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The soldier gave a curt nod.
"Well we're going to have a lot of damn questions and if you are who you say you are...well we're going to have to have a pretty long list."
"How long?"
The soldier paused.
"Are you capable of healing an entire environment? you know? Like...say...an environment ravaged by incendiary, biological, chemical and stellar warfare devoid of all life?"
******
Elanor began asking around, however she also made an effort to go backstage to try and talk with the performers.
******
Surprisingly enough, the tiger could follow the scent, however it was not the scent of a human; instead, the scent that these druids gave off was...woody, herbal, even earth like...similar to a forest floor after fresh rain. As for hearing, he could make out the barest of footfalls ahead. The druids were making supernatural efforts to conceal their tracks and movements, however the Tiger could continue to follow them with minor difficulties here and there. If it were any other animal, however, the druids would be long gone.
The wolf continued to scratch into the dirt.
"Translate is 'Snow', name after muther."
The wolf stared at Mandrat.
"You meen, >:-(, tret mi with respect."
The wolf dropped the stick and looked firmly at Mandrat.
Tavish shrugged.
"Cynics say no one needs dreamers because they are not part of reality...however it is the dreamers that bring myth into reality."
He tapped Vaelic on the shoulder.
"Chin up lad; after your deployment you can adventure all you like...just be careful of projectiles near your joints, it never ends well."
"Personal experience?"
"No, I had a friend who was an adventurer once, then he took an arrow to the knee."
Aerlanic City
A hard days travel for a normal horse was half a days journey for the finely bred Ranger horses. The orthodoxy was the horses were "blessed by the divine light of the great Eziron with speed, strength and skill" however the true fact of the matter was that some of the proud Aerlanic warhorses had found...mates...within captured Khanian beasts under the supervision of specifically hired Hartian horse breeders. The result was a slightly smaller horse with speed and endurance.
Soon as the Ranger Commander crested the hill within the Aerlanic Valley, past farm, field and foliage, she gazed upon Aerlanic City.
Dominating a central area of the valley, the "beautiful" city sprawled straddling both sides of the river. The garrison for the city was centred around the gargantuan Castle Aerlanic that dominated the left side of the city sitting atop a rather craggy hill, overlooking both the city and the surrouding fields as an impressive and daunting symbol of Aerlanic political and military might. Indeed, even now she saw various patrols of the Aerlanic regulars patroling around as part of their near relentless and religious training.
She rode through the half cobbled, half muddy streets of the city making her way to the castle, through thoroughfares and alleyways alike. The citizens of the city gazed upon the ranger and hurredly stood to the side, bowing their heads in a mix of religious reverence, and superstitious fear; among them now walked an assassin of Eziron, one who's place in the grand feasting halls of the dragon was assured thus waiving any concern for fighting honourably, so long as they were loyal to Eziron (and, by proxy, the King of Aerlanic).
Tsarina smirked.
"Fun times when we get home?" Tsarina asked.
William looked it up and down.
"Suits you very well, like it was custom made!"
Wafflepocalypse
"Ok...where did you meet?"
Eastrid hugged Corali.
"Shall we do something to distract?"
(a skyrim reference will get you EVERYWHERE, you know)
Mandrat sighed. “Alright, ‘Snow’, I’ll treat you with ‘respect’…How does one do that?”
*******
Vaelic sighed. “I know, but there was a point in time where I was excited about the future. I’d become a surveyor in the name of Oatseria! But now it’s just a dead-end gig. Beats digging in Sheross, though.”
"I...uh...maybe? Heal in what way? Make some plants and animals and stuff? That I can do."
******
One person said that Alice had gone into the courtyard.
Getting back stage was easy. Nobody stopped her, except for one person who merely stopped her to tell her that if she wanted to perform she should write her name on the list by the stage.
******
The tiger continued to follow them through the night.
******
Corali didn't seem to understand what Eastrid was saying.
"Dont be meen, ask yes/no cwestiens, writing hard."
******
"Whatever path you take is the path you take, only you can forge it."
"Cool, well that solves one major issue we have; we'll have to question you though, just a formality."
The soldier turned to Nelly.
"Same with you."
Nelly shook her head.
"Later, I've somewhere I need to be and it is a time sensitive matter-"
"How time sensitive."
"How much do you want sensitive information from the enemy?"
