The Meager

*Azuma continues to hack away at the Behemoth behemothic behind. Mimiru moves away from the Behemoth and Taiyo stops dancing to cast Cure on her.*

*She gasps in horror, looking around.*

Rhea: <No, no! Wh-What happened? What happened?!>

*She bursts into tears, falling on her knees and elbows. After a few seconds, she staggers back on her feet and summons Moogle to try and heal the closest dead companion.*

~Germinas~

*The Behemoth turns around to stab Azuma with its horns, knocking him into critical condition.*
==========================================
~Gariland~

<If you think you've got it all figured out, perhaps you can tell me where your sister is?>

*Because Parry he evades that shit like a mother fucker and slashes the Behemoth right on the nose.*

Sorrel's eyes darkened and his blade was at the mage's neck, "If you've hurt her not even the church could protect you from my wrath."

*Rhea hears steps and gets up from the ground, where she's been crying for a while now. She heads to the exit and spots Reiter arriving with a sad look on his face. She runs to him and hugs him tightly.*

Reiter: <I'm... so sorry. I went looking for you, I ...didn't want you to know like this...>

Rhea: <W-What happened?>

Reiter: <...I don't know... It had happened already when I got here. I went to look for you so I didn't get a chance to examine the footsteps yet.>

*He tries to start towards the cave, but she's clinging to him, sobbing. He grabs her by the wrists and pulls her to his side.*

Reiter: <Listen, calm down. We're going to find out what happened, and we're going to be all right. I want you to wait here, okay?>

*She shakes her head, wiping her tears with her hands, a reaction to which Reiter responds with a frown. She nods in agreement and steps back. He walks into the cave to look for any clues on who could've done that and why, starting by examining the bloody footsteps.*

~Germinas~

*The Behemoth roars but goars Azuma once more, killing him. It then turns & stalks its way over to Mimiru, but dies mid-step.*

The battle is won!

Mimiru's JP: 400
Taiyo's JP: 700
Azuma's JP: 500

Gil: 20,000
=============================================
~Bervenia Cavern~

*Everyone seems to have been attacked head-on & the wounds are definitely longsword wounds. Much more effective than the cheap shit they have.*
=============================================
~Gariland~

*The mage teleports to a rooftop.*

<You're in no position to be making threats. You wouldn't want me to have to explain to your father that she had a little "accident" because of your incompetence, would you?>

Mimiru:<Some knight he turned out to be. Well, lets drag him back to town before he starts to rot.>

*Mimiru grabs Azuma's corpse by the collar and begins dragging him away.*

"What do you want?" Sorrel was shaking.

~Gariland~

<Simple. You go home, we claim the reward. Oh, but if your father thinks us fools, he's sadly mistaken. The girl stays with us until he's made good on the reward.>

"I have a better idea if you're willing to listen. You'll still get your reward."

OOC: Just got WotL! The Meager! I GET IT NOW!

Noctis smiled, "I cannot thank you enough... Lilith Psyche, was it?"

Mortal thought for a moment, "The ones with long swords, Knights I believe they're called, wore red capes. There were two more wearing blue armor and carrying smaller, slightly curved swords; I've never seen anyone like them, but they fought with a strange technique. One created rain and it seemed to heal the others, and another did this to my face without even cutting me with his blade," Just then Mortal caught sight of Lilith, and the sword she was wearing. "There," Mortal said pointing, "The sword was like that."

Noctis looked at the large woman pointing at Lilith, "Did you perhaps anger a couple of commoners, because someone is pointing at you, and she doesn't appear happy."

--

"I killed her because she was about to kill my friend," Zac countered, "Trust me, I'd much rather her still be alive, especially now that I know she had nothing to do with what we're after."

"Zac, it no longer matters," Iliad said calmly, before turning his attention towards Seraph, "You seem to have an ear to the ground, ser. Would you happen to know of any assassins, particularly ones who were doing jobs in Lesalia three years ago?"

