Goro stayed silent through the man's words, still evaluating the man for his prospects in the coming battle. He'd developed an eye for this, having seen many a warrior approach him for his fine arms, and he could see that this man didn't seem to have much capacity for war. Not useless, but certainly out of his element, as he seemed like the type to be more at home behind a desk then out in a fight. But as unfortunate a match-up as this seemed to be, Goro wasn't going to abandon or ignore the man before him. He'd co-operate as his master had asked, do what he could, and who knows, the man may have a trick or two that allows them to win this whole thing, not that he particularly cared for the damnable cup himself.

"I see . . . well, I'm here and willing to answer any questions you may have to the best of my ability."

@Beloss

She summoned someone from the Caster Class? Gross. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. She didn't want to use magic like those Heathens, so why did she have to summon a Caster?! She would have taken a Berserker, or Rider, or Archer, or Lancer, or Saber! How was she supposed to stop the Holy Grail from falling into the hands of these heathens?!

It is okay, calm down Christelle. She still used a cross, right? So maybe she summoned an Apostle, like John or Peter. Or maybe it was a Saint who performed miracles, like Benedict or Patrick. She still had a chance to win this war! Of course she did! God was on her side! With him, how could she fail?!

Wait, what did he say his name was? Dante Alighieri? Why did that name sound so familiar. . .

Shit.

He was that guy who wrote the original self-insert fanfic! He is the author of the Divine Comedy! There is nothing too religious about him! He wasn't an almighty warrior, or a Saint! He is nothing more than a stupid author! God, why did you forsaken her?! How could you abandon a good Catholic girl like her?!

It'll be okay, Christelle. You're still going to win. Just work with him, and then kill every Master. Pretend Archer's don't exist.

". . . I used a cross given to me by some Merchant. He told me that it was held by some of the greatest Catholic Warriors. Obviously, he was a swindler. He will be harshly punished once this war is over. "

@Raijinslayer



The young looking Assassin class servant had indeed been resting, sitting against a wall on the opposite side of the room as the bed Charles had so chosen to pass out asleep on the previous night. The little girl had slept like this many a time in life, the dirty, cold brick walls of a building on occasion being more comfortable than simply lying her head on the even colder streets. Yet this was no brick wall, and below her was not the cold stones of a cobblestone street. So it was safe to say even this sort of sleeping situation was rather comfortable in her opinion. Besides, her daddy had needed the bed, it seemed, since he was so tired and all, so she was thus content to sleep wherever she could in the room otherwise.

Her eyes immediately popped open when her daddy's phone went off, the young servant standing up in response and rubbing her eyes with her arm to help wake up. Not like it would take her long, anyways. As a servant, she didn't need sleep, but even so she could partake in it as a sort of "luxury" perhaps. It was odd that she could even sleep at all, but she really didn't care all the same. Then again, perhaps it was good for her master that she had the option to sleep, instead of her wandering about awake and possibly at some point "bored" all night long...

Upon hearing they had received an invitation to something, Jack perked up a bit, childlike curiosity filling her expression for a moment as she pondered what sort of event they had been invited to. Maybe the other masters had been invited too! That in itself could be a rather exciting prospect, especially if she got to make one of the other masters there go "bye-bye" too! But her daddy had not really said much, except that he wanted to check things out before they went there. Jack didn't mind that at all, really. Her daddy seemed like a smart mage, and had been soo nice to her already, so she had no problem at this point with going along with his decisions!

But remembering how nice her daddy had been to her last night reminded her of something as well...

"Ok, Daddy," the little servant said, her master's words from last night coming back to mind along with what she had seen last night as well, "Oh! We also looked into all of the rooms in the building last night. We didn't find any masters or servants, though we did see a couple of people doing something strange on a bed. Anyways, we only looked around, and didn't engage anyone at all! Did we do a good job, Daddy? Do we get our present?"

She had not at all forgotten about the promise of a present if she did a "good job" with her task. She had tried her best to follow her daddy's orders, after all. Of course she knew there would be a task at hand with exploring where this invitation had invited them to go, but she also wanted her answer on this matter as well. You see, she had never really gotten presents in life. It was so exciting, then, to think that she could be able to get one now. She was only a kid, after all, even if she was a heroic spirit.

---

@ADamnFiddle



The homunculus was awoken suddenly by the loud ringing of her own cell phone, which was placed on a small bedside table located right next to her large bed. It had been plugged in to charge overnight, but was left on as a result. So it was no surprise, then, that she was able to get a text this early in the morning. Then again, it was not very early at all, since according to her bedside clock it was noon. She had been forced to be up much earlier than this for years, but the inherent softness and comfort of this bed had been enough to make this morning one of those rare moments she had been lulled into a deep sleep. It was odd to her, in a way, but also welcome to boot since she had to be well-rested in order to do well in this Grail War.

Grabbing the phone as it continued to ring with a rather stereotype and basic ringtone, Elyse pulled herself up in order to sit up in her luxurious, and admittedly incredibly comfy, bed, her white, slightly opaque nightgown hanging over her frame as she sat in an upright position, with the covers of the bed still covering her legs a little bit. Rubbing her eyes for a moment, the homunculus rubbed the last vestiges of sleep away before looking at the phone and the contents of the text. It seemed that she, and the other masters at there, were being invited to a luncheon at 2:00 pm at the Plaza San Fransisco, which was not too far from here.

"Lancer," Elyse called out into the room, hoping her servant would be there in the room to hear her as she let the hand holding her phone fall into her lap, "It seems we've been invited to some kind of luncheon with the other masters in a couple of hours."

The luncheon sounded nice and formal to some extent, and perhaps some interesting local or international food could be found there. But this was perhaps the opinion of the more optimistic part of her. She had come into this knowing she was walking into a war, and the fact that an Assassin and their master could very well try to take advantage of this situation was not something lost on her. In fact, other servants and masters could try to pull stunts there, tracking enemies, crippling them, or trying to kill them outright otherwise. It was a risky thing, but if enough of the other masters went there she could at least scope out possible opponents for her and her servant. That could be invaluable for their future in the war, and her servant, from what she had seen of his capabilities last night via her Master's Clairvoyance, was very much a top-tier sort of servant.

However, their initial meeting last night had been slightly flustering (in a surprising way) on her part. She had not expected her servant to call her "cute" like that right out of the blue, and it had brought a small blush to her face. Her servant was a bit of a handsome fellow at that as well, someone who would make men want to hide their wives if nothing else. This aside, however, she would do her best so that she and her servant would win this war. There was no choice but to. Having a heroic spirit by her side, she had to give this conflict her all.

Perhaps her servant had an opinion on the matter of this luncheon, though, which was a part of the reason she had spoken about the invitation to the luncheon aloud. After all, while she was the master and had to play her part, and was used to formal situations such as a luncheon, it would not hurt to get her servant's opinion in some manner on an event like this. This was a war, after all, and the experience of a heroic spirit could prove handy and possibly valuable in some of the decision making during this conflict as a result.

Cu Chulainn, Lancer

@Holy Grail

“A luncheon with the other Masters, eh? That is like a party, right? Suppose I am not the only one who would want to converse with the people I will eventually kill, eh?”

Some could consider the blue tights wearing Lancer a tad bit odd regarding his situation regarding viewing his enemies. Even if someone was an “enemy”, he could still speak to them in a casual manner. Hell, he wouldn’t even be adverse to spending time getting to know them if they were someone he liked. Lancer didn’t believe that the person he had to kill, despite being someone he would eventually have to defeat in battle, was really his “enemy”. Merely circumstances brought them to fight.

