Liberty [Lillianne/Audric]

[Deleted]

"No trouble at all, sir. It's the right thing to do."

Lilly smiled gently at the elderly man, sensing herself excused as he turned back to her work and ushering herself out the door in the process. It was hard to be angry at the ineffectual old coot, even if in some ways this was his fault. He believed in the good of people, trusted them. He had asked her to try to convince the riders harassing the town to leave peacefully, despite what they had done, what they represented. If it wouldn't have been quite unseemly in public, the Ryerden mage would have snorted fit to make a horse blush. The sad thing was that it was about the most threatening thing she could actually do for now; the 'town guard,' if you could call it that, was a grand total of three villagers - a retired soldier with a leg injury, and two young idiots who could swing a hoe or a sword, but not much more.

So Linius had gone to try to recruit some help... mercenaries, do-gooders, or sellswords. Nothing too fancy. Unlike their last little adventure in Khathelet, there wasn't a great deal of money to sweeten the pot - but in return there wasn't a huge bandit army either, at least as far as she knew. Just a few riders, probably ex-knights given the horses, who terrorized the town every so often. Lilly entered the light outside, walking leisurely down the dusty street as the small town went about its business as though nothing at all was wrong. And for now, it wasn't. But they would return.

It probably would have been safer to travel with her bodyguard, but then they would have had to leave the village entirely unprotected... and unprepared. It was just a small farming town, not some mighty fortress; full of the young and the old, not soldiers. Not fighters. They didn't even know how to deal with the attacks other than to give in. There was no justice there, only Lycians preying on Lycians. And even if Linius hadn't been very happy about it, she wanted to be here to keep an eye on things, both to welcome anyone who had joined their cause and in case of another attack.

It had been grating to rely on the grace of others at Khathelet, but here it was tenfold worse. No Linius, no guarantee of a reward to lure in sellswords to their side... the former general rankled and seethed inside at the utter lack of support. She was used to having to plan out supply lines and deal with myriad potential environmental issues, but at least then she'd had an army corps at her beck and call, and the undisputed authority to make things happen. Now - just another idiot idealist with a head full of ideas and no real power to call her own. Not her own, or even that of others to bend to her will. The seeds of possibility were there, struggling to find purchase and direction... but it was a train of thought for another time.

[Audric Tania]

Tania had once been a small rural territory. Towns lined with minute shanty-towns along the borders, and a force consisting mostly of Militia. The mighty stone walls of Tania proper as his only understanding of what set nobility apart from well..everyone else. That had slowly changed over the year sure, but as a child, he remembered not the cobblestone streets and roads. He did not remember home as clean pristine buildings surrounding his families monumentally larger estate. He remembered run-down buildings. Farmers. People who got by through by sheer copious amounts of hope and assisting one another.

Gods if he didn't feel right at home here.


Caelin. A small territory. The smallest. Even Tania in it's weakest low was not quite at that level. That was oddly, and perhaps twistedly, a comfort to him. That didn't change however, their need to secure aid from the Marquess of Caelin if possible. Moving through the towns as they had though, something became abundantly clear. Caelin couldn't even help itself. They'd run into a few bandits already, and no small number of impoverished towns. His personal guard, being primarily comprised of a small handful of Tanian Knights and a few soldiers assigned to bolster his guard detail while he traveled, had already served to defend more than one small caravan trying to etch out a meager existence.

Honestly, it was a wonder he hadn't given away his identity yet. With traveling robes covering his fairly ornate armor almost entirely, and him and his men ensuring he was never called "My lord" in public, he was able to usually just seem like some up and coming military commander or aspiring captain. The average Lycian didn't recognize their armor or shades for that of Tania either, which made it more manageable.

So it was, that the fiery haired youth found himself, inevitably, itching to venture forth and associate or mingle with the common folk of the village ahead. Without his detail. If he allowed them to follow him so idly then there would be a far less likely chance people would openly converse with him. Soldiers intimidated people after all. Especially well armed and well equipped ones.

That being the case, they still had to follow his commands. SO when he ordered them to begin building a fairly sizeable temporary shelter for the unit and himself to reside under for a few days, he felt somewhat bad at sneaking away the very instant they were all occupied. Sure they'd likely surmise his location with ease, but he would at-least have time on his hands wouldn't he?

