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Post by Garith Valkyrie on Nov 9, 2011 16:10:47 GMT -6
Garith had no idea where he was headed so he decided to go back to camp. As he was walking he had also wondered what had happened to Derick he was following him after all. The blue haired mercenary shrugged and then kept walking. It wasn't long before Cryger had walked up behind Garith and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Good work today son you must still be hurting,"Cryger said patting Garith on the shoulder which did hurt. Garith was kind of oblivious to the pain until his father said something. He dropped to one knee and grabbed the side he was stabbed at. Cryger sighed and then helped Garith up by tossing his arm around his shoulders.
"Let's move,"The man sighed as he and his son walked back to where everyone else was. The looked up as the heard the sounds of wings flapping. It was hard for the two to make it out but it was Clair on her pegasus.
"I thought you were following her," Garith said wondering why his father was here.
I was until I got bored with it and decided to come back,"The assassin answered which made his son smack his forehead. What a lazy man, how could he be his father? They were quiet for the rest of the walk.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Nov 9, 2011 17:39:32 GMT -6
Derick's pace slowed as he approached Clair, there was a newcomer in their midst. She was tall, standing a few inches above Derick, he noted with some annoyance. She was clothed in green, Derick was wondering who she was when..."Whar can a pirate get somethin' t' drink 'roun here?"
A pirate...The word struck a chord in Derick's mind, memories of the tales he had been told in training. "Now boys!" The instructors voice had been hoarse and rough, it demanded attention, "There are two things you should know about pirates! ONE!" The instructor raised a finger, counting for them, "They like money! TWO!" another finger, "they kill innocents, you should feel no pity! THREE!" A third finger, in case any of the recruits were having trouble keeping track, "They like the harder drinks...a lot."
Derick snapped back into present time, he wondered if...His hands fumbled with his bag, and he quickly found the two bottles he had plundered earlier. "Ah...Excuse me, miss..." He stepped up next to Clair and the newcomer, greetings had never been his strong suit. He presented the bottles to the newcomer as he spoke, "..will this do?"
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Post by Cefia on Nov 9, 2011 17:56:27 GMT -6
Cefia looked over at the offer. She stared at the bottle a bit, finding the text hard to read. Without too much thought she snatched one of the bottles and stared closely at the label. Whiskey. She preferred dark or spiced rum but beggars can't be choosers! She popped off the lid and gulped down quite a bit before letting out a sigh to get some breath.
"Nah as satisfyin as rum but it'll do!" she replied with a bright smile. With an amused smile, she swung her arm over the man's shoulder as if they were buddies already, in her book they should be considered buddies, and went on.
"Alcohol warms me soul in times, 'o ahead laddie, why nah drink some yurself?" she asked.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Nov 9, 2011 19:28:52 GMT -6
Derick's shoulders tensed as the arm swung itself around him. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. So it was whiskey... Derick filed that tidbit away in his brain.
"Alcohol warms me soul in times, 'o ahead laddie, why nah drink some yurself?" Derick tried to speak again and found he couldn't, what is wrong with me?! he thought, exasperated. He swallowed a tried a third time, "I-I've never had alcohol before..." Young recruits were rarely offered alcohol in training anyways, but he had been especially restricted. His combat reflex made people nervous...Heck, it made himself nervous sometimes.
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Nov 9, 2011 20:22:28 GMT -6
Well, just in time. Cefia's stomach emptying all over the ground had not been what the Falcoknight had expected, but perhaps she should expect such things more often. Very few people were naturals in the sky. Even she herself had had to learn the excitement over time... She'd merely had it easier than most.
As Cefia moved off, Clair couldn't help a downward turn of the lips at the word "pirate". So she was a pirate. She'd been hoping that there was a way that it wouldn't be so. Pirates. The bandits of the seas. She wondered where the woman was going, until she heard her asking about where she could get a drink.... Likely a strong drink.
