Crimson Paladin

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

The Captain's plan placed Fleuri at the south face. It had plenty of cover (or at least concealment- he wasn't sure if anything could stop that witch's magic if she put enough power behind it), and not a difficult climb, but Fanilly believed that would be where the demon would be.

"It sounds like you'll get to face the demon after all, Sir Gerard," Fleuri remarked to his fellow knight as he readied his sword. He advanced towards the foot of the southern ascent, taking careful note of the cover that they'd have. With a demon standing between them and the mage, it'd probably be up to the other knights to reach the top of the hill, but the challenge of facing a powerful demonic warrior appealed far more to Fleuri than running a gauntlet of magical projectiles. Not that the mage wouldn't fire on them, of course- for all they knew, the demon might have immunities or resistances to certain magics that'd allow the Hundi spellcaster to sling spells in her direction without worrying about wounding her giant protector in the crossfire.

"We'd best get moving, we don't want to keep them waiting."

@The Otter@HereComesTheSnow

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Javal

??? - Forest

Their attempts to stay unseen by the metal bird had failed. Perhaps it would've been wiser to scurry out of sight as the bird dipped its head down to drink, but perhaps it had already seen them from the air. It didn't really matter, though- all that mattered was that this giant metallic avian had seen them and was coming their way, presumably to kill and eat them.

He hadn't expected to find himself facing something so dangerous so soon into this world. It'd be a true shame to have this second chance at life snatched away so quickly.

He didn't think they could flee from the bird, not with its incredible mobility, and the cave was too far away to take refuge. It looked like there'd be little choice but to fight it, regardless of how durable it looked.

This was definitely not the way Javal would've chosen to test their abilities and limits for the first time. While he certainly felt stronger and more agile even with the armor he had been reborn in, he hadn't yet put it to the test beyond a bit of hopping across obstacles as they had explored.

It looked like they going to have to hit the ground running, so to speak.

"Everyone get ready to fight for your lives! I'm not keen on dying a second time!"

Javal readied his halberd and prepared to jump back as far as he could as soon as the bird came down. He needed to know just what this new form of his was capable of.

@Thunder999999@Expendable@Crusader Lord

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Javal

??? - Forest

For a while, it appeared that their exploration was looking up. They had come across an open area with a river and lake. The river wasn't just another water source (and potential food source, if any of his companions happened to be adept at fishing), Javal speculate that it might potentially lead them to civilization.

Any thought that things were measurably improving quickly dissipated, however, when the shadow appeared overhead. Looking up, Javal beheld what it was- a giant bird the size of a small airplane, and seemingly made of metal. It passed over them and landed near the lake, having either failed to notice the group or paid it no attention.

The two elves discussed this, and he had to agree with their assessments- this metallic flyer was far too dangerous for them to take on, especially only after they had just gained their new forms. They absolutely did not want to give this thing any excuse to tangle with them. Javal complied with the suggestion to sit down, not wanting to be seen by that monstrous creature.

"It definitely looks like it's plated in metal," he whispered to the elf mage.

This was, overall quite a troublesome development. If such massive avians lived out there, then every moment might need to be spent watching the skies. It certainly made the river and lake seem like a much less desirable place to be.

"I think we should be able to inch our way back to the cliff," he suggested. "I'm hoping it'll get a drink of water and be on its way, but I'd rather not leave it to chance."

@Thunder999999@Expendable@Crusader Lord

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

It took Fleuri a moment to process what had just happened to him. One moment he was listening to Erion speaking of the second challenge, next thing he knew, the knight had just been caught within the blast of a spell, same as Fanilly, and he was pretty sure it had just vaporized both of them. It was a good thing that there was no dying in this world.

It would appear that their next obstacle had arrived, and their next challenge had been announced.

Get to the top of the hill, try not to get blasted, seems straightforward enough.

Clearly this would be a higher-risk task than the previous challenge, and it seemed likely that at least some of the knights would be felled, potentially multiple times. sure there was cover on the slopes, but that wouldn't stop that mage. His utter lack of countermeasures to magic aside from trying to not get hit was a bit of a frustrating limitation.

