TheLazarus

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

Prince Erik Reighn - Dawn, Miricia

King Jacob listened to Zachary's explanation about the day's events carefully, feeling the need to address it first. "I see. Then, this mage, is he laguz?"

"Human," Erik replied curtly.

"Human," King Jacob repeated. "We shall keep him confined to the weeks end, and release him then." The King ordered. Erik was about to protest, believing some stricter action may have been necessary for the violent mage. However, Gregory grabbed onto the Prince's arm and motioned him not to say anything. Erik was tempted to ignore his companions behest, but ultimately decided this was for the best.

The young King Jacob furrowed his brows and glared at Gerwazy. "Allow me to explain one thing," The young ruler began. He grasped onto the throne room vigorously. "The sub-humans of Miricia are my people, not yours," Jacob snapped. "You are allowed here simply because I wanted to figure out what happened to my father."

"Then let us figure out what happened to him," Erik interjected, as he rose and took a step forward. "Your highness, your father and I were good friends. I fought with him. I laughed with him. I cried with him. Let me bring the bastard that did this to justice."

King Jacob fell silent for a moment. A shorter, portly man whispered into the King's ear. Erik didn't necessarily recognize him, but his garb was very much something typical of Monos. Erik was beginning to dislike the involvement of the northern nation more and more. Yet as of now, Erik was more concerned about finding out more about his friend's death. "Very well. On behalf of Miricia, I would charge you to bring back the traitor who murdered my father, King Temerus, to face the King's justice."

"I... king Jacob, surely you don't really believe that the laguz King of Miricia was behind this, do you?" Erik asked the young King.

"Of course I do!" Jacob exploded angrily. "All the signs point to him. He is guilty, and he must pay."

Erik shook his head. "We can't know for sure. A better idea would be to investigate here first, and-"

"While we wait here," Albert, the mustached commander interjected. "Derak protects Temerus. What if he flees through their aid? What if he departs and is never heard from again? Even if what you say is true, and Temerus has not done anything, then hear it from his own mouth. Show us that he has nothing to hide. Clear his name, if you must."

Erik gritted his teeth. This wasn't what he had planned to do. A trip to Derak would take time. It would be a couple weeks journey at least, and that's if it was a straight shot. And Erik knew the likelihood of finding actual clues more likely in Miricia itself. Yet Erik knew now his best bet was to first clear up the matter with Temerus. Even if there was a small chance he could have done it, the sooner they ruled him out, the better. Erik looked at Albert, and then toward the two Monosian knights from before, Joriah and Derius. Their involvement here was even more troubling, but Erik saw now way to help it now.

"All right," Erik finally conceded. "I'll go to Derak and clear this up. And when I return, I'll find the answers I seek."

The King leaned back in his chair, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Good. I presume you will have a team with you on your travels?"

"Gregory and Zachary will accompany me," Erik replied as he looked over his knights. He then glanced at Gerwazy, then the wolf and raven laguz beside him, not sure what to make of them at this point.

"And the bird, dragon and wolf?" Albert asked the prince. "What's their part in all of this?" Erik fell silent and looked toward the two, figuring he'd give them to explain for themselves their involvement, if any really.

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

bump! We could always use a few more characters!

The World of Aerion

Thanks for the opinions! It seems the vast majority aren't for it, which is perfectly fine! I myself prefer the OOC chat more as well.

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

@CyraniaI'd say he'd be in human form at this point.

The World of Aerion

I'm going to give @Karillin and @tobiax a chance to reply for the mercs, if they have anything to write in, before I post again.

Also for the knights, you guys feel free to interact and do as you like, and when you're ready, I'll make a timeskip post advancing us to the location.

Also, in an unrelated matter, what do you guys think of a discord chat?

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

Prince Erik Reighn - Dawn, Miricia

The last thing Erik expected was for Kuro to send anyone. Kuro was an isolationist nation, preferring to tend to the matters of their own borders rather than anything else. So when Gerwazy introduced himself, Kuro was admittedly shocked. "Best keep that information a secret. These ones do not take kindly to the laguz." He explained.

---

The palace of Dawn was marvelous. Erik himself didn't appreciate architecture like his older brother, but even he knew it was quite a sight. Hallways filled with majestic statues and intricate designs. Bronze busts of heroes of old. Incredibly details paintings along the walls. It had it all. And the throne room was the most special room of all. A red carpet led its way from the last doors to the golden throne. Guards patrolled every exit of the throne room, alone with half a dozen of them beside the young king, Jacob III.

"Hail, King Jacob!" Gregory called from beside Prince Erik. Erik knew he was supposed to be the one to greet the king, but he was distracted by the days events, and forgot. Erik wasn't always the best with nobility formalities. Beside him, he had the two laguz he had encountered, as well as Gerwazy from Kuro and Zachary.

"Prince Erik," The King Jacob greeted with a small nod of his head. The young prince had seen better days. His skin was worn and sweaty. He was more pale than Erik remember. His general expressions seemed much more grim as well. "You and your... accomplices have some explaining to do." The King looked across the laguz with a hint of disgust on his face. It was as Erik feared. He was completely blaming laguz for his father's death.

"Maybe you can explain your own actions, King Jacob," Erik answered as politely as he could must at that moment. "Laguz restriction laws? Monos elites? What's going on here?"

"I do not have to explain my actions to a foreign prince, sir" The King responded. "Monos is here to assist with the sub-human situation. What I want to know is what happened in the city. Or perhaps one of your companions may speak and enlighten us all?"

The World of Aerion

Varian Sigmund - Outside the Gates of Dalenham, Ethora

“Ah, you are here!” The merchant announced his presence with a wave of his large, meaty hand. He nodded at Varian and looked over at the rest of the troops. The merchant had to do a double take when he saw the half orc.

