[IC] Blades of Iron Roses: A fantasy Knight RP

[AtomicNut]

Umbra clicked her tongue as she lowered her bow, her eyes narrowing. All those poor innocent horses... and they said she was the one with the short temper. The straightforward of the most senior of the Knights was something disgusting for someone as her, who only shed blood when she really had to. Also, that rabbit folk they had brought with them. Umbra noted, that like the real rabbits, she was vicious. The elf gave a last indifferent gaze at the caravan driver, before deftly jumping off.

There were arrows to recover, and poor beasts to put out of misery. She moved with deft steps, using her knife to give mercy to the poor horses who would never gallop again. She however, stopped upon noticing a single mare. She had a nasty gash, but it was salvageable, so the daughter of the forest focused, and saying a small chant in elven, mended the flesh of the animal. However, no good deed goes unpunished as the grateful animal licked the elf's face.

"H-hey! Stop that!" The haughty elf's voice seemed to break down in embarrasment. "Quiet!" She added, as she finally seemed to settle the beast.

Who then prompted to grab her by the clothes and give her a free ride, much to Umbra's confusion. "Stoop!"

Of course, the distraction of the second most veteran knight being embarassed of a horse masked a much malevolent approach. The she-beasts approached silently, tailing their prey under the confusion and cover. Their targets were strong, yes, but they weren't very numerous. As if they were one, the predators flanked their prey from the sides and...

"Look at that Sult, she's a cute Cal, unlike that vampire of the crypt!" Nero said, absolutely disregarding personal space and manners, while her sister approached the other side.

"Aw, she's upset. I mean, look at those puffy cheeks. I think we should pinch them." Sult added, fire in her eyes. "Almost as cute as our mini captain. But she still wins, of course!".

[VitaVitaAR]

"... I hired some forces to work for me, yes," asked Veileena Cal, narrowing her eyes up at the tall figure of the immortal knight. Her arms transitioned from being folded off her hips, to her chest. "At the very least I'm glad that you're among the number seeking to interrogate me for absolutely no wrongdoing."

Normally, the person who gave you the news that your father was dead was not someone you would remember fondly, even if they had done nothing particularly wrong themselves. However, given Veileena's very public hatred of her father it was not entirely unexpected for anyone who knew about the young noble girl. "It's hardly illegal to hire mercenaries, now, is it?"

From what Fanilly knew of the girl, she was a rather surly, irritable sort. However, she had also expressed support of the Iron Roses, no matter how muted it was, in the past. Her standoffish attitude was perhaps an indication that something was wrong. However, before she could step up and question her about the reason behind her wariness, Sir Gillian had strode forward and swiftly interjected, in a rather... disruptive manner.

She could see Veileena visibly hesitate.

"... I..." she trailed off, clenching her fists. As if sensing her distress, Haelstadt stepped forward, preparing to initiate combat. However, the diminutive girl swiftly waved her hand to stop the huge black knight. "My business is my own and I have no need to answer such a rude request. Maybe if you didn't express yourself as such a stupid bastard I'd be more willing to respond."

The young girl seemed quite shaken, however. Had Gillian mentioning the shards set her off balance?

... If that hadn't set her off balance, the two identical twins commenting on her appearance certainly did.

"I... wh-what? You... what's with you!?" she protested, stepping back and blushing. Haelstadt swiftly stepped in front of the short girl in a bid to defend her from what was a much less violent from of attack.

"..." Fanilly took a deep breath, trying to look past the strange sight and the reference to her as well. "Lady Cal, there is potentially a very dangerous artifact in the wrong hands. If you assist us quickly we can retrieve it much more quickly."

"... My business is my own," Veileena insisted, peeking out from around her knight, "I... I'm not intending to do anything bad or anything foolish like that! It's just... private!"

[ghastlyInc]

"oh? Stupid Bastard am I?" Gillian asks with a hint of amusement. "Well, I cant rightly argue against the stupid part of that, lacking the formal education and other privileges afforded to someone of your standing." He says, words dripping lightly with venom, though dulled slightly when faced with a child. The Sunfields currently attempting to fawn over the girl also helped, Gill having to stifle a chuckle as they attempted to fondle the girls cheeks.

