The World's Requiem: Act 1 Truth in Lies

[GoldsbroTSG]

As Taka hopped the rooftops to reach her new comrades, words echoed in her mind. Encouraging words from her princess, and Nate of the potential allies she'd be making. She was haste, but it hadn't made her any less perfect in her moves. Especially when Eve, whom she was following used something to move faster with. The ninja could not fall behind. 

Once reaching the field, she hopped from the final building into a tree, using the branches to safely drop, until she was out on the ground. She cycled and analyzed the battlefield; it felt... like a stalemate, but leaning more towards what looked like raiders to her.

Taka was given orders from Eve, defeat the gate's mages to protect the barried on the the gate. She armed herself with her knife. "Understood. Engaging the enemy." And liked a bolt she charged to eliminate the first threat.

Taka to 8, 12, using her Iron Dagger on the female mage.

[Nanami Touko]

Their weapons continued to fall on her, but her training was paying off. "You will have to do more than that! Finish these ones! I shall weaken the archer!"

Ichika to 8,6, slash at Archer #2!

[Mercenary on the Winds]

The magical feeling continued to approach as the handled the major group, and then Ichika warded off the axe men with a shocking amount of ease. Thank goodness that there are capable combatants here... If not for the fighters she was alongside, this would be much more difficult. She was relying on her natural talents, not any skill when it came to combat; these people seemed to know what they were doing. There was some shouting from the gate, and from the two wagons nearest to the gate, a number of hidden combatants entered the fray, but the magical sensation also approached. Off the top of the wall, dropped two women, one she didn't recognize, and one that she recognized twice--first as the woman that had helped her escaped eight years ago, and second as the magical signature from that day. The only difference was that her hair had lightened into a bright pink. The other woman was off in a flash towards one of the mages, and that was more than enough to prove where the new arrivals stood. 

"We need... to finish off this group, and then link up with the new... arrivals!" A little winded, but this was her first real combat situation, and she was managing as best she could. 

Alouette to 7,3 and tome cast fire on Brigand 2! 

[MRDRHAWK]

With several options before him, Miles moved quickly, sandwiching the archer that the other swordswoman had attacked. These archers were a nuisance, and needed to go, fast.

”Too slow.”

Miles to (8,4) and wallop Archer 2.

[scorri]

Luce to 7-5, blast Bandit 3

"Eve!~ Oh, lovely, glad to see you~" Luce waved to the pink haired woman as they slid past the bandit, blasting him with light magic along the way. They barely looked at the man, knowing their magic was going to strike true. "Sooooorry I'm late." They frowned, ears drooping slightly. "I did try but it's such a long walk. Plus there was, uhm, the whole bandit thing. Soooo, it's not my fault~ Right?" They smiled hopefully, appealing to the woman with a hopeful expression.

[Bluemask 96]

Mikhail to 3-5, throwing a dagger straight into Archer 1's neck.

[TheRoon]

Taka rushed toward the Female Mage (8, 12) and sliced at her side for a clean 12 damage! (22, 67)

The Female Mage did not take too kindly to that and fired back with a fireball...but just missed the elusive ninja! (88, 94)

After that dodge, Taka swung back to finish the job for another 12 damage! (44, 56) The mage dies on the spot. Taka gains 34 exp and +3 Hidden Weapons exp.

Ichika presses her ferocity against Archer 2 who was not prepared for her to dart in (8, 6) and swing right for his arm for 8 damage! (43, 70) Ichika gains 12 exp and 1 Sword exp.

Ichika has reached Level 6!

+1 to HP, STR and SPD!

Alouette resolves herself, and moves close (7, 3) to burn away Brigand 2, and cleanly succeeds with 16 damage! (90, 53) Alouette gains 34 exp and +2 Anima Magic exp.

Miles saw his opening thanks to Ichika and ran in (8, 4) to finish the Archer with two clean 6 damage swings! (37, 67, 45) (83, 45, 52) Miles gains 34 exp and +3 Sword exp.

