Octo

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Lirrah shivered a little as István approached. He was still big and scary, and more than that, Lirrah had seen the zest with which he inflicted violence during combat firsthand. It was difficult to reconcile Cadmon's words of his wisdom with István's animalistic brutality, but people had different facets.

And István's violence was on their side.

If anyone would enjoy her flasks, it would be a violence-monger like István. Of course, Lirrah didn't enjoy the agonized screams of melting men one bit, but carrying acid covered a critical weakness in her ability to do harm. Heavy armor was difficult to deal with, and so she came up with a practical solution just in case. She was about to hand István the flasks, when Cadmon interrupted. He wanted them for free, did he? Lirrah smiled up at the young noble.

"You appear to have me at a disadvantage, Lord Demet," Lirrah said, words sticky like honey cake as she weighed the pros and cons of the young man's suggestion, "truly, you did help me a great deal. Lady Hraesleg will tell you that I do not forget a debt. Though did not know we were friends, I very much welcome your companionship. I am still very new to these lands, you see."

Lirrah blushed ever so slightly entirely on command, putting her palms to her cheeks as if nervous or insecure.

"It can pe very difficult for a young Nem woman all alone, without any of her old friends or contacts, you see," she recited wistfully, "so you understand, even for a friend like you, Lord Demet, free goods can pe difficult. It may set an unhealthy precedent for future friendships, put..."

Lirrah handed her satchel to István, and gave Cadmon a demure smile.

"You may have the rest of what I carry, my friends," she finished. The acid and explosive flasks were not cheap, but she had determined that the benefit of a young Lord's friendship greatly outweighed the cost, "and furthermore, if you enjoy my product's efficacy, I will offer you poth a 15% discount until the end of the week. They do not go pad, so it may pe wise to stock up. I am confident in its quality!"

Lirrah was hungry for a negotiation. A real one. But that was not to her benefit, at the moment. In truth, most soldiers tended to be wary of dangerous flasks. For good cause. They were designed to shatter on heavy impact, so if a soldier was to carry them into battle, they could end up killing him if he got hit. If István made a good showing on the battlefield (which Lirrah figured she could count on), she was likely to get many more orders than the few flasks she carried on her.

"Oh... and do pe careful not to let the flasks shatter on your person. Try to throw most of them pefore entering the fray."

Lirrah was going to warn them about splashing as well, but Kayliss took care of that. She seemed to have used acid before, which was heartening in a morose way. Lirrah felt a little vindicated.

"Yes, make sure there are no allies near the enemies you target. Put if a few are clustered together... I have seen acid splash into nearpy opponents' eyes and onto their hands, rendering them incapaple of posing a threat. The screams are disturping, though."

It was something of a gamble. The goodwill she might or might not earn with a Veltan Lord could not be easily quantified at the moment, but if István enjoyed her product as much as she thought he would, she'd probably be seeing some orders by the end of the week.

With that business conducted, an awful taste in her mouth for giving someone something for free despite the benefits she might reap later, she took Roger's order as well.

"Hmmm... I have not yet tasted horse meat. Is it like camel? I will pring a variety of spices. Perhaps you would like to experiment, and I would certainly enjoy trying some myself. Oh, and give me any meat you do not use. I will make jerky later, with whatever spices we find that work."

Lirrah did enjoy trying new things, though she found Veltan cuisine as a whole woefully under-seasoned. If horse meat was tasty, she'd probably try making it in a Nemish style. Or perhaps she'd try combining the flavors of Velt with those of the Nemlands and see if she couldn't create something delectable.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Lirrah would have jumped at Kayliss' sudden appearance had she not been carried, but let out a surprised squeak anyways. What an awful thing to do to a woman who had just been scared half to death! Lirrah was enough in control of herself at this point to mask her venom, her expression remaining unperturbed, but she took a silent note to gouge the woman ever so slightly later.

Kayliss disappeared just as quickly after delivering a couple of opinions, and as she turned away, that doll was quickly thrust into Lirra's tiny arms bu the Hundi. The doll was maybe a little over half her height, but it was light enough for even her to carry. Gisela reassured Lirrah, but she wasn't exactly a calming presence.

"I... I see," murmured Lirrah, examining the doll, "she's rather cute, isn't she? I do not know what penefits you speak of, put you are the expert."

At least the mage knew of magic, even if she had the social grace of a wet dog shaking itself dry in the sitting area.

"I will care for her, then. I do not plan on pushing myself any more tonight, after all," she continued, looking up at Cadmon who was apparently growing uncomfortable with the daisy chain that was beginning amongst his 'cargo'.