"At any rate, private matter or not, currently from the iron knights perspective we've come across mercenaries you hired participating in the slaughter of a fortress. And though their innocence isn't directly in question at the moment, if we reported back now it would look poorly on you, Lady Cal. Lack of substantial evidence as to their innocence, and by extension yours, and all." He pauses for a moment, eyeing Haelstadt, rubbing his wrist as he remembers the sizable dent he left in Bifros earlier. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with another fight with someone that large.

He suddenly feels a sharp poke in the back, Nori having pressed the hilt of her blade to the small of his back. "Is it common in this land to intimidate cute little girls?" she asks, ears twitching with mild agitation.

Gill sighs, rubbing his head. "Not especially, but given the potential gravity of what she might be involved in, assuming her innocence at her word isn't enough. Not for us and especially not for the people who'd want her to be involved in a scandal of this nature." He says, throwing a look over to Fanlily pointedly. "Our jobs to find and stop threats to Thaln, I'll remind you Bunny boy..."

"My name is Nori."

"Nori then. If it turns out the squirt is in the right, I'll be the first one to bend over backwards and kiss her boots. Knights honor. Till then, she's as much a suspect as anyone else. " He responds flatly, crossing his arms. He knew full well that his actions towards the noble girl weren't exactly in good taste, but the fact remind the young Cal heiress was their only named suspect for the moment.

A look of annoyance flashes across the rabbit woman's face for a moment, as she processes the mans logic. "...Very well..." she grumbles, in half hearted agreement. "But after we conclude our investigation, I demand you honor your promise!" She says, crossing her own arms, an act which came off more as cute than determined.
"....huh?" Gill grunts. "To kiss the girl." Nori rasps, straightening to the full of her height (not that it helped much) " If you are wrong you said you would bend backwards and kiss her boots."

There is a brief pause before Gill gives a small squeak of laughter. "Ab-Absolutely!" He says, between coughing laughs, stunned slightly by the rabbits unabashed faith in the traitors daughter. "I'll even throw in granting her one request, no strings attached." he adds.

Nori turns her attention to the young Cal, "Would this be agree-able to you Lady Cal?" She asks, tail wiggling slightly in agitation. If nothing else, she swore she would show up this brutish young man before the sunset.

[Raineh Daze]

Sir Tyaethe Radistirin

It was very good for Gill that the rabbit had stepped in before someone else had gotten to take him to task for, more or less, insinuating that a child was out to do evil and then using the knights as blackmail. Because of what? Rank and family connections. Irrelevant family connections after publicly disowning the dead bastard and refusing to inter Phoran Cal with the rest of the family.

Instead, the armoured knight decided to try and get to the chase before someone offended her to the point they wouldn't get any sort of answer: "You sent Alette after a shard of metal with instructions to not touch it, so you have to know if it's a Shard of Angroron. So you can tell us who lost it in the first place and help us reclaim the thing safely."

[TheFake]

— Roadside —

After a sharp whistle was sounded his horse walked clmly over to him. Indrau grabbed his cane from behind the saddle and slid his sword into its sheath with a bit more force than was neccessary. He then walked near to where the Sunfield Twins were.

"Whether or not she's involved, I think we need to get moving as soon as possible."

He doubted she was outright lying, given how erratic she seemed to be anyway. The Cal girl had to be involved in some way but arguing was getting them nowhere. The knight leaned more casually on his cane and addressed the group as a whole.

"I think that you should work with us. Neither of us gain anything by staying here, at the very least we can deter any more attacks against you."

[AtomicNut]

Nero and Sult looked at eachother, upon seeing the reaction. Veileena Cal might be trying to put a strong, noble pokerface, as if this is was a politics game, but the reaction she offered to their comments left little question as to what it was really. A girl this easily flustered lacked the emotional detachment and commitment to craft a ruinous plan. Nero looked at Sult, who was in turn eyeing the ring proof of her childbirth, after producing it from her hand. The elder sister smirked thoughtfully, as she knew what to say.

Yes, it has been a while since we did noble politics, no dear sister of Mine? Nero added as she cleared her throat. "Forgive me, but I must speak out of place captain."

"Well, this is not the best of situations isn't it, Veileena Cal? You've gotten yourself caught in the shady reputation of your name. And this is a dangerous game to be played." Nero said, as she hefted the ring. "But two can play the nobility game. I suppose that someone with a noble name should know mine aswell. My name is Nero Sunfield, daughter of the August Duke of Sunfield. Knight of Highest Honors. Slayer of the Barrow Men. Former Captain Founder of the Ravens, and now an Iron Rose under the command of lady Danbalion." She said with conviction in her voice, as she gestured to her own sister, who then presented the Sunfield Crest ring for the noble girl to see. "And this is my twin sister, Sult Sunfield." She continued.

