mcd900

Laniva closed her eyes, waiting for Alvira to get her fill. It was more warm, comfortable than she expected, and she mumbled something incoherently. The not-so-distant shouting snapped her out of her brief daze, and her ears stood on end for a moment as she took her surroundings back in. "A-Ah... h-hold on a moment, Alvira. Look, over there... we should probably say something. I-I'll be right back..." She headed over towards Tio and Ferid, gently bowing her head as she arrived. "If you don't mind my interjection... I met this knight earlier in town. Obviously there is an affiliation, but... I don't believe he was traveling with the rest of this group. They may have been acting on their own initiative... possibly."

"Y-Yeah?" Laniva paused, trying to compose herself, only partially successful. "I... I'm not her, okay? You can't just do that out of nowhere, I-I... hahh..." She sighed softly, crossing her arms. It was obvious from Alvira's face that she still kind of wanted to; she was holding herself back, if anything. "You... hahh, Alvira, really..." She mumbled a little. "Yeah. You can... if you ask first. I can tell you want to, so... go on. You can do it." Her tail flicked around slowly, a little awkwardly, anxiously.

Laniva sheathed her sword, wincing a little as the blade slipped in less than smoothly. She sighed; this was starting to get old... and not just the blade. She snapped out of it quickly, though; Alvira was approaching her. "Oh, Alvira. Mm. You did good too, and don't worry about that last- h, hey, what're you...?!" She ducked away from Alvira's hand, tensing up, startled. "D-Don't just do that...! You're not supposed to just... hahh..." She sighed, flustered, unable to figure out the words to protest properly, glancing away. "Mm. D-Don't worry about that last one... yeah."

The situation on this side of the battle seemed to be under control. Standing just behind the front of the line, Laniva surveyed the fight; the officer was out of commission, a knight surrendering... yes, things were about settled. Especially so, given the motivation behind some of the Tigers here - some, particularly vocal in comparison to others. But that was just fine. Still, the other side of things wasn't going as smoothly; the Evokers had arrived, but it would still be prudent to involve herself in the situation; letting their employers do all the work would reflect rather poorly on them. "I'm going to help the others - catch up once you're done here!" Laniva to (11, 11).

Laniva blanched a little after being suddenly put into command; she winced as the light spell struck her, and again as Miria crumpled next to her. Damn, this is too sudden - what am I supposed to do...?! Before she could figure it out, though, there was the glint of a blade in the air, and yet another flash of light. She glanced back to see Siorel on the ground, as well as narrowly in time to avoid Cin dashing past her and venting some frustrations on the monk responsible. The other was promptly turned to stone, and she used the brief lull to take a deep breath. Okay... situation, situation... "Someone get Siorel back on her feet! We need to hold the rest of their forces near us here." It wasn't much of a strategy, especially given that most of them were essentially already doing so; but the Chief had left her in charge, so that's the way things were. "Miria, you alright? Up you get; that looked like a nasty blow, but unfortunately a proper rest will have to wait until this is over." Laniva holds position and uses a Vulnerary.

Laniva grimaced a little, cutting down the priest. There was little good to be felt in doing so, but it was important to remove the enemy's healers, lest they prolong the battle. "Nicely done, Alvira, but make sure you leave some fight for me, okay?" Sixteen sure is... enthusiastic... Laniva to 7, 10.

Seilan stood there for a moment, processing the conversation as it unfolded; much as he wanted to say something, it seemed Asami had already injected the necessary bit of knowledge into the conversation to put things together. The woman, currently sunk to her knees, had been sealed away here for hundreds of years... and was also possibly some distant relation of Lucille's, if Nisha's guess was correct. There might have been some small resemblances between the two... coincidences, or not? He wasn't sure; perhaps he was making himself see things where they weren't, or doubting himself where there was... "Hmm... well, if that's true, your disorientation is fairly understandable. Let's see about getting you out of here, and then perhaps you can get your bearings and... look into what might have come to pass." He walked over, next to Lucille, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "Do you think it might be true...?"

Her strike landed true, and the mercenary went down without much trouble. Laniva grimaced; there was a bend in the blade now, one that hadn't been there a moment ago. A problem for later. "With pleasure. Stay behind me if you need to." Laniva attacks Priest 1 with Iron Sword.

