Tales of Weagrand - Part 1: Please, kidnap me

[TheRoon]

The discussion on where to go went on long, Silvano was a little relieved when things settled as it meant he could finally rest his aching body. He enjoyed the night air for a brief moment before he heard Kagi call over to him. "Sure, why not." He stepped up and took a seat on another side of the tree Kagi was near, though he couldn't help but let out a small grunt. "I ain't gonna sleep well tonight that's for sure..." He sighed. "Man, it was supposed to be an easy job and here we are." He looked at Kagi. "What do you make of the princess, Kagi?"

[Ether]

After deliberations on their route, it had been decided that they would move through the forest to the South directly to Bravia proper... that suited Willow just fine. It wasn't like she had any attachment to the other route anyway... they had made a big gamble and now surely had the Knights on alert, so complicating things in the Halidom didn't seem like an attractive play. As for the travel itself, while they had been moving at a brisk pace, Willow herself had not been assigned to any particular guard. Raz was taking point as was usual, and Cyrus held watch over their captives. That being as such, so long as she kept pace with the march, the dryad had the freedom to keep an eye for forage. They didn't tend to stray into this part of the woods often, which meant that the trees and shrubs held a greater bounty than they were used to. While Willow had only managed to gather so much, only plucking what she could while marching, it was still a generous top-up, the cloth sack filled with fruit by the time they stopped for camp. She would need to gather more now that they had stopped...

But that could wait. For now, everyone was settling down, and Raz came up towards the Princess and knight, the scout looking absolutely haggard. Pulling a ripe apple from the sack, Willow tossed the fruit towards the dragon.

"Catch, Raz. The trees here haven't been picked... lots of fruit around. Not many folk out this deep in the woods." The dryad set the sack down in-between Raz and the captives, giving the Princess a nod as she mentioned food to the knight.

[mcd900]

Their travels were uneventful. There was not so much as a single suspicious snapped branch, a far-off crunch of a leaf under an armored boot, no clink of steel against steel as plate pridefully refused to hide its presence. No, it had been quiet, and with her wrists bound as they were, there was little else to do for Rina than march, march and think; the walking was no issue, of course, she'd plenty of practice, and of course she'd set off on her own journey thinking to be escorting the Princess around the country. It was just her and her thoughts, then, and despite what had transpired she felt as if there was sparse little to think upon. No matter what explanations she pondered, in the end the one that made sense was the one that had been explained to her, and by the Princess no less; so she walked on, trying to come to accept such a sudden upheaval of her life.

As they made camp, she walked with Jilyn towards the outside, settling down for the night. She bristled slightly as the Princess helped her with her hair and armor, but she bit her lip and kept her silence; it would be little else than whining to voice her discomfort to none other than the Princess' ears - there were none to admonish here. "Bandits such as these... I know not whether they will let me free soon, but they shall find little use for me as a captive. For the knights to be so treacherous... surely there is no value in the life of one of the Lower Rung." She lowered her head. "...ah - Princess, I could not ask..."

The sound of footsteps interrupted her, though; and as two of the bandits approached, she eyed them warily, though perhaps less so than their initial meeting. The fatigue of the first was apparent; too tired to deign to use her name, perhaps. "The prisoner is carrying herself as well as she ought." As the dryad set the bag of fruits down, she turned her head slightly; even after a long day, it felt as if appetite was the furthest thing from her mindl...

[Nanami Touko]

"Ah, Raz, and Willow, yes? I'm fine. My father, for all of his faults, did teach me how to fight properly, and that included plenty of training for my stamina. My grandfather taught me before him, so you won't have to worry about me slowing us down come the morning march. I'm sure Rina is enjoying the relaxation of getting to ride horseback while we travel, even if... The circumstances could be better." She sighed, looking down at the bindings on her wrists, a wry smile forming on her face. "Are you sure we can't take these off of her? Not yet? I understand if you're still concerned, but... Mm." There was likely some fear of Rina attacking them in the night while they were sleeping, perhaps trying to go for some necks before being caught and stopped, but she definitely wasn't the person to do that sort of thing.

"Nonsense, Rina. If you're hungry, you have to eat... Even if the day's events have been dire, we must keep up our strength. Maybe you find it embarrassing to be fed, but unless they see fit to free you, there is no other solution..." She eyed the bag of fruits, then looking back at Rina. "Fancy an apple?"

