Elementals 3: The White Rose (IC, Sign-ups only)

[Serconas]

Finally! After so many years Ke'Am was free again. The first two days he was so overjoyed he could barely sleep, doing instead what the young nomad always done before his enslavement: Roaming the lands before him. As Ke'Am had never been in a forest before this was also a very new experience for him. Although the tree were intimidating as well, tall and shady with shrubbery beneath they would be excellent for ambushes. With this in mind Ke'Am glanced at his surroundings ever so often to make sure he wouldn´t be taken by surprise by bandits or worse: the henchmen of his former master. Surely they would pursue him, so better to travel as far and as fast as possible. Luckily one of the travellers he had met on his way north mentioned a city on the coast, Ka-ro-something. Not that the name mattered all that much, it was atleast Ke'Ams first goal on a long journey, where-ever the inspirited axe would lead him.

As he took a sip from his waterskin he noticed something on the road ahead of him, a white horse with a rider - seemingly a woman - on its back. Almost immediately Ke'Ams posture stiffened. He remembered the first time he saw a horse, a dark fearsome beast, and on it a Sahranjjite soldier with a gleaming blade in his hand. He shuddered, instinctively reaching for the axe, but stopped himself when he saw the woman´s strange clothing. She surely wasn´t one of the people hiding behind the great wall.
"Sun with you", Ke'Am greeted her in Galllian with a thick accent, while slightly raising the hand with which he had almost drawn his weapon with.
Still he mentally readied himself for a more... violent reaction, in case the stranger misunderstood him or was indeed an enemy.

[Woodstovia]

The man was blabbering about how he hunted daemons, about how he was on their side but Aerion knew the truth.

He stepped forward and drew his sword, the screeching of steel against scabbard helping his mind a little.

"Your new friend is right," he said, glancing at the pistolier who was trying to show off some flashy no-hands draw while everyone was about to die "Every day this scum doesn't feast of pain or corruption is a day spent in agony. It simply cannot live among us in peace, it must be destroyed immediately." His eyes were like two of Ev's bullets and were completely transfixed on the servant of darkness. He may have looked different from the things at Champions Field but his heart and mind was exactly the same, and he had seen what they could do.

His blue cloak was fluttering in the wind. He was going to save them all.

Slowly, as if she was just toying with it, Catrin moved her falchion to push Aerion's sword until its point touched the ground. She didn't even look at him, not that she needed to, the thing was as flashy as the rest of golden boy's equipment - and as flashy and pretty as Erosen's usual stuff wasn't.

"I'd rethink that move, friend. I've seen 'this scum' fight more demons than you have hairs on your head, and judging by your luxurious mane that's quite the number. And judging by the reactions of some of the others here, I get the smallest feeling they'd side with me if you were to attack him. You know, like an idiot who attacks Elementals who actually use their abilities with some modicum of control."

Aerion’s whole body shuddered again, not because of the darkness but because of the thing which had now turned its attention to him, he stared at the floor, trying not to see it and hoping that somehow he’d disappear into himself. He hated spiders like any normal person did, he wasn’t really scared of them but it was a different proposition when a 7 foot tall one was trying to speak with you.

He had largely ignored the thing by simply looking the other way, ignoring it, pretending it never existed and focusing on his inner thoughts but now there was nowhere to hide from the beast, it was speaking to him although “speaking” was quite generous. It should have never been able to tackle the human tongue and it’s voice was as disgusting as the creature that spewed it forth. He wasn’t even insulted by its words, he just couldn’t get his head around the thing actually talking to him. He slowly tried sheathing his sword, the others could see the darkness, most of them were elementals so they’d be able to feel it, they’d be able to slaughter the Daemon trying to con them on their own, he’d rather avoid confronting a giant spider.

[Hanafuridake]

"Sun with you", Ke'Am greeted her in Galllian with a thick accent, while slightly raising the hand with which he had almost drawn his weapon with.
Still he mentally readied himself for a more... violent reaction, in case the stranger misunderstood him or was indeed an enemy.

As the horse reached the city gate, Fumi was lost in thought about her future. It seemed the odds were becoming worse and worse for her, and yet, a part of her held out hope that a window of opportunity was presented now that she had gained much money from her selling her treasury and wardrobe to the merchants. It took her awhile to notice the tall and dark haired stranger, and when she did, her body tensed. She eyed him warily, aware of how much taller and heavier he was, meaning that should he choose to attack her, she would be powerless.

Finally, he spoke, and Fumi sighed in relief when she realized he was from Sahranjja. They were barbarians, but she felt much more comfortable around them than the Gallians. “Sun with you,” she replied warmly. “I hope that you're doing well, stranger. If there's anything you need, just ask.” damn, damn, damn, why did you say that? Now she would be obligated to help him, lest he become violent.

[Ameriganastan]

“Eric?” an incredulous voice called out. “Eric!”

An excited Flacht ran to the group when she caught sight of someone who she never thought that she would see again. For a second she worried that the party would not recognize her, considering her hair was now bleached white, and she was wearing a Gallian military uniform with all of the medals on full display. “I never thought I would see you ever again, you old goat.” she laughed, then she noticed Tristan and Lisoette. The girl rushed to hug the both of them enthusiastically. “I looked for you three for almost an entire year. Nothing turned up though.” suddenly her eyes flashed. “Where's Trish? If you three are here together, that must mean she's here too, right?” she noticed Erosen, but didn't seem to remember much about him that was warm. There were others as well who she didn't know, complete strangers.

“Well.” she coughed, regaining her composure, suspicious of the outsiders. It was an old trait from her homeland, one that she had still internalized despite the years in the service. “I'm sure she's around here somewhere.”

"Trying to copy me I see, are you runt?"

Remembering what an emotional ass he'd made of himself last time he encountered his old travelling pals, Eric restrained himself to simply patting her on the head.

"A soldiers uniform and injuries from military service. Trying to copy my shtick. Ha! Just busting your balls. Good to see you again, kid...though it looks like you can't see me all good."

His rather blunt way of noticing her eye injury.

"Say, you want a cool eyepatch? I got a whole collection of them in the Fanny Pack Of Wonder...oh, Belle. Show her what you do now."

She sighed, vanishing off his back and assuming her psychical form.

"Neat, huh?"

[Constaniana]

Fumi sighed as she exited the tavern, both eager to never see the miserable place again and sad that she was now departing from the last place she had possessed companions. After a few hours, she had managed to sell most of her eloquent kimono and family heirlooms for a hefty sum. Not nearly as much as they were really worth, she lamented to herself, remembering the time that a nobleman had offered to buy much of her wardrobe for a price that made what she had now extremely paltry. Fumi had turned him down, believing she would not part with her treasured garments for her life, but now she wished that he possessed the clothes, and not the dealers she had pawned them to. At least he understood artistic taste.

