The Otter

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

After a last-minute planning session with Miina and Chisato, reminding them of the rules of engagement (the first being: don't engage unless completely unavoidable) and working out a place that they could meet up or hide messages if need be before finding the others, the trio had split their separate ways. Given a lack of information that the three had on where their quarry could be, it had left them with a host of options.

Attempting to infiltrate the cathedral, one that he figured was best left to Chisato as her target was the one with the most ties. Observation of the guards and the locals, listening to rumors, following their movements to see where they were congregating, anything that could lead to determining the Grovemasters' residences or outright locations in that way—perhaps best left to the one that could blend in as a local or outright make herself invisible. Lastly, infiltrating the Council halls themselves, finding offices, taking any information that could be useful in that way.

Naturally, Esben had assigned himself the third option.

While the security around the city overall was not terribly effective, he had noted that it was still more than had been when they first came through. The presence of guards—as well as their apparent competence at their jobs—only increased the closer one got to the major centers of the town's rule. The living tree that held the Grovemasters' chambers, as the beating heart of Drana Asnaeu's governance, was one of the most heavily guarded parts of the city. The guards made a fine show of things around the main entrance, but they were clearly patrolling the streets around it as well, smaller teams posted at various side entrances, and no doubt they would have snipers—archers, crossbowmen, possibly even riflemen if they had deigned to trade for such modern weaponry—watching various points in the vicinity.

More professional by far than Mizutani Tane's goons, if he had to guess. This wouldn't be quite so simple a task as running along the walls and stabbing a few criminals in the back. Still, he had the cover of night on his side once again, where the guards would be relying on light sources either posted or carried. As he watched the surroundings of the Council chambers from the high perch he'd climbed to, he couldn't help but note just how predictable the guards' patrols were. Predictable and gappy; unacceptably so, if it weren't for the possibility of snipers on overwatch.

Peering through a spyglass, he scanned the field once more, pausing when he caught the reflection of firelight off of metal. "As expected," he muttered. The prod of a crossbow was a hard thing to hide when it was kept so clean and polished. The guard holding it was almost invisible, the balcony they hid on cloaked in shadow and themselves draped in dark, form-obscuring clothing, but the light that caught the steel limbs and spiked bodkin bolt gave them away to anyone who knew what to look for. He followed the arc of the patrol that had just inadvertently revealed their comrade, spotting another sharpshooter a couple blocks down, and a third.

Overlapping fields of fire. At least they were being smart about it. Though, if he had to guess, judging by the way in which they all conducted themselves...perhaps the time the Kirins had spent lost in the forests had been to their advantage. They seemed less concerned about infiltration than they likely should have been.

He brought the spyglass down, pointing to the first sharpshooter. "One there, one there, and one there," he directed the eyes of his small, fey companions in turn. "Likely more, but you see the side entrance there, ja? I'm going to make my way in near there, which means those are the three we'll have to take out. Once I'm close enough I'll have the two of you distract the guards at the door to make sure they don't notice me coming in, but until then, keep yourselves dim and stay hidden."

"Right!"

"Right!"

He nodded. "I want to do this with as little death as possible. These aren't criminals or invaders, they're just doing their jobs—and I want to try and take them out simultaneously, if we can. What options do we have?" The fairies, having already dimmed themselves to the point that he could only tell they were glowing because of how dark it was, looked at each other in thought. Obviously, he was planning to physically knock one of them out; if the two could manage to remove the others at the same moment...

"I can slow one down until they fall asleep!" Selene exclaimed after a moment, earning a raised eyebrow from Esben. "You saw how Rudolf reacted when we dropped him back to normal, right? I can do that in reverse—unless they're very good at forcing themselves to stay awake, if they just keep slowing down more and more, eventually their body will just assume they're tired and—lights out!" He nodded, looking over to Eos.

"I can—"

"Make them so sick they pass out?"

Eos's cheeks flushed red as Selene began to laugh. "No fair!" she pouted, as Esben flashed a small smirk. "Alright, you two, stay dim like I said. Keep out of sight until you see me ready to work. I'll go for the far one, closest to my entrance—both of you peel off as we pass by the other two." The fairies nodded at him again, and he turned, climbing down from his perch quietly before dropping to the street.

