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The Fifty Years' War (FFT RP)

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"Lydalia it is, phew that's a relief."

their talk done he finished packing up quickly and soon they were on the move again. arriving at the fort and hearing of the new additions to their little squad.

Serafina was no doubt a lady of energy, and she had apparently decided that his rugged good looks were to her liking. how fitting that it was mutual.

"i'll keep it in mind, firecracker. we break the supply camp apart and celebrate that victory properly, how about it?" Imos himself was after all no stranger to thievery.

for now however he'd see about getting his soldiering out of the way, and that meant playing nice with the weaponmaster and getting Taka outfitted.

the large bird would soon after find a few vital parts of his protected by light plates, a piked helmet on its' head.

"there we go Taka, nothing getting in your way, comfortable?"

an affirmative Kweh was his answer.

"glad to hear, time we introduce ourselves to damen's extended family."
 
On arrival to the fort, Damen naturally was expecting a new assignment, and sure enough, one was given; a supply camp that is to be raided and/or destroyed, with the addition of some new arrivals. Alex and Serafina seem like interesting individuals, but upon being informed that his sister was to join them, it really left him to decide who would be most applicable. "Ruby?!" Clearly, Damen wasn't expecting that to have come up, then heard Piero ask if she was another knight, and... well, Damen naturally shook his head. "She was... ill at birth, her hands were damaged during the process, and even when she grew up, though they appear as if nothing were wrong, Ruby cannot wield a sword as Lydalia or I can. I don't think physical combat will ever be something she can conform to... at least, not without the proper treatment to her disability, if such a remedy exists." Damen did his best to explain the situation to him... but then he heard a voice from nearby.

"Lord brother!" Damen recognized that voice from anywhere, and on turning, he was able to catch the woman in red in a hug and twirled around a bit, before setting her feet back down on the ground. "Lord brother! It's so wonderful to see you again, alive and well; I see lord father's given sword for you remains by your side... He must be watching over you from the other side." Ruby's spoken words were full of affection and care, like any sibling would to one who helped take care of them.

"It's equally wonderful to see you as well, dear sister. So... you will be joining us on this skirmish to an Ordallian supply camp; are you ready for what lays ahead in wait for us there?" Damen spoke to her; he didn't have to say much, for he knew that Ruby was trained to become a mage. She may not be the most courageous, that much was obvious, but her talents as a mage made up for that lack of courage, for magic wasn't based on courage in the slightest.

"Don't worry. As long as the physical fighters remain in the front lines, I will lend my aid alongside those in the back with my spells, which should fry those Ordallians to a crisp, either by fire or lightning! If that isn't good enough, could always encase them in ice! I'll also keep Armos safe as well, so long as he helps me get from place to place as needed." Ruby sounded as if she was looking forward to actually putting her magic to use instead of just practice; with the numbers jumping to eight in a reliable sense, that would be sufficient to keep them on the track to victory and success for this outing.

"Yet... it does no good if the front lines should lose their means of fighting along the way." Wiegraf's voice came up, as he approached the siblings; naturally, Ruby slipped behind Damen partially out of shyness, which the white knight overlooked. In his right hand was a sheathed sword, appearing rather recently forged by how clean the hilt itself appeared. "Your father would be quite proud that you've made it this far with that sword he gave you, but you know as well as I do it only has a small handful of fights left before it will shatter on the battlefield. This will render you without a weapon... would that really bring honor to the Cortrova name to die without a proper, fully formed sword in hand?" Wiegraf's words were harsh, yes, but Damen knew them all too well; yes, Wiegraf's family was close to the serf rank than where Damen's family was in the middle class, but it was from the slums he grew up in that he learned to fight efficiently and brutally to those deemed his enemy. Wiegraf would then toss the sword Damen's way, which he caught with both of his hands; the sword was composed of iron as well as steel, making for a slightly heavier weapon, but still light enough to be carried in a single hand.

"See the fitter for a replacement shield before heading out; tell them I sent you, they should give you a lowered rate at least." Wiegraf would give a wave of his hand, before he would climb on Boco, his Chocobo companion. Alongside two of his Dead Men warriors, a monk and a white mage, with his sister, Milleuda, among them, they would leave the fortress; it was obvious at this point that Wiegraf was given an assignment of some kind, something only his small group could accomplish.