As the other knights expressed their ideas and concerns to Fanilly, Fleuri looked up at the two figures on the hill. The presence of the second potential adversary up there may very much complicate this challenge. According to Gertrude, the other figure was a demon warrior of considerable strength.

"There is one other thing to consider, Captain," he chimed in to Fanilly. "The mage isn't the only foe we have to worry about. That demon warrior up there that Gertrude mentioned, I doubt she'll simply stand there and let us approach unimpeded."

@VitaVitaAR

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Javal

??? - Forest

Javal glanced around at the forest, then looked back up at the cave mouth.

"I agree," he said to the pointy-eared fellow assessing their situation. "We've no idea how close or far civilization is from here, and can't be sure about what manner of weather patterns we'll be facing."

The sky the position of the sun throughout the day, the, temperature, and state of the forest might give some clue as to what they'd be experiencing, but weather could be lethally unpredictable for those unprepared. And with no knowledge of this region beyond the most basic of physical observation, they were very unprepared.

"If we head into the woods, it'd be easy to get disoriented and be unable to find our way back to the cave if the weather turns bad, the night turns too cold, or we're unable to find water," he continued. "But if we follow the cliffs, it should be a straighforward journey back."

@Expendable@Crusader Lord@Thunder999999

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

Oh no, Fleuri thought as a Talderian knight, impaled on his greatsword, suddenly gripped the weapon and held it to them. He knew exactly what was going on- this fellow was using the last of his or her strength to hold Fleuri in place for a companion to strike at. Indeed, out of the corner of his helmet's eye slit he saw another Talderian moving in on him.

This wasn't the first time this happened to him. Back during the War of the Red Flag, when Fleuri and his paladin mentor confronted the necromancer behind the body-snatching of both the loyalist and traitor dead, the evil mage proved quite adept at controlling his undead servants. A zombie managed to grab hold of his sword as it ran out of momentum cutting through its torso, while another dead soldier came at him with a mace and if it weren't for his mentor stepping in, Fleuri might have died then and there.

It was fortunate that training with Florian and Rui had allowed him to work on improving his footwork. In battle, being mobile was key, and being immobilized could mean swift death. Fortunately, Fleuri wasn't immobilized- only the end of his sword was. He rotated around the hilt of his sword away from his assailant, taking cover behind his weapon and deflecting the incoming spear with the hilt and crossguard. He then gripped the hilt with all of his might, ripped it from the grip of the first Talderian, and swung it at the second with intent to decapitate, and continuing back around to hit the impaled knight in case the hole in their chest hadn't yet caused them to collapse. Merely fatal blows would no longer suffice- their strikes must be to kill or incapacitate.

Upon hearing Renar's command, he complied and formed up, following the other knight's lead in his attempt to punch through the Talderian knights' lines. As Renar pointed out, victory here was not to defeat the Talderians, but to get past them.

@HereComesTheSnow@Psyker Landshark@The Otter@Raineh Daze

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Javal

??? - Mosslit Cavern

The good news is that they found the exit. The bad news was that said exit sat a cliff side, with only a hazardous-looking path down.

The mouth of the cave gave a decent view of the area, and it'd be a mistake not to make use of it. The former pilot looked out over the scenery, looking for any potential signs of civilization, such as smoke, buildings, or clearings. He also looked down, scanning the more immediate area outside for any evidence of beasts or other possible dangers. After all, they had been dropped into this world blind, and had no idea what they might run into out here.

Javal's falling ability could potentially come in handy in getting out of here, but it'd be very foolish to risk his newly regained life on an informed ability that he hadn't ever made use of before. For now, it'd be best to tackle this obstacle in a safer, more mundane way.

"We'd better be careful, one at a time," he advised as he very carefully exited the cave, making his way down the path, hoping that the boots he had been reincarnated in would have good enough traction.

@PKMNB0Y@Crusader Lord@Thunder999999@Crimson Paladin@Expendable

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Javal

??? - ???

Fortunately, there seemed to be no trap. The elf pried the chest open without trouble, revealing a flute, seemingly carved from stone. What a strange object to be found in this cave, he thought. What could it be used for?

The knight stepped forward and took the flute, remarking on its possible use, being either something very important or at least of some worth.