Clair rolled her eyes at this, but was surprised a moment later as one of the nearby soldiers came forward. Derick had alcohol? Actually, she recognized that bottle. It was one of the ones David had carried before dying.... She said nothing, but as Cefia looked to be taking the young soldierman away, Clair moved in, interupting the pair from going off to wherever Cefia was wandering to.
She stepped up behind the taller pair, and tapped Cefia on the arm lightly, before pulling it away.
"Excuse me, but I have need of him for a moment, before you steal my soldier for the night." She really didn't have a problem with the drinking. Not tonight. If it would help celebrate their victory, and keep spirits up, then all the better, but she'd expect everyone to be moving efficiently tomorrow morning.
Clair took a deep breath and laced her fingers together before stretching her arms out palms out. Then she relaxed a bit.
"Derick, this is Cefia. I found her near a crashed wyvern while on patrol. The rider was dead.... And was not Bernese.... And Cefia, you've already made yourself accustomed to Derick, I see."
A moment more, and she spotted Garith and Cryger coming up the way. Garith might as well be in the know as well.
"Garith, come over here for a bit!" She hollered over to him.
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Post by Cefia on Nov 10, 2011 15:59:17 GMT -6
"Ya know laddie, it sure sucks being a pirate at times," Cefia said feeling the alcohol working already. Her tongue was loose and so she began to rant a bit.
"Jus` cause I be a swashbuckler, I jus` git all `his blame on me, like plunderin`, lootin`, pillagin`, riflin`, kidnappin`, pilferin`, extortin`, pilferin`, filchin`, sackin`, maraudin`, hijackin`, embezzlin`, forgery, burnin` like ships `n towns, bein` scallywags, knaves, thieves, blighters, villains, but ya know wha` else? Most o` them be synonyms!"
"Aye! I be hardly a model citizen `n I be guilty fer a wee, but that hardly means they needs t` repeat they's self!" she said taking another gulp of the whiskey. Then again, in her current situation, it wasn't any time to be admitting such things.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Nov 10, 2011 16:50:22 GMT -6
Derick seemed to be caught between two minds as the pirate, Cefia, spoke to him. On the one hand, she had a roguish charm about her...but on the other hand, she was basically a sea bandit. His suspicions were confirmed as she listed the crimes of pirates, and admitted being guilty of a few. Despite this, Derick felt none of the hate that his superiors tried to indoctrinate in him. Indeed, he couldn't help but chuckle at her mentioning of most crimes being synonyms. It was in Derick's nature to get along, and get along he would.
"Well...On the bright side, you don't have to worry about 'National Treason'!"
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Nov 10, 2011 18:08:25 GMT -6
Oh... She can't be serious. Clair closed her eyes in frustration as Cefia began listing off the troubles of being a pirate. What was she thinking. This was a pirate! A raider! Clair's job involved killing raiders! If she'd stopped to think things through, she probably would have left the woman out in the snow. Or, run her through. Even with the likable personality that the green haired sea woman gave off, Clair wouldn't have let that stop her. In Illia, lack of resources meant death. Plenty of raiders, pirate or otherwise, had met their end on the tips of an Illian pike, and it wasn't likely to change any time soon.
At the same time, Clair wasn't about to start killing noncombatants, which was what Cefia was. Somehow, she'd gotten mixed up in all of this mess with Etruria, Illia, who knows. Maybe even Bern too. It was certainly possible, with what she'd seen recently. Cefia was safe for the moment from being run through, but The Falcoknight Commander was quickly growing annoyed with all her ranting.
"Look here, Cefia." Clair took a step towards the pair, placing her right hand on her hip, and crooking an arm upwards to point to Cefia. Her eyes flashed, showing the anger she felt at what her country suffered, balanced with a stern patience established from her experience as an army officer.
"My job happens to be to protect Illia's interests by killing scallywags, thieves, knaves, blighters, and anyone else who hurts the Illian populace." Clair straightened and relaxed a bit as she returned her left hand to her side, before continuing. "I said I'd help you, and I will, but if I have to listen to you prattle all night about what you may or may not have done to my counry, I may forget my hospitality."
