[IC] Fate/Glimmering Oasis (F/GO)

[Seirei No Hai]

Seiba (Assuming the Leyline is finally Secured)

"I shall take point." Declared the Saber Class Servant before jogging in the direction of where Gawain went on his horse, he'd been gone for a little while and since they leyline would have been connected to the Caster and her rightful Master by now the three would give pursuit.

Rundown buildings, rubble, hints of blood, smell of smoke, a bit of fire here and there and the only thing that seemed to show a glimmer of hope was the blueish blade of the Holy Paladin. Truly this is an environment someone like Caster's Master shouldn't be in but since she was close by and ahead of them where they can see and the Saber can reach, it should all be fine... right?

"Caster, do you have anything in that little noggin' of yours that can protect against potential ambush?" Saber asked with a slight chuckle, gripping the hilt of her jeweled shining sword in case any stalkers followed them. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to your Master now, right?"

@Stormborn @ERode @Love Detective @Reflection

[ManyThings]

Nagayoshi

---

Let's go.

"Okay, yeah. I like the sounda this." Lancer wasn't sure about Caster, who was apparently worried her magic crap might get offended or something, but Archer seemed tough, and his Master was definitely a smart chick. She had given him solid orders, anyway.

His job was to run and be in front of everybody else, which made a lotta sense. The other two could fight at range, so he wasn't worried about getting isolated by going too far from them. Not that he'd need backup against some dumbasses hanging out in a city! Lancer cracked a skeleton's skull for good measure as he zipped off, shouting "Time to ride, girl!" For whatever reason.

He was going at a speed that would probably tempt the other Servants to call out 'slow down, you'll burn through all your mana', but Rosa would find this actually wasn't the case. Mori's horse was in his legs, which gave him long-distance running capabilities at an efficiency level pretty unusual for a Servant. He never missed an opportunity to run up a wall, because it looked cool as shit, but also because he could get a better look over the area once he reached the top, before leaping to the next building and running down its wall, all without losing speed.

Hell yeah. I'm awesome.

It may have been the animal infused into him that caused him to feel so alive while doing this. Lancer let out a free-spirited laugh, and then promptly outran it. He dinged his spear on mailboxes and streetlights as he ran northward with the river on his right, looking around eagerly for whatever trouble had been worth summoning a whole bunch of ancient dead fighters and nerds. "Alright! Where're the crappy skele-guys at?!"

[Flood]

---

Fuyuki City - 1994

@Pyromania99@Breo@ManyThings@Parallel Hearts

The Caster of the group was correct in that many of their allies laid north of their position, thus they ventured north with Lancer acting as an advance scout. He quickly outpaced them, looking around to figure out just what had caused this devastation throughout the city, yet he wouldn't find much aside in the park. A few rumpled up picnic blankets, an overturned chair or two, the park was entirely empty as far as he could tell. No more skeletons as far as Lancer could tell, just a whole lot of nothing.

Things would pass like this for a few minutes, right up until Lancer approached the border of Miyama Town and saw a lone figure wandering down the street. Her blonde hair was wild, the pony tail it had been tied into reaching just above her shoulders and swaying in the cool night's breeze. Her clothes were... well, they were certainly sparse to say the least, their vibrant crimson hues catching the eye. The most important feature about her however, ws that sword. That sword that she carried, almost as big as her, it was the weapon of a knight. This Servant was almost certainly a knight.

But the way she carried herself was off in many ways. Her sword dragged behind her, loose in her grip as it cut through the pavement like a hot knife through butter. She was shambling about with a glossy look in her eye, not heading in any particular direction as she looked around with confusion. The street itself was unusual as well, covered in flyers with writing on them that Lancer couldn't quite make out from this distance. Further observation of the Servant revealed she really wasn't going anywhere either, she was actually just wandering around in circles. During one of these circles she walked directly into a wall of what appeared to be an apartment building, slamming her face directly into the wall and stopping dead in her tracks. A quiet moan escaped her lips as she stumbled back slightly, cocking her head in confusion as she looked around again. Once more she walked directly into the wall. This time she did not stop.

