[center][h1][b][color=014E2E]Rhodri Bowen[/color][/b][/h1]

[i][sub]Mountainside Base, South of Sion, Switzerland[/sub][/i][/center] 

[quote=The Lady Soldier]“There will always be more to do. Get us better material and we do better obviously, but even without this, it’s not work that we’re missing here. For starters, I’d really like to swap that for a solid bunker.” She pointed at the tent. “The trenches are getting along well, but we can always dig more of them. Really could use barbed wire though. And it’d be a waste of energy to use our stock to keep some constantly materialized, so we need the good old physical stuff. Also some sandba… Hum? OK, you’re right, too much to move around, that would attract too much attention. No sandbags, then. We’ll just work with dirt, stone and wood.“[/quote]

[quote=The Chef de Cuisine]“Wait a second, that is fine and all, but I heard something about a pot. Are you confident in your culinary skills, signor Bowen? I’d love to see it but be warned, I have high standards. After all, I’m a pretty good cook myself.”[/quote]

[quote=The Francois-Speaking Volunteer]“Oh, first things first, monsieur Bowen will need a guide to go to Sion. I hear it’s a mostly French-speaking town. Are you good with la langue de Molière, monsieur?”[/quote]

[quote=The Peanut Gallery]“Hey don’t try to get a leg up!” Another intervened.
”Ah, mister Bowen, can you get us some cigs while you’re at it?” A fifth one asked.
”Tobacco for me, I prefer the pipe.” The other engineer said over his shoulder.
”Hey, what about some whiskey?”
”You idiot, we said no alcohol until the end of the war! Servants get drunk too!”
”I heard the Swiss got some good chocolate. Oh, and cheese too!”[/quote]

Archer was....certianly a handful, that much was to be sure. Though some of these other questions would already have been answered by the modern day information servants were in possession of, no? They were still a servant collectivelly, after all. Or pehaps the individual wraiths were keen on making their own input regardless of information or situation. Hmm. He had come prepared for one servant and himself, even coming with extra money to ensure his trip was as smooth as he could make it (could be his last, after all), but this scenario still had him a bit off-guard financially with the whole affair. 

He didn't want to be taken wrongly, of course, he still was trying to compromise properly enough to keep him and Archer on good terms, but even then there was limits. 

Did none of the spirits recognize he didn't have the wealth of a small nation under his belt? He'd purchased cigarettes already for them in bulk the other day, getting a few odd looks for it to boot, not to mention the sudden call for pipe tobacco of all things. The barbed wire had taken some work using magecraft to ensure the purchase and more discreet movement of just to get it to Sion and to where they'd set up base at that as well. Archer was technically a small army, and while he wanted to pitch some things their way to show appreciation for working with him too he couldn't get too exhaustive in getting things....both financially, and to keep their location and otherwise a blasted secret for as long as he could manage to do so with magecraft moving forward. 

A sheepish grin came to Rhodri's face as his free hand rubbed the back off his hair, trying to play off the sudden outbursts and situation a little as he kept his head cool. But as it were-

[quote=The Representative]“Enough! Can’t you see you are bothering Sir Bowen? Just make an orderly list of demands. I’ll take care of presenting them.”

His tone was stern but calm. Authority without aggressivity.
The soldiers disappeared, except for the two engineers who went back to their task and the man with the mustache.

“My excuses, they are too used to talking over each other. Oh, and you should expect something similar if you use that link which allows us to share thoughts. Do not hesitate to ask for silence.
On more important matters, we can go whenever you desire.”[/quote]

Ah, he was taking a liking to this one. Strict and an officer, but much like the lady was at least acting like this was a warzone a bit more. Not that humans ceased to be human even as servants, he supposed, but hey it took a little strain off of him to handle things if there were some of these bodies of Archer who could help uphold a command structure. At the same time, however, there were perhaps....certain advantages to having this many bodies and minds to throw at a situation, no? And he'd been thinking about that since the whole affair of Archer's summoning the prior day as well. 

[color=90EE90]"Ay, humans will be humans even when in the container of a servant it seems. A list will be fine. However, it'd be good to have a few of you I can communicate through our link with in a hurry for a number of potential reasons. Especially in case I get ambushed, or a situation where we are trying to coordinate strikes appears. E-t-c~"[/color]

He couldn't have them trying to overcome each other in talking so badly all of the time, it'd make coordination and such far worse for the wear....if even feasible under such circumstances. He had to admit, it was a litle patience-wearing to think about, but all the same he tried to keep a relaxed enough mood about it all. After all, when one traveled all this way to meet death face to face they had to at least give him a nice familiar smile and handshake, eh? 

