Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 27: War

[Mercakete]

"I already healed him, so he just needs to come to his senses," Beau replied with a careless wave of his hand. Then, more thoughtfully, he muttered, "Maybe he just needs to be jostled, or something to that effect..."

[eclipse]

Midori did some light stretching. The extent of her wounds were a few cuts, but nothing like what she'd witnessed on some of the other group members. Her worst enemy, she feared, would be her muscles getting tight on her.

Good, we can finally move. Hope the others are okay. I'd best keep an eye on Helios, to make sure he doesn't go overboard with his magic again.

[-Cynthia-]

A Short Discussion

"Damian and Raemond are still unconscious," Charlotte spoke up in protest to Morgan's order. "We'll be risking their lives if we rush in needlessly," she warned.

Morgan looked over and surveyed the situation for herself. "Irina, if you have a spare wyvern and rider, put Damian on it and make sure they stay far away from any conflicts we may have. If you do not have spare rider, put him with the messenger," she said, figuring the group could do without Tas for any further encounters. "As for the Templar, move him out of the way if you must but do not devote any resources to it," she commanded, looking over towards Beau and Tiria.

[Mercakete]

"He is with us regardless," Beau coolly replied to Morgan. He was somewhat offended at the implication that he was somehow obligated to follow her orders. "If there are any resources to be spent on him, we will use our own." I will have to have a word with her later. She clearly does not understand that though I may choose to follow any suggestions she makes, she is not above me.

[-Cynthia-]

"I suppose now that he knows our location once again we have to keep him with us. If he attempts to flee our group or make outside contact, his life is forfeit. I want someone to watch him closely once he regains consciousness," Morgan instructed no one in particular.

"I don't think it's just to have him killed, even if the Reformists may be a bit...off," Charlotte protested.

"The issue is not that they are delusional and irrevocably wrong, moreso the problem is that they are a threat. With the demons out in full force, we have little time and less strength to deal with them. We may be able to use this lone one, but if we allow him to escape he may bring his fellows down upon us- which is a risk I am not willing to take," Morgan said simply.

[Phoenix]

Irina

While Irina didn't find anything inherently wrong with Morgan's suggestion, she was still hesitant to drop Damian on Tas. She was the one that was supposed to be looking after him and she could do that even in the middle of a battle as long as he was secured to the saddle. It seemed like tying him up to Namid would only create problems for those two, anyway. "Mmm, don't worry, I can take care of him. I just need a minute to rig him up properly ..."

Viveka

"I'd still like to see the ambush coming for a change," Viveka replied, accenting her frustrations with a deep sigh. Once they reached Chase's horse, Viveka tried to help him up onto her. "You know, Chase, you should probably get a breast plate, and not a cheap one, either." She wanted to suggest getting him a partner who could cover him while he attacked targets at range, but most of the people that came to mind weren't so available. She tried to imagine herself doing it, but didn't see herself lasting more than a couple of hits ... or getting back up after the battle.

[Mercakete]

"Do you want some help with that? I have some quick harnesses I made during the fight and can adjust them to fit him better," Tas offered. This was something he'd been trained in, so it was good to actually be able to offer his skills for something useful.

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

"Honestly, as though it would make a difference whether he knows where you are or not," Beau scoffed at Morgan, "By the end of this, only the uninformed won't know you were here."

A bit less disdainfully, the young duke added, "He doesn't like being around the Crimson Weapons. He doesn't trust most of you either. I doubt he will stay for any span of time that would allow him to alert the other Reformists to any form of ill effect. Sabotage is not in his interests either, as his primary enemies are the demons. There really is no reason to be so fearful of him." Though much of Beau's talk about Raemond's motives and plans was speculation, Beau figured Morgan didn't need to know that.

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan

"They will know that we were here- we should plan to be long gone before they arrive. And I have no question about what his intentions are- the Reformists made it quite clear that they were our enemies earlier. If he wishes to prove he is an enemy of the demons then he can do so under our watch. He will not be permitted to leave however; we made that error with Kamilla and it will not be repeated," she said with a tone of finality.

