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

[Ameriganastan]

"Easy there, gentlemen!" Katya said, jumping in between the two, next to Belle. Although neither were really gentlemen, this seemed like a good place to stop their bickering. It'd be bad if it got worse. "I'm confident that I'll get across that border one way or another, and I'm villing to try out whatever opportunity presents itself. Yes, land route would work, but I am fine vith finding ship directly there as well. Aerion, I trust the gods, and thus, I trust Eric. Please do try getting along. Eric, please don't touch Aerion. I don't think he appreciates."

She paused, taking a deep breath, and then continued. "Did you say the Basilisk Pirates? I swear I heard my father mention them at some point. If I remember correctly...they vere an issue off the Garmiccian coast a few years ago. I think the emperor paid them off to go privateer against the bastard Yelhennians at some point?"

She crossed her arms.

"I'm not so sure about the rest of all those places or things, but you know, Aerion, there are strange things out there. My father told tales of burials gone wrong leading to dead men valking through the night. Or river spirits that would guide men along, promising warmth and shelter, leading to naught but a watery grave. Of course, I haven't seen many of these things myself, but I vas taught that the more advanced a city or settlement becomes, the rarer the olde magic and creatures become. Or they're just driven off by the locals. They're bad luck, anyways."

Turning to Eric, she raised an eyebrow.

"Although, you said you...attempted to steal a diamond and sink one of their ships? Sir Lumen, I doubt that she'd be too happy to see you, and by extension, myself. Regardless of your prior connections, honestly. How many folks are after your head, anyways?"

"Uh..."

He counted on his hand.

"Help me out here, Belle. You have a habit of memorizing stuff to nag me about later."

She rolled her eyes.

"Individually or group wise?"

"Uh...both?"

She thought for a second.

"Individually, there are 43 people who currently have an official price on your head. Including 2 princesses, the father of one of those princesses, 4 wizards and your uncle. Group wise, you have 3 bandit groups, two guilds of thieves, the Basilisk Pirates now most likely and that fishing village up north."

He blew some more smoke in the air.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

[Hanafuridake]

"So, tactics and chain of command, yes? My area of expertise, if I do say so myself." he said enthusiastically, casually strolling down the plaza at a slow pace, attempting not to leave the foreign women behind. "I'd like to know more about your homeland, your claim to the throne, and the military tactics of your people. Is very important. How large is Tsubaki? What is population? How popular is current regime? How many soldiers can you raise? How large is military opposition? All very important factors, m'lady. Before talking about high command, we must establish the lower forces. Build houses from bottom up, not roof downwards, yes?" he continued cheerfully, taking a deep whiff of the smell of fresh bread.

Listening enthusiastically, Fumiko followed after him. It was surprising about how much she enjoyed the sellsword's presence, not merely because of his flattery, but how full of makoto and genki he was. There was a refreshing sunny attitude to the man that could not be found in the macabre and languid imperial court, where everyone seemed to have something concealed, and no one would give her a straightforward answer. “I was - ” Fumi found herself interrupted by Himegawa, who realized that now was the time to lure her into the trap outside the city.

“Uesama, why don't we go for a ride in the palanquin?” Himegawa asked, tugging on Fumi's sleeve like a petulant child wanting attention.

“But, ah, it's such a pleasant day to walk, Himegawa-sama.” Fumi replied, looking around to emphasize her point about how beautiful things were. It would be a travesty to leave the outside world and return to the cold little shady realm that was her palanquin interior. But at the woman's persistent pouty look, and her own weakness toward her, she had better give in. “Well, alright. I suppose it would be best to have Nekoyashiki and the rest with us to cover all bases. They are my government after all.”

"Hang on, before I go..."

He pulled a business card out of his pants pocket, sitting it on the bar.

"These wood nymphs owe me a favor. Just drip a little drop a blood on that card, tell them Eric the Savior sent you, and they'll have your bar looking like new. Some stellar carpenters those guys...also, watch out for the one named Vasily. He kinda has this habit of drinking a place dry. Big liver for such a tiny guy."

He winked and finally left the bar.

Nekoyashiki, his eyes not believing him, accepted the card from Eric's hand and staring at him wide-eyed. “That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.” he said without a hint of sarcasm or insincerity. He looked at the card for a few moments, before Yamada and Yamashiro came to collect him. “What do you two want?” he asked, now annoyed, remembering how the two of them had behaved the day before.

“The shōgun summoned us, and you, to accompany her for a ride outside the city.” Yamashiro replied nonchalantly, and when the reluctant courtier looked around the tavern, added. “Don't worry about cleaning this mess up, we'll recompense the barkeep.” he nodded to Yamada, who took a sack of gold and went to pay reparations.

That was a bad move to make, Nekoyashiki's eyes narrowed. “Wait, where did you get the gold?” he asked, and when the two said nothing, simply sighed. “Fine, I won't ask.” he told them, guessing that it was probably from gambling, pickpocketing, or some other distasteful activity he would prefer not hearing about. “Let's go, I'd rather not stay here longer than I have to.”

As Nekoyashiki walked out of the tavern, Yamada nudged Yamashiro with his shoulder. “... Does he not know?” he asked cryptically, the other courtier simply ignored the question. There was no point letting the boy know about their intentions. He would've undoubtedly told Fumiko that they were leading her into a trap.

[Kassaran]

Erosen watched the drider press her palm to her forehead, the soft slap carrying in the now quiet and still room. Slamming the door shut, she walked across to her hanging nest he'd seen her use once or twice before... or at least an outdoor variant prepared on the fly. Watching as she settled down onto the bed, he shrugged and walked over towards a corner of the room that was nice and cozy, as she began to talk in spite of already seeming keen to make himself at home. Nothing that she said was going to come as much of a surprise to him regardless and he'd slept here a handful of times before in past visits to the surface.

"Alright, listen. I don't have any proper beds, and I doubt either of you two want or should go out anytime soon, with these clowns knowing our faces. Bastards have been stirring up trouble around here for a while, long enough even to bother me. They keep trying to kick me out, but considering how liberal this city is on non-human rights, most people don't give a shit. Besides, I kill the rats and fix anything metal, which is a lot more helpful than this 'Watchtower' group is," the drider said, reaching underneath her bed and pulling out a canister of some black fluid. He almost had to calm his heart as it lurched at the possibility of her drinking demon ichor. Instead, she'd procured apparently some of that other foul black liquid she oh so enjoyed... coffee.

Seeming to take a generous drink from the thermos, she leaned back into the hanging silk fabric and finished,"Tomorrow, I'm gonna go to this bar owned by a guy a guy I know knows. I think I saw one of them there before, but I'm not totally sure."

Erosen had by now already settled himself onto the ground, looking about for something to cover himself with, but finding little and instead settling for simply drawing his cloak around him," I, don't know if I'll enjoy being in a public space again, but I agree. If Watchtower is holding out for now, they need reinforcements that'll likely come with first light. I'll wake before sun-up and see if I can't get some eyes on the local area. You, the lady I kind of stole, sorry again for all of that nastiness. I'd recommend you just tuck in for the evening and hold out for the morning. That's our best bet of all making it out of here with those goons in the area."

