RedMageCole

Ferdiad recovers 14 HP! Ferdiad is at full HP! Enemy Phase Bow Knight moves to K27, cantos to E27. Soldier H moves to K27. Soldier G moves to L28. Fighter A moves to O11. Archer C moves to O12. Mage C moves to N12. Scavenger moves to D9. From the outside, the Bow Knight begins the assault with a hit and run tactic, firing at the vulnerable Baldur and fleeing. The two Soldiers move up to protect the Bow Knight. One Soldier goes for the hidden yet vulnerable Shin in the trees. Thanks to Shin's allies, he narrowly avoids it. The other Soldier tries to make some kind of a dent in Ferdiad. He lands a hit, but only gets so far. Inside the prison, trouble begins brewing, and it starts with the Fighter attempting to outmatch Fey with an axe. He doesn't do so well. ...Neither does Fey. The Archer attempts to do what his axe wielding buddy couldn't. One of the mages also tries to go for Fey, not wanting to get burned to a crisp by Crimson. The other Mage prepares to attack Crimson, as Crimson looks at him with a sort of 'I dare you' look to him. Much to his dismay, however, the Mage narrowly dodges his attack. "Motherfucker, stand still!" Ally Phase Simeon moves to O6. TURN 3 Player Phase Ferdiad recovers 4 HP! EXP: (89/100) Stats (Enemy Stats)

Ferdiad moves again! Ferdiad gives the remaining Fencer a rough time. EXP: (81/100) Stats (Enemy Stats)

Fey hurls her axe at the Fighter in response to Crimson's... 'encouragement'. Said encouragement really did not help, thanks for nothing Crimson. Fey recovers 10 HP! Fey is at full HP! Lizaveta surprises the second Fencer from the cover of the trees. Kane follows up from Lizaveta's attack, having joined her in the trees. Ferdiad begins the process of taking down the nearby Fencer. EXP: (76/100) Stats (Enemy Stats)

Most of the guards just laugh at what Hinabe says, before continuing their assault. "And I was so sure that would work. Just stay out of the way if you think platitudes and empty threats are going to get us out of here, I'll show you how you treat imbeciles who don't know their place." "See? Just like that. You with the hatchet; you try it, and don't miss this time!" Crimson presses the assault! Fey can move again! EXP: (69/100) Stats (Enemy Stats)

Mim fires a couple of arrows at the Fighter, landing her mark both times. Fey joins in with Mim, opting to attack the nearby Mage, unfortunately not doing as well. EXP: (67/100) Stats (Enemy Stats)

"...Hmm..." Crimson ponders a move for a second, but seeing such an easy target... he decides to incinerate the stray Scavenger. The Scavenger starts yelling. "Fire! Fire! I'm on fire!" The guards look shocked, peering through the gap in the wall the Scavenger was attacked through. "Prisoners escaping! Prisoners escaping!" "...Hmph. Not sure what I expected." Enemy Phase "Intruders spotted!" "Are they Virtuous!?" "Well, shoot first and ask questions later!" Fencer A moves to K27. Fencer B moves to L28. Soldier H moves to I27. Soldier G moves to H28. Bow Knight moves to H27. Fighter B moves to O10. Fighter A moves to O12. Archer C moves to O13. Mage D moves to N11. Soldier A moves to N13. Mage C moves to N14. Scavenger moves to H7. The first Fencer attempts to pierce through Ferdiad's defenses. The second Fencer joins up with his friend to try his hand at attacking Ferdiad. Ally Phase Simeon moves to Q6. TURN 2 Player Phase Ferdiad recovers 4 HP! EXP: (64/100) Stats (Enemy Stats)

TURN 1 Objective: Seize throne! Bonus Objective: Protect Simeon from falling! Player Phase (click on map for bigger size!) EXP: (58/100) Stats (Enemy Stats)

