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"Heh, well, that's nice of you, I guess." He thinks to the few of these people he's seen during the battle. Rokan, and now this guy. There'd been that woman, too, with the eye patch. And some others, though he didn't know anything about them. So far, they didn't seem like terrible people. "The Queen's Knights take anyone as long as they're good, right? Who knows, maybe I can be fancy like you guys someday." He laughs, the remark clearly half-joking. He's not so sure following orders from some other noble is where he wants to be, like he just switched hands or something. "Well, we'll see. Oh, didn't catch your name, by the way. Mine's Noah." ---------- "You sound like you know what you're talking about. Guess we'll take your word for it." "Let's just hope those Lestli types don't hear 'bout it. Some powerful new weapon comes up, they're the first to try and get their hands on it." "Tch. They definitely already know if the likes of us know. Ugh, don't even bring them into this; thinking about it just makes my head hurt." ---------- "Oh!" The innkeeper looks down at the coins the boy slides over to her, then sighs with an indulgent smile as she re-tightens the apron around her waist and accepts them. The tip had been generous, at least. "You and that other man earlier coming back asking for milk; you're keeping me busy, you all are. It's about time to close and here I am opening the ale casks again," she titters in half-hearted complaint as she moves to get his order. A moment later, she slides the tankard over to him — clean of foam, as he'd asked. "You all friends or something?"

As soon as the metaphor starts, Noah resists the urge to roll his eyes. Oh boy, a life lesson. Here we go. Somehow, he manages to listen, if maybe a little impatiently. But at least by the end of it, he's looking a little less hostile. "Yeah, well Leofric's waves destroyed my life first. I don't see why I have to be considerate when he deserves way worse than what came to him." He shrugs, hyper-aware that he's talking to someone older with more life experience and blah blah blah. "If that's childish of me or whatever, then I'll take it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Except maybe home, with his dad. The thought makes his throat close up, and he swiftly turns away from Arthur, lest he should see the shimmering in the backs of his eyes. "Guess I just gotta figure out where to go now." ----------- "A man interested in magic, huh?" he asks, raising an eyebrow. "Sounds sketchy." "Eh, it's just a rumor, anyway. You sure you never heard o' rune cannons? You look like a fancy sort." He looks up and down Rokan's livery, crossing his arms. "Some fancy people down in the south found 'em, some backwater place in Mansell — all rusted and . . . anyway, says them ancient Lilierye people used to use 'em for sea warfare. Magic sealed to ship cannons. Can y'imagine that? As if siege magic weren't bad 'nough, now you can have Thoron blowin' holes in a ship from far away." "But those Mansellians've been trying to revive that technology for years with no luck." "Well . . . yeah. You never know. People've seen the Gossies tinkerin' 'round with their boats, anyway." "Yeah, who? Those fear-mongering types? Pah."

It's just . . . What, he wants to fire back, just that you're complacent? Don't wanna start trouble? Support the social structure staying in place? He's met plenty like them — people who look through the bars at them with pity but then shrug their shoulders like there's nothing they can do. Bystanders. Just as bad as the rest — But then he points to his forehead and his words trail off with that distinct kind of embarrassment Noah recognizes by now. The kind he has refused these two years. Just say it! You're a gladiator! But he holds his tongue, knowing that it's more complicated than he likes to make it. He stomachs the other's apology, trying not to show too much surprise that he's also turned out to be like him. But he does look him over again, in a bit of a different light this time. He guesses he can see it; the guy had sure fought like one in that scuffle. "Then you should know better than anyone why I had to run away," he replies, still coldly. "Do you regret running away, just because you got hurt for it? You'd rather be back there?" -------------- One of the men turn to look at the bright-haired man who's stepped up to them, eyes dropping for a second to the glass of frosty milk in his hand and then coming back up, looking a touch unimpressed, as though to say you're a grown ass adult and you're drinking that? "Yeah, mmm . . . not sure you should be eavesdropping on conversations. Kind of rude, don't you think?" "Why the interest in rune cannons? You never heard of 'em? Or you one of those Lestli high-up spy types?"

People coming and going hasn't bothered Noah since he's taken up post here, finding the air in his allotted room a little too stifling. The last time he'd been in a room so nice, with his own bed and space, had been . . . He'd left the axe in there, though, hadn't bothered to clean the blood off of it during the hours of their walk. It'd probably be bad for the iron, and he'd have to do something about it later tonight, but for now he wanted to revel in the end of his two-year journey a little bit, keep evidence of Leofric's death fresh in his mind a while longer. His mom would have something to say about how he shouldn't hold on to grudges like that for too long. Well, he'd always taken more after his dad, anyway. A voice behind him startles him from his thoughts, and he turns around, surprise turning to reluctance when he sees who it is. That knight guy. The one who'd said he shouldn't bother running away or fighting back. Noah''s eyes narrow slightly as he looks him down and up. "Yeah? What do you want." --------------- Marcus and Marek return to the tavern, finding Elise and Rokan nearby. The innkeeper is speaking to the latter, readying a glass of cold milk for him. " — seas, too. Ask me, we're still in good shape," one of the two men at the nearby table says, slinging an arm over the back of the chair. "An' this is why no one asks you. Din't you hear the stuff 'bout the rune cannons? We should be worrying a lot more than we are."

