ACT COMPLETE Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 2

[Terrador]

Angus rolls onto his feet, not terribly surprised at the outcome of the fight. [At least this new guy's got some scrap in him, even if he can't hit the broad side of a horse.] He beckons Geoffrey back towards the castle (mud, blood, and all), noticing a hint of smoke as he wandered in the direction of Cassandra's quarters. Nobody seemed too rushed, so Angus continued to wander, finally catching sight of Cassandra.

"Hey there, Princess!", he cheers with a hint of sarcasm. "Happened to meet a fellow named Serge not long ago. Did you have an eventful day~?" [it's not that big a deal, but win or lose, the Princess getting in a scrap with some ruffians isn't good news.]

[Nanami Touko]

Cass stopped, a bit spooked to hear her name suddenly, calming down as it turned out to just be Angus. "Listen, I'm a bit busy sorting out my half brother, so can it wait? Yes, I went to the rusty cutlass, I got a new mace, it's very nice; did you need anything else or can I get back to Gew-- er, Dettard?" That... would probably produce more questions, but she kept walking on, if a bit slower so Angus could keep up better, if he really wanted to keep talking.

[Terrador]

"Dettard?" Angus starts at the name, before beginning to piece together Cassandra's words. "Half-brother. I... Explain. Before I split 'is wretched 'ead." The squire draws his axe, following her towards... wherever her destination was. The Princess' slumming was entirely forgotten; for now, that filthy traitor was the only thing on Angus' mind.

[Nanami Touko]

"You'll be splitting nothing. I didn't dive into that fire for you to go off half-cocked and murder him. Put your axe away." Cass scowled at him as he went there right away, sighing. "Look, the long and short of it is that Dettard is probably my half brother and someone tried to kill him today. Not the executioner. He knows something and we can't let him die, now. And... The rest is personal. But keep your axe down." Cass gave him a serious stare, nothing angry or annoyed, just entirely serious. "You can come if you have to, but... Just keep quiet."

[Terrador]

Angus growls outright, beckoning the cub to join him ahead of Cass. He snaps back at the reckless princess, visibly furious. "I won't kill him. Yet. But you need t'understand somethin' now." The squire turns, checking his superior's steps with a palm to the chest.

"Diving into fire for a filthy traitor? To chase some half-baked plot?! You're barely hurt, by sheer damn luck, but did y'ever consider that maybe you could get help?" Angus punctuates his point with a sharp finger to the forehead, all thoughts of courtesy dismissed. "You may consider th'idea so painful, but you are important, damn you! You're more'n capable of takin' care of yourself, but only if you bother!" Angus' head of steam begins to fade, being replaced by a facade of anger for maximum effect. Swallowing his fears for the moment, he crosses his arms, making one demand of the Princess. "You're gonna give me your solemn word, right now, tha' you will not do this shit again without at least thinkin' about it first." Cass would have to beat the complete tar out of him to have any chance at not complying.

[Dandragon]

After watching the battle unfold with Niko as the clear winner, Serge noticed that Angus had walked off somewhere. He needed to pay attention more. "So...what's the verdict? Have we hired him?" He was a staff user, like Larissa, but could fight, too.

[Nanami Touko]

Cass hadn't expected to be stopped, let alone with a hand on her chest, eliciting a rather sharp blush from her and a wide eyed stare of anger as he began to lecture her. She took a step back to get him off of her, staring him down, clenching her fists. This was the end of the line for her, and she was tired of not receiving any respect, even if her actions were rash. She pulled a hand back and slapped him. Hard. "I am SICK of everyone telling me to hold back and 'think', as if I'm NOT ALREADY DOING THAT! Are you a fucking moron? He was scheduled for execution today and yet a fire starts in the prison section HE'S STUCK IN, RIGHT after I talk to him, and I'm chasing half baked plots? I got help. Owen helped. Sidney and Doug helped. And I wasn't about to throw my life away for him. If he was truly trapped, as much as it pains me to say, I would have left him to burn!"

She felt a swell of tears as she said that, huffing and storming past Angus. "You'll get two words out of me, Angus Kearney. Fuck off." It was a mistake to tell him anything; she thought out of everyone here he'd understand her actions after having done something so stupid himself. Turns out she was wrong.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Melissa

[Xinnidy]

"Yes. On that, I agree." Owen replied, opening the door to his chambers. "Please, come in." He entered first, leaving the door open to his brother, and sat down on the edge of his bed, not intent on hiding how tired he was. "You don't know? So, you didn't notice anybody around the death rows at the time the fire started, huh?" How interesting... Contemplating that turn of events, Owen clasped his hands in front of his chin.

