Fire Emblem On Forums: Mortal Transgressions (IC)

[Shauntaro]

Overhearing Justine and Kane's exchange earlier, Shin's expression lowers.

"Ah, so ..Knight, is.. gone.."


"I.. I was looking forward to riding together.. o-on our.. horses..."

His expression worsens as his he trembling hand reaches for his face.

[RedMageCole]

Fey somehow managed to work things out, if not just because Lily's terrible anxiety turned into bewildered confusion.

 

"Th... theater troupe...? Uh... n-no, I'm not really looking for them, I guess... or a theater troupe for that matter...? Uh..."

 

Lily now looks just more awkward than anything. Though her anxiety still hasn't faded, still being a bit suspicious.

 

"...I-in any case... I-I need to go now, please... m-my brother doesn't like it when I'm late... or around strangers..."

[Zetaark]

"Err...I'm not sure how long you were asleep exactly, but i feel like worrying about being late now is a bit...pointless. At any rate, what's this brother of yours like anyhow? Just in case we somehow run into him if he decided to go look for you?" Fey decides to ask.

[Chevaleresse]

"I. . .Yes, I'll miss him too. He was like an older brother to all of us, and it brings me great sorrow to think that he could not feel at home with us." She put a hand on Shin's shoulder. "We might still meet him again someday, though. I just hope he'll be okay in the meantime."

[RedMageCole]

Lily looked even more on edge when Fey asked about her brother.

"My brother? I-I... I don't think-"

 

“THERE you are! Goodness gracious, I was looking for you for forever, but there you are!"

 

A sudden, rather rambunctious voice appears from the side. A man in plain purple robes and a rather wild haircut comes rushing up to Lily's side, putting his hands on her shoulders and prompting a nervous yelp from her.

 

“Man, oh, man! Your brother hates my guts right now for letting you stay behind! 'Fahuh-Horace, why the flip didn't you notice Lily was gone!?' I've never felt my guts so hated in a loooong time!"

 

"H-Hood... Y-Your hood..."

 

“Huh? What about my wood? I don't have any wood! Why would you ask about my wood? Silly Lily, don't you know you shouldn't ask about a man's wood?! Haha!" Horace suddenly turns to the rest of you, still holding a rather uncomfortable Lily's shoulder. "Hey, you guys were looking after Lily, huh? Thanks so much! Don't you worry a bit, I'm gonna get her right out of here so you don't have to worry one darn bit, don't worry about it, okay?" Horace gives a wide, clearly faked smile. “Alright, we'll be on our way, goodbye and farewell!" Horace clearly has more courage than Lily, as he doesn't seem deterred by Fey's attempts to block his path, striding straight right past her with Lily in tow.

[Shauntaro]

Shin continues to tremble as he mutters.

H.. horses... I... 

Shin goes completely silent as his hand reaches his face.

Before his expression contorts into one of pure panic, his skin pale and eyes wide. He turns to Justine.

"I..."
 

Spoiler

"...I FORGOT TO FEED SCOOPO!" His face painted over with horror, as cold sweat pours down his trembling face.

 

[Zetaark]

"Someone's seriously in a rush here," Fey mutters before recalling a bit of information she heard from a certain new friend of Mim. Deciding to go on a bit of a limb, she decides to make a statement. "Oh right, I nearly forgot. I think there was a bow lying around somewhere that I didn't recognize. Would it happen to be either of yours by any chance?" Fey asks, carefully watching the pair's reactions.

[Swordstar]

"Bye bye Lily! If you ever get bored just following your brother around, you should come find me! You seem like fun!"

 

Mim waved cheerfully at the two leaving with a grin.

[RedMageCole]

If Horace heard Fey, he showed no indication of having done so, pretty easily brushing it off and continuing on his merry way. Lily does, however, turn around with a really confused expression on her face after Mim spoke, slowing down her pace before hurriedly catching up with Horace. Kane walked up to the group as he looked at the two newcomers leaving.

 

"...What was that all about...?"

 

Kane gave a small shrug, but seemed a little tense at the same time as he sat under the cover of the wagon, difficult to recognize from either sides but the front.

 

"...Either way, well done with the cover story, Fey. That could have turned out pretty poorly. All of you, time to head into the wagon. I put our gear in there, and I ask you all to suit up while we're on the road. I have a... bad feeling, to say the least."

