Fire Emblem On The Forums: Ashes (IC)

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Well, missin' your target isn't a lesson I need ta learn Thunder Blunder so I'll pass on your kind offer.~" Meredith said, complete with a playful bow. "Besides, if you're such a pro with lances, why give them up and go for magic? Seems rather... unintuitive a decision if you ask me. Not sure what I'd stand to gain from one that quit lance to find a new muse." she did find the man fascinating in the fact that he was seemingly build much more like a soldier than he was an academic. She always had wondered about this one but never really found a good opportunity to speak to him.

[InnocentSerenity]

Luka looked at the man’s rather disturbing complexion. The man looked as if he was ill, but there he was, yelling out orders to the rest of the soldiers. “Wish I could be that sprightly when I had a cold.” As much as Luka knew he couldn’t use any weapons, he gave himself a check for any knives that could’ve been planted on him. Luckily, all he found was a vulnerary and a set of drums he got from Anna and Ian.

Luka swung the drums in front of him to rest his hands, tapping on them as he walked. “I dunno about you, Hoshiko, but if I saw someone that looked like that, I’d assume they’re dead.” Luka let out a small laugh as he spoke to the Archer. Heh, wouldn't that be funny?

[Bfroger6]

Klaren puts one foot behind the other as the man raises his leg up, facing him sideways now. He claps and smiles, then makes a clumsy piruette, stopping in a pose that mirrored the man's, except without the leg-raised-high part.

Klaren wasn't that flexible. Instead, he just slightly raised it, wobbling in this pose.

 

"Yay, well done, bravo~" Klaren exclaims happily. He stands normally now, facing the man. "We're..." He looks over at Rosalyva and Radburn and waves for them to come over. "...here to get some golden thread for a super evil cape thingie we're gonna make. It's gotta be super sparkly to intimidate the forces of good that wish to oppose my evil might!" Klaren raises a fist upand grins. "Do you have anything like that~?"

[Marcello]

"Oh, that's easy. Because I'm only the SECOND best damn lancer in the world, didn't really wanna live in my sister's shadow." He said with a shrug, before laughing a bit. "Seriously though, I like to think I was pretty good with a lance. But I was just sorta plucked outta combat training and taken to magic training as soon as somebody noticed I had potential for it. And then I just sorta... stuck to the magic. Feels more satisfying, I guess." He remarked, mostly just musing aloud on his own reasons for putting down his lance in favour of the tome.

[Sutoratosu]

"...I see," She was silent for a moment, as she took the new gem and stowed it into her sleeves. Despite her outward expression remaining relatively unchanged though, one of the heal gems within her robes burned with an aqua light... a sinister light. One that died quickly, as she shook her head "That's... just despicable. Seems the arrogance of the crown knows no end, even common brigands would give better offers for a craftsmen's service..."

     She would know, ironically enough. The Greys had been a bit...stricter with their code than probably just about any typical band of brigands, bigger than most as well but even they had lacked the resources to actively maintain and expand their own armory without outside assistance. Enlisting the aid of the local smiths in the communities they gave back to had been about the only way they'd survived as long as they did. Well, that and their leadership; once Don was dead and Caesar had thrown himself into the embrace of sweet nihilism afterwards, ventured off to go end himself somewhere, there had been no saving that organization...

    "I thank you for your offer," she finally nodded "but you've already done enough, and the Goddess will see her justice meted out... one way or another. Though... Do you happen to know where he'll be making these demands?"

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Oh you wish to be evil, now do you? You look like quite the troublemaker." The shopkeeper grinned. He went behind the counter searching for something, humming and whistling as he worked. "Well my evil little boy, let me show you something." From under the counter he brought out a small case with several different shades of golden thread. "Special days like today, the arrival of Kings are very good for tailors like myself! Ah; to get the chance to marvel at the Capital fashion sent shivers down my spine. The lovely clothing they wear." He pulled out a particularly golden one that seemed to gleam in the light; even if it was just thread. "I believe this color was used in the King's garments. And the King is quite the intimidating man, believe me! My, I almost fainted from just the aura he brought when he rode through the central gates! This thread will surely make your enemies fear you!"

