[center][i][b]Cease Fire[/b][/i][/center] --- And so it went, that the party scattered, leaving Gahrul with Sisera. They traveled to the church, Gahrul lumbering behind. Approaching the front door, they would be able to see two individuals sitting on a bench chatting back and forth before jumping in surprise as they spy Gahrul. “Mein Gott!” one exclaims as they both reach for their weapons. “Ogre! Bereit für die Schlacht!“ Sisera rolls his eyes and raises his hands in annoyed protest. It was difficult dealing with people who were constantly on edge. “No no no. He's one of my Bodyguard's. I'm Sisera of Renalta. I'm here to advise over peace negotiations between the Templars and the Republic. Oh for the Gods sakes, put those weapons down!” They hesitate for a moment, looking between each other, weapons halting half-way out. “Wird er die Wahrheit sagt, denken Sie?“ The other one looks back towards Sisera, dropping his voice, “Möchten Sie das eine zu sagen, 'Tiny' nicht sein?“ The first hesitates, casting the ogre and mage doubtful looks. “Nun, was sollen wir sagen? Er wird nicht durch die Tür passen...“ The second shakes his head and steps forward to address Sisera, “I'm sorry, but your friend, he is too big! He won't fit through the doors,“ as if to demonstrate, he jerks a thumb over his shoulder, directing at the double doors. “Too tall,“ the other nods slowly. Sisera raised his eyebrow and made a very exaggerated “pondering” face. Mumbling to himself, first he looked at the door then at Gahrul and narrowed his eyes slightly before pointing at the door. “Well I guess we'll have to make it bigger now won't we. Gahrul, renovate the door will you? Just try not to tear the whole building down.” The first one to talk lets out a strained yelp of surprise and gibbers towards his companion to just open the doors, “No, don't! Just crouch!“ They struggle to open both of the doors up fully, offering a wide area for which the ogre could pass... As long as he got down first. “Might have to stoop,“ the second grunts, pushing the door the rest of the way open, “Careful of the hangings.“ Of course, it was then that the original finds it necessary to shout out warning, “Groß, dunkel und hässlich kommen durch! Keine Sorge, er ist auf unserer Seite!“ He drops down to a low mutter at his friend, “Ich hoffe...“ Sisera smiled warmly as the guards went out of their to accommodate for the Ogre's size. [i]How absolutely thoughtful of them[/i] he mused as he waltz into the cathedral. Taking notice of the Guard's low pitched murmurs. Something scared these soldiers. Something was up. He just didn't know where it was coming from. Though the “who” part of that analogy could be easily figured with some common sense. He looks at the table before him. This was such an ominous place for a meeting; a dark run down cathedral with the stones practically falling apart. It had to be a pretty barren building when the best compliment he could give the place was the nice sturdy table the diplomats had set up. Which brought him to Taigyn. “It's been too long old friend” he said warmly to the old Templar. Sitting at the table had been only four people. [url=http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i168/TempRhai/image_zps246bd9bf.jpg]Taigyn[/url], leader of the Templar, his second ([url=http://i.imgur.com/k0HnPXp.jpg]Davian[/url]), the leader of the Rheinfeld Republic ([url=http://i.imgur.com/5wv3l9b.jpg]Alida[/url]), and her second ([url=http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/212/d/9/d9901186e047c46979dedda3aee770ea-d599163.jpg]Hanz[/url]). The general atmosphere of the group was strained, only demonstrated by the obvious division. Not only were the leaders sitting on the fair sides of the round table from each other, even Davian being a little distance from Taigyn, the Guard of each group was keeping clear lines between each other, sitting in pews moved to either side of the room as if to keep conference. The only clear lack of tension could have been seen between Taigyn and Alida, the former of which was trying to strike up pleasant conversation, only to be interrupted by Sisera. The Templar leader sits up, cocking a brow at the elder man before letting out a booming laugh, “Aha! In Renaltan fashion, always making a startling entrance! We were not sure what to expect, hearing an ogre was trying to come in.“ He scratches his unkempt beard, a new addition since he had last seen Sisera before standing and going over, drawing the mage into a warm embrace as best he could with his bulky armor. “How are things in Renalta? Is Mikan alright? What of the controversial queens, hmm?“ Sisera let out a hearty laugh as he embraced the Templar, noting the rather striking beard as he gave out a toothy grin. “Mikan is up to her usual shenanigans. Though this time their more..