The Meager

~Beddha Sandwaste~

*A group of 3 red-caped knights approach a Red Dragon sleeping in the fort, surrounding it. When they do, one of them whistles. They are soon joined by 2 blue-armored samurai, who enter on either end. As the dragon wakes up, a fat man in robes approaches the building from the front.*

???<Oho? You finally found a dragon for me? Excellent! Keep it at bay while I prepare the spell.>

*He holds up his hands & begins gathering magickal energy into them.*
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~Fort Besselat~

*Having come all this way, Noctis still had no idea how to locate the company from the Corpse Brigade who was working here.*
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~Goug Machine City~

*Zac & Illiad have heard rumors from their contact of a Corpse Brigade assassin working out of the slums in Goug. He advised them to update their equipment before confronting them.*
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~Mullonde Holy Place~

*A male White Mage bursts through the door where Sab is studying, stumbling around half-blind from the blood streaming into his eyes & staining his robe.*

<Where is the High Confessor? Is this his chamber? Curse that Black Mage, I can't see a damned thing!>
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~Magick City of Gariland~

*Sorrel's boss comes to tell him that the Order of the Northern Sky is engaging a group of escaped Corpse Brigade prisoners in the section of the city where he & his sister is living.*
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~Royal Capitol of Lesalia~

*Rhea was sent into town to get supplies. Coincidentally, Astarte had been given a small allowance to purchase items for her trade.*
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~Sal Ghidos~

*Some blonde asshole in armor pushes past the group, towards a group of three knights, & shoves Taiyo to the ground in the process.*

<Out of the way, commoner filth!>

"Wait... seriously!?" Sorrel doesn't wait for a response. He's off and grabbing his equipment on the way.

*Rhea stops outside the store, looking at a notice board on a stone wall nearby. She walks to it, smiling upon seing two posters put up by her brother about their group's services as mercenaries. She reaches into her bag, looks around, and posts a notice of her own, offering her Summoner services for hire. She then sighs and steps into the store.*

Taiyo:<Owie... Jerk!>

*Azuma helps Taiyo up.*

Mimiru:<Watch where you're going, asshole!>

Astarte examined the posters after Rhea had entered the store.
Mercenary... 'Swords for hire'... A life quite unknown to me.
Then she spotted the poster Rhea had put up.
A Summoner, hm? That is much more familiar to me.
Then she entered the store.

OOC: SUPER-DYNAMIC-ENTRY!

Mortal woke up with a bit of a start at the noise in her dwelling, and arose with a ferocious roar when she realized she was surrounded. Wasting no time Mortal used Charge against the closest Knight.

--

Noctis tries to find an official at a front desk of sorts. She wants to know if there is any kind of record as to who may have passed through the fort, and what they may have done while here, and if she was lucky, where they may have gone.

--

"Are you sure you don't want a knife, or... something?" Iliad asked as he strolled down a back alley with his nearly lifelong friend Zac.

"I'm fine, I don't need a blade to do damage, you know that." Zac retorted, scanning the area for any danger as he always did when he thought danger might be forthcoming.

"Yes, but I still can't wrap my head around why you chose to... this is about this 'Sky Pirate' notion of yours isn't it." Iliad replied, "Listen, the gun was too expensive. Maybe if we had gotten here sooner, still had some of our wealth left over, you could have gotten it, but right now, the best we can afford are blades."

"Illy, that is besides the point. The point, if you will remember, is that we're here to potentially find the one person we've been spending something like... three years hunting down." Zac said, changing the subject.

"Right, right, just don't break your hand punching plate armor." With that the two settled into a silent walk as they made their way towards their target.

--

"No, this isn't the High Confessor's room. This is a study hall, what you need is a cleric, not the High Confessor though." Sab slid a bookmark into the tome she was reading, then shut the book and took a few steps towards the mage, "Take my hand, I'll lead you to someone who can get you healed," She said, extending her hand. Wonder why he doesn't just heal himself, he is a white mage from the look of things.