So it was, that Audric entered the small town with most of himself obscured behind that brown tattered traveling cloak. Small glints of armor barely visible where ever his cloak was torn, or at the very lower portion of his legs as his boots protruded. His spear was visible with it lashed externally to him, and his shield was well hidden by being fastened to the platelets at the mid-point of his heavy armor. That didn't mask the impact and sounds of his steps though as the crimson haired lordling moved through town. Where first could he go...

Well there was a towns full of options. Maybe he'd simply have to learn more first. He knew jack and shi-..he didn't know Caelin well.

[Deleted]

Her casual stroll through the village revealed very little of interest or note; none of the buildings had surreptitiously moved since the last time she had inspected the premises, the bakery was still full of baked things, the Canterson family still took loud offense to each others' existence on a regular basis, and she was about one more outburst from them away from setting the whole building on fire with them in it and laughing at their screams. Admittedly, it wouldn't be very heroic, but sometimes you did what you had to for a pleasant afternoon stroll. Not that she looked particularly relaxed, or really was for that matter. Lilly tended to do 'power walks' more than actual strolls, liking the brisk exercise to help her think straight.

And that was what this was all about, after all. How to deal with the temporary embarrassment of finally having a goal, a purpose again - but no longer having the ability to enact it. At least not now. The Ryerden mage wasn't despairing by any means, only considering her options to break through the issue and come up with a valid solution. For the fact that she did not have the ability to do as she pleased NOW was nothing more than a setback, not a law of reality. She would find a way, and the universe would rearrange itself to her whims if needs be, but she would do what needed to be done.

In some ways she was almost grateful to hear the sounds of some sort of commotion near the village gate. Not because she WANTED trouble to find this town, but because being locked within the confines of her own mind, with only herself as company and no solutions presenting themselves quickly, was frustrating indeed. Lilly could be patient when she needed to be, but she needed a goal of some sort, a purpose, to it - otherwise it was simply a waste of time and as irksome as it was wasteful.

So she wended her way quickly towards the source of the trouble, barely even registering someone in a brown cloak as she passed him.

[Audric Tania]

The soft dirt crumbling beneath heavily armored sabatons with each step added a quiet crunch to his motions. The quiet clinking of metal plates rubbing together from the reverberations of each step, and weight of his armor, were muffled by the heavy brown cloak. With him raising the brown baggy hood over his head so that he could gaze to his sides almost as freely yet not be scrutinized visually. Honestly, part of him still felt out of place. No matter how much he tried to integrate into the society of the average person. He was adorned in ornate armor, which displayed the crest of Tania upon it, and had been designed with such master craftsmanship that it was likely worth more monetarily than the small town he moved through.

Combined with the ornate spear upon his back, and the fine-made tunic he wore beneath his armor, he simply knew that if he wasn't sporting the ratty brown gritty cloak, he'd have been such a visual eye-store that every person in the town would've been visually fixated on him. Which wasn't okay by him. If people wanted to stare and admire, he wanted it to be because he'd just proven a bad ass on the field or he'd partially de-robed and struck a pose in testament to his machismo. He didn't want it to be because he stood out. That felt different. Almost uncomfortable.

So it was, the young crimson haired Lycian Noble found himself happily moving through the town like a normal person. At-least..as best he could. There were things he did that had been bred into him. A straight, strong walk with out his back ever hunching or bending forwards. A swift stride, long steps with his heel rolling into the foot for a fluidic transition. His gaze strong and unflinching, poise unyielding like the mighty stone mountains Tania bordered..-

Why hello there...

His thoughts instantly rang out as the sapphire haired beauty walked past him. Though it had been brief and fleeting, his gaze darted over to inspect the rather...full figure of the particular specimen that moved past him. Moved might've been too weak a word. Spirited by, mayhap. Her steps were long ones and she moved briskly, but he was absolutely okay with this. Just watching her move was a visual delight. His light shaded eyes would've never stopped scanning her figure had he not noticed her attire and the finer details upon it. Looked like he wasn't the only one out of place.

But hells what an a- what was that noise?


Finally hearing the sound of commotion as well, Audric started moving in longer strides as he instinctively felt a slight edge creep into the back of his mind. Trouble like that was never a good sound. Not for the sanctity of others in life. Audric didn't draw his weapon, but he let his hands stir slightly beneath the cloak, twitch muscles tense and ready to grip at his spear if it was needed in a moments notice. He turned the corner of a run-down house to see what the conflict was.

