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Raivisa leaned against a wall, panting a little. More than an hour had passed since she'd been sent to get him, and she needed to decide whether she should just quit while she was behind, and return to the deck empty-handed, or whether she would continue the search until--

"My, my, Raivisa," came a voice from the shadows.

The woman gave a start; even tired and frantic, surely she couldn't have missed seeing someone here! And yet, Setsuna seemed to practically materialize from the darkness, speaking in his usual bored drawl, his hat pulled close over his face. "You certainly seem upset about something. I didn't think you liked that captain fellow that much." His eyes looked totally shut; Raivisa assumed that he had either closed his eyes after spotting her, or had identified her by a noise of frustration.

She hissed. "You-- what-- how-- I could stab you..." Rai winced, realizing the unfortunate nature of her wording.

She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath before starting again. "I suppose you know already that the Captain's been murdered, but I don't know what you were thinking by running off like that. You think that helps anything? It only makes you look more guilty to the people already inclined to think it was you."

Setsuna said nothing, staring blindly. Somehow, his silence filled the corridor, driving her to replace it with her words.

"I know you didn't kill him; if nothing else, it's not your style. If you'd killed him, it would be so flashy there wouldn't be a doubt in anyone's mind of what had happened-- or, if you didn't want to be found out, no one would have stumbled over the body just yet. You're capable enough to manage that much, at least.

"But it doesn't matter whether you did it or not at this point, and frankly, I don't give a damn if you think you could take them all on, either, because even if you can, where does that get you? If you're blackballed as a murderer and a mutineer, you'll never get another job in Athenon to slack off at, and if you can't get a job, you'll be on your own for getting food. I've seen you "fend for yourself", Setsuna, and I know hunting is more work than FIXING THIS."

There was something unnerving about her travelling companion's demeanour, but Raivisa steeled herself and her tone; she had to get this said. Said, because it wasn't time for messing about. This was too serious, too real, to just take a physical approach.

"There is an angry mob on the deck right now, and the only way we can get out of this is if you give them some reason to believe you're not the killer they're looking for. So you had best get on up there and convince them, or so help me I'll end up going down with you."

A three day mass... Are they KIDDING? Alia walked through the camp with her hood up, glaring at the dusty ground as she headed for the camp. After the fiasco of building the bridge, from scratch, instead of using the rubble as a guide; Alia was finished with hiding in the council chambers. Spending my days as a page, I could be so much more useful.

Static began to build around her, shocking passerby who stopped, rubbing their arms and glaring at the hooded mage. Alia ignored them, lost in her own stormy thoughts. There are two other nations just waiting to kill all of us, and they want to banter back and forth while they make others do all the work. Mainly me, writing all day can be painful. Rubbing her sore wrist, Alia ducked into the tent that she shared with Mal, her cousin, and Nat, her bodyguard.

The place was completely deserted with the exception of the bed rolls and spare clothing. "Figures, they've probably both gone off to drink with friends." Alia mumbled as she dug through her pack, locating the one book she was searching for. There! Grabbing some parchment, Alia began to take notes.

What the hell is taking her so long? I really hope I wasn’t wrong about trusting those two. Azir was very worried at this point. Raivisa had been gone for an hour now. If it took much longer nothing he could do would be enough to sate the crew. He had already asked his contact if he had been the one to kill the captain, which hadn’t been the case.

It didn’t seem like the guy was lying. The sharpshooter thought to himself running a hand through his hair. Although I could be wrong about that certainly he wouldn’t be allowed out into the field if he couldn’t lie effectively.

At that moment some of the crew members dragged over a new person. “This Sparton slime has been just sitting over there avoiding us.”
“How long has he been there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he have a knife on him?”
“He had a rifle and sword.” Azir glared at the man. The sailor shifted uneasily. “The captain was quite clearly stabbed with a knife since there were no exit wounds. Furthermore if this man has been sitting on the edge of the ship for a long enough time he might have heard something. In a way your stupidity has helped us since you found a witness, not a suspect. You dolt.”

At this point the sailor had apparently had enough. “I’m tired of you. Acting so high and mighty. How do we know your telling the truth about being innocent?”
“ I’ve been in my cabin since this afternoon.”
“I don’t believe you.” The sailor immediately took a swing at Azir. Well it was bound to happen eventually. Azir thought as he moved under the man’s swing, delivering a palm to the ribs as he passed. As the fool came up, recovering from the blow he had received, Azir grabbed him by the shoulders and used the sailors own weight to slam him to the deck. “Gentlemen we have our first suspect.”

Maliborn drank down the last of the alcohol and put the empty barrel along with the others they planned to transport treasure in. "i only wish we could have brought the strong stuff Kusinagi, but I suppose that making them cart around a metal barrel is a bit much aye?" he took a seat around the men who had collectively fallen into a drunken sleep and looked up to the sky. "I wonder what kind of enemies we will be facing Kusinagi, will they be worthy of us, or will they fall like so many others" he laughed. "Yes yes I suppose we can't know until we meet them right?" he laughed harder and began to cough spitting over the side of the bridge a spittle that was filled with blood. "Yeah I know, but there is nothing to be done for it, this will probably be my last adventure, I know my body can hold on long enough for us to claim this island and find you someone worthy of wielding you that isn't me" he wiped the blood from his face and sat again slowly drifting into a light sleep.

Against all logic, Setsuna laughed. Raising the brim of his cap, while still chuckling happily, he focused his closed eyes on Raivisa, having no apparent issues with sight for some reason. "Oh, that's all you were worried about?" The ronin smiled and shook his head at what he considered needless actions. "Don't be so stressed about everything! I'm sure it will all work out just fine."

It was at that moment that the sounds of shouting and the thump of a body being slammed against the hard wood of the deck rang out from above them. "See? They've already started going over the evidence!" It was unclear whether the ronin was saying this as a joke on his own nation's violent tendencies, or if he was actually serious. "Come on, Raivisa, we should go up and help them!"