“Umm, yes.” He finally articulated. “I am here to dispense the funding and relay any other information to yourself and your group, once the rest of them appear. Speaking of which, how many more are we expecting, sir…?”

“Sigmund. Varian Sigmund.” Varian replied without looking at the merchant, but rather to the interior of the city as he scouted for the rest of the troop. “This will be it.”

“This... this is all, my lord Varian?” The merchant questioned. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his corpulent face. “I assume that all of the individuals you’ve selected are in fact capable fighters. Am I correct?” The merchant said, eyeing the orc and other female fighter. “I wouldn’t want to sending any of them into danger.”

Varian snorted. He knew what the man was really asking. He wasn’t concerned about the well-being of his mercenaries, but rather the welfare of his pockets. He wanted to accomplish the job with as little muscle needed as possible, as the merchant agreed to pay 70 silver to each of them. Even in the situation of his daughter’s life hanging in the balance, the merchant still sought to be as frugal as possible. Yep, it was safe to say Varian was beginning to like the man. “Don’t worry about them. They all know what they’re doing.”

The merchant nodded, reaching into his own bag for a rather large sack, from the sound of the shingling Varian was certain was payment, and a marked map of Ethora. “Very well. First, the matter of payment.” He said, reaching into the large sack and pulled out a smaller sack from inside. Varian was able to peer into the large sack and see a bundle of identical sacks in the larger one. The merchant handed the small sack to Varian. “If you would, inspect the contents of the sack, sir.” He articulated to the Highman, who grabbed the sack from the merchant peered inside. Within it, he saw a bundle of shining silver pieces, the promised individual pay for the completion of the job.

“I’d say there is about 35 pieces in here.” Varian declared.

“Half the individual pay.” The merchant confirmed, distributing the smaller sacks to each of the other mercenaries. “To each of you, 35 pieces of silver handed out now, and the remaining 35, as well as the 200 surplus, to be given out once my daughter has been returned to me.”

Varian counted the coins once more to confirm the amount, before looking up to the merchant and nodding his head. The merchant returned the nod, and opened up the map he had with him. “If you would, good Sirs, gather around.” Varian obliged him, walking up next to the merchant and squatting down to look at the open map. It was a rather detailed map of Ethora, marked up with certain important cities and locations, as well as landmarks and trade routes. “Here we have our current location at Dalenham.” He pointed with one of his large, sausage-like fingers. “Over here is Curilan.” He said, his finger moving north to point to the city on the map. The fort is about four kilometers west of the city. It was once a heralded fortress under the control of the Ethorian government, but as the economy declined, many forts like this one were abandoned because of the impracticality of maintaining them.”

“How many men are we expecting inside?” Varian asked the merchant. Even through the hood, he could see the man’s anxiety rising as he answered the Highman.

“About twenty, maybe as many as thirty.” He said, watching the expressions on the faces of the mercenaries to see how they would react. Varian didn’t give much of a facial reaction, but followed with an additional question. “Anything special about these bandits? Do they have an affiliation or benefactor?”

“To my knowledge, they are simply a group of brigands from around the area. Nothing remotely special about them, as far as I hear. The only problem is their number, and fortification.”

Varian examined the map once more, before standing up. “Alright. We’ll get it done.”

The merchant also rose to meet his gaze, beaming at him. “Excellent! I cannot thank you enough, Sers. Here.” He said, handing the marked map to Varian. “I’ve taken the liberty to mark another area on the map, on the outskirts of Curilan. When the job is complete, proceed to the inn there, known as the ‘Strutting Stag’. I will be awaiting your arrival with the remainder of the payment, in full. Do any of you have any additional questions?” He inquired of the rest of the mercenaries.

Sir Roland Grey - Ethorian Sea

Roland glared at Kace and his extended hand. Instead of grasping it, the Ethorian knight returned his attention to his drink handed to him by one KD the sailors and took a satisfying gulp.

“How about a story, hmm?” Captain Crewe sat near the other knights, a tankard in his hand as he gazed across the faces of the other knights. “Have you heard of The Knight of Gold?”

“Every Ethorian has heard of that fairy tale,” Roland replied as he rolled his eyes. “A boring children’s tale to ward off young noble lads from being too greedy.”

“But of course, my lord,” Captain Crewe stroked his black beard and smiled. “Of course every tale has a hint of truth in it, do they not?” The captain extended his arms. “The knight of gold! Born in riches, born in beauty and revelry. A strong fighter too, but he had always cared more about what he wore than who he stuck,” The sailors around him laughed merrily at the captains jest.

“Ah, gold. He wore it. He bathed in it, he consumed it,” The Captains smiled quickly faded. “Until it consumed him,” a silence overtook the group as Captain Crewe finished the contents of his mug.

“As I said,” Roland interjected in the silence. “A children’s tale to stop boys from being too greedy. Nothing more.”

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

@Cyraniasounds good to me! Yeah go ahead and make a post for it! I’ll have mine up soon

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

@CyraniaThat actually could work. I was thinking Noritz either is captured as you said and Prince Erik asks him to be set freed after he helped Gregory, or Noritz just follows them into the palace out of curiosity and decides to tag along because of his own interests. Either are fine by me.

The World of Aerion

I'll be posting for the mercs either tonight or tomorrow!

Also, as a general heads up, I tend to drop people from the RP if they've been inactive for over a month without letting me know in some way beforehand. Being busy is completely understandable, as long as you just keep me informed!

Also, as a bit of background, this RP is broken up into chapters, or arcs. This is considered more or less the prologue, and after the merc's and knights first mission, it'll be officially considered Chapter 1, and that's when things pick up! It may not be immediately apparent but these two sides will be seeing quite a bit of each other soon.