She directed the gargoyle to the hill. Getting caught into the mountain at nightfall would be a problem with a lack of food and shelter. If she could figure out where the closest source of civilization was, she might be able to get there before needing to camp. As she waited, her eyes were caught to the iron collar she had before, now lying on the ground. Not that she needed to take it, but she picked it up anyway. They'd always be able to just get more of them. Of course, there was plenty of uses for it and with her strapped for supplies, she'd have to make do with what she had. Maybe Razaeng would be into something...all his body parts functioned. And if he was anything, he was strong. She debated the pros and cons of taking it in the ass from her golem for a few minutes, before opting to try and take a look at the trees and plant life while she waited. If she could determine the type of vegetation, that would give her a clue of how close or far she was from the sultanate and a better understanding of the exact location of this country.
Reise pulled on the reins, guiding his horse to gallop back and reinforce Emilie as he fought against the countess. He touched his cheek, simply staring at the trickle of blood with an empty expression. He grunted, muttering something under his breath as he lowered his lance again. Even if it was the baroness that had inflicted the small wound, this wasn't the place or time to return the favor. Alcheamie had to handle Ferrer on her own, until Emilie was in the clear. His mind set, Reise nodded to confirm it to himself. This was the right path. The windwalking spell's had begun to petter out and Alcheamie laughed as she made a final jump. "Take my scepter filled with the power of my love! Darling Smash!" She brought the weapon down with the force of her body that was pulled down by gravity behind her. Emilie was going rescued by the albino. That made her a little angry, so she had to make it sure to take it all out on the meanie before her for when it was time to heroically embrace him and smother him in her bosom. Emilie dodged the first swing. And the second. Each time disrupted his attempt spell casting. Damned ax, he swore and cursed its existence. Making a final attempt to cast blink and teleport away, hopefully before she actually managed to hit. Hearing the galloping becoming louder and coming closer, he was more than happy to leave the madwoman to Reise. It was such a shame that she didn't listen to reason and his promise of a better future, even for those like her. He wondered if he had killed her husband at some point to earn this kind of ire. Well, whatever it was, he wasn't keen to find out. {I want new dice, the ones you used are broken. }
"Yes, your highness!" A number of voices answered as they spread out. As the princess sat on the fallen tree, she quickly found out, that there sun that could fall on her body. "That was foolish." Andelia walked up to her, with a scowl. "Her death would mean nothing, in long term. Yours? It would send all of us on chopping block. The queen would have decorated her castle with our heads."
As she picked the collar, the Dowager realized that it was enhanced in several ways. First, it allowed contacting her son via magic, in form of illusions. Second, when she wore it, he could control her - even send illusions to toy with her. To call reinforcements, she would need to craft a special portal, that would allow the warriors through. The problem with the portal was, that starting it up, took even entire day. As she walked to the hill, suddenly an arrow hit the golem, bouncing off him without a scratch. As she looked around, she noticed that she was surrounded by number of small green creatures with weapons.
Emile wasn't especially gifted physically and was far weaker than the countess, but still managed to dodge her attacks, frustrating the woman. "Stop jumping around-gh!" in a feat that was rather an accident than skill, he managed to kick the countess' face, throwing her off balance. Luck had it, that it was that moment that Reise came charging. Countess saw him and managed to raise her ax, trying to parry the thrust - but it wasn't enough. The lance pierced her shoulder and pinned and went through the tree behind her. As the woman slammed into the tree, she was knocked out. Her body hung limply, but it seemed that Reise's lance has broken in the process. Alcheamie swang her sceptre, intending on crushing the noble and rescuing the chancellor while showing off. Her attack was slow and clumsy. She blinked confused, as her sceptre hit the ground, but there was no body of the woman under it. She didn't even realise it, when the baroness slammed the knife into the back of her head, killing her instantly. There was just too much difference between her and baroness - both in luck and skill. As the baroness removed her knife from sorceress' head and allowed the body to fall on the ground, she turned to look at two remaining men. Her face twisted in anger as she saw countess pinned to the tree. She twirled her knives and started charging at Reise. {sorry, new dices}
Neither Emilie nor Reise had the time to process the death of their trusted companion so long as both the countess and that brute of a baroness drew breath. Reise set off first, discarding his used lance. Leaning down as he rode, precariously balancing on his stirrups and the held reins as he nearly touched the ground, he snatched at the ax. The unconscious countess had no need of it and would be better served in his hand. He moved to meet Farrar in combat, preparing to trample her underneath his steeds hoves if that was what was needed. Emilie readied another arcane bolt, doubling up on their attack on the baroness. Tears were streaming down his face, despite his attempts at holding them back. He blinked away his blurry vision. "Arcane Bolt!" {In Memoriam: Alcheamie. Dearly missed companion, taken far too early. Posts 1-5.}
Despite his mastery, the impact of the death of a comrade has left Emilie shaken - the baroness easily sidestepped his bolt. Then clashed with Reise - their exchange was short but brutal - the baroness was slightly more skilled, but fate was on Reise's side, as by the end of the exchange, he managed to strike the baroness in the head with the ax's handle. The woman fell flat on the ground, her knives bounced to Emilie's feet. Stunned, she got on her fours and started crawling to get them.
