The Otter

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@VitaVitaAR @Raineh Daze @Crimson Paladin @Psyker Landshark

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Fionn had been turning to leave the second Fleuri's question was answered, but between Tyaethe stopping the one who was sent to search with them and Alette's response to him, he had no choice but to remain a moment longer. "I mean it, Alette. Do whatever you want when we aren't around, but keep it quick and clean when we are." At the very least, it would help spare him from any questions as to why she took such time putting Boars or their ilk down.

Amy and Renar both passed without comment from him for the moment, though he couldn't stop a sense of disapproval welling up at both of them in the moment.

"Tyaethe. Perhaps you could accompany us and question her as we go? I'd rather not test any good will we have here, and I'd certainly prefer to refrain from testing the poison on her blades."

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

Cadmon Demet

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@Octo

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He'd barely received an answer before Lirrah was hoisted to her feet and passed back to him; he did have to question the wisdom of that decision, as he wasn't likely to be any more helpful to the merchant in her present state than Gisela would have been. Not that he had much choice, either, as he couldn't just leave her there on the floor to go and see for himself what was happening. Two strikes, that; not only had she pushed the Nem over to him, Gisela had completely ignored his first question.

"Mages," he muttered under his breath, leaning his halberd against the wall and pulling off his gauntlets. With his hands free, he could easily reach into one of the pouches hanging from his belt, pulling out a rag. Usually it would have ended up used for one of two purposes—cleaning his weapon, or to tourniquet a bad wound. "Here. It's not much of a handkerchief, but it's clean." He held it down to the pink-haired merchant, looking back up in the direction Gisela had left in. At least her more relaxed demeanour, and the prompt disappearance of her demon, had made it clear that the fighting was over, rather than simply experiencing a small lull as the sounds of combat ceased.

"Can you walk, or do you need carried?"

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

Cadmon Demet

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@Raineh Daze@Octo

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Life in the rear guard could often be a boring prospect, especially when faced with enemies such as the Lions had just encountered. Not that that was anything much to complain about—had these cultists proven particularly adept, any measure of true threat, then it might have fallen upon the rear to secure the retreat. Heavy cavalry and infantry, routed from shock tactics or guarding the supply lines to instead be the lives that bought the rest of the force time. Something they all knew, but that none of them—nor any full army in history—wished to ever see happen.

All the same, the clean-up duty following behind the main force was never an enviable task either. While the mage's fireworks had simplified the task a fair bit, there were still bodies to gather, ensure that the dead were truly dead, and on the off chance one was recognizably alive, tie them up and drag them away. Tedious work to oversee, but necessary.

"Lord Demet. I believe we're finished here." Cadmon glanced over to the man-at-arms addressing him, giving a short nod. "All accounted for, then? Strip their corpses of anything worth saving and start taking them to their camp, then. I'll go on ahead...see what's taking our Lioness so long." He'd not received any news worthy of worry regarding their main force, yet, but the time they were taking with the camp was longer than he would have expected.

So he did begin to worry, regardless.

At the man's affirmative answer, Cadmon kicked his horse to a gallop, riding into the central camp beneath the rocky outcropping. Destruction like that they'd aimed to cause was seen throughout, but the confused looks on those left to guard outside made it clear this wasn't their doing. The tomb, then. He'd hoped it could be avoided. Apparently, it couldn't, and the splatters of blood around its entrance didn't particularly entice him either. "Gentlemen. Is Lady Velvetica still in there?" he asked the guards still standing at the outermost entrance, who nodded back at him.

"Aye. Her and most of the war council." Eyes narrowed beneath his helmet, Cadmon nodded—and stepped off his horse, short halberd in hand. "Watch her. I'm going to see if there's anything untoward happening."

It wasn't long before entering, progressing through the chambers of the tomb, that he eventually heard the sounds of combat, before stumbling across the few not taking part. Gisela and her demon, and...

Ah. The merchant. Not that he could entirely blame her for her reaction, given that she wasn't a professional fighter like the rest.

"What's happened in there?" he asked the trio, glancing once more down at Lirrah. "Should we, ah, return you to the fresh air, miss Lirrah?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@VitaVitaAR @Raineh Daze @HereComesTheSnow @VahkiDane @PigeonOfAstora @Psyker Landshark @Conscripts @Crimson Paladin

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Before he could give his own retort to Renar's suggestion, the captain spoke up again, this time taking some of their own protestations more to heart. Pressing Alette for more of an explanation, which, thankfully, she gave—though between the description of what it was they'd come to retrieve and Tyaethe's immediate urge to cursing in response, he didn't feel any measure of relief at the explanation. "No one in this world," he echoed under his breath.