Is it really wrong not to feel hate towards an opponent? At the very least, those who didn’t piss Lancer off, which granted wasn’t particularly difficult to do if you were a certain red Archer or had a similar personality. But Lancer didn’t have much to lose or gain from these sorts of conflicts. He didn’t particularly have a wish from the grail. His only desire during this war was to fight and prove his legends against other heroes. People kill folks they know all the time on the battlefield in a war, and this “Holy Grail War” was no exception.

“Yo, Master, are we going to this party, right? Don’t worry, I’ll be by your side the entire time. After all, you are my Master; my lord. Ain’t exactly a warrior if I can’t even protect the one I serve, ya know?”

Well, at the very least if his Master didn’t want to go, he couldn’t really blame completely. Masters tended towards cowardly ways, letting their Servants be the forefront of battle and relegating themselves to a supportive role. Though this was best for the dynamic of Servant-Master combo, Lancer definitely didn’t want a Master that was overly a coward.

The blue spearman seemed to make up his mind. He wanted to go to the party with his Master. After all, if he was going to prove himself against other Heroes such as himself, he could at least get to know them before he kills them or they kill him. Wouldn’t really hurt at the very least.

Lancer had known many enemies he liked and many allies he disliked. However, when your lord demands the death of an opponent, it isn’t truly like one can tell them “No”. Just like his best friend, killed by the very spear meant to kill another.

Just like his son.

“But I gotta say Master., though I did like the maid outfit, your nightgown ain’t half bad either. Love life must be on fire; you must have suitors coming from every crack! It’d be a waste if you didn’t anyway. ”

With a hearty laugh, Lancer said these words. Like before, Lancer commented on her appearance being rather suitable to his own tastes in terms of aesthetics. A man who spoke only about what he wanted and nothing more, Even if he had a wife, it wasn’t exactly like Lancer was the most faithful man. He chased what he wanted because he wanted it. However, this sort of life eventually lead to his demise in life. That was it. A man who wanted to live without regrets, regardless if he had made any sort of bad turns, and nothing more. It didn’t matter if he understood his Master was artificial at first glance. Lancer was, on top of being a master in the art of the spear was also a top-notch magus. Even so, these sorts of prospects didn’t matter to Lancer. It wasn’t about what you were, it was about how you were.

---

Ravel “Speedstar” Livoria D’Arby

@kusanagifire

“Alright Saber, I have completed my work as a mage for the time being. But it appears that we have been invited to a party of sorts. Might you, a strong knight, be my escort for this “party?””

Despite her feminine appearance, Saber was definitely anything but fragile. If anything, the Servant was a brick in the shape of a beautiful lady.

But there was something that Ravel needed to confirm before she decided to leave for the event. Something that was bothering her. The conversation that she had with Saber prior to deciding to leave to the Dark Amazon’s specified location. It appeared that within the confines of the moment, her servant after asking about her desire from the grail seemed a bit disheartened, almost as if dejected by the inquiry. But unfortunately for the Servant, though rather large compared to a hotel room, being a suite and all, but regardless it was still small compared to a condo of sorts.

Even if Ravel wished to inquire about her Servant’s attitude, there was also the matter of putting up a bounded field. As a mage and it being one of her family’s specialties, she felt that at the very least she wanted to ensure that a basic one was up before any sort of other activities were considered.

This was the case with the message she had received regarding the dark amazon’s message. A meeting of Masters was something that could be considered dangerous in the event that the other Masters proved hostile, but as more and more Masters are to come, one could say that the likelihood of another person making a ruckus decreases, assuming any of her competition were smart in the slightest. After all, a single fight can lead to everyone dead, not just one person.

“I am sorry if I had bothered you with my inquiry before. I do hope you do not hate me, but if that is the case I am sorry for my transgressions and hope we can possibly move past it.”

Well, at least to Ravel, it appeared that Saber’s actions were not out of spite, but it was always best to ensure one has their bases covered in this regard. If anything, Ravel was someone who acted in care, trying not to offend others. After all, she was less suited for such a bloody war and was more the sort of person who would prefer a more normal life, or what was normal in the perspective of the pursuit of magecraft.

Ravel did want to bring attention to the matter, as it was a bit unsettling for herself. Her Servant seemed like a lost dog in some regards, dejected by the current question. But despite this degree of humiliation, Saber stayed near her Master in case anything were to happen. And for that, Ravel respected a bit more.

“Perhaps I am getting a bit ahead of myself, but I still wish for you to attend this party with me. There might be other Masters attending as well, so it would be best for us to see the competition.”

[Going to: "Plaza San Francisco"]

"Wonderful!" Mr. Hallett smiled widely at the Spirits agreement to interrogation. He was making real progress already, and with what might be nearly indistinguishable from a real flesh and blood occupant of the 13t Century! It was nothing short of a breakthrough, both for magecraft and history!

Reaching into his small napsack he fished out his NOTEBOOK, and began flipping quickly through the SEVERAL INCH THICK NOTEBOOK PAGES.

"Remember, this will be recorded for posterity, so please answer honestly and without reservation. Ahem. My first question - and please feel free to take your time to clarify any point you wish - as I understand from our modern written records you were alive during the foreign invasion of your homeland by the Mongol leader of the day Kublai Khan and his Horde. This was naturally we assume a great shock to your nation and people at the time, with the Shikken in power and your military having been in a state of relative peace for the past 50 years how do you feel events would have played out had the famous storm not turned the tide in your countrymen's favor on that day? Please if you may, describe for me the general atmosphere of the time. How was it before the invasion? After news of it arrived how was it taken? And after the victory? We know so little these days! You really can't imagine how much of a godsend the success of this ritual is you know! Anyway, how do you feel the country would have handled a change of power at the time? And of course I must add just from my notes herethatinmyopinion...

---

The journey back to the apartment that Oliver had rented was a... strange one to say the least. At some point in his somewhat extended first question Oliver had noted the simple truth that there was not enough light to record the spirits answers properly.

He had sighed sadly, the location had struck him as to romantic to pass up but nothing could be done. At least he had discovered, much to his alarm, that the strange spirit could infact leave the circle considering anchors keeping the entity in this reality were infact coming from the spells marked out on his hand. He made a personal note to get around to asking it about that in his second question.

A relocation was necessary, so, somewhere in between his question on the subject of Hōjō Tokimune's rule and the subject of how pickled cabbages were made Oliver began to make his way back towards the city. Not one to lose time he continued his first question on the way back, climbing into his small car with his notebook cradled in his lap. In a way he was almost glad of the distraction, keeping active was a good way to prevent the mind from wandering.

It was with a sense of relief he made it back through the apartment door to crash onto one of the high backed chairs of the apartment where he could continue his question uninterrupted...

---

"... as I understand it at the time you lacked decisive leadership to quell the food riots of 1311, so, I suppose I must just summarize my first question by asking what do you think should have been done about the fishermen?"

Oliver finally put down his NOTEBOOK and looked up at the summoned spirit smiling expectantly. Then he blinked, rubbing his eyes. Was that sunlight coming through the window? How long exactly had he been talking? He must have lost track of time somewhere in between-

The mail slot on his apartment door banged suddenly, a white letter depositing itself onto his floor, breaking him out of his reflection.

"Ah, pardon let me just get that. Take your time if you need to think it over."

