Group One - Two Days later Daytime Afternoon - Capital: The Capital was bright and vibrant and full of life as the Emperor's castle loomed over them. There was the typical amount of peasants roaming about off to their jobs or pedaling wares. Luckily for the group at the capital, Yosuke and Apophis, even though they opted to not ask for his contacts list he had sent a messenger bird ahead to one of his contacts there and they had sought the two of them out. It was one of the clerks for a bank that then nobles went to frequently and he had taken them to his home. He had stated to them that 'he worked for the Salvation of the Empire' and that the man they were after was a true piece of scum. He had been racketeering and making profits off drugs that he sold to the poor at ridiculous prices preventing anyone from getting out of the slums. Worse yet he had been burning down offices under the guise of a street gang that had taken an anti-government stance. His name Daisuke and he was the typical looking banker with suit and all. [color=f9ad81]"You two are lucky that...our friend had the foresight to call ahead to me you'd two would be lost without me. Did you even have a plan on how to get that fool's attention without knowing his sweet spots?"[/color] Daisuke grumbled to the duo as he led them along. He had stated they were free to leave his side if they chose to but he wouldn't take them back if they did so. He had done this out of his obligation to the organization. [color=f9ad81]"Tell me what do you think of the capital? Nice looking place right? Wrong. You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and fools. This place disgusts me."[/color] Daisuke grumbled to them as he pointed out a nearby young girl in the corner and told them that girl was a underage prostitute and that she was run by a pimp in the nobility. And then he pointed out Imperial Patrols in the corner talking to a merchant. He informed them the...glorious and precious Emperor's financial minister took 'taxes' from the merchants directly. [color=f9ad81]"The Empire we once knew...it doesn't exist."[/color] ---- Group Two - Two Days Later Late Afternoon near dusk - Near the Military Base: After leaving the compound Sol and Nako had stumbled onto another member of Salvation on his way back from a mission. Klyde was a former Imperial Cadet whom had been recruited by another group of Salvation but had been assigned to their sanctuary instead. Nako had taken command of the group and had led them through the dense mountains where they came upon a summit that was heavily guarded. They had scaled a hill on the other part of the mountains. Nako had decided not to press her luck and advance forward. The guards wore common leather armor and looked relatively untrained. However if one of them got word out by a horn or something they'd be out of luck with stealth. Nako disliked luck and had found out the hard way it was an actual thing. Fate was such annoying mistress or master. [color=ed1c24]"From what I see we won't make headway breaking through the gate. It's been reinforced since they got here. A frontal assault would be poorly executed and it'd be risky. Night is coming soon we should find that tunnel Xerxes told us about and do our best to make sure it isn't booby trapped. If we can't we need to quickly kill the guards on top of the guard towers and climb the walls. I brought a hook and some rope for that but I'd prefer not to use it. If we don't get up quick it will be pointless as they'll just drop a rock on our heads or push the hook off."[/color] Nako said as she scanned the fortress. The guards on the route up were chatting but the guards on top of the wall were stalwartly looking out. It was only because of a conveniently located small cave that the group had been able to keep from being noticed. They had found one of the exits on the way up to the base of the mountain they had climbed. [color=ed1c24]"I hate fortresses...any other options i'm not thinking of?"[/color] Nako muttered grimly as she considered the odds of actually getting this done. ---- Group Three - One Day Later - Forest - Tracking Danger Beasts: Kotaro had taken Sayuri and Natsuo on one hell of a tracking spree as he had found large foot prints and blood trails that had allowed him to track the beast's habits and movements through the jungle. They were spastic and random as far he could tell and the fact that the beast moved around a lot would be a huge bother. However they had managed to find a recent trail that had led deeper into the forest. The trail was fresh and that meant they'd find the beast soon enough. [color=fff200]"I hate these forests...watch the trees. Watch the ground. The smallest movement get ready for a danger beast. They could be anywhere and we're in a remote area. It's kill or be killed be as brutal as you need to be or be prepared to die."[/color] Kotaro said as he traced a faint sign of a trail dragging on the ground as his eyes darted back and forth occasionally. Natsuo groaned as he kicked a tree in boredom causing Kotaro berate him for making noise as Natsuo flatly apologized bored out of his mind. The hot, wet, and muddy forest had been successful in doing everything to ruin his mood and not give him any actual proof of danger beasts. Natsuo almost tripped into the mud when he foot got stuck in a sudden pot hole as he barely caught himself by grabbing onto an nearby low hanging tree branch. [color=0072bc]"Should've went to the fort...should've done anything but this mission."[/color] Natsuo said as Kotaro ignored his statement.