a way that hurt Laela. Fran turned to look at her father, and then… it began to make sense. Laela couldn’t have known, but what she was saying was so familiar. Not just from the many men and women that Solari and her father had rescued, but herself, too. She’d taken her eyes off of Laela for one moment too long, as by the time she turned back, her mouth opening to call out, Laela was over the side of the boat. Her hands too small to reach out, her legs too short to chase. Her father was now resting against the side of the boat, and he didn’t bother to deny any of it. Fran sidled closer to him, and he gave her a quick pat on the head before quickly offering a flight on Soleil. The little girl shook her head, and then hugged her father. She looked up at him from her burrow in his side, “...I, I know.” She tilted her head for a moment, “I know you did. It… It was in your eyes. When you found me.” The night itself was hazy, but she remembered what was important. Staring up into his eyes when he’d found her with those men, when he did all that he could, and then took her away on his dragon. She didn’t know what it meant then, but it always seemed like he was looking elsewhere. It was familiar. Like so many of the people who had come and gone–the people who began to feel for those they were hurting. It was a look that he had sported many times, whether he’d realized it or not, only fading away when with her, or with those on the ship. Solari looked on, and then took a deep breath, before turning to Renais, “Ah, sorry. Was just paying attention to something. I’d… appreciate it, it’s not like I’m bad at it or anything–actually pretty good at it, but it’s not really… something I think about often, I’d much rather not have to use it, if you get what I’m saying.” Solari shrugged, and then waved a hand, “No problem, I’ve learned quite a bit, so I suppose the feeling is mutual. Hopefully, whatever you and Tigers are facing down goes without a hitch. Safe travels.” Solari turned, and start walking over to the impossibly cute sight of Fran and her father, not realizing that her skirt was starting to rise behind her as two white feathers peeked out. Lute smiled, and waved at Renais, “T-thank you, so much. I’ll make sure to tell her that you found me! Thank you so much!” Zephyr winced at Celine’s response. The mercenaries were bad enough, but even Celine’s cordial focus on their mission was beginning to wane. Admittedly, she was effectively beyond his reach to be able to control; as daughter of the Altair family, her word–provided her father stood with her–was worth far more to the Saint than his or Tiernan’s. He’d have to do his damndest to make sure that Tiernan did not continue to press her buttons; she’d more than shown that she had a short fuse, and it was getting shorter by the day. Zephyr looked over at Versaris, “A private conversation? My, what could have possibly saved my standing that I am worthy of having a private conversation with you? A moron, was I not?” Zephyr shook his head, “I’d rather not waste both of our time, but seeing as you’re asking, perhaps it will be something of substance, and not more of your barbs.” Zephyr exhaled, “I suppose if we’re done here, perhaps we can chat immediately after this. I would have preferred to speak with miss Kastille, but she has other things to attend to.” “That she does, and so do I. Making adequate preparations is of the utmost importance, and that does include rest. We should make use of this time properly because we will not,” She looked over at Zephyr, “Have any room for error. There’s nothing more to say for now, so you can all be on your way.” Celine could only wonder what Versaris was off to speak with Zephyr about, but on further reflection, she wasn’t sure if she could meaningfully care. “Diya, we have preparations to make, and then… probably a drink, or something. Aegean, I’ll find some time to talk, I’m sure that I could use the leisure.” Tani was already up, and out the door before Celine could finish talking. The first place she needed to find was the baths. She needed to cleanse herself. She needed to do anything but think about Tiernan, and his damned protector. “Ahahaha…” Sami’s nervous laughter was all she could muster in the face of Ambrielle’s very, very evocative explanation of what she’d do to Tiernan if he ever tried anything. On one hand, it was very freeing to have people who would actually back her up in moments like that, on the other, she could have done without the explanation. Sami watched as Tani retreated from the hall without another word. “...Hmm. W-well, if we’re… done here, I think we should go, shouldn’t we?” The tall shopkeeper raised an eyebrow at Azame, and then shrugged, “No problems here. A waste of time and energy to be worried ‘bout, whether ya clouded or not. Shame a lot of people don’t share the same idea.” The shopkeep looked everyone over for a moment before whistling, “Gonna be upfront, it’s gonna be a rough time finding things for some of you…” Pasha stepped forward with a smile, “I figured as much, generally I have to have things tailor made, but, in this case, it just has to fit.” The woman’s eyes narrowed, as she stared at Pasha before her eyes widened, “...Call me Serdio’s wife, because I think I have to be seeing things… Pashmina Celea?” Pasha lowered her hood for a moment, and looked up at the woman with a wink, “One and the same, though, please keep that to yourself. I’m sure the Belrose and their associates would not be very happy about my being here, alive and well.” Pasha nodded at Angelica, a small grin forming on the merchant’s face, “Yes, we’re looking for some traveling attire–mine was well, damaged in some rather unfortunate action. Can’t really be wearing that around–I’ve already given my entourage enough eyefuls to last them for several weeks.” She turned and winked in Ernest’s direction, “So I’m looking for something that will at least keep me covered… and perhaps something a bit more fun to celebrate~?” Pasha leaned against Azame, “I’m sure that you have something in mind, Az-a-me~” Pasha whispered in Azame’s ear, sure to hang on each syllable. If Azame wanted her to relax, then she was going to do so in her particular way.

“I…” Lumina was impressed that she managed to get out even that much. Traveling with Eva as long as she had–almost two weeks–she’d gotten more than an idea of what the dragon and her wyvern were like. Still, it hadn’t prepared her for the obvious truth: Eva was a clouded woman in Islexia, who was, clearly, attracted to other women. It was a trinity of suffering, then; being clouded was its own issue, but Islexia did not respect its women, seeing them as tools for the warriors, tokens to be traded. The women who eschewed that ideal were ostracized, and twice if it were because a woman fell for yet another woman. It was an experience that Lumina was thankful that she only had to experience in one direction, and even then, Pasha had taken the brunt of its weight. For someone who had been placed under so much pressure, reviled in every direction in Islexian life… Eva had picked her as her guiding star. I never really understood why you don’t like your magic, Lumina. Suddenly, Lumina was standing in their family’s home, off to the side, almost a spectator as a blonde girl stood in front of a purple haired girl. Mom tries to push my magic further, but… Yours is so much prettier. You can light up someone’s day, and mine can only really… make things float, or crush them. You can help people with your magic… and I think it’s just, really who you are, you know? You’re always the first person hopping in to go find someone, or look for something. Maybe I can use my magic like that too, but… it’s not as easy. I think your magic is better for you because it helps you to shine like that star that you are, and will be for a lot of other people. You… always cheer me up with it too, so I know you can do it for others. The reverie faded, and the smile on the purple haired girl’s face faded, replaced by the smile on Eva’s face–a perfect match. Lumina then took her hand, and pulled it to her cheek, before looking down at the table at the droplets of water. It was hard to see, hard to breathe, but Lumina forced herself up from her chair, and then, ran, ran in the direction of where Eva had been, and then burrowed herself in Eva’s embrace. A gentle shimmer overtook both Lumina and Eva, “... … …I, I want… to… live up… to that…” The words spoken so softly, she couldn’t even be sure that Eva could hear them, but the tears would hopefully be enough. Ling quickly pulled the dress into place, and let Talulah fix the rest of it to mild satisfaction–as satisfied as someone as dull as Talulah could be–before scanning her in the dress. “Gotta say, whoever said that purple is your color wasn’t lying to you. It’s a pretty good look for you, but the constant questioning is definitely making it look a little worse–wild that I’d be saying the anger, and delusion from earlier would almost make the dress look better. Ling snickered, “I can only imagine why this is exhausting. I bet you probably don’t do much else than dream about killing my dad, and swinging your sword to prepare for that. You’ll lose by the way; if you can’t even beat me, then you don’t have a prayer against him.” Hmph, honestly thinking that I’m flirting with her, and not just enjoying messing with her. How full of yourself can you get? Ling shook her head, “Well, are you going to just stand in here, or are you going to get second opinions. Surely some of your new companions have some fashion sense?” Pasha simply smiled, and giggled as her return volley had all of the effect that she had intended it to have. Turning Azame into a purring mess as she tried to state her case, punctuating it with a sharp tug of her arm–trying to cover up her fluster. She wasn’t the only one at least, Necilla was still figuring out what to do about Angelica. With the few times that she’d engage with Angelica, she’d learn that Angelica was a smooth operator, act first, worry about the reaction later. It was admittedly an inspiring disposition, content to be herself, and allow the target of her affections decide what to do with them. If it worked, fantastic, if not, she was on her way–no hard feelings. Ernest, on the other hand, was content to remain outside while they headed inside. It was difficult to get a read on him sometimes, but other times, it was quite obvious. “Oh, Ernest… you don’t have to remain out here. Unless you’re more concerned about seeing something~?” She winked in his direction before popping through the door. It was nice to see Azame grumbling for reasons that weren’t their lack of sleep, a good reminder that they had actually overcome Jalen and the Belrose this time. If Azame wanted her to relax, then she was going to enjoy herself. She’d earned the right to tease. Though, they still had to figure out where exactly they would be heading after all of this. The issue of the assassin concerned her too, and she wasn’t going to pull out of this until she had her answers. “Hello?” Pasha heard footsteps from the back of the building and then a tall mountain of a woman stepped out from a backroom. A series of scars on her arms, and one down the center of her face. “Ah? Oh, customers. Rarity. Daaaan, you’ve got people out here.” The woman fixed her ponytail, before looking down at Azame and Pasha. “Damn… even got clouded out here. You’d think all of you’d be holed up with everything going on, but some of ya are braver than most it seems. What’cha in for?” “Huh?” Solari looked over at Renais, “Your job..? Oh, right, I guess you are a healer, huh?” Solari rubbed the back of her head, her hat almost moving irrespective of it. “I’m not really much of a healer… and I didn’t really learn anything, kind of just been something I’ve been able to do all of my life. Admittedly, I wasn't even thinking about it when I touched Lute there, so I didn’t even realize I was healing her.” She turned back to Michiru saluting her, and then being right in her ear. “She’s what?” Solari’s eyes snapped back to Laela and Kristoph, her eyes bouncing between the pair. Solari took a deep breath, and released a sigh, “...What impeccable timing, huh? I’m… sure that Kristoph didn’t do anything beyond… being a part of it.” It was one of the first things that she forced out of Kristoph when he first came aboard. She needed to know why a lone man would be so doggedly fighting against the underground, and more specifically, the traffickers. The answer was simple: Guilt. He’d kept any more personal details, but Kristoph had explained his past, his allegiance with the very people he now sought to destroy. It was a wonder, then, why Laela hadn’t struck with the same ferocity that she mentioned back when she said that she struck her captors with. Only, the young girl handing Laela one of the skewers that Kristoph had brought her, made it impossible to progress. Solari shook her head, “Well, I make it a point to not get involved in matters like this… Kristoph and Laela are adults, so… whatever happens–provided it’s not combat or such–is up to them.” Fran looked back at her father, half expecting his trademarked smile, but instead, she was met with something much more… confusing. Turned back to Laela, and she too, had a face that wasn’t anything like the bright smile she had minutes before. Even her voice felt heavy, as if something were weighing her entire being down, and then, “Huh? W-why? Is… is something wrong?” Laela did say that she was just going to wait with her until her father came back, and sure enough, Kristoph was here. It felt wrong though, and she couldn’t place why. Even Kristoph seemed to hesitate, something on his tongue, but dragged back inside of him. Fran turned and looked at her father, a pout forming on the girl’s face, “...What do you mean, nothing? What were you going to say to her? Dad, what’s… wrong?” Tiernan paused as he heard a familiar voice behind him, a frustratingly familiar voice. He turned, and only glared at Saoirse as she ran up next to him, a sickening, unbecoming smile on the half-blood’s features. “Why are you here.” Tiernan replied with as much enthusiasm as the rest of the group had shown him. Tiernan glanced at Raih, and then scoffed, “Be gone, the both of you, if I require an escort, the knights of Kansei will suffice, I have no need of you insufferable half-breeds, and most certainly not, you.” Tiernan jabbed a finger in Saoirse’s direction, before shaking his head, and marching off. “I have other matters to tend to that require a calm intellect and not your boorish strength, so it would benefit all of us if you would either return to Lady Altair’s side, or find the nearest pier.” Tani found herself without her usual comfort of Raih now that she’d gone to watch over Tiernan, a smart idea, it would just be grand to have to be looking for the assassin, and then also have to answer for Tiernan’s sexual harassment. Though, if Islexia was any indication, Tiernan’s authority would allow him to get away with anything. Fortunately, the faint moment where neither Zephyr or Tiernan were in the room allowed Tani at least one moment to speak without fear that she’d boil over. “It’ll at least be a pleasure to work with people who have functioning brains.” That unfortunately was all she got before Zephyr’s return, without Tiernan–odd, she thought them joined at the hip, like a father, and his bratty, obstinate, disgusting son. Sami, on the other hand, jumped when Gean spoke to her. “Huh, oh, what, oh, Aegean…” That was her name, right? There were so many names that she needed to remember. Though, dark skin, the scar over her eye, the penchant for nicknaming people… that sounded like Aegean. “I, uh… I’ll, be okay… I think. T-though… maybe l-leaving this to everyone else is for the best. It’s, not like I’m contributing much… here, at all.” Sami looked over at Zephyr having caught the man gazing at her earlier, just like Tiernan had been. Celine on the other hand was doing her best to rein in her emotions. Of course she would be put in a position that instead of arresting a fool like Tiernan for what was illegal in all alliance countries under the Axios Charter, she would be forced to work with him, and treat him as if he wasn’t a criminal. It was impossible to gauge if Zephyr knew anything or not, but then again, Tiernan seemed too idiotic to be able to helm such an enterprise. If anything, it was more like that Tiernan was simply a part of it–there was no way that anything run by Tiernan would evade scrutiny unless there were more people in on it. “...Moving right along then. We’ll need some time before we set out proper–moving as we have been has depleted our supplies, often through mismanagement,” Celine shot Zephyr a glance, “So we’ll have to restock before departing. Especially since we now have to also consider that the Islexian authorities might not look entirely favorable on us. I suppose we can leave navigation to Miss Kastille, since she likely has the best knowledge of the land. Ah, yes.” Celine’s blue eyes fell on Zephyr, “The Tigers have graciously offered their assistance in this manner, and as Hecatia’s representative, I am inclined to take it. It bolsters our numbers, but doesn’t affect our logistics much at all, and gives us a number of advantages that we didn’t have before. I must admit, given Tiernan’s continued faltering, I don’t frankly care about his thoughts, but I will at least ask for your thoughts, Sir Drasche.” Zephyr’s eyes drifted through all of those present before sighing, and turning to Celine, “I must ask, what is even the point of asking me? I don’t have the authority to overrule you, and with both a Kastille, and–somehow–a member of Lufirian intelligence, and a member of the Northern Empress’s cadre, where would the words of a Kanseian knight fall? If you think to test my allegiance, Commander Altair, I would warn you not to. I am committed to this mission, the mission that you, Lord Tiernan, I, and the rest were given. As a knight, it does not matter to me how this mission is achieved, only that it is achieved. I understand your frustrations with my liege, I find them valid, but there is procedure and decorum, which you see fit to remind him of constantly, so I will do you the same. He is your equal here, regardless of his merit, so I expect you to treat him as such. Aside from that, whether we work with clouded, or not, is irrelevant to me, if they get us closer to our target, then that is simply the price of doing business.” That got the temperature in the room to raise slightly, but Celine quickly relaxed. “If he is my equal, I expect him to show it. To me, to the clouded, and to the women that he engages with. Failing that, Zephyr, as daughter to the Altair Family, one of the Constellation Families, and arguably, the closest to the Saint. He and I are as far from equals as nobility can get.” Celine flipped her hair, “If that’s all then, we can reconvene at another point, when our supplies have been procured.”

