1974/Bandits vs. Farmers

Bandits vs. Farmers
Date of Scene:	07 April 2015
Location:	Planetary Plains
Synopsis:	Way too many bandits have arrived at a village on the border of Plegia and Ylisse! Only a force of unnecessarily powerful heroes and not-even-close-to-heroes can put a stop to this.
Cast of Characters:	544, 560, 627, 642, 652, 703, Sanary Rondel, 746

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Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Today has been a strange day for the little border village. There were more travellers than usual, the animals were restless, and even the townspeople seemed to be on edge. There had been rumors of a growing band of brigands attacking villages near the mountains to the north, but that had nothing to do with this, right?

    That's what Sanary figured when she made the decision to visit her home village. She's in the middle of a group of young men and women, observing them as they take clumsy swings at training dummies with shoddy axes in hand. "Okay, so... N-no, that's not how you-no." The healer sighs wearily at their 'technique' amounting to little more than just flailing and tripping over themselves. "Were you this bad when I-"

    A shrill cry breaks her attention from the training session as one of the militia members appears to be suffering from a sudden bout of arrow in the face. Although he goes down fairly quickly and without much more noise, the rest of the militia is thrown into a panic!

    MEANWHILE: On the other side of the village walls, a bow-wielding horseman can be seen scurrying back towards a vertiable army of bandits closing in on the village from the northern mountains. They don't appear to be the most organized or even well-armed for that matter, but there's a lot of them. Power in numbers and all that!

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    As it so happens, this humble village isn't too many warp gates away from Dun Realtai and Emiya Shirou's been doing some scouting for the village's traders. He came via bicycle, which probably got some attention earlier, but things have long since calmed down.

    He's by a well, writing down his gathered information when the arrows start flying. "what--" His words are dry and voice cracks with deathly fear!

    Then, panic. "AN ATTACK?!"

    He's dressed in squire's clothes - the bare minimum for such, rather than anything luxurious - and doesn't appear armed, but...

    "Trace ON!"

    The redhead has magic on his side. Some of it circulates through his body where before he seemed unremarkable. His eyesight sharpens with hawk-like clarity and breathing quickens...

    "Who'd be attacking a place like this...?!" Although he doesn't have to think too hard on that, remembering tales Sir Bedivere shared of how hard his own times were... "Tch... raiders, huh?"

    Yet he still seems unarmed...

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    Audrey had agreed to accompany Sanary back to her home village both out of curiosity to see her world and out of a desire to snoop around for weapons, even mundane ones, to add to her ever expanding collection. It's true a boring iron sword isn't really going to compare to, say, the gunblade she keeps sheathed on her waist at almost all times, but weapons from other worlds have advantages all the same. Namely, not being made out of magic.

    That's why the KIRIN supervisor slash Heritor slash Monk is with the healer today, though the dark blue military overcoat is no different than usual despite the locale. She'd been in the process of looking for a shop when a guard screamed and the bandits' presence became obvious. With a sigh, Audrey reaches for her gunblade, but does not unsheathe it yet; rather she'll hop onto a roof to get a good view of the attacking force first.

    "Rondel, get people inside."

Sumia (544) has posed:
    Suima's on a restocking spree here at the village, the vulnearies are cheap here and well made. Her pegasus trots alongside the knight and her spear at her side. "So fifty gold for a ten stock of vulneries, and..." the sound of screams catches the woman's ears and has her whipping around... only to fall flat on her face. "Itttai..." a quick shake of her head and assistance from the local shop owner, she mounts up and takes to the skies.

    "Timing... what timing." she comments, a look at what's on the way, she sighs and shakes her head, bow users, possibly some magic, general infantry. Doesn't seem to be too many mounted units, Sumia's at the advantage. "Alright, everyone, get inside. The Shepards are here to help drive these bandits off. Any wounded gather in one place and we'll be able to heal them after we clear the rabble."

    Diving down, she readies her lance and lands near the gate's edge, "Alright, those who are able and willing to lift a weapon..." a pregnant pause here, where was Chrom when you need him, "gather what you can and... let's defend this place."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji is also present, accompanying Sanary and Audrey for his own inscrutable reasons. His opinion of the lackadaisacal training of the local militia is apparent in his flat stare. Audrey, in his opinion, could probably take the lot of them with one bare hand herself.

But that is why such palces draw attacks from bandits. they are easy pickings. The cry from the retreating horseman is not unexpected, and the Murasame heir looks up. "Murasame hungers." Souji says ominously, walking with purpose towards the oncoming horde. He reaches the gate, standing in the middle of it and simply waiting for the bandits to close. He does not get out of the way, his gaze steel as he watches the irregulars approach. "Parasites. You will receive nothing but death today." He states. He has not even withdrawn his sword yet.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Prince Landon al Cid has not been able to get out very much. One of the unfortunate consequences of being royalty is that you have actual things to do, and cannot simply fuck off to strange worlds for the sake of fun, exploration, and self-enrichment. People depend on you to make important decisions and solve important problems, arbitrate important debates, and handle important miscellanea. And that doesn't even count the rigors of homework and projects the Academy demands - for it also demands excellence from its students, and, to a lesser degree, Landon demands excellence from himself. He's always been determined not to coast on the laurels of his forefathers, after all.

     But today - /today/ - he has finally snagged himself a free day. Today there is no important arbitration, no difficult decisions, nothing at all he needs to do. And he has taken the time to go out and /enjoy himself/.

     The little village may not be much, compared to the grand cities of Galianda, but that's exactly what Landon wanted. He didn't want more of the same, or to be impressed and awed and blown away. That wasn't where you found what was interesting. Oh, sure, vast and sweeping alien architecture and ruins and all that sort of thing was fun...but Landon al Cid is a diplomat first and all else second, and what he finds fascinating are the people. The way these people live their lives is so different from him! Even accounting for class and technological differences, these people are something new, something fresh, something exciting. So, as he goes around in his Judge armor (his father /insisted/ he wear the silver armor, the purple cape, the /representation of his family name/, and Landon was not one to often argue with Rycharde al Cid), a smile on his face, he speaks with people. He talks with the villagers. He learns about them, and - perhaps most importantly - he /listens/.

     So when he hears the thundering hooves, the roar of the Madponies, Landon straightens. He excuses himself from a conversation with some of the village elders and heads directly towards the source.

     The Judge Blade forms in his hand, heavy, crystalline, and ready for action. The sound of such rapid hoofbeats meant nothing good.

     And it was his duty, as one who carried the name al Cid, to protect the innocent, wherever it was necessary.

     So much for his free day.

Orphen (703) has posed:
The sound of a large brown horse stomping into the village can be heard as Orphen rides in, wielding a fairly generic adventuring sword. "Hey, Sanary! I tracked you down to ask for another date, but it looks like I came at a bad time. I'll help protect your village and we'll just call it an equal exchange." He offers a reassuring smile down at her, then looks up. "I'll follow your lead on this."

Alberto Guardeira (746) has posed:
    Alberto was pretty much taking a stroll across the multiverse. No, really, he had nothing better to do, so he decided to play the tourist, checking this quaint little place where militias seemed to lack some basic training. Of course, this meant he is once again in the wrong spot at the wrong place.

    "What ha-" his question falls apart as he sees the arrow first, then the archer, then the bandit army. "Oh. Looks like this is a raid." Way to state the obvious.

