Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 6: Standing against the Bolivian Army

[Ansem]

Mark hid behind a unturned table. He rubbed his head. It was bleeding. He groaned. There had to be a way he could restrain her".

[Inactive Account]

Back at Selizara...

Another soldier approached the wagon, leading a string of horses. Arrin noticed the packhorse among them. "That mare yours?" the soldier asked, clearly looking to see if he should add her onto the string.

"My sister's," Arrin replied. "She'll follow on her own. Please don't try to tie her-- she bites." The soldier shrugged, hitched the string to the wagon, and went off for some other duty. Arrin looked to Tessa. "We should get in the wagon, it looks like they want to leave soon," he suggested. "Can you walk?"

ooc: edited for spacing

Edited May 29, 2010 by Darth Lacuna

[Kanami]

Having noticed the man swiftly scuttle away under the table, she swiftly picked up any pans/pots she could reach before throwing the steel/iron objects randomly in the space underneath the table.

[Balcerzak]

Arrin had seemed more concerned about her well-being than his own temperament at the moment, so Tessa wondered if perhaps her attempt at pep-talk had been misguided. His explanation of the situation was welcome, though, and reinforced as they passed by Damian. Somehow that still didn't clear up all of the butterflies in Tessa's stomach however.

She didn't have long to dwell on the matter, however, before Amari, worked up over something or other, broke into a gallop and charged the wagon. Pulling up just short of ramming it, the cause for her alarm became clear; one of the soldiers had been carrying Kelas like a sack of potatoes, and the mare was understandably concerned after her master's well being. Tessa pulled back on the reins gently, and stroked the horse's neck while Arrin had jumped down, surprisingly managing to keep his feet this time, and was trying to verbally calm her from the front. One or the other of their actions, or both, or neither, seemed to have an effect, and Amari backed up a pace or two, and Tessa could feel the mare's muscles relaxing.

Tessa had been pondering just staying in the saddle, making the trip to the capitol from up here, as it had been a hassle to get on board, and she wasn't sure she wanted to have to repeat it when moving to Trevor, but the soldiers seemed to be looking up disapprovingly at her. Were they afraid she was going to try to bolt mid-way through the journey? About to speak up to assure them otherwise, Arrin interrupted, and mentioned that they would ride in the wagon together with Kelas. Not inclined to disagree, she acquiesced.

At some point, the mage must have noticed she was favoring her ankle, and he kindly assisted her down. "Thanks," Tessa confided to him, then responding to his query, "And no... I can't really walk now. It looks like I'll have to borrow you for a little bit." Her mind flitted back, and she laughed lightly, "Huh, weren't you helping me out much the same way just the other day as well? What do you make of that." Together they made it into the wagon, and waited for the train to depart.

Edited May 29, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Inactive Account]

The wagon was warm and dry, a relieving change from the rain. Along with Kelas, Arrin saw that there were several soldiers, an overworked-looking healer, and Helios. It had gotten dark out, Arrin realized. He stifled a yawn.

Someone outside called "Move out!" and the wagon began to move. Arrin talked with Tessa for a little while, then drifted off to sleep.

OOC: Assuming that the medic wagon, at least, has some sort of covering.

[Phoenix]

OOC: Assume away :D

Timeskip ... complete ....

The city of Ilyphina finally came into view, and it was fast approaching midnight. The moon hung high in the sky, giving off the only light that directly touched the group. Despite the eerie feeling outside the city gates, Ilyphina was alive with activity.

Viveka and Chase flew over to the tower guards and Viveka quickly informed them that a bull wyvern was with the convoy, and that it was under control. She also mentioned that Jackson's battalion should receive all the credit for the successful capture of the supposed criminals.

Back at the wagon containing Kiev's cage ...

Driver: So ... the red haired man is ... into which one?

Soldier: Both I think

Driver: But they want the wyvern ... ... the wyvern ....

Soldier: Too much time on the road'll do strange things to the mind -_-

[Snike]

OOC: Yay! Random projectiles!

"Might as well get some rest," Kamilla said, heading out of the room,just as Eric was about to thank her for the protection spell. Deciding that going after her was no use, the traveler was about to return to his room, when he saw something glint near the dead bandit. Bending over, he realized it was the red gem he gave the matron, and picked it up. The gem was sticky, but dry. Frowning, he pocketed it, to return to the matron later. Then, Eric went back to his room, picked up the -Iron Blade-, placed it on his back, and made his way downstairs, where he was met, to his shock, by the corpses of the innkeeper and the matron. All of a sudden, there was a commotion in the kitchen. The traveler went to investigate, and was greeted by a steel pot to the face. Wincing in pain, he saw that Kamilla was throwing pots and pans at a man that was hiding under the table, lance in hand. Eric made a hand gesture to her, signaling to stop throwing things. Then, without warning, he kicked the table away, grabbed the man from behind, and slammed him into one of the counters, knocking loose the lance. Kicking that away, he held his longsword to the man's throat.

