701/The Lance of Kresnik - Hamil

The Lance of Kresnik - Hamil
Date of Scene:	29 September 2014
Location:	Rieze Maxia <RM>
Synopsis:	Many parties investigate the small village of Hamil, and find more than apples and cider there.
Cast of Characters:	Crys Gattz, 13, Arthur Lowell, 101, 106, 321, 346, 542, 557, 566, Ayako Hasekawa
Tinyplot:	The Lance of Kresnik

---

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    HAMIL, THE ORCHARD FRONTIER.

    

    It's kind of a small village. Apple trees seem to be everywhere in this place, with a large orchard in the far back. The smell of cider hangs lightly in the air, likely their biggest production here. House are made of simple wood and stone, but have a slightly modern design to them, sporting several stories. Judging by the amount of people wandering about, a couple dozen farmers, peasants, everyday workers and even a merchant or two, the place probably houses about a hundred people, maybe two. The sort of place where everyone knows everyone.

    Of mention, to those with supernatural senses, the ability to see spiritual beings, or just very observant people, some of the townsfolks don't seem to be alone. One man with blacksmith's tools, currently helping repair the wheels of a merchant cart, seems to be channeling magic into an invisible, fire-aligned spirit, which is replacing the need for a forge, and heating the metal wheel directly under the blacksmith's blows.

    A few people, who are collecting apples from the trees, are pouring magic into earth spirits, who seem to be enhancing the growth and health of the plantlife here. Another worker is using a water spirit to pour water into the town's irrigation system, which seems to be about a foot under the soil.

    Wind spirits even provide a constant, cool breeze here.

    MILLA MAXWELL is not here today, because she wasn't certain showing her face to Rashugal troops would be wise. And indeed, some of those red-armored men are here, asking questions to the villagers. Eavesdropping reveals they are looking for 'Maxwell' and generally inquiring if they've seen anyone suspicious come through lately.

    Their presence here could potentially spark a war with Auh Oule-- this village is within its borders after all-- but of more interest to Milla was the fact they are probably after her. Could be worth disposing of them, or just throwing them on a false lead. Take your pick!

    There is a WARP GATE on either side of the village. There is a tiny shack near the rear exit of the village. Also near it is a small girl, with very light green-blonde hair, in a fairly nice purple and pink dress. She's tugging on the sleeve of a villager, who ignores her completely. Then she goes bug another and the result is mostly the same.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
    Yuri looks annoyed as he scans eyes over the village, "Spirits," He states, looking around. He takes a few moments to assess the state of the village and then eventually decides it's collaberation instead of enslavement and the annoyed look vanishes from his face.

    The Exalt gathers the cloak he usually wears around him and sets off into the village, carefully scanning around to figure out what he wants to be doing. This is slightly more peaceful than his conceptual preference and that makes him uncomfortable to say the least. So he will create confrontation where he can, albeit in the most minimal sense.

    That is to say, he goes over to harass a villager, "Do you plan to ignore the small child vying for your attention, or are you simply deficient in your senses and mental capacities such as to not notice her presence?" He asks.

Sieg (566) has posed:
    A traveler arrived in this village earlier in the day. At the time he hadn't been alone, but eventually his companion had disappeared from sight. Perhaps back through the warpgates. As it is however, the young man who had come with a man in motorcycle leathers had lingered here without much explanation. An idle curiosity, perhaps. Relative to most working folk he dresses oddly -- in formal slacks, shoes, and a waistcoat, with a heavy overcoat. The kind of thing a businessman would wear, though it all looks a little too much for a person of this young man's age.

    Sieg is only just old enough that he might not be quite in place if he were running around getting dirty in the fields. But old enough that it might be a little strange if he was doing so without purpose. As it is however, he has simply sat and watched the entire time that he's been here. It would be eerie, if he wasn't perfectly forthcoming with his reasons. He was just taking a break from travel, and happened to like this place well enough.

    He'd even bought a meal, and more than a few drinks over the course of the day.

    The homunculus is in fact currently seated with his back to a building, a battered old canteen resting in his lap. But something unusual is unfolding just a short distance away from him. A young girl, going from person to person and trying to get their attention. A great man...? Objecting to the fact that they aren't paying her any mind.

    "Miss?" Sieg calls, gently. It's the girl he's speaking to. He rises from his position against the building, dusting himself off as he walks over. "Are you okay?" There's something strangely regal about the boy. It's not that he speaks well, or anything like that. It's just a vibe that comes from him, even dirty and carrying things he bought from a thrift store.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako walks into the village through one of the Warp Gates, humming softly to herself. After a few steps away from said gate, she turns back and takes one good look at it. "Still not used to these things..." She taps her nose with her right pointer finger, "Hmm... but it is nice in it's own way..." Her face brightens considerably and she turns back towards the village. "So!"

    "Let's see where in the world I am now!" She giggles brightly and walks cheerfully into the village proper. Her eyes dart from side to side quickly, taking in the sights-specifically watching how the villagers interact with the spirits. Said eyes practically sparkle as she watches and she claps her hands softly to herself.

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    Jude likely arrives from the opposite direction of the rest of the group, coming from the village's western half rather than the warp gate. It's not exactly the shortest walk, but after his last experience with warpgates, he's... just a bit hesitant to try using one again. So while some of the group may walk into the commercial district littered with soldier-types, Jude instead finds himself by the small shack, and perhaps more importantly, by the girl rushing between various unresponsive villagers.

    Now his do-gooder senses are tingling, and Yuri's reaction to the scene only makes them flare up more. He steps up behind Yuri as quickly as he is able, making a series of placating, downward gestures with his palms. "Hey, whoa." He lowers his hands and gives Yuri a politely assertive look, "Let's try not to start anything. I'm sure that there's a good explanation for all of this, and if there's trouble, we'll only end up scaring her more." But he sees no reason to keep referring to the girl in third person, now looking down at her with the warmest grin he can muster.

    "Hey!" His tone is gentler when speaking to her, but hopefully not so much that it would embarrass her. "Sorry about that. I'm Jude. Was there something you needed to say?" He maintains the genial look, his eyes completely focused on her.

Dawn King Gaius (557) has posed:
    Hamil is host to more than just Rashugal soldiers today. It is also host to a certain man, built like a mountain and dressed in a yellow coat and black clothes beneath, all trimmed in various furs. He lumbers, his legs propelling him slowly but with definite purpose, and his eyes, which always seemed closed, also seem kind as he looks around. He appears to be looking for something, standing in the vicinity of the shack. As his eyes fall on the little girl trying to get the villagers' attentions, he smiles softly and begins lumbering that way.

    "You should not be out this way, child. Come, we must return you to where you are safe." His voice is soft, but it carries across the wind as though he had bellowed. There is likely not a soul around who didn't hear him.

Chrysanthemum (101) has posed:
    Chrysanthemum is here, casually walking with all the Unionites as if she belonged. Given that she's been(mostly) helpful so far, she doesn't see any reason why they'd object! But upon seeing the troops are looking for Maxwell, she glances around, confirms that nobody minds if she takes care of matters, and meanders over to the troops. "Hello," she says, quietly reaching out and extracting a shimmering crystal from each. Said crystal contains their ability to discern truth from falsehood, and thus she begins to tell her tale.