~Mullonde~

<There's no time for that, Ser...well, there's no time for that, that's all you need to know. I must get a message to the High Confessor immediately!>
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~Beddha~

*The knight grunts, but stays standing. Bremondt hurls what looks like a Kamehameha at Mortal. It strips off her scales &, before she knows it, she's in the body of a human woman.*

Bremondt<Perfect, the spell was a success!>

Knight<Congratulations, excellency. What should we do with the dragon?>

Bremondt<Destroy it. It's an abomination. I await your successful return.>

*As he turns to leave, all of the assembled soldiers draw their weapons & advance on Mortal.*
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~Goug~

*As they near a house in the target area, they hear conversations going on inside.*

Woman<It will take several days' treck to get to Gariland.>

Man<Still, if our comrades can just manage to hide out until we get there, we can free them.>

Woman<And what do you mean to do if they don't? Attack the dungeons, move on to the Beoulve manse?>

Man<Why not? We mean to do it anyway.>
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~Sal Ghidos~

*The blonde guy turns to stare at them.*

???<Careful where you spew your bile, else I might have to teach you your place.>

Knight 1<You won't have time for that, if you plan to accompany the Marquis. We'll see if he'll allow it. And thank you for your generous donation to the Order's cause.>

Knight 2<I hardly think our pockets are the Order's Gil vaults.>

Knight 1<We are of the Order, are we not?>

*They pocket a large amount of Gil, which is clearly a bribe, & escort the blond man to the castle.*
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~Gariland~

*When he gets there, he finds 5 green-clad soldiers facing off against a bunch of order cadets. The Brigade troops include a chemist & 3 squires in front of him, with a female squire on the roof. One of the cadets, a young man with blonde hair, turns in his direction, prompting the Brigade to face him.*

???<Are you friend or foe?>
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~Lesalia~

*Astarte & Rhea run into each other in the store, Astarte recognizing her description from the poster. Other than that, not much happens.*
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~Besselat~

Orator<Unfortunately, most of that information is classified. Is there anyone in particular you are looking for?>

"I'm not a member of the order but like hell am I letting someone disturb the peace here in this city. If the Knights want to call me a friend it would be the greatest honor I could receive" Sorrel gives him (Ramza?) the thumbs up before drawing his blade. The magenta shine catching the light.

"Who wants a piece of Sorrel?"

"He doesn't look so tough."

Mimiru:<Next time I see him, he sure won't be acting all high and mighty.>

*Shet akes a few breaths and turns to Taiyo acting like an entirely different person.*

Mimiru:<Are you all right?>

Taiyo:<Yes.>

"Well, if you're still in the mood to hit something maybe there'll be a posting or something at the tavern for someone looking to get rid of something."

Mimiru:<For your sake, there'd better be.>

*The trio head for the tavern.*

~Sal Ghidos~

*At the tavern are various postings. One is about escorting a White Mage to Bervenia, another is about a treasure dig at Lake Poescas, & the last one is about eliminating a monster at Mt. Germinas.*
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~Gariland~

???<I am glad to hear it! My name is Ramza Beoulve!>

*Most of the Brigade turns to face him in shock. The squire on the roof just throws a stone at Sorrel.*

Squire<Beoulve or not, he's still just a cadet! We kill them, chase off his stupid-looking friend, & we're home free!>

Sorrel avoids the stone and turns to Ramza, "Sorrel Convolt, nice to meet you Ramza. It'd be nicer if these flies weren't buzzing around but hey, can't choose what life decides to throw at ya." Sorrel's blade glows and he slashes at the nearest brigade goon. "Sanguine Sword."

"Treasure hunt might be cool. Perhaps instead of hitting something you can fling dirt and rocks around. It could be totally worth it. We might even find a magic stone with a funky picture on it."