Chapter 1 Jailbreak of Justice Virtuous moves closer to the prison known for its tendency to hold innocents or those with lesser crimes that do not warrant jail time, planning to shut down the prison and free the prisoners who's lives remained at risk every day. Preparing for anything, they did not anticipate the knowledge of seven criminals that had their own plans in mind as they moved closer... "This is it, everyone. Stay sharp; I have faith in our abilities but the going is gonna get pretty tough from here. Just stick it out and we'll be fine... and if any of you need to take a breather, just hang back. I know last battle was tough as is... but once more, I have faith in all of you. That bow knight over there should have the key to the place; he'll be our first target. Let's do this!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suddenly, the door opens and the guard strides in. Before any of you can react, Simeon moves close to the guard, as if to protect him from any potential attacks. "Told ya, boss! You thought these guards wouldn't actually be dense enough to send me to go investigate a cock and bull Fire story that I made up, but they did!" "Alright, alright, ye got me, Jules. Ye did fine work... did ye make sure ta bring one of everything?" Jules proudly shows off his backpack and opens it. Inside is one of every weapon; a sword, a lance, two axes, a bow, even an Anima, Light and Dark tome, and a Heal staff. "Heh, ye even remembered I prefer ta use an axe if I absolutely have to... good on ye. Alright, go on and get outta here, and make sure ta unlock the door behind ye. I'll meet ye outside; it's about te get messy and I know ye ain't a fighter." "Aye aye, sir! I'll tell you, I can't wait to get out of this stupid armor..." The guard apparently named Jules leaves his backpack, walks out and unlocks the door behind him. Simeon gives a smirk, grabs an axe and looks to you all. Crimson in particular looks really stupefied. "Good te know ye all had hope of leavin', because we're 'bout te make that a reality. What ye just saw there was my apprentice, Jules... he caught on pretty quick and risked his darn neck te bust me out, the good lad. The tricky part, however, is that me back has... very much deteriorated over the years. I'm gonna need ye all to help escort me outta here... having given ye the opportunity, I think that sounds fair? I can take care of meself, don't worry... just take the front, if ye all don't mind." Crimson looks particularly annoyed, but gives a shrug and grabs the Anima tome. "I'd be more angry about doing your bitch work, but I am not going to complain about a means to escape. Besides... I'm worth double of one fighter, so I'll make up for the lack of effort you'll put in. Make sure you all don't slow me down and we'll get out of here as soon as possible."

OH DEAR. OH GOD. Johan's yelling was enough to get Aidan's blood pumping at what felt like lightspeed, but him getting close enough to perform for him was the real dealbreaker. Barely before he even played a few notes, Aidan was off and running at the enemy. "T-To war! We fight with everything we have! Let's go! Chaaaarge!!!" To be honest, Aidan just kind of rambled whatever first came to mind so that he could get a running start, but it certainly did get the job done. Aidan moves to I24 and casts Fire on the Knight.

A slight pause comes from Kane after Lenore's first comment. "...Thank you, Mink." Another somewhat worried pause from Kane after Lenore's concerns. "...I am a little worried... but at the same time, I believe in them. I have faith that they know what they're doing... it was sudden what we had to do, but hopefully after this prison deal is done everyone can get some rest."

"...Hah, guess you're right. Conning an entire prison full of brutal thugs would be pretty tricky... once again, not that I don't have any doubts you would be able to given enough prep time." Kane gives a nod; his eyes don't let up off the road, but he has a slight beaming look to his face. "It's very good to have you on the team, Mink."

"Hah, it'll certainly be your last time in prison; with your cunning, it'll be miracle if you get sent. I'm afraid that isn't my modus operandi indeed, never been much of a flirt myself... but I don't doubt that you'd be able to do just that in that case. You give Minstrel's flirting a run for her money." A pause. "...Though I'm hoping we can start to try and do a little more on the negotiations side... this battle is going to be rough and I'd rather not subject you or the rest of the team to more bloodshed than necessary. I know you're all capable of it... but I can hardly call myself a leader if I can't at least make sure morale is okay. When we get home tonight, I'll have to certainly try and put a lot more work than I usually do into dinner... you all earned it."

"...Well, isn't this rather concerning...?" Aidan was wondering if anything would go wrong; he had been hoping his gut feelings would be incorrect, but it seemed that things were going to be a bit of a struggle to get through. Readying his tome, he idly wondered to himself if this was when Beatrix's contest would start. If it was or wasn't... he was still going to do his best. "Leave it to me, then!" Aidan moves to G24.

