The Valiant

~Lesalia~

"Well, then, I suppose you'd better find out. And, hey, it looks like you already have some idea of who to ask! That's good, because the NEXT time I meet them, they probably won't have a church to hide in."
==================================
~Orbonne~

*Euryale continues following Mortal, but by now, they've lost track of Vanessa. The crawling man was in a Templarate uniform. He was bleeding profusely, leaving a trail of it as he went. He stops as he coughs up some. Ramza is watching from close to the church's entrance when a Zodiac Stone flies out of the knight's pocket and into the air.*

Holder of the Holy Stone...

Ramza<Is that...another Stone, like the one the Cardinal had?>

Holder of the Holy Stone, unite your spirit with my flesh. I will grant you life, and the power to avenge your fallen sister.

???<Help...me....>

Ramza<Wiegraf, no!>

Noct looks around, "What is going on here?" Normally she would think the one attacking the Templar to be the bad guy, but she just got done killing a few herself, so she was in no position to judge.

--

Mortal, deeply incensed, screams and breaths fire into the air.

--

"You son of a bitch, you leave them alone!" Iliad said, taking another step closer.

Dawn on the other hand shrugged, and walked past Iliad, Divum and Sab, "Do what you will, you're only making my life easier."

~Lesalia~

<Good evening, then, Lady Talea. But do keep me in mind if you require services of your own, in the future. (Or maybe your husband will require services rendered upon you.)>

*He points to Illiad. Several white "rods" jab into his shadow and he feels himself completely paralyzed and unable to take action.*

<I will be leaving now. If you acquire any useful information, simply send it along to my target, or one of her associates. Just be mindful to do it quickly.>
===================================
~Orbonne~

*Euryale slowly approaches Mortal & puts a hand on her shoulder.*

"It's all right, Mortal. Everything is all right."

*The pair notice bright flashes of pure blue lightning striking close to the church entrance. Followed by a large, blue explosion.*
--------------------------------------
*The Stone lands on Wiegraf.*

I am Belias, the Gigas. With this pact, we are one.

*Wispy blue "spirits" enter the Stone. Wiegraf then is surrounded by lightning before the blue energy explodes outward, also expelling the spirits. In his place is a large, blue--well, gigas--with four heavily muscled arms, a stone head like that of a ram, empty eye sockets, & a loinclothed.*

Belias, the Gigas<My wounds are all gone...and this incredible power...no, not just power, knowledge, as well. Centuries of information is now at my beck & call! Do you even understand the sheer glory of it, Ramza?>

Sorrel sets off after his day or so of rest.

*James turns to Clyde.*

James: <We gotta stop him!>

Clyde: <Not my problem.>

James: <Yeah? If Warjilis turns to shit, you don't have a backup in mind, do you?>

*Clyde adjusts his hat and lets out a cough as if to change the subject.*

Clyde: <I see your point. We'll pursue him, then.>

*The two of them run after Gaffgarion.*

Mortal let out a long sigh, "Yes, I'm, uh, I'm fine..." Suddenly explosion, "What was that? Wait, where is Noctis?"

--

Noctis looks at Ramza to see if she can back away to leave him to his death without him noticing.

--

Sab looks at the rods, and tries to pull one of them out.

"What happened to me?" Iliad asked.

"I don't know... just... stay still for a second."

"Staying still is the problem."

"Wait," Divum called out, "Where would I even find any answers? Where should I look, what should I investigate?"

~Lesalia~

*Seeing that the rods sank INTO the shadow, and are therefore invisible and probably intangible, this is something of a problem.*

"I suggest you start by fishing as much information as you can out of those dear daughters of yours. Wayward children often keep secrets, you know."

*He laughs before teleporting away, producing that cliche "evil laugh reverberating after the villain has left" effect.*
======================================
~Orbonne~

*Ramza pays that bitch no mind & whips out his sword.*

Belias, the Gigas<Worry not, Ramza. We will have our duel. But not now. Not here. It is far too open.>

*Belias teleports away.*

Ramza<Wiegraf! Come back, you coward!>

*Simon stumbles out of the door behind Ramza, bleeding profusely from several sword wounds. He's clutching a red leather-bound book weakly to his chest with both hands.*
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E"Over...there...."

*Euryale starts running in that direction.*
==========================================
~Riovanes Castle~

*Seeing as I have no idea where Sorrel is setting off TO, I assume he's just wandering around while people try to sell him snake oil.*
==========================================
~Warjilis~

*Gaffgarion enters the port city and immediately sets off for the slums.*

Sorrel is in fact wandering around at the moment listening for information and finding very little.

Noctis looks over at Simon, then Ramza, "What is going on here?"

--

Mortal follows after her.

--

Sab tries to tip Iliad over to see if he could be moved by outside forces.

