Jannick shot a raised eyebrow at Holly before biting his cheek at Renata’s reply; dammit, he was trying to be serious, the worst possible thing he could do in his position was start laughing when the situation was so tense. But damn, irritating as she was - and when the humour wore off, she really was irritating - Renata calling him “Officer Weber” again brought back a sad nostalgia he was a little ashamed to enjoy. He’d been trying to get away from Officer Weber and make amends with Sir Jannick, but old habits died hard, and what could he say? It was kinda nice to reminisce, even with a crazy homeless woman.
Likewise, a blush tinted his cheekbones at the mention of Dahlia. Not that she was anything to him, really, of course - he just ran into her a lot since her bakery used to be Renata’s favourite loitering spot, and they often got to chatting, and… did she really miss him?
He didn’t have time to think about it. Renata didn’t tarry long. No sooner had she mentioned Dahlia than she was off on another tangent again, this time giving the other women one of her famous appraising looks - the kind that included touching. Finally, Jannick had to jump into action; specifically, he marched over and caught Renata’s wrist before she had the chance to poke and prod at Hollyhock the same way she had Sara and Dominika.
“Renata, that’s rude, remember?” he chided, a warning tone in his voice as he pulled the woman back a step. He wasn’t rough, but he wasn’t really gentle, either. He put himself between Renata and Hollyhock before releasing her, sighing as he gestured behind him to the others. “That’s Scion Hollyhock. I’m her Templar now. I can’t have you just touching Scions, okay?”
He leveled her with a look she was very familiar with - the “don’t make me put you in the back of the police car” look. “Now, can you answer Dame Sara’s question, please? And then tell me why you’re fighting with knights?”
Maya's investigative strategy was entirely too predictable, but Tyler couldn't argue with the results. So the professor was in class still. Either they'd arrived early or the man was terrible at scheduling his meetings. Whatever, no harm done, just something he could complain about if the man gave him attitude. Which was a distinct possibility, given that he was acquainted with Lucas. He followed along idly, unconcerned with the rest of the university now that they'd been given a location. So long as all the student kept a respectful distance, they may as well have not even existed in Tyler's mind. Unfortunately, he soon had bigger problems to worry about and gawking nerds, as the small comfort he'd just attained was ripped away from him at the hands of a Kaudian escort outside a room he'd bet his manasaber was L105.
Edmund wisely decided to hold Maya back while the creepy fucker went to play diplomacy, and though Tyler was quite willing to start an international incident of his own, he opted to stand and fume. Maybe he'd get lucky and they'd try something on Allard. It'd be a quick fight - they were probably unarmed. At least, they should be. The school was stupid enough letting them on campus, but he supposed he shouldn't've expected some ivory tower academics to understand their own safety. When the Kaudian dignitary himself stepped out, it was all Tyler could do to not throw him into a wall and figure out what business he conveniently had with Rhaveus by force. His interest in Lucas was a damning crime all on its own, as after as Tyler was concerned, and he wasn't very subtle in the way he rested a hand on the hilt of his blade when the Kaudian's eyes moved to him.
Smug piece of shit. The professor was getting one hell of a scolding for even entertaining that jackass, and campus security was next. Meeting with the enemy after being entrusted to investigate the death of a holy Scion. How disgraceful. Unfortunately, he'd spent too much time gawking at the enemy to get a word in, as he filed into the classroom just in time for Rhaveus to break into his lecture. Most of it went over his head, but the Templar was fairly certain he got the gist.
Mana negation. That would explain why the Scions seemingly lost the favor of the Goddess back at the party, and why his manasaber kept flickering during the duel. But it didn't explain why the Templars were unaffected. Scion magic was different from other types, and the mana it harnessed likely was as well, but Templars would have to draw on the same exact mana, right?
He shook his head. Better left to the academics. The car was the more important issue. They must've shut it and Theo's power down in one fell swoop, and taken advantage of the confusion to capture him for whatever the hell that dickless toaster needed to steal. Giles Manor was a cult success before the party had even begun.