Cargo. Lirrah didn't like that designation. It made her feel like dead weight. Like something so helpless it had to be carried. Well, maybe that was the case, but Lirrah was feeling well enough not to burden the noble any longer. She was going to complain, but her words seemed to have stirred some memory in the young man, and Lirrah listened intently to he and Velvetica.

She did not like what she heard. She knew, of course, that her wanderlust would take her to scary places too, but they seemed so far away. Slavers. A people whose tradition was so unlike her own and the Veltans that she could scarcely believe that a cultural moral scale could swing in quite that direction. It seemed awful to her, and abominable to the others as well. Still, when Urden said she could keep the coin, Lirrah somewhat self-consciously pocketed it. The gold of slavers spent all the same, and even one gold piece was not an inadequate sum.

Ila-Nem had always warned her people to avoid scary things, almost like a doting mother. Lirrah wondered if she was disappointed in this troublesome child, who was so quick to flee her bosom that she inadvertently ran into some of the scariest things in the world in a single night. A punishment? A lesson? Lirrah considered this for only a moment. It was far too narcissistic, even for her. Lirrah gently prodded Cadmon, hoping not to offend.

"Lord Demet, you... may let me down now. When I said I would not push myself any more tonight... I think that includes fighting slavers. I will pe fine. If you would like some explosive flasks to scare the horses, I have a few left over. I will pill the Lions for them later. Oh... and the acid I carry is good against armored opponents," Lirrah said, unintentionally beginning to ply her wares once more, "it gets in petween plates and purns through leather and cotton. Most heavy armor cannot pe easily removed pefore incapacitating pain or death, so there is almost no way for someone in heavy armor to get it off of their skin."

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Lirrah's mouth fell open when Gisela casually introduced this doll to her. Was it a spawn of Tabitha? Was it sentient or sapient? Magical? Was it dangerous? Parasitic? Lirrah had so many questions to the world's most barebones inquiry that she didn't know where to start. Oh, wait. She did.

"Is it... s-safe?" Lirrah asked, eyeing the doll warily. She assumed it must have been vetted by the magician, or else it wouldn't be offered to her, but she would feel more at ease with a 'yes'. At least it looked cute, but so did Tabitha, and her experience with that woman was far less than pleasant.

"And... do you mind if I ask why we have it? Uh, her, I mean."

Lirrah was inclined to believe that Anisette would be implanted in the Lions to spy on them, or detonate at a key moment, or mind control someone, or...

But logically, if Tabitha wanted to accomplish any of that, she could probably do it regardless. She wouldn't have to send some suspicious doll along and risk everyone finding out her plan. Maybe it was the second part of her vague test. Maybe they'd be judged on how well they took care of her doll.

Or maybe, because witches were truly incomprehensible creatures, she really would just explode.

But the more information Lirrah could get before agreeing to take care of her, the better.

As Lirrah was working out all the things that could go wrong, Urden approached she and Cadmon. Lirrah was visibly unimpressed with the mercenary's joke (she was an adult, for Ila-Nem's sake), but when he brought out the coins, they were very much speaking the same language.

Something she was good at. Something she could feel useful in regards to. Currency. She visibly lightened a bit, as if seeing an old friend after a family tragedy. Hope.

Cold, hard hope. Lirrah inspected the coin.

"I don't know where it's from. I care more apout the value than geography, and I know that it's a pit weaker than the Lipran. 0.83, from my last transaction. You'll notice that their gold coin is a pit smaller than the gold lipran, indicative of a marginally poorer locale. I rememper... those that transacted with this currency had a taste for red-painted armor and praided hair. Easterners, I think, put there is still much of the world I've yet to see."

Lirrah sighed, wistfully imagining for a moment the places she would go when this was all over. She had to find a way to make her life last longer, so she could see all of it. The whole world...

It would be hers to conquer, one day.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Lirrah quickly found herself saved from yet further humiliation by Cadmon of all people, as the young noble snatched her up before she could take a blubbering spill on the ground. Given that the man had only a few hours ago suggested using her as bait, she found it something of a surprise that he was attempting reassurance. He'd always struck her as the aloof, everyone-is-beneath-me sort. Self-importance and nobility tended to go together like fruit and cheese. What did he have to gain by being nice to her in this instance? Lirrah was, by her own estimation, among the least important people in the camp.

If he thought this would get him any discounts...

Ah, but even this train of thought was too much work for the exhausted Lirrah. The Nem merchant found herself slack and lifeless in Cadmon's arm, wishing only that the night could be over sooner. Though when the day came around, she'd have Yrrah's flame to deal with. Brutal taskmaster, unruly Sun. In whose hand was her awful whip held? Could Reon give her no respite?