 

---

 

The craftsman pointed North. "I am not sure what you plan to do, meetings are dull and uninteresting. Politics in this town tend to drag on and on and I'm sure not even a dragon would have patience for it all. It is traditionally held in the Glass Dome right in front of the college tower." The man sighed. "Sometimes I do not know if the Fiery Goddess still hears us. The High Priestess married the King, for sure under some devious trick. Maybe he has her locked up and that is why the Goddess won't listen to us. Dragons chew on that man, and swallow him whole." 

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

Luka and Hoshiko managed to find their way into the Glass Dome. Stone steps lead up to the raised platforms that circled the dome itself. They found two seats; and they were quite hard to find. After all the arena was filled to the brim. The center of the Glass Dome was of course, made of glass. This glass has holes that extended out like megaphones towards the crowd making it easy to hear what was being said inside. The smoke they could see from outside was coming from a large hearth in the center of the dome inside the glass, and around the hearth were four seats. One of these was occupied by a man in robes similar to the robes of the tour guide they met earlier, except his were red, brown and gold. His ages showed in the wrinkles in his face, his bent back, and his large white beard. Yet they also showed wisdom. 

 

The door on the other side of the arena opened, and out came a large man. Like the already seated man he was old but his back wasn't bent, and his faced wasn't wrinkled. Standing large and proud he wore beautiful silk clothing with the colors of Dragao yet the way he carried himself made it seem like he would be better fit for armor. The crowd went silent as he entered. "People of Hearthlight, your King has arrived." He announced in a deep and commanding voice. 

 

With a long mantle and gold as his armor, the King entered the dome. He looked around the crowd with the greed of a dragon in his eyes. Or maybe was it disgust? But whoever met his gaze in the crowd would not keep it for long for the King struck fear in the people. Behind him was the sickly man who was outside and two guards. The king walked nearer to the hearth and took the middle seat, the large old man too the seat to his right while the sickly man took the left. 

 

"Ah, Your Highness welcome to Hearthlight." The seated old man said. "The city is made more repugnant with your presence." 

 

"Do you understand who you speak to!?" Furious the sickly man got up, one hand on the sword at his hilt. "You are insulting your king!"

 

"Settle down Bertram." The large man ordered, and he did was he was told. "In war we do not forgive insults, but in diplomacy we are patient with our enemies. Lord Harmon Flamewaker, the city has healed well from the war." 

 

"Why yes General Garbhan, it has." Harmon answered, the tone of his voice sharp as knives. "It's been hard to repair the city since the last time you were here. I believe it was when you sieged the city and tore down our walls. Ah, but we're not here to discuss history if we were we would be in the college now wouldn't we how forgetful of me..." He rambled, feigning old age. "What matters are so important that the your highness had to leave the capital for." 

 

The king turned his gaze on Harmon, and began to speak. "The matters are simple, Flamewaker. The Kingdom of Dragao is fighting a war of utmost importance, all of the houses are generously contributing to the cause as is their duties as vassals of the crown. Your craftsmen will build weapons and armor for the armies of Dragao, and the men of fighting age will arm themselves and head for Cloudhome where they will be sent to war."

 

"This all sound awfully familiar..." Harmon rubbed his beard as if trying to remember where he'd heard it before. "Ah yes your highness sent me a letter with all of this information. I carelessly dropped it in the fireplace where it burned, and in my old age I must have forgotten all about it! Well see your highness, the craftsmen are working hard to return the city's economy to what it was while the men are working on rebuilding the city. While I am sure this war is very important we simply do not have the men to spare."

 

"Fool! You do not have the men because your house turned swords against me and attempt to kill me. You do not have the coin because your house betrayed their ancient vows and tried to take my throne. And yet I was kind enough to let you live." The King sighed, and a devilish grin appeared across his face. "In my kindness, I even took your son into my home at the capital. Kristoff has grown into a fine young knight. I wonder what would happen to him if you were to refuse my orders."

 

Harmon's face went red with rage, he got up and spat into the hearth making the flames sizzle. "You come into my city, and threaten me, my people and you still have the nerve to threaten the son you took away from me?! To hell with you and your wars, to hell with you and your drafts," This got roar from the audience. People in the arena were up in their feet shouting insults, and curses at the king. 

