Mas Bagus

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Another explosion shook the entire building, thin dust and smoke filled the room, and splinters of wood loosely darted everywhere. Jazdia's fair feature feigned no emotion after realizing that today she had ended the lives of nearly a dozen people with her fiery blast. The gruesome nature of their death was a kind of a blessing in disguise that she had stomached a long time ago.

They had it coming. At least death came at the swiftest that way.

The elf squinted. Even after the explosion, her focus was never averted from her target, and she knew it when her arrow missed its target.
In sheer dismay, Jazdia drew her bow and aimed. But there was no retaliation coming out of the dust, that now has turned into a magical barrier. As if praising himself, the wizard announced:

"You are lucky I'm here, I'll heal you lot. Shoot the elf when the wall comes down, would you kindly?"

The commentary, though rather foolish and served nothing but to let Jazdia knows their next move and plan, was highlighting her vulnerability as well. In a split second, she scanned her surrounding, looking for something solid before being peppered by their bolts. Between her and those protected crossbowmen was the dining table, it was already pretty battered after surviving a large man and bear-man wrestling next to it. Her relentless bombardment had also caused the long wooden furniture to lose both of its forelegs and now slightly shifted from its original arrangement. It was still standing, albeit like a piece of long dilapidated roof

Should be enough.

Now immediately jumping toward the cover would be unwise. The slowness on their part had given her enough time to enchant her arrow. With Lurea drawn, Jazdia walked slowly toward the table, with her enchanted, yet unreleased arrow keeping the standoff remained in a stalemate.

Or perhaps that was what the enemy wanted?

The barrier now changed in color. No, it was a new one seamlessly integrating itself with the existing barrier. Jazdia watched those crossbowmen taking their position and having the injured magically tended risk-free. Healing spell, what an absolute defensive utility he got there.

There was nothing she could do about it. The clamor from the barbarian was now disrupted her focus. Her aim was almost swayed to end that prolonged ruckus, but her instinct told her that she must not let that wizard out of her sight.

Now arrived at the desired position, Jazdia took a deep breath and readied herself. The enchanted arrow released, but before unleashing the explosive charge, the command had been changed to the delayed explosion. The arrow landed on the wooden floor just a span away from the edge of the barrier, and she could see some of the henchmen recoil in fear. The second arrow imbued just as fast and embedded itself next to the first. The third arrow, the same treatment, although the strain had become more apparent and finally hit the hardest on the fourth. The elf ended the strafe with right-hand hurt as hell as if the tendons had all been severed and leaving two that barely connected, enough to be used to draw the fifth that was already nocked but not yet drawn.

She hoped those bastards would fire at her anytime now. So she could hunker down a bit before giving them hell as she had promised.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

The elf sighed. Her fingers held the bowstring tightly as she added additional draw and released the arrow with impunity. It whistled past the henchmen, and the Baron himself and ended its trajectory on the magically reinforced wall near the spiral wooden stairs. The wall survived the blast, but the same could not be said for the stairs, or the Baron.

Another arrow nocked, and the encroaching glow on its head blared like a prelude to an impending carnage. The surviving henchmen were still there, and some of them were ready to fire their crossbows frantically.

They had to be eliminated first.

And thus, the arrow released.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

When her arrow exploded, Jazdia could sense something breaking from the wizard itself. She activated her eyes and saw one of his glowing artifact crumble and disintegrate, and what remains was the expanded glow that encased himself before it too faded into thin air.

All that to guard a single arrow, and the wizard obviously didn look happy with that revelation. Even more so if he could count the number of flethed shaft jutting out of Jazdia quiver and the amount of energy she has and regenerated.

Anyway, the crews were here. By the wizard's order they immediately worked on to 'keep them occupied' and how they would do that was by forming ranks and setting up a firing line.

Before a bolt could be fired, a glowing arrow flew across the table and harmlessly stabbed one of the guard's shield. Predictable, and they should have laughed, but the arrow only gave them one second before blasting the formation with fiery explosion.

While the explosion claimed several of them and disoriented a few more, the crew on the right side of the formation returned fire. Jazdia leaped to the right and take cover behind the table. Leaving the stray projectile to the gentleman behind her.

She could hear several twang and thunds and all bolts had been masterfully deflected, and the one responsible for such art was none other than Chonan.

The arrow enchanted in no time, while the arbalesters were cowering behind their shieldguards, occupied themselves with reloading their inelegant wooden bolt launchers in fear.

