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Battles |
Aethergard vs. Cardinal Spear It was a cold winters day on the Legionarre training grounds just outside the Academy, but that didn't mean that the men were not sweating. A huge, rectangular dirt field seperated the training grounds proper from the rest of the grounds. Right now there were no maneuvers or drills being scheduled, but on another day this field would be alive with excitement, with discipline, with prestige. It was somewhat on the edge of Academy property, and this was wholly on purpose. The three foot iron fence surrounding Academy lands would be home during a weekday to maybe dozens of lower class, urban girls of various ages, watching the esteemed elite of the Varanian military stretching, duelling, running, competing, sweating. But right now there was no intense practicing going on, just a few people here and there, doing pushups, sparring, unscheduled play. It was on this field, the field where they had become brothers, that Alexis had decided to see Grent off. Grent was a member of the regular orders, albeit a distinguished swordsman and a unit commander, but Alexis still saw him as one of his own. Tolorian and the captian of the Cardinal Spear were old friends. They'd learned together, they'd sparred together, they'd bled together, and it was more than a little emotional for Alexis to finally see his fellow leave. Laurent and Gideon had come as well, for this was an event, and the Legions strength was in numbers. If nothing else, an extra two shields brought added importance to this impromptu sendoff. Laurent didn't quite hold the same set of feelings for Grent that Alexis did. In a battle they would fight together, and they would die together, and Laurent would take an arrow for Grent as surely as he would take one for Alexis. But off the battlefield, he'd really rather have nothing to do with the man. However, this was Alexis's event, and Laurent was proud to stand at his side. However, Laurent was visibly annoyed at the company that Tolorian had decided to bring with him. Clad in the white tunic of the Orders covering his training-dented leather and metal vest, Grent Tolorian walked towards the royal blue, armored Legion, with something of a rather motley crew. To Grents right was a young, wirey graduate of Demonology, Setheo Agarae. Setheo didn't look like much, and wasn't looking at much either. The man had some sort of a notebook in his hand, and was flustering through it, ignoring the warriors ahead of them. It seemed surprising that the conjuror didn't stumble over his own flowing black and silver Academy robes, although clear that he probably had done more than his fair share of walking while reading. To Tolorians left, as well as his two sheathed swords, walked the Uxmali tribesman, Atal. He was several yeards behind the others, and seemed like he was watching all of them at once with a bit of unease. Grent hadn't really explained why he was travelling with a Tribesman, it seemed only Setheo really knew, but Setheo was on a mission from Councilman Tamilian, and that in and of itself gave him more leeway than most Varanians could muster. Laurent felt as though he should spit on the ground when he saw Atal, but restrained himself. It was unbecoming of his uniform, and his birth. Alexis gave the mans plated back a friendly pat, knowing this was uncomfortable for his partner. Laurent would get used to these things, and even if he didn't Alexis could count him trustworthy regardless. The six companions met on the center of the training grounds, Alexis and Grent embracing quickly. "It pains me to finally see you off, dear friend. I hope your return is swift, and the tale of your adventure inspiring." Alexis had been brought up right, and his speech showed it. "If I had my say we would continue our matches on this field for the rest of our days. It is a pity, I may never get another chance to throttle one of the Legion." Grent joked. Of the six of them, Tolorian was probably the best at single combat. His prowess had earned him a lot of praise amongst the Orders, and although it wasn't a regular occurance, he had bested Legionarres on this very field before. Alexis smiled, clasping Grents hand to his and squeezing it firmly. Laurent however, was the first to speak. "I recall the last time we met here I saw you tumble to the ground, commander." said the Legionarre, fingering the helmet he had resting on his hip. It was true, the last time Laurent and Grent had met during training the result was the two of them wrestling on the dirt ground, and Laurent had come out on top. He'd taken quite a bit of satisfaction in the endeavor as well, Laurent was rather fond of wrestling. "Indeed, this is true. Would you like to try it again? This time I may bring my blade." responded the commander, resting his left hand on the hilt of his longsword. It was a challenge. Laurent instantly took a step forward, and Alexis and Gideon responded in kind. Alexis wanted this to be a merry exchange, and hoped Laurent wouldn't spoil the mood. But he knew the mood wasn't spoiled. The idea of these men being on this field for more than ten minutes and not