Sanctuary Disturbed (Open)

[Deleted]

Yet another beautiful day in Lycia, despite a rather surprising turn of events within a town on the country side. The little village's residents were panicking to the extreme as some were dashing away into the doors of their homes, while some simply stood by as clueless as to what was going on. A lot of news was being spread that some self-proclaimed "mercenaries" were making their way at the doorstep of their dear, peaceful village. The reason people were afraid though was because these so-called "mercenaries" used that title as a cover-up to mask the fact that they were thieves instead, as they attacked the town before in the past. The little disguise wouldn't fool them this time though. However, unlike normal pillagers like bandits, these guys were actually skilled, and could take out the town militia with relative ease.

So with people having a real reason to be afraid, the streets were nearly empty. Not even a single child was out playing, though there was one completely oblivious to what was going on. The purple-haired Mage wasn't really paying attention to ANYTHING that was going around her, as she was just peacefully lying down in the grass with her back against a tree, almost as if she was taking a nap. The words the villagers were shouting sort of went out Vivian's other ear, as she was too deep within a book she borrowed from one of the elders here. It was about the only thing to settle her down from how energetic she was all the time. Allowing a big yawn to escape her, Vivi was fighting desperately against her sleepiness as she didn't want to nap so soon without even getting far enough in the book...and just when she was getting to the good part! If it wasn't for the noise from earlier that she was still completely oblivious to, she probably would have passed out by now.

...Well, not really. Her eyes began to narrow and her head turned sideways as the back of it touched the tree trunk. She couldn't fight it anymore and as such, she dozed off mere moments later. Luckily for her, those thieves were just around the corner and didn't actually make it to the village yet, but being nearly the only person out now, she would have to wake up sometime if she didn't want to be gutted by a blade. She probably wouldn't even wake up immediately if an arrow pierced her skull.

[Ryuzaki]

Ryuzaki sighed as he walked along, fingering his sword and flipping a lone gold coin. It had been a while since he set out from his home in Sacae, and he was bored. Being a mercenary was boring. Being a mercenary who raided villages was just distasteful... But he had to eat somehow.

"Alright, let's go get the goods," the leader of the robbers announced. "You! New guy! With the funny shirt! You go in with these four, and move for the center of town. Engage the militia while we flank around. We'll cut them to shreds and pillage a mountain of gold!"

"Ridiculous," Ryuzaki thought disgustedly. "Killing everyone and looting towns. Hardly my line of work."

A swift smack from the leader brought Ryuzaki back to his senses, and he scampered off with the 'mercenaries.'

-- About fifteen minutes later --

Ryuzaki was creeping through the streets, sticking to the midday shadows and sliding unnoticed toward the town square in the confusion. Suddenly, he noticed a... girl? Hmm. She looked like a nice young woman. Strikingly pretty, actually. His emotions taking over, he was prompted to lean over and warn her. Shaking her shoulder, he spoke softly, saying "Miss... You'll want to be going somewhere far away. I... I shall be attacking this village, but I have no wish to see you harmed or abused. Please flee."

Seeing the woman's eyelids flicker as she processed his words, Ryuzaki forced himself to turn away and drew his sword, preparing to engage the small militia.

[Deleted]

"...Huh? Wazzat...?"

The young woman slowly creaked her eye lids open as she saw the stranger telling her...something. What was he blabbing? Something about attacking. It was hard to tell since she was still halfway slipped into unconsciousness, the book she was reading slipping out of her lap and into the grass as she attempted to tilt her head back straight and try to see what he was talking about. Finally getting it in gear, she recalled his words clearly before having her eyes widen out of confusion now. He was...going to attack the village? Why would he warn her about something like that? He either had to be playing a game or...was probably a pretty bad bandit. Most of them gutted you without mercy.

Sort of in disbelief, Vivi finally stood to her feet as she still had her fire tome tied to the side of her waist, having the tips of her fingers around the thin ropes binding the spell book for whenever she needed it. Though she wasn't going to let the white-head get away.

"Hold it, you!" She shouted out to him as she released her spell tome and had already begun to ready a fire ball, yet not exactly firing yet. "You're gonna do what now? I dunno why you're letting me off the hook, but if you're that softhearted, then why in the hell are you about to attack a village? But if you're a bandit, I'll roast you where you stand!"