@Raijinslayer

@ADamnFiddle
Saber

There was naught but silence in the room, but for the sound of her Master working on something arcane. Her senses was turned outwards, trying to look for threats or anything else that might threaten her Master, thus she was immediately aware when the message appeared for her Master. The contents of the letter was unknown to her, but it was obvious what sort of letter it was from her master's reaction. An invitation of sorts, though to what, she did not know.

“Alright Saber, I have completed my work as a mage for the time being. But it appears that we have been invited to a party of sorts. Might you, a strong knight, be my escort for this 'party?'” Pausing for moment, her Master continued. “I am sorry if I had bothered you with my inquiry before. I do hope you do not hate me, but if that is the case I am sorry for my transgressions and hope we can possibly move past it. Perhaps I am getting a bit ahead of myself, but I still wish for you to attend this party with me. There might be other Masters attending as well, so it would be best for us to see the competition.”

Before? Perhaps her Master took that short bit of silence before her answer as some sort of slight. "Of course Master. I did not harbor such feelings in the first place. As thus, I would be honored to be your escort to this party."

Of course, if her Master had not thought of bringing her, she would have insisted on it, or find a way to be there without her Master knowing. There was no telling what sort of misfortune might fall upon her Master at this party or the way there.

"Hmm. . .Not what I wanted to hear, but definitely good to know we have no threats around here. I have to prepare for the Luncheon, but after the Luncheon, you can choose something in one of the stores around here and I'll buy it for you. Price shouldn't be a problem, so to be afraid to get something expensive.

Charles hoped that would placate Assassin for now, and after he was sure that she'd heard and understood, he went to work making one or two familiars who, along with Jack, would keep an eye on everything. As Assassin's master, keeping out of the limelight as much as possible would be best, and if people seem to be showing up with their servants directly in tow, then him showing up by himself would be a very obvious indicator. If he was honest with himself, he wanted nothing to do with this whole deal, but the fact that there was someone who not only knew he was a master mere hours after he'd summoned his servant, but also sent him a text through his own phone . . . that was someone he wanted to know more about.

So, after taking a quick shower, he'd get to work creating a familiar in the shape of a pigeon to help with recon. Given that it was currently approaching Noon for them, he'd likely only be able to create one in time for the meeting, and even then he'd most likely be a little late. Still, it couldn't be helped if he wanted to keep any form of secrecy as the Master of Assassin, though it did leave a certain foul taste in his mouth to take such a roundabout way of doing things. If only I'd gotten a more frontline Servant, then i wouldn't have to deal in shadows like this. . . ugh, I can't even have a proper fight in this current situation, can I? Now that i've had sometime to think on it, i really true a bad servant class in terms of compatibility. He let out a slight sigh, before rolling up his sleeves to get to work. What was done was done, the dice had been rolled, and there was no point in whining about it now.

---

Sometime Later

---

With familiar currently held in hand, Charles would be situated a short ways away from the area of the current meet up, in a nearby hotel where he'd booked a room shortly before. He'd gone with the easiest one he could get, so it wasn't very lush, but it would do for his purposes. Assassin would be somewhere nearby, probably right next to him, but he'd told her to stay as undetectable as possible right now, as they were going to likely to be other Masters and Servants coming, and even if they wouldn't remember her, he'd prefer that she wasn't easily seen whenever possible. He'd already filled his Servant of the plan, which was simple recon and nothing else unless he ordered otherwise. He'd keep an eye and ear on the situation through his familiar, and with their combined coverage, would be able to see if a good opportunity will come up to end a Master here and now. If that didn't happen, then at least they'd get a little more info on their mysterious host for now.

Either way, now was the time to initiate the procedure, activating the familiar and letting it fly out the window of the hotel, the view being turned away from the Plaza luckily enough to lessen the chance of any Masters noticing the action, he'd sit down and use his Clairoyance ability to see through it's having it fly over the area of the meeting along with the other city fowl.

"Let's do this, Assassin. Remember, no killing . . ."
@Holy Grail

---

" . . . I believe the term now-a-days for one such as you would be . . . 'long-winded', yes?" Goro stated calmly, not seeming over-perturbed by the man's extended question, though he didn't look very pleased either. "In response to your 'question', I stopped paying attention awhile ago, and before you try to restate it I suggest that you make it extremely brief. And by brief, it must be at most two sentences, or else I won't answer it, Understood."

I've gotten quite the odd master, that is to be certain, though I must say that he doesn't seem like a bad sort. A bit doddering in his actions, but well-intentioned. I'd rather serve a good fool then a heartless mastermind any day. Letting out a sigh, the spirit took a seat for himself, taking out his blade and looking over it to see if there was any need for care though this was done more out of habit than need.

"After you've finished looking over that Letter, do you wish to discuss strategies for fending of other Masters? Even if you have no stake in this, they will come for you eventually, and it's best you be ready when they do."
@Beloss

@Raijinslayer



The young Assassin was in her spirit form with her Presence Concealment skill active, standing next to her daddy and keeping close to him since the time he had ordered her to stay as undetectable as possible. She stared as her daddy released the familiar, though her daddy wouldn't see her doing this due to her being in spirit form and all. It was nice that her daddy had made a little bird like that, and it moved and looked just like a real bird too. Mmmm, too bad it would probably be even more frail as her daddy would be if some servant tried to kill it. Then again, she didn't want to share her daddy with another servant anyways, so it was nice he made a familiar on that note. He had been nice to her, and he would be getting her a present later as well once this "luncheon" thing was over! Maybe she could also make some other servant's master go "bye-bye" as well before she got to go get her present. That would be pretty fun to do if she got the chance to do that!

Still, her daddy had told her only to do recon, and not do just kill people. Her daddy was a pretty careful person, it seemed, though it was a bit boring to just look at people. Then again, she really didn't mind it, because with other masters coming here she knew the chance to kill someone would not be possibly that far away! You know, if the right conditions were met. Even when she was trying her hardest to go back where it was warm before, she still had to be careful about it all. Yet if a single thing tried to get to her daddy, she would make them sorry! This was the first time she ever had a daddy, especially one who was nice to her on top of that, so she didn't want to lose him after all. Besides if someone killed her daddy, she could make their mommy or daddy disappear really quickly in return. It was as simple as that to the perhaps somewhat broken mind of the young Assassin class servant. Kindness payed back with kindness. Cruelty payed back with cruelty. Simple, efficient, and even somewhat childlike to be honest about the matter. Such was the mindset of Jack the Ripper.

At least she could probably see and try to learn some things her daddy wanted to know. That could be very helpful in them winning all of this, and then she could use to Holy Grail to go back to where it was warm!

Deftly taking action with childlike simplicity, after her daddy had reminded her about the "no killing" thing, Jack quickly propelled herself out of the window, grabbing onto the window ledge outside the hotel window and swiftly climbing up to the roof to get a vantage point on the plaze before she got any closer to it. Were her daddy have been able to see her face, a small pout and childlike frown would have been visible when he had spoken to her about "no killing". As soon the expression would have appeared, though, it would have faded away just as quickly back to a rather neutral expression on her face. Mmm, at least she had the chance of getting to kill something when the masters came for this meeting. Unless everyone, you know, hid in hotels and stuff like a bunch of rats. But hunting rats out of their little rat-homes wasn't any bit hard. She had done it on the streets before when she didn't have any potential mommies to find. So in that case, she could play a small game of "hide and seek" with the other masters and their servants! That would be fun, especially since they couldn't really sense her at all unless she tried to attack them!

