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

[Balcerzak]

Helios had watched as the princess had rushed off alone, a ways away into the woods. Everyone had let her just go. Was that the right thing? She'd either been betrayed, or a dear friend of hers had been killed and replaced. He was no stranger to betrayals... a sudden series of memories came flooding back. Memories of when Celia had attacked him under orders of his father. Coming unbidden, they brought to surface a foul mood, and he ground his molars relentlessly for a few moments, while waiting for the influx of memories to pass. The green-haired girl had been a fond friend from childhood, and he'd had to kill her. Maybe it wasn't the same, it was probably nowhere close, but with this the prince felt that he probably had more in common with Charlotte than almost anybody else here had.

Ever since his memories had started coming back, in punctuated bursts with periods of separation, he'd been changing. The time with the group before the incident, and then everything when he'd been clueless and unaware, and finally now, as all the pieces were coming together. While somewhat doubtful, Helios knew he had to pick a path and cleave to it, from here on out.

At the moment, he was torn between a couple of choices. On the one hand, he desperately wanted to vent the frustrations and pain that accompanied the sudden bitter knowledge, he wanted nothing more than to go cut down trees or boulders with sharp blades of wind, until nothing was left but sawdust and gravel. On the other hand...

His decision came surprisingly quickly, the answer worked out marvelously. The girl needed some time on her own first of course. He could carry out his raging for at least a little bit, and then... he would go see if there were anything he could do to comfort her.

---

Helios hadn't managed to train long at all before his battered body screamed at him in frustration. You were just cut down, you fool, and you're up and about training again? No. Just no. Enough is enough! Cutting his efforts shorter than he'd intended, and still not fully cleansed from the hurt of the past, he had to give up. Manipulating any more mana was beyond him for the moment, but he should still at least attempt the second half of his resolve.

Picking his way off through the woods in the direction where the cleric had gone, he came close enough that he could hear her sobbing. Calling out, "Charlotte...? It's getting late..."

Helios felt like a fool. He came to offer comfort, but this is all he could think of to say? He found himself staring at the ground, and once again grinding his teeth.

[Phoenix]

More Information

After a few minutes, Levski decided to take a peek in at the meeting to see what was going on. He had nothing better to do he thought since Irina was likely sleeping and Morgan was busy there anyway. As he peeked in he overheard Vera mentioning Ivanko's mercenaries. He let out a light "Huh?" getting Viveka's attention. The meeting went on though.

Conrad: Elyisima won't want to get involved in this and my asking for help isn't likely to change that. After the incident at Selizara, the Grand Marshall isn't going to hear my words with anything less than scrutiny. Understandable. I'm also suspicious of Ivanko's mercenaries save for the two with us.

Meanwhile Viveka being tied of his staring and not really wanting him there in the first place quickly rushed him keeping her voice down to not disrupt the meeting!

Viveka: What are you doing here?

Lev: Well I gwah-

Her hand met his face and pushed his head out of the opening back into the rain before she turned around and took her place back beside Conrad. A few seconds later Lev barged on into the tent anyway getting a sigh from Viveka.

Lev: Sorry to interrupt but I heard my buddies mentioned. Why were they mentioned exactly?

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte stopped crying for the moment. That voice it was...Helios? Not exactly who she was expecting. She dried her eyes a little and got up.

"I know." she said walking towards him. "I just...wanted some time alone, to think things over. Why are you here?" she asked him, drying her eyes on her sleeve. This wasn't very effective given how wet her clothes were.

"Aren't there others which can deal with the conflicts occurring here?" Morgan asked Luc. "We are really the only ones capable of defeating a demon of Helenos's caliber. If we do not stop her, no one else will save the Lord himself, but that would obviously bring issues of its own."

[Phoenix]

Ixion

Ixion: Bethold's weapon is what you want to try using?

He shrugged slightly not seeing any harm to his own methods. The two methods were also not mutually exclusive either it seemed.

