Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 21: In Destruction's Wake

[Snowy_One]

"The best course of action... Is to ask her to forgive you. Both of them." replied Mana. "Even if there is a problem, you will know where they stand. Be ernest about it as well... and help both of them with their problems. Esphyr doesn't have a divine weapon, unlike you, so giving her support in her own struggle is what she needs... But be careful. Remember, she killed someone important to her before when she didn't know how to control it. Trying to force her will result in only more pain. As for Aiya, she is fairly devoted to you. Very devoted even. Yet, you threw her off at the ball. It was a deep blow, I am sure. Show her that her devotion has not gone unnoticed. Don't get her her favorite food, but give her something she wants that only you would know. Something that shows that you trust her completely, and know she will always have your back. You can't do that though if you are trying to follow your weapon's taming. The longer you wait, the longer you try to master your weapon, the more the wound will fester in both their minds, and the more painful it will be when you see them again. Which hare will you chase Damian? Make a choice before you lose both."

[-Cynthia-]

"When I said "some mercenary group after the weapons", I meant the Crimson Weapons, not the other various sorts of arms we have accumulated. Perhaps I should have clarified. Unless you meant something else, but I can hardly think of anything else on your person of value." Morgan said to Esphyr.

Halton Mercenary Base

Xenia headed to the market and decided to actually pay for a vast quantity of fish for once. Ivanko would probably be very displeased if he heard Svetlana ripped this fish market in half. Not that she really cared what he thought, but eh. She headed back to the mercenary base and went to where she thought the wyvern riders should be. She began to flash her symbol around I don't know who is all prepared or coming, so I guess I'll just see who responds to this. she thought to herself.

[Balcerzak]

"Tch," a noise of irritation escaped Tessa before she realized it, as Chase had approached her from the carriage. She'd tried to help out Morgan, so that she wouldn't have had to spend another long ride with the outlaw, but somehow the situation had changed, and feeling unwell he'd collapsed and been put as a passenger in the carriage, leaving her stuck with him. For the most part, he'd been easy enough to ignore on the ride, because he'd been unconscious, but he was clearly active now, and claimed to need some help. She couldn't refuse his request, but on the other hand, she didn't have to like it either...

No, no, no! That's so petty of me. C'mon, I know I'm better than that, she chided herself, before trying to put on a bright face, only partially succeeding, and beginning to handle this latest development.

"W-W-What part of your head is hurting? What kind of pain? Stabbing, throbbing, pounding? And huh, something's wrong with your vision?"

[Ether]

As Mana spoke, Damian took in her words.

"That makes enough sense. If I can see what is ailing the both of them, it gives me a better shot of leaving no one out in the cold..." Damian replied, nodding slightly.

"However, pardon me for saying it, but I cannot help but feel you are using this to forward your own interests. You claim it would be best to abandon this and go back, yet your words are biased, as you do not wish for me to remain under Ixion's gaze. I do not know your motive, or his, but you seem quick to expect me to find yours the benevolent one, are you not?"

[Script]

(OOC: During battle)

A Paul

It suddenly felt like it was time to act, so Paul weaseled his way free from his home and began jumping from carriage to tree to tree. He had seen that little thunder sage go running off, and using the miraculous spy skills he had honed. Knew that she was throwing around green lightning and was possibly that Dani girl from before. And Luckily, a heavily-injured magic user was a lot slower than those bleedin assassins the other day, so Paul caught up on her trail in no time. "Come out my pretty! Uncle creepy is here to annoy you!" he shouted just quiet enough that the goody group wouldn't hear him.

[Snowy_One]

"Objective, true, but blunt. You are right though. Do you think that we have another traitor in our group? The prior betrayal we suffered was too poorly timed to co-incide with this one."

---

"Indeed I do have my own motives. Ones that have to deal with atrocities committed by people like Ixion from times before he was born. Things I swore to remove from the world." she gave a small sigh. It didn't matter now what she said about her motive. If she shut up and didn't say anything, Damian would still know that she had a motive that was not one of pure benifit to him. She could lie, but it would be harder to justify such a thing than it would be to simply say the truth. "Damian, before I took charge of TISME, it was, more or less, a foundation consisting of nothing but Ixion's. People who were obsessed with obtaining knowledge, and didn't care the cost, physical, ethical, or moral. Maybe Ixion isn't as bad as they were, maybe he even does have good intentions... but the ends do not justify the means. I came here because I saw what he was doing as potentially dangerous, and I have yet to see evidence that he has not prioritized knowledge at any cost as his highest goal. My fear has been that, if he learns too much of the weapons, he may learn to make his own. That would be something unacceptable. At best, it would mean a war in TISME as those whom felt that my leadership has been lax, and I have not put effort into uncovering new knowledge simply because I have been pushing to have TISME act more honorable, chose to rebel. If they were to win, it would mean that TISME would return to the knowledge-hungry, amoral group it once was."

