Gerard Segremors

@JessieTargaryen@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin

"Likewise, Dame Runa." he murmured in response, inclining his head in a small, slight nod at her greeting as his voice left his throat in a bit of a tense undertone, in spite of the ghost of a smile that had crossed his face in the exchange. Riding wouldn't allow for much else, and he wasn't one for sweeping gestures in the first place.

Let alone when things have developed in this direction. Not surprised to see Haelstadt with the Cal heiress, even if I count myself surprised at her being here.

Paladin Tyaethe was, as one might have expected, growing irate with how they'd been all but led around by their noses to only turn up more questions than they'd divined answers. Privately, Gerard found himself in agreement. Less privately, his brow furrowed once more, now that he was satisfied he'd covered for Runa's delay well enough. To begin with, so much of this had already flown over his head— the unnatural murder-suicides at the fort, the unexplained presence of the Pigs, why at all Alette was there, the shard of Angoron...

He was pretty sure it all tied together somehow— it had to, really, otherwise there'd have been a cornucopia of coincidences at that fort that not even he could believe. But he'd yet to see how. They were trying to read a story that had been thrown into a fire, scrambling to find the right fragments of burnt parchment to figure out what happened. Perhaps the cooler heads among them, the more seasoned, learned, and analytical, were tying the threads together in their minds— but he was squarely stumped.

"Who's that?" Runa whispered softly, unable to place the face.

Which reminded him, there was yet someone even more lost than he, through no fault of her own.

He glanced at Sir Fleuri, who'd taken it upon himself to ride alongside and act as a fellow guiding hand— perhaps to the both of them. Gerard, after all, had not even a year on Runa's tenure. Were there anyone suited for the task, it'd be him, not somebody barely more experienced with proper knighthood.

"Veileena Cal." he replied again, gruff and low in his whisper. Given that something of a general murmur had sprouted in the mass of the small contingent that rode ahead of him, he leaned slightly to the side— not enough to throw his balance tremendously, but hopefully easier for the other two to hear. "She's the daughter of the Traitor, Phoran, if I remember right. The big one's her bodyguard, Haelstadt. Don't know if we should worry about him. I am."

And on him, Gerard's gaze wasn't wavering. He still remembered the clear aura of danger the man had worn like a cloak, even standing as an impassive decoration that evening at the ball. Behind that armor, reading him was a fool's errand. His body language was conservative, too, but in being so contained...

Gerard got the feeling that his icy nerves weren't wrong. If this went sour, the big man would be trouble. It would be like fighting the aforementioned son of the Jodeau family. A tall task, unless the pacing Paladin decided to interject. Numbers would bring any one fighter down, but like Jeremiah before him, Gerard wasn't certain he couldn't bring a few of their number down in the process.

In that case, I'm the one going for him. I can't let that man get to anyone else.

He breathed deep through the nose, before exhaling a long, slow puff out the mouth.

"I don't know how they tie into it, but at the fort we'd apparently stumbled onto the aftermath of a shard of Angoron. The mercenaries that pointed you our way were mopping up the detachment of Golden Boars that were posing as the guards garrisoned— I think. Sir Fleuri and I only found a note leading here in the Captain's quarters."

His eyes narrowed, wanting to look to either of his comrades but unwilling to leave the pillar of onyx that stood beside the Heiress. He was instead forced to speak.

"Sir Fleuri. I'm doing my best here, but this is throwin' me for a loop." he said, momentarily lapsing into his rural accent. "Has been since day broke. You saw her at the ball, right? She wasn't acting against the kingdom then. You were certain."

It wasn't a tone that questioned the older knight's judgement. Gerard held him in exemplary regard in all facets of knighthood, from courage to skill to etiquette. His instincts were no different from anything else on the list, and his word was ironclad. Was he a perfect judge of character? Nobody could be. However, as someone further along the path, Sagramore Gellert struggled to name a point when his advice wasn't sound.

"I'd kill for your read of what we've been caught up in, Sir. Aside from what we turned up a few hours ago, I'm lost as Miss— Dame Runa is. Apologies."

He had the kind of head that could tie the big picture together.

That girl hadn't been too keen on the assassination plot that had sprouted in her family's crypt, if memory served— and didn;' speak terribly lovingly of her father, nor his actions. It had exonerated her of the entire affair before it had even come into question, so...

What the hell was she doing here, in a staredown with them and apparently expecting someone else entirely?

Gillian watched Tyaethe grill the small child, occasionally throwing glances at her bodyguard, a large fellow(he assumed, though one need only look at the aforementioned vampire in full armor to see it was far from a safe assumption) though hardly a threat to them by virtue of sheer numbers. "Wow..." He said, loud enough to cut into Tyaethe's rather masterful tirade. "Glad to see the oldest of our order is ready to throw an actual child into the fire because she's on the rag" He said clearly, rubbing the agitation from his eyes.

As much as Tyaethe WAS right to demand answers from the girl, he thought she was far from going about it the right way. Firstly, Lady Cal was thirteen. Between her and the captain, this was more a (admittedly high stakes) play date than a potential insurrection. Secondly, whatever the girls intent, it was likely more misguided than malicious for which they should be thanking Reon.

