Lord of Azure Flame: Chapter 17: I got nothing.

[-Cynthia-]

"Yeah, it's the princess." Xenia said. She eyed the bags. "I'll be checking that those bags are full, I know how Jace likes his money. I won't settle for a bag of coppers." she scoffed.

[the_whistler]

Heinz chuckled. He's a honest merchant, to admit that. "Thanks, I'll do my best," accepting the change and the other items. He nodded at the merchant cheerily before heading back to the stables, his face turning more serious as soon as the mercenary turned his back. Give'em hell? Seems like someone's been saying more than they should, he thought grimly.

Stowing the rope into an empty pocket in Ralf's saddlebags, Heinz tossed the leftover change the merchant had given him back into the gold bag, stuffing it into another pocket. Leaving the stables, he reentered the house, stopping for a second when he noticed the count of the house and someone else who looked similar. A sibling or relative? Heinz guessed. As well as the troubadour in the foyer, and the Halton colonel on the ground, now unchained. Though he had noticed the soldier was in chains earlier, Heinz had ignored him, figuring someone else could take care of the crazy man.

"Why did the guards unbind him?" looking curiously at the captain. Unless he wants us to leave now, which I wouldn't be surprised to hear.

[Script]

Count Altair

"I ordered them too," Luc answered. "Dame Tessa has agreed to take responsibility for his actions should anything more unfortunate occur. I'll hold her to that."

[Snike]

Trader

"But, of course. Just, I would like to see the princess first," Alex said, careful to be nice to the mercenary. "It wouldn't do, you see, if I just gave you fifty-thousand gold for a commoner." As she said this, the woman pulled out one of the bags, filled to the brim in gold. "Does that reassure you?"

[-Cynthia-]

"Svet!" Xenia called. The sea wyvern shambled over and saw the gold scales. Gold scales meant fish. Svetlana salivated in anticipation. "On the wyvern's back." Xenia said pointing. She reached her hands into one of the bags and took out a coin. Then she bit down on it hard. "Seems real enough." she said.

[Balcerzak]

Tessa had listened to Luc recount, briefly, some of the events of last night, and then waited as the guards unbound Damian. "Let's see how you work," the man had said, and gesturing toward the now-free soldier, the meaning was quite clear. The troubadour shot a quick look around the room at the mention of 'Jeanne', and noticed the other girl, family perhaps? She hadn't seen her before, or missed the introduction it seemed, but she too apparently had some skill with a staff.

Giving a firm nod, she turned back to Damian, who had slumped to his knees after the guards had stepped aside, and who continued to simply stare wordlessly at the ground. She wasn't sure if he actually needed her help at the moment, since he'd apparently been restrained overnight and perhaps had regained control on his own. He had to be able to right? Surely it had happened before she was around. Still... he'd been almost in a catatonia back at the graveyard after the incident, and this wasn't much better.

Approaching him with a firm grasp on the willow staff, and an expression of quiet resignation, she prepared to work the will of the goddess. Kneeling and putting herself on a level, she laid her free hand on his shoulder. "Oh poor Damian..." she exhaled softly before she began her prayer, and let herself flow through the staff and across the gap.

The raging menace of the Gae Bolg was still present... but unlike the last time, it wasn't running rampant. So he is controlling it after all... still, I wonder if there's anything I can do to help... Not content to just come, peek into his psyche, and leave without even attempting anything, she tried doing what she could to shore up defenses, and reinforce the visualizations of restraint. Whether or not it was of any use... well, it hadn't really held the first time... No... that's not the attitude to take! It will help. It will be useful.

A few minutes perhaps? Though maybe not that long even. Tessa cut the communion off, and returned to her feet.

[Snike]

Alex

Seeing the sea wyvern, the woman flinched, seemingly unnerved by it, but kept her gaze. Atop the drake was a cleric with brown hair, unmoving. A quick look at her face confirmed that it was indeed Charlotte, albeit with her natural hair color. "... It is her. I do hope you did not slay her. Regardless, hand her over, and we shall swap," Duchess Rielle said, producing the second bag. "And, do not even think about flying off without handing her over. There is a ballistae right outside, and I know how to operate it."

