Save the Knight, Save Bern

[Saturos Prox]

OoC: I made this thread for those going after Aidan. I'm assuming he'll make his own thread, and we can join it when we get to the Bernese capital.

Saturos stopped running as he made his way to a small grove of trees a good half mile outside the city. The myrmidon slumped to this rear, his back up against a tree, as he caught his breath. Even for a man as in shape as he was, booking it top speed for that long was tiresome to say the least.

Gasping, he pulled out his blade, examining its metal sheen. It was well forged. It was made from fine iron. It was sharp. But what good were those things if the swordsman himself could do nothing with them? Once again, Saturos had failed to protect those who he was sworn to protect, and it was he who got to escape with his life and freedom. A whole town and a great man had been sacrificed for it.

The tanned skinned man grunted with frustration and tossed his blade aside, the iron sword lodging itself point first in the dirt. With the same fist, he punched the tree next to him. What good was he as a swordsman? Perhaps it would be better if he had just stayed in Etruria and crunched numbers for the rest of his life. At least then he'd be doing something useful. Perhaps the lives of his bond brothers would have been entrusted to a better man. Perhaps they would still be alive...

Jumping to his feet, Saturos gripped his sword, ripping it out of the ground, and with a roar, swung at the tree he had previously been leaning against. The force of the blow embedded the sword into the hard wood. The swordsman just stood there, his body heaving as he panted harder, though now not with exhaustion, but anger. This anger... He was a failure. This is why he had run. If he removed himself from the rest of the world, there would be no one for him to fail.

Saturos released the blade and fell to his knees, his head hitting the hard bark with a thud. He couldn't save Aidan now. What could one man do against the might of an entire nation?

[Judah]

Judah had been making steady pace, trying to think about what his next move should be. While he ran, he reasoned out that the best places for a man of Sir Lowell's notoriety would be in either a very secure prison, or the land's larges city, for an execution. This, when combined with the propaganda being spread, that Aiden was fighting for the rebellion, made the cloaked man think execution.

Of course, Aiden wasn't a part of the rebellion. Judah would be aware if that were so. There was a chance of recruiting the man though, and if he could be rescued, it would be quite an embarrassment to Illia's occupation.

Moving through the nearby trees, something caught the acolyte's attention. There was a good deal of ruckus being caused nearby. The blue-haired man from the city was there, and looked like he was nearly ready to give up. Understandable, but even so...

That was not something Judah could let happen.

"They'll say that the bandits were the rebels, you know. And that Sir Lowell was leading them." The Light User said, as he stepped from around a tree several paces away. "It's nonsense, of course, but the people will believe it." His voice was cold, yet confident in his reasoning. Information and misinformation was as much a weapon as hardened steel. If Illia got their way, then the rebellion would lose face, and a national hero. That would conflict with his interests in seeing the nation rebuilt.

In a sense, Judah's reasoning was the opposite of Saturos'. To him, it wasn't a question of what one man could do against a nation. It was how one man could make alter the balance of a nation. This Lowell could be the rebellion's last chance, or their final, fatal blow.

[Lyar]

As for Lyar? Well, he'd took out of that town so quickly that he'd not kept with the others. Skidding to a halt as this crept into his mind, he looked about on the hillside he had just crossed over, before climbing back up the other side, scanning the burning town and the area around, until he heard shouting, and watching birds take off in fright. All these coming from the small woods nearby...Lyar would ponder about the large amount of woods later, for now, with axe in hand, he made his lumbering way for the shouting.

...and was surprised to find Saturos...and that Mage Dude. It wasn't the sight of Saturos that surprised him, it was the dramatic break in the swordsman's attitude that threw him off. So in typical Lyar fashion, and in the matter in which he quelled Mavick's temper tantrums, he placed a massive hand on the man's shoulder, and pressed down lightly: it was obvious what this was about, and for man of Lyar's occupation, he was obscenely calm and calculated," The Mage Dude is right, Saturos...We need to keep moving, and head for the Capitol."

Into the belly of the beast? With this, Lyar removed his hand, and grabbed his second axe from his back,"...Because I'm about to cut a path from here to Aidan's cell and back: and we're wasting time by just sitting around here- where's Syana?" His mind too awhile to divert from his little speech to the fact their other companion was not there

[Syana Flamberge]

"I'm right here, Lyar," came Syana's voice as she walked out from behind a couple of trees. She was holding her side, which was red with blood. "One of the archers got me," she said before they could ask, "but I still got away." She dropped her bag, pulling out some bandages. Lifting up her shirt gently, she wrapped the bandages around her body a few times until her wound was completely covered. Knowing it would hold for a while, she put the bandages back in her bag and pulled out her armor. She gingerly put on her breastplate, making sure that it wouldn't impede with her injury. When she saw it didn't, she continued to silently suit up. She finished after a minute or so before standing back up. "Now."