Silnariel looked up at her scowling friend. “I know. But on the other hand, what good as a ruler am I if I can't protect my own servants? I know there will be times when sacrificing people will be unavoidable and even necessary. But letting an innocent woman die less than an hour after we arrived here certainly did not seem like one of those times. You're probably right that in the long term her death would mean nothing, but in the short term it would definitely have a negative impact on everyone. Hopefully saving her will have a positive one.” She gave her friend a reassuring smile. “Thank you for worrying about me, Andelia. I'll try not to do such reckless things often.”
Throwing away his shield and dismounting, Reise took hold of the ax in two hands, going over and straddling the fallen noble. Almost casually, he let it fall. Seeing Emilie's expression however, the pale rieter turned blade midfall so the flat side would connect with her head, unless she somehow managed to avoid it. Emilie went down on his haunches, picking up the bloddied blade. Using this weapon turned his stomach. He tried a few thrust in the air, getting a feel of its balance and heft. His tear strewn eyes, looking pityingly on as the baroness crawled. He stood ready to intervene, knowing that not finishing her off could lead to something unexpected happening. The chancellor didn't fear killing, and would do so if it looked like Riese needed the help, but he didn't have the appetite for it right now. There was also the problem of how they had arrived here and how they'd get back. He didn't recognize the spell Alcheamie had used, so could be some magical artifact or other she had picked up. While he liked the idea of spending his days alone with Riese if they were in fact stranded here, the two noblewoman would make survival easier if they could manage to work together.
As she thought on the used of the collar, her attention was caught to that tinking sound that caught her attention. Goblins. Not that she was too concerned, but there was always more of them somewhere. However, they were cowardly race and realizing they’d be completely outclassed would get them to scatter. In response, she made a motion with her hand and launched a cutting force of wind at the shooter.Establishing that she was still a threat would help, though she stepped back a few feet letting the gargoyle handle this. Their weapons were too primitive to risk so much as denting him. “Razaneg. Tear their arms off.”
+150 requisition - saved followers The woman's face became red as she squirmed at the praise. "What are your orders, my lady?" She asked.
+500 requisition - defeated the countess +500 requisition - defeated the baroness +500 requisition - captured two noblewomen Reise easily knocks out the woman, making her fall flat on the ground, unconscious. As he checked Alcheamie's body, he found the artefact she used - but it was broken. In her spellbook, he found a spell that allowed communication and acted as one way portal to the capital. He could request for reinforcements from the capital - but he couldn't use it to return. But it required a couple of hours to setup. "My lord, should I finish them of?" Reise asked as he kept ax over baroness' neck.
"You know how much I want to say yes, Reise. But, no, they're more useful to us alive until we know where we are. Go to your horse, see if there's anything in the saddlebags we can use to tie them up. Then strip Baroness Ferrer," Emilie paused, looking around the forest clearing. Green everywhere, and the temperature was so warm it could've been the height of Askani summer, "down to her bare skin." The chancellor would do the same the countess. "And see to the wound on your cheek, I hope we'd have a few decades more before we look like grizzled mercenaries." Reise had a tendency to let those things go untreated, so best to remind him. Emilie took the broken lance shaft that Reise had left as a parting gift and pulled it out, roughly. Should be enough to awaken the countess. Spells were tricky business, sometimes it was handy to have a physical focus, so he reached inside a pocket and fished out a golden watch. He could hear it ticking, still working despite the heavy fighting it had endured up till now. Starting to sway it before her eyes. "Watch the hands move." One tick. "You're feeling sleepy." A second tick. "Tired, eager to rest." A third. "Falling deeper." Continuing until he reached ten. If his Hypnotism spell was successful, then he'd tell the countess that she wanted to go home and that working with Emilie was the best way to do so. Nothing too outlandish he would hope. Should it be the case, however, he trusted the knife he had pressed against Avilés stomach to settle things.
