ACT COMPLETE Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 2

[charlie_]

It took effort for Claire not to punch Emmet in the face. "It's not much of a secret if you go around telling everyone about it." she grumbled. It wasn't the kind of thing you announced to people you've barely met, by the sound of things. "I told you there would be some kind of mercenary group around." she shrugged. She hadn't known the Reliants were recruiting specifically, but he didn't need to know that.

Edited April 12, 2016 by SB.

[Jotari]

Emmet raised an eyebrow at Claire. "Very well then. People, I request you forget about the secret research I mentioned but didn't elaborate upon in any meaningful way. For the sake of it's secrecy I shall act as if she and I have no prior history. Unless the lady would like to contrive some reason we might know each other that is more vague than my explanation." Emmet was of course aware that he probably just made everyone much more curious about the exact specifics of their research but he didn't mind. It was Claire who had made an issue out of it.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Jotari

[Dandragon]

Serge was looking left and right frantically. From what he was able to even gather from the conversations that were happening, Niko had played a trick on this new guy and the new guy didn't fall for it? Or he did? Or... "Niko, you would not believe the day I've had...First off, I got myself lost in the city, which is pretty damn big mind you, THEN I find myself guarding Cassandra, the princess of all of Wyke, as she finds it to be the best idea to go buy a mace at a vendor in the same part of town as that 'Dank Codger', THEN she abandons me without giving me a map, which she doesn't even need to get back apparently, so I get lost AGAIN, and NOW I find this mooncalf is raising a bear in a diaper!" Serge took a deep breath. "I just...nevermind..." He said as he put his palm over his face. "I'm just...not having the best of days."

Edited April 12, 2016 by Dandragon

[scorri]

Niko grinned and patted Serge on the back. "It's alright newbie. If you ran into Princess Cassandra, you can't have been doing all that bad. Good job on keeping an eye on her. Even though she's not our immediate employer, we were hired originally to rescue her and the prince, so it's fine. The city is big, it's true. Perhaps in the future, make sure you're walking with someone else until you get comfortable here. As for the bear... Well, Angus believes he can train it so he's doing that. Don't worry too much about it."

He shook his head at all the talk about secret projects and sighed. "Look, I don't care why you two know each other. So long as you aren't dragging all of us into trouble that you don't understand, it should be fine for now. Don't worry about not recognizing me, I know I'm a bit young for the position. As for a demonstration of your power... sure why not? I'll use my basic tome, you can use your fancy bow, seem fair? Though we should probably step outside first."

[Nanami Touko]

Ready and raring to go, Cass was shocked to see her father in such a state after inhaling what he had. Was his illness this far gone? If so, he... Cass paled at the thought, wondering if he would be alright, or if this excursion had just signed his deal with the reaper. She shivered, but didn't press after him while Tobias walked him off. He'll be okay... Maybe... Probably not. But Owen's here, so... The country will have a king. And it'll be a good king, and you'll... She bit back a tear as Oswald disappeared down the hall, clenching her fists and finally sighing to let it all out. "It's good that you're fine, then. Or, not worse for wear. I'm going to get changed, but you're going to go with Owen. And I'll be meeting the both of you back in his room. Owen? Is that fine? You still have some things to discuss, after all." She could bring a staff and heal up Gewaint as well, she just hoped Owen didn't have any objections.

"And thank you, Doug, Sidney," Cass said, quickly bowing before both of them, no shame or hesitation in her movements. "If you two hadn't shown up, we all would have died... Due to my own foolhardiness, no less. So thank you both, so much." She stood back up and tried to hide the red on her face. As much as she did appreciate their aid, it was embarrassing to thank anyone so profusely. "Alright, I'll... I'll be back, then." New clothes and a pickup were in order.

[Jotari]

"Oh, combat" said Emmet. "I was merely going to suggest I show my skills off on the firing range. But yes, that's a much more interesting an idea. And since you're a mage I can probably show off my secret technique without much injury."

[charlie_]

"You're an idiot." Claire pressed her hand to her face. Just being near this guy was embarrassing - diaper bear made better company than he did. At least Niko didn't feel the need to press the matter further, even though he was kind of involved in the Dettard incident, she wasn't sure if it was something he should hear. "Angus, has anything happened in the past few days?" she asked, trying to get some control of the situation back. "Aside from word of Dettard's execution, I haven't heard anything."

[scorri]

"Secret technique, huh? Very well. I'm going to be pulling my punches as a heads up. I don't want to actually do permanent damage or anything. So if it looks like you can't take anymore, I'll send the attack into the air instead of at you, fair enough?"

[Jotari]

"Perfectly understandable." Emmet laughed. "I certainly don't feel like loosing my head."