“Hey, whoa?!” For the first time, Ling found herself genuinely on the backfoot as Talulah took the initiative, and almost pinned her up against the wall. Ling looked at Talulah’s face, a mix of fury, and… Ling tilted her head. It was not an unfamiliar expression, but it was an expression that made very little sense to Ling in terms of what had happened. “Wanted to kill you? No, not really. I had a job to do, and you as well as everyone on that ship were a part of that plan. If I wanted to kill you, then I would have killed you.” Ling raised an eyebrow, Talulah was really, really huffy over having her ears touched. Talulah finally released her, the elf’s flushed face seeming to deepen for a moment before, “Oh.” That would explain it. Elven ears were apparently quite sensitive. “Well, how the heck am I supposed to know that? Also, if you were making passes at my chest, please see the last thing I said about killing you.” Ling picked up the dress again, and huffed, “Besides, I don’t think you get how much… fun you make it to poke and prod at you. Don’t know if you’re used to being able to frighten people because you’re a monster or whatever, but without that sword backing you up, you’re… not threatening?” Ling’s face then contorted into a frown, the first real frown, “And let’s not get too full of yourself. Messing with you, and flirting with you are too different things, and frankly, you’re a little too boring for that. I’m just helping to spice up your life.” Ling huffed, unsure of why she felt she had to respond so directly to Talulah’s frustrations, “So let’s get back to me doing that, someone’s gotta make sure you figure out how to put a dress on.” Ling quickly started pulling the dress on to make sure that Talulah didn’t have time to respond. Pasha almost stumbled as Azame took her arm, squeezing it tightly, reminding Pasha of the difference in strength between the pair. “Azame, I’m coming, no need to pull!” Azame was right, entirely so, she’d spent the entire time since being in town doing work. She’d spend the past month or so in the middle of work, and the past two weeks fighting for her life, so some time to relax would be ethereal. “Alright, alright… I’ll hold off on visiting this White Crane, or just leave it to Artitia… shopping would be nice.” Pasha looked down over her clothing, markedly not her own–she had to borrow from the Tigers as her clothing was either lost, or completely in tatters. Fortunately, Lucretia was similar in build, if not a fair bit taller, so she was able to borrow something from her, and Sami offered to do some mending. Still, the cloak was a double necessity, both to cover the disparity in clothing, and to protect her identity. “There should… be some clothing stores down that way,” Pasha pointed back the way they came, “I doubt anything will fit properly, but at least having something so I’m not borrowing more from the Tigers would be preferable at this point in time.” Pasha leaned into Azame’s ear, “Just warning you… I am quickly tiring, so… you may have to carry me later, alright, mother?” Pasha flicked Azame’s ear before standing up. “Alright, if you have the time, Angelica, come and wait with us, there will be plenty of time to consort with the Tigers when they’ve finished their duties. For now… let’s relax.” “I would, strongly, advise you against doing worse.” Lumina glared at Eva, “You’ve seen what happens when I want to throw a spell. I would… much rather not have to do that, but I will if you press too hard…” Lumina blinked for a moment, noticing the red tinging the cheeks of her draconic pillar of strength. “...This is really nice, yeah. I don’t know…” Lumina looked to the sky, “Part of me didn’t really know why I was coming back to Islexia, didn’t know what I would find, didn’t know how things would go… and at some point thought that we weren’t going to get out of with Pasha alive when we found out what was going on–” Lumina flinched, almost as if she’d been hit from behind, “Heh?! What?! Huh?!” Lumina almost hit the table with her flinch, staring at Eva with her eyes wide. There was a part of Lumina that was expecting Eva to break into that trademark laugh, and smile, but instead, Eva was bashful, and just staring back at her. Oh gosh… she’s… Lumina just blinked, almost frozen in time. “...Buh?” Lumina covered her mouth, almost embarrassed by the complete lack of coherency. She took a deep breath, the Islexian heat suddenly incredibly unbearable, “...I, uh… how… how am I… supposed to… react to that? I mean… I don’t, didn’t think, that would ever really… But here, now, huh? Err, what… do I say? I… I… don’t even deserve that. I… don’t think I do.” Lumina paused, and then waved her hands, “No, what I mean is that I don’t think I deserve you… asking me that, but I… after all of this is over… maybe? I don’t know what’s… going happen, and what’s coming, and if… I’m even really worth that much, but… I, sorry, just… all over the place, and… M-maybe, I… I have to… prove that I’m worth that much… To me, not to you, and… maybe to Pasha, but… I… I like you, and… you’re just… always there, and yes, maybe…” Lumina almost hid behind her hair, almost glowing now. “You just found her?!” The woman’s eyes went wide, “Where, how?! That doesn’t make any sense! Something of this much quality would–” Her eyes then locked onto Kleo, “You… did this all yourself?” She put her hands up, backed up a moment, and then took a deep breath. “Inventory. So not only did you manage to affix your soul into these gemstones, a lost art in itself, you managed to fashion yourself a body using the same sort of magical engineering. Do. Do you realize how incredible that is? That’s… lost magical technology to even be able to do anything like that. We’re talking as far back as the Holy Lufirian Empire itself–they made autonomous golems, and by the end of their time, they’d created golems with the souls of fallen soldiers.” She shook her head, “You… you have to be Lufirian. There’s no other way that you’d have found both the spells to accomplish this, and the gemstones necessary in meaningful amounts to achieve this… Especially if it was a hundred years ago… Are… are you from an enclave or something?” She took a deep breath, and shook her head, “I… wow, Genivieve would be absolutely beside herself seeing this… I’m beside myself… Ah, oh, um… Sestina. My name is Sestina… Err… Um…” She looked around, “I’m… Lufirian. H-here by accident. Y-yes, I’ve worked with… larger-scale things… not necessarily weapons though… not really the kind of thing that… happens in the enclave. I’m uh, more of a scholar than a weapons’ expert but… I suppose thanks to Genevieve, I’ve seen a lot of weapon work, and I… restore cores to the best of my ability.” Renais’s words were spoken to air as Solari was already in motion as Lute fell to the ground. She’d wanted to learn more about why Michiru had been so quick to go find Laela, but Lute’s exclamation was quick to refocus the captain. Solari rested a hand on Lute’s shoulder, a faint glow on her hand, “Breathe, Lute.” “I am… I am… she’s alive… she’s actually alive… I’ve, I’ve got to make sure to see her. I, I thought they killed her when they took me… Oh thank you Serdio… Oh…” Lute turned and looked at Renais with a tearful smile, “Thank you… thank you for telling me. You said… Eslcas, right? I’ll… Captain, I–” “You don’t need to say it, Lute. We’ll make sure that you get there, and that you can see her.” Solari stood up, her hat seemingly moving on its own for a moment, before she looked at Renais. “Thanks for that. Helps make my job that much easier.” Solari turned her focus to Laela and Kristoph, and so far… it seemed fine? Both of them appeared to be engaging on amicable terms, Michiru was watching over things herself, but she was on the opposite side of the boat so she couldn’t get a word in without shouting over. After reprimanding Renais for her actions that would be rather hypocritical of her, and also quite rude. Solari shot Michiru a confused look, hoping to get some answer from her. She didn’t know why, but there was a moment of hesitation from her father as he walked over. There was a… she didn’t know the words, but it felt like his steps were heavy, slower, more measured almost as if he was trying not to trip something. It was eerily similar to Laela’s tenseness, but she didn’t know why. Fran gazed up at her father, “Aw, I didn’t go far… and this is a safe place, isn’t it? Sola’s being too cautious.” Then her eyes lit up as he mentioned that he got something for her, “Oooh? What is it?” Fran examined the wrapped food, knowing the familiar scent of vegetables, “Oh, it’s the pointy things!” Fran paused for a moment, tilting her head back and forth. She wanted the skewers, but that was a promise she was unsure she could (would) keep. It was fun to see Solari flustered, seeing more of the captain’s softer side was a boon alongside getting to playing hide and seek in better environments. Fran turned, and looked back at Laela, and pondered for another moment, before nodding at her father, “Okay, I will!” Fran reached up and took the skewers while Laela and Kristoph conversed for a moment. Fran turned, but missed Laela’s tear, only seeing Laela wipe her face. Fran tilted her head, but shook it, her mind was already made up. She took one of the skewers, and then held it up to Laela, “...stuff gets in my eyes a lot too! Especially when it’s windy!” Fran smiled up at Laela, “Here, you should have one too.” She didn’t understand what was going on, why it was going on, but she’d figure it out eventually–for now she could only do what she knew how to do. Celine almost couldn’t believe her luck. The overwhelming disdain for Tiernan seemed to have actually broken through the man’s seemingly impervious shell. He abruptly departed, and then Raih and Saoirse both departed, which drew Zephyr’s attention as well. Both Tiernan and Zephyr out of her space for even a moment was a boon that she could only have dreamed of in the moment, and she was going to take liberal advantage. “Right. This will make things go quite a bit smoother. As for a paper trail… I can imagine that you still know more about this situation than I do. This was a haphazard creation of an alliance taskforce, and we were requested then to head into Islexia to capture the Escaflowne thief. I was not afforded much more beyond that, and anything beyond this point is conjecture, and concerning. There is very little point to the alliance’s authority to be used in this way; it’s unheard of. The Escaflowne is back in Hecatian hands, and while the thief escaped, the fact that the Escaflown was recaptured means that we’re capable of preparing ourselves for any further attempts. Instead, we’re here, in less than amicable territory, trying to supersede Islexian authority in trying to capture our thief. It’s… remarkably foolish to say the least. But…” Celine looked around the table, “Your presence, and concerns seem to continue to affirm that there are deeper actions here, and I don’t know what they are.” Celine shook her head, calming down visibly, “But let’s talk about things we know for certain. We can be absolutely sure that the thief is to the east, they’re on the peninsula. With the movements of the Islexian regulars, I think I can be certain of that, so that’s where we would be heading. Thanks to my fantastically underqualifiedidioticandremarkablyrepulsive compatriot.” Celine paused, taking a deep breath to recalibrate, “That will be a bit more troublesome since I expect they’ll be even less likely to work with us in good faith.” Celine looked at Giovanna, “Hopefully that’s where you’ll come in with smoothing things over, or in the worst case, helping us move without their assistance.” It was a boost to Celine’s mood to have such capable assistance, after being forced to work with Tiernan, but that positive upturn in Celine’s mood was always destined to be short-lived it seemed. Tasha was quick to make an accusation of Tiernan that had Celine slowly craning her head over to the tiger, “...I’m sorry, I don’t believe I heard that correctly.” Celine clasped her hands, and leaned forward onto the table in front of her, “I think I might need you to say that slower… did you just say that he was facilitating clouded slave trade?” Celine took a long deep breath, but for once the temperature in the room did not rise at all. “Of… course he is.” The amount of venom almost dripped from Celine’s lips as she spoke. Celine stepped away from the table, and turned around to stare at the wall. “...As much as I would like to do that, un-fortunately, I do not have the authority to do so. He is invested with the power of the alliance, and thus, at this point in time, the only person with the authority to detain him would be endowed with the authority of the Saint herself, my father, or King Feld, none of which are present, and I can believe at least two of them wouldn’t lift a finger.” Celine looked over at Diya, “And… no, I won’t be assigning someone to watch him. I’ll be doing that myself. If he so much as whistles involvement within earshot of me, I suppose that–” The door swung open again, and Zephyr returned instead, with a pensive look on his face. He looked up at Celine, and could almost see the storm clouded above the commander’s face. “...Did something happen?” Celine had to swallow the venom-laced words continuing to pile onto her tongue, “...Nothing beyond what has already frustrated me. You’re back soon, did you decide against chasing after your liege?” “...It is a matter of testing how controlled your companions can be. I’m sure you know what would happen if anything were to happen to the nephew of King Feld. If I am to work with them, then I have to show some trust. Lord Tiernan can handle himself for the time being, I’m sure.” “How dare any of them!? Fools, idiots, half-breeds!” Tiernan stormed his way down the halls of the outpost, blustering with no regard for anyone listening. “None of them have any right to speak to me, to regard me in any way aside from reverence! Argh… If not for Lady Celine, they would all bow! Only her authority keeps me from exerting my own!” Tiernan took a deep breath, shaking his golden locks. “...Matters are not helped by the commander’s new arrivals. Argh, perhaps I should have requested more soldiers. I fully expected to need very little in order to capture this vagabond, but now with this half-breed pack of brutes at the commander’s side threatening to take my glory… I would require more support, but where exactly would I…?” Tiernan ran his hands through his hair, “Agh… Why must these fools appear now?! When I am so close!? Why does the commander allow them to speak down to me, when I stand at the summit, gazing down upon them with pity?! Rgh…” Tiernan crossed his arms, “The only positive was that of… the rose haired one. Familiar… Quite a bit similar to Rasmus’s witch… Hmph, she has little business being amongst such boors. Perhaps that would be something to endeavor. The boon of the Kanseian crown… haha, yes! A brilliant plan! But first… how am I to regain my standing…? Surely there must be a way for me to...? Oh... Yes, would not that work? If Commander Celine can bring in mercenaries, why couldn't I? Ohoho... Perhaps that is what my time is best spend doing..." Tiernan picked up his pace, marching out of the building--not even aware of the two preparing to follow him.