"Don't move, or I'll kill you," he said, calmly.

[Kanami]

*OoC Mark = Loser? XD Cower under the table boy!

Kamilla stopped throwing things around immediately, but grabbed a dagger-like knife from the kitchen draws and held it out infront of her. "He tried to grab me from behind, damned pervert" she said venomously directing the later half of her words at the figure cowering beneath the table. She couldn't see his face, but didn't want to. With her open hand she wrapped the sheets around her tighter and glared at the restrained man.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the Capitol

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A soldier knocked impatiently on Conrad Jacksons door fidgeting nervously, he'd recently been promoted but this would be the first time talking to his superior face to face. Receiving a response from inside he reluctantly opened the door and peeked in. The general seemed to be either writing something, or reading something, he wasn't sure but he cleared his throat anyway. "Sargent Cower reporting sir" he said saluting the general. "Lieut-Captain Viveka has been spotted approaching from the east sir, an envoy arrived earlier informing you of her success in capturing Veshkal and his troupe sir." A moment of silence passed as the soldier hesitated, "General, excuse me if I am stepping out of line, but what is happening lately? General Upson was found dead late last night, Selizara exploding, A group of bandits occupying the border town on the Vaorin border and now Veshkal appearing despite not showing hair nor hide these past few months?"

Receiving no answer from Conrad the soldier quickly apologized for stepping out of line before swiftly leaving the room. As he wandered down the hallway he couldn't help but wonder if the General had even been awake during his report.

Edited May 30, 2010 by Kanami

[Ansem]

"Hey you should be worried about that bandit over there" Mark said pointing to Kamilla. Examining the mans face closer he noticed something. "Do i know you"?

[riariadne]

"... Hmmm," Conrad pondered to himself, mentally noting he probably should've answered the soldier. "Upslon dead was pretty sudden... I wonder who could've done that... and Selizara exploding was odd too. Almost as if some unseen force willed it. The border town incident happens every few months, but not very large scale... and now, Veshkal. Strange things are happening indeed these days..."

His thoughts soon left the odd turn of events when he heard the flapping of wings. "Viveka's back, it seems... good. Very good."

[Snike]

"Uh, no," Eric said, when the man suggested he worry about Kamilla, and asked if he knew him. "The two of us just got attacked by three bandits, and I'm not in a very merciful mood. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you. Start talking."

Edited May 30, 2010 by Snike

[Balcerzak]

Arrin had drifted off to sleep after a bit of conversation, and Tessa wasn't really ready to follow his lead on that one. While she was cold, wet, and sore, and the blissful ignorance of sleep would be a welcome change from things, looking around the wagon she knew she had other things that needed to be down.

Waving over one of the soldiers, she called out, "Excuse me... Corporal?"

The uniformed man looked slightly abashed and replied, "Private, actually. But what gives?"

Tessa gestured to the healer who was hard at work taking care of the casualties that had been loaded into the wagon, "I'm a bit of a healer myself, but I left my staff with my horse. The chestnut stallion, I see you roped in with the others. Could you retrieve it for me? I'd love to help out."

A skeptical look crossed the man's face, "You're not plotting to escape somehow are you? Could be a Warp Staff or something for all I know. I'm no priest."

Sighing with slight exasperation, Tessa tried to find some way to convince the man. After a couple of moments, she suggested, "Perhaps this will alleviate your concerns? Let your own priest use my staff, while I use his. But please, do believe me, I only want to help. I can't just watch these people suffer!"

Apparently swayed by the proposal, the soldier turned and went to collect her staff.

[Ansem]

"Because-" He pushed the man away and got his lance. "Your in no place to threaten me". "Your injured and your girlfriend over there cant fight". "Besides if i were to kill you i would have done so already". "Your little bandit leader friend got blood all over my lance".

[Snike]

"I might be injured, but so are you. I can assure you that you wouldn't be able to kill me that easily," Eric said, his sword still trained on the man. He then lowered it, recognizing the armor the man wore. "Wait, you're that cavalier, right? What happened to everyone else?"

[Ansem]

"Thats what i want to know" Mark replied. "The last thing that i remember with them was an explosion". "I woke up under a pile of rubble". "Then i come to this town and these bandits attack me". "The last one was the leader and he went down pretty easy". (Who the fuck gives a boss 1 defense) "I was hoping they were here". "Well are they"?

[Snike]

OOC: I didn't expect a ROFLcrit.

