TheLazarus

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

Prince Erik Reighn - Dawn, Miricia

Prince Erik nodded as most of the group seemed to agree that clearing King Temerus's name was the best course of action. He didn't usually take the diplomatic route in his travels, but here he was, breaking his routines. Erik wasn't sorry. If this would help him find out about his friend, he'd do whatever it took.

"If that's the case, there are two paths to Derak," Gregory explained as he laid out a map of Karula in front of them.

On the map, it showed the smaller nation of Miricia right in the center. Maul was to its west at approximately twice its size; Albia to its east, at roughly the same size, Monos to its north was approximately the same size as Maul, and Gannon, the largest nation, was to the south and southeast of Miricia. Derak was located on isles to the south of Gannon. Kuro, meanwhile, was a small nation half the size of Miricia to the southwest of Monos.

"We can either head east to Albia. From there, we could travel through my lands relatively undeterred until we reach the shores. Then we can take a ship from the east all the way to Derak. Travel through my country will probably be easier, but the waters along the way to Derak would be filled with pirates, mostly from Gannon. That could slow us down," Gregory explained as he pointed downward on the map toward Gannon. "The other choice is to travel south of here, through the western parts of Gannon. Normally, Gannon isn't too keen on foreign nationals travelling along its borders. But it's mostly concentrated along its shorelines, so we can probably slip by without too much resistance. Then again, because of the lack of much official Gannon presence, there's a lot of bandits that roam the areas. And any Gannon soldiers are a lot more corrupt than others. Once we hit the water, however, the ports of south Gannon are a lot closer to Derak, making it a smooth ride from there," Gregory looked up at the others and awaited their thoughts. "Those are the two best options we have."

Erik scanned the map and immediately thought of suggesting the Albian path. It seemed more steady. It would take a bit longer, but they could regroup and even gather more allies in Albia, as well as supplies from the capital. The only issue being that this path would likely take longer, especially once they reached the shores. "So it's a choice between the harder path and the longer one. Thoughts?" Prince Erik asked the others.

The World of Aerion

Sir Roland Grey - Fornond, Miracia

The port city of Fornond, Miracia, was much like it was described. Being known for its vast forests, even at the coast, the green of the Miracian trees were planted across the port town's spread out marble buildings. It was beyond beautiful, but it was also strategic. Archers were among the favorite tools of the elves; standard bowmen, longbows, and ballistas hid among the trees to prevent intruders along their shores. It was ironic to Roland. The elves were always peaceful. They detested violence. Yet each tribe in Miracia had much of its own identity. While the peaceful nature of the elves held true with the tribes in the deeper regions of the country, the coastal tribes were known to be influenced by the human wars and of their limited trade with Falke; they were ready for battle.

"Twelve days..." Roland began to utter as he adjusted his bright, steel armor in preparation for their docking in Miracia. “Twelve days on this Gods-forsaken piece of rubbish you southerners pass as a ship. Tella be praised with her gift of the earth, for I have long grown tired of these waters.” He hissed, glorifying the sight of land, not particular on the location. He didn't particular know much about the elves, as he hardly visited there. He had hoped their elven knight would help broker any information they would need, but the elf had left their ship the moment it hit Miracian waters. Roland never asked why he left, and quite frankly, he didn't much care. He turned his head. "Why could we not hug closer to the shore for calmer water?" The knight questioned Captain Crewe with a hint of annoyance.

"That would attract to much unwanted eyes," Captain Crewe stated matter of factly. Roland scoff as the black ship slowly pulled into a small port with a few merchant ships at a fairly kept dock. Roland saw a healthy combination of Falkan traders and eleven locals. Captain Crewe barked orders at his sailors, prepping the ship for landing and the crew for a swift yet bearable arrival. Soon enough, Captain Crewe howled until the ship anchored at the port and was tied down to the poles that were dotted across the port. As the Knights descended down to the wooden port, a rather large group of elven warriors had greeted them. They were covered in bright green light armor, covering their vital areas while hugging their skin for mobility. Roland scoffed at the elven designs. They were hardly going to prevent a single strike of his longsword on the that thin armor. It may as well have been paper. Despite their thinner armor, however, there were quite a lot of them.