The enemy was advancing, creeping ever closer, but they were too slow, moving right into their awaiting defenses. There was an opening right ahead, ripe for the taking - time for a preemptive strike. "On it, Chief!" Laniva to (5, 13), Iron Sword Merc 2.

"Their equipment isn't bad... then it'll be up to skill and how well we fight together. Let's see if we can't find their mistakes." Laniva to 9, 13.

Laniva stumbled quickly out the front door of the inn, the sounds of battle growing louder even as she continued trying to shake the last of her nap off. There was a distinct gunshot not too far off, its report unmistakable; if the Chief was in the thick of it, then there was no need to hesitate. Knights, huh... well, that's certainly a step up from rowdy bigots. Could call it a fair fight, but I get the feeling that we oughtn't give them that credit. I mean, they're still going around picking fights for who knows why... well, they probably said why, but I'm all the way back here, and... She sighed, drawing her blade and sighing again as she glanced at it. It was looking a bit rough, despite only having seen a couple of battles. Need to get something better than this, soon...

As everyone regrouped, Seilan found himself somewhat unsettled. Something like this - this whole labyrinth had been hiding underneath that barren land, and if they hadn't uncovered it it would have remained there for who knows how long. Not to mention he was still somewhat worried about the possibility that the ceiling and walls might crumble at any moment, after the damage they'd taken; even if they were about to leave, it was difficult not to think about. Lucille's sudden panic presented itself as a more pressing concern, something else to think about for the moment. Something that he could possibly act on, that was. He shifted around the rest of the group to investigate, soon finding Lucille hurriedly forming a spell, face to face with a woman he didn't know. She was clearly far from hostile, especially given that she was standing among their entire group, but she must have done something to prompt this kind of reaction... "Ah... Lucille? It's good to see you're safe, but... what exactly is going on, here...?"

Laniva yawned, slipping quietly out of the inn room where she'd been napping. Quietly in a relative sense, of course; she'd reluctantly donned her armor after hearing the beginnings of bustling and some kind of commotion outside, despite anticipating the heat. Still groggy, she ran a hand through her hair, flattening some of the loose strands that had fluffed up between her ears during her nap. "Mhh... someone say something about knights? We don't sound too happy... tell me it's too hot for them to be picking any fights. Hope they're not here after us..." She shut the door solidly behind herself and tightened her sword belt, sighing. "Knights've got more bravado than sense, though, by and large..."

Seilan paused for a moment, unsure if what he saw was mild surprise, or perhaps something else; but before he could puzzle it out Jade pointed out a rather more pressing concern. He slipped the staff back onto his belt as Jade took off, towards a couple of their now-visible distant allies. "Right - let's keep moving, we still need to find a way out after we regroup with everyone else. I'll be right behind you." It looked as if Jade was speaking to Ren. Seilan kept his eyes towards what might have passed for center of the labyrinth, looking for others. There were... voices in the distance, possibly, but given how sound seemed to echo off the vast stone walls, it was hard to know how far away they were... Seilan to (12, 31).

"I know it's not taxing, it's not about that. It's about someone having to guide you everywhere because you can't focus on anything else when you're doing it!" Laniva turned to Gean, huffing a little. "I'll go with her. The town's safe, I'm sure, but we probably should stick to our policy of nobody going off alone, else the Chief might have words for us." She stretched a bit, mentally preparing to go back out into the heat. One thing was for sure; she was going to sleep fantastically tonight after how much the heat had worn her down. Assuming that she'd be able to fall asleep in the first place, that is... "Alright. Well, let's be off, then. See you later, Gean."

Laniva blinked for a moment, before catching Alvira's mumble and glance. Walking up behind Gean, she tapped her on the shoulder, then leaned in to whisper. "Gean, I think you're looking at forty-five for the three of them, not ninety..." She turned to Luca, giving him a bit of a smile. "That's kind of you, to look out for us like that. These will definitely come in handy... and maybe give her a bit of a break from making ice for us all day."

It occurred to Laniva that it would be a bit difficult to evaluate some of their newer recruits; in truth, she hadn't had a lot of time interacting with them as of yet. It might be something she'd have to rectify in the near future... "Hmm... it's a bit early to say. That is, if you're talking about miss dancer... if you mean the, ah... various others that have joined us along the way, then they seem a good enough sort. I'm sure Sixteen's fine, she's been attached to Aly since she got out of that... er, box. Tanya... haven't spoken to her much since she's gotten here, to be honest." She shrugged at Gean, turning to look at the coverings Luca was pointing at. They were a bit bulky as they were, but probably nothing that they couldn't try to do some homemade adjustments on. "Hmm... it's worth a try, doing something with that. Though... really? The summers get worse here? Hahh..."

