Raindrop Valkyrie

"Certainly will be the case if we don't try. We'll never get anywhere sitting around waiting to die. Why bother givin' up? That's easy. Trust me... l know this is all the stupid stuff they say in fairy tales and stories of grand good versus evil. l know the world doesn't work that way. l'm not stupid. l know very well how it works. My mother taught me very well. Her life was hard. She made a name for herself in this world... she carved a place for herself and her children. She fought for me as a single mother, all on her own while running a guild so renowned all around the world knew it's name. She didn't get there giving up. She didn't get there, thinking "well, The Tailor's Association has tried to buy me out yet again today". She buckled her bootstraps and went out there and kicked ass, all the while raisin' me to kick ass too. l don't have a family to protect... a household, or a business. The only things for me to protect are my friends and the world. Sometimes life don't work out. Sometimes it just throws everything in your face and nothing sticks. But, if you give up you deserve the nothing you get. lf you don't strive for anything... You will never get anything. l'd rather die knowing l actually tried then live longer in despair and melancholy." She took a deep breath. "Life, justice, romance... Fate. lt's what you make of it. Perhaps my ideals may seem naive... or childish to you, but... l don't really care. l believe them. That's the only person who needs to. Do you believe in anything? And l don't mean that you are doomed to rot here, that this is your end. Do you believe in the truths you see through your fortune telling? Got your answer? lf so good. Don't tell it to me.~ lt's not something l need to know. Only you need to know what you believe. Now... lf you don't mind you can come along if we find a way out of this place. But l'm not going to beg you. lf you wish to die here, you may. l will not live your life, lt's yours." "l however, have a friend to find. He saved my life once, l still owe him one. Until then... dying is on hold until further notice.~"

"No one should face such a thing because of the truth. lt's not right." However in such a common platitude, Rayne noticed something. As airheaded as she was... that didn't mean she wasn't observant. She could see her hands shaking. Her emotions about as well hidden as Rayne's own. But, Rayne wasn't really attempting to hide her emotion at all. "However if the truth is your domain... why don't you tell me how you really feel? Why put up this facade? No one wants to die. lt further this is no just sentence. l will not see you lose your life cause of some madman who take offense to something he refuses to accept. You should not have to pay for that. l'm getting you out of here. For this isn't justice, it's a sick twisted visage of it. Petty revenge... from a tiny man. l am a hero of justice, l will not stand for such blasphemy. l'd not be a Marigold otherwise. We may be but simple tailors! BUT DOESN'T MEAN WE DON'T UNDERSTAND HONOR! On name of the Marigolds, l swear. l must be bright as the sunflower, and not let shadow corrupt. lt is my duty to eradicate such blemishes from the world. " "So, Ms. Fortuneteller, you're coming with me and my friends."

"l... don't know. l don't really know what's happening. l was just helping my friends. We ended up in a trap... thought we'd be..." she didn't finish the thought. She'd rather not think about the alternative right now. She stumbled for the words but she was having trouble finding them. "But... l've got someone out there relying on me. They are all alone right now. l told them they never would be again. l can't be stuck here. l'm not allowed to be." Rayne stopped for a moment and thought to herself. "You know for a fortune teller... you're rather grim. That how you got here?"

Rayne was in the corner of her cell. She had her eyes closed as she paced back and forth. She was familiar with the surroundings already, so she wasn't at any risk of bumping into anything. She was worried about Beau. She hated being away from him. He was bad with others, he was alone again. She didn't want to leave him alone she promised she wouldn't. She couldn't help it... it wasn't like she was intentionally breaking her promise, but she couldn't help but feel like the world was ending. Her stomach was in knots with the worry, writhing in it. She tried to push it from her mind but she couldn't really. lt just lingered there, clawing and gnawing at her. She decided there was no point doing this and at least... something would hopefully distract her for the time being. She looked to see if she could spot Clarisse, but seemingly, no dice. Though instead she heard a new voice. Not a guard or one of thevr captors. No, lt was another prisoner? Strange they'd speak up, though perhaps she was jsut sticking up for the rowdy wyvern rider. Who really knew besides her? "Who are you? What's your name?" a couple simple and straight-forward questions all she said, the only words to come to her at the moment. lt'd be obvious to the newcomer she was distraught about something. lt was the clearest thing in her voice.