 

"Harmon, further words would not be wise. Think of your people." The general advised, which seemed to calm down the noble. "We both know what happens when the armies of Dragao turn their eyes on Hearthlight. The city will not last if you rebel again, and your life will be forfeit. Your people will suffer a lot more if you rebel. And you can no longer hide behind neutrality. Do as our King commands, and Kristoff will return home safely." 

 

For a few moments it almost seemed like Harmon would give in. It almost seemed like he would say yes. "General Garbhan you and I are both wise men beyond our ages. Perhaps we are relics of times gone by. Of times with better Kings." Harmon turned his gaze upon Roswell. "Your Highness, I am not sure if you are familiar with how things work in this city. Now that you've presented your argument the people will vote on the matter. We will collect the votes, and if there is a tie or any doubt of fair representation we must repeat the process. In turn the tallying must be done again, and double checked. Matters here in the city are slow to decide. It could take a year or more to give you an answer! But the answer is at the very end, the answer of the people of Dragao."

 

"Oh? Then let me speed up the process." Roswell got up from his seat and turned his gaze to the people of the audience again. "My most beloved people of Dragao, you too are citizens of this Kingdom. And this war has taken a lot out of it. So you must give back to the Kingdom, you too must sweat and fight for our noble cause. My beloved citizens you have until the month of Harvest to make your decision. And at the end of this sacred month, your decision will affect wether a glorious army leaves this city to destroy the savages in Caelum. Or wether a glorious army comes to behead Harmon Flamewaker."  Roswell turned to Harmon with a smirk on his face. "My, I quite enjoy this form of politics. The people's lives aren't in your hands Harmon. It's your life that's in theirs. How fitting." With that said he made a signal. The two soldiers followed after Roswell as he left, followed by Bertram. 

 

"Harmon, from one relic of ancient times to another. Make the right decision. Rest assured that your son is safe and sound. He is an excellent fighter, I oversaw his training myself. May we meet under happier circumstances." And so the General left as well, leaving the Lord Flamewaker sat on his seat thinking hard on what to do next. The people were chattering all around. Some still optimistic were still talking down the King and call all of this a bluff. But most of the people were now worried, and were discussing wether giving in was the correct choice after all. 

[Bfroger6]

Klaren giggled at the man's response and waved his hand at him. "Oh, you flatter me~ I may decide against exploding you with my evil might in my free time." He followed the man as closely as he could, peering over his shoulder every opportunity he got. "So you're not from the capital? We're not from here either. We're like, traveling and stuff." He said with a smile. However, when the thread was brought into the light of day, he gasped audibly, eyes widening with sparkly stars in them, reflecting the golden glow of the perfect thread...

 

"It's.........so pretty...." Klaren put his hands on his cheeks, stuck in a perpetual stasis of pure awe. "Lily, come look at this..."

[Sutoratosu]

"Dragons may be closer to that than you think..." Maya muttered, before briefly bowing her head slightly "Thank you. May the goddess bless you, and your fellow craftsmen... I'm sure whatever the outcome, the near future won't be easy for any of you." 

With that said, she turned and walked away towards the direction the man pointed to, looking back to Ecquis and Dash both, but saying nothing. Ecquis would've recognized the beckoning in her eyes easily enough, considering last night... She needed to talk with them, but this was no where to do it. Further up the road, out of the way and away from any witnesses; she did not think the craftsmen here would willingly aid the crown, but it was still better to try and minimize the amount of information about Saffron and their group that might be overhead...

[Zetaark]

"Come now, we must be off," Ecquis told Dash as he walked him over to where Maya went earlier. Once he glanced around to make sure there weren't many others around, he spoke. "Looks like I was right about the crafts not being made for the shopping block. How should we proceed?"

[Sutoratosu]

"I've got a bad feeling about this, Ecquis..." she answered with a scowl, once they were finally far enough. 'bad feeling' was probably the understatement of the year, with the vast array of ways this could all turn into an inescapable hell "...We just got out of one huge mess yesterday, getting into an even bigger one is the last we need. Besides, I doubt there's much any of us can do to help here, without risking far too much... We just should go find the others and continue on as far from here as we can, before something goes wrong or someone does something stupid..."