She noticed the militia and was assuming he was going to be crazy enough to take them on too, having the need to say one final thing. "...You don't like like a crook though. Might want to reconsider whatever you're doing, buddy. I doubt it's worth the trouble, or getting your hands dirty over it."

[Ryuzaki]

Ryuzaki tensed as the woman's words struck him like whips. It WASN'T what he wanted to do... But he had no alternative, unless rolling over and dying was an option. Spinning around, he addressed the woman again.

"Look. I have to make money somehow. I have to eat. I... I don't like harming innocents. I'd much rather just steal what I need and be gone... But I can't afford to lose this opportunity."

A note of desperation entered the young man's voice as he anxiously flicked his sword point around.

"I need money! I can't crawl back home to my father... I have no choice. So... I guess you'll have to roast me, then. Or... You can try."

With a smug but alert smirk, Ryuzaki hopped back a few steps and readied his sword, watching the flickering fireball closely.

"Please, do yourself a favor and just walk away. I just... You remind me of my mother, in a way. And I couldn't be so unkind as to watch you die helpless. If it's my time to die... At least I die fighting, not starving like a dog!"

[Deleted]

The mage felt a vein intensify on the side of her forehead, a little ticked off when he was so readily itching to fight things out. At first, she was just going to hurl the freakin' fire ball at him the moment he flipped back to test his taunt, but hearing how desperate he was for survival managed to cool her jets...a bit, as the ball of flame dissipated. She's seen people like him before, risking their lives with some crazy job like this just because they want their independence and would do whatever it took to survive. She didn't know whether to feel sorry for him, or just let him off on his business until he inevitably gets himself killed. However, the people here were so good to her and gave her some warm hospitality, so watching them suffer wasn't something the hot-headed mage could do.

Sighing as she sent her hand down and kept both hands on her tome, Vivi just couldn't seem to help but try to persuade the desperate man one more time from making a big mistake. "...And pillaging a village under the command of...whoever else is involved isn't considered working like a dog either? Better to go out in the end with your dignity intact than to stoop so low and create hatred in your name." She scoffed a bit, feeling like she was wasting her time, but continued on anyway. "Look, you do whateeeeever you want to survive, but seeing even one soul in this village harmed by your selfish desire to fill your belly will be the same as killing me yourself, so I'm not backing down. If you were any real man, you wouldn't resort to belittling yourself to this level no matter how tough it gets."

Just talking about it got her riled up again, opening her tome as she readied her hand just in case a fight broke out, which she was certain the guy wasn't going to back down either. "...Either do the right thing or we'll do it your way. The next fire ball I make, I won't put it out! And I'm stronger than I look, so don't make the mistake of underestimating me."

[Ryuzaki]

“...I hate people like you,” Ryuzaki sighed. “I find work… Well-paying work… And I try to be a good guy. I try to be nice, and give you a heads-up… And then you have to go and bring morals into it… Bah, I can’t ever catch a break, can I?”

Thoughts raced back and forth through the thief’s head as his Sacaen morals battled his aching stomach. “If I betray them… I’d have to kill them all, or they’d never stop hunting me down,” he thought. “But if I just… disappear, without helping her or getting her away… then the girl will die. There’s no way she’s strong enough to take them all on. Even with fire magic. So my only option…”

“Aargh! Ryuzaki yelled vehemently, and struck the ground with his blade. Instantly, he calmed down and tried to control his temper. It was better not to let anyone know just how you felt.

“Look, ...um… Miss,” Ryuzaki stuttered. “I won’t kill you. I won’t even complete my contract.” In a definite, deliberate stroke, he sheathed his sword., but his face darkened with unease as he considered the impending crisis. He picked his words carefully, trying to dissuade her from her noble but foolhardy aims of protecting the village. “I would… Highly recommend that you flee. I have no doubt that you cannot defeat them all, even with that half-baked militia.”

Ryuzaki paced, gesticulating wildly but speaking in measured, detached tones. “I can’t abandon you to such a coarse and dehumanizing fate. If you insist on fighting these robbers, I’ll be left with no choice but to assist you. And if I do, be warned… These men don’t take betrayal lightly.”

Ryuzaki shifted onto his back leg and tilted his head slightly, sizing up the mage and holding out his right arm. “What do you say? Will you run?”

Then, against his better judgement, he extended his left, his sword-arm. "Or do we have to fight a horde of robbers?"