“official” in a sense. And My Sister has never been happier with Alex. Though the Nobles did look a little pale at the wedding ceremony. Can't say I blame them really. Stuffy nobles confronted with two women kissing. I think one of them died before cake was served!” He chuckles lightly as he turns his head towards his Alida. And with a jovial skip that a man as old as he should not have been capable of doing. approaches the young lady, takes her hand and kisses it politely. Before stepping back and giving a bow. “Ah and you must be Alida of the Republic. My apologies madam. Lord Taigyn and I are old friends. I am Sisera of Renalta, Elder Brother to Queen Kouri of Renalta. It is such an honor to meet you finally madam.” He releases himself from his bow. His burn marks either hidden completely from the lack of light or seen even more so when light flowed on his face from a crack in the wall. “ My Sister has heard much about you. And she is very impressed and intrigued as am I.” Davian lets out a scoff, “Elder brother, yet you do not seat the throne even in the face of such a debacle as two women wed?“ He narrows his eyes, looking away and crossing his arms, a few of the Republic shift nervously at that outburst. Alida, however, regards Sisera patiently before nodding her head, “A pleasure, though, I think we all would have prefered meeting under different circumstances.“ Her eyes shift, obviously lacking trust towards the Templar leaders. “I hope the trust of your queen was not misplaced, we are all more than ready to cease the fighting between our factions, we have lost too many already.“ Taigyn nods solemnly, crossing his arms, “It is senseless, truly. We wish the same things as the Republic, so why are we so busy protecting ourselves from each other when we have a far greater common enemy?“ Davian lets out a snort, “Certainly, we all would love to see the Papacy fall, but what of now? You have resources we direly need!“ Hanz lets out a snarl of irritation, baring more of his tusks and leans over the table, “Perhaps if you Templar would offer support in turn. Or truly cease in your time-honored tradition of bloodshed and persecution.“ Taigyn casts a worried glance at the half-orc man and steps closer to the table, “Now, now, Hanz. That was an Order before now. We do not seek to uphold the campaign we once did, we are reborn, not to harm the people but to serve and protect. That is why we are here today, to set aside old greivances and move forward, to a stronger, unified Rheinfeld.“ He looks to Sisera for support. Sisera nods but also grimaces to Taigyn and he paces back and forth, constantly thinking. He was a different man than before. Not nearly as energetic or... strangely enough... happy. “I trust the Morales and leadership capabilities of Taigyn, and I would take his word for things. However, centuries of Templars serving as the Papacy's personal butcher can strain things. Especially since this has only stopped for a decade. People are not going to trust the Templars good intentions when a generation go, Rheinfeld Generals were killing “heretics” left and right.” Sisera eyed the half-orc and sighed. Why does someone always bring the short-tempered one to the diplomacy party.?And looking at Davian, why did anyone bring the Jerk for that matter? “The Templars, despite their new leadership changes, is still and always will be a military order and a military state. Warfare is the name of the game. Fortunately for us, there’s a big fat pig to the west that can be slaughtered. The Papacy; guarded by Mercenaries that it has to import from the Freeholds. An action that is proving to be a massive financial drain. They are at their weakest now!” Sisera sat on the table and looked at both of them with a look that told it all. Despite his outward appearance of friendliness and burn marks. This was a cunning and dangerous man, one that shouldn't be trifled with. “This is a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Weaken the Papacy and restore the Templar's reputation as an honorable organization. One that the Renaltan Government can be more close with on an “official” level. If the Republic gives you the resources needed to wage war against the Papacy, you must be able to give something in return Taigyn. And I think I have just the idea. He turns to Davian and gives him a wry grin, knowing full well he would absolutely hate this idea. “Supply them with top notch military training. Officers from the Templar order can go in and train whatever the Republic calls an army. In return, I'm sure the delightful Alida here will be happy to supply you with the Lumber needed to start a nice big fire... that you can roast a pope over.” Taigyn gets ready to speak again when more of the Queens' Blades begin