View source for 2496/FATE: The Coeurl King

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/06/20
|Location=Hydaelyn Reborn <ARR>
|Synopsis=The Coeurl King and his poaching operations are violently halted.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=33, 255, 560, 626, 627, 666, 670, 730, 747, 815, 819
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
Notice from the Adventurers' Guild of Eorzea (posted on numerous bounty and adventurer boards, including the Syndicate Network)!<br>

FATE: The Coeurl King<br>
Location: Quarrymill, South Shroud<br>
Type: Notorious Target<br>
Urgency: High<br>
Difficulty: Medium<br>

Enclosed Message: We've received reports that a band of Miqo'te poachers known as the Coeurlclaws have set up camp in a small region of the South Shroud known as Taker's Rot. Lead by a male Miqo'te who calls himself their king, they have begun hunting the wildlife and targetting members of Quarrymill's small supply of militia and guards. Please resolve the situation before their forces are capable of overrunning Quarrymill!<br>
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eorzea is great world filled with magic. The air, the soil, its people, everything here feels connected. To those sensitive to magic, it probably feels pretty good. Not overwhelming, and not dangerous; it's more a feeling that everything is spiritually connected. Pushing a bit further, when arriving to the Black Shroud, the largest forest on the continent, the feeling that the entire place is being watched and protected can't really be ignored. But whatever this protection is, it certainly isn't doing anything. Elemental in nature, no doubt, but a greater force feels asleep under the earth.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;QUARRYMILL, in the southern section of the Shroud, is kind of a small fortified (large wooden walls) location. It's not really what you'd call a village, more of a small military outpost with SOME housing options. There's a Warp Gate here, and a massive blue crystal which, if touched, allows teleportation across every other Aetheryte Crystal in Eorzea. Transportation made easy.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A man in the uniform of the Order of the Twin Adder (a really fancy yellow, green and white-ish overcoat) will greet adventurers, before showing them a map. Way east of Quarrymill, in an isolated clearing looking perfect to defend, is where he says the poachers are gathering.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As he explains very briefly, they've been making very rare raids on food supplies and even the lives of those guarding Quarrymill, and they've been poaching the wildlife pretty ruthlessly. He's caught wind from a prisoner that they're preparing one big strike, so that just can't be allowed to happen.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Gather up, arm yourselves, and teach them to leave animals and the innocent alone, he says. He'll reward you not just for ending their threat, but for freeing captive animals and returning their furs or assorted poached parts too.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;rrrrrrpow<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well that was 100 gil that N'raha hopes is well spent as he comes tearing down the road from Quarrymill, rushing out of the Aetheryte Plaza there and through the crowd of merchants and others that always crowd around such places. Nope, there's an Alert Mission and he's in on this. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's even out of his regular slacker clothes for this, wearing instead the loose fitting clothing of a novie pugilist. He's also hastily shoving the rest of his dinner in his face as he goes, halfway choking on the remains of some mole loaf as he hops over some rocks and dodges the gate guards on the way out to the site. <br> <br>

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The land of Eorzea feels different than Setsuko is used to, somehow. Warmer. She has only dim supernatural senses, but have them she does. And the profusion of aether in this land is different than most places she's been to, quite noticeably. She is content to drink it in for the time being; though her presence will doubtless be sensed by many, she doesn't feel that alone will cause issue.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;However, when she arrives in Quarrymill, those senses alert her to something... different. Protective. Some sort of powerful collection of guardians that she can only vaguely sense, but sense nonetheless. It is thus that both residents and those whom Setsuko knows from the Multiverse are treated to what is probably an odd sight. The silver-haired swordswoman stops where she stands, turns her face skywards briefly, closes her eyes... and then kneels. Those close enough to hear her murmur, will hear quiet, humble words. "Guardians of this forest, please do not be alarmed. I come not as a threat to you or this land. I am merely a warrior, here to lend her blade to those who have need of it."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hoping that will be enough, she rises to her full height again, and marches on with the Serpent soldier.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"To be perfectly clear," the demigod asks as they walk. "Our attack is at an end when it becomes clear that these poachers are no longer a threat to the wildlife?" Already, plans are forming.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:730|Nagisa Shiota (730)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Upon hearing of something happening in a world near him, Nagisa... continued to study. Until a yellow tentacle tapped on his shoulder! "Nagisa, you should see what you can do in a different environment! It could be truly educational!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The discussion that followed is not important, for in the end Nagisa and Ritsu both ended up going. Ritsu is, of course, in the phone in his pocket, and Nagisa suited up quickly to show up, wearing a hooded jacket and loose pants that look pretty casual right now. He's tucked the spray can for the camo function away, grabbed a knife, stungun, and taser, and a few other supplies like flash bangs and the like. It's a pretty small kit though, and the smallish boy who looks kinda girlish to look at, but hanging around at the edges being unobtrusive in his usual manner. He's not saying anything for now, just listening.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Believe it or not, there aren't really a whole lot of dense forest areas on Galianda. Such as it is, the Shroud is something of a... novelty. A quaint novelty full of pointy-eated humes and rustic building styles. <br /><br />The large crystal in the center of town is interesting, however. He'll have to keep that in mind. <br /><br />In the meantime, Souji travels towards the location at a quick, steady pace. The situation is urgent, and so he will treat it as such. He will be nothing, if not professional about it. <br /><br />The Twin Adders representative gets a nod, and Souji follows the directions given to head quickly to the operation site and join the others who will inevitably answer the call.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Eorzea was not an entirely unfamiliar placeto Kyra...however right away, she can tell this one is different. The other, of course, was quite imperiled by the followers of Bahamut the last time she checked. But here? It seems a whole lot more peaceful on the surface.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her own alert was piped through the Syndicate channels. Little quests like these were one of the major reasons she joined up, after all. It didn't take her long to get loaded up on gear. The CURE-ALL is brought along, of course, since she had no idea how many other people were planning on responding to this so having some reliable AoE heals and Remedy on hand was always a plus. Her hunting rifle is also with her, pre-loaded with Sleep-tranquilizer darts. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She takes note of the map presented by the man, offering a nod of understanding before heading off-though not on foot. After a few steps she reaches for a device on one of her belts that looks like a steampunk egg timer. The device clicks pleasantly and in a flash of Call magic, a yellow-feathered chocobo rezzes into existance, already saddled up. Casually, she swings herself up onto the chocobo and nudges it onward.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This isn't normally the kind of thing Scarlet volunteers for, being someone who prefers it when others do the fighting for her, rather than getting stuck in herself. Unbecoming of a magus and all. Today however, it seems that there are plenty enough people to carry the weight on their own, and more than enough to sit nicely between her and any arrows or spells that might inadvertently come her way. Just the way she likes it.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why had she come then? Well for one thing, Eorzea in general is a case of interest for her. Having developed and honed extensive magical senses from an extremely young age, just the experience of being there is "educational", which is to say "potentially useful in the future". Her more serious motivations are a little less benign however. Nothing anyone should have to worry about though. Probably.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For that reason, she dallies behind everyone else, waiting until they've all but completely disappeared off in the direction of the camp. Those with sharp hearing or lingering behind might hear something like "my associates" or "special arrangement" drifting on the breeze from what must be a conversation with the Twin Adder representitive. It can't have been a very long one however, because she catches up before it becomes too obvious.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Another day another adventure with friends. It was good to get away from the drama of the homeworld. SO here she was following on called Chocobo of her own right behind her friend. She seemed happy about this. She gets the plan stop the raiders from making thier big push. It was simple enough and springing along like coily is Remora redy tp support the party as best it can. <br /><br /> She kept up with Kyra at this point as she as she rides she seems to be in good spirits. She's got an idea to deal with the poachers without killing them too and has brought some things to help with that. She may have upgraded her sonic grenades to something more humane than even boy bands tht Shouji's company wouldn't fund....<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When Shirou was last at the Shroud, it was a wreck. He's pretty sure it wasn't looking this green, and the air was full of ash and other yuck. What the heck happened?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A few glances at his Union-issue PDA and Multiverse Positioning System reveals... vastly different coordinates. This leaves him headscratching for a bit while the others. "I could've sworn this was..." Well, big differences.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"if they really worked this hard to restore it, I'd hate to see a fight against the very poachers we're after make a mess. We'd better be careful."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Why yes, of course he's after the criminals. They're killing people. That, he prioritizes above wildlife... but after seeing all the hard work everyone was doing to try and aid the shroud earlier...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This pisses him off.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur Lowell's arrival is pretty standard for him. It's quick, aggressive, and flashy in a sense. As a Mage of Space, he's free to Gate how he likes to where he needs to be The others have likely run into the shouting, eager boy on their way in here, or while talking to the man who gives their quest. "SHIT YES," He declares aggressively when given the mission. "I'mm make these DUMB SONS OF BITCHES goddamn SHIT THEIR PANTS if they ever THINK about gettin' NEAR you again. Let's DO THIS THING!" He declares, stomping a foot aggressively and pounding one fist into thje opposite palm.