---

@ADamnFiddle



Another, deeper blush came to the face of the homunculus as Lancer commented about her nightgown. She had never really been able to experience such compliments, or such obvious hitting on her, much or even at all before. Her creator had regarded her as an object for taking care of his father. His father, the man she had cared for over the space of 8 years, had treated her like one of his own children. Even when out in the world, some other magi had just seen her as a "product of alchemy" and as nothing else. Of course Elyse knew she was a homunculus, though, but her servant, in what little time she had been around him this far, had not seemed to treat her like others had. His comments made her, as awkward as it was for her to experience them for the first time, felt like she was being treated like a woman and actual being in some sense. Even if the blue-clad servant's words were among those that could be attributed to a "womanizer" like Cu Chulainn, the female homunculus was in all honesty actually a bit grateful for these flirty compliments that had so made her blush.

"I-I c-can't say i have really had any suitors approach me since my creation," the homunculus said in an honest manner, stuttering at first before gathering her composure back once more and making a mental note that these comments seemed to be one of the few things that had been able to catch her off guard in a while, "But this aside, i have full faith in your capabilities and ability to protect me at this event when we go to it, Lancer."

Only time and experience would tell if the two of them would continue to get along. In order for both of them to do well, Elyse wanted to do her best to at least try to get along with him and do her best in this war. Not having had an artifact when summoning this servant, though there had to be something that could make them similar or at least compatible, right? Wasn't that how the Grail did things?

This matter aside, she could tell Lancer wanted to go to the meeting, and she felt similarly. A chance to see the other masters and scout out the competition would be a good thing, though the chances of some master and/or Assassin class servant trying to get in an "easy kill" at this meeting would be a given risk. Luckily her servant was a top-tier combatant, and could defend her well if it came down to it after she had taken a look at his skill, Noble Phantasms, and parameters last night using her master's Clairvoyance. Perhaps the Grail had taken pity on her, giving her such a strong servant. Even so, if she could get a strong servant, other masters would be able to as well. Especially if they have been able to get artifacts to act as catalysts for specific heroic spirits. That in itself would be a situation to deal with, as the likelihood of a counter to her own servant being out there among the competitors in this Grail War was far from an impossible reality. They would have to play it safe, if nothing else, in order to get out there and figure out how to deal with their opponents.

Yet with the sometimes seclusive nature of many magi, this playing a part in the tactics of many magi as well in combat, she wondered if anyone would be actually willing to make the "first move" to attack one or more of the other masters in this Grail War, much less even come to this event in the plaza today. Would everyone else just hide away and no go to the event? Hopefully not. The chance to see other masters and servants was too tempting, especially since everyone else would likely want to scope out the competition at some point, whether via familiars or other means. She, personally, was willing to take the risk of going to the free luncheon in order to scout out other masters, and get a free meal on top of that. How else would she be able to make ground in this Grail War and seek to get closer to her goal if she did not take risks sometimes (even if she did want to have some reasonable caution in the process)?

"At any rate," Elyse said, much calmer and relaxed now while glancing at her dresser, before her eyes would begin wandering about the room for just a moment to see if her servant was in materialized form or if he was in his spirit form, "While we travel there and see how things are going down, i want you to stick by me in spirit form. Knowing magi, the chance that someone will try to set up a trap and try to ambush anyone else going to this luncheon is too high to discount. Especially if anyone has summoned an Assassin by this point."

Climbing out of her bed finally and stretching her arms, her assets shaking in the slightest possible manner due to this, Elyse then walked over to her dresser and pulled out a fresh change of clothes and her other accessories (including her phone and silver pendant of course). She then began the walk over to the bathroom, where she would change as she had done last night. Her servant being complimenting of her physical aesthetics or not, and begin her servant or not at that, it would still be highly awkward for her to be changing her clothes around a man. Really awkward. However, Elyse paused just in the doorway of the bathroom before she would close it, looking back into the main part of the hotel room.

"Still, it will be interesting to see what we both can learn about the others at the luncheon as well, though," the female homunculus said, a humble but noticeable smile flitting across her facial features in order to show her own interest in the luncheon to her servant before she finally shut the bathroom door behind her in order to begin changing.

@Raijinslayer

"Oh... yessss." Mr. Hallett paused, looking at the time and realizing with some embarrassment that he had been rambling through the night. Tentatively he flipped through a few pages of his NOTEBOOK, but realized quickly that recovering his question was a lost cause. "Yes I can be long winded I admit. From time to, ah, time that is." He would have to get to his questioning of this spirit later. He had been hoping to get the jump on everyone by having already interviewed his summons, but it seemed he had burned that bridge.

When he looked up from his book, the spirit was suddenly polishing a sword.

The elderly magus studied the blade that the apparition had produced with some degree of alarm. He hadn't expected it to be able to leave its circle in the first place, much less produce what looked like a fully functional weapon. He has a distinct feeling that the thing in its hands was not ethereal. It was no wisp of shadowy memory dug up from the grave, like something that a wraith might brandish. This sword was solid, definite and keener looking in fact than any real sword he had ever seen. In fact, it possessed a beauty the likes of which he had never expected to find in a blade... Disconcerting, but highly remarkable.

More worrying however were some of the spirits comments. Somehow Oliver was getting the distinct impression that he was missing something.

"Fend off the other Masters? I beg your pardon?"

Speaking of the other participants he rummaged through his pocket retrieving the letter and hastily removing the tape. His vision seemed blurry, probably from lack of sleep, but it was nothing a good mug of strong coffee wouldn't sort out! Odd though that a spirit would take interest in the mail. Blinking at it he found himself looking at what seemed to be some sort of party invitation...

"Oh! Hullo, I was expecting this! The other participants of the... hmm, they seem to be calling it a war... in any case the other members of this experiment, the one pertaining to your own summoning I mean, are going to meet for something of a party this afternoon. I hope to make a good impression!"

Folding his letter he gazed across the room once more, considering the ghost that was looking right at him. Its gaze was quite penetrating, and it made him uncomfortable. "Look, I am sure you are confused about many things. I haven't done an introduction to what is going on here very well i'm afraid. And this time period can be so confusing, even to someone who lives in it! We will be attending a social event to meet the other scholars who have gathered here. The plan is to call forth many figures through history! I have to say, your own summoning came out rather better than I expected! You even have a definite form, that's rare for these sorts of things. If I may be optimistic, you should be the crowning jewel of the meeting!"

Those early birds who were arriving at the plaza a few minutes early would, unsurprisingly, not find anyone there holding a sign that read "Grail War Luncheon". After all, something like that would be idiocy at its finest.

However, what was actually present was perhaps almost as idiotic.

Among the buildings near the plaza, one would stand out to any magus or Servant. Around a rather large building that sat on the outskirts of the plaza itself, a Bounded Field was erected. The Bounded Field in question had the property of being "unnoticeable", but was so rudimentary in design that any magus would be capable of realizing its presence in a heartbeat; the only people who would be incapable of noticing the building would be those who lacked knowledge of magecraft. In that sense, it served the role of a sign to the magi, while remaining invisible to the populace.

Or at least, that was the plan. There were obvious holes with such an idea, but hopefully whoever was responsible had thought things through.

At any rate, the building stood there, unlocked doors beckoning to those who arrived.

"A simple cross, you say? Well, I suppose that it could have been mine at some point in life. I was quite the devout man following my experiences, as I'm sure you know. In any case, Master-"

The author turned his attention to the entrance of the building they were in. A faint knocking sound caught his attention, and he would be remiss to not address the matter immediately. If it was just a passerby, he looked normal enough that he could pass off as a normal human. He approached the door and gestured for Christelle to remain silent.