The former shōgun slung her bow onto her back, her quiver having a few arrows in them. At least she still possessed her bow, as long as she had the strength of her own arm, she could overcome anything she had decided. Fumi walked up to the horse which she had bought with some of the money, a white mare which she had named Yukibana (Snowflake) on a whim. “Well girl,” she murmured, patting on the horse's flank and looking up at the stars. “Looks like there is nothing more here. For us at least.” she climbed up into the saddle, being careful to avoid anything which would disturb the mount. Fumi had ridden horses before, at times it had been necessary, but she had never been entirely comfortable while doing so.

She gave the steed a gentle kick with her heels and Yukibana started down the road heading outside of the city.

Finally! After so many years Ke'Am was free again. The first two days he was so overjoyed he could barely sleep, doing instead what the young nomad always done before his enslavement: Roaming the lands before him. As Ke'Am had never been in a forest before this was also a very new experience for him. Although the tree were intimidating as well, tall and shady with shrubbery beneath they would be excellent for ambushes. With this in mind Ke'Am glanced at his surroundings ever so often to make sure he wouldn´t be taken by surprise by bandits or worse: the henchmen of his former master. Surely they would pursue him, so better to travel as far and as fast as possible. Luckily one of the travellers he had met on his way north mentioned a city on the coast, Ka-ro-something. Not that the name mattered all that much, it was atleast Ke'Ams first goal on a long journey, where-ever the inspirited axe would lead him.

As he took a sip from his waterskin he noticed something on the road ahead of him, a white horse with a rider - seemingly a woman - on its back. Almost immediately Ke'Ams posture stiffened. He remembered the first time he saw a horse, a dark fearsome beast, and on it a Sahranjjite soldier with a gleaming blade in his hand. He shuddered, instinctively reaching for the axe, but stopped himself when he saw the woman´s strange clothing. She surely wasn´t one of the people hiding behind the great wall.
"Sun with you", Ke'Am greeted her in Galllian with a thick accent, while slightly raising the hand with which he had almost drawn his weapon with.
Still he mentally readied himself for a more... violent reaction, in case the stranger misunderstood him or was indeed an enemy.

It was quiet past the gate around this time; too late for country folk coming in for the day, but too early for them to be leaving. In summertime tourists might stroll into the woods if they had tired of the seashore, but by November people only came and went this way for business like selling venison and fruits to sailors tired of tack and fish. Some men stood around a well-polished culverin on top of a tower, the chill wind forcing them to keep alert, turning every so often between looking towards the sea and deep into the woods. Whether they were actively watching for approaching danger or simply admiring the changing leaves was unclear.

Three guardsmen stood on the ground with pikes. The trio casually leaned against the wall, being able to doze a little in the relative protection of their alcove. They didn't take much notice of Fumiko, they didn't take much notice of Ke'Am, and they didn't take any notice at all of the eight-foot tall man covered in muscles and red hair. None of them had glanced at him as he walked over from whatever way it was he had come. None of them would probably have remembered even if they had been looking, the way a person can walk into a room and forget why they did so.

"Good morning! Sun be with you indeed!" He chortled in a boisterous, hammy manner. His ruby eyes seemed to twinkle in delight at the greeting exchanged by the nomad and the exile, as if he were on the cusp of a magnificent joke's punch line. He grinned at Ke'Am, and then turned his gaze to Fumiko. His good cheer dampened ever so slightly, "Are you sure you're going the right way, Fumiko?"

"Your new friend is right," he said, glancing at the pistolier who was trying to show off some flashy no-hands draw while everyone was about to die "Every day this scum doesn't feast of pain or corruption is a day spent in agony. It simply cannot live among us in peace, it must be destroyed immediately." His eyes were like two of Ev's bullets and were completely transfixed on the servant of darkness. He may have looked different from the things at Champions Field but his heart and mind was exactly the same, and he had seen what they could do.

His blue cloak was fluttering in the wind. He was going to save them all.

"But Aerion, supposed legendary warrior I never heard of, who isn't Froenstia's champion, if Erosen feasts on pain or corruption, doesn't that mean he's doing us a service by getting rid of it? That's like getting cross at vultures for eating a rotting corpse, even though that's a good thing because it clears it away before it rots more and spawns more disease. Not the best way of getting your point across," Lisoette opined, folding her arms and smirking lightly as Catrin moved her falchion in front of the Southemen. When the bleach blonde called out Eric's name the Daemonness she wondered if it was some other pirate the old soldier knew, but then again pirates didn't wear scarlet uniforms. Her confusion increased when she and her husband were hugged by the stranger. The mention of Trish surprised her, as it had been some time since that quiet girl had come up in a conversation. Lis took a deep breath to sense the newcomer's aura, and noticed it was Fire magic. Then again, that face was familiar.

"Wait, are you the other Fire Elemental we had? You changed your hair! What was your name again...Flock? Flatte?"

[Woodstovia]

“So What you’re saying is he’s the human equivalent of a maggot then? Someone who eats away at corruption for us? Well even if that may be a good thing I am not the kind to consort with maggots. I’ve made too much money for that. Maggots may have a place in society as our tools to be used and quickly disposed of. But you keep tools in your shed, you don’t invite them into your house and let them maggot the place up. Besides my larger point was that if there is no pain he has to cause it, if there is no corruption he has to prey upon the weak. The gods blessed be their names created us all to destroy creatures like him and send them back where they belong. The first elementals beloved by all saw to that, when they kicked the black kings arse and I wouldn’t sully their names by welcoming creatures of darkness with open arms.” Aerion told her, his face the picture of annoyance “and you have heard of me.”

[Serconas]

It took her awhile to notice the tall and dark haired stranger, and when she did, her body tensed. She eyed him warily, aware of how much taller and heavier he was, meaning that should he choose to attack her, she would be powerless.

Finally, he spoke, and Fumi sighed in relief when she realized he was from Sahranjja. They were barbarians, but she felt much more comfortable around them than the Gallians. “Sun with you,” she replied warmly. “I hope that you're doing well, stranger. If there's anything you need, just ask.” damn, damn, damn, why did you say that? Now she would be obligated to help him, lest he become violent.

"He is doing well", the nomad replied bowing is head almost unnoticably in thanks. Ke'Am relaxed a bit as he noticed the tone in which she spoke, although his eyes quickly searched the horse for any weaponry.
"He hopes you are as well, fair lady", he remembered the last two words from his 'lessons' about the Galllian language. He was told to adress women this way, they didn´t quite tell him what the first word meant, though.
"Say, is this the city of Ka-ro-", he also did not quite remember the name of his first destination. "-ne?", he finished asking.
But what Ke'Am suddenly remembered was the style of her clothing, he had seen it one of the books his teacher tried to stuff in the young mans head, not that he was interested in anything besides the colorful pictures.
"Do you mind him asking where you hail from? He has not seen this kind of garment on any of the people he has met so far",another one of these words, 'garment', why - by the shifting sands - did people need different words for the same thing.

