ghastlyInc

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

Gillian

Gillian watched Tyaethe grill the small child, occasionally throwing glances at her bodyguard, a large fellow(he assumed, though one need only look at the aforementioned vampire in full armor to see it was far from a safe assumption) though hardly a threat to them by virtue of sheer numbers. "Wow..." He said, loud enough to cut into Tyaethe's rather masterful tirade. "Glad to see the oldest of our order is ready to throw an actual child into the fire because she's on the rag" He said clearly, rubbing the agitation from his eyes.

As much as Tyaethe WAS right to demand answers from the girl, he thought she was far from going about it the right way. Firstly, Lady Cal was thirteen. Between her and the captain, this was more a (admittedly high stakes) play date than a potential insurrection. Secondly, whatever the girls intent, it was likely more misguided than malicious for which they should be thanking Reon.

"Veileena." Gill said, keeping his tone divorced from his usual snark and the irritation he felt in favor of a more impassive tone. One that, unlike Radistirin's, at least promised to listen before any judgment of her character was thrown on the girls shoulders. "Would you please explain what you and your bodyguard are doing here?" He asked. It was obvious that the girl was after the shard, but he'd rather hear in the girls own words as to the WHY. If nothing else, she might know who would have tried to steal the shard out from under her.

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

Gillian

Interacting with: @VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@PaulHaynek@FlappyTheSpybot

Gillian blinked owlishly at Fanilly's....far too nice reproach of his usurping of her authority. It took him a moment for it to register that she was attempting to 'discipline' him, though the act had all the intimidation of a small blonde puppy growling its tiny heart out. "Of course...Captain." He said, trying to square his features and take the adorable 'dressing down' with some degree of seriousness, albeit struggling to contain the amused grin poking its way through the mask. To be fair to the girl, she'd probably have had some measure of success with that if he were anybody else. Unfortunately, she had yet to learn how insufferable Reliquaries (well, him and Parnella more specifically) could be at times.

Tyaethe thankfully saved him from an impending giggle fit with the somber news of the shard having long since vacated the premises. Via divine intervention no less."Still sounds like we need to search the keep then." Gillian said glumly as she finished her explanation. "I can track as well, but like Maritza said, does us fuck all kinds of good without a direction. Humans and the like are easy to find in the woods, not as careful as animals." He said, more by way of explaining for Jarde and Fanilly's benefit as he knew little of their respective training in the subject. "Damn easy to track, especially if they're in a hurry or injured. But if they took a road, unless they're a special kind of stupid, not likely to be any signs we can safely attribute to them. Flat dirt tells us nothing." he said. It was one of those things most nobles would never actually learn. Roads were pounded flat when they were made to keep grasses from taking root and hiding the trail, and maintained that way through healthy amounts of traffic. There weren't signs TO find, unless it was a very large force which seemed unlikely.

With an annoyed sigh the knight stretches, several loud pops echoing from his back. "The upshot is that atleast whatever caused this wont cause chaos in our ranks while we search." he huffed, looking to Fanilly. "Me, Maritza and..." He paused, sparing a glance to Jarde. "Billbert can go check the surrounding trails for something, if you want Captain. But I can pretty much promise its a waste of time."

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

Gillian

Interacting with: @VitaVitaAR@Raineh Daze@PaulHaynek@FlappyTheSpybot

"Sounds good enough for me." Gillian shrugged at Alette's defense of her employer. If he was annoyed baiting her with the implication of her being disposable hadn't worked out, it wasn't showing. He hadn't missed how the shark had avoided answering whether or not she and her trope would be willing to walk away from the shard, which pretty much told him all he really needed to know. Which was to say, a fight was more or less postponed rather than off the table entirely.

Still, that didn't mean the Rose's couldn't take some mutual advantage of the situation. "Who their employer is isn't really useful to anybody at the moment." He huffed, waving off Maritza's words with a nonchalant wave. "We can all circle back to the issue of killing each other after we find the shard. Alette, the Captain, myself and..." He cast his gazed towards Tyaethe, who seemed to be doing her best impersonation of a statue.