[RedMageCole]

Chapter 3

The Icons of Sin

 

The road is short yet bumpy, as the border between the distracted country of Ulux and the sedentary country of Ceda is crossed with relative ease. Virtuous prepares to settle in a small forest encampment near the sea in the center of the continent, near an offshoot body of water.

As the journey continues, Kane seems ever more tense, and makes his worries quite clear before the group arrives in the encampment, unaware of what lurked in the shadows of the trees... 

 

The smooth ride that signified the travel on road quickly turned slightly rough and bumpy, signifying the arrival on forested ground. After this change in road, Kane stopped the horses, donned his mask and looked back into the wagon, speaking in a low whisper.

 

"First off, make sure you're suited up. Second... do not get out of this wagon until I say so. I'm going to make sure the coast is clear first...  and try to sit closer to the sides of the wagon if you can. We're being followed."

 

Without another word, Kane continued the ride. It didn't take too long until the wagon was stopped once more. Sid got up, but Simeon sat him back down in an instant.

 

"Didn't ye listen to Phoenix? Besides, ye don't even have a mask yet. Sit down."

 

With a small grumble, Sid sat back down next to Simeon, who kept a watchful eye on him, while also trying to peek out of the front of the wagon. Kane was still in view from the front, looking around with a knife drawn...

 

...All of the sudden, the firing of an arrow is heard, arcing downward from the trees. In an instant, Kane manages to roll out of the way before the arrow lands away from view, clearly making a deep mark into the ground... before another one is fired, with Kane proceeding to dodge with ease. The rustling of leaves is heard as Kane keeps a sharp eye out for whatever was moving in the trees... and another arrow is fired, this time right in full front facing view, the arrow traveling quickly into the wagon... before Kane catches it between his middle and index finger, snapping the arrow in half with his thumb. Still holding the top half of the arrow, Kane called out.

 

"You'd better make yourself known, prowler! I can dodge your arrows all day, but can you continue move from tree to tree without following?"

 

A small snarl is heard, before the sound of four people landing from the trees is heard.

 

"Virtuous, we have our targets! Come on out!"

 

As everyone exits the wagon, three figures are noticed. Two are completely new, one is vaguely familiar, and one is... definitely familiar.

 

 

“How dare you mock me for being a prowler, when prowling is all your insignificant group of rats does?"

 

“Yep! There's our wonderful leader, jumping out of his perfect situation just to keep his ego intact! Wonderful!" 

 

“It was the best call of action, Famine. We don't move quite as well in the trees."

 

Nothing was said from the definitely familiar figure, just enough shaking to make them look as if they were on the mountains of Ria without a coat on.

[ElfCollaborator]

Without missing a beat, Lenore (masked in her plain white mask, of course) steps out behind Kane, raising an eyebrow behind her mask.

 

The man's anger told her there was something personal about his outrage with the party; why would he care to call them insignificant rats, unless Virtuous had already hurt him in some shape or form? Lenore didn't know all the specifics of their history; she hadn't been the first one to join Virtuous, and maybe Kane had attracted someone's ire before she'd met him. He definitely had a complex about being called a thief or talked down to; Lenore could use that to make him show his hand. An angry man like that, he was an easy mark; either stroke his ego to make him feel so fulfilled he felt like you were no threat, or piss him off so utterly he loses all composure and shows his hand.

 

At least, that was what Lenore could tell from a quick analysis. She wasn't some expert people-reader, and most of her marks weren't shooting at her with arrows.

"Who are you, exactly?"

[Zetaark]

Upon seeing the four people approaching, Fey takes a look at them and just...stares at them for a while.

"You know Horace, I really shouldn't be surprised. But I'm still amused by this situation just a bit. At any rate, how have you been? Is the family healthy?" Fey jokingly asks, chuckling just a bit.

[ElfCollaborator]

Lenore puts two and two together. She'd taken a walk earlier to clear her head, and had spotted Fey and Mim making some conversation with people; Lenore had thought nothing of it, figuring Kane would've whipped their backsides into line if they were enemies.

Another thing to be more than a little annoyed with Kane about, in hindsight. But, at least they knew where their enemy stood.

"These were the people you were talking to this morning? Well, I suppose we can't really call you a prowler after all. That would require us not seeing you."

[Swordstar]

Mim hopped out of the wagon, a big grin on her face as she waved to Lily.