[quote=The Representative]As he spoke, a motorbike of an old design but in perfect condition appeared besides him. It had a sidecar for one passenger attached. The man put one hand on the handlebar and lifted the other one towards Rhodri as a steel helmet manifested in his grasp.

“Oh, if you have any preference as to who would accompany you, let us know. The Frenchman from earlier, his name is Jules by the way, wants you to know that his offer still stands.”[/quote]

[color=90EE90]"Ah, perhaps I can give Jules some of my backup clothing to wear into town, then, during the day tomorrow. I've had no trouble navigating Switzerland and its lovely lands so far, but it would pay to be prepared and have a second set of hands for grocery shopping, perhaps, if he's good with that an' bein' a potential translator too. Would be more discreet as well.

But to tha' cook who appeared prior, I can say that its a simple big pot stew recipe. Something ta' fill many bellies, keep you warm, and for me be a bit more of a taste of home to bring here at least. I can give him the rundown on the whole thing, if he wishes to be in charge of the cooking of it tomorrow and enough of you are in agreement on the matter."[/color]

Accepting the steel helmet offered to him, and plopping the old-fashioned brain bucket onto his head, the magus went and sat in the sidecar of the motorcycle. Not the most comfortable by far, but it was motorized transportation all the same. A bit of convenience for this servant indeed, though some negotiation on what to do and not do would need to be had. In particular officer talks so he could disseminate more information on familiars and such, etc, for later....well, if they were alive for later, but still it needed to happen it seemed! 

[color=90EE90]"But I'd like to speak to ya' as we travel, if you'd be so inclined. A few thoughts on a couple o' matters or so to share in the meantime, though out of a desire for some secrecy and safety on our part I do have a few things to ask for. Might sound a bit harsh, but ah' want to ask that anyone else followin' us into town to get in spirit form and keep in it unless our hand is forced if possible. No pot shots at stuff, eyes and ears bein' open for trouble, the works.

As for where we're going....well, we're first headed to the Basilica in town. The neutral ground of this war, the Church. Going ta' pay the priest there my respects and stuff for a short bit. Also see there if some of the bodyguard comin' along can get a view of things and observe from that hill a bit, mindin' that its neutral ground and all of course still."[/color]

His tone shifted to somewhat more serious in this last bit of talking for his part, looking to the red-haired body of Archer's with a look that sought to communicate such. He wasn't trying to be 'an ass' on purpose in this case, no he was more than capable of doing that without Archer or this war outright, but as a magus and someone in a new magical warzone there were things he couldn't let to chance or mere whims on Archer's part without saying his piece on it all and trying to keep them in a good direction here. Any bodyguards had to keep a level of discretion, and discipline, for this, else they could get themselves in trouble faster than anything. This was a [u]war[/u], after all, and one wrought by magi instead of just the hands of mundane men and women for that matter. 

Besides, maybe a few of the bodyguards would like heading to a Church, eh? Few more religious folks who'd get some comfort out of it for the first stop while being a protection detail in-town in general. 

[@eugalB]

[u]Going To:[/u]

[center][i][h3]Valère Basilica (Neutral Ground), Sion[/h3][/i][/center]

[hr]

[center][h1][b][color=40FD14]Philoctetes[/color][/b][/h1]

[i][sub]Tourbillon Stadium, East End, Residential District, Sion[/sub][/i][/center] 

It was a cool night by his standards, even as they stood atop one of the spotlight towers observing the goings-on the first night of this Holy Grail War. In some ways, it was almost reminiscent of home, and yet it also lied so far from anywhere he'd ever seen in his life before. Mountains grew and climbed up toward the heavens, only to cascade down into valleys and plains and rain down snow from their mind-dizzying peaks. Ah. In that sense it was a mixture of the new and the familiar, a blending of things that along with barbarian languages and peculiar foods certainly was a step beyond anything from his old life. 

For that....heh, for that he had to thank his master most certainly for bringing him this far. Perhaps once the war was over, he could go find other places and travel about with bow in hand once more, eh? Just not over any oceans. Or to any islands. At least for a while. 

