Lord of Azure Flame: Chapter 15: Happy Birthday Esphyr!

[-Cynthia-]

Xenia took out a large flask from her hip and drank from it until it was empty. Going to need a refill, though where you find vodka in this country is anyone's guess

A bird flew through the ruined cathedral, dropped a letter on the floor, and flew away. Xenia decided to snatch up the letter and read it, though she figured it probably wasn't for her.

"Hmm." she said, reading it over. "Some useful information for once."

[Phoenix]

Irina and the Mad Russian

The sheep shepherd ran at Levski with his staff held high, and quickly slammed it into Levski's head! It sounded a bit like a hand bumping into a piece of wood. Levski didn't react, and the shepherd continued to pummel him with the staff. After the fifteenth strike, Levski snatched the staff and broke it against his knees before tossing it away.

Shepherd: ... ... ... grrrr damn youngins! No respect at all! That was my stick!

The man's eyes filled with tears as a soldier strolled over. He took a look at the scene and sighed from the familiarity.

Soldier: *sigh* ... old man Wagner. How many times do I have to tell you? You can't run your army of wool through the town like this. It's disruptive.

Shepherd: Where else can I go?

Soldier: ... oh I don't know ... maybe ... around the city?

Irina: Come to think of it, why didn't we just fly over, Lev?

Lev: ... because I was so pissed I forgot >_>'

Shepherd: That youngin broke my stick! He broke it!

Soldier: Yep. After you hit him with it a good ten times.

Shepherd: But-but!

Soldier: I really should be arresting you, but then these sheep'll become an even bigger problem. Hurry up and gett'em outta here. Consider your staff being broken as a warning, Wagner. And you, wyvern lord. He's just an old man, alright? Try not to be too hard on him. Those sheep are the only friends he'll ever have. T's why he calls'em family I suppose.

Lev: Sure >_>'

The Cathedral

While Xenia browsed the letter that a carrier pigeon had flown in, Daneka brushed Nyx's mane, getting off the shed hair and whatnot on the other side of the main hall, just barely out of earshot. Alphonse however was taking advantage of the darkened areas and was watching as Xenia read the letter. From a short distance, he revealed himself.

Alphonse: Ahem ... ... That letter ... it is for the Colonel, is it not?

OOC: Only peripherally related, but Alphonse sprite complete! :3

Edited August 3, 2010 by Phoenix

[Ansem]

"He's out. Cold. Wow." A fightmonger said. Helios heard people shout with anger for losing their bets. "I guess i should get that wound checked." He said going back and letting his cape flow in the wind again leaving Alferis unconscious and wounded. A fightmonger got a stretcher and dragged Alferis to the medic ward. (Do they have those?) Helios arrived next to Aiya and Rita. "You two are up next. Go."

[Ether]

"Alright, good luck Rita, and let's both give it all we've got." Aiya said, giving the other girl a pat on the back.

Moving up towards the arena, the announcer began to... announce.

"Time for the second match in the quarterfinals! We have Aiya, the Lightning bruiser, versus Rita, the agile whirlwind of steel! BEGIN!"

'I've gotta get this started. If I can't land a good hit, this won't end well...'

Aiya rushed Rita, closing the distance quickly. Aiya swung her Steel blade, knowing that the Heavier Zweihander wouldn't serve her well against such an opponent.

It connected, Rita letting out a yelp from the impact. Rita's Wo Dao swung in for a counterattack, but only just grazed Aiya's thigh.

"C'mon Rita, show me what you've got!" Aiya let out, excitement building.

Combat phase start!

Aiya(4,2,4) 8 hit - 5 evd, hit!7 Mt - 2 Def, 5 damage!

Rita(1,4,3) 6 hit - 4 evd, hit!7 mt - 6 def, 1 damage!

Roll

Rita 4/9

Aiya 14/15

[Ansem]

Helios watched the battle from afar. "How disappointing. To think she got so far." Helios remarked. He continued to watch the fighting.

[Psych]

Rita:

"Ahh! It won't be that easy!" Rita quickly kicked the girl's shin, and back flipped away. She sheathed her Wo Dao, and took out her ArmorSlayer. "I'll need heavy duty weapons to take care of you!"

