Fate Cuts Strange Deals

Fate Cuts Strange Deals
Date of Scene:	21 June 2014
Location:	Ivalice
Synopsis:	The Corpse Brigade launches an attack against the Fort City Yardrow in attempt to free their own from Archadian clutches, inadvertently causing an impromptu battle between the forces of Ivalice and the forces of Archadia. If it spills out into the city, it could harm the citizenry.
Thanks to:	Auron, Allyn, Tomoe.
Cast of Characters:	Tomoe, 129, 236, 307
Tinyplot:	Of_Stones_and_Sins

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Ultima (129) has posed:
Yardrow, Fort City -

It is late in the eve, and densest darkness has fallen upon the Fort City. It is lit only by the light of scattered torches, and that which spills from the city windows. Despite this, the streets are well lit... even more so than usual tonight due to the enormous military presence all around and the light of their torches. Minding every gate and every potential entryway are men clad in steel darker than the night, the helms of which have the menacing appearance of faceless demons. Due to the city being on lockdown, and after curfew, it is unusual to see a common civilian anywhere. It is toward the city center where the torch lights grow brightest, and the presence of men clad in gleaming black steel is thickest. They seem to have a particulary tall building wrought from stone utterly surrounded.

Riding in toward the northern gate comes a caravan of knights astride Chocobos, bearing yet more torches, with an ornate carriage taking up the rear. The moving wall of soldiers and transported official make steady progress to, and eventually past, the entryway to the Fort City with little to do. These men are not like the rest, they bear the gleaming silver and gold steels of the Northern Order and the banner that flies over the caravan is much the same. One could speculate on who the carriage's occupant might be, but whomever they are - they are doubtlessly important.

Tonight Yardrow will likely be the setting for an unannounced summit, or so it would seem.

...Too bad no one told a certain intruder that it was a secret.

A lit arrow pierces the darkness of the dead of night, sailing toward the caravan as it makes its way up the cobblestone streets. The arrow finds its mark in the side of that ornate carriage, causing its siding to burst into flames. Suddenly, panicked Order knights are flying all about and the occupiers clad in ebon steel are rushing to the scene.

But rather than cooperation, what transpires instead is the beginnings of a battle. Hundreds of soldiers versus a party of roughly thirty-five men, both suspecting the other had planned something subversive...

...and a figure clad in darkness atop the bell tower at the center of town walks quietly away...

Auron (236) has posed:
'...Well ain't THIS just the cutest little clusterf**k ever?'

Is what Jecht would have said if he'd seen this. And he'd have been right. The people from the caravan are far outnumbered. This looks like it's going to be a slaughter. Auron has other ideas. As soon as he heard it was happening, he headed for a warpgate with a chocobo.

Thus it is that, precisely at that moment, an Ivalician chocobo appears. And sitting astride it is a man wearing what almost looks like a brick-red monk's robe. It's dusty from the road, so the color might be a little more brown right at that moment.

It's Auron, in his Assassin regalia. Due to the nature of this mission and its time after dark, Auron thought that it would be a better idea to at least /attempt/ to disguise himself. Hopefully he'll be able to get in quietly and make with the Low Profile kills.

He's not coming in unarmed, of course. He's got those hidden blades, the gifts from Altair. And he also has his Katana sheathed on his back. Which might come in handy, with all the armored guys running around.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Injured from a recent battle and limping on his right leg, Allyn in his lion form stalks about the area after he arrives through a warpgate. The fur of his right shoulder, right leg and a couple spots on his left leg are matted with dried blood. He'd probably have been better off just staying where he had been to recover, since he had been just tended to with the basic, but once he had heard a call for help because innocents needed to be protected, despite the pain he had to spring into action, it was who he is after all, protect others no matter what it might cost him, especially those who might not be able to protect themselves. He is grumpy and in a foul mood from the pain and perhaps even a little bit on the feral side at the moment.

He stops his prowling when he sees the larger group of soldiers going after the smaller number and his feline eyes narrow towards them and he growls low. Then he looks around, seeking to find where the innocents might be that need to be protected. He shakes out his mane and then lets out a ROAR to announce his presence.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is here she's very much been involved int his but even so she's not too happy with how things seem to be going. Thsi is going to get ugly as hell as she wondere just how handle things, she comes in with Auron keeping iwth him and her weapons are not even visable at the momentr save for her sheathed blade. She seems a bit on the quiet side at the moment but there's clearly a very attentive woman who knows how bad this is.