*The duo is following closely behind him.*

~Sal Ghidos~

*Seraph is gulping down oatmeal like it's a drink, leaving his utensils completely untouched. When he finishes, Roatha tenses as though ready to make a grab for it, but Seraph sets it down daintily on the table, carefully positioning it out of everyone's way. Lilith snaps her fingers.*

L"Hey. Focus. Battle plan."

R"Oh, right...well, obviously, we want something in the area. Wilderness, so we don't get anyone else caught up in this. We should probably also avoid Nelveska Temple."
=============================================
~Lesalia~

*The Stop effect had ceased when Senthose made his exit, so.*
=============================================
~Riovanes Castle~

*The closest thing he finds are a group of ninja led by the man from before leaving the city. This time there's also a woman who looks kind of like him. She looks slightly nervous.*
=============================================
~Orbonne~

*They arrive in time to hear Noctis ask the question. Ramza looks from Simon to them and back. Simon coughs up blood.*

Ramza<Elder, who are--never mind that, we have to get you to a Chemist, or a White Mage.>

Simon<No...no, there isn't time for that. I have to leave it to you..before I pass.>

Ramza<Elder, you can't-->

Simon<Please, Ramza! There is no one else I can entrust this to!>

*Soon after Ramza reluctantly takes the book, Simon slump over. Ramza checks his pulse, then closes his eyes and shakes his head.*

Ramza<You three...who are you? Did you know the elder? You're not...with the Templars, are you?>
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~Warjilis~

Gaffgarion<If you two are determined to follow me all day, then you'd best be ready for a fight or two. Otherwise, you should leave now.>

*With that, he kicks open a door that turns out to lead to a thief den. Five male thieves look up at him, from various areas of the room. From a map laying on a table and one guy sharpening daggers, it looks as though they're planning a heist.*

Noctis shook her head, "Pilgrims you could say. We were traveling through Orbonne looking to get some questions answered. Now, uh, what exactly is going on? I just woke up."

Mortal is horrified, and quickly makes her way over to Simon, shaking her head when she sees that he has passed. She would have asked what was going on, but Noct was already on it.

--

Iliad still gets tipped over, and when he can move afterwards Sab attributes it entirely to herself, "That worked out better than I thought."

"The spell already wore off, you just pushed me over for no reason."

"Oh..."

"Iliad!" Divum looked at Iliad with pleading eyes.

"I already know what you're going to ask, but I simply can't just go out looking for them. Not only do I not know where to look, I have business to attend to here."

"Dammit, Iliad! I'll continue your 'business' in your stead! Do me this favor and I'll use every contact I have to find out who killed your mother, and how they're connected to House Convolt."

Iliad let out a small sigh, "Fine, fine... Just, do you even know where they are?"

"A pilgrimage, they were at, um-- I made business papers for Noctis, either Lionel, or Mullonde, or somewhere like that."

"You don't sound so sure," Iliad ran a hand through his hair, "But I'll travel south, and hope for the best. Just, please come through on your end, and I'll make sure nothing happens to Noctis."

"And Mortal!"

"Uh, yea, sure, her too."

--

Zac listens while eating his food.

~Sal Ghidos~

R"Obviously, a clear line of sight would be ideal."

L"But we'll want some cover, to help pin down his forces."

R"How about Lake Poescas? It's a ways away, but we can hide in the fort, and ambush him."
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~Orbonne~

Ramza<Forget it. It is probably best if you simply forget what you've seen and move on. I can't guarantee the Templars won't be back. Even though they have what they are looking for, they may well need a scapegoat to pin Elder Simon's murder on.>

*Ramza pockets the book.*

Ramza<...If they come after you asking for answers, make no hesitation in telling them that it was Ramza Beoulve.>

"Ramza...Ramza...where have I hear--oh! The heretic the church mentioned. Is that...is that YOU?"

"I do so hope we're not thrown into the same boat as you, no offense," Noctis said, "You got that woman this time, right, Mortal. So it isn't like they'll know we were even here."

"Uh, she actually got away, again."

Noct let out a long sigh, and facepalmed.

--

"Works for me," Zac said.

--

Iliad goes off to pack up for the trip. Sab walks around the city for a bit, before waiting for Iliad at the South gate.

~Orbonne~

E"Well, she is a ninja. Ninjas are fast."

*Ramza starts to leave, but Euryale grabs his elbow. Because he's wearing fruity spiked armor, she hurts herself & backs off. Ramza turns around.*

E"Umm...you don't seem like a bad guy."

Ramza<Thank you.>

*Ramza turns to leave again.*

E"There was a question implied there!"
====================================
~Sal Ghidos~

L"Alright, so I take it you'll want to be close to the highest vantage point? You and Seraph could be the bait."

Zac shook his head, "Actually, I've been noticing that pistols are not great with verticality, and better on a flat surface. Not that I think I'd miss my shot, but I don't want to cut my range short."