"Veileena." Gill said, keeping his tone divorced from his usual snark and the irritation he felt in favor of a more impassive tone. One that, unlike Radistirin's, at least promised to listen before any judgment of her character was thrown on the girls shoulders. "Would you please explain what you and your bodyguard are doing here?" He asked. It was obvious that the girl was after the shard, but he'd rather hear in the girls own words as to the WHY. If nothing else, she might know who would have tried to steal the shard out from under her.

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri wished he could be surprised to see Veileena Cal and her bodyguard there, but after the encounter with Damon, he could no longer be entirely sure that others in the family weren't also involved in dark dealings. "That is Veileena Cal, daughter of the traitor Phoran Cal, scion of the Cal family, and the person whom I hoped would redeem the family's name," he answered Runa, opting to address their most immediate question. It appeared that the others were already questioning Veileena, so it would be a good opportunity to bring Runa and Gerard up to speed.

"Here's what's going on," he turned to Runa. "This morning, a message arrived requesting the Iron Roses' assistance at Fort Daelantine. When we got there, we discovered the entire garrison was dead, and there had just been a battle between two groups of mercenaries, one of whom had disguised themselves in the dead soldiers' uniforms. It was fortunate we had someone with a knowledge of mercenaries in our ranks," he said, looking at Gerard. "Upon investigating, we learned a few very troubling things."

Fleuri paused to take a breath. "First, the fort wasn't attacked, the soldiers appear to have gone mad and killed one another in a frenzy." Second, someone who wasn't insane apparently broke into the captain's quarters, killed the captain, and stole something from his desk. Third, both mercenary parties were hired to retrieve a black shard from the fort. We believe that it is a shard of the evil weapon Angroron, and that it was somehow involved in the entire garrison going insane. This shrine was mentioned in a note on the corpse of one of the thief's victims just outside the captain's quarters. Currently, we don't know who hired either of the mercenary bands, and we don't know how this place ties into whatever is going on. I'm not sure why Veileena Cal is here," he paused, glancing at her for a moment before turning back to the Hundi knight, "But the fact that she's here makes me think we're on the right track."

@JessieTargaryen@VitaVitaAR@HereComesTheSnow

Veileena was placed immediately on guard by the line of questions thrown her way. Her eyes narrowed.

"I am no thief," she snapped, her hands shifting to her hips, "Can't a citizen show concern for affairs going on within the Kingdom's borders?"

She let out a huff.

"That's far more then some of the other noble families do, I assure you."

That answered absolutely none of the questions they had, however. While Fanilly wanted to take a charitable interpretation of the young Cal's sudden appearance near the shrine, she couldn't deny how suspicious it seemed.

That response didn't fill her with confidence.

"Lady Cal, do you understand the situation?" she said, mounting frustration at her inability to resolve any of what had occurred, at her inability to save even a single soldier from the fort, growing, "An entire fort of Thaln's soldiers is dead."

The girl's golden eyes widened. So she didn't know what happened at the fort? Or at least she didn't know in detail. Whatever she was doing, Fanilly guessed that meant she had come straight here. But for what reason, she still had no idea. Could it be that Veileena really was going to follow in her father's footsteps, no matter her professed hatred of him? The Knight-Captain didn't feel certain that was the case, but this whole situation seemed difficult to understand.

"They're... all dead?" she asked, "I knew that it was dangerous but it was-"

She paused for a moment, realizing she had let slip more then she intended.

"... Tch. Fine. I guess if there's anyone I can tell short of the crown, it'd be the Iron Rose Knights."

She glanced briefly at Sir Gillian before averting her eyes once more.

"... The Mage's College," she said, finally. "The Mage's College were trying to destroy a shard of Angroron. I haven't the faintest idea how they got it, but they had it. They thought nobody knew, of course."

She rolled her eyes.

"Not even their own students."

Fanilly wasn't sure how to respond. The College had obtained a shard of Angroron? That's where it originated from? But how? Why hadn't they mentioned it to the Church? Was it really true? It seemed impossible, but at the same time there was no denying the shard had to have come from somewhere.

But if that were the case, why had it ended up in the fort?

"I'm sure that old goat of a headmaster thought he was doing what was right, but he was a complete idiot," continued Veileena with a sigh.

"How do you know all this, Lady Cal?" asked Fanilly. While Veileena did attend the college, she'd already mentioned that the higher-ups thought that no-one else knew.

"Hmph, don't you know anything?" asked the gray-haired girl, "Any noble worth their salt is going to have spies. Is the Captain of the Iron Rose Knights naive or something?"

She let out another sigh.

"The fact they were able to find out about the shard made me certain someone else would too," continued Veileena, "And I was right, because it was stolen."

Stolen? From the Mage's College? Who could pull something like that off?

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"What do you think did all this?" Veileena responded, eyebrow raised, "Besides, I'm certain. Don't you think it's odd how that conspiracy to assassinate the Princess collapsed so fast? Well, the same night they tried to murder the Princess, the shard was stolen."

