Fandom Fire Emblem RP - Breath of War (Accepting)

[HerculePyro]

Joy smiled idly under his mask as the Barge glided down the other half of the water bridge, Anthony’s declaration that Bird laguz weren’t a threat was certainly amusing, Joy had half a mind to transform and dangle the unarmoured knight over the fissure, but gave up the idea. Things seemed to be on the rise, Anthony, the most troublesome crewmember seemed to be doing ok.
He glanced back in surprise at the sound of wings and a familiar voice. Fydoria was saluting him from atop her Pegasus.

“Oh hey, welcome back, cap sent you to give us a hand? See if you can land just behind the stables, there should be enough room,” Joy called out to her.

He turned back towards the crew, only to see Anthony with his hand inside the mouth of their excitable cat, who seemed to have been more on edge from his talk of birds than he assumed. Fortunately, Karliah who was sitting nearby was already healing Anthony, the tip of her staff glowing and look of bewilderment plastered on her face.
As the barge glided down onto the other side of the fissure Joy relaxed a little and responded to Imraes earlier comment.

“How many times do I have to tell you; this isn’t a ship. Most of the militia aren’t sailors, they’re farm folk. One person is all that’s needed to move this thing. On the way back you can rig up a sail and see how well you do using wind power to get us across the fissure, we’ll be going downstream that’ll make it easier for you,” Joy mused.

The terrain on the short-hair side was a lot different from the empire side. Instead of towering jungles it was towering grass and reeds. There were a few mangroves too, that joy made sure to skirt around. It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination, a large lake fed into by a small waterfall on the far side. Joy steered the barge up to the northern bank, where a small hitching post had been struck into the ground, he hurried up to the back and doused the furnace. Carried by its momentum the barge slide up onto the bank, Joy jumped off and quickly tied it up to the post.

“This is our stop kiddos, someone get down the gangplank and get the horses out of the stables, Anthony your armour stays off, for now, we’ll travel till nightfall then camp close, you can don your armour the next day when we go in for the attack,” Joy ordered.

He gazed out across the lake, his raven eyes spotting the barely visible gleam of a watching pair of eyes across the water before they ducked back out of sight into the chest head-high grass. He turned back towards the group.

~Meanwhile at the Militias destination~
​

A girl sat huddled in a steel cage, staring intently at her captors as they spoke.

“We shouldn’t do this, you know what happens to them,” The scruffy man said, speaking quietly so that the rest of the forces overheard.

“Relax Mccoy, do you know how much one of them is worth? One job and we make enough to get by for years, you’re the one who doesn’t like to raid. We could become honest sumbags with this,” the woman said in a cool voice. Planting a light kiss on Mccoy's cheek, she walked out of view of the girl in the cage.

“Honest? What part of this is honest? We should just let her go! No, take her back to her home, they might reward us, it’d be a win-win!” Mccoy pleaded.

“No Mccoy. I understand where you’re coming from but I’ve made my decision. People don’t just go into those mountains if we let her go; we get nothing,” The tall man said, his back to the girl.

"We’ve been struggling to get by for the last three months, we’ve lost two already to hunger, three more to the savages. I was prepared to turn myself in, hand myself over to the princes torturers if it meant I would get to eat a cold meal every day,” he turned, his cold gaze fixed on the girl as he slowly strode over to her, hands behind his back. Reaching the cage he crouched down, locking eyes with the girl in the cage.

“And now, this blessing has landed on our doorstep and I see food, I see survival. The goddess Cynthia has blessed us with one of her children and I am not about to let her go. I’m sorry Mccoy, tomorrow we make for the rendezvous. Now go make sure everyone is prepared,” He ordered his eyes unwavering in their intent.

The girl heard Mccoy's footsteps as he followed the woman down the stone steps.

“I’m sorry girl. Though now that I think on it, girl may not be fitting for one as long-lived as yourself. You won’t die, you may outlive me still, but I’m afraid your life to come won’t be a happy one. For that you have my apology, were my bands situation different things would not have come to this,” the leader of the brigands said. He spoke sincerely, the girl recognised genuine sorrow in his voice that seeped through his cold exterior.

The leader stood, looking down at her, his cold demeanour returning.

“I would offer you one last meal but we cannot expend the food at the moment, sweet dreams girl, we’ll be travelling in the morning,” With that, the tall man turned and left the girls view.

 

[Marumatsu]

"Yes Captain Brendan sent me to help Sir Joy!" Looking into the back of the barge "Of course we can fit! Ready for the home stretch Lexi?" Preparing a gentle landing on any moving object was a somewhat difficult task very much so at a downward angle. This of course was no true obstacle to a practiced Pegasus Knight. Fydoria and Alexis Flew ahead of the barge just a little in order to turn In allowing Alexis to fit into the area behind the stables by folding her wings and using the momentum to land on the transport. Fydoria took the sack from off her partners side and broke half an apple and fed it to her partner.

"Relax now girl you did great! As promised rest up while we have time." Fydoria rubbed her face against Alexis as she fed her the apple half. Brushing back the long blonde hairs of her pegasus the silver eyed Kitsune moved in front of milky white mount she slid her hand down her nose and around rest it under her mouth. The pegasus put it's head against her friend and made a small nod to the front of the boat. "Of course interaction. I'm going. I'm going." Neigh pusssssh. Heading around the and calming the nerves of the horses she could reach she her apples into quarters and fed them to each as she walked around towards the front of the barge. A young human girl called out to her as a "Fox Woman" once Fydoria came into the area. She paused looking at her hand waging her tail under her uniform then she looked at the human for a moment. She didn't feel like a fox maybe she wasn't use to others calling her such things yet. A mix of emotions shuffled around her body none visible to the eye except for the sharpened look locked onto the human woman. The clenching of her fist could be heard as well.

Attempting to keep calm herself, she looked angrily at the human out of instinct her eyes sharpened and her voice lifted with a hardy and vigorous aura. "My name is Fydoria please address me as such. Alexis is no creature she is an excellent and invaluable friend!" She stepped back in surprise even after trying to calm herself, lowering her voice and creating and awkward atmosphere she began again with less vigor but a strong sense of passion. Though she couldn't shake the awkwardness she closed her eyes and bowed "Excuse me pretty lady but, if you want anything from Alexis you have to ask her." awkwardly bowing a few more times Fydoria hid by Joy in the absence of Captain Brendan. She tried to escape the feeling of embarrassment even more so because she was not able to hide around the person steering the ship. She leaned over the barge in some action of defeat. Once the "ship" thing was settling Fydoria helped to tie the boat down and immediately ran to take care of the horses once Joy spoke up. A child like aura exposed for a few seconds as she skipped through the water. Climbing the side of the barge she moved the planks from under Alexis to the side for the horses to walk down on. The Horses listened to her commands effortlessly you could tell the amount of time she spent either taking care of them or the amount of time spent in the company of each of the them. Though she could not direct all of them herself as some have removed their harnesses in some way or another. Something she completely over looked in her eagarness.
ThatGuyWithSouvlaki @and anyone else who wants to interact.

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Imrae sighed at the response from the rider, another stiff one who cant take simple turn of phrase. Still she raised an eyebrow when the introduction included a compliment so casually weaved in there. "Pretty lady huh?" She called not willing to let the rider get by without her commenting on it. It was always fun embarrassing the stiff dignified ones. Not to mention there were worse things than drawing the attention of one such as her. "I meant no offences to Alexis, it would be forward if i called your friend mind would it be." She added, she would have called out her name but the rider seemed to be more focused on landing and the ship became busy with the docking of the boat.

She did not have much together, she had only a small bag of necessities, some religious objects and her swords which she already had on her person. She casually walked over to the side of the ship and leaped of on to the bank. She walked on to the green grass and knelt down as the others prepared to disembark. She began to chant in the ancient language of her tribe, seemingly going to a trance as she chanted. After a few seconds while continuing to chant, she took of one of her furs and laid it in front of her she leaned over and rested her head on it briefly. Finally she drew one of her sword and gave her self a cut in her arm, letting a few drops fall on to the fur.

