The Valiant

~Dorter~

<There are jobs like that as well, but they're nowhere near as prosperous or plentiful.>
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~Orbonne~

*Poor Euryale is practically pulling her own hair out.*

"It means everything! Have I wasted half of my life, just to...to visit big, stone houses? Half...no, what about the rest of it? Living in forests and run-down inns, while common thieves and murderers manage to obtain whole castles of their very own? And what bout all ofthose times I felt like I was close to something greater? Was I a fool? Was I mad? What about divine justice? Is that assassin just going to kill us all, and face absolutely no retribution?"

Ramza<...Elder Simon wrote that Saint Ajora's demon never existed. But I have seen the dark power of the Zodiac Stones with my own eyes. There is an evil presence at work. I often think...that I have been exposed to this evil, that my dear sister Alma was spared their wrath, that I have scores of allies even as I should have been hunted down and executed many moons ago, and that I am now given secret information with which I may oppose them...it cannot be all coincidence.>
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~Siedge Weald~

*Assuming he takes the quicker of the two routes, he finds himself once more in a forest that appears to hate him. This time, there is a Chocobo at each corner of the forest, standing far away from him, yet eyeing him aggressively. To the right is a yellow one, to the left a blue, to the back right another blue, and to the back left a red.*
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~Sal Ghidos~

R"Well, if we are settled on a location, what about a time?"

"We're in a bit of a rush as it is," Iliad answered, "We don't really have time to go out and do any kind of work, really."

"Oh, that is right," Sab said, "So, have you made your mind up yet as to where we should head?"

"Not quite yet."

--

Noct would rather not get into this conversation as anything she'd say would not be helpful for Euryale to hear at all, and she has the decency to realize this ahead of time.

Mortal pats her on the back once again, "Ajora may not be the son of gods, but that doesn't speak to the legitimacy of Ajora's parents. A fallen branch should not take the whole tree down with it."

--

Zac kind of chuckled, "Yes, we wouldn't want this to get in the way of our busy schedules. What time do you think would be best?"

~Sal Ghidos~

L"Yeah, like you said, I think I'm ready to do it pretty much whenever."
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~Orbonne~

E"But if one God is false, how can I say there are any Gods at all? How do I know everything I've ever felt wasn't a lie?"

Sorrels claps then beckons the birds to try and take a piece of him as he unsheaths his blood sword. "I have a lot of anger to vent, this should be amusing."

"Alright then," Zac said, "So, when do we carry out this plan? Today, tomorrow...?"

--

"Have you ever felt that we were friends?" Mortal asked, "That isn't a lie. I realize this is world changing news, but that doesn't stop other things from being true. You shouldn't let it change everything that is real in your heart.

~Siedge Weald~

*The Black Chocobos fly towards the normal Chocobo, who moves forwards slightly. The Red Chocobo stays where he is & flaps his wings, a big ol' space rock dropping down on Sorrel's head.*
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~Sal Ghidos~

R"Is there any real reason we should need to wait until the morning?"
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~Orbonne~

*Euryale sniffles.*

E"So I should just...believe what my heart says?"

*Something about what she says appears to make Ramza all introspective and he wanders off.*

"None, just wondering if we'd be heading off after this meal," Zac replied.

--

"Yes," Mortal said, "I'm not paragon of good advice, but that seems fine by me."

Noct turns to Ramza, and was going to bid him safe travels, but he had already wandered off. Instead she turns to the remainder of the group, "We should probably get going right about now. Wouldn't want to get caught here by, well, anyone really..."

~Orbonne~

E"S-sure. Mortal, do you mind if I...I don't know, hold your hand, or something?"
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~Sal Ghidos~

R"Well, we do need to do something to spread the word."

Mortal tinged pink, "Yes, go right right ahead."

--

"Seraph?"

~Sal Ghidos~

R"What about him?"

S"What about who?"

R"You."

S"Huh? Speak up."

R"Nevermind. So, what about him?"
==============================
~Dorter~

*MEN stumbles into the tavern, looking lost and confused. Especially Euryale, though she does smile every so often when she looks at her hand.*

"If we need someone to spread the word, who better than Seraph?"

--

Iliad stood at the bar and was ordering drinks, but Sab turned around and was brought face to face with MEN. She saw Mortal and Euryale holding hands and tinged a bit pink, thinking that they were awfully close.

"NOCTIS!" Iliad shouted, causing Sab to jump and let out a little bleat of surprise.

Noct looked over and beamed with happiness, quickly closing the distance and embracing Iliad with a hug, "Iliad, its, you're--! Wait, where is my brother, where is Zac?"

Iliad frowned, "Safe. We separated about a week ago, things have been strange, but I believe he was headed to Nevleska when we split."

"Nevleska?"