[scorri]

"Mmm, it was a weird day, yeah. Still mad I missed out on that fight." Kagi kicked the dirt, before glancing over at Silvano. "Sorry if you got hurt because of me It's, I thought we were all leaving. You know me, I don't avoid a fight." They sighed, before following Silvano's train of thought and looked over at the princess. "The princess... she's interesting. She clearly knows that this country needs changed. Not that most people aren't aware of that, seems like her dad was the only one who wasn't. To be so willing to throw herself at our feet to achieve her goals though, I mean, I thought she was stupid at first. Who would trust us? Maybe she's just desperate instead, but it's still stupid to me at least. I know I'm not the tactician, but still... It was one thing to run with us to escape death. Feels like another to keep trusting us enough to take her to a different country, even if one of us is a secret agent trying to work with her." The feline shrugged. It was all a little bit over their head, with all these political complications. Still, it was likely to lead them into more battles, so it was as good of a path as any as far as Kagi was concerned.

[TheRoon]

"It's fine. You weren't the one who put me in the ground y'know...not this time anyway." He chuckled a bit as he felt his side. "No sweat off my brow, it'll heal. As long as my hands are just fine I can't complain." He did his best to laugh off a near death experience, it wasn't his first time. "...hmm yeah." He turned his head toward the princess and kept his voice low so only Kagi could hear. "Honestly I'm kinda pissed. Her dad was the reason why...well he's been an ass to everyone really, I'm no exception. This job was my chance to get back at the dead bastard, I was ready. Now we're escorting her across the country, not like a proper knight squad but still." The silver haired man narrowed his eyes. "I still got all this hatred for the king and nowhere to put it, she seems like she's nothin' like her old man either that's the shitty part. The pretty face doesn't help either..."

[Ursali]

As their discussion on their route had settled on Bravia, Cyrus felt a wave a relief wash through him, despite the situation the Falcons now found themselves in. While he wasn't a Bravian native, it was still the land he considered his home and he had some familiarity with the land and it's people; in the Halidom he would be no different than when he had moved to the mainland: a stranger in a strange land. The march south was thankfully uneventful, both from their pursuers and from their prisoner, as was the establishment of their camp for the night. He had announced he would be momentarily retiring to his tent to Rivane once camp had been set up, having just finished undoing the clasps of his armor as the knight entered his tent. He gave the man a friendly smile, and it would remain as such as long as he didn't intend to pry into the topic forbidden by Jilyn.

"That depends on what you want to know, sir. Aside from what the prin-- Empress has forbade me from divulging to you, there is little limit in what I am willing to tell you. The state of the war, the routes we should take through Bravia, insight into my mission, the details of my past... Whatever it is you wish to know, I will most likely be willing to share it with you; you have my utmost trust, sir."

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Rivane smiled as he stepped inside, "You can rest assured that I won't pry into more than I'm able to know. If I am not to know of what we are delivering to Bravia, then I am not to know, if it is to die on the lips of you and the princess, then either I have to make sure that it reaches its destination, or lament that it will not see the light of day." Rivane's shoulders rose as he spoke; on one hand he was interested in was so secretive that he could not know, but on the other, he was unsure he would care so long as it brought an end to the war. "All of the above sounds preferable, but as for a place to start... Perhaps how you came to be a part of such a mission? I can't imagine it was too different from how most came to fight for their country, but these days I have been nothing but surprised..." Rivane chuckled, the whirlwind of events up to this point were almost unlike anything his parents had regaled him with, and well beyond what he'd done as a knight.

[Ether]

"That's correct, Princes- Jilyn? How do I even address you?" Willow answered, resting her finger on her chin for a moment. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things most likely, but if they were to be amicable, may as well keep it that way.

"As for her bindings... that's Rivane's call to make. I can report to him her good behaviour... should she choose to grace us with it that is. If he looks like he's in a good mood when he finishes speaking with Cyrus... that would be your best shot I would think. If he isn't, well..." Willow shook her head with a small shrug. 

"Best not to push it, in that case. Rivane is a good and a reasonable man, but still a man nonetheless. Mood affects us all." Willow concluded, fishing an apple from her spoils at the mention of one, and presenting it to Jilyn and Rina.