"None of the Templars were affected," Tyler huffed with a grimace, "Which means that idiot would still be here if he hadn't insisted on dicking off on his own." Theodore was getting the chiding of an (after)lifetime when Tyler saw him again, he swore. It almost made yelling at Rhaveus seem pointless.
Though, speaking of the potential enemy spy...
"Wait, can we even trust this guy? He's entertaining Kaudian dignitaries while on classified business for the Church. I'm more interested in that before we hand over any more information." Tyler leveled an accusatory glare toward the professor. It didn't matter how vital this quack's brain was to the investigation, he wasn't going to sit by and let a Kaudus sympathizer pretend to be buddy-buddy with them. If he was really that important, Allard left a cell open for him to study in anyway.
Maya’s eyes bored like daggers into the back of Renault’s head after that little comment; if she was the Scion of Fire, she was sure he’d have burst into flames. But Incepta must have had plans for the little shitheel, because he neither combusted nor was he crushed into the tile; instead, Maya stayed safely behind Edmund as he and the Prince hobnobbed with the Kaudian.
She offered no resistance to Edmund’s suggestion; as much as she’d have liked to teach him some manners, there was no way she was stepping a single inch closer to that interloper. She’d have much preferred to turn around and leave, only to march straight into Pierre Dumont’s office and give him a piece of her mind before refusing ever to set foot in Doumerc again. Unfortunately, while she was confident the boot-licking prime minister would embarrass himself trying to convince her to stay, the offices of Parliament were a bit of a drive away, and she’d had enough traveling for the day.
Maya noticed the look Sir Tyler gave the Kaudian; perhaps that was why he wisely decided not to stink the place up for too long. Once he was long gone, Maya finally conceded to follow Prince Lucas into the lecture hall, already working on a strongly-worded letter to the Minister of National Defence in her head.
The professor’s work looked impressive, but Maya had no idea what any of it meant; she was no stranger to intimidating equations, but as a student of the hard sciences, magic meant nothing to her. She would, however, give him a little credit. He wasn’t the most engaging speaker on earth, but she’d endured much worse.
Of course, he was aided by the fact that the subject-matter of his lecture was so important. Maya had only a vague grasp on the mechanics of mana, but even she knew enough to know that the ability to completely negate mana was catastrophic. Even the Scions themselves drew their power from mana, albeit a different type - for this sort of technology to interfere with it sounded ominously like it was messing with the power of the Goddess herself.
When the time came to share their experiences, Maya was happy to let the others go first. She feigned thoughtfulness as she stalled on her answer, a little resentful to willfully recall her single worst humiliation. Adding to that, she sympathized a bit with Tyler; this researcher was just chatting it up with a Kaudian, that made him look suspicious. But she also knew his type well enough to know that they were rarely interested in much beyond their work; and besides, if the Kaudians had this technology, then they'd already know what it does to a Scion. She wouldn't be telling him anything new. And if he wasn't a spy, then she could clearly see the need.
“I didn’t really feel anything, if that’s what you’re looking for,” she offered, “well, only the feeling you get in your stomach when you start to fall. But I don’t think that was this… mana negation.”
She looked visibly displeased at the memory, but pushed through. “All I really remember was this red light and a high-pitched sound. Then, a louder sound, like a bang, and suddenly I was falling. It was like my magic just… switched off. It didn’t come back until the next day.”
"On New Years you say . . ." Justinian finished tying his hair with a sigh. "Would it be a poor joke to ask if that's just a coincidence? I'd prefer it, but I doubt any of us are so lucky."
As closed to finish with the preparations he could make at the moment, the Scion of Earth turned to face Asher with a grin, one hand outstretched in greeting.
"But no point in worry about that right now. Pleasure to meet you Asher, my name's Justinian Gardner, Scion of Earth and Bianca here is my Templar." Whether the Templar took his hand or not, the young man was quick to turn his attention back skyward, hands on his hips as he took stock of the situation. "As for the effect on the harpies. . . yeah, I can't disagree with your assessment. An earthquake could've distrubed their nest, but they shouldn't be desperate enough to attack such a fortified position. Maybe some braver monsters but Harpies are cowardly by their nature and often prefer to take on isolated targets and villages. A templar stronghold with full anti-air capabilities isn't a very attractive target, especially if their strategy is just chucking other monsters at you all. They aren't even making off with scraps, much less any shiny treasures or victims."