She walked over to where Saturos knelt. The red-headed merc looked down at him for a few seconds before smacking him hard across the face. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Saturos? Do you really think you can just give up at this point? We're all in this together and we're GOING to get Aidan back. I've never failed a mission yet and I'm not starting now just cause you think it's over. Now, get your ass back up on your feet and let's get going before I have to hit you again."

[Saturos Prox]

Saturos held up his hands in defense as Syana struck him across the face. What a wake up call. He...hadn't been expecting that. Apparently his body language was awfully telling, though it seemed his red haired companion was taking her assumptions of his current state of mind a bit too far.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" he shouted. "No need to hit me. No need to hit!" The myrmidon got to his feet, still holding his hands up assuringly. "I'm just exhausted is all." He brushed the dust off of his pants and picked up his sword, sheathing it. His friends were right. He couldn't give up now. Not while Aidan was still alive. Not while they still had a chance of saving him. He may have failed once, and he may have failed again, but he wouldn't fail again. He still had his sword. Together, they could save Aidan.

The myrmidon bent down behind a rock and grabbed his breastplate that he had left in the grove before the attack. Lifting the metal chest piece over his head, he slid it over his torso and adjusted it until it was snug around his body. He looked to the others, particularly Syana. Looking at her face, he remembered sitting next to that stream, painting her face. This was his new band of bond brothers. Well, maybe not the mage. He just kind of showed up.

"Come on guys, despair just isn't my style," Saturos told the others, putting on a strong face. He still felt a bit upset that he had let Aidan out of his sight in the first place, but letting it get the best of him wouldn't fix anything. "We can't waste time here. Not while Aidan is in trouble. Now let's go, slowpokes."

[Judah]

"Mage Dude", wasn't a name Judah was expecting to have stuck to him, but he'd not given any name for himself yet. Neither had they asked. He was startled that the woman would strike her companion like that. He wondered if the group would fragment under the stress, or if their loyalty would hold them together.

"I'll save you the trouble of asking." Judah muttered to them as they set off towards Bern. It was evident that being mostly ignored was not popular with the dark cloaked man. "My name is Judah, and if that was Aiden Lowell, then I have a vested interest in making sure he doesn't die."

Another idea came to mind. If they could rescue Lowell, then why not do more besides. "I'd like to steal the Illian standard flying above the fortress as well."

[Syana Flamberge]

Syana clapped him on the shoulder. "There's the Saturos I know." She smiled happily at him, then gave a little wince as her wound throbbed. Thankfully, it went away pretty quickly. She then turned her attention to the mage. "You said your name is Judah, correct? Well then, Judah, I think you have brain damage. Steal the Illian standard? Are you kidding me? We're gonna have to go through hell as it is just to get Aidan, and you want us to go further into it? No thank you. You can go if you want, but don't expect help from me." Shaking her head, she tapped Saturos on the back again and Lyar on the arm. "Let's go boys. We have teammate to save."

[Lyar]

That grin on Lyar's face.

It was that grin that truly personified who the giant was: A mix of jolly and just that little bit of crazy. In his excitement, he reached to his left to grab Mavick and lift him onto his shoulders, only to realize the diminutive mage wasn't there...so he shrugged and looked down to Syana, who had just tapped him on the arm," Need a lift?" he had taken note of her pain, but that wasn't his priority, he just had the urge to carry someone, and since Mavick wasn't around...she'd have to do. Strapping his second axe to his back, he held a large hand down to her, as if saying that he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer-

then that Judah man (heheheh Joo-duh man.) said something about stealing the Ilian Standard? Ilians had standards? maybe it was just the foolishness of what they were about to do, but Lyar was feeling too giddy to think straight," Yes, let's! And from there we shall pierce the Vaults of Heaven!"

[Saturos Prox]

Saturos shook his head as they started towards Bern.
"My number one priority is saving Aidan Lowell from whatever fate the Ilian higher ups have for him," replied the myrmidon, addressing this Judah. "I honestly don't care much about an easily replaced tarp, but if we get the chance to grab it during our highly dangerous jaunt through Bern, then be my guest." He attempted to study the man's face, though with it being partially hidden under a hood, he couldn't quite get a good look at the man's eyes. His mother always said that a person's eyes said worlds about them. Well, those worlds were obscured to Saturos at the moment.

He didn't particularly like the fact that the hooded man, who they hardly even knew and who Saturos suspected may have been behind the bandit attack on that town, was coming with them, but they'd need all the man power they could get for this rescue operation. Then, seeing as he was leading their little march, the Etrurian looked over his shoulder to address his more familiar compatriots.

