Fire Emblem on the Forums: Sea of Crossroads [IC]

[Sutoratosu]

"Tch... l-lucky shot, bastard..." She spat the small bit of blood she felt in the back of her throat to the deck... this had to be the third or forth time the damn injuries had been aggravated in so short a time, and she could feel the toll getting worse each and every time...even with the healing... it almost worried her if she'd ever truly recover after this mess... whether her heart would always labor this harshly and her lungs burn like such hellfire.

But even as did so, their whispers filled her mind as their invisible influence slowly knitted her damaged flesh back together again... she wasn't quite back in top shape by the time they were down, but she was certainly far better off than before. Imbue, that had always been what father called it... a gift from the spirits themselves, to power to regenerate using their power, regardless of whether or not one had the necessary materials and reagents on hand needed to usually accomplish such a task... It made her wonder... but before the thoughts even formed, they were whispering in the negatory. No, it had not been them who saved her... at least, not alone... strange... but she had other things to focus on. After muttering silent thanks, she turned to the man who'd assailed her.

"I spare one of you, and like clockwork, another of you Wandroughts crawls out of the woodwork thirsty for blood... fine then. You won't get the same mercy as your friend. EN GARDE!" And with that, she sprang forward for the man, ducking low and bringing her Rapier arcing up in a flash as she aimed for the fool's Trachea... it would be a terrible death, sure, but the fucker deserved it; hell, all of these damn scum had something gruesome coming to them...

Erase Merc2's sorry existence from this world.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Oh! We're still fighting! I nearly forgot! I should do something!" Rayne said, noticing the whole exchange between Cadence and the man who she had disarmed, kinda literally almost. Cadence... that was a very pretty name. It noted rhythm, repetition in pleasant pattern. She repeated it several times in her head, like it's namesake... to commit it to memory. She didn't want to forget it, and the fighting might distract her enough she would. But, she'd make sure not to lose the name this time. Cadence, Cadence, Cadence. CADENCE CADENCE CADENCE!!! There, that should do for now.

Rayne ran straight up to the archer that had been given quite the wallop for what appeared to be a small child with a giant axe. THE FIEND! What had he done to this poor child, that they picked up an axe against him? He would pay! Swift and divine justice!

"I will protect you! For I, Rayne am a pegasus knight! A Divine Knight of JUUUUSTICE!!! These, foul ne'erdowells can harm you no more! CLOSE RANGE NEEDLE GO!!!"

Move to Canine, and attack Archer 2. Leave him in stitches.

[Zetaark]

(Cadence is inspired!)

(Cadence has Ember Glint)

Cadence:

Attack: 7

Hit: 88%

Crit: 1%

Mercenary 2:

Attack: 8

Hit: 63%

Crit: 1%

Cadence's Attack: 37, hit

Cadence defeats Mercenary 2 with 7 damage!

Not feeling as merciful as before, Cadence quickly dispatched of the mercenary before them, running their blade through the mercenary's throat.

(Rayne is airheaded)

Rayne:

Attack: 6

Hit: 72%

Crit: 0%

Archer 2:

Attack: -

Hit: -

Crit: -

Rayne's Attack: 70, hit!

(Rayne's eyes glimmer: 60)

Archer 2 takes 6 damage!

Running into action, Rayne manages a quick strike to the archer, who is unable to retaliate in return.

Cheat Sheet

Enemies: Health, Location, Weapon

Pirate 1: (0/22) (G10) Iron Club (44/45)

Pirate 2: (0/22) (H7) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 3: (0/22) (G10) Iron Club (43/45)

Pirate 4: (0/22) (J8) Iron Club (44/45)

Wakin: (24/24) (O14) Iron Club (45/45), Hatchet (35/35)

Pirate 7: (22/22) (I26) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 8: (22/22) (N25) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 9: (22/22) (L30) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 10: (22/22) (S21) Iron Club (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3) (Droppable)

Pirate 11: (22/22)(U15) Iron Club (45/45), Iron Lance (Droppable)

Pirate 12: (22/22)(G20) Iron Club (45/45), Iron Knife (Droppable)

Mercenary 1: (3/21) (J11) Iron Sword (43/45)

Mercenary 2: (0/21) (H13) Iron Sword (43/45)

