Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 25: The Road to Jerdon

[eclipse]

"Um, yeah, I'm with you guys for now," Midori answered, still uneasy about her surroundings. Did this guy know her from before? Was he just being friendly? Would she remember who she was, and what she was doing here?

"So, uh, who are you?"

[the_whistler]

Conrad:

"The mercenary, Heinz went after them but did not return with him. I assume he worked out an agreement or some such with Raemond, since he was supposed to watch over the monk," the general responded.

Heinz:

"My name is Heinz. Yours?" the thief asked. "What made you decide to join the party?" Not the best choice, he thought wryly.

[eclipse]

Weren't thieves supposed to be reserved? This one wasn't, and he seemed honest enough. If she kept talking, someone was bound to recognize her (hopefully).

"I think my name is Midori, but I'm not sure. I woke up at an inn not too long back, and am looking for my memories. Do you know me?"

[the_whistler]

Heinz:

"Not sure?" he repeated with a touch of amusement in his voice. "You're following us because you lost your memories? Try Septimus or Elyisima, one of the mages might be able to help you there," he advised. Losing her memories? A convenient way to latch on. "If I knew who you were, I wouldn't have asked where you were from," he answered dryly.

"When did you join this group?" the mercenary questioned.

[scorri]

"It's nice to meet you too Sergeant," Tiria replied. Looking back at Beau, she turned her gaze to Raemond and commented, "He does seem to be determined to get where he is going and yet, at the same time, distracted. Why exactly is he returning home?" Waiting for an answer, Tiria glanced back at Beau. He seemed ok with accepting the fact that I have no surname. But... he is my employer now. It would be dishonest of me to not tell him who I really am. But... if I do it will just bring up questions. My family is too well known for their magic. There is no way a noble from Elyisima would not have heard of them. But can I afford to be dishonest with him?

[Dark Sage]

So it appeared that these knights wouldn't believe Charlotte's claim, questioning Derek instead. Derek of course answered the same as Charlotte, with Tristan piping up, declaring himself the Acting Prince of Septimus.

Oh ye gods, this is not going to end well at all. Doesn't old princey here have any sense? he thought. Of course this whole situation didn't make any sense. There was no reason for the knights not to believe that Charlotte was the princess. Surely they would've recognized her and surely they would have the sense to realize that Derek would have no reason to lie about it. They didn't seem to wonder why he would be traveling with someone claiming the be the princess if this was not true.

"Hey wait a minute," Alf said stepping forward. "I also support her claim of being the princess and surely you would recognize her as the princess. Why else would Derek here travel with her, and supposing she was lying, what reason would Derek have to support her? C'mon, she's obviously your princess. You should believe her."

Probably just put my foot in my mouth but...a little late for that now he thought sternly to himself.

[eclipse]

Questions and more questions. Septimus and Elyisima were countries, right? She was pretty sure neither was her real name!

"I'm flat broke, and I doubt these mages are into charity work. I joined up at the inn not too far back. You seem to have been here for a while. What the heck is going on?"

[Mercakete]

Raemond cast a sympathetic glance to the young heir before answering, somewhat somberly, "He's checking on the condition of his estate. Rumor has reached us that it's been razed and that Duke Bellmire -- along with his entire household, asside from Beau, who was absent -- has been killed. If it's true, Beau intends to claim his father's title, as is his right as heir. If it isn't, then he is simply returning home."

Though Beau only absently heard part of what Raemond told Tiria, he was grateful for the phrasing. He would hold onto hope -- false or not -- for a while longer.

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

Esphyr had been somewhat annoyed by the sleet, but was glad for the interruption from normalicy. Another welcome change was entering Derek's mansion. Sleep would come easily that night for sure and the food and drink was bound to be good. She listened somewhat uninterested to the political procedings in the front hall, waiting for the sign that they could go and pick rooms, if it would come. At first, she had no intention of speaking up for Charlotte. This was mainly because it might only hurt her case. She was a mercenary, so Charlotte could have hired her to say whatever she wanted her to. However, Alferis voiced her own thoughts, so she figured she might as well pipe up too.

"Yeah, I'm convinced she's really Princess Charlotte, too," she spoke up before giving a small nod of approval to Alf, indicating that he'd done something right.

Edited June 26, 2011 by Mercakete

[scorri]

"... Oh. I... I didn't realize. I see... That would explain why he hired me. If there is a risk that the people who destroyed his estate are still around, he must want as many swords with him as he can find. Thank you for telling me this" Tiria studied the young heir. For someone who might be the only member of his family alive, he was keeping a semblance of calm quite well. The only signs that something was wrong was the way that he seemed to be not quite in the present moment. Rather, he seemed to be thinking of the past, or perhaps the future. In that moment Tiria made up her mind. "Excuse me your grace, I am afraid I have not been completely honest with you."

