The Manipulative & the Subserviant

~Balias Tor~

R"Works well enough for me."

L"Clearly, your face is even in their colors! But you shouldn't worry. Having such thoughts is perfectly natural. Why, if most of the clergy was celibate, there wouldn't BE a clergy, now would there?"

R"Can we just go now?"

L"What do you have against fun?"
======================================
~Lesalia~

*Euryale emerges from the building with the dress folded up in her arms.*

E"Sorry it took me so long. I had to fight a scorpion for it."
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~Warjilis~

*She dodges, like a boss.*

Man<Let's. There will always be brainless rubes to steal from. But I don't like these odds.>

*With that, each one runs in the opposite direction down the street.*

Man<Let's.>
========================================
~Eagrose~

*He finds his group at the front gate, apparently having finished their deliveries & whatnot.*

Squire<Will we be heading back to Lesalia, then?>

Mortal and Noctis don't even question the legitimacy of the statement, "I'm just glad you're safe. So, lead the way." Mortal added, volunteering Euryale as the leader since she actually knew where they were going.

--

"This isn't fun!" Sab said, highly upset.

"She only jests, Sab," Iliad said, "You shouldn't take it to heart." Zac nodded in agreement, and Sab calmed down slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry... I'm not used to joking."

~Lesalia~

L"So he's not your type. We can find you another guy. How 'bout Roatha?"

R"No."

L"We'll have to work on that attitude. How do you expect to find a girl like that?"

*Roatha is ignoring her in lieu of walking across the water.*
=========================================
~Zeklaus~

*They arrive on the edge of an expanse of sand, with an occasional protrusion of red rock. Not even cacti seem to live deeper in the desert. They also see the wind blow sand over a large canyon at the center, & the ruins of a settlement shimmering off in the distance.*

E"Well, this is Death Desert. It's home to a lot of dragons, bombs, minotaurs, & skeletons, but not much else. The occasional Behemoth, I guess. There's also a good chance of running into an Aevis, since they migrate through here."

"I don't want a guy!" Sab said, "Just... please, stop."

Zac chuckled again, "Honestly, I really should introduce you to my sister."

"What do you even mean by that?"

Zac just chuckled again, and followed after Roatha, "Nothing, nothing..."

--

Noctis regretted everything, "You know, something tells me I was not paying attention when you said we were going to be headed to Zeklaus..."

Mortal shrugged, "Oh, come on now, it can't be so bad." In all actuality, Mortal was actually enjoying herself. The sun was fuck tons hotter than she remembered it being, but the scenery had a nice bit of rose tintedness to it. "Just, make sure you stay hydrated, and we should be fine."

Noctis shook her head, "That isn't what I'm talking about. Euryale may be fine because she is a golden bronze, but us, we're fair, much too fair to make it through this without being cooked alive by the sun."

"That is an exaggeration."

"I know it is, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a bit of truth in there."

~Zeklaus~

"You're supposed to cover yourself in a cloak when travelling through the desert. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it blocks the sun & promotes air flow."
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~Lionel Castle~

L"...It looks as though we were beaten to the scene."

*There are a bunch of dead church guys--knights, summoners, archers, & black mages--lying around the area in front of the castle gates, which are wide open.*

R"Bastards deserved it."

L"Oh, you see it too? Yes. They were definitely ambushing someone."

Noctis rummaged in her travel bag for a bit before pulling free a cloak, "Hm... I only have one." She said looking up at Mortal, who simply shrugged in return.

"Like I said, I'll be fine."

"You know, bravado is unbecoming when it is senseless. Perhaps we can share it if we walk close together?"

--

"How can you tell?" Asked Sab, incredulously.

~Zeklaus Desert~

"You should follow her advice. The desert is a lot harsher than it seems at first glance."

*With that, she strolls through the sandwaste with her dress tucked away in her shirt. Barefoot.*
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~Lionel Castle~

L"There are no guards inside the castle. This means they were trying to lull someone in with a false sense of security. Rather unbecoming of castle defenders, if I do say so myself."

*Roatha wanders into the castle & briefly glances at the gate switch, then looks away.*

R"Uhh...That's Gaffgarion."

"What? Where? He was with us trying to help the Princess!" Sab said, looking around.

--

After three seconds of walking in the same cloak, Noctis became very aware of the height difference between her and Mortal, "How big is this damn place?" She asked, annoyed at having her face at boob level with one of the few females she had no interest in boning.

"This was you're idea. I wouldn't have even done it if you and Euryale didn't say I should," Mortal said, "Besides, what is so bad about walking with me?"

"The fact that you're about a full head taller than me for starters," Noctis replied.

~Lionel Castle~

R"He's dead here, near the gate switch. I can't tell what he was doing here, or if he opened them. But in the mercenary world, Gaffgarion is known for being unscrupulous. It strikes me as unlikely he'd fight to the death for the Princess."
===============================
~Zeklaus~

"There are no monsters about, so we should pass through shortly."

"Maybe he was taken in by the ambush," Sab suggested, though ever the cynic, Zac suspected otherwise.

"Well, he obviously fought to the death for something," Iliad said, "Whether he was being paid to get the princess to safety, or being paid to keep the princess from being rescued, or whatever the church wants to do is another matter I guess."