Mercenary 3: (21/21) (K15) Iron Sword (45/45)

Mercenary 4: (21/21) (T28) Iron Sword (45/45)

Mercenary 5: (21/21) (T23) Iron Sword (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Mercenary 6: (21/21) (U21) Iron Sword (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3) (Droppable)

Archer 1: (0/20) (H8) Iron Bow (42/45)

Archer 2 (Agrev): (3/20) (K10) Iron Bow (44/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Archer 3: (20/20) (M27) Iron Bow (45/45)

Archer 4: (20/20) (P27) Iron Bow (45/45), Iron Longbow (30/30)

Gonzap: (26/26) (U28) Airmd (30/30), Hatchet (35/35)

Enemy Stats

Pirate

Note: 2 speed

Wakin

Note: Wakin w/ Hatchet will have 12 Might and 94 Base Hit

2 speed

Gonzap

Note: Gonzap w/ Hatchet will have 13 Might and 92 Base Hit

5 speed

Mercenary

Note: 5 speed

Archer

Note: Archer 4 w/ Longbow may have 11 Might, 79 Base Hit, and 10 Evasion

5 speed

Neutral Party: Health, Location, Weapons

???: (22/22) (J10) Iron Axe (44/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Players: Health, Location, Weapons

Rayne: (18/18) (K9) Iron Javelin (43/45), Vulnerary (3/3) Dismounted

Belros: (19/19) (K8) Iron Dagger (42/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Cadence: (18/20) (G13) Iron Rapier (31/40), Vulnerary (2/3)

Emilee: (16/16) (H7) Heal (28/30), Vulnerary (3/3)

Darius: (19/19) (F8) Flux (38/40), Vulnerary (3/3)

Idei: (18/18) (I7) Iron Bow (40/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Chirya: (16/19) (F13) Vulnerary (3/3)

Allies: Health, Location, Weapons

Madante: (13/21) (H12) Allegretto (-), Vulnerary (3/3)

Exp Tracker: 1/100

[Aurorix]

As an arrow lands in front of Belros his attention is drawn to the nearby axe wielder and archer. They don't seem to be getting along well, even tho supposedly they're on the same side. And by not getting along so well I mean swinging weapons at each other. Taking a closer look at the axe wielder he doesn't seem to be like the other pirates, he looks like a kid even. "I can't harm this kid with a clean conscious." The kid kinda reminds him of himself when he was a child. No, there's no way he could kill him without regret. "Maybe I could try talking to him, or at least attempt to reason with him." Belros then approaches the kid sheathing his blood soaked dagger. Carrying that in hand would only make communicating harder.

"Hey kid, what are you doing here? A group of pirates is no place for a child." Belros asked with crossed arms. "Also, why'd you attack your friend there? Surely picking one side is better than going against both."

Move to J9 and Talk to ???

[Zetaark]

The child noticed the blue-haired man come closer to them. Fearing for their life, they readied their hands around their axe. It’s coming. He’s gonna kill me. It’s ov- Huh? The man sheathed his dagger away, leaving him unarmed in front of the child with an axe.

"Hey kid, what are you doing here? A group of pirates is no place for a child."

“I’m uh…” The child was slow to answer, trying their best to hide their fear as they spoke. “Aye work for these pirates. Well, used to. As ye can tell, Aye no longer am under the employment of these scallywags.” The child’s arms began to shake, refusing to let go of their axe. Despite this, they never swung it, simply holding the axe to intimidate the man. “What about you, aren’tcha gonna kill me? Surely wouldn’t be too difficult with that Dagger ye got. Go on, we can have a fight. I’ll even give ya time to take out your weapon.” The child’s red eyes glared at the man, a scowl forming on their lips.

[rokubiraijuu]

No longer crippled by injury, Idei scans the battlefield. Their fiery-haired fencer has already made quick work of the swordsman, and his gaze quickly shifts to their dismounted pegasus knight making her strike against the archer who had moments before been roughing around the child with the axe; it seems as though he had been trying to force him to fight despite the child's obvious reluctance, and such a barbaric act is more than enough reason for confrontation even if these pirates weren't already their enemy.

"Let me help."