[Lazarian]

Listening enthusiastically, Fumiko followed after him. It was surprising about how much she enjoyed the sellsword's presence, not merely because of his flattery, but how full of makoto and genki he was. There was a refreshing sunny attitude to the man that could not be found in the macabre and languid imperial court, where everyone seemed to have something concealed, and no one would give her a straightforward answer. “I was - ” Fumi found herself interrupted by Himegawa, who realized that now was the time to lure her into the trap outside the city.

“Uesama, why don't we go for a ride in the palanquin?” Himegawa asked, tugging on Fumi's sleeve like a petulant child wanting attention.

“But, ah, it's such a pleasant day to walk, Himegawa-sama.” Fumi replied, looking around to emphasize her point about how beautiful things were. It would be a travesty to leave the outside world and return to the cold little shady realm that was her palanquin interior. But at the woman's persistent pouty look, and her own weakness toward her, she had better give in. “Well, alright. I suppose it would be best to have Nekoyashiki and the rest with us to cover all bases. They are my government after all.”

"Wait, how will we talk if you're in there?" said Alexei, annoyed at Himegawa butting in yet again. And right before the princess was going to answer his logistical questions. That was frustrating.

"Must I talk through curtains? Seems like a bit of unnecessary difficulty." he sighed. Perhaps this was all a waste of time. Sure, she definitely had the noble blood needed to make a claim to the throne (in most places other than Garmiccia, anyways), but...twelve courtiers really wasn't much to work with, and it seemed like she had been gone from her homeland for quite a while. Still, at the very least, it never hurt to exhaust all one's options before admitting defeat. Perhaps her father was exceptionally popular, and ousted by a military coup. That'd be an easy scenario to work with.

"Well, 'tis no matter! Let's go at once, your highness!" he said cheerfully, putting aside his annoyance. There was no point in wasting time being upset or irritated when there was work to be done. Attitude was everything, in his opinion. Those without the mental fortitude to press on through anything never seemed to be able to rise up through the ranks, and he was fortunate enough to have plenty of experience to develop it. "I'm happy to take brisk walk through city, m'lady. Carogne is quite the beauty. Been here a while and still not tired of it."

"Individually, there are 43 people who currently have an official price on your head. Including 2 princesses, the father of one of those princesses, 4 wizards and your uncle. Group wise, you have 3 bandit groups, two guilds of thieves, the Basilisk Pirates now most likely and that fishing village up north."

He blew some more smoke in the air.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

Katya turned paler (if that was possible), clutching onto a nearby fencepost in shock.

"43 people? Three groups of bandits? Two guilds of thieves? You're more endangered than my father, sir Lumen! How in the Great Fire have you made it to this age?" she said, looking frantically up and down the street, worried that an assassin would jump from the roofs or the alleyways in an instant. "Do I need to be worried about this, Eric? I vould hate to get wrapped up in any dire situations you couldn't handle." she said nervously, hand straying to the sword strapped to her side.

[Ameriganastan]

Katya turned paler (if that was possible), clutching onto a nearby fencepost in shock.

"43 people? Three groups of bandits? Two guilds of thieves? You're more endangered than my father, sir Lumen! How in the Great Fire have you made it to this age?" she said, looking frantically up and down the street, worried that an assassin would jump from the roofs or the alleyways in an instant. "Do I need to be worried about this, Eric? I vould hate to get wrapped up in any dire situations you couldn't handle." she said nervously, hand straying to the sword strapped to her side.

He extinguished his pipe, stuffing it back into the Fanny Pack Of Wonder.

"Don't worry your pretty little head. See, most of those people are too busy to hunt me themselves. So they usually send bounty hunters. And bounty hunters are easy to deal with. I either kill them..."

He popped a crick in his neck.

"Or we wind up becoming friends. You'd be surprised how lonely your average bounty hunter is. One trip to the nearest cathouse and killing me is the last thing on their mind...course some still try killing me after that. But I digress, I know how to handle myself."

[Hanafuridake]

"Well, 'tis no matter! Let's go at once, your highness!" he said cheerfully, putting aside his annoyance. There was no point in wasting time being upset or irritated when there was work to be done. Attitude was everything, in his opinion. Those without the mental fortitude to press on through anything never seemed to be able to rise up through the ranks, and he was fortunate enough to have plenty of experience to develop it. "I'm happy to take brisk walk through city, m'lady. Carogne is quite the beauty. Been here a while and still not tired of it."

The servants who Eric had managed to thoroughly curb the floor with were standing at the palanquins, barely able to hide their grimaces when they realized that they would need to carry the norimono after the previous incident. As they picked it up, Fumiko lifted her hakama slightly and took a step into the vehicle, sitting in the seiza position in a dignified and unmoved manner. Himegawa followed and assumed the position next to her. The shōgun looked at Alexei expectantly. “Well, Alexei?” she asked him. “Are you going to get in?”

Meanwhile Nekoyashiki, Yamada, and Yamashiro had exited the tavern and approached the norimono. The three of them bowed to Fumiko while preparing to follow the palanquin, which was intended to exit the city. This was it. The day that the last remnants of the Hanafuridake state would break from their liege and attempt to make it on their own. There would have been tension in the air if it had been anyone less emotionally reserved than the Tsubaki courtiers, who wore expressions like they did masks.

[Lazarian]

The servants who Eric had managed to thoroughly curb the floor with were standing at the palanquins, barely able to hide their grimaces when they realized that they would need to carry the norimono after the previous incident. As they picked it up, Fumiko lifted her hakama slightly and took a step into the vehicle, sitting in the seiza position in a dignified and unmoved manner. Himegawa followed and assumed the position next to her. The shōgun looked at Alexei expectantly. “Well, Alexei?” she asked him. “Are you going to get in?”

"M'lady...don't you think I'm a little big for this?" he inquired, looking over the palanquin. It was certainly luxurious, but it definitely didn't look light. And he was quite a large man - well, here, anyways. In his childhood village, he was actually one of the smaller men. But in the world at large, beyond his birthplace, the people tended to be a little smaller. "I'm not certain this is good idea." he continued, looking rather concerned.

"I am fine to walk alongside, or even help lift carriage if necessary. But...well, if you insist. One moment, your highness." he said, and he awkwardly climbed into the norimono, attempting to sit in the same manner as the two women. His mud-crusted leather boots and handaxe felt out of place inside the delicately crafted box with the two noblewomen, and he did his best to seem dignified. He would have much rather been in front carrying the norimono - it didn't feel right for a commander to be supported by the labor of his followers. In Garmiccia, when he was Captain, he ate last and carried the most equipment. It was an old tradition - the leader of the pack assumed the most responsibility, and with it, the most work. That was how he proved he was strongest. "Well, that is how it should be, anyway." he thought. Not all leaders were like that, but that was how the greatest regiments operated.

He looked over at all of the courtiers, who stood around, emotionless and stone-faced for the most part. Three of them had walked over - there was the younger man who had attempted to threaten him with a fan (Nakanyasha, perhaps?), a slightly portly old man wrapped in black robes, and another older man, who was slightly thinner. They did their bows, and fell in behind.

"So, Lady Fumiko," Alexei said, looking over at the group, "tell me about all your companions here, yes? I'd like to know about your court."

"Don't worry your pretty little head. See, most of those people are too busy to hunt me themselves. So they usually send bounty hunters. And bounty hunters are easy to deal with. I either kill them..."

He popped a crick in his neck.