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's a barking sort of laugh at Setsuko. "Well SHIT that's about where MY business starts, yeah. Not gonna do the whole RAZE THEM TO THE GROUND thing, obvs'." He then gives an eager wave to Nagisa! As Syndicate leader he knows practically everyone everywhere and so he knows that this guy is definitely new around here. "HEYA NEWBIE, what's YOUR DEAL? Don't stick to WALLFLOWERIN', let's CHOP CHOP. Name's ARTHUR, who're you?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Souji and Kyra are recognized, as is Lyria; all three get Arthur's usual wink and double fingerguns. Kyra's the one he's most familiar with, and he sets off around when she starts. "KYRA! Yo, s'up? How's things been since the ADVENT SHIT? You all good, need any HELP?" Scarlet is similarly noticed. "YOOOOO, PRINCESS ABRACADABRA, don't wait up TOO LONG huh?" And then he's setting off! He will naturally fall into line with fellow Anime Protagonist types such as himself if they're heading towards the clearing site, like Emiya Shirou or N'raha Tia, possibly Nagisa Shiota if Arthur's badgering has been effective. He intends to simply dash right in and start beatings. It's really as simple as that. A mad on-foot and then some swinging metal broomstick assaulting.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This seemed normal, right? Normal. Safe. Standard adventuring. Head to the place, stop the poachers, a very standard affair. After the last two weeks, Mirielle had truly thought that Kyra was trying to kill herself, or Mirielle, with every expedition. This one, however, seemed right up the alley of the Light Warriors, and even the Galiandan students.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It was almost... too easy.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle takes her time at the camp, inspecting the adventurers and the job, the surroundings, etc. But... Nothing seems amiss. This is... normal. Close to the general gist of Galianda, though significantly different as well. They even had Chocobo!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Riding out with the group and glancing at Setsuko, who seemed to be throwing off some sort of curious energy, she looks between Souji and Kyra - and Arthur, who was apparently Kyra's new God-in-the-flesh - and decides to hang back, astride her own feathered Called Black Chocobo.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Perhaps there won't be anything for me to do. That will be nice..." She murmurs, rubbing a new silver bangle around her wrist.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The man nods to Setsuko. "If you can do it without shedding any blood, it'll be that much better. But these Miqo'te aren't worth your pity if they won't surrender, either. Don't worry about killing them if you have to, but if you can bring them in alive, we'll find somewhere to put them so they aren't an issue anymore. A lot of them are probably doing it for the money, so we can always turn them around."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyra just summoning a Chocobo earns a few curious glances from the town militia, though they don't press it. Maybe when she's back, they'll ask what that's about.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet is told that that's perfectly fine, and that's the deal with adventurers. They help, they gain reputation, support and riches. Why, some of the most powerful political figures of Eorzea used to be adventurers who climbed their way to the top of the hill. Become famous enough, and you might get to put on noble clothes too one day.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur gets more than a glance from the man who summoned them; it's recognition. "Sir Lowell of the Syndicate. It's an honor to see someone like you answer our call, after only a few days of joining your Network. The people at the Adventurers' Guild won't believe me when I tell them you came yourself for a group of poachers."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But really, who came here to talk to this guy? Let's get going. Thanks to the map he gives the party, finding the way to Takers' Rot is not difficult. They pass a camp of goblins on the way (FFXIV goblins are kind of small, masked-like round creatures, nothing like typical D&D or mini-orc goblins), but as long as they don't try to mess with them they can walk past.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Takers' Rot is a natural clearing and dead-end in the forest. Large rocks form a sort of natural fortress, though without a roof. The clearing leading to that, though, isn't a walk in the park.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Coeurlclaw poachers, all Miqo'te (cat-people), armored in leather and typically using spears or bows, guard the entrance to the 'cave'. To the left seems to be a heavily guarded camp with large cages, while to the right is the rocky area likely housing the king. There's about two dozen poachers out and about right now, and they haven't seen you yet.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Okay, a bit of culture shock going on here from N'raha seeing so many fancy people coming here from the Multiverse. Dang, he hopes they buy stuff on the way out, at least. But this is still pretty cool. He'd wave and talk but there's business to be done. Like punching poachers.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That said, the miqo'te's tail bristles a bit at seeing so many lady-miqs out here doing rough things to the forest. He knows that there's plenty of poor people around, but this isn't the way to do it. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The catman does his best 'I Am A Tree' Impression behind one of the taller trees, peeking from time to time, waiting for a good opening. Which comes as one of the poachers gets too close to the tree he's at, and he snaps out to pop her in the gut, aiming to knock her out in one go if he can.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh, hello, people Setsuko knows. Scarlet receives a brief nod, as does Arthur, but for now, Setsuko is all business. She is content to walk calmly, regarding the goblins with some curiosity. But upon arrival at Takers' Rot, she stops for a moment to assess the presence and location of the poachers, taking the time to consider her tactical options, plans of attack, everything a good soldier might plot out for an operation of this nature...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;...and then simply stands up, and walks calmly right into the camp of the Coeurlclaw Poachers.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's not like there's much point in stealth, for her. If there's anyone among them with any kind of magical sense at all, they already know she's here. So it's easier to simply cut right to the point with a confident, steady stride, and an even, calm gaze. "My name is Setsuko Kaminagi. I will offer this once, and only once. Any poacher who lays down their arms and renounces their way, will be permitted to leave. Any poacher who draws steel against me, I will assume you intend to kill me." Her blade whispers as it clears its sheath. "And you will not live long enough to succeed."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Arthur!" Kyra calls out, all too happy to see the Syndicate leader and her God of Space around. Her cheer dims a little when the ADVENT incident is brought up, even though it was kind of expected for him to ask. "Well I'm healed but the fact that it happened still makes me feel like crap. That bard was my Mognet friend and...ugh, yeah, not thinkin' about that much further now." She forces her head forward to look ahead as she riders her Chocobo. "Just gotta keep moving. Some people are looking into it." She glances briefly in Souji's direction at that. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet's presence is also kind of a surprise to Kyra. Thus far she hasn't actually see the magi taking the field or doing anything besides investigation. This would be unusual for her own world but was apparently quite normal for Scarlet's, especially a magi of her social standing. Cheerfully, the piercing-wearing white mage waves at Scarlet. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then they reach an obvious PATH SPLIT. Kyra pulls her chocobo to a stop and hops off, the bird disappearing in a brief flash of green sparkles. She looks from the cave to the camp itself before informing the others here: "Alright, I'm going to soften up the ladies at the cave." Kyra pulls a flask that is very firmly held closed with a plastic plug from her belts. Inside is an ominious purple liquid with green flecks floating amongst it. Even without a heat source, the liquid appears to be bubbling. "Give it a couple of seconds for this to disperse." she warns, "Or you'll get poisoned along with them." <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course Kyra's not going to rush in and do fighting herself, that's just crazy talk. She will, however, hurl the poisonous flask into the mouth of the cave hard enough to break the glass and release the liquid, which immediately turns into vapor upon contact with the air. It smells vaguely like rotting fruit.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lyria Mason looks over her shoulde to Arthur. <br /><br /> "Yo, Arthur out for this crazy ride huh?" <br /><br /> Lyira neards the cat-people and is getting a feel for what they are armied with. She's now moving in ahead with the Poacher she banishes her bird and sets to the ground. She's got her less lethal options ready and Remoral's been loaded down with them. <br /><br /> "So Kyra here we go." 5R<br /> With that she launcehs the sonic grenades into the enemy ranks, but these ones? Don't do horrible boyband,no. <br /><br /> It's one of Kyra's mogstep remixes set to crazy levels of sound.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>TRAVEL TIME TO BLUE AREA ON MAP. <br /><br />Souji looks down from a ridge into the clearing. He quietly conferss with Mirielle, as it is intelligent to keep your support on hand when you plan to do something. Like Setsuko, Souji then steps down into the clearing himself, not attempting to hide as he begins walking determinedly forward. "Come now, Miss Kaminagi. These poachers are likely not even worth dirtying your blade. But their choices are still clear." Souji has pulled up his sheathed blade in one hand, holding it by the scabbard lightly. "You will cease your activity or you will face the consequences." <br /><br />Lyria, however, hurls Mogstep grenades, which causes Souji to twitch in surprise and irritation.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm an UNBELIEVABLE KIND OF DUDE." Arthur says, grinning to the questgiver and winking with that double-fingergun thing he insists on. And then he's off. Kyra seems to not want to talk about what she's thinking about, so he's letting her just sort of not talk about it as much as she likes. He's pretty nice about that!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's a friendly laugh to Lyria. "ALWAYS out for 'em!" Hopefully the others don't mind a more direct approach. Arthur's summoning his tremendous steel industrial weapon, the King Broom, to his hands, in a quick flicker of sight. Though right now, it's merely a particularly hefty steel broom instead of its advanced forms. He decides to take the first move here with Setsuko and Souji, walking on in alongside her to what he hopes is an area out of range of Kyra's poison flask. "LADIES," He calls out, taking the obviously more dangerous path of swaggering his way towards the 'cave' area on the right side, walking arrogantly for as long as he can. "Your order of FRESH BEATINGS is here! Which one of you is the BOSS KITTY, I need someone to SIGN for some HARSH LUMPS." He slams the broom into a dramatic two-handed grip and makes a sudden dash!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"EVERYONE POINT SOMETHING SHARP AT ME! C'MON!" Hopefully the poison attack will be finished; Arthur intends to CHARGE at the cave, laughing, tanking any arrows with his soft flesh, and attempting to brutally shatter the limbs of anyone who gets in his way.