Rayne's javelin strike is quickly succeeded by an arrow from his bow, legs clamped tightly about the saddle to steady Kite as he fires, jaw tight in concentration.

Move to K8 and pelt Archer 2 with jawbreakers arrows from far away.

Edited November 9, 2016 by rokubiraijuu

[Aurorix]

"Yea, about that. I really would want to avoid killing you as much as possible" Belros chuckled a bit. He noticed the kid's arms shaking while wielding the axe. Hopefully laughing who get him to calm down. "Look, if you're not employed by these Pirates anymore why continue fighting us? I'm sure our leader would let you go if you just drop your weapon. Better yet, if you fight with us it'll look even better. I'll even vouch for ya." He got on one knee and held out his hand for the kid to shake. "What'cha say? Friends? Or at least not enemies." Hopefully the child would take his offer, kinda leaving himself wide open for an attack at the moment too.

[Zetaark]

Idei:

Attack: 5

Hit: 86%

Crit: 0%

Archer 2:

Attack: 6

Hit: 81%

Crit: 1%

Idei's Attack: 23, hit!

Idei defeats Archer 2 with 5 damage!

Idei's arrow struck true, piercing Agrev's heart and ending his life.

"Gah, yer gonna pay for this. Ol' Gonzap won't let any of you survive this. Mark...my...words" Agrev gasps before collapsing on the deck, dead.

-------------------------------

The man kneeled on his leg, holding out his hand for the young child. A loud clunk could be heard. The child’s arms gave up, their axe simply falling to the floor. The child felt safe. He offered him a safer place. A place away from the pirates, but… still not where they’d want to be. Still, it was enough. This man was different from those pirates. Maybe his friends would be just as nice. Maybe they’d help them find their way.

The child slowly reached his hand, but stopped it before it went far. There was one thing they weren't feeling sure about. These people… who were they? A bunch of travelling mercenaries? Travellers with a rather good set of tools? “Um, may I ask who you all are? You don’t look like ordinary merchants or travelers. And I certainly usually don’t see people with pegasi riding on ships when travelling.”

Cheat Sheet

Enemies: Health, Location, Weapon

Pirate 1: (0/22) (G10) Iron Club (44/45)

Pirate 2: (0/22) (H7) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 3: (0/22) (G10) Iron Club (43/45)

Pirate 4: (0/22) (J8) Iron Club (44/45)

Wakin: (24/24) (O14) Iron Club (45/45), Hatchet (35/35)

Pirate 7: (22/22) (I26) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 8: (22/22) (N25) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 9: (22/22) (L30) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 10: (22/22) (S21) Iron Club (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3) (Droppable)

Pirate 11: (22/22)(U15) Iron Club (45/45), Iron Lance (Droppable)

Pirate 12: (22/22)(G20) Iron Club (45/45), Iron Knife (Droppable)

Mercenary 1: (3/21) (J11) Iron Sword (43/45)

Mercenary 2: (0/21) (H13) Iron Sword (43/45)

Mercenary 3: (21/21) (K15) Iron Sword (45/45)

Mercenary 4: (21/21) (T28) Iron Sword (45/45)

Mercenary 5: (21/21) (T23) Iron Sword (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Mercenary 6: (21/21) (U21) Iron Sword (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3) (Droppable)

Archer 1: (0/20) (H8) Iron Bow (42/45)

Archer 2 (Agrev): (0/20) (K10) Iron Bow (44/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Archer 3: (20/20) (M27) Iron Bow (45/45)

Archer 4: (20/20) (P27) Iron Bow (45/45), Iron Longbow (30/30)

Gonzap: (26/26) (U28) Airmd (30/30), Hatchet (35/35)

Enemy Stats

Pirate

Note: 2 speed

Wakin

Note: Wakin w/ Hatchet will have 12 Might and 94 Base Hit

2 speed

Gonzap

Note: Gonzap w/ Hatchet will have 13 Might and 92 Base Hit

5 speed

Mercenary

Note: 5 speed

Archer

Note: Archer 4 w/ Longbow may have 11 Might, 79 Base Hit, and 10 Evasion

5 speed

Neutral Party: Health, Location, Weapons

???: (22/22) (J10) Iron Axe (44/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Players: Health, Location, Weapons