"Or we wind up becoming friends. You'd be surprised how lonely your average bounty hunter is. One trip to the nearest cathouse and killing me is the last thing on their mind...course some still try killing me after that. But I digress, I know how to handle myself."

Upon hearing how nonchalant Eric was about the bounties upon his head, and his experience in the situation, Katya relaxed slightly, taking a deep breath.

"Vell, if you say so, Sir Lumen. I trust you. And your friend the Valkkerigan, of course." she said, looking over to Belle. Surely she was one of the legendary beings that escorted noble warriors into their next reincarnation. All of the descriptions lined up, anyways, regardless of what the angelle said about her nature.

"So, you know where the local guild for the Basilisk Pirates is?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Eric. This could certainly be a potential avenue for getting straight to North Gallia. Well, if they didn't die in the process. She continued.

"And if we went there, vould they listen to you, or attempt to gut us like fresh catch of fish? I assume with you two at my side," she said, gesturing to both Aerion and Eric, "I vould get out fine, but I vould rather not stir up more attention than we already have and attract local authorities. After incident in town square and last night," she continued, nervously looking towards Aerion, hoping he wouldn't take offense, "we certainly aren't keeping low profile anymore."

[Rupudska]

Catrin decided to get up early to go to the bar (as far as she was aware, it opened before dawn to cater to the few night owls that existed in this part of the world), which meant Erosen and that woman he had brought with her had to get up early to go to the bar, too - she had the only key, and Catrin had been quite insistent that Erosen not use his 'weird Darkness warping bullshit' to get them there. For some reason she believed that the barkeep would disapprove.

She didn't bring her massive iron slab of a sword, Little Wing. She was going there to talk, maybe get information, not kill everyone in the bar. She didn't want to go unarmed in town, either, so she brought her shield and both falchions. A non-human like her wasn't going anywhere undefended with Watchtower goons around. Especially if she was out and about looking for them.

Breakfast was had at the bakery downstairs - a few guests bolted out the door, but most - the regulars - paid her no mind. She was as much a regular here as they were after all, but the two with her got odd looks. She bought a lemon muffin and two meat pies for herself, both of which were finished by the time she arrived at the bar.

Only to find a palanquin - a gods-damned palanquin - and some odd men around it when she got there.

Well.

The goons could wait, this simply demanded inquiry.

"Oi, Palanquin," she called out to the palanquin and those around it. "There a reason you can't join us mortals on the ground, or in a carriage? Not that I could fit in a carriage."

[Ameriganastan]

Upon hearing how nonchalant Eric was about the bounties upon his head, and his experience in the situation, Katya relaxed slightly, taking a deep breath.

"Vell, if you say so, Sir Lumen. I trust you. And your friend the Valkkerigan, of course." she said, looking over to Belle. Surely she was one of the legendary beings that escorted noble warriors into their next reincarnation. All of the descriptions lined up, anyways, regardless of what the angelle said about her nature.

"So, you know where the local guild for the Basilisk Pirates is?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Eric. This could certainly be a potential avenue for getting straight to North Gallia. Well, if they didn't die in the process. She continued.

"And if we went there, vould they listen to you, or attempt to gut us like fresh catch of fish? I assume with you two at my side," she said, gesturing to both Aerion and Eric, "I vould get out fine, but I vould rather not stir up more attention than we already have and attract local authorities. After incident in town square and last night," she continued, nervously looking towards Aerion, hoping he wouldn't take offense, "we certainly aren't keeping low profile anymore."

He thought on it for a few moments.

"Well, there'a few scenarios here. One, the second I show up at the door, they pop me full of arrows and possibly sell the rest of you into slavery and/or prostitution. Second scenario, they offer you all a small fortune to turn on me right there. Third scenario...hmm...we need a little info. Hang on."

He fished a silver piece out of his pocket, holding it up and letting out a few odd whistles. A few moments later, a scruffy looking child emerged from a nearby alley. Walking up to them, Eric flipped him the piece.

"Need info, little man. Is Bloody Bart still a crew-member aboard the Devil's Luck?"

"Aye. He's first mate now. Serves under Captain Francesca."

Eric patted him on the shoulder, flipping him another piece.

"And is the Devil's Luck here in Cargone?"

He simply nodded.

"Thanks. Go get yourself something to eat."

He shooed him off.

"Well, that's good news. Bloody Bart, despite the name, is a semi-reasonable pirate. Only guy I know who could tame Franny's temper. And if the ship is here, that means he's here. And Franny tends to leave the outpost under his watch. We talk to him, and I guarantee we'll secure our passage."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

"Wait up!" Shouted the familiar voice of an Ice Elemental as he approached the group comprised of Katya, Eric and Aerion. While Lisoette had been fairly patient and content to rest next to his husband some more, it quickly became apparent that he was going to oversleep if he continued like this. Unfortunately, even though she woke him up and they hurried downstairs after getting ready to head off with their new group, they were nowhere to be found, and Tristan only managed to catch up to them after asking the innkeeper for directions.

"Sorry we're this late, I can be a bit of a heavy sleeper at times." Tristan apologized. Instead of the rather fancy clothes he wore yesterday, he was clad in his armored shirt and a simple pair of trousers, believing these clothes were more appropriate for the road; He also had his mageforged glaive strapped to his back. Glancing around, he noticed that part of Katya's entourage was missing. Did they leave, or did she send them off on errands? The Ice Elemental wondered, though ultimately it was not his business to know.

"So what's the plan? I thought we were going to head to the Commonwealth of the North on foot?" He asked his companions, briefly glancing at Aerion. He was surprised that the Garmiccian noble had opted to take him along; he wouldn't question it if it was her choice, but he still intended to keep an eye on him. If his previous behavior was anything to go by, he wasn't very trustworthy.

[Hanafuridake]

"So, Lady Fumiko," Alexei said, looking over at the group, "tell me about all your companions here, yes? I'd like to know about your court."

Fumiko noted the reluctance that Alexei showed as he entered the palanquin, while Himegawa suppressed a repulsed gag at the muddy boots that were dragged in. He would learn in time about the proper deference he should be shown as a Tsubaki vassal, Fumi decided. The barbarians could not be expected to fully understand the civilized way of rulers without much instruction. “My court has twelve subjects,” she replied cheerfully, her warmness not entirely evaporating from the previous discussion. “All of them are, without exception, retainers of mine who have remained loyal when I had to enter exile.”

She proceeded to tell Alexei the story of her childhood, how her mother died when she was seven and she was appointed child shōgun with power in the hands of her relatives, fellow members of the Hanafuridake clan, until their mismanagement resulted in Hayashi Shiragiku rebelling against the bakufu and replacing her as the shōgun. Then how she fled the Tsubaki archipelago and wandered from court to court, seeking mercenaries or patronage to help her reclaim her territory.

“There will be much work to do,” Fumiko said, a frown on her face which she then concealed with her sleeve. “I'm under no illusions about walking into Tsubaki and being received as the rightful liege without bloodshed. I know that my relatives did incompetent things, that they allowed the daimyo to become too strong and unhappiness to spread. But, just because of that,” her expression became stern, as though she worried that Alexei would take her enemy's side. “That doesn't give Hayashi the right to rebel against her rightful liege, take her place, and murder the children of her supporters.”

