Crimson Paladin

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

"The mayor says it's nothing? How strange," Ethelred observed. "Back when Elias and I were investigating the burned villages, we stopped in Redwater just as the Fomorians made an attack. After we drove them off, we spoke with the mayor, and he seemed oddly unfazed for a man whose town was just attacked with several deaths. At the time I assumed he was just numb from trauma or struggling to make sense of what had just happened."

He certainly couldn't forget that incident- that was the one where Od was abducted.

If the mayor was not taking the threat seriously even after having seen the aftermath personally, then Redwater might have more problems than malignant fey. He would have to worry about that later- for now, the primary threat to be addressed was the wyverns.

The second matter was Grainne's offer to spar- a proposition that he had not expected to hear. He couldn't blame her, though- after all, she was going to be left out of the wyvern hunt, and he knew how it felt to be a squire, wanting to get some combat practice in.

"Spar? Sure, I'll spar with you," he answered. "No magic, I presume?"

He was curious to see what Grainne could do.

@Rune_Alchemist@BrokenPromise@Guy0fV4lor

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Captain Argus Fellborn

The pirate had made it onto the beast's back- but now he needed to figure out what to do next. If it was a living beast, he might be able to wrap his arms around its neck and choke it out, but with that skeleton manipulating it like a marionette, he wasn't sure if it was truly alive. Even if it was, it wasn't a guarantee that unconsciousness would disrupt the puppeteer's hold on it.

No, if he wanted to bring this thing down- and without damaging the pelt- he needed to take out that thing inside of it.

The bear-boar was rearing up onto its hind legs again. Argus wasn't in any opportunity to try and get to the skeleton inside at the moment, but perhaps a little repositioning might fix that. The pirate slid off the back of the monster, tossing his hat away as he landed. Next, he turned around and wrapped his arms around the creature's lower torso and attempted to lift it up and back. He wasn't back to full strength so he wasn't certain how much he could have- if it turned out he did have enough strength to fully suplex it, he'd at least attempt to throw it onto its back.

@Rune_Alchemist

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

Roger Falkner and Shortclaw

Lady Velvetica gave the signal, commanding the ambush team to attack. Roger in turn signaled Shortclaw to take flight. The griffin bounded into the air and flapped its wings, lifting off. The duo flew over Velvetica, high enough to avoid the trajectories of the arrows, bolts and magical attacks of their allies.

Their goal was to flank the enemy, attack them from a direction that they incorrectly believed was safe and secure.

Roger tugged slightly on the reins and pointed his spear at one of the enemy shapes below, one of the faceless foes at the rearmost edge of the enemy's formation, furthest away from Velvetica. Even with his eyes having plenty of time to adjust, he still couldn't see too well, but he had been paying attention and keeping close track of their allies. Shortclaw complied, descending in altitude. The griffin did not directly attack the target though- instead, he overshot and circled around to approach the ground from behind their foe. Shortclaw was not one to attack from an angle that'd put him surrounded by enemies, and Roger knew his griffin well enough to count on it.

Besides, Roger didn't want to strike too soon.

A few moments after Velvetica and her vanguard crashed into the enemy, the griffin landed with a mighty thud, smashing Roger's target beneath its front claw as it came down. Shortclaw gave a mighty screech and bolted towards a nearby pair of cultists, seizing one in its beak while the other was skewered on Roger's spear. The time for subtlety was over.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

"Thank you, Dame Tyaethe," Fleuri said, bowing to her. "Perhaps then, it's best if I make the most of the time I still have to improve myself." With that, the knight walked through the doorway to outside.

It was a lot to take in. Assuming that Merilia was still loyal to the Iron Roses, his guess would be that she was trying to give him some perspective on himself and some incentive to improve. Still, there were questions left unasnwered. Was Merilia somehow able to summon the spirits of the past departed knights to a dream? Or were they phantom approximations of her memories of them? Additionally, he wanted to find out if any of the other knights received a similar dream.

Upon entering the training yard, Fleuri grabbed a training sword and dagger and began to practice his swings on a dummy. He closed his eyes, harkening back to the duel with Florian, trying to replicate the blows his foe rained down on him. He tried some of the counters and parries that Florian had used against him- especially the one that Fleuri had unsuccessfully tried to use against him. At some point it would be a good idea to find a partner to spar with, but first he wished to practice the movements and motions, to think back to the fight and draw whatever he could from it without any distractions.

@Raineh Daze

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

Grainne was still as abrasive as ever. Ethelred felt a bit of pity seeing her taken out of the action. It was necessary to allow her to heal before putting her in danger again, but if he was in her place, he'd be a little miffed at being denied an opportunity for payback for the attack on the fort. The Frozen Knight was tempted to make a retort to her words, but it felt wrong to egg her on in this state. Maybe after she was back to full health.

Luana was busy divining what she could from the black wyvern's corpse, and Elias was busy answering questions. There wasn't much for Ethelred to do aside from keep his eyes open for trouble- after all, a meeting between Sorcha and the Harzel forces was a rather sensitive thing. Perhaps he could use this time to do some prodding of his own, on matters that he had a personal interest in.

"Speaking of rumors," Ethelred spoke, addressing Grainne. "Has there been any news coming out of Redwater Point? It's my understanding that they've been having some trouble, but I've been a bit out of the loop."

He didn't actually expect her to be receptive to his questions, but he might be able to get something out of her regardless.

@Guy0fV4lor@BrokenPromise@Rune_Alchemist

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Captain Argus Fellborn

So it's to be one of those kinds of fights, the pirate thought as the puppeteer closed the chest and resumed attacking with its puppet. He managed to sever one limb, but he wasn't sure what immediate effect it would have. It might mean the loss of control of one appendage, or it might do nothing.