His companion started to open her mouth as Setsuna turned away, but paused when he looked back over his shoulder and fixed her in place with a look from his still-shut eyes. Adjusting his hat low over his face once more, Setsuna spoke calmly. "And don't worry about what I've been doing. It was nothing of importance." The subtle unnerving aura returned as Setsuna faded into the shadows towards the deck hatch without a single sound. "Just hunting a rat, that's all."

Jack continued fighting and training himself.

First came his magic skills, having chosen to focus sorely on manipulating water, thanks to some swimming skill and liking to take out fires a lot. He glowed bright blue as flowed and bended the water around.

He drowned and flooded away the dummy, using the water he materialised himself as well as water from a nearby pond.

After finishing off with water, he grabbed out his blue sword and swung it around stylistically as he mutilated and destroyed the dummy limb by limb.

After a lot of fighting, Jack moved back to his camp, tired and sweaty, having given his all in training.

"I think that's enough fighting for today. I'll rest for now, by the time I wake up the bridge should be fixed."

Edmund shuffled uneasily in his captors' grasp. "Excuse me, you two?" he called out. "Yes, the, uh, the rifleman and the crewman in the middle of wrestling? Look, I'd love to stay and point out all the inconsistencies, perception and logical errors, and general failures to use your eyes and brains, but I really can't be bothered to stand as witness for a murder or whatever it was you said. I'm getting on in years, you know; I can't be getting involved in the petty disputes of others such as this."

The blond-haired rifleman stared at the sailors' diminutive captive; beneath him, the disabled crewman growled, "Listen, Sparton, you're in no place to-"

"Sparton?" Edmund's voice rose an octave. "Look at the rifle where I was sitting, fool- what manner of Sparton would willingly carry a weapon so obviously designed for long-range combat? And for that matter, what in the world would give you the idea that I possibly cared enough about your clamoring and marauding to want to watch? Each day since the ship set out, I've been coming to my bench before dawn and staying there 'till after dusk, never looking away from the seas beneath the balcony. If you lot haven't interested me enough to turn away before today, what makes you think now would be any different?"

"The captain's been murdered, you idiot." The rifleman was glaring now, the crewman still struggling to escape his grasp.

Edmund snorted. "Really, now? That's all? From all the screaming and crashing and general discord I've heard so far during this voyage, I'd have expected a minimum of two deaths per day from men and women so apparently ill-behaved as yourselves. Whatever the case, the fact remains that unless you need an approximation of how many waves cross the bow per minute, I'll be of no use to you." His eyes narrowed. "Once again- I insist that you and yours let me go."

"Ah, such a sad sight this is!" An overly dramatic voice cut through the conversation on the deck in a lamenting tone, seeming to ring out from the darkness all around the mob. "Look upon this scene and despair, for this is the ugly truth of humanity. Such flawed and twisted creatures are not meant to live in such a utopian style of rule as democracy. Inevitably, it always ends in chaos... or something like that anyway. Was that how it goes, or did I do it wrong?" Suddenly, the voice lost its powerful, ominous echo and became flippant and cheery, as the familiar head of Setsuna, bearing atop it the old, torn hat, poked out of the hatchway onto the deck. His eyes still closed and his expression merry, he waved tot he assembled onlookers. Apparently, he seemed to be under the impression that he was quoting someone, or perhaps delivering a line in a play, but no one present was really quite sure. In fact, it wasn't even clear if his final question had been directed at anyone present.

"Hey, it's him! The Spar-" Before the soldier could finish his sentence, Setsuna was suddenly standing right next to him, though no one present was entirely certain how he got there.

"Howdy!" Tipping his hat to the flabbergasted crewman, Setsuna spun away towards the main crowd. "So, I hear there is a murder mystery going on! How's that investigation going for ya? Got any suspects?"

Deciding enough was enough, one of the senior officers gave the order to grab the lunatic. "Yeah. You. Get him, boys." Five burly, glaring men surrounded Setsuna and reached out to grab a hold of him, then collapsed in a heap as they somehow found eachother's limbs instead of the mercenary's.

"Ooooh, is that so?" The voice changed again, this time becoming calmer, more sarcastic. Everyone whirled around, holding up their lanterns to cast light on the base of the mast where Setsuna was now leaning. "I'd be interested to know why." A sailor opened his mouth to speak, but the mercenary cut him off. "...except that I already know the answer. 'Look out, everyone, it's a big, violent Sparton come to stab us!'." Strolling casually, and ignoring the fact that he wasn't a particularly 'big' man in the first place, and was in fact, smaller than many of the people present, he slipped into the middle of the mob once more and suddenly was standing next to Edmund. "Ah ah ah, now I understand they are being quite rude, but you shouldn't get upset with them. I don't want any fighting going on right now. I'm solving a crime! And you guys!" He turned to the men holding Edmund, and before the realized it, he pried their hands lose. "I do believe he asked you to let him go! Merely being a very, very boring no-fun person isn't a good reason to hold someone captive, so you had probably best think of something new."

As the Sparton stepped forward, the crowd cleared a place for him staring at him with expressions that mixed anger with doubt that the ridiculous man before them was actually real. "Oh, yes, that's right, that's what you were missing! Motive! Wow, you people really are silly. Why would we kill the person paying our fees before we even got a copper?"

A crewman, bolder than the rest, leveled an accusing finger at Setsuna. "That's because your really working for Sparton, aren't you! Trying to sabotage our expedition!"