[Mercakete]

"What form of authority do you believe you possess to make such a decision?" Beau questioned, "If we depart from your ensemble before you leave Illyphina, then what harm could he possibly inflict on you? Your presence here will undoubtedly be common knowledge by the end of this and he hasn't the slightest idea as to your next destination. It seems to me that forcing him to come along with you would only do you harm in the end."

[-Cynthia-]

"I am the leader of this group and that gives me authority to eliminate any potential threats- which most certainly includes Templars. If he does not regain consciousness within the next minute, strap him to an unused horse or something. TISME may not have much time left," Morgan commanded.

[Mercakete]

"For the time being I will work with you," Beau replied coldly as he took on a dignified stance, "however, do not assume to threaten those affiliated with me nor should you think you hold any form of authority over me, as we are temporarily allied yet separate parties. Is that understood, crimson leader?"

[-Cynthia-]

"If you travel with this group, you fall under my authority. Anyone associated with the templars is a threat and must either be killed or kept under careful guard. If you prove yourself to be loyal to the templars or anyone else against us, the same will apply to you," Morgan responded to Beau coolly.

[Mercakete]

"I am not certain if you are aware of this, but it is entirely possible for separate parties to join forces for a small measure of time without one being directly under the authority over the other. As far as I see it, we are equals at least in this particular way, being the leaders of our separate companies. If there comes a time when we do join your cause, rather than banding together for the sake of convenience, then I suppose we would, in fact, be subjecting ourselves to your leadership. However, that is not so. You would do well not to threaten one under the protection -- albeit temporary -- of Duke Bellmire, Crimson leader," he returned, matching her iciness.

Then, breaking from the conversation for a moment, he addressed Tiria, "Captain, get him up. Perhaps moving him some will bring him to his senses."

[scorri]

"Yes sir." Turning to Raemond, Tiria knelt down next to him. "Alright, it is time for you to get up." Grabbing one of his arms, she placed it around her shoulders. Wrapping her arm around her waist, she dragged him up and supported him. Hmm, I wonder if slapping him once or twice would help speed this up. Probably not. Looking around, she found a near by rock and started to drag him to it, hoping he would wake up.

[-Cynthia-]

"We are not equals and your title of duke or king or whatever means nothing to me. If you allow him to escape or contact those of his order, I will kill him. If you get in the way of this, you will be killed as well," Morgan replied simply, before turning to the nearby Lev. "Watch those two carefully, I do not trust them," she said aloud. Perhaps it would have been better to do that covertly...although they are more likely to comply if the threat seems more imminent.

Edited November 26, 2012 by -Cynthia-

[Script]

CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE! more relevant than you could bet your socks off

"Haha, sorry," Chase apologized. "Since I voted for Morgan and all..." Viveka helped him back up on Ava, and he petted her--the horse of course--once he was back in the saddle. "I prefer being as fast as the wind," he winced and grabbed his side as a lance of pain relapsed through him. "But uh, yeah, I'll take the armor thought under consideration."

[Mercakete]

As he was moved, it began to register, little by little, to the monk's slowly awakening consciousness. Memories returned, as he took a step on his own to get his weight under himself again and off of the one who was carrying him. A look to the side showed it was, in fact, Tiria.

"Thank you," he murmured before taking in his surroundings, some and standing on his own. There was some argument going on or whatnot and though there was some fighting among the demons, the humans appeared not to be the targets.

[scorri]

"Oh good. You are awake. How are you feeling?" As Tiria waited for the monk to respond, she overheard one of the women of the group they had joined threatening Beau. Letting go of Raemond, she whirled around, and marched over to the duke. Glaring at the woman and keeping a firm grip on her sword hilt, she asked Beau "Is this group seriously threatening to kill you and Raemond? Perhaps it would be best if we left. While I am not afraid of these people, why should we bother to continue helping them when they clearly have no desire to have us around? Though," she turned towards Morgan and Lev, "if you two even think about hurting the duke, you will not only have to deal with Raemond, but me as well. And do not think that I would be an easy fight." Turning back to Beau, she gestured towards Raemond. "He has woken up my lord. He seems to be doing fairly well. Perhaps you should go to him and see how he is doing for yourself though."