--

"Simon trusted him, and Simon didn't seem like a bad guy to me," Noct said, "The church on the otherhand is becoming more of an evil entity in my eyes as the hours go by."

--

And they're off.

~Orbonne~

E"I'm sure they can't be all bad. I'll bet the High Confessor doesn't have a clue just how much corruption has invaded the Templarate and the Celebrants."

*Ramza frowns.*

Ramza<I cannot say any more. I fear I must head north. Good luck on your travels. And...do not delve too deeply into matters of corrupt politics and religion. It isn't safe.>
=========================================
~Sal Ghidos~

L"If that's so, then Lake Poescas doesn't sound like a good location. I guess we could trek all the way to Beddha. But the farther we move away from Zeltennia, the less likely he'll be to follow us."
=========================================
~The Merchant City of Dorter~

*By a stroke of good fortune, Illiad & Sab manage to get this far. Now they find themselves at a literal crossroads, and need to choose which of the 3 directions they'll go next.*

"I'm still looking if you're still willing to tell me more info" Sorrel says to the man.

"A bit too late to stop now, I'd say," Noctis replied, "I mean, it'll be pretty hard to finish any sort of religious journey when the caretakers of the religion don't particularly like you. Wait, damn, there are also those knights from the Ydoran to contend with..." Noct shook her head, "Honestly, between Glabados, and Pharism wanting me dead within the span of a week, I'm quite fed up with religion entirely..."

--

"What about Finnath Creek?" Zac asked, "It is still within Zeltennia."

--

Iliad and Sab take the time to chill out at Dorter, after their long journey over such a short time.

~Sal Ghidos~

L"My concern there is how close it is to Lord Goltanna's castle. Also, I'd hate to be caught fighting against nature."
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~Dorter~

*When they step into a tavern, the tavernmaster notices Sab and waves at her.*

<Young lady, are you looking for a faster way of learning your magicks?>
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~Orbonne~

Ramza<What? Pharism hasn't been practiced for nearly 2 thousand years. And surely you didn't refer to the old empire?>

OOC: On an unrelated note--

The battle is won:

================================
~Riovanes Castle~

???<I told you, he is at Orbonne. Now, leave.>

Sorrel waves and heads for Orbonne.

"I'm afraid I did," Noct said, "But I don't think it really matters at this point."

"What does matter then?"

"Truth be told, I'm not so sure anymore. I definitely don't feel safe anymore though."

--

"That is true," Zac thought for a second, "How about the base of Mt. Germinas?"

--

Sab approached with a bit of caution, "Sure, what exactly are you offering?"

~Dorter~

<I've been looking to get the word out: The Knightly Orders are issuing dozens of new job postings around Ivalice to help crack down on Brigands. If a person is looking to fill their repetoire of abilities, they can ask for targets matching the job they want abilities from. I can then check my records, and tell you if there are any individuals or groups who match the description. When the target is slain, his abilities can be learned from his spirit-crystal. You get to keep everything you earn from the job, and there are no questions asked.>
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~Orbonne~

Ramza<...Elder Simon entrusted these scriptures to me. Perhaps I should use my own judgment on who to share them with.>

*Ramza begins reading aloud from the Scriptures. When he stops, Euryale is staring at him in shock.*

"That...are you saying all of it, everything about the faith...it's all lies?"

Ramza<That would seem to be what Germonique and Elder Simon are suggesting, yes.>

"No. That can't be true. You can't honestly tell me you believe that, can you?"

*Ramza looks away.*
==================================
~Mt. Bervenia~

*As Sorrel is walking to Orbonne, he stumbles upon a swath of lava with precariously positioned stepping stones. Worse than that, on the other side are one of each subspecies of Ahriman. They look emaciated, and are feeding on rodents.*
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~Sal Ghidos~

L"Too mountainy."

"That looks dangerous, might have to find another way around" he goes looking for one.

Noct simply chuckled a bit, "Honestly, I'm just upset I've wasted my Sundays on this. Whatever inkling of faith I have seems foolish to keep now. Ajora was a human, and even the title of 'hero' is fraudulent."

Mortal put a hand on Euryale's shoulder, knowing that the faith meant a lot to her.

"Oh, right, sorry..." Noct said, "This must be tough for you."

Mortal shook her head, "I've always been a believer in the lessons Glabados teaches. It helped me... learn to be human. Whether those lessons are born from the mouth of gods, or men means little to me."

--

Sab furrowed her brow a bit, "So it is simply mercenary work with the added benefit of looting the bodies for coin and knowledge..." She let out a small sigh, "And here I was hoping you had a tome or some such..."

Iliad walked up at this point, "Sab, there you are. What are you doing?"

"This man was interested in getting the word out about some mercenary work."

"I still have a hard time picturing you killing anything, really."

--

Zac let out a small chuckle, "Well, it seems we've quickly run short on options. Perhaps we should just stick with the lake bed, I'm sure I'll make due."