Taiyo:<That sounds nice.>

Mimiru:<Are you almost done? 'Cause we're taking the monster hunting errand.>

<"...Fine.">

Tavernmaster<Careful. I hear that beast slew a company of Southern Sky knights who were sent after it. It's certainly no Chocobo.>
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*An eye opens above one of the squires, which drips red energy into the ground. Half a second later, a giant, ethereal sword bursts from underneath him, sucking the blood from his wounds into itself. He charges Sorrel with an attack from one side as another Squire does the same & the one on the roof throws another rock at him. The chemist hurls a potion at the injured squire before running up to the roof of a nearby building. Ramza's company starts charging forward.*

"Oh ho ho! Three on one eh? Sanguine Sword, Crushing Blow!" Sorrel defends against the attack coming from the roof and rewards his ground level attackers' efforts with a double Darkness skill counter via the accursed Sanguine Sword to right attacker and slowing Crushing Blow to the left one respectively.

"Damn. I was hoping it was."

Mimiru:<Well, we don't plan on dying like those nobodies. All right, lets go.>

Noctis let out a small sigh. It was just her luck that something she needed be under lock and key. Without much hope Noct went on to say, "I'm looking for anyone passing through here from four years ago to now, it would be two men, one of House Bell, and another of House Talea, both from Lesalia Capitol," Noct thought for a moment, then added, "If you may, please also check to see if anyone from Houses 'Wolf' or 'Roe' passed through as well." Those names being common aliases the two boys had used before.

--

Sab let out a small sigh, "Fine then, I will lead you to the High Confessor if you feel it is urgent," Sab replied, taking his hand and leading him down a hall, "Who exactly are you anyway, what is going on?"

--

Mortal wobbled a bit, not used to standing on two legs, and confused as fuck. Contorting her face into an expression of pure rage, Mortal let out a fierce roar meant to inspire fear, sadly, she was the only one made afraid by it. Her voice was far higher than normal, by human standards still a bit throaty in a seductive way, but a far cry from the ground shaking bellow she used to have access to. Mortal shook her head, there had to be something wrong here. She tried once more, tightening her fists until her knuckles were white and her palms bled from the pressure of her still sharp nails. Again, she was shocked by her roar, but this time it was because it resulted in a shot of Fire Breath, which was... new.

--

Iliad and Zac looked at each other as they eavesdropped on the conversation. They were just outside the door to the house, weapon, singular, at the ready. Iliad gave a quick nod to signal that they should blitz the two inside, but Zac put up a hand, then pointed to his ear. He wanted to continue to listen to see if there was anyone else inside that they would need to contend with. Begrudgingly Iliad nodded, and began to make his way, quietly, to the side of the house, looking for a window for him to peek into. Should he find one, Iliad hides and uses his knife as a mirror to get a view of what is going on inside.

~Beddha~

*Surprised, one of the knights stumbles back, patting the flames out of his cape.*

Knight on left<Don't let your guard down! We don't know what it can do!>

*After he says that, he slashes at Mortal. The knight on her right stabs at her stomach.*
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~Besselat~

*She thumbs through a book in front of her.*

<Hmm...let's see...There was a Wolf & a Roe who claimed to be tracking a band from the Corpse Brigade late last month. It seems they were dismissed soon after stating their purpose.>
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~Mullonde~

<I was part of a supply mission to Goug, when we were attacked outside the city limits by a Black Mage. Only I escaped alive.>
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~Gariland~

*He's hit in the head with a stone, but manages to kill one of the squires. The Chemist uses another potion on the other one. An Order Squire with a set of bronze armor runs up to him & attacks him from behind. So the Brigade Squire runs past Sorrel & crouches down.*

Ramza<Lay down your arms! If you continue to fight, you will only die in obscurity! It need not end that way!>

Roof Squire<Do you think us fools? Once we've defeated your gallant companion, we'll mop the rest of you up in short order. Highborn moppets are still moppets!>

*The injured squire throws a rock at Sorrel from behind as the one on the roof comes down & stabs Ramza.*
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~Goug~

*In the dagger, he sees the reflection of big shadowy pillars. They might be people. Or chairs. Or anything, really. Meanwhile, the door flies open. What Zac doesn't know is that the door opens in the outside direction. As he's hit in the face, out steps a 2 Thieves, a female Knight, & a Chemist, all wearing green uniforms. Seeing him, they all file into the street & form a loose ring around him.*

Knight<You! What have you heard!>
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~Mt. Germinas~

*The group comes up the north side of the mountain. On the top is a Behemoth.*

"This is getting obnoxious" Sorrel sighs and rubs his forehead and spins around to block the second rock with his shield before sprinting towards and attacking the offending squire with a cross slash.