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:730|Nagisa Shiota (730)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Getting to the cave isn't that hard. Nagisa... stays somewhat away from the others, so it might be a surprise when he scoots close enough to get a quick look at the map, letting Ritsu take a picture surreptitiously. He then slinks off toward the forest, spraying on the camo so that he blends in, and takes off at a quick pace. He's not going to acknowledge the others for now, even if he takes note of several of them being his nominal allies.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So that means poor Nagisa doesn't get to be social. That's okay. He figures that the people here will cause a commotion, and he's right. That's why, when Arthur decides to be LOUD and Souji just anounces himself, the young boy hops into a tree and tries to parkour himself around the whole mess, to slide down toward the cave and make his way in there himself. Might as well make use of this handy distraction the others are doing.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With a few moments of hanging back to watch what the others do, Shirou makes a startling realization. MOst of the heavy hitters he knows are just strolling straight into the main camp. The more vulnerable (White Mages are flimsier than demigods, right?) Kyra's going cave-ward.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His choice is clear: keep the group safe. He doesn't care about being loud and in the lead!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So he leaps over to Kyra's path, taking up a guard position near her and conjuring up his bow and some arrows. "what's the plan? I think the others have the main camp covered."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As things get going, Mirielle likewise dismounts her summoned chocobo, the magical construct bird wark-twittering once before disappearing in a puff of black and yellow magic. It didn't benefit her from running in. They had ridden through the lightly forested area without incident, so unless monsters - or poachers - had decided to lie in wait to attack their rear lines, she should be fine. Cheating a bit closer to the group due to the promises of protection, Mirielle begins her wordless work. Sure, people may need to be murdered, but the Calculator is quite willing to stick back and cast.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Haste bombs out in twinkling bursts over groups of people, those up front getting the first wave of casts. Setsuko, Arthur, Shirou. Then, rotating back. It seemed like people were doing the LOUD AND AGGRO strategy, so Mirielle simply intended to turn it into a lightning attack.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet cleverly disguises an undignified snort as a quiet cough at being called "princess abracadabra", turning to wave him off with a half-genuine smile. She spares a little one for Setsuko as well, whom she eventually falls in line behind as she catches up, saving her greetings for Kyra until actually within earshot. "A downside of having so many friends, is that you have to explain the story of how your broke your arm every time someone sees the cast." It sounds like a faintly facetious compliment. "Humour it as much as you feel like, as long as you don't dwell on it."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She stops as she draws even with the entrance into the clearing, letting her assorted allies step in first while she assesses the situation. Having known this mission would likely include fighting, she's invested most of her magical budget in a single, combat specialized familiar rather than more versatile handful she usually picks, and a small swarm of Nobodies so weak and tiny that they barely hold a cohesive form. All of them are shifted into Phase 6, as high of an extradimensional space as she can reach, to account for the potential of someone in this world having practical magical senses, rendering them invisible and intangible for the moment.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The big one stays by her, while the smaller ones disperse outwards, fluttering into the air like flower petals on a brisk wind. Once they're positioned high enough that they can look into the roofless rock formation, she quietly engages remote vision, something simple enough that she can do it without visible or audible components. "By all means." she says to Kyra, the use of the poison being a convenient pause for her to try and spy into the layout of the "cave" as best she can. She claps her hands over her ears as soon as she sees the grenade, expecting it to explode loudly even were it just a regular one. Unfortunately this means she misses whatever Arthur is saying, but has to suppress the urge to roll her eyes anyways just watching him charging in after that.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Stealth WAS an option. Technically it still is if we consider people about to be making such noise that even a guy in heavy plate mail could sneak right past the battle if they wanted.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N'raha begins by knocking a bandit down quietly; so far so good.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Setsuko on the other hand just straight up heads to the camp. Many bows and spears are pointed her way, as the Miqo'te all consider the offer, and then decline it, because Setsuko isn't the first woman with a sword to come ask them to stop. A few arrows let loose for her!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyra throws a poison bomb right for the cave. The sickly fumes do well to cause a number of the poachers to come out, those who were closer to the entrance. At one one of them collapses, but another goes charging for Kyra with her spear!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A sonic grenade from Lyria has a number of the archers clenching her ears at the sudden, horrible noise, providing a respite. One does fire an arrow for Lyria regardless, coated with a powerful sedative.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Souji, like Setsuko, just gets poachers angry. Two of the cat ladies attempt to pincer him with their double-pointed spears, thinking him just another adventurer.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur, when he screams about the BOSS KITTY, gets one of the archers to just bolt back into the cave. Perhaps she's delivering the message. One poacher gets in his way, sword and shield, trying to bar entry with a shield slam and then a slash.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nagisa gets past the fighting by being insanely quiet and generally smaller. The cave is open-sky, so it's actually possible to just climb the rocks and get in that way. Inside, at the far back, a large cat man in leather armor, some of it in yellow and black patterns like a leopard, is speaking with numerous paochers about not allowing the intruders in, and more urgently: "Kill all our captives and prey. Teach them a lesson." Judging from his build and somewhat thicker, metal-plated gloves, he might be a brawler of some sort. His dark red air fades into black here and there, and it's about shoulder-length.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Two of the cat ladies nod to the Coeurl King and attempt to bolt out the cave to deliver the message to the other poachers.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The main camp is covered, Shirou'll note, but the side camps are still full of poachers, and those cages. Tents prevent seeing what's in them. Could be animals! Or people. Or empty cages. Who knows?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle buffs people, always useful.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet can map the cave out, it's basically one big room with a lot of supply crates and weapon racks. She will see and hear much the same things Nagisa does.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N'raha just... boggles at all these Outworlders just getting loud and noisy and Twelves does no one know ANYTHING about Subtlety? Damn.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He quietly divests the poacher lady he just biffed of her spear, hefts it up and starts to move in closer to the rest of the camp. There's a subtle shift around him as his armor changes from that loose fitting shirt and pants into a smart looking set of chainmail, colored a dull red. Right.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He hops the fence, trying to move quietly if he can into the rest of the compund. Those guys might be able to take a bunch of hits, but he can't. Better to just... let them get on with it and hope there's not too much blood. His tail swish-lashes a bit though as he passes by Setsuko and Arthur being all loud and crap, and he hisses. "I'll head for the captives!" And like that, he's hunting for cages and guards and the like.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Oh, you know, the usual, Shirou. Hanging in the back and laying down the support. Usual backliner stuff." Kyra sounds pretty casual about it as Arthur strolls on up to the cave like a boss. His speed works in his favor since the poison flask ends up being mostly disappated by the time he has arrived. It's an intentional design feature, after all, because persistant chemical warfare does not combine well with non-ranged fighters. "You can make sure I don't get whacked by cat assassins. Catassins?" Hunters and poachers could be pretty tricky, after all. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Once Arthur clears some of those, we'll move into the cave after him. Also keep an eye on her-" Kyra points Shirou to Mirielle. "-if she follows us. She'd appreciate not getting shanked too." <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Though speaking of getting shanked: Kyra finds herself with a poacher running RIGHT AT HER. "Oh shit, Shirou, get on it!" she yelps, slipping behind the red-haired teenager. Shirou will feel one of Kyra's hands on his back briefly. "Protect!" <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;White magic settles around him, further reinforcing his ability to tank.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"My sword is no more and no less than a tool of war," Setsuko replies to Souji, holding it low and to one side, adopting a ready stance. "It is as my body. If I choose battle, then whoever or whatever my opponent may be, my blade makes no distinction." She holds her posture in complete stillness, until the moment the first arrow is loosed. Then her blade moves in a simple, precise strike, and neatly bisects the arrow.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lengthwise.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the next heartbeat, she has bolted at a full-speed charge straight for the poacher who loosed it, no longer even there for the rest of the arrows to find her. Silver hair trailing behind her, Setsuko closes distance with the archer in question, and strikes with a simple horizontal slash; an attack meant to, in a single stroke, cleave through the bow that fired the arrow, and lay open the poacher that holds that bow. It is as much meant as a display of force as it is a strike against someone who attacked her.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If Raha looks carefully, he'll see Setsuko nod, very briefly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lyria Mason is quick on her feet but she's nto as quick as some might be. She's seeming to make some good ideas, The sonic grenades have done some good, but well? The Cat people seem to be pretty harsh music critics as Lyria takes a arrow. Thankfully not to the knee and she lets out a cry of pain, she was just not fast enough this time. She does however feel the effect of the content and starts to stagger as she attemps to bring up one of her m-tek pistols and fires off a very wild shot as she stats to collapse from the agent on the arrow. She should be trying to pull that thing out and well? She's being slugish as she looks to try and find some cover but it's not looking good.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A shield slams into Arthur, impacting him heavily and sending him back with a harsh bruise. The slash is blocked with his broomstick, provoking a jarring impact to his arm, the kind that drains and exhausts. Bracing against the impact with two hands, Arthur immediately activates the ROCKET-BOOSTING function of his broomstick, the metallic bristles unfolding into a three-part rocket array and blasting opposite the swordsman! He attempts to WHIRL the blade away to disorient, and then follow up by stopping his whirl after one rotation and, swapping to a one-handed grip, use his offhand to fire a TREMENDOUS burst of Gravity Magic! He wants to launch his target towards the archers who are attacking Lyria and Setsuko, where ideally she'll land brutally and maybe injure them too. Hopefully it'll give Lyria a chance either way!