[Phoenix]

Irina

"Yeah, I'd appreciate the help, Tas," Irina replied, figuring Morgan wasn't going to wait around forever. Hell, they would probably be on the move the minute that exchange between her and Beau ceased, though from the sounds of things they seemed to be throwing their weight at each other and Irina had to shake her head. "Morgan ... that's not how you deal with nobles, much less noble children," she muttered quietly to herself.

Viveka

Oh right, Chase had voted for Morgan. Viveka wasn't sure if his reasons were good ones or not, and the issue was long dead anyway, so ... "Don't just consider it, do it. It's fine if it's light armor, just make sure it can keep you in the fight. Things probably aren't going to get any safer now that the demons know Helenos wasn't even a match for us."

Lev

The conversation seemed to be coming to a head. Morgan gave him a much expected order and then he sighed heavily as Tiria stepped in to make her position clear. "It's not our intention to hurt anyone, but if those goddamn reformists surprise us again and just so happen to do it at the right time, we'll lose the crimson weapons, and then this whole continent is going to be lost to the demons over a very long and gruesome ground war," Lev explained, trying to make Morgan's cold policies seem a little less cold. "I don't mean to sound harsh, but anyone's life is worth preventing that, even a noble's. But ...-always a 'but'-... our two groups can get along much better if either the duke here or Raemond take that into consideration. We don't have time to deal with the reformists and their crimson crusading bullshit anymore; the demons are attacking in mass now and we need them on our side or out of the picture."

Edited November 27, 2012 by Phoenix

[scorri]

Turning to the man, Tiria eyed him and then replied. "You say you have no intention of hurting anyone and yet this woman here who has no control over the three of us was threatening to kill Beau if he protected his man. Honestly, I do not care very much about these crimsons. I have no reason to. All I have seen of you is that you fight and threaten other people. While I am perfectly fine with the fighting, I am not ok with people threatening to kill someone I have sworn to protect. Perhaps if you all were nicer to Raemond, you would have less of a reason to be frightened of him. But I have seen nothing that you have done that should make you deserve his respect or kindness."

[-Cynthia-]

"You were not present when the Templars attacked the last time and thus are in no position to judge. Perhaps you are inclined to let your enemies roam free and do as they wish- such behavior makes you a fool. You may leave with the child if you wish, but not with the Templar. Any action taken by you contrary to this will be interpreted as hostile," Morgan responded to Tiria simply.

[scorri]

"So now you're forcing him to stay when clearly he has little desire to be here and clearly has left before. I remain unafraid of you and wonder how many of your people would join in on killing three innocents because of your paranoia. It does not matter if I was here before or not. I can understand what is going on currently just fine. And I repeat. If you even try to attack Raemond or Beau, I will personally make sure that it is the last thing you do."

[Phoenix]

Lev

"This is getting ridiculous. Just calm the hell down and listen," Lev interjected angrily. "Raemond is not our ally, and like Morgan said, the last time we let one of them go, the templars showed up and tried to kill us. I only see one way everyone gets what they want, here. Beau, if Raemond is loyal to you have him swear on his life that he will not attack us or give the reformists any more aid against us. If he can't do that, then ... he's not going anywhere, I guess ..." Lev ended, shaking his head and shrugging, figuring that this was going to lead to violence otherwise.

[Balcerzak]

Spare Wyvern

Morgan, the group's leader, had been dispensing some advice, along with some orders. As the princess had no authority outside of Zaftran, and honestly, probably didn't even have any there, being not direct blood after all, Lt. Frederikov didn't really take any sort of complaint and figured things would proceed along without issue. It didn't take much for Iris connect the dots and figure out just who had been referred to by "spare rider". Given just what she'd contributed, such a dismissal made perfect sense, and rather than pay it any mind she started trying to figure out what impact that might have on her duties. Minding after both prince and princess was difficult enough, as she'd just found out most spectacularly, with Irina having crash landed while the lieutenant was taking care of Isotov. Would having to deal with this Damian fellow, the scarred Halton commander, add too much additional work? Should she refuse if asked?