[Shin]

Dettard entered the room cautiously, focusing on the ground in front of him. "When you know death's coming for you, you stop paying attention to the things around you." he replied bitterly, as if to remind Owen he'd been the one to make the choice. "No, I do not recall seeing anyone unusual. My two... neighbours must have taken advantage of the event... or they were used to make it even more lethal. Whether that to be ensure that I were to perish, or for anyone who dared enter to come for me. There's quite a few possible targets, whoever planned this knew what they were doing."

[Terrador]

Angus palms his face with a groan. [How do I get through to her? She has no business puttin' her life on the line for... her brother. Like I did for what? Damn me. I'm treating her like the King does. When did that get him anywhere?] He jogs forward, reaching his hand for Cassandra's shoulder. A quiet intonation of "Please, wait" precedes his apology.

"I'm sorry", Angus begins. "I just--I'm scared, alright? Something's goin' on, an' I can't protect either of you from it. 's no excuse, but..." he looks down, hiding his eyes. "I can't... I'm just swingin' at wind, tryin' t'kill a boogeyman." [it was honest, at least], Angus reflects, even if he didn't communicate half of what he really should have, what he really wanted to. The shit leaking onto his shoe went unnoticed for the time being.

Edited April 14, 2016 by Terrador

[Nanami Touko]

Cass quickly shrugged his hand off of her shoulder, turning to face him with a few tears already having trickled down her face, but her defiant scowl remained just as strong. "Then swing, Kearney," she growled, feeling the use of his last name as poignant, "but don't get in my way because you feel some need to protect me. I DO NOT care if I am the princess, I am an able body, and I will not sit around and let people use my status as an excuse to try and become my shield. I do not need one. I will take one if I see fit. Maybe one day that'll sink into all of your thick heads. Protect Owen if you wish so badly to have a use." She sighed, turning and heading back on her course. She didn't want Angus as a body block, she wanted him as a friend, but he didn't seem to see things the same way. They're all the same.

Aggravation over, she wiped her eyes dry and made it to Owen's room, knocking lightly on the door. "Hello? Owen? Gewaint? It's me..." Have to keep a strong face, princess...

[Xinnidy]

"...I see." Owen hadn't really thought of it that way, with a slight cringe at the comment. Gewaint had a point in not caring about who came in or out of there. "That's true, they probably knew what they were doing, maybe even who would be there." Staring at Gewaint, Owen wondered what his reaction would be. "There is also a chance that this could have been just a sick twist of fate, but I find that hard to believe."

And no sooner, a knock was heard at their door. Before Owen could become concerned about it, Cass rose her voice, and his expression mellowed. "There she is." Owen stood up, quickly making it to the door and opening for the princess in few steps. "Hi, Cass." The prince spoke, his expression still neutral. "Gewaint's here, no worse than when we left. Come in." Owen gestured to the center of his chambers with a finger, where Gewaint also stood in wait.

[riariadne]

Geez, information sure isn't hard to come by, Sidney couldn't help but think. Well, some of this I know... Cass's complaining about not wanting to be bossed around by boys, and obviously not being too pleased with her father, either. The foreigners could be some of us, too, or even the diplomats. She shifted around in the water, leaning more on her side now and extending her legs over one of the sides partly. Could be others, of course... I do wonder about the deaths. How is that something that manages to go by and be dismissed with ease? Is it common enough that it isn't really a big deal? Claire sure was right about keeping my eye out if I need to go to shadier areas, so I guess I'll have to keep it in mind. I wonder what else they'll say if I just wait a bit...

[charlie_]

Claire wasn't too surprised to hear that nothing had really happened in past few days, and no news was good news in this case, she supposed. Instead of worrying, she turned her attention to the mage and bowman sparring, barely noticing Angus leave. Watching Emmet lose the duel so quickly raised conflicting feelings in Claire. On one hand, it validated her opinion that he was incompetent, but she wouldn't have minded if Niko dragged it out a little and made a show of it. Did that make her a bad person? Maybe.

[scorri]

Niko nodded. "Well, an extra healer is never a bad idea and he seems to be able to at least somewhat take care of himself. At the very least an armed healer should be enough to make the enemies hesitate slightly. So yes, we're going to hire him. Unless you have some serious objection?"

[Terrador]

Angus was cowed by Cassandra's words, but he still followed her to Owen's door; whether Angus was put out or not, Dettard was still treacherous. After hearing that Owen was present, though, he departed; unwanted and unneeded. There was something he could do, something actually concrete, though.