What did that even mean? Fanilly didn't understand initially, even if it was odd how it seemed like the conspiracy vanished after that night. Surely it should have been a bigger group, right?

"... Are... you saying someone was just using them as a distraction...?"

"Of course."

Any keen-eyed knights in the position to focus on their surroundings could, perhaps, notice that there seemed to be a disturbance in the nearby foliage across the clearing, the low brush rustling slightly as if something was just beyond it.

@HereComesTheSnow@TheFake@Crimson Paladin@PaulHaynek@FlappyTheSpybot@Raineh Daze@ghastlyinc@Krayzikk@JessieTargaryen

Gerard Segremors

@JessieTargaryen@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin

Sharp eyes did well to account for a self-described dull mind. It had proven itself true time and again to him, in situations much akin to these (albeit with much, much lower stakes) on the battlefield as a soldier of fortune. Even if he wasn't catching the big picture, when the scene directly before him shifted, his instincts had been beaten into noticing by mission after mission, battle after battle. Few things truly served his talents, he knew— but even as a boy who'd never held a blade, living near the woods had honed his sense for disturbance.

Off at the fringes of the brush, something shifted. A light rustle, a shake in the foliage that could have meant any number of things— yet, there was no breeze to toss the leaves, sway the branches, shake the grass. Not heavily enough. That being the case...

"Movement. Trees."

His eyes had finally left Haelstadt after he'd heard the rustling beneath their Captain and the noble's extended dialogue, and with it, his position in the formation. He tugged at the reins sternly with a hand, the other falling onto the hilt of his longsword, and beckoned his horse nearer to the flanks— the other side of Runa and Fleuri. Off to their left now, he took a routine position for him— first line of defense, gripping the concealed fang of steel as his gaze pored over the treeline. A hound with haunches raised was a sign to beware for all who beheld it, and for an armored man Gerard seemed to echo that visage well. The other knights would probably notice.

In moving, any prospective thinking enemy likely had noticed too, but that die had already been cast. He grimly noted that much, but was now committed.

It spoke to the tension of the situation more than words could— he'd much rather look a fool if it was some sneaking fox than end up skewered if he took the chance of letting this lie. It was too perfect. Everyone focused being on this confrontation meant that it wasn't hard to skirt past them if one both wished to and wasn't terrible at it— and the more he looked, the more he wanted to deny a crossing animal altogether.

Hell, he'd just heard the words "using them as a distraction" float in from the front, out of his Captain's voice. It was as if daring fate to illustrate!

There was just too much of it around them at once. All across the edge of the clearing, the low brush was astir in that almost-hidden manner. Something or someone was just out of sight, and moving. It could be a wolf padding along in between pockets of moonlight... or a company of soldiers, settling in for an imminent ambush. He was all but convinced of the latter as the wheels in his head spun.

If you could smell a trap, this reeked.

"Get ready." he muttered lowly to his fellows, one senior and the other junior, now behind him. "We've company. One way or another it'll show it's face in a moment."

Either being found out would do it, or their chosen time to strike would come and things would kick off on their own.

He crouched low in his saddle, coiled like a spring.

The knight serpenta listened to the unfolding conversation with impassive silence, the occasional twitch of her tail the Naga's only major movement. Out of the corner of her visor, Maritza caught the shifting in the bushes. Almost tensing up, she relaxed as Sir Segremors took up the vanguard. Unless their potential enemy bore powerful magic or inhuman strength, the Naga was confident in the former mercenary's ability to blunt any would-be attack with a counter charge almost as ferocious as her own.

Instead, she wove her way a little closer to Veileena Cal, one hand surreptitiously dropping to her axe, the Naga twisting her body to hide the action from any prying eyes within the bushes. "That's all well and good Lady Cal, but forgive me if we're not so quick to trust. You see, there were multiple mercenary bands within the fort, all aiming for the shard, all with clearly different intents. And now all but one of them are dead. So who were the mercenaries you hired to retrieve the shard, Lady Cal? The truth if you would be so kind." Maritza asked, her tone impassively neutral as she stretched the truth a little.

"Naive is thinking that you can solve all problems yourself just because you're wealthy and have spies. An entire fort of soldiers are dead because your first thought is to hire mercenaries only after a theft," the vampire snapped, continuing to glare out from the helmet at the little girl. Nobles and mages, so alike in their overconfidence.

But especially the complete idiots that had thought they could ever destroy the shard. At best, they might split it into smaller shards, which would only exacerbate the problem. It was like trying to rid the world of cold.

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri listened attentively to what Veileena had to say when pressed by the other knights. According to the Cal scion, the shard had been in the hands of the Mages College, and their goal was to find a way to destroy it. Fleuri shook his head at this revelation, incredulous that the people in charge of the college could be so arrogant.

The hubris of these mages, to think that they and their mortal magic could succeed in destroying the shard of a weapon that took the combined might of the dual goddesses to shatter.

This would no doubt be a massive scandal for the college once it got out, but the political implications seemed like an afterthought compared to the danger posed by the shard in the wrong hands. Furthermore, Veileena's explanation left out one key detail- why was she here at the shrine? The Iron Roses were led here by the note in the dead guard's pocket, so what brought the Cal girl to this place, at this most suspicious time?