When Irina countered with an offer to take on the burden herself though, Iris realized quite quickly the other hand side of this line of logic. Protecting the lancer... wasn't that what had gotten Her Highness into trouble in the first place? Pressing her lips tightly in dissatisfaction she continued to weigh the issues, when the naive courier offered to help rig up a harness for Irina.

She had to step in here. "Highness... forgive me for speaking plainly here, but you need to consider first your own safety. If anyone should take on the role of aerial ferry, it would be either Tas or myself. If you're trying to take on the burden of keeping him safe, then obviously I would incur the same responsibility while watching over you. It might just be better to cut out the middleman. You'll survive easier if I've got the man strapped on, rather than you. Any... additional effort I need to safeguard the prince... I'll just have to deal with that myself."

Edited November 27, 2012 by Balcerzak

[Mercakete]

Tiria asked how he was feeling, but her attention was swiftly directed elsewhere. It seemed that Beau had gotten himself into a disagreement of sorts with Morgan. Of all the people in the immediate area to get into a disagreement with...

As he drew closer, the monk was surprised to find that the conversation was actually, apparently about him. It sounded like Tiria was trying to ward Morgan and the others off from killing him and Beau while the man with the druidess as well as Morgan herself was attempting to get him to stay with them to prevent him from telling the other Reformists anything of consequence to the wielders. Beau appeared to be quite put out himself. Morgan already claimed that only he was the one who was required to stay by her terms and that Tiria and Beau were free to leave if they so desired...which meant the two had been attempting to protect him. The monk was both shocked and touched by the attempt, but it seemed that the crimsons were rather firm on their terms. There was only one offer for a form of leniency from the man with Morgan and there was no telling whether she would agree to the terms herself.

"As I said before, the notion that he could possibly give any new information on you is ludicrous. The Reformists will know about your presence here whether he is the one to tell them or not and he won't be able to say anything about your whereabouts in the future if he isn't with you," Beau repeated in a bit of a huff, "The demons attacking Illyphina is no small matter, after all. In fact, it is something the Reformists would be keenly interested in. Honestly, how would keeping him with you protect you at all?" Aside from a hostage situation. He didn't want to give them that idea, though.

"That's enough," Raemond calmly but firmly interjected, stepping into the conversation. Then, losing some of that firmness, he continued. "Captain Edgedraper, Duke Bellmire, I appreciate your speaking on my behalf. However, I would prefer you didn't if it would get you into trouble. In any case, I can speak for myself now."

Beau wanted to protest, but instead he chose to be quiet, as Raemond was likely not done, yet.

Sure enough, Raemond he addressed Lev and Morgan, but he was primarily speaking to the leader of the crimsons. "I find it interesting how you so willingly let me go on various occasions -- some of which I denied -- and yet now you are forbidding it. Even to the point of threatening my life and the lives of those who would try to protect me no matter who they may be."

After a brief pause, he went on solemnly, "There is nothing to fear from me, however. It appears that the Reformist Templars have been crippled quite severely. They may be unable to do much of anything now in the way of combat. That is what I last heard at any rate. If there are any left to fight the demons, after this outbreak, that is where their attention will be, anyway, if they've a clear mind."

He hesitated on agreeing to either of the sets of terms posed by the man and the woman just yet, however. He wanted to think it over some while they considered the possibly new information he'd just offered.

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

"Okay," Tas agreed before hurrying over to Namid, retrieving the extra leather and buckles and returning to work on the harness. Irina's new bodyguard had managed to show up in that amount of time and was talking to Irina about her looking after Damian herself. Tas frowned. She's not thinking about riding Kiev with the colonel on him, is she? He wasn't entirely sure what to do for now, so he just sort of stood there looking at Irina for some indication as to what he should do.

Edited November 27, 2012 by Mercakete