[ Event] Gathering Supplies:

[Rogus]

Don't be so self absorbed. I wasn't watching you, i was watching Orland. You simply happened to be there. He said sternly, I wouldn't be so eager to see my death either, Georg wouldn't be too happy about it. And I'm not marrying you, its an act, so get yours together Miss Priss. I don't trust certain people who mock my appearance. His voice was cold, icy, and deadly. He was a killer, no doubt, he didn't particularly enjoy it, but he had no qualms silencing anyone. This woman had thought he was watchng her from the tree? Please, if she was that important he'd have stayed in the tree. Despite her annoyingly self-centered attitude, he wrapped his arm around her waist. He had an act to do after all, and she wouldn't stop him from completing his task. From the way he had talked, she would undoubtedly feel a tad uncomfortable. It was unnerving how he changed from happy-go lucky to stern and cold, even he felt it. At least he knew how to control his mouth, he had some other fairly nasty things to say.

Now follow my lead, and act incompetent. I trust it won't be too hard if you actually took me seriously about us marrying. He changed his tone, and expression immediately, After all, we're lovers. His happy-go-lucky voice perked up a tad, no longer cold, but not quite his usual voice either. He gave her a smile, she could tell it was fake only by what he had said moments before, but at least his teeth were straight and white. He led her to the cottage where the healer would be, unless she stopped. If they made it to the small house, he'd give three knocks, and whispered nearly inaudibly for her to act like she'd traveled quite a ways. With his cloak wrapped over his torso, his right hand immediately went to his dagger on his belt. If he had the chance, he'd do the deed as soon as the woman opened the door. It was late, no doubt she would be in prayer, or busy with other matters to have any protection on hand.

[Minerva]

"Incompetent?! You..."

Fuming, Minerva obliged the man, and, as they approached the door, she charged a fireball, keeping the energy channeled into her limply hanging left hand. Her right was jammed against Gus's side. The second that woman showed her face, she'd roast her. And afterward, she'd decimate the guard and help secure the town's capture.

A quick look around showed no guards, no bystanders... Perfect. Let the hellfires blaze... Minerva was ready.

[Rogus]

New plan. Rogus said, sending a fist to the woman's temple. She was old and frail, definitely not the woman they were supposed to kill. He'd quickly released his grasp on his dagger's hilt to do so, the fist cracking against the woman's head before she could even cry out. The woman fell, blacked out. Rogus moved to search the rest of the cottage.

Tie her up. Yashi isn't here, we'll need to come up with a new plan. Rogus searched the house, finding no one else inside. He returned, and assisted with tying the woman up. After it was done, he began to formulate a plan.

As long as the brutes on the hill don't begin the assualt... Yashi will no doubt come home in a fair amount of time. We'll use the woman as leverage, and force Yashi to surrender. No need for bloodshed as long as she complies... He thought more about the situation. Damn it all, his luck was outstandingly horrid. If only the healer was there... No matter, this would have to do. As long as the woman was kind hearted and cared for the old lady they'd succeed in preventing her from meddling in Orland's raid. He would make the necessary preparations quietly, and poured a bit of water on the woman's head to wake her up.

Stand up. Rogus lifted her, and held the woman shakily on her feet.

"What's going on?!" The woman tried to scream through a bind wrapped over her mouth, but it was muffled enough to only be heard by those within the cottage.

A dagger placed firmly against her neck shut her up. Rogus looked to minerva, and smiled.

Sorry about all that earlier, I get frustrated sometimes. Be a dear and watch for the healer, we'll need to prepare some contingency plan if this fails miserably.

[Ryuzaki]

"Hmm?!" Was this the 'boss' Rogus had talked about? Some pretty girl? Looked like a classy lady to him, but he was more than a little peeved. His fellow had told him business, but here he was with a woman... Resisting the urge to call out and embarrass his friend, Ryu decided to do what he did best -- stalk, lurk, and watch.

Leaping out of the window where he was perched, Ryu landed softly on an awning, then dropping to the street level. Noticing a fruit vendor's abandoned stand, Ryu waltzed over, grabbed a plump bunch of grapes, and began munching the juicy fruit as he slunk along the alleys after the pair. They looked quite cute together, and Ryu smiled in anticipation of all the prodding and fun he'd have... What?!