The soldier paused, and turned to Vara.
"Do you trust her that much?"
******
Elanor explained she was an organiser and was looking for Alice, but after learning that she had gone to the courtyard, Elanor made her way to there to explain the situation.
******
The druids themselves searched for the witches, or at least where the witches lived.
Eastrid frowned and looked to Kenji.
"It is the sorceress...we must slay her."
Mandrat hesitated. “Alright, snow, I’m heading eastward to try and find other humans. Would you like to come with me?”
****
“I like that. I’ll keep it in mind. Maybe if my squad holds agains the Mongolyans as you say…I’ll get my chance.”
Captain Vaelic smiled. “Well, your accomodations are ready. I’ll just be reading up here.”
Connie smirks, giving a cheeky wink. "Take a guess."
Kiki smiles. "Ah, thanks."
Wafflepocalypse
Carissa shakes her head. "I don't remember, she's just always been there as far back as I can remember."
Tyramon
Kenji looks at Corali. "How about some food? Breakfast should be almost d--" as he's talking a smoke alarm starts chirping loudly at them. "Ah, syrup!" He rushes into the kitchen and removes the smoking pan of eggs from the stove." (Remembered that he's been in the process of making breakfast lol)
Vara nodded.
"I trust her fully."
******
As Elanor was wandering the courtyard, she saw Alice and Thomas sitting together on a bench, talking.
******
The mountains had a number of ruins, but the tiger would catch up to them before they could find the witches.
******
Corali looked around frantically in confusion. She didn't know about smoke alarms, but she nevertheless felt like the sound must signal something bad.
Thomas raised an eyebrow, eyeing Macy's breasts. "That kinda, uh, your thing."
Kyra nodded and smiled. "Of course."
Kara brought her knees to her chest.
Kory sighed. "Medicine."
NoVerse
Casey eyed her. "Then you just murdered a nation. Because those were real people."
Thomas sighed, attempting to burp the child. "Sorry buddy."
Kyra shrugged silently.
Oghuls men stood at the ready, swords and bows ready. The Commander pursed his lips. "Don't know why the Khan allies with barbarians."
Lillian made no attempt to assuage the fear that came from the citizens. The fear is what ensured the cooperation in case she needed it in an investigation. Her hood obscured her face, and it made it impossible to tell where the Ranger was looking. Onyx also made no attempts to interact, which relieved her master. Onyx had often gotten in trouble for pulling away to snap an apple in Lillians training. She nodded silently to the guards of Castle Aerlanic. "Give Onyx a scrub and some feed. We may be off again soon." she told the stablehand. She flicked back her hood when she entered the Castle, giving short, but not impolite, greetings to the Battlemaster and Armorer. She maintained an aloofness with most people, although she trusted the Battlemaster implicitly and had been known to spend time at the tavern, for a quick drink. She'd grown up with most of the castle personnel as her father had been the previous Battlemaster. Now, Xeric of Aerlanic rested in the ground with his comrade and ally, King Athelwulf. She knocked twice on the door leading to the Throne Room. the Chamberlain made no attempt to stop her, instead rising to announce her pretense when the King called her in.
Snow picked up her pup and gave a gentle nod, following close behind Mandrat.
*****
Tavish nodded and entered the accomodations.
"Goodnight, rest well, may Eziron guard you."
Tavish turned in for the night within his accomodations. By the morning, he had vanished without a trace.
Tsarina pursed her lips in dramatic thought.
"Hmmm...I'm leaning towards the side of...yes? Perhaps? But I may be incorrect, after all I lack any empirical evidence as to whether or not you would say yes." She said with an aloof, intelligent accent.
William nodded.
"So, anything else we need to do here?"
Wafflepocalypse
"Well...what about...is she saying anything?"
Eastrid made efforts to calm Connie.
The soldier pausd and sighed.
"Alright...but if you stab us in the back it's her head-" he gestured to Vara, "-ok?"
Nelly gave a forceful smile and a stilted nod.
"Of course, a deal is a deal."
Nelly vanished into a scattering of leaves that quickly faded away.
The soldier then turned to Vara.
"Ok first of all, the General wants you for something, second of all, wierd...sorceress-"
"Sorcerer."
"Whatever, wierd sorcerer lady person or whoever you are, come with me."
******
Elanor walked over.