Ixion: I suppose we could give this venture a try then. You there. Fetch O'Donnel. (That reminds me. Stephanie hasn't returned yet. Well. She'll show up eventually if she is alright. If not, I may need to send someone to search for her.)

The sword master rushed past Ixion and into the fortress heading for the mansion. Meanwhile Ixion waved for Damian to follow him. They were going to be following along, but at a steadier pace.

[Balcerzak]

Trevor was a bit self-conscious. Sure... the thing had had a right terrifying presence, and any horse in their right mind would have spooked, but dammit, he'd had training. He was no mere colt, just out of the stables. Age and experience ought to have lent him a hand here. And further, after his mad dash―his calculated retreat... after he'd calmed down and shaken the cold sweat of fear off his flanks, the spirited mare of the group had come around, checking the herd. He wondered if perhaps she'd noticed. What sort of impression might that have left?

Nickering softly, he rebuked himself. There was nothing to worry about, he was still lead stallion.

~~~

Fargo had assured Tessa that he would look after and find the other wounded, bringing them to proper shelter, and that she should just focus on herself, and resting. She wasn't sure that was exactly the right thing to do, but 'while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak' or so the saying went, and Lady knew that she had almost had another healing spell backfire and blow up in her face.

She couldn't quite figure out what caused it to happen, neither the first time, nor now. Was it simply physical exhaustion? Magical exhaustion? Some other factor? Sitting on the ground, trying to think things over past a light buzzing that echoed around the edge of her hearing, and the occasional punctuation of a cough from Luc, she appreciated the fact that being under the awnings of the tent meant that the rain was no longer pattering down upon her shoulders, though this comfort was slim, given how wet everything had already gotten.

When Luc suddenly called out to Fargo again, it caught her attention. The cavalier was still here? As the count told the man to gather the wounded, and to try to organize a council, Tessa was caught up in a wave of vicious déjà vu. Hadn't she just... but... no? The world spun a little bit, and she closed her eyes and hugged her shoulders.

Apparently following his commander's orders the man had gone outside and was stirring up a bit of a racket... so loud. However, aside from that... nothing, silence. Nobody was gathering?

"Tessa? Er... how are you doing? Is there anything I can do to help?"

A voice... Arrin's... The young mage had apparently followed the call and ducked inside the tent to seek her out. She wasn't really sure what to say... Pulling her knees close to her chest, she peered up at him through her bangs.

"Heh... Arrin. It happened again. Well sort of, but not really..."

Awkward and fumbling, she attempted to skirt the issue. Fargo had come back in, but she was distracted, trying to figure out how she was going to handle this. She knew she wasn't angry about the ball anymore, and in fact she'd been a complete child about the matter. That fact had been abundantly driven home, especially once she'd learned what had happened while she was elsewise occupied. She'd been such a fool about things, how could she really face her friend anymore? The nomad probably hadn't any idea about the whole situation... but she did, she knew...

While she was struggling with this issue, the cavalier had helped Luc outside of the tent, and by the time she noticed, she could only yelp a little and watch her patient disappear back out into the rainy night. She and Arrin were now all alone in the tent.

Sudden motivation struck and she stammered out a few more lines, "M-M-More importantly! Are you r-right enough to be up and about? This tent is supposed to be for gathering wounded... so it's good you've... come..."

Unable to come to a proper finish, she trailed off again, shivering a bit.

Edit: typo busting

Edited November 4, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Ether]

As Ixion beckoned to him, Damian followed the dark druid.

[Inactive Account]

Arrin's face immediately gained an expression of pure dismay when Tessa told him that she'd overworked herself again. He quickly sat down next to her and hugged her protectively. "Please be more careful," he begged. "I was worried..."