The more organic nature of Brightlam's construction introduced an element of chaos to his route that didn't exist in any of the other places they'd been—however, from his earlier vantage point he'd already familiarized himself with the majority of the layout he needed to know, and between his sense of direction and the fact that he could send one of the fairies up higher to point him the right way if he ran into an unexpected dead end it was no difficult matter for him to make his way along and avoid the sporadic patrols as he did so. Selene split off first, staying near the first sharpshooter; Eos with the second a couple blocks later.

Esben kept to the shadows of the buildings, moving with a light, quiet step. Over the two block span, he only had to press himself into an alcove to hide once, when he'd barely overtaken the guard patrol one street over and heard them coming towards the intersection. Luckily, they continued along, turning back towards the Council building as they made their rotation.

He climbed atop the buildings again, the close-set roofs proving very easy for him to make his way over to the last sharpshooter. Off to his right, he caught the barest glimpses of green and purple lights, letting him know that Eos and Selene were watching closely, ready to tackle their own. He turned back, creeping to the edge of his roof. The sharpshooter was just below him—like the others, draped in black, this one holding a longbow rather than a crossbow or a rifle. He looked off to the streets, noting that none of the patrols were near enough to hear anything if much noise should get out, and moving away at that.

He dropped down to the balcony. The guard turned instantly, dropping the bow and reaching down to pull out a knife or a sword. Esben lunged forwards, the heel of his palm striking hard and sending the guard's head jerking up and to the side before he could yell anything out; before he could recover he had them pulled in tight, slipping behind and pulling his neck into a triangle choke. Within seconds, he was out cold—just as the fairies zoomed up beside.

"Make sure he stays out," Esben bid the pair as he let go of the guard. Selene drifted down, placing her tiny hands on either side of the man's forehead. His eyes fluttered as he started to come to as blood flow resumed to his brain, before drifting away again, far more peacefully. Once he was sure the man wouldn't wake up for a good while, he nodded, dropping back to the street, fairies in two. "Alright. We have a couple minutes here. Go get those guards distracted for me—nothing that'll draw suspicion and leave them gone from their posts, I just need some time so that I can get in through one of the windows."

The pair glanced at each other once and sped off, brightening up again once they were in the wider street. Within moments, he heard the guards—cursing about like Izayoi had been, though at least a little more good-naturedly. The people of Brightlam were familiar enough with fairies, after all, so a pair of them coming and causing a bit of mischief wasn't cause for alarm.

He went wide around, passing an extra block just to be safe. Off where the two guards were watching the side entrance, he could see the pair of them swiping at the fairies playing just out of reach; they seemed to have grabbed something of note, that they were tossing back and forth between themselves—and surreptitiously turning the guards away from the windows Esben intended to get in by. Once they were looking the other direction he sprinted the remaining distance, slipping his cutting dagger in just enough to undo the latch and force the window open so that he could climb through. He did, waited a moment as his diminutive compatriots finished having their moment with the guards, and closed the window again. Blinked the summoning spell, the fairies disappearing wherever they'd gone after messing with the guards, and reappearing next to him.

"Good work, you two," he praised them, looking about the room. Nothing special, this one—no doubt the offices would be deeper in, near where they'd all met with the Grovemasters. "Scan the halls ahead of and behind me, I don't want any surprises." With that, the trio carefully combed through the Council building. The offices of each of the Grovemasters were easy enough to find. Alambert's was fairly empty, other than his calendar detailing some of his meetings; the man didn't seem to keep much by way of notes within his. Isolde's was about as empty as he expected as well, given that she likely spent just as much time at the cathedral, though there were more than a few notes about how her lockdown was grating on the populace, and a small notepad of her own. He scanned through it quickly, frowning at some of what he read.

