Psyker Landshark

Iris Ascendis

btw skip me this round, I'm busy with Elden Ring
Iraleth doesn't have much to contribute here anyway

SPIRITUM

Kalina Kovalic

Kalina didn't bother changing once they were settled in. Instead, she sat atop the roof of the RV, legs hung out over the side, gunblade laid across her lap as she tended to it with oil and cleaning cloth. She nodded absently to Justice's explanation. Sure, court martials were bad, and they should probably leave this sort of shit to the higher ups. If only they weren't asleep at the moment.

As Gerard brought up the topic of watch, Kalina dutifully raised a hand, waiting for him to toss the phone into it.

"Already up here anyway." Besides, she liked having an uninterrupted sleep cycle. What was a slightly later bedtime in exchange for it? "Want me to wake everyone up in case we do get a call?"

Once that was all sorted out, Kalina looked back towards Justice again, letting her gunblade fade away into her mist pocket once she was done with it.

"Your take on all this, boss? Convenient for us if this is internal and Vangar's killing each other over internal politics now, yeah?"

@OwO

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

Renar Hagen

"Captain," Renar started in a reproachful tone before sighing and giving it up as a bad job. Blast it all. Of course Fanilly had to take the exact opposite decision that he would have.

He could see her thought process: keep the demoness occupied so that the other team had a better chance without interference. Though that also meant the mage would only be occupied with one side rather than have to divide her attention between two. It was a rather conservative tactic that he wasn't quite fond of, but this wasn't exactly a dire enough situation that he'd seriously consider dereliction of duty in the pursuit of victory.

Fortunately, Sir Rolan had the presence of mind to immediately resume the climb once enough attention was taken off of himself. Good. That meant there wasn't a problem if Renar and the captain continued to tie the demon up.

Renar made two quick thrusts with the spear tip of his poleaxe, deliberately creating an opening in his stance. Just a tiny bit extended too far. Any competent warrior would see it and try to capitalize. So long as the demoness did, he'd immediately riposte by swinging the counterweight on the other end of the haft around vertically, trying to bring it down upon Krysia's head.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

By the way, I'm gonna be gone for a good few days playing the Elden Ring DLC, don't expect shit from me for a while

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Lady Safina Haliel

Safina allowed herself a very visible roll of her eyes as the duke practically fled the room. Typical. Were it not completely against her cover as just a lady-in-waiting, a slight application of force could have held him there longer. Still, at least it told her that he had absolutely no intention to pay what he owed. The man wasn't unintelligent; he had to have known this would be a red flag. Just up and leaving when a representative of the Queen questioned him was actionable.

There were other ways to find out what he was up to. A snap of her fingers had the pair of guards outside the office step in, closing the door shut behind them as Safina silenced the room with a Muffle spell.

"My lady." They saluted. "Orders?"

"Whitley, I want eyes on Duke Rhinecliff for as long as he remains in Hathforth. Jensen, return to the barracks. Inform Adrienna and Grugin that they're to join Whitley in establishing surveillance on the Duke. Then send a runner to the Odonfield cell. Accelerate the infiltration timeline. We need eyes and ears in his castle's staff by the time he returns home."

"By your command, Grandmaster." The two Concord members in disguise as castle guards promptly about-faced and left to fulfill their orders, the Muffle spell ending shortly after. With that out of the way, Safina took a moment to take a breath and compose herself from the sharp-gazed Grandmaster she was to the socialite and lady-in-waiting she pretended to be.

She returned to the throne room shortly after, quietly watching the proceedings until there was an opportunity to step in. Once Duchess Bastille's gift was accepted, and wasn't that another one that needed watching, Safina quickly stepped towards Vulluin. Protocol dictated that she relay this through him first, and it would cause less alarm either way.

