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

[Ether]

"Just... try to be careful of what you say. Dani was angry at you a little while ago too... your experiences give you your thoughts, but when you use those thoughts and experiences as justification for putting down a whole group of people... those people will not want anything to do with you... and then you will only come to think worse of them. It's an unending cycle Alf... a cycle of hatred and falsities that is kept going by human nature." Aiya sighed, sitting down again.

"Still, I'm glad that, despite what you think of soldiers, you can bring it to yourself to like me."

[Dark Sage]

"Yeah, I'll try to work on tempering my hate of soldiers. It' mostly the Septimians. I hate them so much for what they did," he said angrily. "But let's stop talking about that. Some of us got invitations to a ball, and I was wondering if you got one," Alferis said, glad of changing the subject.

[Ether]

OOC: She told Alf she didn't even know how she got in the room... how could she have possibly seen the invite on the door?

"Hmm? Not that I know of." Aiya replied, turning her head slightly in confusion.

[Dark Sage]

"Well, we did, and I'm guessing you got one too. They're giving us free clothes it seems. And I wonder what kind of food is going to be there...." he said dreamily, a goofy smile on his face.

Edited August 20, 2010 by Dark Sage

[Inactive Account]

"Agh... magic," Kelas muttered, nearly inaudibly. Still, if it related to defeating the demons and saving her brother... well, she'd have to listen. "Don't suppose we could try and catch one next time they attack?" she finally asked.

[Balcerzak]

Following her successful morning conversation, Tessa retreated back to her own room for a moment. She'd managed to put off her growing curiousity about the contents of the letter that she'd found hanging on her door only due to the anticipation of her conversation with the shaman, and with that having come to a concluded resolution−at least for the moment, there were still matters that needed more turning over, especially with the new information she'd been given−she was no longer able to put off investigating it.

Carefully slitting the envelop along the seem with her nails, Tessa retrieved the letter within, unfolded it, and proceeded to read the contents.

Dear madame,

In accordance with Councilman Richtor's wishes,

one of you will be treated to a free dress designed specifically for you,

for use at the ball in the capital.

Please, decide amongst yourselves who should receive this gift.

"Madame!" Tessa exclaimed with a giggle. "A form letter indeed. Hmm, the ball though... Charlotte too invited me, as attendant, no less. What had she said again, 'Well, typically their duty is to aid with simple tasks, and also to help keep up the princess's appearance... though in your case, I'll probably have to manage your appearances.' ..."

The troubadour continued to chuckle a little bit at the memory before she found herself sighing deeply. The cleric was no longer with them, and her various quirks of personality, sometimes charitable, othertimes imperious, were consigned to the past... at least for now. Nothing was ever simple it seemed.

As excited as Tessa had been at the prospect of the ball, faint unease at her place in the grand scheme of things aside, she simply could no longer picture herself doing so without it being at the other woman's side. It... would feel like such a betrayal of trust, she'd never be able to forgive herself.

"I guess... I guess I'll have to trust to Charlotte being able to provide a dress, if... no... when we save her from capture. So the good councilman's will have to go to someone else then."

Nodding to herself at her resolution, she folded the letter back up, replacing it in the envelope, and leaving it for the moment on the center of her bed. All of her remaining business had been tended to, and she was more than eager to see the day off to a start. The sooner they were on the move, the sooner they could either hunt down Jace, or try to find some way to recover Arrin's weapon. Delay was their enemy here, with two of her friends in the balance.

Gathering the rest of her things, and slinging her satchel over her shoulder, Tessa headed off to the kitchen, where she thought most people would probably be congregating at this hour. She had no idea how it was, then, that she ended up in the foyer. Her surprise was only deepened at the sight of the figure in chains.

"...Damian?" she called out questioningly as she approached. "What on earth, or in the heavens above..." Swiftly covering the intervening distance, she gazed at the soldier, a tight constriction in her chest as worries and uncertainties flowed through her mind.

Edited August 20, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Script]

Count Altair and Family

Luc had fallen asleep later than anyone else and awaken before anyone else. But he pushed aside his exhaustion and worked to coordinate everything that would be needed. Work on repairing the hall had begun shortly after the sun rose, and the work on the stalls outside not so much long after. Luc had led, watched and helped in both tasks. Once his own family started to wake, Luc put the inside repairs on hold. It would just make things worse to have more people working around. And Really Luc just didn't want to make them exert themselves. This was his mess to clean up.