Rayne: (18/18) (K9) Iron Javelin (43/45), Vulnerary (3/3) Dismounted

Belros: (19/19) (J9) Iron Dagger (42/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Cadence: (18/20) (G13) Iron Rapier (31/40), Vulnerary (2/3)

Emilee: (16/16) (H7) Heal (28/30), Vulnerary (3/3)

Darius: (19/19) (F8) Flux (38/40), Vulnerary (3/3)

Idei: (18/18) (K8) Iron Bow (39/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Chirya: (16/19) (F13) Vulnerary (3/3)

Allies: Health, Location, Weapons

Madante: (13/21) (H12) Allegretto (-), Vulnerary (3/3)

Exp Tracker: 6/100

Edited November 9, 2016 by Zetaark

[Aurorix]

This is a relief. At least now we won't have to kill a child. What did these Pirates do to him? Must've been hard on kid if he'd want to rebel and join the enemy without much hesitation.

“Um, may I ask who you all are? You don’t look like ordinary merchants or travelers. And I certainly usually don’t see people with pegasi riding on ships when travelling.”

Actually mentioning this this first probably would've made this go a bit smoother but oh well. None of their blood was spilled after all. "Oh yea, forgot to mention that didn't? Ha ha ha. We're part of the royal guard and we're off to Kabumu. As for myself, you can call me Belros." He gave a warm smile to the child. "Now come on, don't leave me hanging. Besides, my comrades will need our help, can't leave them waiting am I right?"

[Zetaark]

“Royal Guard? That means you’re from...” The child’s eyes lit up as he realized where these people were from. The Royal Guard, as in the group in charge of keeping conflict in Veritias to a minimum, hosted by the Royal Family in Versidia. They could bring them back...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opegMUrKWXA

“Yes, please, Aye’d love to go with you all!” Rather than shaking his hand like he asked, the child simply jumped up and gave the man a hug, happy to know he finally could find his way to Versidia after so long. “Please, I need to go to Versidia. If you’d please let me go with you, Aye’d be happy to offer all my help!” The child seemed like they could barely contain their excitement.

Jumping off of Belros, the child realized something. “Oh, Aye never introduced myself, huh? Allow me to change that.” The child cleared their throat, preparing themself...

[InnocentSerenity]

“My name is Karik. Aye know a thing or two from working with these Pirates, so Aye won’t slow ye down.” Karik lifted his axe off the ground, holding it over his shoulder as he grinned in Belros’s direction. “I promise to protect you all, as long as ye’ll do the same for me.”

Edited November 9, 2016 by InnocentBoy

[Aurorix]

"Ouf" Belros let out a grunt as the kid leaped onto him. He was not expecting a hug that's for sure. Not that is was bad, though he certainly was not prepared for it. Though it was nice to see a smile from a once frightened child.

“My name is Karik. Aye know a thing or two from working with these Pirates, so Aye won’t slow ye down. I promise to protect you all, as long as ye’ll do the same for me.”

He got back onto his feet drawing his dagger out from his sheath once again. "Ha ha, alright Karik. Just be sure to come back alive. Don't want a friend to die on me the first day I met'em." He stretched out his arms and legs a bit. Battles sure do get the muscles all tense. "ALL RIGHT! Let's go, I'm right behind you!" He's all fired up now. Let's take on the world!

[InnocentSerenity]

Karik saw the Mercenary running away from the scene, probably trying to escape unnoticed from the group. “Hey, how about Aye show off one of me tricks?” Karik gripped onto his axe, remembering where the vital spots were and how to avoid them. Don’t kill, please!

Before the Mercenary could escape, Karik blocked his path to the east, noticing the group’s leader nearby. Something felt almost inspiring about the guy, but Karik couldn’t put his finger on it. Oh, well, now wasn’t the time for that. “Sorry, Aye can’t let ye go that easily.”

Move to J12 and Capture the Mercenary

Edited November 9, 2016 by InnocentBoy

[Zetaark]

(Karik is attempting to capture)

(Karik is inspired)

(Mercenary 1 has the advantage)

Karik:

Attack: 9

Hit: 57%

Crit: 0%

Mercenary 1:

Attack: 10

Hit: 100%

Crit: 2%

Karik's attack: 39, hit!