"Hey Alice, Thomas, whats going on? You got time to discuss something?"
******
The tiger eventually found the druids hiding out within an ancient fortress. What would have been a fine ruin from possibly the fourteenth or fifteenth century was little more than crumbling walls shattered by modern weaponry, however there was still one avenue of approach...
...or rather there would have been; the tiger had no need for doors, and could most likely leap or clamber over the walls of several sections. There was, however, some folliage visible; maybe another trap laid by the perfidious druids.
As Lillian approached, she found the Chamberlain sitting calmly on a bench, reading, near the two colossal and intricately carved copper and gold doors to the throne room. The man, who had outlived Ysolda, was entering his older years as his white hair continued to receed.
"Ah, Haralt, I see you are still alive." Lillian teased with a smile, greeting her old friend.
Haralt looked up and smiled behind his carefully groomed beard. He placed down the book and stood up, approaching Lillian.
"Don't sound so upset." He replied.
The two embraced, and Lillian looked to the doors. She grimaced and turned to Haralt.
"He's in the study again, isn't he?"
"Workshop, actually, turns out the good princess is as invested in the arcane arts of "science" as he is." Haralt explained.
"That explains how they managed to bond." Lillian postulated.
The two were led through the halls of the castle and into a former eating hall converted into a workshop. Upon knocking on the door, it was swung open by chamberlain.
The workshop was long, and filled with all manner of tables littered with tools and construction materials. A pedal powered saw was off to one side (a contraption of Eodwyn) and a forge was nestled in the far right corner next to a window, repurposed to accomodate a flue.
Bookshelves were clustered in the corner to the immediate left of them, along with a chalkboard, a few desks with writing implements and large sheets of parchments. All manner of measuring materials were also scattered around this scene, with no less than five abacus present.
In the far right were also a few targets and practice dummies, where the king and queen now stood in most unregal attire. Dressed in simple leather breeches, simple boots and a plain white tunic and looking over a bulky looking crossbow was the twenty eight year old king. His light brown hair was currently in a wild state, and his beard, while modest in size, was untamed. Next to him was his new wife, Queen Selynvi. Five years his junior, the Queen had somewhat frizzy red hair (most likely the reason she had the nickname "the flame of Hartia"), furthermor, she wore a simple grey dress. Both of them had matching aprons, and their crowns were at the writing desk; the king had the usual utilitarian Aerlanic gold band, while the Queen had a much more elegant platinum coronet, complete with some topaz's.
"Ranger Commander Lillian Sola, daughter of Xandar of Aerlanic, your highnesses."
The married couple turned to see Lillian and both smiled. Lillian also saw the names of each respective monarch sewn into their aprons.
"Ah, Commander, it's a pleasure to meet you finally." Selynvi said, her blue intelligent eyes looking at the Commander. "You know, I was always fascinated by Mongolyn culture; it appears we share many similarities between each other."
The king gave a polite nod.
"Lilli, good to have you back at the castle...I got the message." He sighed. "What is that mogrel Khan doing now?"
Lillian smiled at the Queen. "Except the Mongolyn are much meaner than your average Hartian, my Lady." She replied. She turned to Eodwyn. "Oghul is allying himself with the Banderviss Queendom. Rangers Tavish and Fendi
r are investigating." she assured him. "The Corps is monitoring all aspects of this. The Mongolyn are mobilizing, though."
A messenger from Banderviss arrived and told them that the Banderviss army had attacked eastern Oatseria. Now would be the perfect time to invade.
Mandrat skipped ahead towards the great unknown.
****
Captain Vaelic was awoken with a shock. "CAPTAIN! Banderviss has attacked a border city!"
"Tashis?!"
"Yes, captain!"
"He wasn't lying! Get the boys together, we have to hold the garrison against the Khanate!"
Ameli questioningly looked to Vara, who nodded. Ameli nodded as well.
"Alright...I'm coming."
******
When they noticed Elanor, Alice jumped up suddenly, looking embarrassed.
"Oh...yeah yeah, what's up?"
******
For better or for worse, the tiger had no fear of the druids. It took the easiest-looking entrance and continued following the trail of the druids.
******
Eastrid was able to calm down Corali with a bit of hugging and fur-stroking. After some time, Corali gave Eastrid a pleading look and rubbed her stomach; she was hungry.