"Fucking vampire has a stick up her ass at all times except then one I want her to. Great." He thought grumpily, snagging Jarde by the collar and dragging him to his side before doing the same to Fanlily. "Billy." He said, bestowing a name onto his newest hostage comrade. "Will head up to the captains office. See if we cant find something useful like a storage manifesto or something. Bors, Verenna and Radistirin can secure the area and make sure no one leaves. And yes, the fact that two thirds of you happen to be plus sized IS the reason. Everyone happy with that plan? No? Perfect." He said, giving his two fellow Roses a playful shove toward the fort before gesturing the Shark to follow.

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

Gillian

Interacting with: @VitaVitaAR
@Raineh Daze

"She...just said she wasn't dumb enough to give that info out Radistirin." Gillian huffed as the diminutive knight asked for what had to be the third time for the name of the Sharks employer. A tid bit of information that Gillian was sure they could only get if they beat it out The Shark. And that hardly seemed like a good idea at the moment, large iron giant bodyguard not withstanding.

Not that Gillian didn't understand the paladin's annoyance, and more distressingly agreed with it. "While I'm all for going tits-out-Reon-crusader on whatever moron decided to keep this here, much less the idiot who wants to snatch said evil bullshit up...." he started carefully, eyeing up the two mercenaries. "The more pressing problem is that neither of us have aforementioned shard. Or if its even still HERE."

He turned towards Bors who, for the moment, seemed the more affable of the two. "To sum up, whoever hired you wanted you to find this stone, neglecting to tell you its a shard of Angroron. You come here, everyone is dead from its influence save these idiots." He said, giving the corpse of the fallen Boar warrior a swift kick to punctuate his point. "You kill them, we show up. I take it from the fact you're still here that you've yet to FIND said evil bullshit that I promise you aint being paid enough for. So either its still here or these idiots were covering whoever was extracting it." He finished, stretching his arms above his head.

"I move we pool our resources and just find this thing before whatever did this..." he said, gesturing to the veritable corpse collage arrayed before them. "Starts having an affect on us, if its still here. If its not, we clear the fort faster anyway and have some mutually assured reinforcements for the hypothetical transporting group of cultist or what-have-you. All that said..." he slowed, raising his arms into the slightest of guards and angling his body subtly away from where Alette would be the most likely to strike at him from this distance.

"You realize we can't exactly let you walk away with the artifact. I imagine your employer is going to be a bit cross about that, but is that going to be an issue with your lot? Don't know what you're getting paid, but I doubt trading blows with the Roses was included in the billing." He said, not really wanting to tangle with the Shark or her retinue. Less out of fear of the exchange (fearsome as The Shark's reputation was, the Iron Roses would be a historical footnote long before a mercenary band fought them to a standstill), but more out of not wanting to let an artifact this dangerous to get anymore distance from them than was strictly neccessary.

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

Gillian

Interacting with: @VitaVitaAR

"Yeah, calling seniority dibs on not searching the corpses..." Gill huffed, shooing the closest rose away from him as he dismounted. The reliquary rolls his arms a moment, jostling free of the stiffness which had settled in during the ride. Casually, he sauntered over to the captain and the mercenary, content to keep his guard only halfway up. "You'll have to forgive the southerners Alette." he said, limply offering a hand to shake in greeting. "No fucking manners in the lot of them, and half as friendly." He added with a laugh before dropping into a dramatic bow.

"On their behalf, greetings. I am Gillian Reynaud of La Reine." he says, voice rich with mocking formality and a lilting imitation of the accent of Thaln's aristocracy. "Living Reliquary of the Iron Roses and Lord of Schmucks dumb enough to cut their arms off and all that." He adds, rising from his bow as his eyes scanned the battlefield, content enough with the Shark's reputation enough to not be too concerned with a sneak attack.

"And for what its worth..." he drawled, brusquely kicking a corpse onto its back to make some room to stand comfortably, dimly catching glimpses of the tattoo's his juniors were starting to uncover. "Thanks for clearing out the chaff, saves us the trouble at least. And fucking fair play to you, seems you live up to every bit of ferocity the rumor mill throws at ya..." He says, idly noting that none the soldiers had been liberated of their purses while he let the compliment settle in. Not that he would stoop so low as to rob the dead, but that in and of itself was telling.