    His hands pull his rifle out from its resting place, but he does not pull the bolt right away, opting instead to get into a higher, more advantageous position for some sharpshooting.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    The village has certainly seen better days, notwithstanding the arrival of the brigands. It's certainly not the wealthiest village, and all of the ramshackle houses are in dire need of repairs. For lack of a better word, it's truly a village of hicks. There's a sizable pig farm closer to the center of the village and a number of smaller plots for vegetables, although it's a wonder how the people in this village can even stay fed. Strangely enough, however, the lingering smell of pig seems to actually be improving over time. Still, what the village lacks in arable land is made up for with size... Sort of. Enough to justify an all-out attack on the village, at least.

    OUTSIDE: The largest and only armored bandit lets out a low rumble from his throat before spitting out a dirty wad of mucus on dirt before raising a hand, the rest of the bandits coming to a slow stop with the occasional push and bump. "We give ya ta two minutes to clear out! Then we takin' the place!" Several of the archers near the front, armed with an eclectic mix of bows, crossbows, and even one with a sling all appear ready to start launching their projectiles at a moment's notice. Souji's approach only seems to be irritating them more, although none of them appear to be willing to make a move without the go ahead from the leader.

    INSIDE: So much for the militia being of any use. Between all the panicking and running about, it doesn't seem as if too many people in the militia are willing to actually fight. Sanary clenches a hand around the handle of the tomahawk tied to her side, leaving the gunaxe on the other side untouched for the time being.

    "Always with the two minutes thing..." She mutters angrily as she holds a hand out to stop someone from colliding with her, twisting around to shove him towards a building before looking over to Audrey. "Figures the day I bring you guys, /this/ shit happens..." She shakes her head and gives the Heritor a quick nod before turning towards the rest of the remaining militia members... Member. Was he even from here? She didn't recognize Emiya nor his clothes, and there was also someone calling herself a Shepherd? Sumia certainly didn't look anything like a sheep herder, but if she was willing to fight, Sanary certainly isn't going to turn her down, nor would she turn down the Judge or that guy climbing onto the roof.

    "Careful up there! Alright... Can you guys take things from here? I'll be out once everyone's inside! You, too, Orphen!" And with that, the healer dashes off to work on gathering the remaining villagers loitering about or panicking outside, occasionally punching someone in the face just to get them to quiet down even as the bandits outside grow more and more restless. Things are about to come to a head!

    PLAYER PHASE

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     A brief radio exchange makes this likely to be the craziest thing Landon's going to do this week. There's heights, and then there's...well, *heights*. And while Landon's always longed to fly, always longed to *really* feel the wind racing through his face, like any teenager cooped up in a small area dreams, he never imagined it would be on the back of a winged madpony. Indeed, as he intersects Sumia's path, there's a moment of intense trepidation as the young Prince looks from her to the pegasus.

     There is a clear flicker of fear in his eyes for just a moment. It can't be helped. Galianda's horses are nightmare monsters, not things you take for a comfy ride. And they certainly don't fly. What a mess that would be.

     Still, Landon isn't one to dwell on fear. It takes him a few seconds to figure out how to get on, but once he does, he's on. He gets an arm around Sumia's waist with minimal discomfort - he's a /Prince/, being in close proximity with beautiful women is practically his job description - as the Judge Blade leaves his grip.

     The heavy-looking crystal sword hovers next to them, as if of its own free will. Landon snaps another set of Law Cards out of nowhere, holding them alongside her. They won't blow away.

     "Fly as fast as you like," he tells her, a broad grin spreading across his face, "I'll be your shield, my lady, if you'll be my wings."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    START TURN!

    The first thing Shirou does is rush over to stand opposite the armored bandit - who seems to be the leader. He's dressed colorfully and nothing at all like the locals. A bright red tunic, albeit lacking heraldry. Quality leather boots... yeah, by attire he'd probably fit in with this world - maybe in a castle courtyard though, not a pig village. His Japanese heritage might stand out in other ways though... to say nothing of his language.

    "Call this raid off! If you value your men's lives you'll turn around right now!" There's some fear in his voice, but it's...

    Simply the fear of bloodshed, not fear of death. Shirou genuinely doesn't want to kill anyone.

    With others pulling up nearby though, he IS pretty relieved. Even if some of them creep him out or he finds disagreeable, everyone all responding at once is pretty heartening.

    Emerald energy sizzles from his fingers, arcing outwards a good meter and striking the ground like lightning. It's just the cast-off, wasted-energy of a freakishly powerful 'spell' of sorts though. The true product is in his hands - the energy congeals and coaelsces, a pair of short swords remaining when it calms down. One is white, the other black with a red hexagon pattern. the married swords of Yin and Yang, Kanshou and Bakuya.

Orphen (703) has posed:
"Alright, let's do this." Orphen jerks the reigns, then starts marching forward on his horse. "I Call Thee, Heavenly Jump!" That's when he leaps a tall building, at least for this village, in a single bound, on his horse. Then they safely land on the other side. Soon he's outside the gate, and suddenly stops.

He tosses the sword into the ground, then holds both hands out. "Here's what's going to happen!" he shouts out to the bandits. "You're going to leave, or you're going to get very, very hurt." He then aims his hands out at the bandits and shouts, "I See Thee, Lady of Chaos!"

That's when black swirls of gravity begin to whip various men quite brutally, like getting punched repeatedly by a heavyweight boxer. He's not aiming to kill, but he's sure as hell aiming to scare the shit out of them.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    Royalty, huh. As Audrey takes in the sights of the battlefield from atop a house, and identifies, or attempts to, those who are present or otherwise responding, her gaze lingers on Landon for a few moments, with the typical disdain offered to people Souji himself doesn't like. Hero of the people, so and so forth. That man's so annoying.

    But as Souji demonstrates now isn't the time to sit still and let petty grudges slow them down. Audrey will stay within the village to ensure Sanary has the cover she needs to work, for now. Fortunately, she has plenty of ranged options.

    The gunblade comes unsheathed, and the Heritor flips the revolver cylinder open to see what's in there. Six colorful bullets rest in there; blue, red, green, purple, white and orange. Good enough, she thinks. She flicks the thing closed again, aiming the long, katana-like blade like it's a one-handed flintlock rifle towards the bandits-- still quite safe atop her house within the village.

    A green shimmer coats the gunblade as she pulls the trigger, and a green-white orb of pressurized air flies towards one bandit. It's just an Aero-1 spell, probably not enough to grievously injure a bandit even if he's a nobody. Could knock someone on their ass or unconscious with a well-aimed hit, though. Difficult at this distance, sadly, so any hit at all'll be fine.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    LANDON/SUMIA: The flight of the pegasus knight and the prince do not go unnoticed, and the leader lets out a hearty laugh as he gestures towards them. "So tha's how ya wannit, eh? Kill 'em all!" Several of the archers let loose their first volley towards the flier, hoping to make up for their lack of accuracy and distance with sheer volume of projectiles.

    EMIYA: Looking back down at the the red-haired man, the leader lets out another laugh before withdrawing a massive axe from a group of smaller underlings. "An' if you value yers, you get outta way" And with that, the bandits begin their charge with the leader at the forefront!

Sumia (544) has posed:
    Admittedly, this is Sumia's first time with a second rider. She always hoped it would have been Chrom but this handsome man will do just fine. She gives a firm nod, a smile upon her face as she assists the armored man upon her pegasus, who gives a small grunt before spreading her wings. "My wings are yours." she comments, a light blush upon her cheeks from the arm around her waist, hitting the reigns.

    The pegasus starts to trot in a circle, picking up speed as she runs in a straight line away from the gate and with a few heavy flaps of those large wings, the pair takes off into the air, banking around and then hovering in place. "We'll save introductions until after this village is protected."

    With a loud voice, in a near commanding tone, "If they do not retreat, which is likely for bandits, take out archers first, then those with green tomes. Let's drive them away from the village!" she picks her lance up from the pegasus' side, nodding. "We'll take care of the melee units!"

