Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 25: The Road to Jerdon

[Mercakete]

"Oh, that'd be great! I've been meaning to talk to Aiya a bit, but I haven't seen her around," Tas replied, happy about the idea, "And thanks. Being able to defend myself should really help out a lot. And this time I don't have a cold!"

[Phoenix]

Irina

Irina was quickly reminded of the last training session she'd had with Tas and how poorly it had gone. Things were bad enough with his lack of experience, but not being in the best health at the time, as well almost got him killed. Irina gave a reserved laugh, though. It was in the past and she didn't want to start feeling bad about it. Although ...

Irina: Hey, do you think maybe you could wear a little bit of body armor? Last time you took a hit in a really bad place to get hit while flying. Maybe just a chest plate or something? Nothing that'll slow you down, much. If you do that, then even a full on hit from one of my training heads won't knock the wind out of you. Maybe a flying belt, too ... I grabbed a few, yesterday.

[Mercakete]

(Heavier armor, huh? My leather armor protects me a bit and it's light enough that I can move around pretty easily in it, but she does have a good point. Relying on my and Namid's agility won't always work, so armor makes a good failsafe.) "Sure. I'll give it a try," he decided aloud, though he was a tad unsure about it. (I'm not very strong, so I hope it's not too heavy for me. Though that might be more of a reason to wear it, even if I take it off for actual attacks until I'm strong enough to wear it comfortably.)

[-Cynthia-]

"Having enough power to survive whatever this new threat is would allow me to endure it no matter what. I suppose that means I should strive to be more like Flemeth, she can survive pretty much anything. Though she keeps most of power a secret to others- a wise move if one does not want the student overtaking the master," Morgan said to Lev.

[Balcerzak]

Continued stubbornness. Why wouldn't the prince just give in? And these continuing lame excuses weren't doing him any favors. Time to stretch the bounds of politeness a little and get frank with him while her temper was still bending, not broken. Iris sighed deeply, and slumped her shoulders a bit before beginning.

"Listen, Isotov. It is necessary. I know you two got a nice long talk last night after we arrived, and maybe a little more beside. If you want to talk, even alone, that's not out of the question. You don't have to lie to me to go about getting it done; in fact, that's the worst idea you could have. I don't like being lied to, and you don't like me when I'm being lied to. Tell me things frankly: I'm flexible, not just some unfeeling ball-and-chain your father sent along to weigh you down. I know how to make concessions. You want to be alone, maybe you could consider asking me upfront instead of trying to evade the subject and weasel your way out of things. If the circumstances are right we'll meet in the middle, arrange something like that I would be within shouting distance, posted by a door at the end of a hallway or something. But a long ride alone, in unfamiliar territory... with people who, while you may trust, I don't know a damn thing about yet..."

Frederikov cut herself off here and turned to the nomad, "I'm sorry, it's not you personally. I just..."

Clenching and unclenching her hands a few times, she brought herself back around to the actual subject, and finished. "It would have been best if there were a spare horse, so we were all using the same transportation. But I guess it cannot be helped, it hardly seems worth it to waste more time asking for someone's permission. I'll just ride my wyvern; since Her Highness has been with you for quite some time I'm sure your steeds are not over-skittish. Let's try to enjoy ourselves and have a nice ride."

The lieutenant tried to smile a bit, but it maybe didn't look entirely genuine. Perhaps because she was thinking to herself how she could desperately use a drink, and realize that it wasn't even anywhere near noon yet.

[Inactive Account]

Everyone is getting really irritated oh no

Kelas was growing increasingly unsure that she could bring herself to like Iris; the bodyguard's insistence on being in charge was likely going to be even more of an issue later on, not to mention her thinly-veiled accusation about the last night hit a little closer than usual at the moment. Her attempt at a pleasant expression had pretty much frozen at that point.

On the other hand, if she made a poor impression now, she could probably forget any chances of the bodyguard allowing her within shouting distance of Isotov. "All right, why don't you just get the wyvern then," she replied with a sigh. "You can fly overhead or something, right? Shouldn't be entirely terrible."

She glanced at Isotov, hoping he'd wait for her to explain her reasoning until after Iris was out of earshot getting her wyvern. It was becoming much more apparent now just how much things were going to be affected by the Zaftran revolution, and Kelas already hated it. She was living proof that life wasn't fair, but this sort of thing was just unprecedented-- you didn't try to keep someone safe and get rewarded with the knowledge that your parents weren't who you thought they were and a life of responsibility you didn't want and weren't trained for, not to mention a future without freedom. It just didn't line up with how life usually punished for good deeds.

