Izurich

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

--Athroyeaux Castle - Throne Room--

@Estylwen @LunarParadox @ERode

Oh, he knew, they both knew, excellent.

For a brief moment in time, "Melisande's" shadow seemed to curl a jaw-splitting grin, stretching from ear to ear; umbramancy, a trick of the mind, or perhaps something else entirely? Twas' of no importance, certainly not as much as the vindictive joy Kronos had upon the prospect of finally meeting an ally of its own, one who could properly understand its existence. Perhaps, these Faux-Shadeborns weren't so worthless after all.

"I'm here merely to accompany my liege Lord Blackthorne, Your Majesty, Lady Teardrop." Falsehood, deception, Kronos couldn't care less about the Half-Elven Court Mage, all it wanted was to return home, and preferably without Melisande perishing and dragging Evelyn with it along the way. This... spectral monarch could be the key to its salvation. Rejoice, Ghost King, not many mortals - even former ones - could claim to be owed favors from the Dremora of Time.

Then, Kronos figuratively left the spotlight, allowing the Court Mage and the Duke of Odonfield to make their own introductions.

For the benefit of both itself and its Lilim host, Kronos keenly observed through the simulacrum's eyes and ears, committing what was transpiring before it. The False Queen's plans, it already knew, but the Ghost King's response to her hubris? This one was new.

How peculiar, a weapon capable of slaying those thalassic titans, so they meant to slay the monster after it's awakened instead of interrupting the summoning process in the first place, perhaps by slaying Evelyn herself? Interesting... however, if one considered that Lamont wanted her alive, then it'd answer everything.

The sovereign of wraiths forward his proposal, who shall be the worthy bearer of this blade? A rhetorical inquiry as far as Kronos was considered, it wasn't a question as much as a nomination.

The Duke of Odonfield shall wield the Titanslayer and fell the Beast of the Deep.

"If she truly wishes to resort to such lengths to consolidate her power, then I... no, it's the duty of all to stop her hubris, even if one supports her to the very end, she knows not what she's about to do. I do not believe for a moment that such a behemoth would answer to anyone but itself." Platitudes, redundant statements, but such was the way of the court, "So, Your Lordship, please, for all of our sakes." The Lilim Simulacrum nodded solemnly at the only Human among them.

Retconned

--Hathforth Pier - The Battle-Blood Minstrel--

@Estylwen @LunarParadox

Immediately after Eirwen passed through the Dimension Door, Melisande followed him and dispelled the portal behind her. Then, she too bowed before the Wizard Queen.

"Few things are more precious than your praise, Your Majesty." The Lilim closed her eyes with a grateful smile. For all of her flaws, the Wizard Queen was one of the finest wielders of the arcane and for one's magical talents to be acknowledged by her was nothing to scoff at. Just for this moment, Melisande allowed the euphoria of accomplishment to wash over her, tactfully of course.

Upon the Sovereign of Arrowfell's request, Melisande straightened herself then gracefully nodded, "By your word, Your Majesty." The execution of the drunkard duke? Hmmm... unfortunate, but no one in their right mind would be able to deny that he brought the whole thing upon himself.

"The honor is mutual, Lord Urimyar, please, lead the way." The Court Apprentice followed along the queen's advisor, heading into the belly of the wooden beast, and the kingdom certainly spared no expenses at emulating the splendors of the royal castle within the vessel's decks. Security too it seemed, as the famous Captain Roderic of the Iron Hand could be witnessed frolicking with his band.

"..." In silence, Melisande took in the sights, but shifted her attention to Vuluin once he began speaking, "I see, please give our thanks to Her Majesty." But then with a single sentence, he revealed his true intentions...

...and at that very moment, Melisande found faculty over her own body abruptly robbed from her as she became a passenger in her-self.

Kronos, what are you-...?

Be still and let me save our lives.

Unbeknownst to any observers, the Lilim standing before them was no longer Melisande, but they would be none the wiser.

"Ah, that, twas' our efforts to identify Her Majesty's enemies, Milord," Kronos - as Melisande - answered calmly, "Not too long ago, we were approached by a servant of the so-called Ghost King, Lamont DuFairre, she called herself Valor Teardrop." It paused, letting its words sink in, "She wished to conspire with us, Milord, the servant invited us to speak with her liege himself at his court in Athroyeaux Castle, far north from here. We decided to humor this invitation, see what schemes he had in store for Her Majesty."

"I sent my Simulacrum to Ravenfell, but Master here was courageous enough to attend by himself, risking life and limb, bravery that I do not possess." Kronos nodded at Eirwen before continuing, "Duke Laurent Rhinecliff was present too, Milord, summoned by the Ghost King, and this wraith... he planned terrible, terrible things." Kronos puppeteered Melisande's brows to frown, convincingly emulating an expression of concern, "He wished to abduct Her Majesty, no doubt to nefarious ends, and to accomplish this, he bequeathed a ghostly artifact to Duke Rhinecliff, then invited all three of us to conspire with him."