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji looks over the array of enemy forces. Basic weaponry, but a presence of combined arms. Loose ranks. Undisciplined troops, possibly a melange of ex-military deserters and young hopefuls. Only one heavy armored unit, obvious leader.

To be honest, there's enough here that his victory isn't assured... Were he alone. He is not. He looks over his shoulder and considers the available assets.

Audrey Stormfist: Flexible and durable, excellent heavy melee.
Sanary Rondel, primary healer functionality with skirmishing potential.
Orphen, a mage of some stripe, but likely useful in ranged artillery functionality.
Emiya Shirou, his unusual weapon tactics allow for flexible engagement, though he seems focused on swords. Good for exploiting openings.
Unknown rifleman, good. Ranged support and be used to negate enemy threats.
Mounted unit. Fast attack, excellent for flanking if they don't attract the ranged attacks.
Landon al Cid...

Soujis' stream of consciousnss gets broken by a faint scowl, the first emotion he's really shown all day. When did the Judge Prince get here? He immediately masters his momentary betrayal and his expression smooths out. Nevertheless, his skills in locking down targets will be useful.

"Stormfist, take point." Souji calls. "Shirou and I will support on second rank. Rifleman, Orphen, move to counter enemy ranged units so our fast assault can flank the enemy lines. al Cid..." Souji pauses for a moment. "Good luck." He says simply. It is not proper to offer tactical advice to one's theoretical superior.

Maybe he'll be really lucky and Landon will get himself killed. Souji will compose an exquisite letter to the King about the hundreds of bandits Landon killed before dying just before he could come to Landon's rescue.

In the meantime, Souji simply raises a hand, hiw only response to the boorish armored man. "Thunder-1." There is a crack of lightning that crashes across the open ground towards the man, seeking to blast him in his armor. It probably won't kill him. Souji is holding back, after all.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    ORPHEN: "O... Or that. Uh. Eh." Sanary shrugs lightly as Orphen heads to the front with the other fighters, her attention moving back to the villagers inside the village. "come on, come on, get in there or I'll have to throw you in..." The bandits, whether they're motivated by greed or merely stupid, don't take his warning seriously and charge forward, running directly into the path of the gravity whips. They go down fairly easily, although their sense of self-preservation is... Questionable, considering how each one that falls is replaced by another clambering right over him.

    AUDREY: The bandit in question, one of the many archers, has no clue what hits him. Unlike the others, he's armed with a properly-functioning crossbow and even knows how to actually aim the damn thing. With the pegasus knight and the prince in his sights, he's just about to let the bolt fly when the air bullet strikes him in the temple, knocking him straight to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Alberto Guardeira (746) has posed:
    Alberto reaches the roof of some random building, hoping that the thing doesn't fall apart beneath his feet. Crouching on a less ratty part of raid roof, he finally pulls the bolt on his rifle and scans the bandits, looking for potential targets, his rifle set for firing.

    Of course, seeing spells being thrown around, Alberto knows that he's not the sole caster in there. "Fair enough," he murmurs, eyeing a stone, a bit bigger than a fist, that sits not too far, "I can do something similar." Focusing on the stone, he suddenly forced it to take to the skies on a high ballistic trajectory, roughly aimed at the middle of the formation. He isn't aiming terribly well, so it might not result in anything, but as an impromptu mortar shot, it might break some bones, and probably fool a bandit or two on how rocks are raining from the skies.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Well THERe's a good reason to grimace. Shirou grips the twin weapons tightly and leans forward, kicking off the ground into a high-speed charge of his own. Right into the bandits!

    Shirou turns aside their blows with lightning-swift slashes. Blade on blade creates incredible flashes of sparks and might wrench arms out of sockets from the sheer force. But at first he's only striking with the flats of the blades in retaliation! Some bones might break or crack...

    Just WHERE is he getting this kind of strength?!

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Souji: The lightning bolt hits its mark, sending a jolt of pain through te leader's body even with all the armor protecting him. Or especially? Either way, the largest brigand lets out a howl of pain before stomping his foot down and roaring in anger. That seems to be enough of a signal for several of his men as they diverge from the charge towards the village to rush at Souji, six in all, all armed with a variety of swords, spears, and axes of questionable quality.

    ALBERTO: The bandits certainly aren't known for their dodging capabilities, and they probably wouldn't be all that great at it considering how clumped together they are. The unlucky winner takes the rock right in the face, howling in pain at the blood spurting from his nose and sudden gap in his teeth. Some of the bandits seem to wise up, however, and start to keep some distance between each other to allow slightly better manueverability!

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Landon is the sort of man to whom dashing and derring-do come naturally. It's just a matter of how he was raised - in a knightly household, as the son of the King, Landon's had charisma drilled into his head since he was able to make baby noises. He gives Sumia a wink, then abruptly and perhaps without warning turns quite serious.

     "Quite," he agrees.

     The pegasus starts to trot. This isn't *so* unusual. Chocobos trot. Chocobos are fast, and Landon is one of the few on Galianda who's ridden a real one - actually, several. It's good to be the Prince.

     It doesn't really prepare him from what's next.

     The sensation of leaving the ground is unbelievable. For one brief, horrible instant, Landon is jerked upwards, the heavy armor hammering against his shoulders as gravity reminds him it exists in the most unpleasant of ways. Weight, mass, and physics conspire to force the young Prince to struggle as the pegasus breaks the chains of the earth to soar the blue sky.

     And then they're flying.

     Landon would always remember that moment. He knew, deep in his heart, that he would always remember it. That he would always cherish that sense of freedom, the distance of the ground below, the...the absolute oneness of the moment. It would be a moment that would live on in his memory for eternity. That, he knew with certainty.

     But in the moment, there's archers.

     The card in Landon's fingers flares to life with shining blue light as he fills it with Magic Particles. A crystalline shield unfolds in the path of the arrows most likely to strike Sumia or her pegasus, expanding in the blink of an eye. The shield moves with them, as if tracking the card in Landon's hand - and it very likely is, if the Judge's magic is true.

     The crystalline Judge Blade, meanwhile, moves with its own agenda. It drops out of the sky like a meteor above the bandits, crashing into the ground with intense telekinetic force. It does not aim for any of the bandits - for Landon is still not the sort of person who is willing to kill another, not so easily able to discard the value of even an evil man's life - but for the ground amidst them, in hopes of throwing them off their balance and giving them some issues of balance - and allow Sumia to do whatever it is she's going to do with her weapon.

     It will probably involve danger for the other guys.

Orphen (703) has posed:
Ranged artillery is certainly not outside of Orphen's purview, though neither is melee. Unfortunately, melee would get exhausting -fast- with this many bandits. "Alright..." he mutters to himself as he assesses the situation, looking around as he tries to keep track of ally movement as well. Right now the fight is largely taking place against the front line, but de-stabilizing the bandits a little further back could really make them even -more- disorganized...

He suddenly climbs up to stand with his feet on the horse's back, very carefully balancing himself. "Alright, I think I see a good spot... Float, Sword!" He points at the sword he stuck into the ground, then swings his arm, using an invisible force to launch the sword deep into the horde, where it then sticks into the ground in the midst of a large group of them, right in the ground. "I Call Thee, Scream of Death!" He points his index finger at the sword, then a bolt of lightning strikes out toward the hilt and explodes from the metal, sending a large chunk of men flying or simply electrocuted. It's spread out enough to not be entirely deadly, but it could certainly cause severe injury or knock some unconscious, depending on how close they are to the sword.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    GENERAL: The vanguard seems to have gone down without too much difficulty, but there's still a massive number of bandits coming up from behind them! The archers are firing arrows, bolts, and rocks wildly into the air, the leader is still on his feet, and the villagers are panicking indoors! At least they're not getting in the way any more.