Eodwyn frowned.
"Are they making any hostile moves?"
"No," Lillian said, "However I suspect they will be moving against the Oatserians."
"That would leave our eastern border exposed," Eodwyn murmured, mimicking Lillian's thoughts, "We cannot let that happen. Lillian; send word to all the Rangers via pidgeon to alert their lords and raise their levees; we'll keep half our troops protecting the border valleys and the other half I will lead for Oatseria. Selynvi, I trust you can keep the home front in order?"
The Hartian princes still beaming brightly bowed in respect of her husband.
"Of course, Eodwyn, you need not worry."
Lillian let out an internal laugh, the rumors were true; even in the face of war the Hartians were optimistic. It made their fearsome cavalry charges all the more impressive."
The king and queen kissed, causing a slight spark of jealousy within Lillian. With that, Eodwyn donned his crown and nodded to Lillian.
"You will accompany me to the front; we must make a good show for our allies. Send the messages and prepare your horse."
The two rangers, Tavish and Fendir, made for the city of Tashis. They moved silently, aiming to see what havoc they could cause on the Mongolyns...and possibly even give the leader a scare.
******
Snow followed behind, however she was still taking care of her pup and moved slowly as to avoid jostling the pup around.
The soldier motioned for Vara to follow as well, and led both of them to the carrier's hangar. There were two dropships, but Erwin was not to be seen. Vara was placed on one with three guards, and Ameli was placed on another with five guards. They were then flown off in different directions.
** *** **
Ameli saw, indeed, the Shakar. This one was male, and it gazed to Ameli with a quizzical look.
"So you are sorcerer?" She asked bluntly, with a thick accent, "You are friend? Yes?"
** *** **
"So...how does the horns feel?" One soldier asked Vara as she scratched her own hornless forehead, "Like...are...are they just bone? Do they feel like...extra skin? like fingernails?"
******
Nelly reappeared in the room with Mariella, she checked on her.
******
"Is everything alright?" Elanor asked. "Hopefully I wasn't intruding on anything?"
******
The easiest looking entrance was at the front of the ruins. While a central path remained free from foliage, the sides were, indeed, covered with plantmatter along with the door. Following this "easy" path would most likely result in the tiger's entrapment.
Eastrid nodded in response and turned to Kenji.
"She is hungry!" She called.
(The Mongolyns would actually be nowhere near Tashis, Tashis is on the Banderviss-Oatserian border, Sheross would probably be where Tavish and Fendir would be heading.)
They set up camp in Sheross, being checked by Oatserian military to make sure that they weren't Bandervissian, or Mongolyn. Luckily, the messenger to Raziel was able to speak to Cabaret Oatseria and prepared for an attack by both Banderviss and the Mongolyn. Sadly, Tashis was too late-its people slaughtered, kidnapped, or in hiding in the city.
****
Mandrat slowed down to make up for Snow. "You know, they should put a bus rail around here. Sure would be helpful!"
Behind them was a loud locomotive train, worn down and rusted paint but clearly a pink and green coloring. Mandrat's clothes changed to a conductor's outfit with her trademark colors and she hopped onto the lead train. "All aboard! Choo choo!"
Snow was clearly not amused.
Mandrat rolled her eyes. "Just get in the caboose." She snapped her fingers and behind the lead car a little box car with windows appeared, reading "Madness Express" in yellow gothic font. Snow walked up into the caboose with a puzzled look.
Mandrat reasoned she was wondering about the lack of track. "Ah, yes, no track. Well, this isn't the first time I've defied the laws of physics or reality, and nobody's going to stop me now!"
The small fenced doors closed when Snow and her pup got inside the caboose.
"Welcome to the Madness Express, I'm your conductor and Chaos Celestial Mandrat, making a straightaway to FUUUUUUN Junction...also known as continuing to go east until we find a town..."
She looked back at snow who had a "get on with it already" expression.
"Alright, fine, let's move!"
The train inched forward before moving at a decent speed.
Captain Vaelic saw the Mongolyn line in the distance. With the reputation his garrison held, Vaelic held a grim assumption.
"They're going through the easiest garrison, huh? Well let's give 'em hell."
He commanded the garrison's archers to fire onto the Mongolyn over the border.
Ameli nodded.
"Yes, of course. I am a friend to everyone."
