Moonlit Sonata

Fate/Empty Providence

Ruler post will be up in approx. five hours, unless work decides to suddenly kick into high gear, in which case it'll be another 3-4 hours later.

Fate/Empty Providence

Holding off until a couple more posts have been made before the next Ruler post.

Fate/Empty Providence

Matou Archer

@Ijoyen

At the mention of a presence at the river, the Archer who had just spoken to Lorelei spoke up, a slight laugh lacing his tone. "If it's at the river and you detected a presence of the like that you're describing, then I can assure you what you encountered wasn't the target we're all after. All you'll succeed in by setting a trap there is potentially upsetting one of this war's Servants by launching a collaborative attack on her...familiar, I suppose you could call it." He explained. "And trust me, it's a blessing that I was able to keep her from coming. Let's not ruin that happy circumstance too quickly."

"Whatever it is that we're up against, it's not that. To me, the question's what this 'man' is aiming to do. Why kill a Servant and kidnap a Master? If it's well and truly not involved with any of us, then what reason does it have to stick its hand into the Grail War? Something this powerful almost certainly isn't just acting randomly without cause, or it'd be on a rampage. There's some motivation we need to crack."

---

???

You will be beloved by God.

You will be struck down by God.

You will tear apart mankind.

You will be steeped in rage.

You will forge something terrible.

You will herald the end of life.

You will serve under God.

You will create a legacy.

You will create a shadow.

Too much. It's too much.

It's horrifyingly, gut-wrenchingly too much.

Fate/Empty Providence

Ruler

"Hm." Ruler murmured aloud, turning from his burgers to glance at those who were in attendance, before turning back to the grill. When he did so though, he noticed that no fewer than four burgers had suddenly disappeared off of where he had plated them and into thin air. Where had they...

The sight of Airi scarfing down food like someone with an a spatial quarantine inside their body rather than a stomach was enough to answer that momentary question. And she was reaching for another one now too, was she even chewing or was she just swallowing them whole-

No, no, more important matters to focus on. Superhuman blight on the war. Right, right.

"...at this time, I've seen and obtained the true names of all Servants in this war. Or at least, all the ones summoned before the interloper's first appearance." Ruler spoke up, letting out a slight sigh. "Not that any of you would have a reason to hide this given that, as I've said, if this black-haired man was affiliated with a Master and Servant then there would be no violation of the rules present. But, all the same, this confirms that this being isn't the result of a Servant's creation, and I can't think that it's the work of a Master either. The number of magi capable of making familiars equal to Servants can likely be counted on one's hand, and if one of them had come here, I'm sure that would have made waves. In other words, I can be reasonably certain that we're dealing with a genuine third-party." He explained, letting out an irritated sigh.

At Airi's questioning, the Servant raised his hands up helplessly, before bringing them back down to set cheese on a burger. "The privileges of the Ruler class are nearly almighty against Servants, but that's only against Servants. With something like this, all I have to rely on is my own personal ability, and if this thing is capable of dealing with Knight-Class Servants easily, my power is almost certainly lacking. I'm aware of where Servants have largely been congregated, but the issue with this is that I'm sure none of your bases of operations cover much more than the immediate expanse of a house or a hotel room, at least in terms of Bounded Fields. We can rule out the workshops of the Masters, yes, but that's just pouring a few drops out of the bucket. As for using the kidnapped Master..."

Another exhale left the Servant as he shook his head. "While I can detect the locations of Servants, the same doesn't apply to Masters. Moreover, his contract has been severed with his Servant; now he's merely a magus in possession of unspent Command Seals. Unless one of those here has a means of locating a magus, that's just as much of a dead end."

---

Matou Archer

A slight chuckle left the Archer-class Servant as a girl approached him and proceeded to interrogate him about his abilities. "If you expect to be able to walk up to a Servant and have them happily reveal their abilities, I'm not sure what to tell you. If I was a more bitter man, I'd have been offended that you even asked." He replied simply. "Well, obviously ones like your partner and that war god over there are exceptions to the rule, though. If I was that overt about screaming out my true name, I can't imagine that would go over well with my Master, and for good reason."

"Frankly, I don't understand why you're just letting him scream out his name like that without mentioning that it might be a poor idea. That sort of approach is all well and good when we're cooperating, but once this threat's been dealt with, you'll want every relative advantage you can get your hands on." He said, dismissively waving a hand as he spoke. Evidently, he didn't seem to care much for the burgers that Ruler was preparing, or maybe it was better to say he was confused by their existence. An absurdity like Ruler who could adapt to the modern world as though he'd lived in it for years was rare, after all.