As she said that, Nekoyashiki suddenly choked. He stood there, trying to fight against the oncoming tears as he remembered his sisters.

“Nekoyashiki!” Fumiko exclaimed, and the courtier, with fragile control over his emotions, got up into the palanquin, trying to find a space next to Alexei and struggling to. “From henceforth, you are promoted to the rank of Chinzei Bugyō. With Rumen having committed treason against me, you will replace him as the commander to lead my forces against Hayashi with Alexei.”

“はーはい!” the courtier replied, bowing his head to show that he accepted the rank.

“You're full of hatred for Hayashi, and while that can make you act irrationally, that's where Alexei enters into the picture.” Fumiko grinned, revealing two sharpened upper canines called yaeba. “Hatred, when it is formed and directed by intelligence, can be a powerful weapon. I need both emotions and brains to win the coming fight, and I expect you both to be able to provide one of them to me. Now, if you would please, introduce yourself properly to Alexei.”

“はーはい!” Nekoyashiki repeated himself, trying to turn around and address Alexei, but struggling to because of the limited space. “My full name is Nekoyashiki no Reiji, firstborn son of the Nekoyashiki clan that administered Eastern Tsubaki in the past. I have not had battlefield experience yet, but I have received education in military matters.” the way that he spoke was like a student on the first day of meeting his teacher.

It was now Himegawa's turn to introduce herself, which she did, coolly and calmly with no emotion, as she tried making tea. “My name is Himegawa no Mizuki.” she answered the question. “I was her mother's concubine. I became married to her mother around the same time Her Majesty was born, although I didn't have the official status of wife.” that was such a long time ago, Himegawa felt like she was revisiting a dream.

[Ameriganastan]

"Wait up!" Shouted the familiar voice of an Ice Elemental as he approached the group comprised of Katya, Eric and Aerion. While Lisoette had been fairly patient and content to rest next to his husband some more, it quickly became apparent that he was going to oversleep if he continued like this. Unfortunately, even though she woke him up and they hurried downstairs after getting ready to head off with their new group, they were nowhere to be found, and Tristan only managed to catch up to them after asking the innkeeper for directions.

"Sorry we're this late, I can be a bit of a heavy sleeper at times." Tristan apologized. Instead of the rather fancy clothes he wore yesterday, he was clad in his armored shirt and a simple pair of trousers, believing these clothes were more appropriate for the road; He also had his mageforged glaive strapped to his back. Glancing around, he noticed that part of Katya's entourage was missing. Did they leave, or did she send them off on errands? The Ice Elemental wondered, though ultimately it was not his business to know.

"So what's the plan? I thought we were going to head to the Commonwealth of the North on foot?" He asked his companions, briefly glancing at Aerion. He was surprised that the Garmiccian noble had opted to take him along; he wouldn't question it if it was her choice, but he still intended to keep an eye on him. If his previous behavior was anything to go by, he wasn't very trustworthy.

"Heavy sleeper he says."

He playfully nudged him with his elbow.

"Yeah, I imagine exploring certain southern dwelling ice caves would tire anyone out, eh?"

He looked around at the group. That entendre seemed to have flown past some of them.

"...See, his wife has ice powers too and I was implying they were up all night rutting...eh, that joke was too obscure for the room...also, plans have changed. And provided scenario 1 or 2 doesn't occur, we're headed there by ship. And not just any ship. A pirate ship. Provided they don't keelhaul me, it's basically a nonstop party boat."

Catrin decided to get up early to go to the bar (as far as she was aware, it opened before dawn to cater to the few night owls that existed in this part of the world), which meant Erosen and that woman he had brought with her had to get up early to go to the bar, too - she had the only key, and Catrin had been quite insistent that Erosen not use his 'weird Darkness warping bullshit' to get them there. For some reason she believed that the barkeep would disapprove.

She didn't bring her massive iron slab of a sword, Little Wing. She was going there to talk, maybe get information, not kill everyone in the bar. She didn't want to go unarmed in town, either, so she brought her shield and both falchions. A non-human like her wasn't going anywhere undefended with Watchtower goons around. Especially if she was out and about looking for them.

Breakfast was had at the bakery downstairs - a few guests bolted out the door, but most - the regulars - paid her no mind. She was as much a regular here as they were after all, but the two with her got odd looks. She bought a lemon muffin and two meat pies for herself, both of which were finished by the time she arrived at the bar.

Only to find a palanquin - a gods-damned palanquin - and some odd men around it when she got there.

Well.

The goons could wait, this simply demanded inquiry.

"Oi, Palanquin," she called out to the palanquin and those around it. "There a reason you can't join us mortals on the ground, or in a carriage? Not that I could fit in a carriage."

Eric glanced back to see who was pestering the palanquin.

"Who in the-"

The second he laid eyes on her, an old conversation he'd nearly forgotten came flooding back.

20 Years Ago

"I'm telling you, they exist! I had a whole adventure with one. Was even madly in love with one once..."

Some gimpy bald man yelled fantastical stories to anyone in earshot. A younger Eric included.

"Oh, please. Spider people? You're wakco old timer."

"I'm telling you, they're real! There were crazy gods and I think I was a zombie..."

Eric chuckled.

"I tell you what, old man. If I ever meet one of these spider people, I'll kiss the nearest person to me right on the mouth."

Present time.

"...Well, damn. A deal is a deal."

Weighing his options, he grabbed Tristan by the shoulder and planted a kiss on him right there.

"Sorry bout that, kiddo. Long story. Anyway..."

He snapped his fingers, Belle returning to his hand.

"Hey, creepy crawly. Can I help you?"

[Lazarian]

"Well, that's good news. Bloody Bart, despite the name, is a semi-reasonable pirate. Only guy I know who could tame Franny's temper. And if the ship is here, that means he's here. And Franny tends to leave the outpost under his watch. We talk to him, and I guarantee we'll secure our passage."

"You're a clever man, sir Lumen." Katya said, impressed. The knight-errant apparently had an intelligence network of some sorts. She never would have expected for the urchins to be useful, but...Eric did many things that weren't expected. "I believe that's worth a shot! Let's go at once!" she said, excited at the idea of finally making progress in her journey.

"Wait up!" Shouted the familiar voice of an Ice Elemental as he approached the group comprised of Katya, Eric and Aerion. While Lisoette had been fairly patient and content to rest next to his husband some more, it quickly became apparent that he was going to oversleep if he continued like this. Unfortunately, even though she woke him up and they hurried downstairs after getting ready to head off with their new group, they were nowhere to be found, and Tristan only managed to catch up to them after asking the innkeeper for directions.

"Sorry we're this late, I can be a bit of a heavy sleeper at times. So, what's the plan? I thought we were going to head to the Commonwealth of the North on foot?" He asked his companions, briefly glancing at Aerion. He was surprised that the Garmiccian noble had opted to take him along; he wouldn't question it if it was her choice, but he still intended to keep an eye on him. If his previous behavior was anything to go by, he wasn't very trustworthy.

"Ah, well, Tristan, we're...on an island right now." Katya said, as she avoided eye contact with him and Lisoette, her cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. She was rather grateful that he hadn't brought up her shameful attempt to flirt with him last night. Thank the gods. That could have been awkward. "We need to ride a ship to the mainland. You didn't know that?"

