vietmyke

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Galahad Caradoc

Mentions: @Ithradine, @Izurich, @Click This

"Arton with me!" Galahad bellowed, his voice cutting through the chaos of battle. Miina's spell had taken out the leadership, and the soldiers surrounding him were beginning to crumble, their focus dividing as they faced attack from multiple angles. Bounding forward, Galahad leaped and swerved, juking his way through oncoming fire before straighting out the last dozen yards and bursting forward with his halberd held before him. The Dragoon crashed into the fractured enemy formation, impaling the foremost soldier with the point of his weapon like a cavalryman's lance. An upward swing of his heavy blade sending the skewered man flying unceremoniously through the air, landing a few feet away with a sickening thud.

Twisting his torso, Galahad took a step back and twisted his weapon, catching the blade of another soldier on the haft of his halberd as he shoved him back, flipping his halberd and jabbing with the pointed butt of his weapon. Mithril cleaved through the steel armor and sent the soldier reeling, though Galahad didn't check his kill as he began to flourish his weapon, wide swings and arcs keeping the soldiers at bay and further breaking up their formation.

The fighting from inside grew louder now, as Izayoi's team finally spilled out of the prison, they'd retrieved Hein. All that was left now was for them to retreat, though that was easier said than done with the airship pouring fire down onto them. Or at least it would have been, if not for their black mage pulling a literal dragon out of her hat. The resulting display of power was awe inspiring, and was perhaps a reminder of the sheer amount of threat Valheim truly posed- had Eve stayed loyal to them, perhaps the Kirins would be the ones on the receiving end of this magic.

Galahad's awe quickly turned into horror as he saw the girl transform back into her original form and began falling- did she not have a backup plan? Or perhaps was he the backup plan and no one told him. With a curse, Galahad quickly extricated himself from his current engagement, throwing back Valheim footmen with a wide swing before he jumped high into the air, the crest of his arc meeting Eve's trajectory as he caught her.

Roof tiles scattered and shattered as Galahad's form landed on the roof next to Eliane. "This wasn't part of any plan I discussed." Galahad grumbled as he set the no-longer-dragon girl down next to Eliane, quickly unclasping his cloak to wrap it around the unconscious eidolon. "I think she'll be safest up here. Let's wrap things up and get out of here, quickly."

SPIRITUM

---

The truck veered hard as it narrowly avoided another large pine that had materialized out of the darkness. Whatever items or people that had not been secured previously were tossed around haphazardly throughout the interior. Steady hands expertly manipulated controls, as commanded of the powers that existed that the whole rig didn't stall. Somewhere beneath the roar and protest of the engine, the sound of branches and stone snapping and crunching in the distance, along with sets of glowing blue eyes let them know that they were still being pursued.

"Did she say p-prisoner?!" The princess' voice called out, somehow cutting between the din of the roaring engine and the steady blam of Morden's shotgun. Her voice held a mild tone of panic even as her arm gripped tightly at Justice's arm that kept her stable and still. "Is shooting diplomats out of the sky a normal thing here or- Ah! "

The entire truck bed shuddered and shifted again as Kali weaved through both enemy fire and terrain, the sudden shift silencing the princess. Gerard took that as his moment to chime in.

"Well they're trying to kill us too, so I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly your royalness." Gerard commented, using his telekinesis to hold a growing line of shotgun shells steady next to Morden's hand as he fired, so the larger WARDEN could reload without having to pull himself back into the truck. "That being said, I think third party might be a safe assumption at this point. But they have to be pretty ballsy to fly a ship into Rassvet airspace and start shooting."

The ground nearby them exploded as the ship shot at them again, nearly blinding them with the light of the detonation. This time close enough to knock the truck off its wheels for a second before it landed with a rough crash. Stone splinters ripped through the fabric cover of the truck bed and peppered their aegises, magical barriers flaring in response to the shrapnel. As though the explosion was a beacon of light marking their position, a volley of energy bolts streaked from the sets of blue eyes growing increasingly lost in the distance, a horizontal storm of lightning bolts streaking at their vehicle. Justice parried the bolt that was headed straight for the center of the cabin, as Silje's detonation caught the vast majority of the rest. The resulting air stank of burnt ozone, but at least they hadn't died.