ending up locked in some sort of sibling competition was implausable to say the least. One final spar really would be the best possible sendoff. "I would dearly love my knee pressed against your thigh once again Tolorian, but that would deny the rest of our brethren the charm of the sport." Laurent wasn't about to back down, but at the same time he wasn't an idiot. He was an accomplished magic user, and his role in the team was chiefly to back up Alexis and Gideon. While Laurents personal prowess was not something to disregard, in a sword duel with Tolorian he would not win. "Well! Then it is settled. Your men against my and Atals swords. We'll make a scenario of it. My mission is to guard the body of dear Agarae, and you shall take him from me." It was a similar thing to something they would do in training. Alexis chuckled slightly, but he would agree. His original plan was for a friendly exchange among brothers, but he had to take the cue. Whistling his men into position, three iron shields flipped over from around the backs of the Cardinal Spear, locking in place as a solid wall with a clang, Laurent in the middle, and Alexis taking the dangerous position of the right flank. The three Legionarres put on their helms in unison, and Gideon and Alexis shouldered their spears above the shield wall. Atal had been watching the entire thing, silently. This wasn't his exchange, but it appeared he'd been dragged into it, and he'd love the chance to humble the Legions elitist stares. Setheo had been paying no attention at all, and looked up from his book just in time to leap out of the way of a spearpoint. "Ah! What is the meaning of this hostility?" said the student, dumbfounded as Tolorian and the Uxmali rushed the shield wall with their swords. The two spears struck out, well placed strokes pushing the Aethergard back away from the Phalanx line. As Grent repositioned himself Laurents right hand raised above his head, a sparkling circular orb of energy forming inside it. With a flick of the wrist the orb lashed out towards Grent like a missile, but evaporated into thin air inches from his face. Setheo dropped his hand, moving behind his bodyguard. "Here I thought you were supposed to be protecting me? Not only are you starting a battle but you're also losing!" He mocked the commander. Tolorian pushed the demonologist a few feet back, retreating from the slowly advancing line. Motioning for Atal, the Aethergard pulled back a ways, watching the Cardinal Spear. "Do we pursue?" Laurent asked. This was business now, and he was an arm of his commander. "No. Watch them." Responded Alexis. If the three more lightly armed men simply ran away, the three heavy plated Legionarres would become tired from the chase. On the Aethergards side of the dirt field, Atal shouldered his huge, stone blade, and looked to Grent. "How do we fight them?" "We split them up. Agarae, can you split them up?" Tolorian had never seen the Demonologist do his work, but he'd heard the boy was capable of a few impressive tricks. Setheo nodded to Grent, and quickly formed a white orb of Shamanistic energy in his hand similar to Laurents. Flinging it at the line, he watched it slam harmlessly against the shield wall, exploding in a burst of white sparks. "Hmm... Alright, lets try this." Setheo said, dropping the book. Raising both his hands, the student of Demonology started moving them, as if he was moulding a sort of invisible clay, his eyes closed. After four or five seconds he opened them again, swirling black liquid covering the pupils of his eyes. "Laurent. What's he doing?" Asked Alexis, walking the line forward very slowly. Laurent peered out at the academy graduate, using his training to sense the ether flowing around him. A small ball of ether visible only to Setheo and Laurent slowly condensced in the boys hands, gradually turning from its usual color to jet black. Laurent lowered his shield slightly and raised his own mailed palm, concentrating on the ball and trying to break up its form, but to no avail. The demonologist had total control of what he was doing. "I... I'm not sure. I can't stop him." Laurent remarked, a little aggravated at himself. He watched Setheo for a second longer, staring at the ball of ether as it became smaller, and smaller, and then completely disappeared. The Legion conjuror instantly felt out around him, looking up into the sky. He felt the ether the moment it materialized. "ALEX, RIGHT FLANK!" Laurent yelled. Alexis's shield spun round the formation with the response time that he'd been programmed to display, moving into its new position just in time to block a cylindrical mass of black lightning as it flew down upon Laurent from the sky. The hateful bolt slammed into the iron shield, exploding and pushing Alexis's arm to his chest, but causing no harm. Setheo however, was not done. A low hum started to rise from his mouth, and a second bolt appeared in front of Gideon in the sky. Laurent raised his free hand above Gideons face, catching the bolt in his outstretched palm. There was a small ripple in reality as Laurent tried to control the ether of the blast, dispelling the bolt with some difficulty. Dispelling a