"Inform the queen, quietly, that Duke Rhinecliff is welching on any conversation regarding his taxes. I'll be having him followed, but for now, there's no need to make a scene until we have more actionable intelligence." While any monarch would be well within their rights at this point to make a move against a delinquent subordinate, going after a powerful noble over taxes was asking for unrest. No, best to have further proof of misdeeds to make the case ironclad before proceeding further.

@Estylwen @Donut Look Now

Post deletion request

Accidental double post made.

roleplayerguild.com/posts/5532776

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Ranbu no Izayoi

Hien and Izayoi both began to field the various questions asked, speaking in turn to each inquiry.

"Indeed," Izayoi nodded in agreement to Rudolf's sentiment. "The presence of the Blight will at least ensure a minimum of sapient contact from bandits and the like, though yes, Blightbeasts will likely be an issue." She started to say something further in response to Miina and Robin, but Rudolf beat her to it. Curious that the boy knew so much about magics. Every desert dweller knew of the illusion that was magical water out on the dunes, but a monster hunter from some backwater in Edren ought not to be too familiar with the laws of aetheric transfiguration.

"He speaks truly. Water produced by magic will not nourish the body in any way, but your ice magics should still be able to alleviate heat. Though I would not recommend expending too much of your mana on such, in case of Blightbeast attack."

Meanwhile, Hien looked to Esben.

"Taking advantage of the chaos you all have left from the previous night. Valheimr corpses line the streets, and the entire city saw the Proudclad fall. No matter how the occupiers try to dress it, this was a resounding defeat for them. I hope to win more to our cause and rally those who were scattered by the previous raids. Anything further, well. My apologies, but I'll not risk saying further until you return safely, in case anyone is captured on this mission. You understand, surely." He paused.

"As for the other matter, Lady Ciradyl has relayed your suggestion. We can discuss it further upon your return."

"Unfortunately, I am familiar with the distance we are set to venture toward. Without the wagon, we cannot transport enough water for the lot of us to sustain ourselves on the journey to and back. Considering the Blight, any local source of water is likely tainted." Izayoi said to Galahad. "Our funds are at your discretion past the necessities."

"You leave on the morrow. Good hunting, and godsspeed." Hien nodded, leaving the Kirins to sort out market shopping and preparing for the rest of the day.

___

Five days later...

The party left Kugane and began the journey northeast. They followed the river north for the first two days, preserving their precious water. Osprey's plains turned to savannah a day out, followed by desert not long after. They journeyed as long as they could before leaving the relative safety of the riverbank, starting to march through the desert proper.

From the moment they set foot into the dunes, not a day passed where they weren't attacked by Blightbeasts. Wolves, scorpions, hawks, snakes, it seemed half the desert was warped by the infernal affliction, and packs of beasts attempted to ravage the small caravan as they passed through their territory. Fortunately, they were all rather easily repelled, the party's recent experiences hardening them against threats and battle.

Finally, at the end of the third day, the Kirins reached the portion of desert that Valheim had been sighted in. The sand-blasted remnants of a settlement by an oasis loomed in the distance, gunfire and swords audible. As they closed in, the party could see lightly-armored Valheimr, what plate they wore covered in desert ponchos, falling back in good order against a horde of Blightbeasts, a massive, mutated sand worm at the vanguard. The worm tore through soldiers three at a time, gunfire sinking into it to little avail.

"Blast!" A woman in officer's armor snarled, continuing to signal the retreat. "Fall back, full retreat!" A comms man knelt next to her, handing her a radio attached to the massive pack he bore. "Base, requesting exfiltration and deployment of the Project! We're being overrun!"

As the party closed in further, a pair of airships closed the distance from the north towards the ruined village, cannons blasting at the horde. It cleared out the majority of the beasts, but the sand worm only seemed enraged by twelve-pounder fire, howling through its wounds. One airship broke off to retrieve the surviving Valheimr, while the other continued straight for the massive Blightbeast. It stopped directly over the worm, and a figure shot out of its hold, crashing straight down. A moment later, the worm froze in place before wailing piteously, splitting vertically in half a moment later. Black ichor coated the sands as the projectile dropped from the airship rose up.