    "I have seen Maxwell. They grew strange, giant furred ears and a tail, and were last seen a few leagues that way-" She gestures out away from the village. "Heading for a nearby mountain, where they are setting up a carnival wherein they plan to induct others into an army for them, by the use of strange devices known as 'fursuits.' I overheard that their secret call to recognize one another was to shout 'YIFF' very loudly."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur Lowell can be low-key! He can not be a giant beacon of LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT HOW COOL I AM if he wants to be! Or if, you know, someone tells him that someone's home village and critical spiritual hub is at risk. He peers, alongside Yuri Stinson, at the village. "SPIRITS huh?" He says. "Don't like RASHUGAL pokin' around any SPIRIT-HEAVY place, y'know. 'Caue of what they USE SPIRITS for, yeah?" He sticks out his tongue with a look of distaste.

    Arthur's here primarily for the interests of both Union and Confederate folks: Figuring out what the fuck Rashugal troops are doing this far off Auj Oule. There's a lot of immediate temptation to just kinda go ask one. To openly suspicious to just go after one though. And so, wandering off from his point of Arrival, Arthur does his best impersonation of a town NPC, trying to draw one of those armored men into talking to him by virtue of looking slightly out of fashion and therefore not being a color-swap.

    He's gonna wait for a guard to come up to him to ask about things, before SPRINGING THE TRAP and trying to turn around the conversation, presumably to harass them about why they're here. He might be blatantly trying to target the group Chrysanthemum manipulates, because he's much more interested in absurdly easily manipulated ones while still remaining low-key. He'll also be corroborating her story, but that's not for any practical reason, that's just because it's funny.

Tir McDohl (321) has posed:
    Tir is here, and will let Chrys handle the troops. Thankfully, he doesn't overhear what she said. The Runebearer is not actually focusing on anything in particular, since everyone seems to be making a beeline toward the girl, who is the most interesting person here. He'll try to see what's going on there, but in the meantime just wanders over to watch the man forging something without a forge. He makes a very obvious attempt to avoid stepping on any flowers on the way over.

Saber (346) has posed:
     Not long after the other Union members arrived through the warpgate, a figure probably significantly shorter than most arrived, dressed down -- at least, for her -- in a grey dress shirt underneath a black vest and tie, black slacks and gloves, and brown loafers, her hair tied in a simple low ponytail at the nape of her neck. While she likely stood out, it was far less conspicuous than her battle armour. Even if she was not entirely able to lose her proper knightly bearing.

     As a Servant -- a being of pure magical energy -- she could easily see and even feel the spirits about the village. It was a natural part of her own world in some respects, so her face remained in its customary impassive mask as jade eyes observed the village. While she was not entirely up to speed on the different factions and ther attire, she was reasonably certain the soldiers were out of place.

     A frown marred her forehead; she hoped there wouldn't be a need to fight their way out.

     Eventually, she noticed the little girl trying to get the attention of villagers, frowning slightly. Yet, before she was able to ask the girl if she could offer her any help, it seemed that she had likewise attracted the attention of others...and some familiar faces.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz is here again she stands out the hot pants the tank top, the materials the outfit are made out of it's kinda give away she's not local. Okay it's her ears that are there worst, she might get pretty good radtio reception on them, as she's jokes about on occasion. She seens to be even tempered at the moment as she's keeping her eyes out for antything strange thjis is such a small town kinda of fear it's sureal for her though, given the colony ship she came from. Before she can say a thing about the kid, Yuri's already on it.

"You going to leave the girl to rot?"

As Sieg foes to help it seems a lot of people are having the same idea she is.

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    Sieg, having arrived earlier and hung out, would have found out the villagers are very friendly towards outsiders. They would even have offered him some fresh cider, alcholic or non, to his discretion. Hamil is a small village with a long history of just being there and growing apples. It doesn't participate in any wars, it doesn't really... do anything. They just live there, welcome outsiders, see them off to the deeper parts of Auj Oule, or to the Seahaven (port town) down south which grants passage to Rashugal's own by boat.

    @ LITTLE GIRL:

    The villager glances at Yuri. She shrugs. "She's a freak. We only tolerate her presence because--" Well, because Jiao. When the lumbering man appears, the villager shuts his mouth.

    Elize, the little girl, pouts as he shows up, though. "I don't want to go back inside! I lost Teepo! Nobody will tell me if they've seen him..." She actually seems on the verge of crying.

    She turns to look at Sieg and Jude now, nodding once. "I lost my friend... he's about this tall," she roughly indicates one foot tall with her hands, "And purple, and doesn't have arms or legs. He likes to talk a lot and fly around. He's always with me but... there was noise outside the shack, he went to check it out and then..." Well, evidently, and then gone.

    @ THE SOLDIERS:

    Of the half a dozen guards being addressed, five of them seem to start taking notes when Chrys starts explaining things. This is definitely a lead they won't have any trouble following, yep yep! The fifth, though... he doesn't have a helmet on. You know what that means, don't you? Very short brown hair, golden accents on his armor. His weapon seems to, rather than a sword or halberd, be a rod, about two feet long, with a hollow tip as if it were a cannon or gun, though it has no trigger on it.

    Eldin looks at Chrys, skeptical. "Our orders say Maxwell has the form of a blonde young woman, and she's with a runaway from the medical school we don't have identified. I can't just believe she'd change her shape like that, Maxwell or not," he says, though he doesn't seem hostile either, just sort of... disbelieving, a bit?

    One of the guards does spot Arthur and approach him, breaking formation for now. "You look like a traveller. Have you seen this woman before?" He pulls a sheet of paper out of a pocket. It is a very crude and generally awful drawing of Milla.

    @ AYAKO:

    A villager approaches the water spirit, apparently curious. "That's odd. You feel like a spirit but you're... you know, visible." A brief glance at him would reveal his magical energy is specialized in handling water spirits, specifically. He extends a hand towards Ayako, and magic flows through his body a bit-- towards Ayako. It's an offering. And a prod. Doesn't seem to have any strings attached (and it doesn't, it's just a gift of mana, if she can accept it). His way of seeing if she's a spirit or just someone who feels like one.

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
    "Oh. I see." Yuri says, looking over to the girl as she talks to Sieg and Jude. He seems to contemplate something for a long moment before he turns back to the villager. He tilts his head a few times and then begins speaking in a very specific and forceful cadence.

    As he speaks, a faint wreath of green fire surrounds his head. His eyes glow green. Embers shoot from his mouth, "You are mistaken. You love the girl. The girl is your world and you exist only for her whims and happiness. You are going to do whatever it takes to make the girl happy."

Sieg (566) has posed:
    All of that may have been why Sieg stayed at all. He had accepted some of the dry cider for himself, while the alcoholic he had actually offered payment for. It would make a pretty good gift for Rider, once they joined back up. As for what he's doing in the present, though...