[Deleted]

Well, it seemed like she actually got under his skin that time. Feeling as though she could finally close the tome without re-opening it again on him, the young woman passed off a little smirk. "Well, other than not wanting to see this village burn, I also didn't want to see a fella like you dirty your hands, as your mercy towards me shows more of your character than ya let on." Yes, she could tell from the moment they began to converse that he didn't have the eyes of an evildoer, nor the attitude. As much as Vivi goofs around, she at least knew how to read people well enough.

But then came his sudden burst of anger. Wow. Was he actually angry with her? Well, she's seen crazier outbursts before. Heck, she does them a lot...sometimes at unnecessary times! She took the time to digest his following words as he managed to calm down quickly. He was pretty hellbent on trying to get her out of harms way, which she actually didn't mind now that he seemed to give up on the idea of robbing the place. But still hearing the option to flee wasn't something she'd take.

"Weeeelp, I think you already know my answer, buddy. Besides, you're right about one thing...the militia here isn't exactly the toughest bunch around, but they don't deserve the punishment either. So call me stubborn, but I'm gonna give them a hand. Like I said before...I'm waaaay tougher than I appear!" Aaaand there goes her energetic demeanor. But Vivi was actually serious...in her own little way. Just having someone to bolster the militia's numbers by one could make a difference...and one more doubles the chances!

While the little thief would need to get out of here, he made it apparent that he was going to stick around if she fought, which she felt kind of guilty for since her natural stubbornness was the cause of it. "Sooo, if you're gonna stick around, then these guys and I could use your help, you know!"

[Yaen]

It had been well over a week since Yaen had last seen any traces of civilization. There were some locations, larger cities mostly, that he had come to identify from memory of roads and landmarks, and by the rare sign, but otherwise, he'd never really been sure when he would next reach a town, settlement, or outpost. At best, he would occasionally ask someone he met on the road to point a finger in a good direction, but he'd never bothered with anything like charts or maps. He'd ran out of the fresh rations he'd carried, and dry rations grew very tiresome to the palate far too quickly. He had no issue finding streams for water, but no trees or bushes to forage from, and when it came to hunting, he had little skill in trapping and none with the bow, so it was a very unreasonable and time wasting venture unless it was absolutely necessary.

Thus, when he spotted the roofs of houses in the distance, the Sacaen vagabond couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He was ready for a hot bath, a soft bed, and something besides dried jerky and hard tacked bread to eat. He needed something sweet, moist, and filled with juices. Yaen wanted an apple. The thought of sinking his teeth into a fresh, crisp, bright red apple caused him to salivate a little, spurring him to walk a little faster as he came upon the village.

Yet, when he arrived, Yaen could sense that there was something amiss. What should have been a bustling little community was instead dead silence and empty streets. The village wasn't deserted. Signs of recent activity were everywhere. Yaen went to a door and knocked. "Hello?" he called. The lack of answer was disconcerting. "...How strange..." he muttered to himself, looking around. The sounds of a shout immediately caught his attention. His left hand resting on the hilt of one of his Sacaen blades, the vagabond ventured forward, towards the center of town, to find a young man and woman. He lowered his hand, as he could not see any imminent threat, and took a moment to study the nearby tree. No apples, as far as he could tell.

The Sacaen approached them, his hands limply at his sides, observing both. The woman was a sort of mage. He recognized the style of book she was holding, vaguely recalling similar ones. He believed it was a book of fire, but he could not be entirely sure. The other, the young man, had a sword, but the way he held himself was not that of a trained swordsman. He also noted where the blade was resting on his hip. He was left handed. And here Yaen thought himself unique. "This town seems quite silent. Eerily so, in fact." he said as he approached. "Why is that?"

[Ryuzaki]

"Gah." Ryuzaki thought defeatedly as the woman confirmed his fear. "Guess I'm bound to help her."

"Alright," Ryuzaki conceded. "I'll assist you in defending the village... But of course, I want some food, and maybe a good night's rest. Gold would be nice... But I'm sure there will be some in the aftermath. There always is, if you know where to look." Ryuzaki winked and twirled his fingers together in anticipation. "So. What's your thoughts on a --"

Suddenly, a voice cut through his question, causing him to tense. Ryuzaki whirled around at the sound, noting the familiar inflection. "A Sacaean?" he thought perplexedly. "Here...?" As he spun, he shifted his back to the spitfire woman and brought his sword up, assuming a defensive stance.