She looked Damian in the eyes with a serious look. No hint of the joyfulness or care-free spirit tone in her voice touched her speech as she continued. "If you were to tell him this, I would be forced to kill him, possibly you as well, in order to ensure that no word reaches TISME. Most rogue wizards and independents are basic red-wood schoolhouses. They might reach third or forth, but rarely higher without turning to TISME. Ixion has something they don't, however. You. Yes, I do have an motive beyond mending your relationship with your women."

She turned away from him, the joyful voice returning to her speech. "That doesn't mean I don't wish you well though or don't have your best intent at heart. Regardless of what I do, every moment here is indeed hurting your chances to succeed with your ladies, and you need to choose as to what to do."

[riariadne]

"Throbbing... I don't know what's happened, or even where we are... or much else for that matter. Plus, everything looks like it's been painted red but it was done badly. I d-don't know what to do. I've always relied on my sight... why is it failing me now?" Chase stammered, panicking and wincing from the pain of talking.

[-Cynthia-]

"I agree. Any number of people in this group could be the traitor really. I would start with Reika, as she has openly admitted to spying on us for outside agents in the past. Perhaps with her weapon severed she felt it would be beneficial for her to spring them upon us. I would suggest someone question her, I would do it myself but I have a tome to read." Morgan replied to Esphyr, opening Proxima once again.

[Phoenix]

OOC: All at once -_-

Within A Twenty Meter Radius of Morgan

Levski: I can see where you're coming from, Aiya, and I guess-

He quickly cut himself off at the comparison Aiya made about Morgan and chuckled before continuing.

Lev: Heheh. A pillow. Anyway anything I say about the subject won't really click if I don't first admit that I've got a bit of a history with women in general.

Iso watched expectantly as Morgan went into his tome only to be disappointed as Esphyr arrived to inquire about the "weapons". Iso wasn't all that interested in the conversation and wanted to simply back away and walk off, but Morgan still had Proxima in her hands. As humorous as he'd find it to put too much distance between them and see her react to the tome as it vanished from her grip, he thought it best to just stay put and try not to draw any attention to himself. He instead tuned into Lev and Aiya's conversation since they were close enough to be heard.

Lev: It's a rather disappointing history to be honest. Being a mercenary with a blood pact is about as healthy for a relationship as chronic adultery, and for the same reason. (Fortunately I suppose these mercenary issue is going to fix itself in the end.)

I've met and become fond of a lot of different types of women, but never quite found that perfect fit.

He suddenly remembered that Irina was mentioned. It would be a bit illusive to keep the topic off of her. After all, Aiya had a point. Irina was more his type, if he really had such a thing.

Lev: I'm glad I know her. If it came to dating in the organization, it wouldn't get much better than her.

Iso: (I don't ... like where this is going.)

Lev: It would help if she wasn't Ivanko's niece if you get my meaning. There are other issues too but I won't get into that.

Iso: (Yeah you wouldn't.)

Lev: As for Ms. Pillow, well ... platonic, romantic, I really don't care to be honest. I'm just enjoying the process on these one, something I usually neglect to do. Personalities like hers have some awesome potential which is just exciting to think about. Solid as steel, well tempered, objective. What's lacking in charm is for me made up with reliability. (and figure.)

Iso: (Morgan? Seriously Morgan? God, I don't know which would be worse, Lev with my sister, or Lev picking Morgan over my sister. Either one is pretty damn insulting.)

Iso made sure not to turn around as the two spoke to keep them from knowing, but he was slightly reactive to words making slight twinges and having to quickly recover, mostly by crossing his arms. Of course Lev didn't really care who heard since he wasn't one to hide his feelings.

Irvinheim

Stratos kept the berserked minotaur airborne as Mana thanked her. She could somewhat understand, but unable to really respond with all but her head and tail in use, she simply let out a small shrieking sound acknowledging the seraph. After a few minutes of the woman's conversation with Damian, the minotaur had worn himself out and fell asleep hanging by his horns, arms and legs having gone limp. The crisis averted, she dropped the sleeping bull onto the ground from thirty feet in the air. He slammed into the ground with a loud thud and was jarred awake unsure of what was going on. Stratos had already flown back up to the rooftop and was surprisingly non-suspect.