Not irritated

"All right," Arrin replied, though he was a little concerned now. He timidly put an arm around Tessa's shoulders for a moment as an attempt at a comforting gesture, then resumed eating, albeit a bit slower. "I don't know, actually," he answered when Tessa asked about the unfamiliar woman across the room. "She seems a bit lost..."

Storm on the horizon

TISME's new leadership had gotten things under control fairly quickly, and things were starting to return to normal. The major remaining question was what to do about Mana. Most of the faculty agreed that the institution did owe her to a degree, but neither did they wish for her to interfere with their activities. They resolved to provide her with a decent place to stay if she so chose.

The possibility of her interference turned out to be a non-issue, though; Mana proved content to spend her time going for longer and longer flights, returning only to sleep most of the time. Occasionally she paused for conversation with the mages, but she often forgot most of it. Flying so much, she felt like a fish returned to water.

She was aloft one day, higher than any pegasus or wyvern could manage, when she chanced to remember a small groundbound snippet: she'd agreed to talk to someone, some mage or other, about what was it... the recent changes in her mental state? Something like that. They'd had someone she used to remember with them, someone quiet. Reasonably sure she was somewhere near the city, she folded her wings up and dropped like a rock for a bit, enjoying the wind generated by her rapid descent.

Something nasty edged into her consciousness, something fairly near, something wrong, something multitudinous. In a panic she pulled out of her dive, regaining altitude as fast as she could, her earthly appointment forgotten. Like an arrow she sped off, soon enough winding up over the sea again. It would be a while before she returned.

More distant thunderheads

Neria had continued northward, then east again rather than exiting Septimus; the wild goose-chase suggested to her was likely futile, but people still needed help.

The earthquakes came a few days later, little tremors that should have meant nothing. Quakes were not normal here, though, and Neria was old enough to remember what unnatural quakes foretold. With renewed urgency, she turned south again, bypassing the main roads in favor of open country in order to cut a shorter path. She still helped refugees when she came across them, but her focus was turned to the south. If she was interpreting the signs correctly, she would be needed there all too soon.

Edited November 1, 2011 by Kiryn

[Balcerzak]

Bench-warming

You've always seemed more proper a proper princess than not Helios wanted to reply to Charlotte's self-reproach.

You're too kind, he almost replied after she assured him that his clumsy but honest efforts would still be worth performing, and a tribute to his people.

You weren't wrong, the prince wanted to affirm when the princess seemed about to falter, stuttering over the memories of the painful betrayal.

There were many things, many ways he wished he could express something that would get across all the right sentiment, with none of the room for backlash. These were sensitive subject, and the mage certainly knew he'd blown up over stupid things sometimes when he was in a funk. Still... those tears pouring up in his friend's eyes demanded something and so, trying not to look at them directly, he rested a comforting hand on the princess's shoulder.

"Thanks. And well, I don't know about chosen by the Goddess or not, but you've chosen for yourself, and that's gotta be at least as important. You're still here, I'm still here. As long as that's true, we both just have to keep moving forward. I guess forward may not even be the right word... because sometimes the right path is a detour but... uh, well, at any rate, uh. It's not wrong to believe, to fight. Never lose sight of your dream."

Of course after he finished, he found all the same flaws, and some new ones, in what he finally managed to his discarded drafts. But such was the way of life wasn't it?

[Phoenix]

Iso

Although Iso was listening to Iris' reprimand, his expression was cold and impatient. It was becoming more and more frustrating the more he thought about it. He couldn't seem to go several minutes without being chastised by someone for some reason.

Iso: (... I feel so ... trapped. I left for Zaftra to try and keep my sister safe and now she and I are royalty and we couldn't BOTH escape this .... I came back ... mainly because of Kelas, and now I'm Morgan's tool, again. Why ... why ... WHY do I have to put up with this? Why AM I putting up with this? WHY?!!!)

Irina

Irina: Great. (Now I've just got to hope a simple iron chest plate isn't too much. I had a really hard time when I first started out. My uncle fixed it by making me spend the whole day fully armored until I was used to it, but I don't think that kind of approach would work for Tas. It's not like we're trying to turn him into an assault specialist or anything ...)

Lev

Lev: If she's truly so powerful, I have to wonder why she cares if the crimsons succeed or not. But you seem more focused on survival than anything else. Is that what growing up in the wilds taught you? I'm an ex-mercenary brought up on the Zaftran military training regimen. Because of that, for me it's ... more about how I live, rather than how long.

