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Post by Mana on Apr 13, 2013 6:32:43 GMT -6
Mana wasn't sure how she should react to such bitter greeting. This was her first meeting with the Ilian commander but she already got bad impression about him. A jerk. Or a unfriendly person. Did he just said he was surprised for not seeing her crushed by a dragon? The girl wondered if it was his way of joking, if so, then she would never like him. With her fists clenched, the girl glared at Richter. It seemed this man wasn't in his good mood or something, but no way she could tolerate such foul mouth. Still, she needed to refrain herself now. This wasn't a good place to start a fight with someone like him, and Wyatt might not like it, too. "No need to fight with this man. A famous commander, huh? He looks like a uncivilized thug for me..." she thought. "Yeah, I was lucky," she said. "Actually, I am VERY surprised you haven't died already. Coming out alive after fighting Kenshin...not bad, I think. Although you would have been more useful if you helped to handle the dragon instead of seeking glory. Well, I must admit that anyone who could defeat Kenshin would receive great fame. Nice try, commander." Mana spoke with a sarcastic tone, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looked straight at Richter's eyes. This would be more...diplomatic than resorting to brutal methods. She didn't raise her voice or make any open challenge, probably it was civil enough. However, Tuatara, her opponent in the arena match, came bringing every reason she needed to release her anger. Mana needed a few seconds to comprehend what the thief was saying. Marcus? Probably he meant the dragon. It seemed Marcus, the dragon, was his friend. "Filthy, you say?" she whispered, her lips trembled and her eyes narrowed. Richter's sarcasm plus Tuatara's accusation...Enough! "RIGHT! Fighting a dragon, risking our lives, and almost losing a friend are very wrong! Because that dragon probably came only to watch the fight, eh? Should we wait until there were any casualties? And where were you that time? Sleeping so soundly after I beat you?" Mana was never a girl with much patience. She always had bad temper. This wasn't what she planned to handle this little problem but somehow it just felt right. The swordswoman pointed her finger to the thief. "That dragon scorched my friend halfway to death so why we couldn't kill him instead?" she shouted, pointing her finger toward Tuatara.
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Wyatt
Hero
The Volcano
How can someone win if winning means that someone loses?
Posts: 463
Etruria Fame: 2
Sacae Fame: -1
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Post by Wyatt on Apr 13, 2013 21:39:30 GMT -6
Wyatt was surprised by Richter's tone. From what he knew of the man he was serious and stoic, but not mean. Impatient maybe, but he'd never seemed too hostile...
Or maybe Wyatt had been too out of his mind after escaping from the underground to notice. It was possible, he supposed. In truth, Richter's comment on Wyatt being half dead did bother him. He'd known that he had been horribly injured, and he didn't even bother to find anything about him? Granted Richter was a military man, he probably had a lot of things on his plate right now. Wyatt hoped he never became so important that he didn't have time to spare for his friends.
Though perhaps that could explain why he just left Clair dying on the arena floor while he ran off to fight. But before he could say anything Mana launched into him. She seemed to take some serious exception to his attitude, and Wyatt already sensed a fight brewing. "Mana..." Wyatt started, holding out his free hand in an attempt to calm her down.
And then there was Tuatara's shouts, which Wyatt made enough sense of. They knew...they knew the dragon. Wait...of course. He'd known dragons weren't all evil, like Saffra. She'd saved his life once. He'd still charged in without thinking, without considering that there was more going on. His face fell, as Mana's voice raised to match Tuatara's in pitch. Wyatt didn't shout though, he didn't scream, rant or rave. He looked at Richter, a somber expression upon his face. When he did finally speak, his voice was at normal volume.
"...A lot of good men died in that chaos...I nearly did myself were it not for a miracle. Tell me...did Clair survive?" He asked of the pink haired commander, choosing to ignore both Mana and Tut currently. "I was worried that I might have made her injury worse when I threw her at that pegasus knight...but I couldn't think of a better solution..."
