The Valiant

~Mullonde~

White Mage<...Very well. But mayhap you should keep a tighter leash on your handmaiden.>

*Euryale glares at him.*
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~Grogh~

*The archer doesn't even notice her. The female thief gets behind Mimiru & stabs at her.*

Knight<Good enough leader to invest in a wider array of skills.>

*Upon hitting him, Azuma is blasted with quicksand from below. The knight then takes his sword in both hands & slashes at Azuma.*
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~Lionel~

*He points to a drawing of a blond man with gold eyes hanging on the wall. The caption reads "The Heretic Ramza Beoulve is wanted for the murder of Cardinal Delacroix."*
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~Finath River~

Grimms<Things ought not to have turned out this way. Would that I only had more time, for my hunters to gather the precious materials to replace my hallowed pike. Even so, I will be the brave warrior who fought off the heretical rebels. You think you can defeat me at my own game, but I am no mere berserker--heroes are made by image, not by brute force. Had you more tactical minds, you might have seen that I'll only come out looking the better. The only escape from your shame & my wrath is in your own demise, now that you've made yourselves traitors.>

Zac shoots another Barrage at him, since I'm not sure if that was Grimms' death quote, or just him continuing to be an asshole.

--

Noctis said nothing and continued on inside. Mortal would have been more upset at Noct if her ruse didn't work, but she still felt a bit insulted.

Sorrel sighs and whispers to them as they pass him since he's standing right at the door, "I believe the good white mage has a rod up his ass"

"If he is into that sort of thing perhaps I should show him around Lesalia, I know a few places he may enjoy." Noct said with a small shrug.

~Finath River~

*Grimms teleports away to parts unknown before he can be hit.*

The battle is won!:

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~Mullonde~

"Who cares about the Lesalian Chocobo Racing Jockeys? I think, when we were passing through, he muttered something about me having goblin-like hands!"

Zac looks over at Lilith, "Are you alright?" He asked, holstering his weapon.

--

Mortal frowned a bit, "Nonsense, your hands are lovely."

--

Script Z says
They are not doing anything terribly important. Iliad is at home, reestablishing himself as a noble, and trying to find out things on Convolt through investigators and such. Sab is chillin' with him, readin' things, generally not giving a fuck.

~Mullonde~

"Thank you. I'm glad someone appreciates them."

<Ladies, ladies, I assure you, there's enough of me to go around.>

*Some dude in robes with a sort of violet vestement thing walks out of another room.*

"I thought the priesthood was celibate."

<Only if we own land. I suppose you could say the church doesn't want its shepherds to have too many sheep.>
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~Finath River~

L"No, I'm not all right! And neither are you! We've all surely been declared traitors against Goltanna by now...& he's practically next-in-line for the throne! Plus, if Grimms sends out word of my mission to the church, he can make the whole thing look like my own underhanded deed! Where else are we to turn?"

R"Lilith, I don't know if you noticed this or not, but...the guy's an idiot. He didn't know most of our names."

L"Oh, okay, so it's just me who's dead."

R"Ah--that is not how I meant for this discussion to turn out."
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~Lesalia~

*Having been ditched by Seraph, Astarte wanders back to Lesalia, noticing some guy (Illiad) coming out of her family's estate.*

Mortal was kind of creeped out by the guy. Noct didn't really have anything to say, so she remained quiet.

--

Zac felt bad. Lilith was understandably upset, but there was really little they could do about it now, "There is more to Ivalice than the Southern Sky, and the Church. I'm sure we can find someplace where you won't be prosecuted."

--

Iliad was giving Sab a tour of Lesalia, and going over a few leads while he was at it, when they bumped into Astarte.

Astarte was staring at her feet as she walked, considering the events of the last few days.
Consumed in her own thoughts, she very nearly walked into Iliad without noticing.
"Sorry!"

Iliad looked at the girl. "It is quite alright," He said, "Try to be careful, you could hurt yourself if you don't pay attention to where you're going."

~Mullonde~

"Who are you, anyway?"

<...You must be from one of the more uncivilized regions of the kingdom. This particular style of robes signifies that I am a Celebrant--an agent of the Department of Inquisition. One of our duties is to inspect all visitors to the Holy Cathedral. We can't just send someone to the High Confessor if they might be an assassin, after all.>
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~Finath River~

L"Where? Gallione? I don't have any secret intelligence to give Larg. He'd only offer up my head, in hopes of keeping his own."

"Sor... Thank..." Astarte found herself not knowing what to say and blushed heavily, turning awkwardly to walk away. "Okay."