"Clarisse! You're hurt!" Rayne exclaimed. She had felt something warm but wet through her friend's armour. She wasn't really sure what it was at first, mostly due to the amount of things going on, but she realized now. lt was Clarisse's blood on her hands. She hugged her tighter to her chest, probably squeezing a bit of the air out of her in the process. "You... You need to be careful. l... l dunno what l'd do without you." She held onto her for a time as Beau flew closer to the frontlines. She had to let Clarisse go, she had to help get their friends out safely. She put her face into her shoulder. She new she had to enough though she was scared for her. Clarisse could feel something wet on her shoulder, along with the weight of Rayne's head. She left Clarisse off wiping away her tears, before she shouted to get their healer's attention. "Emilee! Clarisse is wounded! She's going to need patching up so we can get the others out of there safely!" Beau snorted, it was as if he was judging the far group. "Look what y'all did. You made her cry. l cannae forgive that. Ye best be livin', that way you can pay your penance." Move to D8, drop (Nuclear Fighter Package; bae) Clarisse into D9, Canto to D5

"Ah see Little Bird? Right on cue they run to their deaths." she said dumping out the little remains in her pipe. She stamped out the ashes with quite a bit of gusto before once more placing her hand on her sword's hilt. She, saw her prey, how weak it was. They were hanging on the edge of life, so it was strange they had moved forward. Perhaps he couldn't resist the urge to take on someone he thought was defenseless. Bad news inkheart... the archer wasn't the only one here. She dashed up to him, drawing her sword and attacking at the same time. An oft unused sword art, the iaijutsu. Move to I26, and dispatch the Myrm with an lron Surprise

Meredith was glad that Renee was escorted to safety. She looked rather worse for wear when she helped with the convincin'. She'd probably not really stay standing too long if she was under attack from all these solders at the front. She wondered if they would break formation, that seemed unlikely. They were diligent to stay at their posts. Only the Axeman in front of her took a swipe. They missed of course, unwieldy armour aaaaaaand weapon? Was a recipe for disaster. She knew her attack wouldn't scratch the bastard but she throw one anyway. They couldn't of known after all. She took a step back coming shoulder to shoulder with Serene, but more importantly, Cherry. She couldn't really stop lightning from on high but she could stand in the way of anyway who thought it a good idea to come forward. "Oi, You alright? Took a nasty blow there ya did. You worry about dodgin' that lightnin'. l'll worry about the ones in front of us. They won't get through me. l'll protect ya from their pointy metal objects. That ya can be sure of.~" She said giving her a smile. She tapped Serene on the shoulder. "You too Firecracker. Watch out for those lightning bolts. Look something nasty." Move to E12, and Hold

"My Goons? PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE!!! Those idiots? They couldn't tell their elbow from their ass..." *** Groove was definitely wise to get them moving. Some rustling could be heard down the way. The ever so obvious sound of metal armour clanking about. They were close enough to be heard but probably still weren't quite in earshot yet if they kept their voices low. The number was still impossible to identify, but it was certainly a group of more than 3. They didn't seem all that well organized though as pale torch light poked in and out of the night in erratic places. All that were visible were situated in front of the carriage. They were taking their sweet time though, probably having decided their quarry was dead. William grabbed Jess by the shoulder to more or less try and stabilize her. "Oi, focus and keep yer voice low. He got enemies afoot. Probably bandits due to the quarrels fired at us, but who knows for sure? Either way let's move off into the brush here we might be able to take 'em by surprise." quickly he signalled to the others to follow. {Groove recieves a new weapon! lt is added to his inventory. ((just use the stats of William's crossbow. lt'd be pretty much the same))}

