"You know, most girls have a mirror or a makeup table. Don't get me wrong, the rack really ties the room together... though isn't it a bit on the nose?" What Ryteb was inspecting with a degree of sarcastic interest, was a weapon rack filled up completely with shurikens. Touching one, he recoiled in pain. "Ouch... you seriously keep all of these razor sharp? Nevermind, I'm gonna magic my pants so look away. The last lady who saw my gorgeous thighs turned into a sex-crazed demon. Good times."

As he said this, he pulled his pants off, and shook them in the air. With a shower of sparks, the damage and blood vanished. After re-pantsing himself, he pulled out a metal hemisphere. Channelling mana into it, the orb revealed a shaky holographic map.
"This is half of the Keystone to Solomon's Tomb, as well as a map to the place. The good news is I know where the other half is... The bad news is that it's part of a statue in the Temple of Light. Ever broken into a temple before?"

Amelia had no more than taken a single swig of the slimy, wet slop that passed as alcohol before she was approached. She noticed the lad as soon as he entered: how could she not? His dark armor wasn't exactly the most subtle what with horns sticking off in every which way. He would be a Dark Knight of Cronquist...the Giantslayer, then? She had been told that he was being sent to bolster their guard, though she couldn't imagine why. A show of strength, perhaps? To introduce the people to their little living legend? Huh. She had to admit though, he wasn't exactly what she had been imagining: short, petite, and shy, rather than tall, broad, and confident. If anything, wouldn't meeting him hurt the grand image they had been painting?

Still, it wouldn't be easy to get one's hands on THAT armor without being one of the Order, and his paperwork had checked out. So...go figure. Ser Timid began to ask her something regarding his orders, but promptly stumbled over his words. The idea that this lad who had allegedly slain a Behemoth on one of his first outings could be so easily flustered just by being in the company of someone like Amelia...it seemed preposterous. But then again, would she be much better if their positions had been reversed? If she had been the foreigner sent off to a distant land to impress people of a culture she had never seen before? Probably not.

As he recovered and requested clarification on his orders, a young Eldian approached the two of them as well. Amelia didn't recognize the woman, so she offered a polite nod whilst she considered her response to the Little Giantslayer. She pondered a moment, then offered a friendly smile.

"Now that you ask, there is something I need of you, Ser." she begun as she waved towards one of the bar wenches. "I need you to sit down, order a drink, and relax." To emphasize this, she took another swig of the...liquid? in her mug. Her face twisted up after swallowing. It wasn't good liquid. It never was. That wasn't the point. Once she was sure she wasn't going to die, she continued. "And after you've had your fill of..." Amelia grunted something unintelligible, "then I'll need you to just enjoy the festival. Go walk around. Be seen. Talk to the people. If a fight or something should break out, then by all means step in, but otherwise just have a good time. It'll put the people at ease to see their guardsmen enjoying themselves."

Clementine's brow furrowed. That was a reasonable order. Perfectly smart. The logic behind it was currently wrestling furiously with his immediate internal resistance to spending his first day on duty as festival-goer. On the Knight-Commander's I need you to sit down he had instinctively taken a seat at her table, but, lacking a drink, and not especially keen to try one based on the Commander's reaction, settled for clasping his hands in polite silence.

She paused and considered her drink. Dare she gamble another swig? "If you're absolutely lost, I could use another body or two at the tournament grounds..." Amelia trailed off. She had almost blurted out that one of her men had gone missing, but she caught herself. It wouldn't do her any favors to reveal to a foreign knight that she couldn't even keep her own men in line. And...she turned her gaze to the other who had taken a seat at the table. There was her. Amelia silently cursed herself for being sloppy. Before she could form a question though, the woman had said her name.

Amelia gazed at the Eldian woman for a moment, first in confusion, then in slow realization.

"...Sayuri? Is that really you?" she asked in a hushed, disbelieving voice.

Sayuri smiles at her, "In the flesh and definitely not a figment of your imagination," she takes a sip from the drink she'd order and her face instantly soured and she set the drink to the side, "Definitely need to get used this kind of stuff again. Been drinking the expensive stuff too long. So... We have a lot to talk catch up with each other on," she pauses and sighs, "And probably a whole ton of questions you want to ask. Is there any particular place you want to start?"

Ah. They're about to start talking. I'm interrupting something aren't I? Clementine wondered vaguely if he would be dismissed—maybe if he got a drink, like the Commander had ordered. He excused himself very quietly, went to the bar, ordered a distinctly nonalcoholic beverage while hoping for the best, and, returning, largely expected the others to have left already. To his slight discomfort, they had not, and, when neither woman told him to shove off, and seeing no comfortable alternative, took his seat again in what he hoped was a polite and unassuming silence.