Setsuna cocked his head in confusion, as though wondering if he had heard right. If his eyes had been open, he would have been staring cross-eyed at the finger in front of his face and blinking. Finally, he laughed. "Ahahahahahaha! Hehehehehhehehe! Ah, you guys are hilarious! Don't you remember? To defeat your enemy, you must first understand them! ...or invite them to a big feast and make friends with them. One or the other, though maybe I'm just confused because I'm hungry." It was at this point that his stomach let out a well timed growl. "Anyway, the point is, you guys don't get Spartons at all. See, the Spartons hate your guts at least as much as you hate theirs. In fact, they would like nothing more than to kill all of you." Shifting his head so that one of his closed eyes was peeking through the crack in his hat, Setsuna became serious. It was as though a large, cold hand had suddenly reached down and pressed upon the onlookers, and many of them took a step backwards involuntarily. "But they will do so on the battlefield, with sword facing bow and spear facing rifle. To resort to such cowardly tactics is regarded amongst their circles as one of the most horrible sins a man can commit." Placing a finger to his chin contemplatively, the pressure on the surrounding men began to slowly fade as Setsuna's tone gradually morphed back into his usual one over the space of his next comment. "Actually, now that I think about it, it's right up there with deserting the army, which is what they want to kill me for!" Glancing at the surprised looks that comment was getting, Setsuna spoke up once more. "Oh, you didn't know that? Did I forget to tell you?"

"Bullsh*t! You're just making stuff up!" The sailor that shouted, however, did not sound very sure of himself.

"Am I?" Setsuna cocked his head and leaned in uncomfortably close, seeming to stare at the man's face through his eyelids. "Am I really?" Terrified at this sudden change of tone and manner, the man stumbled back from him, sputtering incoherently. Suddenly cheering up once again, Setsuna straighten back up with a little hop and waved his index finger casually in the air. "Well, that's for you to decide, isn't it?" Smiling happily, he seemed to be addressing the whole crowd, but his closed eyes stared out from under the brim of his hat straight towards the rifle-man who had been taking charge of the situation...

What the hell is going on here? This so-called investigation was only getting more bizarre by the minute. First it was the idiot crewmember and his buddies, then the guy that they pulled over said that listening to the waves was more important to him than someone being murdered and to top it all off Setsuna showed up and things had officially gotten to weird for a murder investigation. Why am I the one dealing with this?

Azir took a moment to stop and relax. Okay got to be calm and work through this whole mess “Look people regardless of whether he is telling the truth about being a deserter, he is correct is saying he has no motive. Thinking back on battles I’ve fought with Sparton I cant think of a time when they actually attempted to sabotage us. In fact I think all of us who have fought them can attest to this. I must not be getting enough sleep to forget that.”

At that some of the other military members started making sounds of agreement. A fair amount of them may have hated Spartons but there is a grudging respect to be had for a time-honored enemy. “However this brings up back to square one. Who has a motive to do it? For that matter how would we find a person responsible?” Azir paused for a moment “Where is the first mate? I sent someone to get him over an hour ago. Someone go check. Only one of you.” The rifleman said pointedly as multiple men started moving away. “And whoever goes damn well better come back.” As he stared at the crowd Azir thought to himself: Something is off about this whole thing.

Edmund grumbled as he sat back down onto the oaken bench at the ship's railing. It wasn't like him to simply let himself get dragged off by the arms like that, nor was it that he'd required help freeing himself- by another deserter from Sparton, of all beings. Clearly, he was out of practice.

The sniper rifle was still where the mob had left it when they'd pulled him over to the rifleman, nestled against the base of the railing on its side after having been knocked over by a careless sailor. He allowed himself a chuckle at the crewmen's expense, but quieted abruptly when he noticed the sheath at his right hip felt oddly light. A glance confirmed that its former occupant was missing; it had to have been wrestled away from him during the earlier scuffle. Either he was more out of practice than he'd thought, or old age was dulling his senses. Presumably, both were true.

Lifting his rifle, Edmund turned back to the gathering behind him; from the looks of it, the sailors were too preoccupied with the other rifleman to notice their former captor had slipped away. He couldn't tell which one had his blade from where he sat, and so decided to take a more direct approach to the issue. Cupping the hand that wasn't grasping the sniper rifle to his mouth, he called out, "Excuse me, crowd of raging idiots? To whichever one of you is holding my billhook- return it to me. Now."

"Going somewhere?" Carlmono looked at Yacht as he was packing his things.

"OH! C-Carlmono! What a pleasant surprise! Shouldn't you be leading an investigation?" Yacht smiled at Carlmono to his immediate distaste.

"Investigations over you nitwit. I already know what you did. You will pay for killing the Captain!"

"Is that so?" Yacht's nervous expression faded.

"Yes you stupid vam-" Before Carlmon could finish, Yacht darted towards Carlmono, grabbed his head and slammed it up against the wall so hard he was knocked unconcious. Yacht's face was that of disgust for his former crewmate.

"You have no right to say it. No right." Yacht grabbed his belongings and snuck below deck into the cannon areas. He pulled out a cannon and jumped through the hole and out the ship, swimming as fast as he could to his master.

After his busy disappointing conversation with Devin, a normal person would have swum away. But the ruthless, Machiavellian borderline psychopath Publius blagged engineering, fiddled with bolts, led camels gently away, and hid the leaders' packed lunch. (why? Hilarity.) He then swum to a ship which took him to the Athenion flagship. He said to two infantrymen nearby, 'Could you get me this Azir? I need to go on a special expedition. I might be able to help. I will accord him every courtesy.'

On the long stone bridge that connected the outlying lands of Sparton to the great continent of Unigarond, a miracle of architecture and engineering far beyond the peoples of the present, those Spartons that slept through the night awoke to the bustle of camp being broken. Soldiers marched this way and that and the battalions formed up n the head of the caravan once more, and camp followers dashed about, stowing tents and supplies, and hitching up the animals of the pack train to their carts.

Shouts, whinnies, and the clattering of pans filled the air, but there was a tension just below the surface. This was not just any expedition. This was the rediscovery of the greatest kingdom in human memory. The men had been excited before, and even the rumors of a missing scout had not dampened that enthusiasm. After all, he probably only ran afoul of some wild creature or another. Scouting was a dangerous job at times, and incidents like that were relatively common. However, now the excitment had reached its peak, for a new rumor was spreading. darting here and there, traveling from whispering soldier to energetic stable-boy in awed tones.

