Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 20: Bait and switch

[Snike]

Totally a Man General and Unlucky Guy

"... I believe the woods would be a good idea. It's unlikely the army will chase us there," the Comet said, before catching part of a conversation between the two Zaftrans. "... You're going to find the courier, who went after the prince, you said? Is there any way I can accompany you?"

"... I think we are good, aside from them," Eric said, looking around for anyone else missing. "We should get moving. They might send a brigade immediately."

That Other Guy

The flow of refugees had all but disappeared, and after the last man, who's arm was patched up with some cloth, Derek made his way back to the rest of the group, about to leave. He quickly put on his riding armor, then, while mounting Ann, awaited instructions.

[Inactive Account]

"Yeah, it's time to go," Kelas confirmed. "Camping out somewhere, probably. Everyone else ready?" She packed up what remained of her first aid supplies. "I guess we're all too scary-looking to stay in any town right now anyway," she commented: people's appearances currently ranged from scuffed-up to tattered and blood-soaked. "Right, let's move out..." She stretched, getting ready to walk.

[Psych]

Vera:

"We're almost out of food. We brought just enough to restock in the capital, but...The last few snack rations are in the trunks on top. My uncle will surely have stocked up on food. He'll know how to stay prepared." Vera gestured towards the ceiling with her head, as she took out her map and began studying it.

Rosy sat uncomfortably next to the man. The seat was hardly big enough for two people, and she was squashed between him, and the window. She didn't exactly need to talk to the man, since she was sure Vera only brought him to help her, but she decided to make small talk.

"Um...so...why were you around the capital anyway."

[Phoenix]

Heading Off To Camp

A question from the Comet got Irina and Lev's attention. He apparently wanted to come with. Lev found that understandable and didn't really mind. Irina didn't have a problem with it either, though she wasn't looking for reasons. It was going to be Lev's decision, right?

Lev: (Tas wouldn't matter to him I don't think. These is likely about the prince. No point in bringing that up though.)Sure, why not?

Viveka shot Lev an annoyed look immediately. He didn't see her, but somehow he knew he'd drawn her eyes.

Lev: ... we're ... not leaving until we get to camp though. Like I said, we need a destination to come back to.

Viveka: I hope you don't plan on running around to random places with all of my stuff again!

Lev: Of course not. I had every intention of leaving the supplies at the camp (conveniently tied to pinky so she can't go anywhere ...)

Viveka: Good. (The tent is in there so he better not forget. I'm not sleeping on the ground.)

With the others getting ready Conrad simply kept a close eye on everyone noting their activities as usual. His things were always ready.

Conrad: (So Jace took the capital of Septimus in one fell swoop. Halton won't sit by and pass up this kind of opportunity. Hopefully Elyisima remains neutral for awhile, otherwise we might get orders to come back. That could muck things up considerably if these people suddenly start making progress.)

Not A Happy Camper

O'Donnel: Yes they are pretty. You seem to take good care of them. Well then. As you said, Ixion. You've got a lot of work to do, so I'll leave you to that, but I want to have a little chat with you later after dinner if you don't mind.

Ixion: I do mind actually-

O'Donnel: Good! No complaints at all it seems. Well then. I'll see you two later. Ixion, Etain.

He gave a friendly bow before exiting the chamber. The researchers stood there silent. Ixion turned his attention back to Mana.

Ixion: I would honestly prefer it if ... *sigh* never mind. I'll see you at dinner. Head down to the dining hall in the main building at around seven o'clock. (Misfortune all around.)

[Inactive Account]

"Afore this I lived there," Tobe explained, disappointed at the lack of food. "I were a servant in t' palace, but I reckon they don't need me there no more," he said seriously. "So I left, see." It was never a good idea to let nobles know when you was scared, he figured.

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

"Anyone injured and need a ride?" Kelas asked as the group started forward. "Otherwise, I might take a break..." Amari didn't seem too tired; Kelas didn't want to take any chances, but she was quickly becoming exhausted from the day's fighting.

[Dark Sage]

"I don't know if he is still alive but...

My parents...I'm ashamed to say it, but they left him out in the wilderness when he was still a baby and started growing his hair. That's how I know what color it is. And my mother was sick and delirious when she told me and she didn't remember his name, except that it started with an A. And even if she did remember, there would be no guarantee he would've kept it," Sadie said, shaking her head.

[Mercakete]

Tas was glad for the environment, at least. There weren't many trees about at all and the overall scheme was constructed of amber, brown, gray and here-and-there patches of dark green. Oh sure, Tas and Namid would blend in well enough if sighted from the side or from above. And from bellow, what with the sky so pale, though Tas and Namid would be sighted fairly easily, The prince's pegasus might seem like a whisp of cloud simply hurrying by with an overhead gale. The prince himself, however, was ill-suited for camoflauge. Their best hope was to fly low - which might be the only thing the pegasus could handle at this point anyway - and use the flowing hills for cover. Riding the winds would have been preferrable, though it would make them more visable at the speed the prince's pegasus could handle and the enemy definately had ways of bringing them down or going after them.