[Balcerzak]

That went less terribly than it could have

Iris waited until it became clear that Isotov had nothing further to say in response. Perhaps a mixed blessing that. He didn't look like he was properly considering his actions, and rather might even be tuning her out, so the dialogue was likely stalled. On the other hand, he didn't do anything that would cause her to lose any more of her temper than she already had. Using his name on the familiar level had been a little much, and she was wondering if maybe she hadn't overdone things there.

In comparison, the nomad woman seemed to be taking everything in stride, remaining calm, level-headed, and business oriented. That was pretty commendable in and of itself, especially given the circumstances. She really had to get to know more about her. Satisfying her curiousity about the whole nomad peoples would be a bonus. They were ever so rare up north. Iris couldn't wait to ask about her tribe.

With a nod, Frederikov left to fetch Drake, who unlike Kiev had been properly stowed away, and returned in good time.

Even less terrible

When Arrin had draped an arm over her shoulder, Tessa had been pleasantly surprised, and melted into the embrace a bit. The hug was soon finished though, and heart beating quickly she found herself sad that it was over, and a little jealous of the attention having drifted back to the food. Pulling back a bit, a little ashamed at herself for thinking so, she figured she'd follow up on the other matter. When she returned, maybe the mage would have finished and...

She made her way over to where Midori had been eating, and sat down next to her. Not beating around any bushes, she drove straight into the matter. "Good morning! I'm terribly sorry, but I don't remember who you are. I'm Tessa, what's your name?"

Edited November 1, 2011 by Balcerzak

[Inactive Account]

"Look, I know this is lousy, but if we can get her trust-- especially if we convince her that I'm not... up to something, or... anyway, I don't think we'll lose much if we let her follow us this time," Kelas told Isotov, very quietly, once she was sure that Iris was out of earshot. She glanced around, making sure that Iris wasn't there to watch, and snuck a very quick hug. "I dunno if we can make things better, but we can probably avoid making them worse than they already are. Come on, let's get ready to go." By the time Iris returned, she was in the saddle.

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

Seeing Tessa's continuing interest in the newcomer, Arrin finished one last bit of toast and trailed after her. It would probably be good to introduce himself, too, but for the moment he let Tessa do the talking, and waited for the unfamiliar woman's reply.

[Phoenix]

Iso

When Iris went to fetch her wyvern, he got an unexpected talking to from Kelas as well, nothing really harmful, but he felt absolutely terrible in the moment all the same. The first day back in the group could have gone so much better if not for a couple of run-ins. Iso instinctively hugged Kelas back, and tightly indicating how frustrated he was, but he didn't say anything; he just mounted up on Francis like he was asked. It took reminding himself how awkward and possibly alarming it would look if he just flopped forward on Francis' mane to actually keep from doing it.

Iso: (Uuuuu-why are we going out for a ride, again? I can't even remember.)

[Mercakete]

Tas finished up his breakfast then mentioned to Irina, "I'm going to go get some of my gold now. Do you want to look for Aiya? We could meet up back here."

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Thank you, Helios," Charlotte said to him with a slight smile, getting up from the bench. "Let's work for a brighter tomorrow for Tora, Jerdon, and all the people of this world. I guess if we're going to make a stand we need to find out where this meeting is, right? Someone in this embassy is bound to know..." she said, putting a hand on her chin.

Morgan

"Whether all of Flemeth's power is genuine or whether some of it is a myth she has woven around herself to give the illusion of invulnerability. Suffice to say, she is at least much stronger than I am, for the moment at least. But yes, you are correct that the Wilds taught me that the value of life is living itself- not the things humans surround themselves with to try and make their lives have meaning. I do not see the purpose of dying at another's bidding, so I think that I would make a poor soldier indeed. I fight my own battles and let other people fight theirs, though the problem with people like Isotov is that his struggles have become mine. Such is the nature of the Crimson Weapons," she said to Lev in a somewhat resigned voice.

[Phoenix]

Irina

Irina: Sure. I'll ask around for her and I'll meet you back here. (I sure hope I find her. I'd feel kind of bad if I came back without her and we planned to leave afterwards.)

She then looked back down at her food.

Irina: Errrr-I'm not sure if I should finish this now or look for Aiya first. (Hmm ... it's not like having half a plate will make telling the story any easier so I guess I'll eat it now, and then look for her ... and point out that her oversleeping is why we're not eating together, hahah.) I'll finish it really quick.

Lev

Lev: Well ... dying's not fun, but there are some things I'd rather be dead than to have to live through. Err-lots of things, actually.