In Zacharias's office, there was more to be found. Some mail that the man had brought from home to work, giving Esben his home address. Details of the efforts he'd been taking to contain the Blight, organizing expeditions and cleanup crews, curiously without the aid of the other two. Then, in the man's notes...more of what he'd read in Isolde's own. It appeared that the Grovemasters weren't half the united front that they tried to present, especially if the both of them seemed to find Alambert's activities to be questionable. Ducking meetings with them, avoiding questions about how he was spending his time, roving about to parts of the city that one such as himself would normally have no business being in, all for the last few months.

"And yet she said that he could be turned," he mused to himself. Either Isolde was overconfident, blatantly lying to them, or whatever Alambert had been up to, she was getting in on it. That suspicion should now be cast on two out of the three wasn't something he'd been unprepared for, though if Miina or Chisato couldn't find something to turn the tides more in their favour, it made it more likely that things would have to end in further bloodshed.

"...Unfortunate."

"Hmm?"

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he bid his companions. Selene was keeping watch at the door, Eos down the hall, but both could hear him clearly enough. "Come on, let's get back out of here—I want to make my way to Zacharias's house while he's still there." Everything he'd pulled out was put back precisely where it had been, anything important already committed to memory. While he had half a mind to go and verify Cid's thoughts on the possible location of the Crystal of Water, he decided against lingering too long in the Council chambers, or risking that he might run into some fresh new threat down below if he did find the crystal.

The sharpshooters should, likely, have still been unconscious, so the best way out was the way he'd come in. He backtracked through the halls, coming back to the side room with the window. Looking outside, he could see a patrol making their way towards the door guards. He waited for them to come by, turn round and head back, giving it time for them to get far enough away, before looking back to the fairies as he slid the window open once more.

The dimmed pair slipped out, staying low, before brightening up again next to the guards.

"Oh, come on, not again!"

Somewhat exasperated, but still with some good humour about it, the pair began to try and catch their things back once again. Esben slipped out, slid the window back shut, sprinted back to the dark cover between the buildings he'd come from. Now he had only to pick his way back through the city, to the eldest Grovemaster's house, see what the guards were like there...

"Having fun?"

"Ja. How could you tell?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

---

Fionn had never expected himself to be sharing a laugh with one of the frontrunners of the Midnight Hunt...and yet, now it had happened. "If you think that's funny, just wait until you see how this ends!" Blade twirled around blade, small testing beats trying to determine if either combatant was getting too relaxed, lightening up their guard just a little too much. The Falconer's blade twirled around one last time, the faintest shift in the angle being all the warning Fionn had as it tightened its grip to push in for the thrust.

He whirled his blade under again, this time displacing the thrust high as the alien being lunged forwards. As the beast had expected; the glinting claws came for him as they came in close, pressed in almost to a true grapple. Fionn, however, was not yet keen to test his mail against the Falconer's second weapon. He stepped far to his left, quickly beyond the swipe of the claws. His blade, raised over his head, drooped, the rapier's edge sliding off as he turned.

His left hand came free, grabbing at the fae monster's upper arm. The end of his hilt came over its wrist, hooking the joint of its sword arm between his own wrist and the handle of his sword. And as he completed his turn, he pulled, hard, aiming to snap the creature's arm across his own body.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

One of Chisato's tall, rabbit-like ears was rapidly subjected to the uncomfortable sensation of being pinched and tugged right at the tip in response to her answer. "Behave yourself," was the stern command she got in return for her opinionated choice of words. "I can't afford to babysit either of you." He released her ear, turning back to Rudolf as a question was put his way.

"If Éliane can link up with Darri, then once she reconvenes with the three of you she should have some ideas for some surreptitious sort of signage that I'll know to keep an eye out for. I'll brief the other two before we split up. Failing that—beggars love to gossip. It shouldn't be difficult to get a hint my way if I keep my ear to the ground. We'll be working quickly enough that it shouldn't pose an undue risk. Otherwise, yes, I should be able to find you without much trouble."

He glanced over to Éliane.