When Tessa asked after his own health, Arrin was quick to reassure her. "I'm fine now. I'm fine... we're going to be okay, right?" Eric's treason had been a nasty shock... the whole day had been full of nasty shocks, really. Kelas had nearly died, twice, they'd been caught up in a revolution, the panic, getting separated... his own injuries... he needed some reassurance that things would get better, even if everything had gone mad, it wasn't going to stay that way. He was cold, he was wet, he hadn't had any dinner, but none of that mattered right now... he needed to know that things would be all right.

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

Amari looked around. Everyone seemed to be at peace for the moment... still, she might have missed something. She headed over to Trevor: if anything else was wrong, he might have noticed. She gave an inquisitive nicker as she approached, fairly certain that there was nothing around now.

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

OOC: The following segment is after a few hours of TS. If things are happening in the same tent before a few hours pass, just assume that Kelas is asleep and quiet.

For a few hours, Kelas slept soundly, too exhausted to dream. As she recovered, though, the day's trials began to catch up to her.

They were on the road again. Always travelling. Nothing wrong with travel; it was all she'd really ever known.

They paused to rest. She wasn't sure where they were going. She should ask... who was in charge at the moment?

It quickly became a moot point, as the group exploded into action: Alferis was attacking, faster and stronger than a normal human could. They were taking damage, but they seemed to be winning... they'd won... the healers were working... "Not again," she muttered, blinking blood from a gash on her forehead out of her eyes: she had not been unscathed in the fighting, though Arrin and Isotov were both uninjured for once. "How many are there?" She did her best to help the healers work...

The scene changed: it was as though they had never been attacked. They were on a different road, a different day; Alferis was behaving normally.

Then Derek attacked.

The dream repeated, each time with a different traitor, a different scene. Alferis, Derek, Reika, Pary... they turned in seemingly random order, Crimson wielders, hangers-on. The battles got worse; the injuries were more severe. A few iterations in, and allies were falling. In the dreams she was calling out, running, trying to save everyone she cared about. She started to fail. In reality she mumbled: "no... not you... no..."

Finally the traitor was Tessa, the place some frozen wasteland. Kelas couldn't even muster the will to retaliate; she could only watch in horror. The attack continued: demon-Tessa was an effective fighter, with all of Megae's speed and none of the madness, a serene smile on her face.

When Isotov fell, she broke out of her horror and readied to attack. She ran forward to get a better shot. Slipping on a hidden patch of ice, she fell as Arrin did.

"No!" She was sitting bolt upright, her blanket thrown aside. Uncomfortably, she realized that she'd called the word aloud. She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Dammit..." she muttered. "Can't even..." The rain had stopped; there was no more patter of drops on the tent. Going back to sleep would be... difficult.

OOC: Whether anyone hears her or not is up to players with characters in the vicinity, and remember the TS.

[Mercakete]

"Yes, sir, that would be very much appreciated...if you're feeling up to it. If not, then I won't hold you up. Further up the road you say? I certianly hope that lad went o'er there..." replied the merchant. (I can't lose a customer like that for asking him to help me!I would be ruined! And besides, he's only a young lad...)

[Phoenix]

Getting A New Warp Battery

Once Ixion and Damian had reached the manor, they saw O'Donnel approaching with the sword master at his side.

O'Donnel: So what's this about a spear?

Ixion: ... for science research. Will you help or not? As you know, I'm busy.

The archsage tilted his head a little with a grin on his face.

O'Donnel: Sure, why not? Don't say I never came to your aid though, boy.

It took a few minutes but a staff was retrieved that would do the job. Halton was a long way off but O'Donnel was a powerful man and it was just the three of them. He would be able to manage it.

O'Donnel: Now then ...

Ixion: We're going to Halton. Take us to headquarters first. From there you can more accurately warp to Bethold's residence. Also I have some business there that I can take care of now rather than later.

OOC: I'll post the rest later, once I'm thinking straight

[Psych]

Vera:

"I'm afraid the situation is a bit more grim than that. Halton is aiming to invade as soon as possible, and well, with the recent events, we may be facing all out war by dawn. If 2 of the big 3 are ablaze with war, Elsyimia will follow suit, only naturally. It will be one big land grab, with the small countries out in the open."