 

[Dolches]

After Tali accepted Anthony's offer of a handshake, a wave of relief washed over him. He started shaking hands with Tali, but noticed her view was locked onto something else. He followed her gaze and saw a Pegasus, with what he assumed to be a short hair riding it. Gears in his mind began turning, and he assumed that it was an enemy. After all, Joy had just talked about watching out for enemies from above, and here was an unexpected short hair Pegasus Knight. His first instinct was to reach for his sword, which was completely reasonable. If they were an enemy, he'd be armed and ready; if they weren't, he could just sheathe i and explain himself. However, when he started reaching for it, something made him stop. There were many sharp pains in his arm. He was just shaking hands with Tali, so what was- Oh. He looked to her and his mind blanked as he realized his hand was now in her mouth.

Well, it blanked for a second, then he entered a state of shock. What the hell was she doing? Her eyes were still on the Pegasus knight, so he could tell that she probably didn't mean to inflict harm upon him. Was she going to try and get him out of the way if the Pegasus knight charged? That was preposterous! Even with her transformed, he was larger than her, so there'd be no way for her to drag him out of the way. She was even grabbing his sword arm, so they were both sitting ducks if it was an enemy. Her teeth had already punctured his skin on impact, and they were just digging deeper at this point. He was trying to think of something to say, but he couldn't really formulate sentences with teeth in his hand. He heard the Pegasus knight call out Joy's name, and then Tali's facial expression changed. She realized what she was doing and let go. As soon she did, he pulled his arm away, and began rubbing it. His was pretty shocked not only by how much damage she did unintentionally, but also by how painful it was. Thankfully, Karliah seemed to notice immediately, so it was fixed very quickly. He thanked Karliah for her work, and then inspected his hand again. He was still a bit in shock, but he was beginning to calm down. He'd have to reprimand Tali a bit, and started formulating words. He turned to her again, and began trying to speak. "I- I uh.. I appreciate the intention, but please don't ever try that again." He said, seeing Tali's beast form so close wasn't helping whatsoever. "Not only was it painful, b- but any efforts to protect me would've been for naught if the Pegasus Knight was indeed an enemy." He tried calming down more, clearing his throat and hitting his chest. "I'm still larger than you while you're in your beast form, so the only thing that trying to drag me somewhere would get accomplished is flaying me. Plus, even without my armor, I still have a shield and gambeson, so I believe that I should still be the one in front." He'd put his good hand on his chin. She didn't have much training, did she? He'd definitely have do help her develop some sort of tactic with the rest of the team.

But for now.. He'd just sit there and calm down. He still needed to introduce himself to the new Pegasus knight, but his hand felt more important. He looked away from his hand for a little bit. Revek was just chilling on the rail of the boat, and Imrae and Joy were giving the Pegasus knight a greeting. He just.. sat there, thinking about his hand. Something about getting healed for the first time in his life seemed to put him in a trance. He got his hand ripped up, but Karliah was able to heal it incredibly quickly. It was perplexing to him. How much training did that require? Would he... Would he be able to wield a staff if he trained with one? Would it be effective? Would it help him fulfill his duty as a knight? He definitely wanted to do some sort of research when they got back to base. But for now, he was in the trance of being healed for the first time. Would the wounds open back up if he used his hand too much? He had a lot to think about.

He snapped out of it when the barge came to a stop. He heard Joy start talking, so he began listening. He did already assume he'd be out of his armor until they were about to attack, so this didn't shock him that much. He already assumed Tali was tolerant of his existence now, so he was OK with having to stay out of it. He had already put his armor with the horses, and the Pegasus knight was handling them, so there wasn't much for him to do right now. He just stood there now, looking around. He saw what Imrae was doing, and was a bit grossed out. He looked away before she could notice, though, and happened to notice that the aforementioned horses lacked harnesses. He thought a bit and remembered where they were when he took off his armor. He headed to the stables, got them, and brought them to the Pegasus knight, who he just realized he didn't introduce himself to yet. "Hello. I'm Anthony." He said. "I think your job will be easier with these." He showed her the harnesses. He wanted to give her a more formal greeting, but he figured it'd be better to just give her the harnesses as soon as he could so the horse wouldn't run off if they were spooked.

 

[Arcanist]

Ula had been caught up in her own thoughts for some time, mostly taking the time to watch where they were travelling and to give herself some time to calm down. It would do no good to lose her temper here. If anything, it would have been better to lose it on the battlefield, where at least her comrades would benefit from not being victim to her curses. Seeing an enemy squirm under her curses, she supposed, was a lot more fun to watch.

The Atlanteen was brought out of her trance by a voice from above. For a moment, she searched the skies, stunned, unsure of where the voice had come from. Divine intervention? Her imagination? She wasn't quite sure, and she didn't quite see what the source was with all the commotion that eventually transpired onboard. Ula had caught Tali, in the corner of her eye, clutching Anthony's arm inside her mouth, but rather than a vengeful, bloodthirsty gaze , there seemed to one of protectiveness there. Though, if that protectiveness for Anthony was suddenly there, that could only mean there was some sort of enemy nearby. After practically jumping from her seat, Ula's tome went into acrobatic mode as it fell from her arms and onto the deck, and her mouth was riddled with swearing as she went to grab it. Her mother joked about having to wash her mouth out with sea-foam for such language, she remembered in her blind panic.

Though, as she managed to grab the tome, and was about to go searching its contents for something to use against whatever enemy that had ambushed them, Joy addressed the source of the voice not as an enemy, but a comrade. It was only when Ula got a proper look around her that she spotted a familiar Kitsune and her Pegasus approach, and eventually land behind the stables on the barge. She was relieved it wasn't a Laguz like Joy had warned them about, and rather a trusted comrade. It seemed Captain Brendan thought 'the more the merrier' on this mission of there's. Ula happily accepted such a notion.

Eventually, the barge came to a halt, and Joy ordered for someone to get the gangplank down and the horses off and onto physical land. A few of the team were already on it, and so she simply prepared herself for the trek ahead. She had a small satchel with her, containing a few oddities alongside her tome; some small animal parts, some strange powder, and two candles. She managed to fit all of them into the one satchel, and she didn't need much else as a result. Whilst the horses were being led down the gangplank, Ula just made sure there was nothing more to go after the horses, and eventually made her way off the barge. She smiled at Fydoria when she managed to catch her eyes and greeted her, "Glad you could join us, Fydoria! I almost didn't recognise you that high up on Alexis." As silly as it sounded, Ula truly hadn't. She had remembered encountering Fydoria once in her short time in the Militia, and at that, she hadn't seen a Pegasus Knight or its steed before. She was ignorant after spending most of her time in either Behelmoth or back home.

The ignorance soon showed when she turned and found Imrae on the ground, cutting herself with the sword and letting drops of blood drip onto one of her furs. Without so thinking that this could be something to do with her culture or her religion, the Atlanteen couldn't help but blather out, "Oh! Imrae, I didn't realise you were proficient in ritualistic curses too!"

HerculePyro ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Dolches Marumatsu CallmeMyth Agent

 

[CallmeMyth]

Reverting back to her human form and staring at the mess of shredded skin which was now Anthony's hand and forearm, Tali could feel the color drain from her striped face. "I-I uh.. I appreciate the intention, but please don't ever try that again." The knight spoke, his voice quavering. While it was good that the man had understood her intentions, Tali still could not believe she had managed to injure him. She had assumed that the padded sleeve of Anthony's gambeson would shield his hand and lower forearm from any damage by her sharp fangs, but it certainly appeared that was not the case.

Now feeling just as nervous as he was, Tali struggled to stammer out a reply. "Oh, I-I'm sorry..." Tali said, her voice barely more than a mewl due to her embarrassment. The two of them stood there for a moment, as Tali listened to the man explain how her reaction could have costed them both if the Pegasus rider had indeed been their enemy. While Tali had been attempting to protect the unarmored knight from an initial attack and thought she had given him enough flexibility to counter strike, the damage to his arm made her reconsider that the man was right.