Fleuri was ready to chime in with this question, when Gerard suddenly alerted him to something moving in the trees. Fleuri adjusted his helmet and readied his lance, then rode to Gerard's side, ready to skewer any foes that might emerge. The younger Reonite may have been a knight for only a short time, but his mercenary experience had already proven very helpful to the order, and it looked like his perceptive senses might might have just saved them from being caught unaware by an ambush.

"Captain," Fleuri called out to Fanilly, "Sir Gerard spotted something moving in the trees. We may not be alone out here!"

Alerting the captain would no doubt tip off their mystery visitors off that they had been spotted, but he wasn't going to put the other knights at risk of being caught unprepared. Besides, they already would have noticed Gerard's reaction to them.

@HereComesTheSnow@VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@JessieTargaryen@ghastlyInc@FlappyTheSpybot

---

Whatever attention that the Hundi had on the conversation before was gone the moment she heard movement in the trees. The ears atop her head flickered, even as the previously shy temperament seemed to melt away. Instead, replaced an alert, tensing figure as she shifted her gaze towards the source of the sounds that assaulted her ears. Small bits of fur stood up on her tail and ears, as Runa's eyes opened widely in time with Gerald's mention of the company. A hand slowly drifted to the sword at her side, resting upon its hilt. Should their new 'friends' choose to attack, the young Knight would be ready to strike in a mere moment. "I heard them moving, can't tell how many there are." She hissed quietly, gaze never moving from the enemy hidden in the trees. Despite her attentions shifting towards the Captain to hear the orders that would be coming in regards to the company...

"..."

For a few moments, Veileena hesitated, glancing briefly towards the tall, imposing black-armored figure of Haelstadt, then back towards the assembled Iron Roses at the naga's question.

Finally, she spoke.

"I hired the band of mercenaries led by Alette the Shark," she said, with some reluctance, "I have no doubt they are the ones who survived, given their reputation. As for any others, I don't-"

Fanilly jolted when she heard Sir Fleuri's words. An ambush? Immediately her hand flew to the hilt of her sword, drawing the blade forth in a single motion with the singing sound of steel against leather.

No sooner then she had done so then the foliage erupted with movement. Emerging from the green was the shape of armored soldiers, men clad in leather and steel, wielding shields branded with the symbol of a Golden Boar.

Given their position, their numbers were difficult to judge, but it was safe to say their numbers were considerable.

"Prepare for combat!" declared Fanilly, as the boars immediately made their charge. How long had they been lying in wait? It couldn't have been significant amount of time, given the presence of the Cal heir and her imposing knight. Had they shown up later? had they been drawn by the same purpose?

Just who else was after this shard?

A particularly well-armored man near the rear of the boar's forces was barking orders to the others.

"Take the Cal girl! Kill as many of the others as you can!"

They were trying to take Veileena? So whoever else had hired mercenaries was aware of her, as well?

Fanilly glanced back towards her knights.

"Defend Lady Cal. Do not let them reach her!" she ordered, stepping forward as the Boars surged forth. While they certainly had numbers, there was not an insurmountable number of them. They had to beat them back!

"Tch, what arrogance," Veileena commented, as Haelstadt stepped forward and smoothly drew their immense Zweihander, "Come and try it, then. Even if Haelstadt were my only defender, not one of you would survive."

@HereComesTheSnow@TheFake@Crimson Paladin@PaulHaynek@FlappyTheSpybot@Raineh Daze@ghastlyinc@Krayzikk@JessieTargaryen

Fleuri Jodeau

Gerard's instincts were correct- the knights were not alone. A number of enemy soldiers emerged from the woods. Fleuri could distinguish the image of a boar on their shields- these must be more of those Golden Boars that Gerard had mentioned back at the fort. Their emergence coincided with Fleuri alerting the captain- it was no surprise that they'd abandon subterfuge and stealth now that their cover was blown.

Never thought I'd be fighting to defend a Cal, Fleuri mused as the captain barked orders to protect Veileena. Indeed, the fact that the Golden Boars' officer ordered them to capture the Cal girl lent further support to her claim that she had hired Alette's band. The question remained as to who hired the Golden Boars, and it was doubtful that the mercenaries would betray their client's confidentiality if captured, but perhaps one of them would have orders or some other clue in their possession.

The Golden Boars had a numerical advantage, but the Iron Roses were superior fighters, and Veileena seemed confident that her towering, heavily armored bodyguard alone would be enough. Even so, these mercenaries looked tougher and better-equipped than Jeremiah's bandits, so it'd be wise not to underestimate them.

"You heard the captain, let's show these mercenaries who they're dealing with," Fleuri spoke to Gerard and Runa as he spurred his horse forward. As he drew near to one of the mercenaries, he thrust his lance forward, the combined momentum from his riding speed and the thrust being sufficient to knock his foe back against a tree and push the lance right their torso and into the trunk. Fleuri turned his horse away from the mercenaries and let go of his lance just as it embedded in the tree, not wanting to risk his horse riding into the thick of the enemy or into the brush where more of the Golden Boars may yet lurk unseen. He drew his greatsword as he circled around, preparing to re-engage wherever the knights needed him.