The wall completely crumbled as the Servant continued into the building, simply walking through the solid brick as though it were nothing more than paper mache. She was certainly strong to say the least. The rest of the group would show up shortly, but it was really up to Lancer if he wanted to wait around for them or instead pursue this new factor.

---

Fuyuki City - 1994

@Grey@GreenGoat@ItMeGritty@King Cosmos

The young man barely even noticed the sudden shadow cast upon him, so focused was he on the imminent death approaching. but he certainly did notice, his eyes widening as he looked upon Archer and his Pegasus. The same could not be said for the soldiers, their backs to the danger as they focused on their prey. A single arrow landed in front of the lead, he stopped in confusion and stared at the offending object. It marked a line, a line that was not meant to be crossed. He had not even the chance to turn around to see what his opponent before he was immediately skewered by three different arrows, his companions meeting similar fates as Archer rained hell upon these mooks. But they did not bleed blood, as they collapsed to the ground they began to ooze the same foul mud that another group had run into in another location.

The boy quickly scurried past the bodies, careful to not step in any of that foul mud, his face pale as he covered his mouth with one hand and held his stomach with the other. He was scarcely past the fallen soldiers when he collapsed to his knees, both hands supporting his weight as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the concrete. He trembled as he attempted to process what had just happened, not even a second away from death when he was saved by what could only be a Servant. He struggled to get back to his feet, struggled to lift his head to look up at Archer, but he looked up all the same. "Who are you..." His voice was practically a whisper, but it carried through the quiet night as if he was screaming at the top of his lungs.

[Parallel Hearts]

Kriemhild

"I take it that you have never rode a horse, right? Worry not, no harm will come to you as long as you do not let go," Kriemhild said to Rosa as the busty woman embraced her waist as if her life depended on it. In a certain way, it felt entertaining to behold Rosa's struggle. However, they didn't have time to spend with pleasantries right now.

"Tell me if you need support to keep up, Archer. Contrary to Lancer, I believe I'll have no problems in bestowing the power of the Runes upon you," she said to Archer before they departed. Keeping up with a mount for a extended period of time was bound to be tiring even to a Servant of his constitution after all. But that would be easily fixable with runes of endurance and fleetness of foot.

The sight of Lancer's crude behavior as they moved forward forced an exasperated sigh out of Kriemhild.

"You would do well to control your Servant. That kind of behavior will not only get himself but us into trouble as well," she said to Rosa as they followed the trail of her runes, which diverged slightly off the path Lancer was following but not enough for them to take a completely different direction yet.

To make sure that they didn't lose sight of the runaway fool in front of them, Kriemhild produced a pair of flying dragon tooth warriors and ordered them to keep track of Lancer from the skies.

When Lancer came across the mysterious Red Knight who casually walked into buildings and other obstructions while staring at everything with a vacant thousand-yard stare, Kriemhild slowed down looking for a safer approach, or perhaps a way to avoid contact with the unknown variable at all.

"Tell Lancer to not do anything stupid. The last thing we need is to get ourselves in a battle that might be avoidable," she said to Rosa as they observed the unknown Servant from around 50 meters away, which Kriemhild judged to be a safe distance.

[ItMeGritty]

The Dee

Fuyuki City - 1994

@Grey@GreenGoat@King Cosmos

Dee pushed his glasses up and with a gesture his angel familiars moved to new positions around the young man. He casually strolled up to the prone youth.

"Your salvation it seems. Can you tell us what went down here?"

He eyed his companions.

"I suggest one of you scout around to eliminate anymore would be interlopers."

[Breo]

Thorstein

North it was, then. Stretching for a moment, Archer hefted his stick onto his shoulder and used his left hand to fish around the satchel at his waist. Shaking his head, he politely rejected Caster’s offer.

Rather, he brought out a black piece of flint that he rolled around with his fingers.

“I appreciate the concern, Caster, but I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”

. . .Not to mention, he was not particularly keen on receiving that guy’s gifts so easily given his background, but that was largely less than relevant compared to the more pragmatic reasons.

Archer didn’t need to travel strictly at the same speed as the mount to begin with — so long as he kept sight of them, he’d be able to fulfill his role without much of a hassle, and that would also mean their energy would be better served toward other purposes.

So.