"Heavy sleeper he says." He playfully nudged him with his elbow. "Yeah, I imagine exploring certain southern dwelling ice caves would tire anyone out, eh?"

He looked around at the group. That entendre seemed to have flown past some of them. "...See, his wife has ice powers too and I was implying they were up all night rutting...eh, that joke was too obscure for the room...also, plans have changed. And provided scenario 1 or 2 doesn't occur, we're headed there by ship. And not just any ship. A pirate ship. Provided they don't keelhaul me, it's basically a nonstop party boat."

Katya scowled. "Eric, don't be gross. But yes, Tristan, we're headed there via ship. Assuming all goes well and sir Lumen doesn't end up filled with arrows, a friend of his will grant us passage on said pirate ship."

Suddenly, she heard a couple of loud footsteps come striding up. It was as if someone was riding a horse, but the steps were all wrong. Too frequent and skittery to be a horse, but too loud to be a man. She turned around and gasped, nearly shrieking in fright. A giant...thing...had approached. It was as if someone had taken a spider, multiplied its size by a couple thousand, and melded a woman into it. The woman was not altogether monstrous, although she had six eyes, which was rather appalling. The spider woman was wearing the clothes of a man on her human pieces, but nothing on the spider bits, giving her a strange appearance of monstrousness combined with humanity. She wielded two short swords, strapped to her body, as well as a heater shield. All and all, she was rather abhorrent to look at, in Katya's opinion.

There was a man who accompanied the massive spider-woman, standing nearby. He was rather disheveled looking, with dirty black robes, arms wrapped in cloth, and long, unkempt hair. His eyes looked worn out and tired, and his thin frame stood in stark contrast to the enormous spider - he looked like a few strong gusts of wind could blow him away.

Suddenly, Eric dashed over to Tristan, grabbed him by the shoulder, and kissed him. Katya, disgusted, wrinkled her nose and scowled. Yuck. Notsomuch because of the man kissing another man - Garmiccia was relatively indifferent in the cities. She was just surprised, for the most part. Eric snapped his fingers, and Belle morphed back into a sword in a small twinkle, and he confidently turned to the spider. "Hey, creepy crawly. Can I help you?"

"Sir Lumen!" Katya snapped, crossing her arms. "Don't talk to the non-humans! It's bad luck." she pouted, shaking her head. Didn't he know? It was common knowledge. Never speak with the other races. The centaurs that lived in the northern tundra of Garmiccia may have pretended to be friendly at times, but more often than not, they'd fill a man with arrows right where he stood. The dwarves in the mountains (if they were real, anyways, she'd never seen one) were horrid creatures, living only for the allure of gold and silver, spending their entire lives underground in tunnels. And gods forbid you made the mistake of offending a nature spirit. It was always best not to interact with the inhumans - let them be, and they would let you be. She sighed.

"Also, is that normal in Gallia? Unless I am deeply wrong about customs here, that was very rude of you."

[Olthar]

Gwen wasn't thrilled with the idea of spending the night with two strangers, especially not one who had kidnapped her five minutes prior, in a location that had already proven to be a security risk, but it seemed like the spider person wasn't going to take no for an answer. She also figured that if she tried to fight her way out, Ero-san would join in against her, and she had no experience fighting either spider monsters or darkness Elementals. Battling against two unknown quantities was a bad idea. So, since they didn't seem hostile at the moment, the ex-knight decided to simply deal with it.

The monster woman didn't have any extra beds (presumably, she didn't get many guests), but that part didn't bother Gwen much. She had plenty of experience sleeping on the ground, often in worse conditions. At least this place had a roof. As such, she just picked the corner furthest from the door and plunked down her bedroll. She was soon asleep, but she slept lightly, as she always did, ready to get up at a moment's notice. The night, however, passed with no incident.

The next morning, Gwen was up and ready before the sun. She had planned to slip out before the other two awoke, but, apparently, the spider was an early riser, too, and got up before Gwen could make her escape. She intended to bring Gwen to this bar she knew, and the soldier couldn't think of how to talk her way out of it. Words were not her strong suit as she never needed them on the farm or in the army. Still, she didn't much like the idea of walking around with a very noticeable individual. Therefore, she pulled her hood down over her face and hopped that the spider would be so attention grabbing that no one would pay attention to her.

As the small, motley group approached the tavern, Gwen saw the same bunch of people from the prior evening gathered outside. Naturally, the spider decided to stop to talk to them, another distraction. Though, as Gwen examined them a bit closer, she noticed something peculiar: the angelle woman from before was still here, hanging around like a normal person. Was she not an angelle after all? Then Gwen saw her transform into a sword, and all sense flew out the window. Whatever bizarre magic was going on, Gwen wanted no part in it.

[Rupudska]

"Hey, creepy crawly. Can I help you?"

At once, Catrin puffed out her chest and put one exoskeletonized hand to it, as if proud of something.

"Why yes, my brother, my buddy, my pal, my comrade, my friend, my guy, you can never call me creepy crawly again or I'll toss you into that bar like yesterday's laundry, other than that-"

"Sir Lumen!" Katya snapped, crossing her arms. "Don't talk to the non-humans! It's bad luck." she pouted, shaking her head. Didn't he know? It was common knowledge. Never speak with the other races. The centaurs that lived in the northern tundra of Garmiccia may have pretended to be friendly at times, but more often than not, they'd fill a man with arrows right where he stood. The dwarves in the mountains (if they were real, anyways, she'd never seen one) were horrid creatures, living only for the allure of gold and silver, spending their entire lives underground in tunnels. And gods forbid you made the mistake of offending a nature spirit. It was always best not to interact with the inhumans - let them be, and they would let you be. She sighed.

Catrin shot Katya a very nasty three-eye-raise in mild surprise at her statement. Sure, non-humans (especially ones like herself) were exceedingly rare, and sure they mostly kept to themselves (or other non-humans, except elves - fuck elves, snobby tree-humping bastards the lot of them), but talking to them certainly wasn't considered bad luck by any civilization she had encountered on her wanderings. And she had been doing a lot of wandering, so that was a lot of cultures. Maybe certain varieties themselves were considered bad luck, if only because certain green-skinned varieties tended to sack and pillage anything in sight whose inhabitants they could kill, but just talking to them? Poppycock, balderdash, horse hockey even!

She reverted her sixfold gaze back to this 'Sir Lumen'. "As I was saying, other than that, I was going to ask if any of you have seen any mildly spooked-looking Watchtower goons around. A whole group of 'em tried to break my door down as I was opening it yesterday, after Erosen here yanked this woman here into my house. Then they saw Erosen, nearly pissed themselves, and ran off. I wanted to at least find one of 'em, so I could have him-or-her inform the others about how very rude it is to break into a woman's apartment and threaten her and her guests."

[Lazarian]

“Nekoyashiki!” Fumiko exclaimed, and the courtier, with fragile control over his emotions, got up into the palanquin, trying to find a space next to Alexei and struggling to. “From henceforth, you are promoted to the rank of Chinzei Bugyō. With Rumen having committed treason against me, you will replace him as the commander to lead my forces against Hayashi with Alexei.”

