Fandom [Mission] Escorts and Farewells

[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

- Clarification -
​

"Speaking in terms of most mages, I believe their ill intentions towards our prisoner could better be described as punitive rather than revenge related," Viridian replied to Jacob absently. She spoke without turning away from the compartment she was inspecting, partly to continue searching the boat and partly to hide the small frown that was twisting her mouth. "If mages as a broad category harbor ill will towards Obertuck it would be related more to the harm his actions have brought upon the reputation of mages as a whole and the breaching of the laws and social conventions they hold to be important. So any retaliation would be more concerned with sending a message, towards the public and towards other mages that such actions will not be tolerated rather than to redress a perceived personal injury. By this stage the top half of Viridian's slight form had disappeared fully into the compartment she was searching, so her voice came out a bit muffled and echoey, although her tone was distinguishable as lightly thoughtful.

"Of course it's also possible a personal enemy of Obertuck's would consider now an excellent time to exact literal revenge. For my own part though I only know our prisoner by reputation. I also happen to think the best way to restore public trust in mages is to let the law deal with him conventionally, prove the system works and all that. My only personal stake in this matter is my professional pride which can be best served by conducting our mission quickly and safely.

Viridian was actually a little offended, she felt rather as though she had been the only person taking things seriously from the very beginning and now he was questioning her impartiality. Ridiculous.

"By the way are you certain you didn't sense anything say... five minutes ago? I felt, I thought I felt something unbalance the boat slightly. And you, are we carrying anything that might affect the balance of the ship? Cargo, or equipment left over from a previous voyage, if something like that was sliding around in the hold it would explain what I felt,"

Viridian's second question was actually directed at the helmsman, although it was a little difficult to tell because she refused to look up from her careful inspection of the boat's compartments. With something tugging at her curiosity even the slight pretense of politeness Viridian normally tried to maintain was rapidly fading. Such social niceties required conscious effort on Viridian's part and so they tended to be discarded whenever something more interesting or important caught a hold of her.

Refaulted
Lady Warlock

 

[Sugary_Paragraphs]

Bill Erufu
"And after my pursuits of being the celestial world's finest opera singer, I realized something. Why be part of a musical masterpiece when I can create one! It was then my journey as a play began! First, I plan to-"

"Gaiden? Can I ask ya something?"

"Anything, Mr.Erufu!"

"How are ya gonna write plays when you ain't got no hands?"

There was a brief pause atop of the deck of the tugboat, Bill giving the shield propped upright in front of him a massive grin. The shield, however, had a thin line in the middle, which slowly fell into a scrunched up frown. "We-Well...I-I..." The shield then jumped into the air and wiggled around angrily, its mouth big and wide and moving rapidly. "ITS A WORK IN PROGRESS!" That was soon Bill's cue to howl in laughter, holding his sides and falling into the deck, banging his fists on it.

It had been a short while since Bill had been embarked on his journey, and he had been bored after a few moments later. Bill wasn't the type of person to just sit and wait. He wasn't impatient, but he had to at least be doing SOMETHING to pass the time. And so, he decided to talk to one of his Celestial Spirits during the trip. It didn't take much magical energy since he used a silver key and it was Gaiden, his talking shield. Heck, he could even feel it returning to him little by little. Now, he was just sitting on the deck, keeping watch outside the 'prison' in case any intruders came.

"Honestly, Mr. Erufu." Gaiden called, Causing Bill to try and regain his breath before looking at the now semi-calm shield. "I don't see why you find the need to torture me so. Shouldn't you be terrorizing that ghastly fellow you and your cohorts are escorting?"

Bill shrugged. "Eh. I would, but it'd be playing with a forest fire. The guy's daughter is down there, and I don't feel like hearing Green mouth me off. She'd probably say-" Bill crossed his eyes and made a little hand puppet. "Not only is that childish, but it also an inefficient way of using your time during this mission." He said in a nasally voice. He then snickered and uncrossed his eyes. "Honestly, if I wanted to hear all that, I would've just gotten Cindy out."

"Hm. Valid, although crude, points." Agreed Gaiden. "Although, I don't see how staying up here is any more exciting. Honestly, you're in the sea. Who'd try to climb aboard a sailing vessel?"

"Can't be too sure, Gaiden. There ARE people who can fly with magic, ya know."

"Speaking of flying, this reminds me of the time where I pursued a career as a hot-air balloon salesme-"

"Lemme guess, it didn't lift off because you had no hands?"

There was another pause on the tug boat.

"Why do I even bother with you, Mr. Erufu?"

"Cuz you fuckin' love me."

"...Unfortunately."

 

[Refaulted]

Jacob Arkonius Foles
​

Jacob raised his eyebrows at Virdian's words. He hadn't expected her to be so...factual? More so direct with her statements. It took him slightly by surprise, but he wasn't all too bothered by it. He stepped back and bowed to her. "My apologies, truly. I didn't mean to offend you in any way. I just worry that there are those who have ulterior motives who joined this mission, using it as their own way to harm our prisoner. I wish for the law to deal with this appropriately as well, thus, I want to make sure that he is delivered without any harm."

Standing back up, Jacob looked around the deck of the boat, placing a hand on his hip. "As for sensing anything? Not really. The waters are rather calm around the boat, but my magic is still spread out around the water to make sure we won't get attacked in any way. Same with the wind. Nothing carries a large quantity of magical energy that we have to deal with, from what I can tell. The only thing I can feel is a few measly mice and other critters on the ship." He wondered if Viridian truly had sensed what Jacob did, but he decided not to ask. He knew that there was no trouble that they would have to worry about. And if there was, then Jacob had been preparing for that reason anyways.

Jacob jumped slightly as he heard the Fairy Tail mage, Bill, laugh behind him. Turning around, he saw the boy talking to a shield spirit, obviously enjoying himself. Raising on eyebrow, he turned to look back at Viridian. "I do, however, understand your worry that there are those taking this mission too lightly. I'll definitely pay closer attention to anything I sense, though. You don't have to worry about that. However, if you notice anything out of the ordinary, let me know, alright?"

With that, Jacob bowed slightly again, and walked over to the bow of the ship, not standing exactly in the center of it, but leaning on the railing just to the right of the center of it, looking out over the open water, enjoying the sea breeze hitting his face. However, that was not the only reason he stood there. He spoke under his breath, so much so that almost no person could hear him, save those who were within his very immediate vicinity. "Why...must you make things difficult?" He spoke with a smile on his face, but his tone was a harsh, sharp whisper.

 

[Lady Warlock]

Landing… And a Visitor?

Whether the mages were comfortable with the situation or not wouldn’t deter the time it took for them to sail to land and their helmsman wasn’t really paying much attention to their discussions anyways. He was just nervous knowing who was on board the little tugboat and he wanted to get them off and on their way as quickly as possible. Really, it made sense to be on edge in his situation and it wasn’t something that was going to change. Perhaps the fact that he was on edge explained why he was so quiet as they made their way towards the shore or perhaps he just wasn’t much of a talker anyway.

None of that mattered.

It took slightly less than a half an hour for that portion of their journey to be completed and the little tugboat slowed down as they closed in on land. There wasn’t really any dock or specific landing spot, but with this little boat, the helmsman knew that he could pull right up to shore anyway. It was a boat that wasn’t too hard to get moving after the fact, especially with the tides behaving. And they were behaving as they were supposed to.

“A’right,” he called out to everyone who could hear. Walking away from the helm once the boat hit sand, he made his way towards the gangplank and lowered it onto the beach that wasn’t much of an actual beach. “Ride’s over.” While he wasn’t kicking them off in any physical way, the demeanor that he walked with suggested he wanted them all off of the boat sooner than later.

“Good luck to y’all.”

Everything about the beach looked clear by all that anyone would see. It was a small beach and trees were not too far from shore so any experienced mage would know to be cautious, but it was far enough away from Hargeon that it didn’t make sense for anyone from the town to have wandered in this direction.

Eyes weren’t the only senses a mage had, though.

She didn’t know that. Standing behind the trees and watching closely, a woman waited for the one she was looking for and the one she needed to see before she would make any move at all. Not that she had to move much for her plan to work… ‘It’ll work,’ she thought to herself as her eyes danced along the thin wire that started weaving its way through the trees after the beach ended… thin wire that was nearly impossible to see. ‘It has to.’

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[AllHailDago]

Adellon Thrace and A Strange Individual​

The boat ride over had been annoyingly tedious for Adellon. As it turns out Viridian somehow sensed something off when he boarded the ship, she just didn't seem sure of what. Each time he seemed to find a new spot to stay in while invisible she or someone else moved a bit too close for his liking. At least it kept him on his toes, as he had to admit he had not used his invisibility for long term reconnaissance in a while. Eventually he just stayed within a few feet of Jacob. Who Viridian seemed to give a bit of a berth, and who himself did not move over much.