[Script]

Count Altair

"Interesting," Luc observed as he watched the young Troubadour work. He was no healer, but even he could tell this was something out of the ordinary. Luc hoped Jeanne could glimpse something of deeper importance from the interactions. But, sparing a quck glance at his sister, he saw her barely paying attention. It wouldn't do good to scold her in front of others, so he looked back and focused on Tessa. It didn't take long before the girl broke off from the older man and stood back up.

"So, are you confident in the spell this time? Can I send the guards away?" Luc asked, perhaps more rudely than he intended, but he didn't notice.

[Ether]

As Tessa moved down to face him, her face came into his vision. As her soft hand lay on his shoulder, she spoke.

'So... she still cares... even after all of this...?'

There eyes met, but not of Damian's own accord. Tessa's eyes were as normal, albeit stricken with worry. Damian's eyes, however, were far from normal.

The normally deep navy pools were delegated to a pale, somber cyan. The familiar confidence and luster was gone, replaced with a blank, soulless look. As though the eyes were disconnected from the rest of his being, yet matching the position he found himself in.

As the glow of Tessa's staff covered him, he felt her presence in his mind.

Pure. Holy. This girl was his opposite, the opposite of this tainted killer. He felt his mental defenses strengthen, the jostling of his mana network coming under repair, unbeknownst to the girl repairing it.

'Tessa...? Why do you still care about a... worthless man like me? An untamed killer... a disaster at one's doorstep... why would you care?'

No words were spoken, but the question was asked. With their minds connected, Damian could still not be sure if she would hear... as she stood, he continued to wonder the answer, eyes beginning to revert.

[Psych]

Cess and Rita:

Walking back to the mansion, hands empty, they noticed Lev.

"Watcha doing Mr. Lev?"

"You probably shouldn't bother him Rita...>_>"

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

Pary:

Haven awoken, and prepared himself, he walked outside notice Cess, Lev, and Rita. "Some party or something?"

[Balcerzak]

"I was confident in the spell last time," Tessa replied to the captain with perhaps more force than necessary. It felt almost like he was judging her, and that was uncomfortable. Blaming herself unjustly for something was one thing, getting blamed by someone else in a similar fashion... somehow put her on edge. "It worked, and it held for weeks. Damian... Damian's a good man... with a fiercesome weapon. I don't know if you could understand." Looking down she sighed a bit. "I don't know that I really understand either."

Calming quickly, the edge now vanished from her tone, she followed up, "You are free to dispatch the guards. It was likely safe to do so even before the spell, but I don't begrudge you your caution." Having answered the man's queries, she added one of her own, "I... maybe it's naive of me to ask this... but, could you not judge him by what happened when he... lost control? That's... that's not really who he is. Far, far from it."

During the spell, she'd sensed a wordless worry. She hoped she had interpreted it correctly, and this, this was her answer. Not simply forgiving the man himself, but plying also for fair consideration from others as well.

[Phoenix]

Levski

Sitting back in the chair reading, Levski relaxed until Rita, Cess, and Pary arrived.

Lev: ... do NOT ... touch that crate of Rudoberry ...

He then lifted the book back up and continued reading.

[Ether]

As Tessa vocalized her answer, their thoughts separated again, Damian felt a bit of relief well up in him.

This girl... she was forgiving... but that forgiveness give him the strength to hold a bit of courage.

'Maybe I... can keep moving... I can make it through this... I've beat it for my whole life... I can't lose to Gae-Borg now... not when someone like her is depending on it... on me.'

"Thank you... Tessa." Damian croaked out, rather weakly. He felt the connections in his body begin to return to normal. Whatever had placated him before had scrambled his mana network fairly badly, and the restoration had given him back his speech. Already he could feel his muscles again.

[Script]

Count Altair

"Weeks hm?" Luc said, rather ignoring the girl's tone with him. "It might be a good idea to recheck the restriction in half that time, to see if it is falling apart again. He may begin to develop an immunity. Granted, there is nothing to suggest this, but I prefer to err on the side of caution on this matter." Luc shook his head at the rest of the girl's words. "Understand or no, actions are still actions regardless." Yes, just how Luc accepted the death of his unit so easily.