So...he'd nearly died fighting someone who wasn't an enemy? Then what did that battle accomplish? Nothing. Marcus had died...and for nothing. Wyatt couldn't even blame Tut and Richter for their anger. He'd acted on impulse, like a child, and look what they'd done...
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Post by Richter Abend on Apr 14, 2013 0:27:24 GMT -6
Richter gave Mana a look of pure scorn. Seeking glory? Seeking GLORY? Who was she to lecture him about seeking glory!? Ugh, her blatant ignorance of the situation only made her bold righteousness all the more offensive. But...despite the commander's anger, he chose not to shout back. Kenshin deserved every swear and curse he had gotten, but what did a man of Richter's station have to gain from getting into a shouting match with a girl? "If I hadn't tried to stop you two from killing Marcus, Kenshin would be nothing but a dried, lifeless husk right now," he dryly replied, looking down at Mana and matching the girl's gaze with his own, far sterner one. "So be thankful I was waylaid."
Richter then turned his gaze to Wyatt, where his bitterness faded upon hearing the red-headed youth's question. Ah, right, Clair's subordinate had mentioned something about the "Volcano" helping Clair. "She's alive and well enough, thanks to you," he replied, his voice genuine enough. "And I do mean that. I..." The commander trailed off, placing a balled hand to his mouth as he failed to finish his sentence. Richter couldn't voice in words what he would have done if Clair hadn't made it, so he chose to simply pass over it. "Whatever miracle saved you, it also deserves my thanks. Not only have you saved me, but now you've saved Clair's life as well." He may have helped end Marcus's life, but for saving both him and Clair, Richter still owed Wyatt his deepest gratitude.
His initial hostility, at least towards Wyatt, gone, Richter crossed his arms across his chest and gave the red clothed man in the back a long look. Something about him struck the commander as familiar, but Richter knew for a fact that he had never met him before. That staff, though... had he seen it somewhere before? "So who's your red friend with the fancy staff here?"
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Post by Tuatara 'Tut' Yamen on Apr 14, 2013 14:45:07 GMT -6
"I was bumming a ride off a bunch of wyvern riders, trying to slow them down!" Tuatara yelled back at Mana. Her complete obliviousness made him even angrier. "And as I recall from my wonderful view, it was your friend who decided to try and stick a flaming rock into Marcus' skull first. So don't give me any of that 'almost died' wad of lizard dung. Almost dying happens so often there's no point to using it as an argument." He stopped to take a breath, and that's when he heard what Wyatt said.
"...A lot of good men died in that chaos..."
Tuatara, one who thrives in chaos, had lost someone to it. Again. He stared at the ground for a moment, fingering his singed hair. "At least you still have your friend," he said quietly. Man up, you need to be cheerful. Find something to say. He was frozen for a moment but Richter saved the day.
"So who's your red friend with the fancy staff here?"
Tuatara's head snapped up, his interest sparked. He took in the guy hiding in the back. Flamboyant much? he thought. That's a lot of red. How did I miss him? He switched his gaze to the staff, doing his best to ignore Mana until she said something worth while. I don't know much about staffs, but I suppose it does look cool.
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Apr 15, 2013 7:41:36 GMT -6
Now, Elias could think on his feet. In fact on a scale of one to ten, he'd probably rank a 12. Mostly because he didn't really think half the time, and instead just blabbed the first words that came to mind. He worked more on instinct than silly 'preparations' and junk, usually did things on impulse with little to no logic to it. So, as you could imagine, such a prolonged silence from the crimson mage was an ill omen indeed. One might imagine he would start shouting as well when everyone else did, because shouting was fun and he didn't like it when people shouted at his acquaintenfriends. He saw the other two, but barely acknowledged their existence. It wasn't anything personal, though it probably would have been if he had been paying attention at the time, his mind was still somewhere else.
Ever since he came to this place, he's had a hard time concentrating. Wait no, that's not right. He's had a hard time NOT concentrating.