"This has been a tiring day for everyone, and thus, I would like to set the matter of the shard aside. There's little to gain with shady accusations. But... there's much more to gain for cooperation as sir Indrau has pointed out." Nero waggled her finger. "The Cal family has been not in the best lights as of recent, but if they were to accept an invitation from a lady Sunfield to have tea and cakes with them, maybe their position will strenghten. A private meeting, with delicious elven pastries and tea, and our company. No scary Gillians with us." Nero added, a smirk of amusement.

"We can also arrange for you to pet our own bunny girl knight!" Sult cheered as she inched closer to Nori, a mischievous smile in her face.

"Sult, we oughta ask our fellow knight about that before suggesting that. Not that I disapprove, mind you." Nero added.

"So what about it? Why don't you have some tea and cakes with me, my sister, the captain, and we talk about this strange event?" Nero finished, smiling in a reassuring way.

It was then when Umbra, the veteran knight who had been bested by a horse, seemed to approach the collective. A word had unsettled her enough to shake off her particular struggle with her equine admirer. "Elven cakes?! Surely you jest..." She grumped as she inched towards the large knight and the girl, a frown forming. "You intend to loosen her lips with elven cakes? This is unbelievable. I refuse to take part in this nonsense." She added while huffing and puffing away, deciding that she had enough for the day.

[Noodles]

Klaus

Klaus was sitting behind, groggily letting loose a few yawns from the fatigue of the whole trip. For now, she is doing what she is best at doing: slacking off.

"Huh..." Klaus overheard Gillian's conversation a bit, letting out a slight smirk towards how the chat is going. But that girl was like twelve... And he was--- Better not to think too much about this... Klaus placed her palm in front of her face to maintain her chill in midst of her seniors' interesting interaction .

On the other note, Klaus didn't recognize the noble much, the only thing she took note of is that she was younger (and shorter) than she expects.

[VitaVitaAR]

For a few moments, Veileena Cal was silent. The disparate proposals did little to sway her(though seeing that rude knight do her bidding would undeniably be satisfying). Only the fact that they knew exactly what the item in question was managed to shake her. After a few moments of silence, she stepped out from behind Haelstadt once more, folding her arms and averting her eyes, a frown on her face.

"Hmph," she huffed, "Harassing me over this... I guess you have good reason..."

Fanilly was silent. Was the young Noble girl relenting in her refusal to disclose what she had been doing?

"... I hired the mercenaries to retrieve the shard because those idiots at the Mage College couldn't look past their books to realize how stupid they were being!" Veileena declared, her gaze raising back up, her pigtails bouncing as she looked upwards. "Hiding something like that because they thought it was too dangerous? Fine, but why would they think that it was a good idea not to let anyone know in case it was stolen?! A Shard of Angroron isn't something you just shut up about!"

She trembled for a few moments in frustration.

"... There's something bad going on. I've been using some contacts to try and figure out what," she continued, seemingly having calmed herself.

It wasn't exactly as if Fanilly wasn't aware of Veileena's public desires to discover what happened to her older sister. She had promised large sums of money to anyone who could help her discover the truth, though as of yet no-one had been able to find any information to resolve the matter. So hearing that Veileena had been paying people for information wasn't exactly surprising.

"Someone has been steadily weakening some of the magical defenses around the College, especially in the prohibited areas in the lower levels," she continued, "I'm sure Sir Tiral knows what areas I'm talking about, unless he's much more of an idiot then he looks."

Veileena jerked her head towards the mage knight.

"I'd already been worried about what this meant," Veileena added, "And it isn't as if I wasn't trying to research what could be going on. So when one of my contacts said he'd found someone looking for a black shard near the Mage College, what do you think I thought? I'm not some idiot villain looking to take something evil for my own."

She let out another huff.

"But before I could try and arrange a meeting with the College to tell them this, there was an attempted assassination on Princess Eliabelle and the shard disappeared that same night. So I hired the Shark to cut off the thieves and try and get it back, but when something is that evil I didn't want to take any chances, so I went myself to try and catch them if they had already fled."