The lavender haired woman blinked. She wiped her eyes, and then stared at Kleo’s disembodied head. “You just…?” She leaned forward staring hard at Kleo’s head before looking at Christopher, “Where, how…? How did you get the magic to work like this?” Tired as she may have been, the flow of magic was unmistakable. There was little mistaking it; this had to be a golem of some sort, but not only was it mobile, it was talking. She held her hand out, and a light drifted over Kleo’s head, and the lavender haired woman gasped. “T-t-those are… h-h-how did you acquire g-gemstones of that quality? This r-rarity? What, how, who, who are you? You can’t just get these anywhere, and you certainly can’t just… do stuff like this without incredible amounts of knowledge, I don’t even think that–” She clasped a hand over her mouth, realizing that she was maybe saying a little too much. “...Ah, sorry… got too excited…” Lumina narrowed her eyes at Eva finally came back, with Sasha needing to halt her flight. “If I was lying to you, I wouldn’t have used a restaurant as the enticement.” Lumina flushed a faint red for a moment, before turning to the man with a smile, “Please, ignore her comment, she’s not been here before.” The owner shook his head, “I wouldn’t have taken offense–things have been real tough around here as of late, so cuisine has taken a hit here. Six birds, huh, I can do that for ye… probably something like twelve gold, two gold a pop. That fine with you?” Lumina nodded, “That sounds perfectly fine with me, I can pitch in for that as well.” The man smiled, “In that case, let me get you started on that.” The man nodded, and disappeared into the back, smoke starting to funnel out of the stack at the top. Lumina turned to Eva, and then walked over, and kicked the taller woman in the shin. “That was for the slap. Probably should have kicked you harder, but it will do for now.” Lumina huffed, and sat down at the nearest table. Ling looked at Talulah with an attempt as a smug grin, probably coming across as more of an uneasy smile. “Simple. Your fox mom asked me to help you out because she agreed that you probably don’t have a clue about how to put a dress o–huh?” Ling blinked, and then slid closer to Talulah, ignoring the woman’s protests, staring directly at her chest, though completely lacking any intent. “...What is that? That’s not like a… shirt, or anything. More like… bindings, but it’s… not.” Ling looked up at her elven nemesis’s face, complete lack of smug intent, more genuine interest in Ling’s blue eyes. Quickly, that genuine moment melted away as Ling took one of the dresses, looking over her shoulder making sure that the fox wasn’t watching or something. “I came in here, didn’t I? Unless you were gonna force me out, or something. Sure they don’t want you talking all year to put the dress on, and then ‘forget’ to come out. You can answer my questions while we do that.” Ling smiled, and brushed Talulah’s ears again, “Unless you’re too flustered by the end of this~ Arms up.” Ling tugged the curtain of the changing room extra closed, making sure no one could see around it. “I think… I would prefer that honestly. I do think I have overestimated myself. Or underestimated the effects of magical exhaustion.” It had been explained to her several times, by Azame, and the Evokers, but seemingly, it mixed with actual physical exhaustion had seriously amplified each other’s effects on her. Even with plenty of rest, and Azame’s ever watchful eye, she was still already winded. Is my magic really getting to me this badly…? Pasha shook her head, “Jalen is just another Islexian. Just one who almost had the world at his fingertips. Nothing special about him. Him, Kazran, other warlords, merchants, and lords that I’ve done business with… all cut from the same aged cloth.” Pasha smiled at Angelica, “Knowing him, I have an advantage over you in his eyes, but he would have been trying to get under your shirt and skirt all the same.” Pasha slowly got up from her seat, “Ugh… I wish it were just the heat getting to me. But I think we’re done here, and the quicker we can reconvene with the Tigers, the better.” Artitia sighed, “Man, you give me a room full of beauty, and then it’s just going to end like that? Disappointing.” Artitia looked at the messages in her hand, “I’ll get things started on my end, and maybe even do you one better.” Pasha cocked an eyebrow, “And how’s that, Artitia?” “Got word before you arrived that the White Crane’s in port. Good friend of mine, and easily one of the best crews around. I’m confident that I could do everything you need me to, but you said you were doing a lot of this as insurance, and I can’t think of much better insurance than them. Worth mentioning it at least.” “...Is that so?” Pasha had heard plenty about the White Crane. The pirates and smugglers had a lot of negative things to say about them, and many civilians had plenty of good–a glowing review if she’d ever heard one. “Well… if you could acquire their services for us, Artitia, I’d be quite appreciative… but if I continue to talk business, I think Azame will drag me out of here. I’ll leave that to you. As for us… I’m sure that Necilla won’t be long, so shall we make our way out? If I were to hazard a guess, who we are looking for has headed to the outpost near the center of town, so I remember a lovely little place that we can relax and get a bite to eat at, while we wait for them.” A moment later, Necilla walked out of the washroom, eyes pointed squarely at the ground, and not in Angelica’s direction. This poor girl. “It’s not a problem, Cilla,” Pasha smiled in the fox’s direction, “You’re right on time as a matter of fact, we were just getting ready to depart~” “Wah!” Laela had rebounded incredibly fast, and was already hoisting her into the air again. There was a… tension in Laela’s grip that hadn’t been there before. She was sure of it, but Laela was exactly the same as she had been. She and Michiru had been talking about her father, she was sure of that. Fran looked at Michiru, but the dragon was already bounding her way upstairs. “Mmm…” Fran hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do or say. Before Fran smiled at Laela, and nodded at her, “Yeah, he will be happy.” She waved at her father as they came above deck. Either way, if there was something that Laela was hiding something, and it related to her father, she’d find it out with her. “You don’t live as long as I have doing this without making yourself sharp. People live and die by my calls, and I’ve seen enough people die to want to avoid it as much as possible.” She couldn’t fault the reflex, she had walked up to the unarmed healer with her scythe. To Renais’s credit she didn’t flinch one bit, but it quickly became clear how she’d taken it in stride. Solari’s eyes narrowed, she’d heard that name before many times. She’d yet to meet him herself, but she had a clear picture of the man, painted by the panicked voices of many of her rescuees. A monster without a soul, unlike the many who walked Amaranthe, hardly different from any human. Solari realized that her hand had tightened around her scythe, and released the breath that she’d been holding. “Anyone who’s against that demon deserves my backing. Him and the Underground as a whole, bastards one and all.” Solari shook her head, catching the return of Laela and Fran above deck. Michiru had realized something, when she mentioned a dog clouded, so perhaps this was something to keep an eye on. Especially since… Solari’s eyes fell on Kristoph. Since you’ve got your own history to deal with… Lute’s face showed the first real emotion aside from nervousness when Renais said Luthier’s name, anger. Her fist balled around her brush, and a sharp frown adorned her features. She remembered his sickening grin, the way he spoke to her, and some of the other prisoners. There was a calm detachment in his voice, an insufferable glee at handing her, and others over to the worst of the worst. Truly a waste. Handing such a lovely individual over to such a worthless brute like Kazran. Business is truly so cruel… Continuing to feed an insatiable appetite… Do forgive us, my dear, there simply is something we must do, and all of you must help us do it. That cursed memory faded away as she was directly addressed by Renais. “Huh…? Oh, uh… y-yes, it is, but why…?” Lute stiffened as Renais said a name she hadn’t heard in years, “...Reese? S-she’s alive? She’s alive?” Lute almost jumped up from her position, “Really!? She’s alive?! That’s… That’s…” Lute slid to her knees, “...Serdio above, she’s alive… they didn’t kill her… they didn’t… she’s alive…” Zephyr met Versaris’s gaze, and for a moment, Zephyr could see that his worst fears were being realized. The look in the elf’s eyes was almost daring him to say something, do something that would make his decision for him. It was chilling, which was almost more unnerving given that Lady Celine was elevating the temperature of the room with her presence. If he, or Tiernan were to snap, it was becoming increasingly unlikely that Celine would side with them in any capacity, and at this point, she was perhaps the only thing that could provide any sort of bulwark against Lady Minèrve’s cohort, as well as these mercenaries. The force that Lord Feld sent us with is becoming noticeably thin… I’ll have to figure out contingencies, this has spiraled well out of control. Zephyr shook his head at Versaris, “A reckless assumption to make, Sir Didarion. Our inquiries were not led by either myself or Lord Macdowell, these inquiries were handled by Lady Celine herself, so I’m afraid your jipes have no purchase there.” That was the only thing that he could reasonably retort on; if Celine was well abreast of their dealings, she only needed to inform them of what was important. “I understand the situation here, and see no point inquiring further. Thought, perhaps speaking with the Kastille after this meeting is all said and done would be a fruitful endeavor.” The problems continue to pile up without end. Tani finally cracked something of a smile as the mercenaries seemed to be as repulsed by Tiernan and his entourage as they were. As good a time as any to kill him… She stowed the thought, only just barely. “I second the call to return to business; the faster we’re done, the more we can relax before pushing forward again.” Tani looked at Tiernan, and had to bit her lips to keep them shut before sinking further into her seat with her arms tightly crossed. Celine barely calmed herself down with Diya’s hand on her shoulder. Why did this have to be her job? She understood why; she was her father’s most capable knight, and also the largest issue to be removed, so surely sending her out of the country was a good thing. That was fine, at least in an absolute sense, she could have worked so easily with that. It was Tiernan and Zephyr who were genuinely pushing her to the point of exploding. The weeks they’d been traveling were truly the worst that she’d ever had, and living under her father, and his cohort had been a truly awful experience. Versaris wasn’t holding back on his disdain for her compatriots, a feeling very clearly, and audibly shared by damn near everyone else in the room, and probably amongst Zephyr’s men as well. She could take some solace in that fact, “I… would ask that we save the jabs for later. Considering that we must now also deal with the Islexians being hostile to our task, the powers that are likely being counter to our goals of capturing our target alive, acquiring additional assistance for our efforts is of importance. Had things remained as they were,” Celine pointedly stared at Tiernan, “This likely would have remained a meeting and exchange of information, but now I can’t in good conscience not consider asking for additional assistance.” Tiernan remained absolutely still under the gaze of the irate captain. But his hands were balled so tight at his side, that he was no longer sure that he was squeezing them. Who were these ingrates? People so far beneath him that he shouldn’t have even been able to hear their mewling voices. He shouldn’t have been able to, and yet they were echoing, loudly, in his ears. Their complete disregard for his importance, his brilliance, and his efforts; laughing at him if he were a child given command. It was infuriating on a level he’d never experienced. Yet, even more than that… he could feel his hand shaking. What was this? It was not quite anger; anger did not cause his lungs to seize, for his lips to remain closed even when he wished to gut everyone who dared to cross him. He’d realized at some point that he was rooted to the spot. Frozen, as if he had been chained to the spot, forced to listen to the lesser until his eardrums burst, louder and louder they crowed without end, without reason, without merit. But he dare not look at them. Not at Felicien, not at Raih, not at Versaris, not at any of them, not even the gorgeous purple haired girl. Am I… afraid? Of them? Of these people? But why…? Why would I fear those beneath me? I am Tiernan Macdowell, I am in line to the throne, I walk amongst the exceptional! Who are they?! Who are they to judge me?! …Then why can’t I move? Why can’t I speak!? No… this is not how things are! This is not how they must be! I must… be superior! I am superior! Then… Then…! Finally, Tiernan found control of his lips, his lungs inflated with air, finally, words came to him. “...Zephyr. Handle the… rest of things here. I will go and speak with the men.” Without another word, and without another acknowledgement to anyone else, but Tani–a passing glance–Tiernan retreated from the room. “...Milord?” Zephyr’s voice lacked any of his usual composure, almost a complete loss of words. What just…?