Luc waved and the guards watching over Damian saluted and left. "Don't worry, you've done nothing to disperse my trust so I shall take your words for it. And you are the first one down here to free him, that is worth something, at least." Luc looked at the man, wondering what his own thoughts on this mess were. "As long as he keeps himself in check, so too shall I. But sometimes, it is necessary to judge. For someone to say something is wrong, or too far out of control. No man be outside the bounds of criticism." Luc brought his bad hand to his chin. "I can only desire that during our travels you and your comrades make sure to criticize me as well."

"Now," Luc said with far more joy in his voice, "Would you two like me to show you to the dining hall? Since well," Luc looked at Damian, "I know how awful the prison rations can be."

[-Cynthia-]

Xenia snorted. "Since when does a noblewoman use a ballista?" She grabbed the bags of gold and set them on Svetlana. Then she grabbed Charlotte and tossed her in Alex's direction. "Well, this job's over." Xenia said, mounting her wyvern and taking off for destinations unknown.

[Snowy_One]

Esphyr gave a yawn, nothing was happening at all. "Bo-o-o-ring!" she yawned out before suddenly clamping her mouth shut. What had she just said?! She... She had sounded like a cheap valley entitled girl! Not the tough mercenary she knew herself to be. "What on... The potion!" she exclaimed, turning about rapidly. Lev's room! He knew a bit about it it seemed, so he could tell her just what was going on. Which way was the mens bedrooms? Weren't they by the royal wardr-no! No. No! They were by the armory! She slapped herself mentally. Wardrobes? What was she thinking? As fast as she could, she took off, a furious stride in her step!

"Lev! Get your scaly ass out here mister swinedog!" she hissed, her voice flowing out a nearby window that was open simply due to plot convenience so that Lev could hear outside. She didn't actually have anything to be mad at him about, and she knew it, but every harsh, cruel, and... Esphyrish thing she could do might just slow the potion down. That was what she needed right now.

Edited August 21, 2010 by Snowy_One

[Balcerzak]

Hearing Damian call out his gratitude, she turned and beamed him a quick smile, before facing back to the conversation at hand.

"Huh... checkups at intervals hmm? I don't know if it will help, as I don't exactly know the trigger, but I don't see how the suggestion could possibly hurt anything," Luc's proposal was unusual and unexpected, yet seemed like it might have at least some merit, and a thoughtful expression stole across her face as she considered it.

The captain continued to speak, and it seemed that whatever had happened last night, while it had shaken their relation with the man, and perhaps with his city, depending on his level of influence, it seemed that the trouble was not irreparable, as he was still inclined to handle affairs with grace and dignity. His reaction was of course tempered, but considering the possible alternatives, Tessa could only be pleased at how things were developing.

When he offered to take them to the dining room, a hopeful look came across the troubadour's face. "To be honest... I hadn't even known of the trouble last night, and had found my way here quite by accident. I'd intended on arriving at the dining hall, but I must have made a bad turn somewhere. If you would lead the way, I would be most obliged," she confessed, inclining her head with deference.

[Snike]

Alex

"... Would not have expected that SHE'd bag her," Alex said, dropping the formality as the wyvern lord left. Stepping outside, the woman checked to see that the princess was relatively unbruised, then picked her up. Retreating back inside, she carried the younger lady, albeit awkwardly, up into her study, and placed her on the bed. Then, returning to her desk, the duchess tossed away her previous plan, before beginning to write another one.

[Phoenix]

The Dining Area

The sound of Esphyr screaming upstairs caught a bit of attention downstairs as one would expect.

Iso: ... what did Lev do to upset her this time?

Irina: Wait! She's still mad at Lev?! Oh my goodness, that was like forever ago!

Viveka tilted her head at Irina's statement and came a little closer. Her mood had softened a little bit in the incredible distraction of demon catching deliberation.

Viveka: What was like forever ago?

Irina: Remember when Lev was calling you his hostage and Esphyr got upset?

Viveka: ... tch. Please, I own Lev. He's my packmule now. I don't see her getting mad at me.

Irina frowned at the thought and sat back down in front of her food.

Irina: ... he's not your slave you know. You're paying him to carry those orange boxes right?

Viveka: It's like owning a slave really. Accept instead of keeping the slave fed with food, you keep him fed with ... gold? I don't know it's just so similar that that's the way I see it.

