Plans for Battle (Richter/Kenshin C)

[Richter Abend]

"I need to speak with Kenshin."

"The City of Heroes is grateful for your help, Winter Lion, but our founder was severly injured by Har-"

"And? I didn't exactly come out of that fight unscathed."

"And your fortitude is impressive, but Kenshin's wounds were very grave. He needs more time to recover."

"He's had enough time."

"Not so much that he is up and walking around as you are. We will summon you when he is ready to speak with you."

Richter's brow downturned over the scowl that seemed practically engraved into his face. He could only harumph at his casual dismissal by this so-called guard. The Ilian understood that Kenshin was well-liked and respected in this city given the fact that he was the hero of the Bandit War, and that he founded it, but Richter had been the one who had just pulled these disparate defenders up by their bootstraps and saw to it that they weren't overrun by a magical madman and his monster army. And the price, the ever so small price, that he had paid was the use of his left arm, which still hung loosely in the sling around his neck. Dark magic. His reaction when he had been told that the damage may be permenant had been... not positive. His attending medic had been summoned to the room by a bunch of crashing and shouting, and had had the nerve to suggest amputation to get the "useless arm" out of the way. He had left with a broken nose. So it was needless to say that Richter's injuries still had him in quite the irritable mood.

"And how long is that going to take? Days?" The commander gave a quick shake of his head. "No. I don't have time to wait around for him to get off his ass." Richter stepped towards the door, but the man guarding it stepped infront of him, putting his hands up in a authoritative, obstructive manner. Richter just growled.
"You are not to- oof!" The Sacaen warden was brushed to the side by a steady handed push from Richter's still functioning arm, and the much taller Ilian brusquely invited himself into Kenshin's residence. A two-story building, much unlike most of the residences in this city. Apparently being Kenshin got you perks. Made sense. Didn't make Richter any less grumpy.

"Kenshin!" Richter shouted, not seeing a bed anywhere on the first floor. The bedroom must be up on the second floor, but as he made his way over to the steps the guard followed him right in, grabbing his arm. Ooh, big mistake.
"I will not allow you to disturb him!" the man exclaimed, not realizing the irony of his own statement. Richter didn't either, but he was quickly becoming more and more incensed by this man's insistance that he had any sort of authority over where Richter was going to be and not going to be right now.
"Get off," he said, wresting his arm from the man's grip. He placed his wide open palm right in the sentry's face and pushed hard, causing the man to stumble back into a wall. Then the Ilian marched his way up the stairs as the Sacaen recovered his bearings. "Kenshin, it's about time we talked!"

[Kenshin]

In the arena in Bern Kenshin had thought his final bout was against a man he had thought to be named Ardus, little did he know the man that stood before him was Richter the Winter Lion. Just saying his name left a bitter taste in Kenshin's mouth, he had thought the same to be true for Richter when it came to him. Even though his opinion of the man wasn't great, he had respected his determination to protect those near him. Kenshin had knew himself better than anybody else, he knew how terrible he truly was. He had only knew of Richter by name after he had fought him, even then he had sounded like the hero Elibe deserved, even in Kenshin's homeland. An Ilian who supported Kraft only to turn to stand against him, the most Kenshin had done was stand against the tyrant in his homeland while Richter took the fight anywhere he was. It had came to a great surprise to see the Winter Lion on the same battlefield fighting against Hargus weeks ago, he had thought Richter wouldn't want anything to do with him after Bern but he was wrong. Not only did Richter take up arms against Kraft, but he sought to defeat any evil that threatened Elibe and fought against Hargus. People looked upon Kenshin for guidance in the war against the bandit king, he knew he lacked the ability to lead an army of that size, in a glint of light he spotted a familiar face, he went to Richter for help who requested his aid later on. His back was against a wall, if there was any hope of winning he would have to accept that request so he did. Homes were in ruin, the land had been tainted with blood, but there was still a place for those who had fled to return and rebuild.

Kenshin was in debt to Richter, he had felt he couldn't repay him for what he had done. What Richter had done was give his people hope, no matter what evil had appeared there was always somebody there to oppose it. The last thing Kenshin could remember from the battle itself was his final charge against Hargus, then others starting to attack him before Kenshin had blacked out. He had awoke a day later to hear the news that Hargus was defeated, he did not care who slain the monster, only that Hargus was dead. Before he could fully sit up there was a few men and women trying to usher him to lay back down, they claimed that he wasn't in any conduction to be moving around and he needed more rest so he could recover. There was a commotion downstairs, it had sounded as if there were people shouting and being thrown around. He had pushed himself up, his entire body was burning in pain. Being impaled by Hargus' claws and being tossed like a rag doll took it's toll on his body. He heard Richter call his name, "Stay here, it would be best for you."

He had walked out of his room only wearing his pants, his midsection bandaged up heavily. They didn't seem to be stained with his blood, they must have changed them before he had awoke. Kenshin had met Richter as he was half ways up the flight of stairs. "Funny to see you here, I was just about to come looking for you."

