Octo

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

For Gertrude's honesty in regards to her status as apprentice to a Witch, which she'd surmised would catch the Moonlit Queen's interest but still agonized over speaking for the repercussions it might have, she had received... a stick. The Moonlit Queen was not forthcoming in telling her what it meant, and while Gertrude wasn't so dull as to think it could be an ordinary stick, it wasn't exactly a covenant. Or was it? She would have to look into it.

She supposed it was never going to be as easy as a simple question and response.

After casting her vote for keeping the cute frog, and not much caring what was given to the Queen's sister, Gertrude spent the rest of her time in the domain examining the stick. She had heard about the masked figure in question, but only second hand from the rest of the knights. Still, the shards of Angroron posed something of an existentially horrifying threat, even to her. Anyone collecting them was most likely up to some wicked bullshite, but had to be smart and well-connected enough to know of and locate them.

And, perplexingly enough, they had to know of the Duke's history with the Moonlit Queen in order to take advantage of it. Something even the knights hadn't been able to find out from the man's closest confidants. It was a strange intersection of knowledge, to say the least.

---

Once Gertrude returned, she had decided to go back to napping around Candaeln until something bothered her. Gretchen was in the library, doing research in regards to what the stick she had been gifted might be. Gretchen had become somewhat comfortable there, having practically made the place her residence while Gertrude was away. Without her other half's influence, she'd actually become somewhat cordial with the rest of the staff.

Though Gertrude had gotten the message that Arken wanted to speak with her, she didn't want to meet with him at the moment. The man wasn't stupid. He'd probably been able to pick out some weirdness in her magic, and now that he was at Candaeln and knew of Gretchen, his suspicions were probably complete. It wasn't a conversation she particularly wanted to have, but it was probably more dangerous for her to leave it unaddressed. Still...

Was it too much to ask to be left alone?

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

It seemed a little naive to Gertrude to so easily rule the sister out. After all, envy could take you places you never thought you could go. But perhaps the Moonlit Queen did not understand envy. The facts were that the sister was most likely to know how to subvert the queen's realm, had every motive to steal her stuff, and knew ahead of time that the knights would be present to distract her. Divorced of feelings, she was quite frankly the perfect candidate.

So why wasn't anyone backing her up? Instead, Fionn and Gerard downright admitted that they met with the bint when Gertrude had been certain to gloss over the exact circumstances of her knowledge. What did honesty help?

Gertrude's cheeks puffed out in a petulant pout, and she rose to her feet, looking down at the Moonlit Queen.

What else was there to say? Gertrude's fingers ran across the shaft of her broom, and magically ripped a thin piece of paper from it. She folded it a couple of times, burned some words into it, and handed it to the Moonlit Queen to accept at her leisure. It informed her, in no uncertain terms, that Gertrude was apprentice to a Witch. If that didn't pique her interest, Gertrude didn't know what might. The others could haggle over the shard.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude smiled as the Moonlit Queen laughed. She supposed it was about as well as she could have hoped to be received, taking the surrounding warmth to be a good sign. Obviously, the woman liked those who amused her, and amuse her is what Gertrude had done. It was possible, then, to close the deal if she could demonstrate that she had value as well. For that, she also had an idea.

In a way, the woman reminded her of her mistress-

Her former mistress, that was. Right down to the mirth she showed when amused. Gertrude was bitter, and bitter towards Aleksiya, but she was not immune to nostalgia. She was capable of remembering the better times, if only for a moment.

...And the Moonlit Queen's laugh was much more enchanting, so that was a plus.

Gertrude was about to attempt to close things out when one of the ruler's aides interrupted her. Gertrude frowned for a moment, annoyed, but quickly plastered a smile over her impatience. It seemed that something was missing. Loudly. She was tempted to tell the Moonlit Queen how unladylike her outburst was, but she had to hold it in, though the itch to tease the woman was strong. Instead, she looked to Gerard, and back to the Moonlit Queen.

"Aye... using the fighting as a smokescreen was the likely method. As for the culprit... you do have a baby sister, yes? We did our research before heading out to see you, and though your fame far eclipsed hers, we may have heard a whisper."

