Crimson Paladin

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri's attack worked. Nicomede's magic shattered the flask mid-flight, the liquid splashing on Jarde. Damon moved to shield his exposed face from the water, and in doing so he let himself go from Jarde and opened himself up to a counterattack by the young knight. The resulting blow did not appear serious, but the holy water covering the blade ensured it'd cause Damon more trouble than a normal stab wound. Most importantly, the vampire was injured, distracted, and was no longer in a position to use Jarde as a human shield. In other words, it was the optimal time to strike.

Nicomede was also charging, and was currently using his water sorcery to recover some of the holy water to form into a weapon. Fleuri couldn't help but be impressed with the man's aggressive use of Mayonite magic; he had always sort of written it off as weak as an offensive weapon compared to the fire magic of the Reonites. He wouldn't subscribe to that misconception anymore.

Fleuri raised his sword, careful as to not strike the tomb ceiling, and swung a diagonal downward blow aimed at Damon's neck, intent on ending this with a decapitating strike. The knight would have preferred to strike the neck at a shallower angle, but with Nicomede and Jarde also attacking, there simply wasn't enough room to swing his claymore horizontally. This time, he wasn't going to give Damon a chance to pull himself together. If the attack was successful, he would use his remaining flask on the stump.

@Krayzikk@VitaVitaAR@PaulHaynek

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

The journey to the girl's village was so far uneventful, although Novak felt a bit of concern at her mention of this "Kyrinth". Still, she didn't seem particularly worried about it, so it probably wasn't worth worrying about. Unless, of course, the girl's evident boredom with her life and sheltered lifestyle had eroded her sense of self-preservation. What was more worrying was the presence of more of those iron-beaked birds in the area. Fortunately, they didn't seem to carry the same aggression as the ones that had attacked the trio earlier, and Lazirha paid no heed to them. Perhaps it'd be wise to ask about them when he had the chance.

Novak glanced at his companions, satisfied that he at least knew their names now. The fox girl was called Misaki, and and the small of stature swordswoman went by the name Oda Nobunaga. That name sounded familiar, he thought, but he couldn't place why. It couldn't be from his life, for those memories were well and truly gone. Was it someone he knew of, a piece of knowledge from his previous life?

I need to find somewhere safe where I can sit down, reorganize, and make sense of what's left of my mind, Novak thought as the girl's town came into view up ahead. The sight of civilization brightened his spirits considerably, and he looked forward to being able to sit down and spend some time making sense of everything.

When Lazirha asked the group about where they came from, Novak was the first to speak up. "I'm afraid I don't actually remember anything about my life. It's all a blank. All I know for sure is that I'm not from around here."

In hindsight, it was perhaps foolish to reveal his lack of memories so quickly and freely, but with his mind so focused on his mind and his spirits lifted, Novak didn't think his words through before speaking, and at this moment he wanted to get it off his chest.

"I don't suppose you could tell us a bit more about here?" he asked. "You said you've lived here you whole life, so you probably know plenty about it, right?"

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR@PKMNB0Y

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

The girl introduced herself as Lazirha. She seemed fascinated with the two women of the group, barraging them with questions and comments regarding their unusual appearances. There were two things that Novak picked up in particular in the girl's ramblings. The first was that according to Lazirha, there were others like the fox-girl in this world, living to the north of here. The fact that her race is something that the natives of this world have seen and heard of should make things somewhat less complicated. The second was her remark on their location.

"You picked a pretty remotely boring place to get lost in.”

Her tone suggested that Lazirha viewed this as a bad thing, and if this was the case, Novak would have to disagree. A boring place was just what they needed to rest, regain their bearings, and catch up on everything they'd need to know about this strange new world. They couldn't stay there forever, of course- the goddess didn't snatch them from death and bring them here so they could live a quiet life in a quiet corner of nowhere, after all- but they were hardly in a position to save the world in their current state.

Lazirha mentioned a village, and indicated that it was a short walk away from here. She didn't seem to be too enthusiastic about it, however, stating that it was boring and mostly composed of elderly folks. Clearly she didn't seem to happy living here.

“Ah, sorry, didn’t see you there," she finally addressed Novak. "You don’t stand out much next to them, do you? What’s your names anyways?”

"My name is Novak. Pleased to meet you, Lazirha," he introduced himself. It was only at this point that he got a better look at the tattoo on her arm. That symbol looks familiar, he thought, as he glanced back up at the immense stone pillar, then back at Lazirha. They both have a crescent symbol. I wonder what it means. His first thought was to ask her about it, but he decided that his queries could wait until later. After all, he still hadn't heard the names of his companions.