"Do you have any idea where this particular harpy pack's nest may be located? Or have you mainly been keeping to town due to how consistent the attacks have been?" Despite his jovial attitude, Justinian felt irritated by the lack of knowledge on hand that could help them get to the bottom of this mystery, but it wouldn't be much of a mystery if the answer was obvious. At the very least, the Harpies seemed to be content with circling for now, evenif it made any further observations impossible without better equipment."You wouldn't happen to have any binoculars? Also, hate to be a nag but you're certain that the earthquake is the only other weird thing to have happened as of late? No disappearances? No strange noises at night, missing pets, things of that nature?"
Though, Hollyhock was astute enough to notice Jannick's blush at the mention of a Dahlia. Perhaps she'd tease him about it on the way home. Or maybe she'd head on over to the capital and do a little romantic matchmaking without telling him. It sounded pretty entertaining to do so.
"The good officer is my caretaker," Hollyhock joked.
Throughout the prodding, Hollyhock didn't really speak much. If anything, she frozen in bewilderment. Sure, Hollyhock was a bit of an asynchronous person herself. But this person in front of them was a few fruit short of a fruitcake. Hollyhock had at least a few in her bowl.
She did appreciate it when Jannick stopped Renata before she grabbed her clothes. While she certainly wasn't a misanthrope, she also didn't enjoy the touch of someone she had never met. Though, if Jannick didn't step in, then Hollyhock would have sprinted around Jannick in a circle to act as a physical barrier.
Unsure of how to respond, Dom offered only a faint smile watching the odd events unfolding around her. Being looked at, examined even, was one thing, but being prodded, and touched was quite another. The fog and the fearful word of the major had set a poor stage by her measure. The strange woman arguing with the knights did little to lighten the mood.
However Templar Weber seemed to know her and his annoyance seemed to suggest no real threat.
"I am the Scion of Metal, pleased to meet you, Miss...ummm...Renata," Dom said.
"Do you know much about these spirits?" She added, trying to steer the conversation away from arresting anyone, back to Sara's question, and towards the true purpose of their visit. Mad woman or not, it didn't hurt to be polite, and Dom had learned long ago that most people liked to be listened to and to have their concerns heard.
Asher shook Justinian's hand, listening to his words. He seemed a little thoughtful at the mention of his element, albeit his last comment outright made him laugh. "I would've mentioned if there was anything else. No disappearances, lots of strange noises since harpies like to sing at night but that wouldn't be strange to the townfolk, no missing pets. Sir," He added hastily, realizing much too late that he likely wasn't being as proper as he should have been. "All equipment is in the next tent over. Since the town's used to dealing with the occasional violent harpy, I'm sure you'll find everything there that you need."
He tilted his head and seemed to have something to say, his eyes darting to Bianca. When she nodded, he asked, "So earth and...?" He looked at Theobald.
"Fire," Bianca answered.
"Earth and fire. Was hoping for wind and gravity," He admitted, scratching the back of his head. "With no way to stop them from flying, we'll have to take care none of those rocks or flames hit the town. But hey, it wouldn't be fun if it wasn't a challenge!" He perked up immediately, clapping his hands together and striding over to the entrance of the tent.
It was a bright day, with clouds lazily rolling over head. "The main pack is up on Garda Mountain, the tallest one around here on the right side if you look over there," He pointed it out. "Our priority has been the safety of the civilians. So I guess it's up to you to go whack them around if you're thinking of going straight to the nest. Though, if you are, I can guide you there. Their attack will come in two hours so if you're considering attacking, now's the time to do so. Otherwise, we can wait for them to come to us and set up an ambush."
Renata let out a tiny sigh as Sara claimed Jannick was kind, her experience saying otherwise. Her question provoked some thought, though Jannick preventing her from poking at Hollyhock caused her to scowl at him. At the mention of this new position, however, her jaw dropped.