******
(I mean I'm just guessing here, but...)
"They are just bone."
Vara looked at her.
"Why, would want some horns of your own? Or are you just curious?"
******
Mariella was slowly waking up.
"Oh...Nelly...I, uh...I'm not sure what happened. I must have fainted or something."
******
"Ah...no no...you're fine. What did you want to talk about?"
******
The tiger was suspicious and decided to instead take the easiest window or hole in the wall.
******
(I'll wait for Kansas.)
Macy tilts her head. "What-- oh." She rolls her eyes. "I'm... not sure about that. It feels weird."
Kira nods. "Now we really have to get going so you're not late."
Lyn sits down next to her. (Not sure what to do next here since Gondor's gone lol)
James raises a brow. "That's pretty cool. I thought about studying medicine but I'm allergic to so many medications and things that it would probably be too much of a risk for me. And I get sick easily so there's that too."
YesVerse
Gracie shakes her head. "They weren't real."
Michael cries harder and Thomas can smell a faint odor coming from his son.
Jax gently places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, we'll be fine. We've all lost someone today, but the good news is we can figure out how to bring them back. And we're all here for each other. It'll be hard, but.... we'll get through it."
Connie laughs softly and kisses her again. "How's that for empirical evidence?
Kiki shrugs. "I don't think so." (Why did they go to Waffle Falls again?? XD)
Wafflepocalypse
Carissa shakes her head. "No. She's not. Which is weird... it feels like she's mad at me for some reason."
Tyramon
"I'm working on food now! Might be a minute since I almost burned down the house."
Snow put up with this. Well, she at least tried to, she made sure that the pup was kept in a safe location upon the train as it trundled down the mountain. After several dozen minutes of travel, they eventually found themselves in the remains of a village. It was small, only a few dozen buildings, with enough room for a general store, a school, a doctors office and some other service buildings who's purpose was lost to time and ruin. There were no corpses, but plenty of burned out vehicles, suggesting the population either fled or was long gone. The damage appeared to have been caused by fire and some explosive munitions of some sort.
******
The camp the rangers made was hidden from both parties. Soon, they began inching their way closer to Tashis and, after spending a quiet day resting up, moved towards the city at night. As they moved in the shadows, their cloaks shifted with the mottled cloak breaking up their sihlouette as they moved to the wall of the city and tried to make their way into the city itself.
The Shakar nodded slowly.
"But...what if your friend is not friend with your other friend...how are you friend to both then?" He asked.
******
(Good guess!)
"Just curious honestly...but if we're on the topic of animal related body modification I wouldn't mind some fox hears; I'd be able to hear anything from a mile away."
"What if something blows up right next to you."
The soldier paused.
"Alright that's fair...but how does that tail of yours work? how flexible is it-"
"Actually yea," Another soldier asked, "can you like...open a can with it?"
******
Nelly sighed.
"While I would've rather you stayed awake while you were in the corner, I suppose I cannot complain. Irrespective, I hope you have learnt your lesson...or do you still require punishment to make you respect other people's differences."
******
"Delegata is keeping Jenny's brother somewhere, and Jenny was refused seeing him time and time before. She want's to use the wish to get to see her brother.
"What do we do? Do we ask the performers to give the wish to Jenny? Or wish that their wish is Jenny's wish? How do we even get them all to agree?"
******
It found two walls on the nearest east side; the first was close to the top and would require some climbing to get to, but it did not appear to have any folliage...then again it could be a trap. The second one was close to the ground and had a slight piece of plant matter visible, but whether it was a binding bramble or just another piece of plant matter was up to contention.
Eastrid turned to Connie and smiled, nodding.
******
Tsarina paused again before giving Connie a smirk.
"Good enough for me."
**
(I think it was for Harold to speak to the tree.)
Wafflepocalypse
"Any idea what she is mad about?"
"Well...I'd still try. Hopefully they will become friends. Maybe I could help them with that."
*******
"It certainly wouldn't be easy, but it might be possible, if I was very careful."
******
Mariella thought for a second before sighing quietly.
"No need, Miss."
******
"Oh...hmm...I suppose we can ask them...who knows, maybe we'll get lucky?"
******
The tiger ended up climbing to the higher up entrance.
******
Corali seemed to understand and nodded appreciatively.
The woman nodded before another soldier lent over.