"But The Shark aint exactly a name that inspires image of generosity and altruism. Not saying you should give up your employer." He said, waving away the issue and knowing she likely wouldn't anyway. You didn't get a reputation like Allette's by being unprofessional and, as far as Gill was concerned, it'd be a waste of time to test that. "But it'd be helpful to know what you ARE here for? Can't imagine you come knocking down the door of a Thaln fort to get your rocks off. Unless you do, in which case, kinky but I'd suggest Fireheart instead."

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

Gillian

Interacting with: @PaulHaynek@Raineh Daze@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR
"Could be internal." Gill huffed at Tyaethe from atop his ass, the ignoble beast chewing a dirt clodded tuft of grass casually."A coup isn't unreasonable, even if its a small one. Poorly thought out one to if it is, seizing a fort like this."

Gillian casually cast his gaze over the fort, his mind picking out approaches for himself automatically as he took in the terrain. "Dealetine's not exactly critical...alteast right now." He said, somewhat louder than necessary for the benefit of the more green recruits (captain included). "It's more a staging ground for military actions coming from the capital than anything else. Hell, its practically fed by the capital. Worse comes to worse we can siege them out until they starve to death, though that's unlikely."
He pauses as a few of the younger knights ask permission to scout ahead, stretching his arms out as they argued who might be best suited to the task. More power to them, he was better suited to skulking around during the chaos of a fight than anything else. "Bear in mind kids; if a force is good enough to take a fort undetected this close to the capital, then they're good enough to make sure there are no survivors. A shiny copper piece says that our messenger was allowed to live to lure us out here." He says, leaning forward and lounging on the donkey as if it were his primary method of relaxation. "Which means, we're walking dick first into a trap. Scoutings not a bad idea, but its somewhat predicated on the opposition not being aware of you. Personally I say we walk up and spring it, info be damned. Lot faster and they're less likely to expect it."

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

Gillian

Interacting with: @PaulHaynek@Raineh Daze@Crimson Paladin
"Jeez...sounds like there is some history there Radistirin" Gillian huffed, looking over the diminutive vampire with a teasing expression but committing the comment to memory all the same. He didn't really want to try and tussle with someone who spooked HER of all people. Thankfully, Reliquaries weren't typically allowed to wander that far a field. Too much chance to lose their reliquaries to potential enemies of the state and all that.

"There are a few." Gill said, turning his attention back to Fleuri. "None of that old house wife shit though. Garlic, holy water, running water and the like. Vampires arent FANS of those things, but its more like an allergic reaction than a weaponizable weakness....So unless you can kill a man using his own hay fever I don't recommend."

Gillian stood and walked over to the chalkboard, taking a piece of chalk in hand as he wrote (thankfully having a deal more real estate than the undead paladin). "The most obvious, and in my mind the best method, is like I said. Sneak attacks to decapitate or shred their heart. My arms are a good example of a weapon designed for the latter." He said as he wrote 'conventional methods' and 'blessed weapons', raising his free hand as he wrote, stabbing it at chest level back towards Fleuri.

"I enter through the back or through the ribs, then...Pop" He sighed, fingers splaying violently with an violent clack of metal. "Through judicious applications of massive trauma, I'm fairly likely to get a killing blow. I also wrench my hand OUT in that position so, if I didn't manage to kill them, I've atleast taxed their regenerative ability hard enough that it gives me time to line up a second strike. At which point..." He adds, whispering quietly for a moment before his frame burst into flame.

"I fall back to a flaming offense. This is pretty much the standard for any Reon based holy weapon, though Ice based ones in the Mayon tradition DO exist." He said, letting the flames dissipate as he added 'fire' and 'ice' to the list. "Bare in mind, the source for EITHER of those two need not be divine, though weapons like that help. Conventional magic or even just good old fashion oil and a matches are also entirely effective. But if you use ice, make sure to freeze them all the way through, not around them. You want it to do as much damage as quickly as possible to slow down their regeneration."