[mcd900]

Rina sighed quietly, letting her head hang for a moment before nodding. Like as not - and in this moment she certainly did not - the Princess was making a rather good point; and it would do their motley group fair little good were she to collapse of exhaustion, twice so were it to be solely her feelings keeping her from eating. In this scenario, it would be no little obstacle to surmount, of course, but...

She turned to face Willow as the dryad responded to the Princess' request. Rejected, of course, at least for now; predictably so - it was rather clear who was giving the orders in this group of bandits. There was a slight huff. "I should think that I am tending rather towards well behaved, for a captive. If it shall spare the Princess the duty of my care, then I shall continue as I have over our travels today." Rina glanced at the apple briefly as she brought it out from the bag, with another light sigh, turning towards Jilyn.

"I do suppose there is little other choice if I am to remain bound, Princess... and you are right, much as this is somewhat... to my discomfort." A small nod, slowly. "If it is not any trouble upon your part, then, Princess, I will accept... thank you."

[Xinnidy]

"Hmph, how polite." Seemed clear that the knight wanted nothing to do with Raz, but for a blessing it was nothing big enough to damper her mood with the good news brought by Willow --fruit, specifically. "Oh, thank you..." Raz let her exasperation escape on her words as she took a bite from the fruit. "Mmm..." Bliss, something to sate her hunger for now. "It'll be fruit for the day, then. Can't afford this pace without proper sustenance." And another bite, listening to the princess' response. "Great to hear, then. That stamina will serve you well, still, eat up regardless. We can't afford to deliver you in poor shape." The smirk that followed was  halfway honest, as she drifted her gaze to the knight once more.

"Maybe freeing just your arms for eating will do, that could be discussed faster... but being fed by your own royal is an unique opportunity for a Lower Rung, hm? Try to savor it a little." It was a positive spin on the situation, but also some slightly mocking from Raz. "Better than being fed by one of  us, I assume." And another bite...

[scorri]

"I suppose it wasn't my fault, but I still left a fight. Hmmph." Kagi grumbled, before looking over at the princess again. "As for her, she's a pretty face, sure, but we'll see what else she is. I know her father left a lot to be mad for, not surprised you have your reasons for wanting him dead... You'll have to find somewhere for that hate probably, but she doesn't seem like the best target for it. Especially if we've got to behave and escort her like this." They leaned back, glancing over at Silv. "You know, I'm not even from this country. Could have left a while ago, gotten a better life back home. Except, they all want magic. Magic magic magic. I'm just over here swinging my axe. So I wanted to prove that I was strong too, in my own way. Maybe this mission will be the sort of thing I need for that. So I guess I'm lucky. I don't have the same reservations about this that all of you do. I just worry we're missing something in all this. Rivane will handle that though. I'll just target my axe at whoever he tells me to."

[TheRoon]

"She probably isn't, but it's gonna take a while to convince myself of that." He looked over at Kagi. "Well, we're gonna be chased by knights a lot I'm sure, and I ate crap earlier today because of em. So for now I'll direct that hate to them. Sounds like a plan to me." He listened to Kagi go over his life at home and why they left. "Well if it weren't for the magic part that could've been a sweet deal, a chance to have security in your homeland. A nice dream..." He turned his head up to the sky. "We've been doing pretty well so far together, I'm sure we'll be fine. I don't care what people from your home say you're pretty strong in my book Kagi."

Edited December 27, 2023 by TheRoon

[Nanami Touko]

Rivane made the last call on freeing Rina from her situation. Jilyn sighed quietly... "Of course. Thank you, Willow. For the food... My apologies, Rina, but please bear with this for now." She raised the fruit to the woman's mouth for her to eat, blushing slightly. It was an embarrassing situation, no matter how either of them felt about it. "I do hope Rivane will at least allow that. I cannot say that I am a fan of babying Rina like this..." It would have to do for the moment. It was her duty to the girl after uprooting her life.

"You may all refer to me as Jilyn. Or Jil, if you prefer. I don't believe I can quite stem the tone with which I speak, or how I carry myself, but... That is years of engraving teachings. I do not want to lord myself above any of you, nor do I believe I deserve to, so... Just, call me Jilyn. Please."