[Mercakete]

"How is that?" Beau questioned with a hint of apathy as he looked back over. Emotions were mingled in his eyes: a hint of fear, the dullness of hopelessness, dread, worry, caution, weariness... And yet, he was taking hope from denial, not wholely accepting that all familliar was gone. At least not until he'd seen it for himself. Yes, the things of the past and the future were what gave him his distant look. The present held little importance for the 13-year-old.

[scorri]

Tiria was stunned for a second by the expression on his face. Regaining her senses, she mumbled, "I... well... It's not true that I have no surname. My name is Tiria Draper. And what I meant earlier when I said I would not be allowed back to Elyisima was that I would not be allowed home. My family... well, let's just say that they do not agree with the choices I have made with my life. The last time I saw them was when they kicked me out of the house." She immediately dropped her eyes, not wanting to look at the boy who had offered her only good.

[Mercakete]

Beau was quiet for a moment. Then he voiced his thoughts,"I don't know which one is worse: being disowned and free to follow thepath of your choosing, or to be caged and forcefully reformed." He took ona more formal air, pushing asside his meditative emotions, becoming morepresent and alert. "All the same, you do come from a respectable family. Icare not whether you have been cast away or coddled, the latter of which is, ofcourse, not the case. The point is, however, that you are one of my company, Ms.Draper, and I do not consider your lack of magical ability to be even a slighthinderance to that end. In fact, it is a delight to have someone of a respectableElyisimian family about, whether deemed fit to remain with the collectivefamily or not. For such a silly reason as not being magically inclined, too.Though I respect the head of the Draper family and his leadings, there is noreason why I should not respect the choices of a detatched family memberseparately. However, this might stain your personal reputation with the Elyisimian nobles -- being disowned is never a respectable thing. Might I suggest you change your surname? If they havedetatched themselves from you, then perhaps such a change is in order, yetreflecting back upon your family. Perhaps I may suggest, condifering the reasonfor your departure, 'Lady Edgedraper?' Certainly, you could establish yourselfas a new house. You are quite able to with my support, if I am able to lend my aid. Though first I will have to see to my ownmatters, of course."

By the end of his suggestion, Beau was sounding more like his usual self:confidant (almost arrogant), relaxed and content; entirely comfortable withhimself. Only a hint of his doubt from earlier lingered now. Noting this,Raemond couldn't help but smile to himself. (This distraction really helpedBeau. He's not thinking about the troubles ahead very much. I'm glad Tiriabrought up her heritage.)

Edit: Class change to commoner. Same basic drift, though.

Edited June 26, 2011 by Mercakete

[Inactive Account]

Ilyphina

By midday, rumors had spread throughout both faculty and student body: the headmaster had vanished, the headmaster had gone mad, the upper faculty had killed the headmaster, and a thousand other, stranger permutations. The disguise Mana had shed on her way out had been whisked away and hidden, presumably to keep various amateur sleuths from trying to use them to determine what had happened.

Mana herself was miles away, riding the air currents. She didn't know where she was, or possibly even who she was, but she was alive.

Eventually the wind she rode petered out and something a bit closer to human thought was able to return to her again. Salt, blue. She was far out over the ocean. She had no idea how far she'd gone, how long she'd been in flight, but she at least knew, instinctively, which way was home.

She'd gone far enough to not see the breezes she was familiar with, though, except as a faint tug behind her. Below her the blue-green mottled expanse stretched in all directions. Too far. A speck below: a ship? She dove, let her vision focus for a moment to examine the decks: people. Of course; who else would have a ship? Demons wouldn't bother. Their dress was unfamiliar, though, and when she listened, so was their speech. Like the winds behind her, it tugged at a memory, but no more than a memory.

In her curiosity she drew closer, only to find a crossbow bolt hurtling at her: one of the crew had spotted her, pegged her as a threat. She snapped her wings shut and dodged, opening them again to wheel around and ascend. Another bolt clipped her, and then she was out of range.

Pain did not make it easier to think as a human, it never did, but she had worked hard to retain her borrowed humanity even when pained so much before that once again the humanlike focuse came back out of habit. She examined her surroundings as a human would: Goddess knew how far from home she was, she was hurt (mildly, at least), and she needed to go back. Oh, and she'd gotten here via abandoning an important meeting.