Despite Luce's playful nature, the dancer was determined to clean house. So they slid (7, 5) past the bandit, waved at the pinkette, and burst him down with light magic twice for 10 damage a pop! (49, 81) (89, 68) Luce gains 34 exp and +3 Light Magic exp.

Even on the verge of passing out, Mikhail was determined to do his part. So he dashed behind another tree (3, 5) and threw a knife at Archer 1 to finish him off for 4 damage! (7, 21) Mikhail gains 34 exp and +2 Hidden Weapons exp.

Eve folded her arms and giggled at Luce's silly excuses. "Well if it isn't my favorite stray cat, and Ali! Finally glad you both made it. Though it is a shame all of this is happening..." She looked at the five as they cleaned up the men south of her. "You all did well, and I mean it. Thank you. Time to do my part now."

In an instant, the woman dashed off toward the ice wall like a white blur. Her movements were abnormally fast, even compared to the ninja on the field. She reached a point she wouldn't normally reach (9, 12) and with a brief and quick fan the hammer technique, she dropped two shots into the Fighter as she reached her point. (78, 15, 76) (9, 78, 15!) The first bullet connected for 14 damage, but her second bullet struck for 16 damage as her Reflex kicked in, which allowed her to adjust the shot toward a more vital point. With that, the Fighter is downed immediately. Eve gains 18 exp and +3 Gun exp.

Arkham watched in shock as his man had dropped like a fly. "You...you'll pay for that!" He felt it was time to get desperate...

Enemy Phase 3

"MEN! Charge the group down south! They're all weak! Do not engage the pink haired woman! I repeat! Do NOT engage the pink haired woman!"

"Someone's scared of holding a loss." Eve grinned. "If you drop your weapons now I'll go easy on you."

"Hmph."

Arkham, infuriated by the situation, threw his Javelin at the pillar of ice before him, with his full might behind the Javelin he broke through (17 attack) the 12 HP pillar (0/30) and it shattered apart before the woman's eyes.

"That is my answer, you wench!"

"...of course." She let off a small sigh.

The last mage followed his leader's orders and rushed down south to support his allies. (12, 8 )

The mercenary moved forward too, steadily but cautiously! (11, 7)

Archer 4 also moved cautiously. (12, 7)

Archer 3 on the other hand moved (10, 6) close to Ichika to put in some damage (21, 57) and landed 4 damage on Ichika!

Player Phase 4

Edited August 30, 2023 by TheRoon

[scorri]

9-7, light up Merc 4

"Aww, Eve... Calling me a stray cat makes it seem like I have no home. I have one, I'm just... probably not welcome there anymore. Still! Not the same. Hmmph." Grumbling, Luce made their way towards Eve, though they didn't follow all the way just yet. "Glad to have you and your new friend though. There are still a few too many of these guys for me to be comfortable." They quickly produced another spell, sending it ripping towards the swordsman approaching their group. "Hey, uh, Mikha... Mikeil... Mikhal? Mike. Mike! Ichika needs your help here."

[Nanami Touko]

Another arrow. Ichika was getting tired of being perforated. "I am fine!" she bit out, snapping the arrow in half so the shaft didn't get in the way of her motions. The head could be removed once she had time to sit down with the healer properly. "There are still enemies to deal with!"

Ichika to 11,7, rip Archer #4 apart!

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Another cast of magic, another aggressor downed; fortunately none of them were trying to harm the other civilians. Another deep breath, combat at this pace was wearing on her, but good pacing with her tomes was allowing her to keep pace with everyone else. After a moment or two, Eve--Alouette vaguely remembered that being her name--acknowledged both her, and Luce. It seemed like Luce and Eve knew each other from somewhere, and that Eve was almost... expecting her to be here? Before she could ask questions, Eve was gone, in a flash, moving far faster than any normal person should be able to move. There was that aura of magic about her, which had to be the cause of it all. Alouette shook her head, she couldn't focus on that right now, she needed to focus on the people in front of her. Ichika and Luce seemed to be handling things with aplomb, she needed to support them as she could.

The nearest archer looked like an easy finish, but better not to overdo it, Alouette turned to the swordsmen, "I'll soften the nearest archer, finish them off, alright?"