The squire brought his bear home, fetching a pair of ham bones he'd been saving for just such an evening. Leaving them out for his pet, Angus barred his door with a stone from the outside, taking some gold [spoils of war, and it'll come back]
from the party convoy before making his way to the more treacherous part of town.

Eventually, Angus found it (or at least thought he did): a fighters' pit. Far from the prettiest sight, but at least he could put himself to use and bring back some coin. [if I snuff it with chumps like these, no point going on.]

The hopefully unrecognizable squire hails a rough customer who seemed to have his act together.

"Oi, zissa place where dratsing's worf some cutter?"

Edited April 15, 2016 by Terrador

[Toogee]

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!"

Finally, Doug would be able to start crossing items off his list. What better way to start the celebrations than with a feast in his honor! He eagerly followed the amid towards the kitchen.

"Stick around, and I'll tell the harrowing tale of how Doug the Dashing saved Wyke's royalty from certain death!"

Someone had to start this name thing. How else would he get a song about him?

Edited April 15, 2016 by Toogee

[Vestige]

"Between you and me, I was never even here," Alain smirked. He thanked the elderly man for his little tip and the book, and soon thereafter made his way back onto the streets of Hull. He wondered how the guild-master was even aware of this so-called "gentleman" but in due time he let the thought slip away. Whatever the case may be, Alain was certainly interested in whatever the man might have to offer. Though, he wasn't exactly sure which bar he was supposed to go to, nor was he aware of which gentleman he would need to speak to. I probably should have asked him that... With a sigh, he began asking some of the locals where one might find such an establishment, particularly of the seedy variety. After a bit of investigating, he soon found himself pointed towards a so-called "Dank Codger". The name was off-putting enough, so it sounded about right.

[Nanami Touko]

"Good. I'm glad you're both well." She tried her best to smile, trying to toss away the ordeal with Angus, moments ago. She'd apologize later, but damn if he hadn't pressed the one thing she hated people getting on her about. There was one thing she needed to do, first. It might have been awkward, and even she felt a bit doing so, but she slowly stepped over to Gewaint and gave him a soft hug, pulling away after a moment. "You... Probably haven't gotten one of those in a while. I felt you deserved it, surviving through what you have... Don't get me entirely wrong, though," she said, looking him in the eyes. "You... You still tried to kill Owen. You know that. And I'm going to assume, for now, that you were just being a complete idiot, working off of desperation and a fickle chance to save your father. I'm going to assume Magonsaete roped you into this and you thought it was your only chance-- just don't make me regret saving you, Gewaint.

She sighed, hoping she didn't have to be serious the entire time. And taking a step back, she looked over at Owen, looking between them both for a moment. "So? Have you told Owen yet, about what you told me? About Magonsaete, your father, talking to the king..." She wanted him to go over everything he could, and everything he could remember. "And I expect you both to get along, alright?" she chimed in suddenly, feeling a slight awkwardness in the room. "You fought, you had your goes at each other, you both made mistakes... But if you're our half-brother, then we're family. And I quite like brothers, especially those that like each other."

[Dandragon]

Serge shook his head in response. "No objections." Though it bothered him a little bit on the inside. It seemed like Niko was letting just anyone join the famed Reliants. From what he had heard, only the best were let into the guild, and while he couldn't really speak for Emmet, Serge was not the greatest at his job, if his recent actions have been anything to go by. Then again, rumors were not fact, and Serge was willing to admit that his suspicions lead him to making false accusations, but something didn't seem quite right. Still, he kept it to himself for now. Niko was nice enough to hire him, so Serge should be nice in return. As nice as someone like him could be, anyway.

[Shin]

Get Dank

Alain's trip to the dodgey part of town was... an experience. Whilst no doubt he was familiar with the lower classes, Hull was still rather different. Everyone seemed so dirty, so ugly... and pretty disgusting. Was this truly how life used to be? After passing a man who looked and smelled more like a rat, Alain found his destination, the Dank Codger.

A vast bald man stood at the door, looking down at the diplomat with amused eyes.

"Ye be looking lost, bilbiodroog. Although, ye don't seem too poogly. How dank ye be? Dank enough for the codger?" he asked, almost interested in the answer Alain would give.

Maid for life

The maid looked at Doug with admiring eyes, her hand shivering as she pulled him along. "Please tell me all about it! I've never met somebody so exciting!" she chirped, dragging him around another corner. "The most exciting thing I hear about is the Princess storming off! But she does it a lot so it's not very interesting! I've always dreamed of going on wonderful adventures, seeing the world and meeting handsome princes! I do get to see some important people, but it's mostly cleaning their underwear and serving them tea!"

