Crimson Paladin

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

Roger Falkner

The doll was weakened by their strikes, and another blow should be enough to finish the job. Velvetica ordered them to strike the final blow just as her sword powered down from an attack that had obliterated its waist. Meanwhile, it looked like the others had the smaller dolls taken care of.

Even with such grievous damage, however, the doll could still be dangerous. It likely did not feel any pain or peril from its dire position, and would not hesitate to make more attacks with its appropriated weapons. There would still be the matter of its immensely powerful creator, but she had told them to fight this thing- surely she wouldn't hold it against the Lions for doing what she asked of them. Besides, these dolls lack of fine detail further suggested to him that it was little more than a replaceable weapon to her- assuming, of course, that the witch's mind was less inhuman than her body.

The Steel Princess' sword was quite the impressive weapons, Roger thought as he moved to obey her command. The griffin knight stepped behind Urden and moved into position for a final blow. pulled his spear back, then swung it in a half-circular arc, building as much speed and momentum as he could before its head would crash into the front of the doll's cracked torso.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

A cursed black shard...could it have done all of this?

The thought of a single shard that could drive so many good soldiers to murderous madness was a disturbing one. Whether they went mad just by being unprotected in its proximity or if someone somehow used the shard to madden them? Whatever the case might be, Alette's attitude suggested that she was not worried about suffering the soldiers' fates, nor did the other party she mentioned.

Speaking of the other party...

Fleuri immediately recognized what the corpse's tattoo meant. He was not as familiar with mercenary companies as men like Gerard and Fionn, but he knew of the Golden Boars, perhaps the most infamous mercenary company on the continent. According to Alette, they were also here to collect the shard. But if they were here, that would suggest that there were multiple parties who knew about this shard while the Iron Roses had been in the dark. Despite their connections to the crown, the military, and the church, the existence of this disaster-bringing shard had somehow evaded their attention at the very same time that at least two opposing parties were hiring mercenaries to retrieve it and wage battle with each other in the kingdom's borders.

Some of the other knights were already seemingly eager for the opportunity to fight the Golden Boars. No surprise that former mercenaries like Gerard and Fionn seemed the most enthusiastic. They probably crossed paths with the Boars before, and probably were quite familiar with the wrongs that those immoral swords-for-hire were responsible for.

If the Golden Boars have made a move against the Kingdom of Thaln, it might just be the justification that the crown needed to put them out of business for good, Fleuri thought. He certainly wouldn't be against it- putting an end to this wicked mercenary company once and for all would be a worthwhile mission.

But what about who hired them, or who hired Alette? No mercenary with any self-respect would reveal their employer willy-nilly, especially for such a sensitive, secretive mission. However, it might be possible, Fleuri speculated, to arrange for Alette to be summoned before a court and compelled to name her benefactor, if she persisted in Thaln. However, that matter could wait. Investigating the scene as soon as possible took precedence, and Fionn had asked Fleuri to accompany his investigations. Perhaps the former soldier-of-fortune thought that his and Fleuri's contrasting upbringings might allow them to notice different things. Or maybe Fionn was just being sociable- he and Fleuri hadn't really interacted much.

"Good idea, Sir Fionn," he responded, putting away his sword. "If the captain had a journal or a log, or a correspondence, we might find some useful information there."

"But first, a question for the mercenary captain," he said, turning to Alette. "These disguised Golden Boars, they were alive and lucid when you and your company arrived here, right?"

@The Otter@VitaVitaAR

The Long Afternoon of the Mojave (A Fallout Roleplay)

Sentinel Derek Irving- Hidden Valley Bunker

Irving and Hardin stood near the exit door of the firing range and watched the Knights and Paladins practicing. A veritable light show of red lasers lit up from a variety of energy weapons pummeling the targets. With the promise of combat coming soon, the Brotherhood had to be ready. Even though the output of the weapons had been greatly reduced to slow ammunition consumption and put less strain on the targets, it was clear that these targets would need replacing soon.

"That's not an AER9, the cell is on the drum," Hardin berated a Knight who was struggling with reloading a Laser RCW. "You fumble a reload like that on the battlefield, and you're dead. And Paladin, don't concentrate all your fire on the chest piece, shift your aim for unarmored spots like the head and gut," he corrected a Paladin using a Gatling Laser."

Irving watched silently as the Head Paladin corrected them. They were just about out of time to prepare these boys and girls for battle, this was their last chance to get these mistakes fixed before real combat.