 

"Hello sleepy head! Feeling any better? If that's your 'brother' there with the anger issues, you really oughta just come chill with us. Most of us are much nicer, you know? He just seems like a rude meanie."

[Powder Miner]

Lizaveta frowned, all too happy to stay in the wagon during the initial barrage of arrows — she came out when the rest of the group did, though, frowning out at the group of four people that seemed to be attacking them.

“Who are these people? Have they been following us to attack us? ...Why??”

[ElfCollaborator]

"My guess, Scarlet? The green-haired one has a bone to pick with our dear leader and an inferiority complex about it, his bandanna-clad friend -who seems like he's the one with the brains between him and his leader- and the shy-looking girl got dragged along for the ride and the prideful-looking woman with them has her own reasons for coming after us and will probably play her great leader for a fool."

[Flannelmagician]

Tabitha after keeping to herself again for awhile felt a rush of adrenaline as she among the other surveyed the four figures in their way. Nodding at Lizaveta and Lenore's conversation she chimes in. 

 

"Guess we'll just have to make a quick detour and knock some heads in." 

 

Quickly after saying that she put her right hand over her mouth as if to mumble/think to herself. The name the group overheard Famine clicked with her, as if it had been one she had heard it before during her time at the monastery. Immediately she realized what was up.

"Did I just hear one of them call another one of them Famine? Did they really name themselves that, how childish."  

 

 

[RedMageCole]

Lily's trembling began to get even worse on Mim's words, her gaze quickly darting to the green haired man, who met it with an annoyed one. Before he could speak, Famine interjects alongside somehow managed to light up even further than he already was once Fey spoke up.

 

“You remembered my fake name! I never remember that darn thing! I mean, it is just a fake name, how can I remember it!? That's so cool!"

 

He beamed even further when Lenore gave her assumption on who everyone was.

 

“I told you guys! I told you I was the smart one! She clearly gets it!"

 

The red haired woman put a hand to her cheek.

 

“Still, quite off base for such accusations. I could not hope to defeat our leader... and she says the one wearing a bandana when he has a perfectly usable hood 'is the one with the brains'."

 

“Hey!" Famine's bright glow seems to fade. "It looks way cooler than that dumb hood! Unlike that dumb hood, this bandana helps me focus my magic way better than that dumb hood does! I just can’t be bothered to rip the hood off, that’s all, can’t be bothered! Plus, it looks waaay cooler. And helps me focus my-"

 

 

“God damn it, we get the point, Famine. We've already heard the damn story, and it doesn't matter if they hear it or not, especially if they're clearly not bright enough to not make idiotic accusations." The green haired man clearly sounds impatient as his gaze turns to Lily. “I told you not to bring that up." He quietly hissed.

 

"S-sorry..."

 

Kane shook his head, turning to Lenore.

 

"Sorry, Mink, I've never seen these people in my life, let alone the man in green. But that description..." Kane narrows his eyebrows and looks the green haired man in the face, speaking up as Tabitha brought his name up. "...If one of them is Famine, then... who are the rest indeed?"

 

Famine looks extremely pouty at Tabitha's remark, the rest of his fading glow now having completely faded.

 

“C'mon, you guys were so nice! 'Famine, you're notable enough for me to remember your fake name!' 'Famine, you're so smart!' And now this!? My name doesn’t sound as cool as the others, but y’know, starving’s pretty bad. I mean, just imagine how bad starving actually is, it’s-“

 

“War.” The female interrupts. “As long as conflict exists, there can never be peace… and I am the flames of that fury that humanity chooses to consume itself within.”

 

"P-...Pestilence... um..." Lily says, clearly not wanting to talk any more than that despite having more to say, shrinking in fear of both Virtuous and her green haired brother, the latter of whom spoke up in a murderous snarl.

 

 

“And I am the leader of the four named The Icons of Sin… the scourge of mankind, and its ultimate fate, consumed by the vices it fails to control. I am the one who will bring that very end to all of you… Death.”

 

A small pause hangs in the air.

 

“…You know, the technique is there, but he’s never made that one sound cool. Not once has he made it sound cool in our caree-“

 

In an instant, Death points his bow at Famine’s neck, the arrowhead only a couple feet away from his neck with Death fully pulling it back, a few fingers away from him murdering his ally the same way he may have just murdered many others. Famine doesn’t change his expression in the slightest, not so much as a flinch.