Karik Captures Mercenary 1 with 9 damage!

Karik successfully manages to strike the mercenary without killing him. With the mercenary unable to fight back, Karik takes the man and hoists him onto his back, but not before relieving him of his sword.

Cheat Sheet

Enemies: Health, Location, Weapon

Pirate 1: (0/22) (G10) Iron Club (44/45)

Pirate 2: (0/22) (H7) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 3: (0/22) (G10) Iron Club (43/45)

Pirate 4: (0/22) (J8) Iron Club (44/45)

Wakin: (24/24) (O14) Iron Club (45/45), Hatchet (35/35)

Pirate 7: (22/22) (I26) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 8: (22/22) (N25) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 9: (22/22) (L30) Iron Club (45/45)

Pirate 10: (22/22) (S21) Iron Club (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3) (Droppable)

Pirate 11: (22/22)(U15) Iron Club (45/45), Iron Lance (Droppable)

Pirate 12: (22/22)(G20) Iron Club (45/45), Iron Knife (Droppable)

Mercenary 1: (0/21) (J11) Captured

Mercenary 2: (0/21) (H13) Iron Sword (43/45)

Mercenary 3: (21/21) (K15) Iron Sword (45/45)

Mercenary 4: (21/21) (T28) Iron Sword (45/45)

Mercenary 5: (21/21) (T23) Iron Sword (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Mercenary 6: (21/21) (U21) Iron Sword (45/45), Vulnerary (3/3) (Droppable)

Archer 1: (0/20) (H8) Iron Bow (42/45)

Archer 2 (Agrev): (0/20) (K10) Iron Bow (44/45), Vulnerary (3/3)

Archer 3: (20/20) (M27) Iron Bow (45/45)

Archer 4: (20/20) (P27) Iron Bow (45/45), Iron Longbow (30/30)

Gonzap: (26/26) (U28) Airmd (30/30), Hatchet (35/35)

Enemy Stats

Pirate

Note: 2 speed

Wakin

Note: Wakin w/ Hatchet will have 12 Might and 94 Base Hit

2 speed

Gonzap

Note: Gonzap w/ Hatchet will have 13 Might and 92 Base Hit

5 speed

Mercenary

Note: 5 speed

Archer

Note: Archer 4 w/ Longbow may have 11 Might, 79 Base Hit, and 10 Evasion

5 speed

Players: Health, Location, Weapons

Rayne: (18/18) (K9) Iron Javelin (43/45), Vulnerary (3/3) Dismounted Took a turn.

Belros: (19/19) (J9) Iron Dagger (42/45), Vulnerary (3/3) Took a turn.

Cadence: (18/20) (G13) Iron Rapier (31/40), Vulnerary (2/3) Took a turn.

Emilee: (16/16) (H7) Heal (28/30), Vulnerary (3/3)

Darius: (19/19) (F8) Flux (38/40), Vulnerary (3/3)

Idei: (18/18) (K8) Iron Bow (39/45), Vulnerary (3/3) Took a turn.

Chirya: (16/19) (F13) Vulnerary (3/3)

Karik: (22/22) (J12) Iron Axe (44/45), Vulnerary (3/3), Iron Sword (43/45) Captured Merc 1, Took a turn.

Allies: Health, Location, Weapons

Madante: (13/21) (H12) Allegretto (-), Vulnerary (3/3)

Exp Tracker: 6/100

[InnocentSerenity]

“Hey, thanks fer the sword, matey.” Karik left the man’s blade on the ground as he held the man over his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Aye’ll make sure to keep it safe.”

“K- Karik?! What are you doing?!”

“Wait is that..Biden?” Karik looked over his shoulder to see the man’s face, recognizing the man’s facial features. Generic, but certainly something easy to remember. “Biden, it’s you! How ye been?”

“Oh well, apparently being held hostage by every single youngster on the ship!”

“Hey, ye fell in the wrong crowd. Let yerself get hired by pirates of all people, and decided it was worth the money." Karik shrugged his shoulders, careful not to let Biden slip off. "Aye got out pretty safely. Maybe you should’ve tried the same.”