Though it pained Gertrude to do so, she knelt and looked into the Moonlit Queen's eyes.

"Is it not the eternal duty of the younger sibling to jealously grab for what the older has earned? Perhaps this is a possibility to consider."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude thought that Rolan was underselling her contributions a little bit, but since he was willing to shoulder all the blame for messing with Tyaethe's fight, she was willing to let him off. Really, she wasn't particularly concerned with how Tyaethe felt or how she chose to express her dissatisfaction. Just one more old person telling her that she was a disappointment, so what? But it would be funny to send her off to Rolan to give him a dressing-down if the woman chose to confront her.

Well, he volunteered to be the entertainment.

---

Now that their task was complete and the deal was being rendered, Gertrude didn't have quite the leverage that she wanted when it came to brokering a contract. Still, she was eager to add a powerful faerie queen to her repertoire of companions if she could, so the attempt had to be made.

Besides, if a fool like Fionn was capable of using magic as he had been from his contract with a Niyar, it boggled the mind to imagine what a genius like Gertrude could do with the backing of the Moonlit Queen. How many steps closer would that be to unseating Aleksiya? At least a few, certainly.

All she had to do... was be nice for five sodding minutes.

Gertrude approached the Moonlit Queen and performed a curtsy. The formality left a bad taste in her mouth, but it was probably her best bet. It didn't hurt that virtually all of her superiors were very tiny women. Aleksiya, Merilia, Fanilly, Gisela... if anything, it was her natural state. Many would liken the Moonlit Queen to a child, but to Gertrude she was any other ancient and powerful being in a tiny package.

...Though she still wanted to pat the woman's head.

"Gertrude, your majesty," Gertrude introduced herself with all the courtly grace of someone who had read what to do in a book once while bored, "as you can see, we are quite the accomplished group. Now that sod Rozenalt's shuffled off- er, now that Rozenalt has been dealt with, I imagine things will be a bit quieter around here. Ideal for your subjects, of course, but perhaps a mite dull on occasion. I would like to make a contract with you, with the promise that I'll show you plenty of interesting things as we continue our adventures. And if you deign to appear before me, perhaps even to participate. Had you wanted to witness Rozenalt's anguish firsthand, a contract with me could have allowed you to do so. I wouldn't want you to miss such entertainment, going forward."

...Really wanted to pat her head.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude couldn't help but feel satisfied after she'd turned the Houndmaster into a sack of quivering innards. The rotter really was a nuisance, and it felt good to explode something that could feel it and be praised for her violence. She supposed all could be forgiven against a force of irredeemable monsters whose occupation was the unilateral massacre of anyone they came across.

Maybe that was knighthood.

A shiver ran up her back when the creature unexpectedly took its final bow, and she readied to explode it even more before it fell as quickly as it rose. Gertrude grit her teeth.

"Sodding creep," she muttered, ceremonially thrusting her arm up into the air as Fanilly declared victory. She wanted to stay and receive even more praise, but had a feeling she'd be chided if she failed to see Rolan to the wounded before their condition turned. Not that she cared for the small fry any.

"Even I'm a bit impressed with myself," she replied to Rolan smugly as she took off, "did you see that bleedin' worm? Of course you did, you shot at it. Bugger practically blotted out the sky. What would everyone have done without me? Might've even taken Rozenalt if we didn't give that one to Tyaethe."

Gertrude's grin widened as they touched down near the injured vanguard forces.

"Ah... that's what this is. The miniature mosquito can't well give you a tongue-lashing if you're tending the wounded. She's probably ready to go off... if she even remembers your interference. Maybe she went so mad that all she saw was blood."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

A smug, self-satisfied grin crept up on Gertrude's lips.

"Well, if you're offering it, then I'll take the extended praise later," Gertrude answered Rolan in a tone that sounded as if she thought she'd won something, "anyways, no telling what the poison did or didn't do, but it was an impressively won fight that made use of our efforts. I'll gladly add Rozenalt's slaying to my list of accomplishments."

Even though Gertrude didn't really do anything directly, her smug expression indicated that she was comfortable putting her name on this one. That expression faded, however, when the Houndmaster began regenerating and transforming regardless of her intercession. That cheeky bugger.