Casting a glance over at Rostam, he let out another brief laugh. There was that brief urge to draw his bow and strike him without holding back, to see if he'd be able to survive an attack made with true intent to kill behind it, but alas, he had to hold the boiling of his blood back. Besides, there were plenty of options to choose from among the Servants here when it came to prospective opponents; even if Rostam died, he was sure he'd be able to find a suitable one to play with. His eyes went to Siegfried as the thought crossed his mind, one that matched the garbled description Berserker had obtained about the one who killed her demon the previous night almost to a tee. He'd certainly be an interesting one if he could handle that defensive bulwark of a demon. Though, admittedly, earning Berserker's ire by killing 'her prey' was something even he wasn't eager to do.

"With that said, though, save for Ruler and myself, you and your partner should be the ones here that are most aware of just what it is that I bring to the table. It's not every day something managed to survive one of my arrows, after all." He remarked offhandedly, shooting Lorelei a knowing glance as he felt a grin play at the edge of his lips. "However, don't get cocky. Next time around I'll be shooting to kill."

Apotheosis

Two, Sabu

"Gahaha! Glad you asked!" Sabu spoke up sharply at Iris's question, seeming glad that someone had asked him specifically for something instead of the homunculus. "The options are practically infinite! A human restaurant for a meal that dwarfs our tribe's creations, the Adventurer's Guild, the Mage's Academy, the library, the military outpost, the marketplace, the only limit is your imagination!" He remarked, letting out another laugh as he leaned his torso back slightly.

Meanwhile, Two didn't seem to change his expression even slightly in reply to Sabu's outburst. "One, of course you are. So long as your soul's strong enough, you can at least try to learn magic, affinities aside. Having the affinity means you can train in that specific element, but even if you didn't have an affinity, there are countless forms of nonelemental magic. All of you can train in magic to some extent thanks to your souls, it'll just take some effort. Two, not any more than any other place. Its domain is ideal for things like earth, air, and water elemental essences. Like I said, volcanoes are your spot of choice. Three, there isn't. Even if there was, why would they listen to you? There are two to three humans in the world who the gods bother with at all, and that's because they're the peak of humanity. As four four..." He trailed off for a moment, shrugging slightly. "Who knows? It's just the incantation, plenty of them invoke gods and most of them are meaningless in doing so. Besides, almost all information on Vaish was lost in the Great War anyway."

Apotheosis

@Rune_Alchemist's character will be joining the group at Two's house shortly, been a bit busy so I haven't gotten a chance to keep that moving as quickly as I'd like.

Fate/Empty Providence

Posted Odysseus's half, mostly pertaining to the events the night before. I'm putting up it to @Beloss to bring Team Pirate over to the fields.

Before I get to Hisoka's post, however, what should have happened on the situation regarding Cao Cao? Shouldn something have happened the night before, or would we work the finer details once we're all at the meeting?

@Cu Chulainn

For now, you have temporary control over Cao Cao. We'll work out a permanent solution following the partymeeting.

Fate/Empty Providence

I was going to let @Holy Grail get a post up before I posted with Ernest, but I can post earlier if needed.

@DrowsyPangolin

If they don't post this evening then I'd recommend doing so, just so your team's accounted for.

Fate/Empty Providence

The meeting will begin properly once @Kost Alter's gotten a chance to get over there, and @Holy Grail, @DrowsyPangolin, @Cu Chulainn, and @Yukitamas have posted. The post that was just made is to help tide things over in the meantime.

Should it be deemed necessary, the meeting will begin properly on Tuesday if people are taking too long to post.

Fate/Empty Providence

Ruler, Eastern Field, Party Zone Meeting Place

Not everyone was present, he was sure of that, but it would be undoubtedly premature to brand those who were late as having decided to defy the invitation, especially given that Ruler could perceive a handful of Servants heading in the direction of the gathering. No, he'd continue waiting for a fair bit longer before he made any declaration of traitors to the cause of the Holy Grail War; haste made waste in a situation like this, just like that old woman at the grocery store two days ago had said.

The words of the once-Boxzerker were enough to make Ruler's expression harden as he moved some finished burgers off of the grill. "It is as he said, there is a blight on this war, which is why you have all been gathered here. A being that takes the form of a black-haired man, neither Servant nor monster, has interfered in this war. He has kidnapped a Master for unknown purposes, and struck down a Lancer-class Servant. If this entity is something acting on the part of any of you, then inform me immediately and this will all be forgotten, but my instincts inform me that this being is something that threatens the Grail War itself."

"...black-haired man?" The Archer who had been speaking to Ruler moments earlier repeated back, before shrugging slightly. "He's unrelated to my Master and I, at the very least."

Slight annoyance played across Ruler's expression after having been interrupted, but he took it in stride as he continued. "Put simply, a temporary armistice has been called until we devise a means of dealing with this threat. Those who have information on his abilities should come forward now. Moreover, those who participate in felling the interferer will be rewarded accordingly, especially if they take actions that harm their competitive standing. Should you have any questions, ask them now."