@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

"Wait. What is...what is going on?" Novak asked, bewildered at what had happened. One moment they were fleeing through that narrow trail, the only thing on Novak's mind being the relief at knowing that stone giant wouldn't be able to follow them through there. The next moment they were...somewhere else. The canyon path they had escaped through was nowhere to be seen behind them, just some crumbling ruins, and far beyond that, a massive obelisk rising into the sky. With the immediate threat gone, he found himself staring at the strange structure.

I've never seen anything like this. Or at least I don't think I did. I can't actually remember if I did. But if I did, why does it feel so impossible to me?

It was a this point, as he turned back to the others and started to contemplate the situation they were in- lost in a snowy corner of a strange world, with no sign of recent civilization so far. Suddenly, however, his train of thought was interrupted by the fox girl's abrupt pause accompanied by a twitch of her ear. It seems she had noticed something. Novak followed behind as the fox girl and swordswoman went to investigate, still a bit on edge as evidenced by the tight grip on his sword.

They quickly found the source of the disturbance- it was a young girl, hiding behind one of the black stones. After everything that had happened, Novak was relieved, not only because it wasn't another monster, but also because they had finally run into another person. Assuming this woman was one of this world's natives, and assuming that this wasn't some sort of trick, this meant that they must be close to civilization.

Finally, perhaps now we can get some answers.

The swordswoman was the first to speak to the girl, gently assuring her that they meant no harm, and asking where they were. Novak said nothing, content to watch and listen. Truth be told he had many questions and an insatiable curiosity, but he could wait until the girl had indulged the more pressing inquiries of his companions.

@Rune_Alchemist@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

It had seemed that Fleuri's plan had backfired spectacularly, with the vampire reeling Jarde in like a great fish pulling its angler into the water. As he saw the young knight pulled closer to the vampire's fanged maw, Fleuri felt a wave of terror wash over him at the realization that Jarde could be injured or killed because of him. Because of his plan.

The obvious answer to this vampire was to rush in, corner him in the cramped tomb, and overwhelm him with their superior numbers. But with things as they were, Fleuri hesitated to charge, lest the vampire use Jarde as a human shield. He had already taken a girl hostage to force her sister to commit regicide, there was no low he wouldn't stoop to.

We have to get that monster away from Jarde, Fleuri thought. No more holding back- he needed to make things right and ensure that Jarde did not suffer for the mistakes of another, especially one whom he seemed to look up to. He dropped his cloak and reached into the satchel slung across his shoulder, pulling out a sealed glass flask.

Fleuri had hoped he wouldn't need the flasks here, and if he did, he had planned to use them to nullify any further attempt at the vampire to reattach his limbs. It was clear by now that it had been a mistake to hold anything back when fighting a vampire. But with Jarde's life on the line, it was time to pull out all of the stops.

Forgive me Jarde...I swear by Reon I'll do I can to spare you the consequences of my mistake...

"Nicomede, if you can, use your water magic to shatter this in mid-flight," he spoke to the other knight, brandishing the water-filled flask. A second later, he hurled the container. He wanted to explain everything fully to Nicomede- that this was holy water blessed by Reon, meant to harm vampires and undead- but there was no time, and he didn't want to tip Damon off, lest a well-placed crossbow bolt shatter the flask in Fleuri's hand.

When the glassware took flight, it did not head towards Damon- instead, its trajectory was in the direction of Jarde, aimed squarely at the knight's borrowed breastplate. The goal was not to harm Damon- indeed, with his leather armor and lack of open wounds, the holy water wouldn't do much except burn his face. Instead, Fleuri's intention was to protect and bless Jarde by splashing him and his weapons with the fluid. With Damon so close, it would be inevitable that he'd get splattered too. If the vampire didn't free himself of Jarde's chain and disengage, he'd get a face full of Reon's opinion of him, and in either case, the young knight would no longer be in immediate danger and all three sould have openings to attack.

Once the flask went flying, Fleuri placed both hands on sword and began to bolt forward, not wanting to give Damon any leeway.

@Krayzikk@VitaVitaAR@PaulHaynek

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

Novak considered the observations and suggestions of his companions. As they had pointed out, the stone giant seemed to be avoiding the strange black stones. The swordswoman was intent on leaving while the guardian was distracted, and wanted to avoid the black stones on the way out. Novak thought it was a sound plan, so long as the giant didn't turn its attention to them.

If it noticed us we wouldn't have much time before it caught up with us, he thought. Despite the giant's immense, ground-shaking weight, it was deceptively swift on its feet, and there was no way they would be able to outrun it if they caught its attention. Fortunately, the giant seemed to have become distracted by something else and had headed even further away. If there was any time to get out of here, it was now.