So, this was the military area? That was the arena, he could remember that from the scrying. Wyatt was in there when he got super zapped, like bzap. He perked his head around as they were fighting about something or something. He even wandered a few steps away, they sort of ignored him just as much as he ignored them. That one chick that Valorian was looking for was here too, some assassin lady or something like that. Probably gone by now. A dragon was here not too long ago, but there was no dragon corpse laying around. Dragons turn back into humans when they die, or dragonhumans. Or whatever they would be called, they'd probably have moved the body by now. A dragon sat on him once, luckily it was the human form and not the dragon one, or he might not be here in the first place. They weren't in the right spot though, but even from here it wasn't hard to see parts of the ruined area.
There was something bothering him though, like a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that had been bothering him this entire time. It's probably why he kept drifting off. He couldn't quite pin it down though, still it couldn't be that important. The staff in his hand seemed to feel a bit restless too, which was kind of funny actually. How does a STAFF of all things, feel restless? That makes no sense.
Oh, speaking of the staff, he heard someone say the word staff. That seemed like a good enough reason as any to push his way back into whatever was going on. He turned his head over to the big brooding guy, he seemed kind of familiar, but Elias knew for a fact he had never seen him before. Probably wasn't anyone important. "Oh hey. I'm Elias, Crimson Mage, etcetera etcetera." He rolled his hand as if he was physically trying to fast forward his entrance speech. "May have heard of me, probably not, will one day, whatever." He walked back to Wyatt, taking a moment to look at how he was standing and how he was hunching over the crutches. "You should try to straighten your back a bit. I'm not about to tell you to go run around, but you need to be using the crutches as aids and not as your legs or you'll grow too dependant on them. Even if it tires you out, if it begins to hurt though tell me." He stopped for a moment, tapping his chin. "I think. I'm still new to this. I've never dealt with injuries like this. It makes sense to me though, need to build your leg muscles anew and all that."
He turned back to Broody Mc-Depressed face, smiling. "I'm this guy's doctor. Cleric. Healer. Er, whatever you'd call it. I'm not too big on terminology really, there's names for everything and I really don't want to waste the time to learn them. I just make sure he doesn't go cripple again." He grinned, tapping his staff on the ground. "We're looking for some Richter guy, you seen him?"
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Post by Mana on Apr 20, 2013 17:31:38 GMT -6
Mana was pretty surprised by how Wyatt reacted to those two men. She expected him to be angry. She wasn't sure why he showed some kind of regret. The story that thief brought to them was putting them as bad guys, didn't sound like he was lying, though. She tried to understand, but her anger prevented her to assess the situation calmly. "This sounds so wrong. We fought a dragon. It looks like the best action we should take at that time. Had we didn't make the choice...who knows...maybe there would be more lives lost. We helped to slay the dragon, I am sure it was a good thing," she thought. Being a stubborn person, Mana wouldn't be easily convinced that she was the wrong side.
As Wyatt and Elias made more peaceful conversation, Mana stood in her place. She was showing great hostility to the other party. Some part of her was angry that no one assisted her. "Ridiculous!," she spoke loudly. The Sacaen girl turned her gaze at Richter. "Claiming to have ability to beat Kenshin when you were not even able to save your friends. You probably hadn't noticed, had you? You could have saved them, both of him and Clair. I don't know what your reason was, but the time you used to fight Kenshin would have been enough to save your friends, dumbass!!!" Finally lost her patience, the Sacaen swordswoman yelled to the commander. Most people would have surrendered before such opponent, Mana, however, didn't hold back. She even glared back to his stern gaze.
She then switched to Tuatara. "Aaaand....from my wonderful view, that was a really chaotic situation where the dragon was the center. We tried to end the chaos as quick as possible, and stopping the dragon's rampage was the best way. What do you expect then? You wanted my friend to approach the dragon? Saying hello and hoping that creature wouldn't eat him? Nonsense!" The girl bravely stood her ground, not showing hesitation in defending what she believed was right. "Say whatever you want. We did it to protect...You? You played with wyverns"
What would she say if she knew the truth, if she was calmer and more understanding? Would she apologize? Well, it might be. But from her point of view she saw no wrongs in what they had done. It did take someone's friend life, she wouldn't deny this simple fact. But wasn't that what happened when you killed someone? It was always a risk in killing. The problem was this one was happened to be a friend of these men, someones they knew.