Veileena paused for a moment.

"And then these stupid bandits attacked me! My plan this whole time was to take that shard and keep anyone else from getting at it, but of course these idiots show up. ... And now I can't imagine any of you will believe me, will you? No, of course not, the daughter of that bastard and all..."

She huffed again.

Fanilly took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what to make of this. The idea that Veileena, someone who had made it quite obvious that she was on the lookout for any kind of unusual information, had learned of something going on at the college wasn't entirely unlikely... but why hadn't the college told anyone about this? Was it because of the nature of the item that had been stolen? Did they fear that they would be presumed to have ill will for keeping it around? From what she understood, the shards of Angroron could not be destroyed by anything less then the divine.

[PKMNB0Y]

Having stood off to the side for much of the... Stupidity that was the last few minutes of chattering, Tiral turned his head towards the Cal as she both mentioned his name and the Mage College. Pairing that with what had been the focus of their discussions thus far, and...

Well, it seemed the cat was out of the bag now, wasn't it?

"Rather than that, Ms. Cal, I would say that your sources are correct," the mage said, dismounting from his horse and walking over to the group to join in the discussion. "You are, however, missing a few crucial details. I was technically under contract to not say any of this, but if things are developing any further in this direction, I shall break that right now. The investigation so far has erased a few missing links, and I am fairly certain this is the case."

Clearing his throat, the ice mage sighed and shook his head. This... This was going to be a hassle to explain.

"The Mage's College has actually had possession of that Shard for a while--at least a decade now, if my memory serves correctly. Someone--I cannot remember who--had delivered something only spoken of as 'highly volatile' for research purposes, and the other magi quickly got to work. They cordoned off the lowest floor and layered barrier after barrier on top of it, in an crude attempt to keep it contained. It went about as well as you'd expect," he began, piecing together the information in his head as he continued on. "Before I joined the Knights, some of the magi working on the project decided to bring me in to help research. Their goal, initially, was to destroy the Shard by less religious means, but that soon changed."

With a grim face, Tiral clenched his left hand into a fist before continuing.

"The power contained in that shard alone was enough to tempt some of the more ambitious among us. Rather than destroy it, they wanted to harness its power--turn it into a weapon to destroy anyone who wanted to cross them. It was at this point that a few colleagues of mine had noticed that the barriers were being corroded over time--it was slow at first, but the pace was rapidly increasing, to the point where there was a visible difference from one day to the next.

I left for the Knights soon after, still bound to secrecy about this entire ordeal. Neither side made much headway afterwards, at least; they always seemed to be butting heads. However, a few days ago I was called in to examine a small hole in the barriers that had penetrated through to the center of the sealing area. The shard then, at least, was still in place, though more temporary measures were used to seal it up until more powerful magic could be used in its stead. Needless to say, today's events prove they failed."

Turning his gaze towards the sky, Tiral took a deep breath before finishing his bit of exposition.

"Once this whole matter is resolved, those two sides are going to go back to fighting. I would recommend someone monitor the College in the near future to try and... Try to keep the civilians away for a while. There's going to be a lot of chaos in the near future."

If his guesses were correct, the culprit was likely on the side that wanted to turn this shard into a weapon... Which technically meant that this was an act of treason just as much as it was anything else. Or, at least, one of the culprits was. No person could execute something like this alone.

[PaulHaynek]

---The Road---

Veileena Cal, the noble girl within the carriage, revealed that she had practically done everything she could to acquire the fabled Shard of Angroron. But not out of evil intent, or so she says, but out of concern that the defenses that protected the dark artifact were waning. Things came to ahead when the Shard disappeared in an incident and Veileena had been searching for it ever since, hiring a mercenary band to help her out.

It was then Jarde disembarked his horse and butted in the conversation. "Sounds like we need to find this Shard as soon as possible then." He then asked Veileena. "Lady Cal, do you know or have any idea where the thieves of the Shard could be or where they're headed?"

[TheFake]

— Roadside —

He stared levelly at the young Cal heiress for a moment.

"Nobody should be judged by their parentage, especially those who choose not to let it define them."

He knew little enough of the history of this shard and only slightly more about the attempted assassination at the palace. Indrau had never been one to pay attention to history in his youth and was only now discovering how invaluable it could be.