"Oh, sod off," Gertrude grumbled as the abomination howled, taking its hideous, disturbing new form. She didn't know if she'd ever seen anything quite so abhorrent. It was like looking down at a particularly large, grotesque, rampaging insect. Well, there was only one thing to do with insects that earned her ire.

"That's what I get for trying to be clever. Aye, mistress, I'll get back to my specialty!"

Gertrude gripped her broom tight, and raised her hand.

In an instant, a bombardment of forceful, pinprick fireballs rained down on the fell beast, just small and precise enough to not catch her teammates. If Rolan gummed up its joints, then Gertrude made wider movements all but impossible for the creature while providing damaging, explosive judgement.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude allowed herself a rare smile. It wasn't necessarily that she enjoyed the killing, though she did at that, but the felling of that great flying worm emboldened her. She was the last person anyone would accuse of low self-confidence, but she wasn't sure she could have done it in one hit before. Did she get stronger?

Then Rolan piped up, and Gertrude was forced to consider that she probably only got the clean hit due to the smoke and flame Rolan had provided. Otherwise, the creature would likely have evaded a little better. Perhaps she was stronger, but the backup wasn't entirely unhelpful.

"Haaah? Is that it?" Gertrude shot back, obviously displeased with the man's reaction to her amazing magic, "you can cower, if you'd like. It's not every day someone is treated to front row seats for my unparalleled spellcasting and not also dead."

Though Gertrude's words were displeased and argumentative, she slowed at Rolan's request so that he could take his shots. They'd proven their air superiority by felling the worm, and she doubted many more creatures would want to challenge them after the display. From her vantage point, she could see the entire battlefield (at least, what wasn't obscured by foliage) and determined that each fight seemed relatively close but still in their favor. Rolan had pretty quickly determined the standout in the Houndmaster, due to the sheer numbers he commanded. He was shameless in using this advantage, but at least prideful or barbaric enough to get into close quarters.

This would likely be the decision that saw him slain.

While Rolan worked on the hounds, Gertrude looked for an opportunity. Once again, she didn't have the aim for something purely destructive. Fleuri and Fanilly were sticking to the Houndmaster, which was the correct decision, but it put them in the line of fire. Then again, damage wasn't their problem. It was numbers and regeneration. Rolan was on numbers, now...

Gertrude held her spell. The next time the Houndmaster received a crippling strike, Gertrude would hit the wound with a Crystal Prison. By covering the injury over in ice, she figured, it might keep him from grafting using the few mutts that might break through. At least long enough to fatally wound him.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Gertrude didn't really expect any heat from Rozenalt because of how in his face Tyaethe was, but apparently he had enough room to launch some tendrils at them. His mistake. Any focus not on the Vampire was a tally on their side. As far as Gertrude was concerned, that bolt had set the fight in Tyaethe's favor twice. Once for the hit, and once for Rozenalt's reprisal. She just hoped Tyaethe wasn't too prideful to seize the advantage. She could already see an angry Vampire in her future, but what was one more old lady yelling at her because she thought she knew better?

Gertrude had some confidence that Rozenalt's attack wasn't an insignificant one. She wasn't foolish, but she also wasn't unskilled. Normally she would have tried to eradicate the thing before it became a threat, but Rolan had already fired at it. If his concoction didn't destroy the tendrils, it would at least make them easier to see coming. The man acted quickly, if nothing else. Well, at least she wouldn't have to waste her spell on them.

It was a little handy to have such support.

"Sodding-!"

And it came at a good time, because the gigantic flying worm that leapt at them from the woods was probably the better target for the spell she had been chanting. Thankfully, she was in the midst of speeding up after Rozenalt's attack. She didn't know how fast or maneuverable the beast was, but she'd hit it with everything she'd been storing right from the jump before deciding how to evade further.

She'd flown straight into a bloody Dragon's mouth. This maw did not scare her.

After Rolan exploded a bottle of fire in the beast's face, Gertrude used the obscuring flames as cover to take her shot.