This is how Adellon was within earshot to hear Jacob mention having his magic extend into the water for sensory purposes. Adellon blinked a couple times in surprise, as he did not recall Jacob having such a skill on any of their past cooperative missions. He supposed that's what made it an effective passive defense though. Adellon wondered if there was a way for him to adapt his own magic to mimic that. Hm, a thought for another time. As Jacob walked over to an area out of earshot of the others he spoke, clearly to Adellon, about being troublesome.

Adellon did not warrant this with a verbal response, instead simply invisbly flicking Jacob on the nose. Can't see him out of the water now can he? After a silent snicker to himself he silently removed his binoculars from his brief case when he noticed they were nearing land fall. It seemed they would make landfall near a small wooded area of some sort. Seemed a perfect place to either start tailing the mages, or to set a trap should one know they were passing this way. After all, Adellon gained access to the information with little difficulty, so he had no misgivings those with ill intentions could as well.

He flipped the covers off the end of the Sight Beyond and set it to thermal mode. Looking through them he adjusted them to the proper distance and took a cursory glance through the wooded area they'd first cross through. What was there..... wasn't really what he was expecting to be frank. Were it a tail he figured they'd hide through magical means in small to moderate numbers. Were it an ambush he expected a larger group with perhaps ground traps. Instead he saw a single body shape, the heat emanating from them obviously a human or human-shaped individual, and faint heat running in lines between the trees at varying heights. Were.... were those wires or cables? Was there really only one individual? No, surely there must be more ahead. This must be their foremost attempt.

He collapsed his sight beyond to their thinnest setting, as to hold close to his face, and put them in his breast pocket. Then he turned himself and his belongings completely to ink and shot himself off the boat in a steady stream onto the beach, as to make his weight's disappearance progressive rather than sudden. Once he was entirely on the beach he coalesced but remained inken even in human shape. It would simply not do to have to reveal himself to the mages because he sliced himself open on a sharp wire he didn't catch. He had such an accidental incident in his overzealous youth and would not do so again if he could help it.

He pulled Sight beyond from his pocket and began scanning the wires and wooded area for a quick path to the person. He could just walk straight through, letting them pass through his ink body, but if they were triggered to a trap of some kind and sensitive enough pulling through the ink could activate them. It would do even less to die a fiery and embarrassing death from an easily avoidable trap. As he glanced around it seemed they were quite concentrated towards the beginning of the woods and thinned out as one went deeper and got closer to the ambusher.

None seemed to run low enough to the ground however to not just choose a single easy approach. Adellon melted in place into a pool of ink, quite wide, but thin and spread across the ground. Steeling himself for the mentally, rather than physical as he did not have nerves in this state, gross feeling of being suffused with mud and leaves he slid forward in an invisible inken wave. Crossing the wooded area's floor with what he hoped was minimal noise, and to an untrained eye what looked like leaves on the ground simply being blown by the wind.

The woman he was approaching remained almost completely focused on the ship that was now on the beach and unloading it's occupants. Her eyes watched intently for the target she knew would be stepping off the ship in mere moments and within her deep state of focus on that alone, she missed almost everything else going on around her. Almost everything. That didn't mean she missed it all, though.

Eve's eyes shifted when she heard something out of place. It wasn't quite the sound of wind... well, it could've been, but it didn't feel like wind so she ruled that out almost immediately. Despite it not being wind, though, Eve did see leaves rustling on the ground and that struck her as odd because something had to have moved them. Then again, any matter of small animals could've run across that path and she looked around for anything nearby. Then she spotted it... a squirrel. Her heart had been racing, but now she had to stop herself from chuckling slightly. There she stood, getting startled by a squirrel. That didn't really make it seem like she knew what she was doing.

She did, though. Eve did. She just didn't know she was in over her head.

Adellons ink self gathered around the base of the tree where the individual who he assumed had set up the trap stood behind. Thankfully nature had come through for him when he tried moving too quickly and moved a bunch of leaves he hadn't noticed. He coalesced once more to stand just on the other side of the woman's tree. He silently pulled out his knife which he didn't use as often as he probably should, and he spun around the tree to stand behind the woman. Dropping his invisibility and placing the knife delicately an inch or so in front of her throat, where she could see it but it wouldn't be lightly cutting into her.

"One should really be more wary and efficient when hunting mages you know?" He said quietly into her ear. "Please dismantle this trap immediately and you might leave both free and alive."

Eve's repy came as a hiss that was viscious and meaningful. "Do you even realize who you're protecting? Is he really worth killing someone who just wants to avenge their family?" She could only hope that whoever it was behind her was the kind of person who had some sense of right and wrong and some sense of retribution when people did things that were wrong. Most human beings she'd met had that sense.

She didn't give him much time to answer, though, and if he'd gotten a glimpse of it at all, Adellon would've seen an expression that displayed that she was willing to die for this. She was, too. Eve dropped to the ground, arching her head backwards so that only the quickest movement on his part would actually allow the knife to touch her throat. More wire was quickly within her hands and she moved to coil it around his ankle, knocking him to the ground... at least, that was the intention.

Adellon grimaced as she threw off a comment about vengeance and immediately began attempting to attack him. For the most part she wasted her time moving to keep the knife away from her, as anyone would visually see from how he held it far from her throat that he had no intention of cutting her with it. He simply dropped the knife as he turned his fingers to ink instead. Extending them to whip like tendrils he intended to capture her with. When her wire coil met with his ankle it ripped entirely through it and out the other side, eliciting a very.... colorful word to come from Adellon's lips.

Sure he had his body made of ink for the most part in case of exactly this, but he had the surface edge made of tactile skin so he could feel his knife, and punch or kick her should that be necessary. In other words, there was no blood but the skin and pain was real. Ink splattered her wire and the ground around them. While he fell he cast the net of inken tendrils that were his fingers in a wide swath towards her.

Well, that plan having been blown, Eve was more than a little bit at loss for what came next and it showed in the way her reactions slowed. Normally this worked. Normally, she'd trip them to the ground and then wrap them in wire and things would go fine after that. This wasn't how this fight was going, though.

She could see the black slithering closer, too. It looked like black magic. It looked like what had started the fire in her home and it looked like what had stolen any semblance of a life from her.

There was only one thing she could do at the sight of that. Scream. Eve's scream tore through the air at a piercing frequency that very likely could've vibrated glass and was definitely a shrill sound of terror.

As Adellon's Ink Net hit the girl it immediately constricted, wrapping around her and restraining her. Which, while he expected to make her yell and curse or threaten to kill as usual instead resulted in a terrified scream that hurt his ears before she ever actually got hit by the spell. He covered her mouth with a tendril, but not her nose so she could breathe, cutting the majority of the sound off. "Gods, I didn't even HIT you with the spell before you screamed! It's a capture spell idiot, I'm not trying to murder you. Chill out!" He reformed a new foot out of ink and stood up over the next couple seconds.

"Now, if you'd be so kind as to shut it and take down the wires I'd be glad to uncover your mouth and bind you a bit less tightly. Nod if you agree to that." In case she didn't he began mentally and magically preparing to cast a rather taxing spell to take care of the wires. It wouldn't do to have the mages on the beach run in to check the scream and get eviscerated.

Adellon's words hit nearly deaf ears because the fear had completely overwhelmed Eve by that point and it's complementary reaction was already in motion. As far as her eyes were concerned, the ink had been black magic and black magic was horrifying. That was all that her mind needed to process in order for things to set themselves in motion.

When the tendril covered her mouth, it didn't manage to stop her attempts at screaming and her breathing rate only increased from there to the point where even someone with no medical knowledge at all could know that something was very very wrong. Not only that, but her continued attempts at screaming were taxing her oxygen supply and eventually, if the fear stimulus wasn't removed, Eve was going to send herself into a state of unconsciousness simply out of that intense fear.

Adellon just shook his head and released the screaming woman completely from his spell. "I don't have time for this nonsense." He put his hands together in font of him and wound his fingers together into one long arcing strand of ink, spinning it faster and faster through magic to give it more force. Drawing his arms back over his right shoulder he tensed as his body became wholly material for a moment. Throwing his arms forward violently the arced blade of ink cast forward from his body with a yell of, "Ink Scythe!"

He immediately felt the tax on his reserves from using the spell on top of constant invisibility on the swim to the ship and since. Not to mention making a new foot. With a light exhale he watched as the purple blade traveled forward cutting the wires between him and the beach, and presumably the spell past over the heads of the people on the boat before dissipating over the ocean. Now they were sure to know he was here, if the scream wasn't sign enough that someone was. However, they were at least safe from self-evisceration and that was good enough for him. Dissipating his magical aura and standing in fully flesh form was a nice reprieve after all that magic use today. Though he was a touch vulnerable for his tastes.