There were many things that the librarian expected today. Guards walking around Cael, that was the new normal. Mercenaries showing up in her store, and not knowing exactly what was going on here? That was also quite normal all things considered, just not as of late. But when the head that the feline was holding looked up at her, and spoke, she could only freeze looking into the eyes of what she had expected to be the lifesized head of a doll. “I.” She couldn’t muster another word before Christopher with a looking look on his face bid her adieu. She remained frozen for a moment longer before shaking her head, strolling over to the door, and peering out to make sure that the pair existed. Before walking back over to her counter, and searching all around it trying to make sure that Malik didn’t leave any of his damned… whatever it was around. “What… just happened???” Outside though, Christopher’s voice had jolted the lavender haired woman awake. She’d begun nodding off, but she quickly wiped the sleep from her eyes, someone was standing at her stall. “Wh, huh? Do I… work with magical items?” The tired, and poorly dress woman nodded, “Y-yes, I’ve worked with… all sorts of magical items, n-not just weapons, but that is where my expertise lies… more restoration, and improvement than actual creation, but… A-anyway, is there something I could help with?” Come on Sestina, don’t mess this up… Ling quickly grabbed another lighter purple dress off of the rack as she quickly stormed away from Kise. She could only wonder how Van or Ichika would take seeing her so rattled by something, but they’d understand it real quick if they stood right next to someone so… she didn’t even know how to properly explain it. Ling didn’t bother vocalizing her arrival, brushing the curtain aside, and marching into the Talulah’s dressing room, and tossed the other dress at Talulah’s face. “There’s another dress for you.” It was clear that despite her head start, the elf was more interested in fuming over the fact that she’d clearly discovered a weakness of hers. “Are you going to put that dress on, or am I really going to have to stand in here the whole time, and make sure you put it on?” She could take out her frustration and fear on Talulah, both for making her come in here with that fox, and then being so fun to mess with that she let her guard down around Kise. “Then again, I’d be surprised if you even knew how to put a dress on. Really don’t seem like the type to do anything but dream of revenge.” She didn’t have to acknowledge that she rarely wore dresses herself, and certainly not dresses like this. She had to help with her father’s continued image in Mura, and attended a few of the meetings of the upper crust. Artitia was doing her best to hide her incredible amusement at how quickly the quiet, but stoic seeming fox was turned into a mess by their new arrival. It wasn’t like she didn’t understand–Angelica seemed to be quite similar to Pashmina, in that they knew exactly what buttons they pressed well, and were all too willing to press them. But, she’d heard plenty of Queen Iseria and the people that worked alongside her. If Angelica was one of them, then it meant that she was the real deal; so Necilla, in all of her clear inexperience, was up against a natural professional. “Pfft… There’s a little place you can wash up in the back over there. Makes sense, it’s hot as hell out there, and all of these people,” Artitia's eyes drifted to the group of bombshells, and the strapping young man, “Sure aren’t helping the temperature in here.” Artitia pointed towards a door in the back of the room before turning back to the main event. “It’s the coat, yeah. Stuff like that isn’t the most common out here–usually means you’re either upper crust around here, or you came from somewhere else. Mostly because it’s hot as sin out here, and a regular Islexian wouldn’t be strutting around in a coat. Though, gotta say, it doesn’t do you too many favors to walk onto a woman’s ship, after shouting your lungs out for her, and then sliding a finger towards a firearm like that, you know?” Solari smiled at Aliza before turning to Renais, the one who had actually done all of the shouting from the sounds of it. “A measure of my ship, and what we’re fighting for, huh?” Solari took the weapon off of her shoulder, and leaned against the weapon. “I get what you’re after. If you’re a part of the Tigers, then you have to be one of Laela’s associates, which probably means that you’ve got clouded in your midst. You can’t leave anything up to chance, right? Gotta make sure that the people you talked to aren’t going to stab you in the back later… Kind of a rude assumption to make, if I’m being frank, but it’s an assumption that someone who’s dealt with it before would make. So… who betrayed you?” Solari smirked and then shrugged her shoulders, “You learn all about that in my line of work. Well, if you’re with Laela, then I don’t have any reason not to trust you. If you all killed Kazran, then we’re all best buddies. I’ve been sailing these seas trying to do what little I can against him, and his friends in high places, and I’ve had some success–but one ship against a large swath of Islexia, and the underground? Wretched, difficult work. Never met the bastard myself, but,” Solari pointed at Lute, who was paying attention intently, “I’ve heard enough horror stories from people who’ve worked under him, women who’ve escaped, women he was forced to cast out… Lute is one of those.” Solari then pointed at the wooden crane at the head of her ship, “The crane symbolizes hope and peace, and that’s what I’ve intended on making my ship. A place where those will survive even when Islexia is hell on Amaranthe.” Lute nodded her head, “...Captain Solari and her people have done nothing but protect me, and people like me. Fight against the pirates, and those who…” Lute fell silent, the memories too painful to continue through, “She has done… nothing but try to improve Islexia, just as–” “Okay, that’s enough, Lute. A Captain has to retain her secrets. So is that enough to answer your questions, Renais?” She could hear Laela’s footsteps, they were close, way too close, way too fast. Until Fran felt the box shift somewhat. “Gosh, she’s too dang good at this…” That was Laela, right on top of the box, so she couldn’t slip out even if she wanted to. Not without help anyway, and hopefully, that second pair of footsteps was going to provide her with that opening. But the voice made Fran perk up. It wasn’t Solari, but Michiru, and Michiru meant that Kristoph was back too. That would exciting, introducing Laela to her father. She was a lot like Solari, but more fun given that she was– “Huh?” Fran put her ear to the box, “I realize that you have history with Kristoph, but for Fran’s sake, please don’t get into an argument with him.” A pause, and then the sound of sliding and a thud as something landed in front of the box. Laela and Kristoph already knew each other, and they were arguing? Fran looked up at the roof of the box, wondering what she should do. It sounded like a conversation that she shouldn’t have overheard, but… But… Fran took a deep breath, and jostled the top of the box, making sure to pushing the roof away from the front of the box, and slowly peered out from her hiding place. “H-hello.” She looked at Michiru, but her focus was mostly reserved for Laela, who was now in front of the box, her head cradled in her hands. “L-Laela? Are… are you okay?” Celine was quick to realize Ambrielle’s sudden shift in demeanor after Tiernan spoke, her wings breaking as she whispered something to Aegean. She’d gotten good at reading lips, but Ambrielle spoke too quickly for her to properly make it out. However, it was clear that it was something untoward, as Versaris made an overture to the mermaid, and she was quickly restrained. Versaris then, appeared to not bother holding his own information back, revealing his allegiance to Lufirian Intelligence. Tiernan appeared uncowed by the mention, but Zephyr’s mouth flew open, along with his body as he forced himself off the wall, “What?! Lufirian Intelligence?! Here?!” Zephyr’s eyes shot to Celine, “Commander, what is the meaning of this!? Why would you be engaging with someone from Lufiria?! Furthermore, why would Glacian mercenaries working at the behest of Queen Iseria be present in Islexia, of all places?!” Had the commander planned this all along? He had been informed that Glacies had turned down involvement in the Task Force, as they tended to do, but now there was a Lufirian intelligence officer working alongside a mercenary group that was working directly on request from her? This changed so much, and potentially not for the better. Lord Rasmus, and King Feld need to be made aware… What frustratingly perfect timing that they would show now. That was hardly the only thing he noticed, he noticed the Tiger herself, her eyes narrowed on Tiernan as if recalling something. Something was not right. But whatever it could be was not coming to him. Celine only glared back at Zephyr, “I met them before undertaking this mission, and I had not expected to meet with them again. But I have seen their strength first hand, and their information has proven more than useful before, so I thought to take the chance to learn from them again. Further, Glacies is allied with Lufiria–there is little surprise that someone of merit from Lufiria is assisting Glacies, especially with the tumult that the world is undergoing currently. It seems quite simple to me, Sir Drasche.” Celine’s tone was slowly turning sour; Zephyr was by far the easier of the two to handle, but if given the chance, she’d mail them both to the underworld without a second thought. That sour tone was not helped by Rina’s actual report on the mission, continuing with Zephyr’s apology had left off, “...I’m sorry, what?” Celine turned to Tiernan, “What does she mean that the local warlords are aware of what’s going on?” There was a tangible increase in the temperature of the room. Tiernan had been listening, quietly, heeding Zephyr’s request for once now that Celine had set parameters. Lufirian Intelligence was new, but the Lufirians hardly carried much weight at all. They were, what, some group of people on the other edge of the continent who’d cowardly killed the Islexian King and Queen years ago, weren’t they? Hardly any great importance. However, the fact that this group were working at the behest of Queen Iseria did give Tiernan some pause; she was one of the few people that even Rasmus seemed interested in not crossing her. But now the conversation turned to him, “Ah, well, yes, naturally. We engaged an Islexian patrol, and in accordance with our mission, I demanded that they turn over all they know in regards to our mission. They refused, and I invoked the powers invested by the Task Force, and they still refused, so I thought to make them fall in accordance with–” The table shook as Celine’s hand hit the table. “Tiernan! We are supposed to be finding our target, not antagonizing the locals!! This does nothing but make our task harder!!” Celine held the table for a moment, before quickly releasing it, taking a deep breath, and slowly sitting herself down in her chair without touching the arms. “Did. You find anything out. On your patrol. Aside. From that.” “...” There was a looooooong pause from Tiernan before he cleared his throat, “B-beyond what we already know, Commander, n-no. Unless, Lady Rina and the others learned something beyond… what I did.” Zephyr shook his head, too much information, and clearly, Celine was anything but pleased with what had happened. She was right too; there was a good chance that with more provocations like that, even if they were ostensibly on the same side here, Islexia wasn’t going to work with them amicably. But Celine was more incensed than perhaps she needed to be. However, he wasn’t going to test the Commander. It had become more clear on their journey just how dangerous she truly was–it wasn’t just magically, she outclassed him in blade work too, and if she were singing the praises of these mercenaries they were likely remarkable. But then Zephyr’s focus turned to the masked woman. “Kastille? You’re a Kastille?” Zephyr’s brow rose, Kazran had extinguished that family back when he had assumed full control over the northern region of Islexia. More importantly, she’d expressed something… troubling. “Late Kazran, is it? We’d heard that the man had… fared poorly recently. A bastard through and through, though, Lati? I don’t recall mention of the man having a successor, though, with what little I know of him, it would not surprise me that he had children, many, children. You come in the name of this Lati, as well as the Gaffney… how, pray tell, did you come to assume this mantle? We’d sent messengers to both, and were rebuffed saying that neither could spare anything in our search, yet… here you are. I do not claim to believe you are lying, it is just odd.” The problems continue to pile up… Elsewhere, Sara overlooked the Islexian plains. Her own search had turned up basically everything she didn’t want to hear. Their target, the princess, was to the east. She had to be, it was the only place left, and the problem was that the Islexians knew it too. They were ahead of them now, and her own work had confirmed that there had been some skirmishing with unidentified individuals. Which proved more worrying when magic was mentioned in the accounts. Islexian mages were rare, so it was more likely to be who they were searching for. “Damn it… Damn it all… Everything is starting to spiral…” Sara looked down at her hand, looking back towards the city of Cael on the horizon. She still had to speak with Versaris directly, and introduce herself to the commander of these mercenaries. Saffira seemed to believe in their sincerity. But… she couldn’t find the muster to do it. “...Hah, Everything’s starting to spiral and here I am, still unable to…” Sara shook her head. After all of this time, she’d almost definitely succeeded in proving Darian wrong. There was no doubt in her mind that Melody was alive, and well… and yet, she was too… “...I have to do this at some point. I have to. Or… What was this all for? This is… why I did all of this, isn’t it? So… why I can’t I just…? Tell her the truth?”