    EMIYA: Bandits are dropping left and right! They're clearly not trained soldiers at all, relying mostly on wild swings, body weight, and sheer numbers to try and overwhelm him. Several of them seem to be wising up enough to hold their spears together, however, advancing towards him with a spear wall.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    It seems her position is ideal for now; if she were a Gunner of some sort, she'd get a lot more mileage out of it, but you can't win them all. Audrey keeps the gunblade aimed towards the bandits, shifting slightly towards the cluster of them attempting to gang up on Souji. The revolver cylinder rotates once, and the Heritor fires; a bolt of ice streaks through the air from the weapon, towards one of the bandits trying to corner her boss.

    But then the cylinder rotates once more, and flames wrap around the blade. She swipes it through the air, firing a streak of fire towards incoming arrows. It won't catch all of them, but preventing the archers from landing what shots they're managing to fire at all is never a bad idea.

Sumia (544) has posed:
    Going into the air is nothing new for the Pegasus Knight, though having a rider who's never been in the air before, that's another story. "HOld on tightly, pair up riding is nothing new but..." a pause, "You've never been in the air, have you?" Sumia shakes her head and the archers are firing at her. Her eyes go wide as she clenches the reigns and... nothing. Absolutely nothing happens. The glow from that LAW CARD protecting her. "You were not kidding, well then, knight. I'll get you in close!"

    Sumia gives a firm nod, two melee units with rapid mobility... time to get in close. She makes a quick dive, the lance at ready. "Let's go, archers can't fire if someone's too close!" as she dives quickly towards a set of archers, barreling into them with lance and pegasus. a pause "And you're welcome to be my pair up partner... if your shield is that effective."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    LANDON: The projectiles bounce off the shield harmlessly (if they would even hit it at all), and the bandits themselves look bewildered at the sight the falling blade. With enough space to actually move this time around, they do make sure to keep their distance just in case, but to no avail. Their balance is sufficiently impaired, and many of the archers even fall to try and keep their heads down for whatever's to come next.

    ORPHEN: After the whipping, the bandits appear much more wary of the sword as they circle around it, but not enough to actually halt in their approach. His next shout (and the resulting shock) does make the bandits who weren't hit with it change their minds, however, and they turn in their path to go for the easier targets! Namely, the ones that /aren't/ being backed up by magical blasts.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    A spear wall, now THAT's dangerous. Shirou diverts course, trying to circle around them... but eventually he skids to a halt and instead HURLS his weapons at the spearmen. The twin swords whirl through the air like deadly boomerangs! Thaaaaat's going to be pretty messy.

    "Give up already!"

    Now he's disarmed, but not for long. More power crackles in his hands, forming into a dark-colored and weirdly shaped longsword. KUSANAGI, for anyone familiar with japanese mythology.

    He simply swings it, and a GREAT WIND goes coursing over the ground. Enough to knock men off their feet and painfully slam them into the ground!

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     "I would be a poor shield to you, my lady, if I broke so easily," Landon replies matter-of-factly. Apparently all the flash disappears in the heat of battle, replaced by a man with the bearing and visage of a commander. "I may lack in experience in this form of aerial combat, but a shield remains a shield no matter where it stands."

     He doesn't know what a pair-up partner is, and the confusion is evident on his face if she bothers to look at him. As they dive, however, Landon puts on a wry smile. "You're too kind, my lady."

     It made sense. Using a bow in close range was tough unless you were a proper expert, and none of these men looked like proper experts. They looked like unwashed masses and bandits right out of a story-book, or a history book - men of ill repute who used weapons rather than skill to profit off the suffering of others.

     Landon had never actually seen /bandits/. Criminals, sure. Thugs, of course. But *bandits* are new on him.

     Doubly so up close.

     As they close in, the Judge Blade comes snapping back to his hand. It doesn't seem to care about speed, weight, or direction; it just flies back into his palm. He looses it a second later, striking an archer with the flat of the blade as he draws another of the Law Cards. Again, there's that beautiful blue glow, tracing along the patterns like water filling pipes; again, another shield unfolds, but this time on the opposite side of Sumia. A third shield appears behind her, covering her pegasus's back, too.

     The strain of it would get to him if he kept this sort of thing up, but he'd deal with that when everyone was safe. He's that sort of person, after all.

     The Judge Blade, meanwhile, breaks apart into a hundred little crystals, vanishing like mist at daybreak. Landon needs to conserve MP at the moment. It'll come back if he needs it.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    OUTSIDE: As large and as well armored as he is, the leader doesn't seem to be as willing to wade into battle as he was moments earlier. With men falling left and right, the large one even starts to back up slowly while shoving more of his men forward. "Just kill 'em already! What 'm I pay-" He's cut off by a fiery explosion from behind him. Although it's not a particularly large explosion, it's still quite loud even over the din of battle, and there's a mildly charred gap where a bandit's chest used to be. On closer inspection, it was the unlucky one that was hit by the rock!

    INSIDE: "The villagers are clear!" Sanary calls out as she braces her hands on the roof of a building facing the battle, making sure not to move too much lest the thing collapse underneath herself and ALBERTO.

    SUMIA: Between the lack of footing and their inability to react at close range, the archers are easily skewered or crushed by the charging Pegasus Knight. It's hard to say who ends up on the better end of that between having a spear piercing their unarmored bodies or a flying horse trampling them, but the bandits are falling into further disarray!

    EMIYA: The spearmen tense up at the approaching blades, trying to deflect it with their rocks-on-sticks. That doesn't do much for them, of course, and they find themselves missing several body parts up to and including their lower bodies. The ones hit by the wind are the luckier ones, taking the cue from their halved allies to scramble back and make their escape!

Alberto Guardeira (746) has posed:
    Though his rock successfully connects with an enemy, Alberto did not lose time checking its descent, opting for laying out fire against the archers.

    Doing a 'Mad Minute' is a bit harder when dealing with spread targets, but the mage does what he can with his Lee-Enfield rifle, and nearby people might hear a quick alternating combination of a shot being fired and the bolt movement that follows to eject the spend casing and put a new round in the chamber, until the sequence stops when Alberto spends his 10-round magazine and has to reload.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji watches the group of enemies approach without complaint, without yielding.

If these men were to enter the town, they have to pass him first. Though their goal is less to take over the town, now, and to assauly the man who embarassed their leader.

"So be it." Souji says. He doesn't even move as the first spearman comes striking in for him, as the ice bolt whips past and strikes the bandit a moment before his strike would land. Souji's glasses gleam as he reels, crying out...

And then there is a blur of motion, Souji striking out with the sheathed blade. The weapon flicks through the air, seemingly weightless until the moment before it strikes, whereupon it suddenly impacts with the a colossal force, as if the blade weighed far, far more than it appeared.

He spins, letting an axe pass by his face as he drives the tip of his weapon up into the man's sternum, then ducks, executing a sweep kick to knock the next assailant to the ground, spinning with a dipping blow for the throat with the end of the sheathed blade.

Souji's refusal to draw his weapon is not mercy. He has none for these bandits. His refusal to draw his blade is another manifestation of his scorn.

Another blade strikes towards Souji. He slams his hands together, catching the blade in his hands and holding it fast with a viselike grip. "Thunder-1." Souji intones, and a surge of electricity cooks the man through his own metal weapon.

The battle is over almost as soon as it began, Souji delivering a murderous counterstroke every time he is attacked.