Alexei looked over at the lad sitting next to him, feeling rather crushed in the now-stuffed palanquin. My, wasn't this the brave fellow that had attempted to defend his honor with a fan? And now he was being promoted to...a commander position of some sort. Equal to himself. Oh dear. Well, no matter. The lad had passion, and if he had the royal blood necessary, he could likely be molded into something resembling a general. In his opinion, it wouldn't matter too much if he was inexperienced in combat, as long as he was intelligent enough to be trained in logistics. In terms of direct combat, it was the middle men, the captains and sergeants, that carried an army. As long as you had a strong enough figurehead at the front and someone with a higher grasp of tactics at the top, that was good enough.

“はーはい!” the courtier replied, bowing his head to show that he accepted the rank.

“You're full of hatred for Hayashi, and while that can make you act irrationally, that's where Alexei enters into the picture.” Fumiko grinned, revealing two sharpened upper canines called yaeba. “Hatred, when it is formed and directed by intelligence, can be a powerful weapon. I need both emotions and brains to win the coming fight, and I expect you both to be able to provide one of them to me. Now, if you would please, introduce yourself properly to Alexei.”

“はーはい!” Nekoyashiki repeated himself, trying to turn around and address Alexei, but struggling to because of the limited space. “My full name is Nekoyashiki no Reiji, firstborn son of the Nekoyashiki clan that administered Eastern Tsubaki in the past. I have not had battlefield experience yet, but I have received education in military matters.” the way that he spoke was like a student on the first day of meeting his teacher.

"Is a pleasure to meet you, Nekoyashiki of House Reiji. I eagerly look forward to working with you in future." Alexei said warmly, bowing his head in respect. It would do him no good to make enemies, and as this lad would be his equal, it was best to be deferential. Inwardly, though, he was a little concerned. No battlefield experience whatsoever? Education in military matters? This man was a scholar, not a warrior. And from an administrator clan, nonetheless. He expected for him to be one of Lady Fumiko's clerks, rather than her new head general. Although Lady Fumiko's story of her deposition as ruler seemed as if she would be able to wrest back control of the throne, with a court like this...it was certainly going to be a challenge. It was unfortunate that she had seemed rather unaccepting towards the idea of becoming a vassal to his true lord.

It was now Himegawa's turn to introduce herself, which she did, coolly and calmly with no emotion, as she tried making tea. “My name is Himegawa no Mizuki.” she answered the question. “I was her mother's concubine. I became married to her mother around the same time Her Majesty was born, although I didn't have the official status of wife.” that was such a long time ago, Himegawa felt like she was revisiting a dream.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Lady Himegawa of House Mizuki." he said back to the woman, nodding his head. Inwardly, he was shocked - this woman was married at the time Lady Fumiko was born? Lady Fumiko looked about in her early twenties, which would put Lady Himegawa in her late thirties. She certainly didn't look that old - her porcelain skin lacked many of the wrinkles that should have been there. Why, she was quite possibly his age! Alexei cleared his throat.

"Well, Lady Fumiko, after listening to backstory, I believe campaign to reconquer your homeland is certainly possible! It depends largely on public sentiment once you return. If you were honest, and your family were rightful rulers, not hated, and the new rulers are disliked, it will be easy to levy an army of commoners. And with a company of good Garmiccian mercenaries, I could train that army into a fighting force. I promise you that."

He paused, realizing that over the course of the time he had been listening to Fumiko's story of her homeland, the conversation had drawn on for quite some time. And they had been moving continuously in the palanquin this entire time. Perhaps that was customary in their lands, to travel with no destination...and he hadn't been paying attention...but he glanced outside, and it seemed as if they had quite possibly left the city. "Ah, well, 'tis no matter." Alexei thought to himself, putting his thoughts aside. "Perhaps we're going out into the countryside for a breath of fresh air."

[Ameriganastan]

"Sir Lumen!" Katya snapped, crossing her arms. "Don't talk to the non-humans! It's bad luck." she pouted, shaking her head. Didn't he know? It was common knowledge. Never speak with the other races. The centaurs that lived in the northern tundra of Garmiccia may have pretended to be friendly at times, but more often than not, they'd fill a man with arrows right where he stood. The dwarves in the mountains (if they were real, anyways, she'd never seen one) were horrid creatures, living only for the allure of gold and silver, spending their entire lives underground in tunnels. And gods forbid you made the mistake of offending a nature spirit. It was always best not to interact with the inhumans - let them be, and they would let you be. She sighed.

"Also, do you know that man? Unless I am deeply wrong about customs here, that was very rude of you."

"Uh..."

He held his sword up, pointing at it.

"You've kinda been talking to a non-human lately. Or did the large wings and transforming powers not make that obvious?"

He returned his attention to the spider thingy.

At once, Catrin puffed out her chest and put one exoskeletonized hand to it, as if proud of something.

"Why yes, my brother, my buddy, my pal, my comrade, my friend, my guy, you can never call me creepy crawly again or I'll toss you into that bar like yesterday's laundry, other than that-"

Eric raised an eyebrow, spinning Belle around with a flourish.

"You got the...uh...thorax? Yeah, you got the thorax to back that threat up? I've fought bigger and uglier things than you..."

shot Katya a very nasty three-eye-raise in mild surprise at her statement. Sure, non-humans (especially ones like herself) were exceedingly rare, and sure they mostly kept to themselves (or other non-humans, except elves - fuck elves, snobby tree-humping bastards the lot of them), but talking to them certainly wasn't considered bad luck by any civilization she had encountered on her wanderings. And she had been doing a lot of wandering, so that was a lot of cultures. Maybe certain varieties themselves were considered bad luck, if only because certain green-skinned varieties tended to sack and pillage anything in sight whose inhabitants they could kill, but just talking to them? Poppycock, balderdash, horse hockey even!

She reverted her sixfold gaze back to this 'Sir Lumen'. "As I was saying, other than that, I was going to ask if any of you have seen any mildly spooked-looking Watchtower goons around. A whole group of 'em tried to break my door down as I was opening it yesterday, after Erosen here yanked this woman here into my house. Then they saw Erosen, nearly pissed themselves, and ran off. I wanted to at least find one of 'em, so I could have him-or-her inform the others about how very rude it is to break into a woman's apartment and threaten her and her guests."

"...Well, looks like we're actually on the same page here."

He sheathed Belle.

"No, I haven't seen any Watchtower members since I scared a mess of them off Yesterday. Oh, you should have seen it. Belle, got enough juice in you for Holy Terror?"

"I'm not doing Holy Terror just to show off...but find more of them and we'll talk."

[Hanafuridake]

"Well, Lady Fumiko, after listening to backstory, I believe campaign to reconquer your homeland is certainly possible! It depends largely on public sentiment once you return. If you were honest, and your family were rightful rulers, not hated, and the new rulers are disliked, it will be easy to levy an army of commoners. And with a company of good Garmiccian mercenaries, I could train that army into a fighting force. I promise you that."

The two courtiers looked to the floor, embarrassed and unable to say anything. Fumi quickly corrected the new commander. “In Tsubaki, we refer to ourselves family name first and personal name last. Nekoyashiki no Reiji would be Reiji of the House of Nekoyashiki, and vice versa for Himegawa's name. You'll rarely have to use a personal name, if at all. There were so many different palace servants and ministers who I only knew the name of their rank.” she sighed drearily, remembering how many different Chūnagon and Daijō-daijin came and went without her ever learning their names.