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Wyatt
Hero
The Volcano
How can someone win if winning means that someone loses?
Posts: 463
Etruria Fame: 2
Sacae Fame: -1
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Post by Wyatt on Apr 20, 2013 20:45:33 GMT -6
Wyatt had been hoping the question would calm Richter down, and he was not disappointed. Even Tut seemed to simmer slightly when he asked about Clair and acknowledged that the fight was a fiasco. When Elias started offering some actual medical advice, Wyatt was very confused. Not that he doubted ELias' knowledge, but the Crimson Mage was being serious as well. It was as if the memory of a friend nearly stolen away had taken the wind out of everyone's sails.
Almost everyone.
Mana's rage was not so easily abated, and she continued her verbal assault on Richter. Wyatt wanted to be calm, to try and reason with her and calm her down. She was upset, and he couldn't blame her, but a shouting match was not what they needed.
"Claiming to have ability to beat Kenshin when you were not even able to save your friends. You probably hadn't noticed, had you? You could have saved them, both of him and Clair. I don't know what your reason was, but the time you used to fight Kenshin would have been enough to save your friends, dumbass!!!"
And Wyatt nearly snapped when she said that. To say something about Clair like that, to Richter of all people?! That was way out of line, like...beyond what Wyatt thought the outgoing Sacaen was possible of. That was just...malicious.
"MANA!" Wyatt shouted, his body shaking as he stood up straight. Half as Elias requested, the other half so his full height actually stood over her. "How could you even THINK to say something like that? If someone had called me a fool for nearly dying to throw Valcrist out of the way, you would probably cut them into ribbons! How could you say likewise to anyone else?" He looked quite mad now. Not so much 'against' her, but more amazed by what she'd said.
"Yeah, mistakes were made. I owed my life to a dragon and I still acted without thinking when I saw one. Richter went after the assassin over helping Clair. Do you think either of these things are events we are proud of? We made mistakes, and we'll have to live with our failures. But you rubbing it in his face is no better then them doing likewise to us for killing someone who was just trying to protect his own friends. Kenshin tried to protect whomever that assassin was, Marcus tried to protect Richter and Clair, and we tried to protect the people in the arena. The fact that only one of those people lost their lives is something we should be thankful for, not tearing into each other over."
He sighed, pulling back and taking a break from his rant before turning to Richter. "I didn't come to pass blame or anything like that. I just came to see if Clair was all right. Would it be ok to visit her?"
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Post by Richter Abend on Apr 21, 2013 16:09:22 GMT -6
"Claiming to have ability to beat Kenshin when you were not even able to save your friends. You probably hadn't noticed, had you? You could have saved them, both of him and Clair. I don't know what your reason was, but the time you used to fight Kenshin would have been enough to save your friends, dumbass!!!"
ENOUGH! He had tried to contain himself, but this girl... This gormless, insolent b****! Save his friends? Like the one she killed? Like the one who was almost killed by the very same assassin Kenshin went out of his way to protect? Those FRIENDS!? Her world, her point of view, was so small and narrow she wouldn't have been able to see the bigger picture if it slapped her upside the HEAD! Who the HELL did she think she was, spouting off this self-righteous, ignorant drivel!?
"Who gives two craps about your-!" Richter began, his left hand balled in a fist with his right pointer finger raised at the girl in place of his sword, but before he had time to finish, he was interrupted by a loud, sharp...
"MANA!"
With a slightly defused snap of his neck, Richter's attention refocused itself on the source of the shout, Wyatt, who looked quite angry himself. He broke into a rant, reprimanding Mana for her words, while also playing the part of the mediator, expressing regret for his own actions while vicariously expressing regret for Richter's actions as well. The commander wasn't sure he entirely agreed with every thing the red-head said, but the sentiment was coming from the right place, which was enough to keep Richter from breaking into a rage-fueled litany.