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It doesn't matter if that works out properly or not; he's got business to do! He sees Kyra and possibly Shirou with their own target bearing down on them, but he's got other stuff that needs doing! All he can do is fling a quick HIGH-GRAVITY burst effect at the attacking spearwoman! The only thing it could do would be disorient her momentarily, but that'd be good enough to give Shirou an extra edge on things!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He can't stick around doing that, though! With archers disoriented by Lyria's sonic grenade and hopefully his own target, he's going to backdash a bit to meet back up with Setsuko and Souji. "SPELUNKING TIME, let's BOOK IT for the CAVE SHIT." And he's then following SETSUKO, and giving a firm nod to N'raha Tia as the two swiftly pass by. "OUTRUN 'EM, we'll keep 'em from getting BACKUP!" Having disengaged from his sword-and-board enemy in some way or another, he's going to try to go back-to-back with Setsuko after ROCKETBOOSTING to catch up with her, to draw in anyone who thinks of flanking her more forward advance, or if Souji's followed along he'll circle up with him too; his coordination with the group is IMPECCABLE. "Let's push to the CAVE, can't let 'em REINFORCE that fuckin' CAMP." As usual, he strikes anyone who approaches with an attempt to brutally shatter limbs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Setsuko's words cause Souji to smile faintly. "I have heard of people who believe as you do. I cannot disagree." <br /><br />'just another adventurer' is an interesting concept. Adventurers tend to be a fairly motley group. Perhaps one can see the most common groups and levels of skills as a sort of classification. <br /><br />Such things are not reall relevant to Souji, however, as the Murasame heir has simply determined that they have grossly underestimated him. <br /><br />The first one to thrust at him gets a suddenly Hasted Souji blurring in under the haft, Mirielle's spell giving him the surprise he needs in order to pull this off. With a snapping strike, he drives the sheathed blade into the poacher's solar plexus, spinning around to catch the woman around the neck with his free arm and pull her back in a smooth movement, planting a foot into the small of her back and launching her into the other attacker, intending to force them to fall over in a tangle of limbs. <br /><br />But he's not done. His hand rises, crackling with energy as he shapes a spell pattern in the air before him. "Thunder-2." He pronounces, the air splitting and sizzling as lightning crashes across the clearing towards the pair. The attack /probably/ isn't lethal. He finds it more valuable to allow them to live, albeit probably shocked senseless.<br /><br />When Arthur comes circling back, Souji nods and quickly moves forward. He has no need to Haste them, as Mirielle has done so. He does, however, open up a salvo upon the next group he sees with a surging wave of temporal energy. "Slow-2." He pronounces, the blue-purple wash of slow-time crippling the enemies before Setsuko and Arthur can even get there. He has no illusions of fighting fairly here. He just wants to dispatch this efficiently.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet seems remarkably calm for the amount of chaos suddenly unfolding in her general vicinity. It seems a little unnatural considering that, for all intents and purposes, she's a spoiled city girl who's never seen an actual battlefield outside of a video file, swords and magic aside. Maybe it's the fact that she's so far removed from it, maybe she's just focusing too much on her familiars, or maybe it's something else. Who knows.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I think it might be important to mention that their leader is going to execute "their captives" right now." she states plainly yet urgently over the radio, following the progress of the infiltrators a little more keenly than the violence occurring in the camp. With a short series of esoteric gestures, resembling those used by marines rather than wizards, she surreptitiously dispatches her combat familiar, taking to the air on currently invisible wings. "If you're going to jump him, kindly wait one moment."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the interim, she turns to Lyria, grabbing her under the shoulder and hauling her off behind the largest tree she can find before dropping her at the roots. Reaching into her messenger bag, she pulls out a slim metal canister and shakes it in her hand, uncapping it and spraying an extremely fine line of some silvery substance against the trunk behind her, tracing out a simple magical circle with alarmingly swift and well practised motions. Gripping the arrow with one hand, she places the other on the circle, and then begins the process of using medical transmutation to pull it out, closing the wound behind it to minimize blood loss while allowing some of the sedative to separate from her bloodstream. It doesn't regenerate the injury in any way, but sealing and purging it should make sure she doesn't pass out. She goes to great lengths to avoid actually getting Lyria's blood on her hands or clothes.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Inside the compound, events are much simpler and more dramatic. The air momentarily seethes in agitation, a brief, sickening pulse of abject "wrongness" washing over the immediate local vicinity. The next moment, something roughly the size of a large horse dives in from above, moving too fast to get more than a glimpse of anything but flashing claws as it smashes part of the uper wall out. The loud distraction coupled with the amount of dusk and dirt kicked up should help the people inside.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:730|Nagisa Shiota (730)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As said, Nagisa is going to get closer to the big catman. A little slide down, a duck behind a rack of weapons, and he waits a few beats for the attention of a nearby Miqo'te to be diverted. The chaos is making this a lot easier, with everyone else handling the mass of poachers. As such, he gets pretty close to the leader, but he has to wait as he hunkers down. He needs a good moment...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If he finds an opening, he's going to dart out, taking a quick and short leap to hook his arm around the leader with one, and the knife drawn with the other. Nagisa isn't a killer, but said catman doesn't know that. He's going to try a bluff, if he can find an opening, by using the blunt end of the knife to slide against the neck and murmur politely, "Could you please call off your men from harming the captives?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course if this turns into an all-out brawl, Nagisa might be getting in over his head. Hopefully the rest of the group will give him this opportunity to at least get the captives safe, though.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shirou reacts quickly when Kyra comes under attack. He steps in front of her just as the magic comes into play and launches an arrow from the black bow. With both Protect and Haste helping him out, he's rarely been in better form. "Trace on!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As soon as the arrow's released he tosses the bow along with it, replacing it with a pair of yin-yang themed chinese short swords.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Still, he definitely can't ignore the desperate situation anything in those cages is in NOW.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Sorry, can we detour to the cages first?! They might be about to execute people! Unles you think there's more in the cave?!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle finishes casting her volley of Haste effects - slightly less than a full-power buff due to the rapidity and spread she had affected (a quantity over quality strategy), and surveys the field. Mister Murasame had promised her protection, and she didn't for a second diseblieve him, but her 'adventuring partner' Kyra - whether either acknowledged it or not - was splitting off from her 'boss'. Sort of? The battle was hard to follow. Reducing all of these variables to numbers wasn't simple when there were multiple extremly high-powered entities running around mucking things up. So, Mirielle decides to hedge her bets. If Souji will protect her, and Kyra is who she wants to stick with... They'll make it work. Heck, Kyra got Literally Space God to maybe cover for her too!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Wait for me!" She calls to Kyra, winded already as she tries to jog up to her compatriot, keeping her head down. As she catches up, she decides to FORCE MULTIPLY even harder...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By casting BRAVERY (aka, Fighty-Guys get Fightier, Attack^) on Arthur. You buff the tanks with tank, and the DPS with... DPS!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N'raha makes the first fash for the side-camp containing all the cages. It's still guarded, obviously, so gaining access to the cages will demand disabling all the guards currently around them. It'd be difficult to count all of them but here too there's a dozen or two poachers, in various states of alert and alarm. One in particular seems to have caught the cat man's scent, and is coming in from behind with her spear!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Setsuko single-handedly disarms a poacher by destroying his bow-- and either through her intent, or through the cat lady's ability to dodge, she avoids getting cut open, rather being pressed against by the blade, and understanding very quickly she may have made bad life decisions.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Two more poachers lift their bows and aim at Setsuko, without firing due to the fact she's got one of their own at swordpoint. Will she try to reason with them or just execute her and move on to them?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lyria manages to put a hole in her attacker's stomach with her gun before being weakened by the sedative. Another poacher, this one with a spear, makes for her, while the wounded archer tries to fall back.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur overpowers the swordsman, sending his weapon flying and planting into a tree, before Arthur just blasts him with gravity into the retreating archer, who is knocked unconscious along with the swordswoman.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Souji just goes wild on his attackers, knocking the breath and balance out of them. They're grounded easily, and then struck by lightning. They may be dead, or just VERY unconscious, but either way they are no longer an issue. His Slow spell makes the threat against Setsuko much less dire, if she chooses to let the archers fire at her.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet moves to pull the poison out of Lyria, while her diversion makes a LOT of noise by smashing one of the large rocks. The Coeurl King, and his retinue of bodyguards, are all momentarily distracted by what the hell is that even.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nagisa sneaks up on the King and holds him at knife point; the much larger, bulkier man laughs. "So they sent an assassin after me, of all things? Well now, show me what they taught you to do. I didn't get where I am just bowing down when asked!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His elbow swings back, with the sharpness of a set of claws. His stance immediatly switches to a martial arts one-- if Nagisa pushes the knife in, he'll find the man's skin very, very sturdy, but he'll still be able to draw blood from the neck. It won't be a lethal injury, and the Coeurl King seems the type to fight even when grievously injured, but it'll be a nasty cut all the same.