--

Sab nodded, "Perhaps, but before I give up entirely, does this library carry anything on Elidibus' apprentice, Seraph?" Sab asked, "He seems to have vanished just as suddenly, but since he was merely an apprentice, there seems to be less information on him. I was wondering if I perhaps missed something."

*He heads outside after wiping his own tears with his sleeves. Upon seing him, Rhea stands up from the rock she was sitting on.*

Reiter: <...Longswords.>

Rhea: <Then-->

Reiter: <Soldiers.>

Rhea: <Are you sure?>

Reiter: <No, it could've been anyone. But... we are thieves...>

*Rhea starts crying again, hugging her brother.*

Reiter: <We should leave as soon as possible. They stole everything we had. What did you get?>

Rhea: <The new dagger you asked for... some food and clothes... not much.>

Reiter: <...We'll be okay. We'll be okay. Let's go somewhere safer and decide where to go.>

Astarte browsed for a few minutes quite distractedly before leaving with nothing and heading home.
"I'll save some more money," She mused to herself as she walked. "Always a good idea.. Usually."

OOC: Good, I was wondering if I'd gotten the War of the Lions title right. I think it goes The Meager, The Manipulative & the Subservient, & Somebody to Love. Plus one I'm missing.

~Besselat~

L"Yes, it was, but you can just call me Lilith."

*She looks over at Mortal & Euryale, the latter of whom is too busy looking shocked to notice.*

L"Me, personally? Not that I know of. (I don't want to jump to conclusions, but they might be of the Brigade. Watch out.)"

E"Red? That's...listen, do yourself a favor, & just forget what happened. If what you're telling me is true, this isn't just some roving band of thieves like I'd originally thought. You'd never get to the man, and even if you did, you'd just get in deeper trouble."
=============================================
~Goug~

"Well, -I- don't remember killing anyone in Lesalia. Not that that's worth much. I don't know much about the city. Never cared for it, frankly. Just idiots in funny hats being idiots."
=============================================
~Mullonde~

<Never heard of him.>

*She flips a few pages in the book in front of her.*

<And he's not mentioned here.>
=============================================
~Gariland~

<Go ahead. Take all of the time you need to explain. Also: Tick-tock.>

"Let me stay with my sister. You bring us both back. You have two hostages, or if all you want is the money I know where one of the family's cache's is. Ether or."

*Some time later, Reiter and Rhea have packed what little they had left in a bag and set out towards the village of Golland without looking back.*

Rhea: <I would've liked to at least say goodbye to Bervenia...>

Reiter: <If it were Lesalia soldiers, they definitely noticed my absence. It isn't safe there anymore. I'm sorry...>

Rhea: <N-No, don't apologize. If it wasn't for you we probably wouldn't have survived in the first place...>

Reiter: <Maybe. But our friends would.>

*They continue walking in silence, Rhea staring at the ground.*

=====

*Meanwhile, in Dorter Trade City, Parker approaches a merchant guide.*

Parker: <Good day. Could you please indicate the fastest route to Lesalia and Bervenia, please?>

Mortal furrowed her eyebrows, "What, why? No, I don't think you understand. They came to me. They attacked me. They almost killed me. They did THIS to me. I am not just going to let them get away with that. If you know who this magick man is, tell me."

Noctis nodded, "Perhaps they are, but I don't think they are that dangerous. They don't look armed. In fact, they look quite meager." Noctis shrugged, "Then again, I really wouldn't know what to look for, as far as a member of the Brigade goes. In fact, the big one, well, they're both big, the, um, white haired one does look like she just came out of a fight though, look at her eye."

--

Iliad and Zac both got a chuckle out of that, "True enough, true enough. They are a bunch of idiots over at Lesalia," Zac said.

"Especially those young noblemen, so full of pride and bravado," Iliad followed.

"A fool's pride, I'm sure."

"Quite right," Iliad finished, a smile lingering on his lips, "Anyway, thank you for the information, sir. We'd be wise to start leaving the area however; it's starting to get a bit corpsey here."