The pair had just taken an old woman out, disappearing into a house. Ryu sprang into action, quickly darting over to the door and giving a syncopated knock. "Hey, hey, Gus, it's Near! Open up, before someone sees!"

[Deleted]

Orland was starting to get restless. Ten minutes had passed and their was no sign of Rogus or the mage. In Orland mind the two were probably dead. He warned them how powerful the Bishop was, but it seemed the rouge was bent on using his steal. Still Orland had told the others they were going to move in and destroy the village in thirty minutes. They still had twenty minutes left and he doubted that Han and the others had covered the other side. Still though letting George man die without any retaliation would cost him dearly. Dang Bandit Lords, they had no faith in him at all. They did not just send one person to spy on him, but they sent two. Orland was going to need to show them that not only was he trust worthy, but he could also get the job done.

"Alright we are moving out", shouted Orland suddenly to his men. "We have wasted enough time and I believe that villagers have probably caught wind of our movement. The main force will attack now and draw their attention on our side while our other forces hit their left, right, and rear flank! If we hope for this raid to be successful we need to move fast and attack hard!"

Orland stopped and turned toward Oleg. "Watch your back in there. Can't have you dying before you report back to Natch", spoke Orland as he began to lead their forces toward the village.


Meanwhile

Worried Yashi quickly made her way back to her home. As she walked toward her house she saw a strange man dressed in blue standing outside. Her first reaction was to walk back behind the corner and take another look. From the looks of him he seemed to be a thief. "Great we have thieves now", spoke Yashi as she turned the corner again. "Hey you what are you doing in front of my house", shouted Yashi. The maiden placed a hand on her book and stood a few feet back. Her eyes zeroed in on him like a hawk.

[Minerva]

"Uh oh."

Minerva narrowed her eyes. Who was this "Near?" Sounded bad to her. But before she could even act...

"Gus, that's got to be the mark. What do we do?"

Thinking and getting ready for action, Minerva raised her hands, summoning blue flames that flickered and danced around her wrists and fingers. "Gus, if that guy out there is really with us, it's three on one. Let's mow her down!"

[The Madness]

Oleg nodded at Orland, rising from his sitting position as he then begun to follow Orland. His attention turned to the other bandits, calculating their numbers and equipment. Sure, there was more of them than in his oqn squad, but his own squad also had undying loyalty due to his... Methods. This group seemed a bit rowdy, the sort that would stop a delicate mission for looting and women. Perfect for this kind of mission though.

[Hektor]

Hektor had arrived at the town with a battalion of troop days ago after he got a report of a group of bandits crossing the border in this direction, raiding villages, he carefully moved his troops in at night, keeping them a secret from all but the higher ups of the village whom building he was using to store the troops. He also had troops stationed out in the woods a little ways off, just in case things started to turn sourly, Ready at a moment's signal. His two bodyguards, which were both capable fighters, had gone to the gates to defend there if need be, whilst Hektor roamed around the town, secretly making sure all was ready, water barrels at regular intervals to douse fires, archers hidden in the walls towers only to appear when the bandits actually attacked, and to warn people that it was going to be dangerous and to stay indoors. He would make the bandits wish they had stayed in Sacae.

The light was starting to fade when, while walking through the market, Hektor noticed a man steal a bushel of grapes. "This won't do" Hektor muttered under his breath, following the man. Hektor stopped as the man entered an alleyway, listening in from the street, thinking of how to apprehend the young man. Suddenly, a local woman walked past him into the ally way, confronting the young man and yelling at him, and two more appeared to be in the woman's house, one looked to have a flame. It looked like they were robbing her. Not with him there they weren't, filthy thieves, attacking a woman of the cloth.