 

 

“Can you shut the fuck up, Famine? I didn’t ask for your goddamn opinion, okay?”

 

Famine shrugs, putting his hands up in a 'I yield' pose.

 

“Sure.”

 

As Death relents, keeping his bow drawn but lowering it, Famine whispers to Virtuous, still in earshot of Death.

 

“Don't worry, it's just a bluff, he's kind of a jerk but he's not that much of a jerk. Not that it matters that I'm telling you this, because, well, I kinda felt badly about him preparing to kill you all, but that last comment about Famine being a childish name... well, I guess it doesn't matter that I'm telling you this, because, well... nothing personal, just don't like your chances very much."

 

He seems to have hastily added that last part on in order to quell Death's fury.

[Zetaark]

"Wait, so then the reason you didn't wear your hood before was just because you didn't like it? Then again, I can kind of understand that a bit, so you do you," Fey remarks. "As for the names thing, I am a merchant so keeping names straight is part of the job. And its not like people don't use aliases in business either, so its nothing new. I'll ask just in case, but do you prefer Famine or Horace?" Fey asks, even though she has an idea of his preference.

[Swordstar]

"Hmmph. You, dead guy, Death, whatever. Ever consider that being a dick to your followers isn't the best way to make them like you? That poor girl there looks terrified of you, she really would be better off being pretty much anywhere else from what I see. I don't care if you think you're some group of bad guys, you're just an asshole."

 

Mim grabbed an arrow from the sheath at her side and knocked it, glaring at the hooded man. She was sick of him already.

[ElfCollaborator]

Lenore crosses her arms, gesturing to the trees.

 

All the while, she's running mental calculations. Famine, Pestilence, she sensed some fragility, some disloyalty. If she had more time, and preferably a lot more preparations, maybe she could get them to flip on Death. Pestilence was someone for Mim or Fey to flip; she didn't seem the type, but you never knew with the quiet ones. Pestilence was definitely someone to both watch out for but also to potentially flip if they could. Lenore wasn't the mothering type, but maybe Mim could pull it off. 

Famine, he seemed clever enough to know where the wind would blow, once everyone's hands were revealed.  Lenore figured if they could get him away from Death a minute, maybe convince him that sticking with his buddies was a bad idea, he'd split. Especially considering War and Death seemed to have no respect for him whatsoever. People like that, they were easy to flip if they felt they could get away with it. Lenore knew this too well; this is why you tried to be respectful and polite with your fellow thieves. They could flip on you just as easily as you could flip on them. Any endeavour is born on trust, and heists were no different.

War, she'd gotten her all wrong.  Prideful, haughty, but possibly a sycophant. Lenore was getting rusty; it had been a while since she'd scoped out a mark.

And Death? Dead on. Lenore mentally smiled. She wasn't that rusty.

 

Still, she mustn't get smug. They could surprise her, and she'd only just met these people. Her method took weeks to play out, to track a weakness in her marks, one she could exploit to stroke their ego. She had here, at most, minutes. Definitely not the sort of situation Lenore wanted to be in. Lenore needed to push them more, prod them harder. Find out as much about her enemies as she could. She wasn't a fighter, but she wasn't some naive doe, either.

 

"And I suppose, you have an army poised behind these trees to kill us? If you've been tracking us for a while, you know we've fought armies before and repelled armies larger and possibly better trained than your guys. So, before we risk causing too much of an unnecessary mess, what is it you want with our group? You didn't come here to preach to us about the vices of man, surely. And surely Pestilence and Famine here- great names, by the way- didn't come around here just to hear you speak, Death."

[RedMageCole]

After Fey's first sentence, Death slowly turned to Famine, clearly with murderous intent in his eyes. Famine doesn't notice this in the slightest, instead having his bright aura come back to him.

 

“Pretty much! I think I prefer Famine though over Horace." Famine puts his finger up in the air, hoping to draw attention to himself. "Famine's a cool nickname I have to hide my identity. Kinda like you guys! Horace is just a fake name, and where's the fun in tha-"

 

 

“You didn't. Wear. Your fucking hood?"

 

Famine pauses, his finger still drifting in the air.

 

“Was I supposed to...?"

 

 

“OF COURSE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!"