Unigarond has been sighted.

A scout had come running into camp that morning, and had headed straight for the King's tent. Moments later, the order to march had been given, despite the fact that the sun had barely risen over the horizon. It was a simple matter to connect the dots.

The great kingdom was waiting for them, and the Spartons were ready to challenge it.

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Far, far away, back on the mainland near the base of another bridge, a similar scene was going on in the Olympion camp, as missionaries hurried through the morning services, exciting their congregations with the legends of olden days that rang out through the huge tents that served for church buildings. Behind the camp, the immense stone work of art that would carry then to their promised land stood, tall and silent. Its ancient segments worn away by the passing of time, the bridge was no longer usable, at least to normal people. However, the Olympions were far from normal, and their mighty and mysterious magics nearly as old as the stone itself were now in place. Geysers of pure blue ocean water arced up from the sea far below, filling in for fallen support beams as the wind itself was pulled from the sky to make a detour across especially wide gaps. At one point, an enormous sea creature that had been damaging the bridge had been tamed, the now docile being placing itself in the center of a truly massive gap to allow the caravan to cross on its back, slightly charred by some of the spells that had been cast during the battle.

As the services let out, tents were pulled down and baggage was stored away again while the morning sun watched from on high. The Olympions were going home.

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Sails creaked in the gentle wind, neglected by the Athenon sailors still gathered upon deck. Off to the east, the morning sun began to creep over the horizon, too late to reveal Yatch slipping away under cover of darkness, even as the events on deck continued as before. The death of the captain had left them quite distracted, so there was no one to notice the thin line far in the distance ahead of them, signifying land.

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(Athenon scene is exactly as before. Sun is just beginning to rise as Endless's last post takes effect, Yatch managed to slip away moments before. Spartons are now starting out in morning, on the middle of their bridge, roughly a day of travel away from hitting Unigarond. The Olympions are also a days worth of travel away, despite the fact that they haven't started yet. I am handwaving this as they have magic and can travel faster. Whatever. I just need everyone to be synched up. Athenons are going to hit land sometime in the evening as well. No one has actually seen it yet, and they likely will not notice the land for a while. I would try and get you closer, but this post is just to get everyone on the same time once more. Mimsy is going to try and make stuff happen with Sparton, and I'm going to have some events happen for the Olympion guys as we travel via GM posting. For now, take the scene and have your characters start moving down the bridges towards your goals. Stuff will happen as you go.)

Maliborn woke up and jumped to his feet and began to wake everyone of the soldiers up with a kick to the gut. "Come on you bunch of worthless grunt we have places to be" he walked forward and found the archer on the ground and picked him up. "Oi get back in line, we are finally starting to move again and we have no time to be sleeping, shake off your hangover and lets get marching or I will throw you to the water to wake yah up" he put him on his feet and rejoined the backgroup. "On to the new land and victory for Sparton!" He roared throwing his fist into the air.

Is there a time of day when these people aren't so bloody loud? The assassin thought unhappily, slowly opening his eyes to watch lazily as the soldiers nearby began to get up and march. So, they'd sighted land, huh? Neiross supposed that meant he'd be taking less naps from now on. How troublesome. He'd just barely managed to fall asleep last night, what with all the noise of the spontaneous drunken revelry, and now he was awakening early to a similar racket, and to the knowledge that his sleeping schedule would only be disrupted further. He was greatly regretting this expedition, and the fun part hadn't even begun yet.

Slowly hopping down from the supply cart he'd used as a bed, he glanced about himself with tired eyes as the convoy set out once again. Or at least, as most of it did. Groaning and mumbling, most of the soldiers in this section of the camp were just lying about, nursing their hangovers and holding up the rest of the caravan. Neiross laughed. Teaches you to make all that row and keep me awake half the night, now doesn't it? Hope you enjoy the headache now that your little party's over.

Thinking these thoughts, Neiross placed his hands in his pockets and strolled towards the front. If he stayed here, he might get recruited to the decidedly dull job of waking up these drunken lugs, and right now, that was just the thing he didn't need to brighten his day. Still, leaving meant walking a ways, which was also a pain. Why did there have to be so much boring crap involved with just going to hunt down a single target? Things would have been so much easier if he hadn't had to march with the armed forces. Then he could move at his pace, and not worry about all of these bothersome side-jobs. He hadn't been paid for this sort of thing. He'd been paid for one job, and one job alone. So, naturally, he was going to avoid any other sort of work by any means possible, complete his assigned mission, and then escape before somebody thought he'd be useful doing something. Neiross didn't like doing odd jobs. He didn't like any sort of actual work. He didn't even pretend to. And, if there was any way left for him to dodge doing anything even remotely useful, then that was the path he'd take.

"Ugh... it still hurts" Devin thought as he regained his conciousness back from last night celebration. He felt the headache drilling his brain as he opened his eyes, the morning sun dazzled him, making it worse for him.

"Well, guess I'll have to take it slow for a while." He thought, as he rolled over so that he could stand up without the sun blinding his sight. Unfortunately, he suddenly felt his entire body being lifted up. The taller man, Maliborn, deposited him onto the ground, letting him stand up with the sun shining at his right.

"Oi get back in line, we are finally starting to move again and we have no time to be sleeping, shake off your hangover and lets get marching or I will throw you to the water to wake yah up" Maliborn said before leaving. He had been going around the messy camp, waking the still drunk soldiers up as if he hadn't drink a single drop of alcohol. The other soldiers looked at him, astonished. Devin just sighed, trying to hold back the sudden urge to throw up last night's dinner. "That guy's unstoppable." He thought as he calmly walked to his new post in the back. The headache was killing him, and he would have preferred if he could have stayed laying on the ground. At least he wouldn't be at the front lines anymore, a fact that made him smile a little, even though he could feel himself teeteering as he walked.