Beau snorted as if to say "Damn... these idjits really got themselves into a pickle... You're lucky l like you girlie..."of course he couldn't say anything he was but a Pegasus. Rayne on the other hand was just getting more and more overwhelmed by the situation at hand. She wasn't really sure how much more of this she could take but she had to keep it together. She had to help them all get out of this accursed place. She swallowed trying to center herself and destroy that sick feeling in her stomach. She noticed that Clarisse wasn't moving herself. "Clarisse! What are you doing we need to fall back?!" she shouted. The Enemies were closing in and fast. Rayne wasn't sure Clarisse would be able to get away from them on her own. She tapped Beau twice. He lifted his head and stood alert. He looked over to Clarisse and knew what she wanted him to do already. He snorted in response. Rayne swiftly put Beau into action flying over to the girl as fast as he could manage. Rayne scooped her up, much easier this time as she wasn't lying on the ground, and pulled her into a sitting position in front of her. "Hi Clarisse~ Me and Beau are escorting you out of here. Well... if that's okay with you l suppose." Rescue Clarisse then Canto to E5

Anemone Any other normal person would probably find what just happened to be quite disgusting or to some degree unsettling. Wasn't everyday someone spawned a little flesh creature from their body. However, this was Anemone. She followed the little creature with her eyes as it floated around, quite interested in it. lt was quite puzzling. Perhaps due to this being a spark... it was able to be made of a biological substance? She figured that was the case. "Summoned entities aren't truly living beings. They don't really have anything that could be called intelligence, even on an animal level. At most you could give them simple instructions. But it seems to me, least from how you spoke of their past actions, these little guys already have a prime directive. Which is to protect you or your allies. Perhaps they can be manipulated or given other simple orders? l'm not entirely certain." Anemone walked up to the little creature and poked it, mostly to make absolutely sure she could physically touch it. That would prove it wasn't an illusion 100% for Wendy if someone else could interact with it. The other part was she thought it was kinda cute in it's own ugly way, kinda similar to how one would find Pug Dogs cute.