"It doesn't matter right now, what does is that you're in danger."

"You don't even know the half of it..."

At this point Sab and Mortal, dragging along Euryale, join the two of them. "What exactly is going on?" Mortal asked.

"This is Iliad, one of the men I asked you to help me find all those years ago."

"And this must be Mortal, I'm afraid you're the center of all this commotion," Iliad said, "Ah, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Iliad Bell, a pleasure."

Mortal took his hand, "Uh, I'm sure."

"So, you're the dragon...?" Sab asked, looking up at Mortal, putting both of them in an awkward situation.

~Dorter~

*Euryale just stands there. Being ignored.*
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~Sal Ghidos~

L"Now, hold on, I'm only agreeing to this because Baron Grimms is out of control and needs to be stopped. I don't want to hurt any other civilians, or Southern Sky personnel. And HE can't even avoid hurting the waitresses!"

*As they speak, he is snapping someone's bra.*

R"Lilith raises a good point. But what else are we going to do? Put up fliers?"

"Actually, there isn't any reason why that wouldn't work," Zac said, "What better way to goad Grimms into come than a literal written invitation?"

--

"How exactly do you know that?" Mortal asked.

"It is the reason we're here," Sab said.

"There is a bounty on your head," Iliad said, a bit quieter, "An assassin came to House Talea while I was there, he said his employer was the church."

"You. Do. Not. Know. The. Half. Of. It."

"So you've been saying, but I'm not really here to talk about what trouble you've been in, only what trouble is seeking you out," Iliad said in response to Noct. "The assassin said he'd let you go if you could tell him about your transformation, and how it worked."

Sab looked at Euryale, "I don't remember anyone talking about a third woman."

Mortal looked at Euryale, "This is a very close friend, her name is Euryale."

Iliad and Sab introduced themselves.

~Dorter~

E"Umm...hello. Uhh...I don't understand, why would the assassin want to know that? What value would it be to him? Can you even believe what he says? Wait...did you see him? What did he look like? Did he give you a name, even if it was a fake one?"

*Euryale asks the questions rapidly, ratting off each one as it comes to mind, with little pause or breath in between.*
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~Sal Ghidos~

L"He might respond to a direct challenge, but putting up fliers isn't very believable. The Southern Sky would probably assume it's just a bunch of kids playing a prank. Which, with the exception of Seraph, is kind of what we are."

R"We're not exactly kids. What are you, like 40?"

*Lilith slaps him.*

"He was just joking, you're too good looking to mistake for an old lady," Zac said, "That aside, what kind of direct challenge would work? How would we even issue one?"

--

"Uh, in order?" Iliad thought for a second, "I'm not sure, but he seemed to really want to know. Divum believed it enough to send me out looking for you, and he seemed threatening enough to listen to. He was of a slight build, shoulder length hair, silver in color, with blue eyes and pale skin."

Sab looked at Mortal's white hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, "He kind of reminded me of you, if a bit scrawnier, and extremely full of himself."

~Sal Ghidos~

R"I wasn't joking, I really thought she was 40."

*She slaps him again.*

R"Forty isn't THAT old!"

*And again.*

R"Stop HITTING me!"

L"Anyway...the proper protocol for issuing a duel between enemy commanders is far too convoluted to actually go through. Even if we did, it would be frowned upon if the Baron fought Roatha, whom he claims is the group's leader, as an equal."

R"Frowned upon 'cause he'd lose."

L"So...we could try to issue a duel to him in secret, but the problem is that we don't know where he is. The whole point of this plan is to lure him out."
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~Dorter~

E"No, you don't understand what I mean by 'listen to him': Who is to say that he won't just kill us after he has what he wants? He's not getting paid to satisfy his own curiosity. What if--wait, he looked like Mortal? You don't think...you know...that he's...?"

Zac kind of chuckles a bit before saying, "Well, I'd suggest we spread word that we're out and about, but they might just send a scouting party to see if that is true, and we don't want to injure too many people needlessly."

--

"Her brother?" Sab asked.

"I believe she meant another dragon," Iliad said, "I guess it could be possible. It would explain his interest, but we don't have much more than a passing similarity to go off of for that theory."

"Huh, I never thought of there being others like me..." Mortal said, wanting very much to meet with this man now.

"Anyway, do you think you'll be able to sate his curiosity on the matter?" Iliad asked.

"I won't. All I know is that Bredmondt was the one who did it, but I'm nearly positive that is also the one who put a bounty on my head, so why wouldn't he just ask him himself?"