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle buffs people MORE. This time she doesn't go unnoticed, and a poacher using claw-fists actually springs up on her, trying to knock the wind out of her chest so she can't cast anymore!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With Kyra and Arthur's help, it'll be trivial for Shirou to dispatch Kyra's attacker. He suggests going to the cages, which isn't a bad idea. Especially when...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Running OUT of the cave, the two messengers of the Coeurl King get ready to shout the message-- when a man just falls out of the sky, or at least one of the trees, spear pointed down. He slams into one of the messengers, knocking her down with his rusty, worn but oddly shaped spear. ALWYN HIGHWIND just kind of looks like your AVERAGE EVERYMAN, very generic and unremarkable. Tall, above average build, brown hair. It's not inaccurate to say he kind of looks like a slightly older Shirou with darker hair and a mix of leather and metal plate armor.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The OTHER messenger, however, replies by screaming: "THE KING SAYS TO KILL PRISONERS AND CAPTIVES!" And on cue, poachers in the camp make dashes for the cages!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lyria Mason is not having a good day she's however not alone so this isn't as bad as it might be. She does thankfully have a chance now as Arthur is lending her some support which should well? Keep Lyria from taking another of thos arrows.. She is going to have to recover she stops shooting now and is trying to deal with the arrow. Well she was until Scarlet started to use her own magic. She does however get the arrow out and she also closes the wound off to stop the blood loss. She's a bit more with it now. She's now moving to get some of her other options, which are less annoying? Or could they even ber worse? She's under attack and this one rather than get shot gets another grenade but this one explodes in a super powered glue which might be able to restrain them. <br /><br /> "Well I see you fight like pirates! Good! You are not fools!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N'raha snarls a bit as he hears the lady sneaking up behind him, tail lashing out as he spins in place, feinting out at her before stepping in with the business end of that spear. "Is THIS what they teach you girls in Gridania? In the Shroud?" Step step strike. The others might be more than a match for any one of these poachers, but N'raha's not taking chances. He's close to the cages now, and probably drawing attention. Dammit.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He spares a glance as others come in, and gets right back to his attacker. "You know this isn't right! The Adders are just going to keep sending more of us out here you know!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Gonna have to agree, Shirou!" Though the man they talked to didn't say anything about saving the animals or captives, doing neither felt really right to Kyra-especially in the case of 'captives'. She braces herself behind Shirou and as she does, she notices Arthur suddenly wheeling around to provide the gravity assist on that charging swordsmiqo'te. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She'd make an observation about patron gods but as the messenger goes screaming out of the cave, Kyra quickly takes up her hunting rifle in her hands. "Cages! C'mon!" she tugs Shirou, starting to run when she sees a poacher leap on Mirielle. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Before taking another step, she wordlessly plugs a Sleep-tranquilizer dart at the leaping poacher. Hearing Murasame speak, she's quick to move on to the camp to support those engaging the now murderous poachers.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With Arthur now stacking both HASTE and BRAVERY, he's full of ENERGY AND POWER AND SPEED! "YEAH! Check it, looks like you fuckers AIN'T SO TOUGH. COME ON! I'm not the one gonna STAB you, you wanna LIVE you just gotta take your BEATINGS!" He shouts at the group currently stalled by Setsuko's opportune swordsmanship. He'll tank an arrow to the chest if he has to; this attack worked wonders the last time, so he's gonna go for it again! Having already covered Kyra, he decides to focus on covering his other support, and dashes in towards one, quite fine with tanking an arrow to the chest. He intends to use Mirelle's BRAVERY buff to enhance his fighting, encasing his BROOM in a gravity enchantment before he does a hefty swing at the archer! With his PRECISION MAGE OF SPACE TRAJECTORY CALCULATION, he hopes to do what he did for Lyria before, and basically slam the archer all the way into the poacher running Mirelle down. "FORE!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The demigod had actually meant to end the poacher's life. One eyebrow arches faintly at the fact that her blade hasn't found purchase, but rather than complete the movement, she hauls one fist forward and puts the Keeper poacher out with a single blow to the jaw, before turning around to face the archers. "My blade can carve through stone and steel as easily as flesh. I am strong enough to lift and hurl a boulder with ease, and fast enough to outrun one of your chocobos. I will say it once more. If you draw a weapon against me, you had better be prepared to di-"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One of the messengers screams for the poachers to start killing prisoners. And the poachers are moving to do exactly that. A poacher's arrow buries itself in Setsuko's right thigh... but she doesn't even seem to /notice/.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"...I'm sorry, Arthur. But I will have to fight alongside you another time."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Setsuko's divine aura /explodes/.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A flood of blue light bathes the area as a corona of divine power engulfs the demigod. She's deliberately letting that power leak out, deliberately allowing her divine half to show itself. Becoming a bright, sky-colored thundercloud right in the middle of the camp, lifting herself up a foot or so in the air with the power her divine side grants her. And even allowing it to creep into her voice, just a little... along with a /lot/ of cold, simmering fury. "<span style="color:#00bfff">STILL YOUR BLADES, POACHERS.</span>"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's a deliberate attempt to get their attention all at once. Her next words come more normally, though her voice remains loud, intended to carry through as much of the camp as possible. "FIGHT OR FLEE, I HOLD NO ANTIPATHY. I AM WILLING TO SHOW MERCY TO THOSE WHO WISH IT. BUT I GIVE YOU MY WORD, HERE AND NOW, THAT I WILL TOLERATE NO COWARDICE. WHETHER MAN OR BEAST, IF YOU SPILL THE BLOOD OF A HELPLESS CAPTIVE, /YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS CAMP ALIVE/."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:730|Nagisa Shiota (730)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Oops. Nagisa isn't used to people who can actually fight back that well, darn nonhumans. His knife nicks flesh, but the claws tear into his duty clothes, opening a gash in them and even opening a shallow wound along his ribs. He's starting to bleed, now, crimson rapidly spreading along his side. More important than this is how he ends up tumbling away, hurled off by the Miqo'te and rolling to his feet. He flips the knife around into a ready stance, eying the catman cautiously and starting to sweat a bit. He isn't the type who can fight while bleeding, unlike his opponent.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which means he has to go in for the quick strike if he wants to win. "Sorry, this might hurt a little bit," Nagisa says quietly. He flicks his eyes up to the catman's face, assessing him silently... then holding the knife up in a loose, rather inexperienced-looking grasp. Suppressing his killing desire, he lets his nerves get the better of him, takes a step forward with the knife moving for a stab, then-<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He drops the knife, immediately clapping his hands together and hoping the Miqo'te have the same vulnerability as humans do. Just in case they don't, he'll whip his stungun out in that moment of distraction while the eyes are on the knife, and plunge that inward instead.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Wow, okay! WOW. Yeah, I'm COOL with PUTTING THE CO-OP FIGHTS OFF for NOW." Arthur calls out to Setsuko. She has business, apparently, and it's very serious business. "YEAH, you can HANDLE THAT, I'm COOL WITH IT." He calls out, and then decides to focus on advancing! If Setsuko has the archers here distracted enough -- and assuming his scheme worked out, and hopefully it did with minimal arrows in his torso -- he makes a dash for the cage! There's someone here at the cave already? Arthur can tell he's already taken care of one messenger, the boy mage intends to strike the other. His HOPE is to dramatically BROOMSMASH the other messenger in the torso and send him careening into the cave area itself, so that Arthur can enter dramatically just behind! But before that, "HEYA NEW GUY, what up? ARTHUR LOWELL, ROCKET-POWERED JERK, and busy with GETTING IN FIGHTS! This seems like a BOSS PLACE, let's BOUNCE huh?" If this all works out, he's gonna make a dash for the cave entrance, hopefully with some backup in tow... Maybe he can give Nagisa some backup!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet frowns as a Lyria takes off the second she has her hands off of her, tossing the bloody shaft on the ground next to her as she stands up, dusting off the front of her skirt. "You're welcome." she says with no real attempt to lower her voice, as if she doesn't particularly care whether the girl hears it or not. It sounds a lot more polite than the tone it was originally spoken with. Otherwise Lyria might clue into the fact she'd just instantly slid halfway down Scarlet's list.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her attention is being demanded elsewhere anyways. Nagisa doesn't seem to have things as well in hand as she would have liked, or rather, the so-called Coeurl King is more capable than her initial estimate pegged him at. Since he hadn't been able to take him hostage, the bodyguards filling the room are now a serious threat. Not to her personally perhaps, but the psychology involved in drone operation is at play here, which means that she has no compunctions about remotely pulling the trigger on a bunch of demihumans she can only see as little blobs of magical energy from a bird's eye view.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;From somewhere high up in the sky, a tiny, midday star flashes into existence, pulsing bright, lurid red. It seems to grow in size for a couple of seconds before it becomes obvious that it is, in fact, coming closer. An instant later, a vertical shower of bloody lights fall down on the interior clearing, plunging through the open roof and precisely landing on the other Miqo'te gathered in the room. They explode into conflagrations of pale fire that are swiftly eaten by some immaterial fluid that seethes and bubbles around them, like a plasma torch going off at the bottom of the ocean. She's only roughly estimated how much power to command the familiar to use. There's a good chance the guards might not be destroyed, but a low chance that they'll still be battle ready by her reckoning.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Don't kill that one." she radios to Nagisa. "If you don't think you can do it non-lethally, give me a signal."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;They're going after prisoners out of spite?! Yeah like he's going to let that happen. With Kyra's attacker down... "There's no time!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He just BOLTS for the camp, not caring at all about the wreck he's making of his leg muscles in an effort to boost them through Reinforcement. Shirou's pace kicks up incredibly, perhaps thanks a little bit to absorbing a bit of combat experience and magical knowledge from Chloe's empowering spirit.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He charges across the battlefield like an expert, but he's grimacing desperately all the while. Headed straight for the first set of cages he sees that's being actively threatened by this order!