"Sounds right," he spoke up. "Why else would someone put it in a chest if it wasn't of some worth or value? I say it's definitely worth taking with us. Just...try and be careful with it."

He was a bit curious as to how the status window would record items. Would it now appear in the knight's inventory? And what would the status window list it as? Could the window reveal anything about the flute, or would it merely give us the knowledge that we already know about it?

They could worry about it later. With the mystery of the chest solved, it'd be wise to get out of here.

"I'm ready to go, but we might as well take this with us," he spoke, picking up the pelt in the chest. "I don't seem to have anything resembling currency, but we might be able to barter this for something."

@Expendable@Thunder999999@Crusader Lord

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Fleuri Jodeau

This should prove to be quite the challenge, he thought. Even with half of Erion's knights sitting the battle out, they still outnumbered the Roses, and their uniform appearance suggested to him that they were accustomed to fighting in formations. They weren't even being challenged to actually defeat the knights, just get within striking distance of the Last Prince of Talderia.

The strength of the Talderian knights was their uniformity. The strength of the Roses would have to be their variety.

With the smoke and confusion of the witch's bombardment and Rolan's alchemical mixture, it would be up to the line-breakers- Renar, Gerard, Fionn, and himself- to crash against the enemy's ranks.

Renar commanded Fleuri to support him at the front, with Fionn and Gerard supporting them. He wordlessly nodded beneath his helmet, and took up his position. He charged forward, sword raised. Fionn circled around Renar, creating a wedge formation, and demonstrating a new trick- a spell to enhance his longsword into a greatsword. Quite a useful trick, Fleuri thought. Being able to enhance or alter one's weapon in such a manner opened up many new possibilities in combat.

He swung his sword at the first Talderian in his way, striking from outside the range of their own one-handed sword but consequently not having a lot of force behind the attack. It was no matter- his intention was to keep them on the defensive for just a moment. As he advanced, he spun around, picking up more momentum so when his greatsword came swinging around, it would hit with much more force against a now-closer foe.

Instead the blow was intercepted by the shield of the next-nearest Talderian, taking the brunt of a strike and leaving their companion open to counterattack the Iron Rose. Before coming to this world, Fleuri might be able to deflect the blow. But after training with Florian, after facing so many foes as recalled by the Mirror Knight, he found himself instead deflecting and attacking in the same movement, catching the foe's blade on his hilt as his blade was rotated and swung towards his foe.

These warriors were indeed formidable in their cooperative formation fighting, and it'd mean that he'd be having to fight multiple foes at once throughout this battle. And while Fleuri would probably never be able to take on two knights at once quite like as Florian could, he was nonetheless confident in what the Mirror Knight had taught him.

Suddenly, Renar commanded them to follow his lead and get out of the way. He didn't take a moment to look at why they were being told to do it- this was a time for action, and even a moment's hesitation could be disastrous. Besides, for all of his bad blood with Renar, he trusted the man on the battlefield. He moved in Renar's direction, only then realizing the exact meaning of his words- to give the witch a clear shot for a spell.

The moment Renar would resume his attack, Fleuri would appear at his side, striking at any that were unbalanced by the polearm blows.

@Psyker Landshark@The Otter @HereComesTheSnow

Reborn in a Fantasy World, This Time I Shall...!

Javal

??? - ???

"It looks like there's no tripwires or pressure plates," the dragoon remarked.

Javal carefully approached the chest along the same path as the knight, halberd in hand. With his free hand, he took a clump of moss and used it to illuminate the chest, allowing him to more carefully examine it from every side, looking for any wires or potential trigger mechanisms attached to the exterior of the container. He also took a closer look at the indentations, trying to assess the exact sort of hazard they might pose. Would arrows fly from them? Would spears emerge from them?

The chest had a lock, but he could see a few options. He or the knight could probably smash the chest open, although the elf mage seemed apprehensive about trying anything like that. Perhaps it'd be better to leave this room and keep their eyes out for a key, rather that fixate on it. After all, they had no idea where they were or what other hazards lurked in this cavern.

"If there is a trap, it could be triggered by opening the lid," he remarked, as he looked over it.

If he was back on Earth, this is what they'd consider at the airports to be a suspicious package.

@Thunder999999@Expendable@Crusader Lord