Ultima (129) has posed:
Steel clashes with steel and arrows are loosed. Even the sound of rifles being fired can be heard in the distance, mostly from the soldiers in black armor who're crowding the Order caravan. Men push and shove, knocking each other about even as frightened Chocobo's attempt to break loose from their reins. Anyone moving close enough to the panicked yellow birds that they don't recognize would likely be getting beaks and/or claws somewhere hurtful. One of the birds even outright runs off, dragging a knight caught in it's stirrup swiftly down the cobblestone streets.

By this time, civilians are beginning to poke their heads out... only to be quickly shoved back indoors by Archadian men.

While all of this is going on, no one... immediately... spots the mounted figure wearing red robes who is attempting to gain entry to the Fort. Not even the ebon-armored soldiers who should be minding the gates. Auron will find that if he should strike at them, they'll fall easily. Their backs are against him, the pair of them lifting their rifles to get a clean shot at some of the Order knights. He'll likely get at least a few of the Archadia soldiers before one on a nearby roof takes notice, shouting... "...I-I-IT'S THE THUNDER GOD! WE'VE BEEN HAD!" And suddenly, everyone else is a little bit less concerned about the Order...

...and more worried about the Thunder God, the... Giant Coeurl?? (No one in Ivalice knows what a Lion is)..., and the mechanical woman charging them down. The Archadian soldiers surrounding the caravan fan out... with some of them targeting the two unexpected individuals who've entered the fray. Auron and Allyn would soon find themselves being fired upon with guns, and charged with bladed weapons, even as many of them continue to struggle to split their attention between the new arrivals and the well-trained Order soldiers.

As for the Order, by now they have managed to evacuate that carriage... pulling the man inside from the burning blaze. And as it turns out, the man himself is no stranger to the ways of the sword. Clad in ornate brown leather armor, with gold and silver trimming, the cloaked man with a mane and goatee as red as the blaze itself draws his sword even as his men gather around his person. The steel of his gaze and the practiced manner of his stance indicates he may well be a seasoned fighter too. "...Damned Archadians. Snakes one and all." One of the random soldiers inquires to him, "General Zalbaag, perhaps we should flee sir?"

"Not on my family's honor."

As if it couldn't get any worse for the Archadians now that the "Thunder God" and General Zalbaag of the Northern Order were on the field, it will. Suddenly, out from the alleyways of the Fort City's streets spill a ragtag band of pauper 'knights' - obvious civilians bearing arms. And at their head, stands a well-dressed swordsman wearing earthen green, yellow, and silver cloth. Though possessed of a youthful face, this figure with short chestnut brown hair too has the stance of a practiced swordsman... and the piercing, determined, gaze of a man with copious charismatic spirit. "...You will all rue the day you brought your greed to my doorstep. I will see it dead, and you as well. For I am Wiegraf Folles, defender of Ivalice's common man."

Auron (236) has posed:
Auron slipped from the back of his chocobo and sent it into the fray to cause distraction as he went for some of those Low Profile kills. The hidden blades are meant to penetrate between the spaces in armor easily, and they'll do that. Shnk, slump, move on. Quietly dispatching as many as he can. Invariably though, someone's going to see him. When they do, he's expecting open combat. But then suddenly someone on the roofs points him out. Or, well... he thinks it's him. Strange, though... 'Thunder God'? He's not Thor.

Suddenly he's being fired at, and he dives to the side with surprising quickness. Doesn't save him from getting nicked across the leg by a stray bullet. It did keep him from being turned into Swiss cheese, though. Worthwhile trade-off.

Pausing a moment speak into his radio, "We've got men on the roofs. Can you handle them, Tomoe? You can fly." Then he rolls to the side again, to avoid a blade. Speaking of blades, when Auron gets to his feet again, he pulls the Katana from its sheath and faces the group of Archadians.

As for the people near him, they might start to see other differences between this robed man and T.G. Cid. The robe is a redder color, for one. And it's not a cloak, as T.G. Cid prefers. Not only that, but what can be seen of the face under the robe is not the bearded visage of the Thunder God, and a scar splits the skin near the right side of his chin. Then again, with all the chaos of battle, it may be hard to tell.

For his part, Auron tries to get nearer to the man they pulled out of the carriage. Should he be able to do that, he'll ask, "Are you all right?" It's in Spiran, but understood (obviously). In the meanwhile he'll be trying to hold off the Archadians so that Zalbaag can get ready for battle. The appearance of Wiegraf does not go unnoticed, either. Auron's not sure who Wiegraf is going to start hacking into, but he assumes Zalabaag is, for the time being anyway, an ally.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Fired at again? More bullets? He's most likely going to get hit by a one or two of those, seeing as in his condition he's not able to move quite as fast as he normally would. It is afterall, the reason he showed up in this form and not some other, when injured strength is probably better than speed. It's not like he's thought about it though as he's injured and not quite in his right mind, acting more on insinct and survival then anything else.