[Ether]

"Jilyn it is, then." Willow nodded, a small smile creeping onto her face at the display of Jilyn awkwardly feeding Rina. Still, they had a point, and Willow knew Rivane would acquiesce to that much, such was in his nature.

"I find it exceedingly difficult to believe Rivane wouldn't at least agree to that much. He's busy at the moment, so I can let your hands free to eat... just don't try anything funny, yeah? I don't want to have to knock you out." Willow gave a quick warning, before looping around behind Rina, taking hold of the bonds on her wrists.

""Is it really that embarrassing though? I thought folk fantasized about getting fed fruit by a special someone. Too straight-laced to fancy your princess?" Willow added, slipping her other hand into the bag of fruit and pulling out a ripe berry, pushing it into Rina's open mouth in place of the apple Jilyn had been holding. Once that minor teasing was concluded, Willow removed the bonds from Rina's wrists, stepping back from the girl incase she thought taking a swing was a good idea.

"Just don't make me regret this, yeah? These won't come off again for a long time if you do. Sorry you had to find out this way that your knight isn't into you, Jilyn."

 

[Ursali]

"That's probably for the best, at least for now. If I had my way you'd already know, but who am I to deny the last of Halspria's honest royalty?" There was a wry smirk on his face, shaking his head, but it quickly faded and his expression turned dour as his thoughts ran away from him. The Mad Fool was only that and the former Queen, while unremarkable, still allowed her husband's madness to go unchallenged as far as he was aware. Jilyn seemed to have fallen far from the tree, and he would protect her with his life if need be, but he was not so quick to trust her words. He shook his head, fixing his expression to one more nonchalant, as he remembered where he was.

"Starting from the very beginning, eh? It's a long story, one we don't have the time for with the Evelyn looking to put out heads on spikes and parade us around the countryside, so I'll keep it simple. Maybe I'll tell you the whole thing over drinks once we're in Bravia, aye? But anyway, this isn't my first time living in squalor. As much of a paradise as the Western Isles appear to be, the land is not without its unfortunates. I was one due to my parents ill-luck, not their lack of work ethic, so I still had food to eat most days. I took to tinkering with the scrap they wouldn't be able to sell, or other parts that were otherwise discarded to sell them for some extra money on the side. Eventually, that knowledge made me valuable, and I was able to prove it due to a lucky find in the one of the discard piles I frequented and a lot of blood sweat and tears." 

He unholstered his firearm, showing it Rivane, barrel pointed away from the man and towards the ground. "You know how my bullets always pierce our enemies' defenses, magical or physical? That's an application of what I learned in the islands and, as I hope is obvious, that knowledge is applicable outside of the Isles and their relics. This thing's a hunk of junk, granted a reliable one if properly maintained, but I can still work my magic through it." He blinked, realizing that he'd gone off on a tangent when he'd said he would keep things simple, stuttering before correcting himself. "Er... That is to say, with knowledge like mine, many door open for you and some opportunities are too good to say no to, if you catch my drift." Though slight, there was the faintest hint of a wistful look in his eyes. "To actually keep it simple this time, one thing led to another and I was knighted in Bravia and my competence and my plausible deniability led me to be assigned to Bravia's Special Forces, which eventually led me to my position here with you and the Falcons. Apologies for rambling, you are rather easy to talk to."

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Rivane shrugged his shoulders, "We all do a number of things without knowing why things need to be this way. A small part of me finds it comforting, even. I think it childish now, mindlessly following the call of someone who stands above you solely because you believe in the cause of your country, but its freeing in a sense... knowing that what happens because of what you do is simply... following orders. I don't know what the empress carries on her shoulders, but in the same vein, I'm unsure if it matters to me." Rivane looked down at his hand, "I just want the war to end with a few more casualties are possible, if what she knows can do that, and she refuses to share more, I know what I need to know. The rest will either come, or it doesn't." Rivane's response was solemn, almost lacking any vibrance his voice might have normally had; it was more akin to the voice of a soldier who had seen more than any one person needed to see in a lifetime. 