[InnocentSerenity]

“Lying like a proper tyrant king.” Luka had abandoned his perfect sitting posture when he found enough people not looking at him. Holding his chin in his right hand, Luka was leaning away from Hoshiko, looking straight at her as he spoke. “I bet you, he’ll ship all the men and women to war when he's done cutting off the lord's head.”

“I dunno about you, but I’m gonna see if I can speak to him directly.” Luka got out of his seat, stopping to look back at his Archer companion. "And if you don't leave, make sure no one takes my seat." Luka tried to squeeze through the audience, sidling past to get to Lord Flamewalker at the center.

[Zetaark]

"Right. I recall some of them going off to the college. Perhaps we should start there?"

[Sutoratosu]

"Aye..." she said, "It's as good a place to start as any. Hopefully we're not already too late..." Even as she said it though, the foreboding in her gut grew stronger. Shaking her head, she set off again. She didn't quite know where exactly the college was, but such an important structure to the city's history would be doubtlessly easy to narrow down from any others by it's architecture and expanse alone, surely. And if it became necessary, they could always simply ask directions...

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"No, I was born in Hearthlight. Daddy was a craftsman, mommy was a blacksmith, grandaddy was craftsman and grandma was a teacher." The man sang this as if it was an epic story with dramatic flare. "None of them wanted me to open a clothes shop but I've got the third most successful tailor business in the city so hey. Look at me go!~"

 

---

 

As Luka squeezed out of the crowd and into the arena, two guards stepped up with their spears pointed at him blocking entry into the dome itself. However the Lord called out to them. "Let the citizens come, if they have questions I will gladly talk to them today. I owe them that much." Harmon said, and the guards lowered their weapons. Harmon motioned towards one of the chairs that was now available. "You will excuse me if I don't get up, my old bones are starting to ache from all this business. What do you have to say citizen?"

[Stalkerkain]

"My, it seems like you've come to a decision already," she said, as she walked over to the both of them. She looked over to the thread that the shopkeeper was offering to Klaren. Rosalvya's eyes glazed over as she couldn't really tell the difference in quality from any other thread. So long as Klaren liked it, and the shopkeeper didn't charge them an arm for it, she had no qualms about purchasing it. As the two continued chatting, Rosalvya's eyes lit up again at the mention of a blacksmith. "Did your mother set up shop in Hearthlight? My companion and I have some business with a blacksmith, and wanted to find one before the day was over."

[Bfroger6]

"Oh goodie, I think I might've misunderstood you then~ My bad." Klaren giggles at the man. Seems like he was from this city. Alrighty, so Klar's listening skills could use some work. Easily fixed~ "And this is great how you managed to get it going. My Daddy is a general in service to the church and I was supposed to become a priest, but things happened and now I'm a super duper happy-" Oh, he nearly blurted out 'freedom fighter'. Gee...he should be more careful. He couldn't just spout stuff about them all over the place, like...who was the one who warned them against doing that anyways? He couldn't remember, but it was probably someone.

 

"-traveler! Yep." Thankfully, Rosalyva arrived and Klaren refocused on the sparkly piece of thread. "Right, I've decided. We're taking this!" He shoved it into the tailor's hands. "How much~?"

[InnocentSerenity]

Y’know, in all honesty, I don’t know why. Luka dug through his mind, trying to remember why he decided to jump down the seats to the Lord. He thought he’d come up with something along the way, but his head wasn’t doing a good job finding something.

Luka took a seat nearby, putting on his best sitting posture for the Lord. “I was just wondering if you could tell me more about the situation.” Luka tried to stall for time, trying to find some other subjects he could ask. “Seems like you have some prior dealings with the king, with your son and all.” 

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Traveling must be a lot of fun, make sure not to damage your clothes along the way~" The cheerful man jigged back into the storeroom and came back moments later with a bunch of thread wrapped around a small wooden cylinder. "It will be 20 dragons, it's of the highest quality. But quality is something I can ensure." He winked at Klaren, and then turned to Rosalyva. "Yes, momma has a blacksmithing store in town. It is further down the street, it's called 'The Pink Sword' you can't miss it!"