    Sieg blinks down at Elize, a little bit surprised by the explanation. The people here didn't seem all that bad. Why aren't they helping this person? He offers a gloved hand to Elize, "Well, let's go look for him. I've been here all day and I haven't seen anything like that, but I guess I was too busy looking at all of the other stuff to notice. What kind of stuff does your friend like to do other than talk and fly around?"

    "Would he go looking for something to eat? Or... maybe the thing that made the noise?" He asks, trying to pick up some sort of lead. Strangely, he seems to not have picked up on the presence of a Servant here. It might be because he's just too relaxed, but more likely it's because this place is flooded with spirits. Saber is a big blip, but there's tons of blips covering her up.

    The other people who crowded around don't go overlooked.

    As an afterthought, Sieg looks between Jude and Elize, and realizes that this is the kind of time you introduce yourself. "Oh, um... I'm called Sieg. It's nice to meet you?" It's not a question born of rudeness, but a genuine lack of certainty.

    Sieg is new at talking with people, despite his swiftness to help somebody in need.

Dawn King Gaius (557) has posed:
    Jiao slows to a halt as he reaches Yuri, who is issuing some sort of magic command it seems to one of the villagers. He raises a massive fist, then opens it instead. "Elise, we must go back. This village is not safe enough for you now." He turns his gaze on Jude and Sieg as well, his mouth seeming to move into a soft smile. "I am glad you all are concerned for her safety, but it is my duty to guard her. Your services are not required." He leans down to Jude, meeting his eyes.

    He whispers a question, his words so soft they are lost on the wind. "What are you doing here, friend of Maxwell? Is she safe?"

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz looks to the villager for a moment she narrows her eye for a moment at them. She would count as a freak after all her species were the spawn of no gods, but loney lab techs really. She tilted her head a little bit and smiles at the little girl. She listens she talks about their friend for a moment.

"Wait...are you saying your friend's a spirit?"

Chrysanthemum (101) has posed:
    Inward sigh. Chrysanthemum is annoyed when one of the men proves to be those rare individuals who can resist having pieces of himself tugged out. She /could/ try harder, but it would be risky and may not even work. Or... she can bullshit. Her mom was a Muse, she can totally bullshit, and her inability to create doesn't extend to stories.

    Smoothly, "Oh, you knew that already! What a relief. Nobody believed me when I said that before! Yes, I know she's a woman, but she grew the ears and tail. I suspect she isn't far off... in fact, I heard that anyone who caught her would get a promotion, even if they happened to disobey their superior officer by running off despite orders."

    She smiles to the officer, "But, that's just what I heard."

Tir McDohl (321) has posed:
    Wait, what? The girl is missing Teepo? And is hated by others? Tir's RPG HERO sense is tingling. SIDEQUEST! RECRUITABLE MEMBER! More seriously, Teepo sounds like a weird creature, so he is interested for that reason even without the girl's strangeness.

    Actually, after a little thought, he sees that everyone else is handling that pretty well. Curious as he is about some of the ones he doesn't know, it's the soldiers he heads over to... in time to hear Chrys filling a story in that sounds more and more ridiculous. "Is there anything that I, Scholtheim Reinbach III, can help you with?"

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    "A freak?" He almost regrets playing the medium here, but he most certainly tenses up; his fists curl inward slightly, though this is likely too subtle to be noticed by most. "Look, I may not know the whole situation, but she's just --" Unfortunately, his would-be speech is pre-empted by a series of powerful stomps. A monster?

    He turns with a start. Not a monster, but the man before him is easily as big as one. He stares at him for a few moments, glancing between the yellow-clad giant and the girl for a while as the latter insists on remaining outside. At that, he raises a hand in the air. "W-Wait. If she lost something, shouldn't she try to get it back first?" More explanation comes shortly after, and Jude, naturally, gives the girl his undivided attention, acknowledging her sporadically with dutiful nods of his head.

    "So he's purple, he talks, and he flies." He gives a deeper, affirmative nod now, still sporting that friendly grin. "Is your friend a bird of some kind? Or... wait, no, you said that he doesn't have any legs. Uuhh..." He ruffles his hair gently in contemplation, closing his eyes for a moment. He doesn't leave her hanging, though, and when he finishes his inward deliberation, that helpful look comes back with a vengeance.

    "Gotcha. We'll find him." He returns Jiao's look with just as much determination; though much of that is belied by the gentle look he's fighting to keep on his face, a man like him would certainly not miss the undertones. "And we can be quick. Can't she just stay out here with us until we find her friend? Even if the villagers don't like having her around, she'll be safe with us." Speaking of, when he gets a moment, he would have a few words with him about why she's being kept in a village where she's ostracized in the first place. But for now, he has a 'friend' to find! ... though to be honest, he really doesn't have the foggiest idea what he's looking for. His best guess is that she's befriended some sort of monster. That happens in Auj Oule, right? Oh, but first...

    Jude looks to the young lady again. "Hey, where was the last place you saw him? Can you lead us there? Maybe we'll find something out if you retrace your steps." Moving right along, regardless of whether or not he has Jiao's approval.

    Though, he does falter a moment to give Yuri a look that is filled with just as much intrigue as it is well-concealed terror. Under his breath, he mutters something that would likely come through on the radio.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "Hey! YEP, I do a LOT of traveling! Bro I bring out the ALL the strides. Saw 'em with some big ANIMAL PARTS, gave 'em some DIRECTIONS for the MOUNTAIN." Arthur says, giving Chrysanthemum a bit of his own backing on the story. "IN FACT, just came outta RUSHUGAL a couple months ago on some BUSINESS! What a COINCIDENCE seein' you guys around here. What's up? I've just got some SEASONAL GRUNTWORK on THIS SIDE, the hell brings YOU GUYS 'round here?" Arthur's grinning widely and immediately assuming the most friendly posture possible.

    Hopefully, if he's properly coupled it with others, he's going to wind up immediately establishing a solid backstory for being around here alongside a vague implication of being a harmless, friendly sort who would be easy to talk to. He hopes to dangle directions given - thank goodness these guys are completely unfamiliar with the surroundings! - in exchange for figuring out what the hell these guys are here for. They're hunting Maxwell, maybe he can draw out a bit of other information?

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako blinks her eyes quickly when a villager approaches her and then smiles a welcoming smile. Nevermind that she's the visitor to the village. "Eh heh heh..." She glances off to the side and sheepishly starts playing with her ponytail, swishing it around with her right hand. "I am a spirit. Just a water spirit. That's all." She nods her head once, quickly at that, "Yup! This body is made out of water."

    When the villager extends his hand towards her and offers her some mana she cheerfully accepts it. "Hmm... let's see..." She starts swishing her ponytail around in a circle in back of her head. "Ah! I know!" Her left hand extends towards the villager with the palm facing upwards while a ball of purple water appears to form from her hand. Is that a Grape Gel? No of course not. "Here you go! Have some healing water. Just drink or apply where it hurts. Works really good on lower back pain for some reason too." She smiles cheerfully.

    She does however, hear about the missing Teepo as well. Hmm... time to keep a watery eye out for a purple thing.