Because l can and need an outlet to talk about something. Brigandine. A little videogame l know none of you have heard about unless you've heard me singing it's praises like the mad lunatic l am. lt's a really old tactics game. PS1 era in fact that was pretty limited print so it turned out to be pretty hard to find. lt begin my love affair with the gaming publisher Atlus, as they published the game abroad. Atlus is kinda known for taking chances on all sotrs of wacky Japanese titles and porting them to the states to see how they do. You can thank them for the Souls series catching on over here by the way. They published Demon Souls, the true first Souls game. ((sorry tangent.)) Anyway, Brigandine is a game with a relatively simple premise. Zemeckis, a General of the country Almekia, believes he is to be hung for treason as he is told by his most trusted advisor. Cador comes to him not just to warn him but to encourage Zemeckis stage a bloody coup of Almekia. lt works all to easily and Zemeckis gathers his forces and burns the captiol of Almekia to the ground. He murders the king, and almost kills the sole heir but he gets away. ((with is covered in the Prince's storyline as he's one of the leaders of the playable factions in the game.)). With this act, Zemeckis plunges the entire continent of Forsena into war. 6 Nations all have no choice left. They must fight to unite all of Forsena or be wiped off the face of the world, and lost to history. The game has 6 factions, 1 in the original version of the Game being unplayable as they are the main antagionstic force, though in a later Japan only release, The Grand Edition, they are given a whole campaign and do become playable as well. (there is a way to cheat and play them in the original via a cheat code, however they don't have a storyat all. You can only play out the battles.)) The nations as follows: New Almekia: A Kingdom that has had it's reigns handed to the runaway prince. A Country once known as Padstow, ruled by the Old King Cole. However, Cole senses something he likes in the young prince who fled to his country seeking asylum. He sees the young lad's resolve ((and the secret motive of keeping his overly ambitious son from gaining power from when he passes)), and he hands the reigns to him. New Almekia is born under the leadership of Prince Lance. They are represented by the colour Red. Lead by: Lance Caerleon: A small land by the sea, a place of magical power and strong natural borders. lt is a rather small nation full of spellcasters lead by the Wise King Cai. Early on in the war they make a smart move to further secure their position. Upon hearing of the new nation of New Almekia, they set off to welcome the now refugee prince. They extend a hand in alliance securing their northern border leaving them only one front they must fight on. A wise move by a wise king. They are represented by the colour Green. Lead by: Cai Leonia: Another highly magical nation that boasts strong borders and the only nation that finds themselves sheltered from the Empire ((more on them later)) a huge boon early on for sure. However, they are a pious nation, full of bishops, priests, clerics, prophets, and a few native tribes of people. They are lead by a young tribeswoman who recently has started having visions. A young girl by the name of Lyonesse. They are represented by the colour Cyan. ((other say they are light blue or green but cyan makes it more clear imo as there is a green nation and a blue nation already... as you'll see coming up)) Lead by: Lyonesse Norgard: Seriously, think the Starks from Game of Thrones. ((msotly joking but it's decently apt, their leader goes by the title "The White Wolf" soooooo... you tell me.)) That is this faction in a nutshell. They are the great northern warriors, mostly featuring physical combat classes. They have the most terriory of the normal nations at the start and the most soldiers as well out of the original 5 playable. Their leader, Vaynard is quite the conquerer, believing the only way to truly unite Forsena is to subjugate all others but Norgard. He tries to make an alliance of sorts with Lyonesse early on but... bungles it by putting his foot in his mouth when he makes his intentions to take her as his queen pretty known. Diplomatic fail of major proportions. Norgard is represented by a dark blue. Lead by: Vaynard lscalio: What a nation. lscalio is a land ruled by a mad tyrant king you dresses as a clown in full plate armour and runs around with a giant scythe of doom. ((yes really.)) ln fact a lot of the nations knights are dressed as clowns, and other usually pretty unscrupulous types. ((one is a known mercenary, yet they keep him around. etc. etc.)) There's very few stand-up knights in the court of lscalio, with exception of a few. They start off with about the worst positioning in the game having to fight on 3 fronts right off the bat while having one of the smaller armies (9barely bigger than Lances' or Cai's forces.)) The Mad Tyrant Dryst loves a good gamble though, so he's more than willing to b at this much of a detriment. Just makes him look all the more cool when he wins. Seriously this nation is basically the game's built in hardmode arguably harder to play even than the next one l will talk about. They are represented by Yellow or Orange... not sure which. l prefer to say orange. Lead by: Dryst Esgares Empire: The main big bads of the first release, Esgares is the new nation Zemeckis forges from the ashes of Almekia. He declares himself Emperor and begins his war against Forsena, seeking to take all for himself. ln the Grand Edition of the game, one that provided tons of balance changes and a lot of reworking to improve the game's quality, they gained their own story mode and became a playable nation along with the other 5. Esgares is unique in that they start with insanely powerful leaders and their forces are by far the strongest in the game, however they start smack dab in the middle of the map, leaving them open to a whooping 4/5 nations. Only Leonia cannot directly attack them at the start as a mighty mountain rnage divides them as a natural unpassable border. Esgares also has a unique little problem of not being exactly the most liked group so no knights ever join their cause.Though with acces to the two strongest characters in the whole game, Zemeckis and his adviser Cador the Death Knight... and a whole slew of high level characters, who needs puny allies? Due to their relative might they tend to be able to keep a foothold much better than lscalio due to having more starting resources, making them a lot easier to get rolling. Esgares is probably the intended true hardmode nation. They are represented by purple. (THE COLOUR OF EVlL!!!) Lead by: Zemeckis Map of Forsena; At game's start: A quick run down of the mechanics. Each nation has a collection of Rune Knights. These a group of people able to control magic runes and further, use them to control mythical monsters. Rune Knights have a stat known as Rune Power, or a max limiter for howmany creatures they may control. More powerful creatures? The higher the cost of that creature. Dragons, Demons, Angels? Super expensive. Hell Hounds, pixies, ghouls, and little jinns? Super low. The goal is to use your dudes, to attack your enemies fortresses and cities and steal them for yourself. Each fort or city you own gains you mana. Mana is a resource used to purchase and pay the upkeep cost of monsters. The more mana you have the more you can kick your opponents butts. You may bring 3 knights to a battle. Each Knight brings with them a squad of monsters either using up most of the rune power they have or, a maximum of 6. ((regardless of Rune Cost.)) Battles are won by forcing your opponent to retreat ((which they will if they are losing horribly usually.)) or defeating all enemy rune knights. When a Rune Knight falls all their remaining creatures flee with them as they withdraw from battle to avoid fatal injury. Monster though when reaching 0 HP die FOREVER. So, think of it this way. Your Leaders choose to play Fire Emblem on Casual, but your monster went for classic mode instead. Monsters are for the most part expendable as they are pawns to ehlp protect your own leaders and give you victory, however keeping monsters alive does allow them to gain levels and eventually promote into stronger monsters. ((think Fire Emblem.)) Rune Knights can class up as well, but you never need to worry about permanently losing them as they are only wounded if they fall in battle ((which means in the next round of fights you can't use them.)) The game is in two phases. First Organization phase. This is played on the above provided map, though it looks more like this ((the above map is a territory checker to see who owns what land. This one below is the game map.)) You manage your forces and prepare to set up the attack phase. This includes summoning monsters, promoting Rune Knights and monsters that have reached a multiple of 10 to their new class, equipping gear, etc etc... You may move them anyway within your territory so long as it's connected by a road. ((those little dusty brown trails on the map above. They aren't shown on the domain map for some reason.)) Once you get everything set up, you lock in your choices and the game progresses to attack phase! You now have to react to how the enemy moved their forces as well. As a note, unoccupied forts are automatic victories for the invading force. Otherwise you can send any number of knights to attack an adjacent fort attached by a road. However as previously stated, in the actual fight you may only use 3 ((but as many as you like may come along, they jsut don't get to fight. They will be there afterwards though which is important.)) Knights that moved to a different castle during the move phase MAY NOT attack an enemy fort until the next attack phase. ((fictionally, the time the attack is being prepared they are still arriving there so they can't mobilize in time to go out on a mission too. lt's mostly to prevent you from surprise ganking and that you have to more or less make your attack clear by waiting a turn so your opponent can react to mass troop movement.)) They MAY defend their fort if it's attacked by an enemy however. The game is won by taking ever last fort from your enemies hands. ((ln the case of New Almekia and Caerleon you can leave the other and still win but... where's the fun in that? Muhuhu~)) Battles take place on a battle map, or a hex grid. Every fort actually has a unique map for itself and the terrain around the fort on the world map is actually mirrored in the hex map. Even down to that you also enter the map on the road from the castle you attacked from ((so attacking forts from different forts actually can be harder or easier due to the different terrains on that side.)) Anyway, that's the short version. ((yes seriously.)) there's so much more l could talk about but this text wall is long enough. Feel free to ask me more though! lt's actually still one of my favourite games ever made if not my FAVOURlTE game of all time.~ ((#DrystlsTheMan))