This manic chase ontinued for what felt like an eternity. Eventually tires bounced from dirt and stone to slick asphalt, the truck cutting across a road to reach the nearby woods. The darkness gave way to the dim, spread out highway lights, a short bit of open ground before the relative shelter of the woods.

And then something strange happened.

Their pursuers stopped. Mechanical frames slowed at the very border of the preserve, their movements shifting from precise and calculated to jerky and unsteady before coming to a complete halt. Raised cannons lowered, eyes flickered for a moment, as though glaring at the truck, and very slowly they began to turn and disappear back into the darkness. The ship froze in the sky. Another low tone from somewhere within its bowels was sounding and seemed to stretch across the land and vibrate their very bones. The silhouette of the ship flickered and then vanished, taking its storm clouds with it- scattering like a disturbed reflection at the water’s edge, the prior drone suddenly replaced with a very noticeable silence.

They drove onward in continued silence, still on edge. A mile or so ahead of them were the clustered lights of a tiny rest stop and gas station. Gerard peered into the darkness, waiting for yet another surprise. All that was heard was the occasional cry of a beast somewhere in the distance and the sound of wheels against asphalt. The lights of the truck flickered and the engine began to cough as Val finally reached the limits of her ability. The sounds of the radio left on from before and seemingly forgotten in the chaos began to slowly fill the truck.

Collette’s hands were still shaking. Her heart felt like it was somewhere in her neck and refused to move down. Very gingerly she peeled Justice's arm off of her as the truck slowed from its frantic gallop down to a slow, exhausted trot. The old engine letting out a low sigh of relief as it did, only alive because of Val's magic. She flickered her head towards the wildly different looking WARDENs in the back of the truck with her and released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "They're just gone? Just like that?"

"Hey look, we have cell service again." Gerard commented to nobody in particular as he grimaced at his phone, it's screen having cracked at some point during the conflict and drive.

Shadowrun: Lost Heir

Jackie "Frost" Hara

---

Frost's eyes dulled a bit as they got into the nitty gritty of the who, what, and where. Ultimately she was here as a triggerman/woman/troll, not a schemer. They didn't pay her the big bucks to connive and plan, they paid her to shoot things- not that she didn't plan on adding her own opinions to the mix. The job itself was appropriately vague: find a girl by whatever means they deemed necessary and bring her back- willing or not, the client didn't seem to care. If the girl was still alive, she'd have already spent her life without her family, Frost doubted she'd want to go back, but well, they weren't being paid for their ethical concerns. Dirty business, dirty money, dirty work-the three core tenants of this lifestyle.

Their resident mage-adept seemed to be the chattiest of the bunch- outside of maybe Nadya, and also seemed to have their emotions firmly fixed on their sleeves, expressing his vocal distrust of Whetstone- someone both Frost and Nadya had worked with before. A lack of trust didn't bode well for team cohesion, but it was to be expected with a seemingly grab bag team of runners, and at the very least it was out in the open. What she found more amusing was Tenno offering to protect their technomancer, CAPTCHA, and knowing how elves aged, had likely been in the business longer than the kid had been alive.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were teasing me." Frost shot back, a harsh scowl on her face. "Maybe you'll need the kid to watch your back after all." A faint grin cracked the otherwise imposing glower as the troll began to chuckle, letting go the facade. "You're better off watching your own back kid. Guarantee you she already figured out how to kill each of us before we even got on the plane. Whetstone too."

Leather seats crunched down as Frost took a seat next to Whetstone- relatively anyway, as to not get in his personal space- an admittedly difficult task for a troll that already took up a considerable amount of space.

"Though, if it makes you feel any better, I trust ya, Whetstone." Frost remarked sarcastically, knowing that whether or not she trusted him probably mattered very little to the decker. "Sis and I still owe you for Barcelona, so maybe we'll square ourselves this go around."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Galahad Caradoc

Mentions: @Ithradine, @Click This, @Raineh Daze, @VitaVitaAR

Galahad tensed as he felt the rushing of wind around him, his weapon ready to face a new threat as he turned, but relaxed when he heard the voice of Ciradyl, their host-turned-freedom-fighter. He was a bit surprised that she had decided to join them on the streets- she seemed more of the operate out of the shadows sort of folk, but with the Kirins as short handed as they were, Galahad wasn't going to complain. The armored dragoon gave her a short nod, his voice somewhat muffled by the shut helmet. "Better late than never. Things aren't looking good down there, we need to-" Galahad's voice was cut off by a curse as a bullet whizzed by his helmet, the dragoon taking a step back as a second shot ricocheted off the edge of the roof next to them.