"Meteor Light," Gertrude roared, grabbing her broom white-knuckled as she accelerated and flipped around in the air. An immense beam of light shot forth, aiming to pierce the beast diagonally from bottom to top along the length. She didn't know where the organs were, or even if the creature had them, so she'd get as much of the insides as she could while entering and exiting through flesh.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"Oh, sod off," Gertrude grumbled in response to Fanilly and Rolan's appreciation, almost imperceptible through the howl of the wind as they rocketed through the air. Gertrude steered sharply away from the oncoming horde of vulture-hags, only to realize that they had already been shot down by another party. But was it a third party, or a member of the first two? She couldn't say, but it made her wary. At the very least, Rolan didn't seem too concerned. Perhaps it was an ally she was unaware of.

Anyways, it wasn't like she wanted to help Fanilly specifically, she just wanted to win. It ticked her off that she was being thanked for her self-interest, but there really wasn't time for extra clarification. With most of the crones off their back, Gertrude had the opportunity to keep steady and allow Rolan to loose a bolt towards Rozenalt. Gertrude couldn't, for the life of her, tell who was winning that bloodbath. She could only guess that the victor would be whoever had more resources. More cards to play. And in that sense, she'd have to go with the smug blackguard.

Well, the other smug blackguard.

That is to say, not her smug blackguard.

Rozenalt.

But if she counted the Roses among Tyaethe's cards... they may as well be cheating as hard as the original Roses did in their card games. What sort of idiot would insist on intentionally playing with less from the start? It didn't make sense-

Dammit, she was starting to appreciate people. She'd need a stiff drink after this fight. Her eyes shifted back to Rolan. Gretchen had already started chanting, and Gertrude had a feeling that a powerful spell would be required judging from the movement to the north.

"I'm more than happy to engage in some gratuitous killing, though I'm not sure if the party to the north is numbers or size. Ah, scheiß drauf, either one will require some real firepower. Load up something that explodes."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"Bloody..." Gertrude grumbled as a slew of vulture-hags emerged from the trees. Of course it couldn't be that easy. If she focused purely on evasion, she'd be safe, but she wouldn't get anything done. Nothing for it but to deal with them, though she didn't want to waste the spell Gretchen had been chanting on a bunch of crones.

Thankfully, she wasn't required to make that sacrifice. She had backup, which she'd completely forgotten about despite the fact that he was riding with her. Rolan let loose with a curious mixture that caused large plumes of black smoke amidst the hags. Normally this was the sort of non-kill-stuff maneuver that Gertrude scoffed at, but she was learning more and more that abilities that didn't directly kill people could be useful too.

The crones would need to get out of the smoke, some hanging right and some left, which corralled them into a couple of nice groups. One which Gertrude would blast, and the other which Gertrude would gain distance from.

"Not too bad," she said more to herself than to Rolan, though the meaning was clear. She grabbed the broom which served as her focus tightly.

"Astral Lance!" she called out as her spell shot forth and skewered a few crones in the left line. She could have used something stronger and gotten more of them, but her other spell was nearly complete.

For once, it was not a pure killing spell. Normally Gertrude would have gone for fire, but the environment made that a difficult prospect. She liked explosions too, but with all the trees, she was likely to kick up a good amount of non-discriminatory shrapnel. The melee was large and confused enough that she was likely to kill an ally if she wanted to rain down pure destruction.

She hadn't really razed anything since having to work with other people. Simple solutions fell to the curse of consideration, and she was left needing to think about things. Too much thought lead, invariably, to rumination on her personal troubles. That is why it was a blessing to have a certain ancestor, even though he ran off and evidently didn't raise his kids right.

Her solution for this particular conundrum was...

"Crystal Prison!" she shouted as Gretchen completed the chant. In a wave like a stone dropped into a pond, the members of The Hunt surrounding Fanilly slowed to a stop. Crystallized. It had occurred to Gertrude that probably the best thing she could do was ensure freedom of movement for her allies, and Fanilly wasn't reaching her potential just surrounded by small fry.

Even Gertrude understood that mobility was one of Fanilly's strong suits, and if she could maneuver more freely, she could use the judgement she had been honing to be where she was most needed.

"Don't disappoint me, mistress!" Gertrude called down as she rocketed over the captain's head. For once, less a jeer than a call to action.