The door to the firing range opened as a scribe burst in. "Sentinel, Scribe Hoss has just radioed in from Freeside, it's about the NCR VIP."

Derek was relieved- ever since their grocers had been arrested by the NCR, they had been maintaining radio silence with their undercover man in New Vegas. Fortunately, it sounded like Hoss' cover- a humble radio repairman operating out of a small Radiation King store in Freeside- had not been blown. No real surprise- Irving knew Hoss as a cautious fellow who didn't like taking unnecessary risks or doing anything that might compromise his cover. It was also evident that Hoss was staying on top of things, since due to the radio silence, the Brotherhood had not been able to alert him to the incoming VIP.

"Head Paladin, keep an eye on things here, I'll look into this." The Sentinel followed the scribe back to the comms room, where a robed radio operator was awaiting them.

"Ah, Sentinel, Hoss just finished his message a few minutes ago. This is what he sent." He reached over to a holotape player and pressed play.

Dad, do you hear me? You receiving this? It's your son in Freeside.

Business is.zzzt...good. Had to make a few trips to the Strip since those folks don't like setting foot in Freeside unless they really have to.

Things have been interesting in Freeside today. A bigwig from California showed up in Freeside today. An ambassador, if you can believe it. NCR isn't too popular around here, and I hear talk that some local roughneck mercs tried to make trouble for him. No worries, though, the ambassador had escort with him, and one of the mercs got his head blown up for his trouble. Those Van Graffs and their plasma weapons...zzzt...sure aren't something you want to end up on the wrong side of.

I...err...probably shouldn't have told you that, I know how you worry about me. Relax, I'm doing well in Freeside- no trouble with the locals or NCR. Speaking of which, I got some radios that need fixing, so I'll sign off. Give mom my regards!

Irving pondered this news. From what he could gather from Hoss' message, the VIP was an NCR ambassador, making his way to the embassy on the Strip, escorted by Van Graff subordinates.

"We also picked up something else," the scribe revealed. "A signal on a frequency that could be picked upon any home radio, but the contents are...I don't know how to describe it, best if you hear it for yourself." The scribe seemed slightly spooked at the mention of it.

"Very well, scribe, put it on," Irving replied, somewhat confused. The scribe pressed a button, replaying the message.

Irving listened to the audio, his face slightly discomforted as it went on. As it stopped, he silently pondered for a minute, before relying.

"Keep tabs on that frequency, let me know if there's any more of these messages. In the meantime, we have other business to attend to."

With the revelation that an NCR ambassador had come to New Vegas, Irving saw an opportunity to propose a ceasefire- or at least convey the Brotherhood's willingness for peace- to the NCR. For all the warring against the NCR that he had participated in, for all the scars and marks that the war with the NCR left on Irving, he was in the Mojave to deal with a far more dire foe.

And if the NCR wasn't going to agree? Irving had plans ready for that possibility.

Bible of Ichor: Septet for the Dead

Captain Argus Fellborn

"That's some fine work, lass," Argus complimented the human. It had been a while since he had the pleasure of watching the aftermath of a monster eating an explosive.

The pirate and priestess had managed to grievously wound the beast, but it was the human and her bomb that put it down. Well, almost put it down- despite the gruesome damage that the explosive had caused, the beast was still clinging to life, still breathing. It'd probably expire from its injuries given enough time, but who knows how long that would take?

Argus wasn't sure how the rest of the village had fared- either the other beasts were too occupied devouring the inhabitants to bother interfering with the fight, or that priestess' gorebats had done their job and drained them dry. Once this thing was dispatched, they would need to look over the village and see how many had died, and how many had survived.

"Still breathing, are ye? Let us fix that," he spoke as he approached the beast, sword in hand. With his good arm, he brought the blade down on the beast's spine. Argus had spent enough time around bones and skeletons of all types to surmise that the beast's flexible, avian neck would probably be composed of comparatively smaller, more numerous neck-bones that should be easier to slice through than a more mammalian monster.

@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

That vile wyvern was going after the other, ordinary soldiers for no reason than to kill as many humans as possible, while evading the warriors who could actually potentially withstand or harm it. The cruelty made Ethelred's blood run cold as he beheld that thing murder people for the sake of murdering them.

Lonan ordered the rest of the people to get in the fort. If they denied it more victims, its only choices would be to flee like a coward or fight foes who weren't such easy prey.