To make matters worse, giant gunbirds began to make their way towards them, flying ahead of the relatively slower airship. While he doubted their weapons were much more powerful than that of a regular fusilier, the fact that they'd be attacking from above or from angles he and the rest of the Kirin's weren't necessarily prepared for made it a problem.

"Talk later, move first." Galahad concluded as the trio of them quickly scurried to the other edge of the roof. "Pardon me." Galahad quickly apologized ahead of time as he more or less grabbed the lithe fae woman by her feet, and tossed her towards the next roof over- not unlike shot putting. A moment later, he had once again grabbed Eliane, and the two bounded in a high arc across the air before he landed with a thud on the next rooftop- this one thankfully was close enough or linked with makeshift walkways to other rooftops for the others to keep moving along. "We need to get those damned birds off of their backs. Try not to hit me, thanks." Galahad remarked as he gestured towards the gunbirds diving towards their companions.

Flipping the halberd and pulling back, his dominant hand wrapped around the balance point of the weapon, Galahad grunted as he took a step forward and launched the weapon at the nearest gunbird, the blade crackling with electricity. Without skipping a beat, Galahad crossed the last couple steps towards the roof edge, braced and jumped yet again, the force of his legs cracking the stonework roof as he soared back into the air. He came crashing down onto the back of a second bird, sending them both to the ground as he pinned it underneath his weight.

Crackling like a bolt of lightning, his halberd flew back towards Galahad's outstretched gauntlet. The paired materia on gauntlet and halberd glowing as they sought to return to each other, connecting with a solid clunk. Spinning the weapon in his hand, he brought the spearhead up high, and drove it down onto the back of the einhander he'd been pinning.

"Arton! Miina!" Galahad's voice cut across the din of gunfire- lessened as there were fewer einhanders in the air. An armored gauntlet pointed at the Valheim sergeant doing much the same as he was to the forces outside. "Target the leadership! Magic first, then we charge! Robin! Take the fusiliers at the door- they're going to try and ambush Izayoi's team on their way out."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Galahad Caradoc

Esben's plan was riskier than he'd like, but war had taught him that there was no such thing as a perfect plan, and a good enough plan was often good enough. Esben's plan was good enough to pull off, and should anything go wrong they had enough skill on each team that Galahad figured could react and adapt to the changing situation. With the plan more or less in place, the groups split.

Esben, Eve, Rudolf and Izayoi stayed behind with Ciradyl to be 'captured', while Galahad and the others left ahead of time to make their way towards the detention center. Progress was slow, but methodical as they quietly combed their to positions around the prison itself. A small house occupied by a few of Ciradyl's agents gave them a view of the prison itself as they hunkered down and waited for their captured friends to be transferred to the prison.

They didn't wait long, Galahad shifted from his vantage point as he saw the patrol return with their friends in tow. Not soon after, they could hear alarms blare out and the sounds of fighting within. Since they'd set up early, the Kirins remained undetected as Valheim riflemen set up on the rooftops and streets around them. The airship was a complication, but they had some time before it arrived.

"They certainly didn't wait to kick things off." Galahad commented as he pulled his helmet over his face and hefted his halberd, his armored visage regarding the others. "We need to deal with the gunners, and secure the exit route."

"Arton, take the others and secure the ground- focus on the side we discussed and secure an entrance. If things go bad we need to be able to get in there and help out." Galahad glanced at Eliane and the rifle on her shoulder. "We'll secure the rooftops and cover you from above. Everyone keeps an eye out for communications equipment and runners."

"We'll deal with the airship when it gets here, everyone, go, now!"

With that, the Kirins quickly flowed out of their hidey holes, ready to cause some havoc. Skidding to a stop on the street, Galahad paused for long enough for Eliane to grab a hold of him. Once she was secure, Galahad burst from the ground, gravel and tile scattering as the Dragoon and Gunbreaker soared into the air, landing on one of the rooftops where Valheim was getting dug in.