spell made with that level of precision was enough to ruin Laurents concentration for a moment however, and he didn't sense the third bolt, striking Gideon in the side from behind them. Setheo's eyes returned to normal, and his hands dropped, a little tired from the strain of using that many spells, but he'd done enough. Gideon dropped to his knees in both physical and emotional pain, the bolt burning his armored flesh as well as disrupting the ether within his own soul. For a second Gideon had to concentrate, just to retain his own sense of self. And in that second Grent and Atal charged. Laurent and Alexis pulled ahead of Gideon in unison, attempting to block the path to their fallen comrade, but they were only quick enough to block Tolorian. Atal came crashing down on the Legionarre, who fell on his back from the force of his shield barely stopping the tribesmans claymore. Grent parried Alexis's spear and took a step back, knowing he couldn't fight the both of them at once. "Laurent, help Gideon." Alexis commanded, stepping forward and thrusting his spear. He pushed Grent back a few steps, but Tolorian eventually evaded a stroke, moving inside the range of the spearpoint and striking out with his longsword. The blade met shield, Alexis dropping his spear and drawing his sword. Laurent slung his shield over his back, starting to wrap his hands around each other in a cryptic pattern, facing Atal, who kicked Gideons shield out of his hand. Before the Uxmali could deliver the finishing blow a quick wind flew from Laurents palms, the cold breeze slicing at the Uxmali's unarmored arms and legs, causing an innumerable number of small cuts and barbs. The damage was not severe, but the pain was great, and the tribesman stopped for a moment, astonished. In that moment Gideon stood up, slamming his great shoulder into the barbarians chest. "That's enough!" Gideon remarked, drawing his own sword. Laurent turned, running for Grent who was quickly getting the better of Alexis in close combat. Grabbing Tolorian by the arms, the Legionarre threw him into the dirt, coming down on him and pressing his knee squarely against the mans thigh, much like he'd promised. Alexis took the cue and dropped his shield, breaking for Setheo in a run. The demonologist didn't have enough sense to evade, and in the next second Alexis had his sword on Agarae's neck. Grent looked up at Laurent, annoyed at the smile that he saw. Laurent had, quite literally, gotten every last thing he had wanted. But, it was only a contest, and Grent would surely learn from his mistake, lightening the mood with a friendly remark. "Looks like I've got to learn to be a better bodyguard, don't I." Outcome: Cardinal Spear wins. Bar Fight The almost comically named Swinging Girl tavern was the dirtiest tavern in the dirtiest part of Ayotya. Jokes about the Swinging Girl typically began with a De la Roz walking into the bar, and ended with their corpses being tossed into the alley behind it. It was there that Altuaca decided to buy himself a beer one cold Ayotya night. Inside the bar itself was dark, Altuaca barely able to see the stein full of sour beer he wasn’t drinking in his fist. He wasn’t there for the rancid booze, or the subtle aroma of sweat, urine, and human blood. All he had to do was wait in the seat of famed mugger, Maricus the Wallet for what he wanted. “Get out o mah seat purdy boi!” Altuaca simply cocked his head to a side, eyeing the silhouette of what could easily pass as a hair covered troll. Despite his better judgement he took a sip of the fermented sewage the bitter foulness mixing with bile as he got ready for what would happen next. “I sed, get outta mah seat boi or Maricus da Wallet will make you squeal like a piggay.” He could almost smell the grimy hands reaching for him, but he was ready for it, it was what he came to the Swinging Girl for. Expectorating the foul brew fully in the troll of a human being’s face Altuaca was a blur of movement, slamming the stein in the side of the brute’s skull. With a dull roar of rage the large man grabbed the stool Altuaca had been sitting on hurling it with all his might at the budding assassin. Almost preternaturally fast for his size, Altuaca ducked the projectile, wood splintering behind him as it hammered into some unsuspecting clod. He dashed towards the man whose seat he had taken with the sole intent of starting a fight, wailing away three more times with the heavy mug before sliding out of reach of retaliatory punches and kicks. Nearly blind with rage the Maricus grabbed the person nearest to him, a woman old enough to be his grandmother, punching her with enough force to shatter her jaw in three places. The man next to the woman immediately reacted, leaping on the assailant, biting and kicking like a rabid dog. “FIGHT!” It was a shout that was heard by everyone over the din, almost everyone turning to attack their neighbor. Men, women, even children tore into each other the owners of the Swinging Girl simply taking refuge to wait out the brawl. Even with all his dexterity Altuaca couldn’t avoid the ocean of blows that lanced out at him from every direction as the entire common room turned on