Lurea was already aimed and ready to sing.

Jazdia kept her finger holding the string for now, however. She had two options; either to continue decimating the formation, or blast the damn wizard some more. She picked neither and called out loud. "Baron! We are here for a certain prince you have been unlawfully held hostage in this tower. Leave this room and you will be the enemy of the state-- no, your doom will come a way sooner! We will not leave this keep without any brick unturned. I'm only three fingers away from turning this ordeal into a complete bloodbath. But if you willing order your men to stend down and let us do our job, I guarantee you we can work this out. Make your choice!"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

One can be forgiven for thinking that Jazdia's tendency to give ample warning before escalating the situation stemmed from her elven heritage that value lives whenever possible, but no. It was actually for her own benefit; it was easier to kill when you know the enemy deserved it and yet refuses to make a better call. Call it reckless, injudicious, or exploitable weakness, she did not care, it was a hell lot easier to sleep with more bruises than a dent in her conscience.

Kaito, however, being her closest associate in this sorties apparently did not share a similar code of honor. Three illusionary copies of him joined the effort with his real self to attack the old man from four different directions but then got repelled easily as he conjured an invisible force to shield himself and knock the incoming fox away with its backlash.

For the record, Kaito started it, triggering a premature engagement that the mage himself had already made clear that would only prolong this banter and the fight has to happen anyway.

The arrow released as naturally as it was a breathing motion. An immediate answer for the wizard's refusal to reconsider his stance on this impertinent action of ruining a good breakfast and high treason. To respond to that feedback, his book sprang to life and deflected the arrow, then some more others that came subsequently.

The arrow landed a mere meter away from the wizard's foot, but he turned to his subordinate instead, sparing some words to berate him before sending forth a doping spell. While the arrow was ignored as if it was a mere failure; an elegant way to mock Jazdia's magical aptitude and deem it unworthy of attention.

The violet luster on that arrow was never intended to steal attention, it was, in fact, a side effect that Jazdia would be more than happy to get rid of. But that was how it was. And it glowed even brighter now before a small eye contact from Jazdia's violet eyes triggered its magical fuse.

As the fire and dust and crystalized fragment erupted violently on the floor in front of the wizard, Jazdia prepared another arrow and have it enchanted with explosive command.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Well, and here she thought both were on equal footing.
After some dramatic lifting, the bear was thrown away like a potato sack and collided with a summonsed undead that Solomon had conjured from God knows when. The specter's reaction to his summoning was equally boastful, befitting his masculine voice and a full set of armor. Knight in... err ghostly armor? Good thing he didn't seem as difficult as his mannerism suggest.

--until Cedar grab the guy and avenged the throw-away he received earlier to an unrelated bystander. Well, at least it closes the gap between them.

Jazdia did not have enough attention to see the aftermath of their little game of undead ping-pong, her eyes caught a silhouette of an elderly man entering the room.

"Got a crooked ol' conjuror inna room!"

"Yeah, I can see that."

Like the previous unexpected guests, this particular wizard pranced into the battlefield with an equally prideful boast as his big lackey was. Only less swaggering and more pompous. A quick ultravision on that wizard revealed a copious amount of magical nodes, probably coming from artifacts with unknown properties. As for Ragnar, the magical aura was more uniform and intense.

So that explained his immense durability. Even when having one of his legs bent like a crooked branch, the man didn't seem bothered. The arrow was still lodging there, and she had imagined its glowing head would burn inside the man's neck-- cauterizing the wound. Wait.. did she miss his jugular? Or was the enchantment so sophisticated it was able to ignore physics?

The fatigue in her eyes did not allow Jazdia to activate her ultravision right now, unless if she was willing to pay the price. Didn't matter! The enemy was here, and she had enough power to demolish the entire tower if she needs to. Drawing another fully enchanted arrow, Jazdia aimed at the wizard.

"Hold it right there, not one incantation or you will see hell! You don't want me to be your enemy!"

And there she was, joining the trend involving conspicuous remarks and prideful one-liners.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

The big idiot was so busy with his opening speech that somebody was making a move at him. It was Cedar; the polearm swung expertly as if the entire country's penchant for blade-on-stick was not a mere moniker, even for the most uncivilized social caste.

Not content on merely enjoying the show, Jazdia joined the fray, but with Cedar making his move and placing himself in her line of fire, Jazdia moved sideways.