A quartet of gunners were scattered across this particular roof, startled by the sound of metal greaves crunching against the stone tiles of the rooftop. Before they could react, the Dragoon was upon them, his halberd swinging in a wide arc. The hefty blade crunched clean through the lighter gunner's armor and took one torso clean off its legs, a second gunner quickly diving out of the way in time to prevent himself from also being bisected. A panicked shot ricocheted off the chimney as Galahad sidestepped the frazzled soldier. Quickly closing the distance, Galahad planted his armored boot on the man's chest and heaved, sending the man screaming a few stories to the ground.

"Ready to move, or staying here?" Galahad grunted as he glanced over to examine Eliane's handiwork.

SPIRITUM

Collette Van Skymning

"W-what are those things?!" Collette yelped as Justice sprinted across the ground, the bow in her hands bouncing unsteadily as she tried to aim and fire while being slung over a shoulder. Arrows of light streaked towards the robot, several missing or hitting it ineffectually before Collette finally scored a another lucky headshot on it. While it didn't seem as though the headshot downed the robot outright, the residual light seemed to have messed with its sensors enough that the thing finally ceased firing, seemingly no longer able to get a proper target.

"Where are we- oof!" Any protestations from the princess were quickly put on hold as the young woman was dumped into the back of the truck, spluttering and coughing as her body clattered against half of the things that Gerard had so haphazardly thrown into the back earlier.

As Justice stuck her head back out the back of the truck, she was greeted not by blasts of lightning, but the rest of the Barghests squad scrambling up the side of the crater and to the waiting and relative safety of the truck. Luckily for them, while these robots seemed to be dense and hardy, they didn't appear very fast- that and the damage that most of them sustained meant that while a team of olympic athletes were sprinting away from them, the robots were hobbling after them like a paraplegic death squad. At this distance, even if they fired their weapons, there was enough distance and reaction time for the squad to dodge or throw up barriers. Seemingly safe from immediate conflict, Gerard took a half second to catch his breath, hand on his side as he pulled out of his phone. No service, still, but it didn't stop him from turning on his camera and taking a few pictures of the robots before grabbing the edge of the truck and pulling himself up.

"By Gaia, these fuckers really don't give up, do they?" Gerard asked, legs swinging over the edge as he settled himself.

Finally able to collect herself, Collette let out an eep as another few folks, seemingly around her age began to climb into the back of the truck, the bow in her hands shedding a faint white light to illuminate its interior. Now, seemingly out of imminent danger, the girl had a second to take a good luck at her would be saviors. Her eyes slowly went from the scars that adorned Justice's body, to Gerard on his phone, the mountain of a man that was Morden, then to the comparatively diminutive size of Valerie and the crate of supplies she was sitting next to with the prominent dull blue sword painted on it.

"Y-you're all Wardens?" she cried out in half surprise, panic notably rising in her voice. She knew the girl who'd grabbed her was one- if only from the logo on her tanktop, but she wasn't expecting to be literally surrounded by them. They were all so young too, probably no older than she was.

"And you're a Vangar Princess," Gerard chipped in unhelpfully, "Now that we all know who eachother are-"

Gerard's voice trailed off as he looked up into the sky. There was a faint rippling, as if the air was falling in on itself. Seemingly pulling itself out of thin air, a ship materialized into the sky above them. The night-time sky suddenly filled with the looming silhouette of a leviathan sized ship comparable in size to the largest of Rassvet airships, though not with the same shape. Clad entirely in deep, dark metal, and bulbous and rounded in shape, with the barrels of weapons sticking out all around it like a sea urchin or porcupine. If the Princess was an overabundance of the natural Mist they were used to, the craft above them was on the other end of the spectrum, cold and foreign and uncomfortable. It produced a metallic groan, a noise that reverberated across the ground and seemed to worm its way into their heads, a rattling and scratching that effected their mist sensitives more strongly than others.

Objects began to be jettisoned from unseen launch ports, they came soaring towards the ground like meteors but as they approached the ground, the blue lights of counter thrusters could be seen. Standing within skeletal frames appeared to be robotic entities similar to those they'd just fought moments earlier. The landed into the broken ground some twentyish meters from them, throwing up clouds of dirt debris into the air as they did. And with another metallic groan from the ship this one at a slightly lower frequency like buckling steel, dozens of glowing eyes stuttered to life around them. And one by one they stood up from their personal craters and methodically and slowly made their way towards the group, joining their already damaged brethren. Up above, Gerard saw a flashing orange light from one of the ship's spines.