It was perhaps a bit brash or even reckless rushing in like he did, but he trusted in the skill and valor of his companions. The Golden Boars won't know what hit them.

@VitaVitaAR@JessieTargaryen@HereComesTheSnow

How had enemies crept up on her...? Eugh, obviously she had been paying too much attention to this argument, not to mention a helmet interfering with your hearing. One or two soldiers should have been able to creep up, given the size of their group, but this many should have been obvious no matter how stealthy they were. No force Tyaethe had ever encountered knew how to silence their own heartbeat, aside from the dead. And the dead weren't big on sneaky approaches, as a general rule.

Not that it really mattered now, the idiots had advertised their presence. Plenty of time for Tyaethe to get in position and observe how everyone else was doing here, as well as provide cover of more angles. Anyone that got through the initial line would have to deal with her, and the captain, as well as... whatever this bodyguard was able to do. This should be interesting.

@VitaVitaAR

---

It wasn't long before their friends finally decided to show themselves, the Golden Boars bursting forward from their hiding space. Runa kept her expression cool, feeling a bit more confident in combat than she did in making impressions upon her fellow knights. However, the young knight wasn't entirely certain that Fenrir would be up to such a battle. Given the ride, the two had just been through to even make it to the rest of the knights. At this, the Hundi swore under her breath. There wasn't exactly much room, nor time, to ensure that Fenrir wouldn't run off in the middle of the battle. Still, she wasn't about to stand here and do nothing while her fellows fought. Focusing her magics into her hand as Ser Jodeau charged in, then looped around their enemies to prepare for another attack. Using the brief moment of distraction this would cause, with no doubt of their foes focusing on the man who had just attacked, Runa lashed out with her own blow.

An orb of brilliant red flame formed in her palm, as she whispered a small incantation and the flame seemed to take on a more volatile nature. Then she hurled the volatile, burning orb forwards in a deathly trajectory. The distance was covered in no time, and her allies were well outside of the range from the coming explosion. She only hoped their enemies would be distracted enough by Fleuri's own attack to be caught. In that same breath, her thrown orb slammed into the ground amid the Golden Boars with a deafening crack and a small shockwave tearing outwards from its epicenter. Moments later, incinerating flames would follow that same path outwards. Lethal to those caught within its small radius. As her attack impacted, Runa drew her sword in preparation to close the distance for combat. Hoping her fireball just might've cleared enough of their attackers out and she'd be able to finish the fight before Fenrir tired too much.

@VitaVitaAR

Instead of meeting the Golden Boar's charge, the Knight Serpenta fell back, moving to Veileena's side. "Apologies for my cold tongue Lady Cal, but we needed to ascertain as much about this situation as we could and you were not the most forthcoming." Unlimbering her axe, Maritza surveyed the woods and low brush to the noblewoman's back. If the Naga had learned anything about the Boars from their previous encounter, it was that nothing was beneath them when it came to achieving their goals. As such, a simple flanking maneuver, kidnapping Lady Cal out from behind them while the main force sacrificed themselves to draw the knight's attention seemed well within the realm of possibility to the former nomadic survivalist.

"And excuse the intrusion on your personal space, but on the off-chance anyone should make it around behind us, they will have to go though me first." The Naga informed Veileena as she loosely coiled herself around the young noblewoman, forming a protective barrier of scales that only the most foolhardy would try and wrest the girl from. Her axe at the ready, Maritza turned her back to Haelstadt, her fellow knights and the unfolding battle to watch their rear with a vigilant gaze.

Gerard Segremors

@JessieTargaryen@VitaVitaAR@Crimson Paladin

The spray of blood.

The crash of steel.

The crackle of fire.

The song of war rose again from the tense air, hushed whispers and guessed conspiracies breaking into frenetic shouting, punctuated by the rumbling of hooves against the earth. The steel in his grip flew through the night as he charged forward upon his horse, checking the advance of his enemies at the edge of his blade. Momentum and weight, as forceful as they were, managed to force a weak point into the leather harness of the nearest boar to his murderous right arm where one had not truly been woven in— dashing him off his feet and awarding Gerard with a spurt of red for his trouble.

Were the cut itself lethal or not was difficult to say, impossible until he turned round for a strike upon their back, much as Sir Fleuri had— but altogether a pointless concern. In the next breath, the dark blues of moonlit world were washed violent orange, as Runa's orb of flame impacted the ground at the initial line's feet and exploded, catching his quarry in the wake of its brief radiance.

He was probably lucky none of them had gotten a swipe off upon his steed. Perhaps they were still reeling from his comrade's charge once he'd hit, but it was dangerous to pull that one again, even if they had them from behind now—

He glanced further into the brush for a moment, hoping he didn't catch any more steel gleaming upon a single moonbeam. The Boars were self-sacrificial and numerous more than tactically genius, true, but they didn't achieve the notoriety nor success they did by being incapable of luring headstrong cavalry into a hidden second line. If Gerard could think of it, so could they, surely.