Among the elven soldiers was an elf out of armor. With long black hair and youthful features, he hid his age well enough for Roland to be unable to make an educated guess. He wore a dark red silk robe with an elaborate design of golden trees embroidered on the robe. Floral designs were stitched on the edges of the robe, and a few fine golden jeweled rings styled his fingers, completing an image of wealth, importance and regality.

"Welcome, Knights of Ekilore, to Fornond," he said as he greeted the arriving knights with a low bow.

“I assume you are the ‘friend’ the monks spoke of,” Roland said to the man, who raised himself from his bow to meet the gaze of the knight from Ethora.

"Indeed, Sir Knight," The elf answered, with a warm smile. "I am Estallir, advisor to druid Vanya of the shores. I am here to provide you council, and direction on your noble quest. Please, if you would accompany me to my estate. It is not far."

The World of Aerion

@One Who Tames Hats off to 'wool-wrapped fatass' xD

I'll get a timeskip post up for the knights soon!

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

I will reply by tonight! If anyone feels like replying before then feel free. Also, if anyone happens to know anyone that might be interested in the RP, send them over we could use some more players

The World of Aerion

@SedjwickThis exactly. As I said a bit earlier, this is the prologue part for both groups, so it’s really just introducing everyone to the story and how the main plot will revolve around both groups. After that, I fully intent to delve more deeper into our interactions to the level @tobiax is referring to. It’s true, it’s often the small moments that provide the best interactions. So I think a healthy dose of both is crucial. That being said, there is absolutely no pressure to move on until everyone is ready!

It looks like the knights are, minus any dissent from @Doc Doctor (Archangel89 is one day away from being removed from the RP for inactivity In over a month and Inuyasha hasn’t been active for a few weeks), but we’ll proceed as normal with the Mercs until everyone is ready.

The World of Aerion

As I said with the knights, whenever you guys are ready to move on, just let me know! It's a few weeks journey for the knights, and about a week or so for the mercs too. Whenever you guys are done interacting, we can get to the quests!

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

@CyraniaJust a small clarification for your last post. It's Jacob's father who was killed, not brother.

Fire Emblem: The Eternal Struggle

Prince Erik Reighn - Dawn, Miricia

"It is you and your people that will be hearing of me!" King Jacob snapped at Gerwazy angrily. He then turned to Erik. "And I supposed the rest of the laguz will be joining you as well?"

Prince Erik glanced over at the wolf and raven laguz. Though he didn't want to answer for them, he felt it best that he were the one to speak at the moment, as the King was apparently too bigoted and angry to see any sort of reason with regard to the laguz. "Correct, your highness," More quietly, he whispered to the laguz. "Don't worry about this. You have no obligation to me when we leave this palace."

"Then I charge you with finding the truth and bringing the enemy Temerus back to me!" King Jacob announced, his voice echoing through the halls.

"Which apparently would be right now," Erik joked quietly to the other laguz. "I promise to find the truth, King Jacob. For your father, I promise that." He nodded, gave a quick, half effort bow, and turned to leave. Gregory gave a more pronounced bow and followed the knight out. King Jacob eyed the group as they proceeded out of the throne room.

---

"Well, that went well," Gregory murmured outside the palace gates. The group had been escorted out of the castle and back onto the streets of Dawn. "Definitely could have been worse!" He exclaimed with a warm smile.

"He's blinded by his grief, and being stupid," Erik responded curtly. "The answers to this won't be in Derak. They're here, and we're wasting time."

"My prince," Gregory began. "I know you want to find out who killed your friend, but isn't there wisdom in going to Derak?"

"I don't really care a lot about wisdom," Erik snapped. "Jacob is dead. Whoever did it has to pay."