She ran forward, slicing the woman's leg.

Roll

Hit! Critical! Damage dealt, 2! Aiya 12/15

The sword connected with her leg, making Aiya take a step back. The sword's serrated edges cut deep, enough so that the wound was oozing blood. It wouldn't be closing easily. Aiya swung, trying to hit Rita.

Roll

Miss!

Rita backflipped away, ready for another strike.

((OOC: I fucking hate this fight. Kai paired it this way so he'd win. I'd rather have fought Alf or Helios, but noooo. Kai has to win.))

[Ether]

As Rita dodged Aiya's counter, she grimaced.

'She's going for my legs, to take advantage of her speed... well take this!'

With a wide Sweep, Rita was knocked onto her backside, and looked to be barely clinging on to consciousness, and her kick that served as a counterattack merely bounced off of Aiya's breastplate!

Combat Phase start!

Aiya(5,4,1) 9 hit - 5 Evd, hit! 9 mt - 2 def, 7 Damage! Miracle activate!

Rita(1,3,2) 6 hit - 4 Evd,hit! 6 mt - 6 Def, 0 Damage!

Rita 1/9(Miracle used up)

Aiya 12/15

Roll

[Psych]

Rita:

As she fell, Rita hit her head. She could barely stand up, but she managed to stager to her feet. Everything was fuzzy. And apparently, there were three Aiya's. "I....give." She fell back onto her back.

[Ansem]

"She yielded! Aiya the lightning Bruiser is the winner!" A fightmonger came up to Rita. "Can you stand?"

[-Cynthia-]

"I'll read any mail I please, piano boy." Xenia scoffed at Alphonse.

"Hey Colonel!" she shouted. "You didn't tell me Jace had spies in the palace. They have news of the the Princess...and Levski's crew."

Edited August 3, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

That place where the fliers are hanging out at

Daneka put down the brush and made her way over to Xenia and Alphonse.

Daneka: Monsieur Jace has spies everywhere. Don't be surprised if your wyvern is working for him too.

She was being only kidding, but she made no effort to show it.

Daneka: So what is zis news?

[-Cynthia-]

"Well of course Svetlana's working for Jace, we're on this job together." said Xenia, rolling her eyes. No one said you had to have brains to be a colonel.

" The princess has rejoined with Levski's group, who apparently beat some General Alex guy. Not surprised, he seemd like an idiot. Anyway, she's apparently headed towards the capital to meet with the king and queen about something or other. And considering we've seen Levski and company recently, we can probably approximate the location of our target."

Edited August 3, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

Crystal Dirt, Stone, and Broken Glass Palace

Daneka: (A mount working against one's own master? That would be quite unfortunate if true, heheh.) Awkward timing if ze princess just happens to return to ze group right after zose attacks. Alphonse.

Alphonse: Yes, Madame Colonel?

Daneka: What do you suppose would work best on a group like zese? After we find zem, we'll need a good plan.

Alphonse: ... I would normally recommend siege weapons ... though we need the princess alive it seems. Inaccuracy is not an option, so ranged attacks must be avoided.

Daneka: Grrr, close range is not my specialty. Madame, Xenia, how good are you in a close quarters fight?

[-Cynthia-]

"Superb." said Xenia. "There's no need for subtlety really, I'll just fly down and start killing them, except the princess I guess. Could throw in some of your soldiers for a distractionn while we nab her, kill anyone who gets in the way." she said, shrugging.

[Phoenix]

Cathedral filled with haterz

Daneka: Well if you can handle ze princess, zen I guess we could forgo a little subtlety. Alphonse. You'll be helping her. She can account for power, so you must account for speed.

Alphonse: Yes, Madame Colonel.

Daneka: Don't forget to cut up ze squishy ones first.

OOC: (insert evil laughter here)

[Inactive Account]

Elsewhere

"Boring, isn't it?" Megae remarked, kicking the prisoner in the ribs for want of anything better to do. "And this thing doesn't even squeak. They're no fun when they're knocked out." They'd settled into another bolt-hole, this one on the outskirts of the town. "Can't Boss send another report? Or something?"