The two left almost as fast as they'd appeared, leaving only a promise of Siorel meeting them later. One guarded, the other so seemingly unguarded it was deceiving. "Huh... well, I guess that's that, then. I suppose it's fine. We hardly pass for conventional, anyways..." Laniva sighed a little as the two left, not quite knowing fully what to make of what had just happened yet. No matter how often things like these occurred (shockingly frequent), it was never really going to be possible to get used to how quickly some people latched on. "I'm sure the Chief won't be upset by a new face. Let's see... what were we doing, again. Right, things for the heat..." She hadn't missed that Ferid was under at least some stress on account of the heat; she'd left her armor stowed for as long as she could to avoid melting, but if it came to it she might just have to grin and bear it.

"Coming - be right there." Seilan hurried back towards Jade, taking note of the wound she'd just sustained. "Ah, just a moment there..." Certainly can't let the estimation of "capable healer" be an overestimation... Seilan to (6, 36), Heal Jade.

As they entered Luca's store, it was plain to see that most of the stock was ordinary provisions. Still, perhaps they could fashion some kind of cloaks for the desert out of the material in the back. Laniva didn't have time to give much thought to that idea though - this dancer, Siorel, was rather pushy. It didn't seem to be in the manner that suggested some kind of ulterior motive, though; if anything, it was plain excitement. She seemed to hone in on the idea of joining quite quickly; her companion seemed to have a simialr degree of focus, though on a different subject entirely. It almost seemed like he might've been tuning the dancer out some, but Laniva wasn't quite sure. Gean's look did not go unnoticed. "Well, miss Siorel. You can call me Laniva. I'm part of the same company, obviously. An introduction is no problem, but I can't make any guarantees on whether we'll be taking you along. The Chief gets the final word on that. Alright?"

Laniva tapped Alvira on the shoulder as they approached, her focus on her ice occupying all her attention. "Hey, Alvira. Look up, we're going inside. Don't walk into the door." The item shop had fairly simple signage, but it had been enough for them to spot ss they'd wandered around. She pushed the door open and stepped inside, taking a quick glance around. "Okay... let's see if we can't find something."

Seilan kicked the construct, currently in a heap on the floor. It was remarkably unresisting, considering its rather murderous intent not moments ago. "Looks like whatever magic was animating it is gone, now. You said you saw doors open? That's as good a guess as we've got right now; let's take a look." He relaxed a little; there didn't seem to be any more constructs nearby, but the tension didn't leave him entirely. This labyrinth was unsettling, to say the least...

"How could I possibly say no to that? Ahh, more ice..." Laniva perked up slightly at the offer, the promise of more ice sounding just about the best anything could right now, giving Alvira a small smile. Her previously-uncharacteristic niceness was quickly becoming familiar, and quite enjoyably so. "Okay, where to start... Well, I guess none of us really know this place, so my guess is as good as any. Let's just wander around until we find something we're looking for. As long as we've got ice, we've got nothing to worry about." Maybe she was a bit overexcited about the ice, but given the situation Laniva felt as if she could hardly be blamed for taking advantage of it...

The blasts shook the labyrinth, enough so that Seilan's blade clattered to the ground from his cloak, and he quickly swiped it up before it could roll away. The ceiling groaned at its sudden lack of support, and the dust and rubble was beginning to fill the air; but more importantly, around that corner was the source of that... raw, unmatched intensity of magical power. Far more than anything he'd sensed before, even from the general. Still, the fact that it hadn't continued could have meant a number of things, all of which he couldn't quite ascertain from where he was. not least while his ears were still ringing. "What just...? We need to find a way out of here, quickly!"

Laniva stood groggily; she'd been managing to tolerate the heat, but the absence of the ice made it all the more obvious how much of an affect it was having. "Ah, yeah... it'd be good to do something now, if we go inside the inn we won't want to leave." She yawned. "What is there to do here... maybe we can shop around for something to deal with this heat? Going to melt in my armor if I don't figure something out." Hopefully it wouldn't come to that - nobody would really be happy having to fight in these conditions, if it did. But this was still technically protection work, even if their charges were rather capable, so it paid to be... prudent.