This was why fighting from horseback was a twofold weakpoint, he grimly noted, rounding his horse again back towards the rear of their (initial) wave. For him specifically: he had honed his skills as an infantryman far more thoroughly, thriving on his feet in the thick of pitched melee. His usual aggression was magnified on horseback— well and good and worth the risk when it was his own feet carrying him, but he covered ground far too quickly upon his Rouncey, carrying him through the lines. Such was the idea, of course, but if he surged into a trap...

No sense wasting HIS life.

"If you swing back 'round, I'm with you!" he called to Fleuri, some dozen yards or so away.

The charging Runa, her sword now in hand after her burst of magic, the hammer.

The two Reonites, who embodied the boldness of the sun, the anvil.

Even in spite of his dissatisfaction with his combat horsemanship, Gerard saw the boons easily enough. His senior had a better head for this aspect of fighting than he— that much they both knew. Following his lead had good enough odds of Gerard keeping out of any undue positional trouble. If Fleuri had need to ride elsewhere...

One foot, opposite his fellow, crept out of its stirrup, primed to dismount.

A pulse through his veins.

I should count myself lucky to have stood across the field from the Boars before.

I know how you sons of bitches tick man-to-man.

He would play to his strengths.

Immediately perceptible to the Knight-Captain of the Iron Roses was the fact that not a single bow had been loosed. Indeed, it seemed no archers were among the force of Golden Boars that had ambushed them, a fact that was a surprise given they must have noticed they were fighting heavily armed and armored opponents. Perhaps they had to take Lady Cal uninjured, and thus could not risk her being caught in the crossfire?

It only raised further questions as to who employed them.

But the most important matter at hand was ensuring Veileena Cal's safety!

Fanilly spurred her horse forward, coming upon a boar who had all too eagerly rushed forth and gotten out of position, to pick him off before he became a greater threat. Indeed, even though he attempted to raise his shield, the silvery edge of the blonde knight-girl's sword found his through as she swung, a spurt of blood spraying into the air as he toppled backwards, gurgling.

She couldn't let these mercenaries get too close, but she had to be aware of any potential tactics they could employ.

"Be wary of a second ambush!" she called to her knights, "Do not overextend yourselves!"

"A-ah?!" gasped the small, gray-haired form of Veileena Cal, as she gazed at the scaly coils now surrounding her, "Th-this isn't necessary, Haelstadt can handle every single one of them just fine!"

In spite of the situation, she seemed to have become quite awkward at having her personal space invaded so closely, which was likely one of the reasons behind her outburst.

The boars, realizing that the knights on horseback made for a foolish target, were reorganizing as swiftly as they could, two of their number suddenly engulfed in flames, screaming and falling to the ground as their armor heated, flesh burning away, several nearby knocked off their feet.

But the others seemed to care little for their suffering comrades, swiftly raising spears and shields in order to attempt to counter another charge. While it did not seem that a second wave were to reveal themselves yet, that did not rule out the possibility of another group of Boars waiting to ambush another charge. In fact, it was rather likely they were waiting until the right moment.

Haelstadt strode forward, ignoring everything but their target. The Boar ahead of them raised his shield as the black knight thrust their sword in one hand.

There was a sound of tearing metal, bending steel, as the blade tore clear through the shield and penetrated the man's chestplate in a single thrust. Haelstadt stepped forward, driving the blade deeper through his body without another word, the other end erupting from his back as they began to lift the blade into the air and take him with it as his death throes slowed and eventually ceased.

Wordlessly, the black knight lifted the man into the air and flicked their zweihander, using the corpse as an improvised projectile, hurling him into his fellows and bowling several of them over.

@HereComesTheSnow@TheFake@Crimson Paladin@FlappyTheSpybot@Raineh Daze@ghastlyinc@Krayzikk@JessieTargaryen

Standing back from the fight, it was good to see that it was going well--the Iron Roses were holding off the interlopers fine, even as they were forced to reorganise, and set back from the danger... well, she would rather be fighting, but it gave the vampire an excellent position to keep an eye for anything else they might be trying. If the boars thought that darkness would buy them any cover to get something into position, they would be sorely mistaken, and any attempt at stealth would be immediately called out.

More of her interest, however, went to Haelstadt. She knew nothing about the intimidating black knight, but that sort of swordplay... that was someone that could keep up properly and make a fight exciting. A knight that could cut through armour like it wasn't there could make for an interesting challenge. Maybe Veileena could be persuaded into allowing an exhibition match...? Under the guise of training for the Iron Roses and some sort of compensation for dragging them out here...

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri assessed the enemy, watching as they assumed a defensive wall of shields and spears. It'd be foolish to charge them on horseback again, they were clearly prepared for that. No, these mercenaries would be best handled on foot. If Fleuri and the others were to dismount and attack, it'd trap them between the knights and between Veileena's bodyguard, who was making short work of anyone who got close.