He kept his eyes on the woman as he picked up the knife off the ground and slid it into the sheath inside his jacket. "Are you done screaming yet?"

Was she done screaming? Yes. Did that mean she was capable of saying anything comprehensible? No. Eve was still breathing very quickly because adrenaline like that brought on by fear isn't something that fades away easily and even the slightest glimpse towards Adellon led her to look away as quick as she could. Though it took more than a moment for her to gather up muscular control again, once she had it. Eve scrambled to her hands and knees and made like a bullet away from the beach and away from Adellon... if such a thing was possible.

In such an obvious state of fear and panic it was clear she intended to run. He sighed and ran a few steps forward having already anticipated this, and grabbed her by the back of her shirt.

"LET GO OF ME!" she screeched as she was held up and her hand reached back to swat at his hand. "I'll bet you're just like him, aren't you!? Murdering... practicing that... that evil! Only someone who works with him would ever protect him like you are."

Adellon grit his teeth as he grabbed her hand midswipe. She seemed quick and efficient enough before when she took him by surprise, but now she was scared and sloppy. He pulled her hand behind her back and upwards. Painful, granted, but a common hold used to restrain and deter someone from moving more as they just hurt themselves.

"Now, as I'm assuming you're talking about Royce Obertuck I'm going to forgive you for implying we are one in the same simply because it appears you are too stupid to realize otherwise. Where do I get off thinking that you might ask? You set up this trap alone, you failed to account for almost any form of magical circumvention, and I was able to sneak up on you almost completely casually. Not to mention you are throwing around accusations of me being evil and a murderer because you think I'm like him. Yet, in the manner I snuck up on you I didn't even put the blade to your neck, let alone a simple and easy stab into the back of your neck which would have killed you basically instantly."

He had to forcibly unclench his teeth from the anger of being equated with that traitor. "So far I made a light threat with no actual pain to you, then restrained you harmlessly, then didn't restrain you after I let you go to deal with your traps. Now I am talking to you, and using an admittedly somewhat painful yet in even the shortest of terms harmless restraint technique with no magic. My magic was what scared you after all right? Dark and evil and blah blah blah! It's blank ink surrounded by a purple aura, chill out!"

"NOOO!" Eve hollared, tears springing to her eyes as she tried to pull away but inevitably only wound up causing herself more pain. "Either you're like him or you want him dead. He isn't the kind of person where there's any in between... there can't be any in between. Not after what he did."

Adellon grimaced, disliking causing this clearly crazed and, from what she said, victimized woman pain. What had Royce done to drive this woman so far? What were his damned black magic experiments? Did they involve innocents? Murder? Adellon could taste blood and realized he was biting into his gums from sheer anger. "I want him to answer for his crimes legally. I do not kill people if you hadn't realized yet. He's headed to the most maximum security mage prison in the counrty where he'll live the rest of his disgusting life alone. All I really care about right now is that you seem to not realize in your quest for vengeance you were going to kill INNOCENT PEOPLE!"

"No one who's protecting him is innocent."

Those words were spoken more softly than all the other words that Eve had spoken so far and now she was literally crying... not because of pain, but because no one understood what she was going through. No one could see it. "They're never going to go away until he's dead. The longer he's alive, the more I suffer... the more they haunt me." He wouldn't understand, though. At least, if he was like everyone else, he wouldn't.

Adellon knit his eyebrows, assuming she must have had people close to her killed by Royce and felt they wouldn't rest until he died. Perhaps she was actually mentally delusional and saw apparitions of said people. "You seem to think no one protecting him is innocent. However you fail to see a fallacy in your logic. He has outstanding trials to my knowledge and could still legally be executed. Your story might help that. However, if he escapes mid transport from other mages freeing him then he can go right back to what you are talking about. Those people 'protecting him' are simply keeping him contained between prisons. You threaten their lives to get at him, but were you to distract them for too long he could get away as well. Is that what you want?"

"No, no, No, NO, NO!" She screamed. "You don't get it!! All the people he's killed, all the people who've died because of him... I see them. They follow me and the tell me things. And he needs to die. It's the only way to prevent more of them." Once again, Eve trid to turn her head to look back at him and Adellon would feel her whole body flinch at the pain of it, but she kept trying. She wanted him to see the sincerity of her pain, of what she was enduring.

Adellon looked away before meeting her eyes, unwilling to deal with the possible insanity and definite pain in her eyes. "Maybe I don't understand. But what I do know is you tried hurting and killing my friends, and you tried circumventing the law to get to him. If you succeeded here you'd be to me as he is to you."

With no further words Adellon lifted her arm, eliciting a gasp of pain, and he turned her towards the direction of the beach. He was actually surprised no one had already made it from the boat to the woods. However events like that always felt much longer when you were experiencing them. Perhaps it was in reality little more than a minute in total from her scream to now. Either way, one of the others would arrive soon, and what a way to greet them he supposed.

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[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

- Enlightenment -​

From the deck of the boat, Viridian watched the events on shore unfold with pursed lips and narrowed eyes. It was hard to get a complete sense of what was going on at this distance with the trees in the way but there was definitely some kind of scuffle going on behind the treeline. Unlike Jacob, Viridian wasn't an especially skilled sensor, she could only sense changes in her contraptions but her only active one was on board with her, well out of range of the events on the beach. Silently Viridian gave the contraption new orders and it stood up from where it had been laying on the ground near Obertuck to emerge onto the deck and leap down onto the beach.

Tilting its head around curiously, the dog like contraption starting poking around on the beach and through her connection with the contraption Viridian felt sand pushing up into its feet along with something else. Wire.

"Oh I see," Viridian muttered, then her eyes widened as an arc of dark, purplish liquid erupted from the location of of the scuffle and shredded most of the wire scattered around the beach. Fortunately Viridian's contraption hadn't been standing in the path of the spell, the small dog like machine would have easily been eviscerated. As it stood the contraption was fine and now close enough to overhear the tail end of the heated conversation taking place on the beach. Viridian's contraptions couldn't see in any real sense because iron wasn't light sensitive but she could feel when they moved, even down to minute vibrations so with the help of an array of thin, sensitive to vibration strips stored behind the contraption's mouth this one could actually hear rather well and even use a limited form of echolocation by barking.

"No, no, No, NO, NO! You don't get it!! All the people he's killed, all the people who've died because of him... I see them. They follow me and the tell me things. And he needs to die. It's the only way to prevent more of them."

"Maybe I don't understand. But what I do know is you tried hurting and killing my friends, and you tried circumventing the law to get to him. If you succeeded here you'd be to me as he is to you."

Virdian processed this information. One of the figures on the beach had been lying in ambush and the other seemed to have subdued her and considered the escort formation friends. But where had he sprung from exactly? Suddenly it all clicked into place, the mysterious weight she'd detected earlier.

"You lied to me!" she snapped, wheeling to face Jacob. "One of the people down on the beach was on this boat the entire time and I don't believe for a moment that you were incapable of sensing him. I suppose you're the 'friend' he's talking about? Just what the hell is going on here?! Any other mission pertinent details you've elected to keep to yourself?!"

AllHailDago
Refaulted
Lady Warlock

 

[simj26]

Constanze von DisastreOut from her pocket and into the transportation office’s. She enjoyed travelling, yes, but this was beginning to wear on her wallet just a little. Her coffers were not on the threat of being emptied any time soon, but it paid to be thrifty, literally. The costs of relinquishing her hotel suite and the subsequent transportation of her luggage back to the guild served only to lighten her pockets just a little bit more as well. It had been a while since she was in the area, and she sincerely doubted that they had a bank nearby. She supposed she should tighten up her belt a little. Was this what the youths called mid-life crisis? She supposed she was at the age for a crisis of such a name. Glancing at her slim arms, she could only grimace. Yes, the numbers did say as such, but her appearance was a different matter. To say that it irked her was quite the understatement.

She supposed she had wandered far enough from the town, though she was quite wary. After all, it was not often that someone of her stature, general appearance, and armory wandered off from towns. Thankfully, after a furtive glance about her surroundings, she could not find anyone who might have been tailing her. She returned her attention to her stroll towards the beachfront.

The ship was away from the sight of any townsfolk, and it was indeed a distance from the town she had to walk before she could catch a glimpse of it. The ship containing and transporting cargo of utmost importance- the Obertuck ex-patriarch. She was also aware that Master Foles was amongst the guard. She started towards it, barely able to make out a shock of green aboard the ship before she heard the scream, then what seemed to be a stream of destructive force slicing through the air. Darkness? No, it has none of the pure violence and force that it had. This was something else. Before her mind could process what it was, however, her body had already begun to move. It was instinctive- her hand went to her sword, drew it. She spun on her heel, darting towards the source of the sound and leaping over what she would later realise was a mechanical canine. That would puzzle her later- this was far more important than a single oddity. She followed the sound of voices in the wooded area, her free hand already tracing the flat of her blade, enveloping it with her roiling dark purple energies.

