Fanilly, taken off-guard by the spontaneous offer of a baked potato, stared at it in blank silence for a moment before shaking her head. "Er, no, no, not now."

She waved her hand. Now was certainly not the time for her to be snacking. It would look completely irresponsible, and beyond that it was hardly the time for anyone to be. But before she could protest, Tyaethe made a comment about the lack of... well, anything. Fanilly nodded. "You're right... if we're too late..."

A pang of guilt came at the prospect. If they had been too late, if the fort had been taken... ah, even if they hadn't known until the messenger's arrival... It was hard to avoid feeling guilty at the prospect of failing those who had made a cry for assistance in the end.

Fanilly was dragged from her thoughts almost immediately when they drew close enough to make out more details about the fort. The first and foremost among these details was what had been done to the reinforced wooden doors that would bar entry to anyone but those using siege weaponry or potent magic. They had been destroyed, splinters of wood scattered across the ground, one of the doors even smashed off its reinforced hinges and lying on the ground. And within...

Corpses.

The bodies of the soldiers who had occupied the fort were visible, now. Not all of them, but enough to make it clear what had happened. Bodies lay strewn across the fort's open entryway. They had died through various means, more and more discernible as the knights approached. Some had been stabbed, others riddled with arrows, some burned... and some seemingly hit with extreme force, limbs at odd angles. Whatever the case had been, the fort's soldiers had been absolutely massacred.

And inside, Fanilly could see a man wearing Thaln's colors frantically raising a crossbow. Spurring her horse on, she tried to get to his assistance...

A crimson spear pierced his chest before he could even aim.

"You had a plan and you threw it all away for that?" said a voice, as the spear's wielder came into view. It was a strange tone, somewhat... squeaky in a way that might be endearing if not for the situation. [url=http://vitavitaar.deviantart.com/art/Alette-the-Shark-pose-redo-617937172]The wielder's appearance was that of an extremely pale girl with dark blue hair, her eyes noticeably crimson. The armor she wore was light, leather, overlapping to provide better protection[/url]. "What a wasted life."

Almost immediately, Fanilly drew her sword.

"Drop your weapon immediately, or the Iron Roses will kill you where you stand," she said, her tone cold and piercing. This girl had just slain a soldier of Thaln right before their eyes. If she did not immediately surrender, her execution would be immediate rather then after imprisonment.

"... Ah?" the spear-wielding girl looked up, resting her weapon on her shoulder. "... Ohhh, those Rose knights, huh? Heh, your captain's just as cute as I heard. I wonder if that's why you all follow her so closely?"

In spite of the situation, the leather-clad girl grinned.

"You don't have to be so pissed off," she continued, "These aren't the noble soldiers of Thaln you think they are, or whatever crap like that. Just go inside and you'll see what's really going on."

This was... they weren't Thaln's soldiers? But they were wearing the colors, the armor... what was going on? To Fanilly, it sounded like a trap.

The blue-haired girl sighed, cocking her head. Her pigtails bobbed. "What, are you going to attack me?"

She snickered. If they had taken this entire fort, there were surely other fighters somewhere around here...