"Heh... Suit yerself. Though it seems at least ye might have a new friend in that young lad right there..." Simeon replies to Reiko, before deciding to leave her be as Hinabe comes to talk to her. Crimson looks like chatting is still extremely strange for him. "If he has a plan, I'd love to see it. Especially if it actually somehow manages to be better than the previous plan. But I at least agree; I'd like to not die because of someone else's idiotic mistakes, especially when I still have things to do myself. If only I had support from the outside to actually properly aid in an escape... I can't stay in this hellhole. I already nearly punched a hole in my wall out of sheer loathing that I have for that warden and these guards that keep me locked up here." A small sigh comes from Crimson as he caps off his words. ---------------------------------------------- "Good questions, Mink. I still maintain confidence that we'll be able to get through the prison, and I doubt they'll be on high alert after Diezel; it's highly unlikely his route was to the prison and wherever his destination was, we'll get to the prison far before word reaches them that Diezel hasn't arrived. As for the prisoners... they're locked up very tightly and rarely let out, so unfortunately I wasn't able to see them. However, I did witness one of them get sent out to an execution once... it wasn't pretty; the man was screaming, pleading that he didn't mean to trip the guard over and that it was an accident... very strict prison, which is why I don't fancy it staying up."

It seemed that whatever Crimson was expecting from this gaggle of people, it was the exact opposite of this. His intimidating aura seemed to diminish as his face continued to show nothing but confusion at the girl he towered over excitedly engaging him in conversation. He notably raised his eyebrows at her f-bomb; the casual usage of it was rather astonishing to him. Whatever the case, it seemed to make him feel just... slightly more willing to talk. "...Very well... Snowbird. I don't have a plan for getting out of here, unfortunately. If I was the one who set off the Fire tome earlier, I would just blast the door down and cut through this prison like tinfoil, but I was not, so I don't have a plan. But I understand your need to get out as soon as possible... while I certainly have no reason to get out early, I would like to."

Red just gives a small 'hmph' in response to Reiko, turning away from everyone and keeping to himself. Simeon gives another hearty chuckle. "Don't ye worry yer little head for now... Reiko, is it? I'll just suggest ye get comfortable with these lads and befriend 'em... even if some of 'em are a little tricky to get used ta." Red didn't have very long to keep to himself before his silence was interrupted, and he looks briefly annoyed for a moment until Mim started talking, until he starts to look... confused. Flabbergasted, even. "...You're... seriously talking to me? After- oh, whatever... alright, slow down a little, I'll talk. My name is not Red, I assume that man just gave the nickname to me. However, my name... it's not something I intend on talking about at the moment, similarly with the crapshoot of a guess they put me in here for, no matter how correct they were, and the crime I intend to do when I get out of here. So Red is fine with me for now... hm..." Red pauses for a bit, as if to mull over a few facts, notably his supposed new name. "...I am from the mountains of Ria, yes, and I'm pretty sure this fur is bear. As for Red... I'm averse to the idea of someone else choosing a name for me, but I'll admit the concept of the name intrigues me. You may refer to me as Crimson for now."

Kane just seems to pause for a while after Baldur voices his concerns. "...yes, I suppose that was a silly ideal to think about. I'm certain this prison houses innocents... but for our safety, we shouldn't be hasty to recruit them at all. Forgive me, Orchid, it was a bit brash of me to assume so... it's just been rather hard to get new members. It used to be much simpler... I remember when I recruited you, Ficus; I didn't even expect to recruit you, I just meant to give you something to eat... but you were so insistent that you help me, you didn't even know I was the leader of Virtuous at that point. But we don't need new members that badly. You seven are more than enough to ask for... I just wish I didn't have to ask so much of you all." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The man in red simply lets out a rather loud scoff at Reiko's plan, but soon his sarcasm turns into annoyance. "What's the point of sharing our names and crimes? If I told you what mine was, you'd all tell me I was full of shit. Now, if one of you can miraculously come up with a way out of a concrete room with two locked doors with guards on each end that doesn't involve us using our bare hands against solid steel, I'm all ears because I don't have time to waste in this shithole when I have actual crimes to commit rather than just getting locked up based on bullshit." The man in grey stirs. "Ye need t' calm down, Red. Why must ye be so hostile towards potential partners in crime? I for one am happy t' share things about meself; I be known 'round these parts as Simeon, a blacksmith who was locked up because some'a these guards don't know how to hold a crossbow, and somehow a bolt in the eye be me responsibility. I don't plan on stayin' long, though. A month... that's all I was locked up fer, 'n that's all I plan te be locked up fer." 'Red' does not look pleased with being told off. "Blacksmith my ass. You look like the type to pillage for weapons rather than make them yourself. What's your real deal here?" Simeon just lets out a hearty chuckle. "Ye'll see me real deal soon enough... jus' give it some time, Red." 'Red' simply mutters a few choice curse words under his breath in response, and Simeon leans against the wall, rather close to the locked door where all of your cells were, seemingly waiting.