William was inclined to agree. He'd been a soldier once. He'd seen the effects of such. Good men died cause lesser ones couldn't stand their ground. He just thought about it though as he loaded the back of the coach with supplies. He was rather spry for an old guy. "hmmm, 5. That should be enough. lt was more than l was expecting." William said, trying to remain some sort of positive. And he really wasn't lying. He didn't expect any like the last few nights so 4 was more than he could've dreamed for. "5. An old man, a practioner of the dark arts, a clown, a young priest... and a morning person...ick." the figure shifted in his chair. An alabaster hand came into view bathed in the warm orange. lt rested against his chin. He rubbed his chin along with his closely shaven beard. "Quite the motley crew. l wonder if they'll even get to the castle... l hope so. This will be interesting." The Old Road Area Theme: William knew the way to the way to the Old Road pretty well. After all, bandits were a constant issue and the ones that got bold would try and nick supplies from caravans all the time. William would need to send a few men to deal with them time and time again. He couldn't help but wonder how they were faring with Dracula's hoards running about. He knew some were certainly still alive, the rats were clever and resourceful. They'd not have managed back there all this time if they were fools. One could tell they were traversing more forgotten roads at this point as the wagon bucked and tossed on the terrible road. William wasn't bothered none. He used to be a rough rider after all, he'd dealt with worse terrain. As for those in the carriage? Who knew really. He turned to a young lad sitting next to him. Man about 20 named Tim. He held a crossbow in his lap, one that was much newer than Ol' Betsy. One that hadn't seen nearly as much battle. "Keep your eyes peeled lad. We could be set upon any moment." "Aye Sir." After that it remained quiet for a long while. Too long. They trudged deeper into the forested Old Road, the deeper they got the more eerie it became. The air was nothing but tension as it hung silent. There wasn't even a peep from the typical nocturnal creatures. Not one owl hooting, no bugs chirping. Nothing. As if this place was dead. The only light came from the lanterns hung on the carriage. A few blazing lights against the dark of night. lt was all that protected them from it's inky black grip. The only source of comfort they had. the silence was made worse every time the wagon jolted, resulting in a loud crash. The lights would flail about causing their light to dance mad in the darkness. A dizzying and yet mystifying display. *** Two men laid in wait at the end of the road. They spoke back and forth under their breath as they heard the clear sound of a wagon approaching. One clad in full plate armour, that of a long forgotten crusader of the church, spoke first. "For God's sake Dismas. We're going to die out here." The second now spoke. He was much more practically dressed. He wore a long and worn duster for the trail, and a red scarf clung to his face. He held a small flintlock pistol in his hand, twirling the trigger guard around in finger in quite the display. "Get it together Reynauld, we need to think." "Aye, you're right friend. Apologies. A carriage approaches. You think it the minions of Dracula?" "100% my friend. No fool would come through here 'cept that bastard's dogs. Especially via carriage. Let us ready the men. We'll need the archers to take out the driver or his aide and to take down the carriage. Hopefully they die in the crash." "lf they truly are the minions of Dracula they will not. We must be prepared for battle." the crusader said drawing his sword. "l hope they've got some good stuff on 'em." *** lt was much to late for William to react as Tim's warning never came. lnstead it came in the form of a crossbow bolt to the lad's right eye. Clearly, he wasn't surviving that one. Another thudded into the wagon's axle causing it to lock up and given William's attempts to serve, it caused the coach to tumble over on it's side. The lanterns were tossed from the sides shattering and sending flaming hot oil into the night. Fires burned. There was time to get their feet and recollect themselves somewhat due to the dark. They'd not be set upon immediately. William himself pushed Tim's body off of himself. He kept low and tried to get to the carriage. He spoke in a low tone trying to be unheard by ones that attacked them from the shadows. He wasn't sure how close they were or or how many there were. "We're under attack. Be careful when ye get out. l'm not sure as to their intent. But it doesn't seem to be theft. They'd not have risked damaging our goods if they thought we were a trade caravan."