While Tali was still standing there too abashed to speak, Anthony managed to steel his nerves with a quick beat of his fist against the padded chest of his gambeson. He proceeded to mention how much larger he was in comparison to her, which was true while they were both standing face to face in her human form. If she were transformed while he was unarmed, that would be a different story. On the other hand, Tali admitted that Anthony had appeared to be quite sturdy while fully armored. And even in her beast form, Anthony was still quite a bit larger than she was. It was obvious that he was either unintentionally or deliberately underestimating her strength, and his jab at her stature did not go unnoticed. She didn't blame him for this. Instead, her thoughts wandered back to Argus once more, and the damage she had done to him when she had first came to blows with her former "owner." Twice now, Tali had underestimated her own strength.

In truth, Tali was a bit smaller than some Laguz, although her true form was still much larger than any normal feline. The size of her true form did not subtract from her agility, nor the lethality of her fangs or claws, however. Despite the obvious poke Anthony had made at her about being small, Tali decided she would brush it off this time. After all, the man's arm seemed to be more injured than her pride. And besides, the man had offered her a handshake before she'd accidentally bit him.

Luckily, the crew's healer was quick to treat Anthony's injuries; and once the barge had finally sailed to a halt, Tali watched as Anthony introduced himself to the newest member on board before handing her the reigns to the horses. Tali observed the Kitsune woman from a distance, and she wondered whether she had ever met her before. While it was true Tali had only been part of the militia for a very short time in comparison to some of her other comrades, she had seen many faces around camp before. Despite this, Tali could not recall a time she had encountered the Kitsune woman, who she was absolutely certain she would recognize if she had. At some point, Tali reasoned she would have to properly introduce herself to the Pegasus rider. Besides Ula, there weren't many Laguz Tali had managed to make friends with in the militia.

So far, Tali's impression of the Pegasus rider was that she seemed very interesting. From the moment she had landed aboard the vessel, she had complimented Imrae. While it was true that the Alarda princess was quite young, seemingly very fit, and not at all unsightly; Tali wondered what else about her had caught the Kitsune's eye. Tali wondered whether she had taken notice to the beastkin hides which adorned the woman's armor, and if so, she hadn't commented on it.

Imrae had made it no secret to Tali that some of the pelts she wore did, in fact, belong to others from the savage clan. Her ensemble consisted of many other animal skins, as well. Some of which could easily belong to beast kin from the short hair tribes. Tali had made a personal reminder to herself to ask the Alarda Princess if she had only been joking about that, once the timing was appropriate. Until then, keeping their interactions limited to the battlefield would suffice for now.

Once Anthony had finished his introductions with the Pegasus rider, Tali seized the opportunity to approach him once more. Gathering all the smooth moves a cat could muster, Tali tapped her clawed fingers lightly on his uninjured arm. "Um.. Thank you. For your earlier apology, I mean. I am sorry again about your arm." Tali spoke, leaning to the side as she spoke to properly inspect it. "It seems Karliah fixed you up pretty nicely, though." She told him, her striped cheeks pulling upwards in a closed-lipped smile, although one of her upper canines managed to poke through to touch her bottom lip. "Although I don't have any negative feelings towards her, you were right to assume Revek riled me up back at the barracks. She's...a strong one. Strongly opinionated, too." She said, trying to figure out the nicest way to describe Revek.

As she stood next to Anthony, Tali spotted Ula rummaging through a satchel she had carried along with her during the trip. Still remembering how the dark mage had defended her, Tali tried motioning towards her in an attempt to grab the Atlanteen woman's attention. This seemed to have failed however, as she had become preoccupied with Imrae as the sword dancer sliced herself using her own sword. Tali tilted her head to the side slightly as she observed this practice, wondering what the Alarda princess was doing. When Ula asked if she was performing some type of "ritualistic curse," Tali immediately assumed it must be another custom of the sword dancer's people, most likely practiced before battle.

Tali watched the sword dancer's blood drip onto the fur which lay upon the grass, and for a brief moment she felt...excited. It was a strange feeling, something she wondered if she’d ever felt before? She wasn't sure if she was unsettled by it, or if she welcomed the sudden impulse. Her amber eyes focused suddenly, betraying the intent hidden behind them. Tali quickly shook away the impulse, before turning her attention back to Anthony once more with the demeanor of the well mannered feline she was attempting to be. "Once we get onto the battlefield, I'll be sure to keep you in front. What say you to that?" She inquired in reference to his earlier statement, as the two of them stepped off the barge.

HerculePyro Dolches Agent Arcanist Marumatsu ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

There was only a brief pause in Imrae's chant when Ula called out, however she did not reply. She continued to chant and letting a few more drops of her blood fall on her piece of fur. The she took the sword and placed it on the fur before folding the fur over it. She moved the fur over the blade a few times as if wiping it with fur before sheathing the blade. She repeated the act with the second blade.

Once complete she picked up the fur with both hands and turned to face her colleagues and boat. Continuing to chant she seemed to present the fur to each member present expectingly for a few seconds before moving on. Traditionally they to should wipe there weapons in the bloodied fur but she neither expected to know it or they would do so if they knew. Part of the ritual was to offer and she would allow them to do so if the wished. Finally she returned to the spot she had knelt and buried the fur within it.

"I am." She finally said in reply to Ula seriously. "But this was not it. The story goes God Barath gave us the knowledge to build tools and weapons to our forebears for our defence and sustenance but saw them misuse them with senseless war, murder and pillage. So cursed them to pain and misery, constant defeat and injury without release of death until they repay the blood the spilled. That would meant there death but would not repay the debt."

"The Princess of there tribe offered to help replayed their debt with them to make up their difference. She willingly taking her life. Those responsible were grief stricken at the loss of the princess and increased their resolve to pay their debts. Yet Barath stopped, her blood sacrifice was enough of repayment for the man saw the pain the inflicted. These men went on to form the tribes of the Eastern Isles like my own. Wise now the blessed with victories." She explained." there is glory, excitement and loot in battle but the cost should not be forgotten. Blood spilled must be replayed. "

 

[Agent]

Somehow, Revek was pretty inattentive at the moment, and didn't notice the pegasus and kitsune flying over the beat, along with the chatting of her and Joy. Weren't the wings of pegasi really quiet or something?
It was a woman that she totally didn't recognize, making sure everyone knew that Brendan let her along.
Unless Brendan likes banding all the women together on missions? Wait, no, why did I even think of that? Goddamnit.
Anyways, don't know this lady.

...nah, just kidding. But still, some faces and names aren't easy to remember without meaningful interaction. "Whoa, when did you get here?" She said dryly to the kitsune, with no actual surprise in her voice. "And less importantly, what was your name again? Fred?"

Mental chuckle. It's what keeps Revek from dying inside.
Jerk.

Marumatsu

 

[HerculePyro]

Joy smiled as the group quickly got off the barge and began gathering their things for the journey, picking up packs and preparing the horses with the camping supplies. Karliah walked up beside him and was staring with concern at Imrae as she performed her bloody ritual.

“The militia has so many interesting people,”

“Yeah. To think this was basically just the farming provinces united fighting force originally, now it’s a whole band of vagabonds from every corner of the continent”.

Karliah stepped away from him to join Imrae and Ula’s small conversation.

“Umm excuse me Imrae. But I’ve never heard of a god named Barath. Is that your peoples name for the god Havoc? He was the one who gave human-kind knowledge to survive,” She said to the island girl.
Karliah was fairly confident in her knowledge of the gods, even in the local church of a small farming village they had plenty of books on the history of the continent of Quartel.
Meanwhile, Joy had pulled out a compass to confirm their path north. The thick grass surrounded them for the most part, but there were some small trails that cut their way out and away from the lake.

“Alright kiddos, we’re heading north. Fydoria, stay on the ground for now, better to let the cover of the foliage obscure us. If we need to gauge the surroundings, I’ll let you know to dart up, okay?”

“Tali, Anthony, you two lead the horses. Revek and Imrae you two take the lead and clear out anything that will prevent the horses from moving forward. Tali and Fydoria we’re relying on you two to listen out for anyone or anything approaching. Not just the short-hairs, wild animals do inhabit this area. I’m gonna do what a thief does best and stay out of sight so I can surprise anyone who might jump us. But if you lot are slowing down, I’ll be back to give you a swift kick in the right direction, got it?” Joy declared, pointing towards the northern trail.

With that Joy pulled the cowl of his hood down further and pushed his way into the grass. Karliah watched as their leader disappeared from sight, she could hear a slight rustle of the grass but that quickly faded, as befitting a stealth expert. Gripping her staff tightly she looked around hesitantly at the others and began moving in the direction Joy had indicated for them.