Progress back towards land was slower, as she was careful to avoid the winds that so intoxicated her. Something was not all right. This had been happening more and more frequently, a lapse away from her human mindset. The wind called, not like a drug's addiction-- she'd had time to try plenty of drugs, sometimes unwillingly, and none affected her like this. On the ground she felt caged. She couldn't concentrate, couldn't function. She had to improve. Somehow. Was this Ixion's doing? No, it had been going on before she met the druid, she realized.

It had taken so much practice, to think and act like a glorified human. Practice was supposed to make it easier-- and it had, for a while. Why was it getting so much harder now? Every time she tried to fix something, something else in her facade slipped away. She had to maintain it, lest her students and staff find out...

...the school. How was she supposed to run a school like this? She hadn't been running it, for months, really. She had pulled the institution from its low, she thought she had purged it of its inhumanity. She couldn't let it go. ...She had to. If she remained like this, students, staff, stability all would be hurt. She couldn't just tack a message on the door that read "Gone to find myself, back soon" and expect them to not fall apart-- well, that seemed like an excellent idea actually, but given what she was considering "excellent ideas" lately...

When it came down to it, she thought, she had worked with TISME to change it into something better than the cage it had been for her. If now it was a cage, either again or still, it was time to just leave it behind.

The sun was beginning to set when she made it back to Ilyphina-- right, she realized, time had passed, she'd barely noticed that either, not the hours of the day, or the days of the year marching on toward winter. She flew low enough to be seen over the city, drawing shouts of interest and alarm, and landed not through her skylight but on the lawn. Immediately mages were trying to press close, to see what this creature was that had fallen from the sky, but she shaped the air around herself to push them away as she walked resolutely toward her office.

They trailed after, a herd of confused and curious academics, following as she headed to the door. It was magically locked as usual; she gave a wave of her hand, and a few began to realize who she was. Her secretary looked up, startled: "The headmaster isn't in-- who are-- what?" she asked, spluttering at the sight of the winged being entering. The front of the crowd filed in, making the office stuffy. Mana almost did an up-and-away on the spot to escape it-- just one last time, she told herself. She grabbed a spare cloak off a hook on the wall and draped it haphazardly around her shoulders, and a few more students understood.

"I'm resigning," she said simply, then realized clarification was necessary. She switched to her professor-voice for a moment, to confirm any unconfirmed suspicions. "I have determined that my mental state is such that my continuing to hold the post of Headmaster at this institution will be detrimental to everyone involved. Selection of the new Head will be enacted by the faculty heads. My apologies." People pressed closer, clamoring for explanations. That was it. She leapt up in the air and exited via the skylight. She'd be back, to meet with heads, to discuss what had happened, what should be done-- short meetings, in places with plenty of air. She promised them that, hastily. Then she was, for the moment, gone.

[the_whistler]

Heinz:

Typical routine. I was hoping she came up with a better excuse, Heinz sighed internally. "Just stopping by the good Duke's manor for rest and so he can take care of a few matters, I suppose," he explained politely. "But you don't appear Jerdonian," squinting slightly. "I would advise you cast your lot in with another group, and head southwest towards the river. There are a number of port cities where someone ought to recognize you," he said.

Driven:

Doran collapsed onto his horse in exhaustion. Those last two.... were not Templars, though they may have journeyed to Ursibus. "But they have heart, the desire to rid the world of a demonic plague," he murmured. "And above all, they still believe in following the commands of the Goddess."

"Like yourself, druid?" A foreign voice called out. "Too reckless and prideful for his own sake, yet the Goddess has taken pity and offered you an opportunity," chuckling in amusement. "Heinrich," Doran growled momentarily before composing himself. "I know myself to be no Althea. But the mission will be carried out in her memory. The Crimson Weapons are a harbringer of the dark times that may come to befall us, they cannot be allowed to stand," the Templar stated strongly.

"It was for causes like these that you chose to stay. 'Rid the world of evil,' wasn't it?" Heinrich quoted. "Such stubborness isn't commonplace, you know," he spoke pointedly. "Neither is your wit," Doran retorted. "Well, no need to be so irritable," the visitor laughed lightly.

"Have you acquired the numbers needed?" he inquired. "Yes. There are other Reformists recruiting elsewhere. Our pooled forces should be more than enough," he answered confidently.

"Of course," Heinrich echoed.

[scorri]

Tiria Edgedraper... And that offer to make a new house... as a Lady... No. I am content as I am. A wandering sword, finding fights and training as I go. But the name... The name change is a good idea. And it cannot hurt to become a guard of a Duke. I will be better treated than if I continue wandering. Realizing she had yet to reply to Beau, Tiria inclined her head gratefully. "I thank you for your kind words your Grace. I believe that changing my surname is a wonderful idea, and would be proud to assume the name you have suggested. Of course, I am your servant and your needs come first. That was never in question. I will follow you as long as you will have me."