[Xinnidy]

"Father!" Owen's heart nearly jumped out of his mouth at the sigh of his father coughing up more blood, especially after having exerted himself and being exposed to smoke. "Goodness. Please don't exert yourself, have some rest.." Quickly, Duke Herman showed up --where had he been?-- and intended to take his father to seek medical attention. "He will. Thank you, Duke." At the mention that they needed to speak, the gravity of the situation settled in further. "Right. We should speak as soon as my father's care is guaranteed, this castle is not safe right now." As the Duke left and took his father, prince Owen watched reluctantly. Please... Hold on just a bit longer, father. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't as decisive...

Turning back to Cassandra as he was spoken to, Owen's expression turned blank. He wanted to frown after the current events, but couldn't bring himself to with his father's sickly image in his mind. ...You want me to take Gewaint to my room? Are you serious? "Sister... after all this, I'd rather have a break..." Owen shifted his gaze to Dettard. "Fine, I'll take him, just... don't take too long, I'd rather discuss this with you present." Waving a hand to his sister, Owen looked back to Doug and Sidney as Cass finished speaking with them. "I'm truly sorry you got involved into this mess. My apologies." He bowed, turning to speak to the mercenary directly, his memory was particularly foggy about this one. "...I know you were one of the mercenaries hired by Adele, right? You acted in good faith, and risked your life, even though I'm not your contractor. If you didn't show up, somebody else could have been seriously injured. I'd like to compensate you for your efforts, if you don't mind sticking around." Owen paused, taking a quick breath. "Or if you do, I can ask Adele to send it to you later, Miss."

Just as quickly, Owen turned to face Sidney. "Thank you. It means a lot that I can count on you. I'm still sorry about this, though, you're meant to be a guest." The prince shook his head, "I need to go now, there's... a lot that needs clearing, especially involving him." He shot a glance at Dettard, "But if my sister is right... then I could be making the right choice." Dismissing them, Owen called for Gewaint to follow him, and went off to his chambers.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Xinnidy

[Terrador]

Angus turns his head at the mention of Cassandra, now knowing Serge's feeling of disbelief. "...by the Codger, mate? I've gotten my ass whupped there not more'n a year back. I just..." The squire sighs, shaking his head. "Nah, Claire. Not a word." He scratches the bear, contemplating how on Earth he's going to handle that unruly princess. [Engel, I don't envy whoever had to babysit her as a child! She's too important, and probably too smart, to be wandering around all on her lonesome in a place like that.]

"Geoffrey, buddy, what say you an' I call it after this fight? Gotta go have a few words with a friend o'mine."

[Toogee]

Once the action started in the blazing dungeon, events sped quite quickly. Doug nearly got his face cratered; if it weren't for the surprise appearance by the king himself...he didn't count on Cass to be skilled in facial reconstruction. Once the bandits were dispatched, they finally left. Everyone was mostly intact, though the king started coughing up blood. That was pretty much a killjoy in any celebrations of his their victory. Owen and Cass sped off to change/help their father, but at least Owen left with the possibility of great reward.

"I've got nowhere to be," Doug replied to Owen before he turned to Sidney. In hindsight, he probably should have reported to Niko that someone may or may not have attempted the assassination of the entire Wyke royal family and that the king was dying. But screw it, he was getting a reward! Maybe a title? Money? Whatever it was, Doug thought it would be worth waiting for. That didn't mean he needed to stand around and do nothing. He looked over to Sidney.

"So...do they offer anything to drink in this place?" Doug asked, hinting that he wanted to celebrate with anyone not worried about their dying father. "Standing in a blazing inferno makes me thirsty."

[riariadne]

"It's okay- I don't mind helping. I wouldn't very well be able to be your guest if you ended up hurt, right? But I'm glad to have been of assistance. You can always rely on me!" Sidney smiled sheepishly at the praise from Owen and even Cass, waving as the princess departed. "I don't know what you want from him, but... I stay by what I said about trusting you, Owen. Good luck with whatever you're doing." She held his hand for a second and smiled. Before she could head off, Doug started to question her. "I'm not sure. I've never been in this area myself. If you ask one of the maids, they can probably help you better than I. There's places for food and drink in the main castle, but I'm afraid I can't stay long either. I have to get out of this dress and maybe do some mending on it, and ah, as much as I'm sure you wouldn't mind seeing that, I would be less inclined for it. See you later, then."

Sidney headed off towards her own room, removing her dress as she entered. While somewhat smokey and a bit singed, and definitely not to be worn right now, it was by no means ruined. Good, because Owen likes this one... Shaking her head at her priorities, she next drew her knife. She hadn't managed to get all the blood off of it before, but it also hadn't been long enough for the blade to be damaged, so she quickly cleaned it now that she had a chance. With that out of the way, her gaze looked to the letter, before dismissing it quickly- too much had just happened for her to be able to focus well on it.