With his piece said, he tapped the stone just once and promptly disappeared.

. . .Well, not completely — if Caster focused, the magical emanations that were the telltale sign of at the very least presence were still present and accounted for, but from sight to sound and even smell, Archer had effectively vanished from the senses.

A Noble Phantasm that bestowed one with the capacity to act unseen and unheard — shocking for one of the vaunted knight classes to possess, but not beyond the realm of possibility if one was familiar with certain legends, such as the Green Man of Sherwood.

He’d follow along in this form, and in case issues presented themselves — he would simply act swiftly to neutralize them.

[Rondo of Blood]

---

@Rune_Alchemist@SSW@Red Alice

As the arrow had impacted Saber's head, Assassin quickly moved to a more battle-ready position, looking towards the source of the attack. When his eyes met with the Archer's however, Assassin only grunted in annoyance, as if he's disgusted with the arriving Servant. As he made his way towards the group, exclaiming his familiarity to everyone, Assassin's grip on his spear tightened even more. That man, that Archer... the Goddess of Wisdom only had venomous words for the possible adversary that approached the party.

However...

"You should learn how to watch your hand, lecher. Don't you remember what happened the last time you misfired?" As he spoke, Assassin began to relax a bit, raising his spear and allowing it to stand straight by his side. He did not take his eyes off of Archer, his hand still gripping his spear tightly with anticipation of a betrayal, but to lower his guard in such a way against a man like Pandarus could only mean...

"That perverted prince seems to be no foe of ours," Assassin stated as a matter of fact to his allies, "Which begs the question, Archer... do you seek the one responsible for this filth that covers the battlefield? If they happen to be your opponent, then we may as well be able to assist each other.

"That is, if you can inform us of what happened here."

[Pyromania99]

Rosalyn Bell

---

"There's no way in hell that's not a servant." Rosalyn muttered to herself, releasing her grip on Kriemhild since they were stopped. She studied the Knight as she just walked through a wall and how her sword cut through the street easily. "Hmm, you say avoidable fight but I also feel like if we could take this servant out then it's one less thing to worry about later... No, perhaps you're right. If worst came to worst, I could only use my command seal on Mori... Ignore her alone, that sword of hers looks like it could cut through most things. Mori, fall in with us." She ordered the Lancer.

As the Lancer returned, she thought on the situation. "We've seen no one aside a couple of animated skeletons and that one over there. Where are all the people?" She asked no one in particular. "Anyhow, how about we go around this Knight for the time being. She seems in a dazed so we probably won't have to worry about her too much." She added, looking towards the building she walked through.

[Reflection]

Pandarus Express

Miyama Town**@Red Alice@Rondo of Blood@SSW@Rune_Alchemist

That crazy ear to ear grin vanished. His hand pulling to his lips as he let out a slight, cough, suddenly self-conscious from both Assassin's comments, and his brother's question. Thankfully Hector seemed silent. Strange, but he'd judge that later. "Well... My hand slipped. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to see you. But I guess we lucked out with my aim being poor. Bouncing off your armor and all that." His eyes flicked from side to side, as if hoping that would end the... Subject.
"Besides, that one time my hand slipped wasn't my fault. We both know Athena was involved, so you can't really blame me. She always gets what she wants in the end after all." A sigh escaped his lips. "Except... Not this time."

He placed his hands on his hips at the question of a safe space, and couldn't help but let his grin back. "Ah yes, the... Goo. It hasn't gone away, but as long as you don't step in it, you'll be fine. When Rider sees you three, he'll be excited for sure. He thought his attempts to call on others heroes was a failure, but you three? More than enough proof. And you even have a civilian!" He gestured to Marietta with a hand. "Now, I'll lead you to camp. Guess I'll have to fill you in on the alliance, huh?"

Pandarus began to walk away, gesturing for the group to follow. "After the grail was destroyed, those of us that remained couldn't help but be... Shocked to say. I had lost the chance to remove my mistake. Then, Rider showed up! He told us we could still have our wishes! He gathered each of us who would follow, to help the world." The way he spoke... It was dripping with enthusiasm. Idolization for this unnamed Rider. "And now each of you is here. Soon, all of us will be summoned. The Acheans, and the Trojans. Putting aside our differences to save this world! Oh, but I make it sound... Well too good. You'll have to hear it from Rider's own words."