She turned to Morgan. "I simply stated the problem. Should we follow that plan, we could either have a distracting force on the Jerdonian Capital, or attacking the demons. I doubt they are unaffected by something this big."

-----

Rosy:

"This way!"

As Rosy led them to the tent, they passed by Tristan. "Um, excuse me....have you seen a big tent around? I'm a bit lost."

[Ether]

It seems this one had a few screws loose, as she was now asking for directions in the small camp. Seeing three very distinct tents that were clearly visible, Aiya checked which one was correct.

Had the woman's blunder been bad enough, the closest tent, mere feet away, was the correct one.

"Uh... the tent is right here." Aiya called to the military woman, stepping inside.

'How did someone like this manage to outrank me?'

[Script]

Luc Altair and the Fargo

Morgan's query was valid. There were others who could try and handle this, Councilman Richtor was the first o come to mind, naturally. But Councilman Richtor's first drive was to ensure that Directus remained secure, and with the Halton invasion he would likely ally with Jace if some outside force did not convince him otherwise. "There are some," Luc answered. "That will, some that might. But, yes, they do exist. The problem would be if they survived until our business is finished. At the very least, I should get a message to Councilman Richtor about whichever this group decides to choose." Luc bowed his head a bit in thought. "Though I suppose insinuating our group as able to sway the tide of this, was a tad reaching. There is no rallying figure after all."

The "general" spoke up next. Her words were eerily close to Luc's own concerns before. That was more than coincidence. Luc reasoned that the girl was of Halton from her previous statements, and now she was relieving war plans and suggesting she stop her own nation from invading. Luc's previous assessments seemed completely on target. The girl's casual acceptance of demons also struck him as bizarre. Luc had grown up with the stories, dreamed of combat with the beasts as his heroes had done. So when he had met that stone demon he was not afraid, he accepted it absolutely. But this girl so casually mentioned them. There was a possibility that she had heard similar stories, but from her walk and bearing she had not fallen in the combat with the... Eric, which meant she had not engaged in combat. This "general" was a walking contradiction.

"You speak as if anything you have proposed is some easy task," Luc slowly said. "Or that the words of a Halton who's trying to sell out her country's plans of invasion are believable."

A Paul

Dang, looks like Luc was busy with something. Which meant that it obviously would effect something. Or something. What was his point? Right, he should probably listen or something.

Paul brought out an apple and began munching on it.

(OOC: Luc doesn't know Tristan is with the group right now. Distracted and all.

EDIT: OOC and spelling.)

Edited November 4, 2010 by Script

[Ether]

As Aiya entered the planning meeting, it seemed Luc was in the middle of a speech.

Listening to what the man was saying, hearing speak of an invasion, Aiya perked up.

"Plans of an invasion... what's going on in here?"

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan sighed. Matters of politics and nations were really not an area she was familiar with. What she knew how to do was fight demons and that's what she would prefer the group focus their efforts on. However, people would be unable to band against the demons if they were too busy fighting one another. She chose to listen to the various soldiers discuss matters for the time being instead of interjecting.

Some woman dressed in a Haltonian uniform asked him where the big tent was. Tristan cocked his head at her. Maybe she's blind? The big tent is...the biggest tent. Another Haltonian officer guided her to the tent and Tristan followed out of curiosity.

He got inside and heard them discussing a Haltonian invasion. "So it is true then. Mother and Father thought Halton would be invading, that's why they strengthened security at the border. They thought Jace would wait until after the invasion had been repelled to attack, but...that didn't happen obviously." Tristan sighed. "So it's death by Jace or death by Halton is it? I'm not sure which is worse to be honest." he said grimly. I wish Mother or Father were here, they would know what to do.

[Script]

Luc Altair and the Fargo

Aiya had decided to stick herself into the midst of the talk, asking about the situation. This would not be easy. Luc had to handle this carefully, Aiya would clearly not have been informed of this development and she was not the foll that this "general" was portraying herself as. "We have it," Luc deliberately spoke slow as he explained. "On the word of this Halton 'general' that Halton is planning to invade Septimus."