When he opened it, he saw no one there. Instead, there was an envelope on the ground. Dante gingerly picked it up and opened it, then began to read through its contents. Once he was done, he turned back to Christelle.

"It appears that we've been invited to a party of sorts. From what this letter says, all of the other participants have been given an invitation as well. An interesting proposition to be sure. Naturally, I leave the choice of whether we go or not up to you, but allow me to give you some... Divine Guidance."

Dante used his Divine Guidance skill to determine whether or not it would be prudent for the two of them to go to this meeting of Mage and Servant.

Ravel “Speedstar” Livoria D’Arby

@kusanagifire @Holy Grail @Raijinslayer

It appeared that the organizer of the luncheon had taken into consideration the usage of bounded fields as a means to prevent the standard-folk from entering the area. If anything, the bounded field was hardly detectable, but as a master of the field,. Ravel could detect the faint traces of one. At the very least, it appeared there would be no sort of unwanted guests. If there was a magus in this city for whatever reason, chances are they weren’t here to sightsee. They were here to do battle in the Grail War.

Perhaps Ravel was taking the war a bit too lax-like. A comfortable luncheon with the enemy Masters might have been a bit too casual; there was the chance that she could have been assaulted during the time of the luncheon, but as she had rationalized before, she doubted anyone dumb enough to actually pull the trigger to start the engagement.

“Saber, I permit you to act in anyway you believe would be best during this luncheon, but your primary directive is to protect me from harm. I trust my life to your hands, my Knight.”

A simple order communicated to her Servant. She still doubted there would be any aggression, but there was still the matter of the war. Nuances tended to be better filled than unfilled in Ravel’s eyes.

However, within the confines of the field, Ravel noticed a presence. Another human, like herself. Another magus, like herself. It appeared to be a man, probably European in nature due to his blue eyes, blonde hair.

Another member of the war, like herself. Almost as if forgetting of the war itself, Ravel approached the man. After all, chances are they were both heading towards the same area.

“Another participant who had received the invitation, I presume?”

Simple in construction, straight to the point. Even if the normal Ravel tended to be a bit too friendly for her own good, she was still in a war, and couldn’t allow for another to gain the upper hand, even in a simple conversation.

“I would assume so. Any other magus in this city would not ever be one without a Servant, and no one would be stupid enough to fight without a Servant in this war; or better yet, attempt to meet with those without a Servant. However, I must say I wish to get this sort of ball on the road, as it were. If you wish to converse with me, I will be entering the building. Even if this is a war, we came here to discuss said war, did we not?”

Walking towards the unlocked door with Servant in-tow, ravel opened the unlocked door and entered the building.

[entering: Bounded field-covered building]

---

Cu Chulainn, Lancer

@Holy Grail

“That is unfortunate then. Have you no boys your age to talk with? Or perhaps they are all too afraid by your presence to act in such a way? Maybe men of this era are all cowards? A beauty like you deserves to be on display, not hidden from the eyes of others.”

During the time where Lancer lived, men took what they wanted if they were strong enough to do so. The strong survived, and the weak were defeated. That was the world of warriors that bred one of the greatest heroes to ever exist. Even so, Cu had sworn his loyalty to the homunculus at the time of summoning. Even if she was just an innocent girl, Cu was the sort to never go back on a promise he had made.

“But don’t worry Master. If anyone tries anything funny, especially if an Assassin gets uppity, I’ll make sure to send them straight back to the Grail., and their Master in a body bag. After all, that is why you summoned me, no? To fight against other heroes; Servants. No point in acting conservative in this regard. They will be all people we will have to fight at some point anyway, and if they want to shorten their lives by attacking you, then so be it.”

Lancer had full- understanding of his skills as a hero. Though most heroes might wish for something, perhaps they had made a mistake they wished to rectify, or they wished for their story never to have been told in the first place. Lancer had no such regrets. His life might have been short, and his end terrible, but one couldn’t really say that Lancer “Wished not to be a knight” or “wished not to have been ended”. After all, he had died fighting for his land and his people. No other death could be more deserving of a hero like himself.
The only thing he came close to believing to be a “regret” of his was the fact that he had never rightfully ended his teacher, but even so, if such an existence was not meant to die, he would have to accept these sorts of nuances. Perhaps that old witch had finally found someone stronger than he to end her? He doubted it, but unlike his “other self” he was not so obsessed with his teacher.

Therefore, they only wish that Lancer had within the confines of his Holy Grail War was to fight against strong Servants and prove his legends match and surpass their own. Any warrior would wish for the same thing, and people who live without regrets and only act upon their own volition tended to be this way.

“I would like to learn the name of other Servants. Though I won’t go around running my name like some sort of idiot, I will say there ain’t a lot of honor about two nameless heroes fighting to the death. Though I do like to fight, I can’t say I hate those I fight against. I’d had enemies who were friends before. It isn’t like you should just hate everyone you fight against, ya know? Those fueled only by their hate will crumble by it.”

Upon entering the building, Ravel and Balin would be met with the sight of what looked like a small banquet hall, various tables with vases atop them strewn throughout the expanse, and a banner reading "Welcome, Holy Grail Seekers!" hung up over the hall. In the back of the room, there were a few long tables that had various sandwiches, fresh fruits, slow-cooked meats, and so on present.

A handful of seconds after the two had entered, though, the sound of footsteps clacked through the building, a young girl skidding into the room moments later.

The girl's eyes glinted excitedly as she saw the two individuals who had entered, hastily fishing out a phone from her pocket and looking at something on it, before offering a mock salute to the pair. "Welcome, Ravel Livoria D’Arby and partner, to the Dark Amazon Holy Grail Luncheon!" She greeted cheerily, dropping her salute a moment later. "My name is Isabella, I'm your Dark Amazon customer service rep for the duration of the Holy Grail War! Anything you want to order or any concerns you have, just let me know."

"You two are, uh, you're actually the first ones here, but feel free to have some food while we wait for some other guests. Oh, and don't worry, I'll be sending you your Dark Amazon Prime promo code once the luncheon's done. Don't want to send them out too early, otherwise people might go killing me once they've gotten their code, ehehe."

"...please don't kill me once you've gotten your code."

@ADamnFiddle





Elyse listened to her servant's words on the other side of the bathroom door, pulling on her maid outfit clothes in a timely and efficient manner as she had done since...well, since after her very creation. These "trappings" of her former job, and the very reason she had been created had not yet seemed to be phased out of her wardrobe as of yet. To some extent, it somehow didn't feel right to get rid of them yet, to leave behind the attire she had so donned for all ten years of her existence by this point in time.

Some humans in her sort of position would have perhaps burned these sorts of clothes and moved far away, due to them being a reminder of those years of servitude. However, Elyse was of course not a regular human. She was a homunculus. A homunculus who had been made and crafted for one purpose, to care for the father of her creator. Many magi after her freedom had considered her a "construct made by the hands of a magus" who was a "tool" and not a "sentient being", and nothing else really. Such a "construct" could be seen by them as only useful for what it was made for, and nothing else beyond such. Yet some individuals had also in the past treated her as "someone", the primary case of this being the man she had cared for in her role as a maid and caretaker. The man who she had cared for in the role of a servant had treated her not as just a "homunculus", but much more like a "dear and beloved daughter" instead. He had encouraged her to "find new purpose" once he was gone, to "seek your own desires in the wide, open world" as she remembered him saying. He had even freed her after his death with his remaining influence, and as such had allowed the female homunculus to be able to seek her own fate in the world.