Ahead, the dust was clearing. Into sight drifted several soldiers. They seemed to be a collection of soldiers from all over the world. Greek and roman armor was all to visible among their ranks, as they shuffled about with sword and shield in hands. Yet, the closer they got, the denser this army became. An army of nations. As if... The whole world was here.
"The general will be more than happy to see you lot. Especially the civilian. Does she have any particular talents?"
____________________________________________________

Diarmuid ua Duibhne

Near the Edge of Town**@Stormborn@Seirei No Hai@ERode@Love Detective

Once more, his blade was raised. Striking between Gawain's blade and Diarmuid's neck. Blocking with a clang of steel as he rolled with the strike. Leaning his head back, and watching as the Rider sailed overhead. Impressed would be too subtle a word. He was thrilled. His blade raising again in Gawain's direction, mana coursing through his body, preparing to ch-

"That's enough." The voice that echoed down from above was simple, but as soon as it spoke, Diarmuid lowered his blade.
"But Caster, I am n-" Diarmuid began, but he was silenced in response.
"Saber, the others are coming. We shouldn't be greeting them with violence. You both will wait here, I shall greet them personally. They're already lost." With that, the man who had been observing both servants vanished. And with his vanishing, so too did the strange pressure that had been building upon Gawain.
"He is indeed a strange one... But, he is the only one able to protect the world right now." Diarmuid hissed out. "But thank you for that fight. If you have any questions, let us wait for Caster to return with your allies."

Caster

Near the Edge of Town**@Stormborn@Seirei No Hai@ERode@Love Detective

It was... A Maze. A maze of buildings that seemed to stretch forever in all directions. A near endless cascade of confusion that heralded a growing pressure. As if the buildings themselves were exuding pain down upon them. Was this pain? Their presence here might as well have been unwanted.

As Olivier turned a corner, there standing at the far end... Was the man responsible. A fairly pleased looking youth, with a smile on his lips. But his eyes. They showed wisdom of ages.
"Finally you three arrived. I was worried you'd spend forever simply taking that leyline. I hope you don't mind, but I'll have to be asking for permission to use it. It's for the world, you see." The strange caster said, as if that explained everything.

Then all of a sudden, the pressure was gone. No worries, as if they had just stumbled upon a guide to take them through hell.
"My name is Zhuge Liang. I am the Caster servant of the Fourth Holy Grail War, and right now, you are the very people I've been waiting for. I was worried that Chaldea wouldn't be able to come, so I may have wrung a few wrists to make sure you all arrived properly."
He did a slight bow, as if waiting for each of them to bow back. "Now, if you would, your ally is waiting for you just ahead. Or behind. This is a maze, and you did make a few wrong turns."

[KoL]

Chief Medical Officer: Kiara Sessyoin

@Pyromania99@Breo@ManyThings@Parallel Hearts
"Your question is a good one. We cannot detect any great irregularities from here, and there are even signs of other lifeforms spread around the city but it's certainly curious that you've never come across anyone else so far," Kiara said, answering Rosa's monologue.

"As for the Servant around your current location... we cannot observe it directly, thanks to all the interference so you'll have to rely on your own instincts about how to proceed. However, after analyzing your visual feedback, we could come to a few conclusion," she said as the transmission shifted to a screen revealing pretty much only static and blurred data in the place where the unknown Servant's data was supposed to be located. "As you can see, pretty much all of her data is unreadable. The only conclusion is that the enemy has either a skill or Noble Phantasm that hides her identity and parameters. Take that into consideration when you think about your next course of action."

[Seirei No Hai]

Seiba

Zhuge Liang, A Renowned Strategist that's worthy of Comparison to another, previous Chinese strategist: Sun Tzu. The fact that we've been thinking we were walking around circles... or at this point... blocks makes him a powerful individual even if not through the strength of his magecraft alone.

A Bounded Field? A Noble Phantasm? Who can say. To get lost in something like this is unexpected, at worst: A minotaur might greet us violently.