The fox-girl, however, suggested the slabs, or at least the outskirts, could provide a safe haven from the colossus. It was a possibility, but not one that Novak wanted to test. Simply staying out of range of that guardian's blade meant they'd have to draw closer to the slabs, and it seemed like a risky gamble. On the other hand, in a worst case scenario- in other words, if it caught up to them- Novak would rather take his chances with the unknown than with that terrible giant.

"I agree with the swordswoman," he spoke up, again reminded that he didn't know their names, "We need to get out of here now while that thing is distracted and far away. As for the stones, they could be a safe spot, but I'd rather not risk it until we're out of other options."

Truth be told, they didn't have a lot of viable options to begin with, so if that giant decided to fixate on them before they made it to the exit, they could very well be cast into that scenario.

"I'm ready to make a break for it if you two are."

@VitaVitaAR@PKMNB0Y

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

I think we're waiting for you @FlappyTheSpybot

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

Novak was greatly startled by the large hunk of stone slamming down in front of him. It he had taken a few steps further, it'd have ended this new life just a few minutes after it had begun. He then realized that it was no mere hunk of debris, but the foot of what appeared to be an animate stone colossus. Judging by the blade protruding from the statue's arm, it was probably a guard or a soldier of some sort. This must be the guardian, he thought. Fortunately, the colossus didn't seem to notice him, and it trudged away, causing the ground to shake with each step.

It was probably drawn here by the sound of that bird's screeching. Or perhaps it it simply patrolling. Whether or not it was actively searching for them, it was clear that they couldn't hide here forever. The colossus wasn't the only danger; whatever that thing that was climbing that tower in the distance might also be a threat.

The ruined gatehouse he had spotted looked like it might be the way out. Once they got past it, they should be safe from that stone monstrosity, assuming it didn't decide to smash its way through to pursue them. On the other hand, he had no idea what awaited them on the other side. Faced with the prospect of ending up the wrong end of that stone blade- or any of the many other ways it could kill them- whatever might be on the other side of the gatehouse was probably preferable to taking their chances with the colossus.

There were other things to worry about, of course. Judging by the snow, it looked pretty frigid outside, and they weren't exactly dressed for this weather. They would also need to find food, water, and shelter, although such concerns were presently eclipsed by the matter of immediate survival. Perhaps it would be a good idea to discuss their options with his two companions.

"You two might want to see this," Novak spoke softly as to avoid drawing the walking statue's attention. "I think we've found that guardian that the goddess warned us about. Some sort of stone colossus, from the look of it."

"Fortunately, I also see what looks like an exit out of here, some sort of destroyed gatehouse. What do you two think? Should we take our chances and slip out through there?"

@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

So that's what she meant by peak human, Novak marveled as he watched the outcome of his improvised attack. The chair struck with more force than he had anticipated, shattering upon impact and knocking the bird into a wall. The strange creature was still alive but it appeared to be concussed from the blow. The same could not be said for the other bird, which was lying in a pool of its own blood, slain by the black-haired girl. A moment later, the second bird was also dead by her hand, cleanly decapitated by her katana.

She might be a good candidate to learn from if I need to know how to fight, Novak observed. He didn't want to spend his power unless it taught him something very useful, and it was already clear that in this world, knowing one's way around a sword would be invaluable. He could worry about it later, however, when he had spare time to gauge whether there were better options and figure out just how his powers functioned.

"... A shame there isn't a cooking fire, at least these wretched fowl could have served a purpose in death," commented the swordswoman. It was at this point that Novak realized that his hearing had returned, to his great relief. It'd have been a great inconvenience for this fine new body to be afflicted with sensory loss so soon after receiving it. Unfortunately, just as things were starting to look up for the group, the floor began to rumble ominously. Novak didn't know what it was, but it was a potent reminder that there were there worse fates than hearing loss...

Is that the guardian that the goddess warned us about? We need to get out of here.

The black-haired woman was already helping her animal-eared companion, who seemed to have gotten the worst of the bird's screech. Perhaps her strange ears were more sensitive to that awful shriek. It occurred to Novak at this point that he didn't know anything about them, not even their names. If the situation weren't so dire, he'd ask them right now, but it seemed like they'd need to focus on simply surviving.

With this in mind, Novak rushed to the exit, stopping at the doorway. Not wanting to risk figuratively jumping out of a frying pan and into a fire, he cautiously peered outside. He looked around for any sign of danger that might await them outside, such as more of those birds or any other strange creatures, and perhaps whatever was making the ground shake.

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@PKMNB0Y

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Double post. Please ignore.