She finally came to the source, and instantly relaxed. It was a familiar face. Dark skin, well-sculpted features, he was a familiar face to the Blue Pegasus. Master Foles, after all, was his closest friend, if she recalled correctly. Something did strike her as odd, however. Two things, actually. The second nagged at her from the back of her mind, and she just could not place a finger on just what it was. She would just have to address the first then.

“Master Thrace.” She did not deign herself to acknowledge the lady caught in what she supposed was an armbar. She was not a master at such techniques. “I was of the impression Raven Tail was not available due to the intricacies of this mission. I seem to be mistaken.” She was well aware that she was not, but she was also quite aware that mages of Master Thrace’s repute did not ignore aforementioned intricacies for trivial matters. There was also the matter that Master Foles was also within present company. It was not rare to have seen them together. For all his eccentricities, Master Foles was trustworthy, and if he trusted Master Thrace, then there was no question on faith. That having been said, tall, dark, and handsome were often traits of dangerous men. She wasn't opposed to the idea of being around dangerous men, but she was hardly an advocate of the same action as well. Whether he gave her an excuse or not for his interference in this matter, she did not care. It would lift a weight off her mind, but it wasn’t one of much burden. She offered a shallow bow towards the other mage. “Before my manners make their daring escape, I should introduce myself formally. I am Constanze von Disastre, a colleague, you could say, of Master Foles.”

She straightened up and turned her attention to the captive in Master Thrace’s hold. “While her actions are certainly questionable, the lass certainly provides a very convincing argument as to why she deserves her justice, amidst her ramblings. But more fool her to try and ambush mages of such standing with a pitiable attempt such as this.” She turned around to watch the rest of the party. As far as she could see across the expanse of the beachfront, it was empty, save for the mechanical dog (her face contorted in an attempt at trying to reason its existence out with herself) and the disembarking guard. The fact did not lose any meaning to her, as she realised just what the second issue was. She angled her head slightly just so she could see the lass in Master Thrace’s grip.

“I find it quite odd. How does a lone vigilante know of this landing site? Were it public knowledge, we would have had a welcoming committee, complete with complimentary drinks. Instead, we are treated to a poor excuse of a trap.” Perhaps it was just her paranoia speaking, but she was right to have kept her sword out of its scabbard. She disliked complicated plans and gambits, and of things ‘not being as they seem’. Had it been a proper ambush, her worries would have already been assuaged, but this had been no proper ambush, and that only made her worry. Perhaps there was nothing to worry about. Perhaps this was just her overestimating and underestimating this fool in Master Thrace's arms. Nonetheless, she should not drop her guard.

 

[Refaulted]

Jacob Arkonius Foles
​

Jacob flinched in surprise, standing back up straight, and wiggled his face. He then frowned, not exactly sure what their stowaway had actually done, but knew it was something in response to his previous statement. Letting out a quick sigh, Jacob wondered if he should blow away his cover, but decided it would be in his own best interest to leave the mage be. If he was in a foul mood for the remainder of the mission, he would definitely bring hell to Jacob at some later time.

He didn't worry about it for long, though, as the boat soon docked at the beach, as the boat was set for them to step onto the beach, Jacob left where he was standing and walked to the door leading down to the cell below deck, where Maki and Royce were. Opening the door, he shouted down to them. "We've reached land. Miss Maki, please bring him up here so we can continue on. Sooner rather than later, if you will."

As he finished speaking, he turned as he heard what was happening in the forest. Definitely a fight, or at least some sort of interaction, was going on. Walking away from the door, he stepped to the edge of the boat and watched. Even when the strange attack of ink flew out of the forest and past the boat, disappearing over the water in the distance, Jacob didn't flinch, only rolled his eyes. "Honestly, could you make yourself any more obvious?" He spoke mostly to thin air.

He perked up slightly when Viridian wheeled on him, obviously upset from Jacob not telling her about Adellon having been on the boat. Jacob allowed her to speak her part before he shrugged his shoulder, pulling out his staff. "I kept information from you that I felt would hinder your ability to complete the mission in a timely manner, Miss Viridian. Should you have started a problem on the boat, then I wouldn't have been able to focus my sensory abilities well enough. I was confidant that he would not pose a threat to us due to my work with him in the past. And so far, he has not disappointed me. I know him better than most, and he is not someone who could ever be considered an enemy on this mission. Even if he was, with the support of the rest of you, I'm sure we wouldn't have that much of a problem dealing with him." Jacob decided leaving out the fact he had never defeated Adellon himself was for the best.

A cloud forming around his feet, Jacob pointed to the door leading to the cell, instructing both Bill and Viridian. "Go down there and make sure everything is okay, if you will. Now that a disturbance has been caused, we need to make sure we get moving before people become too curious." Floating over the edge and to the beach below, Jacob floated through the woods to where the scuffle had occurred.

Once he arrived, he was taken off guard. He of course expected Adellon and their assailant, but what he hadn't expected was Constanze, his guildmate. To his knowledge, she had gone on a different mission, so to see her here was quite a surprise for him. Looking at Adellon for now, he crossed his arms over his chest as he floated down to the ground. "We don't even get everyone onto the ground yet, and you already are making a scene that can get us unwanted attention. Well, I guess it could have been worse." Walking over to him and looking at the girl, he grunted slightly. "Hmmm. I can thank you for handling our little saboteur here. I can see you are as reliable as ever." Standing back up, he turned his nose up to the air, but still had a smile on his face. "Though I believe I could have at least handled this, since you must be so tired from hiding for so long."

Turning then to his guildmate, Jacob bowed. "Nice to see you, Constanze. I didn't realize you would be helping us on this mission." Jacob held a hand out to Constanze, speaking then to Adellon. "Adellon, this is my guildmate, Constanze Von Disastre, though she already introduced herself, I'm sure. While also a very captivating individual fit for Blue Pegasus, she is a skilled mage, and my sparring partner so I can keep my sword-fighting skills sharp." Turning to Constanze, Jacob crossed his arms over his chest once more and raised an eyebrow at her. "Speaking of, I believe you owe me another match at some point in the future. Our last go at it was left at a draw."

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[Solarknight]

Sylvia Koomen
Throughout the whole journey on the little tugboat, Sylvia had taken on the role of silent observer below deck watching the prisoner and the quasi-prisoner who wasn’t really a prisoner at all. It had been a hard role for her to take because she wanted to talk to someone about something; Sylvia was almost always talking in normal situations, but she realized it would be more than a little rude to do so now. That didn’t mean she wasn’t antsy, though. As she listened to Royce and Maki and watched them to make sure they didn’t get into trouble, the B-Rank Sabertooth mage was also pacing back and forth, her feet never stopping to take a break. It was almost as though her feet were making up for the lack of movement in her mouth.

Because of how antsy she was, of course Sylvia was overly gladdened when she started to hear commotion on the deck of their little boat and she was even more relieved when she heard a call for them to come back up. Granted, Sylvia was frustrated that they didn’t actually call her name because it seemed like they had almost forgotten she was down there guarding the prisoner. Guarding the prisoner should’ve been the least forgettable job because it was their whole mission, right?

She wasn’t about to dwell on it, though. Instead Sylvia shouted up to the main deck, “We’re on our way up!” Her voice was rather loud and exuberant as she yelled it, too, because she wanted to make sure that everyone remembered she was there. So much time in silence could’ve easily made them forget, after all.

Walking over to the little prison cell, Sylvia unlocked the door with ease, gestured for Maki to come out and then she grabbed onto the chains holding Royce and started escorting him up the main deck. Royce’s expression was as grim as ever when she grabbed him and she could tell he didn’t like it, but he was bound to cooperate with them per the vow he’d made back in Ilan Vair. “Time to get moving again,” Sylvia said to both of the Obertucks, taking every advantage to talk again.

“I think I remember the way well enough without you shoving me everywhere,” Royce grumbled at Sylvia.

“I’m just trying to get us moving,” Sylvia replied. “I’m sorry. I will let you walk on your own.” Her hands pulled away in a show of innocence and then she followed as Royce made his way towards the ladder that would lead them above deck. She wasn’t quite sure how he intended to do it without help, but she didn’t want to get snapped at again so she let him figure it out… and he did. It just took time.