[Richter Abend]

"You don't look like you're in much condition to come looking for anyone,” quipped Richter, gesturing to the Sacaen’s bandaged torso with his good arm. “Probably a good thing I showed up here first. We don’t need your guts lining the streets.” The Ilian’s tone was a little aggressive, given his general opinion of and disposition towards Kenshin, but he did his best to avoid being outright antagonistic. A lesser man would have run from the fight, stayed behind the walls, and let his soldiers fight his battle for him. But Kenshin did no such thing. He had stepped onto the front lines, stood toe to toe with Hargus, and gotten the tar torn out of him. He may not have won, but there was a certain amount of respect you had to give, however begrudgingly, to someone willing to risk life and limb to see his homeland and fellows safe.

Now, regardless of their history, they had shed blood on the same battlefield, fighting for the same cause. In Richter’s eyes that made them comrades, and unlike some people, that title meant a lot to Richter.

“You owe me, Crimson Demon,” continued Richter, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I-” He stopped as he heard the sound of footsteps rapidly coming up the stairs. The Ilian sighed as he turned to see the front door guard stop at the top of the steps, looking straight at the two of them with a frazzled and somewhat bewildered look on his face. Richter was about to speak, to tell him to scurry off, but the man beat him to it. Upon seeing the red-headed swordsman, the junior Sacaen merely bowed his head and silently made his way back to his post. Richter simply huffed. “As I was saying, I’ve given you a couple of weeks to lick your wounds, but we made a deal. I come in, take control of the situation, command your volunteer army, drive Hargus back into the dirt, and in turn you support me against Kraft.” The commander nodded his head as he spoke, emphasizing each point. “And if I sound hurried, it’s only because I’m already hearing news blow through town that Etruria is mobilizing again." He paused. "The first time since Ostia.” The Ilian made a slight gesture towards the window. There was a fire in his eyes, one not meant for Kenshin. He didn't care that he didn't even have use of one of his arms right now. He was ready to take the fight to Kraft. He always was. “So it’s time to call in a few favors and hit them before they hit us harder.”

[Kenshin]

"Heh, tis just a flesh wound." He scoffed at Richter's comment about his guts lining the streets. "I've taken an injury just as bad as this when I fought Hartmut before attempting to fight Hargus the last time." What he wouldn't admit, this time it was deeper than when he took Hartmut's lance to the gut. He had took notice of the guards coming into the house only to stand aside once they saw him. "I was going to look for you to thank you, I don't care what you say, I'm in debt to you more than you think. While you did help defend my home, that could always be rebuilt, what you did was give my people hope. No matter the evil that threatens our homeland, there will be others to pick up arms to defeat it."

"When it comes to tribe vs tribe conflicts, Sacaens do not interfere with their fight but once an outside threat shows itself we set aside differences to help each other out. Our strength is also our weakness, while we band together we lack the ability to lead a large number of soldiers, that's why I went to Ilia when Bern had invaded many years ago and to you when the battle started to pick up pace. With that said, I'm not sure how many tribes that have fighters to spare to fight another major battle, let alone a war."

"At worst, even with news of me joining you I don't think the number of fighters I can gather will be high." Richter had mentioned Ostia, he did not know much about what happened there but the news he had heard of the aftermath was on par of what happened to the City of Heroes. The events of both battles were worse than the other in their own sense, but one uncertainty is the same. Is Kraft able to cast the same foul magic as Hargus even at a lesser scale? He had took up arms to fight the soldiers from Etruria that took claim to land in Sacae only to find them gone by time he had arrived, it was possible that they went south towards Lycia. "Do you know his target, and how reliable the source is?"

[Richter Abend]

"Very reliable," replied Richter, his voice carrying a tone of utmost surity. Yes, the stories floating around town were little more than a product of the rumor mill, but as if answering the unspoken need for their corroboration, the Ilian commander had received a letter just this morning from his brother, Ardus, by way of hawk. The letter had been something of an unexpected surprise, but Ardus always had possessed a flair for the dramatic entry, even if it wasn't him doing the entering. "Etruria looks to hit Sacae again, no doubt capitalizing on the destruction that's been left in Hargus's wake. But Sacae is not the only target. Reports say that he's going to strike Ilia as well." He put a fist to his forehead, shaking his head in frustration. He knew Kenshin wouldn't be able to mobilize anything earthshaking after such a destructive battle, but he had been hoping to hear something just a bit more hopeful from the mouth of the Crimson Demon himself.

"The one positive is that even if the invasion force is bigger than the one that liquidated Ostia, which I suspect it is, it will be split between two countries. But that may not matter if Ilia's forces are wrapped up in Bern." Richter shook his head again. Unless Ilia pulled their forces away from the Rebellion, they would be able to soak up very little of Etruria's assault. There was always the empty tundra and the Ilian winter to rely on, but fortunately for the Prophet it was the beginning of spring. That gave him months of a clear march. "And I doubt Bern would answer any sort of call for aid. If anything they would fight against us just to see Ilia's occupation ended. That leaves Lycia." Richter knew very well that the Lycian states were hardly in a cooperative, cohesive place right now, but perhaps they could find enough anger within themselves to march out against the devil that burnt Ostia to the ground.