As Fanilly warned them not to overextend themselves, it reminded Fleuri that the problem with attacking from this angle would be that the knights' goal was not to maximize the Golden Boars' casualties, and the Golden Boars' goal was not to simply win the skirmish. The mercenaries wanted to capture Veileena, and Fanilly wanted to prevent that. If they attacked their foe from this angle, the mercenaries would have fewer opponents to go through to get to Veileena. They certainly seemed ruthless enough that heavy losses wouldn't faze them so long as they completed the job, and if even a few of them were to escape with the girl in their clutches, they'd be victorious.

The situation reminded Fleuri a bit of one of his time as a squire. He and his master had managed tracked down a body-snatcher who had been stealing corpses under the noses of both sides from the scenes of skirmishes during the War of the Red Flag. The ghoulish thief had been working for a necromancer, providing her with fresh bodies to be raised. The necromancer was hardly a fearsome opponent, nowhere near the power of the conspirator that Fleuri had fought in the Cal Mausoleum much more recently, and rather than try and fight the paladin and his squire, she ordered her undead thralls to keep them occupied while she fled. Fleuri in particular struggled in this fight, the stab wounds and shallow cuts inflicted by his arming sword doing little to put the zombies down. They managed to vanquish the undead and put the defiled soldiers to rest, but the necromancer managed to get away during the fight.

In hindsight, the undead could have been dealt with later, but by failing to catch the necromancer we allowed her to continue her dark work of defiling the dead, he recalled. As luck would have it, their fleeing foe never got the chance to raise more undead, but that was a story to reminisce on another time.

The lesson that Fleuri learned that day applied here. It was more important that they prevent the Golden Boars from grabbing Veileena (at which point they would likely flee with her and leave their unfortunate fellows behind to prevent the knights from catching them) than killing as many of them as possible. Depending on their foe's resolve and dedication to their mission, it might even result in even more of them being killed in their efforts to abduct Veileena.

"Gerard, Runa," Fleuri addressed his fellow knights, "As much as I'd like to cut these rogues down, the Captain's orders are to protect the Cal girl, and we don't want the Boars to separate us from her." Fleuri spurred his horse on away from the Golden Boars' defensive position, cantering back around to where Veileena was. Fleuri dismounted and took up a defensive position a short distance away, behind Haelstadt and just far away enough from the Cal girl and her serpentine protector that he would have enough room to swing his greatsword if the mercenaries were to surge forward. From the look of how Veileena's bodyguard was butchering the Boars, however, they might not need to worry about that.

@VitaVitaAR@JessieTargaryen@HereComesTheSnow

Gerard Segremors

They were right there, reeling from the first charge. One more would break the line entirely, scattering them like the threshing winds of a storm...

A grimace, teeth baring themselves upon a tight jaw, had made its way to his face without his knowledge— revealed to him as he felt his lungs draw the chilly night air through the grate of bone. Like a starved wolf, ready to pounce upon hapless meat...

And no knight.

He drew in another, deeper breath, this time through his nose. More than anything, he wanted to make good on his plotted assault, to play the role he'd hammered into himself for years—

"Phew."

And more than anything, he saw the wisdom in Fleuri's words, and knew that he was right. In the beginning of it all, this was the exact reason he ceded his action to the more tenured knight. He held the same aggression in his training, the same zeal for cutting down a wicked foe and pressing an advantage for all it could be worth— but his head was yet cooler, and his mastery of himself far more complete. That man's mind was finely tuned for knighthood even in the heat of the battlefield, in ways Gerard wondered his own ever could be. Tempering himself like this was one such.

And that made it paramount.

He cast his gaze anew to the scene before him as his fellow rode off, and saw what he hadn't before. They had reeled from the first pass, yes, but were now rallying, bringing their spears to the fore and tightening their ranks. Had he swept them up in another run then, he would have himself been caught in a net of their spears and shields. They were still within a relative near position to the treeline... and well beyond the primary objective. If their vanguard caught caught extended so far from the center, others could push in from either side and penetrate to the inner lines. They were encircled already— it'd only be a matter of time that them pushing out and detaching would weaken both resultant groups of the knights. This was how you lost a defense point.

And that was what this was.

Protection, not Assault.

"We don't want the Boars to separate us from her."

"Do not overextend yourselves."

"It's important to think, even in the face of a storm."

"Cool your head, Segremors, you impetuous—"

"Remember, this is first and foremost a rescue mission."

... If I cannot heed my fellows' words, what am I? A simple fighting dog, who goes mad at the scent of blood?

Every time, that has been what I do. Fight. Rage. Kill.

I chased an ideal to get here. I joined this order to embody that image.

To ignore it all now would be to have never left what I used to be.

Take action, you damnable fool.

He gripped the reins in his left hand and tapped his horse's flank, bringing him 'round to start a canter towards the center of the clearing. From his throat ripped a call, a growl of dissatisfaction turned to more useful end. Rough and boisterous, he caught the two-toned gaze of the newbie and jerked his head in the selfsame direction, beckoning her with his jaw as they rode.