Sumia (544) has posed:
    More shields, and the dismissed blade... Sumia smiles a bit and makes another around, getting into the air as her back's protected by another shield from Landon. "Your skill with tomes is amazing." she comments, "It's saving me and my pegasus. We don't take archery hits well..." a pause, "Or wind tomes." she banks once more and makes another diving run towards the archers, hoping to scatter then more or trample a few.

    She looks around, pointing to a few men with books. "We need to get those taken care of, knight. They'll give us some trouble if left to their own devices. o They're tome wielders, spellcasters. The green book wielding ones are the ones we have to take care of immediately."

Orphen (703) has posed:
Alright, so these guys don't want to fight him anymore, but that leader, well, that should really throw a wrench in things... "I Dance, Through the Dimensions!" Orphen jumps from the horse, and vanishes. Then he re-appears in front of the leader, and holds his index and middle finger out toward him. "Light-Blade!" he shouts, before the sudden sound of a lightsaber extending as a blue condensed blade of light rises from his two fingers. "You're the leader, right?"

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    LANDON: His shields are doing more than enough to keep Sumia covered, swords and axes bouncing harmlessly off the barriers and bewildering the bandits to no end. A few of the relatively more clever bandits try to take out her 'legs', aiming for the pegasus instead, but they only find the same thing happening to their weapons as well.

    ALBERTO: Ten shots, ten archers down! The mysterious sprays of blood coming seemingly from nowhere send the rest of the archers into a panic, and the ones that haven't died, been maimed, or knocked unconscious are more than willing to abandon their fallen comrades in their haste to retreat.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Landon's concentration is split three ways, but that's not actually all that much for him. He's split it many more ways. As bandits go for the legs, the shields sweep downwards, guided by Landon's hands. They move with him, and are not fixtures, but tools guided by his will. The attackers find nothing but blue walls of crystal to greet them.

     "I assume that tomes are your world's magic?" Landon offers politely, as he doesn't really know all that much about Fire Emblem's mechanics, "My thanks for your kind words."

     There's a moment where some of those bandits are going to learn that Landon's shields are not only not stationary, but perfectly capable of being swung. It comes shortly after one of Sumia's strikes - Landon's arm swings upwards, under her shoulder (and into her line of vision), and the massive crystal wall to their right goes *plowing* forward, turning aside earth and rock as Landon support attacks. The other three shields do the same, sliding around and under the pegasus to hammer the enemy into the ground before they leap back into place.

     "I have, in truth, never flown on the back of a creature, certainly not in combat," he notes finally, "But this is surely the most pleasant experience I could have of that nature, our current circumstances notwithstanding." His arm comes back out from under hers, moving back to trace the path of the shields.

     All these arrows and weapons are starting to take their toll on his MP. Landon's muscles ache; he knows he needs to grab an ether from his inventory, but right now, he's not capable of it. One arm holding onto Sumia so he doesn't *die*, one arm holding three blazing Law Cards...he'll just have to do it after the battle.

     One of the shields flickers warningly on the edge of his vision.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    The more bandits that fall, the more that scatter. What started out as a rowdy army of partially dressed brigands is dwindling steadily, many of the still-living and conscious bandits having fled to abandon those that are either unable to move or just happened to make for good shields. Some of the retreating bandits don't even manage to escape, whether they're cut down, slammed into the ground, shot, or even blown up. The leader himself is in full retreat, doing much of the same in throwing his own men forward to cover his retreat.

    At least, he runs until Orphen comes out of nowhere and stops him in his tracks with the glowing blue beam. The large man hocks and spits out another wad of chunky mucus on the dirt beside him, an angry scowl on his features. "Ye fuckin' outsiders... Why ye gettin' into our business? Into /our/ world?!" He practically screams that last part, his knuckles turning white while whirling around to shoot hateful glares at the other offworlders as well.

Sumia (544) has posed:
    "Mmhmm, depending on the class you are. We can freely swap classes if needed, but only in a safe place and not in combat." a pause, Sumia gives a light nod, watching the shields move along with Landon's arms, the Pegasus Knight's eyes going wide as she watches the defensive instruments become offensive instruments.

    "The tome wielders here don't stand a chance with what you're capable of, knight. You're more than you've appeared to me. And I'm glad you're enjoying the flight, circumstances nonwithstanding. You're welcome to come to a flight without the fighting." she nods, turning back to look around, eyeing the flickering shield. "Wh..what's going on, why did that thing blink?!"

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Shirou can't help but wince. He was hoping they were good enough to knock the blades out of the sky, but apprarently not. Oh well, can't be helped. But still... *WINCE*

    That they're all turning around however, gets a sigh of relief from him. Thank goodness!

    "Don't show your faces here again!! Give up living like this or you'll die next time!"

Orphen (703) has posed:
"I came here to ask a nice girl out on a simple second date. You just picked an incredibly bad day to arrive." Orphen shrugs, then motions to the remaining men. "Tell them that the assault is over. And make sure that these assaults don't happen again. If you want a job, there's plenty of work in the Syndicate. But if I hear you're doing stuff like this again? I'm going to open a fissure in the Earth and swallow up your entire army. How's that sound?"

Alberto Guardeira (746) has posed:
    What would a soldier do, when someone obviously important on the other side of the field is ranting and raving?

    Shoot him, of course. Besides, it is a bandit that had ideas of plundering a town. Not killing him is being merciful, but the burned hand is the one that learns the lesson faster...

    Which is why Alberto opts to shoot at the right arm instead of something more lethal. After all, unless the boss is left-handed, he won't probably be able to lift a sword again to do brigandy stuff, but his limb for his life seems more than fair to the mage.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    "Think ye so smart with your.. Outworld /shit/." Spit flies from the leader's mouth as he speaks, speaking with just the right emphasis to force out as much of it as he can at whomever he can reach with it. He scoffs at Orphen, hocking up another wad of mucus and looks ready to spit on him before being cut off with a small laser and explosion hitting the ground at his feet.

    He's smart enough to swallow it this time, at least, although he's no less angry for it. "Why can't /we/ get food and land like they.. These bums!" He gestures angrily at the village, roaring out in pain as the bullet tears through his arm. He lets out a strained laugh while dropping to a knee, clutching the wound while glaring towards the village again. "All tha' good land and not enough for all us, my ass!"

    It is a /very/ crappy village.

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    With the fighting over, Audrey sheathes the gunblade back to her side, hops off the rooftop she was perched on, and calmly strides towards where people are no doubt starting to converge, that being the leader's location. She would, naturally, check on Sanary and the villagers real fast-like before doing so, but otherwise adds nothing worth noting.

    This seems mostly wrapped up, remains to see how to extract the information out of the leader. She doubts Landon would be pro-torture, unfortunately.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Landon gives Sumia an assenting 'ah' as she explains. Classes! He understands *that* perfectly. Well, it wasn't a proper continental world - it was one of those balls of dirt he'd heard so much about, from what he could see, and he was still trying to figure out why people didn't just go flying off the edge when it was apparently spinning like a top (could you even believe it! Spinning! Like a top! Made of dirt! And that /sunlight/!) - but it had a Job System, of a sort, and that, Landon could well relate to.

     "You flatter me, my lady, but I'm merely holding the barrier. It's nothing all that special. You steer this magnificent winged madpony like it's completely under your control, and that has *me* quite firmly impressed." He offers her another broad smile and a wry wink. "So why don't we simply agree to be impressed by one another, and-"

     "Ah. That."

     "It's quite alright. I'm just running out of Magic Particles. I'll be fine once I have a free hand to reach my Ether, I always pack a spare."