Anemone Anemone was sure that this came from a spark. it's signature was too unique to not be one. Wendy seemed quite distraught over this as far as Anemone could tell. She was certainly trying to hide it and for her credit was doing a good job at it. Anemone thought to herself a moment. "l'm not lying. The signature of this magic is much to unique to be anything other than a spark. l wish you could see what l do, but... l don't think it'd set much at ease. Anyway, you said this isn't what it should do. What was your prior understanding of your spark?"

"Aye, that'd be correct Jess." William looked around. He expressed some regret as it was a much younger crowd taking up the mantle for this, other than his old bones of course. William supposed it was the young that always took charge though. No good bloody cowards that forced them to shoulder their burdens though. People always content that someone else will deal with it. William couldn't help but hope they made their tombs and lied in them, but he'd never say it aloud. The old man sighed just adjusting his hat. "Well, it's nearly the evenin' and we should really get down to the Old Road before dark. lt seems she leads to the Castle now. Help me get the stagecoach ready, then we can get this mission underway." "Hmmm, the old road huh? A place full of rats and brigands somehow even with my legions. Be a shame if they died to other humans. Perhaps l should clear the way for them? Though, they are my enemy. Perhaps only a little bit. l'll send Slogra and Gaibon to meet them halfway. Clears out some of the bandits... my minions kill them... win win no?"