Howard had stood there as told at first, but only out of uncertainty. He didn't quite catch her meaning and seeing her in another conversation eventually drew him over where he sniffed Damian's face and then stood behind Mana waiting for her to say more things.

Redwood Fortress

As Xenia approached a group of mercenary wyvern riders, the first thing they all did was let out a huge cheer slightly backing away from two colliding wyverns. Both wyverns slammed their thick skulls together and began digging at the dirt to try to force each other down.

Merc: Awesome. I can't believe we managed to teach them how to do this. Now we can have matches without worrying about needing a medic aft-Xenia?

All eyes were on her now save for the two wyverns who continued to ram heads. Quickly spotting the ring, the merc blurted out his first thoughts.

Merc: Unholy mother of booze, where did you get that?

Noblewomen

Viveka snickered as Tristan complained about noblewomen. For her, it was just one more person who shared her opinion of them and since he was a man, it was a more valuable opinion as well.

Viveka: No arguments here. I suggest looking outside a noble household for a queen if you're hoping to avoid that mess.

Jasmine

Once Tessa had finished healing Conrad and confirmed it, Jasmine let out a sigh of relief. She was a bit too nervous to wake the general though and instead stayed by his side and thanking Tessa as she left.

Jasmine: Thank you. I really appreciate this.

With that, she went back to looking him over. She couldn't decide whether or not to put his chest plate back on however and pondered a bit.

[Snike]

Pursued

"Come out my pretty! Uncle creepy is here to annoy you!" came a voice, and it was then Elle knew she was doomed. Desperately trying to escape her pursuit, the sage cast strengthened basic thunder spells over he shoulder, in an attempt to delay her pursuit. Unfortunately, she was so distracted that she lost her footing over a root, and sprawled into the mossy floor of the forest, losing grip on her tome. Desperate, Elle began to crawl towards the spellbook, her only chance of escape.

[Ether]

"In it for the challenge and potential, huh? Well, I guess it's of no matter right now, after all. Hand me your axe." Aiya said, offering up her steel blade if Lev wanted to use it.

************

"It is something I will have to keep in mind... but if I leave this lance the way it is, what does that give me? I'm not doing this for power, I'm doing this so I don't hurt anyone close to me... so I don't need to find out my hand drew their last breath from them... it is not something I am willing to just give up on, Headmaster." Damian replied determinedly.

[Balcerzak]

Tessa studied the archer's reactions carefully. He genuinely did seem to be in pain, and didn't have any reason to lie that she knew about. After brief consideration she answered, "Hmm, well, throbbing is actually much better than stabbing, so that's already something to be thankful for. Let me get you get you some herbs for that, and then I'll need to take a closer look at your eyes. I'm not familiar with what could cause those symptoms at all..."

Before she turned to head off, an idea struck her and postponed it. "No... really, losing vision is bad enough, we'll put the headache on hold for now." Holding back a shudder as she recalled what it felt like to be in a similar position, the troubadour paused before continuing, "The issues may even be related. Come over here, then turn and face this way," she directed him so that the lighting would be optimal for her investigation. "I want you to follow my finger with your eyes, I'll be watching them closely and see what goes on."

OOC: If there's anything immediately visible, like a red film, or blood in his eyes, she should be able to see that during the exam, as well as to catch any on problems tracing movement. I have no idea what you've got planned here man, so guide me somewhere.

Edited November 27, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Phoenix]

Switcharoo

Lev let out quick whistle catching Krinkov's ear and the wyvern reluctantly came over making sure not to jostle the eggs secured in the saddle. Once he reached Lev, the man retrieved his axe from the mountain of cargo and looked it over.

Lev: Generic as it gets but it works. Can't believe Daneka trashed my good axe.

He sighed and offered the axe to Aiya while accepting her sword.

Lev: Swords, not my favorite way to end a threat, but it works just the same. Now then, where shall we start?

[Ether]

"Well, best thing to start with would be differences, wouldn't it? What techniques from heavy swordplay can I continue to use with an axe, what ones won't work, and what new ones do I have to learn?" Aiya replied, looking the axe over, turning it in her hands to get a feel for it's weight and proportions.

[Snowy_One]

"I understand Damian; but what you are doing now is what Esphyr did when she had her first summonings. It is why she had problems now. The safest way to ensure you do not get pregnant is to not engage in acts that could lead to it. The best way to ensure that the weapon will not harm either of them is to remove it from your body. Maybe the goddess could remove it, or the Lord of Azure Flame, or a spirit, or a demon whom you could then kill. The weapons respond to emotion and control. Unless you can maintain an emotional neutral for the rest of your life, eventually you will summon it without intent. Neither Esphyr or Aiya are dolls whom need to be preserved in wrapping and handled with gloves however... and every moment you spend here is a moment in which you are not at their sides. Besides, you are not the only one in your pairing with that problem. What if Esphyr were to summon her blade without intent upon you or Aiya? Would be the same tragedy which you seek to avoid here. Even if you were to cut her out, Aiya remains in a group with other weapons whom likely have been targeted by malevolent forces. Do you really feel that she is powerful enough to stand against them without risk to her life, but afraid that she might be fatally wounded by a man who loves her and would do everything in his power to protect her?"