"And I am sure justice will find him," Gregory added reassuringly. "But as much as King Jacob needed justice, so too does Temerus, does he not? Do not the people, the laguz of Miricia deserve it? We have to clear Temerus's name too. So that peace can come back here."

"And what if he actually did do it?" Erik asked his knight companion.

Gregory shrugged. "Then justice will be served."

Erik glanced at his friend for a long while, before he looked over to the others. "What do you all believe?" He asked, before he addressed the laguz besides Gerwazy. "And by the way, you are under no obligation to stay with my group any longer. Your business is your own."

The World of Aerion

Varian Sigmund - Outside the gates of Dalenham, Ethora

Varian couldn't help but muster a small, momentary smirk at his group's skepticism and caution. These were questions Varian was likely to ask himself, if he didn't already believe the fat merchant knew anything about the tower that could help. He was likely a prestigious merchant here in Ethora who had never stepped foot into one of the old forts of Ethora. They were far too dangerous and likely to collapse. Of course, maybe he would be surprised and the merchant may know more.

"I..." The hooded stout man began. He cleared his throat and examined the map again as if it had the answers he were searching for. "Well, I am unsure of their choices of weaponry... erhm, swords and axes and the like, I imagine? As I said, they are simple brigands from the area, so I wouldn't expect anything too spectacular. As for the fortress itself... I am no expert, but I suppose it should have a main entrance and exit? A side door or...?" He gestured with his arms on the side. "I am unsure, I apologize."

Varian sighed and stood up. He supposed he expected too much of the man. "That's all right," He began and stretched his shoulder. "We'll take it from here. You can go. And we'll keep the first half of the payment, and meet you for the rest," Varian shot the orc a quick 'what-the-hell-are-you-thinking' look before the merchant began to rise to (try and) meet the Highman's gaze and beamed.

“Excellent! I cannot thank you enough, Sirs, and mad'am. 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.” The merchant gave the group a bow of his head. “Good luck, and may the Nine watch over you.” Varian nodded his head, and watched as the merchant strode over to his horse, struggling a bit from his weight to mount it, before finally succeeding. He gave the mercenaries a slight bow of his head, and rode off to the north. Varian put the map away into his bag, and gazed upon his group, checking to see if they were all ready to go. He didn’t want to say anything in front of the merchant, mostly because he didn’t want the man to go back on his word after realizing the ludicrousness of his sum he offered. But at the very least, he knew (and any of these other mercenaries that have been long enough in the business) that if what the merchant said was true, they were about to receive comically high payment for minimal work.

"All right, now we can talk," Varian laid out the map again just as the merchant was out of sight and spoke up. "I recognize the area and the forts in that area. From what I saw and heard, they're all designed similarly. They're fucked." He emphasized. "Bad walls, shabby conditions. Those idiots are as likely to kill anyone that comes in there as the walls would come down over their heads. The forts tunnel down underground into narrower pathways, where numbers won't matter. My guess is they aren't protecting themselves with the fort, they're hiding in it. My guess is they won't have any archers outside. If they do," He motioned with his head toward Edon. "A few quick arrows will take care of them," Varian stood up, grabbing the map with him and adjusting his baldric to ensure it was fully tightened. "It's a week's march to the fort. You fall behind, you're left behind. Let's go."

The World of Aerion

Sir Roland Grey - Ethorian Sea

"One would think that an orb that brings everlasting peace would be much more accepted," Roland interjected himself into the conversation, though he refused to actually look at either Elric or Kace. Instead, the knight's eyes rested squarely on his mug, which he had recently refilled. "Though I suppose it is hard to bet against the stupidity of man," Roland's tone was pompous and condescending, but mixed inside was a hint of intrigue. The monks had talked about the orb possessing great power, which made Roland believe there may be more than one use for it.

Roland snapped out of it and questioned the others. "So! Has anyone actually been to Miracia? I hear the woods are so thick they cast spells upon the visitors to go mad. Any truth to that?"