Lirrah looked up at Cadmon, the tiredness plain in her half-dead eyes.

"István said that?" Lirrah asked wearily, taking some comfort in the implied sympathy of the scary-looking coffee fiend, "he doesn't seem..."

But what could Lirrah say? All she really knew about the man was that he liked coffee and apparently relished bloodshed to some degree. Perhaps her prejudgements were unfair. Lirrah shook her head as Velvetica came up behind her. Velvetica's disappointment had been expected, though being referred to as a "Lady" caught Lirrah off-guard. If it was anyone else, Lirrah would assume she was being made fun of. But if it was sincere, then that meant Velvetica respected her on the level of nobility. Given her recent cowardice, however, that was difficult to reconcile. What could one make of her words?

All Lirrah could do was nod in shame.

"Y-yes, Lady Hraesleg. My apologies for causing trouple."

But wait, something she said to Gisela struck her as odd.

"Um... w-what doll are you talking about?"

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

The Hundi patted Lirrah's head, helped her to her feet, and then wandered off. Lirrah would marvel at her lack of social grace if she was in any mind to, but she really wasn't. Still in shock, she wordlessly took Cadmon's... wound rag? He was right, it certainly wasn't a nice handkerchief, but what else could she expect? As she dried her tears and blew her nose, staining the rag with blood from the raw tips of her fingers, Kayliss approached. Before she could reply to Cadmon, the woman interjected with something about bringing civilians along to battle. A small slight against Lirrah. She knew it.

Lirrah bit her lip. Even if she wanted to list all the things she had helped with, every last accomplishment would be dwarfed under the words "desertion" and "cowardice". She had been huddled over crying, and nothing she'd done before and nothing she might do after would change that. As far as her latest client was concerned, she was a poison supply.

As Lirrah was searching for words, which for once wouldn't come, Irian approached as well and tried to reassure her.

Lirrah wanted to be reassured. She wanted to feel better. But she was feeling crowded. Usually she thrived on attention, but now it felt patronizing. Her eyes began darting again, from person to person, wondering what they were really thinking on the inside. It was hard to feel like they weren't all really looking down on her, even if they weren't. Even if they were only trying to be nice. Lirrah started breathing heavily again, and then shook her head roughly.

"I... I have to get out of here," Lirrah choked, turning to bolt. She was an excellent runner. Even the Juyuem could scarcely keep up with her. It was something she could normally take some pride in, only not now.

But at the very least, her legs would carry her away from her shame.

...If they didn't still feel like gelatin.

Lirrah got only a few paces away before she tripped over herself and set to skid across the rough, dusty stonework.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Lirrah only cried harder as the emotionally unavailable Hundi answered her distress in a dismissive deadpan. Her tears and snot seemed to magically evaporate before they even reached Gisela's robe, as if the woman's garments were a symbol of her inability to be phased by the little Nem's plight.

Ila-Nem, she was the worst at emotions.

Lirrah shook when she heard a voice address her from outside of her magical cocoon, and turned quickly to regard Cadmon with a pathetic teary-eyed, snotty-nosed, hiccupping countenance that she would show to no person by choice, but there it was. Even the lethargic noble that felt fit to use her as bait was concerned for her well-being, if he wasn't being sardonic. Could she get any lower?

"I... I..." Lirrah managed to choke out before she heard a loud CRACK from the other room. Then, the sounds of battle died out, leaving only an eerie silence. A good deal of the terror animating her body with the nervous rigidity of a scarecrow left in an instant, and her limbs turned to gelatin as she collapsed in a mess on the cold floor.

"Some fresh air... would be nice..." she croaked.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

The Hundi's terse question snapped Lirrah out of her anguished reverie, and she jumped in surprise like a cat that had just noticed the world's most terrifying cucumber. She landed on her butt, but managed to catch herself before she fell completely backwards, her arms shaking as if the hands that propped her up were the only things between her and a great fall.

A mountainous fall.

She whimpered as she looked up at the Hundi, her red eyes constantly tracing the room, pupils massively dilated. She wanted to ask if the fight was over, but she knew that wasn't the case. She could still hear the sounds of battle. Could she even speak? Lirrah tried to say something, but her throat closed up. She just looked at the mage, mouth agape like an imbecile, looking for all the world like the coward everyone knew she was.

Then, crying like a lost child, Lirrah desperately grabbed for the hem of the Hundi's robe, and would go on to sob on Gisela's clothes if not pushed away.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Lirrah couldn't much answer Irian, and could only sputter unintelligibly in response to his trying to comfort her, but she appreciated it all the same. She wanted to close her eyes. She wanted to deprive herself of one sense to mitigate the flood of information that was turning her brain into soup, but every time she tried, she imagined that danger would pounce on her and catch her unawares. Her eyes were her only weapon against the fear, but also her greatest weakness.