She sat down recollecting her thoughts for a few moments before looking to her wardrobe. Obviously, with the cerulean dress out of commission, she had to find something new. I wore that yesterday, that's the one for dancing, err... nobody needs to see that one yet... this'll do. She retrieved a lacy dark red dress from her selection, putting it on fairly quickly and posing in front of her mirror for a few moments, nodding.

That out of the way, she did still have most of an afternoon to spend. Thinking over her options, a bit of time at the baths sounded fairly relaxing, then possibly a stroll through the town.

Sidney goes to the public baths

[Toogee]

And so, Doug was left standing alone after all, except with the thought of Sidney changing out of her clothes.

"Why tempt me? What am I supposed to get out of that?"

Speaking of which, the soot had turned his outfit into a little black dress. Yet, he had no room to change out of his clothes. His fellow Reliants were nowhere to be found ("Aren't we all supposed to be guarding this castle?"). So, he wandered around the hall for a bit until he found a maid.

"Hey, do you know if they serve mead around here," Doug asked through his soot-covered face. "I've...had a rough day..."

Edited April 13, 2016 by Toogee

[Dandragon]

Serge turned back to the young man who was called Angus. "Yeah...by the Codger. I uh...actually got banned from there for trying to break up a fight there between two idiots. It's fine though, their drinks were terrible. So...you said something about another bar, before, Angus?"

[Terrador]

Angus shrugs, keeping his eyes trained on Emmet. "Aye, th'Lucky Goose. Mostly for th'noble types;you'd be best off lookin' for one of them mid-end bars. More my cuppa tea than th'Goose, frankly, but special occasions an' all." Angus was unfortunately known for doing some stupid things, but dueling with live weapons? Not something he'd make a habit of, at least not for sport. Still, Niko was very experienced; he'd be able to take Emmet without killing him... hopefully.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Terrador

[Shin]

An awkward question

Dettard followed after Owen, not daring reply to his half-brother. The journey back to Owen's chamber was an awkward one, the silence was only made worse by the servants walking past, avoiding eye contact with the pair as they moved along the castle. So much had happened, and so quickly, a week ago, this would have been a strange situation - perhaps even a day it'd have been odd.

As they approached Owen's room, Dettard stopped. "Owen, why didn't you stop your sister?" he asked firmly, the duo literally at the door. "I can tell you'd have preferred to just leave me."

--

Rub-a-dub-dub

The bathhouse wasn't quite as splendid as the castle washrooms, but it was perhaps a little more social than being alone. A desk sat in the middle of the hall, with a doorway either side. It appeared Hull was rather keen on separating the men from the ladies. The woman at the counter gestured towards the left, no doubt signalling Sidney through to the female side.

--

A match maid in heaven

Doug's quest for a maid led him to a petite woman, clad in uniform and looking up at the young man rather surprised. "Golly, you must have been fighting that fire! I heard there was trouble there too!" she exclaimed, pulling Doug down the corridor. "The kitchen's not too far, I'm sure the head chef won't mind sparing some supplies for such a bold hero!"

--

Fight!

Hogan was rather surprised, he'd been getting a whole lot of people coming to maim their friends. These two seemed slightly different though, he'd not seen two mages duking it out in a while... or at least they looked like mages.

Niko

34 HP

10 Atk

100% Hit

7% Crit

vs

Emmet

34 HP

10 Atk

67 Hit

0% Crit

Emmet attacks!

(47 87)

Niko takes 10 damage! (24/34 HP remaining)

(47 25)

Niko strikes back for 10 damage! (24/34 HP remaining)

Niko fires away!

(38 75)

Emmet takes 10 damage! (14/24 HP remaining)

(86 42)

Emmet fluffs his attack!

Emmet tries again!

(98 42)

No dice!

(92 86)

Niko deals 10 damage! (4/24 HP remaining)

Niko casts again!

(28 15)

Niko wins!

Both units gain 10 XP!

Niko gains 5 Tome WEXP!

Emmet gains 3 Bow WEXP!

[Jotari]

Emmet launched an arrow from Pinaka. He used the unique properties of the bow to infuse his attack with magic. Instead of a solid wooden object, a large beam of pure radiance was shot towards his foe. The attack struck true but Niko seemed to be a keen warrior and didn't let it deter him. He countered and Emmet received a bow of comparable power. Partly because he was elated by how well his first attack hit, partly due to being slightly rusty but mostly due to Niko's superior ability, he didn't manage to get another attack in for the rest of the fight. When Niko knocked him to the ground with his final attack, he lay there and laughed. "Well played, mage" he said as he returned to his feet. "I think you are the definite better of the two of us. I think I gave as good as I got but I really need to work on my aim it seems. You're no doubt less injured than I but how about I heal you nonetheless to prove I can use one of these" he said, brandishing his heal stave.