Peasant farm-boy that he was, he'd never had much in formal education, and far, far less in magical matters, but even Fionn could recognize that what had transpired at the fort was something more than extraordinary. Not that he figured it would be an impossibility for a strong enough mage, or perhaps a group of them, to levy such a curse—but if any of that sort were after whatever this artifact was, they would likely have better ways to obtain it. For an item itself to spread such instead, for the normally-reserved Paladin of Reon to start making such a clear show of anger, and for it to prove so contested...

He almost felt a hint of pity for the Boars that had found their way into this mess. He could think of some number of things that might stir up such a general fuss and reaction, none of which he'd ever thought were actually real, but if Tyaethe's response meant anything then they just might be. Whoever had hired those mercenaries had sent them in to deal with something far beyond their capabilities.

"Wherever one sounder of Boars goes, more are soon to follow," he agreed with Steffen. "Lein, do us a favour and get up high again. Keep your head as low as you can and make sure there isn't anybody else coming for the fort." He twisted his head back around to Alette and her group, pointing over at the keep with his sword. "You all, what spots haven't you touched here? Unless you've all started losing your own minds, there's no point doing anything more than a quick spot check of whatever you've already covered."

For a moment, he was about to turn away, grab one of the others and disappear into the keep, before his eyes fell on Alette specifically once more. "If any more of them show up, no playing with your food while we're around. Fleuri, let's you and I check the captain's quarters. See if there's anything they've made note of lately or anything hidden away in there."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@VitaVitaAR @Raineh Daze @HereComesTheSnow @VahkiDane @PigeonOfAstora @Psyker Landshark

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As the others alternately joined in on the conversation with Alette or spoke with hushed tones between themselves, Fionn's eyes narrowed at the others that Alette called out to join them. Had it been any of the ones he'd travelled alongside when first he knew Alette, he might have been willing to drop his guard a bit, and may have found it easier to accept the offer to work together cleaning up the fort. In the face of these others, however, considering the reputations that preceded most and the scene that had awaited all of them in the fort, it was hard not to think it a trap.

Damn the girl, but she'd always been devilishly smart; seeing her so talkative and lively, compared to the reserved and quiet kid he had known, did nothing to reassure him about anything going on. Rather, it made him all the more wary about the group in front of them.

"No reason to send all of you if this sort of thing wasn't expected. Your fee's too high for a simple courier job but you didn't bring enough people to fight through the fort—or entirely the right sort to try and steal whatever you were sent for without getting caught. I know you plan too well to make such amateurish mistakes. You're just being coy still." He nodded off to the side at Tyaethe. "Answer her question, then we might can make a deal."

And, unspoken, with a short, disapproving glance back at the Captain...

Please listen to us and don't be so easy to sway, for the love of Mayon...

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@VitaVitaAR

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"Fionn. MacKerracher." He honestly doubted she'd really forgotten his name like that, but he had to correct her all the same; not just in case she forgot, but in case any of the rest of her band were close enough to listen in and weren't any of the ones he knew. Letting the wrong name get bandied about was bad for business, whether as a mercenary or as a knight. "Who'd you bring with you? Anybody I know? Call them out here with us."

Serenity could suggest it to Fanilly all she wanted, at least in this moment Fionn was happy to take charge, if only because they were dealing with somebody he knew.

"What was the job, anyways?" Just as blunt as his earlier question, his patience notably shortened by Alette's lack of answers to the others' questions. "If there is the slightest possibility it could have anything to do with what happened here, we have to know. Don't play coy with us."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin@6slyboy6

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With a small nod at Amy's renewed good spirits, Fionn had been about to ask Fleuri to join him searching some of the outer buildings of the fort before Fanilly ordered them onwards towards the main keep instead. With a shrug, he fell in with the rest of the group instead, holding his sword ahead of him to light the way. While night had yet to fall, the moon rising through the sky and the sunset's fiery hues signalled that it was coming very near, and the long shadows the fortress and its buildings cast were close enough to night to merit the extra light.

The scent was the first thing he noticed; while he didn't have Tyaethe's supernatural senses, even at this point the stench of blood was suffusing the air more and more. Indeed, around the entrance of the keep proper it had spilled out to the dirt itself, not to mention that which had found itself upon the walls. The corpses were just within, heaped upon each other like the bandits they'd put to pyre scarcely a month before. He looked to his left, toward one of the buildings along the outer wall, and could see a similar spill just outside it. He reached out to tap the knight next to him, pointing over at the building. "Let's fan out a bit. Fleuri, let's go che—"

"Nothing but corpses."