"In case things should get too messy too quickly, make sure to ask Darri for some ideas on where you can all fall back to. I don't want to have to try and plan a second prison break in as many months."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

"That particular idea can remain deep within our list of backups," Esben said flatly, cutting off any further discussion on whether or not to hand Cid over. "I'm not yet convinced she isn't in league with Valheim or their agents, beyond whatever her faction in the church might be trying to push—and let's not forget that, among other things, they've developed the ability to siphon power away from the Eidolons and raise the dead as weapons. I will not risk losing one of our greatest assets to an adept white mage and whatever benefactors she may have."

Not to mention that, with more thought in the matter, he could imagine ways in which this new school of thought in the church that Isolde seemed to espouse could have been planted by the invaders or those sympathetic to their goals. Deny the Eidolons, minimize the other gods, turn the defenders of the faith on each other and leave everything open and exploitable in the chaos. Typical part of the playbook, to his eyes, just at a much higher profile than he'd normally have dared consider.

Not many would, to begin with. The little information the Garden had on Valheim's intelligence operations didn't suggest such work was within their capabilities, something that he'd expected to ring true after everything Cid had said about the state of things across the ocean. Even when engaging in a military operation, such totalitarian regimes would be expected to keep their intelligence more internally focused—or specific to finding their targets.

He tapped the side of his bowl thoughtfully. "I may have to see about ferreting out some of her fellow schismatics once we've dealt with the major problem. But I propose we stick to the plan I outlined three days ago, to start with. Chisato, I haven't asked—were those sketches Rudolf did enough that you think you can identify Isolde without issue?"

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen and Cid

---

After the Kirins set about getting their scrapes and bruises patched up, between Cid, Miina, and Eos, they had put to getting their camp pitched for the night. Even being so close to Brightlam, none of them wanted to try and sneak their way in after the rest of the day’s effort. For his part, Esben had excused himself from the set-up rather quickly after managing to trade a favor with Rudolf to get out of the work...

Leaving him time to peruse his journal, and the two marked pages within. One with a contract that had been finished and signed in his own blood, the other with a charred mark upon it. He didn’t know the language that the first contract had been written in, only that he evidently didn’t need to know it for the summoning magic to work itself through him. No doubt, the addition of Ramuh to it would be similar.

If there was one thing that suited him to his job, however, it was that Esben didn’t like not knowing important things. If it involved him, he absolutely detested it.

He stood, long strides quickly carrying him to where Cid and Ramuh were in the middle of some inscrutable discussion that he likely didn’t have the theological basis to add much to—but that didn’t dissuade him from stepping up and interrupting them.

”Cid. Ramuh. May I have some of your time?” He held up the journal, with the two pages next to each other that encompassed the sum total of his summoning contracts. ”I’d rather like to actually get some idea of how this all works before I start trying to figure how I can incorporate it into our plans going forward.”

”Ah, Esben.” Cid greeted the SEED with a smile upon his face, his eyes flickering down to the journal with an expression of pleased surprise. ”Oh? I’d not taken you for a summoner. Had Eve remained with you, that would most likely have fallen to her. But let’s see what else you have here besides Ramuh…ah, two fae! The ones you summoned during the trial, yes?”

”Yes. Somehow, I doubt Eve would have had the patience for Eos and Selene.”

His gaze turned back to Esben once more, gesturing for him to join the sage in sitting down upon the grass.

”Ask away. In this subject, I am an open book.”

Two steps further, and he sank cross-legged to the ground. He wasn’t terribly surprised that the Eidolon deigned to let Cid do all the talking. ”Simply put, I don’t know where to start asking. I don’t know how those two managed it, but I’m able to summon them without issue reading from a page that isn’t written in anything I recognize. I don’t rightly know how the use of aether even functions, as I’ve not been around enough mages before now, nor had the time even now, to ask, and when it comes to potentially calling in him—”

He nodded at the form of the Eidolon next to them.

”I’d rather not risk burning myself out in an instant if I thought calling on him could be a good idea.”

”Fortunate indeed for you that the summoning art is far less magically technical than the magicks of white or black. So long as you are aware of how to channel your aether, you may summon forth Eidolons. Of course, as you are, I would not expect to be able to channel one of Ramuh’s might for much more than a singular blow at a time. Though with the greater spirits, one such strike at the opportune time may be all that is required.” The old man said, a twinkle in his eye.