Once they were back above deck, Sylvia was the first to energetically breathe in the fresh air and look around to realize that there were only two of the group members still on deck. “What did we miss?” Sylvia inquired of them. However, she couldn’t just stop there and let someone answer. “I mean… I’m sorry we missed anything at all, but it seems that we have and it would be nice to know what’s going on now so that we can guard the prisoner appropriately, right?” Sylvia likely could’ve rambled on and on…

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Collabed With: Lady Warlock

 

[CelticHero37]

Maki Obertuck
The Raven of Raven Tail
​

Once the boat had arrived at the shore, it wasn't long before Sylvia opened the cell door. Maki reluctantly exited first and headed toward the upper deck; pausing only to glare back defensively at Sylvia when she heard her grandfather's complaint. Once the situation seems to be solved, Maki continued up into the sunlight. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust. However, even without her sight, she could tell there was a commotion going on. She didn't have the slightest clue what it all was about, and honestly didn't care.

Her only concern was her grandfather. Thus, she made sure to stay close to him as the others were distracted with whatever was happening on the shore. Of course, she did her best not to look suspicious, though. Her grandfather's request to keep their trust continued to echo through her mind. Whatever the plans were, she needed to make it look like everything was normal on her end. Nothing suspicious.

 

[Sugary_Paragraphs]

Bill Erefu
"Whoo! Looks like the boat ride's over!" Bill commented as he stretched, not paying any mind to the tone of the captain. With a small smile, he brought a hand up to his forehead to block out the sun and look over at the beach. It was a pretty nice place. Perfect for escorting a dangerous raven tail bastard trying to kill them all! "Any longer and I might've gone a bit stir crazy." Bill commented to Gaiden, who simply scoffed.

"Ironic considering you're not the one inside the cell."

"Well, who said that Royce guy got to have all the fun?" Bill laughed, moving his neck to crack it and making sure he had his celestial key and big giant weapon key on him. For some reason, that boat ride felt like it lasted, like, two or three months then a few hours. Eh. Maybe he was actually going a bit stir crazy...whatever. Now, they could get off this boat and take good ol' Royce to the big boys. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow though as he got a much more closer look. Was that...wir-

BOOM!

Bill and Gaiden blinked from the sudden purple light that erupted from the trees. Hearing a familiar voice behind him, he turned and watched green verbally tear into that blue pegasus guy. His face of confusion slowly twisted into an unamused expression. Oh, lord. Pleeeaaase don't let this 'new friend' be part of Raven Tail. Bill couldn't help but give Jacob a stare at his response, watching the guy instruct THEM on what to do and then floating away into the trees. He walked up to Viridian slowly and shrugged. "...that was a pretty dick move, huh?"

"Yes...Quite." Gaiden agreed, despite the vulgarity behind Bill's statement. When Sylvia came up, Bill let out a loud sigh. "Whelp, turns out cloud boy over there decided not to tell us about some stowaway on the ship. Might be his friend or something. Long story short, purple thing flew out the trees, wires are all over the place, and we might just have another unregistered team member...so yeah." He explained, whirling around. "Well, as long as the prisoner is up here, might as well check it out. Who knows? We might just have enough to start a club if we're lucky."

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[AllHailDago]

Adellon P. Thrace​

-Location-

Seaside Wooded Area​

--Mood--

Relieved & Pensive​

Adellon was expecting Jacob to be the first to reach him as he stood in the wooded area. He'd be the only one to immediately realize who shot the spell that exited the woods, and realize Adellon would only blow his cover like that with a reason. Yet the first face to appear was surprisingly not even part of the party on the boat. Adellon at first immediately gathered magical power at the ready in case it was the crazed woman's companions, but found himself gather power unnecessarily. He did not at first recognize the rather striking woman, but as she introduced herself as Constanze Von Disastre, and mentioned being a colleague of Jacob's, he recalled seeing her in the Blue Pegasus guild hall on several occasions. Though he can't remember if they'd ever spoken before.

He first impression was rather positive, though a touch surprised. The rather beautiful, young woman couldn't be much more than eighteen or nineteen, so her formal if not archaic speech patterns were surprising. Then again, was he truly one to make such a comment? Either way it was rather pleasant in his opinion. "Ah, Miss Disastre, a pleasure indeed. Apologies for not returning your bow, as I am rather preoccupied with this one as you might assume." He bit the edge of his tongue as he considered his responses to her other comments. "It was not so much that we were unavailable for this mission as we were.... withheld the information regarding it. A complete farce and logical fallacy to do such a thing I would say. After all, it was our very guild that turned our master in. Clearly we have the ability to choose propriety when faced with even our own guildmaster's actions." For most he may have presented this opinion in a more hostile manner, but Constanze did not seem accusatory in her statement which soothed Adellon's anger on the matter somewhat.

He smirked at her comment about complimentary drinks, but quickly returned to a pensive expression afterwards. "Yes, I was beginning to wonder that exact thing. Why a single, seemingly crazed individual rather than a unified force. My first thought is that she's being used as a distraction by said force who are set up further along our route. The worst that happens is we become aware they are lying in wait, at best she kills a few of us here and we show up even weaker to their ambush. At least, that is what I believe most likely at current."

He shifted his eyes from Constanze to Jacob as he arrived, riding one of his little clouds per usual. Adellon tossed him a rather vicious grin that others might consider threatening, but Jacob would know otherwise. "Well, seeing as outside of the water you don't always have the most adept senses Jacob perhaps you failed to notice the mass amount of shredded wire on your way here? My spell while attention grabbing, destroyed all the wire between you all and I. I must say for those of you who can't reattach your limbs and varying body parts you would not have liked running headlong into it. Not to mention my spell exited the side your boat was on, dissipating likely just over the water slightly past your boat. Anyone who could have seen it would have been able to see and tail you from the beginning."

He narrowed his eyes smugly. "Thank you for the compliment, though. I did not know you were capable of sensing through the water, I must say that is a surprising and rather unique skill, well done in developing it. Was there any issue or delay in sensing me?" He tilted his head curiously. Such feedback could prove valuable for future covert operation, which was Adellon's specialty after all. "Ah, of course Miss Disastre here introduced herself. Delightfully polite and articulate I must say." He looked between them both as Jacob mentioned swordsmanship practice between them. "Now that I do believe I'd enjoy seeing for myself."

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[Solarknight]

Sylvia Koomen
Listening to Bill’s explanation of the situation, Sylvia nodded along as she looked things over. All the pieces fit together well enough in what he was saying so she didn’t see any reason to argue with any of it. In fact, Royce actually jumped in to confirm one thing about it. “That’s Adellon alright. If my granddaughter truly wasn’t invited, then I doubt he was either.” The difference, though, between his reaction to seeing Maki and his reaction to seeing Adellon was that he wasn’t nearly as cheerful and excited about it.

Storing that detail in the back of her mind, Sylvia regarded Bill and nodded. He was probably right; they should join up with the rest of the group.

Walking off of the little tugboat, Sylvia decided to be the one to formally bid the boat’s helmsman farewell after she’d helped Royce off the boat and made sure both Maki and Bill had followed her. Then Sylvia walked their little group over to where everyone else was gathered. She could definitely see the remains of a fight and she wasn’t about to really comment on it until she noticed that Adellon was holding someone else captive.

“Hey guys, I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this yet, but we’re very visible here standing this close to the beach. We should probably keep moving. If there are more people after Royce, this is far too easy of a place for them to find us. I think we should keep moving.” There would be time for introductions while they were on the move.

It wasn’t that Sylvia didn’t want to introduce herself to the newcomers; she was eager to, actually. However, Sylvia wanted to do it in a safer environment.

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[CelticHero37]

Maki Obertuck
The Raven of Raven Tail
​

Maki stuck close to her grandfather during the commotion, now convinced that his reasons for doing what he did were good. Whatever he had planned, she was ready to help him out in any way she could. She knew her grandfather was a smart man, so she figured he already had everything planned out. However, when something finally caught her attention, she was shaken a bit.

Apparently Adellon had come to join them. For her, that was a completely unexpected turn of events. Adellon had been her friend for a very long time and she found she really cared for him, although she'd never shared that before. Now he was here. Did that mean he'd come to help her out? He was rather perceptive at times, but she hadn't told anyone what she was really planning to do. Not even him. So what was more likely was that he was here to help the group, which she thought she might end up having to fight. The prospect of having to stand against Adellon worried her greatly. She simply didn't know if she could do it.

Suddenly overtaken by a rush of emotion, she shot into the air, launching herself to where Adellon was standing. She almost ran into him as she came to a skidding halt. There were so many things she wanted to say. So many emotions. So many questions. Yet the only thing she managed to get out was, "Hey... y-you came..."

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

- Untenable -
​

Viridian had chosen to remain silent as their half of the group escorted Royce up to the beach. This partly because she was still focusing on listening in to the conversation going on up ahead. The other reason was that Viridian was seething with anger. What the hell were these idiots thinking? This kind of slapdash approach to missions was exactly why Viridian preferred solo missions.

By the time the two groups had merged Viridian had figured out precisely what she wanted say and her expression was set in a resolved mask.