His suspicions now rested with Tiral and his silence thus far. To not say anything while the shard was in the possession of the college was to be expected but to hold his tongue even after their suspicions regarding this object came to light was odd. Since he only spoke up after Veileena brought him into things lent some truth to her side of things.

He glared at the mage but held his tongue.

[Noodles]

Klaus

Klaus, while hearing he conversation, recalled The Spear Girl statement that they're getting nowhere, and now she felt that The Shark's statement is true. Until she heard the part of Veileena's family feuds, with the disowning, bastardy. Its not very often within this line of work to stumble upon another person with similar upbringings, thus that young girl had sparked her interests. Biting on her food, Klaus went to the front without any regards of formality in front of a noble.

"Nomm~~ Heh Miss Cal, I'm Klaus, I was a lowborn with no name to claim. I've no Dukes, Counts, or even a family to begin with. In fact Klaus wasn't even my real name, I just took it from someone hehe. Omnomnom--- Gwhere was I, soo we're on the same boats in one way or the other. So how about this, girl? We work together with finding the shards and most importantly, the food. And we will have one less threats to worry about, and the honor of stopping a high treason would be more than enough to reclaim or even usurp your family name, don't you think?"

Klaus finished her food, letting out a somewhat friendly smile despite her rudeness to a noble. She didn't mention anything of her as a former slave, as she is over with that part of her life, and its not worth to mention that in front of so many Knights.

[Raineh Daze]

Sir Tyaethe Radistirin

So the college had been broken into and stolen from... then not reported the theft in any capacity whatsoever to outsiders. If you wanted to minimise the number of people who even knew where to find such a thing then the silence would make perfect sense. Not telling anybody when it happened was the height of stupidity. The number of people that could be exposed to the shard by accident and suffer the repercussions was frightening.

At least it explained where Merilia was today.

"So you cannot offer any further suggestion where the thieves might be headed?"

[ghastlyInc]

“Leave it to a mage to mess with something that should have been left well enough alone....” Gill huffs listening to the half-pint, followed closely by Trial. “And apples and trees...” He huffed quietly at Indrau's comment about parentage. Still, there were bigger fish to fry.

Gill nods to a few of the rank and file knights, barking. “You three. Start searching the bandit bodies please. Doubt they're related to our targets, but on the off chance we might find a map to a rendezvous point. If nothing else, we'll kill a few more of their kind and do everyone a favor. Keep this trip from being a total waste....” The trio hesitantly begin to search. Gill held no rank on them, but it wasnt a terrible idea.

“Cal. While I agree with the general opinion that the mages at the college are largely criminally incompetent here...” he starts, addressing the young girl. “Next time you catch wind of something like this, you should report it to the Iron Roses immediately.” he says, walking over to a free horse, climbing on. The beast resists him for a moment, before begrudgingly accepting its new rider. “Running a plan half cocked as this is bound to get you into more trouble, regardless of intention....as the generous bandit corpse pile might suggest.” The scolding was half hearted, at best. While the girls intentions were still suspect to him, he didnt want to think to hard about what could have happened to her if they hadn't shown up.

“Captain, we should also plan what course of action our order should take if we dont catch the thieves now. The royal scouting guild might be better suited to tracking them than ourselves...” He adds, not liking the idea of going to that group for aid. Something always struck him as off about the organization, but even he couldn't deny their effectiveness.

[VitaVitaAR]

"Foolishness like that," Veileena declared, in reference to the warring sides, "Is why I have no intention of returning it. I wanted to take it and keep it somewhere secret, buried. I'm sure my money could ensure somewhere impossible to uncover would be available."

She sighed. The dark-haired girl gave a short, confused look towards the food-obsessed knight that had approached her, but to others, well... they were treated with some surprise, to an extent. They trusted her, even if her relation to Phoran Cal. Perhaps people finally understood just how much she despised her father.

Fanilly approached the girl once more. There was no reason, in her mind, to suspect that any of it had been lies, especially once Tiral had offered his explanation of events. For that matter... Tiral had remained silent on such an important issue for so long. But now he had at last chosen to spoke, at least, and for the moment Fanilly did not desire to delay with admonishing him for remaining silent.

"As the others have stated, if you have any idea where the shard may be now, please, tell us," she said.

"If I had any idea I'd have already said so," Veileena responded, curtly, her pink eyes glaring back up at Fanilly. Her mood was rather sour at the moment, moreso then usual at least. "And unlike what the great oaf says, my plan was hardly half-cocked. My escort... may have suffered..."

