Aurorix

Pork Cutlet Blow? This? No this has gone far beyond such a dish. What should he do? There's no way he would eat this normally, but Viola is starring at him. He can't just throw it away. No, the least he could do was try one bite. Who knows, maybe it'll be better than it looks? Time seemed to slow down as the shaky spoon inched it's way ever closer to his mouth before... *chomp* A few moments of pure silence filled the cave before. "Agh, urg, plegh!" He tried to swallow it but his body refused spat it out. The taste was indescribable. The texture slimy yet rough, and it felt like your mouth was filled with sand with a bunch of crunchy bits. "WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS IS THIS!?!?!?" The boy blurted out in an uncontrollable rage, "I tried to shove it down, but this doesn't even deserve the title of slop! This, I wouldn't even torture my worst enemies by feeding them this!"

Zentilin looked down at the... food? on his plate. He lifted up a spoonful of the substance before examining it more thoroughly. By the gods, it really could be that bad, "So, uhhhhhhh, what exactly is this dish? I never seen anything quite like it before." He spoke trying to get some sort of sense of what she was trying to cook. "What exactly did you put into it?"

"You have more experience than me, never touched a ladle in my life. I've been living off whatever I could snatch from the temple or what I could buy at towns." "But, I doubt you could be that bad. Why not at least give it a go?"

"As if this day couldn't get any worse." Aster mumbled to himself trying to wipe whatever crap he can on the carpet to clean his shoes. He then turned his attention to Frostbite who just so happened to find a trap door. He may as well check it out, if she had reason to assault him like she did she must be hiding something down there. He then opened the door and took a look inside with Frostbite close behind.

Lyle chuckled and his sister's gripes, "This is why I said conserve your energy, your body can't go at full force all the time. You won't be any good if you're exhausted halfway through the fight. Though I think that should be enough for today. We're all at our limit after today and the future doesn't seem to get much easier, so rest. However, next time we're going to be doing a lot more."

Toshiro stayed silent during the meeting, Jun basically said everything so there was no need to speak up. "Defenses huh..." The fishman thought to himself as he left. He'll have to think of some way to help on that front, he hasn't really done anything substantial to really make him stand out here. Though Leo did want him to smelt the ore they got earlier, shouldn't take too long or be too hard he could finish both before going to bed. Leo want him to do it without using Gel, but there were just no usable fuel sources to get the job done. So he had to just smelt the ore he could with his time before leaving them to cool off and he'd come back to check on them tomorrow morning. Now, time for some shut eye.

"You're going to save your enemies, really? What if they aren't worth saving or what if they refuse to be saved? There are times where it's impossible to save someone, even if you try your hardest. I'm all for not needlessly killing people but things rarely tend to work out exactly as you plan it to. I just don't want your blood to be spilled because someone takes advantage of your kindness to stab you in the back."

"Like Myrdwyn said, we don't want to fight and it's not like we can avoid it when it comes." Belros said rummaging through his belt before getting a knife out. Just to be safe he thoroughly wiped it on his cloak just to make sure if it was one of the poison tipped blades, it wasn't poisoned anymore. "That being said, fighting doesn't always end nicely and not everyone is the most honorable out there. More often than not you'll have to kill in order to save your own hide. Taking this blade and using it to defend yourself means that you are prepared to end the life of the person on the receiving end of it, no if, and's or but's. If you aren't prepared to take a life than you may as well not even try to learn. So, take this if you are truly ready for that." He holds the knife on the blade, the blunt side facing inwards and the hilt over towards Emilee.

"Me? Reliable? Nah, she must be trying to butter me up or something. Though what if she is telling me how she truly feels. A genuine compliment, haven't heard one of those in a while." Was what went through Belros' head before Myrdwyn added her own comments. "Awww come on, Myrdwyn. I can't be THAT bad, can I?" There was a moment of silence... "Don't answer that." "Anyways, Emilee, I think it would be best if we had you starting out with how to use a knife. Seeing as you have the most experience dealing with those and Myrdwyn here apparently doesn't like swords. Plus, a knife has more use than just stabbing any cutthroat that happens to come at ya."