"Runa, you heard the man!" He turned fully once he was sure she'd heard, his lungs having done a fair job of cutting through the noise. In his eyes, he felt the flames of anticipation recede and give way to the steel of determination. It wasn't important that he hadn't bothered with his usual attempts at polite speech— what mattered was far deeper set in the context of the battlefield."We're tightening the main line! Let's move!"

Urging a burst of speed from his horse, he thundered down the clearing and dismounted some dozen feet out, a roughly similar distance as Fleuri from Maritza's protective coils, and the Cal heiress's monolithic protector. In terms of the defense, he was certainly still on the front end of their main forces, and poised to meet their frontrunners head on—

But not nearly so projected as to get himself killed, or worse still, offer the Boars the opening in the Roses' ranks they were likely waiting to exploit. It was the difference between being the advance force, the very same first waves that he had just chopped through on horseback, and the main troops proper. He realized that he'd been, subconsciously as the rush of swordplay took him, regressing right back into that old role, with no regard for its place. Falling back on simple familiarity.

For a man who supposes his greatest strength is experience, how amateur can I be before it explodes in my face?

He held his longsword in both hands, setting himself in a tight ochs guard near the rear echelon, opposite Haelstadt and Fleuri. Chances were that the massive knight would soon be something the Boars saw as an obstacle to avoid entirely— thus funneling themselves wherever he wasn't after his butchery made itself obtrusive.

There, they'd run into him, and he'd put his money where his proverbial mouth was regarding their combat training. To cut them down would be no small amount of personal revenge, as he'd clashed with the Boars many a time under the banner of the Faceless, and lost his share of comrades already—

But I am a Verlorene Haufen no more. I'm a Reon-damned Knight. Time to act like it.

Sir Kherun Zeydria

The snow haired young man barrelled down the muddy road on his faithful steed Wedge. With staff in hand, Kherun looked down the road, hoping that he was going the right way. The fort, his destination, was somewhere he had never been before. Truth be told Kherun hadn’t been much of anywhere besides the royal castle and the surrounding town, as that was where he grew up. It was there that he had decided that he would become a knight of the Iron Rose as a child. Now as an adult, he finally fulfilled that dream, here heading out toward his first assignment as a knight.

Kherun had technically only been a member of the knightly order for a few weeks, but he was chomping at the bit to do something as a knight. Sure there was the pageantry in court and the higher station, but Kherun wanted to do some heroics. He had dreamt of saving villagers and fighting off brigands, but his blade had remained in its sheath. That was until he had received his orders, sending him to this distant fort.

Kherun had been ordered by an agent of the court to assist his fellow knights at a distress call at the fort. Finally it seemed like Kherun was being acknowledged as he was to join his fellow knights on this assignment. So he had strapped on his armour and weapons, and mounted Wedge. The grey skinned warhorse had made quick time from the castle, as Kherun led him in the rough direction of the fort. So far he had only had to stop at one village for directions, and was now pretty sure he was nearing his destination.

This was confirmed as Kherun heard a familiar hoot. Looking up from the road he saw the form of Watcher, his owl familiar, swoop down to his arm. Watcher hooted a few times before staring at Kherun. Thanks to his druidic ancestry, Kherun was able to get a rough meaning out of the hoots. Watcher was telling him that he had seen the fort and that there were already other people there.

“Thanks buddy,” said Kherun as he patted Watcher on the head.

The great horned owl then lifted back up in the sky, becoming an extra set of eyes for his master. Kherun commanded his horse to rush down the road, wishing to meet up with his fellow knights. But as Kherun neared the end of the road, he began to hear some kind of commotion. The white haired knight brought his horse to a stop and dismounted it. He then walked a few feet, peering from behind a tree.

Indeed he had arrived at the fort, but like Watcher had said he wasn’t alone. There was a large gathering of what seemed to be mercenaries surrounding the fort. Behind them at the fort was several individuals, some of them who Kherun recognized, like Knight-Captain Fanilly Danbalion. It seemed that his fellow knights were in a predicament, one that puzzled Kherun.

While he wished to reunite with his order, Kherun wasn’t sure how to pass through the wall of soldiers. As he crouched and watched them, Kherun unconsciously put a hand on the ground. Immediately the roots of the trees around him began to speak in his mind. They offered their services for a trusted druid, which gave Kherun an idea.

He would run back to Wedge, mount him again, and slowly ride over to the trees. Lowering his staff so that it touched the ground, Kherun began to commune with the trees. They seemed to listen him as they raised their roots out of the ground, attempting to knock over the mercenaries. Taking advantage of the confusion caused among the warriors, Kherun charged his horse from behind them. With a mighty yell, the combination of Kherun’s staff and Wedge’s gallop knocked over several mercenaries. The grey horse would then gallop over to the other knights.

“I am Kherun Zeydria, newly knighted of the Order of the Iron Rose. I have been dispatched to assist you,” Kherun stated with as much bravado as possible, “But now I suggest we use the confusion I created.”

Kherun then turned Wedge around to face the mercenaries, some of them already rising to their feet after being tripped by the roots. As Kherun awaited his fellow knights’ actions, he saw that Watcher was circling over the mercenaries, awaiting Kherun’s command.