He could've sworn he felt an ear twitch at those words. "Hey, Fionn." He turned to Gerard, his sword arm dropping even as the other knight's rose, his and the captain's both. "Alette the Shark and her band— They don't operate this far south normally, far as I remember. Closer to your side of Velt, right?"

"Surrender. Now."

Fionn groaned, leaning against the clean wall near him and putting his head in his free hand. "Of all the places..." He cursed under his breath, before pushing off the wall and glancing over at the young woman who'd just stepped out to the group. Sure enough, the face hadn't changed much—livelier looking in the eyes, sure, and obviously sharpened a bit compared to when last he'd seen her—and the gear wasn't dissimilar from what he'd expect. Still, the subtle changes all over were proof enough of the years that had passed since last he'd spoken to the girl.

"Alette."

He strode through the dispersing group, pushing on past Fanilly to stand between her and the blue-haired girl. "You know better than to just walk on out like that. And what's with the hair? I've told you a thousand times to braid it if you're going to wear pigtails like that, and by the Goddesses, put on a bloody helmet." He glanced down again, critical eye going over her equipment to check more than just the fit.

"What happened to that knife I gave you when I left?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow@ERode@VahkiDane@Krayzikk@6slyboy6@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR

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Fionn had slid off he horse's back almost as soon as Tyaethe did, tying it off to an empty post beyond the fort's wall. He silently shared Gerard's sentiments—he'd seen his fair share of such fortifications left depopulated and rotting, after all—though he could imagine certain things that could leave so peaceful an exterior after whatever massacre had been taken up. "Stick to the center of us, if you would," he bade Amy as he approached, drawing out his own sword. "I don't think we can afford to leave you in a vulnerable position near the edges of the group, if your words ring true." Better to save that for those whose skills revolved around physical combat, not magical arts.

With a single word muttered under his breath, the tip of his sword began to glow, ensuring he'd have light without need of a torch once they were deeper within. "Tyaethe, any idea how long dead?" As familiar as he'd become with heaps of corpses, he was well-acquainted with the stench of rot; from where they stood, the fort didn't yet reek like a charnel house, though if the numbers of the dead were low enough they could well have to delve within to encounter such stench. "Is it blood or bloat you're smelling?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow

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Fionn's blade lowered, his posture loosening up considerably. Returning to the conversation of the present. "Not quite," he replied, with a small shrug. "But I never go full speed and strength with you either. Same as you don't with me. You've got a good sense for what is a good sparring intensity rather than actual battle."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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@HereComesTheSnow

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"I can't imagine his was any softer, though. Seems like growing a hard head is a defense mechanism." Blade up again, over the left shoulder. "Florian didn't really say anything like that to me, though. There wasn't much opportunity to speak it felt like." He surged forward like a spring suddenly released, point flying out towards his imaginary target as he stepped slightly to the left. Changing the line of engagement. Stopped as though parried; raised his blade to cover, imaginary opposition sliding off his flat as he stepped back to the right, blade whirling in a tight cut down into the short guard.

A quick jab forwards, arms extended in long guard for a moment, before drawing back, posta frontale, ready to defend from any retaliation. A smooth progession, a sequence fast even for a trained eye, though Gerard at least would recognize how slowly and deliberately Fionn was stepping through it, his focus drawn almost entirely inward, away from the conversation. "When he did, though..."

He stepped forward again, blade rising to turn a probing thrust; their blades met again in the eerie silence, points brushing against one another lighter than a feather. The touch was almost soft-like the breath of a breeze in spring, ahead of an oncoming storm. A gentleness belying the killing intent that drove the probing contact. For all that Fionn knew his skills with a longsword were very proficient-some might even say excellent-he knew the knight across from him was perfect.

"Reactionary," the other observed in a clinical tone. "Defensive, restrained...but brutal. Curious combination." The pressure eased off for a moment, the other's tip circling around, changing the angle for a the barest moment to seek an opening. Fionn responded in kind, restoring the original orientation just as the knight lunged; the thrust was beaten down and aside, and he stepped forwards, a quick cut towards the other's face. The other blade came back up just as quickly, a hanging guard, now the blades crossed at the forte. Both knights as tight into each other as their bladework had been.

Fionn stepped forwards quickly, bringing his pommel up towards his imagined foe's face. Continuing past, whirling around again, blade once again crossed with some unseen enemy, nearly nose to nose. Stretto, as he'd been taught to call such a close distance. "He didn't really focus on anything about technique with me," he continued, pausing for a moment. Didn't call out any deficiencies or the like. I think he knew that I know where I lack. Just commenting on my thought process."