~Dorter~

E"It could be that he's just toying with his prey, but if he really DOES have an ulterior motive, that means he surveys his jobs very carefully. He may have already known that Bremondt was the one who changed Mortal, but Bremondt won't tell him anything. He'd just hire someone else. And trying to force the answer will just cause the church to target him. But this isn't a problem if he gets someone ELSE to force the answer out of Bremondt. Someone whose life is already forfeit."
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~Sal Ghidos~

L"I wouldn't worry about that, I think we could turn away a patrol party without too much bloodshed. My issue is with making the information about the attack of the 'Evil Eye' believable, but without actually hurting anyone."

"That makes a lot of sense," Sab said, "But he can't really expect someone to choose a fight with the church over a fight with some assassin."

"You REALLY don't know what our week has been like..." Noct replied.

"Actually, we may not have to," Mortal said, "One of the Celebrants at Mullonde was saying something about overthrowing Bredmondt. If I could help him out with that we wouldn't be going after a church official, we'd be going after a nobody with some fancy magic."

--

"I'm sure there is an abandoned house we could burn down somewhere," Zac suggested, "In the long run it would actually be beneficial to burn down a house in the slums. Rebuilding it would create labor jobs, and actually get people paid."

~Sal Ghidos~

*Roatha is about to say something, but it is Lilith who answers.*

L"I'm afraid not. It is nobles who have the money, and therefore nobles who start housing products. If they don't feel like paying, they won't pay. The peasants can't make them, and it is very rare, in this economy, that any peasant organization can amass enough money to build a house."

R"Wow. I didn't expect you to be so...knowledgeable on that."
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~Dorter~

E"Ordinarily, I'd say that's conniving, but I think Bremondt has more than earned it. I'm just worried because if this is the guy I'm thinking of, he didn't seem too much better."

"Bah, you can never leave anything up to nobles. Most want nothing more to stab someone in the back, and the rest don't seem to care until they find a knife in their own, then they lack the decency to realize it was coming," Zac caught himself, "I'm sorry about that... Five years is a long time to contemplate how nobility can corrupt."

--

"I told him as much myself," Mortal said.

Sab shook her head, "More corruption in the church... what a fool I've been to not notice."

"You don't even know the half--"

"Noctis, we get it," Iliad interrupted.

~Dorter~

E"No, she's right, you really don't. The Templars attacked the monastary we wee staying at, they even killed the attending priest. But what was even more shocking was that before he died, he gave Ramza the Scriptures of Germonique. He...he read some of it, for our...benefit, I guess."
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~Sal Ghidos~

L"...I am no stranger to how many commoners feel about me. But the discrepency between nobles and peasants is the result of alienation and poor priorities in the higher classes. How much money do we send to a church, that is almost as rich as the King, when we could be using it to improve the lands our serfs live on? Only a relative handful of truly wicked men actively seek to oppress their subordinates."

*Seraph laughs quietly.*

S"And let me guess...you think that if you just...play the role of the understanding landlord...if you try to be the friend of the people...that they'll stop hating you? Do you believe that if you just give the pawns a little more, then they won't covet what you have? And I thought my jokes were bad."

R"I like Lilith."

S"You're as deluded as she is. If not more. The only question is, which one of you will wise up to the way the world works, and sell out the other first? I can't wait to find out."

"Over the years I've grown more and more disenfranchised with this caste system of nobility and commoners. No one's blood is better than that of anyone else. Ivalice should stop acting like birth determines status, and let someone's drive and talent decide their worth," Zac folded his arms and leaned back in his seat, "Anyway, this is kind of an odd topic that we've gotten ourselves into. Perhaps we should get back on track."

--

"I can honestly say that I don't want to know what it said," Sab said, "My faith has already taken a hit..."

"Perhaps you just need to restrengthen your faith. A little book shouldn't be enough to take away your faith," Iliad said.

"A little book was enough to give our entire land faith," Noct said, "You shouldn't discredit the power of words."

~Dorter~

"I can honestly say that after everything I've seen, I no longer believe Ajora was divine. I have trouble believing that he was even a good person. I'm...still trying to find new meaning in my life."
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~Sal Ghidos~

S"Suit yourselves."

R"You know, all of this talk about angry commoners rising up against nobility gives me an idea."

*Lilith sits back slightly.*

R"Wrong idea. I still have some of Dad's old Brigade uniforms. We could wear those as we march to the battle site. They would also conceal our identities."

"How would we know Grimms would come after us, and not random mooks?" Zac asked.

--

Sab frowned, "I understand... I've taken solace in the hope that maybe I can change the church. Turn it into something that does more good than evil."

"Well, Iliad, your new girlfriend is nothing if not ambitious," Noct said.

Sab furrowed her brow, "I'm not that kind of girl. I'm not into-- Wait, you're Zac's sister right? He wanted us to meet."

"Did he now?" Noct smiled a kind of predatory smile, before being interrupted by Mortal.

"There are bigger things to worry about than that, Noctis."