Lord of Azure Flame: Chapter 16: Fracture

[Inactive Account]

"I don't know. It looks like there are some Septimian troops on their way, but they aren't attacking," Kelas replied. "Doesn't look like they want to fight... but you still haven't answered my question. Are you injured?"

[the_whistler]

Heinz frowned at Arrin's words, taking a step out of the cave. Squinting at the mounted soldiers, he shrugged. "Seems too small of a party for an attack, and the insignia isn't the same as the General's," Heinz mulled. Doesn't seem like they're asking for a parley either though... "I don't know why they're here, but I'd rather not find out," he replied curtly to the cleric. Damned military.

"Let's get out of here," speaking to anyone in the general vicinity. "Morgan's still unconscious, and they'd think we were crazy if we claimed an ice demon showed up," glancing back at the still frozen cave.

Hurrying back inside, he grabbed the reins and pulled Ralf outside, his boots starting to slip even more on the slowly melting ice.

OOC: The melted water on top probably makes the traction even worse.

[Script]

Some of those ahead had seen the Cavalry, but made no effort in coming forth. Instead they dragged more people from the inside of the cave out.

"I was willing to sit out and observe their actions but, whatever rampage happened here will need a report." Luc didn't like this, at all. Still too many unknowns, and if the strangers near the cave decided to flee, the Cavalry might not catch them. Their warhorses had been pushed for too long a period.

"Fargo," Luc turned towards the lazy soldier, "I want you to head down there. Helmet off and sword sheathed. See what you can learn, but return at the first sign of trouble."

"Bah, dammit why me?" Fargo moaned.

"You're the most expendable."

Fargo swore before he complied. He ran his armored hand through his brown hair and beard before kicking his horse into a gallop ahead.

"Sir," Jess voiced, "Should we really be concerning ourselves so greatly over this?"

"Most likely no. But if they, or their opponents, are a threat to Directus, I want an assessment. Or perhaps this sick sky is putting me too ill at-ease." Luc shook his head at his own words. It may pay to be cautious with the land so wrong.

[Psych]

Rita:

Rita kept hacking away. She had managed to get most of the right side of Cess out of the ice, and it was melting rather quickly. She could barely feel her hands. She couldn't just stop now, but she couldn't stay here. She grabbed his arm, dragging him outside, and kept hacking away.

-----

Pary:

Giving Derek another round of healing, he ran over to Viveka. Her lips were beginning to turn blue, and her fingers had the beginnings of frostbite. He picked her up and lead her out of the cave.

[Snowy_One]

"W-w-w-w-w-what H-h-ha-a-apened?" asked Esphyr, her armed bound about her body in a near perfect freezing position. She had been caught completely off guard by the sudden temperature change and, thusly, had quickly had her body temperature drop down to near hypothermic levels. Altion, having realized what was going on, had done the smart thing and managed to escape from the cave whilst the headmaster, though less affected by the magical chill than the others, had to go and stand aside, clutching her forehead and doing her absolute best to keep herself under control lest she end up wildly flailing at any and everything that moved in a vain attempt to protect herself.

[Balcerzak]

After the demons had either fled, or warped away, or otherwise managed to vanish, despite her best efforts to keep them contained, Tessa was feeling frustrated. Turning to Arrin to see if he'd managed to shoot down the fleeing wolf, she noticed him a bit more wobbly that typical, especially seeing as he hadn't even been wounded. Have I been pushing him too hard? He did just lose his tome yesterday... she wondered.

It perhaps wasn't the right time to worry about the nomad mage, as he was still fit enough to handle himself, though any serious exertion would be questionable. And life was just full of surprises for the group, as she noticed the squadron, and the flown standard. Arrin asked the question before she had a chance, and Heinz arrived to give some input, but nobody was moving to meet with them, and their goals were still unclear.