Quickly, though, his smile returned, "You have a point there at least; I'll have to hold you to that. I figure you know more about Bravia's drinks than I do, so you'll know where best for such a conversation." Rivane raised an eyebrow as despite what Rivane had been thinking, Cyrus wasn't from Bravia, but from the Western Isles. He knew little about the Western Isles, only that compared to the mainland, it was said to be paradise. Cyrus painted a bit of a different picture, one that paled in comparison to even his own. His family weren't wealthy, but they lived in comfort and were able to live as they needed to. It was only recently that the country had been hollowed out to such a degree. 

Cyrus then pulled out his firearm, and began explaining the unusual instrument. There had been a point where the mechanical tinkering had gone a bit over Rivane's head, but it was intriguing, certainly. The relics found the Western Isles were beyond normal technologies, and it appeared that Cyrus's firearm was one such instrument. Rivane snickered as Cyrus's stammered over realizing that he'd gone more in depth than he'd planned to, "There was a bit of pride in your explanation, explaining how you got to where you are, especially from circumstances of your own affords you the ability to do that, Cyrus. You apologized enough with your compliment--I've always been fond of a good story. So your fire arm is a relic from the Isles, and your skill with those relics is what cause Bravia to put you to task?" It answered another of his questions, it seemed... odd for them to entrust Cyrus to such a task, especially by his lonesome. Though, it was an assumption that it was by his lonesome. Though, the mention of relics did place some thoughts in Rivane's mind. "Very well then, Cyrus... I think that flows nicely into what exactly you were tasked with doing, if that's shareable." 

[mcd900]

Rina let out a mildly incensed huff, cheeks tinged a faint red at Raz's implication that she might enjoy such a thing as being fed by the princess. "Hmph. Better than one of you, certainly. But do not imply that I am so... perverse as to revel in such a thing. Save such for your own fellows... or yourself." It was embarrassing more than anything else, and an utter inversion of quite possibly every convention she'd ever gone by. She sighed, rather defeatedly, not having really any barbs to throw back at that mocking - and it would be unladylike to persist upon such a topic, besides...

Taking a bite of the apple as Jilyn presented it to her, her eyes fell away upon nobody in particular; out of the corner of her eye she faintly saw a smile forming on Willow's face, and it was the most she could do to not redden further. So persistent had she been upon not meeting anyone's gaze in the moment, though, that as Willow approached to presumably free her wrists from their binding, Rina hadn't seen the impending berry; and her eyes went wide for a moment, then narrowed to a glare, hardly softening as her hands were freed. "H-How dare you...?! I see that I am no less your prisoner for having my hands freed..." She sighed. "Worry not, you will continue to find me... restrained, if not in a literal sense." What unrepentant cheek...!

She paused for a moment, before addressing Jilyn, rather significantly less frustration in her voice. "T-Thank you, Princess... I do hope that will not be necessary, again, and I... suspect you feel the same way."

[scorri]

"Ah, well, my homeland has its own set of problems. Probably making it out to seem like a paradise, but there's still plenty of fighting to be had there too. There's a reason they call them the Warring Tribes, you know?" Kagi shook their head, looking down at the hefty axe at their side. "I need to be stronger. Mostly all I'm good at right now is not dying right away and even then, that doesn't matter if I can't take down my enemy. Like our prisoner over there. She and I traded blows, sure, but it was the Captain who actually took her down. If she and I had fought again... well. No sense in thinking about what would have been. I'm alive to try again, that's what matters." If we get out of this alive, I'll see that I'm starting to improve. Until then, I have to keep working. 

The cat stretched, before glancing at the man next to them. "So, you gonna talk to the princess, sorry, Empress? Since she's such a looker and you're directing that hate elsewhere?" If the words had been coming from someone else, they would have been obviously teasing. Kagi though seemed completely serious. After all, Sil had explicitly stated both that he found Jil attractive and that his hate was being directed elsewhere for now. Surely it would make sense then that he would go talk to their new royal companion if he thought she was pretty. 