“Chosen by the Chosen…I never would have imagined,” She told Jannick. The new information seemed to finally stop her in her tracks, eyes darting between each one of them and processing everything. She did lean away from Jannick a touch, trying to get closer to Hollyhock. Her dutiful Templar remained firm in his grip, making her look much like a child trying to get away from their parent even as she continued to lean away, complete with a pout on her face.
Only when she stood straight for a few seconds did she turn back to Sara, bowing her head slightly. "All harbor the blessing of Incepta that protects them, should they keep their faith. Harboring a blessing is as simple as breathing the air around us, to partake in the fruit that grows, to feel the waves of the shores," She stated proudly. "I suppose the spirits aren't necessarily children, but instead creations that She has placed here. They're terribly upset about something, why would they harm someone looking to understand why they're upset? By that logic, I will not be harmed should I enter the forest."
The knight scoffed. "Except everyone that has gone there ends up with their corpses dumped at the entrance," He stated. "Which is why we insist on barring your entry--for your own good."
"And I insist that I will not be harmed," Renata made an attempt to stomp over to the knight, only stopped by Jannick still holding her wrist. She brandished her free hand at the knight, pointing at him accusingly. "And yet he who suffers from his little faith sees to it that the town continues to suffer! If it wasn't for your insistence on laced shoes like the lazy bum you are, the blessing would be stronger in you! They're terrible! And I saw you throw down that wrapper on the grass! Not only daring to eat on duty but deciding to discard things at whim! Treat the earth as you have treated your body lest you let it fall to dismay, you absolute degenerate!"
The knight stared at Renata as Jannick dragged her back a step. “Renata,” he warned sternly, glaring down at her.
The blonde looked up at Jannick, anger simmering down a touch. “I speak only in truths. Gaia is delicate right now,” She grumbled, though she did steal a glance to see if he was still looking at her. “And did you see those laces? Atrocious.”
Letting out another huff, she straightened up a touch. "Now, then. Shall we go? I can't imagine Holy Scions are only here to bear witness to an atrociously underdressed knight," She changed gears entirely.
Dr. Rhaveus listened intently as each Scion and Templar spoke, the pen hovering over his notebook scribbling madly, apparently writing far more words than were actually said. It continued to scratch at the notebook for several moments after Scion Maya finished, the professor deep in thought.
“Interesting, interesting,” he murmured to himself, beginning to pace back and forth in front of the blackboard. “So the effect was prolonged for both of you, but only one suffered other ill effects…”
He seemed oblivious of Sir Tyler’s accusation, fiddling with the button on his sleeve as he paced. His brow furrowed, and he looked as if something was not sitting right.
“Do you recall if any other Scions present suffered the same symptoms as you, Your Highness?” he asked Lucas, not even sparing him a glance. Instead, he crossed over to a messenger bag propped up against the podium, muttering a spell as he rifled through it. A faint light pulsed in the mouth of the bag and Dr. Rhaveus produced a very well-used coil-bound notebook, flipping through its contents.
“It’s just so strange…” he muttered again, eyes fervently searching the pages. At length, he finally looked up to his audience.
“My apologies, Your Holiness…es,” he excused himself awkwardly, making a face, “It’s just that… well, I expected the symptoms to be much worse.”
He glanced back and forth at the book again, then waved a hand. As if from a projector, a scene materialized on the blackboard behind him, showing a white rat in a cage with a bulky machine pointed at it. The professor himself was visible in the background, clad in a white lab coat smeared with a dark fluid and fiddling with something on the machine. After a moment, he stepped out of the room, reappearing on the other side of a thick pane of glass.
The scene had no sound, but the rat jumped as a component on the machine began to spin. Dr. Rhaveus watched from the window, transfixed. After a moment, the rat began to run frantically around the cage, climbing the bars; soon after, it fell to the floor of the cage, twitching and spasming until finally going still. Behind the glass, Dr. Rhaveus jumped for joy.
The image darkened. “As you can see, in my first successful trial, the rat I subjected to artificial mana negation displayed the typical symptoms of mana poisoning: excited delirium, excruciating pain, and promptly, death.”