Seeing the armored men charging for him, he crouches down, waiting for them to come to him, at least it wont take too much pressure on his front legs, once the first armored man he pushes with his back legs and leaps right at him, slashing at the man's head with his left paw to knock the helmet off and pounce down on top of the man. It's not too hard to figure out what the large cat is going to do once that head protection is off though.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe looks to Auron and she nods for a moment

"I'll be on it." She takes a moment her wings flare into existance behind her and she starts to rise up above the groundf she's gong to attempt to keep things less lethal it's just how she rolls. She's not got no real blood lust most of the time, she's up in the air now rianing osme light magic down on the men on the roof moving to supress them as best she can.

Ultima (129) has posed:
Archadian soldiers fall one by one swiftly to the experienced swordsman in the brick red robes, and the giant cat pinning a soldier down and ripping him a new one causes a few more to back away hesitantly. Even so, it doesn't take long before some of the bolder ones fall in to attack again. The military discipline is strong here, that or the fear of death. Auron and Allyn would find themselves again beset by swords from all sides.

Hearing the man in red robes speak to him through the wall of guards arrayed about him, Zalbaag turns a hard stare in Auron's direction... only for his eyes to momentarily widen. "...My Lord, I...!" and then he notices the strange voice. "...Er, yes..." He averts his gaze, turning it back to the Archadian onslaught charging them down. "...momentarily. But it's not wise for us to let them surround us like this..."

He lifts the curved blade he holds, turning it sideways and holding its sheath aloft as well. "...I recommend covering your ears..."

"Evil souls of the dark, gather here... Koutetsu!"

The blade is shoved back into its sheath, and the moment it forms a seal a wave of dark energy fans out from the cluster of Order knights. Suddenly glass shattering howls penetrate the air as evil spirits emerge from the ground and swarm the Archadian occupiers like locusts. They seem to penetrate, rather than strike, at their victims - but the ones who're struck none the less begin to look deathly ill.

Tomoe's magical light show would give the fightrs on the ground some much needed reprieve from bullets, as several fall to the unexpected attack quite readily and the rest turn their guns on Tomoe and begin to fire. One even begins to chant a fire spell, but...

...he is quickly offed by a Corpse Brigade arrow. The Brigade themselves are making a mess of the occupiers as well, but especially their leader...

"Absorb power in the sky and strike... Hallowed Bolt!" rings out the voice of one Wiegraf Folles, with two injured soldiers at his feet. With a simple swing of his sword, mighty magical lightning falls from the sky above with a thunderous roar... frying alive anyone in its vicinity.

Auron (236) has posed:
That's a very strange look from Zalbaag. And the 'my lord'? Yeah, apparently he thinks, for a minute there, that Auron is this 'Thunder God'. He'll have to research this, find out more. Later. Right now there's a battle to fight. He nods to Zalbaag's words. Sadly, due to having to hold his sword, Auron's not able to cover his ears. So...

/OW/. Much ow. Okay yeah. That's uncomfortable, and he cringes. However, he's used to pain. So he follows suit. Holding his own sword aloft, he murmurs under his breath something in Spiran that's probably too quiet to be heard over the chaos of battle. Fire seems to float down onto his blade and then... disappear. Except a moment later several nearby enemies get slashed multiple times.

Looks remarkably like a samurai ability that the people of Ivalice might be familiar with...

Allyn (307) has posed:
Surround or corner injured big cat? Not really a good idea, but it's not looking good for this big cat, he pants from the bit of exertion he has been going through. He was already not at a hundred percent. He tries to think of what the best way out would be, and roars in anger and pain at the men surrounding him. That's right before he shimmers and shifts, the form of a small mouse replacing that of the large cat and he scampers between and under soldier's feet, then once behind some, he shimmers and shifts forms once more returning to his lion form and attacks from behind. He uses this tactic again and again, though sometimes it's a different form, fox, mouse, to try and dodge between the men's legs, maybe this way he can make the soldiers think that there is more than one large cat attacking them from out of nowhere and frighten the rest off.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is keeping the guys on the roof as she fires more magical bolds at them like some sort of angry Angel from the looks of her. She gets some cover from one of the Corpse Brigade's archers which she's thankful for. OThers however do catgch her cuasing her a level of pain and visably distorting her avatar reducing it ot wireframe where the impacts are naqsty enough and now she dive bombs them tyring ot really make them keep their heads down.