Ke'Am winced as he was interrupted by the strange man suddenly bellowing. His hand instantly at the axe on his belt Ke'Am turned to face him, only to grit his teeth at the imposing stature of the man with the red hair.
Not knowing who just who just intruded on him and the woman on horseback, the nomad braced himself, but not saying anything in return as the redhead clearly adressed her. Fumiko. Fu-mi-ko. Ke'Am rolled the name through his head. An interesting one fore sure.

[Hanafuridake]

"Good morning! Sun be with you indeed!" He chortled in a boisterous, hammy manner. His ruby eyes seemed to twinkle in delight at the greeting exchanged by the nomad and the exile, as if he were on the cusp of a magnificent joke's punch line. He grinned at Ke'Am, and then turned his gaze to Fumiko. His good cheer dampened ever so slightly, "Are you sure you're going the right way, Fumiko?"

If Fumi had been confused by the sudden appearance of the tall Sahranjian, now she was even more bewildered by the giant who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and even worse, knew her name. “Wh - what?” she asked, not sure how to respond. Either her horse was freaked out too, or it detected her fear, because it had become somewhat nervous. “Who are you? How do you know my name? Wh - y are so you familiar?” it felt like she had seen this man somewhere before, in a distant image or some former life. He reminded her of the Retar peoples she had heard about, but they'd been wiped out for centuries.

A thought occurred to her. What if this was some sort of god. She dismounted from the horse and prostrated in front of the giant out of awe. “大かみ (Great God),” she said in her own language, using respectful language in her own tongue. If he was really a god like she suspected, he would be able to speak her tongue. If not, then she had just added humiliation to one of the prices she had to pay. “Tell me what I'm supposed to do please. I don't know where to go, and I'm lost.” a part of her started to shiver.

[Reverend Norv]

Ev let out a short guffaw when Alexei addressed him as a noble: "Everard, of House Mallow." He seemed on the brink of a reply when Aerion stepped toward Erosen and drew his sword.

Everard Mallow's eyes narrowed in recognition as he stared at Aerion, and he opened his mouth as if to speak. But Alexei's slight unsteadiness on his feet distracted the colonel; for a moment, frank concern furrowed Ev's brow. When Catrin intervened, Ev grimaced but said nothing. It was clear that he didn't like looking at the drider; he cast the creature wary glances, but did not let his gaze linger. And when Flacht ran up to the group, Ev's eyes moved quickly over her decorated Gallian uniform, and his hand moved back toward his pistol: his blue-green sash, after all, identified him to any war veteran as a former member of the Commonwealth's Albrish forces. Only when Eric greeted the girl warmly did the Northeman relax.

Meanwhile, Aerion backed down from attacking Erosen and opted instead to gripe about his wealth and fame. Ev glanced at him again, and nodded as if some suspicion had been confirmed. "Aye," the colonel said calmly. "I've heard of you. Even saw you once, at the triumph in Villdernheim. You're the mercenary who ran his company into the ground, murdered women and children, and then sold out in time for Champion's Field." A bleak smile tugged at the corner of Ev's mouth. "Not the story you tell, Captain? There are few secrets in an army on the march. In any event, I wouldn't be so sure you're above consorting with maggots."

Rather than say more, the colonel glanced back at Alexei: a look of concerned appraisal. Then he shook his head once, as if to dismiss the entire debate. "No matter. If you want to kill the blasphemer, then as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to try. But you'll do it off the street. We need to get to the inn. Now." Ev stared around the group. "We've been standing in the middle of the road, drawing weapons on each other and discussing stealing a ship, all in broad daylight. It's by the gods' grace alone that half the city guards aren't already descending on us. Let's continue this behind closed doors, before we're continuing it from inside a holding cell." Ev jerked his chin in the direction of the inn, and his voice held the calm command of a man used to being obeyed. "Time to go."

[Hanafuridake]

“Eric?” an incredulous voice called out. “Eric!”

An excited Flacht ran to the group when she caught sight of someone who she never thought that she would see again. For a second she worried that the party would not recognize her, considering her hair was now bleached white, and she was wearing a Gallian military uniform with all of the medals on full display. “I never thought I would see you ever again, you old goat.” she laughed, then she noticed Tristan and Lisoette. The girl rushed to hug the both of them enthusiastically. “I looked for you three for almost an entire year. Nothing turned up though.” suddenly her eyes flashed. “Where's Trish? If you three are here together, that must mean she's here too, right?” she noticed Erosen, but didn't seem to remember much about him that was warm. There were others as well who she didn't know, complete strangers.

“Well.” she coughed, regaining her composure, suspicious of the outsiders. It was an old trait from her homeland, one that she had still internalized despite the years in the service. “I'm sure she's around here somewhere.”

"Trying to copy me I see, are you runt?"

Remembering what an emotional ass he'd made of himself last time he encountered his old travelling pals, Eric restrained himself to simply patting her on the head.

"A soldiers uniform and injuries from military service. Trying to copy my shtick. Ha! Just busting your balls. Good to see you again, kid...though it looks like you can't see me all good."

His rather blunt way of noticing her eye injury.

"Say, you want a cool eyepatch? I got a whole collection of them in the Fanny Pack Of Wonder...oh, Belle. Show her what you do now."

She sighed, vanishing off his back and assuming her psychical form.

"Neat, huh?"

Flacht looked at him with an amused look. “You really haven't changed at all, have you.” she said, remembering all of the fights that she used to have with the irascible swordsman. Those seemed so silly now. She grinned when he patted her on the head, though she made a mental note to wash her hair with boiled water. When he brought up her eyepatch, she frowned. “Yeah... stupid rookie did this. If I ever catch that kid around here, I'm going to leave him missing more than an eye if you take my meaning.”

Then Belle Lame transformed into a... spirit, angel, god? Truthfully, Flacht was still puzzled at the religious terminology of northerners. “Wow, you're a lot prettier than I thought you'd be.” she blurted out loud.

"Wait, are you the other Fire Elemental we had? You changed your hair! What was your name again...Flock? Flatte?"

“Flacht!” the bleached haired girl huffed, obviously pouty because Lisoette didn't remember her name. She remembered the first time they met in that Watchtower laboratory... Nyod, that had been awful. She'd thrown fire at Tristan, believing him to be one of those goons who tortured her, and Lisoette had held her down. Made her seen sense. If it hadn't been for them...

“So What you’re saying is he’s the human equivalent of a maggot then? Someone who eats away at corruption for us? Well even if that may be a good thing I am not the kind to consort with maggots. I’ve made too much money for that. Maggots may have a place in society as our tools to be used and quickly disposed of. But you keep tools in your shed, you don’t invite them into your house and let them maggot the place up. Besides my larger point was that if there is no pain he has to cause it, if there is no corruption he has to prey upon the weak. The gods blessed be their names created us all to destroy creatures like him and send them back where they belong. The first elementals beloved by all saw to that, when they kicked the black kings arse and I wouldn’t sully their names by welcoming creatures of darkness with open arms.” Aerion told her, his face the picture of annoyance “and you have heard of me.”