     With the fighting died down, Landon dismisses the Law Cards. The shields vanish into nothingness, cracking apart and spreading just like the Judge Blade. The cards themselves vanish up his sleeve as he draws an Ether out of his pocket and hurriedly drinks it.

     "And I think I should quite like to fly with you again, my lady, but first I feel we ought have proper introductions."

     Landon also digs out his mPhone and takes a couple pictures of the surroundings, the ground, the pegasus, Sumia - pretty much everything. Kyra, Cirra, Kamon, Mirelle, Dominic, and Soan would /murder/ him if he didn't.

     Besides, it gives him time to think about the conversation on the radio. Yes, people died. Yes, he and Dominic had been forced to take a life before. But that didn't mean it didn't make him feel like a failure.

     Those, however, are private thoughts. Externally, Landon's smile is unchanging. He takes Sumia's hand - even with the lance still in it - and brings it back, kissing it politely, unless she jerks away or sees some need to stop him. "I am Landon al Cid of Galianda, Prince Apparent of Ramuh. My Job is Judge - the magics you witnessed. I am delighted that I could be of use to you...and that we could ensure this village's safety."

     Mostly. Mostly.

     "Should we set down and join the rest of the conversation? It seems as if they have it well in hand, but I feel as though I would be remiss if I didn't ask, at the least."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
The bandits are broken. Mission complete. Souji steps out of the pile of fools that grew around him and walks to a specific place.

The bandit leader screamed in anger at Orphen, but he might feel a looming presence behind him as Souji's voice cuts the air like a blade. "You have made an unfortunate mistake." He replies, and puts his hand on the back of the leader's head, palming it as his hand digs painfully into the flesh of his scalp. There is a swift kick as Souji punts the man in the back of his knee, forcing him to the ground. Slowly, he begins forcing the man to look over his shoulder up at the man behind him. "Tell me why you and your men came here, and you may be allowed to live to regret it. Defy me, and you will scream for the end before I grant it to you."

Souji's voice carries a terrible weight, the promise of bloody, painful vengeance hanging over the man like a Sword of Damocles.

Orphen (703) has posed:
Orphen's sword fades, and his holds his arms out. "Forge, The Armor of Light." creating a white hot protective dome of energy around him, the leader, and Souji. Then he crosses his arms, sighing. "We're in a massive Multiverse, if it'll get you out of here, it should be pretty simple to find you some land to settle down in. But if you keep crap like this up, people far less nice than me aren't going to let you live. Give me a way to contact you and then I'll come back to you with a fertile location. There are plenty of unclaimed ghost towns in lots of worlds. So, how about it?" The others can clearly speak and hear through the dome of energy, so if they want to add anything, it would be quite simple.

But Souji picking the man up, and... doing all of that. "You should put him down."

Sumia (544) has posed:
    "Pegasus." Sumia corrects gently, a nod in agreement, "Of course, I'll meet you in that middle, knight." a pause from some of the explinations, shaking her head, "I have a vulneary if you've been injured, I can apply it shortly." Sumia gives a light nod at the request for proper introductions, and gives a light smile to the odd device in front of her.

    "I'm Sumia, a Pegasus Knight in the kingdom of Ylisse and a Shepard, a group of people to protect Ylisse from people like that and then some. It's an honor to meet you, Prince Landon." she gives a light bow in her seat, turning a light shade of red from the hand kiss. "We appreciate your assistance in this, I would be honored to have you as part of the Shepards here if Chrom approves."

    Sumia blinks lightly, giving a nod as she rubs the back of her pegasus' head, "Down we go, girl. Gently now." she smiled, "The other Knight Sisters let me take care of the pegasus and falcons. I'm what they call an animal expert." It doesn't take too long but she lands close towards Souji and the rest, "Here you go, Prince Landon."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Without anyone else backing him up and the injured arm, the leader can do little more than struggle against Souji's hold. Instead of showing further anger or fear, however, he simply starts laughing and shaking. "'s that all ye know? Ye outworlders got no idea... None!" His laughing continues as he makes that telltale hocking noise, spitting up yet another wad of mucus in two separate lumps, one aimed for Souji in a high arc and the other for Orphen's face.

    "Go on! Y'ain't getting anything from me!"

Orphen (703) has posed:
Orphen's body dances to the side quite gracefully as the spit passes by him, then the dome lowers, and he starts to walk away. He brushes his hands, then slides them into his vest pockets. "Well, I tried, you're his problem now."

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     "You have my most sincere thanks, Lady Sumia," Landon notes with a broad smile as the Pegasus starts swinging downwards, "As does your Pegasus. Pegasus...what an odd creature. But quite a delight."

     "We shall have to do this again without the bows."

     He laughs, merrily, as he slings off the Pegasus.

     The merry expression vanishes in an instant as soon as his feet touch the ground. His deep purple cape settles behind him as he lands, walking over to the interrogation. Landon knew Souji well enough to know he wouldn't be impressed by the actions of a ragamuffin adventurer sort, which Orphen, unfortunately, had all the hallmarks of. And even from the air, Landon could tell that something dangerous was about to happen.

     The leader's laugh prompts a look from Landon. "Then talk. We cannot read your mind, and we cannot understand you if you wish only to speak with laughter and mockery. Violence did not work. Your men lay scattered and beaten, and more than a few of them regrettably slain. And the life of an innocent sits over your head, lost to your actions."

     "So speak, quickly. You may yet find mercy and understanding."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    "Since when do bandits get anything?" Shirou retorts angrily, pointing furiously at the leader as he storms over. "If you want land and food you have to EARN IT, not TAKE IT. You could've joined their efforts. Fixed up these buildings, helped raise the pigs and farm the land. You could have taken a warp gate and found somewhere to work. Don't spew crap about having no choice but to go raiding, moron! I'm not buying it. But you still have your life, these wounds can heal. You can turn around and make something of yourselves! Because keeping this up will just get you killed..."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
The splatter of mucus hits Souji's face. His free hand reaches up, wiping it from his face in a slow, deliberate motion. He does not speak immediately. The retaliation speaks for him. There is a rising whine around Souji, oddly like a defibrilator as places his other hand against the small of the man's back. "Thunder-1." He intones dispassionately. The resulting electrical power is carefully regulated to inflict pain without killing him.

"I am not here for justice." Souji informs him dispassionately. "You will tell me everything I wish to know. The sooner you do that, the sooner the pain ends. Where did you recruit from? Were you given orders to target your locations? Who supplied your equipment?"

The moment the man starts hawking up another loogie, Souji is going to pommel-whip him with his sword.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    And there goes lightning flying. Shirou WHIRLS around, shocked, at Souji. "What - he's already down!"

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Murasame's display is enough to shock Landon, too. A cold look flickers across his face at Souji's actions - a surprisingly cold one. Before Souji can pommel-whip the man in the face, Landon surges forward with surprising speed for one in such heavy armor. He moves to catch Souji's wrist in his own and prevent him from harming the man further, his eyes locked on the other man's.

     "That's far enough, /Mister/ Murasame." Landon's voice is Ice-1 goddamn cold, colder than Souji's likely ever heard it. It's cold enough to be Shivan. It's cold enough to make Cirra look goddamn warm and cuddly.

     "We are not barbarians. A desperate man may make mistakes, but a desperate man deserves a chance as much as any other. Do you have no empathy in your heart for a desperate man?"

     The edge in Landon's voice suggests that perhaps he does not simply mean that Souji has no empathy in his heart in this particular situation, but that perhaps Souji has been kind of a dick lately. Politics!