Sorcha ordered Ethelred and Luana to slow the thing down to cover the remaining Harzel knights' retreat. It wouldn't be easy to hinder such a fast moving monster, but they had to try something. Ethelred had just such an idea for this occasion, but he would need some help.

"Lonan," he shouted, running up to the veteran Harzel knight, pointing his lance at the wyvern, "Let's bring our powers together to freeze that thing in its tracks!" The immediate area around him suddenly dropped considerably, as he called upon his power to freeze.

@BrokenPromise@Rune_Alchemist@Guy0fV4lor

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

Roger Falkner

The large doll had been severely damaged by the Lions' many blows. Unfortunately, not unlike a wounded boar, being (figuratively) bloodied and maimed seemed to have sent it into a frenzy rather than slowing it down. It had armed itself with the arms- in both meanings of the term- of its fellow constructs, and was now frantically swinging the blades.

Roger took a few steps back from the doll. Getting close would be highly dangerous with its frenzied attacks- best to keep at a distance where he could use his spear's reach to strike when an opening presented itself, and if need be, deflect incoming blows before they could get within reach of him. So long as the others were able to hold off the horde, the four of them should be able to fend off the doll's three arms and get in some counter-attacks...

At least that's what he thought before Urden opted to forego any attempts at defending and instead attacked directly, meeting the doll's blow with his own blow. Even if Urden was able to stop that one particular arm, that'd still leave him in reach of two other limbs. With Kayliss moving to attack a second limb, Roger quickly made the decision to go to the third. The Griffon Knight thrust his spear in the path of the doll's blade, intent on deflecting it away from himself and Urden.

@Eisenhorn

The Long Afternoon of the Mojave (A Fallout Roleplay)

Sentinel Derek Irving- Hidden Valley Bunker

The Sentinel walked at a rapid pace through the halls of the bunker, attired in a hastily put-on Brotherhood uniform. Ordinarily he would be sleeping and regaining his strength for the day to come, but a matter had come up, one important enough had come up that he had been called from his quarters to attend to.

It wasn't anything new to him- any member of the Brotherhood needed to be ready to rise from their slumber to carry out their duties at any time of the day. If anything, Irving was relieved that this interruption did not stem from being under attack. From what the initiate that awoke him had conveyed, the scribes had picked up some very crucial NCR radio chatter.

Despite the disaster that The Green represented, it was fortunate for the Brotherhood that the verdant menace had driven the Super Mutants from Black Mountain- and coupled with the radiation levels, kept anyone else from nosing around up there. The Super Mutants had used it as nothing more than a radio station, but the Brotherhood knew of the facility's far greater potential to intercept radio transmissions in the region. And as long as nobody braved the radiation and Green to examine the machinery too closely, the Brotherhood should be able to make use of it under the radar, so to speak. They didn't even need to be up there- the override device let them run it from the safety of their bunker. They would send a team up a few times a year to occasionally check how the equipment was holding up against the flora and humidity of The Green and make repairs if necessary, but other than that, they were able to mostly leave it unattended.

Presently, the Brotherhood had been paying close attention to two radio sources- the NCR and Robert House. While House had become more insular and withdrawn in the last few years, they had kept close tabs on any radio signals coming from the Lucky 38. Even if the scribes had no expectation of success in decrypting the pre-war genius' transmissions, merely keeping track of the signals could warn them if House was issuing new orders to his Securitrons. The NCR, by contrast, was a more serious and immediate threat, especially with the capture of the two undercover Brotherhood members. Monitoring their radio chatter could give them forewarning of an attack, or make them privy to a vulnerability that could be exploited.

Whatever they had discovered, it was important enough to warrant summoning him.

"I'm here," Irving spoke bluntly as he entered the communications room that the scribes had set up. Hardin was already present. "What is the situation?"

"There's a spike in NCR radio chatter in the southwest near the Mojave outpost," the scribe at the table answered. "We believe that a VIP of some nature has just arrived at the Mojave Outpost from the Long 15."

"Do you know who this VIP is?" Irving asked.

"Negative, their comms are protected by code words and phrases" the scribe replied. "We don't know who it is or how large his escort will be, all we know for sure is that he's someone important and that Delta Company has been tasked with escorting them to Vegas."

"With the northwest of Vegas overrun by the Green, the VIP will likely be escorted through Nipton and up Highway 95," Head Paladin Hardin weighed in. "Whatever the size of his security detail is, Rangers will likely be focused on keeping watch on that entire stretch. With Delta Company diverting manpower to escort the VIP to Vegas safely, this would be an excellent opportunity to strike at NCRCF and blow Abernathy's prison wide open."