Truth? Deception? Both, after all, the most convincing lies were ones based on truth. Speaking of such half-truths...

"Shocked by this invitation to commit high treason, I wholeheartedly refused, the notion of biting the hand that had given me so much was inconceivable..." Kronos then sighed, heavily, "However, with a heavy heart, I have to tell you that Duke Rhinecliff held no such loyalty, he acquiesced to cooperate, but we all expected that, it's an open secret that he had no love for Her Majesty, indeed, his betrayal wasn't what unsettled us the most, instead..." Kronos' indigo gaze then shifted toward Eirwen, barely-restrained revulsion on its Lilim visage.

"That Lord Blackthorne too acceded to the scheme."

KRONOS!!!

Hush. Despise me all you want, feyling, but I will not let the False Queen and her ilk triumph, and be honest, you never truly cared for the Half-Elf.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Oh lmao, I definitely forgot that Meli and Eirwen were also in the scene kekek.

@ERode

Massive Skill Issue

Arpeggio of Blue Steel: The Phantom Fleet (OPEN)

I'm here. 😎 Pinning my interest.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

--Mizutane Mansion - Outskirts--

The briefing prior to the Kirins' next assignment was quite straightforward this time around, most especially when compared to their desert excursion. This time, they knew exactly who the target was and where she'd be, no more searching for the needle in the sandstack.

Mizutani Tane, Eve might have heard her name being passed around during her time in Kugane, and though she lacked any personal vendetta against the crime lord unlike Izayoi and Cyradil, the fact she was working for Valheim alone was enough to warrant her death. Exterminate this bootlicking pest in exchange for transport to Drana Asneau? Sounds like a win-win. This 'Captain Bikke' better hold his end of the deal... but then again, if they succeeded in this mission, the Kirins would've proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that they could handle a bigger fish than him so...

And that was how Eve found herself gathered at the outskirts of an Ospreyan-style mansion alongside Team Kirin, well, everyone except...

"... ... ..."

Upon Cyradil's arrival, Eve glared at her dress-clad form with unblinking slitted crimsons, an almost unreadable (lack of) expression on her scaled visage, but if one looked close, one could detect the faintest hint of annoyance from the Pseudolon.

Closing her eyes with a silent sigh, Eve turned her attention back to the party, the ones who weren't reckless enough to act on their own.

In other circumstances, she would mention to them that they could simply vaporize the manor and everyone in it with a well-placed Mega Flare, the option was there, they had only needed to ask. Alas, they needed Tane unvaporized for interrogation, and even if they didn't, sacrificing Cyradil for a single rat was out of the question. Right, what other options did they have?

Eve were all earholes as she listened to what everyone had to say about the matter. So far - minus the unmentioned nuclear option - the choices were: scale the exterior, slip through an alternate entrance, or simply barge through the main gates. The last one didn't seem so unfeasible considering what the team was collectively capable of, but...

"If interrogating Mizutane is our goal, then charging through the front may alert her and give her enough time to slip away." Eve chimed in. After all, she was a filthy rat and rats were nothing but excellent escape artists.

Miina mentioned a rope, that was fair, Eve didn't need it personally courtesy of her dragon wings, neither did Galahad with his dragoon powers, but the others might, others like Arton, Eliane, Esben, Izayoi, Miina herself, Robin, and last but not least, Rudolf...

"..." Rudolf Sagramore, the Blight-Host. Eve found her gaze locked at him, not upward at his eyes, but straight on, toward the center of his chest, where his tainted heart continued to beat. Even now, it'd be a lie to claim she didn't have the occasional fleeting thoughts of putting the corrupted Sollan out of his misery; it was the right thing to do, it'd be for the greater good, despite what he claimed, he wouldn't want to continue living this wretched existence, all of these justifications her mind tried to conjure, and it took conscious effort to push these sentiments away. It'd have been so easy... a single precision lightning bolt into his chest while he slept, then it'd all be over.

Tch...

The False-Dragon gritted her teeth, rubbing the bridge of her nose, hoping the others would blame Cyradil's shenanigans as the culprit instead of the monster hunter.

"In that case, let us depart now. I can soar over the walls just fine, but I don't have the strength to carry any of you, so please figure out how each of you are going to accomplish this feat, and preferably sooner than later."

For her part, once everyone's mind was set, she'd simply remove her cloak, spread her wings, then fly over the compound walls.