"Kali drive! Get us in cover!" Gerard shouted. No sooner than his sentence had finished the ground some fifty meters to their left exploded, the resultant explosion showering the truck in dirt and stone chips. The ship's position put it between them and Sapple Springs, though it was all open ground between here and Sapple Springs anyway. North took them in the opposite direction of the small town, but would eventually open up into an actual forest with tree cover to break line of sight.

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

ECHO DOMAIN - PLATFORM #2884

The trip back to the ship was a mundane one, which after such harsh fighting was agreeable. The unztadtlige was a creature of war, but lulls in the conflict were to be enjoyed as well. The Warform was left behind in the great bioship's hangar, awaiting repairs and servicing as it had took the brunt of the damage Echo had sustained. Not to mention the hulking figure of the Warform wouldn't have fit in the corridors anyway.

Instead, the Endoform plodded heavily behind the rest of the squad as they slowly filtered into the semi-organic conference room of the ship for their debriefing. The Endoform didn't tire like natural humanoids did, so it didn't see the need to sit down and 'relax' but it did hunch down on its legs in the equivalent of 'taking a knee'- mainly so the Endoform would not obstruct the view of others. The human of their group had already begun conversing with their commander, though much of her speech made little sense to the colony. Echo's best guess was that the humanoid was upset about taking damage to her exterior shell.

Before Echo had fully finished processing their compatriot's vitriol, another entered the room, one not originally with their strike team. Introducing itself as King, Echo's visual scanners found it incongruent with the typical human norms, despite its similar shape. Multi-spectrum scans of the figure illicted something close to discomfort. Echo quickly switching back to its standard camera. The Endoform emitted a short mechanical whine that could be best described as frustration. Like Kleo, this one spoke in strange sentences.

"Report. All directives completed successfully." The Echo platform corrected over its external speakers, both the command unit and the newcomer not yet added to the squad comm network. The head of the Endoform turned to the biomechanical commander. "Acknowledged. No current inquiries."

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Galahad Caradoc

Mentions: yes

---

It seemed as though they were getting right down to business. The Kirins as a group didn't particularly needed a lot of convincing, their unique blend of idealism and valheim hatred seemed to be enough. In a way, the straightforwardness of their business was refreshing from the constant politicking of Edren nobility- they reminded Galahad of his army days. Almost immediately several of them began chiming in, discussion concerns and options. Piggybacking off of his own initial thoughts and fears, Izayoi more or less condensed their methods of attack into a set of three plans: A prison raid on a highly fortified former magistrate's office, an attack on the execution procession, or rescuing Hien mid-execution, though it more or less seemed like the last option was a desperate last hail should everything else go wrong.

From what he could deduce, some small amount of local forces were available to them, though with their limited numbers and Renzo's apparent protestations, it seemed as though Team Kirin were going to be doing the vast amount of the heavy lifting in whatever plan they took on.

"Whichever plan we go with, we should work with the assumumption that Reisa is waiting and ready for us. Even if she isn't, we should be prepared for a tough fight." Galahad chimed in, his tone even and clear. Not quite the same tone he took when he was in Edren's army, but obvious enough that he was in a relative comfort zone.

"A raid on the convoy might be the lightest target we'll hit, and happens to fall well into my own personal wheelhouse." The Dragoon noted. "The relative open space let's us use our big tools- like Eve and Miina's magic to their fullest extent, but Hien will be exposed to the chaos the entire time." Galahad's brow furrowed a bit, "They will be alert and expecting someone to try something, not to mention there's a potential crowd to worry about, and without an exact route plan, we're guessing where they'll be and adapting on the move. Not untenable, but too many moving parts, too many variables. "

Turning to their potentially new Osprean allies, Galahad quickly regarded Ciradyl and Renzo. "Do any of your agents have an idea of what the inside of the magistrate's office looks like? Perhaps worked there before the occupation or is currently embedded there now?"

Pouring over their provided map, Galahad checked the relative locations of streets and alleys to the office, all of the potential routes to get in and out of the place. "I think a strike on the detention center will have the most opposition, but the least amount of unknowns. I'd rather put trust in our fighting abilities than fate and luck. A raid at night might catch them unaware, which also plays in our favor."