The arrow was enchanted immediately, but she took a moment to scan her surrounding; The door was
there, a dozen meters or so. Still closer to them than to the enemy, and apparently locked. For now, that was the only detail she could conclude, for her eyes were already burning, and by pure instinct, the see-through vision wanes and returned to normal.

She took some more side steps toward the exit, but not too far from her team. Lurea was drawn, and the big brute was staring eye-to-eye with another, yet more beastly brute when Jazdia's arrow launched toward his neck.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Jazdia suddenly regretted giving that suggestion.

Not only the valuable food was haphazardly tossed, but now there was a bear snorting... a mixture of nasal and food matter onto the floor. Regardless of the despicableness of its owner, a dining room was supposed to be a sanctuary free from any filth and misbehavior. And now it has been soiled so badly she almost felt sorry for the Baron.

”Jaz, can you see how many people are coming?”

"Two dozen or so. It's like a bloody convention up there."

As critical as their situation seemed to be, it took those henchmen a while to descend to the second floor. Enough for Kaito to cast a spell to make a copy of themselves.

The bear stood close by, now brandishing a polearm stolen from a nearby display, instead of, you know the old-fashioned maulings and biting.

"That's very human of you. And piked weapon?" the elf groaned. "Why does everyone in this country so obsessed with polearms?!"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Jazdia was so damned sure the food wasn't spiked she could literally bring it to her restaurant and it would pass quality control by Anderson himself. So what gives? Either the Baron knew their MOs and deliberately set up the serving. She looked up, the danger was closing in, but as her sight descended back to the current room he saw a wizard incanting some spell from a wooden box on the second floor. So either spiked or the place was filled with paralyzing hexes.

The big guy started to collapse, but then struggle to shake it off, causing a ruckus on the table and even more when he bellowed before attempting to wash off the mess from his muzzle, which caused even more clamor.

At this point, between the host and the guest, whoever violated the sacred hospitality was no longer discernable.

"We noticed."

"About time." She murmured. An arrow, enchanted with less-than-usual-magic embedded itself on the floor near the door. Acting as a trip mine.

"Wadda hells jus' happen!?" he bellowed. "I's been tryin' ta FUGGIN AVOID goin's all face-daown in muh damn dinner, an sum sunsabitch goes an' plunks me innit anuhways!? I'll KEEL im! ... ... I gots it up muh damn nose!"

"Snort it out. We've got more company to entertain us."
Another arrow nocked on her bow. Realizing that they were not in optimal number, Jazdia kicked Rosenving's chair, causing the sleepy noblewoman to fall over.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

"The pleasure is mine. Sir Von Kruber."

Though smiling, Jazdia's violet eyes watchfully fixed on the Baron. The bowl had been set aside, almost empty, with its utensil perched nicely atop it. She heard the whisper alright, but ignored it. This place was still a madhouse no matter how friendly the reception was, and as long as a such state remained maintained, she had no desire to be the one who break the facade.

"It was just you, Master Cedar." the elf spared a moment of her attention to the bear-man and shrugged.

"Interesting you mentioned something about guess." she continued, reaching for the napkin to wipe her lips and palm. Despite the use, the piece of cloth remained folded in a cone shape fold, but now had its pointy end directed at the Baron. "I will be more upfront with you. We are here for one of your guests who arrived here six, or seven days ago. Important person-- so obviously he had several escorts with him, keeping him safe, or perhaps they were with him to prevent him from taking another path?"

The elf leaned on her chair, still seizing the nobleman with her piercing glance. "Blonde. Blue eyes. Roughly in his mid-teen. Do you still remember this particular guess?"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Considering that Jazdia herself was a guest in Kindeance, she hoped that it would be Matilda who introduced her. The orc captain unsurprisingly did not interested.

"Ah, where are my manners?" smiling, Jazdia put down the utensil and placed her palm on her chest. "The name is Jazdia Crystalspark. I am Fred's-- I mean his Highness Fredricus's long-time acquaintance. Currently a citizen of Helvetia, and a restaurateur by trade. On my right side is Miss Yvonne from Rosenving Clan, our mutual acquaintance Madame Matilda, next to her was Doctor Solomon, and our woodland guide, Master Cedar." Jazdia looked at Kaito and reassured herself. "And last but not least, Sir Jurgen Von Drexel whom you had the pleasure of exchanging pleasantries with."