”If you are not able to access the flow of your aether in even some minute fashion, I express a measure of surprise. Materia draws upon such, as do warriors when they empower their strikes.”

”I’m from Skael, remember? We invented the Materia machines because we’re too...how would the Grovmasters put it? Divorced from our natural world.” At least they knew, now, that they couldn’t rightly blame Skael for the Blight. ”But if that is the nature of things, that’s simple enough. I don’t want to play around with things I don’t understand, and I doubt that either of the fairies could give me a good explanation.”

If it was as simple as channelling the minute aether he had with a focus on the target of the summoning, then that was a workable enough explanation. If he didn’t have to risk his own wellbeing in the process, all the better. He snapped his journal shut, placing it back within one of the pockets of his cloak. ”I’ll just have to trust that Ramuh isn’t as hungry for my aether as Eos seems to be. On to matters of planning, then.”

He pointed at Ramuh once again.

”I imagine that the Eidolons may not command quite the same position of respect within the modern church as they had in ages past, but it seems to me like Isolde’s actions—feeding us a poisoned ritual and wilfully dispelling Leviathan’s own manifestation—go beyond that into callous disregard. If either of you had to hazard a guess, would you expect similar of Alambert or Zacharias?”

At the mention of the other Grovemasters, Cid’s face fell, giving a deep sigh.

”Alambert, I cannot speak for. He is a relative unknown to me. As for Zacharias…” A hand came up to his head, the old sage rubbing his temple. ”As a much younger man, he sought my guidance for a time early on within his time with the Cathedral in Brightlam. While I regret the path he has taken, I believe he is not completely lost to reason. His fears have simply overtaken his hopes.” He stayed silent for several moments, reflecting on times long past before speaking once more.

”Regarding your plans…I believe I can aid you all in this regard. Both the Cathedral and Brightlam’s council chambers are holy ground. I trust you understand what I intend by this?”

”We need to get ourselves in there first,” Esben replied. ”Which is where I’m planning to focus on Zacharias first. Knowing that he came to you for guidance at one point only reinforces my view that, despite his apparent vitriol, he may be the one to focus on for our goals. With him on our side, we may have some luck swaying Alambert—just as Isolde thought that, should we accede to her demands, she might sway him to our side.”

The disdain with which he held her and her plans was more than evident.

”I should think, for a place that prides itself on its connection to nature and the spirits, and considering Zacharias as likely the most conservative of the council, that between the fairies, Ramuh, yourself, and even Leviathan if it should come to it, he may be swayed to vouch for us. He was the only one who actually seemed shocked when we mentioned your name. We were all hopeful to have an authority to trust after Osprey, so we weren’t nearly as careful with Isolde and her immediate vouching for us as we should have been. Given the disregard she showed to Leviathan and Ifrit, and her refusal to listen to anything we said after you blinked yourself out of that mess, I doubt there was anything genuine behind anything she said—except that, maybe, she does think you’re some sort of demon.”

Cid nodded at Esben’s words, taking some time to consider.

”Yes, your assessment of the situation lines up quite nicely with mine, lad. Isolde’s disregard for the Eidolons lines up with a heterodox faction of the Cathedral’s beliefs: the Mothercrystal above all, and even the other gods proper are not immune to this. In contrast, the major Eidolons tend to be viewed as not being worthy of proper worship in this regard. I am known to the upper echelons of Brightlam’s Cathedral, being that they have some of the largest congregations of the faith in the land, though I am unsure of where this suspicion of myself came from. It is not completely unheard of to be suspicious of a centuries-old man, though I should hope that I have proven myself worthy of some small measure of trust with my deeds in Etro’s service over the years.”

Another sigh, before he fished out a small crystal of light, handing it over to Esben.

”When you have Zacharias, if you should be upon holy ground, raise this crystal aloft, and I will know its radiance and come.”

He took the crystal from Cid’s grip, turning it over in his fingers as he looked it over. ”You do understand,” he started slowly, glancing sidelong at the older man, ”That if we can’t get any of them to agree with us, we’ll have to take more drastic measures? I don’t know that we’ll have any recourse for Isolde, not to mention that I’m somewhat convinced she’s in knowing or unknowing league with Valheim as it is—but Alambert and Zacharias too.”