The librarian had continued to read despite the vibrant conversations that had been going on in front of her, as well as the rapid departure of the sheep clouded and her draconic companion. They hadn’t left with any books, so it was hardly any of her business. Too many things had happened as of late for her to get hung up over everything happening in her store, even if this were an uncommon occurrence as of late. This damned assassin had missed their opportunity to take Nicolas’s head, and now all of them were paying the price. It didn’t take long for a new arrival to appear, and one that… “...Is that a head?” The old woman blinked at Christopher, and then down at Kleo. The woman opened her mouth, then closed her eyes, “Never mind. I know better than to ask questions about things I may not wish to know the answer to. Second person today to ask me about that, mercenaries must be in town… you’re in the wrong place for magical theory and history beyond the illustrious tales of great Islexia.” She rolled her eyes before pointing to a shelf next to her, “The best I’ve got is over here. Surely you know that Islexia ain’t keen on magic, never has been, right?” Another day, another complete lack of patronage. It was unsurprising, she had been told by many of the roamers that it was difficult to spring up from nothing in Cael, and especially difficult as of late. But it remained vexing; the rumbling of her stomach had been a familiar companion ever since she found herself on the coasts of Islexia. Everyone else was gone. No Talulah, no Sitonia, and certainly no Genevieve. She still wasn’t sure how she’d managed to perform such a spell, but judging by the fact that it seemed like all of them had been sent somewhere different, it wasn’t perfect. All of her things were gone, lost to the waves, and unfortunately, out here people were hardly as welcoming or friendly as Lufiria tended to be. The lavender haired woman leaned on the stall, watching those who came by, there were quite a few interesting folk who’d walked through, the dragon and her companion, the dog clouded who threatened to beat him half to death, and an array of others, but still none of them had wandered over. At this point, it would probably be more lucrative for her to tend to the unfortunate, and hope that any of them had anything they could part with. Leaving Cael while all of this nonsense was going on was not possible, and no one was truly willing to care for someone who couldn’t say where they were from. Truly the worst of all worlds at this point in time, being a Lufirian in Islexia. She leaned back against the wall behind her stall, the only benefit of being one of the distant stalls was that she had somewhere to lean, and was out of the sun. Islexia was truly uncomfortably warm, and she could only wish that either she would be back home in the much nicer temperatures of the secluded enclave, off of the coasts of Lufiria, or on the sea, where the breeze would calm the sting of the sun’s rays. Neither were applicable here, so all she could do was wait, and hope that anyone would take an interest in what she offered, which on the surface was quite little, but on the stall was an old levin sword, and the animation crystal that gave the blade its elemental properties, removed from the blade, and in the midst of being restored. It was a difficult process, correctly remaking the pathways in the crystal to allow one’s energy to energize the blade, reapplying the spell itself… far too difficult in her depleted state to do as she normally would, but it was the only thing she could do at this point. “Just you then… I shouldn’t be surprised; I’m sure that Queen Iseria has all of you all over the place. It was worth the question, you’re already quite the boon in a situation like this, you and Lady Meredith would have made things truly riskless.” Both women were exceptionally gifted, as expected of anyone working under Queen Iseria, so even one of them being around was a boost of considerable proportions. It was equally as expected for Angelica to immediately begin working her magic. She’d been on the receiving end of it before when they’d first met; Angelica, much like her unique magical ability, worked quickly. She wasn’t one to hold back, instead laying things on the table, and letting the other person either fold, or try to keep up. Her shifting of her weight, and the hiking of her skirt were certainly all accidental. Necilla, however, was not her, and clearly had no experience with such advances, left glancing more than perhaps she should have. Poor girl… She’ll have to figure out what to do… Things refocused on the major topics at hand, Jalen, and his eventual, exquisite, demise. Pasha looked around, and found a chair, before plopping herself into it. “That was certainly a part of it, yes. Bitter that despite my parents and his father effectively offering me up to him as if I were some doll, that I would not dance to his tune. I have outlived him, and get to have solace in the fact that despite his efforts, he never got to see what is beneath my dress~ Almost everyone in this room has seen more than he ever will, and I almost wish I reminded him of that before he died.” Pashmina huffed, hardly ever one to truly condone the death of another living being, but Jalen truly lacked a soul. “But if that were simply it… Then none of this would have ever occurred. Jalen isn’t smart enough to do what he did without help. Cyrus and Nicolas are both certainly smarter, but even they wouldn’t have had what they needed… That’s why I’m sure that there is a lot more at play here. Which is why we’re here in Cael now. Turns out, what they were trying to pin on me was that I was harboring an assassin that tried to target Nicolas. The timing of events, of course, makes that impossible. But idiot that Jalen is, he informed us that someone had asked him, and his family to keep Lord Danomill from reaching his destination. Which reads to me that the incidents are related, the people responsible for the assassin, are also the people who didn’t want Lord Danomill to make it to Lufiria. But it also means that Islexia is in on whatever is happening, at least partially, and I think you and I can both see how much of a problem that might be. Add in the Tigers’ involvement in events before arriving to assist me with Jalen’s defeat, and I think we have something far more than just any of these events.” Pasha sighed, “Azame is correct. The Tigers have more to say on this front, confirming things that are a little hazy for me. My memory is a little worse than it usually is, near-death experiences will do that to you. This is only a rough gist of things.” Artitia simply drank in the information, and her cup threatened to overflow constantly. All the while, given what was being said, the older woman kept a close eye on their surroundings. No one would find them, of course, but it paid to be safe, especially in their current climate. No telling if these other actors would be making their own moves… Ling expected something out of Talulah when she stroked the elf’s ears. What she didn’t expect was how much of a reaction she got, the mostly unflinching swordswoman no longer had her undeserved air of authority, instead replaced by a red wave of embarrassment and frustration. Before she’d pulled away, she was sure that she felt Talulah shiver. Ling looked down at her hand, and then back to Talulah before a devilish grin appeared on her face, “Well, well, well, seems like a weak spot in plain sight, huh? Don’t do that, huh? Who’s going to stop me~? Certainly not you, right?” Now it was Ling’s turn to turn the tide again, her own air of confidence restored as Talulah fled, refusing to answer her question. It was more likely that Talulah didn’t know, rather than refusing to answer. But the blush on the woman’s face was so incredibly hilarious that– “Huh?” In her moment of supremacy, Ling hadn’t kept full track of her surroundings, or rather, she had, but someone had pierced right through it. None of the other small-fry in the room could do something like that except… Ling turned her head slowly, to meet Kise’s malice. They weren’t too different in height, now that they stood next to one another, but the danger radiating from the fox made her seem as if she towered over her. “...” Ling took a lightning fast step backwards, separating herself from Kise, “Y-you would know, wouldn’t you?” It really was frustrating to feel like if the woman really had wanted to fight, and kill her, that she would have just done so, and won. It was the same sort of feeling that the White Reaper gave off. It was uncomfortable. Nothing about this woman was making sense. Ling stared at Kise for a moment longer, before huffing, “I-I was going to. She really does seem like the type who doesn’t know the first thing about clothing aside from something to fight in. Don’t do that again.” Ling turned, and made for the changing room that Talulah had ran into, making sure to keep her own movements measured. She really didn't want to give the impression that she was as scared as she currently was. I don’t like her… Solari chuckled at Lute’s reply, glad that the woman appeared to have gained the slightest bit of solace from learning of Kazran’s demise. It really did seem like things were changing rapidly, and all because of these Tigers. I really do need to meet with these Tigers at least once… They’re certainly doing good things, but you never know until you stare a person in the eyes. Right as Solari turned to go join Laela in the search for her da–Fran, Kristoph’s daughter, Michiru’s bubbly voice cut her off announcing their return. “Ah, Michiru. Perfect timing, almost. If you’re back that means,” Sure enough, as Solari looked up, Kristoph’s head peered over the railing. Solari smiled, “Perfect.” Kristoph walked over and apologized for the wait, Solari shrugged her shoulder and shook her head, “Well, lucky for the both of you, I wasn’t waiting at all. I think I already know everything you were going to let me in on.” Solari shot Kristoph a glance, “Fran slipped off the ship again, but this time, she found someone real interesting. Dog clouded that appears to be a mercenary, and boy did she have a lot to say. Found out what happened to Kazran, and one of the Belrose to boot. Turns out we’re not going to have to worry about him anymore, but who knows, maybe you got–” Solari paused as her name echoed throughout the docks, “...Huh?” It wasn’t as if she was unknown around Cael, but she certainly wasn’t popular enough for people she didn’t know to be shouting her name randomly. It wasn’t just her name though, it was followed with a request, and an assertion that she was with the Tigers. From Kristoph and Michiru’s reaction, it was someone they had met earlier too. Lute gave both Kristoph and Michiru a small wave as they arrived, and was going to respond to Kristoph’s, when Solari’s name echoed, and caused her to flinch. “What, who…?” Kristoph and Michiru seemed to know who it was, and was already waving them over. Lute looked over at Solari who, mirroring Kristoph, let out an exasperated sigh, “Don’t worry about it, Lute. Just keep on painting, I’ll handle… whatever this is.” Solari first strode over to the mast of the ship, and picked up a wicked looking weapon. It looked like an axe, but the long tip of the blade didn’t align with any axe, looking more like an enlarged farming tool. As she turned, the two newcomers had boarded the ship, a rose haired woman, and a silver haired one. “You might say that.” Solari answered for Kristoph as she marched back over, her weapon held over her shoulder. “Unless you mean the other kind of birdwatching, then you’ve come to the wrong boat for that.” Solari looked the pair over some more before tilting her head, “You both look more like you’d pass as noblewomen before mercenaries, but Kristoph and Michiru seem to know who you are, so I’ll take you at your word. Captain Solari of the White Crane, and what questions would you ask of me?” Solari looked over at Lute, noticing the woman’s discomfort with the continued carousel of new faces on the ship, and stepped over closer to her, “Also not the brightest idea to be yelling out in the middle of the docks like that. Mercenaries or no, you’re in Islexia, you don’t want people to be remembering you. Surely, if you’re a mercenary, you’ve been taught that much, right? Elsewhere, below deck, Fran made sure to place herself in one of the many boxes stored below. Oftentimes, there was food, or spoils from the ships that Solari and her crew raided, but just as often, the boxes were simply empty, and that made for good hiding places. All one needed to do was arrange them so that they were easy to slip in and out of. There were a couple rooms below as well, Solari, of course had her own, and a handful of others did as well, Lute, Kristoph and her were afforded one, and often rescues got the remaining ones with the crew rotating with what they had. Some of the crew complained but it was hardly with any force; Solari had a knack for keeping her crew happy. “Should be starting now…” Fran occasionally peeked from her hiding place, listening for footsteps, waiting for Laela or Solari to move too far, and for her to shift her hiding place again. Somewhere along the way, Lumina gave up trying to catch up to Eva. The woman’s longer legs were simply an advantage that she couldn’t overcome without blasting her with light magic. The thought did cross Lumina’s mind for a faint moment, the embarrassment of the sudden display still emblazoned across her face. But as the chase continued, Lumina almost appreciated the levity of the moment. It had been many years since she had been the one running from Pashmina after doing something similar. It was a wonder how Pashmina moved so quickly despite all of her extra weight, but she was never far behind her. Even in the five or so years since they’d seen each other last, she hadn’t changed in the slightest, still managing to remain as agile as she had been years ago. Well, she did seem… even more developed than back then, but details. Lumina turned, and saw a small restaurant, one that she remembered and slowed her run. “Eva! Eva, come back over here!” Hopefully the dragon actually acquiesced, and didn’t think that she was trying to pull a fast one on her. She couldn’t deny the potential, but this would suit their needs perfectly. Something for them, and hopefully, something for Sasha as well. It did appear to be much quieter than she remembered it being, but given the situation that the city was under, it made plenty of sense. However, the scent of roasting chicken was unmistakable. “Oho, a guest in these trying times.” A man peered out the side of the small shack with a smile. “Could I interest you in a bite to eat?” Celine blinked at Ambrielle’s… enthusiasm. She practically collapsed to the floor off of something that Aegean did, but her hand did not release Aegean’s. No, instead, it seemed like the woman was gripping Aegean’s hand tighter. There had been a moment where Celine had wondered why on