--

Sab explained what she knew, "From what I've read he was Elidibus' apprentice, he went missing same as Elidibus though, only with even less details. I'm surprised you've never heard of him, I grew up on stories of him from the nuns who raised me."

~Mullonde~

<You were raised by the church. I grew up in a trade city. I don't expect you to know about the Fable of the Boxes, do I?>
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~Besselat~

L"Judging from the woman's build & the stress injuries to her hands & feet, I believe she is a monk. The other one, I can't see anything threatening about. But now that you mention it, white hair is pretty odd."

E"I will not! I don't care what you do to me, bloodthirsty dragon or not, I will not be responsible for getting you murdered!"

*At this point, Euryale notices Lilith walking towards them.*

E"...Unless the city guard attacks us because I'm yelling about bloodthirsty dragons. I suppose I would be responsible for getting you murdered in that case."
==============================================
~Goug~

"You could always just dump the bodies into the Fenlands."
==============================================
~Gariland~

<Ha! The son thinks us fools as well! Nay. We stick to Gustav's plan. You have until tomorrow to make your way to Zeklaus Desert. We'll check up on you once we've finished our other business there.>

*He teleports away.*
==============================================
~Dorter~

<Well, that would be up through Zeklaus Desert and Golland. But the desert isn't very safe. There's a reason they call it Death Desert, you know.>
==============================================
~Gollund~

*As they trudge up the mountain, they quickly become ankle deep in snow. Worse yet, they are set upon on all sides by a band of 4 thieves.*

Male voice<Hold your daggers!>

*From further up the path, a knight in green armor & a white coat descends. As he does, the thieves reluctantly put away their weapons.*

Male voice<Do you see swords, crowns, or lions amongst their dress? They are not our enemies!>

Thief<...Sorry, Wiegraf, Ser.>

Sorrel lets out a skyward scream after the mage left and begins to punch the ground.

*Reiter immediately steps in front of Rhea to protect her when they're ambushed, widening his eyes and looking around at the thieves when they cease the attack. He turns to the knight.*

Reiter: <Who are you people?>

=====

Parker: <Riiight... So like, are there any daily expeditions across it or something I could tag along with?>

~Dorter~

<Certainly not. There are only 6 scheduled trips across that trade route all year. 2 in the dry season and 4 in the wet season. Every other trip is a special order from private companies, usually the last month or so before the next visit. Even should one of these be in its scheduling stage, which I rather doubt, they usually do not value guests.>
===============================
~Gollund~

Wiegraf<I am Wiegraf Folles, the Commander of the Corpse Brigade.>

Thief<Wiegraf, no!>

*Wiegraf waves him dismissively.*

Wiegraf<I tell you this not because I expect you to fight on the front lines, but because I can see your story in your eyes. You haven't had a stable home for some time. Whatever you did have has been taken from you recently. Probably by the nobles, or the crown.>

*Rhea widens her eyes in surprise and steps around from behind Reiter to face the knight as well.*

Rhea: <How... How did you-->

Reiter: <Wait, Rhea. We don't even know if we can trust these guys. Why exactly are you saying that?>

=====

Parker: <Well, that sucks, doesn't it? Guess I'll have to venture across it alone. And die. A miserable, miserable death. After I crash at the inn. Thanks.>

*The turns around and spins on her heels to face him again.*

Parker: <The inn?>

*He points to the tavern, where some kid in a red cape is walking into.*
==============================================
Wiegraf<Sadly, stories such as yours are in no short supply around Ivalice. Have you heard of the Brigade platoon captured by Baron Grimms & detained in Fort Besselat? Because they are not our soldiers. They are a group of amateur merchants. I can only speculate on the Baron's motives, & I certainly shudder to think what the Southern Sky is doing with them. Provided they are still alive.>

Rhea: <Is he saying... they killed them for no reason?>

Reiter: <I'm not sure... So who are you guys, exactly? Some sort of resistance?>

=====

*She bows dramatically to him and skips off to the tavern. She walks to the counter and leans over to the bartender, smirking.*

Parker: <A nice cosy room for ze lady here, please.>