Veileena trailed off for a few moments, her harsh expression softening somewhat. She averted her eyes from the bodies, but shook her head and looked up once more.

"But even if you hadn't arrived, there's no chance those bandits would have succeeded," she continued, "As long as I live, Haelstadt cannot lose."

The black knight simply bowed their head, slightly.

Fanilly gave the black knight a small look. What did Veileena mean? Well... regardless, it was important to look the bodies over. However, Sir Gillian had already said as much.

At first nothing impressive seemed to be on the bodies, but then...

A note that simply described that payment would be given upon the presentation of the 'Cal girl'.

Upon the note was a single, wide, crimson eye.

It was a symbol that anyone among the knights would recognize. It had been on a flag flown five years ago. It had been said to 'see the true evil behind the throne'. The last of those flags had burned five years ago.

The Flags of Phoran Cal's Rebellion.

[Raineh Daze]

Sir Tyaethe Radistirin

It was immediately apparent when Tyaethe had identified the symbol: a wordless yell of frustration followed by a somewhat impressive string of cursing, definitely not the appropriate sort of language to be using around someone of Veileena's age and upbringing. It eventually tapered off into something that could at least be followed, even if not directly addressed. "Five years! Five years of hunting down every traitor to get off of that battlefield with a pulse! Every single one beheaded and there's still vermin crawling out! We should have known that it wasn't over just because we couldn't find any more but we didn't go out and look even after killing the bastards in the mausoleum!"

It was true that, in the interim before Fanilly had assumed command, the knights had predominantly concerned themselves with hunting down those responsible for the loss of the previous captain. It was also true that it seemed that, evidently, all of the conspirators had been hunted down or fled the country for good before they were tried for their crimes. So, naturally, the one that had spearheaded the hunt for Phoran Cal's cohorts was enraged by their continued survival.

Enraged and very much considering just dealing with any living bandits now for their crimes rather than waiting to allow someone with actual judicial authority to sentence the survivors. Tyaethe's hand tightened around her sword as she marched over to the bandit spared earlier, the girl having wisely chosen to not make an escape on a broken leg. Quick, easy, and exactly what she deserved.

But against her vows. A paladin couldn't just go around killing people because it seemed like they were going to be executed anyway. They weren't judge, jury, and executioner.

So, instead, the wounded girl was roughly hoisted up by one steel-clad gauntlet, regardless of any pain that might have caused. "Who's paying you?"

[TheFake]

— Roadside —

Indrau followed the paladin over to the wounded bandit. An outburst like that was out of character and he was expecting trouble. At least she hadn't gone after the Cal girl. The time after he had joined the knights had been dark and uncertain.

Thought shorter than the paladin, he interposed himself between Tyeathe and the bandit. Maybe it was his morals or perhaps his gallantry. Either way he felt the need to put himself between them. Indrau hooked her elbow with the crook of his cane and grabbed the red scarf around her neck, glaring with his one good eye.

"No. Not like this. You're angry and not thinking right. These people were careful enough to slaughter everyone at the fort, there's no way they would be so lax as to reveal their identity to these people. We need to find out where they were meeting."

He pointed with his cane back at Veileena.

"And take her with us."

[Noodles]

Klaus

"Eh...?"

Klaus didn't expect to see the flag at the place & time like this, not when she thought that the Phoran Cal's rebellion has been wiped off years and years ago. Although she didn't really participate on either sides of the war back when she was a mercenary, but she knew that the whole red flag war was messy enough to take a Knight's Captain life. She couldn't really understand how a Kingdom would fight amongst their own people, no matter how she sees it, she felt that its stupid and isn't worth the money.

She wasn't surprised to see the Paladin cursing like that, especially with a war that isn't supposed to happen. She couldn't help to ponder what it would be like when a war like this happened again, and along with the threat of the Angrogon shard, she doubted that there would be another smooth victory. And if they're related with the shards...

"So, shall we have a cup of tea with the Cal Family? They will have to cooperate with us since now we happened to have their flag of that clusterf**k war~"

Klaus got along with the cursing, and for the whole day of searching, the only leads that they have is all with the family of Cal, and she felt really uneasy with that.