"Good to see your as chipper as ever Miss Burke." William said with a chuckle. He picked up Betsy, placing her cross on the ground. He looked over his growing force. Suddenly, things were coming together. Maybe this wasn't so doomed after all. "l'm sure the guards will manage well without you though Miss Burke. You've surely taught them well, l'm sure they will keep the people safe while we take on the castle head on." He said placing his hat to his chest again. "Ahhhh... hope. Disgusting..." "and greetings traveler. l've not seen you 'round these parts before, but your assistence is welcome. Any help you can offer is welcome." he said with a smile to the newcomer, placing his hat on his old balding head. "We should get ready to move out soon. Not sure if we'll get anyone else, we've got a bit of time left though."

Anemone "Oh l can definitely see it Wendy. But... it's definitely not an illusion of some kind." Anemone's other hand was still in Wendy's so she couldn't put a hand to her chin to strike that signature thinking pose but she looked deep in thought. Her ponytail swung back and forth rythmically much like a metronome as she puzzled over it. She had to read out what her truesight was telling her. "lt's definitely magic but it's not an illusion. A golem of some sort? Weird, but it seems to be made of organic matter. l don't recall that being possible." She stared closer realizing truly what it was. "Wait, this is... Wendy. You summoned this? But it's not just any generic magic. lt's your spark. lt has a trace of magic to it l've never seen before, so that's the only explanation."

"Oh, Mrs. Aylward." William said picking up his hat and placing it to his chest. He was clearly taken a bit off guard. He stood up and looked her over, sure as day, it was Oleander no doubt. She was reliable that was for sure. He didn't see Mical though. Didn't figure he'd show. the man wasn't worth much in a fight. Nothin' wrong with that, it was just the truth. He wondered how worried the poor sap was. He was quite the worrywart. "So, how many of Mical's teeth you have to pull to get him to leave you go?" he jested to lighten the mood a little. "Eh, worry ya none about that though, l'm just glad somebody's got a mind to listen. Hopefully one's enough to get a few others." *** "Hmmm, so the first comes. And a witch. lnteresting... interesting. Seeking to use dark magic against me... laughable really."

Three days it's been. Aye, three days since that castle showed up. l got up early yet again, little to no sleep. l had to find some brave enough to travel to that damned place. l went out to the square, crossbow in me 'and. Hopefully, these old bones could inspire something in these people. William, the old mayor of Valtoria spent all day in town square yet again trying to gather folks to come with him. Most were just more concerned with protecting the town from the nightly raids of monsters. They thought they'd only have a chance to hold out if they stayed put. lf those were the monsters that flooded out the gate... what horrors lay inside? William knew that wasn't good enough though. lf someone didn't brave the castle this would go on forever. The nights would only grow longer and more filled with danger. *** The Castle William is seen, begging passersby for help in a strange crystal apparatus. A cascade of liquid glass floating in some sort of magical field. A figure is seated in a mighty chair, fit for royalty. The room is dark save for the dim candlelight that lights the dark castle interior. lt bounces about the room, reflecting off the strange magical glass in it center causing a dull orange glow to fill the room. A smile comes into view, perfect white teeth that catch the orange warmth. The wicked grin has something that makes it all the more sinister however. The two top incisors come to a long point. A fang, much more fitting a bat or a wolf than that of a human. The figure laughs through his teeth looking at the scene. "Would you look at them squirm? Humans are so amusing when faced with their demise." a deep gravely voice spoke out to no one in particular. Despite his apparent merriment, he seemed quite bored. Perhaps it was just how his voice sounded, like that of a chilled grave on an early morning. "Predictable as well, hmmm. We wonder when the more interesting ones will arrive. We've got one. He's got to entice others to his aid...and their subsequent doom trying to oppose us. lt'd be a pity if it was but the one. That'd be too easy. And not nearly enough fun.~" The figure continued to watch William through his strange looking glass, his statuesque features highlighted by the faint orange glow. lt was the beginning, for he had risen once more. Would the humans prevail...? Or would he finally wipe them out this time? Only time would tell. *** William lt was nearly evening, and William had failed to drum up anything once more. Perhaps it was time to start organizing the night watch. He couldn't help but sit in the dust feeling defeated though. He took off his hat and laid it in his lap placin' old Betsy to his side on the bench he was seated on now. "Damn, and l thought today maybe l'd find somebody." ((Just go bug William to intro your character~))