So why not get rid of her maid clothes, and don new attire as a sign of her freedom? Perhaps, not having achieved her own desires yet in some manner or another, she didn't feel worthy of wearing something different. Yet on the other hand, perhaps she still donned these clothes because they were a reminder of the one person who had cared for her the most, who had given her this chance to use her freedom to pursue her own interest and dreams. Maybe it was both, or something else altogether. For all she knew, she had possibly been designed by her creator to not have a desire to wear anything different. Elyse still at certain moments wrestled at times with what answer out of the many of them seemed to be the most plausible, and what best explained her attachment to this uniform.

One thing was certain, however. She was not going to lie down and fade into the night, flounder and die like a fool, or simply return back to her creator and beg to serve him at some point. This chance she had been given, it gave her a chance the other homunculi made before her by her creator never were able to have. A chance to live free and find her own purpose, a purpose not simply destined for her by her creator. A chance to go where she wanted, speak with those she desired to, and to pursue her interests and wants until she died. Were she to die in this war, she would effectively be dying while pursuing her desires and dreams. It would be a death that, for all intents and purposes, she would consider to be a death without any regret due to being "on her own terms" no matter how it went down. Whether in glorious combat or by the hand of an Assassin or other magus, coming here was her decision, a decision made to seek to further her own aspirations. Who could ask for more than to die on their own terms, or in the throes of pursuing what they wanted in this world?

Mmm, but such thoughts were not fit for this point in time. It was only the beginning, after all. She had thought a lot about this Grail War before joining, and having summoned her servant she had assuredly committed to this conflict. There was no turning back in her mind, there was only moving forward. She had faith in her servant, a strong hero even if he was a womanizer who flirted with her, and together they would pursue their interests in this conflict. Her, a homunculus seeking her desires, and he, a hero who sought to enter the field of battle to prove his mettle against others (as least from what she had gleaned from Lancer's words and attitude about things, that is). It was perhaps an odd pairing, but perhaps a fitting one at the same time in some respect or another. Only time, and this conflict, would tell.

Stepping out of the bathroom, and straightening her skirt one last time after opening the door, Elyse walked out in her full maid outfit, albeit a fresh, clean one. Walking over to her bed with her nightgown hung over her right arm, she set the article of clothing down on the bed before looking to her servant.

"Your words remind me a bit of someone i used to know, Lancer," Elyse noted, a wistful and reminiscent look coming onto her face as she spoke for a moment, "Someone else who had seen and done many things in his long life, who had fought many an enemy and had similar opinions about not hating his own enemies. The one i speak of is man i used to serve, actually."

Giving a light sigh at her moment of nostalgia before ending it, the female homunculus looked at the door of her room, before looking down at herself making sure she had her phone, silver pendant, and some cash on hand to buy thing while they were out if so needed. Making a familiar to scout out this event would be something she'd expect other magi to do, even herself if she had the time, but Lancer had a point in his earlier words as well. Being too conservative would get them nowhere at all. If she had such faith in her servant's abilities she should have faith that he would be able to protect her from harm, right?

"This aside, i can't say i have found many boys that have found it in them who want to come after me. A few on the past even told me that a 'construct' such as myself should just 'return to whoever made me' really. Even so, it is good to know that someone appreciates my appearance, hmm?" the homunculus added, giving a light wink and trying to playfully flirt back for a moment before glancing over at the door to her room and then back to her servant in a calmer manner, "You're also right in that we don't need to be too conservative in all of this. As such we will be heading to the event early, to see if anyone else has arrived early and see if we can get a feel for the event as a whole as other masters and servant arrive at it. Perhaps we will even learn some of the names of the other servants who go there, and with that maybe with that we can even find our first target among those assembled at the meeting."

With that, Elyse began to make her way towards the door. It was time to go see who her competition was...and perhaps get some free food and drink out of the event as well. Perhaps some local specialties or other imported foods would be there. An added bonus to what they could possibly gain from coming to the event at any rate.

[Going to: Plaza San Francisco, Just Outside The Bounded Field-Covered Building]

Goro Nyudo Masamune

"I'm sorry to say that the confused one would be you, my Master." Goro shook his head ever so slightly with a slight sigh, the cluelessness of his master not exactly filling him with great hope about their prospects. Hopefully, this old man was a fast learner, or else he might end up dead before the week was out. "You seem to have no idea what kind of ritual you've entered, so allow me to elaborate as much as I can, for the Holy Grail, which is the artifact that has brought me to this world and that many will be fighting for in the coming days, has given me all the relevant knowledge about this era and the War itself that I may need to know. Heroic Spirits such as myself have been summoned by the Grail to take part in a Grand Battle Royale, where many pairs of Servants and Masters, those would be the perspective mages such as yourself, in order to be granted the artifact itself, which has the ability to grant any wish that one can dream off."

Goro looked towards his Master with an intense gaze, making sure that the man knew that this was no jest, no confused rambling of a lost Spirit brought forth by chance. This was the hard truth of the situation that the man had stumbled into, and there was no way out of it for either of them besides Goro's death, and even then, it might not be the end of it for his Master.

"With such a grand prize, there is precious little that some mages won't do in order to come out on top, and know that whether you actively seek it or not, as long as you and I draw breath, we're obstructions towards another Master's desire for the Grail, and they'll do anything to take us out. Before I tell you anything else, and certainly before you think of going to this gathering, you must understand that this is a battle to the death for everyone involved, and even more importantly, while Alliance may be forged, their can only be one winner. Do you understand this?
@Beloss

---

Charles Dorvain

Charles cursed slightly as he saw through his familiars eyes the bounded field surrounding the building in question. A pigeon would stick out a sore thumb in such a place, and he didn't wish for any of the other mages to trace the connection back to him. With a sigh, he commanded the bird to sit down on the roof of the building, before he sent a command to Jack through their mental link.

Jack, go into the building and keep an eye and an ear out. I can't send my familiar in, but the plan will continue as normal. If you see a possible chance to take out a Master, be sure to contact me for permission to take it. Remember, the main point of this is recon. Gain as much information as you can. Understood?

After he received confirmation from Assassin, Charles would slump into his seat, gnawing at his thumbnail ever so slightly as he now regretted his positioning of the room. All he could do was sit and wait for something to happen while Jack infiltrated the area. He considered going himself, but quickly denounced the idea. While he'd like nothing better then the direct approach, he wasn't stupid enough to actually risk his one advantage just because he was getting a bit bored.

@Holy Grail

@Raijinslayer



The young servant stood upon the roof of the hotel her master had taken up hiding in, the hotel being a short ways from the area of the meeting, still in her spirit form and with her Presence Concealment still active as she watched the bounded-field covered building to see who was coming in or out of it. Yet unless anyone had a familiar looking around really well, no one would even see her or her daddy! Though that familiar her daddy was using was a bit obvious in this part of the world. Mmm. At least her daddy was in a safe place for the time being, and if she could get the right chance she would maybe get to kill someone else's master! That could be something really exciting! As a servant, it would be even easier for her to kill people than it had been before as well!

However, her thoughts about the situation were interrupted by a message from her daddy, via their mental link of course. So she could go into the building now?

'Sure, daddy!' the young servant responded to her master via their mental link, seemingly a bit happy to be able to get closer to the others.