“Can you just let me go? I promised the lass over there I’d never fight for the strong to bully the weak again, and I was hoping to go away unnoticed.” Biden pointed towards the red-haired person in a rather large coat.

“That be a woman?”

“Apparently.”

“Huh. What a weird world we be inhabitin’.”

“So, um, can ya let me go now?”

“Um… Give me some time to think about it, ‘kay?”

“Ugh...”

Edited November 9, 2016 by InnocentBoy

[Sutoratosu]

The second mercenary's blood still soaked her blade. She stood over his limp form, scanning the rest of the ship for anyone else who wanted to dare try there luck, cheeky bunch of pirating bastards and their damn deflection skills... so far it seemed they were gradually thining their numbers though. Good... it served them right, getting licked so badly.

On her second pass though, she had to do a double take. Indeed, her eyes had not deceived her. A child had literally just felled the fool she'd let go with an axe and hoisted him over his shoulder

"what in the seven hells even....?" She didn't know what to say. The man had to be twice his weight, realistically, at least... and yet the boy seemed to have no trouble at all with the feat. But... evne that was not important, considering... he was making off with her convert. After all that she had done to get him to see just how wrong he'd been, she'd have preferred if the fucker at least made it to shore before someone murdered him.

"HEY YOU!" she called from the railing at the boy. "YES, YOU! Where'd you come from, and WHAT are you doing with that Merc, boy? You'd better not throw him overboard or anything, took me more than a bit of effort to get his head space whipped into proper shape!"

[InnocentSerenity]

Karik turned his head, noticing the lass Biden had pointed to earlier. She seemed to be coming in their direction. She don’t look too cheery.

"Where'd you come from, and WHAT are you doing with that Merc, boy?”

Definitely not cheery.

“Don’t worry, he be well.” Karik patted Biden’s shoulder, admittedly rather awkwardly with how he was holding the man. “Biden and Aye be friends. We just be havin’ a happy conversation.”

“Actually, you were in the middle of stealing my weapon-”

“Not now, Biden.”

“Aye won’t kill him, don’t worry. Aye just wanted to show off this trick Aye know.” Karik crouched down, picking up the Iron Sword that belonged to the Mercenary. “These tend to break when you kill your opponent, what with putting force onto attacks and getting thrown out of hands. Thankfully, these pirates know a little trick: If you hold back your attack and strike wary of the vital points, you can incapacitate your opponent, and steal all their equipment.”

“And if yer looking fer the full autobiography to explain why Aye’m here, it’d take longer than the amount of time we have to chat to explain it.” Though, the Fencer’s rude tone is what made Karik less willing to talk. “For now, Aye’m joining the Royal Guard temporarily.” Karik put the Iron Sword back down, not having much use for the weapon he had even less experience with.

“I guess that means we should probably get acquainted.” Karik had a feeling he wouldn’t get a nice answer from her, but thought he might as well try “Me name’s Karik. What be yers?”

[Sutoratosu]

"Hmmmmm.... perhaps he could be of use to us... even if he was once one of these filthy, deflective-axe degenerates...and looks even younger than me"

"Cadence" She answered, propping a foot up on the dead man's back. Just as with Merc boy earlier, she took the time to wipe the rapier down with the clean side of his shirt... or as clean as a scallywag could be. "fine... so long as you don't kill the fool. Not very often I feel like being nice enough to offer a way out; he's one of the lucky ones... has to make it count. If you're really his buddy, then I'm trusting you to keep him alive till we get to shore" Well, in fairness, he was luckier than the corpse she stood on, that was for certain. Man had a hole clean through the throat and out through the spine, had died instantly once the cord was cut...just as she'd been forced to practice the damn maneuver, over and over again...

"how old even are you though? He looks like he could be your sire, and yet you're hefting him around like a sack of flour!"

[InnocentSerenity]

“Don’t worry yourself, Biden be safe wit’ me." Karik flashed a grin as he answered the Fencer. "Just need to make sure he doesn’t have any weapons on him.”

“I don’t have anymore weapons on me!”

“Biden, Aye can see why we didn’t talk much, you’re really chatty.”

Karik's eyes finally went down to Cadence's feet, seeing the corpse at her feet. The short image was all Karik wanted before he darted his head to the side, not wanting to see the wounds. He didn’t want to feel sick to his stomach right now.