Mana fluttered over to Howard, stroking the side of his face gently. "He doesn't even know what is going on, yet he has enough faith to trust me already. You're such a sweetie Howard! I should ask Ixion to make a female minotaur for you."

---

"What about Alf? He's close to her and she seems to trust him. He could likely get information with ease. Of course, if she finds out, there will be hell to pay, but I trust him enough that he won't let a word slide."

---

Kaileen approached the roadside as she traveled along the river. Before her was a large group of at least twenty, if not more, people. All armed, and all seemingly formed of random vagabonds! Holding her child close and her staff out before her, she took a confident breath. She was a priestess, and could heal. Surely that would be enough for them to not attack her. Without fear, she stepped forth, noting that none of the people seemed to turn and greet her initially. The group seemed distracted... and standing on top of several corpses that had recently been slain.

"Is there anyone whom needs healing here?" she called out in a timid voice. For a second, no one seemed to respond. Jr. clasped his mother's dress as he fearfully pulled as close as he could to her. Then, a young girl dressed in leather armor and with short, ragged, brown hair turned about to face the pair. "Yea. I got a few scrapes priestess." she said, pointing to several cuts on her cheeks. Kaileen smiled a fake, comforting, smile as she raised her staff to heal Esphyr's wounds.

[Script]

Paul

Oh man, did this girl know how to aim or something? That spell missed him by a mile and a half before he dodged. Jeez, kids these days! If he had more than half a mind he might be mad. And then she had the gall and go and trip over some root sticking out of the ground. Paul sprinted straight past and into the path of the crawling girl. "Jeez, you actually fell? What kind of assassin-type are you? Now those guys from yesterday? They had he hutz-pa to keep it together! And the weird guy and red girl, well they have potential. But you? Come one, this is so forced it's embarrassing, really."

The spy reached inside his cloak and brought out a nice long dagger. "This is my jimmy, custom built for the express purpose of me." Paul twirled the dagger around a bit with his toes. "Now, do you want to spill your guts about your little organization now? Or after I spill your guts. Haha, I kill me. And maybe you. Maybe." Paul's face twisted into a smile beneath all the black cloth covering it.

[Snike]

Defeat Means Death

"...We are not assassins..." Elle managed to say, she heard the swoosh of a dagger being produced The sage looked up, to see the long jimmy, twirling around the assassin's fingers.

"... Do as you wish...," she said, resigned to her fate. She had failed, after all. Death was only too good, right?

[Script]

A Paul

"Not assassins? Well, you could have fooled me. Did fool me apparently," Paul shook his head. "And they're toes, do these things on the end of my feet look like fingers to you? Do I look like I even have those finging fingers? Well I don't, probably." Paul bent down and looked into the girl's eyes. Unlike his own, they actually had eyelids. "Do as I wish? Oh well, you should never say something like that to a virile young man like myself 25 years ago! So lucky you. No, really you should say 'kill me' or 'you'll never get anything from me' or things like that. See, there's no miscommunication there. Now? Well, now that I can do what I wish, what I wish is to drag information out of you. And if I don't well," Paul glanced back where he had come from, "The good Count you fired would be happy to dig it out of you. Ooo he's foul."

Paul rested his dagger jimmy in front of the girl. "Now, once again, do we do this easy? Or do you break?"

[Phoenix]

Irvinhiem

Howard wasn't sure what was being said to him now, but "Ixion" and "minotaur" came up, so he knew she was speaking about his master and his kind at the very least. Still, he was comfortable and gladly received the attention. Perhaps Etain was his caretaker. The other one was being replaced then which was good. That human was too scared of him to behave normally.

Not far away, Miranda couldn't help but giggle to herself noting that Karina had wandered off without making certain Miranda wasn't up to anything mischievous. The woman froze for a moment when she realized Stephanie was right behind her still, arms crossed, foot tapping against the ground, and suspicion on her face.

Miranda: Whaaat?

Stephanie: I do not trust you. You already tried to injure Ixion before.

Miranda: If I could have made it quick and painless I would have ... honest.