She gave Amelia a long look over while talking the smile never leaving her face. It was really good to see her again after all these years, surprisingly so. She'd grown up quite well looking much like the warrior princess she was. It reminded her of when they were trainees just hoping for the best possible future and joking about how ridiculous a lot of things seemed to be to them. With that though came the bad especially what happened when she left and more recent events also surfaced. Forcing the thoughts out of her head she turned to look at the kid examining him as well by which time she was done talking. To be honest she was completely unimpressed. He looked way too young and inexperienced to be wearing the armor he was in. She knew better than to judge based on appearances. She'd faced numerous opponents and had worked with several people who seemed completely useless but in actuality were some of the strongest on the battlefield, 'IKinda really wanna fight this kid at some point. See if he really is worthy of the armor he's wearing or he's just a Dark Knight in name. It'd be fun either way especially to see his reaction to my abilities.,' She turns back, 'I'd wanna fight Amelia too... See how she's grown...'

She turns back to look at Amelia waiting patiently for her response.

Amelia was so stricken with awe that she had barely registered the lad having left and returned. She had heard Sayuri speak and was looking directly at her but...she still felt like a ghost. A memory, even. It was one thing when she was just toying with idea of her friend returning...but now? A flood of emotions struck the princess, relief and joy for seeing her old friend well again, bitter resentment for her having left with little-to-no explanation. Still, the young paladin stiffened her lip and bit back the rush of accusations that wanted to pour out. What do you say to someone who just up and vanished for eight years? Who never visited or wrote during that time. Had she any questions? Certainly. Like, why did she simply LEAVE. How could she violate the Code so brazenly?

Why didn't she at least say goodbye?

Amelia clasped her hands together and sat them on the table. She tried to look at Sayuri, but every time she did, she could feel her cheeks growing warmer and her mind getting hazy, so she averted her eyes. At one point towards the door, possibly considering just leaving. Another time directly into her mug, simultaneously dreading yet craving another swig. In the end, anger, fueled by hurt, had won out, and it was all the princess knight could do to contain herself. When she finally did speak, she was quiet, choosing each word oh so carefully.

"Was it worth it?" she asked, the contempt in her voice only vaguely veiled.

Sayuri sighed. She could see the emotions behind Amelia's eyes and saw each one as it passed. She was expecting the anger to be the final one. While she hadn't expected for them to become friends again instantly, this was actually better than expected. She was expecting straight up open hostility. She took a couple minutes to gather her thoughts before responding. When she finally spoke it had a very tired undertone behind it, "Was it worth it? Really you had to ask one of the hardest questions to answer in general..." she sighs again before looking out at the bar eyes unfocused, "It really means in what ways your talking about... Am I happy? For the most part. Proud of what I've done? Poor question to ask a sellsword. Have my skills improved... Yes. But overall... I'd say I'm about even. Some of it was worth all the pain I caused. Other times it wasn't... I'm not sure where I sit right now..." she unconsciously reaches up and runs a finger across the ribbon tying her hair then turns and looks Amelia in the eyes, "Only time can tell I guess... Now for why I'm here: I'm sorry I didn't write... or say goodbye... in any way... I should have, at the very least, tried. The Paladins that threw me out, just barely exaggerating, made it clear to stay clear of the place... I didn't want to cause trouble by staying so I left... Doesn't excuse it just why I did it..."

She sighs and leans back in her chair done for now. She turns her gaze back on the kid, "Oh by the way kid. What was said here stays here... If Amelia's okay with you being here so am I. Just don't talk about it or we'll have problems, kay?

"Oh," Clementine said, a little put-off at suddenly being addressed. "Um. No, don't worry. This drink, you see—well, look at all that foam. It's been very distracting, I don't think I've heard a single thing you two have said." At this point, Clementine had decided acting like a piece of furniture was the appropriate policy. At least, until someone decided to give him a proper order. Which he supposed, technically, drinking this beverage counted as. Privately, however, Clementine was following the conversation as close as skin on muscle. And he thought he was uncomfortable—the knight couldn't help feel a squirm of sympathy for the two. Stumbling their way through old history, the kind that comes to you in jumbled pieces, with no instruction manual on how to assemble the awful thing and with only the faintest knowledge that this ugly puzzle somehow connects the distant past to the awkwardness of the present. Clementine snuck a careful look at the Knight-Commander. Friends weren't exactly his forte. He couldn't imagine what she must be thinking right now.

Everything was still sinking in for Amelia. She looked at Sayuri with a look of confusion and, more so, almost a sort of sadness. She looked away again, feeling the warmth well up in her cheeks again. She looked down at her drink, swirled it around in the tankard a bit, then dared to take another small swig. She turned back to the black knight that sat between them. So many things were going through her head, she wasnt exactly sure what to do. "Arent you going to drink, boy?" she chuckled nervously, turning back to her own drink again. "So... Sayuri... What made you come back?" She asked the question with more contempt than the last, yet again under a thin veil.