"My question is this, if Gaffgarion was working with the church, and the church is no longer a shining beacon of virtue, who exactly are they fighting against in these skirmishes? Your old party, perhaps?" Zac asked.

--

Noctis let out a sigh of relief, "Thank Ajora..."

Mortal frowned a bit, "Fine, be this way, see if I walk with you coming back."

"Oh, don't be like that," Noctis said, "This has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with the fact that I've spent this trip in a confined space, inches away from your overly developed chest. Remind me to get you a cloak when we get into the next town."

~Lionel Castle~

R"The only way to find out is to go deeper into the castle. But I have a bad feeling about this. We should make sure we're really prepared before we go in there."
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~Dorter Trade City~

"I don't understand why it bothers you. She doesn't have anything you don't have."

"I never said she didn't, but just because I have something doesn't mean I want to have someone else's in my face," Noctis said, "I mean, if you only had a slice of bread, wouldn't it bother you if someone else walked by with an entire cart of freshly made sourdoughs? He wouldn't have anything you don't have, but the context of the situation might make you a bit upset."

--

Zac and Iliad exchange looks, and a nod before Zac said, "We're both good, what about you three?"

Sab was a bit unsure about the whole thing, "I guess I'm ready for a battle, but I still hope we can avoid any undue conflict."

~Lesalia~

"I don't...how...why would that upset me? If I need more bread, couldn't I ask if we can share?"
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~Lionel~

L"I could get more, but I cannot afford it right now. I'll have to make due with what I have."

R"And what I might need to improve cannot be bought at a store."

Noctis simply laughed, "Mortal, would you share your breasts with me?"

Mortal wasn't as enthused, "I've seen what you do with other people's breasts, so no, you can't have mine."

"I didn't mean like that!"

"Well, I certainly hope you didn't want to eat them like bread."

Noctis laughed again.

--

"I don't really need to buy anything," Zac said, "You could use whatever funds I have to supplement your own. I would hate it if you were hurt because you couldn't afford something."

"Yes, let us return home."

~Dorter~

*Euryale has been gawking at them since "I've seen what you do with other people's breasts."*
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~Lionel~

L"Hmm...I wouldn't mind getting a Kiyomori & another Murasame, if you could spot me about 4 thousand Gil."

R"Yeah, on second thought, I probably do have enough Gil to make a few updates."
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~Eagrose~

*A Northern Sky knight emerges from the castle.*

<Lord Dycedarg bade me to inform you of recent developments. Cardinal Delacroix was found dead in Lionel Castle, along with most of the Lion Knights stationed there. The cause is unknown, but rumor is they were crushed to death somehow. Besides that, Goltanna has declared himself regent through Ovelia, & begun to march on Lesalia. Duke Larg, in turn, plans to march to defend the capitol.>

Sorrel turns to the messenger, "I'll send word to the Convolt private guard to mobilize and defend the capitial till the Northern Sky order arrives. I'll march with Duke Larg. I've always been an unofficial member of the order... I thinks its time to end that nonsense."

Noctis is too busy being amused by the situation to notice Euryale.

Mortal quickly tries to change the subject entirely though, "So, um, where should we be heading?"

--

Zac nods, "I have enough to cover that."

~Lionel Castle~

OOC: I edited the inventories...35 minutes ago....

*They come back after a quick trip to the shop, Lilith & Roatha sporting some new weapons.*

L"I appreciate the financial aid. I trust that this will prove especially useful."

*She holds up a sword with a guard like a flower.*

R"Why?"

L"It's a Kiyomori. It can cast reflect & shell on its surrounding allies."

R"'Its allies'? You are aware that it's just a sword."

L"Well...hopefully it doesn't hold that remark against you."
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~Eagrose~

<If you plan to march with the army, you should see the Duke. He might have particular plans for how to dispatch the troops.>

Sorrel nods and begins to return to the duke's castle.

*Taiyo continues the dance while Azuma attacks Reiter.*

OOC: Did you edit Zac's inventory? If so you messed up, he has way less than whatever he had previously with 4k subtracted. 10k-4k=6k, not 3k. Unless Lilith was a gold digging whore and brought more shit than she said she would.

"So, are we ready?" Zac asked.

--

Mortal is ignored, and incredibly sad.

Noctis hopes Euryale feels bad for making Mortal feel bad.

OOC: It is quite possible I did the math wrong. I already had to correct Lilith's from the first edit. Expect a real post when I have more time.

OOC: I'm fairly certain Zac had gil even before getting the 10k from the previous battle, so there is literally no way he could be down to 3600, or whatever.

OOC: Yep. Yep. I subtracted from 7 thousand instead of 10 thousand. This is why I'm flunking math.

~Dorter~

*Euryale snaps out of her shocked gawking to realize she's getting dirty looks.*

"W--wha? Oh...we just keep heading south. Unless you want to stop somewhere."
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~Lionel Castle~

R"Are you volunteering to go first?"

L"Are you afraid to?"

R"Not at all."

*Roatha enters the castle, carefully stepping over Gaffgarion's dead body.*
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~Eagrose~

*For now I'm going to assume Dark did not ragequit, in which case Duke Larg has asked him to investigate the Templarate, at Dycedarg's request. Zalbaag was nowhere to be seen.*