"Do not lie to me then start ordering me around," Viridian snapped at Jacob as soon as she was within conversational range. "I can respect your experience and position but I'm not your subordinate. When you cut me out of the loop I don't have a reason to respect your judgement."

Then Viridian rounded on Adellon. "As for you, Mr Thrace was it? Perhaps you should escort this woman to the nearest authorities? You've been very helpful but I think your presence here presents an obvious conflict of interest,"

AllHailDago
Refaulted

 

[Lady Warlock]

Eve Lyone

Although Adellon’s grip on her certainly wasn’t growing any lesser as more people joined their current location, that wouldn’t stop the woman he held captive from struggling against him throughout the whole process and neither would it stop her from listening in on the things that they had to say. Apparently, the man who held her wasn’t supposed to be there at all; he was a Raven Tail mage which only made her situation worse. “Of course you’d be defending your former guild master!” she practically spat at him although she couldn’t quite get the target right with the way she was being held. She also noticed that they all seemed to be acting far too happy-go-lucky considering the person they were escorting. Did any single one of them truly understand the gravity of his crimes?

There really wasn’t any way for Eve to know, although she really didn’t need to know either. It was still an aching thought in the back of her mind.

What she could be surprised about in the meantime was that they all seemed to truly believe that she’d been alone and that was a good thing for her. Fortunately for Eve, she was never alone. She actually stopped struggling for a moment, which Adellon probably would feel despite being engaged in multiple other conversations, and she blew a small breath of air out of her lips. It was a signal although there didn’t seem to be anyone for her to be signaling.

Eve was a Medium. She could see ghosts and ghosts followed her everywhere she went. What few people realized was that she could make requests of them from time to time as well; more often than not, they listened.

The beach that they’d landed on was probably ten minutes out of Hargeon, but something loud enough would certainly draw the attention of all the city going folk if they hadn’t been alerted to something odd going on already. What the mages wouldn’t see was that one of her ghosts made their way towards something she’d set up away from her other things. As they dawdled in conversation, they would suddenly be torn from all of it as a loud explosion consumed the area next to them, lighting the few beach trees to flames and sending up smoke that Hargeon would no doubt see.

A smirk decorated her face. “I’m never alone, you know,” she said in barely even a whisper. “I’m sure once they get here, there are bound to be more than a few people from Hargeon who agree that this is too nice a fate for Royce Obertuck.”

It was around that time that Royce and Sylvia were joining the group and Royce’s eyes narrowed on the captive.

“If none of you have any solutions, I can take care of the prisoner and return her to you when you deliver me. She’d be safe in a portal.” Royce’s offer was odd, though. He sounded very nonchalant about it, as though he hoped they would actually go along with it.

One thing was certain, though. Now that the explosion had gone off, it would only be minutes before people from Hargeon showed up to investigate. In that regard, Eve was probably right, too. They wouldn’t be happy to see Royce Obertuck at all.

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[Sugary_Paragraphs]

Bill Erefu ​

As Bill and the rest of the party walked toward where the explosion originated, Bill couldn't help but squint his eyes at Royce's sudden jump-in. "...The fuck's an Adellon?"

"Honestly, Mr. Erefu, you really must keep track of the reputation of your fellow wizards!" Gaiden chastised. "Do you even read the Sorcerer Weekly Magazines?"

Bill had to think about the question for a minute. The sorcerer magazines were something Bill never really cared for. I mean, he wasn't really in it, considering he A.) Wasn't an S rank, B.) Was hardly known by any of the higher-ups when it came to the media, and C.) had no Abs or gorgeous facial features. And it didn't have the important info he wanted like the 'Crazy Key Catalog' did.

Gaiden, noticing Bill's silence, simply sighed. "Adellon Thrace. S Rank Raven Tail Member-"

"Hey, no wonder I haven't heard him!"

"-And quite the popular one at that." Gaiden continued. "A guild ace, an avid reader, master ink manipulator, he truly is a talented individual!"

"Gaiden, how do you even know all this?"

"The celestial spirits' contractors supply this information to their spirits. And in short, the spirits tell other spirits in the celestial world!"

"Huh. I thought you actually read the magazine...which would've been weird, considering you have no ha-"

"EYES ON THE ROAD, MR. EREFU!"

Bill merely smiled widely, continuing his trek through the trees with everyone. So, that's how this Adellon guy managed to sneak on the ship so easily. Usually, Bill wouldn't exactly care, but again, this was a Raven Tail member...Raven Tail. Bill's smile disappeared. That guild left a weird feeling in his stomach whenever he thought of em'. Bill wasn't stupid in believing in every rumor or story about them, but that was the problem. Stories and Rumors usually fade out, even when they start after some weird war with fairy tail years ago. But the fact that they still kept going was suspicious. And honestly, the RT wizards he met today weren't really doing anything to lift these suspicions.

'And there's one other thing I can't really ignore...' Bill thought. This is why Bill disliked them, not outright hated them. He just wasn't sure what the hell was up with them. And he wasn't sure if they really-

BOOM!

Bill smirked and shook his head. He was thinking too much. Two explosions in one day and the mission just barely started? This was starting to get good! And as he made it to where Jacob was, it was getting even better. 'That guy must be Adellon' Bill thought, giving the man a look up and down. No wonder this dude was in the magazines. The bastard had a face more sculpted than a statue. And he was so god damn tall. He looked at the other arrival, tilting his head. Huh. She looked the part, but he wasn't really sure if she was from Raven Tail. "Hey, Gaiden?" Bill whispered quietly, looking down at the shield.

"Hm?"

Bill smirked. "What do you think the new lady's favorite color is?"

It took Gaiden a moment to realize what Bill was talking about, but when he did, he scoffed and muttered something along the lines of 'How rude'. Bill chuckled from his harmless jab, but the sudden input from the tied up one caused him to turn to her. Others huh? Despite the fact the trees next to him were on fire, Bill walked up to the lady Adellon was holding and smiled widely. "D'aww. This must be the scawy wady who twied to kill us!" Bill teased putting his hands on his knees and looking at her as if she was a kid who fell and scraped her knee. "And she thinks we're gonna be scared of her friends! Ya sure you don't wanna be a comedian instead of an assassin? Cause these jokes sure are killin' me more than you ever could!" Bill laughed.

"M-Mr. Erefu! Now is not the time for boasting!"

"Gaiden, I'm not Boasting. That would be implying that I stopped her from killing us. I'm 'insulting'." Bill sounded out, much to Gaiden's unamusemet. Still Gaiden was right. Those Hargeon guys were gonna make things pretty hard for em'. He turned to Viridian. "So much for the authorities helpin' us out. Look, Green, we're not his parents." Bill shrugged, pointing to Adellon. "He was told not to come, but he still did anyway. And I'd rather take this asassian lady with us than have Mr. Escape artist here send her to some shady place we don't know about, so let's just let him come and have him help us watch two prisoners. Then, when we get to Black Vox, we'll let the council deal with it and HE'LL get in trouble. Not us. Now, before we get into any arguments about who's wrong or who's right, lets just get outta here before the town sees us...

Another tree was lit on fire.

"Or before we all die from a forest fire."

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[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

-Expeditious-
​

"I don't want him to leave because I think we'll be scolded by the council, I want him to leave because I believe him being here is unethical," Viridian shot back at Bill before sighing and holding up her hands in a peaceful gesture. "Regardless I understand this isn't the time for a rigorous debate, this situation calls for a certain level of haste,"

And so with that Viridian calmly drew the heavy wrench she kept on her belt and slammed the hilt into Eve's temple, watching carefully as the woman slumped forwards in Adellon's arms.

"She's too dangerous to take with us," Viridian said firmly. "She was able to detonate that bomb while restrained and we don't have the resources to properly monitor her. One of us should stay behind to hand her over to whoever turns up and explain that she set off the bomb. The rest of us will go ahead, Jacob can erase our tracks with wind magic. By the time she wakes up we'll be long gone and she'll have a difficult time rousing an angry mob from inside a prison cell.

The only real question is who to leave? Someone recognizable would be ideal, the crowd would be more likely to take them at their word, we need Jacob to stay with the group to erase our tracks and the only other mage here who is similarly prominent..."

Viridian turned to look at Adellon with a significant expression. "-Would be you, Mr. Thrace so I recommend you stay here, you're the one who subdued her in the first place so it seems appropriate. If you're still determined to impose yourself on us we can discuss it later, I doubt you'll have any trouble catching back up with us,"

"As for you Mr Obertuck, all you need do for now is keep moving, as should the rest of us," Viridian said brusquely, gesturing to the path ahead of them and starting forwards herself.