As Sterling directed, the inn is not too far along the path. Upon leaving the city, the group traverses the Lorellian Woods for some time, navigating thankfully well-cleared paths to reach their destination. The sounds of the city fade further and further into the distance as trees swallow the horizon on all sides. The inn itself is a small, but cozy establishment, clearly intended to be a stopping point for travelers going to and from Lorelle. It's situated nearby a local wharf where ships can come and go to deliver supplies. A few idle vessels are docked here in reserve for private renting purposes, owned by the nearby shipyard. The active and lively wharf belies the comparative solace of the inn's interior, though. Peaceful and out of the way, it's manned at the moment by a middle-aged woman who welcomes them with a quaint smile and shows them to the available rooms upstairs to get settled in and put their things down, if needed. Not a couple of hours later, late evening falls, and many of the inn's other guests have retired to bed. The innkeeper is cleaning the counter and bar area, closing things up for the day, and quiet has descended over the establishment. A lone owl's soft calls can be heard from outside, and the moonlight spills through gaps in the thin cotton curtains. A few patrons, still awake, sit scattered about the small tavern in the front, chatting quietly about the possibilities of the Gossians launching an attack on Lorelle during the Games — a common thread of conversation in recent weeks, given the high density of high-profile individuals promised to attend — as they finish their drinks. At the top of the stairs, Noah stands outside the door to his room, staring out the window in the narrow hallway, lost in thought.

Rokan's second arrow strikes true, incapacitating the nobleman as it pierces his leg, making movement painful. Noah wastes no time. He rushes forward before Leofric can even turn to face him and meet the end that's been coming for him for almost two years. A single swing of the axe severs head from shoulders with a grisly snapping of bone and a spray of blood. Noah stares, grip so tight around his axe that his knuckles are white, as the body slumps onto the dusty road, the head rolling several feet away and leaving a red-spotted trail in the dirt. Jaw clenched, he scoffs before lowering his axe. "Damn. Would've liked him to scream or something at least." Instead he'd looked so damn accepting of what was coming to him, secure to the last in his righteousness. VICTORY! Final Results: Seeing the source of their next paycheck's head roll, the archer and nearby mercenary decide there's nothing left for them here and decide to get out of there as quickly as possible, turning and fleeing into the surrounding woods. Finally, the streets of this residential district appear to quiet down, the dust and tumult settling. The sound of hurrying footsteps come up from behind the group, past the last row of houses. "I don't believe it. We're actually too late!" "You know, if you two hadn't taken your sweet time back at the tavern, we would've been here at least a while ago." "So he's dead, then, Leofric." Walking up, Sterling regards the corpse with a passive kind of study. "We thought this might happen, so we rushed back as soon as we left Rooz with a friend of ours," he explains, looking up at the Knights. "You probably realize that this is a sticky situation for you all. Luckily for you, the Lorelle City Guard is . . . " "Lazy, completely useless, and only motivated to get off their asses by bribes?" " . . . In a few words. So they're unlikely to come after you at least for a little while. But the townspeople have probably seen what's happened here, and the death of not only a high-standing Duke but the Duke of Lorelle right before the Games is not unsubstantial." "Come on, get to the point already. Basically you guys should probably hightail it outta here," Grayham cuts in. "Like, at least lay low for the rest of today until things die down. We'll take care of cleaning up the bodies and stuff and trying to knock some sense into our troopmates that aren't dead — or, uh, eaten." "Don't remind me . . . hurk." "There's a roadside inn not a couple of hours from here if you go through those woods and follow the path. I'd advise staying the night there before making your decision whether to come back here in the morning or not."

The flurry of feathery wings alerts Leofric to Elise's incoming attack and he manages to swerve out of the way of her lance. He doesn't expect an arrow to be fired immediately afterwards though, and isn't able to avoid that. Cheat Sheet:

Marcus' blast of magic strikes the startled nobleman dead on and he staggers slightly, taken aback. "I see. This is what happens when Sathor invites those from beyond the Queendom into the ranks of its finest knights. Once, I supported the Queen's rule on this, thinking it would make our country stronger. I was wrong. Well, no matter. Even if I die here, it is you all who will suffer the consequences. I was well within the law to do as I did, but there will be no small uproar when others hear that the Queen's Knights killed someone of my standing." Cheat Sheet:

Regarding the other nobleman before him, doubled over and bleeding badly, with a marked dispassion, Leofric swings his arm leisurely, flicking the blood and bits of gore off its gleaming blade. "I should pity you. Indeed, what will they say to your family, when it comes out that you had defied the Queen's law? You should know better than to beg for mercy, poor Wren. Cheeping just like the little bird you're named for . . . " With a placid smile, he turns to look at the monk who steps up to him. "Is that an accusation?" he replies levelly, raising his eyebrows slightly. "You're not wrong, Sir Knight. But I see you don't know the whole story. This brat's mother was a fine noblewoman of a house in very good standing. She was going to be promised to me when she chose instead to . . . " His expression sours, twists momentarily as though he's just smelled something rotten, " . . . elope with . . . well, he was really only one step above a waterlogged rat who could talk." "Don't you talk about my dad like that!" Biting his lip so hard it bleeds, Noah has to steel himself, arms trembling — whether from grief or rage, it's hard to tell. "My mom wasn't engaged to you — she hated you. She told me all about it. How you chased her, wouldn't take no for an answer. My dad treated her better than you ever could have." "Is that what she told you?" Leofric chuckles. "Well, women do get these silly ideas sometimes. I assure you she was interested. She just liked to play games with me, that one. Regardless." He turns back to Marcus with a pleasant, blank smile. "Perhaps you're not familiar, Sir Knight, but here in Sathor, kidnapping a noblewoman is punishable by death. And as for lovely Freya . . . well, she had disgraced herself. No woman like that could have returned to civilized society. I did her a favor." "I'm going to kill you. I'm gonna — I'm going to kill you, you sick fuck." His hand tightens so hard around the handle of his axe that it hurts and his muscles start to cramp, but he hardly notices. "My mom turned you down and you never got over it, so you decide to — ?" "I suppose I could have disposed of him, too," Leofric continues, ignoring the boy and speaking over him as easily as though over a dog's barking. "And I should have, if I'd known what a mess this would be. Alas, we don't always make the wisest decisions. I am sorry you all had to get involved in this, but you will return the boy to me, yes? As befits your duty to the Queendom."

Savor the rng blessings while you can. The dice kept lowballing \ o / "Heh, if my old man could see me now."

[ ENEMY PHASE ] Mercenary 5 moves to P22 and attacks Noah. Sensing an advantage, the mercenary swings at the boy. However, with Rokan's motivational presence, Noah's hit manages to connect, staggering the startled mercenary. Archer 4 moves to K24 and attacks Arthur. The arrow from the archer, though well-aimed, tinks harmlessly off Arthur's armor. The Royal Guard?? He can hardly believe it. What are these esteemed knights doing here, fighting against his men? They had been ordered to reclaim -- or put down -- that renegade whelp of a gladiator; why are they involved? . . . It doesn't matter. If this is what it's come to, then so be it. The boy is his to own, by rights. His life and death is in his hands. "I see. So it looks like the Cross boy is a lawbreaker, in the end. Your family would be disappointed to see you like this, Wren." Move to L22 and attack Wren. His swordsmanship proves surprisingly deft, a single strike dealing a heavy blow to the bard. [ ALLY PHASE ] Spotting Leofric moving in, Noah completely drops his attention on the mercenary who'd been harassing him. "Get out of my way!" he snarls, shoving past the other man. Sights set on the one he'd come for, he grips his axe tight, determined to take the nobleman out or die trying. "He's mine!" Move to N22 and attack Leofric. Noah launches his hand axe at the man, but miscalculates in his frenzy, missing his strike. "There you are. You've caused me enough trouble. Coming after me with that bloodlust in your eyes . . . I guess I can't blame you. But you should know that what happened to your parents — they deserved it. I've told you this many times." "You're sick. Someone like you doesn't even deserve to breathe the same air they did!" Leofric sighs. "I have had enough patience with you. If that last pathetic attempt was any indication, you've no hope of killing me. I had hoped, with that sea rat's blood running in you, you might prove a decent gladiator, but you're more trouble than you're worth. It seems you'll be seeing your parents sooner than you thought." Turn 9 Cheat Sheet:

One more well-aimed strike of the lance brings the thief to his untimely end just before he would've escaped, and Elise picks up the sleep staff that had been in his possession. Cheat Sheet:

Not expecting to be chased down by a pegasus knight, the thief doesn't manage to get out of the way of her javelin throw, taking heavy damage. He tries to launch a knife at her in return, but his injuries makes his aim fall short. Cheat Sheet:

The nimble thief manages to swerve out of the way of Arthur's strike, intent on keeping his loot, but in retaliation, his knife strikes merely glance harmlessly off the knight's armor. Rokan's arrow quickly incapacitates the soldier in one well-aimed shot. ( After the soldier is dispatched, he also spots a nearby Iron Club and picks it up. ) Cheat Sheet:

What Erce picks up is the faint scent of iron, nested and well-concealed amidst the trees. As Marek digs through them, the underbrush reveals a rapier propped against the walled divider between this district and the remainder of Lorelle. Its blade gleams without a single scratch, the handle well-fashioned and sturdy. Marek receives Iron Rapier.