The Lamia, it appeared, was looking back at her on occasion when there was a lull in the combat. What did she want? Maybe she was looking down on Lirrah for being a weak coward. Perhaps she was disappointed in how pathetic the tiny merchant really was.

Well, Lirrah had come all this way. She'd helped out a lot. She'd done more than anyone could have expected, so ducking out now should be completely acceptable, right? Why was everyone always looking down on her?

Lirrah's perfectly polished and manicured nails raked the stonework beneath her, roughly chipping and grating as tears fell from her eyes.

The night, as a whole, stretched her thinner and thinner over the proceedings, and this was the breaking point. First, she was only illuminating the enemy. Then, she was shooting them in the back while they fled. Then, staking her life in a potentially trapped tomb. The Witch? Ridiculous. It was too much for her tiny Nem heart, especially after all of the other things. She'd snapped, and now all she could do was claw at the ground as paranoid thoughts ran through her head about how everyone she had gotten to know in the Lions would hate her. That is, if they got out alive at all.

How could they all be so brave? How were they not clawing at the ground in anguish? Not rolled up in a whimpering ball? It made Lirrah feel like the odd one out, but this wasn't normal. There had to be some madness behind their courage. Some failing that somehow made her cowardice acceptable. But the woman who saved her life was heading up the charge, so if they were the flawed ones, what did that make Lirrah?

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Lirrah's body practically vibrated, twitching like a nervous rodent as Irian prepared himself. Lirrah tried to catch her breath, but couldn't. She breathed in and out rapidly, but somehow felt like she was suffocating. As Irian's quiver glowed, however, a small part of her panic was assuaged. He weaved magic into his archery. That would surely be a boon. More than Lirrah could do, certainly.

Her surprising speed, and Irian's swiftness in turn, would bring then quickly back near where Lirrah had fled. Her arm trembled as she pointed towards the chamber, where the sounds of combat still echoed. She tried to explain the situation better on their short trip back, but mostly ended up crying and sputtering. Then, as if she had just run twenty miles without rest, Lirrah collapsed to her knees well outside of the combat area.

Despite her selfishness, her manipulative nature, and her cowardice, she really did want to stand with the Lions.

But her legs did not listen to her heart.

"T-this... a-as far as I... I can g-go," Lirrah wheezed through her pained hyperventilating, "h-help them... I would... g-get in the way... t-this time."

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Lirrah swallowed heavily as the Witch giggled, but the smile never left her face. What did she mean by that? If she was going to make any Nem into a doll, she'd want Lirrah, wouldn't she? Lirrah was simply too cute and amazing, and would make too fantastic of a doll to pass up. Lirrah slowly backed away. Her negotiating didn't pan out quite how she wanted it to. If anything, it probably made her seem an appetizing plaything.

As Velvetica and Tabitha continued to talk, a few things came to light, but Lirrah was a bit more concerned with making herself look very small and non-threatening to give the words much credence. These tidbits were thoughts for later. Thoughts for when they weren't right in front of a super powerful doll woman. Still, things seemed to be calming down.

And then, when things were at their calmest, the storm broke out.

Sworn to Velt? Test your resolve? Lirrah nearly had a heart attack creeping through an empty tomb.

And Lirrah was no Lion.

The moment Tabitha's murder-doll sprang forward, Lirrah bolted. What could she do? A few plans ran through her mind, but they were all filled with so many uncertainties that she dare not even try. Acid was the only thing she had that might work, but the splashback might hurt whoever was engaged with it. Her experience in Nem archery made her a prime candidate to gum up the doll's joints with arrows, but she didn't know if she had the power to put an arrow into what she assumed was some sort of magically-enforced material. She was a slightly above-average archer with average gear.

But she did know of a better archer who might have better gear.

When Lirrah sprinted, it was glorious. Her stubby legs somehow carried her farther and faster than almost any Lion. Lirrah was always very proud of her speed, though that speed couldn't really be turned into power or competence on the battlefield. She jumped, slid, and rolled across the ancient debris like water flowing through a creek, never losing speed, and called out for Irian so as not to lose any time. They needed his help, not hers.

"IIII-RIIII-AAAN," Lirrah's terrified squeak echoed through the hallway, bursting through the entrance where the Elf was keeping watch, "THERE'S A WITCH! NOT FIGHTING! MURDER DOLL IS FIGHTING! SHOOT! SHOOT SCARY BLADE DOLL! NOT WITCH! NOT SHOOT WITCH!"