Hopefully, that would get the message across. Despite hearing what she'd done, the falcoknight's first impression of the woman was a good one. Why couldn't it have stayed that way?
"Cefia, when you find one of the healers, have them check you out. You can't be in good shape with the way you were." She opened her address to include the others gathered there before continuing, the lowering sun filtering its way between the town structures.
"We're leaving at an hour after dawn tomorrow morning, so make sure you are up and moving by then. That'll be all." Originally, she'd intended on explaining her findings to the gathered people. Cefia's little rant had taken that right out of Clair's head though. She turned around, and left to take care of the remaining things she needed to do. Picking sentries, grabbing some more dinner,... the list could go on as far as she let it. She had work to do.
OoC: Next post will be timeskipping us to leaving the next morning. That should wrap up this thread for a thread switch.
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Post by Garith Valkyrie on Nov 10, 2011 20:22:20 GMT -6
"Looks like the boss wants you kido,"Cryger said as he then lifted Garith's arm from around his shoulders. He didn't it slowly at first to see if Garith could walk on his own. "Have fun,"He added jokingly as Garith then walked off and Cryger went his own way. As Garith walked over to Feldsky he eyed the new arrival. She looked strange, where was she from? Garith couldn't help but feel she'd be nothing but trouble.
"Yes Commander?" Garith said in a quiet and almost nervous tone. He didn't speak to Clair much so he was still a little shy around her. Plus she was a attractive woman which, unlike his father, Garith had a hard time talking to without sounding like a babbling fool. He had to keep it together he didn't want to sound dumb in front of her.
He looked over to Derick and the new arrival as the woman spoke. A pirate eh? Garith couldn't help but look over to his father who he thought probably committed most of those crimes. Once he had looked at Cryger he was telling some soldiers a story that made them laugh. What did he tell them? Garith would probably here about it later anyway.
"Is there anything you need from me Commander Feldsky," The blue haired mercenary after Clair had made her final statement about when they would get moving.
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Post by Cefia on Nov 10, 2011 20:37:26 GMT -6
"Aye, aye commander!" she said, switching the whiskey bottle over to her left hand and giving a proper salute. It was well executed like from a properly trained soldier, tall, vigilante and solid. By no means were she joking. Sure she was drunk but she was also a pirate. Even pirates had their ranks and being able to perform while drunk was a specialty in some ships, at least all the ones she was in. When she felt she got her point across, she took another swig of the bottle and turned to Derick.
"Don't ye for'et me tip laddie!" she said, before making her way towards the loudest area she hears. Her steps were surprisingly even and trajectory relatively straight. It felt as though her alcohol tolerance had rose since recent times. Why would that be? Did it seem that this commander had a sort of disdain for her already? She'll have to get that cleared up later but for now, it is time for some fun!
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Post by Clair Feldsky on Nov 13, 2011 19:44:11 GMT -6
OoC: Skipping to next day's departure, and wrapping thread up. Feel free to post moving out from your chars perspective, if you wish.
Beginning point for Garith/Clair support: In Pursuit of Will. See also In Pursuit of Strength and In Pursuit of Skill.
BiC:
They were ready to head out. The sun was cresting the mountains to the east, its light catching the tips of evergreen trees, shining off the snowtopped buildings, and falling in patches wherever it could fit between the town's structures. Smoke still rose lazily from the wreck of the burnt building. At least until it got about twenty feet high. Then it became stretched out, carried on the wind.
Clair studied out the soldiers in front of her. Many were good men that she'd always accept at her side in battle. This wasn't going to be a pitched battle though. Twenty fighters, even twenty superb fighters, wouldn't be much use in Etruria. They'd be run down by cavalry. It would be easiest to simply go by herself. With her pegasus, she could outrun and outspeed anyone else. That wasn't enough manpower though. She alone would work fine for recon, but she wanted to sabotage Etruria. Hit them back for what they'd done here in Illia. It would take more than one person.... Well... common sense dictated not to rely on dumb luck that one person would stumble into something vulnerable. They'd have to make something work.