Well, there was probably a good reason nobody was heading out to meet them. Morgan had slipped and knocked herself out in the cave apparently. She'd been brought out of the cave, and worried, Tessa had gone to check up on her, but now convinced she was fine, she settled down somewhat. Damian too, was still on the mend from having the inn collapse on him. Having narrowly avoided being crushed to death just yesterday, it was no surprise he wasn't fit to go meet with the new group. Once again, like the situation with that General Alex, there seemed to be no-one appropriate for the job around...

While Heinz had thought it best to run, Tessa couldn't agree with that assessment. Noticing that the group had now sent out a single rider, she whistled for Trevor, who had been grazing on the other side of the hill, having followed her out early in the morning when the storm had stopped and blissfully avoiding all of the demonic ruckus that just went down in the cave. "Arrin, Heinz. I'm going to go meet with the emissary. If they wanted us dead, they'd be attacking full force. Everybody else is too busy to take charge, so somebody has to. Don't follow unless it looks like there will be trouble. One on one should be fine for now."

Quickly climbing into the saddle, and adjusting her sword and staff, she turned back for a brief wave before riding out to meet the other group's lone rider.

Edit: lol, grammar

Edited August 13, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Script]

The Competent

The majority of the 12th Patrol watched as one of the strangers rode out to meet with Fargo. Luc carefully eying the situation as best he could for any advantageous detail.

"Let's hope he doesn't screw up too badly," Tom said. The others mentally agreed.

The Fargo

Fargo smiled once he saw the group ahead had sent out a single rider. Knowing he wasn't charging into certain death was an excellent reassurance. As the girl got closer, Fargo's own horse seemed to buckle and slow. Fargo kicked the poor beast again, irritated at its slowness, and its speed picked back up. They had been riding the horses hard, but there was still probably an hour before riding became too dangerous to the horse's health. As the two drew closer Fargo could begin making out the features of the girl, she looked a bit young in his eyes actually. He didn't exactly believe in joining the military during your teen years.

"Hey little missy!" Fargo yelled and waved at the girl, "You lot need anything? That spat looked kind of nasty."

[Balcerzak]

As she'd pulled up to the other rider, many years her senior from the cast of his face and his well-groomed beard, he acted in a highly friendly fashion, waving and calling out cheerily with an offer for help. This brought a smile to Tessa's face, and while she was optimistic, she remembered to hold to the lessons of caution at first, and decided to try to at least feel out the other group's motives before making a firm commitment one way or the other.

Giving a wave of her own, she slowed Trevor to a walk, and finished the rest of the approach in a more calm and collected fashion that before. There was no need for excessive haste, after all. With a bright voice she returned the greetings, "Good sir knight, well met!" Raising her hand and brushing aside some of her hair which had been blown across her face during the ride, she continued. "This is not the first such scrape we've found ourselves in... but your concern is appreciated."

"If you may forgive me for not accepting the offer of aid straight-away, I must first ask... Have you been in the area long, and on what business?" Smiling back at him, she tried to inquire as tactfully as possible.

[Snike]

Despair Averted

The healing did nothing, seemingly, to Derek's burns, and he did not respond to Dani's shaking. The mage was in full tears now, shaking her brother vigorously.

"C'mon, brother. You can't die on me, not now," she half-shouted. Still, no answer. At that, she gave up, and cried all the louder, accidentally letting a bolt loose at her brother.

"It's all my fault...*sniff... If only I hadn't cast that spell, maybe you'd be alive right now...," she said.

"...Ugh.....Dani," a voice whispered.

"I never should've been a thunder mage... I've never been of use, ever...."

"Dani," it said, louder.

"...Nothing but a pain, no matter what I do. I should never have been born!"

"DANIELLE MUNKTAN!" the voice shouted, catching Dani's attention. Turning around, she saw that Derek was, miraculously, alive, and, despite breathing heavily, glowering at her.

"D-Dere? You're Alive!" Dani exclaimed, tears still running, but for joy, now. "I thought..."

"It doesn't matter. Can you please help me up," Derek asked, in a hoarse voice. His sister complied, but as she took his hand, there was a sickening crack, as the bones broke. "Don't mind it...," he said, standing shakily now. "Where's Tessa?"

