Conscripts

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: River
Interactions: Rowan @GingerBobOh
Mentions: None
Equipment: Longsword and Plate Armor

---

Barrock yanked his fishing pole after Rowan made his stone toss, a fish hooked to the bait. The man's attempt to ruin the meal did not really work, but his cohorts may, knowing the intensity a fight could rise to. But then again, they were here first. But he wanted more food. Ugh.

"No need to leave." Barrock said to the elf, firm and resolute. "You were here first, I shall just sit it through, cook my fish. You would need to not mind me observing."

When mentioned of the Dark Elf back in the town, the orc got visibly angrier, with veins popping on his temple and his eyes narrowing to a slit, but very soon after, they closed and Barrock let out a long sigh.

"A disgraceful trait I try to break away from. And besides, he is just a naive idiot. And naive idiots are no threats."

After a few moments, the orc's curiosity got the better of him, again. "The name's Barrock. What is your name?"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Steffen Gravinir

---

After some minutes of recollection, Steffen gathered what was necessary to approach the main group. And he promptly lost it again once the deceased man were dropped in front of the group, but this time for the opposite reason. The tidal wave of emotions that he tried hard to keep down and away slowly slid back into the ocean, leaving a cold raised eyebrows in response to the corpse.

It's these folks. It's these beyond the pale folks. The Golden Boars. Infamous for being nature's mistake. It wasn't enough that there were essentially no redeeming quality to these cults disguised as a mercenary company, but Steffen had the horrible misfortune of being on the other end of their blade, and having once helplessly seen their sickening deeds towards his own compatriots back in the dark days, he felt a dull but altering burning sensation in his chest, but the Ingvarr kept it within himself as he looked at the colorful group of mercenaries.

"Where did you find this man?" He looked at Alette, but directed the question at no one mercenary in particular. "If they're responsible for this mess, they might not have gone too far."

Or they might still even be in the vicinity, hiding, listening. If so, good. He wanted to kill every single one of them, and his only disappointment would be he could only do it once.

@VitaVitaAR

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Irian Sinewell

---

Any joy he had when the doll's torso burst open from his shot was snuffed out when it got into a desperate but deadly frenzy with whatever limbs it could salvage from its dead comrades, creating a wicked eldritch of a creature, or...thing. Combined with the witch's excited congratulations, it pissed him off. This was some sort of game? Messing around with people's livelihood for fun? The wood elf wanted to shoot that woman dead where she stood before his own rationale calmed the ego that she was much stronger than he was, and such act would just doom everyone involved. But a long sigh still escaped his lips nonetheless.

That audible exhale seemed to disappear once the doll continued its warpath, and the eyes of the far forest zeroed in on its torso. An assembly of porcelain still in one piece despite suffering such catastrophic damage, held together by seemingly nothing. An empty void. But was it actually empty? Regardless, whatever that is in there, if it hadn't collapsed to his explosive arrows by now, maybe it would need more explosive arrows.

Standing from a further distance than the other melee-oriented combatants, Irian took more time with his few aims, aiming for the cracks and holes created by his own handiwork seconds prior, loosening the arrows only when he felt a bullseye would be certain.

🗡 Roses and Daggers 🎕

John & Roman

---

Being the middle of the conversation with Sir Mathias didn’t snap John out of his usual watchful and observant gaze, and it soon detected the beholding of the northern blacksmith. A wordless message that doesn't need translation to a familiar acquaintance.

John flattened his palm against one another in front of his chest as he addressed Mathias. ”I’m sorry there’s someone I need to talk to. Hope to continue the catch up at a later time, Sir Mathias!”

He gave Mathias a last wave, a happier and more exciting one to Lukas before heading over to Roman, but circled around him a bit so that both of them were sideways to the crowd.

”You probably already knew what this was gonna be about.” John crossed his arms. ”The lady that just left, Violet. I have some reservations about her.” He said, looking at his compatriot, occasionally glancing back at the crowd, knowing some certain individual there being a little nosy with his business. ”Though I want to check with you first, how much do you know about her?”

Roman made sure they were just far enough away from the others as not to be rude but also not to be heard. Greeting his friend with his usual smile and happy demeanor. John was a trustworthy friend and a good logical advisor when he asked for his council on matters that were out of his ability.