So... It was time to move out. "Alright. Garith, Derick, with me. We're going to Etruria, and we're going fast." Her eyes drifted over to the green haired pirate lady she'd encountered the night before. She still found pirates deplorable, but if it would wreak havoc on Etruria, she'd make use of it.
"Cefia, you come as well. We're going to be passing through a difficult pass to the south, and we'll be flying for the worst of it." That cleared that up. She still shot a warning glance at Cefia as she said so. No throwing up on me or my gear.
"The rest of you will go Southeast, through the main pass, and rejoin the army." There was a mixture of sighs of relief, sighs of annoyance, and general outcry. Most seemed to be wanting to say something, but no one did - at first.
[White]Commander Feldsky,... there's only four of you.... What will you be able to do with so few?..."[/white] A moment later, the man realized that he'd basically just questioned Clair's orders, and looked a bit embarrassed. [White]"No disrespect intended, Ma'am...."[/white]
It actually was a good question. Clair wasn't sure yet. She was sure she'd be able to thik of something though, as the situation developed. She still had an answer for him though.
"I'll survive. That's what. You're all excellent fighters, but if we get into a pitched battle on this trip, then we fail by default. Etruria has the numbers. We need speed, and I can't secure that for a big group. I can for a small one." They didn't look convinced.
"Now, put your faith in me. I don't disappoint.... You have your orders. Carry them out." She tried to at least act a bit more concerned, but the truth was, she was confident. She was cautious by nature, but Etruria had no idea they'd be coming. The group was picked to look like any other band of traveling sell swords. They'd pull something off.
"Well, time to go" She looked over to her companions once more and turned, walking southwest out of the town with her pegasus following.
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Post by Garith Valkyrie on Nov 13, 2011 20:52:20 GMT -6
Garith didn't get much sleep that night seeing that he was thinking hard and long about how he was going to deal with all his problems in life. How he was going to deal with Orrith, how he was going to get his mother back. What would happen to his father after all this was over? Would he go to jail? Or worse? Garith shook his head. He didn't want to think about those kind of things. He got out of the tent he was sleeping in ready to start the day.
He let out a loud yawn and looked around the camp as he rubbed his eyes. Nothing new to Garith just a bunch of soldiers talking to one another but how great they are and how many people they've killed. He even saw his father get into a arm wrestling match with one of the soldiers, Cryger won of course which made Garith smile a bit. His dad was finally starting to grow on him, he was more of a father then a deadbeat scum now. Garith hadn't completely forgiven him for what he had done to his mother but he was starting to.
As Garith gathered around Commander Feldsky as she spoke he was surprised that she had picked him to go with her. Etruria? Garith had never been there before, why were they going? He wasn't going to ask her anything she would tell them if she needed to.
"All right Commander I'm with you," Garith said as Cryger walked up to his son and placed a hand on his head.
"What about me Commander? What me to stay here and hold the fort?"Cryger asked rubbing Garith's head while he laughed a bit.
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Derick
Soldier
A deserter from Bern, struggles to reign himself in.
Posts: 170
Profession: Amateurish Mercenary
Affinity: Anima
OoC Alias: Derick
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Post by Derick on Nov 13, 2011 21:43:49 GMT -6
Derick nodded alertly as he heard Clair's orders. He smiled at Garith and Cefia, enthusiastic about this new adventure. When he was growing up, he had heard mixed tales about Etruria. On one hand, he heard the lifestyle there was exquisite and wonderful, on the other, that it was filled with insufferable pricks. As with most things, Derick suspected the truth lay between the two.
Clair mentioned flying, and Derick shot her a puzzled look. To the best of his knowledge, Clair was the only one who knew how to flew a winged mount. The only experience he had was an extremely short period of time when the military put him into their wyvern rider program. He had quit almost immediately, however, and had no skill on a practical basis.
Derick smiled softly and fell into step beside his commander and her pegasus.
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