The Otter

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@Psyker Landshark@VitaVitaAR@Krayzikk

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At Maletha's barely audible thanks, Fionn stripped off a gauntlet and patted her head before turning to walk deeper into the castle. While there was little he needed to grab, a more substantial belt to take the hauberk's weight would be far preferable to what he had at the moment—and a cloak to cover the mail and muffle his constant clanking and jingling would be useful in the event that the necromancer had anybody that escaped from the mausoleum scouting things out or preparing to seal the entrance. Unlikely, but if there were any such, he didn't want them getting alerted on his approach and entombing his friends.

Of course, by this point his approach was alerting other knights from their rooms, stepping out into the hall to see him go past. Some still fully dressed, others in nightclothes, yet others clearly having just woken up as the castle started to spring back into activity. "MacKerracher? Weren't you just at a ball?"

"Aye," he replied, continuing along. "Should've been there, lads."

"The hell's going on, Fionn?"

He turned to the next voice. The knight was a bit older than him, but not one he really knew the name of. "Assassination attempt. Princesses are here now, assassin's in the infirmary, captain's hunting down a necromancer who started all of it." The knights standing in the hallway stared at him, likely just as shocked by his blasé explanation of events as by the events themselves. Of course, the fact that his borrowed gauntlets and hauberk were covered in blackened residue and scratches from the miniature devil that had appeared to try and finish the murder likely didn't help matters.

"What's the plan?"

He shrugged.

"Grab a better belt and meet Renar at the stables to double back and help the captain down in the Cazt mausoleum. Come with if you like." With that, he passed the final few doors before finding the entrance to his own quarters, ducking inside quickly. A more substantial belt was quick to find, stripping off the one he'd been using and transferring his dagger over. Satisfied that the mail now wouldn't hang so heavily from his shoulders, he pulled one of his cloaks tight around himself, pinning it at his throat and stepping back into the hall. Noise was coming from the other rooms, but he didn't pay it much mind. Either they'd dress fast enough to meet at the stables or they'd catch up after the group started out, or they'd say behind.

Not really his problem at that point.

After a quick detour to the kitchen to gulp down something to keep his throat wet and take some scraps to eat along the way, he found Renar and Nicomede already waiting for him. "Anybody coming up behind me?" he asked as he approached. He hadn't really been inclined to attempt any active recruiting for the task—even with the circumstances of his birth affecting things, Renar likely had more experience and comfort doing such than Fionn ever would. He preferred to just dive into things and let people follow as they would, whether that changed the number from three to five or to twenty.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Cadmon Demet

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@Psyker Landshark@HereComesTheSnow@Eisenhorn

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Of course, there was no way he could be seen walking around with nearly anybody without István having some sort of comment to make on it. Before he had the chance to make much reply, though, a mug of hot coffee was thrust into his hands. He accepted it wordlessly, bringing it up to his lips to take a sip, as Kayliss glared at the larger man. The mercenary, for his part, quickly introduced himself, jabbing back at István for him.

"Don't let her sharp tongue deceive you, she is lovely company," he interjected before either of the others had a chance to respond. "Intelligent, composed, and not so fragile as to take my flat affect for an insult." He took another sip of the bitter liquid in his cup. "I don't think I'm the one who needs to worry about peril, for now."

Hopefully none of them would; they had more important things to do than trade jabs and threats with each other, after all. "Now. I was planning for the three of us—now four—to be there when Lady Velvetica debriefed her scouts, and I'm fairly certain I saw plumage weaving between the tents. Let's hurry along."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@Raineh Daze@Psyker Landshark@VitaVitaAR@Krayzikk

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Once the plan was settled, Fionn reached down, scooping Tili up off the floor. "She should be fine in time," he assured Elisandre, before Tyaethe led the way to the exit. While teleportation hadn't really been something he was expecting, he still took point like he said he would, sword in one hand and Nem in the other as he led the way back to Candaeln from where they'd ended up. Once back inside the castle, Tili was passed off to other knights better equipped to take care of her, while Tyaethe set about trying to make arrangements for the princesses for the rest of the night.

When Renar caught his eye, he nodded briefly. While he might need a moment to re-arm, Fionn's borrowed gear was barely any different from his actual. It would have to be returned at some point, so there was little reason to strip out of it, change to his own, and then head back in the direction of the castle towards the mausoleum without it. "You coming along, Nico?"

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Cadmon Demet

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@Psyker Landshark@HereComesTheSnow@Eisenhorn

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He'd been in agreement with her, up to the end; they had the same opinion of how likely it was she would get used, and what use they might get out of her skills. At her last words, though, the young noble stiffened perceptibly, his eyes narrowing towards her.

"Sir Shilage keeps his own counsel in such matters. He comes when I send for him, but if not, he's perfectly free to do as he wishes. It is my hope that he meets us at Lady Velvetica's pavilion." As much as some in the camp might wish to levy insults against his own face, Cadmon was just as content to let them come and shrug them off; to speak in such a way about the man who'd become just as close family to him as his own parents had been, however, was something he refused to let pass without some comment or correction.

Neverminding that István likely wouldn't care one bit himself.

"Hopefully between the three of us we can convince her to set you loose. I'm not feeling like a pitched battle today—sick opponents are always easier to subdue, and I'm sure you know all sorts of ways to leave them feeling quite ill." Truth be told, he was surprised how quickly he'd grown accustomed to battle, otherwise the thought of one rapidly approaching might well have left him feeling sick to his stomach, not that he'd ever admitted to it.

Luckily enough, as he picked his path back through to the center of the camp, he quickly caught sight of István a short ways away, alongside one of the mercenaries who'd joined on with the Lions. At least the presence of others should help forestall any actual argument brewing between himself and the assassin at his side. "Well. It appears my man has made a friend. Shilage!"