His tone however, was flat and did not match the smile he kept on his face, “Lady Violet Damien, Mid twenties, eldest daughter of Count Damien who deals in secrets. Hobbies mostly include reading books and trying to avoid social situations that are forced upon her. Attacked by some manner of beast in her early childhood that gave her the scars on her chest.”

he sighed but still motioned towards some of the stalls below them that were selling and making food for the evening. “That was last night. Now she is cold, distant, monotone voice, pale skin, shaky on her feet and requiring a cane… the most worrying being her change in eye color from silver to red and the new scar across her face.” Roman knew what he was going to say next would have been seen as absolute insanity to anyone else, but not the Dr.

“In my professional opinion on the battlefield injuries I have seen… she was most likely killed sometime within the last 24 hours… you can't hide a scar like that and she wasn't wearing any makeup last night. Yet again more evidence of heavy uses of magic in and around this city." He was blunt to the point and there was an underlying tone of being pissed off in his voice but his face did not show it.

”Astute observation.” Returned a plain but frank compliment from John. He expected much from his old friend, but his competence continued to vault over it. A faint satisfied smile formed, but his countenance soon matched Roman’s, his tone of voice lowered. ”The first part is confirmed, albeit it is still a secret at the moment, at the behest of Count Damien.”

Taking a deep breathe, John prepared for a rather lengthy explanation. ”How did it all come to this? I stumbled onto Violet later at night after the ball near the library. At that point, she was already dead with an axe to the face.” He instinctively hesitated at the gruesome detail, especially considering Roman’s more affectionate attitude towards her, but knew he could not and should not lie at this moment and time, even how white it might have been. ”So I let the guards know. Then Count Damien knew. And then even the prince knew. Arrest warrants issued.” Things escalated a bit beyond his initial expectation, but it was the royals. They had boners to pick with everyone.

”That’s basically what happened last night. Now, given that her body was in their custody for the whole night, I suspect the Damiens themselves having something to do with it.”

The lord listened intently while still holding the smile and occasionally glancing out at the festivities. The information given was indeed interesting and he would need to go over it more clearly later that evening with Erik to get a better summary of events from the other reports. he did not flinch at the mention of Violet's demise as it was what he figured had happened and appreciated the dr.’s honesty. Yet having a suspicion and actually hearing the facts was a whole different story, this only made his blood boil more at the confirmation.

“More than likely to be the mother more than the father on the actual act of it. The count said that Violet and her mother left early in the morning to return to their home elsewhere. I advise that we both exercise caution, I will continue to pursue Violet. This way I can gauge whether her condition is dangerous to the rest of us.” he paused for a moment to think again before he spoke. “With how her father operates they will likely come out with some cover story and either pay off or kill the witnesses if they can't be influenced in other ways. Be careful John, my duties are to the protection of the royals and nobility but it also extends to you as well.”

John did not know the mother, but from his brief experience with the Count, it seemed typical. The doctor would be quite interested in seeing what Calbert would be acting out in response to this, given how predictable he could be, but he refrained the morbid curiosity given how hard Roman worked to ensure their safety.

The mother though. It’s an unknown variable that could grow dangerous just from the simple fact that they attempted necromancy to begin with. He better hope that once they got their precious daughter back, they’d stop. But the thing with magic is that it takes a lot of discipline to resist the temptation. Once you got something right, the rush of power and ego would be enormous. But it only takes one failure for even a whole kingdom to be brought down. That’s the dangerous part.

Again he paused and looked back at the others on the hill, he smiled at Sadie suddenly realizing he still had that flower to give her before returning his gaze to his friend. “Do you have any information about the prince? I was told he would have been leaving tonight with the queen and king.” Roman didn't mind changing the subject but that information did bother him. “I do not enjoy being miss informed about my charges.”

John let out a noticeable sigh upon the mention of the prince. ”I got a notice to take charge of the Corp of Physician because our royals departed and we have no one to take else, and now he suddenly decided not to go, so I’m overseeing more work for little reasons.”

Looking over to the silhouette of Prince Felix in the distance, he maintained a cordial smile in case they looked over. ”I have no idea what he is up to. He said in a letter that he wanted to spend time away from his fiancee here, but then he decided to remain the next day. I don’t know if he has any schemes, or if he is just being mopey.”

Given the prince Felix that he knew, it’s probably the latter.

Speaking of if anyone has any schemes, Fritz.

”How about Count Hendrix? He’s been rather cautious around me today.” John stroked his chin, his eyes occasionally glancing around to see if he was being listened to.

Roman nodded with his words, that did sound like the prince and his antics. "I’m sure we will see what comes of that tomorrow." He glanced at the count at the mention of their name, "I haven't really seen much of him so far this trip, I’m sure he’s working towards something. Do you have any other concerns?"

John looked up and around, noticing the Count in the distance, deciding to drop the subject instead of bringing up the encounter he had this morning.