Olivier didn't loosen the grip on her sapphire grip, eager to stay tightened since he was just a random Servant. Sure he introduced himself, sure he gave his intentions but whether or not they are true is impossible to say. The Paladin wasn't a mind reader so it was natural to be on guard.

"I assume you mean the Rider that chased after your scout? I hope he didn't hurt him too much, it'd be bad if we lost our Rider in case Caster's Master is in a sea of enemies." And by Caster, she referred to the egyptian loli following her. If Zhuge Liang wanted to use the pharaoh's claimed leyline, would she actually be willing to give it? He simply was a man they just met and Olivier believed it'd be best if they held on to it for a bit.

@Reflection @Love Detective @ERode @Stormborn

[ERode]

Gawain slowed as well, the duel coming to a close not by blood drawn by either side, but rather the words of the spectator. Unfortunately, for the Caster of the Feather Fan, the knight wasn't nearly as well-mannered as Diarmuid; the moment he vanished, Gawain grinned mischieviously towards Diarmuid. He hopped off Gringolet, patting the horse's flank, before rotating his right shoulder slowly. It hadn't ever gotten to the point of being wholly oppressive, but now that the abnormal weight was gone from his body, the Knight of the Surcoat certainly felt twice as light.

"Well, looks like he's gone now, so...if not a fight, how 'bout just a duel, Diarmuid? Or hey, if that still sounds too violent, let's call it a nice, relaxing sparring session?" The polished sword spun in lazy circles. "Nothing's more depressing than ending a fight without a conclusion, y'know?"

[Rune_Alchemist]

---

Pandarus...Well, if Diomedes said he wasn't an enemy, then it was likely so. There was a lot of information to digest in just their brief meeting. Holy Grail being destroyed? Was this some aftermath of a Grail War gone wrong? The fact that there were servants present was enough information to make such a guess, but speculating anything else without any more information would be fruitless. What was more concerning, was this 'Rider' Character. The way Pandarus spoke of him was far to grand, but as they followed Mari had to admit - perhaps those words were not unfounded.

As they followed Pandarus, the dust began clearing. Soldiers from a number of eras, a number of nations seemed to move about with purpose, sword and shields in hand. Ah, would be a nice scene to paint. Something for the history books, as it were.

"Mhm, I am a simple painter that dabbles in magecraft, Sir Pandarus." Marietta replied with a soft smile. "Anything else I feel should be discussed with this 'General' of yours." Even if she wasn't sure if she could entirely trust this situation, meeting with this general would be helpful no matter the outcome. The more she could understand or learn about the situation, the better they would all be.

[ManyThings]

Nagayoshi

---

"Yeah, okay. I'll wait."

Mori was hanging off the side of a building, about three storeys up. He had been about to open combat with a ridiculously badass flip off the wall towards sword chick, but he had gotten orders to stop, so he had dug his hand into the wall in order to slow down. Ugh. Obviously he could stop any time he wanted, but why? "Don't you have any faith in me, boss?"

He had been ordered to come back, too. He actually had to run backwards 'cause the other losers couldn't keep up with him.

"Yeah, okay. I'll come." Through his mental link with Rosa, Mori sounded defeated. He released his grip on the wall and dropped.

...Into an unbelievably cool-as-shit flip off the wall towards the sword chick! "Not empty-handed though!"

Lancer moved at the speed of badass, crushing the ground beneath him as he landed and continued into a run. He could see the weird girl wandering around. She wasn't even looking at him! She was sticking her head into a wall like a friggin' scared flamingo or whatever! That was fine. That was cool. He wasn't here for her. He just wanted to grab a couple of those flyers that were stuck everywhere. Once a nice papery wall was in Mori's reach, he'd scoop a big chunk off with one arm before slamming into the wall and pushing off of it with his legs.

"I'm takin' ya shitty wallpaper, babe." He cleverly quipped as he bounded away. Returning to the group, as promised.

[Parallel Hearts]

Kriemhild

"While I agree that eliminating our enemies as soon as we get the chance is the best course of action. There's no way to be sure about who is friend or foe in a situation like this until we get a hold of the bigger picture," Kriemhild said once Rosa pointed that it would be much easier to dispose of the wandering Servant as soon as possible. It wasn't a bad plan on principle, but if they killed a potential ally this would place them at a disadvantage later.

