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< Getting the Message | Red Ice Logs | Arriving in Vengrad >

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The morning brings a sigh of relief from the villagers and the three Sidereals. Kinqueduran left an hour ago to begin arranging the escape of the villagers, going from house to house to attempt to gather the majority of the villagers under his protection. Now Iron Horse, sleepily and hungry, joins Mendhari and Anstice in the inn's common room.

• Mendhari is having some of the nicest food the inn can provide, and also drinking her special opium tea.
• Iron Horse half stumbles into the room, hair in a complete disarray, and eyes only half open... until he smells the food, at which point he almost teleports to Mendhari's side. "... that smells nice!"
• Anstice is laying off the opium tea, having had more than enough mind altering substances in the last few days. But food is good.
• Mendhari blinks and looks up at him. "... Would you like some? You can get your own, you know..."

Iron Horse: "... yes! Yes I would! A good meal is an excellent way to start the day!"

• Mendhari stares. Is THIS a sidereal?
• Iron Horse certainly makes people that otherwise, doesn't he? He still zooms away to find something to eat, utterly missing Mendhari's stare.
• Mendhari sips her tea and looks over at Anstice. "Are you sure they didn't replace the poor boy's brain with a melon?"

Anstice: "Fairly sure. He's just... innocent."

Mendhari: "A strange thing to be, this day in age." She takes a bite of her breakfast.

Anstice: "It has its uses. At least he can probably drag us both out of trouble."

Mendhari: "Yes. And he's not that bad to look at."

• Iron Horse eventually comes back with a dish that is almost too large to be breakfast, which... well, seems to be basically a stew of a lot of stuff just mixed together. He sits near the others and eats with much gusto.
• Anstice drums fingers on the table. "So, Iron, did you get the plan for the Algorans from K or not?"
• Mendhari watches with fascination. Such... unrefinement.
• Iron Horse stops stuffing himself long enough to look at Anstice. "... mmph?"

Anstice: "I shall guess no. We, the intrepid heroes, shall be stalling the Algoran army long enough for K to get the recently evacuated villagers out of harm's way."

• Iron Horse gulps his food down. "... aah. Sounds good! What are we going to do?"

Anstice: "To do this, we shall take upon ourselves the most resplendent destinies of a skilled thaumaturge *points at self*, his apprentice *points at Iron Horse*, and his lovely assistant *points at Mendhari*. Even if we're forced to run, they should be on the wrong trail for what we actually are."

• Iron Horse blinks, and points at himself. "I'm your apprentice?"

Anstice: "You make a better apprentice than a lovely assistant."

Iron Horse: "... point."

• Mendhari rolls her eyes. "A lovely assistant. Great."

Anstice: "It is the most cliché and theatrical grouping I can think of. Therefore, it is the most believable and forgettable."

• Mendhari shrugs. "I suppose. Or we could be a traveling band of idiots... wait..."

Anstice: "I suspect we will get called that. I intend to ask them to pay me for purifying the village for them."

Iron Horse: "Huh?"

Anstice: "Look around. Do you see demon hordes merrily dancing in the rubble?"

Anstice: "Protection from demon hordes is a useful thing for an army to have. Also expensive."

Mendhari: "... why don't we just turn him into a slack jawed yokel following around the great and mighty Kalamazo or some such idiotic name."

• Anstice shrugs. "It lacks dramatic finesse? You've got a better idea, perhaps?"

Mendhari: "I don't. But I reserve the right to call plans idiotic at any and all times."

Anstice: "We live in desperate times. I'll think about great and mighty, though."

Anstice: "I'd appreciate you assisting in said destiny design, though."

Mendhari: "How so?"

Anstice: "Anima. Useful in some stages."

Iron Horse: "... What do you want me to do?"

Anstice: "Watch for ambush. Distract them at opportune moments. Grab both of us and run as fast as possible if things go awry."

• Mendhari nods. "Fine, fine."

Iron Horse: "... ok. I'll do my best."