"A-at the cavern entrance. Why?"

"She has a restore staff. It can bring my injuries down to a level where most of them can be healed," the cavalier said, slowly making his way to the entrance. "You go help someone else."

Nodding, Dani went off to find Rita trying to help Cess. Almost gloomily, the mage began to blast the ice with magic, in an attempt to speed up the melting.

OOC: Really, the ice shouldn't be melting if the temp in the cave is -10 F. IDK what you're doing Psych. >_>

[Psych]

Pary:

Seeing the swordfighter's hands bleeding still, he quickly stopped her and mended them. He could see no one else in immediate danger, save for a few chills and runny noses. He went over to the wyvern, and took out some pots and pans. He boiled some water and began a stew, before making some coffee. A nice warm up would be just what the group needed.

-------

Rita and Cess:

Her hands fixed, she focused back on the task at hand. Cess's left arm and leg were the only things stuck in ice now. She carefully split the ice down the center, freeing him. She laid him down, and piled some blankets on top to warm him up.

[Script]

The Fargo

Ah, what a refreshing sight it was to finally meet someone who wasn't already antagonistic towards him. Thoughts of defecting and running off flooded his mind before thoughts of the Captain hunting him down dried those hopes up. "Well," Fargo pointed back to the others, "Captain over there led us on an urgent order from Councilmen Richtor. Someone of great importance has gone missing recently, so most of us have been sent out looking for the guy. He's supposed to be kinda old and wearing a fancy blue cloak, you see anyone like that?"

Fargo shook his head at the words that came out of his mouth. That was something close to what the Captain would say, which disgusted him. "Doesn't matter though, I suppose. It looks like you have injured over there and I say that takes precedence over some old guy we don't know anything about. I mean, we don't really have that much to offer, but something's better than nothing, if you accept."

"Though ah," Fargo made a little bow in his saddle, "Where are my manners? Private Fargo, 12th Patrol Cavalry."

The Competent

"Why do I see Fargo being excessively reckless in this encounter?" Luc voiced his concern to the others.

"Sir," Jess said first, "Because he is sir."

"Yes," Luc diverted his gaze and closed his eyes, damming everyday the paperwork that had given him the worst trainee in Directus history. "Since Fargo will no doubt volunteer us for aid, we should begin preparations to keep up appearances."

Luc turned towards Anna-Seline the Troubadour as she reached inside her saddle-bags and retrieved both a Heal and Mend Staff.

[Snowy_One]

With cheeks as blue as the ocean, Esphyr stumbled out of the cave a moment later, her lips pale as her teeth chattered together. "So... Cold." she said, measuring her words so she didn't stammer as she looked up to the non-existant sun, praying for warmth.

[Inactive Account]

Elsewhere

Panting, Megae came out of her warp several feet above the floor of the lair, dropping into a crouch. "Little bitch got the tome," she admitted with a glower. "Boss got himself a weapon, though," she reported, standing up again. "...Oh! Is it awake?!" she crowed gleefully, looking over to the prisoner. Sure enough, weary, tormented blue eyes looked back at her, full of hate. "Guess... what?" she purred, striding over and crouching to put herself on eye level where the woman slumped on the floor, looking the prisoner over. Her skin was crisscrossed with countless cuts in various stages of healing, with constellations of various-sized bruises in between, and she'd suffered from a lack of food and barely enough water for several days. Her clothes were torn and dirty, her hair matted. "Guess what? That red one, the rest, they all think you're dead," Megae informed her. There was, of course, no response. "And guess what else? That silly red toy of yours?" Megae grinned ferally. "Boss broke your toy."

She straightened up, turning back to Petros. "...Where is Boss, anyway?"

The battlefield

OOC: Might edit something in for the battlefield if I figure out what to do for Arrin, but Kelas is still kind of froze up waiting for response. OOCedit: Oh by the way, italics here are emphasis, not unspoken.