”Not really, other than general unease I guess.” The doctor shrugged his shoulders, a sigh escaped his lips. ”But it’s fine, I’ve had much worse actual unease than this. Thank you for listening though.”

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Irian Sinewell

---

While some dolls fell where they stood, others had different ideas. Despite having half its torso blown out by an air burst arrow, the smaller doll rose from the cold ground to have at the wood elf, its cold lifeless eyes reflected his own. Only through a last second block using a combat dagger on one hand and his own bow on the other would Irian avoid a bloody spill.

He could feel the doll's strength pressing against his own, as evident as he edged his eyes closer to it's.

"How're you doing, eh?" He gave the doll a sneer, before gaining the strength to push the doll away from him. His hand quickly sheathed his knife, drew an arrow endowed in his homebrewn magic power and loosed an easy shot onto its head. This one should kill it for good.

Turning to the larger doll, his allies' efforts had bore fruits. Quite good ones in fact, having disabled one of its limbs, and sharks are smelling blood in the water. Kayliss's own handiwork also bore results in the form of a crack in its arms. Anticipating a full break in the arm, Irian drew another one of his air burst type arrow and drew it to standby if that arm were to sever. Such an arrow right to its torso from the broken rift that generated from its arms could severely damage its body.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

⚘ Steffen Gravinir ⚘

---

Scenes of mass fatalities weren't necessarily new to him, being a war veteran himself and having at least some experience with cleaning up grisly sight that would shaken the most hardened of observers. The shock factor of the mangled corpses, tangled together in blackened blobs, bloated and rotting in tropical weather of Thaln were relatively quick to dissipate. That was not the wrenching part that Steffen was afraid of.

Seeing Lein and his allies examined the remains of what were strong and capable soldiers of the kingdom, to see what had turned such souls into something Steffen wouldn't wish upon his enemies, the Ingvarr searched what these soldiers had. Not just weapons, many of which thrust and remained firm in another's body, but also any belongings they might have had on them that survived the massacre. Flasks, to see if any of them might have been poisoned. Letters and correspondences, to see if there might have been foul play involved. Anything that could shine more light on the haunting mystery that befell an otherwise unremarkable fort.

And that is when the feared emotions settled in, slowly and insidiously. Examining a body was just that: a body, lifeless just like many others. But examining their belongings was more personal and intimate, one that gave him windows to a life: what they might have liked in happier times, who their loved ones were, what their aspirations may have been. Compassion may not be of use here in an investigation, but it was impossible to feel detached from a victim when looking at a small woven doll soaked in the blood of its owner.

The information retrieved was overshadowed by an overwhelming sense of sorrow, and Steffen quietly just stood up and padded elsewhere inside the fort. He noted the woman by the main group, but didn't bother joining. There were already too many prying for information from her, and given her mannerism thus far, he trusted the former mercenaries to do the talking. Now, he just needed a few minutes.

Planting the spear onto the ground, his now two free hands crossed one another, but his palms grasped on his upper arms in a self-hug. He observed the bloody scene from a distance, as well as his knights and the strange blue-haired lady. She seemed to have a history with both Gerard and Fionn, but otherwise quite aloof to the questioning. Steffen didn't really expect faithful cooperation from her either. Maybe the friendly relationship between her and Fionn then could lead to something fruitful.

Seeing Amy coming in from outside the fort, having just passed her earlier and remembering the state of panic she was in when he passed in a hurry, Steffen formed a weak smile and waved at her. It was pretty clear he was in low spirit, a quiet and suppressed one, but dispirited nonetheless.

"How are you feeling, Dame Amy?" He said, crossing his arms again. "You don't have to look if you don't need to. We basically got whatever we could from there." His eyes perking up at Serenity just behind her. "We're just seeing if that lady over there has anything to do with this. You can try your hands, but I don't know how much it'll help at this point."

@6slyboy6@ERode

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: River
Interactions: Rowan @GingerBobOh
Mentions: None
Equipment: Longsword and Plate Armor

---

Well, peace and quiet lasted so long.

Barrock's eyes slid open to a menacing blood red hue, the lost black dot swimming through the blood making its way to lock vision with the man who just arrived, a light elf. He wasn't particularly hostile, which was a first and a plus to release tension from his eyes. But still, someone was taking this place? He hadn't heard of this since the last time he came here.

"Hmm."

His eyes closed to conceal the eye roll. It irked him quite a bit that someone were to be here, but after some thoughts, Barrock was technically irregular, and if they were to have used it for training purposes in the time he hadn't been here, they had more claims to stay.

It's not like he couldn't just be forceful about it.