"I'm... Not entirely sure..." she sighs yet again, "At first all I knew is that I had to leave where I was. Then I remembered the festival was coming up and I haven't even stepped foot into the city in eight years. Seeing my parents again was my main motivation... but I still need to make amends to some of the people here. So I guess you could say this is the reason I came back... And to get away from something else."

Amelia decided to leave the sadness, confusion, anger, and all the other feelings in the past. She got up, walked over to the bar, ordered 3 fresh beers, one for each of them. She returned with them in hand and put one before each of the other two. She sat and raised hers in the air, "Whelp, anyhow, cheers to your return and to 50 years of my grandfather's rule!" After she finished her toast, there was a rumble from outside.

---

Roderick continued his bland court meeting. He was beginning to tire of the monotony of them. Every time he'd just be continuing the same treaty or promising this, protecting that, trading these, etc. Nothing too important was happening this time either. He sighed, Dalia patted his shoulder. He turned to her and smiled again, then turned back to his court meeting.

---

The black mage slinked through the castle halls, slicing his way through the defenses with ease. Nothing could stop him, his mission was just, his targets within reach. His dagger slit the throat of another paladin, blood spattering his already blood-caked face. He had hoped that there would be more of a resistance. They WERE protecting their king, after all. Beyond his task, the mage also longed to see his old friend one last time. He was getting close now, he could feel it. He glanced out a window at the "Crystal of Light" with a look of disgust before dashing over to the next guard, assassinating him with ease. I'll destroy you yet, he thought, progressing on.

---

Outside, portals were opening in the sky above the city, Void Beasts began to pour through. All different shapes and sizes, but mostly imps, evil eyes, and other weak sorts in massive numbers. They began rampaging through the streets, attacking innocents and pillaging shops.

---

Did you hear something? Clementine had wanted to ask, when he first heard that strange, faint rumbling. But, once again, the awkward pressure of social interaction and the battlefield of conversation these two woman had created pressed against Clementine's thoughts, and so he stayed quiet, hoping he might cleanly and elegantly escape sometime soon. Then came the scream and shouts—that was when Clementine stumbled to his feet.

He went for the window, then whirled on his feet and shouted to Amelia, "Commander! Attackers!"

Outside, monsters with horns and teeth and eyes in all the wrong numbers and colors were pouring from the sky, some of the especially eager ones already down on the streets, ripping through buildings and civilians with careless strength.

This, at least, was a battlefield Clementine was familiar with.

With a small amount of fumbling, he plopped his black helmet onto his head and drew his sword—not the most elegant of maneuvers, not the most knightly of movements, but his sword was there in his hand, and he was ready, finally, to do his job. Coils of darkness were already leaking from his blade.

As the tavern was coming to life with agitation and questions, Clementine was already hurrying for the exit. With a burst of splinters, however, several brawny imps came crashing into the tavern, through the windows, the ceiling, and the now-ruined door. Clementine flicked his sword, and a pinch of coal-black darkness cleaved the imp's head from its torso like a giant had slammed a great, invisible door on its neck. But the creature had barely fallen when another monster took its place. Another small flick of the sword, and this one went down too, and was replaced, yet again, by another imp.

Give him a single big monster to deal with—a big, bad, beefy brute—Clementine could do that, yes. But an army of relentless ants promised a much different story, as Clementine's fingernails began to bruise already beneath his gloves. The darkness was setting in. Though it wasn't his style, Clementine forced the darkness to an absolute minimum, as he readied his sword and launched himself singlemindedly into the fray.

@Evanist, @RolePlayerRoxas

Arte was about to comment on something, but, monsters decided to show up, instead. They were everywhere, too, and a few of them were right in front of the group. He didn't want to speak, right now, and he thought for a moment... if he tried to spread his spell's effects, he might hurt innocents, and, as many enemies as he'd kill that way, he didn't want to harm any of the town's citizens with his magic right now. Dang... if this battle took place anywhere but a city, I'd be more than happy to just show off, and attack everyone... but, no, I can't risk it. Arte thought as he cast a thundaga spell at whatever enemy was closest to his two allies and his friend. The blue mage, despite the monsters showing up, was still holding onto Vincent, and Vincent didn't like that one bit. "Um... ma'am? Would you please set my friend down? We kind of need him to be able to move his hands, and shoot at things, alright?" Arte asked the lady, as calmly as he could. Just as well, while the first monster was defeated by Arte's spell, another, identical monster took its place in battle, and taking a look around, that seemed to be a theme... if only the civilians could fight, then we might have a slight chance.

