Crimson Paladin

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

Roger Falkner

Well, this was just great, Roger thought. Just as he angled his spear to deflect his foe's incoming forelimb, he saw things had gotten much more complicated.

The twisted construct was already proving to be a stubborn foe, but now it was only one worry among many. Discarded dolls rose out of the rubble around them, much more crude-looking than the first one but also far more numerous. The Lions would not be able to focus everything on the big one, but would have to split their attention. Having already moved to engage the big doll, Roger wasn't in a position to fend off the smaller ones- he would need to trust in the strength of the others to handle that.

His spear had so far proven ineffective against the doll's hard body, but the Steel Princess had already singled out a weakness- its joints. Velvetica commanded those fighting the large doll to strike at the joints in order to disable the limbs. Complying with his commander's order, Roger raised his spear, gripped it overhand, and thrust it into the doll's nearest elbow joints. The Steel Princess' tactical acumen had always paid off before, and he trusted that it would continue to do so, even against a foe they had never fought before.

@VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

As the fort came into view, Fleuri was already feeling quite uneasy. The means by which the message was conveyed- by a hysterical man who then dropped dead before he could elaborate on anything- was both very strange and very suspicious. The fort might be a rather mundane fortification that any defender of Thaln would be familiar with, but with the circumstances of the message, they were more or less going into this ordeal blind. Even so, it was the Roses' job to investigate and deal with whatever threat had come up, and he was going to do just that.

In the time since the last mission, Fleuri had focused almost entirely on training. There had been plenty to take in from the dream, particularly the techniques and moves that Florian had used against him, but he had also made a considerable effort to obtain instruction from Rui. He didn't know how long the foreign swordswoman would be here before being recalled back home, so he had been keen on learning as much as he could from her. The language barrier was still a bit of a problem, since Rui spoke very little of the language of Thaln, but communication had become slightly easier when he realized that Rui some of Talderian. Not quite the same dialect as what he had learned from the priests and priestesses that educated him, but it allowed for somewhat better verbal communication than in Thalnish.

He wasn't sure if his skill and lethality with a sword had improved by any measurable metric in the short time between the last mission and this one, but learning took time, and perhaps some more experience in the field would do him some good.

The first thing he noted as they arrived was that the fort didn't appear to be under siege. The relief from that first observation quickly died when he made his second observation- there didn't appear to be anyone on the walls. No sign of a battle on the outside, either, just an eerie nothing. Just what could have happened here? And was it still happening here?

Fleuri followed behind Amy as he had approached the fort. It was good that Fanilly had opted to take a cleric on this mission, even if Amy's repertoire of spells was not exactly the standard array of magics expected of a devotee of Mayon. A dedicated user of magic, even somewhat unconventional magic, could greatly aid them. Her partially-demonic heritage was very odd for sure, but what did it matter? The church saw only good in her, and if it was good enough for them, it was more than good enough for Fleuri. If anything, he was glad that they had another pious devotee of the goddesses accompanying them.

He wasn't the only one afflicted with an oppressive discomfort with this mission- Amy's ominous words suggested that she was even more at unease. In fact, she seemed quite certain that there was something terrible here. Fleuri wasn't sure what sort of senses that Amy possessed to pick up such things, but between being a cleric and having demonic blood, it stood to reason that she'd be more attuned to this sort of otherworldly stuff than the more mundane knights like himself.

"Steffen's right, you've got us watching your back," Fleuri assured the horned cleric. Once they reached the courtyard, he would stick close to Amy- it was imperative that the Roses stuck together, because Sir Rickert was grim proof of what happened when a knight was cut off from his brothers and sisters even for a moment.

@6slyboy6

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Captain Argus Fellborn

No sooner had Argus slew the last beast in this house did he hear a terrible ruckus going on outside. There was a piercing shriek, followed by what sounded like a house being smashed apart. These houses weren't going to provide any protection against whatever that thing was. As for the girl, she appeared unharmed for the time being, but seeing her parents die in front of her would assuredly leave her mind thoroughly scarred. There wasn't much left to do except try to keep her out of the way and hope that there wouldn't be too much collateral damage.