Prince Tristan quickly followed in as Luc was talking. Luc had nearly forgotten about his search for the missing man in all the conflict that had arisen. Now, at least any chance of holding back Jace would have someone of Royal blood in it. But unfortunately of a sorts, the Prince seemed to confirm that Halton was invading. Luc would have prefered to deliver that news himself, later, in order to keep the Halton "general" in check.

"My Prince, it is good to see you've endured this. Forgive me for not dispensing pleasantry, but it is a struggle to stand, " Luc coughed. "And speaking so soon of our deaths as a foregone conclusion should not be something any of us says."

[-Cynthia-]

"Don't worry about it Count Altair, you look like you had quite the fight. It must have been quite chaotic leaving Burgosas." Tristan said, frowning. "Sorry to sound so melancholy, but it just all seems rather hopeless. If we join with Jace to fight off the invaders then we're back to a civil war, but if we keep fighting Jace, Halton will surely overrun us. And did I hear something about demons? I'm really not prepared to deal with all of this." he said, looking around at the mostly unfamiliar faces in the tent.

Edited November 4, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Snowy_One]

"His father?" Kaileen repeated the question with a slow and solemn voice as she looked down upon the small child. She didn't know what to say to the guard in reply. She had been raped? He was dead? The truth? A lie? "I don't know." she said after a moment, looking down to her left as she resigned herself to what she needed to do. "I don't know whom his father is. Not everyone treats a priestess the same as the masses do on the holy day. Much less a Lunarian."

---

"Truth be told," said Altion, approaching the horses. "I don't know if I can make them move. A woman wiser than I said that I knew nothing and made it very clear she hated me because of this." Memories of his one brief encounter over the horse with Kelas, indeed the only interaction he had held with the woman not at arrowpoint, flickered through his mind. He had blown it bad with her, and he knew it. She had been one step short of taking Gluebag from him by force when she had seen how he had been treating the steed. How could a man who screwed up so badly manage to start up these steeds. Still... It was a knights duty to help, right?

But he was no knight! He was just a scared little boy dressed up in plate trying to act the hero. Confidence was not something he held much of, nor bravery. As he approached the horses, he could feel shivers crawling along his spine. If he screwed up, would Kelas fly forth from the dark woods about him, screaming like a banshee over his poorly performed horsemanship? His hand gave a quick shiver of fear as he held it out to let the animals smell him to get used to his scent.

[Psych]

Vera and Rosy:

"However, should we decide to ally ourselves with Elysimia or someone in someway and take back Jerdon, it will significantly cut down Jace's forces and supplies. Halton will then be in a much more favorable position to retake Septimus from him with fewer casualties. Though, unfortunately, one thing is certain. Regardless of wether we take Jerdon, go after Jace, or fight these demons, it all leads to one thing. The total annihilation of Septimus as we know it."

Rosy strolled into the tent, behind Tristan and Aiya. "I found them both Vera. See, my plan to bring the prince here was excellent, and Lieutenant Aiya is here as well!"

Rosy headed back outside, to stand guard to the tent.

Vera turned towards the girl. "Ah, Lieutenant. Before I was given my leave, my last job were to go over yours and Klein's reports. However, it seems they never made them back to my desk. Can you tell me why?"

[Script]

Luc Altair and the Fargo

"Indeed," Luc nodded. Even if he was no factor in the street battle had did secure the gatehouse. "Though not all these wounds are from such. But I digress." Luc took a hard breath before continuing. Naturally, his health did not seem to be getting any better by pushing himself like this. "It may seem... hopeless," Luc hated having to use that word, "But an accurate assessment of all assets and figures must be gathered before a declaration of a scenario such as this. Besides the obvious ones of course." Luc took in several shallow gasps. "For example, to best fight off Halton would require the full foce of the army. But if we devolve into civil war, than that would not happen. But letting Jace stand is also unacceptable. So, if Jace were simply removed then things could proceed as smoothly as they were capable of being."