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[simj26]

Constanze von Disastre
She gazed out onto the beach and glanced once or twice towards the town that she had just come from earlier, thoroughly ignoring the noise behind her. They could squabble as much as they wanted to, but it did not change their current situation. She almost allowed herself a smirk when one of the mages brought her wrench down on the interloper. Solid hit, from the sound of it. That got rid of one actual problem, but the other…


Perhaps…


She shook her head. It would take her a while to create enough force to cause the fires to dissipate. She tapped the hilt of her sword, and moved back to the group. “I’ll be staying with Master Thrace,” she announced without much fanfare. “You would have a mage of a guild of their repute remain in the site of chaos and call it a day? You barely trust the man, and you expect a cohort of incensed villagers to do so.” She did not miss a beat as she strode up to Adellon and their captive and continued, “There is no question of him leaving with you either. As much as I recognise his ability, I still make my reservations on my trust with regards to him, just as all of you do.” She glanced towards the young man, her expression unreadable, before she turned her attention back to Master Royce’s entourage.

“I will not have arguments. We are on a strict timetable as is, and this decision is final. Now, go. Or you would prefer that we have tea with the Hargeon locals instead? Perhaps enjoy some of their cuisine while we are at it?”

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[Refaulted]

Jacob Arkonius Foles
​

Jacob placed a hand on his chest, mocking like he was hurt and insulted by Adellon's words, including even an audible gasp. But he still returned a grin, his more polite seeming than Adellon's. "Truly, Adellon, you should have more faith in me than that. Of course I would notice what you did. I didn't reach where I am now simply due to looks. And I appreciate the compliment. Recently, focusing my abilities on sensory magic has proven to be an amazing assistant for most situations. As for it's drawbacks, the only thing is the drain of my magic energy and the fact I need to focus on the area in effect in order for it to be useful. And it's environmental restriction is also a hindrance."

Perking up as he heard Viridian speak behind him, he turned around, keeping himself quiet as she chewed him out. When she was finished, he bowed apologetically. "My deepest apologies. I was doing what I thought would be the best, but in doing so, I did not count for the thoughts of you all. Normally, I work alone, aside from a mission here and there, so I usually trust my own judgement. I do hope I can find a way to make up for this at some time."

However, just as Jacob finished, the apparent bombs were detonated, and an annoyed look came over him. "And it seems like things just keep going from worse to worse." As everyone began discussing the best course of action, Jacob pulled out his staff and spun it in his hand, walking past Bill and taking a moment to look at him. "I'm not one to tell you to stop, but I would rather you save your energy to walk instead of using it to insult someone. Also, don't worry, none of us will have to worry about dying from something as simple and unflashy as this." He just smiled politely and walked a few feet away from the group.

Once he was closer to the trees set on fire, he stopped spinning his staff. With a simple squeeze, the staff extended, two segments popping out of the holes on either side. Placing one end firmly on the ground, he pushed on it so it stood up on it's own. Then, standing back, three light blue magic circles appeared around the staff, and mist began to swirl around them. The momentum of the mist picked up, beginning to blow a light gust of wind around Jacob, until the mist began to take shape, taking a human-like form. The three mist figures began to gain more refined details, looking like naked men (without the indecent parts) made of the white mist with fit builds. The oddest thing about them is that they had no heads, just faint clouds of mist where the head should be. This mist began to fade as it went, but really, a thin enough trail that it was nearly invisible was linked to Jacob's mouth.

Jacob smiled at them. "Hello, Mist Men." Simpler versions of his clones, they were of course incomplete, but needed less magic energy to create. Useful for most tasks. Especially tasks that needed the expertise of water. Holding up his hands, a dark blue magic circle appeared in front of their torsos. "Your command is to go and begin putting out the fire. Do not let anyone see you, and work as fast as possible." Silently, the Mist Men went on their way, running into the fire, water splashing from the magic circles on their chests. As long as Jacob was linked to them, he could remotely control them without exhausting his magic energy by much. Pulling his staff, he retracted it back to its original form and stuck it back inside his jacket before walking back to the group.

When he was back with the group, he smiled, the mist just barely visible as it fell out of his mouth. "The fire should be no problem now. I heard what the plan was, and I can't say I have much of a problem." Crossing his arms over his chest, he sighed. "However, we will have to be careful. Until the fire is out and I can dispel my magic, I won't be able to do much in case of other dangers, especially if I need to hide our tracks." Waving his hand, a small cloud of fog as big as a small dog appeared behind him. "Still, I say that's the best plan we can have without risking any more alerts."

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[AllHailDago]

Adellon P. Thrace​

-Location-

Seaside Wooded Area​

--Mood--

Many​

A lot happened quickly, and Adellon was a bit disappointed in himself. Allowing his holding the prisoner and exhaustion from magic use and sleep deprivation to be a distraction and keep him from reacting to so many thing? Rather disgraceful coming from an S class, especially the guild Ace. First Maki flies over and lands in front of him, weirdly suddenly in his opinion. Granted he supposed he'd be a surprise even to her on this mission. He was honestly shocked she had come herself. Was she here to make good on her farewells to her grandfather? Even if he was criminal scum it must be hard with him being her last blood family. "Hello Maki, I'm glad to see you!" He wasn't lying either, as he believed she was a rather just individual. He had no misgivings about her intentions.

Adellon eyed Viridian with a sour taste in his mouth as she spoke of a conflict of interest. He was about to speak up when the woman he was holding went off on an inane little spiel an somehow detonated explosives or incendiaries of some kind in the woods. Only a small copse of trees went up, and with a premier water and wind S class like Jacob around Adellon basically just blew it off and turned back to the group. Just in time for Viridian to crack his captive in the side of the head, causing her to slump unconsciously in his arms. His face set in clear disdain for such an action as he slowly laid the woman on the ground. "You best hope you haven't caused her any form of brain bleed or damage. Criminal or no, that would come back to bite you."

He tilted his head in plain as day irritation as he caught on the unethical bit. "Let's clear the air right quick, shall we? First off, we were not told we could not come. The council tried keeping us from being informed, which they did so well, to prevent an attempt to save our oh so beloved ex- Guild Master. Despite the fact that Fairy Tail failed to bring charges against him or start a war with Raven Tail, the other guilds refused to join or help when he was accused by Fairy Tail, and we brought him to justice ourselves. Those who would have issue with his left the guild." He scratched at his tattoo where his neck and shoulder met.

"They thought we would interfere and spring him, because despite all we've shown apparently we are still criminals to the majority of you. Despite the logical fallacy of also allowing Fairy Tail members to join the mission despite the fact they created much of the animosity between us. They can be trusted to stay their hands around the traitor to their own guild? A man who broke their cardinal rules? The whole set up reeks of favoritism and unethical practice, yes. However, the stench isn't coming from us." He turned away from Viridian and looked to Constanze.

As she spoke he was slightly taken aback by her talk of their guild of ill reputation. He knew she didn't mean anything by it, but he was still used to Blue Pegasus members not saying such. At least, not when he was around. He had assumed his friendship with Jacob and frequent assistance when they requested had mended that bridge. Regardless he supposed it would be best for him to stay behind temporarily. There shouldn't be too many people coming seeing as the smoke was not significantly larger than a beach bonfire would be. Plus it would likely last little time due to Jacobs completely expected intervention.

"I will stay behind for the time being with Ms. Disastre to speak to those who arrive. However, I assume we will both be catching up with you shortly. I have no intention of taking credit or reward for this mission. If I have it as I would like, we will deliver him without issue and my presence won't even be known. He'll be in Black Vox, you'll all be paid, and everyone's more or less happy." He made a gesture towards one of the trees that had escaped the fire. A string of ink attached to his finger ripped an unseen object to his hand. As invisible ink slid away from his brief case he patted it. He didn't need his magical items at the moment, but he was happy nonetheless.

"Now if you are truly intent on not being seen here, as you all seem to be, now would likely be the best time to go. Should any more small fires break out despite Jacobs exemplary extinguishing I can take care of them just fine." He turned his back on the group entirely and kept his eyes towards the direction of the town. He couldn't see anyone coming yet, but if they were it shouldn't be too long.

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[Lady Warlock]

Sylvia Koomen

When Viridian pulled out a wrench and wacked their prisoner on the head, Sylvia couldn’t help but flinch at the sudden and probably unnecessary violence. She wasn’t going to argue that it wasn’t a way to solve the problem though; it certainly accomplished that much, at a minimum.

Listening to the plan Viridian proposed after knocking their unwelcome prisoner out, Sylvia managed to regain any confidence she might have lost in her guildmate upon seeing her wack someone with a wrench, though. Viridian’s plan was sound and it did the one thing that Sylvia had wanted; it got them moving again. She was glad that she wasn’t the one Viridian volunteered to stay behind because an unconscious person wasn’t fun to talk to and Sylvia liked having people to talk to.