[Nanami Touko]

Cass quickly rushed off to her room, actually running despite the strain, and shooting into her little corner of the castle. "Clothes clothes clothes..." she mindlessly spoke to herself. She practically hopped out of her dress and back into one that was practically the same (a girl had to have copies of outfits), minus the leggings. With that done, and a quick combing of her hair taken care of, she went to cleaning off her face and arms, the smoke and fire having stained them just a bit black. Washing that off would take a bit, so she'd have to leave Owen alone with Gewaint just a bit longer. "Stupid soot get off my face..." And don't forget your staff when you leave, either!

[scorri]

Niko found the battle easier than he'd expected, though that seemed more due to the man's nerves than his ability. At the end, Emmet seemed quite excited. "Yes, it was a good fight. I would hope that I was the better, given my position and experience, but still. That bow is an interesting weapon. I'd be interested in studying it at some point if you don't mind? As for the healing, I would never object to that."

[Jotari]

Emmet began healing Niko's wounds. "I take it I can officially count myself a member of the reliants then? I call the bow Pinaka. A weapon of my own design though unfortunately I no longer have access to the materials to recreate it. I will of course allow you to study it if you wish, I never discourage learning. However I would have to insist I be with you whenever you examine it. It is perhaps the single thing in this world I cherish above all else." Though that vial lady Claire is carrying no doubt comes a close second he added in his head. "I got kicked out of the Raewald military for having such a nonconformist style" And also because my accuracy is less than stellar but there's no reason to let him know my confidence in that area is so low. Though in a few more battles he'll probably see for himself.

[Xinnidy]

Owen was past caring at that point, after the danger they went through in the dungeon as well as the hit to his father's health, the looks from those in the castle were number. Owen didn't so much as try to initiate conversation, with Dettard or with any servant, simply staring forward with a tired face the whole way through.

But, of course, Dettard had opened his mouth to prompt a question; not undeservedly. "Hmm..." Owen stood still, gaze hanging at the door. "I... don't feel as strongly as her. My reasoning to put you down was that I believed it would help keep Wyke safe, but that's not true anymore." The prince slowly turned to look at his half brother, "But after she told me she spoke to you and thought it wasn't really a deserved judgement, well, I felt compelled to rethink it." He sighed, "You were a tool for Magonsaete, and perhaps your father's death put you in a panic. I don't really know, I am not you, nor do I know you well. Yet, she... convinced me to give a chance to chance. I'll have to rethink your judgement." Owen paused, though there wasn't really a reason to. His numbed senses started feeling affected by the awkward atmosphere, and his gaze slowly drifted away from his half brother. "Besides, I think something is happening. That fire started at a very opportune time, and somehow those two criminals managed to be out of their cells. I don't want to lose the one person who might have a lead."

[riariadne]

Sidney bowed her head briefly, heading into the indicated room. The changing room was fairly simple, and she didn't waste much time in it, putting away her dress and underwear in favor of a towel before departing for the baths themselves. They, too, were fairly plain, but Sidney hadn't exactly went to a bathhouse hoping for anything extravagant in the first place, instead settling down comfortably in a quiet corner. While some other ladies were holding discussions amongst themselves, she didn't particularly feel in the mood to talk, instead listening silently for anything interesting- going ons, upcoming events, important people, all were the same to her.

[Shin]

Book Loan

The guildmaster looked at Alain, leaning forwards to view the tome a little better. "I see, that's quite the read." he replied, his eyes glancing around the desk. "Between you and me, that book doesn't exist. After you're done with it, just slip it back somewhere out of the way. I'm not going to encourage you to follow it any further, but if you're intent, there's a gentleman at a seedy bar that might be able to source you more books."

Information

It made sense, there was no chance that Owen would have kept him alive out of his own choice. "I can't say I know anything about the fire, but if it hadn't been for your sister, I would have surely perished. I'm not sure the two brutes would have been smart enough to escape on their own, there has to be somebody else involved. We can speak more freely in private."

Behind the ears!

Sidney's corner still meant that she could overhear quite the conversations. Considering how loud they were, it was amazing that anything remained secret.

"Did you hear about those thugs who got killed in the rough part of town? Nobody saw a thing! Makes you wonder if there's somebody out killing them! The same happened a couple of years ago."

"That Princess Cassandra's nearly of age, I know a fair few young men who wouldn't mind trying their chances. There's a few lordlings who are certainly interested. I'm sure the king is already thinking about options!"

"Seen some strange foreigners too! They spoke rather oddly, perhaps they're visiting someone?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Alright, finally..." Cass was clean and perhaps with her legs out in the open she was under dressed, but she had somewhere to be! So leggings could wait until after the talk. She burst out of the room, almost forgetting her staff, quickly running back in and snatching it. Things collected, Cass made her way down the halls at a hurried pace to Owen's room. Hopefully no one held her up on the way there.