Saber (346) has posed:
     The King of Knights couldn't quite keep the slight from off her face at the villager, and perhaps a little of her Righteous Disapproval might have seeped into it. But for the moment, there were more pressing matters.

     Perhaps as trivial as the task might seem, it was still the duty of a knight to aid the people. Saber approached with a sidelong glance to Sieg, her face impassive, refraing from noting that was a rather odd place for a reunion. Kneeling beside Elize, she allowed a faint, reassuring -- she hoped -- smile to break through her stoic mien. "Teepo, is it? And outside this building? We shall search for him, then."

     Standing up, she straightened her gloves. "It is a knight's duty to offer aid to all."

     A spirit, hmm? Well, she was perhaps a little better suited for that task than the average mortal.

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ ELIZE:

The man Yuri addresses suddenly changes his mind, evidently. It is not at all suspicious or unnatural. "I'm sorry! I don't know why I said that. I'll go speak with the mayor right away, maybe I can change her mind about Elize!" He takes off. Presumably to do exactly what he said he would, try to shake the village into accepting her. Unlikely the succeed, but the biggest favor he could think of doing for her right now.

    To the others, Elize nods slowly. "Um. Teepo is Teepo. He's not a spirit. He looks a bit like a stuffed toy, but he's alive! Maybe whoever made the noise took him... it was only a few minutes ago..." Asked where he might have gone, she looks around the shack. It's not hard to leave footprints in the soil here, but larger, armored ones stand out, headed for the orchard, having circled the shack. No one else seems to go anywhere near it. "M-Maybe the trees..."

    Jiao's insistance she go back inside brings her back to tears though. It looks like she doesn't have much self-assurance, or even the ability to stand her ground. "B-But... Teepo is..."

    Jude offers to tag along more directly-- she moves towards him, looking up at the massive man. "Can I? I'll be with them, I'll be safe. It's just until we find Teepo..." Pleeeeease?

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
    "I believe I shall come with you. If you are unable to change his mind, perhaps I can change his mind," Yuri doesn't have much personal investment in a lot of other things, and people seem to be handling the girl herself. When Jiao almost punches him, he looks up at the mountainous man and says, "If I were you, I wouldn't. Not because I think I can beat you, but because you won't like what my fighting style does to things around me. More importantly, if I fought at full power here, it would make FIA very sad." He blinks several times as he considers this, "As it stands right now, I don't intend to harm anyone or take violent action." He assures the large man, seeming distant in his appraisal. It looks like his 'normal human' mask is a bit loose today.

    "I will go speak with the mayor about the girl," He says with finality, turning and following off after the villager to go see the mayor.

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ SOLDIERS:

    The four still with Eldin and Chrys glance at each other. They dart off in pursuit of furry!Maxwell, per the last instructions they were given. Eldin frowns, taking a step towards the woman-- he seems to know better than shout at his men not to disobey. "Now listen here, miss. We're in enemy territory to start with, I can't afford my men splitting off. This might cause a scene. I'm going to have to ask you to tell me the truth, or..."

    Well, he is raising his rod slowly.
    Seems he is ready to start a scene if he has to.

    Fortunately he's stopped by Tir. Or rather, Scholtheim Reinbach III.
    He lowers his weapon, nodding. "Sorry sir. Eldin, officer for Rashugal. We're looking for Maxwell and a fugitive from Fennmont. We heard they might be somewhere in the area, but this woman is being..." He hesitates on word choice. "Distracting."

    Arthur, still talking to one of the regular soldiers, receives much the same answers. "We're just looking for Maxwell. It's not like we can go back to Fennmont with the shield up, so we were ordered to patrol all the way here to look for clues. To be honest I'd rather just be back home, this place is too primitive."

Sieg (566) has posed:
    "Hmm... well..." Sieg withdraws his hand, as it isn't taken. He considers what Jiao has to say, and offers an alternative, "... if that's the case, maybe you should come too. That place doesn't look very safe, and if it were me I'd probably sneak out when you weren't looking and go look for my friend anyway. It's better to do this where and when you have the chance to control the situation." An oddly mature thought for a kid like this, but it seems like he thought it through pretty quick. He smiles, "I'm not even that great at protecting myself though. If she needs protection... all of these people are probably better guardians than I am."

    "Especially her." He points towards Saber. "I don't think there are many souls who could protect another as well as that person right there." The particulars of her identity aren't something he's sussed out, but with Mordred's identity revealed he can make a good guess. Either way, she's going to be a serious enough heroic spirit that she can defend her master -- or a designated charge -- against almost anything. Or so he believes.

    Sieg goes and has a look at the shack. It's not hard, even for him, to pick out the presence of the footprints. He asides to the others, "Looks like there's a pretty decent clue right here. Why don't we follow it?" But he holds pace for the moment, waiting to see what happens with the little girl and her guardian.

Chrysanthemum (101) has posed:
    Oh wow, Tir is here and being weird! Chrysanthemum internally glees, and just says, "Oh, I'm not being difficult!" She does take one step back... she doesn't FEAR the rod, but in her limited experience those who can resist her abilities can also sorta sting if they smack her.

    Besides, Tir seems to be entertaining enough.

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ AYAKO:

    "O-Oh! Thank you!" The villager accepts the gift back, and then inspects Ayako closer. "That's so... weird. I haven't seen a spirit in human form before. I hear when the Four could be summoned, those would actually appear to people, but you don't look like Undine." Though the overall presence and power is roughly the same. Actually, Ayako's might be a bit higher overall, though the man couldn't tell that at a glance.

    "If you'd like extra mana, just tell me. Our well's been a bit dry lately so we've been asking water spirits for a hand with water, if that wouldn't inconvenience you..." It is so awkward asking a spirit things physically. Ayako could tell the man is not used to it.

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    A stuffed... toy? Or, wait, she said that it just -looks- like one. It's almost silly that that could get such a rise out of him given the crazy stuff he sees - or, well, saw for the time being - on a daily basis in the research bay at his school, but the idea of a talking plush toy is still... a bit foreign. Of course, he's too busy thinking of ways to help Elize and convince Jiao to even entertain the possibility that this is just a small child's imaginary friend.

    Not so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't realize the girl inching closer to him, but he does fail to notice himself stepping toward her in a way that makes this scene look less like a chance meeting, and more like an older brother defending his little sister from their angry father. His gaze does break away from Jiao at one other point so that he can gratefully glance to Saber, and flash her a smile as well. He mouths a 'thank you' directed at the knight as he steels himself for the response of this girl's apparent 'guardian'.

    Because in all honesty? Analogies aside, this guy does -not- seem like the parenting type.

Saber (346) has posed:
     Saber regarded Sieg briefly before nodding to Jiao calmly, not so much as flinching before the man but yet properly respectful. No trace of defiance, merely a proper bearing as befitting a dutiful knight. "Indeed. No harm will befall the girl, you have my word," she reassured the large man with a proper bow with her arm folded over her chest. And the particular way she said 'word' carried with it certain connotations: in her world, her word was her unbreakable bond.