”I understand.” Cid’s expression turned grave, his tone deliberately calm. ”I mislike it, but you are correct. Do what you must, though I would implore that you do not compromise your morality and soul if you do not have to. Spy and cutthroat you may be, but even the worst of us are still human in the end.”

Satisfied with the crystal, he slid it into one of his hidden pockets. Unsatisfied with Cid’s misgivings—and with being called a cutthroat at that—he pushed on. ”I’ve managed to make sure that the others will try things the quieter way, for now, but if the need comes to it, Drana Asnaeu’s stability is secondary to the greater goal. Will you be able to point us in the right direction to reach their crystal, if so? I don’t want us stumbling around completely in the dark, and interrogations can get messier than we need to deal with, doubly so if the same ones we need to interrogate are the ones we need to assassinate.”

”The physical locations of the crystals are unknown to me. Once, I was able to simply teleport myself to them, but that avenue is closed now. The darkness encroaching upon the land has caused Etro’s light to dim from more and more holy sites, with the Four being among them. The crystal you bear will call me when you reach them, however.” He paused, a hand reaching up to stroke his beard as he thought.

”I can, however, give you an educated guess. I know for a fact that the Crystal of Water is underground, at the very least. Considering the holy sites within Brightlam and the nature of the council’s predecessors, I have reason enough to believe that the Crystal will be within the city. That leaves two likely locations it is buried under: Brightlam Cathedral, or the giant tree containing the council chambers. Of course, you understand that it will be even odds should you attempt to hazard a guess.”

”That’s workable,” Esben replied with a nod. ”Better than we’d have otherwise.”

He fell silent again, watching as Rudolf walked off with Izayoi. No doubt trying to figure out another of her tricks for himself. The others were mostly done setting up their minimal camp, short of gathering firewood. Before too long they’d all be reconvening for dinner, which would cut the conversation with Cid to an end.

”One last thing, then.” With the talk of summoning and Eidolons, and a faction within the church that cared little for such powerful creations and emissaries of the gods, and knowing just how many of their party they had lost since arriving in Drana Asnaeu, there was one topic that he couldn’t just leave untouched. ”Your good health is unsurprising. I trust Eve is doing well after what Isolde pulled?”

”Well enough.” Cid replied amicably, a smile returning to his face at the mention of Eve. ”The shock to her was less than it was to mine own self, and she has recovered apace. Bahamut’s power flows through her, and I had set her to attempt communion with the Dreadwyrm when I left to aid Ramuh. Do you have any tokens or such you would like me to bring to her?”

”Ah, not right now, unless you want to be mean and let her know she missed Elly’s pastries leaving so suddenly. Maybe another time.”

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

---

The spectral falcon seemed to take some effort to reform from its cleaving as the falconer regarded Fionn, its head at a curious tilt. Whatever alien thoughts passed through its head judged Fionn as worthy, or perhaps necessary, to engage; the avian knight shrugged back the cloak of feathers to reveal its thus-far hidden weapons: in one hand, a serviceable rapier, and in the other… a plethora of knives? No; a gauntleted claw, its long talons each a heavy blade.

Without the element of surprise, it seemed the falconer was instead relying on speed and, unexpectedly, fencing technique as it thrust forwards.

@VitaVitaAR

Interesting pairing.

Luckily, it was a match-up that Fionn enjoyed practicing against, and with Lilia's presence, had only grown more familiar with. Even before accounting for the size difference, the falconer's choice of armament gave it a reach advantage. The weights were similar, leverage went in his favour just as reach went in its favour. As was often his method, he just had to get within the twisted being's reach. The clawed gauntlet could complicate that, but after years as a mercenary and then his time as a knight, tricks like that weren't enough to surprise him anymore.

He brought the black blade across his body, catching the thrust and pushing it to the side, keeping his point forward to ward off any opportunistic rush the whole while. Dealing with a rapier at distance, it was best to play its game against it—constrain the blade, use the geometry to your advantage, and never release the threat. Trying to beat it aside at the tip would only get him skewered, all the balance being back in the falconer's hand leaving it able to quickly move its blade out of the way.