Sibling reunion?

The hug caught Gewaint by surprise, he'd never had any siblings before - although he now wish he had. Especially one that didn't outright hate him for what he'd done. Gewaint shook his head. "I haven't, at the time he wasn't particularly interested in listening." he began. "After my... father passed away, I was approached by a man from Magonsaete, who showed me the powers of this strange vial on an animal. It was astounding, it was completely lifeless... and then alive as if nothing happened."

Gewaint stopped for a moment, almost reliving the surprise that he'd experienced that day. "He said that he'd give it to me if I listened to what they wanted. They didn't say what, but I visited Magonsaete a few times... it was horrifying there... but it was my only chance. Then I found out that the King was sending Owen to come kill me, and I think you know the rest."

The Pits

The man at the door was rather surprised by Angus, he hadn't expected the young man to be so... one with the streets. "Aye, yer got the cutter, ye can have the drats as long as yer deal out the deng. We got a bitva looking fer a chelloveck like yerself for a bit o' dratsing."

Gesturing towards the side door, the man smiled. "Yer look like a dobby one, show the crowd a good eegra."

Edited April 15, 2016 by Shin

[Terrador]

Angus nods in the affirmative before making his way to the side room. [Probably ought to have taken that axe from the convoy for this... eh, no matter. These chumps can't handle me.] He gives his new weapon a couple of warmup swings, double-checks that he has his medicine [Just in case!], and kicks open the door--these folks came to see a fight, why not give them an entrance!

[Nanami Touko]

Cass frowned at Gewaint for what she felt was a bit of a stab, but as long as they didn't outright start insulting each other, it was fine. Probably. "Why did you fight with Owen, then? You could have tried to talk to him instead of having that pointless duel. If Magonsaete was forcing your hand, wouldn't you be looking for any sort of escape?" She had to question him about that, it was a bit dodgy, but emotions were a tricky business. "If that's all... While I don't think you'll be seeing the throne any time soon, I don't think you should be killed for getting into something beyond your ken. Engel knows I get into things like that all the time. Why, I dove into a fire not thirty minutes ago." Cass almost laughed, but held it back with a clear of her throat.

"What about you, Owen? Believe him?"

[Shin]

Fight!

As Angus stepped out into the arena, it became clear what kind of establishment this was. Blood and bits of meat littered the ring, the crowd cheering loudly for the death of the combatants. It was nothing like the safety of Hogan's training - these people were ready to kill.

A young man stepped forwards, probably around Angus' age. "It's nothing personal, bud. I need the money or I'll never get home." he grunted, his tone much like the bandits Angus had fought before. Readying his axe, the young man prepared to fight the battle of his life.

[spoiler=Angus wins for once]

Angus attacks!

(76 78)

Angus deals 10 damage! (20/30 HP remaining)

Cedric counters!

(62 4)

Cedric deals 11 damage! (24/35 HP remaining)

Cedric strikes!

(80 76)

Cedric misses!

(48 3)

Angus deals 10 damage! (10/30 HP remaining)

Angus swings!

(70 61)

Angus delivers a lethal blow!

"Mother... at least I can join you now..."

Angus gains 15 XP!

Angus gains 4 Axe WEXP!

Angus gains 300G

Bath rumours

The gossips continued, it seemed that they didn't care at all that Sidney could hear them... or if they were even aware she were present.

"That's right, back around the time the Hermans lost their son! The Duke must have been so sad! There had to have been at least two dozen reported deaths near the alley, not that anybody cared. They were scum after all, nobody's going to miss some dead thugs."

"The foreigners, they're the ones with the funny clothes and accents, right? They must be from really far away if they don't talk right, I even heard them speaking another language!"

"I wonder how the Dettard family is? I haven't heard from them in a while, not since the elder died. It's a shame, his son was a handsome young man."

[riariadne]

Adele is one of the Hermans, right? Hmm, maybe I'll ask her about it, though it might be a sore subject... Sidney mused, thinking over all the things that were said. So the news about Dettard really is quiet. It seemed like he was causing up a stir with all those bandits, but I guess it didn't really grab that much attention if people don't know about it. Or maybe they just don't know he was involved.

More mention of the foreigners caused Sid to perk up a bit. Now that might be worth discussing. "What sort of foreigners were they? I spotted a group that were from Raewald myself recently, but they seemed to communicate just fine," she spoke up, shifting herself to be generally facing the woman who mentioned it. "I've never heard anyone speak another language before. What was it like?"