Stephanie: Until Ixion gets back, you are too dangerous to be allowed to wander unchecked. I will accompany with you wherever you go.

Miranda: Okay then. Follow me. I'm going to go jump off a bridge really quick.

Stephanie: >_>

[Snike]

Break?

The man was speaking oddly, in a way that confused Elle. What did he mean, she should never say anything like that to someone younger...? "...I know nothing... I just joined... three days ago. This was my first... mission..." The sage told the truth, simply because she didn't know what else to say. Out here in the green,green woods, no one would bother trying to find her, and she assumed she was going to die. What else could Elle do?

[Script]

A Paul

"First mission eh? Three days ago eh? Why, that's too much of a coincidence." Paul nodded his head in some form of understanding. "Let's see, yesterday was the day that Eric guy killed everyone, before that was the day the clown guy killed everyone, before that was the day that one guy killed everyone. Dang, timelines don't match. Or do they?" Paul drew close enough that the girl could lick him. Why? He didn't know, intimidation? Sure, that seemed like a tactic. "You see, three days ago, someone who may or may not match your description vanished under my watch. And I have this weird feeling, that you aren't her. But maybe if I slap a wig on you and huff you unto everyone else they'll accept you as a substitute."

[Snike]

Confusion

The spy had began to be more and more confusing. The clown individual must have been Geraro, but... Was that Eric man a coworker? His name seemed familiar, but... It must be just a mistake. Then the man had closed in, moving abnormally close to the sage, and then it was said, that she looked a lot like someone else. Now it clicked, to an extent.

"... I am replacing her...?" Elle asked. "...But, I do not even know who she is... I just tried to kill them..." To her, it made no sense. Why? She just took out two of their members, and her allies injured more of them.

[Script]

A Paul

"Ha, how the number of people who have tried to kill them. It's really quite a sight how cheery they are with enemies. Really, they're more hostile to each other than foes. If you ever escape, tell your bosses to try and cause friction in the group. Things need a little shaking up from time to time." Paul brought his foot down on her neck before she could respond. Then did it again to make sure she was knocked out for good. Then a tird time when he heard a grumble that was his stomach. "Now, how am I hauling you? All I got are my feet. Any attempt to drag you like that will just cause a hilarious misunderstanding. Oh man I so have to do it now."

Paul retracted his dagger jimmy and set himself up behind the girl. He twisted his leg around hers, and tied his cloak between the three appendages. "Alright, let's get this carriagewreck going!" Paul shouted and started hopping and dragging her behind. Oh man her face was gonna feel it.

[Inactive Account]

"Did that fix all your injuries?" Kelas asked as the argument seemed to dissipate. "I have no idea how you can be so matter-of-fact about that sort of thing, but I guess if it's always around... scared the hell out of me earlier though. I'm glad you're all right."

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

"What happened to 'im?" Tobe asked, poking his head out between Amari's front legs to address Fargo. "Afore this, I mean. Mostly they lets me near, even if they's hurt and don't like people. Did somebody hurt 'im?"

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

Arrin looked up as Tessa came over, about to call out, but stopped in order to let her concentrate when he saw that she was helping Chase. He headed over to where she was, waiting for her to finish the difficult part of-- whatever she was doing-- so that he could see if there was anything he could do to help. She didn't look terribly tired yet, at least.

[Phoenix]

Isotov

Well Isotov certainly felt fine. Far better than fine actually, but he wasn't sure how to reassure Kelas of that without doing some kind of physical act in front of her to demonstrate it, and given the current situation, it was a bad idea. He'd have to use words he supposed. He did feel like taking a jog though.

Iso: Don't worry, Kelas, I'm fine, and you're right, it's always here ... only now it's a bit used up for the moment. If it helps, I'll be sure to let you know if something's terribly wrong.

He meant what he said but it suddenly occurred to him that during the incident only minutes prior he couldn't manage more than a few words, and those words were hardly fair warning. Fortunately the incident was anything but detrimental to the rest of the party.

Irina

Irina: Good. I'm glad you're feeling better at least ... b-but you don't have to repay me for helping out though. I'm obligated in some ways and if nothing else I simply want to.

She stopped herself seeing that it was a bit silly to try to convince him right after he had just said her refusal wouldn't change his mind. She wasn't even refusing, only lightly objecting, so she knew her argument was useless. Instead she decided to ask for something else.

Irina: Well, if you absolutely have to repay me for all of this, just pay me in friendship. You'll be leaving soon once we deliver the wyverns so you can search for your father, right? So it would be nice to know that once we part ways that you weren't just an acquaintance I met or something. If we see each other again it'd be a much better start too than just "Oh hey I know you." ... I hate those.