“Now, as I said, we don’t fully understand how our enemy employed mana negation to attack Scion Theodore. But I had been operating under two theories: either the enemy had a way to target specific individuals with their mana negating device, or that Scions are somehow uniquely capable of surviving the mana poisoning that results. Scions have been shown to possess unique qualities to their mana, so that hypothesis was not out of the question. However, I considered the former theory more likely, since there were no reports of anything unusual around the site of Scion Theodore’s disappearance. If the mana negation was not tightly targeted, I would expect it to have affected the surrounding area - killing any nearby plants, for example, or manifesting tainted mana.”
The professor closed the notebook, looking visibly uneasy as he resumed his pacing. “But I was troubled when I heard about the New Years events. For mana negation to have been deployed on that wide a scale, without directly harming any of the other attendees, is far beyond my capability to replicate. I suppose it’s possible for it to have been a targeted attack, but with the Scions so intermingled with the crowd - and in your case, Scion Maya, on the ceiling - I don’t see how they could have avoided any collateral damage. Add to it now the fact that the symptoms were inconsistent among the Scions, and I struggle to explain it…”
“But it’s not all bad news,” he continued, looking to the Templars. “From what you tell me, it sounds like your armour nullified the effects of the mana negation. That’s excellent news - it means we aren’t completely helpless.” He nodded, almost to himself. He seemed to be forming a plan as he spoke. “It accords with my current understanding of Templar armour, as well. I’ll have to ask Dame Irina if I can borrow a sample to study…”
It took another moment of pacing for the professor to finally remember Sir Tyler’s objection. He looked up, surprised, as if the Templar had only just uttered the words. “I also thought it strange that Duke Colton would come all the way to Dumont just to speak to me,” he agreed, “but it actually used to be fairly common for Kaudians to seek out Doumerc’s universities. I suppose the timing was… unfortunate.”
He shrugged, not too concerned about the matter. “He was looking for information on the inheritance of Scion attributes - but rest assured, I didn’t tell him anything he couldn’t readily apprehend from any other scholar of mana studies. The study of Scion inheritance is an extremely active field in this country, especially at Ombres, where I usually work. He could have picked up any academic journal in publication and found everything I told him and more.”
This guy was getting on Tyler's last nerve. Granted, he was probably more angry that the topic of conversation was Theodore, Theodore, Theodore, but the professor could've at least humored his concerns. Did Rhaveus think he was so above reproach that he could just blow off a holy Templar's very justified concerns about national security in the midst of a crisis? While under the patronage of the Church, no less. No, he just moved along to his little presentation without a care in the world. The Scions were in grave danger and this jackass was excited at a chance to field test his theories.
Not only that, but he didn't even have any concrete ideas on how exactly they could target the Scions specifically. Worse, apparently Tyler could be affected too, and it was only his armor that saved him last time. Granted, that was also a small boon, as they could - if the professor's theory held - armor the Scions up as well and take away the Kaudia- the cult's greatest weapon. Quite frankly, armor crystals should've been standard issue to Scions in case of emergency a long time ago. No worrying about Lucas getting clipped by a stray shot, Tyler would just have to deal with him whining about bruises the next day.
After that, Rhaveus surprisingly deigned to answer Tyler's question. Had to get all that out before he could devote any brainpower to maybe convincing the authorities in the room he wasn't guilty of high treason, apparently. Maybe the templar was glaring too hard and reminded him. Theo always said he looked like a scary idiot (what did that even mean?) with his brow furrowed.
He used to be such a happy person. Alas.
"And what, professor, do you think a Kaudian would want with that information? It's not like a holy Scion will ever be born to one of them, and I doubt he came here to convert," Tyler huffed. It wasn't like the man was some foreign nerd who inexplicably studied magic despite it being denied to his sorry race by the Goddess, he was a noble - a duke - of an enemy nation with a troupe of bodyguards flanking his every step. If it wasn't espionage, it was a smug taunt that Kaudus knew the Church's every move, and Tyler wasn't about to entertain that either. "The timing wasn't unfortunate, it was convenient, I don't care how many times in the past that the Doumercene intelligentsia have rolled over for them. Whenever a Kaudian heretic asks for your cooperation, remind them that when Scion Alderman crossed the Larme, the first words he uttered were 'give no quarter'."