*Parker backs further away from Reiter, towards Mimiru, and casts Tanglevine on the female thief.*

"So, what does this inspection entail?" Noct asked, stepping forward.

--

Iliad took one step away before turning back, "I'm sorry to interrupt again, but are you from Lesalia originally?"

--

"Well, alright," Zac said, running a hand through his hair, "You do have friends in Lesalia who would be willing to protect you, though I'm not sure what a noble house can do other than try and keep your whereabouts a secret."

~Finath River~

R"Well, whatever you do, you shouldn't stay here. If Grimms has any other Blackram Knights nearby, he'll be sure to tell them to tie up loose ends. And I want to head into the next town, to prepare for Gustav. He might decide to free the beast, like that cardinal did."
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~Grogh~

*She does nothing of the sort because she passed Mimiru ages ago, & she's way too far away from the thieves to hit them with anything.*
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~Mullonde~

<You said you were here for business, so you want the Department of Collection. I'm supposed to affirm your identity, but really, I couldn't care less. Just leave the swords here & don't go destroying everything like a rambling hoard of crazed dragons.>

Mortal was about to say something but she was cut off when Noct said, "Quite right, though a rambling hoard of crazed anythings would be pretty bad." Mortal figured that was true enough, and didn't press the issue, as she began to until her sword belt.

--

"Right," Zac said, "We should probably get moving."

"And if I said they were with me?" even though it was a total lie Sorrel was still loitering around the church having nothing better to do but report bake to the duke.

*Mimiru counters that attack while Azuma attempts to Parry the attack.*

"I guess you got me there."

*Taiyo continues dancing. Mimiru uses Chakra.*

Clyde: <Any money for bagging him?>

Astarte nodded twice.

"Would you happen to know anyone by the surname Convolt?" Iliad asked casually.

~Mullonde~

<I'd wonder why the lot of you clearly told 3 lies in a row. No...on second thought, I don't think it's a good idea to let you in. It could interfere with the...church activities.>
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~The Trade City of Sal Ghidos~

*Being a trade city, the first thing they run into is shops, & they are restocked in no time.*

L"How did you know Nelveska Temple is up here, anyway?"

R"I used to live around here."

L"Really. Then what are the names of all of Duke Goltanna's reteiners?"

R"Well...Count Orlandeu, obviously...Marquis Elmdore...&...uhh...you know, I was never one for politics."

L"Odd, isn't it, that someone with no interest in politics would be investigating the church for abductions, scandals, & secret alliances with the dukedoms?"
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~Grogh~

*The knight steps around Azuma, whirling around to slash at his backside. Mimiru is stabbed in the back by the other thief, with the thief she just counterattacked attacking her again. They are also healed by Chakra.*
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~Lionel~

Knight<Most assuredly, though that price would have to be negotiated with the Department of Inquisition at a later date.>

Well that isn't shady at all. Maybe I SHOULD report back to the duke right away... or find Ramza...

Sorrel merely turns around without a word.

"I told no lies, I don't even know this man, or why he is lying," Noct said, a bit annoyed. "As I explained before, there was first a misunderstanding by my overzealous sister, then I accurately explained our business here. I have no ties to this man, and I don't know who he is, or why he is lying on our behalf." Noct shook her head, her successful bluff was now being called into question because some random guy tried to help out a situation he knew nothing about.

--

"I find it odd as well, but not really suspicious," Zac said, "People usually don't care about anything until the point that it matters to them personally."

~Finath River~

L"So why does it matter? How does he know where this temple is, if he hasn't asked anyone on the way here? Why does he seem like he's only telling us half of what he knows, when we've trusted him with far more information?"

R"Hey. I don't owe you anything. No one said you had to follow me."

L"And if we hadn't been, you'd be dead by now!"

R"You don't know that."

L"Yes I do! The only reason the Baron didn't attack on sight is because he thought he could bluff us away, since I was there. Even if you did manage to sneak past him, it would just be to face the Black Sheep Knights & the Knights Templar at the same time, you wouldn't have stood a chance. And how many times during our battles did someone have to use a Phoenix Down on you?"
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~Mullonde~

<And I suppose you have some kind of official notice that specifies what, exactly, you are doing here? Because after Lionel, we know that noble blood thins throughout the years.>

E"What happened at Lionel?"

<You probably accidently crushed them with your minotaur fingers.>

*Euryale purses her lips & glares at him as he reaches for a paper on the desk. Holding it up for them, it shows a blond haired man, probably scarcely an adult. Underneath it reads, "Ramza Beoulve--Wanted by the Department of Inquisition for the murder of Cardinal Delacroix."*