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Cadmon Demet

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@Psyker Landshark

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The effort needed to resist rolling his eyes was nearly herculean. What was needed to keep his jaw shut for a moment was even greater.

No, no, I just thought I'd take a romantic stroll around the war camp with my favourite assassin.

As much as he wanted to say something sarcastic like that, it would be pointless. Antagonizing her would be no help at all with what they were soon to face; beyond that, he had little doubt of his low likelihood of waking up in the morning if she decided she disliked him enough. Not that she seemed inclined to harm an ally, certainly not in that way, but he only trusted an assassin as far as he could throw them.

Given that Kayliss was a somewhat tall human woman rather than a Nem, that wasn't very far at all.

"With any luck," he said after a moment. No true confirmation for her question, yet, but he was hoping. "Assuming they didn't meet with an unfortunate fate, our scouts are due to make their reports to Lady Velvetica today. If they bring back something useful, I'm hoping that we could make use of your talents."

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Cadmon Demet

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@Psyker Landshark@HereComesTheSnow

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The constant influx of information—useful or not—that came with his position was starting to grow tiresome. Subordinates constantly coming to report to him, day in and day out, and rarely was it on any topic more important than the weather. It was grating, even more than the armour he was currently being aided in donning. His sigh, though, was cut short with a wince as the strap of one pauldron was yanked tight around his upper arm.

The second soon after. Thank the goddesses for padding.

"That is quite enough, thank you," he interjected, cutting off one of the sergeants of the force he'd brought with him to the Lions. "You haven't told me anything new in the time since we first made camp here. Go join the guards around the perimeter and keep an eye out for those scouts—I want to be sure they get to Lady Velvetica as quickly as possible once they arrive. Don't let them be distracted." He wasn't even entirely sure who was out scouting; if the griffin-rider was one of them, at least there was one person who could be trusted to follow through properly.

Cadmon tugged at the belt around his waist uncomfortably, though he knew it was better that than to have all the weight of his brigandine resting upon his shoulders. "If any of you should happen to find István, tell him to meet me at the Lady's pavilion." Though whether or not the warrior would listen was another matter; Cadmon doubted he'd ever be able to command the man who half-raised him. "Have my horse, weapons, and helmet waiting for me there. I'm not wandering around the camp with them all at once." With his own cadre of servants and aides so dismissed, Cadmon gathered up his gauntlets and made his way out of his tent into the wider camp.

Silently ruing the fact that he hadn't left his bevor off for them to take alongside his other gear, he kept his head on a swivel as he took a meandering path towards the Steel Princess's center of command. Ostensibly, he could be said to be inspecting the forces; in truth, he had his eye out for one person in particular, hoping she wasn't deciding to practice her own skills at the current moment. A quick flash of blonde hair catching his eye between a pair of tents gave him all the notice he needed that she wasn't trying not to be found.

"Miss Lambert?" he called in the direction he'd seen the assassin woman going. "Care to join me?"

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

<Snipped quote by The Otter>

I, shockingly, don't need your food for thought. I, respectfully, offered a counterargument and solution to Vita. Not you.

If Vita says, my counterargument and offered solution won't work, so be it. Plenty of other ideas. But, trust me, I don't need yours.

@Enkryption

If you're arrogant enough that somebody trying to be at-all helpful is what causes you to offer this sort of response, then I'll give up and just respond in kind:

Your response of "but migratory birds" is a lot more of a cop-out than the actual creator of the RP's response about what species live where in their world could ever be, and crows (as per your stated crow lineage) are only very short-dostance migratory at most, and generally just permanent residents of where they live, certainly not ocean-and-continent-crossing like others.

A roughly-human-sized harpy would probably have more trouble covering that distance anyways, compared to, y'know, an actual bird.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Vita and Rain can always tell me my own interpretations of things are wrong, I'm just giving you more food for thought in the event "Akitsushima doesn't have harpies and isn't connected to the continent" is held as a firm ruling on the character.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Flying or no, given the relative state of the game world and how it compares to its real-world parallels, that level of movement unassociated with acts of conquest or the like is nearly unheard of until hitting the renaissance, age of sail and colonialism and all that. There was some level of cultural diffusion and knowledge of far-flung places, sure, but it was rarely accurate, and the further apart two areas were the more and more fantastical it all became.

It's like imagining a family of English folk from the 1200s migrating all the way to India, living there and assimilating, and then coming back. Sure, the aristocracy had some knowledge of India, but once you got past the Mediterranean and the Levant it became more a subject of myth and speculation than anything concrete barring an understanding of the spice trade. Nor was England nearly as cosmopolitan to foreigners showing up and just doing their thing as the Romans centuries before might have been.

Then, you add on wings and feathers to the random group of people just showing up and asking to move in in some abnormal language, and if I was an average peasant living in fantasy Japan where the only non-humans I might have much interaction with were still much less distinguishable than harpies are, I might be more inclined to grab a torch and some large farming implement and say "hell no!"

Just to focus even more specifically for this setting - it's even been mentioned before that while diplomats, on official business and all that, do get to Thaln, Velt, etc. from Akitsushima, it's a long ways and seems fairly rare from what I've gathered. There's a whole continent between this one and Akitsushima that has more contact. Were I you, I'd send some DMs to the GMs and see what you can work out with something more like that. Maybe be our Ibrahim ibn Yaqub rather than our reverse Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn.

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

I think it's more a matter that a temple in a Medieval Stasis European Fantasy country like Estival, Velt, Thaln, etc. wouldn't have people filling the role of Miko. Something similar, perhaps, in the way that a lot of cultures have had similar roles, but not specific and similar enough to use the exact same term.