The soldiers around him seemed equally sick as him. But Devin could see their enthusiasm as they approached to their destiny with each step. They whispered to each other about the things they would find and the battles to be had. "I wish I could be so enthusiastic." He thought as he went through his belongings, checking everything was in its place, realizing some of the vials holding poison had cracks over them, a consequence of the captain's last kick, and now were completely empty. "Goddammit!" he shouted, attracting unnecesary attention from the soldiers around him. From the front, he saw Maliborn had looked back at him when he shouted. Sighing, the young archer asked: "Hey Maliborn, any battle advice you would like to share?"

"Well" he said tilting his head in thought. "Stay away from the main battlefield where the soldiers are fighting, your bow won't be of much use in a close range battle, if you see anyone that doesn't look human then shot them in the head before they see you so they don't use magic, never fire into a fight between two soldiers unless you plan on hitting an ally, always take out other enemies with ranged weapons before they become a nuisance, never bother with targets that are normal soldiers, that is what the grunts are for, focus on targets we can't reach or fight, never be afraid to retreat if it looks like you are going to die, you are no use to the army dead, and oh yes" Maliborn reached into a bag he had at his side and pulled out a dagger.

It was made of a black material and seemed to radiate power. "This knife is known as Marbringer, the End of the Sky, I won it off an Olympion who had changed his form to have five heads in a drinking contest, he said whoever holds the dagger would one day find what they were looking for, also something about it creating wounds that would only close if the wielder wished them too, but I am not sure about that, I want you to have it for two reasons, firstly because I want you to find your friends, secondly as I said your bow will do little in the face of an enemy combatant and this knife is a true killer" he offered him the knife.

Devin looked at the black dagger in Maliborn's hand. Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt as if the dagger was calling him to go ahead and grab it, yet, he hesitated.

"I'm not sure I'm worthy of it, Maliborn." Devin said, still glaring at the cold black metal of the dagger. "After all, it was you who received it, I can't take it away just like that. And we sort of just met... it doesn't feel right. Besides, that's what the poison darts were for." He said, as he took out the darts and showed the vials to Maliborn again. "Just... ignore the empty ones, I had an accident last night. But the remaining ones should be enough to get me through in case of emergency... I'm really grateful... it's just that I can take it just like that."

"Under normal circumstances I would understand your offer, but this dagger is calling out for you, it resonates with your soul, same for me and Kusinagi, anyone can pick up a weapon and use it, but if it isn't connected to you then you only get half of its full power, a blade with this power could never betray the one meant the wield it, allow me to show you" Maliborn tossed the dagger up and it began to fall blade down right where Devin was standing.

Before Devin could react Maliborn put a hand on his shoulder to keep him in place and at the last second the dagger almost seemed to move and land in front of him. "As I said, the weapon is yours, I have no right to hold it from its master, you can take it, or leave it here buried in this bridge, the choice is yours Archer, do you accept this weapon as yours and use it to forge a world where finding your friends is impossible, or do you let the same feelings that stopped you from following your friends hold you here now, choose and the path to your destiny will be opened"

Devin held his gaze. Had the dagger just done what he just saw? Certainly, it wouldn't do him any bad if he took the black dagger with him, but Devin couldn't help but think that something might be amiss. "There's always a catch with this sort of thing." he thought as he leaned to pick up the dagger from the stone bridge. Daggers aren't usually heavy objects, but in Devin's hand, Marbringer's weight felt as if it was but a mere feather. Devin felt both strangely excited and uneasy. He still could feel the dagger calling, but he knew better than to listen to some weird mental voice.

"...Fine." he finally said after a long pause, securing the dagger in a place where it would be easy to grab it. "Even so, I won't rely on it. Not because I do not appreciate it, I do, honestly. I don't want to rely on it because I shouldn't trust the result of my endeavor to a magic artifact. A man should know his own strenghts and limits, after all."

"Well spoken, but I understand, your bow is your main weapon, i don't expect someone who prefers ranged to upclose combat to change their mind because of a new weapon, but who knows what we might end of facing, if we fought an enemy immune to both arrows and poison you need something to defend yourself, it just so happened that the knife works well with you, now lets enjoy the mild time of peace we have before the next fight aye?"

Jack had woken up from his rest, full of energy. He watched as the convoys of Olympions crossed the bridge and he followed soon after.

"Finally we can get moving and I can get my plan to finally begin." Jack thought to himself as he walked along the bridge ready for what might take place.

(So as I mentioned earlier I'd like to introduce that NPC love interest for Jack I mentioned on the chat)

"Excuse me, crowd of raging idiots? To whichever one of you is holding my billhook- return it to me. Now."

"A word to the wise," whispered a silken voice in Edmund's ear, as he felt a slight pressure on the back of his neck as of a blade. "When you find yourself suddenly missing a weapon, and facing an angry mob who have already expressed distaste for your background and your priorities-- it's not the best time to insult their intelligence. True or not, they might be tempted to do more harm."

The blade's pressure disappeared, and Edmund turned, to see who it was who was brazen enough to speak to him like that. The only person behind him was the black-haired Sparton woman, hiding almost all her face with her fan.

Why did she bother to give him the warning? Raivisa wondered. Certainly not because she felt affinity for a fellow Sparton; perhaps it was an imagined kinship due to their shared hatred for idiots. Her mind travelled to her other fellow Sparton here, and the rather dramatic speech he had just made. Despite his pointless theatrics, she had to admit, she had found herself all but nodding along with the points he made.

Well, until he brought up being a deserter. That had almost made her seethe-- old habits die hard-- until she remembered she was hardly in a position to judge; unless she misjudged her father's level of influence, she was in effectively the exact same position as Setsuna was, or claimed to be.

Raivisa's head jerked, as she was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of footsteps. It was clear that she, off by the railing with Mr. Where's-My-Billhook, was the only one who had heard-- perhaps the man in front of her had registered the sound, but he had already made it clear that he was not the sort to react, or mention it, if he had.