Then when Wyatt turned to Richter with a request, the commander could only drift over Mana with a scathing glance before a long pause during which Richter attempted to calm his temper.
"...We're camped outside, so as long as you accompany me out, I can get permission for you to leave the city, but..." he said, jabbing a finger in Mana's direction. "She stays here." A spiteful gesture it might have been, but Richter had no reason to play nice with this big-headed brat. If Wyatt wanted to visit Clair, he'd have to acquiesce to the request.
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Elias
Mage Knight
The Crimson Mage
I'm just saying that the problem isn't going away, no matter how good we get at stabbing them.
Posts: 451
Etruria Fame: 1
Sacae Fame: 2
Lycia Fame: 1
Profession: The Crimson Mage
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Profile (updated)
OoC Alias: Elias
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Post by Elias on Apr 21, 2013 19:45:58 GMT -6
Elias was confused, and no one seemed to care. There was a lot of yelling, from Mana, from Wyatt, and even from that guy who looked like he was one bad joke away from trying to kill everyone here. He narrowed his eyes, his face all grumpy as words were flung around like arrows and ballista and stuff. Now Elias had no idea what was going on, they were fighting about something stupid probably, but what he did know is that Wyatt apparently lied to him. Or if he hadn't, whatever caused this was rather recent. "Are you sure you guys are friends? It doesn't seem that way to me." Elias commented on the side while everyone was shouting. They ignored him, and that made the grumpy mage grumpier.
"Why is ev-" He began again, but was cut off by another barrage of spiteful words that seemed to be aimed at Mana from Wyatt of all people. They were supposed to be bffs, this was not how it was supposed to go. Wyatt did what Elias told him to, but instead of because he said it, he did it to look more intimidating. Well as intimidating as a guy with crutches can look, spoilers not much.
When it was all done, Elias was upset, annoyed and more than a bit neglected. This was some giant emotional explosion outburst, and he was completely unaffiliated. All he knew was that something something dragon something passive aggressive insults something something Clair. "Look, Wyatt. I don't know who these guys are, and they obviously don't seem particularly welcoming to you, or your friends, or anything that's ever been in your vicinity." Once it had calmed down a bit, Elias began to talk, making sure he wasn't interrupted this time. "If you say these were the friends you were talking about, then I'd have to say to chose your friends better. Still, it's none of my business. Go ahead without me, you can come back for me when you're all done arguing like children." OOOOH BURN! Elias pulled off a perfect double guilt trip, coupled with mage's condescension.
He walked away from the group, before the angry guy could yell at him because he probably would. Before the spastic guy could spaz out, because he definitely would. And before his 'friends' to try and make him 'understand' or make him feel guilty or whatever, because he didn't care. He came here to help Wyatt, not get dragged into whatever petty fights he was currently involved in.
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Post by Mana on Apr 24, 2013 12:41:40 GMT -6
Mana was shocked when Wyatt reprimanded him. She almost shouted back but his words did convince her, even if she didn't totally agree with him, that she shouldn't do what she had just done. The girl restrained herself, no, it was more like she lost her will to argue. There was anger, probably because she felt betrayed or something like that. Her right hand moved to her sword, a bad habit, as if she were going to start a fight.
After she listened to his words and her anger softened, the girl then spoke again. "Have you forgotten who started this first? Me? I tried to keep thing civil when he didn't, I tried to not punch him when he talked bad about us and Kenshin. But do you think I have limitless patience?" This time she didn't shout but her voice was shaking. His expression couldn't be seen because she looked down. "If there are anyone you should be angry to then it should be them. They started this fight, this goat and this clown!" She then raised her voice again, but not as much as before.
"Enough! I am leaving. As you wanted, as you BOTH wanted!" she said as she slapped Richter's hand. As much as she wanted to visit the injured pegasus rider, Mana wasn't going to go with these people. Mana gave each person a final glare before turning around to leave the place. The Sacaen swordswoman decided to not go with Elias because she wanted to be alone for now and the mage probably felt the same.