"I have but one contact in Araphen, and apparently he's too busy to spare me much more than a single soldier," stated Richter, in reference to Rayl and Guienevere. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the gesture, but the upcoming situation would call for more than just one woman. "You are nothing if not well connected. You had Lycians coming to fight for you in the siege. It's that kind of pull that we need now."

[Kenshin]

Kenshin had looked downstairs, out the window at the street and let out a sigh. It was true he had some connections to Lycia, but those who came to his aid did on their own accord, glory seekers more than likely. "My wife's tribe had relocated to Lycia, I'll send a request to her brother for aid. They should have more then enough ready fighters, I didn't see any from his tribe during the battle." Kenshin never even sent a request for their aid actually, he didn't want to bring sorrow to his wife if her brother died because it was his fight. He returned his gaze back to Richter. "Most of my other contacts were in Ostia before it fell the last time. They're either dead or scattered, finding them would take too much time."

The first person to come to mind when talking about Ostia was that foul mouthed archer, Matthias. His brow wrinkled as he began to think hard, was Sokka the only person in Lycia he knew where they were? He had lost contact with the other 'heroes' of the Bandit War, other people of importance were either dead or missing. "I'll also ask him to use any connections he has to get aid on the Sacae front." He had finally added.

[Richter Abend]

It was Richter's turn to sigh. They had just fought off an onslaught of otherworldly forces, defeated one of the nastiest warlords Elibe had ever known, and yet they couldn’t muster up the manpower they needed to stop an oncoming two-front war by an aggressor Richter had sworn himself twice over to defeat. He had hoped that the Crimson Demon of Sacae would have a little more pull to his name, but it seemed that when everyone had an enemy knocking at their door, old alliances were hard to come by.

“I'll be honest, that's not much,” Richter replied, seeing no use in mincing words. If Sacae was facing its demise, making Kenshin feel better about not having the men to protect it helped no one. “I mean, if luck and fate are on our side that could maybe, at the very least, rebuff his advance into Sacae, but that still leaves Ilia wide open.” He put a hand to his chin as he bit his lower lip. “And no doubt his invasion force into Ilia with be the stronger of the two. Unlike Sacae, Ilia has a military, and on top of that Kraft has to know the plains have been weakened by Hargus.” The Ilian’s mind started racing, trying to think of a way to solve this problem, but he felt so behind, as if he was playing marbles with just half a sack. So Richter turned to Kenshin’s window and placed his hands on the sill, if just to hide the frustrated look on his face. Of all people, Kenshin was the last person Richter wanted seeing how he felt right now: not in control.

This wasn’t the first time Kraft had backed the pink haired Abend into a corner. His men had captured him, thrown him in jail, tortured him, and even tried to execute him by burning down a church with him inside. Nothing had worked. Time and time again Richter had managed to escape from, embarrass, and frustrate the false prophet. But that didn’t stop the Winter Lion from feeling wholly useless against this approaching invasion. He was just one man, and it would take an army to match Kraft’s. With Lycia rebuilding, Bern rebelling, and Sacae recovering, there was only one army left, and they had already given him their conditional support. To bad he had essentially spat in their face by leaving Bern.

“If you can’t call on any more allies than what you've said, then there isn’t much to discuss: I need to go to Edessa,” Richter said, turning back to the Sacaen leader. “I need to convince the Lords to pull out of Bern and focus their efforts on Kraft.” He shook his head. If they didn't turn him away first. “They didn’t listen to me before, but maybe with Kraft breathing down their necks they’ll reconsider.” He gestured out the window. “You’ll have to focus on rallying whatever forces you can to defend Sacae. I’ll try to return when the battles begin, but I make no promises. Ilia may need me more.”

[Kenshin]

Kenshin had used hit and run tactics in the past when Bern had invaded the plains may years ago, while it didn't stop them it did prove to be a thorn in their side. Combining that with what Richter had said about the Etrurian force being smaller due to the state the country was in made things look better. "I will speak to the other tribe leaders about lending supplies and horses to the Ilian soldiers traveling north from Bern if you're successful. If I'm able to muster up more support than I expected I'll try to send them to Edessa."

Kenshin knew he didn't have to defeat the invading army to 'win' the battle, as long as he could hold back their progress it would be enough. If the're struggling it may cause Etruria to sent aid which would pull troops from Ilia, which in turn could free up Richter to counter attack. Kenshin had turn towards his room and walked towards it stopping at the door way. "From what you had said, it seems as if Kraft severely underestimated Sacae. We may not have an army like Ilia, but we do lack a central government so taking the plains isn't going to be an easy task. I'm going to use that to my advantage and travel to Santaruz to speak to my brother-in-law about joining me in this battle. You are free to stay in my home until you're ready to leave yourself." Kenshin had entered his room and began to get ready for his journey.