 

[Marumatsu]

Fydoria trying to keep the horses together frantically looked around the ground forgetting she didn't check to see if they were all harnessed. "Ohhh mannn. Hey here. Over here." she calmly called to the mounts whistling in a low tone the horses seemed to recognize as a call. Her worry wasn't losing control of the horses but rather the control no one would have if they were spooked anytime soon. "Stupid Stupid. you know better than that its mission time!"

A shadow cast out the sun Fydoria instinctively pivoted and her eyes focused towards the tall man holding the harnesses as her body quivered. Crawling back into her skin she relaxed Looking at the smile and kind aura the man gave off. She took the harness and showed the man how to put them on trying not to insult his intelligence. It was just instinctive to teach, I mean she only really interacted with the children from the farms.
"Th- Thank you Anthony. I appreciate your help could you put those on the others and lets line them up along the road so that anyone can get on." After she greeted the tall muscular man her presence reconstructed itself giving off a seriousness and a air of disappointment most likely at the small mistake she had made at the beginning of the mission. The little fox knew well small mistakes could lead to something more. She looked back at Anthony and gave him a quarter of an apple cut very precisely.

"if you feed this to your mount it will let you put the harness on a lot easier. This is because the horse is recognizing you as its rider. I've trained them like this to make it a bit easier for them to focus on one person for the duration. Think of it like they will follow you as their source of food. Its also important that you rub their heads like this before mounting so they don' struggle as well." She briefly explained this to the other as well.

Fydoria rotates her hand clockwise on the nose of the horse gliding it over the nose of the horse before moving it behind the ear grabbing and mounting the horse. the mount in turn lowered its head a bit bracing itself for the rider before raising its head preparing to move on its riders tug.

"Wo - Would you mind helping me out. That is if we make camp would you help me take care of rounding our partners?" She looks down while dismounting avoiding Anthony's gaze feeling awkward being so forward with a request of someone shes just met. she tried filling the air by reading the horses for each rider then she noticed Ula.

Spotting Ula again she quickly waved and smiled while dashing towards her. "Ula! hi sorry i've been so busy I just remembered hearing your voice!" she rubbed her head hearing the echos of her Atlantean friends greeting in the back of her mind. "Umm I know we've only talked about this once before but could you help me with understanding magic and is application. If you get some free time on this misson and I'm not a burden? Oh! I got you these two candle holsters. If you push down on the white button you can ignite the candle as the top opens. This also can keep your candles safe in bad weather and its waterproof at shallow levels im told." Fydoria handed Ula two small bronze cylinders with a white button and a black button on the back. The design on the cylinders represented waves washing on a beach. One could tell these were made fairly well due to the lightness though its durability could be questioned.

While she was talking to Ula. Imrae walked around with blood covered fur walking around expectantly. Fydoria remebered this a little from looking into the tribal history. She slowly staeted to understand a little more about Imrae at least from what she had looked into before hand. It was customary to rub ones weapon with the fur before it was buried into the ground though she forgot why and did she have to cut her own hand as well? She was kind of lost but she did the best she could.

"Imrae was it? Sorry for the assumption earlier." she takes the cloth to her spear and rubs the blade with the fur before returning it to her. " Wa- Was this how its done?" she said softly hoping not to have offended Imrae.

"And less importantly, what was your name again? Fred?"​

A woman walked over and made a remark over to her. She looked at the woman who looked down on her with a dry expression and a intimidating presence. "Umm my name is Fydoria. I la- landed on the boat earlier." Fydoria's voice was very low and almost inaudible. The woman looked down on her with a stale intimidating look growing stronger from her colored hair and cloth. Fydoria realized how comfortable she was around everyone. She was making some friends right? Was this woman just oblivious to her surroundings. Fydoria also had some mind blanks from certain things so she could understand that. She stepped behind Ula instinctively without much thought holding onto her arm.

She snapped back once she heard her orders. "Eep Ye- yes sir me and Alexis will be on standby!" She tried to salute but realized she was gripping Ula's arm. "Sorry Ula." Fydoria let go before calling Alexis over to the back of the horse line.

 

[Arcanist]

Fydoria had approached as Ula was waiting for an answer from Imrae. "This militia has a funny habit of doing that," she responded to her comment on being busy, one that she knew too well. Though Fydoria, as she said, had brought up the topic before, hearing that she was still learning about magic and how to apply it made Ula's expression beam. "Of course! Sharing knowledge is a great idea, after all." When knowledge was shared, she usually earned some sort of knowledge in return, so it was a win-win either way. She paused when Fydoria let out an exclamation, pulling out two candle holsters, and explaining how they worked and how to use them. She blinked, genuinely surprised that Fydoria would go out of her way to get these holsters. Nonetheless, she beamed again, and she happily took them off her hands. "Wow, Fydoria, you didn't have to do that at all! But I guess I have been struggling to find some lately..." She hummed, before she remembered her manners. "They're great, thank you! And such a pretty design too..." Ula turned them over in her hands, smiling at the wave designs. A nice little reminder of home. She reached into her bag, managing to make room for them by actually placing the candles she had with her inside the holsters, and tucked them away tight.

Eventually, she remembered Imrae's ritual, and turned back to see if she had finished only to watch her offer the fur to each of them in turn. Was she meant to take it? She had debated on holding out her arms and doing...something with it, but decided against it. Even if she took it, what exactly would she do with it? So, Ula just let her continue, before she finally began explaining what that routine had entailed, and what it meant.

Ula had stood, eager ears engaged. Not once did she break her gaze with Imrae, nodding as she explained, and taking in each word. She was incredibly ignorant to who the god Barath actually was, and in fact, to any other character in the legend as she explained the ritual's history, and to a further extent, her tribe's apparent history. Ula made a long humming noise, before she nodded, "I see...a noble sacifice...and you continue to do so to honour her deed..." She murmured more to heself than Imrae. Soloman was the only god that Atlanteens devoted any great worship to, so the tale had piqued her interest. She'd have to gather enough to bring home and tell her siblings. Well, if she ever managed to go back home, that was.

The conversation had attracted interest, most notably from their new recruit Karliah, who expressed confusion at Imrae's mention of this Barath god. "Havoc? He was, uh...God of the Land, if I remember correctly..." Ula tried to remember as she scratched her fin. Her mention of Havoc was a name Ula knew, but embarrassingly, only knew so much about. The general knowledge, how he was god of the land, and how he gave knowledge to humans, as Karliah explained, but any stories involving him or how he was worshipped, Ula couldn't recall. It only made her more aware of how sheltered she was in the Archipelago. Though, that was why she was here, wasn't she? To learn more, to see more of the world. She couldn't stay stuck in Atlanteen territory for the rest of her life.

Though, caught up in her own thoughts, she was soon thrusted from them, when she felt a hand grip onto her upper arm. She did flinch, not expecting the movement at all, though, when she looked behind her and discovered it was Fydoria, she was about to raise a question as to her sudden latching on. Her eyes shifted though, to the tall Revek. They must have been making introductions, and either the sheer intimidation of the woman had caused her to retreat behind her, or perhaps something else. Before she could say anything, the time for standing around was coming to a close, as Joy ordered the group to move on ahead, setting out instructions for each member. Ula was about to answer some sort of affirmative, though, yelped in surprise as Fydoria lifted her arm. She seemed surprised herself, however, and Ula gathered she must have forgotten she was still clinging onto her arm. Ula couldn't help but smile and shake her head, "It's okay." Soon, everyone began to get into some sort of formation whilst Joy pushed ahead, and before they knew it, they were off.

Though, as they walked for a little bit, she noticed Karliah looking around with hesitance, gripping onto the staff as if afraid of losing it. Remembering Joy's request - or rather command, now that she thought about it - in putting Karliah in her care, she couldn't help but gravitate towards her as they walked. Best to keep some company with her as they walked, and should they get into any unfortunate scraps, she could be right there to help her out should something go askew. "Going out on missions for the first time can be a little nervewracking," Ula explained with a sympathetic smile. "But there's no need to worry! We've got plenty of competent fighters here, and you can count on them for sure. Me included, of course," she chuckled.