Hektor walked into the alleyway after he saw the assassin woman ready magic fire in her hand. "Hold!" He commanded, with his intimidating figure and a glare in his eyes. "Drop your weapons now and surrender. " Underneath his cloak, he carefully and secretly put his hand on his tomes waiting for the group to make their moves, readying his magic. " I take it you can fight?" He whispered to the woman they were after so that none of the would be assassins could hear him.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALhAXtFR1LM&list=PLX2MjbJ6GIceq8YbAPJ0ExF_yRUafQkLG

[Deleted]

Orland marched his group of around twenty Bandits out the forest. Orland ha no intentions of hiding his movements or sneaking up on the villagers. They had the entire city surrounded and Orland did not want to bother with catching them by surprise. In fact he enjoyed the idea of just walking up to their town with their weapons ready. The cowards and weaklings would flee in the opposite direction and run right into his men in the woods. The brave ones would charge and Orland could cut them down where they stood. That would leave a entire city open for looting with little resistance and a small chance of sudden ambushes by peasants.

As Orland and his men approached the gate he saw two men standing next to it. One was covered from head to toe in massive armor and the other held a great shield that was the size of his body and held a blade in his hand. It was clear to Orland that these two were not normal villagers and that they could fight.

"Seems like the Ilians have caught wind of our movement", spoke Orcleous. "Well we already plundered and pillage several villages before coming to this one so it was to be expected. Alright men brace yourselves. We came for a fight and it seems like the enemy was going to give us one", shouted Orland as he led their raid party forward. The general was huge, but Orland still towered above him. The knight did not fear the thick of his armor, nor did he fear the power behind his lance. Orland was leading his men, even if they were a ragtag group of bandits. To show fear to the enemy was death and Orland was only planning on dishing it out today.

The first attack was made by the giant. Orland suddenly shot forward into a sprint leaving most of his men behind. The knight reached to his side and pulled out his mace. With the full force of a single arms strength Orland swung his mace down upon the general. As one would expect the general lifted his shield and a thunderous boom filled the air as the battle for Little Rock began. Hearing the sound of the attack a group of over zelious villagers popped out to aid the general. They were not going to let their village be attacked an not raise a blade.

[Alaric Kyyneltya]

In the Occupation Army, ever since Richter and his command staff vanished off the face of Elibe after the Arena incident almost a year ago, the new command was practically accepting anyone with a pulse to help fight off the rebellion. Alaric had found his way in, and now here he was in a boring ol' place with nothing to do. He knew a few guys, but had pretty much seperated from them when some Bern noble organized a Battalion of Ilian troops and Bernese Loyalists to go hunt bandits. The black-haired swordsman figured it'd be easy work and he doubted they'd run into any bandits... they were pretty slippery and managed to always get out in the face of a real fight... perfect for Alaric!

However, the guy running the whole show was unreasonably strict and too up-tight. If Alaric didn't like only a few things rather than a whole lot, he hated getting pushed around and being told what to do. As such, tonight he took a risk and with the help of someone sympathetic to his cause, and managing to lose a bet, helped him escape for a night out on the town for booze and women. Alaric had too much fun, in fact, and was now laying in the back of a cart being driven by an old man. The swordsman, with both of his hands carrying glass bottles and his hat sitting back on his head, crawled to the front of the cart, resting his chin on both of his crossed arms.

"Hey... s-say... I uh-pree-shate you doin' this fer me, Sirrrrr..." Alaric said as he closed his eyes with a broad smile, not minding the bumps in the road. Alright it bothered him a litte. OK, his arms were sore now. His chin was bouncing too much. He needed another swig. The bearded man looked back with a mixture of mild disgust and honest pity. At least he got paid extra to do this.

Rolling back around and sitting with his back up against the front of the cart, Alaric took another swig. "Mmmmm... delishus honey. Thish is way better than anything we've got back in Ilia. Our liquor is so bad we hafta make it shtrong so you don't hafta tashte much before yer too drunk to tashte anymore. Lemme quote the great late Colonel Sanders who s-said..."I'm too drunk to tashte thish chicken!"" he slurred, laughing loudly tilting his head back. "Ah, ah, theesh are the dayyssss~" he sang, not really with any sort of tune. He downed one of his bottles and managed to sit up straight, getting on one knee. He used both of his hands to hold onto the edge of the cart and looked ahead. He recognized the road that went to the village his battalion was occupying.

"Oooh, ooh, thish isss it for ush, pal! Thanksh fer the lift." he said with a gleeful voice. Once the cart halted, he lifted his leg over the side, laying on the edge of the cart. He rolled over until he fell off the four foot drop, thankfully not busting his head. "Ayyyeee I tho't that wush tha... oh wait, hahaha." Thankfully his bottle was still OK. Without too much trouble the old man turned his cart around and headed back into the other town, grumbling something to himself.