"Stay behind me," Ryuzaki muttered tersely to the mage. "Strong or not, rash actions cannot be undone."

Shifting his attention to the Sacaean man standing before them, Ryuzaki quickly realized that he'd gotten himself in yet another jam. Two beautifully crafted swords... This man wasn't someone to fool with. Nevertheless, Ryuzaki wanted to make sure that he wasn't one of the mercenary leaders before he let his guard down.

"Why?" Ryuzaki said. "Why, you ask...? Because the village is about to be overrun."

Hoping to diffuse any tension, Ryuzaki lowered his sword slightly and questioned the man, saying "You might want to quit this place before the fighting starts... It will get messy quickly."

[Deleted]

"Hm! Be lucky I actually have enough money to feed you and book a room in the inn for you. Though I can only promise one meal!" She gave a rather rascally smile in return. Seeing as he said he stole before, she had a hunch he was planning on digging for gold within the pockets of the attackers, whom she honestly didn't give a care in the world about. If they stole from others immorally, then they deserve to get stolen from too. That was at least something she didn't hold against thievery. It seemed like there was still no attack, so they had enough time to at least work a basic strategy out instead of jumping in aimlessly...as recklessness was her middle name.

Just as Vivian caught onto a bit of his trailing question, another face appeared...aaaaand she put on slightly annoyed expression when it appeared the thief was trying to hide her behind him like a defenseless kid. Not particularly in the mood to throw one of her tantrums right now, she kept her eye on the newcomer as he posed a question and she took note of his appearance. Fancy-looking swords. Hopefully they weren't just for show...if he wasn't one of the robbers. He seemed...as clueless as she was earlier about this attack, and given that he seemed like an honest Sacaean, she had her doubts about him being an enemy. These guys were supposed to tell no lies anyway, right?

Hearing the suggestion of the white-haired man, she jumped forth in between the too as she playfully balled both fists. "Heey, wait! If those swords of yours aren't just for show, then maybe you could help us out. That'll triple our chances!" She nodded her head a few times as she rested her hands on both sides of her waist. "...Buuut that's just my suggestion. I'm not forcing anybody to fight along side me and the militia."

[Yaen]

Yaen stopped in place when the young man turned and drew his sword on him. He ran his eyes over the boy's blade, his arm, his legs. It was a poor stance. "Overrun... I see..." he repeated, mostly to himself. He started to turn away, then turned his head to look over his shoulder at the boy. "By the way, the next time you pull that sword on someone, you'd best be prepared to kill them." he warned. "Just a friendly bit of advice."

As the Sacaen vagabond began to walk away, he halted again, this time by the voice of the woman. She wanted him to fight with them. It had been his intent to find these bandits the moment the boy had mentioned it. His body was aching for a good thrill. "Pay me." he demanded in a calm, even voice. "If you can convince these villagers to pay me one hundred gold coins, I'll fight alongside you." he further explained. "...Otherwise, just don't get in my way."

The Sacaen walked away from the pair, back towards the outskirts of the village, to talk a walk around and see if he could spot these pillagers. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his stomach tying itself into knots. He was excited. He hadn't had a good fight for too long, far too long. He was ready to cleave his way into bliss.

[Ryuzaki]

"Wait!" Ryuzaki yelled at the man's back. "I must inform you... Rash actions cannot be undone."

"I worked with the bandits; I know their plan. Soon, a small force will engage the militia. It is at this time, when they are distracted, that the full force of their troops will flood all gates to this village. They'll eliminate all the soldiers, and any civilian foolish enough to show their face. However... They're not the most brave and bold folks. If we can take down their leader... And his attendants, I suppose... We should be able to scare them off."

"Sir," Ryuzaki continued. "I want to finish the leader myself... But I know I'm not strong enough to defeat him alone. Also, I know that the enemy has a strong but small group of accurate and merciless archers... Numbering five. They will shoot to kill and enjoy your suffering. Please, if you will not assist us... Be careful. Our common blood may not be much, but you and I are distant family."

Taking a few steps forward, towards the man, Ryuzaki lifted his blade, not knowing if the man would turn to see his gesture. With the point aiming toward the sky, Ryuzaki offered one more piece of advice.

"The pillagers are ready... There are four waiting by the square. They will attack when one calls like a rooster."

In a last-ditch attempt, Ryuzaki made a final plea -- "I want to redeem myself for my lack of honor. Sir, please. Assist us. Lend us your power."

