Crimson Paladin

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

"Ah!" Novak shouted as the arrow grazed him, startled by both the surprise and slight pain. He wasn't too concerned with whether or not he was bleeding, because the injury would be minor, compared to what might happen if the hunter was able to get off a more accurate shot. Then, to make matters worse, four more hunters emerged from the fog, all of them armed.

Novak reached for his sword, perhaps not quite by instinct yet, but more adeptly than before. However, he paused midway through the motion, his free hand to the pouch where he kept his mask. If their goal was to protect the seal from being breached, perhaps it wasn't necessary to fight.

"Listen, I am not your enemy," Novak said, taking a step back. "I promise you I don't want to break the seal. One of the other hunters told me what you saw, the dreams about the land being flooded. I don't want any harm to befall the village that was so gracious to house and clothe me. Just please, listen to what I have to say first, there's no need for more death."

He'd need to speak quickly. Fortunately he had already considered this conversation several times, having held his tongue because it didn't seem prudent to reveal prior.

"Listen, the Illuminator spoke to me too. I met him in the temple in the form of the old woman. And it was he who warned me that some of his followers- namely you- were lurking in wait to attack us outside the temple. And there's more..."

Novak pulled the mask from his pouch, holding it up for the hunters to see.

"The Illuminator has been showing me things with this mask. It directed us down to the temple's lower reaches. It showed me the theft of the orb. It showed that Lazhira is more than what she seems. It showed me that you planned on ambushing us with what appeared to be poisoned arrows. And it showed your scheme to anger the Kyrinth in hopes of goading it into killing Enli."

It was risky revealing all of this, but things appeared urgent enough that he felt warranted telling them this.

"Look," Novak continued, "We weren't trying to thwart your attempts to protect the seal, we were just protecting the man who welcomed some tired and lost outsiders to the village. We were trying to help the people who live in fear of the Kyrinth's wrath. We were trying to survive against people whom we had no idea why they wanted us dead. And while we cannot agree with some of your more extreme methods, I promise you, the last thing we want is to see this seal break and this land be flooded as a consequence. We only came here to talk, to find out what you are doing."

Novak looked over each of the hunters, looking each one in the eye. If they reacted badly, he didn't have his sword drawn and thus would have to use his torch to defend himself. At least he had Nobunaga and whoever accompanied them backing him up if things went south. He wasn't sure whether they- either his allies or the hunters- could sense how nervous he really was.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

Novak considered where to head next. There was clearly something big going on at the obelisk, but he didn't know what it meant. According to the hunters, Soyala was the one who believed that Lazhira was the one weakening the seal. Novak wasn't sure what she was up to, but was sure that Soyala would have answers that the other hunters didn't. Assuming, of course, that they could convince her to talk, which might be difficult if she knew the full scope of how much the village was turning against her and her fellow hunters.

The other option would be to head to the fog, which they believed to be where the seal was. If this was where the seal was, then it'd be of utmost importance to figure out what was happening to it, and personally, Novak was quite curious to see exactly what was left after the temple supposedly disappeared. On the other hand he had no idea of what to look for. Perhaps, however, the mask might be able to show him something important. A more pressing issue is that Novak didn't know how to cast the magic light that Lazhira had taught to Narkissa and Leannah, meaning he'd have possible trouble getting through the fog. But perhaps, again, the mask's sight could cut through the shroud.

Going after Soyala seemed like the more sure bet, but talk of the hunters heading to the sealing site greatly worried Novak. From the sound of it, the entire village was already reacting to Soyala, but it sounded like they hadn't come up with anything for the hunters heading into the woods, meaning it might be up to him.

"It doesn't sound like anyone else is investigating the hunters in the woods, so I think we should look into it while the trail is still warm," he said to Nobunaga as he approached her. "I may be able to discern or uncover something over at the site, gods willing, and I might be able to talk the hunters down. "However, we'll need a light source of some sort to safely navigate the shrouded area."

If Nobunaga was both willing and able to help him navigate the fog, he'd head to the forest to confront the hunters. Otherwise, he'd follow the others to the obelisk to confront Soyala, since Novak was unwilling to travel these woods himself. He wasn't about to take the risk of facing berserk animals, angered hunters, or annoyed gods without someone watching his back.

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

Novak followed Enli to where Nobunaga had brought the hunters, where a crowd had already formed. If he had to guess, it'd be that his companion was trying to shame them and reveal their actions to the village. He wasn't sure how much they'd trust her words, but her slaying of that armored beast probably gave her at least some clout. In any case, Enli backed Nobunaga up and explained the situation to the villagers. If any of them were unwilling to listen to the swordswoman, they'd definitely listen to the chief.

After the last day of worrying about the hunters, it felt quite satisfying to see their dark deeds revealed to the rest of the village. Now that their conspiracy to antagonize the Kyrinth and kill Enli was exposed, they wouldn't be able to manipulate the villagers like they had hoped. He wouldn't be able to stop looking his shoulder quite yet, not until the rest of the hunters were apprehended, but at least now they had the rest of the village on their side.

I can see why Enli's the chief. When he needs to, he knows how to rally the villagers.

He was unsure what the village's long-term prospects were. They might be able to handle having fewer bodies to obtain food, especially if the Kyrinth was willing to cooperate, but there was still the problem of the seal. Perhaps it was something he should discuss with the other reincarnated chosen, or perhaps Enli or his books had an answer. For now, Novak needed to know where his other companions are.