"I don't see how swords are impractical by any means, they seem to get the job done just fine." The boy shrugged before turning his attention back to Emilee "I mean, I don't know why you came to me of all people to ask for weapon training but I suppose it couldn't hurt to try and help. Though I have to ask, do you know anything about how to handle a weapon or are you going into this completely blind? Better question, have you ever picked up a blade before?"

Belros began to space out after the gaurdsman began to speak for the second time. He was still mulling over Randel, and was just starring off into the distance dead-eye'd. It wasn't until he noticed the two ladies in-front of him that he was dragged back into the real world. Something about kitchen utensils and... killing people? He wasn't sure what the context was but he had to say something. But what? "Wait, what now? Killing people with silverware? I mean a knife is good and all but I don't think you'll be doing anything lethal with a spoon." He said shaken up trying to come up with something on the fly.

Lyle watched as he saw his sister throwing her swings, arms crossed. She was definitely going or speed, though there was something fundamentally off about her approach. "Alright, stop. I see you like to swing fast and you do keep your arms steady. However, how long do you think you can last swinging at full speed like that? The answer is not long." The knight moved his sister's arms down in a fluid motion downwards, "The key is not going at full speed while using so much energy, it's about using as little energy as possible while also getting the most out of it. Unfortunately, I haven't trained much with a sword so I can't tell you what exactly what to do but, I want you to keep that in mind as you continue to do your swings." He stepped back, arms crossed, "Now, continue with your swings."

Xemnir was launched off his wyvern with Tekeshi's last attack, sending the prince and is wyvern on a nice journey towards the ground. A thud followed by a cloud of dirt followed as both of them are unable to pick themselves back up. "This cannot be... How could I lose..." The lordling muttered before fully collapsing on the ground. The mage behind him was stunned. How could a bunch of escapees defeat the prince? Though everything went black for the man and Zentilin went up behind him and smashed the hilt of his knife into the back of his head, knocking him unconscious. He picked up Doran, having him lean on his shoulder. "Come everyone, there's not much farther to go! It's a clear shot towards the exit!" The boy spoke heading towards the gates, having the rest of the group follow suit. The two doors busted open and everyone was able to make it to the cover of the trees. MAP CLEAR! FIRST CLASS PROMOTIONS! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 3: The Wong Place at the Wrong Time Zentilin lead the group through the dark undergrowths of the forest, well, most of the group. Mercadier got separated from the group after they escaped, whether it was on purpose or not no one knew. However, they couldn't waste time, they had to a lot of ground to cover in order to get a safe distance away from the tower. After a couple of hours of travel Zentilin stops the group. "We're here." The boy says walking through some bushes and tree branches before stopping at the mouth of a cave. Inside there are an assortment of sacks filled all kinds of fruits, vegies and meat, barrels filled with water and booze, and finally a wooden cart which he must of gotten all the food from. There was a pile of chopped wood near a circle of rocks, presumably to start a campfire along with a metal grate for cooking. Even more so there were multiple bed rolls. Zentilin then reached for the hood and pulled it down, finally revealing his face. "Ah, feels good to finally take that thing off." He stretched his arms outs, "I thought you all would enjoy some good food and drink after all you went though. So, I may have taken some of the good stuff the commander of the tower hoards for himself. Just make sure not to be too loud, just to be safe." The ex-prisoner Oliver decided to speak up, "Say, you all didn't need to save us so we both agreed you all deserve these." The two prisoners took off two pendants from their necks and held them out from someone to take, "It's nothing much but please take them, We hope they bring you good luck for the future." 2 Goddess Pendants: Increases Luck stat by 1 or can be sold for 2000g

"From what I can tell nothing about this forage seems off." The fishman speaks leaning closer to inspect the thing. "Well, I guess if anything IS out of the ordinary it'd be the excessive amount of gel they use as a fuel source. I swear you can see traces of it everywhere if you look hard enough."