The tip of the rapier twirled around his own blade, trying to regain the center. Fionn mirrored the cavazione, too quick to give a good opening. The timing would have to be nearly perfect if he wanted to get in close, to try and force the points completely off-line and make use of any of the strengths his weapon carried over the enemy's. One option of many.

He could bait a thrust, slap it aside with one gauntleted hand as he mirrored the thrust with another.

Grasp the blade entirely and force the falconer to rely on its claws as they moved for an outright grapple.

Direct a thrust towards some non-lethal, hopefully not crippling part of his body; he doubted the mail would really stop the needle-like blade, but if it was bound by his armor and flesh both, he knew he could gain the upper hand rapidly. He'd get an earful about it later from a multitude of the others, but it could be worth it if none of the other options looked better.

No doubt similar thoughts were going through the alien mind of the creature before him, as they sat in the bind, looking at each other over the blades of their swords. "Could always make it easy, like," he joked, as unconcerned with the threat of looming death as he had been rushing to duel the Golden Boars' commander after having to cut his way to the man through an entire battlefield. "You'll come back the next time this hunt goes on, aye? Just let me have your head, then, take a little break!"

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

---

Their combined strikes quickly wore away at Adrammelech; with odds of one against seven, that was an entirely foregone conclusion. A destroyed joint in a wing, a blinded eye, and still they chipped away at the rest. Izayoi turning the lesser eidolon's own attack back against him was an unexpected turn, but with the deep, blackened gash rent straight through Adrammelech's armour revealing softer flesh beneath, Esben wasn't going to complain about the surprise. He just had to come up with the best way for them to exploit it—

He blinked as Adrammelech did. Without a thought he dashed forward, his blade whipping out of its scabbard to intercept the bolt of lightning that was flying for Selene, his muscles convulsing for a moment as the energy blasted through him and into the ground. He slid to a stop, confident that both of his fairies had escaped retribution for the moment—indeed, Eos was already working to try and keep Rudolf from getting literally cooked by the electricity that had been coursing through his body repeatedly—and looked to the flames that were now interposed between Miina, her spike, and the falling spirit.

If that would occupy it...

"Galahad, get behind his head and yank it back! I don't care if you grab his horns or bridle him with your halberd, just get it done!" he shouted. Forcing head and shoulders back would only serve to open him up further. "Izayoi, you and I are wrestling one arm, Rudolf has the other! Chisato, Éliane, as soon as we've got him open concentrate fire on that hole in his chest!"

If he was a bit closer, he would've tried to run and get Miina out from under the spike and the black flame before the draconic being crashed into it, but running to save Selene put him just out of reach. Ideally she could capitalize on it to get out on her own; if not, she'd be in the perfect position to fire off into Adrammelech's chest herself, so he wasn't too worried about how she'd factor into this next attack. Assuming she wasn't entirely crushed, although given what Cid had told them about not getting killed and their hurts being healed after, that didn't seem too great a worry.

Instead, he rushed for the hand that he and Izayoi were the closest to, reaching out to pin it with his sword and force the spirit's arm back to forcibly expose the gash in his chest.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fionn MacKerracher

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The falconer in front of Fionn rose to meet his challenge… literally. Already standing the height of a man, when it stood properly – or as much as it was able to – then it towered over even the tallest human. Lanky, and malformed in a clearly avian manner, it was hard to tell where the light armour ended and its own natural scaling began. Its masked head regarded Fionn with a curious gaze before it gave a loose shrug, cloak of feathers rippling over the stubs of wings.

Yet, still, its arms and whatever weapons it held were hidden beneath the feathery shroud, and the Falconer made no move to engage in melee.

It didn't need to: the spectral bird had launched off its shoulder and already moved for a raking dive at the knight's face, not caring for normal concerns like needing time to build up speed.