Anemone Anemone noted Genie's response. She didn't really answer her question so she probably hit it exactly on the head. The girl seemed completely dumbfounded and it was clear she was searching for an out. "Hmmm, made it awkward. That's a new one. l'm usually not the one that causes that. So, that's a new one." she thought to herself as she made her mental note of Genie's reaction. Luckily for Genie, Wendigo had just shown up shifting the conversation somewhere else. "Damn, lucky, l had complete control over you for a moment. Had ya against the ropes could've gotten whatever l wanted. Oh well~" Anemone mused as she waited for the new arrival to speak. "Wendy, you look fabulous in that~. l see l've still got my knack for fashion then." Anemone said proud of herself. She made a point to help the kids out with that when they had gotten home. She figured it help them feel more at home to have helped them with their clothing choices and get the clothes of their own. Her ponytail wagged back in forth as she lost herself in thought for a moment proud of the girl in front of her. "OH! You wanted me to help with something. Ye, l can do that! Not like l've got anything to do today, arm falli... hmmm." she said picking up her injured arm with her other and waving it around a little before remembering it was Wendy she was talking to. "Okay... maybe l am the awkward one..." she thought to herself. "Anyway... me being an idiot asiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide... Ye. No problem Wendy. l can help ya out no trouble." She then quickly looked over to lce. "And you stay out of trouble. l'm not supposed to be babysitting you too." and then she walked over to Wendy and bowed. She outreached her hand towards her. "You may now whisk me away fair maiden.~ l shall assist you to the best of my abilities." she waited for Wendigo to take her hand and lead her out of the room.

"Well, if you're so eager, you could pick a blade yourself you know." The swordswoman laughed. She took quite a bit of damage from that mage, getting singed for her trouble. Nothing too bad she could stomach a bit of fire. Her injuries were piling up though and it probably wasn't wise to run off looking for more battle, even if she fought at her best when she was on the brink of destruction. She placed some of her pipeleaf in her pipe and smoked it, calming her nerves. The familiar off-white smoke poured from the end of it. "Let's not get too hasty. l'm not looking to get cut down today. They are the attackers here, let them have their intuitive. What's it matter if they make the first move if it just to get into range of our blades?" Stay put and use "smoke"? Vulnerary.

Rayne moves to H1, equips lron Javelin

Anemone Anemone looked at Genie with... blank look on her face. She just stared at her for a moment. Probably for a time that made the hanging air, super uncomfortable. The gears in her head were turning however. As she was thinking about the question. Such didn't really occur to her before. She'd just taken it for granted. She was told something she took it for face value. However, the doubt introduced here didn't really change her mind just how she thought about it. "That explains his name being Natasha." Anemone thought to herself. "Do you mean biologically or Ansuz's gender? Cause Ansuz himself refers to themselves as male. Therefore that is their gender. l'd not know about you know... that though. l assume you do though. Hence why you're asking. l'm not sure l'd have pinned Ansuz as transgender, but it fits given what l know and can infer from your question."

Anemone Tomorrow huh? Anemone wasn't really sure why but whatever. The one with questionably more medical knowledge than herself said so, so she would. She was taken off-guard by Genie asking a question suddenly. She was planning to get out of here as soon as possible. She'd probably need to save energy while on rest. Genie wouldn't see her jolt, but her ponytail would've stopped it's slight rhythm. Perhaps noticeable, but who knew? "Well, you can. As to whether l'll answer... or even have one, depends on the question."

K, the cut off for sheets is today. Will be making my deliberations on the characters that get in hopefully by the end of today. Will post here and probably announce on the Discord as well. No more sheets will be accepted at this time. Update: These will be the characters accepted for the RP. Groove Filcher Oleander Aylward Jess Bedelia Burke lt shall be these 4 for now. Sorry for those that didn't get picked this time around. With the way this RP is going to be though don't count yourself out entirely~ While l do extend the chance to make a new character to the players already in first if they should die, you will still have a chance to be put in. We'll see how things progress l suppose lel. And do feel free to still hang out in the Discord and discuss the RP and chat with the folks playin'! The lC should be up sometime soon~ Keep an eye out.