Meanwhile… The prison was just as dark and dismal as ever. The most occupying your time was listening to the conversations between the guards outside of your cell while laying in your uncomfortable bed, with memories of life before prison going through your heads. “…and they say no one knows what exactly Virtuous is up to…” “…they say the leader’s named Phoenix…” “…you think they’d possibly come here…?” You have almost no hope of getting out, regardless of whether you were thrown in prison recently or years ago. There were too many guards, no source of alliance or allowance of any communication between the prisoners, and perhaps most crucially of all, you didn't have a single weapon. It seemed like you’ll learn that you are getting the death penalty for putting a single toe out of line, like it seemed to happen to many others before you… or maybe somehow, miraculously, you’ll be the first in this godforsaken prison to be free to go. ...A loud banging on the bars snaps you out of whatever stupor you may have, and it seems the prisoners around you stir as well. All of the doors open. “Wake up, you imbeciles. I'm putting you all in the main hall; we're doing an inspection of your cells. One of the guards heard some sort of Fire spell backfiring and we're going to find out which one of you snuck a tome in like the rats you are. If you're not the unfortunate sod who thought they could slip past us, be grateful you're getting the extra time out of your cage." You've heard the rumors of this man, but never actually got to see him in person; the warden, Ganymede. Supposedly responsible for the cries of a wyvern you would hear while you attempted to sleep or go about your business, but no one has ever seen proof of this... let alone the actual warden himself. You don't see him long; after his announcement, he takes his leave. Being led out of your cages by a nearby guard, carrying a rather hefty-looking backpack who looks rather proud of himself for some reason, you all see each other, as well as two other people. A well-tanned, burly man that resembled a pirate, staying completely quiet, if not somewhat nervous, as he walked out of his cell... "..." ...and another man, rather tall and extremely intimidating and covered in a rather elegant fur cloak, staying... not quite as quiet, but still somewhat quiet. "Fucking waste of my time like the rest of this goddamn..." ...It doesn't take you long until the guard seals the seven of you in a small room. For the first time in your stay here in prison... you actually had human contact. Tabitha, Reiko, Hinabe, Mim and Fey may post!

"...Honorable as ever, Knight. That's a great quality to have... don't lose it. But make sure to take care of yourself as well, okay? You've stuck with me since the beginning, and I want you to know I'm very grateful for that, and I want to do my best to make sure you stay safe as well." Kane looks over at Justine with a nod. "Well said, Minstrel... and yes, burning it would indeed cause some... very messy effects. Knight and I just finished disposing of the last of it; it's buried in the middle of those woods, only someone wanting to excavate an entire random forest in the middle of nowhere would locate it... speaking of which, hop on, everyone." Kane throws open the entrance to the wagon, allowing you all inside. It's a bit... smelly in there due to the drugs, but you're able to sit in a clean wagon nonetheless; spacious enough to fit everyone and then some, with Kane sitting at the front. After getting the horses moving, he proceeds directly on the path deeper into Perus. “Now then… I suppose you all deserve more of an explanation as to why we’re infiltrating the prison. I’m sure you might have been operating under the assumption that we’re just doing it to shut down a corrupt prison, but that’s not the whole story of why I chose this location. As you know, the prison has somewhat of a reputation.” Kane’s face twitches a tiny bit, as if it wants to go into a grim, angry look, but he seems to steel himself. “This prison has prisoners from the world over; Perus has a low crime rate… well, mostly because the criminals who deserve jail time have too much power or don’t get caught, and plenty of reputation compared to everyone else to warrant even the furthest kingdoms carting their unwanted prisoners there. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but a lot of crimes that people get jailed for tend to be crimes they didn’t commit. See, this is somewhat of a selfish reason… but I’m hoping that with this deed, we can not only shut down that awful prison, but also show some of those good people that were wronged that Virtuous truly wishes to help this world. Our members are few and recruitment is nigh impossible while we’re all among some of the most wanted criminals in the world. And unless we get a few more members… I wouldn’t feel comfortable moving onto the first phase of what may be our most ambitious adventure yet.” Kane stops talking for a brief moment, as if to concentrate on the road. Up to a crossroads, he seems to pause, but then makes a left. “There is the potential they may not join… and if so, that’s fine. The death toll in that prison is high especially for those who disobey the rules; why I’m certain we’ll only free innocents, and the satisfaction of knowing we freed some innocents will be enough. As we talked about before… Virtuous is not a ragtag band, we’re dedicated to a cause. If someone doesn’t want to join, that’s their choice, and I ask that none of you try too hard to insist that they join if they say no. But we won’t worry about that for now, I want you all to just sit back and enjoy the ride. I’ll take good care of you all even if sometimes the going gets tough. After all, we’re a team, right?”