"I suggest you find a place to hide," Argus spoke to the child, before exiting the dwelling. Upon stepping outside, he saw exactly what the source of the noises were- a huge, chimeric beast. Just how many of these twisted things were there?

Argus rushed to intercept the beast, bringing his sword to meet one of its bared claws. He was unsure if the human woman that the monster was targeting would be of any use in this fight, but the other vampire and her gorebats should prove useful allies.

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

Elias had grabbed the wyvern, and Luana was making the effort to assist restraining it. If being disintegrated didn't stop him for long, surely whatever dark powers the wyvern possessed would barely slow him down. If just one blow from this beast was enough to kill, it would be prudent to kill it as quickly as possible, which is what Ethelred intended on doing.

There was the option of capturing it, but Ethelred wasn't going to take the risk. This thing was too malevolent to parlay with, too dangerous to spare.

Ethelred thrust his lance at the creature's head, channeling his powers of ice through it. Unless his queen or the other knights spoke up, this beast would receive no quarter from him.

@BrokenPromise@Guy0fV4lor@Rune_Alchemist

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Captain Argus Fellborn

Upon striking down the first beast, Argus was able to get a good look at the inhabitants of the home. A human couple, already dead before he could intervene. A shame, but their bodies would at least yield blood. They could be useful for necromancy, but weak materials made for weak servants- Argus would be better off raising the beasts.

The corpses weren't alone, though. A young girl, no doubt the daughter of the deceased. Perhaps the beasts saved the weakest and least appetizing for last. Or perhaps her parents, in a final act of familial affection, held the beasts off to grant her a most brief reprieve before the end, giving their lives to buy her but a final moment of life in this broken, wretched world.

She was too small to be fed upon, too young to be a proper thrall or undead minion. Given enough time and fortune, she might grow up and help to keep the humans from extinction, but that was hardly a consideration worth entertaining at this moment. Yet Argus felt a need to keep her from death. There was, after all, nothing to be gained in letting this child die.

As the pirate charged, he drew his pistol and fired at the beast, striking it from a distance beyond his sword's reach. Even if the shot didn't kill the creature, it'd serve as an effective message that the helpless girl should be the least of its concerns. As soon as he got close enough, he'd bring his cutlass down upon it.

@Rune_Alchemist

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

Roger Falkner

Any chance of getting out of this without further fighting was dashed to pieces upon hearing the Witch mentioning testing. He shouldn't have been surprised, given that they were dealing with a Witch. In his mind, for those possessing such vast magical power, everyone else was nothing more than a source of entertainment. Still, at least she wasn't actually trying to kill them- that would be far, far more difficult to survive.

Even with the witch just letting them fight the construct, it still would be a formidable foe. Given the state of the cultists' bodies, it had managed to kill them with disturbing efficiency. Its strange appearance and gait meant that its attacks and movements would be unlike fighting any human foe. However, with its quadrupedal stance and bladed front limbs, Roger saw some potential parallels to that of a griffin and its wicked front talons, something that he was quite familiar with.

Roger rushed forward to near where Urden was. The demon's intervention had bought them a temporary reprieve to move and reposition, but she broke it off as abruptly as she had initiated it, leaving the construct once again able to attack. As the mercenary attacked from the front, the griffin knight flanked it from the side, stabbing at its torso with his spear.

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

This wyvern was very different from the previous one. Blindingly fast but not very large, it still seemed that on the surface it'd pose less of a challenge to the team. However, this hope was shattered when Luana shouted a warning, claiming that its claws had some sort of poison in them.

He didn't fully understand how the druid's powers worked, but Luana had proven herself and Ethelred was keen on trusting her. Besides, if this wyvern was meant to be the equal of the bigger one, the one it referred to as the Herald of Perdition, it made sense that it had to be much deadlier than it looked.

The Frozen Knight jumped off his horse- he didn't know if his icy steed was affected by the poison, but he didn't want to risk it- and charged Elias' location. If the dragonslayer could hold it in place, the Ethelred should be able to strike it with his lance.