Addressing the mage, Ryuzaki asked a simple question:

"Are you ready? ...Actually, I don't even know your name."

Shifting his focus to both, Ryuzaki added "Either of you."

Still holding the sword aloft, Ryu turned his head to the mage and extended his right hand, showing white scar tissue that looked like webbing and a missing middle finger.

"I am Ryuzaki."

[Elias]

He was sure there was some big, emotional, and otherwise touching display of feelings and desires going on somewhere around here, buuut Elias wasn't really around to see it. Instead he was slowly clip clopping through the ghost of a town with his steed Demon, looking around he saw no one. That was only to be expected, after all. You know what with all the 'aaaah!'s and 'eeee!'s that was going on a while ago. The militia gathered together and stood at the gates of the town, keeping people out and keeping people in. Not like that mattered much, since everyone boarded themselves into their homes, locking the doors and barricading the entrances to their home. The place was like a ghost town, eerily silent despite the activity that had been present not an hour before. The swerved his gaze around, looking at the silent cobblestone streets. It wasn't a particularly big village, but who ever said that only big villages deserved to be safe?

Elias had been staying at the inn the last few days, doing some research. He had returned to Lycia for just that purpose really, he wanted to know more about the monsters that once roamed Ostia, before it exploded because of Wyatt of course. They were a fascinating sort, really, but scarce. Which is usually a good thing, but now it was a pain in the patookis because he would actually like the chance to study one of their corpses. Learn how they ticked. He lost his hides back when he was in Ostia before, and not since had he the chance to get some again. He wanted to take them to a leather worker, but... Whatever the reason, it was unimportant now. For when Elias heard the commotion, he took to the streets. It seemed some crap was about to go down, and Elias wasn't about to pass up on an opportunity to be involved in that.

He bent down to his horse and wore a wry grin, "It's kinda spooky when it's so quiet, huh demon?" He knew that there was people in the town, since people were staring at him from behind closed doors and boarded up windows and all the nonsense. He saw a figure moving in the distance, not an actual person but a shadow against the wall. He looked around and saw yet another, maybe this place wasn't as abandoned as it appears? He could hear sounds in the distance, like that of someone talking, as it echoed through the dead silence of the town. The words were garbled and indistinguishable, but they were present and that's what mattered.

He considered going to them and telling them to get inside, but... eh... If they were out at all it was probably to help so it would be kind of silly. Instead Elias watched the empty streets for more signs of movement. It was clear that he wasn't alone inside the village, and whether these people were friend or foe? Well that was to be decided. Whatever happens though, Elias! The Crimson Mage! He would be victorious!

[The Madness]

Oleg let out a loud sigh, stroking his chin as he watched the young child sobbing over the corpse of his dead father and mother. He was ordered to kill them both, paid good and all that. According to his clients, they deserved it. "I can take you to them." He spoke calmly, looking to the sobbing child. "Pl-Please do.." The child looked at the two corpses. Oleg closes his eyes, sighing as he drew his sword, doing a fast slash, and proceeded to leave the building. The town was rather empty. Except for the flashy red guy on a horse. He slowly cleansed the blood from his blade, before waving to the man. "Hoi! What ar' ya doing here? Did you not hear what happened here?" He decided to act his part as a survivor. Best not be claimed a murderer.

[Deleted]

"Sheesh. All right then, Mr. Cranky." Seemed like yet another money-grubbing mercenary. While she wanted to say good riddance, having his help would have really worked in their favor...but argh! Asking for money at a time like this...but if he was planning on fighting anyway, then she really didn't care about going out of her way of persuading the villagers to pay him off. "...Fine. But I'm still going to fight to protect these people, so don't get in my way either!" She stuck her tongue out afterwards and turned her back with her arms crossed.

She wanted to tell the white-haired man to not waste his breath on the new guy, but what he explained about the bandits was information that she needed to hear out too. It seemed like they were much bigger than she anticipated, especially if they had a separate team of archers. If that was the case, then the apparent show-off was going to have trouble...not like she cared at this point, but hopefully no one else was going to try and pull off a one-man show.

The mage jumped out of surprise that she didn't even introduce herself earlier. Must have been the tenseness going on. "How could I forget? Yeah, I'm Vivian...but you can just call me Vivi!" She had her tome prepared though, as she was eager to roast some baddies. "I'm good and ready as ever!"