• Mendhari winces at "do my best." His best probably isn't drooling on the floor while talking.

The Algoran army could not possibly trouble itself with such a small town as this, but the scouts of a detachment arrive shortly. They fall back noting the presence of three strange folk before the town gates and wait for the detachment to appear.

• Mendhari tries not to look humiliated in this costume. She makes a note to hit Anstice later.
• Anstice waves at them non-threateningly, deciding trying to go over and talk to them is probably futile before one of rank and hopefully lack of refinement shows up.
• Iron Horse is standing just behind Anstice, with his hair tied back instead of its usual ponytail and... gasp! he's even combed! He doesn't look any less eager than usual though.

Eventually the detachment arrives, only 100 armed men. But trailing them is a trio of red-robed monks, each followed by a pair of Sevsimtali. A fourth figure in red rides a bay horse at the front, his hood pulled over his face, showing nothing of his features

• Anstice elbows Iron Horse in the ribs. "Wave the flag when we start walking towards them."
• Iron Horse winces a bit, but says nothing, merely holding the flag aloft.
• Mendhari follows... Not quite eagerly.
• Anstice obviously starts a grand stride out towards the guy on the horse, not bothering to even look at the lesser soldiers about. He halts when he gets there, performs an elaborate flourish, and proffers a suddenly appearing card. "My card. Please, tell your friends."
• Iron Horse follows after Anstice, waving the flag as he was instructed.

Red Robes: "Who do you think you are?"

• Mendhari leans against Anstice's shoulder, being the lovely assistant.

Anstice: "Iiiii am Tejada the great! The pleasure is all yours, I'm sure." He flashes an irritatingly perfect smile.

Mendhari: "And I.... Am his lovely assistant, Natalya."

Iron Horse: "I am Kajak, Tejada the Great's assistant!"

Red Robes: "Unless you offer the surrender of your village, you will be slain."

Anstice: "Oh, it's offered. I was just getting the introductions out of the way before that, and haggling over the price."

• Mendhari nods. "We don't do exorcisms for free you know, we're not a charity."

Red Robes: Some of the troops laugh. "Exorcisms? What makes you think we need them?" The Red-Robed man chuckles

Anstice: "You'll have to forgive her. She is steeped in the parlance of the arts. Still, what better phrase for convincing the knot of fighters and the two thaumaturges here only yesterday, including even what I dare say was one of the blooded, they would have a better shot at stopping you elsewhere?"

Anstice: "While I clearly have no need to remind a man of your obvious skills, what army in the world wouldn't take a complete lack of casualties in exchange for some coin?"

Red Robes: "For amusing me, you may retain your lives. That is payment enough, thaumaturge. Begone, before the Primate-General arrives and you may live."

Anstice: "Ah, and here I was hoping to get a private audience... Might I inquire as to your name and which way we should go? I would hate to delay other such detachments of fine fighting men unduly, and the tale of your generosity hardly sound as good with only 'Man in the red robes on a horse'."

• Red Robes shrugs. "I am Friar Volodya. You are wearing thin my patience, thaumaturge. And the Sevsimtali hunger."
• Mendhari touches her lips. "Sevsimtali...?" She looks confused.

Anstice: "The demons, dear. With the rather large pointy teeth?"

One of the red monks waves a hand and the largest of the Sevsimtali flows forward, wrapping itself around Mendhari slowly. Then it disentangles itself and returns to the monk. She cackles, "Yes. The demons."

Mendhari: "Oh! Those."

• Iron Horse doesn't cringe back. No. Not at all.
• Mendhari frowns. "That wasn’t very nice...

The monk laughs from behind her veil, a high shrieking laugh that sounds…unformed. As if something was missing. She stares straight ahead, moving only when a sound draws her attention

Mendhari: "I don't like them..."