Attention span resetting, she got up and climbed to the roof of the dingy building, doing a quick lap of the town's skyline. "They're not even all together right now," she whined upon her return. "Three of the aspendable ones are even out together, the staff ones and the bow one. Can't I go kill them? Or," she amended, "the staff ones, since Boss wants the bow one? Boss is disgusting sometimes," she added matter-of-factly.

[Snowy_One]

"I'm sorry Damian, I don't know what came over me just then." said Esphyr, watching the match at hand. "And... Aiya... Is a strong swordfighter."

---

Altion gave a resigned sigh towards Morgan. "I see you aren't willing to trust me then maiden."

---

"I see the runes have kicked in and the fire is already out. Did anyone see exactly what happened here by any chance?"

[Inactive Account]

"Like I said, we weren't within view at the time," Arrin told the headmaster.

[-Cynthia-]

"Not a good idea." Petros replied. "Too many witnesses, we would set off some sort of alarm. The timing isn't right."

"And yes, Shanice does have...interesting priorities. We will just kill them all if they get in our way, he can always find new playthings. For now, we sit and we wait for a report."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Perhaps you will earn trust over time, but I trust no one at their word." Morgan said curtly, raising her eyebrow at the mass of sheep outside.

[Snowy_One]

"You see the masses like that, don't you?" asked Altion as he looked outside at the passing heard of sheep. Then, as he glanced out at the heard, a slight grumble rose in his belly and a faint taste upon his lips. "Do you like mutton?"

---

"Great. So we don't know who it is. I don't see any person out there and there's too much fire magic for me to make anything defiant out." she said before giving a sigh, the gender neutrality of her voice dropped for a bit. "Best to clean the ashes up and let the grass regrow then. I'll put the bill in tomorrow. Goddess damned paperwork. I hate paperwork." she muttered under her breath.

[Inactive Account]

Arrin and Amari

"So... we're not needed here, right?" he asked. He'd had enough curiosity for one day; now he just wanted to get back to Kelas and the others, especially because he could see Amari trotting out from around the corner, looking particularly unamused.

Amari was indeed particularly unamused. In order to catch up with Arrin, she'd had to get through a herd of sheep that had plowed down the street behind him, even needing to round them up into a coherent herd before she could even get through them. Hopefully the sheep were gone, because she doubted Arrin could stay in the saddle if she had to start herding them again.

Elsewhere

Hope one gets here soon." Megae added another scratch to the mess of cuts crisscrossing the prisoner's skin. "Or at least, this thing could wake up again. I've got nothing to play with."

[-Cynthia-]

"A report should be coming soon." Petros said. "Just be careful with the prisoner, humans are very squishy after all."

"Mutton? It's acceptable I suppose. Why do you ask?" Morgan said to Altion.

Edited August 3, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Ether]

"It's not your fault Esphyr. Everyone has doubts, everyone questions things at times.But you don't need to worry about the time I spend with Aiya. If she thought I was shortchanging her, we would both know about it by now." Damian said, glad Esphyr was no longer angry.

Upon hearing her comment on Aiya's strength, Damian chuckled and replied.

"Of course she is. You don't get as far as she has without talent, especially if you don't have a noble background. She's worked hard for that strength."

[Snowy_One]

"I just got a sudden craving for some mutton." said Altion. Turning about, he walked back over to the tavern keep. A few moments later, he returned with two dishes of the food. It was mutton of course, but sliced thinly instead of served right off the bone. Several small pieces of garnish lined the side as well as a red apple, as bright as the evening sun, and a single potato that had been boiled slightly and then cut open. He sat down at one of the tables, a plate in front of him, and the second plate off to the side and slid slightly towards where he expected Morgan to sit.

"If you don't want to eat it, fine. I can manage both. Hasn't it been a while though since you asked that other person to fetch another person?"

---

"No. You are not needed." said the headmaster.

[Inactive Account]

"All right, I'd better go back and find my sister then... I'll see you two later," Arrin told Isotov and Katie as he headed for Amari. The mare shook her head towards the saddle: apparently she wanted Arrin to get on. Arrin mounted up (clumsily as usual) and held on, waiting to see if Amari knew where she was going.

OOC: Lev and/or Irina should totally comment on Amari showing up, herding the sheep, and running off...