@BrokenPromise@Rune_Alchemist@Guy0fV4lor

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

Roger Falkner

Delving into the ruin meant that Roger would have to dismount and leave his griffin behind. This was something that he knew would happen occasionally- griffins didn't always fit in the places where the Lions must tread. Fortunately, Roger was no slouch in combat even on foot- his mother ensured that he'd still have the martial skills expected of a knight even when not astride a griffin. Still, he much preferred to face danger alongside his stalwart companion. Fortunately, he would not be doing this alone- the other Lions were all themselves stalwart companions, although he was a little surprised that the Nem merchant had accompanied Velvetica and the others into this tomb. Perhaps she just didn't want to be alone with Shortclaw.

It was clear that someone had already been here. The corpses of the cultists and necromancers were fresh, and killed with precise blows without the telltale signs of having managed to struggle or fight back. Who could have done this? And where were the hostages?

The answer was at the bottom of the tomb. Two strangers awaited them. The first was a bizarre creature, limbs stained with blood. Obviously this one had played a role in executing the cultists. The other one, was much more interesting, and much more dire. A girl, with unnaturally white skin and a brimmed, pointed hat upon her head, and with jointed, prosthetic-looking fingers.

The effortless slaughter of the cultists. The monstrosity that stood alongside her. The brimmed hat and strange appearance. All of these pointed to a certain conclusion- this was a Witch, a practitioner of the terrible Witch-Queen's form of strange magic.

The others made their statements and remarks, all quite diplomatic as to account for the very real possibility that this witch could kill them all without breaking a sweat. For Roger, there wasn't much else he could chime in, except for one matter that had not been brought up yet.

"Commander, what of the captives?" he asked Velvetica, not wanting to address the witch directly. "The cultists may have been stopped, but these bodies don't account for everyone that they took."

@VitaVitaAR

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Captain Argus Fellborn

By the time the pirate had arrived, the beasts had already begun to break into the houses. This wasn't good- these humans wouldn't last very long cornered in their home. Just what had gotten into these monsters anyway, he wondered.

The cause was irrelevant. All that mattered now was keeping as many of the warm blood-bags alive as possible.

Fortunately, he wasn't going to do this alone. Argus spotted a woman attired in a rather out-of-place nun's habit exiting a building, accompanied by a small pack of gorebats. Another child of Ichor, no doubt. He would need to speak to her after this was over, but there wasn't any time for that at the moment.

Argus drew his sword and dashed after a beast that he spotted making its way into a building, slicing through any of the creatures that might have been in his way. The vampire raised his cutlass and whether or not the beast turned around upon hearing the vampire's footsteps, the blade would be swung with the intention to decapitate.

So much blood...yet it was no doubt tainted and impure.

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

"All of the above, actually," Fleuri replied to Lilianna's inquiry about how he'd improve himself. "The dream made me rather keenly aware of my shortcomings and weaknesses. Then when I was pitted against the Mirror Knight, he demonstrated to me my own form without the flaws and vulnerabilities. He didn't just beat me at my own game, he made it his game."

"Then, not more than a few minutes ago, Lein showed up with a peculiar guest. A servant of the Witch-Knight, a rabbit-eared swordswoman from far-off lands, come to observe and instruct, on her mistress' behalf," he continued. "Lein suggested that I spar with her for a demonstration. She moved her sword so quickly that it caused gusts of wind so sharp that they scored the stonework, as a mere side effect." Fleuri pointed to the spots in the training yard where the wind had marred the stone and cracked wood.

"I don't know how well her specific sword movements will translate to the weapons that I use, but it really put into perspective what's possible if one puts enough work into mastering swordsmanship and refuses to accept the limitations of what they think is possible for them, and that's something I clearly need to work on."

Would Lilianna be offended or bothered by the praise of the foreigner's sword mastery? Would she have any interest in testing herself further against this outsider? Fleuri hoped that he hadn't unintentionally offended the senior knight in his praise of the rabbit woman's skill.

@Raineh Daze