to arrive, the first of which being Renaldo, Lothar and... He narrows his one eye as he notices the uniform of the woman slumped drunkenly against Lothar. “Alida, it seems you were missing someone before we started here...” Alida looks at the trio and her nostrils flare for the briefest of moments. “Freja! Straighten up and take your seat, what do you have to report?” Freja giggles and pats Lothar on the cheek, “Just thad I found thish dashing man. All clear, ma'am!” Alida leers at the pair, doubting them and the Blades' professionalism on a whole. Davian, however, just chuckles lowly, “Ah, such a wonderful start to this meeting. I trust not all of your ranked officials are so pathetic? We'd just be making our own ranks susceptible to such... ineptitude, if we were to bolster your numbers.” Alida casts him a glare as Hanz leaps to his feet, “Templar scum. This whole meeting is a sham. They're just going to double cross us! Let's get the hell out of here.” It was now that Alhvaharyis and Draza return... Alhvaharyis gets stopped at the door, however, as the Templar mistake his garments for something of the Papacy, doubting his part here. Luckily, Draza, due to her diminutive size manages to slip on by. As she stumbles upon the scene, everyone looked ready to draw weapons, yet her presence seems to relax everyone at least a few degrees. Davian and Hanz both look at the pixie with dropped jaws of confusion, the former commenting, “Ogres and peasants and faeries, oh my... What a lark this is...” Taigyn and Alida both appear with a spark of recognition. “Draza, is that you?” Alida inquires. Taigyn smiles and gestures to the table, “Please, join us. Tt has been some time, small one.” The two look at each other then Sisera. Finally, the Republic leader inquires, “Is she with you all?” “Yes, she is part of a band of merry misfits” He looks at Taigyn and a warm smile comes from the memories of their own little band, oh so long ago. He then looks at Hanz and Davian and sighs rubbing his scalp with his hands. “You know it truly amazing. Right when everything is about to fall apart and the two hot-heads decide to go at it and kill each other. All it takes are some strangers to wander in with a drunk- oh that reminds me! He suddenly turns around and gives a sardonic thumbs up to Lothar “Good job, representing your Queen, what with the Drunk all but married to you!” He lets out and annoyed grunt and turns to face the group of diplomats once again. “As I was saying, all it takes is drunk, some misfits and a fairy to calm everyone down. Which is absolutely wonderful because with all the confusion I was under the impression that we would all be enemies and start killing each other in the cathedral for some poetic irony!” The sarcasm cut like a knife through the room. Oh yes, Sisera had picked up a few tricks this past decade. “But thank God Miss Draza here has reminded me who the real enemy is for all three of us. It's the Papacy, who may or may not have hired some sellswords to aim a crossbow at the back of my skull. Who knows, it may be happening right now. Or maybe to Madam Alida or Lord Taigyn.” He planted his palms down on the table. He was tired of the games, the fighting. Renalta may have been the powerhouse. But it still needed allies and it needed them fast. “So can we stop treating each other as Enemies and focus on the actual enemy? It's insulting to all of us that that abomination of a Government is still allowed to exist.” Those new to the scene would notice many things about the church, aside from the positioning of the two parties. First off, one of the guard for the republic was coming down some stairs and moves to one of the other commanders, giving a report of what they had seen so far. To Draza, it would be clear that that would be the way up to the balustrade from which some of the archers were positioned. Renaldo would take note how the Templar were divided, though, some sitting more behind Davian and others behind Taigyn. Perhaps, though, that was all just simple chance. Of course, everyone could clearly see the wide berth everyone was giving Gahrul. The few people who had stayed in their spots when the ogre came in were slowly beginning to move further away as politely as they could manage. They obviously did not want to be the one to upset the goliath. --- [center][b][i]Here Cometh the Wolves[/i][/b][/center] --- Janelle's lips were pursed into a thin line after Saul's introduction. It seemed she was not overly impressed with the large man, but as Esyllt steps forward a small smile plays over her lips and it seems all is forgiven. She does, however, take note of the woman's laboured breathing. “Captain, please, give this woman some cool water. I fear our climate is not comfortable to most, but at least we are near the