She was interrupted by the rude stranger. “Who the [expletive deleted] are you, kid?” Flacht asked, looking him up and down and not being too impressed at what she saw. “Why are you guys consorting with this creep?” he seemed to be going on about something related to a conversation she had arrived too late to comprehend.

[Lazarian]

Meanwhile, Aerion backed down from attacking Erosen and opted instead to gripe about his wealth and fame. Ev glanced at him again, and nodded as if some suspicion had been confirmed. "Aye," the colonel said calmly. "I've heard of you. Even saw you once, at the triumph in Villdernheim. You're the mercenary who ran his company into the ground, murdered women and children, and then sold out in time for Champion's Field." A bleak smile tugged at the corner of Ev's mouth. "Not the story you tell, Captain? There are few secrets in an army on the march. In any event, I wouldn't be so sure you're above consorting with maggots."

Rather than say more, the colonel glanced back at Alexei: a look of concerned appraisal. Then he shook his head once, as if to dismiss the entire debate. "No matter. If you want to kill the blasphemer, then as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to try. But you'll do it off the street. We need to get to the inn. Now." Ev stared around the group. "We've been standing in the middle of the road, drawing weapons on each other and discussing stealing a ship, all in broad daylight. It's by the gods' grace alone that half the city guards aren't already descending on us. Let's continue this behind closed doors, before we're continuing it from inside a holding cell." Ev jerked his chin in the direction of the inn, and his voice held the calm command of a man used to being obeyed. "Time to go."

Alexei shook his head, after hearing Aerion's story from Ev. He had only known the newcomer for a few minutes, but he trusted him more than the drunk from last night. He seemed like a trustworthy bloke with a good head on his shoulders. They needed more of those, in this group of temperamental godlings. He looked over at Aerion, shaking his head slightly. Good heavens. This was the man they were inadvertently tied to for the next month. If they let him go at this point, he had no doubts in his mind whatsoever that he'd go rat them out to the authorities for a coin reward. That being said, he almost agreed with Aerion, to some extent. It would be wise to keep Erosen at a distance - although, Alexei was rather tempted to learn more about him, just from the fact that the stranger knew his own tongue.

"Ay, comrades, listen to Everard. 'Tis time to depart this place." Alexei rumbled, before making a sharp turn and turning away, heading towards their room. Mid-stride, he stopped, pain shooting through his body. He exhaled sharply, wincing slightly, before continuing. Damn it. His side still hurt like hell. That was a wound that'd take a few weeks to recover at the very least. Another one of Eric's friends had wandered up - a blonde, wearing what appeared to be a sharp Gallian military uniform. She was rather young - possibly Katya's age, but she was missing an eye, and had a much harder and experienced look about her. Ah, a child soldier. Always tragic when that happened. Damn, did Eric know every notable figure on the continent? It sure seemed like it at times.

Katya followed along after him, meekly trying not to draw attention to herself. There were too many moving pieces at this point - if they got on the ship, that was all that mattered. When it was her, Eric, Tristan, and Aerioin, that was a simple enough situation to work with. But with the horrifying spider woman, Erosen, and now Everard and Flacht included, there were too many moving parts. Best not to try to take charge in this lot. Just had to gently guide them towards the right destination - and thank the gods, they seemed to want to leave town as well. Everard seemed like he'd be a good leader. The man was firm, solid in conviction, and was a relatively neutral party, for the most part. She was rather confused about everyone's hatred of Erosen - she didn't exactly understand why. Supposedly, the man was rooted in darkness, but...well, teleporting was hardly evil, was it? She'd have to ask Alexei about it later. And, damn, it was a tragedy that Everard knew of Aerion, and that Aerion...wasn't quite the dashing commander she had hoped for. Ironically, in her mind, he was much more similar to Erosen than he would have liked to be - they both were tools, waiting to be utilized by the right people.

"Come along, Aerion." she said quietly, pulling his arm. "This lot isn't worth arguing with. Just back Alexei up in the tavern on his plans and stick close by my side, and I'll get you paid well enough. Enough money to make a different past and a new future, if that's something you'd like." she whispered into his ear, trying to drag him along with her. She could tell that he was starting to work himself into a fury like yesterday, and conflict like that could explode into chaos very quickly. And that, frankly, was the last thing they needed right now.

[Constaniana]

If Fumi had been confused by the sudden appearance of the tall Sahranjian, now she was even more bewildered by the giant who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and even worse, knew her name. “Wh - what?” she asked, not sure how to respond. Either her horse was freaked out too, or it detected her fear, because it had become somewhat nervous. “Who are you? How do you know my name? Wh - y are so you familiar?” it felt like she had seen this man somewhere before, in a distant image or some former life. He reminded her of the Retar peoples she had heard about, but they'd been wiped out for centuries.

A thought occurred to her. What if this was some sort of god. She dismounted from the horse and prostrated in front of the giant out of awe. “大かみ (Great God),” she said in her own language, using respectful language in her own tongue. If he was really a god like she suspected, he would be able to speak her tongue. If not, then she had just added humiliation to one of the prices she had to pay. “Tell me what I'm supposed to do please. I don't know where to go, and I'm lost.” a part of her started to shiver.

The giant smiled and offered the horse a huge sugar cube he pulled out of somewhere to calm it down. He chuckled a little, waiting a few moments before he replied to Fumiko.

"You ought to go back with that group that's headed up north. Important things to be done with them, for this continent, the world, and yourself. Going back to your palace so soon would smother your inner heroic fire before it ever got a chance to really burn. Fire doesn't keep its warmth and light to itself, and neither should you," he replied in Tsubaki, "As for how I know you, well, I made you. Not directly, but all your flame-wielding kind. A wise shepherd knows the hands he hires to help guard the flocks. You ask who I am, do you? I am Pryastar."

[Woodstovia]

Haventown was on fire. The ancient city was larger than any Aerion had ever seen and now it was close to ruins. Aerion felt a twang of hurt over the knowledge so much beauty was lost, never to be recovered. How many works of arts? How many buildings collapsed never to be rebuilt? He sighed as he slit the throat of a 16 year old boy. The thing had been dressed in armour by the Northerners and told he was a soldier, it wasn't his fault he'd been thrown at the Sons of the Eagle.

Aerion threw the corpse down and waltzed through the burning streets as if this was all an elaborate dance. He was mildly aware of Kaeron smashing in some other soldier's helmet and the pink mist that shot up in the air but the company's chief doctor, an old thin man who looked almost like a spider had come up with some new concoctions: potions that when injected increased combat potential. Aerion had watched it during a trial won and been so impressed he injected the stuff in front of his men to demonstrate its safety. It certainly felt like it worked, he had never felt so alive, every scream, every clash of steel, every flicker of the flames around him felt like a cannon shot, every kill or struggle had sent his heart pounding but his vision was blurred, his senses dulled a little. A new foe rounded the corner and came before him, a large man with a dragon's head that seemed to be spewing fire. Aerion swept his head off with a single stroke.