Anticipating that this fight was about to become more intense, Argus spit out the chunk of undead he had bitten into, and drew his pistol.

The beast lunged at the vampire. While a more brutish fighter among his ilk might be comfortable meeting his foe's momentum head-on, Argus opted to take another approach. He fired his pistol and fired at one of the bear's eyes, then attempted to leap over it onto the creature's back as it got near. He hoped that even if the shot missed its eye, the muzzle flash would blind it just long enough to not catch what the vampire was up to.

And once he made it onto the beast's back? He'd surely figure something out.

@Rune_Alchemist

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

"Looking back, it does seem like she might have been trying to help," Fleuri admitted. He knew of Merilia- she was one of the original Iron Roses, a sorceress or witch who used magic to vastly extend her lifespan, and produced much of the castle's paintings. "The dream really put it in perspective how far I lag behind compared to the original generation of Iron Roses such as yourself, and I think I can glean quite a bit of insight from all those times I was killed."

Or perhaps she just wanted some inspiration for her painting hobby, and needed to watch an Iron Rose in action. Fleuri hoped that Merilia wasn't going to start sending paintings of Fleuri getting killed over and over.

"Did she send to the dream to any of the others?" he asked. Fleuri hardly stood out in the Iron Roses, after all, so he wasn't sure if someone like Merilia would single him out. "Did she by any chance send you a dream, Dame Tyaethe?"

@Raineh Daze

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

It was good to see Lonan and Grainne again. Lonan in particular was handling interaction with the queen quite well- if he was offended at all by the queen's long-term goals being at a cross-purpose with the king of Harzelslack, he didn't show it.

The squire didn't quite seem herself, though. Fighting the wyverns- or being injured by them- must have humbled her and cooled her fire. It was honestly a little sad to see- for all her abrasive attitude, it didn't seem right seeing her almost broken like this. Perhaps she just needed a little coaxing to bring out her spirit. With a plan in mind, he rode up next to the squire as they headed to the castle.

"Nice to see you again, Grainne," he spoke, breaking the ice. "I thought we made a good team last time, I'm glad they sent you and Lonan for this."

If engaging with her in conversation didn't compel her to snap at him with some biting words, perhaps his aura of cool air would.

@Rune_Alchemist

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

Roger Falkner and Shortclaw

"No offense taken, Lady Valmyra," Roger assured the snake-woman. "It was an honest mistake, don't worry too much about it." The mercenary was right, a slip of a tongue wasn't worth getting upset over. Trained Griffins could become ornery if someone failed to address them by their correct name, but Roger suspected that was primarily due to the perceived offense of being ignored. Besides, like the mercenary said, anyone that would make a big fuss over an honest mistake probably wasn't worth associating with.

Speaking of the mercenary, Roger had a feeling that Urden was sizing him up. Probably trying to figure out if he was a snooty elitist or not. It was, after all, generally a pretty good approximation that any knight with a griffin mount came from a position of considerable social standing and wealth. There wasn't much Roger could do about this other than being on his best behavior and not give Urden a reason to resent him.

---

Shortclaw crouched down like a lion some distance from the other ambushers. The duo maintained some distance from the other ambushers for safety's sake, and in order to have plenty of room to flank. The trap had been set, now all that was left now was to wait for the necromancers to take the bait.

The night was dark enough that they could probably take to the air without being unseen. Griffins like Shortclaw had excellent night vision- a benefit of their feline side- and would have no trouble navigating the air even on a cloudy, moonless night like this. However, doing so would be an inefficient use of energy, and they couldn't be entirely sure that the necromancers' camp wouldn't notice them.

Once the battle began, it would be imperative that they not allow any of the enemy vanguard to slip back to the main camp. If any of them managed to bring back word of the trap, it'd give the necromancers more opportunity to dig in and prepare accordingly. With the lives of the hostages in the balance, it was all the more imperative that they not give the enemy any wiggle room.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri sat down as he began to recount the dream.

"In the dream, I was on this flat landmass surrounded by clouds, something of a dueling ring I suppose. One by one, I was pitted against all manner of opponents- ancient warriors, beasts, mages, undead, all while this strange woman observed. She had black hair, blue eyes, wore distinctly foreign clothing but didn't look like a foreigner. She didn't say anything, didn't seem to react, just watched."

Fleuri placed his hand on his throat, recalling the pain. "I suppose it is not an unusual thing for a knight to dream about, but what was unusual was the pain. It was only fleeting, thank Reon, but the wounds felt real- especially the fatal ones. At least I think the death blows felt real- I'd rather not test it. I'd die, then find myself back where I started, restored and facing down a new opponent."

Fleuri paused again to contemplate. "There was one opponent that stood out in particular- Mirror Knight Florian. Unlike the ones from before, he didn't mindlessly attack me like most of them did- he addressed me by name, offered some kind words of encouragement, and helped me get my fire back so I'd give him a better duel. He imitated my combat style, beat me at my own game, even had the courtesy to stick around and give me some parting words after I died and was restored."

There was also Erich Cazt, but he lived long before Tyaethe's time, and it was probable that he was as real or as fake as the Mirror Knight in the dream.

"You knew Florian personally, right?" he asked. "Do you know anything that could help discern whether the Mirror Knight in my dream was merely a product of my imagination or something more?"

Fleuri wanted to know if the heroes he faced in his dream were real- if meeting them amounted to something- or if he was just chasing his own imagination.

@Raineh Daze