(A northwestward wind is blowing. That's favorable. Though I'm not sure exactly where I'm going, if we keep away from the capital things should get easier. I hope we don't come under attack durring the flight. I'm not sure how well I would do by myself, seeing as the prince is injurred...maybe... I don't even know that much! Tas, you really should have asked to learn more first-aid when the doctor was around at the ranch! Grrr... No use getting upset over it now, though. I wonder what we'll come across? Maybe we should avoid people we don't absolutely know we can trust, just to be safe. So, first step: Follow the breezes. That's all I have to worry about for now...)

[Snowy_One]

"Abandoned child. Not a terribly uncommon story I'm sad to say. His name begins with a A though. That's at least a start. Alright. I'll tell you what. I'll look for him for free, but I have a family to feed as well. If you could kick ten gold coins over my way, that would be enough to feed them. I know it's a lot to ask, but it's what I need. I'd hate to say it, but you're probably richer than me right now, so I don't have much of a choice. Please?"

[Dark Sage]

"...Ok. My mother just got better from an illness, so I can afford forking over some money," said Sadie, handing over 10 gold to Esphyr.

"Here you go. You know, you guys are really interesting. I think I'll write a song about you guys."

[Phoenix]

He Who Always Has Two Options

Isotov: Well, I could walk but, you probably don't want me pushing myself. I guess I could ride with you again ...

It took him a second, but he noticed a bit of the blood on Kelas' tunic. Most of it was on the back, but some had creeped up on the sides.

Isotov: That's ... my blood, isn't it? Sorry.

In Holding

Down in the holding cells Shamus was looking up at the door waiting for some sign of what was going on. It was rather loud in the world outside and he had no idea what was going on. Suddenly the door opened up and several soldier rushed in heavily armed! When they spotted him, one rushed over and grabbed Shamus through the bars pulling him into range of his blade!

Soldier: State your name!

Shamus: Shamus! The hell doya want with me?!

Soldier: I ask the questions, you answer the questions. One more question from the wrong end of these bars and you get the wrong end of my sword. Now, what have you done to be imprisoned here?

Shamus: Heh. I got a bit too physical with the guards when they wouldn't let me inside to search for someone I'm protecting.

Soldier: ... Heheheh. Well that is the same reason we are here. Humorous or not, I can't let you out just yet. Your crimes are minor but we will be having company soon and I cannot have anyone moving about down here unescorted.

Shamus: Good enough for me. Doya know what happened to my wagon?

Soldier: No I do not.

Shamus: *sigh* figures.

Up and Away

Once Daneka had written up the three identical messages, she handed them to the three pegasus knights and they were all airborne in moments. Each was to take a different route and try to reach Ilyphina before any of the others. The reward for victory was simple gold, a simple one hundred gold payment for the speedy work. Daneka grinned from atop her own pegasus while Alphonse kept an eye out. The remaining pegasus knights knew their break was about over. They had to keep an eye out for holdouts. Little did they know, the holdouts were keeping an eye on them from a very short distance away.

Daneka: I suppose it's time to head back.

Alphonse: Wait ....

Just as Alphonse felt they were being watched, the doors and windows of the two buildings sprung open with soldiers pouring out at them! They were surrounded but the pegasus knights quickly took off leaving any other soldiers on the ground to fight for themselves while they prepared for a counter attack! Alphonse was already gone and reappeared in front of the men leading the charge! He cut the first down and vanished before the second could place his lance. Daneka sighed.

Daneka: Zis is totally pointless. Ze King and Queen have already been captured. Killing us won't change zat.

Suddenly a man she recognized ran straight at her with his sword waving wildly!

Man: You traitoooor!!

Daneka: Wrong angle, Dear.

As the man leaped into the air to cut her down from her pegasus, Nyx lunged forward impaling him on her horn! He was in far too much pain to attack her then, even with her weapon safely tucked away and her body at such close range ...

Daneka: I told you.

Man: C-curse ... you ....

As Nyx let him down he fell onto the ground dead, his sword clanking against the stone road.

Daneka: Goodbye, Colonel ....

Duty Before Self

Elsewhere Stephanie was wandering through the city barely able to stand. She checked over numerous bodies searching for any who were still alive. She had saved many people thus far. Not only civilians but soldiers. She didn't discriminate though and it had led to her being attacked. Some of the soldiers even died saving her after being healed in an ironic twist of fate that had her in tears as she traversed the bloody streets. She had so little energy left, and no one was around though she could hear fighting in the distance still, hidden by rooftops and rising smoke. She had done her sworn duty, but she was so drained from it that her body was minutes from collapsing under its own weight. She needed rest and lots of it.

Edited October 29, 2010 by Phoenix

[Script]

Luc Altair

Charlotte thankfully realized that going to the Grand Cleric might have been a terrible idea. Name-dropping Directus though, was something Luc would rather have done himself once everyone had reunited though. And the reunited happened right near after those thoughts as Aiya and Irina returned from wherever they had been tied up. That just left that new wyvern rider, Tas.