On the other hand-

[quote=Frederica]"...Well, they're having fun over there. Think we should join in?"[/quote]

[color=40FD14]"Eh, and lose our entertainment for the night? Maybe."[/color]

His own calm and level tone seemed for the moment being to partly joke and even tease the same back, a tiny smirk coming to the edges of his lips for a moment while his eyes remained trained on the battle afar that he and his master were watching.

[color=40FD14]"Guy throwing the boulder isn't a joke, doesn't seem to be too serious though, but he's sittin' on a sheep straight outta' Apollo's tastes. Maybe a Rider? Not from Greece as far as I can tell though, at least not my lifetime. Plus the moron running up there might as well be either cocky as hell for it, or he's a Berserker too mad to see past the dangers coming at him if I had to take a guess.

Arrows like sunbeams are coming from the castle too pretty consistently, so I don't doubt whoever's there's the master of the boulder guy. Guessin' as a mage the leyline's giving em' enough juice to just do this almost as much as they want. The other master runnin' with the idiot is-...well he's turned into somethin' lookin' a bit straight outta' Hades' turf, but isn't something from my neck of the woods either.

I'm getting a big sense of deja vu here though, so you might wanna look through my eyes to get a read on those two servants too."[/color]  

Archer knew something about all of this situation he was watching was pissing him the more he watched, the more he observed, the more details of it all he took in. It was on the edge of his tongue, as if ready to roll out with just the slightest prodding of the right words.

There were arrows that bore the sizzling heat of the sun and shone with their radiance, assiling those who dared assault the walls of the castle. Such shafts that, here and now, bore the unmistakeable sign of a certain someone for sure. There was some sort of bulging in the walls of the castle as well, an old human-wrought fortress that seemed to be more than met the eye as mundane construction bulged with the weight of something...more. Didn't take a mage to see that much in his eyes, but neither would it be clear to mundane people either perhaps. 

It was a veritable fortress upon a hill, in the end, defended by shafts seemingly derived from the sun god's that rained down upon those foolish enough to assail its walls. By the underworld, the servant was sitting on a giant-flipping sheep with a white-gold weave of fur for pity's sake! Sunbeam-like arrows and attacks, the giant stupid sheep, like-...like...wait. It all fit together way too good to be mere coincidence at this point in time. The parallels and the pattern were all too obvious, and the evidence was far too real before his eyes to ignore either. 

[color=40FD14]"....[i]Son of a[/i]-"[/color]

Surprise and a mild burst of acute frustration rippled through his tone now as he spoke, but not without reason in this case. Even so, his eyes remained on the situation and oversized bow remained in his hands. 

It finally clicked into his mind just after the entire metaphor did, and the pieces fit perfecctly in his mind. The 'deja vu' of this whole bit he was watching made more than enough sense! A 'city' on a hill that was fortified to hell, some prick invoking Apollo-type shenanigans to fire attacks at people from safety, and all of that nonsense being up on a hill as some idiot charged toward suicidally? It was more than concidence, and something in his gut told him so as memories began to flood back...ones both good and bad alike. At this point, a connection of sorts was clear as crystal to him. 

[color=40FD14]"The oversized sheep. The sunlight arrows. The castle walls seeming a bit different. Everything set up on the top of a hill. Arrows goin' after the other guys without the archer havin' to aim, like they're guided toward em' like that prince asshat's were back in the day. That master is fiddlin' around with [i]Apollo[/i]-type stuff over there for sure, then, and that castle might as well literally be [b]Troy[/b] right now for all we know!"[/color]

Of all the things he had to run into in this war, of all the things he'd end up seeing so far from that place, and he got to see a [u]recreation[/u] of what the others had described of the Trojan War before he'd arrived. It was poetic, in a sense, but his knee-jerk reaction to it all was to heartily laugh aloud from where he stood. Laugh at the irony of it all. Laugh at the tragedy of it all. That master back there might as well have been Paris all over again as far as he was concerned right now, but this time was wise yet scared enough to stay behind the walls this time to fire his arrows. 

How could he not laugh aloud at it all? Ah, but it did get him thinking about things a bit more now too. Still, he worked to calm himself once more, running a hand through his hair before it returned to his bow, before taking a brief glance at his master to see her thoughts on the matter as well. His eyes would, thereafter, return to watching the unfolding battle once more to avoid missing anything. 

Well, at least this time he wasn't stranded on some stupid, even if sacred to one of the gods, island.

[@Double D]