"That said, I'll not let this be a lost opportunity. This shall be enough. None in Midgard escapes the gazing eye of Lord Wotan," she said as she drew two runes in the air. The first of which was a curse of avoidance, to conceal their presence momentarily, making it harder if not impossible for the Mysterious Servant to realize she had been targeted with a spell (if she was even capable of thinking that far ahead to begin with). And the second one being Odin's mark, a curse of finding, so that Kriemhild could find the other Servant whenever she needed to. Affecting others with Runes at long range may be hard for modern mages, but it was a simple task if one were to make use of Odin's Primordial Runes which rivaled the power of any mage from the Age of the Gods.

"Now that this is taken care of. If that is of your accord, let us continue. Otherwise, please dictate our next course of action," Caster said to Rosa. "Oh, and feel free to hold tighter if you need. I may look like a doll to you but I'm not going to break."

[GreenGoat]

Belorophon

---

@Grey @ItMeGritty @King Cosmos

"Heeeh... Is that all?" Bellorophon set down near the young man. "I thought there'd be more fight to them. Like hyah! Toh! Kiya! Or something like that, you know? I think I can defeat the culprit alone if this is all they can do."

They pouted the moment it was suggested for someone else to scout, again.

"Hmph. I guess that will have to be me again."

Jumping back on Pegasus, they flew high up into the sky with one powerful flap of Pegasus' wings, the ice arrows scattered about melting, the globs of water following them upwards into the sky.

[King Cosmos]

Fierabras - Saber

“Agh, I thought I’d have a chance to draw sword, but the enemies are all dead already.” Saber looked past the young man to where the strange soldiers were currently dissolving into piles of what looked like mud, a disappointed look on his face partially hidden by his helmet.

“No matter; a victory is a victory I suppose. Are you hurt boy? I have something here that can cure anything if you need it!” Fierabras reached towards his belt and drew out a flask with a cork stopper, the contents within sloshing around thickly inside. The grin on his face as he proffered it towards the youth seemed friendly, if a little eager.

@Grey@GreenGoat@ItMeGritty

[Grey]

Shinto Streets w/ @ItMeGritty@GreenGoat@King Cosmos@Floodtalon

---

It took a bit more time--he was not nearly as quick as a Servant, after all--but William finally arrived.

"Whew! Glad to see that was done quick and easy! Great job, Rider," William stroked the pegasus' mane, then surveyed the scene of the battle. The soldiers Rider had shot down were strange. If they had just been soldiers, he would have figured wraiths; if it was just mud, he would have assumed them golems. But these were something else.

William would have investigated further, but the way that mud was strewn all over the place like monkey's dung rang too many alarm bells.

"You got a name, stranger?" he asked the pale-looking kid, eyeing his form for anything that might present itself as a threat. Quickly, William's gaze settled at the pool of vomit at the stranger's feet. He relaxed immediately.

"...Aw shucks," he rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry about that, I ought'a tell you mine first, huh?"

He offered his gloved hand. "William. Pleased to meet'cha! By the by, is that Lupin guy one of yours? ...And why the heck's there mud everywhere, anyway?"

[Flood]

---

Fuyuki City - 1994

@Pyromania99@Breo@ManyThings@Parallel Hearts

She stopped in her tracks as Lancer ran right by her, turning with a confused expression as he grabbed some wallpapers and ran straight back to his group. Once they had regrouped, they would have a chance to look at the crumple up papers Lancer had snatched, each one decorated with a picture of a masked figure and an accompanying message that would be very familiar to another group in the city.

Rejoice once more people of Fuyuki! I, the Great Phantom Thief, have begun my heist by stealing that which could not be stolen! I have stolen the heart and will of the Berserker which so plagued your town! Feel free to praise my magnanimous disposition! However this is only the first heist of the night! My next target shall be even grander, even more well guarded! I declare my next target to be, the Gordius Wheel!
-Signed, Arsene Lupin, The King of Thieves

"She's a Berserker? Wow, you can barely even tell given the way she's acting. But more importantly, this flyer tells us a lot about the situation you guys got thrown into! It's pretty likely that there's a Grail War going on if a Berserker, Assassin, and Rider are all in this city. This also means there's probably the other four classes too!" A fair assumption to make, assuming of course nobody has died since the writing of this flyer.