"As for you two, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but don't take this lightly," said the swordsman. Right now, he was all business. "Seeing how valuable of a hostage Aidan is, they most likely have him locked up in the castle, which would mean we have to break into the largest, most well fortified castle in Elibe." Saturos shot the two a grin. "Now, that doesn't mean I think it's impossible, I just don't want either of you to go dying on me."

[Syana Flamberge]

Syana sighed at both of her companions, for different reasons. She resigned herself to letting Lyar carry her; she knew the big guy enough to know that she wasn't going to able to talk him out of it. Letting him lift her up, she looked back at Saturos with a little smile. "And please, Saturos. We know the risks and we're still here. And look at us! You were in the army, I'm a mercenary, Lyar's Lyar and even Judah is willing to do this. We all want to do this and we're not afraid of dying for it." She gave him a wink. "So you don't have to worry about us. We have your back and we know you have ours. So let's do this." Normally at that point, she would have lead the charge, but since she was currently begin held by the giant known as Lyar she just kinda awkwardly sat there and waited for them to go.

[Judah]

For the most part, Judah ignored what the others were doing while they marched, but there was one thing that he responded to.

"That 'tarp', represents Illian dominance over the city. Take it, or better yet, replace it with another... and it will give the whole nation something to think about. Lowell's survival is paramount to the rebellion's survival, but raising the Bernese Flag could rally a tired nation."

Judah understood that these three cared only for their friend, but so much more could happen. "For now though, we'll need to find a way to get inside the prison."

[Saturos Prox]

"Well that's good to hear," replied Saturos, giving Syana a nod. He was glad he had her support, and he tried to hide his worry. This wasn't going to be easy, and as optimistic as he tried to be, busting into Castle Bern wasn't going to be as simple as walking in and walking out. They would most likely get injured, crippled, maybe even killed. Well, if it came to that, Saturos would make sure the only death would be him. Everyone else had a life ahead of them, and their own stories to write.

"But like I said..." Saturos turned his head to address Judah, "Aidan first, standard second. A flag can be replaced easily, but there's no replacing a person." He shook his head. "At least not truly."

[Lyar]

Lyar sat her on his shoulder, wrapping a trunk sized arm around her legs to keep her from falling off, as he strode merrily behind Saturos, loudly humming another sea tune despite the situation they were up against. It was a few days trek from here to Castle Bern, and longer still by foot and stopping, which Lyar was going to try to force them to do: They'd need all the strength they could get, yet at the same time they had to hurry...

...but if they didn't rest they were just hurrying to their deaths...

...but if the DID rest, then Aidan would rest forever, and not in peace.

...but if they DIDN'T...

while both sides of this mental debate were duking it out inside his brain, his humming stutter every now and then, before he stopped altogether, brow furrowed and jaw fixed in place for awhile, before he looked to the girl on his shoulder," How much time do you think he's got?" of course, at this point...and more importantly: from this angle, he noticed the blue face paint on Syana, similar to Saturos'...

and this brought up an important question that NEEDED to be answered as well," Why don't I have the Team colors!" his frown was a mix of his trademark grin, as he tried to keep a straight face but at the same time hoped to combat the seriousness that was up ahead...

If he didn't morale would fall...

But if he did, they might think he was being too reckless...

But if he DIDN'T...

...great, now he had a whole war of ideas in his head: a bloody free-for-all of conflicting thoughts and feelings.

[Judah]

He was done arguing his point. They all wanted Aidan out, and that was enough.

"They'll probably want to build a bit of propaganda before the schedule the execution. That should give us enough time." Can't risk killing him early, and appearing weak. Not if they want to truly break the rebel spirit here.

With Lyar babbling on about team colors all of a sudden, Judah could only wonder at what it was he was talking about. He had little to no inclination to ask though.

[Syana Flamberge]

Syana rode quietly on Lyar's shoulder as they went onwards. She was focusing most of her thoughts on what was to come. Surely there was going to be a battle, and like she had told Saturos she was ready for anything that was ahead of her. Even death. It felt like for the first time in her life she was fighting for something. Sure, she always fought for her family and even now she worried that this could have an adverse affect on them. But the could take care of themselves and would probably be doing the same in her place. Her thoughts had just started to drift to her brother and is health when Lyar spoke up.

"Team colors?" A smile grew over her face. "I guess they're a bit like team colors, but it's up to Saturos for you to get them. I only got them after saving his ass from a wyvern and beating him in a splash fight." She laughed at the memories. "Then again with all you've done, you have my vote big guy."