"We can wait. For now." Barrock replied, his eyes looking towards the river then back to Rowan. "What is this...training that I have not heard of?"

But instead, he wanted to learn a bit more about it. A conversation wouldn't hurt, aside from maybe a slight temper.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

⚘ Steffen Gravinir ⚘

---

A picturesque scene of blossoming red and gold were better served with calm and serenity, and the area outside the fort was meant so. Going from house to house, door to door, Steffen treated every moment with caution. They might still be in the building, any incursions from the outside this successful would have been incredibly dangerous to deal with, especially as he was basically walking into their home turf. But there were none of them. In fact, the building interiors were neat as far as neatness goes, no sign of violence nor ransack. Skimping the tip of his finger on a table, there was a little bit of dust; the building was not even touched.

Leaving the building as in tact as when he arrived, Steffen looked around to see if Sir Renar had finished his own search. It was a shame he couldn't enjoy this serene evening.

"Nothing." Steffen gave Renar a headshake as soon as he saw him. "There's still a few over there, but I doubt we're gonna find anything more."

There had been nothing that indicated anyone being here that wasn't one of the fort garrisons. The fort's remote location, of relatively unimportant significance, also wouldn't seem like an attractive place to attack. Not a lot of questions were answered, all this seemed to prove is that this incident was more complicated than expected.

Heading back to outside the fort, beneath the walls, Steffen looked to see if Lein was still on the wall keeping watch, giving waves for the Hundi's attention.

"Anything noteworthy, Lein?"

@PigeonOfAstora@Psyker Landshark

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

⚘ Steffen Gravinir ⚘

---

A weird coincidence how an urgent crisis that demanded an immediate sortie had happened twice in a row, but it was part of the job. The messenger died in a lunatic state, a horrific way to go, but it left the knights with almost no information to work with other than Fort Daelantine requiring urgent support, and Steffen with many wonders and worries to what could be causing the messenger to even arrive at such a state to begin with. Having anticipated an attack from an outside force the entire route, he was even more unsettled when the fort looked completely fine from afar. No destruction, no signs of damage, no signs of human activity even. This put him on high alert way before most.

"There's going to be a lot of bodies."

"Like death hath come to dwell on earth, and made it's home here..."

And the two basically confirmed the worst, just from senses alone. A tightness gripped his heart, but he simply bit his lips to proceed forward, dismounting from his horse with his trusty steel spear, a large crescent shield and a shortsword on the shield's backside.

"You alright?" Steffen gently asked Amy as he passed by her, seeing her waiting for others to come in. "It's your first few assignments, right? Don't worry, we'll make sure you're safe."

Arriving into the interior, some in the group began to split up, and one of Sir Renar suggested the same for him and Lein, back outside in fact.

"Alright. The buildings are awfully close to the fort. Maybe some bodies found in there too." Steffen gave a nod to Sir Renar, taking a step forward but turned around to look at Lein, that he would not leave the Hundi behind unless refused.

@Psyker Landshark@PigeonOfAstora@6slyboy6

The Lion's Banner: A Fire Emblem-Inspired Anime Fantasy RP

Irian Sinewell

---

Lirrah's explanation wasn't doing much help in clarifying the situation as well as he would have wanted, but the reality was quite inherently absurd to begin with. And her panicked response was doing more to get him more worried about her than his comrades fighting inside the tomb, all intensifying as Irian knelt beside her as her legs gave out. His chest tightened in response to Lirrah's own spasming heart, lending her back a supporting hand. Possibilities began to reek in his head if the witch she mentioned had placed some sort of curse on her, or a disease had rottenly found the time to emerge, or just a common panic-induced incapacitation. He had dealt with the third one many times before in his own compatriots, but Mayon had mercy on his soul if it were the other cases, because he couldn't.

An indecisive sigh weaved through his clenched teeth.

"Got it. Don't worry, take a deep breathe, everything will be alright." Irian gave a gentle pat on Lirrah's shoulder before standing back up. "You can recount that if you're still worried. I will be right back."

It was worse than described. The cacophony of clashing steel with unsettling clickers of whatever made up their ghastly peels caused an instinctual rush of chill up beneath his own. And there were way more than just the one large one described. He came in just in time for these little hyper-demons to pop up from the debris.

"What a horror show." Irian mused, readying a glowing arrow aiming straight at the closest target to him, the tip bursting at the seams with magical undercurrent; the explosive arrows ready to bust open these hollow dolls. The shot would be fired at the joints, before two more were readied at the same time, reserved for any opportunistic ones attacking the main party.

@Octo