As she talked, Nekoyashiki started to listen. Not to her, but to something else. There sounded like leaves were moving in the distance, as though someone were walking close by, but not close enough to be Yamada or Yamashiro. What was it with those guys this morning? He thought to himself, the question had started to nag him about how they had obtained the money to pay for such expensive damages. As he thought about it, the pieces started to came together, but before he could say anything, an arrow whistled right through their palanquin.

Wham.

Another three quickly hit the vehicle, sending it tottering while the surprised palanquin bearers tried to run, violently shaking the norimono by accident. Nekoyashiki jumped out of the vehicle and looked around to try and find the source of the arrows. Before he could make heads or tails, several bandits started running at them with weapons. There must have been a dozen of them.

“There's the Elemental!” a female voice shouted from the distance. “Catch her, Watchtower will pay good money if we sell her to them.”

Himegawa, seeing her chance to make a run for it, quickly jumped out of the norimono and fled. Yamashiro and Yamada were nowhere to be seen and the palanquin bearers dropped the vehicle and ran as well.

[Lazarian]

The two courtiers looked to the floor, embarrassed and unable to say anything. Fumi quickly corrected the new commander. “In Tsubaki, we refer to ourselves family name first and personal name last. Nekoyashiki no Reiji would be Reiji of the House of Nekoyashiki, and vice versa for Himegawa's name. You'll rarely have to use a personal name, if at all. There were so many different palace servants and ministers who I only knew the name of their rank.” she sighed drearily, remembering how many different Chūnagon and Daijō-daijin came and went without her ever learning their names.

"Oh, my bad." said Alexei, shaking his head. Silly foreigners. Why would you go by a last name only? They seemed rather offended that he had misnamed them, which was understandable.

Suddenly, seconds after his apology, an arrow whistled right through their palanquin, brushing close to his face, before flying out of the other side. Alexei jolted backwards, instantly reaching towards his side, clutching for his handaxe. "What the hell was that?" he exclaimed in surprise, before another three arrows hit the vehicle. The palanquin shook violently as the courtiers attempted to flee, and Alexei dropped the axe, sending it scraping across the floor of the vehicle. The young man (the new general) jumped out of the vehicle with surprising dexterity, and Alexei attempted to follow, but he was cut off by Himegawa's quick departure, who reacted more quickly than him somehow. Strange. His reaction times were usually pretty good, due to years of experience. Was he just getting old?

“There's the Elemental!” a female voice shouted from the distance. “Catch her, Watchtower will pay good money if we sell her to them!”

Suddenly, the vehicle slammed onto the ground, knocking Alexei onto the ground with it, as the palanquin bearers dropped the vehicle and ran as well. He reached frantically for the handaxe, found it, and grasped onto it tight. His hand trembled as he gripped it - the battle rage was upon him. Cold blood rushed through his veins, and he could feel his heart starting to pound in a frenzy. They had been ambushed. And they knew Lady Fumiko was a spellborn, despite the fact that she hadn't used her powers in the slightest. Something was up. He burst out of the fallen norimono, looking frantically around, attempting to assess the situation. Bless the gods that this was not the first time.

Where had the others gone? There were at least twelve other foreign courtiers with him! Where were those damned servants! Even without weapons, numbers were still useful in a situation like this! He looked behind him to see the palanquin bearers fleeing, as well as Himegawa. The two old men had vanished as well. Odd. How had they gotten out of sight so quickly? There was no time to think about it. Alexei looked around quickly, hearing the sound of rushing footsteps, and turned to see a large group of bandits charging at them with weapons. Some with swords, some with spears, some with axes. All average sized men and women. Most were wearing some sort of padded gambeson, there were no insignia on their shields, and they didn't look afraid. Bandits. No time to count how many, but it was surely greater than ten.

Reiji was staring at the oncoming crowd and not moving, seemingly paralyzed with fright. Of course. Not an uncommon reaction from those unaccustomed to combat. They had probably thirty seconds before the bandits reached him. If only he had brought his halberd along, or if he was wearing his normal travel clothes. He would have given all the money in the world to be wearing a good padded vest and some thick leggings right now rather than these thin draping robes and long kilt. They'd be useless to block a sword or speartip from cutting into him.

"If I had some good plate and a halberd, I'd kill them all." he thought, starting to feel the numbness and rage come upon him. Good. If they were going to survive, he needed it. His axe was only possibly two feet long at most - not nearly enough range for an unarmored combatant. There were the poles from the norimono - possibly could be an improvised quarterstaff, but if it broke when he was wielding it, that would be instant death. He needed to cut them apart into a smaller group. Not even the greatest champions could fight ten men at once.

Maybe fighting wasn't the right option here. Perhaps he could run. He could sprint very quickly for short distances, and the bandits weren't after him in particular. They didn't have any cavalrymen with them, so they wouldn't run him down. But if he chose to run for it, it was condemning Reiji and Fumiko to death, or worse. The young man appeared to be frozen in shock, and Fumiko hadn't emerged from the norimono yet. There was no way the two would be able to escape the bandits, even with Fumiko's spellborn powers.

He had sworn his word to her. That meant something. No, that meant everything. He was nothing without honor. And if he died gloriously in battle, so be it. The Valkerrigan would come for him, and he would be reincarnated. Such was life.

"Reiji!" Alexei snapped, grabbing the lad by the shoulder and shaking him, hoping to break him from his trance. "Grab pole as staff and prepare to fight for your life!"

In an instant, he turned to the fallen norimono. "Lady Fumiko! We're under attack! Either run or fight, but do something!" he begged, praying to the Great Fire that she would respond. If she didn't help him, they would all die here. No doubt about it.

Then he turned back to the bandits. He could feel the familiar sensation of his heart pounding in a frantic drumbeat, his muscles tensing, hands trembling, mind starting to become cloudy and fogged. Standing to his full height, he pointed at the bandit at the head of the charge, hands shaking in anticipation of the bloody work he was about to do. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last.

"I'LL RIP YOUR GUTS FROM YOUR CHESTS AND FEED YOU TO THE CROWS! COME MEET YOUR DEATH!" he roared, bracing for combat.

[Constaniana]

Lisoette was mildly surprised at the sight of a drider and friends approaching the motley group. She had seen similar creatures back in Hell, so she handled it better than Katya. What she didn't handle as well was Eric kissing Tristan. The blonde quietly fumed in disbelief and growing indignation while Eric and the drider chatted. She decided to send a message to anybody else who might have contemplated sexually harassing her husband, and slapped the geezer in the face.

"Don't you ever even think of doing that to my husband again! Yes, Katya, that was rude of him!" " Lisoette shouted, aggressively putting her hands on her hips. Mrs. Frost turned to look at the newcomers again, and she finally registered something from the drider's story, "Wait, did you say Erosen? Ero-san? You're alive? What are you doing? How did you meet these two? Who are you two, actually? I'm Lisoette Frost."

[Ameriganastan]

.

[Rupudska]

"Don't you ever even think of doing that to my husband again! Yes, Katya, that was rude of him!" " Lisoette shouted, aggressively putting her hands on her hips. Mrs. Frost turned to look at the newcomers again, and she finally registered something from the drider's story, "Wait, did you say Erosen? Ero-san? You're alive? What are you doing? How did you meet these two? Who are you two, actually? I'm Lisoette Frost."