"Granted, that brings up the problem of how to "simply remove" Jace," Luc mentioned with some resentment.

The "general" spoke up more on what passed for a plan with her. Had she heard nothing Luc had said? Or was she just ignoring him. Whatever blood had gotten her so high must be thick indeed. "I am growing tired of listening to your random and silly plans girl. You speak of this as if it is all so easy, that we can simply call upon aid from Elysimia with but a wave." Luc was aware of the minor hypocrisy in his own words. "You declare Halton as invading, but then paint them as liberators? And why have you so quickly declared yourself as part of us? Whatever reasons you declare you are already suspicious."

Another unknown person hopped into the tent for a quick second, listed off the name Vera and achievements Luc didn't attribute to her, and left.

"So, Vera," Luc said with a clear throat. "I doubt anyone will consider your plans as acceptable considering your behavior and actions and contradictions so far. I suggest you keep quiet while the rest of us discuss things of actual relevance and maybe you'll learn something."

[Phoenix]

Guard

Guard: Lunaism? Eh, to each his own I guess. I'm not real particular on religion. Still, I don't know any safe places for taking in a child that isn't a church. I mean there are patches of warzone all over the place. Some routes may even be cut off for all we know.

The Meeting Continues

Conrad: Vera, are you feeling alright?

Conrad stepped over to Vera and put his hand on her forehead aiming to check her temperature. She seemed healthy. Lev still hadn't gotten an answer about the IM and grunted a bit. Viveka softly elbowed him trying to keep him quiet, but he ignored it and walked over to Morgan making a near whisper as he inquired.

Lev: Okay what's going on, and why was the IM mentioned? Is Miss alliance forger over here actually trying to take on Jace or something? (I can understand a Halton general wanting to take out Jace. Makes the invasion easier, but if that's the case, we can't be involved. We need to focus on the real mission here.)

Jump To Halton

With a quick warp, Ixion, Damian, and O'Donnel had crossed countries and arrived safely within the walls of the Halton fortress in Redwood. They were inside Ivanko's mansion it seemed. Peter came out from a hall carrying some tomes and immediately dropped them to the floor in fright!

Peter: GYAH!!! Ixion! (Holy Hellfire what's he doing here?!)

The dark druid raised an eyebrow, and then decided to ignore the man.

Ixion: I'll be ready to head out in a short while. If there is anything you need to do before we leave, please see to it now.

[Psych]

Vera:

Vera laughed quietly to herself. This man obviously did not know what Halton was planning. "Casualties are inevitable. Septimus is falling. Jerdon has lost long ago. Elysimia is not necessary, only an aid. Our spies are already in position. Currently, you can accept aid from Halton, and whomever else to crush Jace quickly, or decide to handle it yourselves and have Halton clean up your mess and throw away the keys. I believe I know your answer."

[Snike]

Really?

"General Vera," Derek began, upon hearing the Haltonian launch into invasion plans. "You must not be that bright. You just told potential enemies about your plan. Furthermore, I believe it was made clear by my liege about a month ago that we would NOT take Halton aid in reclaiming Jerdon. Since you mentioned using Jerdon to cut off supplies and attack from a more favourable position, allow me to say this: My country is not a road! If you are so telling me that you would 'liberate' us, at the expense of international society and our free rule, then I, on behalf of my liege, refuse to aid. Hell, I believe we will ally WITH Jace, if it is to drive off people like you. That is our stance. Now if you will, get out."

Headaches

Burgosas was rather quiet now. It was evening, and the various fires caused by the fighting had been extinguished by wind mages whipping up localized rainstorms. Jace was not a happy man. Most of the loyalists had surrendered, but then news of an attack on the border had came in. Now, the new ruler was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to delay the forces long enough so that Elysimia could aid, or so that a counteroffensive could be created.

Maybe... "Jaun, come here for a second," Jace said, summoning one of his finest messengers. Within moments, the man was in front of him, kneeling to the new monarch.

"You don't have to do that until this mess is settled, you know," Jace said, unamused.

"Oh, sorry, sir," Jaun said, getting up. "What would you ask of me?"