HerculePyro
Marumatsu
ThatGuyWithSouvlaki
Agent

 

[Dolches]

Anthony jumped a little bit when Tali touched him after introducing himself to the Pegasus knight. He instinctively whipped his head over to her, and his facial expression relaxed a little bit when he saw it was just her. She had come to thank him for his apology, and apologize for shredding his arm. It was a long chain of niceties, but he didn't mind whatsoever. "Yes, she did a pretty good job." He said, affirming her comment on Karliah's work. He had already thought about how amazing healing magic is, so he wasn't going to dwell on it more. He saw her smile, and saw one of her teeth poking through. Did she have some sort of dental problems? "Revek seems like she can be a hand full. I do think she has it in her to be nice, though." He said. She was nice enough to get him to side with her on the boat, so he was right. However, her issue was how she preferred to be mean instead. Speaking of her, Anthony had realized that he completely forgot to try to help her get along with the others. He looked around from where he was standing, but Tali resumed speaking before he could find her. "That sounds good. It's where I belong." He said. Where else would you put a heavily armored knight in a formation? Well, maybe if you were some sinister noble, you could put them behind fodder, but he wouldn't be able to live peacefully after a situation like that. He began thinking. Where would Tali fit into a formation? Of course she'd be in the action, but there'd have to be some way to make more use of her abilities. He assumed she was fast and lithe, as she must be if she hadn't any armor whatsoever. She's probably stealthy too, since she's a big cat... Hmm... He figured she could possibly sneak around and take out key opponents, were they to get into a battle. Everyone but her, Ula, and possibly Karliah would be a good target for mages, so she could possibly try some very vicious hit-and run tactics. When they first saw the pegasus knight, she seemed naturally inclined to being able to move people instead of brick walls, so maybe she could quickly drag average mages around. He couldn't picture any being too much larger than Ula, so it seemed possible. She could sneak around and take out the more fragile targets by dragging them away and incapacitating them. She didn't seem like she'd be able to efficiently knock people out, so she'd probably have to resort to ending them in a very tense situation. Could she kill, though? It was an important question that his father taught him to always take into account for these types of questions. The fighting style he assumed she used wasn't the kind to leave much survivors, so could she go through with the tactics he was devising for her? If she could, then that was good news. If she couldn't... Well.. Actually, now that he thought about it, could he kill? Sure, he definitely had the skills, but the mindset?

Before Anthony could keep thinking, or even propose his ideas to Tali, the pegasus knight asked for help. He was going to decline since he isn't too good with animals, but the girl had given him an apple slice before he could. He nearly took a bite of it before she started explaining that it was for the horses. "Oh, uh.. Of course." He said, moving the slice from in front of his face to one of the horses'. It ate the slice after a bit of sniffing. It was easier than he anticipated, thankfully. After that she began petting a horse, and Anthony looked around. Before he could really focus on much, the pegasus knight who's name he still didn't know asked him for help lining up the horses. He wanted to be doing something else, but... "Sure.." He said, dragging out the last syllable. He had absolutely no idea what to do. "Hey, how do I-" He was about to ask before he realized the pegasus knight had run off to talk to Ula. Damn it. Now he was stuck with this job by himself. He could ask Tali for help, but she seemed like she was also bad with animals, or at least herbivores. He was interrupted with this thought by Imrae presenting him with one of her furs. He looked at her with a puzzled and confused stare until she walked away.

Before he started on this arduous task by himself, however, Joy began to speak up. He quickly turned toward the man. When addressed, he instinctively froze up. He had not only been taught knightly fighting and tactics, but also etiquette as well. "Yes, sir." He said as Joy told him and Tali to lead the horses. Oh, gods, this was gonna suck. Thankfully, he would be able to talk more with Tali while doing this, but there was still an issue. How do you lead a horse?

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Imrae was surprised, she hadnt expected that much interest in her ritual. Including the new priestess who not only seemed interested rather than recoiling in terror but trying to find common ground. Even the Pegasus rider seemed to show an interest even going as far as taking part with the ritual. She did not reply at first raising her hand to indicate a pause in the conversation after the rider wiped her spear on the fur, giving the rider and appreciative not and saying a few words of her chant directly at her. As it seemed no else seemed to approach and Joy calling for movement she moved to end the ritual. She turned walking back to the spot she had knelt down, she dug into the ground a bit a placed the fur in the whole. She chanted for a few seconds before replacing the soil, burying the fur.

She stood and chanted again and looked to the sky and gave a sigh. Seemingly done with the ritual she turned back to the priestess. "Perhaps, in my time among the imperials i have seen some similarities in the faith. Still your depiction of your Havoc... Very weedy compared to Barath, Barath could eat him for lunch." She said with a sly smile, a return know to her usual demeanour not that the ritual was done.

She considered her assignment from Joy, she did not much like the idea of being paired with Revek thinking about what she knew of her. She went to voice her issue but she noted Joy was gone in his usual manner, she groaned. This disappearing act of his was getting annoying. She shook the thought of, drawing her two blades and took the first steps down the path, her eyes scanning the area. She was not just looking for trouble but also some animals to hunt. She had to replace the furt she had used for the ritual.

 

[CallmeMyth]

Watching as the warrior princess passed the blood-covered pelt to each of her allies, Tali was surprised to see that Fydoria was the only one to partake in the woman's ritual. When the pelt was passed to her, Tali was not sure what to do. The sight of the blood had excited her, awakening a savage impulse hidden deep within her heart. Perhaps this urge...her true nature...was the reason for her people's reputation. Tali had done her best to hide this fact from the rest of the crew, and now that she was staring face-to-face with Imrae, she wondered...could the sword dancer discern the look in her eyes? Could she see the same desire as those beast kin unfortunate enough to have been slain by her blade?

Tali stared at the woman's face for a moment, searching for any trace of emotion there. Did Imrae respect her? Or did she merely view Tali as another beast to be killed in some trial-by-combat? Did she even view her the same way as she had viewed the other beast kin, at all? Or did she come across to her as some sort of house trained pet, as Joy had insinuated? After hunting for the answer within her eyes, Tali found nothing. The woman's face was blank and unreadable. With her only weapons being her own fangs and claws, Tali chose to pass up the offer to wipe the blood onto herself. Perhaps this offended the Alarda woman, although it was difficult to tell. Tali had not intended this, as she was merely unsure of how to properly partake in the woman's strange custom. In any case, the warrior princess appeared to have brushed it off without speaking a word to her, walking away after completing her ritual before burying the pelt in the earth.

Tali's ears perked up in attention as their captain, Joy, gave her and Anthony orders to lead the horses. The unarmored knight had still been a bit stiff with her in conversation when she had offered him an apology. Tali hoped that she would eventually be able to settle any remaining differences between her and the man, and not only him. As Anthony mentioned Revek, Tali allowed herself to contemplate what he had said about her. Considering herself to be a sympathetic person, she wondered if she should try to reconcile with the fighter in a similar manner as she had done with Anthony. Even though the two of them were unlikely to become 'best friends' overnight, she figured they could at least learn to tolerate each other. After all, the skunk-haired woman - no, the warrior - was her ally, and so far she hadn't thrown her axe at anyone, only her insults.

Taking this into consideration, Tali decided she would attempt to be more cordial with her next time. Tali herself was quite used to other people's negative opinions of her, and she had no desire to mimic the actions of those who had treated her unfairly. With this in mind, Tali spoke up in reply to Anthony's comment. "I suppose you could be right..." She told him, offering him a more neutral response. Anthony then proceeded to tell her that he was needed on the front lines, since that was where he belonged. Tali wasn't actually sure where she would be needed once the fighting started, or whether she'd encounter Anthony again during the upcoming battle. All she knew was that Joy had tasked her and the fox woman with keeping an ear out for approaching enemies. Her conversation with Anthony ended there abruptly, as the aforementioned fox woman approached the knight and offered her help with his horse.