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course, to get the poachers' attention away from their orders he'll have to get pretty drastic here.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Power FLOODS Shirou's Magic Circuits, nearly ALL of them lighting up. Those sensitive can tell it's a tremendous power he's drawing upon - by his standards, anyways. "Designs loaded... begin continuous projection!!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As if these statements will help him focus. Well, perhaps they will. Shirou's stopped near the camp's entrance and extended both hands out while still grasping Kanshou and Bakuya.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;His prana supply's hardly infinite, but with it being FULL instead of at piddly levels, things can get CRAZY fast.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"My body is made of swords, a shell of steel with fire for blood!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The redhead angrily casts his prana every which way, but it's not as chaotic as it looks!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Swords fill the air around him, etched into existence by the lancing bolts of prana. Dozens and dozens more, the array of ornate Noble Phantasms and other enchanted swords is a display to be feared indeed. They're angled around him like bullets waiting to be fired...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And every poacher in sight's their targets.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone nearing the cages WILL be faced with a few swords flying their way!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Follow that order and you'll regret it!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle is in a whirlwind of stuff. So many things. She hears the call, and that they're going to be executing the prisoners, and the whole 'be a hero, Light Warriors, the Call to Awesome' goes out... And she trips, stumbling over herself. She's sore all over from running and fighting for weeks now, and there's someone trying to jam a fist into her gut and bowl her over.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The attacker almowst succeeds. Well, succeeds, in that she gets jabbed in the stomach far more lightly, simply knocking her down and the wind out of her, not sending her reeling on the floor curled up and losing her lunch.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She turns to hurl a blast of darkness at the man, and... An archer barrels on into her attacker, sending him flying with a crumple and potentially a crunch.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Praise space god." Mirielle murmurs, eyes wide behind her glasses, as she struggles to her feet. "Thanks!" She calls, muttering something under her breath and throwing out her hand.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She may not be able to reach the cages in time. But a timely Wall spell may stop peple from stabbing occupants!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Souji holds back at this point, seeing Arthur keep Souji's promise. He nods to Arthur in thanks at keeping Mirielle covered. He remains at Arthur's side, covering him with quick bolts of lightning or strikes from his sheathed blade if necessary. Still having a god and a demigod present, let alone the experienced Multiversal crew who responded, seems to be a bit overwhelming at the moment. Souji remains conservative with his abilities, using only the amount of force needed to deal with the problem at hand. He doesn't like showing his own full capabilities when it is not necessary.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lyria's glue grenade does in fact halt the attacker headed for her and Scarlet. The poacher whines, in equal parts because there's glue in her hair and tail, and because she's kind of stuck just out of spear's reach of those two. Those two can do whatever they want now.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N'raha engages a poacher in a spear duel, and a moment later puts the weapon through her shoulder, disarming her. She grunts in pain. "We've been taught to look after ourselves! If they keep sending more of you here, we'll just keep sending them back the bodies!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyra guns a paocher with her tranq rifle. The effect is quick, as the cat lady just slams to the ground asleep and snoring.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur launches an archer into the brawler trying to get to Mirielle. The impact grounds them both, although the unarmed fighter, being sturdier, does manage, if barely, to get her bearings and rise, trying to shake away the stars she's seeing. Her fists glow with bright magic, and she flash-steps, suddenly appearing by Arthur and trying a one-two combo of magical punching! She's not that big a threat to someone like him, but taking it on the nose is probably not a good idea either way.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Setsuko turns her intimidation factor all the way up to 11. The effect is instantaneous, as poacher sacross the camp turn to stare. Some, smarter, drop their spears, bows and swords, and just make a run into the forest if not stopped. Those who stay to fight, do not dare attack Setsuko anymore. The one she's holding manages to stutter: "I-I don't want to die, you can let me go! Please!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nagisa, inside the cave, engages the Coeurl King. His feint catches the man offguard. Miqo'te anatomy is pretty similar, so there's no reason the assassin's mastery of these things shouldn't apply. The man is tough, though; he's no top-tier Elite, but he's a study fellow. Paralysis spreads through the left side of his body, causing his arm to go limp and his leg to respond slower. He frowns, suddenly realizing he should take the boy VERY seriously.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"You are skilled. BUT I ONLY NEED ONE HAND!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With a rapid flurry of blows, the Coeurl King attempts to pummel Nagisa, his fingers razor-sharp. The intent is to knock him right out of the cave, to take the fight outside. His bodyguards are getting agitated.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur downs the other messenger, and Alwyn gives a thumb up. "Hey! Name's Alwyn, sorry I'm late. I was in the area when I got the warning and... erm..." Well, he has a map of Ul'dah on him. Not a map of the Shroud. THAT WENT VERY WELL. "You're... Lowell, as in, the guy who runs the Syndicate? Really?"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet makes it rain a star and flames onto the King's bodyguard; this actually causes one of the two of them to burst into flames and just scream off to the side to try and put it out. She might live. Maybe. She's out for now, though. The other seems much more alert, and gets closer to her King for now, especially if the fight goes outside.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At THE CAGES, Shirou makes it rain swords, which are plentiful enough to distract the poachers. And then magical walls cast by Mirielle stop the few who had managed to reach their cages. Unable to carry out their orders anymore, they do the next best thing. Anyone currently headed for a cage gets one lancer and one bowman a piece-- the few left that the rain of swords hasn't knocked around silly. Arrows are poison and sedative tipped, though the spears aren't anything special. Some of them are slowed, due to Souji. If anyone takes a peek inside the cages, most of them hold various animals, but some have prisoners too. Adventurers who got captured, judging from their clothes.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle has it easy right now; Arthur peeled the aggro off her entirely. She has a bit more rein than the others if she were to try opening the cages or looting the camp. It's full of very, very valuable animal parts, after all.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Souji covering Arthur will give the brawler a harder time reaching him-- but she seems VERY determined. Lightning scorches her numerous times, but she seems very driven to put one in Arthur's face.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Setsuko's response to her captive is simple, and cold. "/Leave/."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She reaches down to yank the arrow out of her leg, tosses it aside, and turns her attention to the cages. Shirou and Mirielle have stopped most of those who would kill the captives; but a few still stand, and are apparently moving to attack Shirou, and any others. She's confident Shirou can handle most of them; but she did make two separate promises to these people regarding their behavior.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The demigod turns calmly, and begins running full speed for the cages on the side of camp opposite Shirou. Rather than heading straight for the cages themselves, she runs on a pattern that takes her near every single armed poacher on the way there. With inhuman swiftness and a supernaturally sharp blade, she means to strike at every single weapon-bearing enemy that she passes on the way to protecting the cages, including the lancer and the bowman at the end of her run. Poisoned arrows, sharp spears, the shallow wounds they land don't even seem to register on the swordswoman. She means to deal lethal blows every time she swings her sword.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Did someone say 'not a good idea'?! Because I think someone said that something wasn't a good idea. Before Arthur gets into the cave, he goes right for the brawler, noticing her approach! And then he does the dumbest thing ever: After suffering a heavy punch with a wickedly brutal magical crack to the face, be bounces back and attempts to HEADBUTT the brawler's hand. A fun fact: Good punching technique can keep you from breaking your hand, but it depends on your enemy's body behaving in ways that are rational and reasonable. Arthur is neither, and attempts to headbutt the brawler's hand so hard that, while Arthur himself may suffer heavy bruising on the noggin, he'll hopefully break the brawler's hand.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But he doesn't have time for this! He has to break for the cave! He can't actually deal with the brawler, he has to try to just sort of gravity shove him away. Hopefully Souji can follow up there, or the brawler will be vulnerable enough for Scarlet to strike her, or similar. He may, in fact, he there to brace Nagisa's impact if Nagisa gets tossed out, since he gets to the mouth of the cave just about then.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lyria Mason is not complaining about any support she's got now. Arthur seems to be better at tanking things thtn even she is. While Arthur plays golf with the enejmy. She's got her own ideas. She didn't mean to freak out but she was. It only now hits her she didn't thank the woman who delt with the arrow in her chest. Yes she screwed up there. She's just moving at a fast pace in the fight, and has got cuaght up in the moment. She's broken a cardinal rule for someone like her always be good to the healers and may very well pay for this someday. <br /><br /> She's now going to prowl about with more glue grenades and employ them where needed.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:730|Nagisa Shiota (730)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well shoot. Nagisa does get tossed out, but mostly because he rolls with the impact, letting his clothes absorb the brunt of it. He still grunts, wincing as his ribs flare in pain, but he's not going to fight it... especially if Arther provides a convenient place to slam into. "Mmf. Thanks," is all he replies with. The small boy rolls again, then goes for a quick hook of his legs around the left leg of the catman, trying to use the paralysis to topple him over and let one of the others smash him with whatever attack is needed.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He isn't a specialist in hand to hand combat, but he has a lot of unorthodox techniques.