She closed her fan with an audible snap, and marched through the mob of soldiers and sailors still congregated, pushing aside anyone who didn't get out of her way. "Party's over," she announced, not bothering to explain further. She had been able to figure it out; they all would, soon enough. After all, even if their ears were worthless, they had eyes in their heads.

STORY POST - SPARTON CARAVAN

BGM: Broken Moon - Kitsune Workshop ~ Fox Factory

There was only a split second of warning before it happened.

Just as the assassin reached the front of the caravan, the ambush was suddenly sprung. Neiross' eyes widened slightly as he realized, to his surprise, that even his keen senses had failed to perceive the enemy coming. This was all the time he had before, with a tremendous flurry of movement like a blizzard of diamond dust, the ocean mist beneath the bridge erupted upward in a vast whirlwind, an unexpected wall of bizarre fog suddenly blocking off the Spartons' path. A rumbling like an earthquake resounded across the waters, and, carried by an unseen shockwave, the ocean around the bridge suddenly went wild, rushing outward in all directions as though a bomb had just gone off right beneath the stone edifice upon which the army had been marching up until that point. But the water was far from the only thing affected, for at the same time, the entire front battalions of the caravan were literally picked up off their feet as a tremendous tremor shook the bridge, nearly causing it to collapse beneath them. The men staggered and fell, and the horses stumbled about and collapsed in a confused mass of dropping bodies and panicking horseflesh. Fairy lights gleamed triumphantly amidst the mist, and, as the one army collapsed, another far stranger than it began to take shape in silhouette amidst the magic curtain that had suddenly appeared. A sudden crack flashed across the midday full moon, and the immaterial power that shrouded their attackers slowly began to coalesce into a more tangible form. Although the figures within the mist were a devilish lot, many more closely resembling beasts, spirits, or household appliances than they did Humans, the mist itself took on three much more Human shapes - that is, save for the horns sprouting from the heads of each of these fay generals.

Neiross held his footing, taking a step back and bracing himself against the trembling bridge, even as men and beasts fell around him. As the last of the strange mist vanished, the assassin raised an eyebrow. What sort of creatures were these, anyway? Amidst the enemy, he picked out such oddities as a giant spider with the head of an ox, a blazing cart wheel with a man's head at the center, and a bright purple umbrella adorned with a giant red eye and a massive, lolling tongue at its head, while where its handle should have been was instead a Human foot. But perhaps most bizarre of the lot were the three beings at the head of the unnatural band.

The most noticeable was a giant of a man, standing at least seven feet tall, with a build that could most closely be compared, perhaps, to an ogre. His skin was a dark shade somewhere between a bronze color and scarlet red, while his hair, which spiked up wildly in an unkempt mass, was a stark white, a color matched by his eyes, which seemed from first glance to lack pupils entirely. From the very center of his forehead sprouted a single, conical horn. His attire was a dark blue robe, like that of some kind of monk, but over this he wore armor as black as midnight. In one hand, he carried a triple-balled flail of sorts. Yet, its design was quite bizarre indeed. One head was spherical, the next cuboid, and the last shaped, of all things, like a pair of square-based pyramids affixed together at their bases, the one facing upward and the other pointing down. In the other, he held a giant black-on-blue buckler shield, adorned with an emblem of a cracked full moon, much like the one that had appeared just now in the heavens. His arms were spread wide, and standing amidst his mammoth embrace were his two compatriots.

On the left stood a small, almost childish figure, clad in a bright scarlet yukata, over which she wore a set of darker crimson armor, designed in a clearly oriental style and made from interwoven reeds overlaid with red steel. Her skin was pale, and her form lithe and petite, standing in stark contrast to her gigantic comrade, as did her gleaming golden eyes and flowing hair of the same hue. A single fang poked out from behind her grinning lips, forming a somewhat more subtle clue to her inhuman nature than the large horns sprouting one from above each ear, curving only slightly as they protruded straight outward to either side of her. The only thing she carried was a giant gourd hung from a chain around her belt, from which she took what might as well have been a single continuous draft of what was clearly alcohol, stopping her binge only to rear back her head and let out an occasional raucous, drunken laugh.

The final member of the unusual trio was a little more dignified than her two fellows, neither quite so fearsome as her male escort, nor so clearly wild as her younger fellow. Standing on the right of the giant man, she gave a somewhat haughty grin, sweeping back her long, dark hair to reveal a single horn pointing straight up from her forehead, much like that of the male entity. Her skin was somewhere between her two comrades, giving her perhaps the most normal appearance of the group. Her wardrobe was made up of a rather fancy red-on-white kimono and hakama, over which she wore a flowing crimson haori. At her side was sheathed a samurai-like daisho set of matching swords, while in her upraised hand was a truly gigantic red dish of sake, from which she took several casual sips, standing in direct contrast to the reckless gulps of her younger fellow. This last being seemed to be the leader, for it was her who spoke, breaking the stunned silence at last.

"WELCOME! You've just entered the territory of our ancient clan, the Midnight Legion of the Shattered Moon!" She bellowed, her voice sweeping over the army she'd just knocked down with her mere entrance. "You, Spartons! Why have you partaken of our tribute without awaiting our arrival?!"

"Nobody passhesh without payin' the - *hic* - toll~!" The younger being added in slurred tones between gulps of liquor and hiccups.

"INDEED!" The gigantic man concurred, his ringing voice louder than either of his fellows combined. "The sin you have committed cannot be forgiven!"

"Those who are unwilling to share their prized drink with us are unworthy of passing OUR bridge! For your rudeness, we'll punish you here!" The older woman continued, drawing the longer of her twin swords and pointing it defiantly at the Sparton army. "You who cherish battle above all else, let's see how strong you really are! But first, know who you're up against."

"I, the general Ibaraki-Doji!" The giant man declared.

"I's Kanakuma-Doji," The drunkard added quietly.

"And I am Torakuma-Doji!" The sword-wielding woman finished.