Remembering her duty, Tali walked towards the other horse and reached for it's harness. Due to her short stature, she found herself swiping at the air a few times in front of the horse's face, as she tried to grab it's reins. This caused the horse to whinny nervously, stamping its hoof on the ground a few times and rearing its head upwards making it even more difficult for Tali to calm the beast down. It appeared the horse really wasn't comfortable around her for some reason, and Tali grit her teeth together in frustration. She looked to her side as she saw Anthony watching her struggle to gain control of her horse, and for a second she felt embarrassed. She didn't even notice that the man was having just as much difficulty as she was, as she was too preoccupied with her own troubles.

Tali hoped that nobody else had saw her fumbling around with the reins, and after a few moments had passed with no luck at taming the beast, she decided to step back and observe the way Fydoria handled her Pegasus. She took note of the gentle way in which the fox woman caressed the winged horse's hide, and decided to try to mimic her behavior. Although she was not nearly as skilled with handling horses as she was, much less a winged horse, Tali's efforts were sufficient enough to coax the horse into giving her it's bridle. Now feeling triumphant, Tali also felt the slight urge to curse Joy for tasking her with this job, as she set forward with the unruly equine in tow behind her.

 

[Agent]

"Tali, Anthony, you two lead the horses. Revek and Imrae you two take the lead and clear out anything that will prevent the horses from moving forward." Revek's eyes narrowed as she heard Joy pair her up with that damn Imrae.

"Was that meant to be a joke?!" Revek asked in an irritating manner.
She glanced over at Imrae, who also didn't like the idea, and then back at Joy... or rather, where he was previously standing, as he just blended into the nearby tall grass. "...goddamnit."

The savage woman just walked away to get started. Revek drew her short, iron axe and followed her.
Brendan put Joy up to this, didn't he? He knows about what everyone likes and hates. She thought as she took a look at several of the militia members securing horses behind her.

HerculePyro ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[HerculePyro]

Karliah followed their small caravan, walking side-by-side with Ula. She had been mulling over what Imrae had said regarding her god. Choosing to boast of her god’s physique when it was more than likely the same one just under a different name. Karliah didn’t have the nerve to bring this up with the rather steadfast tribeswoman. Perhaps a figure in their culture who was a mighty warrior of the same name claimed to be the god himself and over time it was forgotten that he was a separate person.

Karliah was pleased to see Anthony and Tali getting along better. In contrast the two warrior women of their group; Imrae and Revek, seemed less than pleased about their job as the advanced party. Karliah found herself constantly looking over her shoulder at the magnificent Pegasus that was trotting at the rear of their party. Its pristine white hair and fluffy wings folded neatly beside it as it walked. Karliah had never been so close to a Pegasus before and had never wanted to ride one as much as she did now.

Fydoria’s brief discussion with Ula about magic had piqued Karliah’s interest. She didn’t quite know what kind of magic Ula practised but learning light magic was on Karliah’s to-do list. Imrae’s words about her being a liability still lingered with her. She could also try to learn how to wield a weapon, but she had never held a weapon before in her life and her lack of any musculature was quite glaring in contrast to Imrae and Revek. Karliah figured she was probably the physically weakest amongst them; as a beastfolk Ula and Tali, despite their thin frames, would still easily surpass Karliah in feats of physicality.

Ula seemed to notice her doubts and gave some words of encouragement. Karliah blushed in embarrassment at the need for reassurance but smiled at the mage. "Oh don't worry, now that we're here I can't really afford to spend time worrying. Last night was a lot worse, my mother had to give me a draught to help me go to sleep. Things seem... better than they were when we started out so I'm hopeful everything will go alright".

As they walked Karliah spent most of her time investigating their surroundings. Everything on this side of the fissure seemed giant to her. The grass towered over even Fydoria on her Pegasus, but the trees were taller still, breeds that Karliah had never seen before. Karliah found herself watching a bird flying far above them as it flitted between the clouds and let out a loud sigh, her thoughts leaning more towards her longing to ride a Pegasus once more.

 

[Arcanist]

Ula smiled back at Karliah as she responded to her. She was glad that she was preparing herself for what could have been a tough battle ahead, though, from what Karliah mentioned about her mother, it was a different case the night before. No doubt it was because she wasn't quite sure what she was about to head into. "I'm glad your mother was able to do that for you. It sounds as if the two of you are close," she said, unable to help but think of her own mother, and that soothing voice comforting her before she left to join the Militia. She missed it, and her, dearly.

At Karliah's comment of the group's bumpy start, Ula couldn't help but let her eyes shift towards Tali, who had just about managed to earn enough trust from one of the horses, and then Antony in turn. True, it seemed as if the heated arguments from earlier had simmered, but she wondered how long it would last. If a simple mistake was made, if moods were sour, she knew simple things like that could often bring out more heated exchanges. She had to agree though, with Karliah, and at least have a little faith in that things would go smoothly. "Yes...hopefully..." Ula murmured, but tried to keep up a positive smile.

Much of Ula's own walk alongside Karliah was made in silence and observation. She noticed Antony calling to Fydoria for assistance with one of the horses. Part of her was glad not to have been saddled with the job. She knew very little about horses as was, dealt with few too, so she could understand Antony's bewilderment. Though, it made her wonder why a human wasn't so equipped to lead a horse.

HerculePyro
CallmeMyth
Dolches
Marumatsu

 

[Dolches]

Anthony looked at Tali for clues on how the hell to lead a horse, and ended up watching her fumble around with the reins. Tali took a break, watched Fydoria, and then took a different approach. She pet it, and the horse lowered it's head to let her grab its bridle. This helped Anthony quite a bit. He hadn't thought of getting friendly with the horse before just grabbing it's reins and yanking it around like some sort of ape. He thought for a little bit. He remembered that dogs were particularly fond of having their heads rubbed, so he thought he might as well try that. He took his gloved hand, and rubbed the horse's head. Although he messed up its mane a little, the horse seemed to mostly enjoy him petting it. He reached for its reins and then stopped halfway. The horse didn't oppose to his actions, so he followed through and grabbed the reins. It was.. surprisingly easy, to say the least. He didn't a bit of physical affection would go so far with the horse, but hey, that's an animal for you. Now what? He held the reins, but what would he do now? Just pull it a bit and the horse would follow? He wouldn't want to choke it or something like that by accident, so he decided he'd couple pulling it a bit with a vocal command. He pulled the reins very gently and said "Come on, let's go." Much to his surprise, it actually worked. The horse walked forward a little bit when he pulled. He was a bit surprised, and it showed on his face. "Oh wow. It worked." He thought out loud. He was still a bit amazed with how much just petting the horse worked towards getting it to tolerate him. What other animals would this work with? Would it work with people? He glanced towards Tali and stared at her for a few seconds. Would it work with beastmen? His gaze snapped away from her in the blink of an eye, and he returned to looking at the horse again. That was possibly the most stupid thought he had had since joining the militia. Anyways, back to what they were supposed to be doing, Anthony waited for Tali to get her horse in order, and would then start leading his once she did so.

 

[HerculePyro]

The group had travelled well into the night. Joy returned and guided them to their campsite, it was still some way from the bandit fort, however kept the fort within sight, while itself remaining obscured due to the thick wildlands forest surrounding it.
As the group sat around the campfire, munching on rations heated up by Karliah, Joy outlined their battle plan.

“Ok, we’ll be deploying as three groups. In the centre we have Anthony at the front, behind him are Ula and Karliah. Anthony your job is to protect the ranged support. On the left will be Tali and myself and the right will be Revek, Imrae and Fydoria. From what I could see they station archers up on top of the wooden towers they’ve built up on the outer wall of the fort. That’ll be our first obstacle and Ula, as our range, I’m entrusting you to take them out so Fydoria can make use of her flight,” Joy said giving a trusting nod to their dark mage.

“The left wall and the right side of the front have both collapsed and been replaced with simple barricades. As the fastest, Tali and I will push through the left to catch them from behind. The rest of you will push through either the gate or the right barricade. If Ula has taken care of the archers Fydoria might be able to simply go to the top of the gatehouse and open it. If you haven’t broken through by then, Tali and I will come around from our flanking position with that purpose,” Joy added.

“Now there’ll be no shortage of fodder to push through, they know the layout so keep your eyes and ears focused for any ambushes. I don’t have any knowledge of the leaders either so be wary. The large stone keep at the back has a collapsed roof but we don’t know what they have inside.”