Kelas suggested that the group get moving once those two had arrived. But it's not as if there was a concrete destination. The pros and cons of camping or going to a city would have to be weighed before they departed. And they were still missing Tas and Fargo was away. That's when Levski dropped some information Luc greatly would have desired to know earlier. Tas was with Prince Tristan? Levski had become distracted in his search for those two by Jace and that woman, so where the two had gone to was a mystery. But knowing Prince Tristan was alive and possibly nearby meant Luc could not leave so easily. But even Princess Charlotte was suddenly downtroden about the chances of either being alive. Odd, that was not something he would have expected her to think.

Levski had meanwhile woken Morgan, who had been asleep for some reason, he was volunteering to search for Tas and Prince Tristan again. General Alex offered his assitance on the matter as well and..

"I will help look for the missing two as well," Luc said to Levski and Alex. "Also, before we leave, we should at least wait until Fargo returns," Luc said. Even if he couldn't do anything for Tas or Prince Tristan yet, he could do something for Fargo.

The Fargo

Fargo returned to the gate of the city rather slowly. Mainly because he didn't want to be ambushed by any soldiers he was sure would randomly appear out of nowhere and come after him for whatever reason.

"You look familiar."

Fargo screamed and drew his weapon, kicking his horse into moving in a circle so he could see his obvious attacker. He didn't see anyone. Fargo panicked and began swinging towards the sky. Still no one.

"I'm over here Fargo."

Oh, that voice, it was just Paul! "Haha, sorry Paul. Glad to see you made it out, sort of."

"Yeah, yeah," the spy slowly forced himself up from the shadows he had been laying in. Three scrolls dropped from the man's cloak. He picked them up and footed them to Fargo.

"What are these?"

"Spy reports."

"Oh," Fargo said and took the documents as Paul slithered back into his bag. "Well, Captain will want us back." Fargo holstered his weapon, gripped the scrolls and reins and kicked the horse into returning to everyone else.

At the far faster pace than he had used to arrive, it didn't take too long for Fargo to reunite with everyone else. "Who missed me?" he joked.

"We can depart now," Luc said, barely acknowledging his subordinate's return.

"Haha, good one Captain," Fargo laughed. "Oh yeah, here." Fargo handed the spy scrolls over.

"And these are?"

"Scrolls."

"Obviously," Luc said in disdain and let the matter drop. They were most likely to be something from Paul.

(OOC: Editing more in, just wanted this in the open first.

EDIT1: Fargo and Paul stuff in. Luc stuff coming soon.

EDIT2: Luc stuff in. Fargo back. MOVE OUT JA.)

Edited October 29, 2010 by Script

[Snowy_One]

"Thanks but... We're not really all that interesting. I'm just a merc, and most of the others here are just random people. Some of them don't even have any real reason to be here, like that Altion guy over there." said Esphyr, pointing. "As best I can figure, he's here just because. I don't know much about that Arrin guy as well, but I don't think he's here for anything major either. Same would go for half of the group. We aren't the six hero's called together, just random people. Thanks for the gold though. It will help a lot towards keeping my parents fed. If I see the guy you asked for, I will be sure to tell him his little sister is looking for him."

[Dark Sage]

"Thanks. Remember, he's blonde and from Vaorin. Maybe we'll see each other again," said Sadie, heading towards the road and waving goodbye to the others before whistling and walking off into the distance.

"Odd girl," said Alferis lightly, looking at her. "Ok then. Uh, we head through the woods now right?"

[Inactive Account]

"Yeah, that works," Kelas replied, getting on Amari and scooting forward to make room. "Don't apologize about the tunic, those are replaceable," she insisted. "'Sides, then I'd have to apologize for wrecking your shirt trying to patch you up," she added, attempting a joke.

[Phoenix]

Isotov

Iso chuckled a little in response. Jokes aside, he was going to need some new clothes soon. Memories of Stephanie cheerfully slapping outfits on him in Ilyphina came to mind and he gave off an unwitting smile.

Levski

Now Luc wanted to come with as well. Lev only had one question though.

Lev: Are you going on horseback, or riding a wyvern? The former's going to slow us down if we don't split up, the latter means you're either riding with me or Irina. (I'd rather Irina just stay here. She needs all the time she can get to train pinky over there.)

[Script]

Luc Altair

"I'd prefer splitting up, or at the very least, that Fargo and I would be searching in different locations. I believe the extended cover range would compensate for any slowness," Luc revealed his intentions.

Edited October 29, 2010 by Script

[Phoenix]

Levski

The explanation was simple and sound. Levski certainly didn't mind and was actually a bit relieved since it would make one thing he was aiming for easier, and that was keeping Irina with the new wyvern. They didn't have a lot of time to bond he figured.

Lev: Good idea then. (With only one passenger to account for I can probably talk Irina into staying with the others.)

[Inactive Account]

"All right, everyone ready? Move out!" Kelas called, turning Amari towards the road Sadie had mentioned. "Hey, next time at least let me attack first? I'm not all that good at patching people up," she told Isotov as they rode.