"No, they aren't. The fortress exploded, so, I have no idea what happened to the others," he replied. "Speaking of the others, I found that mercenary's sword, so, I guess we should find them. But first, I'm going to go look for survivors."

Without waiting for an answer, the traveler stepped out of the inn, to survey the disaster. All the buildings except the inn were in shambles, and there was blood everywhere. Eric shook his head. It was just like back home, years ago. Walking over to the nearest hut, he found three civilians, a man, his wife, and their daughter, it looked like. The man was a lost cause, he saw, as he was headless, but the other two seemed to be breathing. Gently shaking them, he backed off, as they awoke.

"Are you two OK?" he asked.

"I'm alright, and I think my daughter is too," the woman said.

"That's good to hear. I think all the bandits are gone, as well," he said.

"Mister, behind you!" the little girl said.

"Huh?"

[5,5,1]= Near Miss!

A brigand, who had somehow managed to be missed by the cavalier, swung, his axe heavy with vengeance. The weapon missed by inches, but gave Eric more than enough time to react.

[5,2,3]=Hit! 6-3= 3 points of damage!

He swung, and slashed the bandit's chest, leaving a thin red cut. Then, all of a sudden,Eric disappeared.

[4,5,5]= Critical hit! 2(9-3) = 12 Points of Damage! Bandit5 is down!

Blood spurted out from the brigand, as he fell, separated from the chest down. Eric reappeared a few feet away, sword sheathed.

"Thanks for the warning," he said, to the girl.

"Wow, mister, how did you do that?"

"Years of practice."

"Thank you, sir," the girl's mother said. "But, sir, are you alright? You look so pale..."

"Don't worry about that. I was born like this, ma'am. Anyways, I should go back to looking for any survivors. The inn's the only building left, so, you two should head over there, to begin treating the injured."

"OK."

With that said, the villagers made their way to the inn, and Eric continued the search effort. At the end of the search, there were only three survivors, besides the mother and daughter. Istample was a total loss.

Edit: Roll

Edited May 30, 2010 by Snike

[Snowy_One]

Far above the ground

The strands of magic that the headmaster were following had grown ever stronger since leaving behind the capitol city; though that was to be expected. After all, it would inevitably be closer and closer to the source. However, night was now falling, and that yeilded a new problem. The cool, wet, dark air was vastly more difficult to fly through. No thermals to ride or give a boost, wet air dampening the feathers on the six wings upon the headmasters back, and shadows to hide those threats within the night. It was needed for the magi to land, and thusly, without complaint, the headmaster did just that.

Six wings flared as dust and grasses kicked about under the powerful gusts as the headmaster set down upon the earth once again. Amber eyes reflected yellow in the moonlight as the headmaster took quick look about the seemingly empty field before, aided by both skill and magic, the six wings compressed down to a size thin enough to fit against the back without overt sign. In the shadows, though, it mattered little. What was more important was that the headmaster had no clue what the surrounding place was, which nation it belonged to, or if anyone would be nearby. The headmaster wasn't lost, but most certainly a stranger in a new land.

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan was caught completely off guard by the explosion before and quickly lost consciousness. She awoke what felt like several hours, or perhaps days, later in a wagon along with a company of armed soldiers. Arrin was asleep nearby and she saw Tessa pleading with a soldier.

Morgan tried to get up, but her ribs and various internal organs seemed to disagree with her. She gave a small muffled noise of pain and sat back down.

[Ansem]

OOC: He is not awake

Helios opened his eyes. He was in a school playground. He was sitting on a bench. He saw children play. Then something caught the corner of his eye. There was a green haired boy who was sitting alone on a swing. He was looking down on the floor. Helios went over to the boy. Something about him was familiar. The boy got up and went right through Helios. His head hung low he headed to the castle. Helios was transported to the castle hall. He saw the same boy. He was spying on his parents. They were arguing. "He is so pathetic" Helios heard the father say. "He cant even stand up to the people who torment him". "How will he succeed me". The boy headed to his room. Helios found himself in the boys room. Helios looked closely at the boys face. He was crying.

[Balcerzak]

After the soldier had left to fetch her equipment, Tessa began moving around the wagon. While she was most effective when she had her staff, she could still certainly be of some use without it, even if it were only identifying wounds for future treatment, or mending what she could with the medical supplies on hand.

Before she had a chance to even begin though, the officially designated healer for the wagon―an older man, slightly balding―turned to her, wiped the sweat from his brow and said, "'smuch as I'll appreciate the help, I wouldn't bet on this having 'em let you off lightly."

Tessa, just blinked and stared for a moment, the meaning of his words slowly sinking in. When it finally dawned on her, she shook her head swiftly. "That's not important," she said back, "If you'd lend me your staff, I could get to work straight away. You should rest for a few moments while the good Private brings mine back for you."