@VitaVitaAR

Fast as it was, Fionn was expecting the falcon to dive into the fray immediately. He stepped off to his right, leaning deeply into the step, and the spectral falcon sped on past him without making any contact. He stepped forwards, then back to the left with a similar lean—avoiding the return attack as the falcon came back around. He swung upwards as it did, and spectral feathers floated in the air as they were freed from their ghostly owner. The falcon returned to her original place with her falconer, with no damage except to the plumage.

He could have done more. Perhaps he should have; however, while the opportunity to train with Erich and getting to fight with Gerard, Renar, and Florian had been something he greatly enjoyed, it still didn't quite match up to the opportunity to indulge himself with real stakes. Maybe that was part of why he and Tyaethe got along so well—a similar level of insanity, finding such enjoyment in such a dangerous occupation. At least she wasn't making extra difficulty for herself...but cutting the falcon out of the air so soon would make it too simple, too quickly.

He raised his blade from the low guard he'd returned to after the quick upwards slash, relaxedly walking forwards towards the Falconer. "Surely that's not all you've got, aye? Would be sad if it was. Disappointing, like."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

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"Esben, isn't this fun?"

She didn't wait or even look back to see the icy stare that was all the reply Esben had to give. Luckily, they solved the issue of the beasts without him really having to take part at all beyond directing Selene and Eos around—only for another test to come their way. Cid's glance went ignored as Adrammelech landed in the center of the clearing, roaring challenge at the Kirins. He jumped back, avoiding a bolt of lightning that blasted into the earth where he'd just been standing. Eos fluttered back near him, though Selene continued to hover around the entire group, flitting back and forth to avoid the electricity crashing around.

"Everybody fall ba—"

Rudolf charged forwards. No chance to even try and come up with a plan before having to account for the others taking matters into their own hands. One of these days they would all have to try and outline it all before the fights began, rather than trusting on each other to just instantly adapt to everything. Galahad followed suit, issuing his own command. All well and good for a dragoon, basic guidance but still correct.

Not exactly what they should all do today.

"Éliane, Chisato, each of you pick a side and harry it," he commanded. "Don't let it rip Rudolf to shreds—interrupt it while he keeps its attention, and help him keep it off of Galahad. Izayoi, help Galahad or Rudolf as the need arises. Miina, we're holding back for now, keep the spell up as long as you can. Eos, stick to Rudolf until I say otherwise—don't let him cook himself."

The green fairy sped off as he backpedaled, sword loose in one hand with his buckler raised between himself and the Eidolon's servant. It wouldn't provide much against any lightning, but should it try to swipe at him with its claws it could easily prove the difference between life and death.

Irritable as it made him, mapping out the forest in his head would have to wait; first he'd have to hope the others would at least be willing to listen to what he said, rather than crashing about like wolf puppies on their first hunt.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Esben Mathiassen

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"Oh, what a bother," Esben muttered as the party dove into the fray with the beasts. Not just for the same reason he always wanted to complain when running into them—his focus as a duelist was already plenty obvious to the rest—but for the overall interruption of it. Between running through various options in his head that they'd have once they reached Brightlam and trying to mentally map out just where they'd managed to find themselves, he needed all the concentration he could muster.

Which, in the face of another Eidolon, ravenous beasts, and Cid's reappearance, was not nearly enough. At least the latter would help make some of his planning easier. "Eos, Selene, you can come out." The pair of fairies peeked out from the edges of his cloak, that he still wore despite the humidity and heat just to keep the rest of his clothes from getting torn to shreds in the forest, before flying out around him.

He was almost certain he could hear Eos breathe out a long, slow "Wow..."

As they took in the sight, he fell back towards the rear of the group where he could more easily overlook the course of the battle. "Keep an eye out in case they hit anybody," he ordered Eos, snapping her out of her momentary reverie staring up at Ramuh. "We don't need any casualties, nor do I want to deal with any of them being plagued by the Blight themselves. Selene, speed them up if you would."

"On it!" The purple-glowing fairy sped away in a heartbeat, casting her light over the gathered Kirins just as she had when they fought with Isolde and her knights. Not that Esben imagined any of them really needed the help with Blight beasts...but it should make the tiresome part go by faster.