"More than the detention center garrison, my biggest worry is the reinforcements they bring to the fight once things are kicked off- that's where an infiltration team will come in handy. We need a way to cripple their ability to communicate, whether that means taking out their radio communications or cutting down any runners leaving the building. Along with taking out any targets of opportunity will pave the way for the extraction force to punch through and find Hien."

Turning to Izayoi, Galahad offered the mystrel woman a wry grin. "Regardless of how we go in, it goes without saying it's probably best if you're on the extraction team. If Hien only sees this-" Galahad tapped knowingly on his Dragoon helmet sitting on the table, "I think he'd be less inclined to follow, he'll recognize you though, right?"

SPIRITUM

Gerard Biserus

The bots' outer shells were certainly tough, but they were damaged- and the Barghests were able exploit what available weaknesses there were. The robot that Val and Gerard were targeting was having difficulty picking a target, perhaps prior damage from the crash or just the cycling attacks from the Barghests were dividing its attention. It didn't notice Kalina coming from above until it was too late. As it turned to face her, Val's empowered shot took out its knee, sending it to the ground. With its broad shoulders, its arms swung ineffectually, failing to grab Kalina as she latched on and struck its head again, armor plating shattering under repeated blows. It froze up suddenly as Kali's final strike hit something critical, and the steady hum of its electronics falling silent.

A few yards away, Morden had successfully tossed the second bot into a mist pocket, Silje detonating the pocket moments later. Gerard felt a vein pop and he was about to scream at the rest of the group to start moving away, but Silje, predicting the response, erected a barrier around the pocket, sealing both the resultant explosion and the bot within. The robot disappeared in a wave of concussive force and fire, its silhouette disappearing in a bright flare of light. Like a fire without oxygen, the explosion quickly ate up what mist was available, and as the flower of flames faded, all that remained was the burnt out husk of the robot. While it maintained most of its shape, its metal plating was slagged, its joints were fused solid and no lights remained in its skull.

"Dare I say it," Gerard chuckled, taking a moment to quickly collect himself. "But that wasn't too difficult at all!" The smile quickly fell from his face as in the distance, Gerard noticed a few more chunks of debris starting to shift. Another robotic hand ripped out of bent metal scrap as it tried to pull itself out of the wreckage. In the darkness beyond, Gerard could spot bluish lights grouped together in lines of four- at least a half dozen more starting to find their way out of the wreckage.

"Justice found the Princess right...? Gerard called out as he took a nervous step back, gathering several pounds of dirt, ash and dust with his magic before crashing it into the ground between them, forming a impromptu smokescreen. "I think regrouping and a tactical retreat back to the truck might be a good idea."

---

Collette Van Skymning

"Alright, okay, let- Wha?!" The princess let out a panicked cry as Justice unceremoniously threw Collette over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and began sprinting away. Another lightning bolt flew towards them, striking the ground where Justice stood just a moment prior, while another arced across the air and hit the ground a few feet in front of the two, sending dirt and small bits of rock debris scattering across the WARDEN's face and arm. A small fist ineffectually beat at Justice's back for a moment but quickly stopped as Collette realized that even on her shoulder, Justice ran faster than she did on the ground.

"V-violent?" Collette asked, though in the dark and on her shoulder, Justice couldn't make out any of Collette's facial details. A few moments later, Justice could feel the mist welling around them as the princess conjured a bow of light in her hands. The positioning was a bit awkward- but since it wasn't a real bow it didn't need the same sort of space that a regular bow would require. A bright arrow of white light flashed across the dark, striking the robot in the chest. Without waiting to examine its effectiveness, a second and third bolt of light flew towards it, one striking the robot's face as the other crashed into the dirt. Another bolt of lightning hit the ground in front of Justice as the robot returned fire, its weapon still working, but a bit less accurate than before.

"Its slowing down! I think!"

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

Galahad Caradoc
Ciradyl Ianthyra

Mentions: @Ithradine, @HereComesTheSnow, @The Otter, @Psyker Landshark

---

At the very least introductions seemed to have been going well. Compared to Midgar things were going swimmingly. No attempts to demand party members kill each other nor poorly disguised animosity. Granted, everyone seemed to be putting their best foot forward, but this was something Galahad could work with.

