In The Name of Love

Reiter: <For a while we thought the two of them hadn't survived.>

Parker: <And while all of this was happening, I was kicking ass with Roatha and that other guy.>

~Limberry~

L"Unfortunately...from the way it sounds, it is likely that it was ordered by Zalbaag Beoulve. That explains what Delita said to us. The Beoulve brothers must have sworn they'd save his sister."

R"Not to be crass, but this kind of proves my point."
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~Lesalia~

E"Well...alright. I'd better go see if Mortal & Noctis are okay."

*Clyde gets back up and dusts himself off then sighs.*

Clyde: <In any case, what do we do about the kidnapped boy?>

"The Beoulve's sound like a bunch of really horrible people," Zac said.

--

At this point Mortal returned, with a small wet spot on her shoulder, and a harp in her hand. She looked pointedly at Sab, and put the harp down on the table. After taking a seat, she grabbed her plate of food and began eating.

Rhea: <I suppose they do.>

Parker: <But we still need to figure out what we're going to do.>

~Warjilis~

Archer<We'd have to track him. But he has quite a head start on us, & generally faster troops. It would help if we could cut him off.>
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~Lesalia~

E"I was just about to come & check on you. Is everything okay?"
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~Limberry~

L"I can't go anywhere. I'm waiting for a message."

Clyde: <What about guards? Surely they'd catch the eye of at least one.>

"What message?" Zac asked.

--

"Yes, I believe so," Mortal said, "Noctis is just a little upset."

~Warjilis~

Monk<And how would they know where he's going? "They left out of the east gate." Oh, that really narrows THIS IS A PORT CITY! There's only ONE gate to leave through!>
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~Limberry~

L"I sent a report about the Evil Eye to Delita. I am waiting to receive one back."
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~Lesalia~

"That's unfortunate. What's she upset about?"

Clyde: <Shouldn't there be someone standing watch on said gate?>

"Ah, okay," Zac let out a small yawn.

--

"The best I could get out of it is Sab hurt her feelings," Mortal replied.

Sab kind of sat there, not knowing if she should leave.

~Warjilis~

Monk<...I am going to explain this to you slooooowlyyyyy. There is only ONE gate. One. There are no other exits. None. Just that one. There is one exit. Zerro is leaving the city. He will leave the city through an exit. There is only one exit. Zerro will leave the city through that one exit. It doesn't matter who sees him, there is only one exit, only one road, out of the city. And Zerro will be taking that ONE exit. Because he has NO OTHER options. Where he goes once he's miles away from here is another issue entirely. It doesn't matter who sees him, because they can't tell us anything, except that he went through the one exit, which we already know. If you still have questions, feel free to let me hit you until they stop.>

Archer<You're both wasting valuable time!>
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~Lesalia~

*Euryale stares at Sab. Judgmentally.*
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~Limberry~

*A Squire salutes her, delivers a scroll, & then is off. She unfolds it & reads it.*

L"...Speak of the devil. Hmm. Delita suggests the Evil Eye leader was after the Zodiac Stone. And that's why he chose to attack Limberry while it was weak. He doesn't give any insight as to who it might be, though. And...'the Lucavi Problem will be taken care of by this time tomorrow'?"

Under the combined judgmental stare of Euryale and Mortal, Sab finally caved, "Listen it isn't even that big of a deal. I figured Noct was a big girl, I didn't know she took rejection so hard..."

--

"Does it say how," Zac asked, "Or are we just supposed to have faith? I'm not good with faith..."

~Lesalia~

E"That's what this is about? Wait, why did you reject her?"
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~Limberry~

L"Actually, what it literally says is, 'This leader of which you speak was probably after gemstones, taking the opportunity of Besselat to strike while Limberry was weak. I regret to inform you that Luke will have passed by this time tomorrow.'"

R"I don't get it."

L"It's code. If someone intercepted the message, it would look like he was giving advice on dealing with a thief, & lamenting the passage of a friend. But 'gemstone' probably means auracite. Which is confirmed by Luke. We know only one 'Luke.' Luc...avi. This Delita is a shrewd one."

R"So shrewd he doesn't see fit to tell us of his plans to assassinate the Marquis."

L"You think that's what he's up to?"

R"How else do we know of to destroy a Lucavi?"

Clyde: <Fine, fine. We need to do something now, then.>

"Do you really have to ask?" Sab countered, "That girl is a bag of crazy, no offense. Half the time I can't tell if she is being sincere, or if her smile is there to hide some ulterior motive."

"Rude."

--

Zac nodded, "Roatha has a point."

~Limberry~

L"I'm not sure I like that."

R"Why? He's a demon."

L"I'll remember that if you ever become possessed."

R"Look, it's just that...well, Gustav, & that inquisitor...maybe he's...well, isn't it odd that every other Lucavi-possessed person we've fought was some kind of murderous psychopath?"
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~Lesalia~

E"I second that. You're mean. Noct has been nothing but nice to me."
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~Warjilis~

Minimas<I think mayhap I should just pay that ransom.>

"That was kind of what I was thinking as well," Zac admitted, "Perhaps the Marquis isn't who you thought he was."

--

"You were a pawn in her plan to get herself laid! She toyed with my feelings and sent me after Mortal, and it worked. You should be mad at her, it is her fault all of this happened!"

~Lesalia~

*After Sab is done, Euryale quietly sits there, staring at her for a moment.*

"I see. I should be mad at Noctis for what you did."
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~Limberry~

L"That isn't possible. The Stone just banishes your spirit & replaces it with that of a monster."

R"Alright, then why didn't it possess any of us?"

"I wouldn't have done it at all if it wasn't for her," Sab replied.

Mortal frowned, "At least take responsibility for your part in all of this."

"You're one to talk!"

--

Zac was willing to let them debate that one out on their own.

~Lesalia~

"Mortal & I have already come to terms with our failings."
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~Limberry~

L"That doesn't mean--"

R"It either means there's some kind of trick to being possessed, which Elmdore had to intentionally exploit, or it responds to human evil."

L"No! You're wrong!"

"Well, I didn't fail, I was set up, and it wasn't fair," Sab said, folding her arms, "And just because she is sorry about it doesn't mean that I want anything more with her. She is nice to me, but how can I ever trust her again?"

--

Zac frowned, not enjoying seeing Lilith so unhappy.

~Lesalia~

"Yes, how could you stand to be around someone who has betrayed you in the past, let alone trust them?"
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~Limberry~

R"You're going to have to decide whose side you're on."

Sab frowned, "I feel like you're being sarcastic..."

--

"Who me?" Zac asked.

~Lesalia~

"Ironic, actually."
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~Limberry~

R"No. Well, yes, but I was talking to Lilith."