This was where he was at home, this was what he lived for: battles were the ultimate expression of art and humanity. A blend of humanity's barbarity and intellect, of it's heroism and darkest moments, it's ingenuity fully focused on the most noble goal of all: survival. They had captured the city while the Northern army was distracted by a feint but now they were dangerously close to being pushed out of it altogether. He been told to dig ditches outside the city and construct "trenches" but where was the art in that? As soon as the enemy approached Aerion had led a grand charge. True they'd been forced back eventually but it was far better to be fighting like a man than scurrying around in ditches like a rat. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed some men in grey clubbing an enemy soldier to death and cheered them on vigorously...

Aerion glared now at Everard, the fury of a thousand sons coursing through his veins. Who did he think he was? Aerion's sword was out suddenly and he was storming up to the boy.

"I am the reason your country in independent." he told the child, staring into his eyes as they stood face to face "I'd tell you to kiss my boots but they're freshly polished and too good for a lowborn like you. I understand you may be jealous, being from an irrelevant band of horse fuckers while I won the war but you shouldn't try and slander your betters. I never murdered, I never ran a company into the ground. I am a warrior of the gods."

With that he turned on his heel and stalked back to Katya, ignoring the jeers of the other newcomer who randomly took Ev's side.

"I don't need a new future." he told Katya "Don't tell me you believe that idiot?"

[Lazarian]

With that he turned on his heel and stalked back to Katya, ignoring the jeers of the other newcomer who randomly took Ev's side.

"I don't need a new future." he told Katya "Don't tell me you believe that idiot?"

Katya nervously backed away, blood draining from her face slightly as Aerion whipped around to face her, eyes blazing, his golden locks flying dramatically in the air. To be perfectly honest, she had believed Everard. He had spoken with conviction and seemed relatively confident in his story. And, oftentimes, if a man had no real reason to lie and spoke like that...well, he was probably speaking the truth. He reminded her of her father, in a way, before he had started to lose himself. But Aerion hadn't seemed distraught about the insults in the slightest - he shrugged them off as if they were petty lies, and continued to mock and jeer back at his enemies. Say what you would about the man, but he certainly didn't back down easily.

Why was she afraid? Well, frankly, after what she had heard from Ivan and Timur about Aerion, he wasn't the type to be messed with. And beyond that, he was, whether he acknowledged it or not, a servant of the Cold One in some way or another. While Alexei seemed much more wary of Erosen's powers (as did Everard and Aerion), those were frankly a mystery to her. She needed to know more before making a judgement call. But the god of winter? Oh, she had enough experience with the winters to know that her children could be lethal.

"O-of course not, Aerion, I vas just saying that, you know, if you come with me, more glory awaits!" she said, backpedaling with her words furiously. Oh gods, she hoped he wouldn't hurt her. Alexei seemed rather...well, off. He usually stood taller and spoke louder, filling up a group with his boisterous voice and infectious smile - but in the last ten minutes, he had looked beaten down and old. Something was wrong, and she couldn't quite tell what it was. They'd have to talk as soon as they got back about that. "And, vell, we're all in this together, so, it vould be best to get along, at least until we accomplish mission!" she continued, poorly paraphrasing Alexei's arguments. Gods, it sounded pathetic and unconvincing when she did that. She crossed her fingers, hoping Aerion wouldn't take any further offense.

[Hanafuridake]

After prostrating and listening to what the god had to say, Fumi raised herself up. So, this was the Ōkami of Gallia that Lisoette had been referring to. “Very well,” she said, accepting that the god's reasoning was much more intricate and far-reaching than her own. “I accept your council, kami-sama.” she dusted the skirt of her hakama off, marveling at the giant and wondering about what he said. It would be humiliating to turn around and admit that she was wrong about Alexei, that he had sincerely been her friend. Maybe she didn't have to... “I suppose you will be coming with me.” she turned to the nomad as she spoke. Their meeting must have been providence. She could take him with her and claim she was attempting to recruit new members for her personal quest. The party would be none the wiser, and she could save herself from the embarrassment of admitting she had run away.

Climbing on top of the horse, Fumiko bid farewell to Pryastar. “Daikadanshin,” she nodded her head respectfully, turning around and reentering the city. She set her mind on finding Alexei and the party, her intention sealed in the knowledge that it was the will of heaven that she do so.

[Ameriganastan]

"...Do you feel warm, Eric? I don't know why, but I suddenly feel warm."

A very familiar warmness. Belle scanned the docks and the gathered rabble, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

"I mean, it feels so comforting. Like...like home...father?"

It all came rushing back to her. A feeling of happiness she hadn't felt in almost a millennia. The warmness of her father deity. Even from far away, she could sense him. She unfurled her wings.

"I have to go!"

Before Eric could even question her, she shot off from the docks with such force that it left two feet shaped dents in the wood.

After prostrating and listening to what the god had to say, Fumi raised herself up. So, this was the Ōkami of Gallia that Lisoette had been referring to. “Very well,” she said, accepting that the god's reasoning was much more intricate and far-reaching than her own. “I accept your council, kami-sama.” she dusted the skirt of her hakama off, marveling at the giant and wondering about what he said. It would be humiliating to turn around and admit that she was wrong about Alexei, that he had sincerely been her friend. Maybe she didn't have to... “I suppose you will be coming with me.” she turned to the nomad as she spoke. Their meeting must have been providence. She could take him with her and claim she was attempting to recruit new members for her personal quest. The party would be none the wiser, and she could save herself from the embarrassment of admitting she had run away.

Climbing on top of the horse, Fumiko bid farewell to Pryastar. “Daikadanshin,” she nodded her head respectfully, turning around and reentering the city. She set her mind on finding Alexei and the party, her intention sealed in the knowledge that it was the will of heaven that she do so.

From high in the sky, a faint whistling noise grew louder. That whistling noise was a very rushed Belle. She scanned the streets below, spotting the returning noble. She dove for the ground, landing with enough speed and power to leave a small crater where she landed.

"Where is he? I sensed his presence. Did he speak to you? Is he still here? ANSWER ME, MORTAL!"

[Hanafuridake]

From high in the sky, a faint whistling noise grew louder. That whistling noise was a very rushed Belle. She scanned the streets below, spotting the returning noble. She dove for the ground, landing with enough speed and power to leave a small crater where she landed.

"Where is he? I sensed his presence. Did he speak to you? Is he still here? ANSWER ME, MORTAL!"