With that, Jack jumped off of the roof of the hotel, leaping down to the ground with no small level of grace in order to minimize moving at top speed to get closer to the building while making as little noise and as little other evidence of her movements as was possible. Of course, her Presence Concealment and being in spirit form already helped hide her very well to be honest about the matter. Yet eventually, and quickly, Jack was at the threshold of the Bounded Field-covered building. The smell of hot food and the sound of voices coming from inside the building were telltale signs that someone was already inside of the building. Neat. She almost paused for a moment to wonder if this Bounded Field would notice her at all, or let anyone know she was here for. Realistically, though, such thoughts did not cross the mind of the little serial killer, who moved unhesitatingly into the building as silently and stealthily as possible. Time to see who was around for her to kill~

[Going to: Inside The Bounded Field-Covered Building]

Cu Chulainn, Lancer

@Holy Grail

“I remind you of someone, huh? The one you served? Perhaps there is someone in this time with a pair,” Lancer says, apparent in his joking. Lancer was a pretty straight forward individual who simply said whatever was on his mind. After all, was there a point to making small steps in conversation compared to large leaps? One could say that a man of his calibre would be completely and utterly diametrically opposed to those who live for others, as his actions seem to only exist for himself, whether it be fighting an enemy or saving someone, it could be said that these instances occurred because “Lancer felt like it” rather than anything else. “A bit funny considering the position of our relationship now as ‘Servant’ and ‘Master’, eh?”

“I just live my life without regretting anything I’ve done. After all, it would be the biggest disgrace to my heroic self if I had regrets, no? If a cute girl is before me, why wouldn’t I call her cute!? Seems like a waste. Besides, I know that deep down all women want to be courted.”

Lancer came from a time much less pronounced to the confines of modern individualism. In other words, things such as “night crawling” wasn’t seen as anything too terrible, and it wasn’t as if Lancer didn’t partake in such activities. A man who would be seen in the current culture of political correctness to be a terrible and dangerous individual.

However, one of the main reasons he became who he was today was through the fate of several woman he had attraction to. Lancer did wonder if his teacher ever had someone with the ability to end her eternal life like he couldn’t. If such a man had existed, Lancer should thank them. But somehow he knew that his teacher was still out there, waiting for the day someone could finally end her life. If Lancer was only born a few years before, perhaps he could have been the one to finally end her rightly, but such thoughts were beyond Lancer.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t believe he could have done his actions over and had performed them better with the knowledge, merely that he wasn’t upset with the outcome of his tragic tale. Hardly a man, more than a boy, the knight fought for everything he believed in, only to be betrayed time and time again. Only for tragedy to strike him once more. But it wasn’t as if his life was something he was ashamed of. It would be a disgrace to himself if he had ever considered the idea that “I wish my life happened ‘this way’”. Something that Lancer thought was silly. What happened has already happened. If you are ashamed of what had occurred, simply put, just continue forward with the desire to prevent this from occurring again.

“I gotta say though, glad you are with me. Though I suppose if you said no, I might have had to go there myself anyway.”

A man who does as he pleases, nothing more, nothing less.

[Going to: Plaza San Francisco, Just Outside The Bounded Field-Covered Building]

---

Ravel “Speedstar” Livoria D’Arby

@kusanagifire @Unoedipal

] “Isabella, huh?” Ravel simply states to the person who had introduced themselves as a member of Dark Amazon.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. As you have been informed, my name is Ravel. Ravel Livoria D’Arby, Pleasure to meet you Ms. Isabella. I am glad for the promotion your ‘company’ is having, being invited as a guest and what for.. I believe it is excellent to have been invited, and I thank you for the privilege.”

Ravel bows slightly to the Dark Amazon representative. Simple smalltalk at best. However, simple smalltalk wasn’t exactly a bad thing. As a magus, formalities should always be observed. Whether it is the formality of their craft, or the formality of manners, Ravel believed she had a huge amount of responsibility as the head of her household. Even if she wasn't the head of her household, manners were the most important aspect of conversation. Being genuinely unpleasant wasn’t really a concept that Ravel comprehended.

“Am I the first to show up? Perhaps the other guests would show up in due-time?”

Had Ravel been the first to arrive? There seemed to be a bit of an absence of people. Where there those who didn’t believe in being punctual? These ruffians were truly the worst of all humanity. Could they really be called Mages? Well, there was the possibility that Isabella was a magus-cum-Master herself. After all, she was simply there during the instance of the invitation. Though one could assume that “being a member of dark amazon” and “being a master” wasn’t really a mutually exclusive thing.

That being said, Ravel had no reason to distrust someone she had just met. Even if she was competition, she doubted that fighting would be the reason she was called upon during this time. And even if this wasn’t the case, there were those Masters who she would have to fight regardless of the circumstances, and if she had to fight now, that was of little consequence.

“But fear not, I have no plan to crash your luncheon, and killing you would be a waste if I didn’t get my code, no? Kidding, of course.”

Lightly laughing at a somewhat morbid joke, Ravel had gone to where the other had stated food was located. After all, this luncheon was sure to start at some point.

@Raijinslayer

Oliver shifted in his seat as the spirit fixed him with an intense glare after it's rather alarming speech. The hair on the back on his neck stood on end as the ghost focused its will on him. For a moment he was seized with a desire to flee the room, but he banished the silly feeling. It was only a wraith in the end, very powerful though it might be unless it was possessing something it should be relatively harmless to a magi of his experience.

Eyeing the uncannily solid looking blade in its hands once more he resolved to avoid provoking it anyway. This was becoming worrisome. How the devil did this creature know of the so called Grail? And of the other spirits to be summoned as well? Most perplexing. But then how much did he know about the so called Grail Artifact? That the spirit really did have knowledge of the current era nearly beggared belief, yet certainly it had conviction in what it was saying...

Its claims were absurd. A wish granting artifact would be something along the lines of True Magic, and heaven knew how long it had been since anything of that sort had been seen. Why, the Clock Tower would be all over it before you could blink if it were the case. Obviously the spirit was deluded in some fashion, it was very common for the lingering departed after all... Yet the utter clarity in the spirit's eyes could not be denied.

His gut feeling warred with his head for a moment before reaching an easy compromise. If even a tiny bit of what this Wraith had just said was true then that was reason enough to be on guard. At the same time though he was not about to throw the research opportunity of a lifetime out the window, especially on a few words from someone who had been dead for centuries! He would humor the spirit and keep a sharp eye out for foul play. Besides, it wasn't like he needed much of a reason to not trust a Noble Magi family.

Collecting himself and meeting the creatures burning gaze once more he spoke up.

I... see. Well, if what you say is true this is all quite astonishing! You say that you have been summoned for a kind of tournament? That men are after our lives in the name of a prize? You will forgive me I do not jump to full attention just yet, but I will take your words to heart and keep a keen eye out. It won't be the first time that I have had snobs after my blood you see! I will be the picture of caution I assure you. At the same time you must understand that I can't discount my own information on your word alone.

There is a party I must attend, a meeting of these people. If it looks like trouble I shall duck out, but I don't intend to stay away. I have invested quite a bit in this venture you know. Keep a bold face in danger, that's my motto! If I know anything of your own esteemed history then I am sure you understand. A scholar cant just leave his books to the dogs on the word of a new acquaintance, however accredited that individual is.

Standing Oliver gently tucked his NOTEBOOK under the nearby chest of drawers and gestured towards the door. "Give me a moment to make some coffee and we'll be off."