Alouette moves to 10, 5, and tome casts Light at Archer 3! 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Mercenary on the Winds

[MRDRHAWK]

Someone was… ordering him? No, asking him for assistance. Miles could definitely do that. With a grunt, he made his move, dashing towards the archer while he was still blinded by the light spell.

”Enough of that.”

Miles to (9,6) and put Archer 3 down

[GoldsbroTSG]

Taka's kill was clean. "Enemy subdued." She returned to watching the battle. Where could she go?

There wasn’t much she was doing to the armored one, so ahe instead moved to see if she could either warn a hiding merchant to stay hidden, or find something to help them fight.

Taka to 10,9, inspects Wagon

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by GoldsbroTSG

[Bluemask 96]

Mikhail to 6-5, chug a vuln for dear life.

[TheRoon]

Luce rolls up (9, 7) and drops a Light onto Merc 4. (12, 6!) The cat was extra motivated today from the banter with Eve, and they dropped a bolt of light right into the poor Merc's head for 30 damage! They dropped straight to the floor! Luce gains 34 exp and +2 Light exp.

Ichika follows up the ferocity by attacking Archer 4 (11, 7) up close! (5, 2!) However, she did not want to be outdone by the cat she guided. With motivation and spirit, she sliced through the Archer like leaf for 33 damage, and the bow fighter fell to the ground in a bloody mess. Ichika gains 34 exp and +2 Sword exp. More importantly, she has achieved Serenity through her strike. (1/5)

Ali moves in (10, 5) and throws out a Light of her own upon Archer 3. (79, 100) The archer took the Light head on and fell to his knee, but he still stood despite taking 15 damage to the face. Alouette gains 10 exp and +1 Light exp.

Miles ran up (9, 6) to finish the job on Archer 3. (33, 57) With a swing to his chest. (2, 13, 10!) Miles has become One with the Blade in that moment, as he was seized with a desire to send a message! So he sent out a flurry of swings, though realistically only one needed to connect. The Archer felt overwhelmed by his attacks and also dropped like a fly! Miles gains 34 exp and +2 Sword exp.

Taka runs to inspect the wagon. (10, 9) It was mostly empty, the unknown attackers seemed to have come out from the wagon. It seemed like they left something behind though, a unique looking ring! Taka has found an Archer Band!

Mikhail had been on the verge of death, but one swig of his handy dandy Vulnerary fixed that up quick! Mikhail restores 10 HP to himself!

Finally, Eve moves to 11, 12 to block the path between Arkham and the gate and...talks to him.

"Tell me something, Sir Knight." She eyed the armored man. "What sort of business do you have here in Isolde? Why attack today of all days, on a day of celebration?"

"Hmph, you'd never understand our reasoning."

"So what you're telling me is you don't know."

"..."

"I can see it in your eyes, you're just here for a quick buck from someone bigger than you and nothing more. What a shame." She smiled and lifted her hands up. "If I were you I wouldn't have bothered with this job at all. I would've been perfectly happy with a drink in my hand and good company!"

He gripped his lance and gave the woman quite a glare.

Enemy Phase 4

Arkham...

This woman...I don't think I can win. That aura she's got is exactly like the boss...

"Move, or you will be moved!"

"Oooh, I'm so scared. Shaking like a petal on a flower...plenty around here to pick y'know. I could get you one and be back in time before you get inside." She smirked. "You know I can run circles around you, you know what I'm using...gotta work on that poker face, friend."

"I'm done with your games!"

Arkham attacks Eve! (60, 40) His spear just barely brushed by her hair! Eve doesn't counter attack.

"...short tempered too, I understand." She closed her eyes as she evaded, and took a small sigh to herself as she felt the effects of her item fade. Stalling's up, power's down. No Nate either...mm this is bad. She slowly lifted an eyelid to show a brown eye instead of green, and she cast her gaze toward Luce who had been nearby. ...c'mon, my favorite stray. Shut him up for me. With a silent order given to Luce, she resolved herself for whatever would happen.