     Glancing to the side, she caught Jude's grateful smile, nodding in turn. She really shoucl speak to him later; the particulars of his world still escaped her. Perhaps more importantly, he seemed an honourable sort...perhaps not precisely in accordance with the chivalric Cirtues but similar enough. She would have to delve further.

     Jade eyes turned back to the girl, regarding her thoughtfully. Not a spirit? Perhaps a different manner of sentient being? Well, she decided that once they found this 'Teepo' she would find out.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "HAH! Yeah, I usually like it when my RUNNING WATER doesn't run with LEGS too." Arthur says, giving the man a few more teeth of that wide grin. Lots of little jokes to increase his NATURAL COOLKID CHARISMA and make it massively less suspicious for him to work with what the guy's saying here. "Couple of 'em are GREAT PEOPLE, but I think I MOST DEF prefer the PRIVACY side of things, RIGHT BRO?"

    With that bit of buddy-buddy charisma-establishment done, Arthur moves in for the more subtle info-extraction. "Jeeze, you guys draw the SHORT STRAW or are the TOP BRASS getting EVERYONE outta CIVILIZATION? I'd love t'meet up with more folks that FEEL MY FEEL while I'm up here and on my business heading west, y'know, but JEEZE." He makes a few uncertain, vaguely plaintive gestures. "I don't gotta worry about AUJ OULE startin' to get pissy while I'm up here, right?" Just enough implication that Arthur wants to go back south to hopefully make the soldier feel comfortable with, say, revealing if this is a targeted excursion to just this area of Auj Oule, or if Maxwell's home is gonna be at risk from a much more broad kind of excursion into Auj Oule.

Dawn King Gaius (557) has posed:
    Jiao doesn't bother responding to Yuri. He did Elise a favor, and to spare further words would be making light of that fact. He could accept that for the time being. Later, though. However, in response to the others, he merely shakes his head. "I will not expose her to the villagers for the sake of a toy," the mountain of a man states. There's nothing but softness in his tone, but it sounds like a final command. "Let us go, child. If these people wish to search for your Teepo, that is their perogative. You, however, must go back," he states. He then scans the crowd again, shaking his head. "I cannot command you not to do whatever it is you choose, but you will not be doing so with Elise present. Nor wil you harm the villagers. Beyond that, do what you will. Let us go, child. It is dangerous for you out here."

    He lays a hand on Elise's shoulder, the action gentle. And also a sign that the argument is over to him.

Tir McDohl (321) has posed:
    Well, Tir isn't without a sense of humor, though it's a little blunted since the whole Runebearer thing started. He can still pick up what's going on though, and rolls with it. "She isn't being difficult," he says blandly. But now on to actual talking. "Eldin, nice to meet you. I'm afraid that you won't find any Maxwell here. I can honestly say that I haven't seen anyone of that description." He hesitates and rubs his chin, then decides to bring something up.

    "Aren't you on foreign soil, anyway? You're a long way from home to be poking around in this area. Must be awfully important, that sort of thing could cause a war that I'm pretty sure you and your superiors don't want."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    "You're very welcome!" Ayako smiles in a relieved fashion and lets go of her ponytail. "Eh heh... it took a really long time to learn how to look like a human. And that's putting it lightly." She nods her head once and grins cheerfully. "Eehh... Undine, huh. Sounds like we'd either get along well or hate each other lots." She giggles softly and shakes her head.

    She inclines her head to the side gently and glances up at the sky. "Hmm... well... if you want water, I'll give you exactly how much mana you give me." Ayako's gaze is quite serious for a moment. "You understand I can only give as much as I receive and all. Anything more would be unfair." She then notices how awkward the villager is acting, "Relax, relax!" She smiles cheerfully, "Just talk to me normally!"

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz seems to be in agreement with Judge she actually smiles at the child. She's going to get to work but the question is where are they going to be looking. She looks to Yuri then to Judge whom she gives a at least he's on the kid's side sort of look.

"Oh I see."

She admits her mistake but she's got to wonder which way they will be going she does think anyone who messes with the kid while Yuri's on duty is going to have a bad day.

Sieg (566) has posed:
    In answer to Jiao's firm resistance, Sieg simply reaches into his coat and pulls out a... cell phone. It's a flip-open type, but it looks a little more advanced than is typical of such phones. He holds it up and snaps a photograph of the mountain man and his charge. The flash flickers brightly across this little corner of the village. The action doesn't go explained, though, and he doesn't bother arguing about it all. It's not as if he has any ability to force the man to do what he wants, no matter what his advice may be, but the whole situation feels anticlimactic.

    Jude seems determined to keep arguing with the guy, and Saber is pretty good back-up on that front. Him, he's too weak to contribute. There's no sense of safety in being with him. So the homunculus decides to take his own potentially foolish course of action.

    He turns around and advances past the shack, following the footprints wherever it is that they're going. Sieg is definitely going to have to bring Rider back here sometime.

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ MAYOR:

    Yuri heads to speak with the mayor. It turns out, she is very easy to find after a moment of asking directions. She's an old woman, probably in her late 60's or 70's. She looks healthy and happy, at least. The other villager is already with her in front of her house, begging her to reconsider, but she seems fairly adamant.

    "That child isn't natural. There's something very wrong with her. You can feel it in the air. I won't stop people from lending her aid in secret if they want," as several villagers already do, in fact, "But I can't condone her wandering around."

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
    Yuri Stinson stares at the mayor for a long few moments, his jade eyes resting upon her. On the one hand, FIA would be upset if he mind controlled an elderly woman. On the other, he thinks FIA would appreciate the need to protect a child. He seems to stick on this point more than the others. For now, he tries a more mundane approach.

    "Something different does not mean something wrong. Some day your village may need her, and you will be glad to have encouraged her to like you all." He says very firmly, "Whatever is wrong with her, a society that oppresses the people who exist within it is tyranny. She is not wrong, she is different. All civilizations rely upon those who exist apart from normal society to enact great change, precisely because they are not normal. Heroes are, by definition, not the normal person. So are villains. It is going to be up to how you treat her as to whether she is a hero or a villain in her future." He's carefully choosing his words to AVOID his special power, "I believe that you should deeply consider these points."

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ ELIZE:

    Coming from the orchard is a sudden shout.
    It sounds like: "HEY, YOU HEARD WHAT SHE SAID, OLD MAN!"

    Like a bolt of purple light, Teepo comes streaking from the orchard, and Elize catches him without hesitation. "Teepo!" "Elize! You gotta stand up to big old meanies like him, you know?!" "B-But... he's scary..."

    There is a psychic link of some sort between the girl and the 'stuffed toy', but it's hard to make out from just a quick glance. Teepo glares at Jiao, suddenly continuing his shouting: "We're not going back inside! Nuh uh! No way! Come on Elize, let's leave this dump with our new best pals for life!"

    Answering the question of 'where was he', half a dozen Rashugal guards can be seen running towards those still with Elize and Jiao, apparently exhausted. "Catch that toy!" "Teach it to insult us!"