After she disappeared from their sight, the girl found herself an empty street where she unleashed her frustration by cutting and kicking any object. This was hurt so much that she couldn't help it. When she finally got herself exhausted, Mana leant her head against a wall. "I didn't know it would be personal when they told me about how bad that man could be...I wonder what I should do..." she talked to herself as she condsidered something.
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Post by Tuatara 'Tut' Yamen on Apr 24, 2013 15:03:07 GMT -6
Tuatara was lost. Completely lost. He could feel the tension and still felt a little angry himself, but so many people were talking at once he didn't know what to say. All he knew is that Wyatt was talking some sort of sense and Mana was giving Tuatara many reasons to hate her. Richter was making plans to visit Clair again or something and the mage guy was in his own world or something.
Clown? Tuatara questioned as he caught parts of Mana's retort. He started to disagree but realized there was no way he could disprove her claim. By now he wasn't even angry anymore, he had made his point and that was all that he had cared about. He knew that no manner of shouting and anger could bring Marcus back so he felt no reason to continue. He had dealt with loss before. And then she ran off, which reminded him of himself. He shook his head to keep himself from going down that road.
"You should probably go after her or something," Tuatara said in the general direction of Wyatt. He assumed they knew each other pretty well, from what he had seen. Now what are we doing? We just left Clair and they want to go back? He pulled what little bread he left from his pocket and shoved into his mouth to keep himself from grinning. It was a habit of his, to grin in grim and sad situations like this. Only this time he had nothing to say to go with his grin.
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Wyatt
Hero
The Volcano
How can someone win if winning means that someone loses?
Posts: 463
Etruria Fame: 2
Sacae Fame: -1
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Post by Wyatt on Apr 24, 2013 17:31:41 GMT -6
Wyatt listened to Elias and Mana's remarks. He was annoyed, and she was hurt, small wonder. And then they both stormed off in opposite directions. Wyatt wanted to chase both of them, turning to look down one road, and then the other, before sighing and resigning himself to where he was. He couldn't catch up to either of them if he tried.
He could have been upset at Richter or Tut, he could have said some poetic statement about this whole thing, he could have done or said anything at all...
"...Let's go see Clair then. Maybe I can at least cheer up one person in this damned city." He said. He'd seemed so full of life, moments earlier. Even for a man on crutches. But right now, he'd never felt so weak in his entire life, and his body showed it. His shoulder's slumped as if in defeat, his face looked worn and exhausted, even the eternal fire that blazed in his eyes seemed to dull and fade away.
He swung his crutch around and began walking towards the gate. He assumed Richter would follow him to make good on the promise, but he wasn't stopping to find out. He liked Richter, but he was finding himself less and less pleasantly disposed to the man. An old soldier...did he even care about the people he served? Wyatt had seen it before in Laus, especially in the wake of the Etrurian invasion. People who once had all the right motivation, slowly worn away by the constant pressures of command. All that remains at the end is a soldier, not a man.
Richter didn't seem like that, yet. But the resemblance was enough to bother the young smith.
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Post by Richter Abend on Apr 25, 2013 15:16:41 GMT -6
"Yes, let's," replied Richter as he swiftly pulled ahead of the hobbling younger man. Between the high tensions and bad tempers, he had completely forgotten about Corona. He waved quickly to Tut, beckoning him to follow, before slowing his pace as he took his spot at the front of the threesome.
If it wasn't one thing after another! Richter wanted to take a snipe at the now absent Mana, make some comment about Wyatt's poor taste in friends, but decided against it. He wasn't going to allow his outrage at her snide, distasteful comments to be cheapened by childish behavior. Despite Wyatt's earlier speech, which at least served its purpose at the time, the offenses made by all parties were not equal, at least Richter didn't think so. Marcus was dead, and they had lost no one. In no way, shape, or form was any offense that Mana took in regards to the commander's shots at either them or Kenshin in any way equal to her outright disrespect of the fact that she killed Marcus. And if Alranus words were to be trusted, the issue didn't just lie between them. No, the whole thing had been orchestrated by Etruria! They'd played right into the rebellion's hands... Ugh, just thinking of it got his blood boiling again!