Tyler deflated abruptly after his outburst and offered a dismissive wave of his hand before he took up a vigil near the door. He'd gotten what he wanted, he supposed. No reason to argue with the professor, especially if Lucas knew him.
Sara smiled gently at Renata. Having worked in a church, she had seen her fair share of people most would consider mad among the homeless and destitute. Contrary to popular belief, they were mostly harmless; victims of circumstance whose only recourse had been to dissociate from reality. Yet Sara couldn't help but wonder if, in a different time, in a different world, where faith had died young and skepticism masked itself as enlightenment, would not the prophets who shaped the history of Gaia have been regarded as mad? Certainly, such a claim had been leveled against missionaries that had been sent to other nations. A thought crossed Sara's mind to once again be disobedient of her station and turned to Dom.
"This may be irresponsible of me to suggest, but perhaps we can bring her along? Surrounded by two Scions and two Templars, I'm certain we should be able to keep her safe." 'Or perhaps, she can help keep us safe,' Sara thought, though she did not voice this last part. Sara knew that she shouldn't do anything to dilute her protection away from her Scion and muttered a quiet apology to Irina."I do not doubt that she will find a way to follow us should we head in without her, and I do not wish for her to come to harm." Sara looked at Jannick, understanding that, as the only one here who knew Renata, he would be the most torn.
“Chosen by the Chosen… I would never have imagined.”
Jannick huffed, offended at Renata’s surprise. Sure, he wouldn’t have nominated himself either, and being a Templar wasn’t his first choice, but he wasn’t going to be looked down upon by a crazy homeless woman!
He kept his grip on her as she rambled on, prattling about faith and children and shoelaces. Jannick only half listened - she thought the spirits were angry, and of course she was the only one who could soothe them - it wasn’t anything new by Renata standards. She started to berate the guard again, earning her a stern “Renata,” but otherwise didn’t cause much more trouble. Annoying, but generally harmless. It would have been nostalgic if it wasn’t so exasperating.
Jannick had opened his mouth to tell Renata that she had to leave and let them get on with their business when Sara came out with a different suggestion.
“You’re right, that would be irresponsible,” Jannick retorted, probably a little sharper than he should have been. He sighed, although he didn’t release Renata just yet. “I mean, you heard the man - the forest is dangerous, we can’t put a civilian in harm’s way on purpose just because she might get herself in trouble anyway.”
He turned to the guard. “Is there a police force in this town, or is it just you guys? Is there somewhere you could hold her until we’re done? For her safety.”
“And when Scion Durand opened his first academy in Rodion, he said that knowledge was the firstfruit of the Goddess’ garden, meant to feed all Her children, great and small.” Dr. Rhaveus contended, finally taking Sir Tyler’s accusations seriously. “You misunderstand. The knowledge we uncover belongs to everyone, but I have no intention of endangering our nation or our Scions. A balance can be struck.”
Maya eyed the feuding men suspiciously, unsure who to side with. Sir Tyler, of course, had her immediate sympathies. But she supposed she could see why the professor wanted to try his hand at civilizing the savages to the East. In her opinion, the Kaudians were better dealt with through conquest than education, but these bleeding heart academic types could never really grasp those sorts of realities.
In any event, she did ultimately believe the professor. As warranted as Sir Tyler’s concerns were, she doubted a mousy fellow like Rhaveus could pull off the double agent act as well as this, and if he was just a useful idiot, Fyodor probably wouldn’t have chosen him to investigate Theodore’s death. Besides, it was very possible that Tyler was just a little sore about the subject, considering how he rankled anytime Theodore’s name was mentioned.
“I’m sure the good professor knows what he’s doing,” she offered pointedly, departing from her glare at Rhaveus to give Tyler a glance that signaled her agreement. “And anyway, there’s nothing to do about it now. Although, Professor, you’d probably do well to avoid his type going forward, hm? We don’t need another international incident.”