“Alright, rest up. We’ll be heading out before sunrise in the morning. Anthony, keep the armour off until I say so, we wanna strike quick and fast. Fydoria, keep it on your Pegasus, the horses will be staying here”. Joy gave them a wave good night and the group all returned to their tents.

-In the Fort-​

The next morning was busy in the bandit camp. The leader was sat on a chair at the top of the wall, the caged girl was behind him. He was peeling an apple, watching as a caravan was being formed by their troupe.

“Hows prep going?” He called out to one of the axemen.

“The horses are all prepped. We’re just hitching the cart and then we’ll just have to move the cage!” The man called out.
The leader gave a nod.

“Excellent, keep at it.” The bandit subordinate raised his arm in a poor imitation of a salute, or a thumbs up and returned to his work. As he did, Mccoy ran up past him, climbing the stairs to join the leader.

“Ahh Mccoy, have you woken Zedel, we’ll be heading off soo-“

“We’re under attack!” Mccoy said breathlessly, interrupting his leader.
The leader’s eyes turned dark and he stood, hoisting up his spear to his side.

“How many, and who are they? Empire or beastmen?”

“Primarily human, but they aren’t in the empires armour. Most likely it’s the militia. There are only six of them from what I can see. Ones on a Pegasus and they look to have at least one armour-knight and a mage. The archers are already in position on the outer towers,” Mccoy finished.
The leader gave a nod and stepped forward to the edge of the platform.

“Men! We are under attack! The empire militia has come to visit. This is the final hurdle in our path before we retire. Close the gate and battle stations! They are fewer than us in number and firepower. Show those farmers why we’re people to be feared!” His voice bellowed across the fort.
The soldiers all raised their arms in cheer and moved to the walls of their fort.

The leader turned to Mccoy.
“Go wake Zedel, then get to your station at the top of the keep, I’ll get ready on my end,”
Mccoy replied with a nod, before hurrying off to his and Zedel’s quarters. The leader tossed the apple to the cage.

“It seems the goddesses fortune may still linger with you”. With that the leader turned and left the platform he was on, walking up the stairs to the keep.

-Outside the fort-​

The militia forces moved up quickly. Anthony was now adorned in his full plate armour and lead the way. The fort had noticed them, and the cries of the bandits inside could be heard. They were currently out of the archer's range but it was time to move.
The two militia members who Mccoy had not seen, Tali and Joy, had taken a quiet path through the outer brush by the fort and were now approaching the left wall in the blind spot of the archer's towers.

“Alright, let’s get inside and cause a little havoc. Don’t stray too far, watching each other’s backs is more important than taking someone out and leaving yourself exposed,” Joy added.
He and Tali hurried along the side of the wall to the collapsed section. The thief peeked out from the stone and over the ramshackle barricade.

“No one in sight, let’s go, we don't want to keep our allies waiting,” The two hoisted themselves up and over the low wooden wall, dropping into the shadow of the wall itself. Thanks to the distraction of their larger main group, they had made it in, in safety.

Spoiler: The fort

Marumatsu Agent ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Arcanist CallmeMyth Xcelgamer Dolches

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Imrae smiled during the meeting finally an actual battle even if it was against mere bandits and not proper soldiers. She listened to the briefing closely, analysis all the situation and see if there was any flaw in the plan. The plan was simple but there was nothing wrong with simple, she saw no flaw in it beyond still being paired with Revek again. She was not sure what sort of bond Joy saw between the two woman to pair them again, still it was her job and she will do it in her fullest. When the meeting was over she stepped out of the tent and smiled. "Barath Na Kuma Ri HA!" She called out like a war cry in her native tongue. She drew out her sword and clashed them together repeatedly. "Na Taruk Hana Barath Na Kuma Ri Ha!" She clashed her sword together again and gave a wolfish howl. She went into her tent without another word or acknowledgement of anyone who might have been curious of her actions.

The next morning she seemed quiet and focused speaking little to anyone unless it was necessary about what they had to do but usually only a few words. She moved to link up with her group, Revek and Fydoria. "There is an ancient tradition among my people as they approach the enemy, we tried to intimidate with calls and chants as we approach. Win the battle before it starts. Care to try? Revek, you will be good at it and you won't need to do much. Just give them a dirty look."

Agent Arcanist

 

[Dolches]

Once they got to camp, Anthony waited to pick out a tent until everyone else did before him. It wasn't just polite, as he wanted to train himself to be able to rest in unfavorable conditions. Much to both his satisfaction and disappointment, the tents were all equal. This was negligible, however. Compared to his home, the militia's barracks were good for this training. Haha... He did really miss home, but he had vowed to return to his parents a stronger man, and would stick by it. At the campfire, Anthony was eyeing up other people's rations to see if any looked more to his tastes than his. In specific, Revek's looked incredibly tender, but he didn't know whether to ask or not. On one hand, she could get offended, or also like tender food. On the other, his rations could be more her taste. In the end, he decided not to risk it. As Joy began to speak of their strategy, Anthony listened intently. He could really see why Joy was the person in charge of them. He had devised an effective plan around the building's structural flaws that used everyone's strengths effectively, while being simple enough to execute with their limited trust and unknown teamwork capabilities. Would he have been able to think of a better plan? It seemed effective, took advantage of anything it could, used all information given, and would likely keep everyone safe. When Joy addressed him and his situation, he said "Yes, sir." While he was worried about ambushes on the way, he trusted Joy's plan enough not to worry. He was shocked by whatever Imrae was doing, but he decided to live and let live. When he got into his tent, he was thinking about other things.

Do animals feel sense of accomplishment? Do they feel pride certain actions? Do animals have personal goals or are they all instinctive? First question, he guessed they would. Why else would they strive for survival so much? Sure, the fear of death drove everything to try and live, but it would only go so far. He didn't think animals would contest territory so viciously if it didn't come with some sense of pride. It was the very thing lions are known for, so animals must feel it. That helped answer the second one. Now for the final question: Do these rules apply to beastmen? He- What? That wasn't the question- Well, now that he thought about it, they probably don't apply to beastmen. They have human intelligence, after all, so they're probably primarily human in thought. They probably share the same nature with humans, so it wasn't likely on that note that they were driven by the same things as animals. What was their average ratio of human to animal, now that he's thinking of it? What was Ula, anyways? Did Tali have hair or fur on her head? Nope. That's enough. He needed to go to sleep, now.

The next morning, Anthony woke up surprisingly well rested, and headed out the camp with the rest of them. Imrae was shouting even more now, and while he wanted to just let her do whatever, they were approaching the fort and she was announcing their presence to the bandits. Before he interrupted her, he realized this might be beneficial. The bandits wouldn't expect Tali and Joy's attack because of her blatant announcing of the main group. Of course, the bandits might be able to see through it, but they're bandits, so that's unlikely. "Miss Karliah, remember to stay behind me." He reminded her. "Miss Ula, while you should also stay behind me, please remember to take care of the archers as well."He reminded her as well. When he got to don his armor again, his confidence skyrocketed. He felt a bit better in this suit of armor than he did in his own skin. He proudly led the way, shield at the ready and sword resting on his shoulder. After looking behind him and making sure Karliah and Ula were sticking close, he began approaching the fort, making sure to keep anything from reaching the magical girls behind him.

 

[Arcanist]

Ula
Mentions: Joy/Karliah ( HerculePyro ), Anthony ( Dolches )​

When morning arrived and it finally came to carrying out the master plan that Joy had outlined the night before, Ula felt surprisingly calm. She had memories from her first mission of her dropping her tome when the moment came to use it, and how her hands were so shaky that she struggled to leaf through the pages to find the right spells. After a few weeks, she managed not to bumble so much into battle. She always at least had a few nerves, so she wondered why today was the day she lacked any sort.

Ula recalled Joy's instructions from the night before. They were simple; acting within her perimeters as a mage, she would aim for the archers stationed within the wooden towers built on the outer wall of the fort. Easy enough, if she could get herself close enough without her or one of her comrades taking an arrow to the shoulder, or the heart, or the knee, or well, just about anywhere. Nonetheless, she had shone a white grin at Joy and said, "Leave it to me!"