"If you haven't guessed yet, I'm having a bad day," spoke Richter after they had been walking for a minute or two. He looked over at Wyatt, who looked absolutely crushed. "Don't take it personally.
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Wyatt
Hero
The Volcano
How can someone win if winning means that someone loses?
Posts: 463
Etruria Fame: 2
Sacae Fame: -1
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Post by Wyatt on Apr 25, 2013 17:06:18 GMT -6
Wyatt looked about the streets, sobered by both what he had just experienced, and what he was seeing. Richter spoke of a bad day, go figure. But Wyatt had been thinking lately. He knew of Bern's crimes eight years ago, during the Bandit War. But all of this...it all came from one thing. Maybe there were other factors, but the big point of it all was the fact that Richter and Clair were even here. They were within sight of the gate when Wyatt spoke again.
"Richter, I want to ask you a question. You don't need to answer it, I just need to ask it. Do you believe in what you are doing here? Ostia fell to Etruria trying to 'bring light to the ignorant masses'. Is 'bringing order to rebels' really any different?" Wyatt was quite sure even suggesting such wouldn't do him any favors with the foul tempered Commander, but at the very least he was smart enough to not say it within earshot of any other guards.
With any luck, the debts Richter owed him would keep him from cutting the smith down there under an accusation of betrayal or treason.
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Post by Richter Abend on Apr 26, 2013 0:54:50 GMT -6
"That's two different questions," said Richter, giving the red head a quick over the shoulder glance. What a loaded question. "And probably not as related as you might think." His gaze was dour, a side effect of his mood, but he wasn't angry. Not at Wyatt, at least. He understood why the man was asking the question that he was, even it seemed more to make a point than to actually start conversation.
"Do I believe in what I'm doing? I don't know, what is it exactly that I'm doing?" the commander continued, attempting to answer Wyatt's questions. "I don't know what you think I'm doing, but I doubt the answer is anything positive, otherwise you wouldn't have compared me to Etruria." Richter's brow furrowed as he emphasized the comparison, though he kept his attention focused forward.
"I have plenty of experience with Etruria, Wyatt, perhaps more than I'd like to admit. I have stared the Prophet in the face, and have heard probably every piece of insipid fanaticism his Herald has to offer. I can tell you now that these men are insane, power hungry, manipulative, and would see Elibe burn if they could not have it under their grasp." He paused, looking back at Wyatt again. "Ostia is proof of that."
"Etruria is a threat, and will take advantage of any weakness they see in any nation they can get their hands on. They've already sacked the greatest house of Lycia, and even now their agents run amok in Ilia, spreading unrest and raiding what countryside it has. I also now have strong reason to believe they've thrown in their lot with the rebellion as well. All I'm trying to do here is to stop Bern from tearing itself apart. If it does, it leaves itself vulnerable to Etrurian wolves."
Richter stopped, as they had just reached the gate. Soldiers began approaching, no doubt to inform them of the current lockdown. "Believe what you wish of me, Wyatt, because in the end it doesn't really matter. We both have a responsibility to protect our own. But just remember I'm not the one who hired the assassin, and I'm not the one who sent a horde of wyverns down upon an arena full of innocent people."
"Hold it, all gates are closed. Nobody is to enter or leave the city!."
Richter turned to see a guard approaching him, his stance professional and his spear held high. In response, the commander merely looked at the guard.
"Oh, sorry sir. Didn't think you'd be coming back through so soon."
"I'm not. This man has business in my camp. He's allowed to leave once and come back in." The commander turned to Wyatt. "My camp is about half a mile outside the city. You can see it from here. Just walk down the main road. I have to go salvage a dangerous artifact before someone else gets their hands on it."
And with that, Richter turned and walked away.
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