Irina: ... (Oh crap. Now that she mentions it, being a merc is kind of like being a slave ... even though it's totally voluntary. Then again, anyone who works for money is a slave. Hmm ... no ... I think that's off. Maybe we're defining "slaves" a bit too lightly?)

Levski

Levski continued reading while occasionally lowering the book to make sure that no one was messing with the crate. He couldn't stress it enough he thought. Krinkov kept his eyes on the sky while Kiev looked at Cess, Rita, and Pary with curiosity. He wasn't sure why they were here, but he felt sorry for them if they were trying to get Levski's attention. He was focused on that wyvern and unless they could give off Morgan's scent, he likely wouldn't pay any attention to them.

EDIT: "The Krinkov" is not yet an officially recognized term in this rp.

Edited August 21, 2010 by Phoenix

[Script]

OOC: Ether signed off on irc, so I don't know if Damian will be following and whatnot etc, all that business.

Count Altair

"Very good then," Luc said to the girl before turning to his parents. "Mother, Father, if you'll excuse us."

"Hahaha, no need to be all polite now," Maurice said.

"Well, let's be off." Luc said.

The two (three?) of them, and Jeanne who stalked behind them for some reason walked down the hallways to the Dining Hall. "To be honest, I was actually quite confused my first times when we first moved to this mansion. It's not an uncommon to reaction to lose your way."

The group entered the dining hall. "Ah, seems some of your comrades are already here."

EDIT: Wrong name right name.

Edited May 8, 2012 by Script

[the_whistler]

Nodding at the captain, Heinz turned back to the scene, waiting to see what the healer would do. More stubborn and trusting than you'd expect, watching her try to heal the colonel. Upon hearing her entreaty, Heinz shrugged. "Sure, if he doesn't go berserk again," he said drolly. Doesn't excuse his other actions though, recollecting when the two Halton soldiers had beaten the ex-bandit. Or make him less of an arrogant idiot, he mocked silently, remembering when the colonel had knocked the Septimian General to the ground.

The count seemed to acknowledge the healer's words, although he still seemed wary himself. So the captain will be traveling with us, eh? Heinz shook his head at the captain's offer. "Maybe later, I know where the dining hall is," giving a polite smile before he headed off into another part of the mansion, aiming to find the Jerdonian cavalier. Most people wouldn't release someone who had wreck their house that easily, looking briefly into the various rooms. Or accompany this group willingly.

"Wonder what excuse Derek made," he muttered.

OOC: And Heinz goes off to disappear again.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte cautiously opened one eye. The woman that wyvern rider had turned her over to was busy writing something at a desk. If she's really Jace's daughter, then she's probably telling him that she has me. But we're in the capital. If I can just get to the palace... Charlotte jumped out of the bed and started running down the stairs at top speed (which admittedly is not terribly fast).

[Phoenix]

Levski

Hearing a voice coming out of a window out of sheer plot convenience, Levski lowered the book he was reading and turned to give the window a suspicious look.

Lev: (Esphyr?) ... *sigh* ... Krinkov!

The wyvern turned his head a full eighty degrees while standing firm and shot his master an annoyed look.

Lev: See what Esphyr wants will ya?

The wyvern tilted his head. Esphyr wasn't a name he used very often, though he knew which human he was talking about. The noisy one with the blood colored shirt he presumed. The word "see" meant he was supposed to go and check on her. If that was the case he wasn't looking forward to it. She wasn't very reasonable with humans, would she be any more reasonable with a wyvern? He found some solace in the fact that he was immensely superior to her in strength, speed, flight, and possibly intelligence and decided to go ahead and fetch her. With that, he flew up to the window and latched onto the walls before sticking his head in and hissing hoping to draw her over.

[Snike]

That woman who is definitely NOT trying to give her to Jace

"You ARE going to trip, Your Highness" Alex called out, getting up as Charlotte began to run out of the study and down the stairs. Striding over to the stairs, the duchess added, "Though, it would not do you any good even if you made it outside. The gate is locked shut."

[Snowy_One]

"There!" exclaimed Esphyr, rushing over to the giant lizard! "I need to speak to your master now! Can you give me a ride down? Or tell him something somehow?"