"Yeah if you could tell the universe to stop trying to kill us? that'd be great. I'd like to actually start a family without my child being blown up by an artillery shell or an orbital f$#@ing strike." He said harshly.
"Silence," came the raspy voice from a Lazarin, one of the lizard folk within the carrier, "to speak harshly to shaman is foul, they shall curse us."
What she assumed to be a male, with deep green scales with slight orange accents, nodded to the woman.
"Tell me...do you come from a place of peace?"
******
The soldiers nodded.
"That's pretty nifty; it'd be hard to wear pants though."
******
"Good, now, I have dinner with the Royal Emperor. Under normal circumstances I would get ready myself however you seem hellbent on making me have no respect for you. Until you earn my respect, you will play the role of handmaiden and, thus, you will help me get ready, understood?"
Nelly shook her head.
"While you are not the most disobedient and rude girl I have had, you certainly are uniquely impolite and rude, we will change that in short order and give you some proper manners."
She gestured to the bathroom.
"Run a bath for me, Mariella, your redemption will begin now."
While Nelly would not normally be this snobby and cold and it hurt her within to do so to such an innocent individual, it was probably best to have a firm hand with respect to Mariella. After all, if she was too lax with her, the Royal Emperor may begin to grow suspicious of Nelly's claim that she cracked down on rebellious actions swiftly and firmly, placing the jeapordy of the lie Vara and Nelly had constructed under threat.
And so, she resigned herself to play the authoritative part...at least for now.
******
"Might as well...Thomas, you on board?"
******
It was a wise decision; after perching atop the wall, the Tiger saw the bottom entrance was surrounded by twisting, and softly shifting, brambles. Going through it would've resulted in the tiger beginning to be strangled, and the Druids being alerted.
Now atop the walls it saw the wide net of tangled brambles and other plant matter both on the ground and against the walls. The tiger need not go on the ground, and could go slowly along the top of the ruined walls instead, avoiding possibly getting caught in the brambles, but also running the risk of knocking loose stones down into the ground below, possibly raising the alarm.
Eastrid nodded, before pointing at Corali, raising a thumb, and tilting her head to to the side. Her face was frowned in confusion.
"End of the line! Watch for the opening doors. Thank you for riding the madness express! Ding, doong."
The doors of the caboose opened and Snow picked up her pup and hopped onto a gravel path nearby. Mandrat leaped off the lead car's platform and the train disappeared into dust, and Mandrat's outfit returned to a tuxedo and fedora. "Welp, let's do some investigation!" She pulled out a comically large magnifying glass, to Snow's unamusement.
*****
A Banderviss soldier met them at the walls. "An va Oatserian? Zerdan? Nov va pleel va vida be Ses Gracia?" He asked in Oaterian.
"End of the line! Watch for the opening doors. Thank you for riding the madness express! Ding, doong."
The doors of the caboose opened and Snow picked up her pup and hopped onto a gravel path nearby. Mandrat leaped off the lead car's platform and the train disappeared into dust, and Mandrat's outfit returned to a tuxedo and fedora. "Welp, let's do some investigation!" She pulled out a comically large magnifying glass, to Snow's unamusement.
*****
A Banderviss soldier met them at the walls. "An va Oatserian? Zerdan? Nov va pleel va vida be Ses Gracia?" He asked in Oaterian.
Ameli nodded.
"Yeah, quite peaceful. Although, there was this one guy who came along and tried to ruin stuff, and I had to help lock him away. But that was a rarity and quite short-lived. It is Tyramon after all, it is a very peaceful, simple place."
She clearly did not see the irony in her statement.
******
Vara shrugged.
"I make do. Worst case scenario, you have to customize your pants."
******
(I mean, Mariella literally is a maid, so this is just her normal job.)
Mariella curtseyed.
"Of course, Miss Nelly."
She went to the bathroom and began running a bath.
******
Thomas nodded vigorously.
"Oh yeah, definitely."
******
The tiger began making its way carefully atop the walls, generally avoiding or stepping around loose rocks, silent as a mouse despite its size.
******
Corali stared blankly at Eastrid, unable to comprehend the gestures.
Luthar grimaces at the thought of making another deal with the ancient, malicious entity, but he is forced to nod his assent.
"I s'pose it worked well 'nough las' time."
"Well, that's that then."
