All that greeted the black tendrils of Levi, the weaponry of James, and the defenses of Cody were snickers from Sadie and Gil, albeit ones made alien by the strangeness of their features. Running a finger along the edge of his blade, the butterfly knight called, "Less talk, more pain, tinhead!" and jumped at James, swinging his blade back and forth with great speed. To a skilled observer and swordfighter such as the Paladin, the intricacies of Gil's style would be readily apparent: while the Emperor obviously relied on power over skill, his technique was far from sloppy. Rather, it was telegraphed and inflexible, which practically begged for some sort of magical edge to give its user an advantage--and yet, Gil offered nothing but a decently fast and decently powerful onslaught.
Meanwhile, Sadie the Empress elected to take on both Levi and Cody at once. Her plan, though simple, promised to deal with both of them in one stroke. Brandishing her new and ill-gotten spear, she cried, "If a bug hit your shield, would it splatter into mush? Let's see!" After reeling back, the moth lady threw her weapon in a slow arc toward Cody, and in mid-flight removed the hex she'd placed on it to restore its original form. Cody now faced a screaming person flying straight at him, ready to either smack into his defenses and take damage -thereby demoralizing and possibly inflicting mental damage on Cody- or prompting him to lower his defenses and get hit by a flying man. For Sadie, it was a win-win. Only one complication confronted her: now, she held no weapon. This too was easily remedied.
She outstretched her hand toward Levi and let loose a hex. If he wasn't saved in one way or another, he'd become her next tool of war, Egg of Sin or no.
Though for Mark and Luna the trip back to the Phoenix Wing hall proved uninteresting, to call it uneventful would merely have been an exercise in ignorance. Up and down hills, past interesting buildings, through marketplaces, over bridges, around crowds, and under arches, the two Iron Enigma wizards were tailed. Their followers shadowed them at a respectful distance, making no imperfect attempts to mask their leisurely pursuit. From the corners of their eyes, Luna and Mark could see them clearly. One bore a face known to them, one adorned with glasses, framed by long, thick, orange hair, and crowned with a ludicrous hat.
Stacy bore her usual, curious half-smile, the kind that makes onlookers want to talk to her and find out why. Her companion, however, was unknown to them. This burly, intimidating individual hid most of herself beneath a wide-brimmed hat, a long duster, thick pants, and boots, but her face and lower arms -the only visible parts- bore every aspect of a bird of prey. From
her, people instinctively shied away.
Steadily the two strange figures grew closer. By the time Mark and Luna reached their destination, their shadows were practically on their tails. Stacy raised a hand and called, "Oh, Mark? There's someone I want you to meet!"
The instant that Mark turned to face her, however, he was assailed by a giant fist and a feather-faced smirk. Regardless of the outcome, Lockheart put a hand over her mouth and laughed. "Sorry about my wingman! Lakota's a bit of a hothead." Her hair began to lash around, sparking with orange electricity, and the eyes of her supposed hat blinked visibly. Lakota shot her an angry look as Stacy continued, "Anyway, I loved the date last night. I'd love it more, however, if you came quietly." She put her hands on her hips and grinned at Luna. "And you can come too, sweetie!"
Though events of action and intrigue took place all across Crocus, not least of all in the Doma Flau, time passed with a languid slowness in the Frenzy Plant camp. Those who had been practicing with blade and armor trained no more, instead gone to the arena to spectate the final match. Zander and Hyun took the prisoners with them, and kept their intents quiet to everyone. Aside from a fitful southern breeze, the only stirring in the camp was the noise coming from the repair tent. Aside from Cecilia, those who remained did so in order to rest. Magni, Thor, and Gabriel eased their physical and psychological wounds with the balm of slumber.
The footsteps, when they came, fell largely on deaf ears. Even though one of the beings gave of a regular
clank-clank of heavy armor and the other held draped over his shoulders and wrapped around his waist a creature inclined to frequent hissing, their arrival drew little attention. It took a double-take from Cecilia, having just about finished the mending of her armor, before anyone noticed the new arrivals. The sight of them filled the young knight with dread; a diving-suited
man with a claw arm and a somber
youth carrying a monstrous two-headed snake did could mean nothing good. She grabbed her sword from the worktable and rushed out, unarmored, to accost them.
"Halt this instant! What do you think you're...augh!" before she could even finish her sentence, the great serpent lashed out and headbutted her with enough force to send her body crashing through Thor's nearby tent. Cecilia groaned, conscious but too full of aches to get up. The serpent retracted to curl around her lover's foot, who spat, "This is the challenge that the warrior guild offers us? Sad, sad, sad, Naomi." Nodding sagaciously, Naomi echoed, "Ssad, ssad, ssad, Jann."
A mocking, maniacal cackle issued from the diving helmet of the Lover's associate. "There be nobody home! Let's torch the place, afore the basta'ds get back! I got a score to settle wiv Frenzy Plant."
VIII - Justice
XVII - the Star
@zarkunHunter's search for a peaceful place to eat turned up, before a suitable cafe or restaurant, a most unexpected occurrence: a mole reading a discarded newspaper. After a few moments, the mole seemingly finished with the day's announcements -including a short detail of information on all the guilds now participating in the games- and heaved itself up onto its hind legs and began, of all things, to shuffle directly toward him. Somehow, though little more than a mere mammal, the tiny
beast bore an improbably yet unmistakable aura of intent.
While this happened, a woman drew level with Hunter. Garbed in a striped red dress that clung to her wide hips, a cream-colored shawl, and the mask of a lion, she, too, watched the mole as he came closer. After a moment, it became obvious not only that the mole's path directed him toward her, but that -given the texture of the fur, the detail of the inner mouth, the flicking of the ears, and the predatory luster of the eyes- this woman was anything but human. "How...unfortunate," she intoned in a graceful, low voice. "He thinks to protect you from me. Or will he help me to take you down? Either way, it won't be pretty. The Mysteries rally against you, Hunter Jorgenson."
She turned her lion face on the Dragon Fang wizard, locked eyes with him dangerously, and
snarled.