The Faye looked down into her cup of tea, hands shifting to cup it on both sides "I do not have much information for you, unfortunately." Her gaze and attention shifted over to Rudolf "What I can tell you is that you are the first to reach Osprey. Our resources have been allocated to more important missions. The only reason I have been keep track of Team Kirin is Izayoi, of course." She said as matter of fact.

Ciradyl warmly smiled at Galahad as he got around to properly introducing himself, gently shaking her head as she sipped her tea. Her eyes closed for a moment to savor it before looking back at Galahad when they opened "You are quite welcome. It is my pleasure to host the companions of Izayoi." There was no signs of the hostility that Chisaki had demonstrated earlier. She finished that last of the tea in her cup and set it down "I am also quite concerned about the Blight. I do have something I need done but I shall explain when Renzo joins us." The Faye quietly assessed the forms of Eve, Miina, and Robin as they remained quiet amidst the party before returning to the conversation. She made no noticeable looks when she passed over Eve.

"With any luck, we may come to a mutually beneficial agreement then." Galahad noted with a nod, taking a figurative step back if not a literal one as Izayoi gave an abridged version of her story. He'd pieced together most of it from their interactions, what few tidbits she'd dropped here and there, the name she'd chosen in Midgar, and the like, though he'd yet to have heard her tale in its entirety.

"The mountain pass by Atsu was where Gerant's body was recovered." Galahad mused aloud, more to himself than in response to Izayoi's story. Izayoi's last stand had been at the same place his brother had died, his body almost too damaged to be recognizable. At the very least now he had a clear picture of where the rage came from, even if he already had an inkling before. In some ways, Galahad could begin to understand his father's rage towards Osprey and Izayoi in particular. In a way, Galahad felt as though he were intruding on a story that was not meant for his ears. Izayoi and he were allied by their cause, the Blight and the threat that Valheim posed. But had this been years ago- or even months ago, any exchange between the two of them would have likely been with steel and blood rather than words and tea. Even five years past, the scars of the war had not healed on either side. Galahad was curious what would happen after all of this- if they even survived. Would it end with only one of them returning home?

Galahad would find his musings interrupted by the appearance of one of Ciradyl's men, Renzo, bringing tidings of what was going on within the city. The news was grim, but he hadn't expected Izayoi's response. Desperation, panic at the news of Lord Hein's impending execution. Galahad was already familiar with the name Kaien. His father's rival, defeating him in their first meeting, only to have the back of his army broken by a charge from the demon herself. Fate really did act in strange ways. Galahad remained silent, listening to the counsel and pleas of his party members. Izayoi seemed set on taking the Lord back herself, Rudolf seemed set on not letting her go by herself. Esben sought information and advised caution. For their host, Ciradyl seemed not to be surprised, but rather frustrated.

"Even if I said no, I think you'd run off and go after Lord Hien anyway, and take some third or more of our party with you." Galahad replied with a frustrated sigh, a hand massaging his temples. His eyes flickered between Izayoi and Rudi before shifting over the rest of the party and landing on Eve. Even if she wasn't looking at him in particular, it was easy enough to deduce her intentions. "As Rudolf pointed out: This is likely a trap- Reisa knows we're marching through Osprey, and she knows what would draw at least one of us out."

"The reason this group is in Osprey is to root out the blight. Killing Valheimr is a secondary, if inevitable goal." Galahad paused, "But. I'm not in the habit of leaving innocents behind, and I'd rather not start now. Besides, we can't afford to split what fighting power we have. Once Valheim starts picking and pulling us apart, we're dead men."

"Esben is right. Before I'm comfortable accepting this, we need information and we need a plan. Preferably one that doesn't bring all the Valheimr in the city down on our heads at once and gets us killed. We need to be fast and precise. Unless your forces are keen on fighting in the open streets." Galahad said, glancing at Ciradyl. Well, he had just been telling Rudolf and Robin about how they needed to earn some goodwill with the people of Osprey before they began helping them or changing their opinion- this wasn't the worst first step on that path. "Preferably we'd hit the prison or house they're keeping him in. Out in front of the palace has too many sightlines for riflemen- unlike us, Hien neither has armor to stop bullets, nor the speed and mobility to dodge them, one unlucky shot would lead to failure. With our number and arms we'd have the best luck forcing them into close quarters."

"Anyone else? Options? Opinions?"