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:627|Souji Murasame (627)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Souji has no problsm following along with Arthur as he charges for the King's caves. He is agile, wearing no heavy armor, just a well-tailored suit that is designed to allow a full range of motion. <br /><br />The brawler, however, is quite persistent, Souji being unable to distract him from Arthur's high-aggro tactics.<br /><br />There's only one proper response to this. Time to throw some money at the problem. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class=" bold_fg_w bg_b ++ hBw">&gt; SAMURAI</span><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class=" bold_fg_w bg_b ++ hBw">&gt; GIL TOSS</span><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class=" bold_fg_w bg_b ++ hBw">&gt; [000001000]</span><br /><br />There is a gleam in Souji's hand as he flicks it towards the Brawler, a spray of Gil striking out towards the poacher with the force and spread of a shotgun as the coins whip through the air towards her. "Just sit down." Souji recommends to the brawler.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyra heaves a sigh of relief when Mirielle is spared the pain of being jabbed in the chest with claws from that one poacher. Quietly, she moves onward and into the camp after Shirou following his storm of swords. Right away she sees a number of poachers giving in due to Setsuko's firm words. Many more, however, are not. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She spies the poacher taking aim at her with an arrow just as the bowstring is released. It gives her not enough time to dodge but just enough to lift her hunting rifle and unload a dart into her attacker at the same time. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The result could very well be a double sleep instance because, struck in the gut, Kyra immediately begins to feel drowsy. She staggers sideways, flopping against a cage as she moves to yank the arrow out of her with a painful yelp. Despite that, the urge to sleep spreads throughout her and her limbs grow heavy. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyra struggles to cast ensuna on herself. Sure, her magic will work but the drowsiness makes it difficult to get the right words out. There is also a second problem as a lancer comes after her while she's in little position to fend off anyone.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur catches Nagisa as if he had intended to all along, but he winds up skidding back out of the cave mouth a bit, bringing the fight with the boss cat outside somewhat. "OH HEY WALLFLOWER." He says, grinning and eager as he braces against the impact. "Don't mention it." The fight's outside now! With Souji occupying that Brawler, hopefully, Arthur can focus on teaming up with Nagisa. With a heavy rocket blast, he tries to leap up and slam down with a heavy broom strike from above! This has two elements to the attack: Not only is he striking direct for the catman's skull, but he hopes to get his attention away from Nagisa's strike! Once again, for all his arrogance, he seems outrageously in tune with the attacks from others!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then Setsuko happens and N'raha's face goes pale and his eyes widen as a sudden wash of sensation blasts through his head at the presence of the Not-A-Primal. <br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A desolate canyon through which a cold wind blows. Warriors in utilitarian garb lie dead at a series of choke points and holdouts along the course of the canyon, numbering 29 in total, all of them dressed in a similar way to Setsuko herself - simple, rugged clothes, sturdy pants with pockets to them, combat boots. And far, far more numerous, are the dead wearing the uniform of an army, light armor in browns and reds. The army seems to have been fighting its way up this canyon, and for every dead warrior, ten or twenty of the army lie bleeding as well.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But the remaining soldiers still number in the hundreds, while the number of warriors has fallen to one... or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, zero. For as the scene begins, Setsuko Kaminagi, the 30th warrior, lies dying face-down on the ground, her body nearly still, her breathing faint. Soldiers stand at a short distance, as if afraid even now the woman might stand up and attack them. But this Setsuko is far more scarred than the one Raha sees in the camp, and she is quite clearly only mortal, and about to breathe her last.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The dying woman's arm feebly lifts up, as if reaching for something only she can see, reaching out as if to grasp... and then her fingers close, and a bright blue light forms itself into a sword in her grasp, followed by a brilliant blue-white flare around the woman herself. The soldiers fall back, startled, as the wounded woman stands, unhurt. Something in her has noticeably Changed. Her scars are gone. Her bearing is... Different. She stands, bringing the sword up into a simple ready stance, and regards the soldiers with a cold gaze that promises the death of every single member of the army that stands in the canyon before her.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That is where the vision ends; just a few seconds of a lone warrior, about to breathe her last, but taking hold of newfound power and standing up to face down an army. <br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N'raha /staggers/ but then the Not-A-Primal is charging over at him and the cages and Nraha turns back to the young lady he just speared. He snarls at the poacher girl, kicking her into the dirt as two more get all up in his business. A look at Setsuko and he stammers. "Thanks, I think. You're REALLY SCARY YOU KNOW THAT?" A shake of his head and swishswish of a fully poofed out tail as he step-step dashes into the spear range of the Poacher ahead of him, feinting and aiming a trio of strikes of the girl's midsection.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's aware of the archer just past his target though, and is trying to keep his opponent between himself and Arrow-in-the-Face.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There. Now things seem to be going better. The sheer amount of magical energy assaulting her extrasensory perceptions aside, Scarlet feels pretty cozy as she is right now, well away from the battlefield, able to watch over everyone else putting their lives on the line while in no real danger herself. With the Elites dogpiling on the Coeurl King as they are, she can move her gentle finger of intervention elsewhere, and so she decides to pick out the person in need that she can already rely on to be both useful and eager to help, dispatching her eldritch UAV to Kyra's position next.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Semi-relaxing under the shade of an old tree, she guides the familiar down from the sky towards the figure that is more of a miniature supernova than a blob on its magical vision. Once the lancer closes to a dozen meters, the air rumbles with the descent of a half ton of twisted wings, bared fangs, white chitin, and skeletal claws, crashing down on top of the poacher. The thrashing is a little too intense to properly make out many more features than a lengthy, serrated tail and a head like an eyeless, carapaced snake, radiating furnace heat from its open mouth, but whatever is going on can't be pretty.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Well, involving Nobodies is rarely pleasant to look at. Scarlet's helping, and that's what counts.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Miriell is... protected? Well, no. She's protected. People said they'd protect her, and they do. She just expected the more 'knight in shining armor' (a real thing, knights wear shiny shit to draw attention don'tchaknow) with a big old shield being a bulwark, not...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Not whatever Arthur just did. Which leaves Mirielle in a very unique position of being... Largely... Ignored.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There's a dark, wicked look that crosses her face as she heads for the Loot Storage, to begin taking the most choice-for-market pieces and acquiring a lootsack to begin looting.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She pulls out her radio, too.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Do one crazy thing, be surrounded by dozens of others. Shirou hadn't considered that magic walls were even POSSIBLE on the fly. So he ends up gawking a little. But just a little.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;STill, that little gawking's enough to get him shot with an arrow coated in awful stuff. It'll take a bit for him to notice the poison, but the arrow hitting his arm's enough to get him staggering a little and flinching.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Of course, this just means he retaliates with EVEN MORE SWORDS.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Naturally, he's TRYING to avoid vitals, but accidents are likely when you're hurling around sharp pieces of metal at tremendous speeds.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But his breathing's getting ragged and sense of balance quickly deteriorating.. he wobbles on his feet unsteadily...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Setsuko's captive does not need to be told twice.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She is OUT. Gone. Tail between her leg and all.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The divine swordswoman then proceeds to take out any poacher in her way to the cages. They're not in any state to stop her, and if she wants them dead, they'll be dead. Their fate, otherwise, is to kiss the ground hard.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur surprises the brawler by, well, headbutting her hand. A combination of angle and strength result in broken knuckles, and the brawler falls flat on her ass, groaning. And then Souji throws MONEY at her. It is extremely painful, and pretty much knocks her out cold.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;More glue grenades from Lyria will do their job, halting retreating poachers and stopping them from reaching her to shank her with their spears. It's a good deal overall.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nagisa trips the Coeurl King, making use of the fact one of his legs is considerably slowed and unresponsive. The mighty bandit lord is on the ground, vulnerable.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyra trades a sleep projectile for another; that archer goes down, snoring with the other Kyra'd put down earlier.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Arthur uses his rocket broom to leap up and come crashing down with a devastating blow. The Coeurl King's good arm is raised to meet the weapon, catching it-- and this is followed, immediatly, by intense strain, as Arthur's position compared to the poacher king's makes it VERY hard to keep him at bay. His arm eventually gives out, breaking at the elbow, but saving him from the skullscracker. On the other hand, he has a paralyzed arm and a broken one.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N'raha, despite his MAGICAL HEADACHE there for a moment, won't have any difficulty outmaneuvering the poachers trying to pincer him. In fact, with Setsuko's proximity, it seems they hesitate to strike at him at all. Yeah, no, they're... just going to slide over there. Not attacking the guy next to the fake Primal. Yeah, that's safer. Smarter.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet's familiar rips the lancer trying to attack Kyra to shreds. RIP, that guy. It's probably very nasty to watch, unless that skeletal beast is a clean worker.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle starts looting. Fur, horns, claws, entire animal limbs preserved correctly, teeth, eyeballs, if it WAS on an animal at any point in time it's PROBABLY in those crates. These guys really have been making a mess of the wildlife, and it shows why the Adventurers' Guild wanted them out of the picture. The man who hired the party DID say he'd pay extra if they could return all those crates to him. Why waste resources, after all?