coast. Further inland and I'm afraid the vampires amongst you would be hard pressed to find anything of shade.” The captain lets out a gruff grunt and moves to pour a jug of water. Esyllt would notice he has a number of dark bruises over his arms along with fresh scratch marks as his sleeves shift in the midst of pouring. He offers the water to Esyllt, gesturing to the others where the water was if they so wished just as James takes Janelle's hand. For a moment, the Archmagi's eyes seem to glaze over, as if she were not entirely there. When she seems to return to the present, her eyes focus upon the cloak which James was wearing, her lips in an obvious look of disgust, “I wonder... which you identify as more... Petty thief, Ranger, or a Blade... Whatever it be, I request you keep from mysteriously acquiring anything while within my domain... And be more careful.” She draws her hand away, “Whoever is the cause of these deaths of recent, we cannot be sure of what means they employ exactly to bring the death of my compatriots. They were indeed skilled mages and soldiers amidst the victims, not just regular civilians.” She raises a hand, “A handshake, could prove to have dire consequences, child.” She moves away as Jellial makes his introduction to the group, earning him a small smile from his mistress. “I am sorry I could not provide you more information, but perhaps you might visit the lycan pack while you are here. Your blood brother as well. After all, both factions could lead you to the truth in this task of yours...” And finally, with Laenaia, Janelle frowns and draws her shawl about herself closer, gathering a great many thoughts as if deciding what to think. The griffin nearby preens himself, trying to sort out his feathers before Janelle shakes her head. “I would ask you try not to give Fraust here any more reason to be full of himself than he already is. His ego is far too vast already.” With that, she dismisses the vampire, moving on to a table covered with a cloth with something underneath. Turning her face away, she draws the shroud away, revealing the corpse beneath, her face twists in something of pain. An echo of the expression appears across Fraust's face as he stares at the dead man. “This... This was a dear friend, Erlfried. I knew him for some time and he did much to deal with matters here in Port Luclin.” The group can see a great deal of vicious rending upon the body from this distance. From where they stood, it did certainly look like an animal of some sort ripped into them. The Archmagi's lip quivers for a moment, “He is, just one of the many victims, but many of them look much the same as this... Jazrael, a local doctor, has been handling all the diagnostics and reports for the victims. This whole affair, we have tried to keep quiet... I expect you all to do much the same. Unfortunately, rumours of a serial killer does little to keep the populace calm. The fact that it could be an individual of two groups openly despised by some... Well, it could spark a great hostility towards both factions that could only spread...” She frowns and steps away from the table, closer to Fraust and lightly places a hand upon his back. “I will not lie, Tuleria is not too far from a civil war. There has always been a conflict between the lizardfolk tribes and another faction here in the country. Furthermore, one of the Triad, Varro, he has not been right lately. Yet, I cannot act against him.” She looks over all of the group, “If you have a chance, Varro has been campaigning within the city, talk to him. He has been investigating this matter himself. He may be able to provide more insight to you, especially since he was once a member of the tribe here.” She seems to hesitate, looking them all over before taking a deep breath, “He is touched in the mind. I fear madness at best, foul play at the worst. If you could, while talking to him, pry deeper... Perhaps find the cause... It would be a great service to this kingdom and I would be indebted to you all. Please, do not mention this to him. I fear he is a mite troubled and to hear of any interference of my own might... Cause repercussions.” With that she nudges the griffin who rustles his wings for a moment before beginning to walk out of the building. “I will be taking my leave, now, but any further questions you may have... The captain and his subordinates here can help you with anything you need.” She takes after Fraust, with one last mental thought towards Jellial, [i]'Be careful, young one, I have lost greatly already and I fear my own actions if you were to perish as well...'[/i] As soon as the Archmagi leaves, the captain seems to find his tongue, clasping his hands together. “Would anyone like a closer look at the stiff, or can I put this poor sod away? Yes? No? Anyone?”