Jumping on the chance, the priest willing obliged her. Now, properly armed for battle, she turned back to the corner of the wagon she'd heard subdued groaning from just recently. It was as good a place to begin as any. Making her way over, her heart skipped a beat when she saw who it had been.

"Sis!? They'd already loaded you on here before us? I was so worried about you when I didn't see you. I tried to go back the fort, but then..." biting her lip she cut off her reunion speech. Healing was more important now, she had to focus.

[-Cynthia-]

"The important thing is that we're together...and alive. This appears to have been a rather unfortunate turn of events, but we will simply have to make do with what we have. I suppose healing these men might put them in our good graces, so I suppose you can do that. I will try to think a way out of this mess."

Morgan pondered for a bit Always with the fire and explosions. At least we're headed towards the capital.

Edited May 30, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Balcerzak]

[[OOC: I've decided Helios is in a different wagon of wounded. I don't see any evidence to the contrary, and they might want to keep the party somewhat separated so that attempted break-out rebellion is more difficult. Kai, if you have objections, state them now.]]

"Everything happened so fast. But I suppose that's how it always goes. I lost track of everybody!" Realizing that Morgan was probably even less in tune with the situation than she was, Tessa began to elaborate. She started with the locations of the Crimson weapon bearers, since the shaman was always keenly interested in the subject, "I know Damian is safe, he seems to have worked something out with the enemy commander, that's why we're not dead or chained. I think I saw Isotov in a cage with his sister's wyvern. Arrin's right here with his sister. I haven't a clue where Esphyr or Helios have gotten too though, nor quite a few of the others!" Worry was clearly edging its way into her voice here.

Moving on to the subject of how to handle things from here, Tessa added, "And that's funny, just now you were saying the same sorts of things the priest there was, though he seemed to think it wouldn't matter. Still, that idea hadn't even occurred to me, so it seems that if anyone is the one to think a way out of this for us, it's probably you. But, please don't overwork yourself. If it starts to hurt again, I'm nearby."

Satisfying herself that the Shaman was okay once more, she moved to tend to some of the nearby wounded, and began to set to work. The private had returned with her staff, and she and the priest seemed to have wordlessly divided the wagon into halves, and the arrangement was working out well enough because Kelas, Arrin, and Morgan were all in Tessa's half.

Edited May 30, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Kanami]

As Eric left, Kamilla followed close behind unwilling to be left alone with the armored man. As Eric headed out the lobby, she parted with Eric's route and headed upstairs to cloth herself,Finding her clothes to be still soaking she sat on the bed wondering what she should do. She went over to a chair in the room and barricaded the door (easy to break, more like an alarm system) just in case someone came after her again. Looking down at the knife still in her hand, she frowned, she wasn't adept at wielding knives around, not in combat at least anyway, but it felt wrong yet assuring knowing she had a weapon which could kill in her hands.

Staring out the window she noticed that it had stopped raining and the stars shining once again, feeling alot more comfortable now with the starlight, she dived into bed and fell asleep.

Edit: Time complications fixed

Edited May 30, 2010 by Kanami

[Ansem]

Mark fiddled through the kitchen drawers. He took a small knife from the drawer. He put it in an empty sheath small enough to fit a dagger. He went outside. His horse was waiting. He noticed Eric outside. "So where do you plan on going now" Mark asked him.

[Snike]

"The capital," Eric replied, as he passed the cavalier. "Staying here for the night, then heading over there. Need to look for someone."

Returning to the inn, Eric met the village chief, who had managed to survive, near the entrance.

"Thank yah, for saving my people," he said. "We would have all been killed, if not for yah."

"It was nothing, really, sir. I'm just sorry I couldn't save anyone else. We'll just stay for the night, and be on our way," the traveler said.

"Alright, then sonny. Where be you goin', by the way?"

"The capital. Why?"

"Wuld it bother yah to tell the army 'bout the raid? We're sort of an asset to 'em, an' our tome-making rate will be slower, becuz of this. Jus' tell 'em Istample was raided, and wunts help."

"Istample... Requests aid... Got it," Eric said, writing it down in his notebook. "OK, I'll deliver the message."

"Thank yeh."

Nodding, Eric went past the elder, and up the stairs, re entering his room. The bodies of the bandits had been removed by then, after replacing the door, somewhat, he took off his coat, lied down, and was lost to sleep.

-Dawn-

Eric got up and donned his coat, tried and failed to open the door without it falling apart, and made his way downstairs, out the door, and found the cavalier.

"You're coming, too?" he asked the man.

Edit: X_X Ninja'ed.

Edited May 30, 2010 by Snike