Amaranthe would someone from the Underground defect to the tigers, but Ambrielle’s reaction to Aegean’s admittedly incredibly tame action seemed to paint an interesting picture. Celine did at least get the answer to her question, which was in fact, more questions. “Noctua?” Celine paused for a moment, she’d heard that name before. Caruso had said it once, and then when he realized that she was there, he looked almost as if she had heard something she wasn’t supposed to before immediately returning to his normal, frustrating, state. “The underground and Noctua are working together… but they don’t have anything to do with this…” Celine sighed, “Thank you for that much… I’ll… ask other questions… later.” Celine didn’t know how much later would be later, but later was definitely the right time for that. Celine looked at Versaris, and then Aegean, “I’ll… trust your judgment on that.” Celine ran a hand through her blazing hair, and sighed, “I wish I could say it was going well, but between logistical difficulties, and… other difficulties,” The temperature in the room elevated for a short moment, before receding immediately, “We’ve not made as much progress as I would like, and the Islexians, understandably haven’t been… helpful. I’ve only recently learned that Cyrus Belrose was in the area not too long ago. He, and a large contingent have moved east, which… I assume that means that they have the trail at least, which is a problem since… east from here will eventually run into the Eastern Ocean. Which means if they have caught onto her trail, then–” Celine paused, and perked her ears up, “...That may have to wait. I believe my… guests, and unfortunate guests, are here.” Celine took a deep breath, she was going to have to play as nicely as she possibly could. Zephyr looked at Raih as she slowly approached. She’d been nothing but smiles, and surprisingly laid back the whole time on the journey, hardly the outward disdain that her other companions had. But for a moment, as she looked down upon him, there was a complete lack of emotion on the woman’s face. Her words were almost child’s play to ignore, but it was the look in her eyes that unnerved Zephyr for a moment. It wasn’t fear that gripped him, it was concern, he’d been so content to forget about Raih due to her almost resignation to their situation. Now he was sure that it wasn’t resignation, and he could only wonder how foolish he had been. The others were expected, they could be planned for, they had been planned for, but Raih was now yet another vector to be concerned about, and as much as he wanted to reply to Fel’s threat of which side Celine would fall towards, he knew it to be true, and that was a far bigger threat. Rina and her cadre, along with Saoirse, funneled into the room. Tiernan glared at Saoirse as she made a point of moving him out of the way before entering, only the door between them holding the spit behind his gritted teeth. “If not for–” “Lord Tiernan.” “What?” “Do not antagonize them in this moment. Not now. I regret to admit that the impetuous knight is correct. Lady Celine is not in our corner, and as much as I would like to say that I can handle her, I cannot. I don’t believe any of us can, so we must remain in her good graces, as much as we can, anyway. Also, steel yourself, she was speaking to a mercenary troupe of half-breeds. She might have a reason to keep you alive, they do not.” Zephyr stared as his liege, “So, let us be about this properly. Simple, and by the book, understand? Also, what did you do to the Blond–” Zephyr looked up, and noticed that Tiernan had already pushed open the door to the meeting room. “Greetings, Commander Celine! It is, I, we, returned from our patrol to narrow down our search for our vagabond!” Tiernan strode into the room, rounded the table, and stood close, but not so close, to Celine herself with a flip of his golden hair. “I see that we have unfamiliar faces around the table, hal–clouded, I see. I did not realize that you had additional assistance in the wings, Commander, but it is of no surprise, you’ve continued to be a boon at my side in this search for glory!” Tiernan looked for the most human passing of the lot looking past Versaris and finding Sami’s pink hair. He bowed in Sami’s direction, luckily the same direction as Natalya, “I thank all of you for your continued service in search for this assassin! My name is Tiernan Er Macdowell, son of the Macdowell Family, Lord in Kansei’s upper court, and your commander for this search. Perfect timing, as we have just returned from our patrol, and have gathered–” “Ahem.” Tiernan paused, and looked over at Celine, who despite smiling was glaring so hard, that Tiernan felt as if she was boring a hole through his body, his soul. “...Y-yes, Commander Celine?” “There are. Proceedings, when it comes to things like this. We’ve been over this. This is not the first time you’ve tried to give a report.” Celine turned her eyes to Zephyr, standing off in the corner with his head in his hands, “Lord Zephyr, Lady Rina. Please, sit, we’ve got some things to explain. My apologies for your apologies being cut short, Rina.” Sami wanted to vanish from the room. The moment that Tiernan’s eyes locked on, she recognized that gaze. It was the same sort as Jalen. A hungry savage looking at a piece of meat, unrestrained desire. Sami shrank as more people wandered into the room, shrinking behind Commander Natalya hoping that she would fade completely out of view. Unfortunately for her, Tiernan was not the only one with eyes on Sami. Zephyr, too, gazed at the fidgeting cleric, but instead of desire, surprise was etched onto his face. The resemblance… how odd… Implausible, isn’t it? That would make little sense… Zephyr’s gaze didn’t meet Sami’s, but Tani’s. Zephyr stared at Tani as she glared at him before shaking his head. I suppose she thinks me the same as Tiernan… Not something I could fault her for. Who would follow such a depraved boy? Yet, that is… what I am to do. “You have my apologies for Tiernan’s continued mistakes in this matter, Commander Celine. We have returned to offer our report on proceedings, but, first, it would appear as we have more guests.” Zephyr walked over to Tiernan, and dragged him into a chair, before continuing, “Might we have the honor of knowing of who we’re working with, here? I can only offer my name as Zephyr Dracshe of Kansei, a knight in service of King Feld of Kansei. Working in tandem with Lady Celine to capture the Escaflowne thief.” Tani found a seat after glaring at Zephyr, but even as she sat down, and wrestled with her emotions, she couldn’t quite get the breeze about her to calm down completely. Tiernan, of course, too stupid, if not actively malicious, was too up his own ass to even think better of what he’d done. More importantly, she couldn’t do or say anything about it without risking something worse happening. She could at least take some solace that Celine wasn’t having any of Tiernan’s nonsense, and this time, they were amongst far more clouded than before. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t keep her from blowing up if she opened her mouth, so it was better to take her seat, and fume in near silence.

Ling huffed, "Not dangerous to all of you, yet." Ling scowled at Talulah as the bitch stuck out her tongue as she continued to taunt her. The scowl quickly faded, "But then again, you weren't able to pick up on how dangerous father was to all of you before it was too late, so maybe you'll just repeat the same mistakes~" The swordswoman quickly regained her composure, offering a bored stare in Talulah's direction. It certainly was true, had she been even a fraction of a second slower, Talulah would have cleaved her in two with that crazy blade of hers. She could feel it as it slid by her, a voice penetrating into her mind, something truly terrifying powering that sword. Certainly something to keep an eye on. "Yeah, you're right. If I had been any slower, you'd have killed me right then. Fact is, I wasn't. I'm still not. You're really trying to tell me that you've improved enough since we last met that now that you don't have any surprise factor--the only way you could get close to me--you'd be able to win?" Ling chuckled, and then pulled a purple dress off of the rack, and tossed it at Talulah, before appearing in her ear, "Come on now. We both know that a moment's luck doesn't mean you're anywhere near my level~" Ling brushed Talulah's ears before stepping away from her burgeoning rival. "And she really pulled it off, huh? Don't know much about magic, but I do know that warp all of you like that with all of that going on is crazy. I guess they warned us about the Lorekeeper for a reason... maybe I should give her a little more credit then I have been." Ling then sighed, "But no idea where she is... So I can't even figure out if you're telling the truth about how strong she is... Boring. Do you know where any of your friends on that boat have gone?" Zephyr's mouth twitched as Saoirse was intent on continuing her belligerence. As she stepped closer and closer, it was only then that he learned that she was taller than he was. "You seem inclined to bark as if you're a dog, so it would fall to me to put you down, yes." Zephyr returned her gaze, "I won't doubt your speed. I just hope that you don't run yourself onto my blade. It would be a much better end for you than you or that floppy earred wench deserve." Zephyr grinned, "Maybe we'll have time to figure that out, but unfortunately for you, I have more important things to do than to listen to you whine when your bravado falls apart. Where is Lady Celin--" Saoirse turned her attention to Lady Minèrve and her closest adjutant, confirming his question without much fuss, showing exactly where she stood on all of this. Unsurprising... Problematic, but unsurprising. Were it that our Hecatian friends saw fit to send those who know how to follow their betters instead of bark like the mangy beasts they are... Zephyr raised an eyebrow, "Mercenaries? Clouded mercenaries?" That didn't make much sense, unless the clouded were forced into service. Islexian mercenaries were quite staunch in their disdain of the impure, so a large group of them either meant that they were Hecatian, or, even more odd, Glacian. "However we come to our objective is of little concern to me, Lady Altair is no fool, she wouldn't allow mercenaries to intrude without a purpose." Zephyr then turned his eyes on Raih, "You'll do nothing of a sort, rabbit. I should remind you of where things stand. You serve Lady Minèrve, yes? Your actions upon impeding an officer vested with the power of the Kanseian crown, as well as the Saint of Hecatia... You'll find yourself, your liege, and everyone under her power in grave danger would it come to light of such... petty insubordination. That goes for the rest of you as well." Tani bit her tongue, squeezing the hem of her pleated dress so tight that she could see the white of her knuckles. Raih's gesture helped, but Zephyr's attitude was downright infuriating. "Aha, Zephyr. There you are." There was the man of the hour, strolling in with his golden locks flowing behind him, a grin upon his face. That vanished almost immediately on seeing Saoirse. "Is Lady Altair inside?" "She is, my liege, though, she appears to be speaking with a mercenary cohort with clouded. The Iron Tigers, or something..." "...I do wish that she would wait for my return before deciding on finding more assistance to find our dastard. We're getting closer on our own still, what need do we have of more im-- clouded. Never mind, forward, let us follow after our compatriots and make our wonderous report!"

"...I swear. I wonder if she's omniscient sometimes." Artitia shook her head, "I've been fine, better now that I've gotten to speak with both you... and Pashmina on the same day. You're in luck, Pashmina's inside, and I think she can answer all of your questions better than I can. Pasha?" Pasha listened intently to what was going on at the door, taking note of Artitia's surprise, and then the familiar name, "Angelica?" There was about one person she could think of that both went by Angelica, and would know that knock. It seemed like her concerns were were warranted; Iseria had sent more assistance after all. Pasha looked at Azame, Ernest and Necilla, "Looks like the introductions aren't done for the day. Perfect timing too, I would prefer not having to walk more than I have to." "Well, you heard her, Angelica." Artitia pulled open the door, and ushered Angelica inside, and then shut the door behind her. "You can probably take some time to relax, Angelica, if you've been running around constantly since you got here, you probably need some time to rest. You're in good company on that front at least, Miss Celea over here has been through a lot recently." "A lot... is an understatement if I'm being honest." Pasha stepped forward, lowered her head to Angelica. "Hello again, Angelica... it's been, what, a couple months since we last spoke? It's both good, and calming to see you; it means that Iseria isn't idle, and is taking what's going on her quite seriously." Pasha gestured to Azame, "Everyone, this is Angelica, she's a informant of sorts with Glacies--there's more to it than that, but I don't quite know all of the specifics. I don't know if Lord Salazar had mentioned her name to Necilla or Ernest, but she works quite closely with the Queen and her inner circle. We've spoken before about various things... like the Underground and their movements, since the Queen has been very interested in trying to stymie their operations." Pasha turned back to Angelica, "As for you, Azame is... my closest confidant, and Ernest and Necilla are... were, Lord Salazar's entourage. Were because... Well, I'm sure that the Queen already expected the worst for Salazar. But let me be the first to confirm that, since I was tasked with helping him to his destination... that he's gone." Frustration flashed across Pasha's face as she spoke, before expelling a long sigh, "Are you by yourself, Angelica? Given some of the issues plaguing the continent now, I wouldn't be surprised if Lady Meredith was around."

Artitia's laughter immediately came to an end as she heard a knock at the door, a familiar pattern of knocking. Artitia looked at Pasha, the merchant taking a step back behind Ernest, Necilla and Azame--Artitia could tell that even if she styled herself fine, Pasha was still quite weak from her ordeal. What Pasha had in willpower, she lacked in physicality, and it was really showing. Artitia wandered over to the door, and opened it a crack, eyes spying a familiar blonde haired woman, "Wait... Angelica?" Artitia peered out the door down the street in either direction, before focusing back onto one of Glacies's informants, "When did you get here? ...What are you doing here?" Artitia couldn't help but muse about how perfect Angelica's timing was, especially since Pasha had mentioned that Iseria's people were likely on the move. Only a matter of moments later, did she find someone at her doorstep.