[Deleted]

Her long, purposed strides took her quickly to the source of the commotion, at the front gate of the village as she had expected. Three mounted knights. It was difficult to tell at a glance what their exact skill level was, but all three possessed armor that instantly set them apart from the common bandit on a horse; they were no Sacaen raiders or incompetent idiots, but trained soldiers, men who had survived an actual military education of some level.

That didn't quite mean they were flawless paragons of discipline and justice, though. Two were helmetless, though one at least held his under his arm, and the bareheaded one was clearly drunk, swaying back and forth in his saddle. So that was one point against them being, er, here with good tidings. A second was the fact that both village guardsmen looked frankly terrified, lances barely moving as they stood presumably shaking in their boots, as the drunk cavalier held his swaying sword in the direction of one of them. "We... proteksh you, and thish is the thanksh we get?" One of the lance-wielding peasants AKA acting town guard flinched as he was nearly poked in the eye by the swaying sword, and the other unhelmed knight, holding his helmet and actually looking quite official, laid a hand on his shoulder as he rode closer. "What you may not understand, my good sir, is that the business of protecting you cowards from the evil in the world today requires a great deal of time and... money, which this village has done a very poor job indeed of providing to us lately."

One of the defenders looked about ready to speak up, but the knight continued with a perfectly friendly look on his face. "Why, it's almost as if you... didn't want us protecting you." But his eyes were not smiling, and the hand resting on the hilt of his sheathed blade was not the mark of a harbinger of peace. That was all she had needed to see though. It was clear that these were the knights extorting the village for 'protection' against the bandits nearby - who they were likely working with or perhaps even for. The thought curdled in her throat; this miscarriage of justice would not stand.

"Well then," the Lycian mage stated loudly, not raising her voice so much as projecting it forcefully to announce her presence with a bravado that slightly outstripped what she actually felt. She really, REALLY regretted sending Linius away when she did, she was far from hopeless as a mage but neither was she exactly invulnerable to being axed a question or lanced in the face, as it were. Still, she had to play her role, and Lilly did not have a habit of stepping down from fights she thought she might be able to win. And she did still have a trump card to play. "I suppose it's a good thing that your..." she waved dismissively, almost derisively, "'protection' is no longer required. You're free to leave anytime, little lordlings. We won't waste your time further."

The curdling distaste in her voice was evident and none of the three knights were dense enough to miss it, the drunk one immediately glaring at her as the well spoken one drew his own sword almost reflexively. The third seemed content to just watch for the time being, for some reason; he hadn't yet spoken.

[Audric Tania]

Audric approached, but from a distance. After all, he had been following the blue haired beauty with an intent of initially just admiring. Sure a few introductory lines had reached his mind but none befit a sapphire such as that which he saw. Until the sounds of discontent moments earlier had reached his ears. Stupor from beauty could only go so far, after all. Audric had the ability to notice women, to be sure, but his sense of right and wrong and the desire to act on it perhaps drown out all other notions. Fire burned in his veins, and it was a fire that spread wildly and lit easily. So when he saw the knights before him and how they disgraced the good name of Lycian knight's thrice over, he felt that blood instantly begin to boil.

If a churning sun were within his veins, brilliantly bursting like a nova upon the apex of it's explosion, it would still not adequately describe the intensity of his fury that this scene evoked. Armored hands instantly latching closed in balled fists, the youth's fiery red hair wasn't the only thing that burned red that day. It was with some sense of enthusiasm that he heard the blue haired woman begin to bitterly retaliate upon the men. Was...she from this village then? His gut told him no. She stuck out far too much. Like himself. That mattered little though for the moment, and even as the man drew his blade to her words there was a heavy jostling and shifting of armor as Audric extracted Buidhe from around his shoulder and hefted his shield from off his back. Armored glove grating briefly to the internal plating of his medium sized emerald hued kite shield in-front of his body, taking a few steps to move near Lillianne. The golden trim ornately along it traced the sides and the crest of Tania was upon the shield's center point. Audric's right arm had lifted Buidhe to rest atop one of the faint upwards hooks at the right end of his shield, the left side sporting a similar one and both seemingly designed for such intent. Audric's words were far louder than Lillianne's, and his tone more booming though scathing with distaste.