[Ether]

Damian looked over the manse as they entered, looking over various pieces scattered around, as well as the nice mauve walls.

With lack of anything better to do, Damian scanned over the crowd that he had been traveling with.

'Huh... is that?'

A woman talking to Heinz, someone he had not seen before, or had he?

Walking over to her briskly, Damian became surer and surer as he approached. Finally arriving close to the pair, Damian called out to the woman.

"Arlene? Is that you?"

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

Aiya stumbled along the halls clumsily for a few minutes, before coming across two young Jerdonian maidens cleaning a statue of some sort.

'I... think I just need some time alone...'

"Umm... excuse me? Where are the rooms for Sir Derek's guests?" Aiya asked, trying to calm her shaking voice.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Ether

[eclipse]

Mauve. Right.

The newcomer didn't ring a bell. He looked friendlier than the guy asking her questions, but. . .

"Arlene? Um, I've never heard that name before. Perhaps you mistook me for someone else?"

[Ether]

ALWAYS MAUVE.

"Ah... perhaps I did." Damian replied, a look of sadness washing over him.

'But I was so sure... I guess it was just wishful thinking...'

"I apologize for that, then. My name is Damian, Damian Kleine. And you are?" He asked, composing himself, and offering his hand for a handshake.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Ether

[eclipse]

"I'm Midori. I think. Truth is, I don't remember who I am or was. Either way, it is a pleasure to meet you." Midori took the man's offered hand and shook it.

[Mercakete]

Beau smiled at her responce. "Then, I suppose, you have just become one of my personal guard. I expect you will do well, Ms. Edgedraper."

Once the small group -- now of four people and two mounts -- crossed the border into the foliage, the sense of urgency began to escalate in Beau again. Once more, he was focussed intently on the road ahead, though instead of seeming downtrodden, as before, he seemed locked in anticipation, eager -- almost despirate -- to reach his destination. That would have to wait, though, since night fell and it would be too dangerous to press onward. The young noble, however, was restless and anxious. He had a hard time trying to sleep and it was evident. He also wouldn't stop looking in the direction of his estate.

OoC: TSed to nighttime. If you want to have Tiria or Jasmine do/say anything, I'm leaving room for that (plus, I'm too busy irl to TS reliably too far).

[Inactive Account]

With a sigh, Kelas turned away: Aiya seemed to want to be left alone now, and Kelas wasn't about to stop her. She muddled around until she found what appeared to be the guest quarters, and after depositing her pack there and changing into dry clothes, went to try and find Arrin.

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

Arrin had thought that trying to re-translate the last segment of his teacher's notes now that he was properly awake would help him find the actual meaning, but he was not having much luck. Translating as though this section were in the same code as the introduction did yield coherent results, but what they stated was simply impossible.

Kelas found him muttering and staring at the same page he'd started on. "What's so interesting?" she asked, curious. She wasn't about to try and look at the notes; there was no way she'd be able to make sense of them.

"It's just impossible," Arrin blurted, not entirely aware of who was talking at first. "If I use the original code, it's saying she developed a working seal for a Crimson Weapon that wouldn't destabilize upon the creator's death. The only documented-- well, undocumented, but we've seen it-- seal completely broke when the creator died. She didn't have any subject to test on, either, this is dated too early--"

"'She' who?" Kelas wasn't entirely sure what Arrin was talking about, but she could guess that it was his teacher's notes.

"Teach-- Ilony," Arrin corrected. "There's got to be another code somewhere in this..."

"You sure it's impossible?"

"It's got to be! Reed's Rule limits workings that can persist after the creator's death, and-- sorry," Arrin cut himself off, looking up to see that Kelas' face had gone completely blank.

"I don't mind, I just don't understand any of it," Kelas replied. "You should probably find someone else to talk to about it who actually knows something about it... dunno who, though." Of the magic users in the group she could think of, one was Morgan (no), one was an idiot, one probably didn't remember much theory, and one was... gone. She winced slightly.

Drifting back from the haze of theory to reality, Arrin was reminded of what he wanted to talk to Kelas about. "Yes. Er, by the way, are you all right?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?" Kelas was a bit confused: did she really look that miserable, to have multiple people asking?

"You were talking in your sleep a little," Arrin explained. "I couldn't understand much, but some of it sounded like 'don't take him' or 'don't take them'. ...You're really worried about h-- about your friends, aren't you?" He was fairly sure Kelas was primarily worried about Isotov, but didn't say so; he wasn't going to contradict anything she'd told him until she was willing to say so.