Fumiko yelped when the angelle leaped down from the sky, creating a small crater and causing her horse to throw her off its back and run into the distance. “Great,” she groaned, rubbing her head and trying to make sure nothing was broken. “Now not only have my courtiers left me, but my horse has to! What a week this has been.” when the angelle started to ask questions demandingly, Fumi glared at her. “I don't know, fair spirit.” she replied, raising herself from the ground. Great, her knee was scraped. “But I wouldn't recommend threatening me if you know what's good for you, since the Great God seems to have a divine plan for me, from what he told me.” she looked around, before realizing that perhaps this was part of the great Pryastar's plan. “Take me to your master, Eric. And don't breathe a word about my meeting with the deity. ”

[Reverend Norv]

When Aerion stormed toward him, sword drawn, Ev's hand moved a second time - and between one of Aerion's footfalls and the next, Ev's heavy wheellock was drawn and cocked. But Ev held the weapon loosely at his side, half-hidden under his traveler's cloak, neither raised nor aimed. And when the younger man opted to stare into Ev's eyes and berate him rather than actually attack, the colonel sighed, and pushed the pistol back into his sash. He didn't step back or blink under Aerion's vitriol: his grey-green eyes were steady, and his posture was neither defensive nor aggressive, but oddly relaxed.

When Aerion turned on his heel, Ev offered only a single sentence as a rebuttal: a proverb from the Holy Helreskaffen scriptures. "He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness," the colonel quoted, "but a false witness taketh refuge in wroth."

And with that, Ev very deliberately turned his back on the younger man - and then his mouth fell open as Belle abruptly leaped into the air like a ball from a cannon, and vanished into the clouds. The colonel stared at the two foot-shaped dents in the dock, and then cast a glance around at the other passersby. A stunt like that could not possibly have gone unnoticed.

"We have lingered here too long," Ev said quietly. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw Alexei already walking toward the local tavern, with Katya beginning to shepherd Aerion after him. Ev wrapped his cloak a little further around him, the better to conceal his harquebusier's armor from prying eyes, and swiftly followed suit. It wasn't far to the inn, and there they would be able to finalize their plan, and to wait for dark.

[Serconas]

Ke'Am found it rather confusing when Fumiko threw herself on the ground before the redhaired giant, die she knew him? He must´ve been important nonetheless, so the nomad relaxed once again when both started talking in a language foreign him. He listened closley, but the only bit he could pick up was the word 'Pryastar'. Ke'Am had been told, that it was the name of the fire deity the Gallians worshipped, so this stranger must´ve been a shaman of the god. A mighty one, judging by his size and clothing.
Not knowing what the shaman had talked about with Fumiko, the nomad threw a sligthly irritad glance in the womans direction when she mentioned the he would follow her. Did she made him her servant? He grimaced at the thought alone. No, he wouldn´t be anyones servant, not after so long. Though it was unlikely that that was what the woman had in mind and Ke'Am figured she meant it more in the sense of a travelling companion, so he just nodded back at her as they entered the city together.
Wanting to ask Fumiko who the man in red was, he found himself interrupted once again. This time by a whistling from above and before Ke'Am could look towards the sky an unusal woman crashed into the ground shattering it beneath her. That´s it, he thought, the dreaded Dedwen had sent after him a great spirit to capture him! Ke'Am staggered back, hearing the horse of the foreign lady he just met and then seeing her get thrown of it.

"Where is he? I sensed his presence. Did he speak to you? Is he still here? ANSWER ME, MORTAL!"

What did the spirit just say? She was after the giant? Listening to her Ke'Am quickly regained his composure as it seemed Fumiko knew the spirit aswell. He moved over to the lady on the ground to help her up, but she was already back on her feet.
"Do you know this spirit, lady Fumiko?", still wary of her presence. Though his question answered itself as the lady mentioned the spirits master. Another shaman? One with such an imposing servant even? More and more questions filled Ke'Ams mind as Fumiko added that the red giant was the fire deity himself. But why would a god look like a man, or was it just an avatar of sorts to interact with those on the surface? Even then, why would any god send a manifestation of their being to a random woman? Surely a vision or dream of sorts would be more fitting to convey a message.
"Forgive him", the nomad started, clearing his throat. "But was the giant in fact the god himself?", he asked Fumiko. "And what is it about this great spirit and her... 'master' you seem to know, fair lady."

[Rupudska]

"We have lingered here too long," Ev said quietly. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw Alexei already walking toward the local tavern, with Katya beginning to shepherd Aerion after him. Ev wrapped his cloak a little further around him, the better to conceal his harquebusier's armor from prying eyes, and swiftly followed suit. It wasn't far to the inn, and there they would be able to finalize their plan, and to wait for dark.

"Can't argue with that," Catrin mutters as she sheathes her sword. However, heading straight to the tavern would probably not be the best idea. She'd have to go back for her weapons anyway if she did that. Going in with your weapons into a tavern, people think you're just passing through somewhere else with a bunch of weapons. Going in, leaving, then coming back with a bunch of weapons - people think you're planning to do something there at the tavern, the sort of thing that requires a bunch of weapons. Suspicious, especially if you had more than two legs like Catrin did.

Taverns were weird like that.

She got a few (more) odd looks (than normal) as she headed back to the bakery that was the first floor of the place she had been calling home for a while. Unfortunately she had only patched up her webs yesterday, so they'd be here for a while. Cleaning them up now would require cutting them off (time-consuming, and would leave the ends) or pulling them out (dangerous, structural silk was the strongest she had and it could pull out bricks easily with this much of it). So she just left it where it was.

Fortunately, she didn't have much in terms of personal items, and they were usually packed up as is - most of it was for traveling anyway, and if she wasn't traveling, she didn't need it. So packed up it stayed. Better to sling it on her abdomen when she needed to leave anyway, which is what she did.

Her armor, the real armor, was in the closet. Always put together so it could go on easy, she lifted it over her head and slid it on, wiggling into it from below. Another advantage over plate - plate didn't like any attempts at squeezing into it like fabric or mail did. Her helmet... ehhh... could stay off for now. She didn't need it yet, and walking around in your helmet really made people think you were up to something. Luckily it fit in her mobile storage.

But the thing she really came here for, the thing she absolutely could not leave behind, did not. Sitting in a wooden crate (so people who snooped around wouldn't notice it immediately) under her hammock-bed, she sat down admiring it. It was big. It was black. It was almost as long as she was, and almost as wide as her torso. No human could possibly swing around a sword this massive, and nothing short of a metal Elemental could produce something of such quality. Hell, she couldn't remember ever having to sharpen it, not that she could; it was so damn heavy it'd take an industrial grinding wheel to do it. But it suited her just fine when falchions weren't enough.

Its 'sheath', such as one could call it, was designed so that it laid roughly flat against her abdomen, not quite parallel to the ground. Since it was at an angle, it allowed her to go through most doors she could normally.

Several minutes and even more odd looks (than normal) later, she was done, and on her way to the inn.

[Ameriganastan]

From high in the sky, a faint whistling noise grew louder. That whistling noise was a very rushed Belle. She scanned the streets below, spotting the returning noble. She dove for the ground, landing with enough speed and power to leave a small crater where she landed.

"Where is he? I sensed his presence. Did he speak to you? Is he still here? ANSWER ME, MORTAL!"