Stumbling forward, Alaric reached into his pocket and lit his pipe, exchanging between taking the occasional swig and puff. Life was good. It'd be even better if he could sneak back in unnoticed. Getting caught would bring down some heavy punishment. Just up and over the bend in the road up ahead he'd be able to see the front gates from a little bit back.

[Rogus]

Ryuzaki... Rogus's eyes widened. You fool-- The words of his female companions stopped him. No, she was wrong. They lost the advantage, it was time to get it back. Get inside now! He yelled. The commotion almost caused him to lose grasp on the situation, but he handled himself under pressure remarkably well at times.

Minerva, sneak out one of the windows, get Orland to send a squad. We can't win without help now... Tell him i made an error. He knew he messed up, a stupid mistake of pride that he had egged on with his own incompetence to see further than the now. He couldn't have known any of this would happen, true, but he could have been better prepared for it that he was now. Rogus took a brief moment to reflect on this failing, but resolved to rectify his blunder. He tightened his grip on his dagger and pressed it up against the womans throat. Hopefully his two companions would be able to pull their own weight while he handled the hostage, and hopefully the old lady would be enough to discourage Yashi from blasting him and Ryuzaki and possibly Minerva to oblivion.

Come on you harlot... Come inside and save your helpless friend... He whispered quietly, the old woman frowning at his harsh words.

"Your nothing but a common ruffian!" She exlaimed.

Funny... I thought i told you to keep your mouth shut. The dagger's blade nearly punctured the leathery old skin. Any more pressure and she'd be dead within minutes.

[Zerachiel]

"Well now, a big bad ilian war dog taking on a couple of brigands and roughnecks? I thought you guys were fighting a war, then again when your commander comes down personally to deal with bandits it's easy to see why you're not exactly winning." A voice cooly cut through the tension like a knife, it belonging to a man clad in all black and tossing a wicked looking blade in the air where it spun and landed in his hand once more. A short blade, but serrated and dangerous looking, like it was designed for ripping flesh and causing untold amounts of pain other then slicing cleanly. He held a cocky grin, and apparently had been there the entire time. Or at the least his arrival went unnoticed, his job was easy. Insurance really, make sure everything went to plan. He wasn't an official part of whatever foolish gambit this appeared to be but he was a... well let's call it an interested third party that would appreciate them succeeding in this little venture. While he had little love for raiding village when they could so much more easily be subjugated, it wasn't his call. His job wasn't to pass judgment, it was to make sure things went off without a hitch.

Unfortunately for this man, he was a very big hitch indeed. Zerachiel tossed the blade up once more, catching it as it came down and holding it tightly in his grip. He could have striken from the darkness, but he was a theatrical man and they needed the distraction more then he needed this man dead. He smirked he faced the Ilian commander Hektor. A powerful mage, he was said to be. Well Zerachiel was from Etruria, where powerful mages were a gold for three, lets see if this man is extraordinary or simply another fool in a dress.

The people he had come to 'save' fled at the sight of the Sage. Perhaps one could call it smart thinking, after all they weren't a match in the lightest. Taking a hostage, maybe a good idea or it may blow up in their face. However it went wasn't a matter to the assassin. "If you have a mission to do here, I suggest to move quickly." Zera called aloud, knowing they could very well hear him.

"Hektor, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to stop you here. If you run I might let you go, but you're not getting any farther." He spoke in even calm tones, this was little more then a business call for him. He held no malice or hatred, but unfortunately for this man Zera was at his best when he was apathetic.