    Sieg will be the first to bump into them. They just have platemail and basic swords, from the looks of it. Given he was heading that way, he might be able to slow them down so the others can get away, if they want.

    Or they could collectively agree to fight.
    Or Jiao could be Jiao.

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    Okay, so we're doing this the hard way.

    "Wait!" No sooner has Jiao's hand found its way to the girl's shoulder than has he spoken up again. This, too, was unconscious, and the young man leaves for an unusually long pause after he has spoken to grind his teeth, and carefully consider his next words. He inhales deeply and evenly, leveling his eyes with the human behemoth's, plenty of fire present beyond his youthful irsies. "It may not be any of our business, but can you at least tell me -why- it's so important that she stays here? I understand the need for her to stay out of the village if she's some form of pariah, but," Oh, yes. After that, there's no way in hell he's holding back his questions. "if that's the case, why don't you take her somewhere else? Why is it so important that she lives here when she could easily live somewhere else and have friends, and live freely out in the open?"

    There is a noticeably impassioned edge to his words that no one would understand unless they know just how much he truly epitomizes the conceptual 'good guy', or who have felt compelled by this same force: that blind desire to help another, regardless of how much it could end up hurting you, simply because the heat of the moment demands it. No other force on Earth could have made this seemingly meek, yielding boy face up so boldly to the tower of raw muscle that could practically capture his entire form in his shadow.

    But if he won't listen, then for the good of everyone, there's really only one thing he can do. He, too, kneels so that his gaze meets the young girl's, and he somehow manages the same comforting look that he has every other time thus far. "I'm going to go look for Teepo. But don't worry." He looks to Saber with the slightest tremble at the edges of his smile. "She'll stay with you and make sure that I can find you once I have your friend." At that, he stands from his position on the ground and gives the girl, and the knight, a final nod of his head. "Don't worry, Elize. I won't be long." He promptly sets off for the orchard, easily noticing the footsteps left behind, and not caring at all at any confrontations they might foreshadow.

A Jude's gotta do what a Jude's gotta --

-- oh, shit.

    Before he can get very far, a swarm of soldiers comes pouring out of his intended destination. Without a second thought either to acknowledge Teepo's wholly bizarre existence or any personal danger this whole affair might pose, he dashes back to Elize and bashes his gauntlets together, assuming a fighting stance. He's the first to try what any conventional Unionite would, naturally: negotiation.

    "Jiao! We have to make sure that Elize stays safe!" He glances back at the man. "We can settle things later! For now, let's do this. Together."

Sieg (566) has posed:
    It only takes Sieg a few seconds to figure out exactly what it is that he wants to do. He doesn't hear the radio communications at all, so there's no reason for him to believe they're anything but local. Judging by the ease with which the dirt around the shack yielded to footprints, he quickly determines that the soil around here is pretty soft. It may not be moist right now, but even on the surface it's relatively mudlike and yielding.

    The homunculus steps forward, into the path of the soldiers. His magic circuits thrum to life, but the sensation is painful. Using magic is something that he wasn't strictly made for, and it's like exercising an atrophied limb. Even though he's quite capable of it -- indeed, more capable than any human magus could hope to be -- it is straining and painful. The aches of disuse strike him in waves immediately, and anybody can see him shaking around the hands.

    "ERTRAG!" The spell is cast directly from his magic reserves. No circles are established, no seals cast. Instead, the diminuitive homunculus raises a foot and stomps it into the ground. It is a simple spell, carrying with it the concept and word of, 'Yield.' The power he spends to get it to happen is disproportionate to what should actually be necessary, because he's inexperienced. But--

    Provided that it does what it's intended to, the ground underneath Sieg and the oncoming soldiers and their plate armor turns rapidly to mud. It's a tiny change, relative to most magecraft. Its power is miniscule, and most mages would laugh at it. But in the circumstances, it's quite fitting.

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ SOLDIERS:

    "Yes. This is... well, if we do anything stupid here, it could be considered an invasion. With how tense things are already, it would precipitate the war. But finding Maxwell and the fugitive are important enough we can spare the risk," Eldin says, before adding: "We're within our right to pursue a criminal past the border--" What is all that shouting?

    Eldin glances towards the orchard. Well, he can't see anything from here, so he shrugs it off for now. "Sorry, where were we?" he asks Tir and Chrys.

    Arthur's soldier just seems very confused by all the slang, but tries to follow. "I doubt we'll cause an incident, we only have maybe two dozen troops down here. The dozen of us in town here, and the other half is waiting for us at the Seahaven. We're to get out of dodge and never talk about this to anyone if we start a mess here."

Saber (346) has posed:
     The knight-king folded her arms, regarding Jiao with Elize in hand. "In truth, I believe I may understand his concerns," she admitted softly, casting a quick glance back to the villagers. "It is not so much the physical her guardian worries over."

     Regardless, she noted Jude's sudden Heroism manifestation was a subject she should definitely bring up at a more auspicious time. Nodding to the young man, she allowed another faint smile to break through the stoic mask. "Your friend will be found soon, I am certain."

     Not that they brave little band had the opportunity. As if to further confound the petite blonde knight, said stuffed toy proved to be very much 'alive', a shout issuing from the orchard followed by a streak of purple. Saber wasn't sure what the link between the girl and the toy was, but there was no denying it was there. But what was a bigger concern were the soldiers bearing down on them. Time to perform the other part of knightly duty.

     In a sudden flash of light and wind, Saber was now standing in her full battle armour, invisible sword already in hand. But instead of leaping immediately in front of the oncoming soldiers, she drove the tip of Excalibur into the ground and extended Wind King outward, creating a barrier between the retreating Jiao and his charge and the soldiers.

     Moreover, the faint smile was gone, replaced by the stern battle mien. "You shall go no further," she ordered quietly but with the authority of the King of Knights.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz listne to teh hout and there's a bolt of purple light hat the heck is this? She stares at it an in a strange way it reminds her of her mag. However it's not here she thought it best to leave the little fella in the photon trap for the moment given she had no idea how the locals would take it. She pauses as they look like they are gettinf ready to run off? Crys' mind works rapidly trying to think of the simple issue if to fight or not. Jude is doing an amazing job she thinks for asking the questions that /should/ be asked. Seriously the med student is really growing on the Newman a lot. However things hit the fan and she's summoning both her hoving almost little mech like thing from her photon trap but a pistol on one hand and a DB saber in the other, it looks to Jude.

"Right with you."

Dawn King Gaius (557) has posed:
    Jiao's attention immediately shifts. "There it is," he states, as Teepo and Elise reunite. He smiles softly, then steps to the front of thr group as Rashugal troops bear down. Even unarmed, the towering man seems ready to take care of the troops. Jude is, by and large, ignored for the moment, though he seems to grin slightly. "Stand back, Elise," he says. "Now that you have Teepo, head toward home. Now." He lumbers forward, then stops as Sieg turns the ground beneath the soldiers to mud. His massive hands ball into fists and he continues his walk forward. "Invading Auj Oule," he says as he raises a fist. "Nachtigal must be getting desperate." He throws an arm back, then crashes it into the first soldier he encounters. "Make sure Elise gets home," he says over his shoulder. "Make sure my King knows what is transpiring."