Had his temper not instantly overwhelmed him he might not've approached with such hostilities. However the sight of knight's treating the beaten and poor with such cruelty was beyond unacceptable. Filth like these knights deserved to be expunged.

"It's in poor form to draw a weapon on an unarmed woman. Worry not though sir, clearly you meant to point your steel at me prior, correct? After-all, we wouldn't want anyone believing you to be a coward in addition to a scoundrel would we? What town would hire such protectors then? The kind that drew steel on peasant and unarmed alike?"

Though there was no flames to be seen, if it was audible it could be heard. How he desired nothing more than to throw himself at the man and drag him from his steed. That he spoke on mount, above others made it all the worse. Every facet of the trio disgusted him. Perhaps, in his rage, he simply found them more disgusting. One could never truly know, but Audric did not care either.

[Deleted]

Lilly had vaguely noted that someone was approaching with a heavier step than the average, but hadn't paid a great deal of attention to it due to her focus on the task at hand until Audric interjected himself forcefully into the situation, drawing her attention immediately. A handsome youth painting a picture of azure and crimson, bearing armor that she could tell at a glance was not that of a common sell-sword, though his position left her unable to actually see the emblem on his shield and identify him for who he was. Still, it took only a glance to ascertain that he was at the very least the son of a well to do family, possible a minor noble of some sort, aaaaand prone to committing suicide apparently in unfair confrontations.

Not that she was in much position to judge on that note, the Ryerden mage couldn't help but note. The irony would be rather delicious.

Turning her attention back to the knights, Lilly smiled for the first time in the confrontation - but it was not the pure and innocent look of a beautiful maiden, nor a lover's tender gaze, but a hard-lined look that did not reach her eyes, tinged with a harshness and cruelty that belied her own rising temper. She might not be as fiery as the lad, but Lillianne's anger burned deeply and slowly, usually hidden but never absent, and the embers were unusually rapidly rising to a pyre of proportions she had not experienced recently. Slowly and smoothly, almost sensually, she removed the sheer black glove on her right and gazed back at the advancing cavaliers, their own anger evident in the wake of Audric's brash proclamation. It was partially for show, but in practice Lilly's magic was... destructive enough to her person that going bare armed was much safer for her outfit. So it was really pragmatism - the equivalent of Audric's little show - but a hint more subtle.

"Get out."

The venom seeping from her voice curdled the air as Lilly recognized the situation for what it was - she hadn't been trying too hard to convince them to leave in the first place, but the red-haired noble's bold proclamation had destroyed any chance of ending this without bloodshed. But that was fine! She wouldn't be much of an organizer if she hadn't at least considered this turn of events. So there was no anger in her towards Audric or his 'interference', merely the acceptance of what had happened, recognition that she seemed to have a temporary new ally who could potentially fill Linius's role in some of her calculations for this situation, and that things were about to get ugly.

"f**k**g BITCH" the drunkard spewed in response, ramming his spurs into the side of his horse to, er, spur it into immediate action, charging the two would-be heroes with reckless abandon as his other unhelmed companion similarly spurred himself into action. So much for negotiations eh? Behind them, the third rider was already moving in to boot, something she hadn't quite expected to happen, the three moved together too cohesively to just be three random failures as she had hoped. "ROLF!" The nearer of the two villagers jerked in reaction to her voice, swinging his lance towards the third rider to bar his entry, and the other gatekeeper followed his example somewhat more hesitantly, barring his entrance at least for the time being.

Of course that did leave the minor issue of two cavaliers already charging the duo within the town, something she had hoped to avoid, and Lilly didn't know or trust Audric enough to use him as she might Linius. That left one opponent for each of them. Her arm jolted for a brief moment, fingers closing partially as her sinew and vein alike throbbed with magic, trails of light running down her arm as heat built around it. She had experimented with all the magic she knew of course, Lilly wasn't a rank novice when it came to combat, but of the elements currently at her disposal some were more suited than others to the current situation.

Wind simply lacked the stopping power to handle a charging cavalier, even if he was a bit drunk - the horse wasn't, and they would run her down in an instant. Lightning could work, but she wasn't sure if the effects would be enough to actually stop the horse in time. Even fire magic lacked the power to actually STOP the horse per se, but it did offer two benefits its counterparts did not; Lilly specialized in it for short-range combat, and it was the element she had experimented the most with in breaking apart the basic Fire spell, learning how to overload it.