Audrey Stormfist (652) has posed:
    "Why should we? That desperate man would have slaughtered this village's population for food and money. He made his choice," Audrey answers Landon, walking in from behind after taking her sweet ass time walking over to the commotion. Her hand rests on her blade's hilt, though she's not exactly the striking image of intimidation.

    "We are doing this whole world a favor by extracting what he knows and then ensuring he cannot gather another band of criminals and resume the killings. Do you truly think this man would walk away from here and find an honest living? He would agree to anything that lets him live, and then simply go back to his ways."

    A bit judgmental and pragmatic.
    Maybe she's laying it on a bit thick just to rustle Landon's jimmies.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    "Grima's comin'... And there ain't nothin' ye can do to stop 'im!" The bandit leader's laughter continues as the villagers finally begin to emerge from their homes, slowly realizing that it's actually safe to step back outside again. The word 'Grima' is muttered every now and then among the villagers, the word being given a respectful tone each time.

    Grinning at the murmurs, the leader howls in pain as the lightning shoots through his body, convulsing several times over. "Kuh... GRima'll come, alright... No innocents 'ere. And when 'e does, all ye'll be judged!" His voice becomes more strained as the laughter continues, strangely looking at peace with himself while looking over at those questioning him slowly. "Grima'll take it all anyway, so... Why not?"

    On the roof, meanwhile, Sanary brings herself down slowly before hurrying over to the small gathering by the bandit leader. "So can we just take him out now?" She speaks in a hushed, yet hurried tone as she gestures at the villagers with her head somewhat subtly. "Longer he keeps this up, the more they'll start talking..."

Sumia (544) has posed:
    Sumia pales when Grmia's name is mentioned, tucking the vulnearies back into the satchel on her pegasus. "You're joking, right? Grima's a story there, not anything serious..." she approaches the leader there and frowns. "Please do not try to use stories as a way to get your means. Using fear is not the best way to get what you wish..."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"This is a symptom of the disease, not the disease itself." Souji replies to Shirou. "If you wish to cure the disease, you must go to the source. You can content yourself with fighting bandits forever, but until the underlying cause is resolved, it will never end."

He moves to strike the man, but finds his hand caught by Landon. He looks over to the Judge, staring at him and matching the al Cid scion's gaze. He does not respond immediately.

It's when the man begins t babble about Grima that he smiles thinly. "It is true that he is a desperate man. But desperate people make certain choices, as you well know." He suddenly lets the man go, letting him collapse or begins scrambling as he wills. "Consider Stormfist's words. And consider this man's nature... /Judge/. He has devoted himself to a force of destruction... Of chaos. What will /you/ do?"

He steps back and lets Landon struggle with that one.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    Kusanagi has dissipated, but Shirou is never truly unarmed so long as his supply of prana holds. "My body... is -made of swords.-" Ever since encountering Chloe this simple chant has helped him focus tremendously, and he definitely needs it.

    Because there's a lot of FIRE burning in those words. The fire of barely restrained fury. Power sizzles and crackles in Shirou's palms as they come together, and it flares up and outwards into the shape of a katana.

    leftover prana sparks and sizzles briefly, but dissipates as Shirou brandishes the weapon angrily Souji's way.

    "What he did before doesn't matter nearly as much as what he does now. We stopped the assault, the only casualties were theirs from what I can see. Haven't they already learned their lesson?!"

    There's something disturbing about that katana Shirou's holding at the ready while turned partially at Souji.

    Considering it's the same one Souji holds, which /shouldn't/ be possible. It doesn't just look the same, either - it has the same aura, same spirit... same bone-chilling bloodlust.

    CREEPY.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     "Because you are better than he is," Landon almost snaps. It's not quite a snap, but that cold edge is still present, still fierce, "Because you have the capacity to be better than a man who slaughtered and tortured for coin and food. Because you have the capacity to help him better himself. Because trading an eye for an eye leaves only the Magic Urns able to see in the end."

     "Take your pick."

     But the man's chilling words - the madness in his eyes, the madness in his smile, and Souji's own statement, cut Landon to the quick. He is a Judge, after all. It is his duty to deal with Chaos, wherever it may rise. And this is...as surely as any he has ever heard, or the one time he experienced it personally. This is a madman, not a desperate man - or if it is a desperate man, a man who has turned to a force of shadow and destruction.

     Landon is silent for a long moment as he listens to the man.

     Then, his voice hard, his voice firm, the Prince turns to look down at the man. His eyes are hard, and cold, and distant. When he next speaks, his voice rings out, clear and firm, across the room.

     "You are accused of consorting with Darkness and Evil, with the Enemy or one that bears its likeness. You chant the name of a Destroyer and sow upon the weak pain and suffering to spread its darkness and exult its monstrosity."

     The Judge Blade appears in Landon's hand. It simply crystallizes out of thin air, liquid, crystalline Law wrapping around his hand and growing into the circle-ended sword. It removes itself from his hand and hovers above the man's head like the blade of Damocles as Landon stares at him.

     "You," Landon's voice remains firm, "Are a guilty man, who would bring fire and pain and misery upon all the worlds for the darkness in your heart."

     "I am Landon al Cid, Prince of Ramuh. It is my duty, as scion of the al Cid family, as one who bears the sacred compact of the Judge, and as a man with compassion in his heart, to judge you. Though you are not of my world, though you are not of my home, that which you serve takes the shape of that which is my Enemy, and that makes it my Enemy, also."

     "And that makes you guilty."

     Landon takes the sword in hand and raises it above the man's head. "I am Landon al Cid. I am the Prince of Ramuh. You deserve to know the name of the man who ends your life. May whatever gods of light and goodness that reign on your world have pity upon you."

     Landon's voice does not crack. It does not waver. But the look in his eyes - the fury, the misery, the pain, clapped fast in iron - is probably worth more to Souji Murasame than all the gil in the world.

     The Prince brings the Judge Blade down.

Sumia (544) has posed:
    Sumia's eyes go wide as Landon makes his speech. She watches in a bit of horror... the man not getting any chance of redemption. She frowns and shouts out, "Landon!" leaning back, her spear in hand... "Spear fly true... Hya!"

    She lobs the spear at her pair up partner's blade, knocking the blade away from its mark, even if she can't take it out of his hand.. "Landon, no! Let my world take care of him, Okay? It.. it's my duty as a Shepard to take care of it." she walks towards the two. "I respect you, Landon... but this is not your place to mete out justice. It's the Kingdom of Ylisse."

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    The villagers continue bristling each time Grima is mentioned, suspicion starting to sound through their whispers while the bandit leader's grin widens at Sumia's words. "Silly li'l girl. Naga ain't gonna save ye again!" His composure breaks as he starts laughing abruptly, the deranged grin returning to his face.

    The villagers even seem skeptical about their saviors, the murmuring growing only louder and more discontent as time passes. Sanary's looking rather unnerved by the whole thing, keeping her back to the villagers while focusing her gaze on the bandit leader. He's laughing, she's staring, the villagers are staring, and there's a weight in the air that wasn't there earlier when it was nothing more than a fight against bandits.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji steps back, letting the Judge do his great work. His expression is stonelike as he watches the man.

His eyes widen slightly as he begins to intone the words of Judgement. Souji watches, intently, his entire attention upon Landon as he prepares to do his sworn duty. He looks almost... anticipatory. He is even smiling faintly.

When Sumia interferes, however, that smile becomes a scowl, and he turns away in apparent disappointment and disgust.

That's when he sees Shirou waving the Murasame Blade at him. He pauses, looking down at his side. It's still there. He looks back up at Shirou, his eyes narrow.