The shouts and kerfuffle from bandits inside and atop of the fort sounded, a clear indication of the battle that was about to begin. Should anyone have wished, now was the time to drop everything and run. For Ula, however, it seemed to only get her riled up, ready to unleash thunder should anyone try to cross her or her comrades. A fair difference from her shakiness on her first mission to now. Then again, Anthony speaking to her in such a polite tone and referring to her as 'Miss' had her stifling a laugh, easing the tension of starting a battle with bandits.

"Oh, I didn't think we would have to be so formal on a battlefield, Mister Antony," she couldn't help but tease. Though, in between that, she still remembered they had a job to do, and so nodded to his request. "I'll remember, don't you worry. Just lead the way," she told him, though, before adding her own request. "Remember, and that includes you too, Karliah, to watch out for any ambushes. If I can, I'll make sure to cover you both." If she was going to go down in a fight, she would at least go down in a proper fight and not some ambush from a low-life bandit. Ula could already feel the sparks of electricity playing at her fingertips. She would be ready.

 

[Agent]

Joy's plan would obviously work; he's the leader for a reason. Improvisation wasn't one of Revek's strong suits, so luckily she wouldn't have to resort to that... yet.
Just had to deal with those annoying archers. All they do is take easy shots at melee fighters and run away when they feel threatened. Of course, that didn't stop the fighter from making her occasional quip. With a smug smile, Revek leaned towards her kitsune ally enough to get their attention... while also invading their personal space. "Hey, think you can rush in and take those archers out for us?" She asked, cheeky eyes shining above the rest of her face.

Fydoria's response gave her an obvious answer. "No? Fine. I'll take care of it, then." Cue slow reversal of lean.
Revek just went to her tent to get some rest. The pestering of allies could come tomorrow.

-----

It was time for the wake up call. It took a lot of effort for Revek to force herself out of continuing to sleep, but it didn't take long.

The bandits were well aware of their presence already, but that didn't stop the group's daring charge toward the fort. Imrae apparently asked Revek if she was interested in her tradition, but she ignored it and charged toward the fort, axe in hand. She leaped forward and slammed her axe down on one of the barricades, nearly splitting it in half.

Marumatsu ThatGuyWithSouvlaki

 

[ThatGuyWithSouvlaki]

Imrae sighed when Revek just charged ahead without replying to her. She should have expected it but against her better nature, she thought try something that will help them work together better. Still in the end of the day it didn't matter, better letting a brute charge and swing on its own rather than try to reason with it. She did not dwell on it long, she had a battle to fight and win after all. She turned Fydoria and shrugged. "Let make sure she leaves something for the other." She said with a slight smirk before raising her swords. "Barath Na Kuma Ri HA!"

She charged after Revek, despite her comment it was quite nice charging after Revek's wake. Most of the Mercenaries were focused on her so it was easy for Imrae to sort of sneak up on them. She took one from behind, stabbing his back before moving to the next. This one was more aware of his surrounding and turned to meet her with a spear. He bared his spear at her trying to keep her at a distance before going for a thrust when she came close. She dodged the attack easily, side stepping the attack and performing a pirouette with the moment. In the process she brought both blades around in single swipe at the spear breaking the spear in two. Each moved followed the other with a graceful ease as she slashed her opponent with each blade than kicked him to the side.

 

[HerculePyro]

From atop the archer perches, the snipers cried out in fright.

“They’re attacking the barricade! Dammit, where’s Mccoy!? The one with the swords already through!” A gruff archer with a beard and eyepatch cried out back to the fort. His cry was met with the roudy bellows of his bandit compatriots as they ran forward, weapons in hand to be the first to strike down the attackers.

A swordsman and an axe infantry both went for the woman with the white hair, trying to flank her as she recovered from cleaving through their barricade. As the swordsman lunged, he heard the cry of pain from his ally as the swordswoman appeared from the shadows. The swordsmen fell back, clutching his bloody neck, he had managed to deflect the blow to survive but he was still injured. One of their soldiers moved forward to engage the sword wielder from a distance, the gleaming tip of his iron spear flashing in the morning light. But the swordswoman was not like any the bandits had faced before, she moved with a deadly grace, weaving past the spear tip and striking down hard against the lancer. The critical blow had him fall back, lifeless.

------------​

As the battle raged at the front the dishevelled second in command rushed to the commander’s barracks. Slamming the door open and waking those within he hurried to his bed wear the lounging form of Zedel emerged from the sheets.

“Zedel, you must get up! We’re under attack” Mccoy said, throwing her clothes at her.
Zedel's tired features steeled themselves, as she hopped out of the bed and hastily began dressing.

“Don’t wait on me, get out there,” She ordered. The redhead gave a grateful nod and stormed out of the barracks, his hands flipping open the pages to his tome.

The mage heard the cries of pain, and the shriek of steel on steel as he looked forward towards the front of their fort. While appearing sturdy from a distance their stone wall was far from perfect with its glaring weak point. Most days there would be considerably more built up on the barricade but in preparation for their journey most of the barricade had been temporarily dismantled. Their assailants were making fine use of this and several of their men were already down. Mccoy saw their two cavalrymen hopping up into their saddles and called out to them.

“I shall break their defences; you smash them while they reel!”
The men grinned and nodded, as they readied their reins. Red magic swirled around Mccoy as he chanted the ancient text from his tome, a ball of fire swelling in his hands as the magical winds coalesced.

“Elfire!”

Thrusting his palm forward the simmering ball of fire shot forward towards swordswoman. As his blast exploded on impact the cavalrymen charged forward, spear pointed forward and axe raised; the thunder of their steed’s hooves shaking the ground.

------------​

Up atop sniper towers the two archers stood ready and waiting for the attacking reinforcements to draw closer, the vanguard two were at an impossible angle to hit, but the archers could see the four remaining attackers drawing close, their eyes lingering hungrily on the girl bearing a staff and the flapping wings of the white Pegasus. In contrast, they looked warily at the other woman, standing behind the knight; they knew what kind of damage even a mediocre mage could deal and the tome in her hand crackled with energy.

------------​

In the back of the fort, the two light-footed members of the Militia slowly made their way through the shade. Joy, with his dagger held tightly in his hand, and Tali now shifted into her cat form. Tali’s hackles rose as her keen hearing heard voices ahead.

“That’s the militia attacking, we’re done for!” a scared voice echoed.

“What are we doing back here then?” a calmer voice responded.

“Grabbing some loot! The militia are attacking from the front, if we snag some goods we can sneak out the side! Make our way to a town. The captains got more than enough here for the two of us to get by,” the first voice said.

Joy and Tali slowly moved forward, heading towards the lit room, careful to remain quiet. As they reached the door that the light was coming through, Joy slowly inched the door open so he could peer through. He saw two men, obviously bandits. One was dressed similar to him, hood and light clothes; a dagger sat on his belt. The other had a thick black beard and a breastplate, a heavy mace was perched on his shoulder.

“But what do we do if the group clears off these militia bastards, I heard there weren’t many,” the bearded man said.

“We can just come back! We get out to a safe distance, watch how the battle unfolds and then we either lay low while the militia leaves or we hurry back through the side barricade and just pretend we were here the whole time! It’s perfect!” the thief exclaimed, excitedly.

The bearded man strokes his beard in thought. The thief continued.

“Of course, the best course of action would be to grab the girl that’s worth all the money and go to the rendezvous like we were supposed to. But no way we can sneak her out the side, so this stuff will have to do,” he added.

Joy looked at Tali, his eyebrow raised in intrigue. Clutching his dagger he opened the door and called out to the two men.

“You’ve caught my interest, tell me about this girl and I’ll consider letting you go out the side way that the militia are most definitely not aware of,” he said, his voice drenched in sarcasm.
The thief jumped with fright, drawing his dagger and turning towards the door. The mace wielder had a calmer response, lowering himself into a fighting stance and raising his shield, his eyes looking warily at Tali as she stepped forward besides Joy.

“Hmph, a catskin rug of that quality would certainly make us a fair bit,” the bearded man replied gleefully.
Joy grinned beneath his mask, raising his dagger in preparation, Tali let out a low growl her tail flicking back and forth as she eyed the two runaways.

ThatGuyWithSouvlaki Agent Arcanist Dolches CallmeMyth Marumatsu