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ AYAKO:

    "Of course! That's how we treat spirits. Mana in exchange for services, never more service than we give mana for. A bit less, actually. It's like a merchant selling his wares, he has to sell them for a bit higher than he pays to live off the profit."

    The man will show Ayako up the hill, where it looks like a new house is being constructed. Earth and fire spirits are busily arranging the wood and stones, while workers guide them with mana. It does look like they get more mana out of it than they actually use, but their mana also seems to double as their lifeforce.

    There's a well here too.

    It does seem dried up.

    The man offers Ayako most of his mana, if she can fill it. It's a really good deal, like getting a five star meal for helping move a bookshelf or two.

Chrysanthemum (101) has posed:
    "I see," Chrysanthemum states quietly. "Well, I don't really think you'll find her here. I've already told you all I know. Believe it or not." She makes a wavy gesture with her hand. Then she gets a little more of an honest smile.

    "I do appreciate you being so civil about matters, Eldin," the half-Muse says. "After all, these people here really don't seem to know much. No need to hassle them, hmm? Except via the threat of immenent invasion, but that really isn't in your pay grade, I imagine."

    She's mostly just tweaking him, since she herself has no issues with conquering.

Tir McDohl (321) has posed:
    Playing good cop to Chrysanthemum while Arthur is... shouting. Tir is in another weird situation, huh? The young man leans on his staff and shakes his head, "Don't criticize him too much, I'm sure he's just doing his duty. Right and wrong, and where the line is drawn, is always a personal choice."

    He offers his hand out to Eldin, "Good luck figuring out what to do. If I were you? I'd take a good, long look at what your weapons do to the world around you, and maybe consider if it's worth it. But it's really your choice."

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ MAYOR:

    The old woman looks at Yuri, pensive.
    Then to the villager Yuri 'convinced' earlier.

    She sighs.

    "We don't want trouble in Hamil. When Auj Oule goes to war, the king excludes us, and Rashugal does not attack. That girl... she has the attention of a Chimeriad, Jiao. She's bad news, no matter how you look at it. But maybe I'm too old for this. I suppose I can't tell people what to do."

    Resigned, she sighs.

    "I'll speak with people. But I can't promise a change overnight. It might be better if you could find her a better home, still. This isn't a place for a child like her to grow up."

Yuri Stinson (106) has posed:
    Yuri nods his head to her and then tilts it, "Acceptable." He assesses her for several moments and then says, "Your leadership is found to be flexible, but principled. While alligned incorrectly, it was open to alternate viewpoints. I will allow it to continue." He decides before turning and wandering off from the mayor.

    When he sees there's a battle going on outside, he cups his hands to his mouth and shouts loudly, "HEY. CUT IT THE FUCK OUT." He may not have intended this to be UMI, and just phrased his wording wrong.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako nods her head once, swiftly. "Aahh, I see! There are some people out there that aren't so nice..." She shrugs and follows the man up the hill and watches the spirits and workers construct for a moment. "Eehh... that's pretty good. Although I think there's something to be said about building some things with your own hands." She smiles softly and then notes the well.

    She walks over to the well and looks into it. "So, it's just this well? Yikes, it's dry." Her gaze turns upwards for a moment, as if doing some math in her head. "Un. I can do this." Only some of the offered mana is taken, not all of it. "Give me a moment!" And Ayako literally jumps into the well. "Wheee!"

    About twenty seconds after the water spirit has jumped into the well her slender, delicate fingers grasp the edge of the well from the inside-and her head peeks up over the edge. "All done!" The well is completely full of clean water now! Her mana to water conversion appears to be very efficient. Ayako pulls herself out of the well and lands lightly on her feet. As she does so a ball of dirty water emerges from the well and flings itself aside. Seems she cleaned the well too. "Anything else I can help with?" She glances back towards the shouting. "Although it seems something is going on over there."

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    Sieg is right, this place has soft dirt.
    The entire earth around the village is very fertile, and very soft in general. If it were raining it would probably be pretty awful to walk where there isn't any grass or road, in fact.

    His spell, child's play or not, turns the earth into mud, slowing the advance of the soldiers, with them sinking down to their knees due to the armor's weight. They grumble loudly. Earth spirits gravitate around Sieg curiously. If he wanted, he could probably 'pay' them to do that thing he just did again, with less hassle. It's an odd presence, either way.

    Jiao SLAMS into the first guard, sending him flying back a dozen feet, his boots still stuck in the mud. The other five, upon seeing Jude, Saber and Crys, all ready to fight too, are starting to panic, trying to free themselves.

    Teepo tugs on the back of Jude's hair.
    It might be a bit painful.

    "I HAVE A PLAN, 'OL BUDDY 'OL PAL!" he exclaims.
    "T-Teepo, we should... we should go home..."

    A bit more quiet, Teepo says: "Let's run while the old meanie is distracted! C'mon, he'll be smacking those guys in the face for the next hour, let's go see the world! We can go with our new BFFs!"
    Elize hesitates. She looks at the others.
    "U-Um... are we really... friends?"

    Teepo isn't wrong though, it might not be a bad idea to pretend to get Elize him, and then just bolt off. She obviously doesn't want to go back inside the shack, but pissing Jiao off into a fight might be messy for no reason.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "RAD! Right, well, maybe we can help a bit. She wound up heading NORTH, looked like heading to the NORTHEAST." Arthur gestures vaguely to the soldier he is harassing, pointing. "Gave her some ADVICE about PASSAGES, should take her around any of the SEAHAVENS on the EAST COAST anywhere heading NORTH of here. Y'know, if she's the one you're actually LOOKING for. Can't say I got her name." A quick thumbs up. "GOOD LUCK!"

    And with that, Arthur heads on away! He's probably mostly done with his CLEVER SPY-WORK for now, he's going to head over to where all those NOISES are! He's probably gonna keep his distance, unfortunately, trying not to blow his cover, but he's going to get to watching what goes on with Jiao and the others. "Hey, I heard someone wants TRAVEL! Anyone call in SPACE SHENANIGANS? I can always tell when someone needs to get GOIN' SOMEWHERE!" His grin is wide and intense. He's probably gonna wait for more approval than just the little girl, but he's gonna be trying to provide some subtle options for an escape for those in need, while the soldiers are distracted.

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    Eldin looks at Chrys, and then nods reluctantly.
    "A fair bit above my paygrade to start a war, yes. Civility, isn't that what people become soldiers to maintain in the first place?" he asks her back.

    At the mention of 'what their weapons do', he just seems thoroughly confused. "What, this? It's just a shock rod. See, you put gunpowder here," he motions towards the end of the rod, "And then you ask a fire spirit to to light it as you strike. Good for several hits before it depletes. Conductive material, works with lightning artes too. I find it more humane than a sword. Easier to disable rather than kill with this," he explains.

    It is in fact not a Spyrix.
    He doesn't even know what those are, that's how low on the food chain he is. He's a captain of a sort, but just of the regular military.