"Together, we are three of the servants of the great Shuten-Doji of Mt. Ooe of the Kingdom of Unigarond! And now, in the name of our pride, we will turn you back here and now for your insolence! No one refuses to grant us tribute and passes our bridge!" Ibaraki-Doji finished. The parade of a thousand demons behind them gave a mighty cheer, and swiftly assembled into a mockery of military formation. The stunned Spartons, realizing they were being challenged to a fight, swiftly rose and assumed a formation of their own atop the vast, broad bridge. Neiross, being perhaps the only man who'd remained standing at the very front, found himself suddenly standing several meters ahead of the assembled army.

Damn. I suppose this means I won't be able to just walk away. And, with powers like those... Sigh. I guess I'll have to draw one of my swords, he thought tiredly, placing a hand on Colada as he glanced apathetically at the group in front of him.

"Great," He mumbled. "I came up to the front to avoid the battle-hungry drunkards, but it seems like I just found some new ones. What a pain."

"Hey, hey, you seem awfully confident!" Torakuma-Doji called, stepping forward and raising her sword. "You look important, too. Alright, then! The first person I beat up for disrespecting us Oni will be you!"

Oni? Well, now, that's problematic. But, that does explain a few things. Like that unusual mist... But, in that case, I don't see any way to defeat them permanently. As fun as this is going to be, I really hate battles with enemies who break the world to make themselves unstoppable. Damn. This is just like that time. Sighing resignedly, Neiross drew the shimmering black blade of Colada, and a faint ripple spread out through the air around him, as though the weapon's mere passage through the air had been enough to leave a vacuum in its wake, drawing in all of the nearby air and compressing it into a literally tangible boundary all around him.

"Hey, hey, sis, he's not Human," The little drunkard observed, the slurring in her voice inexplicably vanishing. Selective inebriation? Really? Well, they were Oni, so he supposed it wasn't too much of a stretch, from what little he'd heard. Still didn't make this situation any less of a bother.

"You're right," Torakuma-Doji said, excitement appearing across her face. "Hey! You! You look pretty strong. I think I'll give you the once in a lifetime opportunity of going one-on-one against me! If you win, I'll give you... uh... this dish of sake, here!"

"But I don't want to go drinking with you," Neiross objected tiredly.

"Well, then, too bad! An Oni's invitation is one you can't refuse! Now have at you! I'll beat you without even spilling a drop of this sake!"

"Sigh. What a pain," Neiross said, inexplicably saying the word "sigh" instead of just sighing, just for variety's sake. Either that, or he was too lazy to exert himself to the point of making a major intake of breath. "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

"Everyone! Attack! But leave the strong ones to us!" Ibaraki-Doji bellowed. The legion of bizarre spirits rushed forward, and the Spartons, ignoring all orders given them at the prospect of a battle with such interesting adversaries, dropped into a similar rush. The two forces split around a small area at the center of the bridge, where stood the three Oni facing off with the assassin. In an instant, the din of battle broke out all around, and, at the same time, Torakuma-Doji charged at the apathetic blue-haired man, moving at remarkable speeds.

Within a matter of seconds, the orderly Sparton caravan had turned into a wild, chaotic, and completely senseless fight, all for the sake of liquor.

Why was Neiross not surprised in the least?

.....

Enemy Stats

General Stats

The enemy army consists entirely of a random assortment of Youkai. Basically, knock yourselves out. Everything from Raijuu to Karakasa is here for you to fight.

The main enemies will be the three Oni. As a general rule, they have the power to control their Night Parade, as well as the ability to assume a form made from mist. Their physical stats are peerless, with super strength, super speed, and super endurance as a general rule. Also, by changing their supernatural Oni mist, they can create magic explosions. Essentially, though, even when hit, they can scatter their form into mist and reform later, making actually beating them... troublesome, at best. Your best approach would probably be to either probe them for weaksauce weaknesses, or to try and negotiate, although tiring them out is also a possibility.

Specific Stats

Ibaraki-Doji: The strongest of the three Oni. His magic attacks and speed aren't quite on the same level as either of them, but a single punch from him could probably shatter every bone in the body of even the most skilled Sparton soldier, while his flail is massively devastating in the sorts of damage it can dish out. His tower shield, meanwhile, will be very, very difficult to bypass, due to its massive size, his overwhelming strength, and the fact that simply getting close to him will be a challenge. Likely, he'll be the enemy of Maliborn.

Kanakuma-Doji: The most magically powerful of the three Oni. Capable of manipulating her form at will, she can use her ability to transform to become a gigantic, fantastically strong entity, or, on the other hand, to divide herself into countless tiny copies, or other such strange tactics. She can also turn the sake she drinks from her gourd into fire, and has a vast array of magic bombs and explosions to deploy in battle. Likely, she'll be going up against Blurred's character.

Torakuma-Doji: The fastest Oni, and the most dextrous. Capable of moving at truly tremendous speeds, by using her mist on her sword, she can create tremendously destructive Sword Lines, Sword Beams, and Razor Wind. On top of this, she's a tremendously nimble fighter, and skilled enough to duel one-handed, very likely on par with Neiross, who despite his laziness is an incredibly good duelist, while simultaneously holding her sake in the other hand without even spilling it. THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS. HER SAKE NOT EVEN DROP. Anyway, most likely, she'll be going up against Neiross.

Everything Else: As I said above. Youkai mooks. Youkai mooks everywhere. Knock yourselves out, people, although defeating the Oni is key to winning the battle. Remember, though, killing them outright isn't exactly going to be an option, considering their ability to dissipate their form. Search for weaksauce weaknesses, try to negotiate somehow, or win through a struggle of attrition, somehow outlasting their endurance, but don't expect them to die, even if you kill them.

HAVE FUN.

Maliborn jumped over the battle that had started between the creatures and the normal soldiers in order to get in front of the three people leading the army of monsters. "Hey lazy assassin, I am going to murder the large guy, stay away or I will kill you too"

Ibaraki-Doji laughed and looked at Maliborn. "You kill me?" he laughed and took a swig before spitting it over Maliborn. "Die for that stupid joke you idiot" He brought down his flail and when it hit a massive cloud of dust and wood flew up "Do you feel the strength of a true Oni!"