Ling narrowed her eyes and looked over at Talulah's smug grin, "What are you smiling about, huh? Did you forget that even with your crazy sword, and armor, I batted you aside like you were a child having a tantrum? Besides, I don't think you get it at all. I've dealt with powerful magic before, people way stronger than you will ever be." Ling pointed into the store, "That. Was someone who is just waiting for a reason to slaughter everyone she comes across. It's not just her magic, it's who she is. Maybe you don't get it because you're not as good as a fighter as me or my father, but that, she, she's not someone I'd want to spend my time around." There was a true malice within Kise's gaze that was truly unnerving, perhaps close to the White Reaper's own. Either these people were putting up with it, or they were blind to the danger that woman posed. That question was almost immediately answered by the other woman by Talulah's side. "...Gods, never mind. You guys really are that naive." Ling pondered a moment. It wasn't as if Talulah's jab really mattered, in the end, it wasn't as if the elf was the one bothering her, nor even possessed the ability to reach that level. But there was something... frustrating about even being able to smile that way, knowing that were it come blade to blade again, Ling would almost certainly come out the victor. "Fine, I guess if you really want mommy fox around to cover your ass while we chat, I guess there's no real harm in it. Maybe. But you should really keep in mind that you can't beat me even if you tried as hard as you could, like last time. Hell, you needed the cow to save you before." Ling wandered into the shop, casting a side eye at Kise, "Now you never answered my question, where the heck did the cow end up?" It became very apparent to her that the fact that she wasn't going to be able to go to Glacies with Necilla and Ernest didn't go over well with either of them. Necilla displaying the most emotion that she had since they'd become a group. A part of herself always wondered what it was that she did that inspired such loyalty or friendship, but once more, Ernest and Necilla had fallen under that spell. The merchant sighed, and smiled at the both of them, "Yes, this won't be goodbye forever, I promise. Come much too far for me to just ship all of you off, and for things to end there. Things are changing in Islexia, and I need to be a part of them. The Gaffneys defeating Kazran, Jalen falling, even what's happening with this assassin, all of it is evidence of change. We have to take hold of it to make things better for everyone, and even as much as I love to go along with all of you, I'm needed here. But when all of this is put to rest, you can be sure either here, or in Glacies, we'll all come back together." Pasha winked at her two concerned friends. Then Pasha blinked as both Necilla and Azame warned her about overworking herself, with Azame being much more explicit about her intentions of making sure she didn't overdo it after what they had just been through. "Aha... Trust me, it's not too much. Though... I may have overestimated myself. I should not be this tired already, but magical exhaustion on top of regular exhaustion is quite debilitating... Anyway, I'm not... so much looking for someone, rather, I'm expecting someone to be looking for me. Queen Iseria is a shrewd woman; for someone who is supposed to be blind, she seems to be able to see so much more than everyone else. Even if she did send the Evokers... I know her, she wouldn't put all of her eggs in one basket." Pasha finally looked over at Azame, seeing her feline friend's pout in full force, before waving her hands, "I promise that I'll relax as soon as I can... not that I'll have much of a choice." Artitia did her best to stifle the laughter at watching the normally completely-in-control Pasha find herself at the mercy of the joint pressure of her three companions. "Hey, whoa!" Solari hadn't been prepared for Laela to wrap her arm around her shoulder as if they've been crewmates for some time. It wasn't a bother, just surprising--mostly because her crewmates knew not to sneak up on her without announcing themselves. The last crewmate who did so ended up in the seas below. Well, that wasn't true, Kristoph had done so on accident, and instead of getting thrown over board, he got clocked. There were a few other pieces to that story, but she didn't really want to think further on those. Lute flinched as Laela walked over, shrinking slightly before noticing her attire amongst other things. There was something calming about the woman's boisterous nature, and wearing something that she might have been forced to wear by Kazran not so long ago. She could almost thank Cereza for being so incredibly paranoid about her position that she personally mailed her off to another one of Kazran's associates, in an effort to make sure that her charms wouldn't push Kazran to do something Cereza didn't want. Fortunately, dark times came to an end on a short voyage--the handler's ship came under assault by another Islexian vessel, and the fighting was short. When the steps came before the door, she was prepared for her to be handed off to another, potentially worse adversary, only for that to be the first meeting with Captain Solari. She and the others were freed, with many of them returning to the land, but Lute chose to stay aboard the White Crane. The Captain, Fran, and Kristoph provided her with a sense of comfort that she hadn't had for years, and here, neither Kazran, nor Cereza would ever be able to reach her again. So to hear that Kazran was dead, defeated by a group known as the Tigers, caused Lute's face to contort in disbelief, and then... her hands went to her chest as she breathed a long sigh of relief. "...He's gone... He's finally..." Lute paused a moment, "Is...--" Lute looked up, and Laela was already on her way to play hide and seek with Fran. Her question would have to wait until later, but for the faintest of moments, Lute felt like she could breathe unrestricted. "Haah... that woman really does move at her own pace. Which is impressively fast. You'll have time to ask what you wanted to later, Lute. Assuming you can muster up the confidence." "...Mmm. I, it, s-should be fine... I... I can't believe he's... finally gone. After... everything he's done. To me, to others... everyone..." Solari nodded her head, "Maybe the winds are finally changing in a good direction..." Solari turned, "I should go and help Laela find Fran. Good to see that you're getting comfortable enough to be painting on deck more often, Lute. Maybe this will help with that a little?" "...Maybe." Lumina noticed something strange about the blue haired woman, but couldn't quite place it. It wouldn't matter in the end, as all of her thoughts were jolted out of her mind when Eva decided it was the perfect time to slap her ass, causing Lumina to jump a bit into the air. "Wh, you, Eva!" It was at that moment that it became clear just how much of a difference Eva's much longer, and stronger legs made as the woman dashed away from her. Lumina wasn't slow, not by a long shot, but at her height, she was just a fair bit slower than Eva was. "Hey, you get back here! You can't just do that me in public! Ooooh, I'm gonna..." Lumina didn't quite know how to end that sentence because she didn't know what she was going to do when she caught up. Sami simply did her best to make herself as small in the proceedings as possible. She'd done her job in guiding the group to their destination, but now, they were staring down Celine Altair. She never really did get much news or anything from other countries, Islexia was rather insular to its detriment, with only very select things making it through. But the name Altair was ubiquitous, the name of one of the Saint's Constellation Families, and perhaps the largest of them all. The Belrose Family, and the Altair Family shared some history, so Sami was sure to minimize herself as much as possible. It was certainly possible that the woman in front of them wasn't aligned at all, but she wasn't going to take any real chances... Celine listened with rapt attention to Natalya's recounting of events leading up to their current situation, why they were even here in this part of Islexia. A short story it may have been, but it would have been enough to write countless tales of, almost defying belief, but knowing what they had already been party to it was no longer surprising to her. Celine took a deep long breath when Natalya finished, and Versaris continued almost confirming her worst possible fears. "...Let me... file all of these correctly, first. Because what you're telling me is... a huge problem, and also... confirming things that I was very worried about. For starters, our task force was sent to capture the Escaflowne thief, which, there was thought to be overlap between Nicolas's assassin, and the thief. There was... an issue with that, I thought. That would make no--" Celine paused, and turned to Saoirse who was rapidly departing the room, "...Saoirse?" Celine blinked, unsure of what had occurred. Celine shook her head, "A-anyway, that would make no sense. Why would she target Nicolas when she's running? But of course... it seems like she didn't. This confirms what I thought to begin with... a third party. Which, brings me to you." Celine's eyes turned on Ambrielle, the vibrating winged woman, "I think the number of questions I have for you exceeds the number of hours there are in the day. But the Tigers have yet to steer me wrong, so I don't see any reason not to trust you... beyond your previous affiliation. I have but one question for you. The Underground... do they have anything to do with this? If there was anyone I suspected of involvement, I would believe it to be them, especially since from the sounds of it, they've had quite some presence in the region up until this point." Celine was keeping her ears open, listening for the sound of hooves. Rina and her cohort should be back at any moment now, but it was those with her that she was most concerned about. Tiernan and Zephyr, especially Tiernan with his tendency to stick his foot in his mouth, and his shocking ability to fit ever larger ones. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him. Tani did her absolute best to contain her seething rage, knowing that it was almost over, but the wind around her and her horse were notably elevated. It would have been one thing if he'd just made their lives harder, by being incompetent, it wasn't like she wasn't used to that. There were more than a few Kansei knight commanders who made Rina--an inexperienced commander in her own right--look as if she were one of the greatest leaders to have ever graced the continent. Rina's talents lay elsewhere, even, she was almost unmatched in inspiring loyalty, and urging them on, something that couldn't be taught. Tiernan had the charisma of horse dung, where only the opportunist flies cared to court his attention. He'd nearly riled another Islexian patrol, almost dragging them into combat, if not for Rina, Fel and Dorian defusing the situation. Unfortunately, she'd let her guard down for a single moment, and Tiernan decided to take advantage. If not for the situation, and the fact that Tiernan couldn't be touched for the sake of the Minèrve holdings, she'd have lopped the man's hands off right then, and killed him. But the Minèrve holdings, and the people who dwelled there were her concern, so she bit her lip, and bottled her anger for later when she could unload amongst real people. Most importantly, she could not tell Feli until they were all separated, because he would almost certainly do what she would not--he'd said as much on their journey. Fortunately, the outpost was in sight, and soon she could boil over without fear of reprisal against her liege. Tiernan, his golden locks flowing behind him, was in fact beaming was they rode back into town. All had gone well, the Islexian Patrols had come to understand their purpose and goal, and it appeared as if Lady Minèrve and her compatriots were starting to come around, as they all did. Still, things had gone slower than he had expected. Lord Belrose hadn't even bothered to show himself, instead being involved in the hunt himself. He was aware that the Islexians were strange in this regard, but he was effectively their king, he should leave the hunt to his subjects, or better yet, him and his task force. That and Lady Altair had been far more cautious in their approach to the search. What good did it do them to search slowly and look for leads? Such a villain as one who would try to assassinate a leader such as the Belrose would exude evil, any one of higher quality would know instantly who the attacker was! Yet, he did not challenge her on that fact--Lady Altair had proven herself to be utterly terrifying when furious, and despite the time that they'd spent together, he'd learn that the red head was simply of a short fuse. That was fine, a beautiful and powerful subordinate such as the Lady Altair was an excellent match, so too, was the Lady Minèrve. Zephyr on the other hand, was keeping an eye on Lady Minèrve and her group, the frustration of her troupe more than apparent, and growing day by day. It wasn't as if he didn't understand, Tiernan was... definitely not helping matters, and hardly understood that none of them wanted anything to do with him. But their compliance with his presence wasn't necessary, only their support, and so far, they'd given that. It was only a matter of time before something gave, and he would have to make sure to be there when it did. For all of Tiernan's boasting, the man likely couldn't take a civilian who had never picked up a blade in his life. Zephyr dismounted from his horse, and grabbed the reins, "You two, help Lord Tiernan from his horse, and prepare to collect the horses and turn them to the stables. Lord Tiernan, I and Lady Minèrve's troupe will head inside to make our report." The group of men saluted, all dismounting from their steeds, and starting to make their preparations. Zephyr handed his horse off to his subordinates, and walked inside the outpost. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was inevitably going to be a difficult conversation. Where he had hoped that Lady Celine's clear disdain for Tiernan's actions, and her clear capability to put him in his place would temper him, it had only caused him to be worse away from that equal threat. Tanielie--a name Zephyr had only remembered due to Tiernan's recounting of her at school, and his facination with her--had been staring daggers at him the entire return ride, so he had almost definitely done something. At the very least, she'd restrained herself, not well, but she had. As Zephyr stepped into the outpost, his eyes almost immediately fell on one of Celine's deputies, the brash fox woman. Zephyr clicked his tongue, hand drifting over his blade, before stowing the malice back down beneath a stoic gaze. "You... Saoirse, was it? We've returned, and we've a report to make. Where is Lady Celine?"

Ling smirked as Talulah seemed to take some manner of offense at her words. Of course she did, the cow had rescued her, twice on that ship, first by halting her advance with her magic, and then resuscitating her, and sending her and her companions away. Exactly how she achieve all of that was up for debate, she might not have been great with magic, but even she knew that warping that many people should have been impossible. But they have been warned that the Lorekeeper was not to be trifled with. Unfortunately for the twin-swordswoman, something much worse came around the corner, and suddenly, the air around her was so much heavier. She didn't flinch as much as Talulah did, but the weight was oppressive, and so was the glance that the fox gave her. There was a smile on her face but perhaps that was the only thing keeping her from appearing as the actual menace that she really was. For a moment, even Ling could feel her blood run cold, only returning to normal when it became clear that the fox had no real interest as to why things were happening, only that they were happening in front of her path. Ling's eyes did not leave Kise's form until the woman had opened the door, and walked inside, followed by a pink woman in an oversized shirt. Ling waited for a moment, leaving the shock leave her body as the words queued on her lips. Ling turned to Talulah and Miria, a look of pure confusion on her face, as she pointed in the store. "...What the fuck. What was that? Who was that? Why was that?" The last time she'd felt something so oppressive was that black haired woman, and even this seemed to dwarf that. She was unsure if even her father would have been capable of dealing with whoever the heck that was without serious struggle. Ling then blinked, "Huh?" She looked at Talulah as if the woman had lost her mind, and clearly, the expression on her own face made it clear that she also thought that she was losing her mind. "...Weren't you about to draw your sword on me? Now you're thinking about your day in Cael???" Ling shook her head, still reeling from what just walked by, "I... you know what, as long as we go in the opposite direction of whoever just walked in the clothing store, you can take me anywhere you want. I don't have anything to do, and technically, it's not my job to capture anyone or anything. So even if you are here, and you are interesting, what with that sword, and the armor, and the fact that you know the Lorekeeper, and her daughter, that's not my problem." What is my problem is that fucking fox. What the fuck. Does someone like that just walk around like a normal ass person, and you all accept that?! What the hell. I guess I've got something crazy to report later...