"There's so many of them..." Arte thought out loud as he looked over what was once a perfectly peaceful town, and his own hometown. Arte would have tried to cast Firaga, again, but this situation called for no risks... and so far, every time he's tried to cast that spell, it's exploded in his face, most of the time, literally. Arte thought for a moment, and tried to focus his magic to a straight line, and when he was trying to decide where... something told him to head to the Crystal palace, so, instead of trying to exit the city with this, he tried to make some sort of path to the crystal... I wonder if Vincent heard that same voice... maybe I'm just going insane like grandpa... ugh, I hoped that day would come MUCH later... Arte thought as he saw the lightning from his spell spark and throw itself at whatever enemies were in its path, hopefully keeping normal people safe, and hopefully only going across a line like Arte needed it to.

Rakta

City of Thorne - ??? --> Slums

"No I must disagree--" shouted Kajad over roar of monsters and terrified screams "--this city is very interesting!" With swiftness, Kajad ducked the large swinging blade of a very large void beast, lobbed an orb of light, then disappeared in a bright flash, causing the monster to grunt in agony. Several imps began dashing after Kajad and it took Rakta charging bodily into them to catch their attention. As she swung her arms, one of the imps went flying, another was tread underfoot, but several more continued their advance toward her. "You're only saying that--" Rakta shouted as she bashed the heads of two imps together "--because we have yet to be in real dange--"

"--watch out!"

The sharp sound of magical bolts clinging against metal filled Rakta's ears. She didn't need to look over her shoulder to know that Ser Ellismore had likely saved her from a pretty nasty injury. "Where are they all coming from? This is impossible-- we need to seek a place to barricade the Phamet," Ser Ellismore managed between heavy panting breaths, fending off several approaching imps in the process. "Once more, as you were not listening, Ser Ellismore," Kajad spoke up. Light had gathered between Kajad's palms and when Rakta looked at them, a slight smirk came to her face-- "Promptly, would you!" Rakta shouted.

"We Phamet do not hide behind walls while others die," Kajad repeated for what was likely the thrid time since the city suddenly went crazy. When Kajad held their hands into the air, the beams of light burst from their palms, breaking apart, then scattering, before coming screaming back toward the ground as if they were comets. Explosions of light-- holy infused magic-- rocked the ground around Rakta, Kajad, and Ser Ellismore, in a proficiently casted display of magical prowess. Though every chance to hit an ally could have been possible, what with the nature of the spell, not a single one touched a creature not considered an enemy. The voice beasts screeched and roared, with several dissipating into shadowy puffs of mist but, though it all, Rakta could fully see that the spell, despite how powerful it was, would only buy them time from the inevitable.

Rakta turned to Kajad as the last of the beasts fell, unable to fight, thankful for the bit of rest, but she shook her head. "Phamet, it is wise to retreat," Rakta shouted, "We cannot kill them all. We will grow weary, our feet heavy, and they will pull us under." The sound of steel scraping against stone caught Rakta's attention-- she saw Kajad point to something behind her-- a woosh called out--

Rakta turned, threw her hands up to guard herself, as the Iron Giant swiped it's sword in a sweeping arc. Heavily, the blow landed on Rakta's side and she felt hers side flex and twist oddly, her feet lift from the ground, then the ground smacked her on the side of the head-- she felt quite offended. Dazed, Rakta rolled over, again, feeling her body moving strangely, and witnessed the color draining from the world.

Oh no.

Shaking her head, Rakta tried her best to fend off the beast taking over, but the sight of the Iron Giant, armor full of holes from where Kajad's magic had pierced through, frustrated her to no end. The numbness from pain quickly settling in fueled that anger-- how could she have been so foolish. That was how people died-- letting their guard down in the middle of a battle-- look, now the others were in danger-- Rakta scolded herself over and over again, spiraling downward into a pit of fury until...

Silence swept over the city-- Rakta's city-- and the beasts moved at nearly half their speed. First was the Giant, blade between her hands, then it shattered into bright silvery stars. The giant flew. Next were Imps, void-drakes, monsters, enemies, attackers, bodies, bodies, bodies... Buildings stood out sharply in her vision-- angles and points-- all else was wrong and soft-- monsters all of them-- this is a cage--

Rakta, though she did not know it, was cleaving a path through the market, to the slums, chopping down beasts and fiends as they stood before her, focused solely on this furious rampage. Behind her Kajad and Ser Ellismore trailed, trying desperately to keep up-- a flash of lightning drew the attention of all three. Nearby a mage was casting spells and in a brief moment of clarity, Rakta directed her charge toward them, figuring that perhaps they needed help.

^{Crossing paths with -- @Lugia}