Fumiko yelped when the angelle leaped down from the sky, creating a small crater and causing her horse to throw her off its back and run into the distance. “Great,” she groaned, rubbing her head and trying to make sure nothing was broken. “Now not only have my courtiers left me, but my horse has to! What a week this has been.” when the angelle started to ask questions demandingly, Fumi glared at her. “I don't know, fair spirit.” she replied, raising herself from the ground. Great, her knee was scraped. “But I wouldn't recommend threatening me if you know what's good for you, since the Great God seems to have a divine plan for me, from what he told me.” she looked around, before realizing that perhaps this was part of the great Pryastar's plan. “Take me to your master, Eric. And don't breathe a word about my meeting with the deity. ”

You ever see an Angelle lose her temper? Not her usual level of exasperated annoyance level temper, no. Full on high heavenly rage temper? Well, someone was about to...

"Ha ha ha. Unbelievable. I've been stranded in the mortal plane for almost 1000 years. And when Father sees fit to grace you flotsam with his presence, it's not to finally bring me home. No, it's to enforce the delusions of highborn mortal bitch. Ha. Ha. HAHAHA! AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream was audible for at least a mile. The sheer power of it shattering anything made out of glass in its range. And Belle...well, she looked a little...mad. As in her wings and her hair seemed to have become flame, and her eyes were glowing like spotlights. This was an Angelle unleashed. An Angelle of fire unleashed. And those spotlight eyes were fixed on Fumiko.

"AND HE IS NOT MY MASTER. INSINUATE SUCH AGAIN, AND I'LL REDUCE YOUR PITIFUL FORM TO CINDERS!"

Before Fumiko could find out if that threat was hollow or not, she caught her reflection in the shattered glass of a nearby window. She sighed, taking a deep breath and returning to her regular physical appearance.

"...Let's go."

[Woodstovia]

Aerion grimaced at the man's words, recognizing the religious signifigance of them but tried to maintain a facade of not being bothered, pretending like the gunslinger was the liar in all of this.

With that he turned on his heel and stalked back to Katya, ignoring the jeers of the other newcomer who randomly took Ev's side.

"I don't need a new future." he told Katya "Don't tell me you believe that idiot?"

Katya nervously backed away, blood draining from her face slightly as Aerion whipped around to face her, eyes blazing, his golden locks flying dramatically in the air. To be perfectly honest, she had believed Everard. He had spoken with conviction and seemed relatively confident in his story. And, oftentimes, if a man had no real reason to lie and spoke like that...well, he was probably speaking the truth. He reminded her of her father, in a way, before he had started to lose himself. But Aerion hadn't seemed distraught about the insults in the slightest - he shrugged them off as if they were petty lies, and continued to mock and jeer back at his enemies. Say what you would about the man, but he certainly didn't back down easily.

Why was she afraid? Well, frankly, after what she had heard from Ivan and Timur about Aerion, he wasn't the type to be messed with. And beyond that, he was, whether he acknowledged it or not, a servant of the Cold One in some way or another. While Alexei seemed much more wary of Erosen's powers (as did Everard and Aerion), those were frankly a mystery to her. She needed to know more before making a judgement call. But the god of winter? Oh, she had enough experience with the winters to know that her children could be lethal.

"O-of course not, Aerion, I vas just saying that, you know, if you come with me, more glory awaits!" she said, backpedaling with her words furiously. Oh gods, she hoped he wouldn't hurt her. Alexei seemed rather...well, off. He usually stood taller and spoke louder, filling up a group with his boisterous voice and infectious smile - but in the last ten minutes, he had looked beaten down and old. Something was wrong, and she couldn't quite tell what it was. They'd have to talk as soon as they got back about that. "And, vell, we're all in this together, so, it vould be best to get along, at least until we accomplish mission!" she continued, poorly paraphrasing Alexei's arguments. Gods, it sounded pathetic and unconvincing when she did that. She crossed her fingers, hoping Aerion wouldn't take any further offense.

Aerion was surprised by Katya's reaction, she'd always seemed in control and put-together to him, he wasn't used to her looking scared or weak and he didn't really want to make her feel that way, having no animosity towards her. In truth every atom of hatred was directed towards the gunslinger, he didn't have time to consider hating her yet. He nodded at her words "Glory is all that matters." he agreed "it's all that's left when we're turned to dust and left to rot in the ground while the gods continue their little carousel of life and move on to new playthings. Hatred was dripping through his words

[Lazarian]

He nodded at her words. "Glory is all that matters." He agreed. "It's all that's left when we're turned to dust and left to rot in the ground, while the gods continue their little carousel of life and move on to new playthings." Hatred was dripping through his words.

Katya gulped slightly, relieved that Aerion hadn't seemed to take much further offense. His view on the gods was rather unnerving, and despite his enormous objection to Erosen, they seemed similarly heretical. The way he spoke about them dripped with disgust and revulsion, each word tinged with disappointment and ire. She disagreed strongly! Pyrastar, The Great Fire, was a benevolent god, bringing life and mirth to homes. Her patron, Aewillia, helped bring fish and crops to harvest, and Hydrata was certainly responsible for the lovely mists which coated the docks, fed the wheat and potatoes that made the backbone of the Garmiccian crop, and made ale and mead possible. And the gods weren't entirely indifferent to the plight of men - in fact, it was rumored among the commonfolk (and preached frequently, to the dismay of the Gallian church) that honorable men and soldiers earned a second, greater life. And there was more that carried on than glory after death - one's spirit and essence could be carried on by their children, their works, and the impact which they had on others. Alexei had actually warned about the dangers of seeking glory - said it had lead plenty of good men to unnecessary deaths. She had thought that was rather hypocritical, coming from the Champion of Butcher's Bridge himself, but...well, Alexei was difficult to argue with sometimes.

That being said, she was in no terms wanting to rile the man up further, so she nodded her head in agreement, and they continued down the road to the inn, following Alexei and Everard.

---

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Silence answered as soon as his second set of knocks had subsided. Alexei put an ear to the door, listening for sounds of life. Nothing. Interesting. He was rather sure that Lady Fumiko had stayed in this room. The bartender/innkeeper had said that she had checked out earlier today, but surely she had just gone on a short trip...right? She was in no condition to be attempting to make any sort of journey right now, and he had sworn she had agreed to go with him.

In the few hours that had transpired since the attack, he had thought over the events rather thoroughly. He had invited her along in the heat of the moment, overcome by passion from battle and pity for her state, but Katya definitely wouldn't be thrilled. It was a difficult situation. On one hand, he had still swore oaths to her. That mattered to him. Principles were what separated man from the beasts. But on the other hand, she wasn't Nikolai. She hadn't really earned his following. He had felt sorry for her, lost and alone, and decided to make it right. And the situation with Lady Fumiko was no different.