• Anstice bows, offering a jaunty salute to the friar as he stands, and suddenly tears the flag out of Iron Horse's hands, the decorative top exploding into splinters. He slices twice into the air, a scene out of any dojo kata demonstration, betrayed only by the eruption of snow and gout of blood as a pair of monks fall dead, moments after each slice. "You two? Get the fat fuck on the horse. We're about to leave."
• Iron Horse nods, frowning, sleeves of his clothes ripping off his bracelets become fierce claws.
• Mendhari pulls her pins out of her hair!

As the two monks fall to the ground, the power of the killing blow sending them sprawling. Their robes become sodden quickly, though nothing shows until the redness creeps into the snow beyond the cloth. Two of the Sevsimtali rush for the Exalts, one howling towards Anstice, another hoping for a belly full of Iron Horse

• Anstice continues the kata as if nothing had happened, head of the great daispear arcing down and cross, slapping the attack away disdainfully.
• Mendhari becomes both incredibly radiant and terrible at the same instant! Cerulean Lute of Harmony Form!

The smallest and least-well fleshed of the Sevsimtali lands heavily on Iron Horse, its peg-toothed mouth closing around the boy's chest and abdomen. Flesh and muscle seems to dissolve away from his body and into the demon's as it eats him alive. Claws scrabble, trying to draw the entire Sidereal into its maw, but it gags and backs off to chew

• Iron Horse screams in pain, and then snarls, crouching into a tiger-like stance and baring his claws. He then dashes towards the demon and... proceeds to turn on a dime and then -pounce- on the Friar, claws lashing out in an attempt to wound him as much as possible as well as get him the hell of the horse.

The Friar doesn’t even dignify the attack with a response, simply cursing as the blade scores his face.

• Iron Horse lands just after the Friar, claws slightly bloody, and grits his teeth as his landing reminds him of the pain. He knows he won't be much use with such a dangerous wound, so he proceeds to take off like a bat out of hell, giving Anstice and Mendhari an apologetic look.
• Anstice would salute, only is busy attempting to ward off any further attacks against the remaining pair.
• Red Robes laughs, drawing a crimson blade from his belt and raising it in salute to an unseen force beyond.

The Sevsimtali still with its red-robed master howls and rushes forward, racing for the delicacy that is Mendhari. Southern food is so hard to get this far North.

• Mendhari squeals!

Mendhari's battle form forces the demon to shy away until her squeal weakens its terror. It manages to grab a bite from her arm as it backs away, chewing angrily, it glowers at the young princess with the bleeding arm

• Mendhari glares at the man, and then leaps into the air, and spinning like a needle, aims for him!

As Mendhari's blades slice through his chest and throat, the Friar tries to deflect her but fails miserably. Her blades slice open his veins, spilling his life across the saddle and the snow. He falls to the ground, gasping for breath through the gurgle of blood from his neck

• Anstice wards off on final attack and hops up into the saddle, catching Mendhari loosely and urging the horse to gallop like hell. He offers one last parting slash at the guy in the robe, another invisible arc that drops him like a puppet with strings cut.

The horse rushes through the stunned guards and past the Sevsimtali with Anstice at the reigns. Soon Iron Horse can be seen as well, heading in the same direction. His blood leaves an obvious trail behind him and he is staggering

• Mendhari squeals in surprise. "Hey! Lemme!... Oh! Anstice. Thanks." Mendhari then narrows her eyes at him. "You don't have to hold me by THOSE."

Anstice: "Well, excuse me for taking the best available handhold." He shifts his grip somewhere more socially acceptable. "That went less well than I expected..."

• Iron Horse is... well, he's just running, one hand clutching his chest and he winces. "Damn..." His steps seem to get more steady as he goes though, glancing back to look at the horse.

Mendhari: "I'd say so, yes."

Anstice: "The fact the Sevsimtali didn't even cause minor havoc is worrisome... And mortals with that many demons?"

Mendhari: "Worrisome. Can I sit on the horse, instead of being a saddlebag?"

• Iron Horse winces a bit, and calls back. "... Hurry up! We need to pick up the speed!"

Anstice: "When we slow... Guess it'll be a bit.”

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< Getting the Message | Red Ice Logs | Arriving in Vengrad >