Luc and his family made some talk in the foyer while the servants and workers slowly began to put a stop to their works. Other servants, on Luc's orders, brought tables and food. Luc did not want to be away when the guests arrived.

Well after finishing their meals, Damian was dragged in. "Special guest ready!" one of the guards yelled out.

"Excellent," Luc said despite all inductions to the contrary. "Once on of the other guests arrive he can go free."

"I don't like this," Jeanne said bitterly. "He ruined our house."

A man limped over to the young Altair and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Now, now, Jeanne. It's just a house. Remember when we used to live in a place that has smaller than this foyer?" Maurice Altair, Luc and Jeanne's father and a war veteran, lectured his daughter.

"That doesn't make it right!" she protested.

"My dear Jeanne," a woman said as she hugged the man and girl. "I know you're worried and scared but things will be alright." Yvette Altair. Mother of Luc and Jeanne, wife of Maurice.

"I'm not scared these people are just jerks and I want them out!" she yelled, a little flustered at her parents hugging her so openly.

"They'll be gone soon enough," Luc informed Jeanne again. "Just keep your acquaintance. Or you'll never make officer."

Jeanne looked away, any reply dying with the use of the word 'officer'.

One of the guests ran by, Rita, Luc recognized the hyper girl. She left without a care in the world for Damian. Well, she was probably the one person he wouldn't have released Damian to. Not after all the horrid incidents she was the cause of. It had taken him all his effort not to force the girl to pay respects to Tom. The disaster that occurred last night was almost worse if everyone else was telling the truth.

Luc and family waited again, making talk amongst themselves. About Luc's goals, about Jeanne's training, about their parents decisions in the important meetings that took place. It was a bit later when another of the guests wandered in. The young Troubadour that had healed Luc in the canyon.

"Huh?" Who's she?" Jeanne asked. The young Altair hadn't seen the equally young girl earlier.

"Another guest," Luc told his sister before walking over to Tessa. "This man, Damian, was restrained for the safety of all in the mansion. If you're willing to take responsibility, he can be released."

EDIT: Where did that even come from?

Edited May 8, 2012 by Script

[Phoenix]

Dining Area Discussions

Iso: Can those demons even be captured? Shanice Shapeshifts into massive creatures. That women with the swords teleports, and I doubt there are ropes strong enough to stop that golem.

Irina: Pit fall.

Iso: Huh?

Irina: For the golem dig a hole or something. I got nothing for the others. It's just a thought.

Iso: Oh.

Viveka: As I thought, you people can't come up with anything.

Iso hung his head and sighed. There weren't coming up with anything decent it seemed. Viveka's attitude wasn't helping either. He wondered why she was so aggressive this morning. He thought she'd be happy that she survived. On second thought, she probably wasn't used to being injured so often.

[Inactive Account]

"You got a suggestion then?" Kelas asked Viveka. "But anyway, isn't there some sort of, I dunno, magic seal or something that could be used?"

[-Cynthia-]

"A pit fall won't stop an earth demon." Morgan said. "Earth demons can burrow underground more or less at will, so he'll just go deeper, or pop out of the ground at another location."

"It is possible to imbue certain places with energies to repel demons." Morgan admitted. "but we are usually too mobile for such methods to work. I doubt I can make a seal strong enough to repel demons of this calibur regardless."

[Phoenix]

OOC: Yay! More Iso angst!

The Dining Area

Iso's entire body cringed when Kelas mentioned a magic seal! He nearly fell to his knees but caught himself!

Iso: Urgh! ... n-no way ... ... I don't ever want to go through that again. That's exactly what they used on us! That's why Miranda's dead! Urgh!

His fists were tightening up so badly that he could have very well drawn blood if he kept at it. Irina stood up from the table and came a little closer.

Irina: Iso, calm down. It's not as if ... we're going to use a magic seal on ourselves.

Viveka: There's no point in even trying to coordinate a plan until you get this group of idiots to work together. Don't even think about trying to capture a demon yet. Someone will just start a fight over it and they'll escape or goddess knows what else.

Viveka rolled her eyes thinking of a few party members in particular.

OOC: Also ... Magic Seal =/= Demon Repellent which is why Iso is angsting.

Edited August 20, 2010 by Phoenix

[Inactive Account]

OOC: I had a feeling that was a bad thing to mention.

"S-sorry," Kelas replied. "I didn't know-- didn't mean--" She paused. "Anyway, my first target would be the one with the swords. I doubt she'll be able to warp with a blade pinning her to the ground, if there's no other way to get her to stay still."