He took a deep breath, and gently pushed open the door, expecting to see the foreign girl weeping or sleeping. Instead, he was met with an empty bed and room. None of her possessions remained, and it was clear that the room was unoccupied. He sighed deeply, turning away, trying to quell the disappointment that flooded his heart. She hadn't trusted him, apparently, or she had decided that the North wasn't where she wanted to go, and had gone to try to make it on her own. Well, he wished her the best of luck, wherever she went. Perhaps she was just out selling her possessions or buying supplies. Gods, he hoped she was. He shook his head. He shouldn't have been so soft. There was no way to save every lost daughter or helpless child. But he felt the need to do something.

He turned around, looking over Everard, Aerion, and their new companions. Katya's room was a simple 1 bed room, but the one he had shared with Timur and Ivan was significantly larger, with a table off to the side. Continuing down the hallway, he reached their room, and held open the door until all of his newfound comrades had entered. Then he entered, bolting the door behind them.

"Thank you all for coming." he stated, bowing his head slightly in respect. Spellborn generally liked that.

"So," he coughed awkwardly, crossing his arms, "it seems that we're set on stealing a ship from Basilisk Pirates. We could attempt stealing merchant ship instead, but that would attract local authorities. I would rather not deal with that. No benefit to being on the wrong side of the law...more than we have to." he said, looking at Everard, knowing that the man had reportedly killed the chief of police earlier. "The Devil's Luck is moored at private dock on other side of town. I scouted out dock, and there are three watchtowers, each with alarm bells. Private dock is very near pirate headquarters, so one of those bells goes off and we'll have more pirates after us than rats in sewers."

He turned to Erosen.

"Now, I believe we have a way to disable watchtowers. I would prefer if you kept usage of those dark arts to least amount possible, Erosen, but if you could warp to and neutralize guards in towers, that is essential. Meanwhile," he said, turning to Eric, "you and your angelic companion should go distract the pirates at headquarters. That way, just in case anything goes wrong, main detachment will be further away. I know you're man for the task, Eric. Could Belle carry you with wings of hers? In that case, after drawing pirates out, just have her fly you to Devil's Luck once we've escaped the dock."

He tapped his chin with his finger, lost in thought.

"After guards in watchtowers are neutralized, the few guards on patrol should not be an issue. I will lead charge with Tristan, Aerion, Everard, Katya, and others to Devil's Luck. Caitrin will cover our back. Nothing is getting through the beas- I mean, you," he coughed, realizing that the inhumans generally didn't prefer being called beasts, "if you don't want them to." he said, nodding at Caitrin, with her enormous sword.

"We need Everard and Katya for getting ship out of harbor - one to push ship out, the other as navigator and pilot. We could have Erosen warp onto Devil's Luck and put down landing walk - however, it would take time to raise it up, and, again, I want to keep use of dark arts to minimum. Rather, Tristan and Aerion will create stairs from the dock to the boat, and dissolve them into sea as soon as everyone is on vessel. Assuming Lady Fumiko returns and wishes to come along with us, her and Mistress Flacht will serve as defense against other ships. One fireball to sails of any pursuers and we'll be home free." he said confidently, before coughing violently into the crook of his elbow. In dismay, he saw flecks of blood covering his sleeve. Damn it. It'd be great if he could just have some time to rest and recover, but the risk of staying in town overnight was too high. Frankly, in a real fight, he'd be more of a liability right now - but they had enough men to cover it.

"Any suggestions?" he inquired, looking over the group. "If anyone has better idea, I am open and willing to change plans. All that matters is success. But I believe this is solid course of action."

[Constaniana]

Fumiko yelped when the angelle leaped down from the sky, creating a small crater and causing her horse to throw her off its back and run into the distance. “Great,” she groaned, rubbing her head and trying to make sure nothing was broken. “Now not only have my courtiers left me, but my horse has to! What a week this has been.” when the angelle started to ask questions demandingly, Fumi glared at her. “I don't know, fair spirit.” she replied, raising herself from the ground. Great, her knee was scraped. “But I wouldn't recommend threatening me if you know what's good for you, since the Great God seems to have a divine plan for me, from what he told me.” she looked around, before realizing that perhaps this was part of the great Pryastar's plan. “Take me to your master, Eric. And don't breathe a word about my meeting with the deity. ”

You ever see an Angelle lose her temper? Not her usual level of exasperated annoyance level temper, no. Full on high heavenly rage temper? Well, someone was about to...

"Ha ha ha. Unbelievable. I've been stranded in the mortal plane for almost 1000 years. And when Father sees fit to grace you flotsam with his presence, it's not to finally bring me home. No, it's to enforce the delusions of highborn mortal bitch. Ha. Ha. HAHAHA! AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream was audible for at least a mile. The sheer power of it shattering anything made out of glass in its range. And Belle...well, she looked a little...mad. As in her wings and her hair seemed to have become flame, and her eyes were glowing like spotlights. This was an Angelle unleashed. An Angelle of fire unleashed. And those spotlight eyes were fixed on Fumiko.

"AND HE IS NOT MY MASTER. INSINUATE SUCH AGAIN, AND I'LL REDUCE YOUR PITIFUL FORM TO CINDERS!"

Before Fumiko could find out if that threat was hollow or not, she caught her reflection in the shattered glass of a nearby window. She sighed, taking a deep breath and returning to her regular physical appearance.

"...Let's go."

"LORD NELSON'S TROUSERS!" Pryastar thundered from twenty yards away, where he was still standing. His schedule was open for another few hours, so the deity had planned on taking a constitutional through the island, and perhaps find some heretics to mock. He paused from dispensing perfect life advice to the one pikeman who had awoken, "Excuse me, Fitzhenry, I have other matters to attend to now. You'll make a fine husband to Jane, and you'll make plenty of glorious babies!"

The god of Fire approached his angelle and gave her a warm, magical hug.

[Ameriganastan]

"Any suggestions?" he inquired, looking over the group. "If anyone has better idea, I am open and willing to change plans. All that matters is success. But I believe this is solid course of action."

"Nope, sounds good to me. Whenever Belle gets back from wherever she took off to...seriously, where the Hells did she run of to in such a hurry? Anyway, you can count on me for a distraction."

He patted the Fanny Pack Of Wonder.

"I've been hanging onto something for exactly this scenario. They'll be after until they rip it from my hands."

He sat there for a few moments, looking like he was waiting for something.

"...Not used to not having her criticize my ideas..."

"LORD NELSON'S TROUSERS!" Pryastar thundered from twenty yards away, where he was still standing. His schedule was open for another few hours, so the deity had planned on taking a constitutional through the island, and perhaps find some heretics to mock. He paused from dispensing perfect life advice to the one pikeman who had awoken, "Excuse me, Fitzhenry, I have other matters to attend to now. You'll make a fine husband to Jane, and you'll make plenty of glorious babies!"

The god of Fire approached his angelle and gave her a warm, magical hug.

"...Oh...you were still here...well, now I feel silly."

Silly wasn't how the numerous home and shop owners felt over their now destroyed windows. No, that was annoyance. She quickly, if reluctantly, broke away from the hug and knelt before him.

"Father. I doubt you know of me. I was...low in the hierarchy when they entrapped me. But I must ask. Are you here to take me home?"