<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And with Shirou spamming swords, what's left of the poachers is routed completely. The camp is empty-- every poacher unconscious (majority), dead (minority) or just straight up having fled (quite a lot of those, thanks to Setsuko).<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Before anyone else can attack the Coeurl King, his bodyguard steps in front of him, outstretching her arms to both sides. "Stop! That's enough, you've made your point. You don't have to kill us." The King, meanwhile, is just making pained grumpy noises. He's in no state to argue with his concubine.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ALWYN will awkwardly make his way back to Arthur, scratching the back of his head. "You guys sure deliver. No wonder the guild signed up with you folks."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A wobbly Kyra hears an unusual noise and turns just in time to see Scarlet's Nobody leaping upon the Lancer. Her eyes widen as the beast mauls the Lancer, staring for far too long before she manages to turn away, focusing on that ensuna spell on herself. She eventually manages to get the incantation right, countering the sleeping chemical that had been on the arrow. <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;With the camp proper secured, Kyra starts opening cages, searching fallen miqo'te for keys. She wanders her way over to Mirielle as she does this. "Here." <br /> <br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Kyra starts passing flasks of an amber-colored oil to Mirielle. "Whatcha need this for anyway?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Haha! YEAH, I'm not big on the KILLIN' THING." Arthur says, in a bent-legged aggressive position over the poacher king, holding a big threatening bloody blunt weapon. Ha ha ha. With a twirling motion, his broom is cast back into the depths of his sylladex. Despite having, by now, a black eye, heavy bruising on the head, severe bruising over his torso, and an extremely jarred and mildly injured arm, he grins wide and energetically. "If dunno if the OTHERS are gonna kill him, but I SURE AIN'T."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He then gets on over to Nagisa and, entirely despite the boy's insistance on lack of interaction with other people, attempts to immediately and aggressively perform an elaborate coolkid handshake that involves several pounds, slaps, and wide arm motions, and unless Nagisa pulls away he's going to be caught up in for a few seconds. "NICE WORK." He says, with an authentically complimentary sort of tone. And then he's back to Alwyn! "SHIT YES we do." He declares, beaming. "My net gets shit DONE, bro! Your dudes made GOOD CHOICES."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Only those poachers who were smart enough to drop their weapons - even in the last instant before her strikes landed - have survived Setsuko's blade. Any who held onto their spear or sword or bow, quite literally did so until their last breath.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"My apologies," the demigod replies softly to N'Raha. Her eyes turn to the two poachers attempting to slip away; and in the next instant, she is simply /upon/ them. An inhumanly fast lunge, a pair of incredibly fast strikes-<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And whatever weapons they still had are now in pieces. "Count yourselves lucky to escape with your lives. And find another line of work." It never hurts to drive a lesson home.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Now that things seemed to have wrapped up, with the king and his bodyguards neutralized and the camp in pieces with the survivors on the run, Scarlet finally decides to actually enter the field, stepping lightly over battle damage and carefully walking around bodies, blood and discarded ammunition. She arrives in the back of the cave hall shortly after things have calmed down, curtsying to Alywn after Arthur has said his piece. "You must be a local representative then! Scarlet Everille, pleased to meet you." She extends her hand. It's objectively a pretty pushy move, but some strange, difficult to place aspect of it makes it come off as entirely harmless, as if she were only just showing enthusiasm. She looks past him to where the king is surrounded. "You wouldn't happen to have any idea of where he'll go after this, do you?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:819|N'raha Tia (819)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;N'raha's hackles such as they were are still raised at Setsuko, but he's... he's handling things. There's a shift and clink of his chainmail as he shifts a bit, oking at the surrendering miqs with the butt of that spear. He's idly checking them and the others for better gear than his, but he's not about to just... you know, loot it off of corpses.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Not in front of everyone.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Scarlet's attention on his new friend the Jumpman gets his attention at least, an ear quirking a bit to listen over there. He does look to the Demi-god though, and smiles quietly, holding out a hand. "Ah, N'raha Tia. Nice to meet you, ma'am."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:730|Nagisa Shiota (730)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nagisa climbs to his feet, and mumbles a quiet thanks to both Arthur and Scarlet, the former for helping out and the latter for the offer to take him down nonlethally, even if he didn't accept. In his line of work, he doesn't want to give his name, so he steps back and does that thing. You know, the thing he always does where he just goes quiet and blends in with... well, everything.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"E-Eh? Me? No, no, you have me wrong, I'm not... not really tied to anyone or anything. I'm just an adventurer. Alwyn, Alwyn Highwind, nice to meet you!" Pleasant, polite, the GENERIC EVERYMAN seems mostly harmless and friendly. "You mean if we bring him back? There's a... uh... they have holding cells in Quarrymill. They'll probably bring him to Gridania for a while to judge him, and then... depends on his sentence. He'll probably be put to work somewhere, or be sent back here in a cell."<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It's very rare adventurers bring their targets back alive, so the justice system of Eorzea is kind of hilariously light. Oh, hey, that's N'raha! "Hey again. Here I thought you hated the forest, hah. Careful or you might catch some exotic disease only the desert sand can cure." Light jab. Friendly!<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's reminded, though. Alwyn produces a GLOWING SEASHELL, sort of clam-shaped but not really. It's blue-ish. As he shakes it, a dozen glowing blue pearls fall out. He starts handing them out, one per person.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Here, this is a Linkpearl. As long as you have it on you, you can talk to everyone else who has a Linkpearl from this specific Linkshell. They double as radios too. Magic is great. Us adventurers gotta stick together, right?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:747|Scarlet Everille (747)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Score. This is exactly one of the kinds of things Scarlet had been hoping to pick up here. She holds it up to the sunlight to get a good look at it, making no effort to hide her interest, but rather to make it seem more innocent than it really is. She smiles to Alwyn excitedly, shaking his hand. "Again, pleased to meet you mister Highwind! I'm glad we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk in future!"<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That said, she can't spend too long making nice with the locals. She steps straight forward past the others and into the area in which the two Miqo'te are being detained, tugging on the corner of her right sleeve so that it rolls partially back, exposing something in gold thread woven on the inside. On her way to the Couerl King, she shoves past the bodyguard as if she isn't even there, likely not actually strong enough to seriously displace her, but enough to get the gesture across. Still acting far less cautious than she should be, she brazenly grabs hold of his paralyzed arm, lifting it up in inspection. "Looks like this one's going to need medical attention." she calls back, losing interest immediately as she returns to the posse.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Conspicuously, she used her right hand on both of them.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Setsuko. Setsuko Kaminagi," the silver-haired woman replies. "You'll have to tell me what a Primal is precisely, some time. I'm pretty sure I'm not one, but it would be good to know what it is, in case I have to explain myself. Or perhaps use the confusion to my advantage." There's a faint smile on her lips - she's pretty sure that's exactly what she did here today.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Alwyn is going to get a similar introduction, when the demigod finally heads over to meet him. Now that the fighting's over, it's much easier to see that her height isn't just a function of her presence; she really is tall, as tall as a Highlander girl, and built similarly as well. But her features definitely mark her as someone not from this world. "Thank you," she adds, taking the linkpearl. "This place is... interesting. I can't stay for long at a time, but I would certainly be interested in returning."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:815|Alwyn Highwind (815)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;POST-SCENE INFO: Your payment is roughly a thousand gil a head, plus a handful of Allagan bronze pieces, when you finally head back to Quarrymill. These are fancy alloy coins that can be sold for more gil, or you can keep them. They're pretty much a way to have a lot of gil in only a few coins. Plus, obviously, the Order of the Twin Adder being impressed by the Syndicate's performance.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"R-Right! Sure! I put in a... I filled some paperwork for the Syndicate and the Union, I guess it must be in processing. I'm still a bit dizzy from the massive amount of information they handed me, but I'm sure I'll absorb it all eventually. I'd be glad to talk later!" Alwyn replies to Scarlet, before turning to face Setsuko and whoa she really is that tall.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Hah... yeah, Eorzea is something, but I bet that's true of where most of you folks come from. I look forward to seeing your worlds too! I'm sure you won't be lacking excuses to come here if you enjoy doing adventuring."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:666|Mirielle Edelweiss (666)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle, halfway through uncorking and beginning to spread the flammable oil from Kyra, takes a pause. "Hum... I seem to remember..." She offers, pouring out oil all over a crate of squishy eyeballs and lighting it on fire.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She pauses, and checks on her radio.<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Oh!" She squeaks, trying to stamp out the popping crate before simply shoving it away with her foot, spilling burning eyeballs and other gross things all over the area. Sheepishly, she goes back to packing up choice loot like HORNS and stuff, before realizing that she can't actually /carry/ that much. Which means she has to go BACK TO THE CRATES to put less-choice stuff away, as other stuff probably starts to catch fire from the upended crate...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mirielle is bad at Adventuring. Well, she understands the theory, but...<br /><br />&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Normally she has people for this. "I, uh, found the loot!" She calls. "I think some stronger people should come over here and carry it out. I may have sabotaged it. ... A little bit."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Lyria Mason has one her job, she's managed to catch quite a few of the poachers without killing them and that's a goods thing. She's now going to leave them to others. She's got some work to do but first she's going to slump down on Remora because she really needs to rest at this point.<br> <br>


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