After Akane's first strike, the fighter tries to strike back, but his swing is unbalanced, and she's able to finish him off easily, picking up a vulnerary in the process. The soldier does his best to evade Marcus' incoming blows, but to no avail. Cheat Sheet:

[ ENEMY PHASE ] Fighter 6 moves to P20 and attacks Rokan. Moving into the trees, the fighter sneak-attacks Rokan, lashing out and cutting deep with his axe. Fighter 7 moves to L21 and attacks Arthur. A blow from the second fighter's axe collapses in part of the plate of Arthur's armor, injuring him. The knight retaliates with a sword strike of his own. "Here they come! Now's my chance . . . screw Leofric; I'm going in!" Soldier 4 moves to M22 and attacks Arthur. Moving in, the soldier strikes Arthur with his spear, who tries to retaliate, though his blade misses its mark. Thief 2 moves to L24. [ ALLY PHASE ] "Roke! Geez, watch out, will you?" Circling around to the fighter's other side, he brings his axe up. "I got 'im!" Move to P21 and attack Fighter 6. With his back turned, the fighter doesn't see Noah's attack coming, and is easily downed in one blow. Turn 8 Rokan's Imbue heals 4 HP. Marek's Imbue heals 1 HP. Cheat Sheet:

Two blasts of Marcus' light magic severely wound the unwary fighter, leaving him staggering. Cheat Sheet:

Another mage on the opposite side of the nearby wall catches Idei's attention, and he moves Kite forward, drawing up beside their pegasus knight. "I hope to learn from your example," he says quietly to her, already notching an arrow and focused on his target. Move to E7, attack Mage 2 with Iron Bow, then Canto to C7.

Incredibly, the arrow soars over the heads of the hired soldiers, covering an otherwise seemingly impossible distance. Perhaps the wind spirits had answered Rokan's intentions and chosen to assist him for the sake of their own whimsy. However, though the arrow meets its mark, it had been fired half-heartedly, leading to it only barely pinging off Leofric's pauldron. "How could this -- ? An arrow?" He turns to the soldiers closest to him. "Hold your positions! You're to guard me at the cost of your life." Cheat Sheet:

Cass' irritation is palpable, but the middle of this fraught situation isn't really the place to comment on it. He decides to focus on doing his best to get them out of here, preferably all in one piece. They can figure out the rest later. Move to G15, attempt to shoot Dancer 3 again, then Canto to D11.

Whether owing to his thoughts, the fighter's lucky break, or something else, Arthur's strike misses and he takes some minor damage in return. Her 'clan'? Noah has to admit he doesn't know what she's talking about, but her next words surprise him, for better or worse. "Think that's the nicest thing she's said this whole time," he remarks, expression lifting sardonically. "Challenge accepted, lady. Last one to Leofric's a rotten egg." Cheat Sheet:

"Oh geez, seriously?" Gaill's expression falls — he's never been really great with these girlish kinds of games. Suddenly the nun reminds him of his aunt with that giggle, which is weird considering she's a lot younger. Guess that says something about his aunt's youthful spirit . . . or something. "How about — uh, three?" He has no way of knowing if that's even remotely close to the mark, but apparently she takes pity on him anyway, because he finds the speedwings pressed into his hand. "Oh, thank the goddess. I owe you one." It seemed like everyone else would be moving towards the hilly area further south — which was all well and good, and he could take a nice jog over to that house in the distance. Check up on the folks; be a good Samaritan. That kind of thing. Move to O5 and DEVOUR THE SPEEDWINGS.

"Oh, tch, they treat us like animals," he replies with a shrug. "That's nothing new, and it's not just this piece of human garbage who does it. Keep us more or less in cages, fed, clothed, the bare minimum. One of us gets injured, most times just let 'em die. But just being a general asshole isn't Leofric's problem." His tone flattens into something quieter, more serious, as his jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. " . . . This ain't really the place to talk about it."

"Yeah, well, you all were right about one thing: this is technically my fight. Somehow all of you just got involved while I wasn't looking. Figures." He cracks a light grin to show it's a comment in jest, before turning to look further south past the last line of sellswords. "Leofric's down there. Wonder what he thinks about all this. Bet he didn't think he'd get in a fight with Queen's Knights." However this ended up sorting out, it wouldn't look good on Leofric, or his house, if word got out that his hired militia had injured the Queen's Knights when they were supposed to be defending his own city. "I sure wouldn't be opposed to removing his head from his shoulders. Deserves it, the son of a bitch."