Toshiro ate the cooked and didn't really say much. He was disappointed about not being able to get that one eel like creature. Oh well what can you do about it now. Once they made their way onto land he remembered something that Leo asked him to do. He wanted to meet up at the smithy or something like that. Whatever he wanted to do, the fishman would at least hear him out and head over there to check up on him. "Hey Leo, I'm here. You needed me for something?"

"Heh, alright then. However, lets finished what we've set out to do first. That being getting wood for the fire." The big bro spoke before he continued piling wood into his arms. Back when they were younger he used to teach Lyla basic fighting techniques, however, he was just as green as her if he was being honest. However, his time with the being part of the guard at Padstow helped sharpened his skills. Hopefully he'll be able to pass that to his lil sis. After a short while, the twins were able to get a sizable amount of wood and kindling. He set the pile in the middle of the group, he didn't know how to start a campfire but someone might be able to, whether it be through traditional means or through the help of fire magic. He's sure the one that was using some sort of magic before could do it, right? However, Lyle took two ripe looking sticks that seemed would serve well as practice swords from the stash. He tossed one over to Lyla before leading them out a safe distance from the others so no one would get hit but a stray swing. "Alright, now, show me your best swing." Lyle spoke, arms crossed to the side of Lyla. He watched for her technique, waiting for her to do the practice swing in the air.

"Heh, nothing unexpected. Never considered myself worthy either." He sighed before slowly getting up to his feet. He stood with a limp, seems the battle still had it's effects on him, not surprising though. "Alright then, unless anyone else wants to take a crack at opening this box let's get ready to head out. We won't get anything done moping in this depressing town." Belros said putting up a fake smile like it came almost naturally to him. He looked around and noticed more than a few missing faces. "I guess we'll have to wait for the others to come back though."

(... [Putting a limitation on this crit, don't do anything lethal ]) Cheat Sheet:

Viola easily manages to blast the boy with a blast of her wind magic. However, he still holds onto his reins. The prince looks to be on his last stand. "I... refuse to be defeated here!" He shouts at the group, his lance shaking in his grasp. Cheat Sheet:

Mercadier moves to S8 [Enemy Phase] "I guess it has come to this... VERY WELL! I, Xemnir Nox, Prince of Aeyosal, shall deal with you pests myself! EN GARDE!" The Prince cries forth pointing his halberd towards the sky before swooping in to attack. Xemnir moves to S10 and attacks Doran The Wyvern Riding lord swoops down towards the axe man and lands a heavy blow on the lad. As Doran tries to retaliate he can feel his arm coursing with power and before he knew it his axe began growing black flames once more. However, even with his blazing attack it barely left a scratch on the prince. Pupil C moves to S11 and attacks Doran Before Doran had time to react, a mage used the prince as cover to hide his approach before blasting the boy with blades of wind magic. This was just enough to send him off his feet and onto the dirt. Doran is down! Initiate F moves to M5 Journeyman E moves to N5 Recruit L moves to F5 Pupil E moves to F6 Initiate G moves to F9 Journeyman H moves to F10 Recruit M moves to F13 Pupil F moves to F14 [Ally Phase] The rogue saw his opportunity and charged forward. "You so called prince, just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" Zentilin spoke, his voice fueled by anger "I'm doing my duty as heir to the throne of course, what of it?" "Is that really all you have to say? Is THIS your duty as a prince? Enslaving your citizens to work on some giant magical weapon?" "That's not it..." The prince couldn't think of any other response than this. "Oh yea? Then what is it? Please enlighten me your grace!" "Grrr... What do you know! Hiding behind that hood of yours! You know nothing!" He pointed his polearm down at the rogue's head as he looked down on him atop his wyvern. "Oh I know nothing now huh? How long are you going to be a dog towards your grandfather? How long are you willing to endanger yourself and others by blinding following his word. Had it not been me who fought Alunda she'd be a lot worse off right now!" "Alunda, what do you know of her!? Wait a moment... you couldn't be... TRAITOR! I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU FOR SO LONG AND THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" At this moment his entire being radiated immense rage and his eyes were as sharp as the fangs of a dragon. "Enough chatter! It seems words alone will not open your eyes! I didn't want to do this but you've left me no choice!" He spoke finally brandishing his dark tome. Zentilin moves to T10 and talks to then blasts Xemnir with Flux Zentilin's tome opened and the pages fluttered as a blast of dark energy engulfed his highness. The prince tried to retaliate but his anger only made his attacks easier to read and avoid. "Come on, is this really the best 'The Prince of Aeyosal' can do? You even left the gate unguarded. It'd be a shame if we broke though the gate!" He teased trying to rile Xemnir even more. "SHUT UP!" It seemed to be working quite well. "Quickly everyone, once we deal with the little prince here it's a clear shot towards the gate!" He gestured everyone forward with his free arm. New Win Condition: Defeat the Boss Prisoner A moves to R7 Prisoner B moves to Q9 [Player Phase] Viola regains 4 HP! Cheat Sheet:

"Y-yea." The spy said wiping the stream of tears from his face. A large clump of sadness still loomed in his chest, but he could think clearly once more without his grief blinding him. He then noticed the ornate box in his lap and apparently it only opens to those who are worthy. Heh, him being worthy, if Randel couldn't open the box then could Belros really do it? Well, there's harm in trying right? The boy looked down towards the box, let out a sigh, and tried to open it up.

"Well, they did allow us to escape. Plus, I didn't notice anyone following us. So, I don't think we'll be fighting those people for now at the very least. Though we are outside of Padstow, we'll probably have to be on the look out for ruffians and bandits and they won't be as kind as to offer us a means to escape like those creatures." Lyle could sense his sister's unease. He put his right hand on her head and crouched down to meet her on eye level. There was a smile stretched across his face. "We'll be fine, it is as you say I am here to protect you. I just want you to be more careful next time, alright? If it makes you feel better I can help teach you to protect yourself like we did before. Would that make you happy?"

"Heh, if you say so." Lyle said dismissing what she was saying. As of right now he can't completely deny feeling a presence but until he can get a better idea of what it was it's best not to come to any hasty conclusions. Right now there were more pressing matters to talk about, "Now, lets discuss your performance during the skirmish," He said leading the search for some wood and tinder, "You were far too reckless and you got yourself seriously hurt multiple times. You have to be more careful out there. What if I or Lenny wasn't there to help you?"

Even if the lad wanted to Belros couldn't lift up his head. Whether it was from his overwhelming sadness or from exhaustion from the battle, it matters not. "I... I know... but I could've done something to prevent this. No, I SHOULD have done something, but I didn't. I wasn't strong enough, I wasn't cunning enough, hell I wasn't even fast enough. What good am I if all I can accomplish is running away with my tail between my legs, leaving everyone I care about in the dust? Then Randel decides that I am the one who could take down Rico?" "Right now, all I know is that I couldn't handle Randel on my own so it'd be stupid to think I could go against Rico. Then, you guys, I dragged all of you into into this mess. Honestly, without all of you I don't think I'd have lasted this long." He turned his head back to Madante and to whoever else was still there trying to force out a smile. "I know all of this but, I'm still not going to give up! If I wasn't strong or fast enough then I just need to get better right? I have to not let all of this be for nothing. Though, I am still sorry for dragging everyone into all of this."

"No, not really." Aster responded taking the boy's hand to help pull himself up. He couldn't help but bend his knees inwards due to the pain coming from his groin region. He glared at the unconscious woman, "So what are we going to do with this bitch here? I say we take her in for questioning or just to make her life hell and let her rot prison. Either way I'm fine with." Frostbite also makes his way towards the cabin. The dark type sort of just leaves the bug to wallow in it's pain. It'll be fine on it's own, right?