“You're blushing... how cute.” Silnariel smirked as she looked at her friend. “Well, let's wait a couple more minutes until my body is dry, then help me put on my clothes. After that we will help scout the area and look for a spot where I could use my Scrying spell, if there is one. Right now knowing where we are is the most important thing. After that we can worry about everything else.”
+200 requisition The fight was short but bloody. The golem steamrolled through the strongest looking goblin - still looking rather weak, killing a couple, making the rest run in terror. After the battle finished, or rather a skirmish, he has shown a goblin corps to his mistress - it's lower part of the body gone... along with his arms.
Wincing a bit from the visual picture of it, she had something of a disturbed look at her companion. "I didn't think you'd actually do it." But watching how easily crushed these little bastards were, it made her laugh a bit. "But oh, Razaneg. You're simply too strong." "Yes." Not a conversationalist, he gave his short answer of full agreement with her assessment. "But we should get a move on...if we must camp out in the woods that the little things know better than us, it could be an issue....we should move on." She had wanted him to scout the area, but if they regrouped and he was left in flight then even something as stupid as those creatures would realize she was much easier prey. Instead, they'd just have to walk. Once they found a road or path, it would have to lead to somewhere and they could simply walk along the path until reaching a settlement. Following that, she decided the best direction would be to go South, due to that being generally where the warmest winds were and less risk of exposure to the elements if she had to be travelling for too long without finding anything that pointed towards a settlement.
Tirana groaned as Reise pulled out the lance. Her eyes fluttered as she concentrated on him - it was at that moment he cast his spell. The moment he cast the spell, he knew that he done well - above average, but not perfect. On the other hand, the countess reaction was telling. With a loud moan, she collapsed on her knees, completely open to any suggestion the chancellor chose to make. The wound and fight must have left the woman shaken because her mind was wide open. She shook from pleasure as she felt his grip over her mind, her sex juices flowing down her tights.
"As you command, your highness." The woman said as she bowed - the princess could see, that at the comment about blushing, the woman shook slightly. It took them time, but after a moment, one of her warriors took her to the place that was almost perfect for scrying. There was a trunk of the dead tree inside of the small opening, with the wood shaped like a bowl.
It took them some time, but they finally reached the top of the hill. As she looked over the area, she noticed a couple of points of interest. A cave, not far from her position, with little green figures walking around. A small village placed on the hill. She almost missed it, but the Dowager noticed some kind of wooden structures in the forest, and some figures moving. Then there were some ruins - some kind of destroyed gate, near the mountains.
The goblins were going to be about as friendly as anyone would expect, so she made a mental note of their position. They would likely be giving some trouble to the local populace. Along with some outpost in the woods. Most likely a bandit camp. There would only be one place to go without expecting any hostiles, though her muscle presented a problem. It wasn’t easy to sell him as being docile to peasants in her own country and odds were, they’ve never seen a gargoyle. Trying to determine how to make him less threatening, she plucked a few wildflowers, putting them between his claws with little explanation. “What...” “Goblins may be stupid, but only a little stupider than your average peasant. Keep your head low, hold on to these.” He made a face making his thoughts clear on the realization she was going to try and pass him off as the whole gentle giant monster. He was from it. He was a warrior. Purer than any blood, painstakingly carved into being the perfect killing machine. Begrudgingly, he had to listen. He wanted to be angry. But it was against his design. He couldn’t hate Safiyah for any reason. All the gargoyles were built like that for their masters. He didn’t think on the ethics of it. He was built that way. That’s how it was. He wasn’t too sure he even cared about freedom. Not that he appreciated being bossed around...but Safiyah was overall good to him and he was well respected for his skills. Maybe he only thinks that because they built him to think that. He didn’t enjoy getting too introspective on it. He’d resolve to just rip into the next thing that pissed him off that was an acceptable target. Taking the wild bouquet, he somewhat reluctantly paced behind Safiyah, knowing that the first face the humans should see is another human. Humiliating as it was to be played off like this, he knew she had the right idea in making it as obvious as possible he wasn’t hostile. At least not until he was given the command.