[AtomicNut]

Nero made no gesture as her smile faded naturally to a serious frown. Words were exchanged, and the young lady Cal did not even answer her attempt at goading her. Nevertheless the constant poking around brought her defenses down. To think the impatience of a child would pay off in the end with our interrogation. Nero thought, as she watched the scene unfold. She flexed her fist slightly, upon hearing the records of the more-than questionable exploit of the mages.

...Heh, if left alone to their own devices, they could probably would've caused worse. I can't help but believe that by stealing it, they did us a favour to reveal the peril that lurked underneath our very noses. Her factions seemed to react, even become warmer from the briefest instant. That Cal girl... she'd lie if she could not find sympathy for her. After all, she also had suffered something related. Nero sighed.

"You did well, considering the circumstances." Nero let a concession slip by, as she eyed the Cal. "I would still like to have tea with you once this is over..." She added, trailing over off trying to find the complicity of her other half...

Which wasn't even looking at her, instead she was struggling up and close with the giant defender of Veileena, trying to squeeze her figure past the unassailable knight, an extremely concerning look in her face of pure bliss. "Aww, come on I can braid your hair, and feed you cakes like the mini captain and squish your cheeks." Sult said in moan, flailing helplessly.

It was then when, like a shot, Nero's hand gripped something in Sult's head. Her twin sister's ear.

"OWOWOWOWO...LEMME GO NERO! I WANT A LITTLE SISTER." She blurted out, making obvious her true goal. Nero sighed.

"And I want a normal little sister. It's unfortunate neither of us do get that wish." Nero glared at her own sister, when something happened that caught her attention. Tyaethe, the Paladin, apparently had lost her marbles. Not without reason as the bandit attack bore relation to the rebellion of years ago. The elder Sunfield tried to reach her, but with her sister in tow, she could only watch how tensions escalated, after Sir Indrau joined the fray.

And the unthinkable happened. Loosened by a peerless aim and swiftness, an arrow careened towards the back of Tyaethe's head, hitting the Holy Undead with a notorious thud. Immediately, the knight traced the source of the arrow. And there she was, the elf knight, her bow ready in her nimble fingers.

"For the love of your dear Mayon. Get a grip Tyaethe. Smashing one vermin more won't make a difference at all." She added, oozing smugness. It was not everyday that the senior knight was in a position to be patronized, a fact that Umbra capitalized greedily, her elven factions half-cocked in a reassured smile.

You wrecked those poor horses, after all.

[ghastlyInc]

“if you've got tea on hand, pass it to the kid.” Gill says to Klaus, seemingly unsurprised at the discovery at the rebellious insignia found on the bandits. “'s far as I know, she's the only member either not dead, presumed dead, or rotting in a cell somewhere. So co-” The loud twang of an arrow being let loose cut him off.

Nori just stood awestruck at the arrow now protruding out of the undead paladin. “h..How dare you!” She blurts, drawing her sword at the elf. “Were it in my power I'd summarily execute you on the spot for daring to strike a superior officer!” She says, bouncing with a sudden energy. Tail wiggling with unbound fury for all to see. For those not well versed in rabbit communication, it....comes off more cute than threatening.

Gillian, meanwhile, tries desperately to maintain his composure and not fall off his newly acquired horse in a fit of laughter. “R-hehe-relax there rabbit.” he starts, acquiring a modicum of composure. “If that kind of thing could kill the great Radistirin someone would have done us the favor a long time ago.”

Nori glares at the insubordinate knights for a moment before begrudgingly sheathing her weapon. “Now then...we all done with our respective tantrums?” He asks, looking the group over. “...we sure? Cause we've got daylight left. Plenty of time for one more....no? Fantastic. Now then...” He carefully leads the horse over to Indrau and Tyaethe, locking eyes with the currently pinned bandit under the undeads gauntlet. “The lions right, you know. Killing her just to find out who is paying her wont help us as much as finding out where they might be. We've already got the Cal girl as bait for the meet up if need be and its the only lead we have to where the shard might be.” He says, leaning down slightly to address the three of them. “How about this, if she tells us where she was suppose to meet her employer, we'll leave her here. Possibly dying at the side of the road like an animal certainly beats dying with certainty at the capital. Dont you think?” He asks the bandit, flashing a gentle smile that clashed horribly with the brutality of what he was suggesting. Frankly, were circumstances different, he'd have had no problem letting the paladin vent her frustrations all over the poor girls face. But they had a time table to keep.