[Nanami Touko]

Willow would find Jilyn not as easily frazzled as her knight, letting out a quiet sigh. "It is fine, Rina," she did her best to remain stoic, though the faint redness of embarrassment still rested on her cheeks. "If you can manage such comebacks, then it assures me you are in good health, despite what has occurred. Let us pray it remains that way. If you can feed yourself, then I shall leave you to the rest of your apple." She let out another quiet sigh, trying to stabilize herself. Such flippant commentary wasn't right for the moment. Her parents, horrible as they were, were all the family she had left. It was now her against her own country's knights, in an attempt to survive... And all she had to help her were these ragtag mercenaries. Her eyes fell on Rivane once more, shaking her head. I can do nothing but place my faith in you and yours, Rivane. Let us hope we are all enough...

[Nanami Touko]

As their rest concluded, travel continued into the night. The moon was beginning to rise high into the sky as the gentle torchlight of other people began to come into view. Jilyn slowed her steps and looked to Rivane, hoping for him to give orders on what to do... "These are... Other bandits, Rivane?" She could make some of their features out under the torchlight, squinting a bit... Ragged and worn clothes, gruff, tired expressions, weapons that had seen use but would still cut all the same as a pristine blade. "We must be cautious... What is our approach?"

Player Phase/Turn 1!

Objective: Escape to the south

Battle Mastery: Defeat every bandit

Edited January 12 by Nanami Touko

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Rivane clicked his tongue, of course they would take the bridge--a small cohort of knights, but given that it was Evelyn in pursuit, she wasn't sparing much. They looked to be well outfitted, and trained. Charging that bridge would be more difficult, and more time consuming then they needed it to be. Jilyn seemed to have noticed the other dilemma, other bandits in the area. They had done well to avoid them so far, but it was just their luck that at this moment, they were right in their path. "Yes, we have to be cautious, but if those men over by the bridge are who I believe them to be, we won't have much time to be cautious. Breaking through the bridge is a fools' errand, but I doubt that is the only path to our destination. We break to the east," Rivane pointed in the direction of the bandits, "Bandit are far less trained, and likely to be less maintained as well. It pains me to have to turn our lances on the destitute, but I'm sure they won't have as kind words for us. We break through them and move south."

Rivane then turned his eyes on Rina, freed of her bindings, and rode up next to her, her blade in his outstretched arm, "Here. You'll need that." Rivane looked into her eyes for a moment, seeing that spark, the spark of honor and shook his head, "We break to the east. You charge in now, and you'll simply be tightening the noose around our necks. First order of business now, Dame knight, we do not have the luxury of honor, we only have the necessity of survival. Keep that in mind, and none of us will die today. We have a war to end, not honor to defend." 

[mcd900]

The faint torchlights in the distance began to come into view; in turn, this meant their own would be visible, and time was running short if they meant to make their move under misassumptions of their identity in the darkness. The tome at her belt was no small comfort to Rina, though there was yet still a weight at her side she felt the absence dearly of... at least, until Rivane came riding to her side. She laid a hand upon the sheath of her sword, grasping it, but not making to take it from him until he had spoken his piece. 

He gave her some kind of look - not one she could ascertain the meaning of in the brief moment it lasted - but it certainly seemed meaningful; or perhaps the torchlight dancing amongst the trees was merely adding a touch of fancy to her imagination. Either way, she set the sheath back at her side, finally whole once more, looking back up to Rivane upon his mount. "I am no fool. I have no illusions of what you intend to be our 'victory' this eve. I do not intend to perish in this wood, nor allow any such event to befall the princess." Her eyes narrowed, slightly. "Perhaps you have forgotten, sir, but there is no less honor in serving my lady to the fullest." Turning on her heel with her last word, she took her tome in hand, walking south towards the nearest light.

Rina to (18, 14), Light Merc 4.

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Rina hesitated on talking the blade until he finished, returning his words; Rina certainly was... arrogant, definitely wasn't the right word, especially as she was quick on the uptake, and began pushing to the east. Sure of her self was more akin to the idea forming on his lips, sure of what her place was, and what she was going to achieve. It was... familiar. "...Perhaps I have forgotten. I guess we'll have to see if I can be made to remember." Rivane's whispers were only for his ears, but his following words were clear. 

"Falcons, break to the east! Break through the bandits, and then make for the south. Fly!" 

[scorri]

13-19, attack Merc 2

Kagi was ready for this. Finally, a fight they could participate in. Without hesitating, they dashed east as Rivane commanded and swung at the first enemy they spotted. "Come on then! Lets make this a good fight!"