Noctis nodded, "Does the log make note of where they went after their stay in Besselat?" She asked, glad that she had managed to at least catch wind of their movements.

--

Sab nodded, and knocked on the door to the High Confessor before opening the door, "High Confessor, this white mage was on a mission in Goug. He comes bearing a message."

--

Mortal sidestepped the stab, and tackled knight who swung at her. During the scuffle she tried vigorously to dig her thumbs into the knight's eyes, while screaming again. When the fire spewed forth again Mortal began to feel like she was getting a hang on... whatever was going on with her body.

--

OOC: Note to self, provide visual references to avoid misunderstandings (read:blatant disregard for what I say) when dealing with my characters. That or I go back to posting the way I used to ensure that the posts are flooded with enough details to paint a vivid mental image.

Zac stumbled to his feet with a bit of a smile, "That hurt you bastards, I mean, I didn't even do anything. Hell, I'm not even armed." Zac said, holding his hands up to show that he wasn't a threat.

Iliad peeked at the situation forming at the front of the house from the alleyway where he was. They didn't look like they were going to be gangstabbing Zac at the moment, so Iliad stayed hidden to avoid aggravating the situation, while trying to figure out which one would drop the fastest with a knife in his back.

"Hello... you're that Summoner for hire, aren't you?" Astarte smiled slightly when she ran into Rhea. "I am quite interested in all, well, most areas of magic- I would be delighted to talk to an actual Summoner!"

~Goug Slums~

OOC: I don't know the proper protocol for kicking down a goddamn door!

Knight<What should we do? He might alert the Order.>

Thief<Once we're out of Goug, they won't be able to stop us before we get to Gariland.>

Knight<But if they're on our tails, they might make escape difficult.>

*An elderly Black Mage in black robes walks down the street directly towards them.*

Chemist<You there! What are you doing here? Are you with him?>

Mage<Good question....>

*He digs a coin out of his robes & flips it, letting it land on the ground before looking at it. The knight is then struck by Lightning.*

Mage<Yes.>

Thief<Enough of this! Kill them both!>
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~Beddha~

*The knight stood his ground, wrestling with her hands. While they're doing that, one of the knights stabs her in the back from behind. Also, by this point, one of the samurai has caught up. He holds his weapon up & Mortal is sliced several times along the face by an invisible blade.*
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~Besselat~

Orator<No. Why would it?>
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Voice<That hardly sounds important enough for the High Confessor's-->

Priest<Elidibus's Legacy lives on!>

*To Sab, this sounds like nonsense, but the door flies open. The High Confessor is sitting in a room with several White Mages. Unlike them, he's in a golden throne with a cross decoration. All of them look grave.*

Priest<We were attacked by a Black Mage outside of Goug. It was...him.>

Confessor<Did he say anything?>

Priest<Yes. That he would be coming for you.>
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~Gariland~

*Unable to spin fast enough, he was hit by a stone. As he killed the Squire, the Chemist was cornered by a group of Squires on the roof & knocked off to his death. The female squire is in a sword fight with Ramza.*

Sorrel rubs his head, "Damn rocks. Ramza you need a hand?"

*Rhea turns to face Astarte, blushing and widening her eyes.*

Rhea: <O-Oh, yes, tha-that's me. Though I'm barely an actual Summoner, all I can do is heal...>

*She smiles awkwardly.*

"Even so, you are a Summoner," Astarte extended a hand. "My name is Astarte Cyprus, pleased to meet you."

*She nods and nervously shakes Astarte's hand.*

Rhea: <Rhea Gardenia... Nice to meet you too.>