"I don't blame you for your concerns, Mink. I certainly understand that this whole thing isn't your style. If you any of you ever feel like it gets to be too much, you can hold back if you need be and only fight in self-defense; I formed this team for us all to better the world, but we won't be able to better anyone if we aren't better ourselves. Nobody will blame you, especially not me. As a leader, it is my job to make sure you're all okay with what it is we do. As a team."

A little pause from Kane as he briefly considers what Ferdiad said. "...It's a difficult job, yes. Some of those people may have had homes to go back to... but I promise I wouldn't have had you all fight for the sake of easier transport. Diezel was someone who needed to be stopped; he was a wicked man, ruining people's lives by selling them these sorts of vile substances, all for the sake of a quick buck... I personally can't imagine everyone working for him was a saint. We have no real way to tell... but as long as we promise to dedicate what we do to bettering the world, and not do the dirty work we undertake for malicious gain, we can at least secure a better future for the world. But it's very admirable of you to keep a respectful heart for those who were not as cruel as Diezel that ended up in our crossfire, Knight."

"I'm sure you'll adjust just fine in time, Knight." Kane said with a nod. "And don't worry Mink; they're no louder than the noise we were already making, it'll be just a small charge to get the ground started and I'll get to digging." Kane demonstrated this by setting the charge in the small forest; the trees provided a decent amount of cover to muffle the small explosive noise from within. After a brief period, Kane arrived from out of the woods, beginning to grab the cargo they unloaded. "You still don't mind helping, Knight?"

Whether Kane decided he had no comment for what Lenore said, or he was too busy unloading the wagon (the latter likely, as his head was halfway through the door, but you can never tell with Kane), he did not respond to Lenore. He did, however, respond to Ferdiad as he approached. "Ah, thank you, Knight... just a little more, careful with those in specific... but then we should be good, I'll be able to excavate a pretty quick hole with one of my explosives and we can bury the lot."

And thus... ...it's over. VICTORY! FINAL STATS EXP: (58/100) Kane (HP: 21/21) - Iron Knife (23/40) | Vulnerary x3 Ferdiad (HP: 22/22) - Slim Lance (34/40) | Vulnerary x3 Shin (HP: 9/16) - Training Bow (34/40) | Vulnerary x3 Baldur (HP: 15/15) - Heal (23/30) | Vulnerary x2 Lizaveta (HP: 18/18) - Worm (33/40) | Vulnerary x3 Justine (HP: 17/18) - Artemis' Song (30/30) | Vulnerary x3 Cecily (HP: 6/20) - Hatchet (34/40) | Vulnerary x3 Lenore (HP: 16/17) - Iron Knife (34/40) | Vulnerary x3 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Once the battle is finished, Kane gives a little stretch as he looms over the Archer's dead body, giving a nod. "Well, that got a little bit out of hand, but I think we got through it just fine. Very good work, team." Kane goes over to the nearby stopped wagon; the horses seem to have calmed down. Kane looks inside the wagon; it was spacious and looked like it could hold all of you, but most of the space was occupied by... "Illegal goods... drugs mostly, by the look of it. Orchid, can you patch up Ficus and Dragon? The rest of you, keep an eye out and just hang tight; I'll handle the unloading so I can make this wagon a bit cozier for all of you."

Lenore throws a knife through the forests to hit the Cavalier. It doesn't work out, unfortunately. Enemy Phase Cavalier A moves to I6. Archer B moves to P9. The Cavalier goes for a counterattack on Lenore. This backfires on him and Lenore can get a clear shot this time. The remaining Archer, in a last fit of desperation, tries to clip Cecily's wings. He succeeds, but Cecily remains standing. Player Phase EXP: (56/100) Stats (Enemy Stats)