“And, Aye’ve been on this ship so long, Aye’ve lost track of the months, really." Karik scratched his head, trying to remember his own birthday. Certainly had been so long since he'd thought about it. "I was born… 17th of Setena, Year 1624. Ye’ll have to forgive me fer not knowing the day. Do ye perhaps know how old that makes me?”

[Sutoratosu]

"13..." she responded nigh instantly. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but... he truly was little more than just a boy. Hell, technically speaking, even she herself would never have been allowed out of training and into the field until 18, by her grandfather's own decree for the household all those years ago. Then there was also the added sting of her birthday... now that she... actually thought about it. Between... what had happened and the extent of her injuries, there hadn't been any time or even anyone to even acknowledge it. But the fact that it had been missed didn't leave a pang of anguish anywhere near as strong as the knowledge that, for the rest of her life, whenever it approached, no matter how joyful such a date one's own birth was supposed to be, it would always be marred by the memory of that day...

"How long were you even with these swine for, by chance?"

[InnocentSerenity]

“How long...” Karik felt his eyes fall to the floor, and his grin began to disappear. He didn’t want to think about it.

If he was only 13, it surely wasn’t as long ago as he could imagine. Felt like almost years to him, but there were some parts he could remember. What was the day like? Calm, not too cloudy. Seas were rather nice. Wind wasn’t as favorable as it could be, but it was still soothing.

Still, as nice as that day was, it was also the day he had to step onto that ship for the first time in his life. All he had with him was his axe and cloak, certainly in better condition than they were now. Karik didn’t want to remember much else, but even then, it was still fresh in his memory.

“I don’t remember.” It was a lie, but it wouldn’t harm anyone to say it. Now wasn't the time for it, anyway. Karik turned around, facing away from Cadence. He had a feeling continuing their conversation would only make his mood worse.

[Sutoratosu]

"........" She said nothing more. It was painfully obvious he wasn't being forthright, but there was no point to pushing any further. With a nudge of her foot, the dead man tumbled through the railing and to the waves below, shark bait... hopefully those two treading water down below would get torn to shreds too. And there were other things to focus on; even with how much they'd fine the advance party, there was still a literal boat load of them waiting. Realistically, they could just kill the last two onboard and destroy the planks, try to get away. Only issue though, was hat there was no way to guarantee they wouldn't be followed... an anima mage could've taken out their sales easily, shred it with wind, burn with fire, even snap the whole damn mast in half with thunder... but look at that, no fucking anima tomes in sight. Just the damn rapier at her side... this infernal bit of metal.

And even besides the lack of anima mages... they weren't the first ones this fucker had attacked. and if they fled and got away, some other poor lot would end up his victim...

"Focus...if we don't put an halt to their miserable careers here, they'll just spread more suffering in these waters and prey on more innocent people. They can come across ramps or stay where they are, it doesn't change a thing... this has to end here."

[Anstane]

"Heh, impressive work there, kid. You're a lot more capable then I expected, plus the way you turned on the archer there...he must have been quite surprised." Darius shouted over to Karik who seems to have joined their little group. "Shall we make the rest of these goons suffer, both for making you fight and for daring to attack us?" he said while repositioning himself on the deck, trying not to lose his balance from being distracted by all the carnage.

Move to J10 and hold.

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Well take good care of Kite then!" Emilee dusted off her clothes and looked for her next target. This isn't so bad. It's almost like working back in the tavern. But with less bleeding everywhere. She thought quickly. She saw Mandate engaged in battle. Running at her top speed she reached him just as she was starting to tire. "Stay strong boss, we're counting on you!"

Move to G12 and heal Mandate

[rokubiraijuu]

While he isn't in agreement with the fencer's handling of the situation, desecrating a body -- whatever the nature of the person it had belonged to -- and then accosting a child so brusquely, there is at least sense in her words. If they don't stop the marauders in these waters, they'll only continue to terrorize travelers, and not all of them will be so well-prepared for confrontation as the Versidian Royal Guard.

"I saw you strike that man with your axe," Idei says to the child that Belros seems to have taken under his wing with a nod of approval. "It's unpolished, but you have skill. If our chief allows, you have a place here so that you might become even stronger."