Edited August 13, 2010 by The Clockwork Alchemist

[Snowy_One]

Katie have the woman a cruel, judging look as she pulled her knees closer. Unable to speak, she couldn't deliver a valid insult. However, she raised her hand and... delivered her opinion on the woman with a single motion. She wished she had her tome back so she could insult the woman better, but didn't know what she could do in lue of it's absence.

[-Cynthia-]

Evil base of evil

"He didn't come back here." Petros scowled. "He should have retreated by now, especially if he had a Crimson Weapon...do you think it's possible he was defeated? Ruby isn't here either." he stated.

Elsewhere...

Ruby warped in and approached Helenos. "Got one." she said simply, tossing the knives at Helenos' feet. "You think you can take care of them, or should I?"

Not evil

At hearing "DANIELLE MUNKTAN!" being shouted, Charlotte's attention was drawn to Dani and Derek. She ran over to them and clapped her hand over her mouth.

"Sir Derek, are you all right? Oh that was a stupid question, of course you're not all right. I'll get the Restore staff for you, Tessa seems to be busy talking with the soldiers at the moment." Charlotte hunted around the cave for a bit, finding the troubadour's satchel of assorted goods. Searching through it, she found the Restore staff and brought it over.

"Here it is. I've never used this before...do you want me to try?" she asked the siblings nervously.

Edited August 13, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Inactive Account]

"I don't think so," Megae replied, pursing her lips. "I think he killed the red one before they chased us off... we got separated, but I thought he'd be back by now." Scowling, she kicked Katie in the ribs for what could have been the thousandth time. "I guess he'll be back soon?" She paused, glancing back to Katie. "Hey, do we even need this thing anymore?"

[Snowy_One]

"Oh?" asked Helenos, whom had been loafing about on a sofa. A thin smile crossed her face as the daggers clattered to the floor before her. "Well done Ruby!" she said, clapping softly. "The daggers are a decent enough start, better than I managed to say the least. I am proud!" she said as she stood up and slowly approached Ruby, picking up the twin weapons in her hands. She carefully lifted them up, pressing the blade up to her nose before she took a slow and lustful sniff.

"Dear Ruby, loyal demoness, I am glad. A delectable snack, and the first of the weapons that can cause him to break free."

---

Katie grunted in pain as the kick to her ribs caused her to double over in pain.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Snowy_One

[Ansem]

"Milady, i am very sorry to report that Shanice has managed to sever two of the crimson weapon wielders. Forgive, i dont have as much power as Shanice or you have." Ruby scorned bracing slightly. She has enough power to kill me. I should have watched my word.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Solf J. Kimblee

[-Cynthia-]

"If he's not back soon, we should probably go looking for him. The Lord will want to know where his more powerful servants are."

'As for the prisoner, I suppose we should leave her alive for bait purposes...is she still alive? I can never tell with humans, they're all so squishy anyway. Maybe I should check for one of those pulse things they're supposed to have."

Petros went over and grabbed Katie's neck with one of his rocky hands, bending it, causing a snapping sound.

"I think that sound means she's alive?" said Petros, shrugging.

Edited August 13, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Balcerzak]

Tessa nodded thoughtfully as the messenger explained the business his force was engaged with. The story seemed... well, plausible enough perhaps? Nobles and military had not been in the girls everyday experiences not even a month ago, and though she was trying to follow along and learn what she could from the examples in the group, it didn't really necessarily cover everything. Did patrols routinely get sent out on missing persons cases? She wasn't sure. However, their dispatch certainly seemed to be entirely independent of the group's activities. If this was a follow-up sent by General Alex, or another bunch of mercenaries sent after them by the mole, she would have expected the behaviour to be quite different.

Inclined to trust the man for the moment, she replied to his query. "An elderly gentleman, clad in blue? That description doesn't ring any bells for me, sadly, neither..." she shook her head and cut herself off. Neither does the name Richtor sound familiar, she had almost continued, but that was venturing too much information. Still, it left an odd dangling trail of thought, so she quickly followed it, hopefully at least somewhat smoothly.