itself. Moving towards the nearest exit Altuaca suddenly found himself face to face with Sydney two bear like hands grabbing him by his shirt and crotch. Grunting from exertion Marcus lifted the young punk over his head, and hurled, Altuaca flying out of the wooden shuttered window. Contorting his body Altuaca changed his trajectory enough to not break his legs on impact, but his ankle was badly jarred. “Oh no you did-ent just throw me out a window Marcus...” Hiking up the sleeves of his shirt and he barged back into the bar ducking and weaving through the fighting patrons to reach the massive human being in the middle. Marcus was too engaged in “making summun’ squeal like a piggay” to notice the brown haired man coming up behind him with the leg of a shattered barstool raised over his head. He lacked the raw strength of most people, but the blow cracked the back of Maricus’ skull, the crunch audible over the melee that was around him. His “honor” avenged, Altuaca quietly slinked out of the bar into the infamous alley that ran behind it, half expecting to see a dead De la Roz. Just another night at the Swinging Girl. Outcome: lol typo A slave girl and a wine cellar. "Hey wench, pass some more cheese over here!" The five robbers were very content with themselves. Local men from the dregs of Varans, they had been particularly angry with this noble after a rout at the nearby tavern, and had, in a drunken rage, decided to avenge themselves. They didn't really expect to be the heads of a noblemans estate in the end, but it'd been three days now and they were having fun. The Antigous family storehouses were quickly being emptied, and a young serving girl, barely fifteen and freshly deflowered, had the unfortunate job of serving their head man in the nude. The long, dark haired Varanian ruffian took the plate of cheese with a grin, biting deeply into the log and swallowing harshly. The girl, a slave but not knowing true slavery until recently, turned her face in disgust. "You're supposed to eat cheese slowly Erian." The second in command of the gang, a short blonde haired Academy dropout in an extremely well worn black and silver robe shook his head. Turning to the servant girl, he actually thanked her and then continued with his pork. Why such a man had been dragged along with these scallywags it was unclear, but all sorts of things were possible in this city. It was still part of the city, as the river was visible from the western wall of the noblemans estate house, and everywhere within sight of the river and its various rivulets was considered to be Varans city territory. The other three ruffians, large and stupid fellows, took to their meal and the delight of the young girls supple breasts with a voracious appetite, that was not entirely stopped when they heard Alexis's voice through the ornate, glass paned window. "Citizens of Varans! Hear me! Come out and turn in your leader and we shall do you no harm! Only one of you has to die this day!" said Alexis, sword in hand. Laurent and Gideon stood on either side of him, weapons shouldered, at attention. They were making an appearance, and a force of arms had to be presented. Alexis looked through the various rooms of the large, two storied estate. The land for several acres around it, once you got past the Antigous's personal garden, were alive with wheatfields, the clear measure of the families income. There were a few servants quarters and toolsheds, but anybody that hadn't been in the house during the attack was long gone. The large wooden door to the house was swinging open on one hinge, the knob and lock broken outright. There was no answer to Alexis's terms. Some shuffling was heard within the house, but the windows were made with expensive glass and it was only possible to see through them one way. The ruffians didn't know this though, and the sound of drapes being swung shut was heard from upstairs. Laurent and Alexis nodded to each other, and the Spear quickly moved inside the building, red sashes of their brotherhood trailing behind them. Upon entering the building, Alexis discarded his spear at the door next to the coat hangers, Gideon and Laurent following close behind and doing the same. Shields and swords in hand, the three looked around the large hallway. Gideon remained at the entrance while Laurent and Alexis quickly swept the lower floors, assuring themselves that all the ruffians were upstairs. The downstairs of the estate, five seperate rooms, had been destroyed beyond belief, clearly in the initial drunken attack on the noblemans holdings. Chairs and tables were broken, sofas were burnt. The one building that had made it out in one piece strangely enough was the wine cellar, which looked to be draining quickly. Laurent made a special note of a two hundred year old bottle of port on the top shelf, but filed it in the back of his mind. First things first, as always. Returning to Gideon, the three moved quickly up the staircase, admiring the marble railing that the Antigous family was obviously proud of. Alexis was trying to remember if he'd enjoyed any dinner parties in this house as a child, but his nostalgia was broken when the three entered