Solari crossed her arms and huffed, "It is a moniker that my crew sees fit to give me despite it not being accurate. I am too young to be anyone's mother here, and besides, I am captain of a ship, hardly befitting of one of my standing." In truth, she wasn't really doing a good job of pushing back against the moniker. Were it not so embarrassing, she probably would have allowed it, but... it was so embarrassing, especially when--Kristoph hadn't shown any interest, so far at least. She was sure it had a lot to do with the man's past, but that didn't make it any less frust-- Solari paused her internal reverie, craning her neck over to Laela, "...Let me get this straight. Because I don't know if I heard that correctly. So not only has your troupe dealt with Kazran, and Jalen, while dealing with the Belrose bastard, you also managed to rescue Pashmina Celea, as in, the head of the Celea Trading Company? One of the very, very few people of standing actively working against the Belrose, and for improving the standing of Clouded within the country. Do I have all of that right?" Solari shook her head, "...That's almost unbelievable. Any one of those would have given a mercenary outfit enough to live on for a year or so, and you're telling me that you've done all three? Then there's the nonsense with the, and I can't stress this enough, Princess of Lufiria." Solari twirled her hair, one hand idly pulling her skirt down as she gathered her thoughts, head spinning as she struggled to internalize everything that had just be said, "So what you're saying is. That Nicolas was almost assassinated, and that right now, the prevailing theory has someone that looks like the Princess of Lufiria as the culprit. Is that everything?" Somehow, she almost didn't need to send Kristoph and Michiru out if they were going to get this much information all of the sudden. "...Maybe a chat with your commander would be fruitful at this point. Do you even get how big what you're saying is??? Serdio above, I was there at Merchant's graveyard... if they so much as get a fraction of an idea that the assassin is even tangentially related to Lufiria... Hell." Solari stood their stunned for a moment, before sighing, "What a goddamned mess. I, uh, I'll help, I suppose. Fran's a good hider, you'll won't find her by yourself. Probably should take the time to get my thoughts more in order." Solari glanced around the deck, spying a small group of people over near a corner of the desk, all watching a gray haired woman painting. "Oh, she came out..." Solari strode over, looking at the three onlookers with a knowing look, and all of them stepped further back. The gray haired woman was... quiet, and often quite difficult to find. A rescuee from a difficult situation, not unlike the one that Laela had mentioned, but at the hands of Kazran. It would probably be a good idea to inform of her of what's happened at some point. Solari scanned the paper, and so far, it was a quick, but masterful recreation of the port. "Gosh, Lute... at some point you'd think you're just capable of copying the world down to a piece of paper." The gray haired woman jumped, throwing her tool into the air, and fumbling until she caught it. Her blue eyes shot over to the captain, before visibly relaxing, "...Solari. S-sorry, you scared me... I didn't realize that we'd stopped until a little bit ago... and... I wanted to draw the port. Never had the time back then..." She looked over and caught a glimpse of Laela, "...Who's that?" "A mercenary I just met, Laela. A mercenary that's saying Kazran's dead." Lute's eyes widened, "W-what? R-really? Really and truly?"

The old man nodded his head, further confirmation of the bond between the two individuals in front of him. "Alrighty then... I'll take those, and it will take a little bit to put everything together, but I'll get you a real nice knife." The man flashed a toothy grin, before sizing the weapons up again. "By the by... if you got any weird shields, stories go that some those old things got a lot of that metal in 'em. Don't know if you wanna turn it over, but maybe I can do something nice for ya." The man took the instruments, and looked over at one of the other stalls. He had yet to wander over there himself, just like any of the others. The stall owner was a woman with light pink hair, and the stall itself was... sparse. Sparser than his, somehow. It had been like that since she'd been here, which hadn't been long. No one seemed to know who she was, where she was from, or even what she did. Most had kept away due to the state of her attire, and appearance; someone who hadn't washed, or slept well in a while it seemed like. He shrugged and looked back over at his two patrons, "Come back in a little while, and it'll be done, nice and quick like." Coral obtains a Hidden Knife! Pasha waggled a finger in Azame's direction, "My connections don't spread that far, I'm afraid. I'd be incredibly surprised if I ever got a chance to engage with someone of that stature in my lifetime, admittedly." Not to say that Iseria wasn't already an impressive contact, but Queen Hilda of Lufiria would be a truly incredible feat of diplomacy, especially considering the fraught history between the two countries. "And while I may not have complete confidence in Lumina... I do in Eva. She has not failed me once, and has exceeded my expectations every single time... I really do have to figure out how to repay her." The Tigers were getting reimbursed in full, but Eva would require something a bit more special. Lumina too, but she could cross that bridge when things were calmer. Pasha caught the sadness on Ernest's face, before he began inscribing words into the air. "Aw, Ernest. I'm sure it won't be long before we get to all see each other again. Believe me, I'd almost rather depart with all of you, and leave things like this behind. But I am the daughter of merchants, and where they betrayed their morals, I have to stand for them, and more. People rely on me, and the company, so I owe it to them to continue." Pasha took a deep breath, "There are a couple other things to do, but this was the major one, thank goodness... even with as much rest as I've had, my legs still feel wea--Oh!" Pasha's eyes darted back to Artitia, "Artitia. In my absence, has anyone tried to contact me? Anyone, unique?" Artitia blinked at Pasha's sudden exclamation and question, "Uh... you get a lot of people asking for you, Pasha. A lot of unique characters. Merchants, nobles, guys asking how big your chest is, but... I don't think there's anyone from the class that you're expecting to hear from." Pasha squinted at Artitia for a moment, before sighing, "...I guess I should take that as a positive, but rare that she wouldn't have some hand already in play beyond what already is... Very well, thank you, Artitia."

Ling hummed a Muran folk song before her own name crashed into her thoughts, a voice that was familiar but not familiar enough for it to be one of her own associates. She turned, and in the door way was the elf from the ship. Ling blinked, and then her eyes widened, "...Whoooa, you're alive? You managed to get off of that ship? Damn, maybe you're not as bad as I thought you were." Ling tilted her head back and forth, before pointing at Talulah, "...How did you get off of that ship? Heck, we only barely made it, and we had our own ship." The shockwave from whatever Van had thrown at the elf had practically obliterated the ship, and the waves it kicked up nearly capsized their own boat. Jumping overboard, as they would have had to barring some sort of magical intervention, would have gotten them killed. Ling rested her hand on one of her swords, "Well, no, I'm not looking for you, because well, you died as far as any of us were concerned. You're also talking real confident for someone with as crazy a sword as the one at your side, and still lost." Ling shrugged, "You beat Van and the others, but aside from catching me by surprise, you kinda got thrashed. Let's not overestimate ourselves, or how important you are--if not for the lady with the tits and the magic, and pretending to wield a sword you'd have been our prisoner or dead. Speaking of the cow... is she here? Surely if you made it out, she did too. I underestimated her a little, but I'm interested in seeing how she fights if she looks like that. Anyway... what are you doing here, huh?" Solari's pout deepened as Laela continued to toy with her emotions by smirking at her, before explaining. Her frustration was tempered for a moment, instead replaced by incredulity, "You all what?" Kazran was one thing, the bastard definitely had it coming, and despite his martial prowess, he was hardly a capable leader, and thus needed people under him to do the work. She had more than a few of former Serdio men on her ship, and they gleefully informed her of how precarious his position really was, and it was mostly his alliance with the Belrose that kept Kazran's operation from falling apart. That was hardly unbelievable, but the fact that Jalen's name was uttered, one of the sons of the Belrose, was almost ridiculous. "A bunch of mercenaries took down a Belrose? Really, and truly?" Laela chastising her for her assumptions over her outfit were warranted, though, it didn't really change the perception, especially in Islexia of all places. She had a reason, and she appeared comfortable, so that was that--it wasn't like she could complain what with her own dangerously short skirt. Laela then very quickly put the 'runaway' assumption to rest, "Huh... I'd heard about something like this a while ago, but didn't really have the ability to look into it at the time..." Solari looked at the woman's hand as it radiated magic, "I think that about settles it then. Take down Kazran, and a Belrose, and dealing with slavers? Don't think I could find someone more aligned. My crew and I have been working for some time to deal with a lot of Islexia's... slavery problems. Country has it down to an industry at this point, and it disgusts me... If the throne still mattered, I'd have passed something down to put that all to bed." Solari shrugged, and then narrowed her eyes, "You're doing that on purpose, still. I. Ain't. Her mom. She's a passenger on my ship, so I treat her the same as I would anyone else." Solari huffed, her skirt oddly fluttering, "Not like I'm doing anything else right now. I'm waiting for two of my crew to come back with knowledge of what's been happening on the mainland, though, I think you've told me a fair bit. That don't explain why the Belrose presence is so elevated, but it does explain where Kazran's bitches are."

"She is hardly running circles around me." The red on Solari's face had to be brighter than her attire, as she caught up to the pair. "And, I. did. not. chirp. You simply caught me off guard. She's not my daughter." The knowing smirk from Laela only deepening the pout on Solari's face. She wasn't going to win on this topic, especially not with Laela and Fran being rather annoyingly in sync. Solari sighed, "Better question. I didn't quite get what you do, or where you're from... At first, I thought maybe a runaway... the outfit lends credence to that. But said you aren't, so you have to be here with someone, right? Maybe you know what's going on here?" Fran wanted to continue to tease Solari--she was so much fun when she wasn't in control of a situation--but there was a limit to how far they could push Solari's buttons before she got actually upset, and Fran was sure that she was teetering on that. "She said that she's a mercenary, didn't you, Laela?" Quickly though, Fran put that out of her mind, "Ooh! Hide and seek is always fun! A lot of good places to hide on the boat!" Fran's initial concerns with Laela had completely vanished, and now the dog woman seemed about the same as any of Solari's crew. An older woman looked up from a book of her own, her eyes almost obscured by her thick glasses. She adjusted them, and stared at Renais for a moment, and then two. "First damn person to ask me about anything magic related." The woman waved her hand over towards a shelf to her right. "There are a couple magic related books over there. Don't know if it'll be what you're looking for, though. Ain't got tomes, or the like around here. Maybe some basic theory stuff, but its old, out of date knowing the people up in Glacies." The woman blew a puff of air, blowing the hair out of her face. "You're in the wrong place for anything intellectual; damned place wouldn't know left from right unless you tied clouded hatred to it. But there are a couple stories with magic, and I guess some history over there too... Help yourself. Ask if you need something else." Lumina was enveloped in Eva's embrace, a reminder of how much stronger, and large Eva was than her. But the embrace was measured, a perfect balance between a tight hug, and a loving embrace. Lumina's face was a light red as Eva released, "Hmph... I think... I might be luckier than you at this point." The fleeting embarrassment gave way to a smile, and then a tilt of the head as Lumina did her best to reconstruct the map in her head. "Food huh... Mmm, judging by the area, and the market, I don't know if we'll find what we need, but," Lumina pointed down a street next to the one that Pasha and her entourage had departed down. "There were some good shops down this way, if I recall, should be able to find both food, and clothing if we go down that way." Lumina gently led Eva and Sasha down the opposite street, when, "Oops!" A blue haired woman rounded the corner, and nearly crashed right into the pair, only narrowly avoiding Lumina and Eva. "Haha, sorry about that, wasn't paying much attention." The woman's attire, and the twin blades at her hip seemed almost out of place with the region. Lumina reacted in time, but the woman was even faster, pulling back before they'd run right into one another. "Ha, no, I wasn't paying much attention either." The blue haired woman looked over Lumina, and then Eva and Sasha, "Huh. A lot of interesting folk here in the port all the sudden. First that taskforce with clouded knights in tow, and now more monsters... Islexia really turning over a new leaf... Oh well, things to do, sorry about nearly running you over, bye~" The blue haired woman offered a wave, and then wandered off. "...What the heck was that about?" The blue haired woman threw her arms behind her head as she strolled down the street, "So much interesting stuff, and I can't engage with any of it... That Altair chick is around too, and I can't even get a round or something with her. Stupid Van, going and getting himself hurt, and then basically blowing up the ship, and we didn't get anyone... Now we're combing the coasts, and getting nothing from it... ugh. A waste. What I would give to get a chance to deal with the cow again... better than I gave her credit for." The woman strolled right in front of the window of the clothing shop as she mused, a look of boredom etched into her face. Pasha looked over at Necilla, "Honestly? I couldn't tell you. I don't know what we're up against, nor their capabilities. That's why I'm taking the precautions in advance. Also," Pasha turned to Ernest, "I know that Lady Tio said all of that, but... there is a good chance that I won't be departing Islexia with all of you. The situation in Islexia is far too turbulent for me to just... up and disappear. Juno's back at my holdings awaiting my return, there are people within the country that work for me that I need to assure of my safety, and then there's going to be calming the situation provided this all smooths over... if anything, I'll be leaving handing the report of what occurred to you, and Necilla here. That letter will be my correspondence until we're done here, and perhaps..." Pasha's face scrunched for a moment, before sighing, "I may also send Lumina, and Eva along as well, just to further state the case. Azame and Juno, as well as others would be enough to protect me in the event the Belrose get pissy again, but they'll have far too much to do, no matter the outcome of what's out east." Artitia shook her head, "You've got other allies too, Pasha, don't forget that. But you really think something's going on here, huh? I'll see if I can't get some of my friends in on the action too. Now then, two letters, and potentially a posse of mercenaries. You got it." "Oho. Joining in the fun too, eh...?" He hadn't expected the tailed woman to change her tune so quickly, but maybe there was an elf-shaped reason for it. The man took the axe, and with some difficulty, hefted the weapon examining the axe. "Niiiice. This axe has got a good amount of the stuff too. Hmm... maybe that's just enough, huh? Hmm, only one or the other, though. Hey, so there's enough of that neat little metal in both of these that I can make you something nice, but it can only be one or the other, ain't got enough for both here. So... I can give you a real interesting dagger, or something a little more weighty for tails over here. What'll it be?"