A faint laugh began to come from behind the cloud of dust. "You, you will be the first kill of this adventure" Maliborn delivered a kick straight into the gut of the Oni and sent it flying far across the bridge. "You are a demon, a creature of legend and fear, soldiers tell stories of you to each other over camp fires in order to scare each other, I am disappointed!" He let out a massive laugh. "If even one of you men fall in this battle I will rip your souls from hell and send you straight back with my boot up your ass, don't you dare die to these pathetic creatures" the men roared and redoubled their efforts. "Now demon, I am Maliborn, I have been called the demon, the great whirlwind, the Demon of the Blood Red Ocean" He aimed his blade at the demon. "And this blade is Kusinagi, God Slayer, this weapon was born to destroy you, but" he struck the blade into the bridge. "You don't deserve her graces, I will beat you down with my bare fists"

The Oni stood up and tossed his weapons down and flexed showing his massive muscles. The air around him swam with power. "Let us see how strong you really are human!" he brought back his fist and pushed his feet into the bridge.

"Oh a test of strength?" Maliborn did the same and grinned. "Have at you kur!" They both slammed their fists together and the entire bridge shook with the force of their fists. "A man's soul is combined with his flame of his will and his desire to protect what he cares about, I care about my country, my fellow soldiers, and all of the friends i have made throughout my journeys, their wills are with me, they are in this punch, they are my strength, so understand, that something like you, will... never... WIN!"

The Oni's arm made a horrible breaking sound and he flew back landing on his back. "What..the...hell... are you?" The Oni turned incorporeal and his arm repaired itself when he stood up. "I am not mortal, so I can't be killed by such lower strength" he summoned his shield and flail.

"More creature then man, pathetic, your soul is unworthy, yet still Kusangi calls for your blood" Maliborn pulled the blade out of the ground and a sudden wave of deadly intent spilled out over the bridge. "Are your ready to find what mortality feels like?" Maliborn charged at the Oni. Ibaraki-Doji swung his three headed flair but with one slash Kusinagi slashed off all three of the flair heads.

"What the..?" the Oni went to smash him with the shield but Maliborn sidestepped it with ease.

"I have beaten things like you in my sleep, you aren't worthy of what is about to happen to you" Maliborn slashed at the demon only for the Oni's shield to block his sword with ease.

"You babble on about your blade with no understanding of the true terror you face, my shield can never be broken, as for my flail," the heads grew back but bigger and more powerful then ever. "You don't seem to understand, I am not human, I have none of your limitations, and I am tired of holding back, so this time prepare to die" a terrifiying amount of energy bleed forth from the Oni and he swung again with his three headed mace landing a terrifyingly powerful blow on Maliborns side. A sickening sound of ribs breaking under the force of the blow was head and some of the soldier looked that way to see what had happened to their number one soldier. Maliborn let out a body shaking cough and spat out blood onto the bridge falling to one knee. "Now lets end this" the massive Oni swung up and the mace heads hit him in both soldiers and under the chin sending him flying and leaving him on his back.

Their was silence for a moment as it looked like Maliborn had finally been defeated. "Well, have you anything to say now human, what have you to say of your strength?"

"I would say... it bores me" Maliborn stood up and cracked his neck both ways making a loud popping noise. "You rely on physical strength alone, you have no reason to fight, you are just a mad dog barking at the moon, and for that reason you are never going to beat me, my soul burns like an inferno, yours is not but a spark,"

"You shouldn't have the strength to move, not after that last attack" The Oni regarded his enemy with suspicion. "You aren't human"

"No, I am fire, death, destruction" a pure wave of murderous intent hung around Maliborn like a heavy fog. "I am a hurricane that ravages all things, a fire that destroys forests, I am a soldier, and that is why you have already lost this fight" he put Kuinagi over his shoulders. "One arm style, Moonlight Dream" He charged at the Oni.

"Are you dense?!" he held up his shield as Maliborn began to wildly slash and stab Kusinagi at it. "I have an absolute defense, as soon as you tire you will die before me"

"Your wrong, your shield is flawed, I know this because it is just metal, and anything born of metal can break, but it isn't your shield that will fail, it is you" Maliborn put both hands on Kusinagi's grip and slashed with his full force.

The Oni's shield was pushed to the side by the force of the blow. "Impossible"

"You made three errors when you decided to face the Spartons this day, first you came drunk, not on saki but your own pride, you believed that no one here had your level of strength, but you were wrong, because I was here" Maliborn dropped Kusinagi and delivered a solid blow to the Oni's chest. "Your second mistake was not killing me right away, you insisted on toying with me, allowing me to see the flaws in your soul, and how to exploit them" he delivered a powerful blow with both fists into the same spot. "And your third mistake was being born..." Maliborn grabbed Kusinagi and slashed up cutting off the arm that held the massive shield.

The Oni's arm turned to mist and the mist floated back to where the arm had been cut before reforming. "It is impossible to kill me" It roared with anger.

"I don't need to kill you" Maliborn got straight in the Oni's face. "I just need to break you" he slammed his head into the Oni's and part of Maliborns forehead began to bleed. "You can't die, and I can't lose, that only leaves room for one of us to lose doesn't it?" Maliborn took step back and drank from a gold flask to his side.

He swung his blade and the Oni turned his whole body to mist. "Can't defeat what you can't hit!" he roared.

Maliborn struck a match and began to blow through his lips toward it. The match became the starting point for a jet of flames that hit the Oni's mist.

The Oni let loose a curse and disappeared. Maliborn spit the leftover drink to the ground. "Should take you plenty of time to regenerate from having that form burned" he picked up the shield and looked at it. "Eh why not" he rested it on the side of the bridge and took a seat. "That is enough for me, right now anyway" he sat down and watched the soldiers fight. "You handle the small ones"