Ultima (129) has posed:
The Archadian opposition is falling in waves now, but even so they seem endless. Hundreds of men, practically carbon copies of one another, all clad in obscuring black steel and darting out from seemingly every place. Auron's Ashura technique sends several sprawling, and several to the ground in a heap. Yet even as they fall, more leap from the nearest building and stalk out of adjacent alleyways brandishing blades and guns. Two with swords charge, followed up immediately by two gun shots from the riflemen at the rear. These guys are either brave, or hopelessly suicidal.

Confusion tactics work well for Allyn, as these soldiers have never been trained to deal with whatever the heck he is. They quite visible dance around, scanning the area with their eyes, as he gets the drop on the first one. Two nearby take turns swinging at him, and miss, and another one falls swiftly. By now they're beginning to panic as their numbers dwindle, attempting to spread out and make it harder for him to target them all in succesion. One even attempts to fire upon him twice as he takes down the third soldier successively, while another casts a flame spell in his direction... sending sparks dancing across the cobblestone!

Tomoe, too, is doin an excellent job keeping the riflemen on the roof focused upon her. Her dive-bombing tactic fells two more, knowing them from the roof and yet even so another casts an Blizzaga spell toward her in an attempt to freeze her where she lands.

. Zalbaag and Wiegraf and their lot are still sweeping up soldiers nearby as well... and it's only a matter of time until they bump into each other...

Literally.

The pair back into one another, mid-way in front of the burning carriage at the street center. Both turn, staring upon one another for not more than a moment before one of them speaks,

"...Never thought I'd see the day I got to kill you personally, you lawless deserter!"

"It is a fool's mistake to think that you can kill what I am."

Not content to let the pair prattle, several Archadian soldiers immediately line up to die.

"...I suppose we have more pressing matters to which we must first attend."

Auron (236) has posed:
Auron's blade is bound up by parrying of the swordsman in front of him, thus he has no way to stop the bullets. He shifts as much as possible, trying to avoid them, but one tears into his right arm and he growls. He needs some time. Armored or not, Auron's metal-plated boot planted squarely in the crotch of one of the swordsman is likely to hurt. With that swordsman temporarily out of the equation, he bodychecks the other from behind his sword, and then reaches in his robe.

What he draws from it is a yellow gem that seems to crackle with electricity. This he holds in his free hand for a moment, channeling energy into it. And then he lobs it in the direction of the enemy soldiers. It's a Lightning Gem, so it's likely to cause a fair bit of damage.

He manages to catch the argument between Zalbaag and Wiegraf, though it's a discussion he'll have to wait to think about. Because there are still enemies!

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn continues to use his confusion tactics against soldiers but is caught in fox form by some of the fire spell, he lets out a loud YIP! as his tail gets singed and he backs off some, panting heavily. He's reaching his limit as he's collected new injuries and the ones that had been tended from the previous battle and still fresh have reopened. He finds himself wishing he knew some scarier forms to take on, it'd make this go much faster.

Once he has taken out, or driven off the last of the soldiers that had targetted him though, he growls deeply from overtaxing himself and collapses to the ground, shimmering once more the lion form reverting to his true form a young human man as consiousness slips from him.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe is keeping them all focused on them but she is frozen in place she could not stop them forever she's got her blae out however as she attempsto break free, it however leaves the Iron Lily quite open to being attacked she's still dangerous and and seems to be trying to ready a spell on her own.

Ultima (129) has posed:
The Archadian soldier that Auron kicks in the jimmies reacts about as well as you'd think one might, clutching at his leather pants and falling to his knees as his legs gives way. The bullets fired upon the legendary guardian of Spira ricohet harmlessly off of his sword and the bodychecked soldier goes skidding. What's left of the soldiers in his immediate vicinity, mostly the riflemen, eat the burst of lightning that explodes forth from that gem and fall about on the cobblestone twitching and disarmed. So much for that lot, but there's still entirely too many more nearby...

Allyn finally gets his reprieve as, after taking down the last of the soldiers immediately surrounding him, any who may have thought to seize on the unconscious boy are swiftly deterred by a barrage of Corpse Brigade arrows. One of the Brigade's female White Mages, a blonde girl with heterochromatic eyes wearing tattered grey cloth, runs out to drag him off the street so she can administer magical healing.