[Ilheod]

It had been a day slow to produce any results. Each route seemed safe thus far. No villages burning, no signs of violence thus far. Though he was a soldier, a lack of trouble meant usually everything was faring well. The Wyvern commander leading the group of twelve as they soared through the skies, the uniform shaded wyverns night-blue scales contrasting to the clouds well as they moved quickly. Most wore the uniform black and blue armor assigned to their units, despite their commander's dark red armor setting him apart as the Knight Commander of the western watch. Former commander. With the Bern military scattered into the dust it had become nothing more then a former insignia to his post no longer acknowledged by the majority of the world. His left hand clasping tighter the reigns to his wyvern he leaned to the right to gaze past the wyvern's neck and into the distance. A village on approach, it was not the sight of the village that bothered him..it was the men gathered around it. His free hand clasped at the sword sheathed to his hip as he leaned forwards and pressed his body forwards. His Wyvern growled, hearing the slight metallic grinding noise of his sword sliding to the sheath while he briefly unsheathed it just to make sure the blade wasn't sticking to the insides of the sheath from the night's cold prior. His hand then tugged behind him to his lance. An old habit to check his weapons. Things did not look overly pleasant. However from his aerial view as he neared above the village's fold looking down he began to get a larger picture. The village had guards within it. The bandit's attacking with such force. An armored figure more than just a common brigand at it's front. That meant...

He turned backwards quickly to the man flying closest to his left. The squad's second, Alexander. Ilheod gazed at him and nodded once while tilting his head and nodding towards the village's roof tops. He turned his wyvern right while the rest of the unit broke to the left and began to circle around towards the horde of bandits.

It looked as if they were about to begin combat. It was bad. Unsheathing his sword he slid it out and lifted into the air, suddenly shouting through the air as the unit made it's approach.

"Night wings, ATTACK!"

Astraeus let out a loud roar through the air, which toned out briefly the chorus of roar's both from the other night wing's rider's and their wyverns before they joined in volume as well. Lances rose high as the flyers moved in preparation to make a sweeping dive towards the bandit's whose commander had just moved ahead of them. However a sight caught Ilheod's eye that drew his attention. The alley below.

A man with light blue hair. Such ornate robes. The soldier's with beyond village guard standard poise defending the village gate. Ilheod had lived long enough to put together those few pieces. The fact that he had multiple people giving him trouble and the state of the village. Ilheod left nothing to change. He tucked his sword into the sheath before moving to grip at his lance while he signaled for Astraeus to lower. The Alley was a tight fit. He could have made it but, there was something to speak for a Wyvern's size. None to quietly Astraeus would crash downwards landing firmly upon the roof of a building overlooking the Alley. A shadow cast out as the Wyvern spread it's wings and snarled, it's rider's weapon drawn a sign of ill. Ilheod took a brief second to examine them while frowning, though his crimson helm obscured a portion of his face the frown was evident. Speaking with a commander's tone he pointed the spear to the ill-dressed fellow tossing the blade.

"You there..I've not seen blades of those make in the small towns of Bern. Tell me..what brings you here..in such..an ill-fated time?"

Astraeus's claws dug away slightly at the roofing for the building he perched above, snarling while chomping slightly. The armored plates along his body made slight metallic chimes as he tilted his head to swivel around. The blue flames drew his attention through the building's window as he snarled loudly at the female, though the Rider's gaze never left the male with the fowl blade.

Theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTB7vapBjOE

[The Madness]

Oleg grunted, watching as Orland slammed down upon the shield of the general. He then noticed the wyvern riders, furrowing his brows even more. This was either going to be a very special gift from Augustus, or a damned curse from Elimine herself. He then continued looking at the fight, stroking his chin.

[Deleted]

Orland sudden charge caught many of the bandits off guard. They did not think the armored giant could move like that, nor did they think he would charge forward. Normal commanders would always lead from the back, but it seemed the Giant lead from the front. Motivated by Orland's charge the other bandits rushed forward as well. They began to smash into the lines of the villagers and attack the gate.

As the fighting began to consume the gate Orland heard a loud screached. For only a moment he looked away and noticed Wyvern riders rushing in from the sky. It seemed all of Elibi was out to ruin his raid. First the Bern defense force had beat him to the city and second they were being attacked by Wyvern Riders from their flank. If Orland did not do anything the momentum was going to be turned against them. Breaking away from the General Orland allowed some of the other bandits to rush in and attack.

"We have riders on our flank", shouted Orland as he began to direct the attention of the raiders towards the incoming units. As Orland turned he saw Oleg's dangerous situation. "You two", spoke Orland as he pointed to two sword carrying bandits. "Go save Natches eyes you all would be useless against the riders."

"Understood", spoke the two swordsmen as they rushed to Oleg's aid. As they moved Orland took their place and began to take a counter offensive against the incoming riders.