It was an armored man, if men stood to near eight feet tall. The armor was rich purple and befit a giant, ending in a horned helm resembling a death mask. Clutched in one hand was a crimson katana of immaculate make, its quality as an artifact obvious. Izayoi froze in place as the party drew close enough to confront the figure, her breath hitching.

"That sword...how dare you bear it!" The samurai hissed, hunching down into an iai stance. "Kurogane's masterwork is not for the likes of you to wield!"

The retreating Valheimr officer waited for the last of her men to board the other airship as she beheld the Kirins from a distance, jerking back as she seemed to recognize them.

"So these are the ones from Reisa's all-points-bulletin. No matter, Project Revenant will deal with them. The scientists will be glad to have more combat data, at least." She turned and boarded, the Valheimr in full retreat on one airship as the other remained within the area, seemingly observing the coming battle.

The Revenant beheld the fighters before it, raising its sword.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

An unearthly howl emerged from its helm before it charged, swifter than even Izayoi as it suddenly stepped into the midst of their formation, the crimson katana it wielded lashing out seemingly everywhere at once.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

knock knock, it's the IRS

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Lady Safina Haliel

For someone who'd spent the formative years of her life as a street urchin, one would think Safina would be rather taken by the novelty of masquerading as a noble, attending balls regularly, wearing a slinky black dress more expensive than entire towns' worth, and living in a castle, of all things. One would be wrong. She had better things to do than this constant maintenance of her cover. Like actually being back out in the field, overseeing her Concord's cells. Unfortunately, Evelyn liked her little galas far too much for Safina's taste. And it was either put up with this or deal with constantly sneaking in and out of Hathforth Castle to report in.

So Safina kept a thin smile on her lips, her gaze not so much insincere as it was just aloof. Her ears picked up various whispers around the court, but she didn't react outwardly to any of them. Nothing of particular importance, just the same insipid gossip ad nauseum.

And then something interesting happened. Duke Rhinecliff, in the flesh. Well, well. Wasn't this a surprise? Safina wasn't sure if this move was bold or foolish, considering his arrival did nothing to make up for the veritable ledger of unpaid taxes his duchy owed. A preemptive move to try to save face? Or something else? Her eyes traced over Eirwen for a moment, searching for his reaction to the Duke's arrival. Nothing. Of course not. The mage had been more than good at keeping a steady poker face in court.

Then Evelyn called upon her, and Safina stepped forward, curtsying before she rose.

"As Your Highness bids. If you'll follow me, Duke Rhinecliff?" Safina gestured towards the Duke, turning and walking away while expecting him to follow. She led the man out of the throne room and through a few adjacent hallways before entering a small office.

"Sit, by all means." That cool smile was still plastered on her face as she sunk into the plush chair behind the desk, opening it to pull out a ledger, which she opened.

"Empty." Her gaze was sharp. A servant entered, pouring the both of them a goblet of wine each, before bowing and making a hasty departure. Safina ignored her cup, her focus on the Duke. "Your show of fealty is appreciated, of course. But the Crown would rather prefer a more material demonstration of loyalty than symbolic. Nearly a year's worth of unpaid taxes. And do not lie to me; Odonfield is more than prosperous at the moment." The implication that it could change.

"So where, oh where, could all your tax revenue be? Personal debts? Church ties? Keeping artists and scholars fed? Faith and culture are all very well and good, Duke Rhinecliff, but just as your people pay their taxes to you, their feudal lord, so too must you pay your duchy's share to the Crown."

Safina's gaze was more predatory than anything now, a glint in her eyes.

"By all standards, you are little better than a debtor right now. That little show to the Queen has bought you the courtesy of a chance to come clean. Or at least to work out the beginnings of a payment plan. One way or another, my lord, Hathforth will have what it is due. Are we clear?"

@Donut Look Now