the upstairs dining room, their eyes resting along a large wooden dining table covered in a mess of meat, cheese and bread, and the naked slave girl, sitting on her knees in the corner of the room, tears in her eyes. The captain of the Cardinal Spear went immediately to her, pulling his bright red cloak off his back and draping her in it, covering her small form with his shield in a reassuring hug, Alexis staring at the slave and filing something else in his mind for a later time. The girl, still in shock from a few nights before, tried to kick him away but was unable to make any real struggle. After a few silent moments, she pointed towards the bedroom door on the opposite end of the room, cracked open a slight degree. Alexis silently smiled at the girl, and took off his mail glove to thank her by holding her cheek. The girl stopped her shivering, and with a nod the three of them moved slowly towards the door. Without a word, Alexis made several hand signals, Laurent dropping his shield and moving to the door, his sword in one hand and his other open wide. They waited several seconds, and then Alexis kicked open the door and backed away, Laurent dashing in immediately. One of the guards was ready with a knife, but he wasn't ready for Laurent, a bright orb of white light flashing to life in his open hand with the vibrancy of any torch. Temporarily blinded, the mans life was instantly ended with a scream as a sword went through his heart. The slave girl shook in Alexis's cloak at the sound and began to cry as the Cardinal Spear quickly entered the room, eyeing up the other four ruffians. They had mere daggers, except for Erian who handled an old sword in his right and a dagger in his left. Their clothes were dirty and old, and didn't match the splendor of the Antigous's elaborate bed quarters by a longshot. No words were exchanged. Gideon and Alexis flew at the robbers, two of whom falling with another pair of screams. Erian came at Alexis, who moved to stop his blade with Varans finest iron, but in that moment he dropped to his knees, struck with a piercing headache. The black and silver robed scoundril in the back dropped his hands, and Erians blow came close to felling Alexis's neck, but Laurent was quickly there, stopping the blow with his right armguard. The sword cracked Laurents armor, but his arm was intact, and Erian died in the next moment. Feeling they'd caused enough bloodshed, it was not long before Erians Conjuror fellow was bound and gagged, and Alexis was reassuring the slave girl of her safety. --- The Antigous family arrived on the scene three hours later, the Cardinal Spear standing at attention in front of his porch, the tied robber on the ground in front of them. Alexis told the nobleman the situation as they had found it, and was thanked profusely. It was only his duty, Alexis said it was his duty, and that was more or less the end of it. Before leaving however, Laurent finally couldn't take it anymore, and broke his usual respectable upper class demeanor. "Sir, begging your pardon but we are so far from the city and it's been quite a while since we've had a drink, I was wondering if you'd care to humor us with a glass of port? After all, I hear the Antigous family is famous for their collection." Laurent normally wouldn't stoop so low, but he didn't just have port on his mind. Outcome: Mission complete District Bodyguard Arcaile grinned as he watched Cias and Dasmis bicker a short way down the hall. Their voices though kept low were heated, Cias berating Dasmis over something Arcaile couldn’t quite hear as he eavesdropped. The night had been as quiet as possible in the slums of Ayotya the only time they had to flex their muscle thus far was to discourage a pickpocket from trying to make a profit off of their ward. The man was tight lipped about what he was hiding from, or even why he was in Ayotya. Arcaile supposed he didn’t really care, beyond wondering why the man chose one of the worst parts of Ayotya, but he took pleasure in knowing that he and his crew were doing their job well. He could hear the snores coming through the thick wooden door he leaned against; testament to the man’s condition. “And you still need to trim that beard! It’s probably crawling with lice and all manner of other strangeness!” It was easy to tell that the argument was coming to a close when Cias started making jabs at Dasmis’ appearance, usually when Dasmis was getting the upper hand in annoying her. “Hush you two, we’re hear to work, not wake the inn.” Rebuked Cias flushed a little before stomping down the stairs, muttering something about watching to make sure nobody snuck up to the second floor and surprised them. The Veiled Blade made it through the rest of the evening with out incident, the man they guarded paying them and disappearing the following morning. “15 gold, awfully expensive for a goodnight’s rest!” Arcaile’s handsome face grinned at his two companions, tossing them their share of the gold, all three disappearing into the morning crowds of Ayotya. Outcome: Mission Complete! Bonus Zeny: 45654. Bonus items: Silk Robe, Hi Potion. Just kidding |
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