"Also, I think you guys got her attention." Another fair assumption to make, since Berserker was now shambling towards the Lancer who caught her attention. While she still looked just as dazed as confused as before, right now she also seemed to have some sort of purpose as she stared directly at the Lancer who had run away.

---

Fuyuki City - 1994

@Grey@GreenGoat@ItMeGritty@King Cosmos

The Caster spoke first, his Angels(Demons?) surrounding the boy in a manner not unlike the soldiers they had slain prior. He was shaking again as Archer took off, leaving him alone with this terrifying Servant who loomed over him with great intensity. Yet Saber quickly pushed past Caster, offering assistance to the boy despite having barely met him. Yet still he was shaken, barely managing to shake his head to the offer of an unknown potion as he looked up at the giant of a man.

It was only William's offer of assistance that shook the boy out of his terror, his offered hand cutting through the overwhelming presence of Caster and Saber. The boy took William's hand and pulled himself to his feet shakily, looking back and forth between the three with visible confusion. "W-why do you have three different Servants?" His eyes widened suddenly as he realized his faux pas, shaking his head back and forth vigorously as he waved his hands in front of himself. "Ah, I'm sorry! I shouldn't be asking questions when you already have so many! My name is Waver Velvet, Master of Rider! Well, former Master of Rider now I suppose." He slumped over slightly, clearly saddened by the loss of his Servant. He quickly reasserted himself however, moving on to more important topics of discussion. "Assassin is definitely not mine, he actually attacked Rider and I before... well, before everything happened." He trailed off quietly, his stare settling on the mud on the ground. Disgust and fear was present throughout every inch of his body as he subconsciously moved away from the foul substance.

"As for the mud, it's a long story, one I don't really feel comfortable telling here. I have a base we could go to, I set up shop at the Church nearby. It's a good source of mana, I think there's a fallen Leyline underneath it, but I don't have the time or people needed to properly draw from it. We would need a Caster..."

As Waver talked to William and company, Rider scouted around their position. There were a few important things to note. The first was the presence of the church off in the distance, likely the base that Waver had been speaking of. The second was the quickly approaching garrison of soldiers in the distance, a much larger group then the paltry four that they had previously fought. This was a group of at least a hundred soldiers, all armed to the teeth with various weaponry to take on any manner of opponent. Another important note about these soldiers, was that none of them had any facial features whatsoever. Every single one had only smooth skin in place of a face, save for a single hole where the mouth should be, black mud oozing out and dripping onto the ground with each step.

[Pyromania99]

Rosalyn Bell

---

"Come now, Caster. I'm not so dim as to think I could really hurt a servant. I'd be worried if the roles were reversed." Rosalyn mentioned as she awaited Mori's return, though she peaked over at him as he finally made his way over with something in hand. "Mori, what's that there? Let me see." She took the flyer from the lancer and read it aloud for everyone to hear. "Stole the heart and soul of the Berserker? Gordius Wheel?"

She wasn't too sure that that Gordius Wheel was, but she sure as hell knew who Arsene Lupin was. "Well, if that knight is the Berserker mentioned... Then, Arsene Lupin can steal more than I originally thought. Definitely fits the description of having "heart and soul" stolen." Rosalyn mentioned before the voice from Chaldea informed her of the Berserker situation. "I see. Hmph. Well, I'm hit with a passing curiosity. Is a Berserker weaker after having lost it's heart and soul? Or does it get stronger?"

The Mage knew about Berserkers, she read about the different servant types after all. Berserker-type servants had an ability that let them give up their consciousness and sanity for more power so she wondered if losing a soul or whatever was done to this one in particular counted towards that. "I think it's fair to say we hardly have any information. We can see how much of what this note says is true with a small skirmish at least. I'm curious if it's actually going to attack or not. Lancer, want to test that? Archer, back him up. Caster, keep me safe if you would. I'm sure you can back up Lancer while doing so, correct." After saying that, she held on to the woman tighter like she mentioned earlier. If one offers, they better not expect otherwise.