"Catrin Eberhardt," said Catrin Eberhardt, drider, as she made something similar to a bow. "And the story of how Erosen and I met is long, fraught with danger, peril, and a whole herd of buffalo-bears and nearly their equal volume in dwarven doppelbock and elvish triple black espresso, and thus is not one to repeat where children can hear, so-"

And then an arrow bounced off the top of her abdomen, its sender clearly underestimating the thickness of a drider's exoskeleton. She paused ans if she had been struck anyway though, more out of the rudeness of the interruption than anything. She drew a falchion in one hand, and her shield in the other. Some people could cut arrows in half - she'd seen someone do it before - but knowing her size if she tried she'd just get hit twice.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Tristan raised an eyebrow at Eric's comment, displeased at the old geezer's lecherous nature, which he was in a better position to understand now. What he and Lisoette did or didn't do that morning and the previous night was none of his business. Still, he simply ignored it and turned his attention to Katya instead. The Garmiccian was far more helpful and informed him that their plan was indeed to head over to the North on foot - as soon as they managed to secure passage to mainland Gallia, that is.

He was about to inform her that he did, in fact, know that they were on an island, when one of the most revolting experiences in his life was forced upon him.

As soon as Eric walked away, Tristan began spitting on the ground and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, disgusted by what had just occurred. Fortunately, it seemed his wife wouldn't just stand by idly while that happened, and gave the old man a good slapping. The Ice Elemental let out a good snicker after seeing it, and then turned his attention to the drider standing nearby. He'd never seen one before, and it was far from what he would call 'normal', but, having seen so many unnatural things in his time, and being married to a non-human, he knew he wasn't one to judge. He did, however, note Katya's mistrust towards non-humans, knowing it would be relevant for the journey ahead.

"Nice to meet you, Catrin." Tristan spoke up, deciding that it was best to move on with the conversation. "I'm Tristan Frost, Ice Elemental." He introduced himself, before looking over at the dark-haired man who was with the drider. "So it's you, Erosen? I'm surprised you're still around, no offense. After what happened at that resort-" The young man began, only to notice as an arrow flew towards Catrin. Violence in the streets couldn't mean good news, but he wasn't about to stand by idly, especially since whoever was going after Catrin was unlikely to leave them alone after seeing her together with his group like that.

With that in mind, he took his glaive into his hands, his eyes sweeping the streets. "Come on out, whoever you are!" He shouted. He doubted it'd have any effect, but who knows? Watchtower's goons were certainly arrogant enough that they might turn up their noses at the notion of an Elemental giving them an order and reveal themselves to the group.

[Ameriganastan]

Tristan raised an eyebrow at Eric's comment, displeased at the old geezer's lecherous nature, which he was in a better position to understand now. What he and Lisoette did or didn't do that morning and the previous night was none of his business. Still, he simply ignored it and turned his attention to Katya instead. The Garmiccian was far more helpful and informed him that their plan was indeed to head over to the North on foot - as soon as they managed to secure passage to mainland Gallia, that is.

He was about to inform her that he did, in fact, know that they were on an island, when one of the most revolting experiences in his life was forced upon him.

As soon as Eric walked away, Tristan began spitting on the ground and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, disgusted by what had just occurred. Fortunately, it seemed his wife wouldn't just stand by idly while that happened, and gave the old man a good slapping. The Ice Elemental let out a good snicker after seeing it, and then turned his attention to the drider standing nearby. He'd never seen one before, and it was far from what he would call 'normal', but, having seen so many unnatural things in his time, and being married to a non-human, he knew he wasn't one to judge. He did, however, note Katya's mistrust towards non-humans, knowing it would be relevant for the journey ahead.

"Nice to meet you, Catrin." Tristan spoke up, deciding that it was best to move on with the conversation. "I'm Tristan Frost, Ice Elemental." He introduced himself, before looking over at the dark-haired man who was with the drider. "So it's you, Erosen? I'm surprised you're still around, no offense. After what happened at that resort-" The young man began, only to notice as an arrow flew towards Catrin. Violence in the streets couldn't mean good news, but he wasn't about to stand by idly, especially since whoever was going after Catrin was unlikely to leave them alone after seeing her together with his group like that.

With that in mind, he took his glaive into his hands, his eyes sweeping the streets. "Come on out, whoever you are!" He shouted. He doubted it'd have any effect, but who knows? Watchtower's goons were certainly arrogant enough that they might turn up their noses at the notion of an Elemental giving them an order and reveal themselves to the group.

The arrow flinger stepped out of the shadows. The good news was he didn't appear to be Watchtower. Far too scruffy looking and one-eyed for that. The bad news was that he wasn't alone. A dozen other assorted brigands emerged from the darkness, swords and bows aimed at them all.

"So the rumors of monster people in town were true. You'll net us a pretty penny, lass. Just come along quietly and we'll deliver you in one piece. If not...oh by the Gods, you can't be serious."

The men all changed their aim from Catrin to...well, you see who's posting. You can guess at who.

"Eric bloody Lumen. You have some nerve setting foot in Cargone. Especially after what you did to the Bloody Boar. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn you into a human pincushion."

Eric pulled a small pair of eyeglasses out of his fanny pack to get a better look at the man threatening him.

"...Dominic! I see you're looking well. And as for why you should let me live, well that comes in two parts. Reason 1 is the last time you came at me...well, I'm sure that eyepatch is a daily reminder of what happened. Reason 2, is I was looking for you bastards. See, I need safe passage to somewhere. And as of recently, I've got the coin to pay for it. So..."

The pirates all glanced at Dominic.

"...You're lucky Captain Francesca wants you alive, you miserable sod."

"...Franny is here? In Cargone? Well, it's been real but we really must away. Nice seeing you all, don't be strangers..."

Every projectile there reaffirmed their aim at his head.

"...Heh. Well, why keep such a lovely lady waiting? Let's be on our way, gang..."

[Lazarian]

"...You're lucky Captain Francesca wants you alive, you miserable sod."

"...Franny is here? In Cargone? Well, it's been real but we really must away. Nice seeing you all, don't be strangers..."

Every projectile there reaffirmed their aim at his head.

"...Heh. Well, why keep such a lovely lady waiting? Let's be on our way, gang..."

Katya was rather concerned. It certainly didn't look like the pirates were too interested in giving Sir Lumen a ride. And from what she had heard about the pirates, he had...sunk one of their ships attempting to steal a diamond, or something like that? They definitely weren't happy to see him. Sure, they could have tried to fight the pirates. She could have easily caused several of the archers to miss with a well placed blast of wind, but not all of them. Perhaps Aerion and Tristan were pretty accomplished spellborn, but...she really didn't know. The only demonstration of powers she had seen from the two were "dragging luggage" and "freezing boots to the ground". Not exactly awe-inspiring, pirate-slaying power. Besides, it was unlikely that these were the only pirates in town. It was probably best not to fight. But, in all honesty, she wasn't completely sure whether she was completely willing to follow Eric into a den of pirates.

On the other hand, he was about the best guide she had found in her time in Carogne, so perhaps it wasn't a completely terrible idea.

"Vell, you heard him." she said to Aerion and Tristan, shrugging. "Let's follow him and make sure that he comes back in one piece. This situation could be better, but I'm sure this can be worked out through words!" she continued, attempting to convince them to follow Eric into the quite-possibly death trap he was being coerced into.