"Yes, I can see the tactical merit in that," the Sentinel replied. "It'd make the Colonel look bad to the VIP, and free his political opponents in the process, consequently weakening his hold on Vegas and forcing him to divert troops to sweep up the prisoners and maintain order. However, Maxson did not task us with defeating the NCR. He tasked us with stopping The Green, and if we reopen hostilities with the NCR, there will be no going back."

"We're already beyond the point of no return," Hardin spoke, clearly displeased. "The Mojave will sooner have another nuclear winter before Abernathy agrees to anything short of our destruction, even with the threat of the Green looming over him."

"True," Irving conceded, "But can the same be said about the VIP? We need to know just who arrived in the Mojave, and how they may affect the Colonel's status quo. If it's a government representative come to rein in the Colonel's martial rule, we might be able to parlay with them for an armistice to focus on the common threat of The Green. If it's an officer come to relieve the Colonel's command, the changing over of command will make a perfect opportunity to strike at the NCR. Is that understood, Head Paladin?"

"Yes, Sentinel," Hardin begrudgingly replied, clearly holding some contempt at his mention at Irving's rank.

"Good," Sentinel Irving said. "My orders remain as they are. Keep our warriors prepared for combat. I promise you this, against one foe or the other, we will see battle soon."

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri had seen many interesting people in the tourneys, but he had never seen a group quite like the mercenaries that Alette had with her. The pale woman, the giant armored fighter, the well-dressed woman, they were not what he expected to see of a mercenary company. Fleuri glanced over at Gerard and Fionn- they were more what he anticipated when it came to soldiers-for-hire. Fionn knew Alette- did he know these folks as well?

Fleuri wasn't able to hear what Lein was suggesting, but Tyaethe's rebuke of him told him all he needed to know. Fleuri shook his head in disapproval at Lein's evident suggestion- the very notion was downright appalling, and hoped that Lein meant it as a joke. It might be prudent for the Roses to keep an eye on him, lest he try to drag Fionn and Gerard down to his low standards of behavior.

Tyaethe made a good point with the question she asked- if whatever the mercs were retrieving was the thing that caused this massacre, then it'd be prudent to know what it was, lest the knights unknowingly run afoul of it. If these men and women at the fort were unable to resist its power, most of the knights- barring Tyaethe- would likely fall under its power.

There wasn't much else to say- Fionn and Renar did a good enough job backing Tyaethe.

Fleuri stayed silent but kept a close eye on Alette and her mercenaries, in case they refused to acquiesce to Tyaethe's demands and things went south.

The Storm Cycle: Reclamation

It was good that Lonan and Sorcha had finally joined the fight. This wyvern was a nimble one, with Ethelred having barely been able to scratch it so far. With those two, they'd have far more options. Lonan's water powers in particular synergized very well with Ethelred's power over ice.

"Be careful when touching it, Luana thinks its claws are venomous, and it can decay anything that touches it- even ice!" he warned them. His armor and lance could regrow, and Elias could seemingly regenerate any injury, but for the others, he was unsure how well their weapons or bodies would withstand contact with it.

The wyvern, however, had other plans. Seeing that it was outmatched, it decided to target the other knights, for seemingly no reason except to spite them!

"Leave them out of this, wyvern!" Ethelred shouted, no doubt in vain. "My queen, he's going to kill them!" The Frozen Knight moved forward towards the inside of the fort. The most he could do at this point would be to perhaps save one knight...

@Rune_Alchemist@Guy0fV4lor@BrokenPromise

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

Roger Falkner

They finally began to make progress on the monstrous doll. Kayliss struck at its joints, giving Velvetica an opening to destroy one of its limbs. The fight wasn't over yet, though. The creature's tough exterior was still holding together, and it still had plenty of limbs with which to make trouble.

So far the Griffin Knight's spear hadn't done much damage, but his attacks had at least managed to disrupt its attempts to strike at Urden. It also looked like the joint he struck had sustained some damage- perhaps another blow would worsen the wound.

Seeing that the creature was momentarily momentary imbalance from losing one of its limbs, Roger swung his spear at the joint, hoping to take advantage of its staggered state and further disrupt its balance. Perhaps the impact from swinging it would have more effect than stabbing at the hard porcelain body.