@Raijinslayer





The young Assassin, still in her spirit form and utilizing her Presence Concealment as well, was first hit with the smells of slow-cooked meats and other foods as she entered the building. Taking a moment to silently move away from the doorway, keeping the the nearest wall, Jack peered about the room, taking in what information she could about her surroundings. Indeed, the small banquet hall, a banner welcoming the masters, and other decor and fact there was actually food at least seemed to mean this whole "luncheon" thing was actually genuine. Neat. However, this sort of thought did not really last in Jack's mind, especially since she was here to observe and maybe even get to make another master go "bye-bye"! To that end, she also took note of the figures she could see in the room at the current time. One of them was some lady wearing odd clothes, kind of like a....magician? Yeah, that was it! Grail-provided information allowed the young servant to make the comparison between this person's attire and a "magician" who did cheap magic tricks, like pulling a bunny out of a hat. However, the fact that this oddly-dressed lady possessed Command Seals meant she was a master. Yay~

This being noted, though, even Jack knew that if a master was actually here, their servant had to be here as well, likely in spirit form of nothing else. It was obvious after more observation, though, that the other young girl that was in the room was not a master, as she didn't even have command seals on either of her hands! Then again, since she knew about masters and stuff, maybe Jack's daddy would allow her to kill this younger girl as well! That could be lots of fun! Yet for the moment being, she needed to relay all of this back to her daddy through their mental link. Proceeding to do so, Jack used her mental link with Charles to relay (in her usual, childlike manner) her observations of the inside of the building to him, noting the current positions of those whom she could see in the building and even making a note of a possibly other servant in spirit form being there if nothing else.

'And that's everything we have seen so far, daddy!' the young servant communicated to Charles via their mental link, ending her relay of information to the man in a simply, happy, childlike manner that had continued to be rather normal for her in her interactions with her daddy, 'So what do you want us to do now, hmm?

---

@ADamnFiddle



As she approached the meeting place, Elyse neatened up the skirt of her maid uniform once more, perhaps out of habit more than anything else. Even she could sense the Bounded Field like the other mages that were in this war, unless someone incompetent had gotten caught up in this conflict or had joined. To be safe about this, in her opinion, she needed to perhaps overestimate her opponents to some extent to ensure she would not be caught off-guard by them later. Even so, at this event she trusted her servant to keep her safe and ward off attacks from others. If she could get through this event on a more peaceful note, trying to get some information in the process, then maybe she had a chance of locating her first target in this war, or at least finding out who to avoid for the time being in this war if possible. Who knew, perhaps she could even find a temporary ally or such, though considering the rewards of this Grail War the chances of this seemed realistically low. Perhaps her servant could at least find a new rival, or even run into a knight desiring some form of honorable combat later on that her servant could enjoy.

This being noted, however, such an opponent with such knight-like standards would have a decent chance of being a potent servant in their own right. Someone like King Arthur or his knights from British lore or a knight like Roland among the paladins of Charlemagne, for example, would be the sort of opponents who would likely possess potent Noble Phantasms, high parameters, and Skills that could give her and Lancer a hard time when it came down to it. Perhaps avoiding such opponents at the beginning would be the best idea for her and Lancer, depending on the situation that is. For now, though, the possibility that some mages would come just to try to gather basic information about each other and those who were brave enough to come to this event was hopefully the most likely possibility at this event. Just to be on the safe side, however, Elyse had take a somewhat longer, indirect, winding route to get to this place that was meant to throw people off of her trail and make it seem like she was coming to this location from a very different direction than she would have come if she had just come here straightaway from her hotel room. Even if at least a few of the other magi were just trying to get information, though she knew this was not the only possibility, then at least she could hide what direction her base was in to try to keep herself hidden to some extent.

Was she nervous about going in though? Well, the answer would be inevitably "yes". She did not know if enemies were waiting just inside, or if this really was just a nice little luncheon for the masters in an attempt by Dark Amazon to sell products or get new customers in the middle of a conflict. Whatever the case was, Elyse stopped just short of the door for a moment, taking a look about her surroundings for the sake of precaution. Looking up at some of the local birds that were flying by, though, Elyse noted something strange among them as she glanced by the flock. A pigeon, standing out due to its contrasts to the local birds it seemed to be flying with for some reason. It was odd, to say the least, and Elyse got the strong gut feeling it could likely be a familiar. Mm, but she couldn't do anything about that, considering she had no familiar of her own and did not want to expose her servant so soon to a simple familiar. So she needed to play along as if she had not noticed the strange bird that seemed all-too foreign to this part of the world.

'Sense any other servants nearby, Lancer?' Elyse communicated to her servant through their mental link, wanting to check with him to see if he could sense any other servants in the building or the area around said building before the two of them went into the building.

Cu Chulainn, Lancer

@Holy Grail

“Another Servant? Gotta at least be one here so far. You’d expect for a place about to be full of heroes, there might be a bit more intrigue occurring. Not even a single drunken fight yet. Can't’ be too many people here yet.”

Lancer couldn’t be completely sure as to the total individuals that would be participating within this event. There was a possibility that there was already an Assassin in wait, or perhaps even something akin a Berserker ready to charge them down when they entered the building. But Lancer understood those sorts of risks were nothing. After all, if there was an Assassin or Berserker or any other kind of Servant inside of the event, he would eventually have to fight them regardless during sometime this war.

Therefore, Lancer seemed very relaxed. A man who could kill another with a smile on his face in modern society couldn't be anything more than a murderer, but Lancer was a Hero of the highest calibre. He didn’t murder for no reason like a certain ginger-haired Japanese kid might claim, but all of his actions had meaning to Lancer. Fighting and eventual death was natural for himself. As expected of someone who only knew war and fighting in their life. There were hardly any pauses in his life after his training in the isles. Battle after battle Lancer continued to thrive, and eventually lost himself to the many betrayals of a girl who who thought she could use her body to get whatever she wanted, including Lancer’s unconditional love.

Among the men of Ulster, there is one man, and one alone, who did not become hers even though she thought 'I want him'. Even though she called out to him, tempted him. That attitude in which, let alone be swayed, simply said 'what the heck are you doing?' After all, Lancer despite being described in his legend as a pretty boy who could steal anyone’s wife at a glance, he was also a man of principle. Even though she called to him, he refused to act in a way to someone he had captured in battle, a Queen none-the-less.

It wasn’t like ‘this’ Cu Chulainn despised the Queen for her actions though, despite all of this.

“Ain’t exactly like I can tell if a “Servant is here”, it is more like the knowledge that “I know a Servant on face”. If anything, you should be able to tell when a Master is around, and if there is a Master a Servant ain’t gonna be too far away. Then again, one could try and mask their presence. That being said, I don't feel too much prana being expended, so I doubt it is an ambush. Though I suppose you’d know something about that, no? Think we'd have an easier time inside, no?”

Well, if anything Lancer didn’t have an orthodox Master. A homunculus wasn’t exactly a human. It was similar to giving a doll a name and human traits. However, it wasn’t like Lancer really cared about those sorts of instances. The Grail; had selected himself the Champion and Servant of Elyse and that was all that mattered in the end. To Lancer, a man of principle and falling to his battle lust, as long as his Master wasn’t doing something he considered deplorable, say,converting children into Prana to feed her Servant, Lancer assumed they would be able to get along at the very least.

And Lancer didn’t mind having a cute Master like Elyse, “Master” being somewhat ironic considering her attire is that of a ‘Maid [servant]’

However, Lancer could tell at the very least his Master was a bit nervous. Though that was to be expected. Those entering a potential warzone were often afraid to die, or were excited to prove themselves, and most modern humans tended to fall on the former. War was not as commonplace in the modern era as it was within Lancer’s time.

“Relax though. If anything happens, I wouldn’t be much of a ‘Hero’ if I didn’t put my Master’s safety my first priority, now would I? I protected an entire nation. I am sure a young lady like yourself would be a tad bit easier.”