As the rider approached her, Lillianne raised her right arm parallel to the ground, bracing her left against its base to try to stabilize the shot, and focused on manipulating the runes of her spell as they formed, thin rings of rotating symbols growing down her arm in concentric circles, each constricting successively as the magic stabilized. It wasn't the fastest cast ever, but she wasn't aiming for speed - just power.

The cavalier was closing in when her attack was ready to fire, and so she did with a cruel smile at the momentary change in the man's expression, a small explosion of heat and light as the Fire spell destabilized almost instantly upon leaving her body, spreading out in every direction. Weakening its bonds allowed her to amplify its destructive power beyond normal simple fire magic at the cost of any range whatsoever, but the backlash was another story entirely, jerking her right arm back painfully and forcing the mage to take a step backward as she winced in its wake.

Before her though, the horse shied violently away from the blast, already caught in it, its senses set alight by the concussive force and heat. It wasn't enough to incinerate the horse or even kill it, but it WAS enough of an effect to hurl the rider from his steed instantly.

[Audric Tania]

Through the corner of his eye, Audric watched the woman carefully. All eyes, it seemed, were on her. Even if he felt far less threatened by her than the three "knights" no doubt. Unable to look away for more than a second to dart back at the others while she removed her glove. There...was something eerily attractive about the gesture, even if it was in a slightly "serial killer" way. Though the notion of attraction to a gesture prophisizing brutal death was not the most sane prospect, who was he to judge? He'd close-lined a dude wearing armor instead of just grabbing him in an apprehended attempt. So perhaps he wasn't one hundred percent there. Attraction or no, that didn't stop the chills from traversing the length of his spine and back from her smile and the tone in which she spoke.

Get out.

Once again, hot in a serious "Murder, Dearth, Kill" way. Know who didn't find it as attractive? The men on horses with weapons. They found it enough to warrant actual murder. So the moment that one man began to snarl in profanity, Audric was already bracing himself for combat. Legs buckling down and his arms beneath armored shell running taut while he gripped Buidhe firmly from its resting point atop his shield. Crouching into it while leveling his spear towards her. His blood boiling within his veins once more as he thought to the number of people these men had likely harmed purely in the name of a profit.

He'd trained against mounted enemies with Merio, but he'd never battled one to the death. Honestly, he'd seldom been in life or death scuffles prior. One or two could have been but he'd usually used his bulk and superior armor and weapons to do the job for him. This was different. He was against an enemy with higher grade armor and weapons than those foes. Most had also been hesitant to strike at him given his lordling status. Then there was the fact that well, again, he'd only battled enemies who used their legs to travel distance between their point and his. So as the drunkard knights rushed Audric and the blue haired beauty, he felt for one of the few first times in his lifetimes, uncertainty. In training, the shield was his saving grace. Here, it'd likely be a big factor but not the single winning one.

His feet rooted, and he locked his knees. Leaning forwards as the man attempted to pass. Lifting his shield high as the sword came down. Muscles swelling from how he tightened his grip and shifting forwards to slam his shield into the sword as it swung by. The blow deflected, the man's blade bouncing off his shield while Audric pivoted and thrusted Buidhe into the man. Attempted to, at-least. His weapon crashed into armored side and punctured it but barely managed to pierce the skin. The scarce amount of crimson was proof of that. The man's howl of pain though was enough satisfaction for Audric. The cavalier trotted forwards before turning for another pass. Audric lifting his spear for another pass, before the flash of flames distracted both however for a passing second. The rider that Audric had bouted was distracted another moment longer as his comrade fell onto his back. Seizing opportunity, Aduric lunged forwards with his spear punching into the man's lower abdomen. Enough of a blow to forcibly dismount him as well.

The horse reared up with a loud snort as twin hoofs crashed against the prince, his shield barely rising in time as the thunderous impact of the hooves knocked him stumbling backwards. He did not fall, but a rush of fresh rage at the discombobulation briefly overwhelmed his senses. Shaking his head to clear it, Audric shouted in a snarl of anger before crashing into the rising cavalier, shield slamming into his chest while Audric through his entire weight into the blow. The man fell once more, and Audric poised to strike.