The mage...has had his fill! He started to run! (14, 9)

Player Phase 4

Edited September 1, 2023 by TheRoon

[MRDRHAWK]

Miles really wasn’t sure what came over him, but when he swung at the archer, it felt as though time slowed. It hadn’t, of course, but he let his own momentum carry him forth.

“Accept nothingness, and fall by my hand!”

Five slashes, all converging on a single point. He recalled this technique being called Astra, though where he learned it from, he didn’t recall. Still, Miles knew well it was enough to tell the archer, more than once over. Sheathing his sword, he let out a huff of air.

”Hmm…” Thinking about it, the wagon near where the two other ladies had emerged from seemed vulnerable still. Maybe it would be worth investigating…

Miles to (8,7) and visit the wagon.

[scorri]

 

Luce to 10-11

Luce started to chase after the mage, assuming that Eve had the man in armor handled, but they paused as Eve looked their way, brown eyes connecting with their pink ones for a second. Damn. Time ran short it looks like... Mmm, hopefully this doesn't draw too much attention. A stray cat doesn't need that. They switched paths, instead darting in close to the man in armor, a light grin covering for the thoughts in their head. "Well now, here's an impressive set of armor. Still, didn't your mother teach you not to mess with things you don't understand?" They danced around the man until the wagon was between them and the rest of the party, and the grin dropped away as they quietly continued, "Or maybe you do know what you're messing with. So a choice. Tell me what you know and who sent you, and I'll let you live. Don't..." Their hand raised, light magic gathering in it, the threat clear.

If it wasn't one thing it was another. "...I tire of these games!" He turned to the cat and pointed his spear out toward them. "You'll get nothing from me! You'll...!" He realized he was alone now after he got a good look at the battlefield, his entire unit had been decimated. "N-no, it can't be...this was a simple job..."

Luce sighed, and shook their head. "So be it." They darted in past the spear,  and reached out with the hand in which the spell was gathered and touched the man's breastplate. "Goodbye."

To the others of the group, it all baldness in an instant. Luce disappeared behind the wagon and then a few seconds later an explosion of light magic burst out, sending the armored man flying a short distance back before he collapsed to the ground. The purple haired cat peeked around the wagon, eyes wide with a huge grin. "Whoooooa!! Did you all see that? That was crazy!"

[GoldsbroTSG]

"You won't get away." Taka barely had time to inspect the band she found when she noticed one of the brigands beginning to retreat. There was no room for that.

Taka to 13,9, stab the mage

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Her spell landed, so far she hadn't missed a single one, and was doing quite a bit of damage all things considered. Her stamina was holding out, and beside the opening salvo, she wasn't having to push her circuits. She expected that to change with the armored leader, who chucked a spear at Eve only for it to fly past her harmlessly. But the aura about her seemed to fade, Alouette started to prepare when she noticed that Luce was gone all of the sudden, and then, so was the armored man. An explosion of light, and the man just... toppled over.

She blinked, the only person who that could have been was Luce, but nothing they'd shown so far was equivalent to that blast. Eve's assistant took out the fleeing mage, and with that it seemed over. Alouette put a hand to her chest, and took a deep breath to slow her breathing and pounding heart, and then immediately moved for the cart they hadn't checked during the fighting. "Are you alright... over here? The fighting is over and done with... it's safe now." Lucky me... I don't think I'd have much energy if I had to attack that man. Now then... Eve and Luce... they know each other... odd.

[TheRoon]

Arkham's eyes turned to Luce approached (10, 11) as they let loose a giant explosion of light. He let out a painful scream as he had been completely overtaken by the burst for 30 damage from a crit! (67, 1!)

"ARRRGH!!!" He fell to the ground with a very loud thud and a clank, as he dropped his shield and javelin. "Tch...master R...ei..." And his life had been snuffed out just like that.

Luce gains 74 exp and +2 Light exp.

Luce levels up!

HP, Mag, Skill, Spd, Luck! Spicy!

Take goes to finish the battle by attacking (13, 9) the mage who tried to flee for 11 damage! (99, 71) The mage fires back! (13, 67) but Taka endures and finishes him off with skillful knifeplay! (63, 93) Taka gains 34 exp and +3 Hidden Weapons exp.