"Neither myself, nor any of my closest companions have encountered such, though perhaps there was someone in the group who did, but hadn't mentioned it? I'm sorry it's not the answer you were hoping to hear, Sir Fargo."

Deciding to ask one more thing that was on her mind, the troubadour added, "Before you return to your Captain, and help to coordinate relief, there's one further question I have. Last night, during the storm... there were noises in the air, howls almost. You haven't crossed paths with any pack of dangerous beasts or the like recently have you?"

It was probably a wasted hope, but she much desired to know if they should still be worrying about whatever it was that had produced the fell noises that ultimately had driven them to take shelter.

OOC: Edit. I'll probably be asleep soonish, so if you want to just move on up, don't feel obligated to tie yourself down any further, IMO. She can lead you back up to the cave, and give a brief 'K, guys, these people don't seem so bad for now," sort of bit and you can interact with the rest of them, ideally.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Snike]

Derek

"You may as well try," Derek said, sheathing his sword with difficulty and putting his shield away. Out of his pocket, he drew a pair of gloves similar to the ones that were destroyed,and gently slipped them on, not even wincing as they went on his broken hand. "This... was not an experience I wished to repeat. But, that is life."

[Script]

OOC: I'll be leaving my shelter in a few minutes anyway, though if I return before you then I may take the offer.

The Fargo

"Ah," Fargo frowned, "Cursed luck it seems. Though Captain'll probably want to talk to each of your group anyway to be thorough. Thanks for telling me, at least." Fargo cursed whomever the missing man was regardless of whatever bit of importance he was to Councilman Richtor. But it was all an answer he was expecting to hear.

The other question? Not so much. "Beasts? During the storm? No, we haven't. Though I doubt any number of beasts could take either of our groups haha!" Even if a group was caught unawares, no normal animal could prove a threat to the 12th, and likely not to the group ahead. Though there was that wolf he saw...

"Well, sorry neither of us could offer much help to the other milady, I'll go inform Captain of our agreement." Fargo bowed again before heading his mount back towards the others.

OOC: More later, perhaps yes.

[Inactive Account]

"That's not a... good sound..." Megae said, poking Katie's limp form with the end of her sword. "Cool, we broke it!"

OOC: And for Snowy's sake, limp =/= dead. Maybe (probably) quadriplegic?

[Snowy_One]

"Oh my? Two weapons, severed?" said Helenos, raising her eyebrow in mild shock. "This is quite a predicament indeed. Especially since he only needs one to screw everything up. Be grateful he has swamp mud for brains lest he would use the weapons himself and unwind all I've worked to accomplish. Ruby, I have a new mission for you. No matter the cost, you must ensure that Shanice doesn't wisen up and either shatter the emblem or free the goddess. If either should happen, my work is undone. Understand? Ruby?" asked Helenos, bending close. Her hand extended forth, gripping the woman's jaw before she cruelly snapped it to the left. Not enough to preeminently harm Ruby, but enough to send her point across.

"Or else that will be what the Goddess will do, except worse, and she's the kindest being in existence!" she hissed. "Stop them, remove anything that they could possibly use from their grasp, and make sure you get their weapons. If you have ANY trouble at all, call for me. I would rather not lose such power, but the threat that he awakens is too great!"

---

With a snap, Katie's head twisted about, but was not undone. Instead, pain shot through her body as she collapsed to the floor in a heap, unable to sense her body for a moment, in which she received a swift kick. She needed to break out, now. She couldn't take much more of this!

[-Cynthia-]

"Here it goes." Charlotte said, touching the Restore staff to Derek and ushering a quick prayer to the Goddess. A warm blue glow spread out over Derek's body, removing the worst of the injuries.

Charlotte felt somewhat dizzy and started to breathe heavily. "You'll still need me to Mend you, correct?" she asked Derek, managing to stay upright.