"Speaking of which, does anyone know where the rest of the hunters may be?" he asked in response to Enli's question, not wanting to answer on behalf of Nobunaga. "For that matter, does know where the rest of our companions currently are?"

@Rune_Alchemist@VitaVitaAR

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

Novak took a seat by the fire as Enli had suggested. The things he had to reveal would be something best discussed while seated.

"The hunters told us that the Illuminator appeared to them in person, and told them about the seal, and that it was failing," Novak began. "They claim he said that there's a goddess trapped down there, and if she gets out, the sea will swallow this land, and then that the Illuminator assailed them with nightmares of it happening to get the point across. I suppose that's how he sunk his hooks into them."

Novak took a deep breath and glanced away for a moment, before turning back to Enli to continue explaining what he had learned.

"They believed that the seal wasn't eroding on its own, somebody was weakening it, and the hunters were trying to find who was responsible. They seemed to think it was Lazhira, but the Illuminator recently gave them a new plan. He told them that if you died, it'd both draw out the culprit and convince the villagers to worship the Illuminator again. I'm not really sure how I can do to stop the seal from breaking, but I promise you, I will not abandon the village."

Novak had been hoping that the urgency that gripped him over the last two days would subside if the hunters were dealt with and the Kyrinth's wrath turned away from the village, but that wasn't to be. They had stumbled right into a potentially apocalyptic scenario and from the sound of it, they had dashed the Illuminator's schemes to avert it.

@Rune_Alchemist

Dungeon Clearer! A Fantasy Adventurer RP

Léon Reverdin

Animal skull helmet, human skull staff, that must be our necromancer, Léon thought to himself as the uniquely attired goblin came into view. They needed to move fast, as the necromancer was already casting another spell of reanimation, raising the goblins that they had just killed. There was still a bit of distance to traverse,

He didn't get a lot of time to get a good look at it, though, because Neffy cast a spell conjuring a shroud of mist, obscuring both her and their target from Léon's view. While his powers over water would probably allow him to dispel or shift the mist so it wasn't in his way, he didn't want to risk interfering with whatever plans Neffy had. Instead, he would make his way around the fog and attempt to flank the necromancer.

He rested his hammer on his shoulder and used his free hand to draw his scepter, which he used to fire another torrent of water at whatever goblins were in his path. Killing them seemed pointless as long as the necromancer was alive- they'd get back up regardless of whether they were dead or alive- and at this moment he just needed to move them out of his way so he'd have a path to the necromancer's right flank. Once he was through, he'd holster his scepter so he could wield his hammer with both hands. It'd mean he'd have to fight the necromancer without full use of his magic, but with goblins on every side, he didn't want to be without a weapon that could be swung in a wide arc.

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Novak

As the two adventurers escorted their captives to the village, Novak decided to try and see if he could get some information out of them. It was doubtful that they would have any motivation to share any further information, but Novak had nothing to lose by asking.

"Yesterday, at the temple in the fog...there was an ambush waiting for outside us, with arrows and poison. Was that you, seeking to keep the seal from further degradation?"

After having heard their story, Novak was doubtful that they'd be the ones behind the operation of the old temple. The dark deeds that must have gone on in there appeared far too technical to be the work of a few nightmare-addled hunters. He shuddered as he recalled those dreadful gremlin-like things that he had seen staring at him from behind the corner.

Because he had been focused on his line of questioning with the hunters, Novak was taken off-guard by the sudden and unexpected flash of light, coming from the direction of the obelisk just as they arrived at the village.

"What was that? That came from the obelisk, right? What is going on over there?" he asked. He didn't expect to get a decent answer, not from his current company. Something strange was going on, and he wanted to know what. Just as it seemed like they were successfully able to solve the existing problems of the Kyrinth's aggression and the hunters' treachery, and suddenly it looked like they could be facing a new problem. Fortunately, it didn't look like the flash was bringing imminent disaster like fire raining from above, but it'd be a good idea to figure out what was going on as quickly as possible.

"I'm going to meet with Enli to update him on the situation, tell him everything we learned, and speak to him about...that." Novak said to Nobunaga. "And I will tell Enli what you said," he addressed the captured hunters. "About being assailed with nightmares of what'll happen if you fail, about why you targeted Enli. It probably won't do much good, but at least they'll know why you did it."

The skill-seeker headed for the chief's place of residence. From the sound of it, he would probably be on his way soon, and he needed to learn everything he could about the Illuminator from both the locals and from the other adventurers, and he needed to do it before departing with Lady Mie's caravan.

"Enli?" Novak asked as he stepped into the chief's longhouse. "I'm not sure if Akando has gotten the chance to update you, but we captured a few of the Illuminator worshiping hunters alive. We were able to persuade them to talk, and what they've told us is pretty alarming."

@Rune_Alchemist @VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

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

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Sorry, I've been a bit busy. Either today or tomorrow.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Fantasy Knight RP

Fleuri's weakness is that because he's used to fighting against undead and tournament opponents, he tends to leave himself open and forget and disregard the risk of getting shot by long-distance weapons like bows or crossbows. In the very first battle of the RP he got hit by a glancing blow by a crossbow.

Dungeon Clearer! A Fantasy Adventurer RP

@Zoey Boey Will you have any free time soon?