With the final enemy defeated, there was nothing left. Eve took a good look at Luce. "Good work, Luce. Really." She smiled and stepped up. "I think that's all of them so..." She reached to give them a pat on the head, but stopped just short when she heard someone approach from behind. "!"

It was a blond man in a coat!

"Hah...hah...made it...agh..." He looked at Eve. "Sorry I'm late...the streets got chaotic and...well you two took the roofs and I couldn't...what'd I miss?"

Eve looked the man in the eye and laughed. "...oh you poor man."

MAP CLEAR!

Mikhail heals Miles, Ichika, Taka and Luce.

Mikhail gains +10 exp from healing Taka to full. 13/22 - 22/22

Mikhail gains +7 exp from healing Miles to full. 15/19 - 19/19

Mikhail gains +6 exp from healing Luce to full. 28/29 - 29/29

Mikhail gains + 17 exp from healing Ichika to full. 8/20 - 20/20

Total exp: 40 exp and +8 staff exp!

Mikhail levels up!

HP and Luck!

Ichika tops Mikhail off 11/16 - 16/16

Total exp: 8 exp and +2 staff exp!

Miles checks the wagon and finds a Thunder tome!

Edited September 1, 2023 by TheRoon

[Nanami Touko]

Ichika had no words for this final bowman, just concentration, her eyes closing for a split second as she reached for her blade, and in her mind's eye: a single drop of water splashing into a still pool. 

When she opened her eyes the man was on the ground and her sword had been swung, one clean strike, one swift dash past him. "Hahhh..." She let out a sigh and swung her sword, cleaning it of most its stains, a cloth coming out of another pouch to quickly clean off the rest. "Looks like that's the end of things." The sudden burst of light and the quieting of combat led to enough of a conclusion. Luce had more in them than she had assumed.

With her weapon clean, she sheathed it and pulled a telescoping rod from her belt, heading towards Mikhail. "Here. Thank you for your assistance." He probably couldn't heal himself as well as another, so she did the job for him, collapsing her staff and leaving the rest of the wounds to him. All that was left, was...

Luce almost being pet seemed like plenty connection, Ichika folding her arms as she approached the two-- now three, joined by some man from town. "Am I to assume that you are the one that I have been escorting Luce to? If so, he is yours and my work is done." She almost smiled. Hopefully it was so.

[scorri]

Luce smiled, eyes starting to close as Eve reached out for their head, only to have nothing come of it. "Aw Eve..." Tail dropping, the cat turned to the newcomer with a sigh. It seemed Eve had made new friends since the last time they had seen her. "There was a bunch of fighting, though Eve missed most of that too. Oh! You missed my light show too~ I met some interesting folks along the way Eve! Including a princess, though she's off helping the ones who were running away." They paused, and then looked up at the ice pillars. "She managed to make these too. Such a display of magic, almost made me... green with envy. You know? Still, she left us her friend Ali, though seems like you know her already. Then theeeeere's uhm... Mikhaaaail? I think was his name. Also the swordsman who demanded I introduce myself without introducing himself first, so I don't know his name. He fought well though." As Luce was explaining things, Ichika came up, clearly eager to finish her duties of delivering the dancer to the city. "Ah, and this is Ichika! Adam hired her as my escort. Yes, this is Eve. You can be rid of me if you want, though... I think Eve might have an offer for you. If you're still willing to listen after putting up with me so long." Luce wasn't dumb. They knew they had rubbed Ichika the wrong way. Hopefully they hadn't removed any chance of her staying around, not after Adam had asked them to try and convince her to stay.

[TheRoon]

Miles peered into the cart, no one was there they seemed to have fled long ago. But there was an Iron Sword laid against a seat in the wagon.