"Tell me. Do you understand the meaning of that blade?" He asks. "Do you understand what it means to wield it, or are you seeking to insult me with your... disrespect?" His tone is as cold as Landon's was, earlier. He isn't even engaging Shirou on the topic of the torture. It looks like this is more relevant to him.

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     There is a heart-stopping moment as the Judge Blade descends. And then the spear flies true, and strikes just where it needs to. The sword is big and weighty, and it flies from Landon's hand for all of an instant. It hovers there, hanging in the air as Landon's hand falls.

     How much worse, this! How much worse, to be stopped! To have built up the resolve to act, and then be forced out of it! How much worse it is to know that he would have gone through with it - that for all intents and purposes he /did/ go through with it! At least if he had done the deed, he could carry the burden of the man's life as a reminder, carry the man's face with him to remember the moment when his resolve was tested and did not break, and did not yield, and would have claimed another's life.

     His hand falls to his side as the Judge Blade breaks away.

     He looks over at Sumia with a broad smile. His voice is cheerful. "Of course, lady Sumia. I was not aware that you had such an organization, as well. I would never have dreamed of passing judgement on him if I had. I remand him into your custody."

     But he knows.

     That's the closest to a lie Landon al Cid has ever uttered. He will never do it again if he can help it. The feeling of it - of nearly lying to that lovely young Pegasus Knight, of knowing in the pit of his stomach that a man's life was in his hands and he made the choice to end it and that he cannot say otherwise because of the accursed diplomacy...

     Oh, to scream it! To scream it with fury - that that man is of the Enemy! That the gods of his world taught humekind that humekind must learn to fight the Enemy, too, so they need not rely on the gods! To scream all the things roaring inside his breast, beneath his breastplate, beneath his armor! To...to...

     But he does not. For it would do nothing but delight Murasame and show them all how he suffered.

     He is a Prince. One day, he will have to make this decision again.

     This is not salvation of his innocence. It is merely a stay of its execution, with the knowledge that he would have pulled the trigger anyway.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    There's a collective gasp from the villagers as the blade comes down, the cultist's eyes never blinking once in anticipation of his final breath. It never comes, however, and his laughter earlier is only a fraction of how much he's laughing now. "Ye see this..? /This/ is Grima's will! Outworlders can't even stop it!" The murmuring is practically impossible to ignore, and Sanary's hands start trembling as she approaches him. She casts a quick glance to Sumia and Landon, opening her mouth for a moment before walking past the cultist over to Souji and Shirou.

    "W-we need to get out of here. Might be overstaying our welcome." She keeps her voice low while gesturing back towards the village, suspicious looks starting to get cast even at the healer while the bandit leader's laughter continues.

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    So many things happen at once that Shirou's resolve falters. This is reflected by his chosen weapon, which flickers weirdly as if about to come apart at the seams. Somehow, however, he maintains it with the corner of his vision distracted by Landon's attempted and deflected execution. Then out of the other corner of his eyes... there's the gathering villages.

    Doubt finally appears on the face of the young man who's best known for being stubborn to incredible levels. Doubt intermixed with disgust.

    His gut hurts. His chest hurts. This isn't bringing him any closer to his ideals. Instead he should learn more about this Grima who'll supposedly destroy everything, right?

    "So that /did/ get your attention." Shirou's crudely smug about it, but mainly because he's ANGRY and practically spitting the words out. Very few people make him this angry or openly rude. Nevertheless, the fake Murasame's entire existence transforms from a gleaming cursed blade into a stream of wispy magic particles that disperse in the wind.

    Was that Shirou's goal? To distract Souji from the opportunity to cause the guy more pain? Maybe so.

    "Yeah, I understand the sword's nature. To be honest, for all its beauty that weapon of yours sickens me. Just how much blood has it shed? A whole river of it. And the wielder's not too far from the sword itself if this is how you use it."

    Yet now that his hand's empty, another design goes flowing through Shirou's soul. Just in case. But he's working to control his breathing and calm down.

    He'd rather not lose his cool entirely. Bedivere and Saber will definitely be mad at him for that!

    But it's true that he has no respect whatsoever for Souji or his weapon and whatever pride he holds towards it. Projecting it was clearly meant just to distract Souji from unleashing more torture on the bandit king.

Sumia (544) has posed:
    Sumia gives a soft sigh and slowly walks over... only to trip on absolutely nothing, falling face first into the ground. "Ow..." she shakes her head as she lifts herself up from the prone position. "I'm Sumia... the Knight Sister of Ylisse." a pause, "I do not know why you follow the story of Grima but you're under Ylisse's lands and by that, protected by Naga and her holiness."

    Sumia grabs the arms of the bandit, "Now where's my rope..." she pats her sides and her back... and sighs, "I forgot it." she looks to someone, "Tie him up so we can take him back to the castle..."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji does not even look back. The conflict behind them and the actions of the town behind them are of no moment to Souji as he grasps his own sheathed blade and holds it up before him, perfectly horizontal. "When you hold the Murasame Blade, you hold its curse. The way you hold it... Do you hear it? The sword's history is written in blood, and its spirit is always hungry. I do not understand how you are capable of even holding the weapon, but that is not the important thing."

When the blade vanishes, Souji's eyes widen slightly, and he speaks, "The greatest sin you can commit is to sheathe the Murasame Blade without sating its hunger. Never draw it until you are prepared to do so."

He lowers his weapon, and replies, "Your opinion is irrelevant to me. But show such disrespect towards my heritage again and your lamentations will be written in blood."

Emiya Shirou (560) has posed:
    If anyone were close to Shirou they might hear his clenched teeth GRINDING. He's normally a pretty easygoing and hardworking, honest person. Seeking out conflict isn't how he does business at all. His expression keeps faltering for that very reason in little twitches. He's normally incredibly forgiving and endlessly apologetic.

    Normally.

    But not today.

    "You can put a shark in a business suit. It's still a shark. No way in hell will I approve of you torturing anyone for information..." Grimace. "... Although the guy seems beyond hope..."

    Teeth clench. Shirou's expression is decidedly hostile and his shoulders bunch up as he adjusts his stance, preparing to turn around. "I'm going home. This is all settled."

    And he does just that, turning around and starting to walk away.

    Stupidly enough, his back is wide open.

    But he's sucking down the urge to lose his cool.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"When I wish for your opinion, I will gather a large number of screeching monkeys to tell me before they are dumped unceremoniously into the middle of Leviathan." Souji replies to Shirou's back, before turning away. He approaches Audrey. "We are done here." He looks to Sanary as well. "I will make arrangements to provide for your people. They will be protected."

Landon al Cid (642) has posed:
     Landon, the weight off his shoulders, helps Sumia up like a proper Prince after she falls. He doesn't blink at it. You don't comment on someone's clumsiness, it's simply not right. Besides, she was perfectly graceful in battle.

     His smile is still present, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. Still, there's no judgement for Sumia, nor, any longer, for the man. If Landon is judging anyone, it's himself. But then, that's nothing new.

Sanary Rondel has posed:
    Of all things, Sumia's fall is what snaps Sanary out of her freaked out daze. She takes a long breath before snickering lightly, her expression lightening significantly. "Yeah, let's get this guy outta here. Back to...Ylisse?" That realization comes to her at about the same time as it does to the townspeople, the murmuring growing louder while the healer hurries over to the cultist.

    "... Shit, let's get the hell out of here." In one smooth motion, she bashes her knee into his still-moving jaw while he laughs, the impact knocking him out and finally quieting him down. "Someone get his arms!" It's practically an order as she shouts that last part and grabs hold of the cultist's legs, the villagers finally starting to become an unruly rock-throwing mob. "Come on, people!"

    With any luck, they'd be able to get out of there without too many rocks to the face.