Suddenly, amidst all of this fighting, a deep, resounding, war horn bellows in the night air... and everyone wearing Archadian armor freezes in their tracks. It wouldn't be long before the sight of an entourage moving down the street, from the direction of that horn, would become apparent. At the head of the entourage is a man wearing much bulkier armor than the rest. Colored ebon and gold, with layers and layers of ornate complexity, his armor is far more detailed - marking him a very important man. His helm bears some features of a crown, and not a single detail of his human face can be seen through the slit that barely passes for a visor. With dual swords strapped to his thighs, he takes his time making his way to the battlefield... his entourage following closely and flying the banner of Archadia as well as acting as his torch bearers.

He stops... not more than twenty feet or so from Auron. ... And he surveys everything quietly. ... "Quite the mess, this." His head goes level again, his stare fixed on the burning carriage across the way. "...those who disrupt Archadian order, and make mockery of our laws are doomed to die by my hand."

He lets this threat hang for a moment, before continuing, "...but though I am wroth at the mess you all have made of my order, I am more so of this betrayal." He looks in Zalbaag's direction, "...you were not summoned here. ... We will go quietly, and you will have your moment to breathe. But rest assured, regardless of the outcome tonight... House Solidor is not pleased. The Senate is already aware of this betrayal." And with that, he turns to walk away again... expecting his men to follow. And he will leave too... if no one follows.

Auron (236) has posed:
Auron sees Allyn go down, and curses. However, he also sees Tomoe get frozen, and his remaining eye narrows. He can't defend them both! Thankfully a woman Auron recognizes as a healer in this world is tending to Allyn. He looks to Tomoe, intending to go over and help her... and then there's a man standing near him to speak. Auron pauses, looks to the armored man. This is a man he doesn't recognize. He remains quiet as the man speaks to Zalbaag. And hopefully the soldiers start to disperse too.

That way he can go over to Tomoe and help her. It may require him to use one of the fire items he's carrying with him. As he works to free Tomoe, he looks in Zalbaag's direction. "...Who was that?" he inquires. Clearly he's not Ivalician, so it might not be too strange for him not to know.

Tomoe has posed:
Tomoe seems to have come to near the end of the fight at this point she's frozen in place still. She feels the cold she feels some pain but it's like an echo. It's enough to wonder about how real it is but the fallen from the fight are a cold testament to the reality of the situation. The Iron Lily will be able to recover soon enough but this world is like some twisted mirror of part of her own world's past.

The more she thinks about it as Auron helps to get her free of the ice it doesn't take too long to get her free. With a crack the ice is finally free and she looks over to Auron.

"Thank you for your help. That man? I have no Idea to whom he is I'm afraid."

Maybe there's be something in the Union's databanks she's been running fraps like she does on any operation with the Union. It's proven to be very useful to recall things for later. Also to have an unbiased record of what she was up to was quite useful to her.

She stretches a bit muttering something to her self as she looks to see that everything seems to be over with for the moment. Still those thoughts of it being much like the middle ages and resistance in her own world, can not be quieted there are just too many things in common, that she's noticed. The real question of the matter is, does it matter ? The causes of the fighting however seem to be the same on any world, power, control, the oppressed trying to fight back and the oppressors themselves were all doing the game of Kings here.

"We better get going if there's no more good we can do here, Auron. I'm starting to wonder just how much use I'm going to be with this problem."

Ultima (129) has posed:
Zalbaag's right eye twitches in muted anger as the Archadian leader speaks to him, even grasping the hilt of his sword tight enough to strangle a man, but visibly he does not respond. Once the armored man walks away, he only lifts his blade to sheath it and thrusts it inside again forcefully. To Auron he replies, after a few muted seconds standing before that still burning carriage, "...Judge Magister Bergan. One of House Solidor's Elite Guard, and effective General of the Archadian Imperial Army. ... Or one of them." Finally stirring from his stupor, he lifts his eyes long enough to add, "...You have my deepest gratitudes, all of you."

He glares in Wiegraf's direction, "...most of you." before walking off. One of the Order soldiers calls after him, "...sir, what of the rebels?"

"...Leave them for now, they're dead men anyroad."

Wiegraf himself does not verbally reply, nor attempt to finish what Zalbaag started with his earlier comment about killing him. He merely addresses his own soldiers, "...tend to the wounded, check on the civilians and see that none were harmed. For every man, woman, or child injured or dead tonight we'll repay Archadia threefold."

His brown eyes flit toward Auron and Tomoe, however, and his hands come to rest on hips... "...if you two require healing, or rest... we can surely help you find it. If you require transport, we can provide also. Our assets are meager, but we are generous as we must be." He turns to stare down the dimly lit road, in the direction Bergan came from. "...But I do suggest you leave swiftly. There's a storm coming."

He spends perhaps a moment too long eyeing Tomoe, perhaps out of curiousity for her mechanical nature, before he turns to walk away.