However, she did notice that there wasn’t really anything that had been assigned for her to do. Sylvia had to admit that she was a little disappointed Viridian hadn’t given her any tasks while delegating.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” she mentioned to Viridian, feeling that her guildmate had somehow stepped up to a leadership role on the mission and was filling it quite nicely. “You know what I can do better than anyone else here, so… I guess that means you probably know when to ask me for help...” That trailed off because there really was no appropriate way to end the sentence without continuing to ramble.

Finding herself among a group of mages who were once again ready to travel, Sylvia took up a position somewhere in the middle of the group because she wasn’t very good at surveillance so she really didn’t have any place in the lead or rear of the pack. The group started traveling and Sylvia found that with each step she took, she grew more and more bored. “So… anyone have anything to chat about as we travel?” The sabertooth mage realized that it likely wouldn’t spark much conversation, though, so she took it a step further to ask someone a direct question. “Bill, what’s that thing you have that was talking earlier? It’s magic, I’m assuming…” Aside from her own guidmates, Sylvia had very little experience with the types of magic that existed, so it was natural for her to be curious.

As Sylvia waited for an answer, the group kept moving along at what most would consider to be a reasonable pace for a group like theirs to move. The terrain around them didn’t stay beach-like for long at all; in fact, it shifted to more of an open grassland that they could probably imagine would gradually grow more and more dry as they progressed inland until it was the almost desert-like terrain where they would be meeting the prison guard who would actually escort Royce into Black Vox.

About a half an hour of traveling went by this way on the open grassland. However, it wouldn’t remain that way. When they’d been traveling for so long, something was bound to happen. This time, it was with Royce himself, actually. Sylvia would notice that the prisoner’s pace started to slow and eventually, he voiced a reason for that. “Can we stop for a break!?” Royce called out to the group. “I’ve been sitting in a prison cell for so many years so I’m not used to all this travel, not to mention this pace.” He actually sounded quite irritated that they hadn’t taken a break yet.

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Arriving at the Burnt Beach

While one half of the group was continuing onward, Adellon, Constanze and their newest prisoner were not moving at all. Or, well, if they were, it certainly wasn’t very far and very fast. The fires in the trees had calmed down without any mages having to put forth much effort at all. The flames had been the kind of flames that looked a lot more fierce than they actually were.

As they were waiting, their prisoner did not regain consciousness at all although her body did move once or twice nonetheless. It wasn’t anything to be concerned about and it was definitely a sign that nothing too severe had been done when she’d been knocked out.

Eventually, a small group of citizens from Hargeon peered through the trees that were mostly still intact albeit likely not going to survive much longer. There weren’t too many among them, and there was one in the lead that stood out from all the others. Close inspection of the man made it clear that he was a sheriff; he was an older fellow, likely someone who didn’t pay much attention to the media or any news that didn’t directly impact his job and the things he had to be on the lookout for. That, apparently, did not include reading Sorcerer Weekly because the man clearly had no idea who the two people waiting with the prisoner were. That much was clear by his expression.

The others, though… well, they were all a bit starstruck.

“You folks do know that it’s not a good idea ta be startin’ fires this close to a city, right!?” he scolded them halfheartedly. He seemed more grumpy that he’d had to walk all this way in the first place, though, than grumpy with them. “And who do you got there?” he added with a gesture to their prisoner.

A woman stepped forward, though, seeming surprised that their sheriff didn’t know who he was talking to. “Sheriff, don’t you know who these two are!? That’s Adellon Thrace of Raven Tail and she’s Constanze… one of Blue Pegasus’s mages! They’re probably here because of the events on Ilan Vair, right?” Her voice was slightly over-excited because like most, she’d always dreamed of meeting a celebrity and this was pretty close to that. Actually, given her expressions, it was probably surprising that she’d stepped forward at all. She had, though.

Her question of whether or not she was right was more directed towards the mages than it was the Sheriff though.

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[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

- Inexorable -

​

Viridian looked a bit uncomfortable as her guildmate trailed off. Sylvia seemed put out and Viridian didn't really know why, wasn't the most important thing that the mission was progressing well?

"It's important to have people not assigned to specific tasks as well," Viridian said, after clearing her throat awkwardly. "To better react to anything unforeseen cropping up. In the meant time just stick close to Mr. Obertuck," Viridian wasn't sure her words were really making much of an impact, Sylvia seemed to be happily chatting up the Fairy Tail boy, Bill, Viridian reminded herself. As long as Sylvia remained relatively alert that was really the best Viridian could hope for with her.

More importantly, Royce Obertuck was kicking up a fuss about needing to rest. Viridian frowned but realistically his words were fairly logical, solitary confinement didn't offer many opportunities to walk marathons and Royce was on the older side anyway. Still this could easily be a trick and Royce was too dangerous to simply take at his word.

"I'd rather keep moving," Viridian said crisply. "Fortunately there's a solution that will allow us to do both.

Viridian activated her magic, creating iron parts out of thin air and bolting them together. When she was done a small iron cart, with a single seat for Royce stood before the party. With a silent command the cart rolled over to Royce and a door opened on its side, a small step even unfolded for him. Viridian's dog like contraption also sauntered over to the cart and hopped into the back of the cart and seemed to go to sleep as Viridian disabled it to conserve mana.

"Your carriage awaits, Mr. Obertuck," Viridian said dryly. "Please regain as much stamina as you need while we continue on.

Lady Warlock

 

[AllHailDago]

Adellon P. Thrace​

Adellon was relieved that the rest of the group had departed with enough time to be completely out of sight and mind when the villagers arrived. Though he had to be honest with himself in that he was none too pleased to be here dealing with the fallout rather than keeping an eye on Royce. The fact that Constanze had stayed behind as well didn't sit right with him either. That left the protection of Royce that much weaker. Not to mention the painful under tones of lack of trust. That was something he would never adjust to, no matter how well he hides it from others.

He remained silent until the villagers arrived, led by a gruff looking gentleman Adellon presumed was the Sheriff. He questioned them about the fire and prisoner, and Adellon was ready with an answer. However, something surprising happened next. A woman stepped forward and addressed the both of them by name and guild. Being recognized wasn't what surprised him though. No, what he found surprising was the tone of her voice when she said his name. Lacking in scorn or distaste, it instead sounded like she was... awed to say it out loud. Adellon's pride welled up immediately at that. He must finally be succeeding at fixing the general population's opinion on his guild. Or perhaps people just considered him an exception, a doubtful part of him thought.

He shoved the idea down into the back of his mind and addressed the group. "You are correct, ma'am. That is in fact who we are and why we are here. Though the full details of what and why aren't something we can divulge. However, needless to say we must be hasty about moving along from here. As such I'll be blunt. The fire was set not by us, but by this woman here." He gestured at the unconscious form of the woman from before. "Not only that but she attempted to murder the mages currently assigned to our unnamed task. I believe that is one count of arson and several for attempted murder. Can we trust you to take care of her for us, Sheriff?"

simj26 Lady Warlock

 

[Sugary_Paragraphs]

Bill Erufu
Green knocked out the woman and made a plan, Cloud boy was putting out the fire, and the Raven Tail guy talked about several things Bill severly wanted to snark at, but didn't have the time for....aaand they started moving again.

Also, Gaiden, during some point of the sudden fire, phased out....cool.

And so, they had resumed their trek or whatever further into the forest. Whistling, Bill mindlessly twirled the 5' lever lock key in his hand, throwing it in the air and catching it as if it were weightless. From a stranger's respective, someone of his stature and appearance shouldn't have been able to lift the large hunk of solid sterling silver. But any wizard in Fairy Tail knew that over the years, all of those missions and training sessions involving work in wielding it like a skilled swordsman led to impressive strength being built up.

However, despite throwing what could basically be Fiore's most oversized key over and over, Bill was beginning to grow bored. He hated to admit it, but he kinda wished Gideon stayed. Nothing kept her more pre-occupied than talking to his celestial spirits. Speaking of magical talking entities, one of his fellow party members (It was Sylvia, right?) asked him about that 'thing' that was talking earlier.

"Hm? ...Oh, ya mean Gaiden." Bill shrugged. "Kinda surprised ya didn't know already, but that was a celestial spirit. I could give you a long explanation on their history and orgins and yadda yadda yadda, but I heard that too many times to actually give a shit to repeat it. Basically, find a key, summon the spirit assigned to that key from their world, sign a contract that basically says that they'll come this day and that day, and badda bing badda boom!" Bill snapped his fingers. "Ya got yourself one, or a few, celestial spirits!"

And as to add emphasis, Bill suddenly 'fwipped' out a ring with seven keys, five silver and two gold, all of the, swaying too and fro as he looked at each of them with pride and eerie fascination and holding onto the ring with an iron grip. He either didn't notice the complaints of Royce, or didn't care, but when his attention somehow diverted from his beloved treasures, he saw Viridian build some sort of iron transport. Huh. He turned to Sylvia and grinned widely.

"Wanna see another one?"

Lady Warlock

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