 

Famine mouthed an 'oops' as his hand lowered. Death looked just about ready to slap Famine in the back of the head, but Mim managed to turn his attention away from him, which Famine noticed, giving Mim a quick thumbs up as Death went on a tangent with Pestilence continuing to shrink away.

 

 

“Hmph. Maybe you in Virtuous decide to be lax and think everyone deserves coddling, but I demand perfection in this group, and Pestilence knows it. And don't even try it, little girl." Death raises his own nocked and drawn arrow in an instant, pointing it at Mim. "Your head will be blown right off before you can even draw back the string."

 

Almost immediately, Arthur jumps in front of Mim, conjuring a fireball in his hand and an equal amount of fire in his eyes as he looked Death in the face.

 

"Fucking try it, I dare you, you uptight piece of shit!"

 

War gives a small laugh, snapping her fingers and summoning a brighter flame to her own hand, striding up to Death with her eyes trained on Arthur.

 

“My, my... How pitiful that weak little flame is. Even when I'm not exerting myself, my flame burns brighter..."

 

"You'll be after him, arrogant little bitch!"

 

Death rolls his eyes at Arthur's words, and War remains calm and unflinching. While keeping his arrow trained on Mim, Death turns his head to Lenore. Famine smiles and flashes the same thumbs up he flashed to Mim over to Lenore, and Pestilence seems to stop shaking just a slight bit at Lenore's words.

 

 

“Well, well, maybe you're not as foolish as you let yourself off to be. But maybe it loops right back around, if you think I wasn't prepared to hire an actual competent group of fighters unlike those fucking idiots at Gul." Indeed, it seemed as if there were more people in the trees, waiting to drop down. “And it should be obvious why we're here. We're obviously going to have a cute little tea party and talk about our feelings... I'm here to kill every last one of you, obviously. It won't matter why, because you'll all be dead before it even begins to matter."

[Swordstar]

Mim flinched but it was hidden behind Crimson as he jumped in front of her. But still, a deep breath, and then she stepped out from behind him, leveling her bow at Death.

 

"Just try it. I can release this arrow before yours hits me. I'll take you down with me, you bastard!"

 

There was only a very slight quiver to her voice, but her hands didn't shake as she kept the arrow trained on her enemy.

[ElfCollaborator]

So there was an army and he wasn't that stupid. Arrogant, rash, temperamental, but capable of keeping his eye on the prize. He had a limit, but they weren't in a tactically good situation where Lenore could push him to find out what that limit was.

A change of strategy, then. If it wasn't enough to get him to reveal his hand, it would be at least enough to buy time for Kane to plan something. He was grandiose, theatrical.

Lenore could play that game too. She'd been playing this game since she was a tender young lass, after all.

"Let's all put our weapons down a minute. No reason we can't be civil a little while longer.  And Death, I see you're a man after my own heart then. A man who understands the value of competent allies and intelligent allies. After all, wouldn't want a weak link if I were pulling something off, hm? But....well, we're after the same thing, are we not? We're trying to cleanse the vices of humanity the same as you are; after all, most of us have been mucked up by the system, presumably like yourselves, unless there's another reason you're traipsing about the forest, in disguise, without the backing of any kingdom to chase our little group. We're all people tired of humanity's flaws, and trying to clean up that mess; we're just trying to do it with a little less murder. I personally find that murdering everybody in sight tends to end with my head on a pike. Even a skilled fighter like yourself can't evade the law forever. So, why is it exactly, that we're in opposition?"

[Powder Miner]

A long sigh came from Lizaveta, that turned into a snarl as Death pointed his bow at Mim.

“I don’t think we’re getting out of this one without a fight, Mink. He already went on a spiel about killing us all, and he pointed his bow at Snowbird, and he’s got mercenaries in the trees. This guy knows who we are, and he seems intent on killing us. I don’t know WHY he has whatever psycho murder motives he has but...

 

Fuck it, honestly. I don’t care anymore. I mean, I used to hate fighting and killing but then I kept running into all of these terrible people and their armies and I’m just done with it. We already took out the Gulan army, I carved a path through them as well, and I’m about done with it. He’s going to spout some terrible things and attack us, so let’s just take out his people and then take him and probably War out, and that’s an obstacle to our mission now out of the way, and probably one to my mission later out of the way too.”

 

Lizaveta hefted her wind tome, magic beginning to coalesce at her fingertips.