"Yeah, I am," Kelas admitted. "And about the rest of us, too. Bad dreams aren't really anything new for me though, get 'em all the time," she said-- that much was trued. She added in a lie for good measure before apologizing: "I'd probably get them even if we weren't in danger. Sorry if I kept you awake."

It was Arrin's turn to make things up in order to be reassuring. "I'm sure they'll be all right," he insisted. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Kelas gave her brother a tired smile. "You're holding up okay, right?"

"Yes. A bit cold, though." Arrin hadn't had the chance to change yet, and was shivering, though the fireplace had helped.

"Come on, I found the guest quarters, I brought your pack in for you..." Conversation continued as they walked.

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

Miles away, and hours ahead

Half a circuit had been completed, and the shadow was racing towards Elyisima. Itzal spoke to many minor demons, traveling miles in between at blinding speed. Mostly it avoided towns, though it removed a few from the map to free up their resident demons. Outside of that it ate little apart from travelers unfortunate enough to stray into its path.

For miles around it, animals took flight. Deer galloped off in a panic, wolf packs sought shelter even near humans, and bears woke all too early from their winter's sleep, lumbering off just to get away from whatever it was that radiated wrongness. In the towns, dogs whined for their masters, cats bristled, and horses tried to break free to flee.

Near where a small group of humans and their mounts rested, a flock of bats took alarm, chittering off into the distance. It wouldn't be long before the threat was near enough for the horse and pegasus to spook.

[scorri]

Tiria paced around the campsite quietly. Having first watch was good because it provided her some time to think. Being in Elyisima, even so far from her home town, made her nervous. It brought back too many memories of her childhood. Of being treated as inferior simply because she was the first in generations to be born to the Draper family without any skill in magic. She drew her sword and stared at it. She had given up her security and future for this sword. For the chance to follow her own desires. But now she had been... well, rescued. She once again had a future. She didn't quite know what to make of the changes that had so suddenly altered her life in the past day. Suddenly, a large flock of bats burst through the trees. Tiria immediately went to the sleeping members of her party and woke them with a quiet but urgent whisper. "Something's coming."

Edited June 28, 2011 by scorri

[Phoenix]

Jasmine

Jasmine had been sitting down and going through her journal to pass the time. Once a formation of bats took off into the air, Illiam looked up at them wondering what was scaring them. And then he darted to the source, something was out there. He quickly tugged at his reigns a few times, and when that didn't work he reared back violently and began neighing as loudly as he could to get attention. If they woke up and sensed the danger too, he didn't want to be left behind. Jasmine looked over, wondering what was wrong, and then some memories came back as Tiria came over.

Jasmine: (This isn't even the third time he's randomly started freaking out. Does that mean there's a demon nearby?)

[Mercakete]

Lantos wasn't bothered by the bats overhead. The little flying things always did things like that: swarming, flitting and chittering in the air at night. What had him nervous was how the winged one was reacting. Why was he rearing like there was some enemy nearby? Well, he had wings. Maybe he just didn't like the smaller flying things. Winged horses generally spooked over silly things. He simply decided to keep resting and grazing, ignoring the pegasus as best he could.

Riding all that way had been tiring but they had litterally just stopped for the night. (This is the last thing any of us need...) "How certain are you?" Raemond sighed, "Quite frankly, we could use more than five minutes out of-- ... You're right. It's coming fast." Immediately, Raemond remounted Lantos and pulled Beau onto the gelding's back as well. This was not what Lantos had exopected nor appreciated. He was tired. They got off his back not five minutes ago. His legs were tired. His hooves hurt. He wanted to sleep. This wasn't fair.

"What's wrong?" Beau asked, annoyed at suddenly having been picked up and placed on a horse's back. He had just been beginning to drowse and so was a bit grumpy, presently.

Raemond ignored him for the moment, "Sergeant Maruska, if you can safely carry Ms. Edgedraper on your pegasus' back, then you need to. We need to get out of this thing's way quickly."

"Raemond, answer my question," Beau demanded, "What, exactly, are we in the way of?" He was still irritated.

"There is a demon rapidly approaching. It's either very close or very powerful. I cannot defeat this. In fact, even if we all attacked together, we could not detur it. It's power is getting stronger so that means that it must be getting closer. Hurry!" the monk didn't dwattle any longer, pushing Lantos into a gallop further into Elyisima and guaging the demon's movements to attempt to escape it's path. Lantos was still quite annoyed, but now the humans were nervous so that was making him even more unsettled.

[Phoenix]

Jasmine

Jasmine: (Juuust great.) Alright come on.

She quickly got up and threw her things into Illiam's saddlebags before unhitching and mounting him. She then offered Tiria a hand up.