Everyone turns to look at Kat, who shrugs.
"What? I mean it's not like we've really got anything to lose, and he's selling it pretty damn well. When do we start?"
▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
"Oh no worries, I'm always glad to show a new follower the ropes!"
He shuffles quickly back in the direction he came, calling back over his shoulder as he goes.
"Just gotta grab a few things, please seat yourselves."
His exit is marked by the soft rustle of cheap felt, leaving the two women alone for a handful of minutes.
Celeste frowns. "This isn't really... what I was expecting."
"Not from here, no."
He's careful not to let any worry cross his expression, maintaining an even, confident tone.
"I just got in half an hour ago from down south. We couldn't risk this message getting intercepted by other means."
The Rathorian notices her slight confusion and continued skepticism.
"I'm afraid I can't say much more right here, but perhaps it would be best if I briefed you and the Major at the same time. If you're not too busy?"
▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪▪
(Unless there's something else they run into then sure)
"No offense," Said one of the soldiers, "But if Tyramon really was peaceful, they wouldn't be throwing us repeatedly under the bus. They've slaughtered tens of millions of us and we've done nothing to them."
"Yeah; i guess they just can't stand a Democratic Neighbour." The fifth and final soldier replied.
"Besides, they have made pact with Primaeri," hissed the Shakar, stamping her hooves before scraping each one along the floor a singular time, "My kind was kept as their slaves, forced to make children for them to take...the Aerlanicans saved us...Tyramon is no friends of Shakaria."
She stretched her muscular neck while the Lazarin shrugged.
"Aerlanicans say Tyramon bad, Aerlanica kind to my kind, who am I to refuse draft."
******
The soldiers nodded.
A silence fell over the cabin, allowing Vara to either ask questions herself, or remain silent for the rest of the trip.
******
"Once you are done that, go through my trunk of clothes and find something the Royal Emperor would be pleased with.
******
"Oh...right the...fair..."
He gave a nod to Alice.
"Come on, let's see if the performers are on board."
******
While most the stone was not stable, the tiger continued to prowl atop the walls until he looked down into a room with a solitary entrance. Within it, clustered close together, were the druids. Also present were the brambles near the door, and a few in the corners of the room.
Eastrid frowned and tried again.
The woman looked increasingly suspicious before she quickly raised a knife to the Ranger's throat and pressed the blade against his throat, and him against the nearby wall.
"Hey! I found one of Madylin's lackeys!" She cried out, still holding a knife to the Ranger's throat.
The scattered soldiers looked over to the ranger and grasped their rifles. Calls that one of the "Traitors" was within the bunker rang throughout the halls of the subway.
"Wait...you aren't with Madylin?" The ranger asked.
"F^%# no, what, what do you? Are you a moron? What do you mean we aren't with Madylin, we're the ADPF not the Final Authority, who the hell are you?"
Murmuring was heard from the gathered crowd as an individual pressed their way through it.
"Excuse me, pardon me, coming through."
Stepping out from the crowd was a rather grizzled and malnourished looking man of 29, he wore the uniform of a major of the Aerlanican army, and his stringy, matted red hair and beard as well as her short stature marked him as an ethnic Roodem.
"Who's this?"
The woman looked to the Major.
"He's one of Madylin's men from South Grendel."
*** *** ***
Simultaneously, the ranger within the tower saw extensive movement within the scrap stockade; the alarm had been raised.
(For the purposes of expediency let's say it was relatively uneventful.)
Jonathan paused.
"Mr Luthar...I see you have reservations."
"We'll-"
"Please, if you have something to say do not feel afraid to say it out loud to the group; discussion must be candid and open, and all avenues must be explored."
He stepped away from the table and motioned for Luthar to take the "floor" of sorts.
******
Katrina snorted and shook her head.
"What were you expecting? some sorta...ritualistic suicide?" She asked.
However Celeste could see some reservations from Katrina, as she shifted uncomfortably. She figdeted as well, straightening the collar on her blouse, playing with the sleeves of her jumpsuit, and glanced about the room.
"You ok?" Celeste asked, before hastily recieving a reply.
"Yeah yeah I'm...I...I'm good...why...I dunno I just...part of me is telling me...you ever get that voice in the back of your head that just sorta tells you to get the hell out of dodge...like there's...something wrong, something you're not seeing?"
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