[Balcerzak]

A voice broke the spell on Tessa, and she turned to see the captain whose hospitality they were relying on addressing her. She also for the first time took in the scope of the destruction the hall had suffered, previously been blinded to everything except the man in chains. Glancing back and forth between the damage and Damian, she finally settled on looking Luc in the eyes.

"He went beserk again." It wasn't a question, and was accompanied by a small sigh. "That's odd, I can't fathom what could have set it off..."

"I'm sorry," bowing to the man in apology, she continued. "The last time it had happened he was on the verge of death, and something... triggered. I never figured out just what exactly, but I thought I'd managed to repair the mental restraints that had come undone afterwards. Clearly my skill was insufficient, not to mention my absence last night was most unfortunate."

Raising her head, she finished, "While I might not have managed, I probably had a better chance than most." By this point she had fished out the Restore staff from her bag and indicated it with a gesture.

"If you would release him, then yes. I will take full responsibility whatever happens. He seems... stable enough for the moment, but very withdrawn. If it were me... I would be too." Finishing quietly, Tessa tried to imagine the shame and horror that Damian must be having to deal with... not to mention the burden of handling that raging force inside his head, day in-day out apparently,

[-Cynthia-]

Not really near party HQ at all

Xenia woke up early the next morning and found the princess asleep. Or unconscious, Xenia didn't really care. She threw her on Svetlana's back and they flew off toward Burgosas.

Svetlana took a roundabout way into the city, Xenia was used to avoiding the guard wheever she could help it. The sea wyvern landed next to a large manor house.

Hopefully this is where Jace's daughter lives...and she can point me to her father. Xenia thought to herself. "Guard the girl Svet." she ordered, and the sea wyvern watched the unconscious girl intently.

Xenia took a gauntleted fist and pounded on the door.

OOC: While Xenia only took a day to get from the canyon to here, she also flew and didn't dawdle, so take that into account with time/distance measurements please.

[Script]

Count Altair

"Yes, he did." He confirmed what Tessa already stated anyway. "I saw him slap the shaman Morgan. I tried to intervene and things spiraled out of control after that. Why he slapped her I've no idea." Luc related the basic events to the young girl.

Berserking. Luc could, slightly, relate to events that could cause such rage. But the last time he had let anger fully cloud his vision, his reasons, his senses, he had nearly lost a hand. So now he walked around with a near useless appendage -- though in recent days it had been significantly better -- as a constant reminder to never give too fully into emotions. The talk of mental restrains on the other hand, was a new one. If the man was so ridiculously unstable he needed outside help to keep himself in check he became a serious threat to Luc's own safety. But there was going to be little choice regardless of Luc's own thoughts on the matter. The group needed to be free, so he would have to trust the girl to do her job.

"Alright," Luc motioned to the guards who unbound Damian. They made sure he was standing before releasing their own hands from him. "Let us see how you work. It would be a good lesson for Jeanne to see something new." Jeanne shot Luc a look at the mention of her name.

[the_whistler]

Arriving at the lower floor, Heinz noticed a number of people milling around, most of them talking about the ball. Although he was tempted to get something to eat before the group set off towards the capital again, Heinz figured he had waited long enough to restock on equipment. Spend a little extra gold too, Heinz smiled slightly. Opening the front door, the mercenary strolled out casually, walking towards the stables.

Seeing the strange cavalier from before come out from the stables, Heinz paused for a second, debating whether to talk to the man. Doesn't seem like he noticed me, smirking as he entered the stables. The horse neighed at him eagerly, and as soon as Heinz walked over Ralf began nosing his hand. "Looking for apples again?" he chuckled. Though Heinz wasn't particularly fond of horses, he supposed the horse had done a good job in the past, tolerating the group's almost constant travel. Except when the bit went missing, he thought wryly. Pulling the apple from his cloak Heinz used a knife to cut the apple into quarters, giving the pieces to Ralf.

Finished feeding the horse, Heinz quickly opened the saddlebags and removed the bag of gold the cloaked man had given him. Getting this money almost caused me a lot of trouble, removing a number of gold coins and stuffing them into his pockets. "At least I'm back in Septimus I suppose," placing the bag back inside the saddlebags before leaving the empty barn. Not sure if I want to be.