    The man Arthur is speaking with nods, taking nodes down. He doesn't plan to run off on his own, rather he regroups with Eldin to share findings in whispers. Eldin just smacks him on the head lightly.

    "We should get going. If she's not here there's no point staying. Sorry for the disturbance, ma'am, sir."

Tir McDohl (321) has posed:
    Tir squints at it. Scratches his head. "Oh. Never mind, I thought it was something else. I guess I can't lecture you on morals of your weapons after all." Well, there goes his recruitment speech. Oh well, he didn't want to get too involved anyway.

    "It's fine, it's fine. Good luck and all that."

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ AYAKO:

    "Wh--"

    Ayako's display causes most of the nearby villagers to stare. The spirits, as well-- she can tell those are invisible to humans, though. Their shapes are various. Some look like humans, with clothes made of their elements. Some look like animals and monsters, without being hostile in the slightest. Some are just clumps of mana without a shape, evidently undecided.

    The questions mostly all drown together from all the sources, and sum down to admiration and wondering how she's appearing before people. Obviously a big deal here.

    From up the hill it's pretty easy for her to see the commotion at the orchard. Some villagers are looking, but don't seem inclined to get involved.

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    Jiao's hammer scatters the oppositions like ants, and Jude sees no further need for his poise of reserved shounen ferocity. With another, gentle exhalation, Jude rests his hands at his sides, and -

THE PAIN, OH MAXWELL WHY

    Jude's arms instinctively grab at his head, and at the marauding sockpuppet that is, apparently, giving him some rather controversial suggestions. Wait, wait, is -THAT- Elize's friend? How did he miss that earlier? But he doesn't have any time at the moment to reflect on the irony of it being an actual talking toy, because he has a decision to make. Whether the thought of taking Elize and running is one that has in reality sprung from his own subconscious and is being expressed via an exceptionally peculiar figment of his imagination, or if this is 'conversation' is actually happening, is irrelevant. The situation is certainly real, and if he's going to do something, he had better do it now.

    Right after that thing stops tugging on his hair and he's had some time to consult the others via radio, naturally.

Chrysanthemum (101) has posed:
    Aww, Chrysanthemum was really looking forward to Tir swaying the young captain! But it looks like that isn't going to happen unless she maybe gives him a hand. Which she won't, not metaphysically at least. "Oh, Lord Reinbach refers to certain weapons that we've heard rumors of. Well, I have, and I assume he's heard the same. They are less... pleasant for the spirits, that is all. Useful for people like me, who have a very poor Mana Lobe."

Sieg (566) has posed:
    Strange beings swarm around Sieg. He stares at them in wonder, uncertain as to their purpose. But he had seen how the others used them, and understood the principle. It was similar to how familiars worked, but more temporary. He offers each of the spirits around him some power -- not a lot individually, but a fair chunk collectively -- just to see what happens in his case. He doesn't bother directing them, though. There's something more important at hand.

    He turns around, walking away from the mud and the fight. Sieg looks down at Elize kindly, smiling a little bit. "Well," he says, "I haven't been around for a long time, but I think maybe you have to make that decision yourself. It seems to me like you're in trouble. I'm weak, but if that person is holding you against your will..."

    Sieg casts a dark look towards Jiao.

    "I will use all of my might to help you find safety where YOU want to be. But I can't choose where that is for you." With that statement, Sieg seems to grow. Not in stature, but in presence. The kind of charisma associated with great heroes. Tiny embers glowing in a hearth, but not yet flames themselves.

    "Neither can he." Sieg looks towards Jude. "Make your choice, little lady. But it's your choice to make, not ours. It'll be scary at first, and it won't be all smiles. You'll probably get hurt sometimes, but mostly it'll be alright in the end."

    "It was for me." Sieg reassures Elize, confidently.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako blushes lightly at the stares of all types. Once the questions start flowing, she swiftly answers them quickly and earnestly, seeming to find delight in them. The admiration gets deflected quite quickly, however. She seems to be the type that downplays that kind of thing.

    Looking down from the hill, she shields her eyes with her right hand, pointer finger pressed sideways against her forehead. "Hmm... pardon me for a moment!" She runs quickly down the hill and over to where commotion is.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz is looking to Jude on this one for a moment staring for a moment what the heck is this? She's not sure about the deal with the toy it seems the kid was right but what's using the toy is the question Crys silently wonders. She see Jiao handles the soldiers she moves to lower her weapons now and is gong to trust in her friend's judgement on this.

Jude Mathis (542) has posed:
    Still rubbing his head from the earlier pruning courtesy of Teepo, Jude turns to Elize with a series of winces, and his same, trademarked, patented, do-gooder look. Finally finding it in himself to blush at the earlier mention of BFFness, Jude moves the rubbing hand to his neck, briefly before finally replying in earnest. "I don't know about BFFs; I did just meet you guys! But," He locks eyes with the girl, "we are really your friends." He holds out his hand to hers, looking as determined as ever. "And friends don't leave friends behind!"

    Assuming that she takes his hands as intended, she would guide her out of the combative maelstrom and into a a clearing where, presumably, Arthur will be waiting. He lets him take it from there, and no matter what happens, he will be sure to follow the girl through the portal.

    He's definitely doing the right thing here... isn't he? Well, there will be time for reflection and regret later. As long as she's safe and no one else gets hurt here, that's all that matters to him.

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ ELIZE:

    Elize looks at Sieg. She hesitates a bit.
    Teepo screeches out: "OF COURSE SHE AGREES! Right Elize?"
    She nods slowly.

    This is probably as good a response as anyone is getting out of her on the subject of taking an important decision on the fly.

    Without direction, the earth spirits seem to confer with one another for a brief moment, before surging massive spikes of earth to Jiao's aid, which acts as both an attack against the soldiers-- and a physical wall, dressing itself between them, and the battle. It sounds like telling them what to do wouldn't have hurt, but having intentions is enough.

    The rest of the battle sounds pretty nasty, from the sounds coming over the wall. Jiao is probably not a very nice person to fight, given his size.

    The little girl nods to Jude, taking his hand. "Thank you."
    Teepo suddenly twirls in the air. "BY THE WAY! I'm Teepo the great! She's Elize! It's nice to meet you, pals!" A bit haughty and full of himself, that toy.

    Leaving via the ARTHUR EXPRESS will not be a problem past this point.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    The others are going to be the ones who handle Elize! Arthur's just here to casually and with as much stylishness as he can, beckon Jude and the others on towards him, back his way out of the village's more open areas, flourish with a quick spike of dashing mannerism, and summons a quick floating spirographic Gate to Afterus!

    "All aboard the ADVENTURE TRAIN to ANYWHERE BUT HERE, what's up? I'll be your CONDUCTOR on this, we got NO STOPS up to RAD SHENANIGANS." A quick flourishing gesture to indicate the Gate!

Milla Maxwell (13) has posed:
    @ YURI:

    Though it would be hard to tell for the others due to the earthy wall, the soldiers DID stop fighting. Unfortunately that's not going to spare them Jiao's wrath and might make it worse for them, but they absolutely deserve it. Probably.