Dr. Rhaveous looked a lot more flustered getting a dressing-down from a Scion than from a Templar, and nodded. “Of course, Your Holiness. I suppose we have more important problems at the moment.”
He cleared his throat, returning his notebook and flying pen to his bag. “Anyway, I think you’ve given me everything I need for the moment. If any of you remember anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll keep you and Dame Irina informed on my findings. In the meantime…”
He looked between Sir Tyler and Sir Edmund, his expression grave. “Your armour protects you from whatever the enemy is doing to interfere with the Scions. Take advantage of that. Now, more than ever, you Templars are the Scions’ last line of defence. Stay sharp, and try not to rely too heavily on your magic. There’s no telling how quickly the enemy will figure out that you’re immune and change their strategy.”
Caught by the mention of the spirits and their alleged unhappiness, Dom found herself listening carefully to the scattered ramblings of the purported mad woman. Sara's willingness to treat the woman kindly and respectfully felt correct. Templar Weber, although obviously annoyed, as well seemed to be relying on a well-practiced depth of patience to shepherd Renata away from the forest.
Dom had no wish to distress Renata or disagree with Sara, but there was wisdom in Templar Weber's words, she hoped that they would be able to appease the spirits. However, there were no guarantees, and she did not wish to endanger anyone else.
"Yes, perhaps Miss Renata can wait somewhere nearby?" Dom offered hesitantly.
"I would not wish to overwhelm the hospitality of the spirits with too many visitors or risk the safety of the general public any more than necessary."
And so the peanut gallery of choices fell upon Hollyhock. Though, the look on her face was all everyone needed to know.
Her expression was easy to understand. 'I'm not dealing with this woman.' Though, how someone interpreted that was up to them--whether it was about her taking some responsibility in how to deal with her, or how she thought of the idea of Renata tagging along. In truth, if she weren't undergoing official duties, Hollyhock would have easily chosen to goof up the town alongside Renata. But there was a time and place for shirking responsibilities. Public outings under an ancient prophecy which the fate of the world may in fact depend on definitely wasn't the time or place.
What was on her mind, however, was more about the past. Specifically, about how she spoke. She wanted to ask Jannick if she always spoke that way--in couched metaphors, poetry, and rambling insults. Unfortunately, Jannick was still gripping onto a Renata who would definitely begin accosting her if she approached. Such questions would have to wait until they entered the forest.
As Asher went on describing the situation, and the shape of their mission here began to sharpen, Ionna grew excited. This was by all accounts new territory for her, both figuratively and literally. Having spent her whole life in Rodion, she was no stranger to stories about monsters, but her own experiences were severely limited. She’d fought nobles, peasants, up and coming duelists, even a few soldiers—and recently, mysterious magic terrorists. But she couldn’t recall having ever raised her blade to a monster. Did that make her a bad knight?
Well, technically she supposed she wasn’t any kind of knight. Still, she couldn’t help but feel just a bit anxious. People she got, people could be read and reacted to and when everything was done you could grab coffee and laugh the bruises off. Monsters, though…no emotions to read, no strategies to discern, and certainly no laughing after the fact. Then again, she supposed you didn’t have to feel bad after you beat them. That was a plus, right? Justinian certainly didn’t seem to feel bad, and she wagered he had more experience than most.
Between him and Theobald, this place didn’t have much to worry about. Two hours. If she had to guess, her Scion would want to charge in rather than wait, but she didn’t know what Bianca and Justinian would suggest. Her own mind wandered to the tent of supplies, and a little pit formed in her stomach to think that they might be expected to use firearms. Harpies flew, after all, and she couldn’t very well shoot them down with a sword. But if they gave her a rifle, she’d bring unparalleled shame to both herself and anyone unfortunate enough to witness.
Well, she’d burn that bridge when she got to it.
“So, what do y’all think? We going hunting, or we setting up here?” she asked. “Not that I don’t have confidence in you, but, uhm, I’ll say I’m a little worried about staging an attack this close to the town. Fire, rocks, fiery rocks, y'know like Asher said.” @Hero@Xiro Zean@Raijinslayer
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