He shrugged. The thought of going through life with a bunch of missing limbs and lost senses did not appeal to the wyvern lord.

Lev: I guess it's easier to think that way, though when I consider that I'm not immortal to begin with. Death's already on its merry way. It just reaches some people quicker than others. I'm not sure you'd make a good soldier, either, heheh. Wouldn't make a bad commander, though, once you learn how to read people.

The mention of Iso made Lev chuckle a bit.

Lev: Iso ... is going after the things that give his life more meaning ... whether he realizes it or not. Your struggles have become his too, you know, heheh. But ... yeah. I was ... kind of hoping your looks would be enough to keep him from becoming too hostile but it's starting to look a little serious. (Mage girl, shaman girl, what's the friggin' difference, Iso? I'd like to say that but no, hahahah.)

[Mercakete]

After the plan was decided, Tas exited the dining area and started on his way back to his room. He remembered the way if only because of the turns. It was the same as when he flew, having learned to remember various routes by the shifting of his weigt in turning, even if it wasn't as noticable a feeling on the ground as it was in the air. It was best described, probably, as a homing instinct once the route was travelled.

[Inactive Account]

"Let's get moving," Kelas said. "Maybe the ride will take your mind off things for a bit." Once Iris had shown up with an unfamiliar but apparently well-behaved wyvern, she led the way out onto the main road.

They traveled at a reasonable pace; the horses were happy to be out, but needed to warm up for a bit. Before long they were outside the city limits, riding through a fairly open area of the woods surrounding Larien. Without the constraints of roads to deal with, Kelas fell back to ride alongside Isotov. "Well, up to you which way we go," she told him. "I'll remember which way we came, so don't worry about that." She thought for a moment-- clearly a conversation was necessary, but its topic couldn't go anywhere near Miranda, probably couldn't be about Zaftra either, and also couldn't include anything that would make Iris suspicious about whether they were friends or otherwise. She swallowed a grimace; she hadn't had any intention at all of publicizing what had changed anytime soon, but that wasn't really the same as immediately having to hide things completely. "Er... so did I tell you what happened with the rest of us while you were gone?" she asked with a trace of awkwardness.

[Balcerzak]

Moving vaguely toward actual summit stuff maybe kinda sorta

Helios looked up at Charlotte a few moments after she'd stood, lingering on the bench for a moment. The princess seemed to have regained her cheer, and he nodded to the renewed resolve she'd expressed. Pushing himself up with a slight grunt, he also tried to think of who best, or where best to inquire. Larien wasn't terribly a big town, so there would likely only be so many locations, but...

"Well... there'd always be the consul or whatever diplomat is supposed to be in charge, or whoever's actually representing Halton. They're sure to know and we could ask directly. Though, didn't you manage to get an audience or something yesterday? Nothing was mentioned then?" He scratched his head a bit a little unsure. Other likely parties from the group who might have figure things out would have been Morgan and the Halton natives, perhaps. He somehow felt he'd prefer if it were able to be accomplished a little independently this time though, however selfish that might be.

Moving vaguely away from the actual summit

The others had been in the saddle by the time Iris had returned from the aeries on the opposite side of the embassy. They hadn't attempted to leave without her, and everything was going more or less smoothly. Perhaps things were starting to sink in after all? At any rate, the woman led the way, looking as comfortable as ever on horseback, with Isotov following along, and herself bringing up the rear. She'd started off high, but after leaving the city limits without the added concern for disrupting daily life of citizens, she'd brought Drake back down closer to the ground, matching the speed of the trotting horses more or less. The area was beginning to get a bit wooded, and though things weren't too dense just yet, she may soon have to make the decision to ground and follow that way, or to once again take high altitude. For now though, the situation was pleasant enough as is.

[Phoenix]

Iso

The Zaftran royal wasn't sure about which direction to head in, but he was apprehensive about it regardless. Knowing Iris was so close by wasn't making it any easier. What if he directed them through the trees? Would that cause another scolding? Of course it would, he thought. What other directions could they go but back, really? There were a few other paths they could take, but he had an excuse for an argument occurring from each one, usually revolving around being 'too far' out of the way or something. He sighed heavily. When Kelas brought up events he'd missed, he was all ears. Hopefully she'd just pick a direction to travel in herself since he hadn't been able to come up with anything himself.

Iso: What happened? Nothing bad, right?