A Sea of Spells [Chapter 1: A Scrap in The Galley]

If I have a nickel for when everytime a GM took a short hiatus due to work-related stuff and announced they'll be back soon, only for them to vanish, I'd have two nickles, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

On a more serious note, I had great fun so far writing all of you, even if this ship sinks (hopefully not, but y'know), I hope to see you again in another place at another time.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

The Brilliant Director Hojo

"WHAAAAAAAT?!! An unearthly bellow violently reverberated through the laboratory, courtesy of one Director Hojo, the Brilliant, the Genius, and last but not least, also the Furious. However, to be fair to the Sollan scientist, how could he not be? Especially as he watched the footage of the fight between the Undead Samurai against the Lord of Hellfire himself, recorded by the airship after the two breached onto the surface sometime during their duel. Thing was, even he wasn't delusional enough to not see that the former was dominating the latter.

The walking corpse of a swordsman almost slaying Grayscale was expected, she was a nascent Eidolon, still a whelp compared to the Dragon King, she had yet to fully blossom, far from it, but this... this was the Ifrit, the Primal whose essence was used to create Project Hellfire. For the Flamelord himself to struggle against a mere undead...

"No, this must be an anomaly, yes, an exception that proves the rule, extraneous and unidentified circumstances affecting Ifrit's strength..." Hojo began to ramble as he paced around the room, one hand clasping and unclasping behind his back while the other held his chin, "Perhaps meddling with the crystals affected the Primals in one way or another, after all, they're connected to the planet itself, that must be it, indeed, this is the reason why I authored this megaproject, to create Eidolons unshackled by the whims of Etro..."

"Or perhaps these Eidolons aren't as mighty as you assumed them to be." His assistant suddenly quipped, cutting off the senior scientist's ramblings.

"..." Earning him a veritable death glare from Hojo, "What did you just say, ...boy?!"

"I said..." The glare seemed to accomplish nothing but encouraging him further, "Perhaps you're overestimating the might of these so-called Primals, perhaps you are..." He paused, just long enough to build up the anticipation, "Wrong~"

"Why you little-...?!!" With a snarl, Hojo charged with all the fury his untrained middle-aged body muster, only to find the pretentious assistant easily dodging to the side, then suddenly held a stiletto to his neck, "...-?!"

"Careful, Director, you aren't quite cut out for this kind of thing," The assistant's face abruptly morphed, turning feminine as his dark hair shifted hues to blonde and brown irises to maroon red, "Leave it to us, the professionals~" She chuckled, amusement palpable in her visage before releasing the scientist and stowing away the knife in her - stolen - white coat.

"Loki..."" Hojo spat, "Don't you weasels have anything better to do? And who are you to accuse me of failure, you couldn't even properly handle a mere retired general, your ilk slaughtered everyone in that shithole of a village, except for the one cat you're supposed to murder."

"Oh, that? I've done my part and provided the information, and as much as you refuse to believe it, it took no small effort to track the Limbtaker down, it's not my fault that she just so happened to be away the exact moment our forces arrived." Loki shrugged, nonchalantly taking the failure in stride, "I can only do so much, but what I can do, I do it well, unlike..." Instead of continuing, she simply let her gaze finish her words.

"After all, Director, as you said," Loki curled a smirk of undiluted smug, "Extraneous circumstances do exist. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to return these clothes~" Then promptly left the laboratory.

Left by himself with a bruised pride, Hojo's fingers curled into tight fists, his throat growling.

"CURSE YOU, ARCADIUUUUUUUUUSSS!!"

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

--Nieve - Castle Plaza--

"-ants!! Eh?" The bloodfeeding youkai blinked when she heard someone addressing her, apparently she wasn't so enraged as to not be able to pause and listen, and maybe the fact it was coming from a familiar figure also played a part. Regardless, still vexed as she might be, Remilia turned her deeply frowning face at Anne, "Nnngh... fine, you handle these two lowborns."

Amazingly, Anne placated the demanding vampiress to step back so she could handle the negotiations. Things were going well... but as soon as the guards had the gall to turn her away from the royal castle and send the group to a mere embassy instead, everyone in the area could feel Lady Scarlet's tempers rising once more. "Yo- whaaa?!" However, before she could boil over into another tirade, the quietest member of the trio unceremoniously grabbed her, as if she's a wicker basket!

"@%$&?!!"

Whatever Remilia said during her bouts of kicking and screaming in Fran's vice-like grip were best never mentioned...

"Mmmngh..." Then, by the time they arrived at the embassy, the oh-so-charismatic Scarlet Devil was pouting and fuming with her arms crossed at her chest. Referred to a mere ambassador, a high nobility like her? How preposterous, this was an utter disgrace to her honor.

With indignant noises and growls still vibrating from her throat, Remilia was more than happy grumpy to let Anne do the talking this time.

@Drifting Pollen @Rezod92

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Bro's gonna have like, week-long waits inbetween receiving people, considering how far away Ravenfell is from most duchies.

@ERode

Dw, time is the one thing he has all in the world.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

My derpy brain just realized that just like the Hearthfire Gala, the people invited by DuMont are arriving one by one instead of all at the same time like a football team lol