"I need Daneka, and the results of that expedition I requested about the rot. Thank you."

"Yes, sir." The messenger saluted and left, wondering why the expedition was so important.

[-Cynthia-]

Whispers

"I view the demons as our highest priority as well, but these conflicts could certainly get in our way." Morgan whispered back to Lev. "She briefly mentioned the Ivanko Mercenaries, then she started talking about Halton taking over all the nations. She may very well be insane."

Leadership

"Since Halton has not formally invaded yet, I will not take hostile action against you." Tristan said, fists clenched. "But you remind me in the most unpleasant way of Jace and I want you and all other Haltonians out of this camp. Now. If not, I'll have you removed by force." he said, glaring hard at Vera.

Be Prepared

Xenia began to take off into the sky on Svetlana...when she realized she hadn't packed any fish. Svet will eat me alive if I don't pack her any food...literally. She made a U-Turn and headed back to the Ivanko mercenary base in Halton.

A Fortunate Arrival

Slogging through the rain, Xaver and company reached the great city of Ursibus. A middle-aged woman with shoulder-length red hair greeted them at the gates atop a grey horse. "Good work Xaver." she said to the young man.

"And this must be Kamilla, I presume? Welcome home, though from what the Grand Cleric says you may not remember it. I am Althea, head Templar of the Septimian Reform." she said, bowing her head slightly to the girl.

"You are an unxpected arrival." she said to Henry. "Would you mind introducing yourself?"

Edited November 4, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Script]

Luc Altair and the Fargo

Conrad stepped over to the "general" and began feeling her forehead. That was, unexpected. Shortly after the girl began talking again. After making a face of laughter. Did she think herself better than them? Like she was some sort of saint? Nonsense.

Her words were even more disturbing. Aid? She had already declared that Halton was invading! Even if Luc hadn't already known she had said that and informed everyone. Luc was about to tear into her and her arrogance but Derek chose to first. Luc let a breath of relief out. Everyone thankfully seemed to be agreeing that they should ignore her. Good, Luc shouldn't be letting himself get so riled up in this condition.

"Now, Vera," he added on anyway. "I'll say this as simply as I can muster: no."

Prince Tristan expressed his rage at her as well. But his declaration of having all Haltonians rushed out of camp was not going to end well with Aiya nearby. Damn, removing this "general" and the other would be acceptable, grand even. But that would send Aiya, and thus eventually the Crimson Lance away. "My Prince," Luc said. "Sending these two away his wise, we can all agree to that. But we have other Haltonians in our group already who may not agree with this invasion." It was a gamble, to reveal such things. But Luc reasoned Aiya would be prone to an outburst on that matter anyway.

(EDIT: OOC: Response to Tristan in.)

Edited November 4, 2010 by Script

[Mercakete]

The horses were very frightened. The rain, the scream in the distance, that eerie...feeling. They wouldn't budge. They'd never sensed anything like it...even if it wasn't nearby anymore. The geldings remained unresponsive.

The merchant sighed. "It seems to be no use... Only a master of horses could get them to move, it seems." The merchant still felt sorry for the downcast horseman. "Come, lad. It is nighttime and I'm not going anywhere. Go on and tether your horse to my cart and climb in. I won't allow you to be travelling on a rainy night when the country's in turmoil. And no refusing! I don't get the feeling you're a thief and two heads are better than one. Unless thoese heads are a pair of horses who refuse to be uselful."

The merchant chuckled at his own joke and pulled himself into the cart, expecting Altion to be in there shortly as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After wandering seemingly aimlessly, Beau finally gave up. He was helplessly lost and he knew it. (The best I can do now is to hide myself and sleep. I hope I'm not found. Normally I wouldn't be concerned about it but I truly have no idea where I am and since the attack on Burgosas, refugees and bandits alike could be anywhere. What a fine mess...) With a sigh, Beau found some brush at the base of a tree and curled up, resting his bag underneath him and wrapping his sash about himself in a sort of cocoon as he'd learned to do since he set out from his home. In spite of the circumstances, Beau was merely annoyed and not afraid, finding sleep quickly.

Edited November 4, 2010 by Mercakete