Finally he writes 'Abjuration' on the board. "This last method is of note if you ever work in countries that are more...accepting of blood magic and necromancy. Counter spells and methods of dispelling magical effects are good for threat reduction of any caster, but it requires a lot of preknowlege in the same field as what you're countering from what I've been told." He said, writing 'unreliable' in big bold letters next to it. "Personally, I don't recommend it. A mage with enough mana to become a vampire after death isn't likely to have learned JUST one school of magic in their time. And with how broad schools of magic can be, all you're really doing is inviting the vampire to focus their attention on the caster. Which is the last place anyone wants to be. "

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

Gillian

Interacting with: @PaulHaynek@Raineh Daze@Crimson Paladin
"There is probably more to the 'selection' process as it were. Tyathe would know more on that front, but from what I've heard and read...Most aren't as forth coming with the turning process." Gill said, looking over at Fleuri and hoping he was right on that front. If it were, then he had to wonder how often vampiric coups happened in the magocracies of the world. As much time as he spent giving the vampire grief, you'd think he'd have bothered learning more about her kind. If not out of casual interest, then atleast doing his duty as knight who wielded a supposedly holy relic of the sun goddess.
"Big thing it tells me is that a head on confrontation is a bad idea, if avoidable." He huffed, looking back towards the blackboard and monitoring the paladin's for hints of disapproval. "Take a hypothetical of me and Tyaethe coming to blows. Even ignoring the...considerable experience gap..." He admitted in annoyed tone, in a rare moment of honest acknowledgement of the diminutive vampire as his better. "I'd find it a difficult task to take her out in a straight up brawl, even with my reliquary. Vampire's don't fatigue as quickly and, in addition to supernatural strength, they're not as limited in how much force they CAN apply before hurting themselves. It's like getting into a dick measuring contest with a horse." He said, rolling his arms and shaking off what few phantom bruises he had from the last time Tyaethe ever graced him with a sparing match. A memory he wasn't eager to repeat anytime soon (not that he'd back down if the challenge WAS issued).

"You're better off getting them from behind where possible. Always going for the sure kill and taking off the head. Burning what is left if there is even a slight concern if THAT didn't finish them off." He finished, snorting irritably and feeling, if one would pardon the phrase, somewhat anemic when compared to the Undead Paladin. "Fucking cheaters..." he grumbled

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

Gillian

Interacting with: @PaulHaynek@Raineh Daze
Gillian shrugged off the glares of his companions, not really threatened by the heat of their ire. Partly because he was more or less used to such reactions and partly because...well, if they were going to actually attempt to hurt him, they would have done so."Eh. Not really a formal meeting. We're just shooting the shit as it were." he sighed, lounging back in his chair as the evening willed away into further mundane conversation.
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Gillian woke the next day, spiritually no worse for wear than the night before. Somehow he'd managed to NOT get executed in final duration of his stay as royal bodyguard, which frankly had left more than a few of his fellow knights more than a little surprised. "No faith, these people. I can have tact when I need to." he thought to himself as Tyathe wrote on the blackboard. He'd been dragged to this little lecture, ostensibly, as punishment for his behavior at the ball the previous evening. He wasn't going to complain. If the worse the Paladin was going to make him do was listen to her lecture about undead then he was getting off easy enough that just skipping out wasn't worth the effort.

Gillian stifled a chuckle at Jarde's...technically correct answer, though perhaps the wrong one for this situation. "Got it in one kiddo, but no partial credits here. The blue circle: alive, sapient undead and vampires, are all beings with active independent cognitions. Largely due to natural functions in the case of the alive subject." He said, leaning back in his chair far enough to be sitting on two legs. "For the sapient undead and vampire its because they've got something called a mana reactor....basically they're big natural storage units for life giving energy which is why they don't actively rot. As for the last one..."

"Unintelligent dead DON'T have an 'internal' source of mana. Animated either through necromancers or ambient mana in places that have seen some seriously fucked up shit. Mass graves from wars are a good example. They also don't generally use weaponry, what with being mindless, and come in a variety of interesting odors." He leans forward, his chair audibly cracking against the stone floor. "My personal favorite being 'fetid' by the by. All three undead types can be the product of necromancy, but sapient and vampires do occur naturally on their own." He added as he rattled off the cliff notes version of what little lore Parnella had drilled into his skull. Albeit he was fairly sure even THAT was abridged. "I miss anything there Ms. Radistirin?" He asked with a mock tone of a sweet school boy.

Advance on Distant Proxima (Mecha RPG)

Halim this post: "Do not worry I shall protect you!"
Also Halim this post: "My inner ear as exploded and I dont know what G-forces are. Why are my lungs moving inside me?"