Eve couldn't help but giggle at her friendly cat's summary, it seemed like they've been through a lot today. "Ahaha, well I'm sorry to say but-" Though before she could tell Luce more, Ichika had stepped up to attempt to end their contract. She eyed the two briefly, and it seemed like the two did not have a good time on the road together. Adam really paired a serene and serious samurai with their loose and slick stray cat? Ooooh Adam, you and I are going to have a hell of a talk when we next meet. Eve would deal with him later, but for the moment she gave Ichika a smile. "Your assistance is greatly appreciated, really you have no idea how grateful I am miss Ichika." She stepped up. "Though that said, I will have to ask you to come with me. You see, our deal isn't quite over yet. You still need to be paid for your services, even more so considering things didn't go according to plan." She looked around at the bodies and sighed. "My name is Evangeline Hart, and I'm the leader of the new Alliance Special Squad...name's still a work in progress. We still have work to do in town, so if you could follow us I'd greatly appreciate it. We can discuss payment along the way, and I promise you will be paid."

Nate tried to rest from the run he had, especially given it sounded like they had to go back inside to help with the attackers that made it through the gate. He leaned against an ice pillar and instantly regretted his actions. "Whoa!" He stumbled away from it and huffed. "Damn, these are cold...wait, how long have these pillars been here?" Even now, the frost pillars stood strong. Well, two of them anyway. Which was still impressive.

Alouette approached the furthest cart on her own, curious to see who was inside, if anyone had still remained anyway. When she peeked inside, a sticky web fired out just past her head. "...oh! A thousand apologies!" Gasped a young man's voice. "You do not seem to be one of those thugs...please do not prove me wrong. Despite that attack I'm not much of a fighter." He let off a chuckle. The young man was dressed in white, and had an eye patch over his right eye. He quickly pulled his right hand under his cloak, but Ali may notice the hand was a little different. He seemed mostly human, or at the very least he tried to pass off as one. "Am I to presume you are among the ones who cleared out those ruffians? If so then you have my eternal gratitude milady." He bowed his head and picked up a bag he kept beside him.

[Nanami Touko]

"... Hahhhh..." Ichika sighed, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "... I will follow you as far as to be paid, but with all due respect, this has been a trying lesson towards my patience. Never have I had the honor to guard someone that almost seemed to hate being guarded. You would think that they did not understand what the word 'bodyguard' meant..." Ichika shot Luce a cocked eyebrow, then looked back at Eve. "If you insist, I will stay in town for this festival. I hope that will suffice. However, if this is an attempt to have me continue in this line of work, I shall decline in advance. Please understand." This Eve seemed to be trying to get her to stay for something, though Ichika couldn't sus out what it was. Hopefully it truly wasn't a request to watch Luce further.

[Bluemask 96]

Mikhail sighed as the fight was over, the last of their forces dying in a blazing light. There were plenty still hurt, and he was a healer, so onwards he went to patch up those who needed patching. While he worked, the swordswoman from home came by and gave him a healing as thanks. Neat! Before he could respond properly, she was off for the two newcomers.

"Right, that's all done." Despite everything that went down, there was still no sign of Prince Alister. The healer paused and thought for a bit. Ah! Maybe he's in town. I'll just have to look for him there! And some food, that fighting and healing made me hungry. I bet me and the prince can find some lovely dishes at the festival. With his mind fully made up, Mikhail's feet led the charge past the others and into town.

Edited September 4, 2023 by Bluemask 96

[Mercenary on the Winds]

Alouette barely saw the web as it flew past her head, but she reacted as she normally would to having something shot at her; a jump, and then a flicker of her magic, as she peered back around the corner of the carriage as the man started speaking. She took note of his differences, the slightest of shivers going up her spine as she realized that whatever he's shot as her was weblike, "I, called out to make sure that something like that didn't happen..." Alouette puffed her cheeks before sighing, "Yes, we handled the attackers out here; they're gone and you won't have to worry about them anymore." She kept her eyes on the man, making sure that he wasn't going to try to... whatever he had done as she opened the door. "My name is Alouette, I was..." She paused a moment, "I was with my princess from Phantasma when this all occurred, and I should move to find her. If you're alright, then I shouldn't keep you any longer." The slightest of huffs left her lips as she moved to turn to go, and search for Lorelei. Her anxiety was spiked by the missed projectile, so probably best to keep the conversation light.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Mercenary on the Winds