 

---

 

Lord Harmon raised one eyebrow at Luka, as if confused. "Of course I have prior dealings, I am a Lord of the Kingdom. We have to be in constant contact with the King whether I like it or not. But the dealings with my son are completely different."  He rubbed his beard slowly as he contemplated. "Maybe you did not know, I thought it was a widely believed rumor in the city.  I didn't mean to keep it a secret, but I'd rather the citizens not know about my own unrelated problems. But the wyvern is out of the bag now, and is roaring loudly. After the war, there was much more than taxation. The King requested a hostage, he promised to keep them safe as long as we behaved. From house Laguna he took no one; Lord Landon the poor coot already lost his wife and children in the last plague. From house Nohr he took the valiant Adam Nohr; a foolish young boy. After house Nohr supported the people in the Two Day Rebellion the King swiftly executed the boy, and took house Nohr's last child a young girl. And from me, they took my Kristoff." Lord Flamewaker had to take a deep breath, as his eyes shined as if he was about to cry. In his old age tears were dry and didn't fall anymore but he sure felt like crying. "However, that shouldn't affect your decisions citizen. I am the servant of the people, they have my son but that does not matter to the people. The lives of everyone in this city are more valuable than my Kristoff's. Is there anything else you need?"

[Bfroger6]

"Yay, here you go!" Klaren threw the money into the man's hands before grabbing the thread for himself, holding it greedily in his warm embrace. "My precious~" He whispered to it, the gold glimmer reflecting in his eye................

 

...and went over to Radburn to wait for Rosalyva to finish up if she wanted to ask the man any more questions. "Hihi, Mr. WoodenSword~wanna tell me why you're using such an impractical and useless sparring tool for actual combat? Is bonking the heads of your enemies with it really so much fun that you'd risk your life over it, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm~?"

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"I do not risk my life I am as competent with a blade as I am!" Radburn puffed out his chest and held his nose up high proudly. "My wondrous blade has slain many foes, I shan't gave it up ever! For it is the ultimate weapon of Radburn the future Master Swordsman." 

 

---

 

Ecquis and Mayanna don't find it too difficult to find the other group, as the familiar voices of Meredith and Terrin guide them to where everyone is. 

[Stalkerkain]

"Thanks for the information. We'll pay a visit there." Rosalvya turned and gave a little wave, as she exited the shop. The few words she caught Radburn saying as she rejoined the two were enough to cue her in on what they were talking about. She thought it would be a sore subject, given how many times she imagined people brought it up. But nothing seemed to perturb that bravado of his. Klaren's recent purchase seemed to make him more chipper than usual. "Come on you two, what are you standing around for? Daylight's wasting! The smithy is just down the street!"

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

 

"It shouldn't be too far right? Let's go!" Radburn marched in the front leading the trio down the street, passing by stores and stores and smiths and stores. The most extravagant of which seemed to be their target, The Pink Sword a tacky looking shop decorated with golden and pink drapes everywhere. In fact, they could count more colors used to decorate the shop then weapons on display: and there was a grand total of 0 weapons on display. Even so, with no stock or anything to show a woman looked at the group smiling. Her resemblance to the earlier man was uncanny; it was almost as if she was an older and female version of the man they had just seen!

[Stalkerkain]

Rosalvya looked over at the displays, baffled. She looked at the shop owner, and then back to shop name, wondering if the man back at the linen store had played some sort of elaborate prank on them. She gave a troubled look to Radburn, before going up to address the shopkeeper.

"Pardon the nature of my next question, but, this is The Pink Sword, right?" Rosalvya said, as she stared at the empty displays. "The man who owned the clothing shop just up the street told us we could find a smithy here."

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Oh? Did my son send you here?~" The shopkeeper looked closely at Rosalyva, inspecting her curiously. "My it does seem like you are a swordswoman, and a pretty one at that! This is the Pink Sword yes, we are the best smithys in this city and don't let anyone tell you otherwise missy! But today we don't have any stock to tell."