There were opportunities. Seize his blade and strike low. Step off line and continue in with a pommel strike to the face or neck. Wrap his blade beneath the guard and send the other's flying, grasp his arms and throw his opponent down across his leg. But in each opportunity, an obvious invitation, any number of chances to counter, to make each opening a trap.

Their steps continued, each twisting on the balls of their feet to face each other again. Himself back-weighted, blade across his shoulders. Aggressive and inviting. The other, forward-weighted, blade low and to the side. Solid and indomitable.

"No sense prolonging the fight-or the suffering," he replied. "It's quicker. Direct, like." Almost as one they shifted stances; his blade came forward slightly, point threatening the other, hilt high next to his brow. The other shifting back, blade closer in, in-line, but still down. The traps remained clear.

Damn you, Florian, he thought suddenly. He almost thought he saw the hint of a smile on the Mirror Knight's face. Not Cyrus, not Parvan, I have to get the knight that wants to pick me apart inside and out. He wasn't sure how long they'd been at this back-and-forth, constantly feeling the other out, but compared to the speed with which most of his engagements usually ended it felt like an eternity.

"No reason to waste time and energy."

"That's not all there is, is it?" Florian asked, his cheeks as of yet unmarred by the sweat that beaded on Fionn's own. "Such a valiant, true, idealistic knight. Guide, advisor, and protector, defensive even in your manner of fighting. Truly one that Lady Mayon would favour...but we both know it isn't borne out of any deep altruism, just that you've turned it to serve your nobler impulses."

Florian stepped forward, feinting another lunging thrust into a low cut instead. There was a chance there - lunge forwards, take the blade under his ribs in return for planting his point in Florian's throat. No winner. An obvious double, but not bait. Another test.

He came down into the short guard on the right, catching the cut and keeping his point on line. Florian retreated a step, and their blades once more crossed at the point.

"You don't just enjoy the combat. The test. Not like you convince yourself you do." Even as much as this had been the best bout Fionn had been in for an age, it felt like, he almost had to admit that Florian was right. The prolongation dampening his enjoyment, but not utterly extinguishing it. "You want to win. You want to dominate, don't you? To command, to control. You love breaking people. Tell me, MacKerracher, if you could end a fight in a single stroke, or a war, even if it meant you didn't personally win, would you really do it?"

"Aye, Florian, I would," he growled under his breath, lunging forwards in the well-trampled dirt of the training yard. Blade rising to a feinted thrust; without missing a step he shifted his grip on his pommel, blade whirling around into a devastating rising cut, left hand reversed upon the hilt. His point drifted to the side as though pushed away, before he shifed his hand again, pushing aside an invisible thrust.

He stepped in tight again; his left hand came down to block Florian's arms, his sword rotating, pommel behind Florian's crossguard, and he sent the founding knight's blade flying off to the side as he continued on past. His point drew in again, primed for a thrust—before he felt a quick, pinching pressure under his arm, rapidly shifting to white hot pain. His grip slackened, and within the same heartbeat he was flat on the ground, Florian atop him, both breathing heavily.

Another test. To see if he was true to his word. Sure enough, the trap was obvious—such an easily-exploited thrust from that position wasn't something a knight of Florian's caliber would normally do, purely because the chance that he lost his own sword, suffered a broken nose, broken teeth, or any number of worse things was too high. But he'd let himself be disarmed, leaving Fionn dangerously close to planting a blade between his ribs, before tackling the Veltish knight and sticking a dagger in his armpit. Were there other knights there, Fionn fighting alongside comrades as he normally did, Florian would be the dangerous enemy left wide open for reprisal. A desperate attempt to salvage a poor choice for any more normal opponent, but one that had very little chance to succeed beyond the immediate kill.

For Florian, just a teaching moment. "Good," the Mirror Knight replied, coming to his feet with a small nod. Overall, it wasn't dissimilar from what he'd done with Jeremiah. Make himself a threat, keep the enemy occupied, and let the others get the actual hits in. Against a lesser foe, this likely would've proved a mutual kill, like some of the other opportunities he'd seen before.

"Don't lose sight of that." When he rose again, he nodded back as Florian bowed to him, before taking up his sword once more against armoured juggernaut whose corpse his friends had just faced down in the Cazt tomb.

Fionn blinked, glancing back at Gerard. "Sorry, lad. Was I talking to myself there? Still playing it all back in my head."