[Inactive Account]

Seeing that Isotov was reluctant to pick a direction, Kelas just let Amari decide; Francis would follow Amari without any problems, and neither horse was prone to seeking out trouble. They avoided where the trees got thicker; there were more obstacles that way anyway. "Well, we did get attacked," she admitted. "That group with the crazy druid. I got hurt pretty bad-- he blasted me-- but Beau patched me up all right, he's not useless for all he's a brat, and we took out all of them by the end of it. One less enemy to worry about, I guess." She stretched the arm that had been injured-- it couldn't hurt to make sure that everything was in working order a few days later.

[Phoenix]

Iso

The story Kelas relayed was a bit troubling for Iso. She'd survived and with no apparent lasting injuries, but the group's troubles didn't seem to take a break, even for his absence. That didn't surprise him in the least, but now he was even more certain that despite how furious he was at the current situation, he had to come back. One less crimson wielder meant less firepower when it really counted.

Iso: I'm ... sorry I wasn't here ... well no ... I'm sorry I couldn't do both ... be in two places at once, I mean.

Well that was a unique and silly way to put it, but he hoped his feelings got across.

Iso: Did-uhh ... anything else happen?

[Inactive Account]

"Don't worry about it," Kelas said quickly. She didn't want to be upsetting given how the rest of the morning had already gone, but with the group's misadventures, it was almost inevitable. "Anyway, we kept going to Jerdon. I don't know why we even bothered, they all think Charlotte's dead there. On the way, Beau got news that his father died, so he and that templar friend of his and one of the pegasus knights left, they went back to Elyisima. So we're down a healer, but to be honest I'm just glad the templar's gone and we don't have to worry about him attacking anyone. Don't know where Morgan gets her bright ideas about keeping prisoners... so we got to wherever it was Derek and Dani were from and Charlotte tried to gain support, but there wasn't much to be had. Derek and Dani stayed behind to work on that, and we left-- warped. Stopped over in Directus-- we were there for that earthquake, dunno if it could be felt anywhere else-- then ended up here." She paused for a moment. "So pretty much the usual, hauling everyone off in random directions for reasons only a few of us understand. At least we didn't get attacked by anyone else."

Amari was incredibly curious about something. She'd caught a whiff of something she hadn't smelled in a very long time, one of the humans Kelas used to spend time with. She continued into the forest since Kelas wasn't objecting, wondering if the human would turn up. If she was remembering right, this one made particularly funny noises when bit. Francis followed along agreeably.

[Phoenix]

Iso

Iso: Well that's good to hear. One attack is bad enough, but anymore than that in just a few days is a little much. (So Derek and Dani are gone ... well crimsons or not, that's still a loss of some strength ... though I guess Dani wasn't truly fit for fighting anymore, anyway ... maybe.) Is anyone ever going to stand up to her? Well I guess there's not much reason if she's not personally tormenting them.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Oh yes I spoke with Princess Cassandra yesterday, but I forgot to ask the time and location of the summit. At least I think she will support my bid for Jerdon's throne, though Halton's current precarious political position rather complicates things," Charlotte mused aloud to Helios. "Anyway, let's just start asking around shall we?" she said, walking up to the nearest guard in the embassy.

"Excuse me, do you know where and when the summit is being held?" she asked him.

"Who are you anyway?" he asked her, squinting beneath his visor.

"Princess Charlotte of Jerdon. My companion is Prince Helios of Tora," she said simply.

"Are you from the Shoon Islands- eh doesn't matter to me you could be royalty for all I know. The summit is supposed to start today in Center Square at 1400 hours," he replied.

"Thank you," she said, attempting to veil her displeasure at being mistaken for a delegate of the Shoon Islands. It was not particularly successful.

Morgan

"Perhaps you have a point, being forced to live as an invalid or in constant torture would be an extraordinarily unpleasant existence. I make it a point myself to avoid such situations whenever possible," Morgan said to Lev.

"As for Isotov, I personally find it relieving that he does not insist on following me around constantly as he seems to do with the other females. Mating while in the process of fighting for one's life seems a rather foolish decision to me and Isotov would not be my first choice of mate anyway."

[Phoenix]

Lev

Lev: Interesting ... curious, here. When do you think a good time to 'mate' would be?

Lev crossed his arms, looking the druidess right in the eyes with his head tilted just slightly.

Edited November 2, 2011 by Phoenix

[eclipse]

OOP: SORRY! Wasn't paying attention!

Midori jumped a bit at the question. The last person who initiated a conversation had made her uncomfortable, but this girl didn't seem bad. She did her best to smile.

"Good morning, Tessa. My name's Midori. Seems like you had a good night's sleep."