Walking towards the row of vendors, the mercenary paused at one stall, examining the various items they were selling. Rope is too thick, too brittle.... this one might work though, holding up a loop of rope a few meters long. "How much does this cost?" he inquired. His eyes wandered to the back of the stall. "Plus some of that metal wire in the back, please. How much?"

OOC: Script can control the vendor, if he wants.

[Phoenix]

Dining Area

Seeing that his frustration had Kelas apologizing he quickly calmed himself down and reached out feeling for a chair. Once he found it, he sat down and relaxed.

Iso: It's alright. Not everyone knows about that. I honestly didn't realize that just mentioning it would set me off like that.

Viveka: (... so he has memories that are that vivid and horrible too huh?) Exactly how does teleporting work anyway? Will being pinned with a blade stop her from warping because she's in pain or because the sword is functioning as an anchor or what? I don't get that.

Irina: Who cares if we don't know how it works? If it works then we should just do that.

Viveka rolled her eyes and turned to face Irina.

Viveka: If you don't know how something works then you're running around in the dark. The less you know about something, the less you can do with it. Get a clue.

Irina: >_>'

[Script]

Outside Merchant

"Ah, nice eye you have there. Let me see your discount papers first, unless you wanna pay full price," the merchant laughed. "But well, a couple of silver for each, say 4 total. Less of course once I see your papers."

[the_whistler]

Four silver.... a bit expensive, but I should have enough, Heinz mulled. "Don't think I ever got those discount papers," he frowned, digging the gold coins out of his pocket and pushing them across the counter. "This good?," he said. Unless the currency's gone up or down again.

OOC: I dunno if 4 silver is actually expensive, or how much it's worth compared to gold coins, not sure about the economy here.

Edit: Rephrased some stuff.

Edit again: Argh repetition.

Edit again: More fixing. >.<

Edited August 20, 2010 by the_whistler

[Snowy_One]

Having finished her soak, Esphyr donned her clothes once again. Despite the water, she still felt as gunked up as before from the love potion being splattered on her. It caused her to shudder, thinking about how she might change her behavior as she walked out into the hallways once again.

---

"Madame Kelas? Art thou here?" asked Altion, entering into the kitchens. "Wouldst thou be interested in a steed race?"

[Script]

Outside Merchant

"Hey, that's more than enough. Damn, hope I get to see more of you then haha!" The merchant laughed at his good fortune. "Much as my better nature is telling me, you probably should go find those papers." The merchant inspected the coins. "Well, least I won't get chewed out." The merchant handed back the required items and the change. "Here you go. Give'em hell with that stuff haha!"

EDIT: Eh, I'm not to hung up on it myself. Really, I probably shouldn't say that.

[Snike]

Interruption

About an hour later, Alex was just beginning to write the plan down, just in case she'd forget it. Having left her door open, and sent the servants away for the day, the duchess was surprised to hear a loud rapping on the front door. Sighing, she placed her quill in the inkwell, and made her way down the stairs until she arrived at the door. Meanwhile, the rapping grew harder, and harder. Taking a breath, Alex opened the door a crack, and looked out to see that mercenary she met a few days ago, impatient.

"Oh!...Can I help you, miss?" she asked, politely.

OOC: Editing in other parts in a bit.

Edit: Nvm.

Edited August 20, 2010 by Snike

[-Cynthia-]

Xenia narrowed her eyes at the woman in the door. She looks vaguely familiar somehow...maybe I killed her cousin or something. Doesn't matter. "Jace's daughter, right? I need you to tell me where your father is, I have a delivery for him."

Edited August 20, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Ether]

Tessa had appeared to retrieve him, it seemed. The troubadour had undergone some discussion with the count, and the mention of his berserking came up.

His face turned even lower towards the ground. The girl had thought it may have been a fault of her own?

'Nothing could be further from the truth... all of this... is my own weakness...'

As the restraints were released, and the guards let go, Damian slumped to the ground, now on his knees. His gaze still not rising from the floor.

[Snike]

Jace's Daughter

"... He is away, at the moment," Alex said, keeping a straight face. "What is this delivery? Is it the princess of Jerdon? Father told me to pay whoever had her on the spot, if they bring her here..." The woman began to reach for two bags of gold, two of many that lay around the house.

Derek

Having found a room unoccupied, as Dani locked her room, Derek slept into the early morning. Getting up at a reasonable time, he stretched a bit, and put on his armor. That done, he stepped outside, checked the note, and blew it off, deciding to head downstairs for breakfast.