Damen would do just that, while Ruby would just remain back, trying to get herself to know more about the others that were taking the journey. "So, if I make any mistakes, let me know, okay? First, you... you must be Lady Lydalia Riovannes, of the same kingdom our lord father, Alexander Cortrova, was tasked to patrol your boarders, apprentice to the well-taught and trained Templar Knight, Folmalv Tengille...?" She first spoke to Lydalia; she had a knightly look to her, so Ruby was certain to trust her in the front lines. "And you're... Piero, a noble from Sal Ghidos of Zeltennia, trained under the Calculus Magi, Mistress Avelia, who has trained you to keep track of all kinds of numbers in your training to become one yourself...?" This time, Ruby was addressing Piero; all of this information, of course, came from her own mentor, who requested information on Damen's group specifically. "And lastly... Imos of Dortor with Chocobo friend, Taka? I can't say there was much about you they wanted to share, but... I can only guess that things were rather tough. At least... going by the words of St. Ajora." She spoke to Imos finally, to which she spoke her words with mild uncertainty, but nonetheless; she knew all of them, yet they knew not of her.

"I'm Ruby Cortrova, second-born of a total of three of the Cortrova home of the Magick City of Gariland in Gallione. On birth, my wrists endured complications, and... though they seem fine, they are incredibly weak, and with that, cannot carry and use a sword effectively, making my becoming of a knight incredibly difficult... But, I choose instead to bring out the Cortrova's magic lineage to the fullest potential instead of combining it with physical attributes, like my father before he met Ordallion noose, and my brother as of current events." Ruby gave her introduction, providing a small curtsy as a result; she would surely come to know of Serafina and Alex as their travels progressed together as a group.
 
Lydalia seemed a bit thrown off by Sera, but Alex laughed at Sera’s antics, “So much for playing the long game. Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Damen’s sister to show up as well, so you can keep your options open?” Admiring the exposed skin on her friend. Perhaps a bit jealous that she felt no shame in showing it off, but what did Sera have to hide?

It didn’t take long for the final member to show up, Ruby, demonstrating her considerable knowledge of the members of the group. “It is good to meet you as well, Ruby. It seems as if you might give Piero here a run for his gil as far as our most studious members go.” Lydalia welcomed. Taking note from Wiegraf, she nodded, “Everyone should gear up while we have access here. If you are all still sure you want me leading us, I suggest we head out this in a few hours, so we can hit the supply depot under the cover of night.”

For her part, Lydalia searched for a heavier suit of armor and stronger sword. She was able to get her hands on a Iron sword, as well as a bronze suit of armor and helm. Once she had them fitted to her, she hoped the rest of the group would be ready to head out.
 
Piero nodded as he listened to Ruby. Another mage, and a combat mage at that. He'd had some foundational work in black magic, but his own master had stressed the importance of practical experience with white magic first. Healing, she had said, is mire difficuly than harming. So learn the difficult thing first. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Magus Ruby," he said with a slight bow. "From Garland, correct? Then... youstudied under Magus Trinado?"

Lydalia's orders caught his attention. Gear up and meet back. That made sense. "I'll need to..."

"There's a lot of things I'd rather hit under cover of darkness!" Serafina laughed, slapping Imos' rear. Her hips swayed deliberately as she walked back over and grabbed Alex's arm. "C'mon," she urged, tugging at him. "Let's go see if we can't scare up some gear."

Piero rolled his eyes. "I'll try to lay in a few more potions. Mzybe some ether as well, if I can find it. Better to be prepared."
 
Imos started a bit at the slap but after composing himself he smirked. oh yes, Serafina was exactly what he liked in a girl.

"maybe this whole war service thing just got a lot more rewarding, time we gear up, i wanna test something i think i figured out and i need to absolutely fit your gear on Taka."
 
Damen was in the storehouse, where excess supplies were held for the soldiers that needed the equipment; his staff was still okay, a little chip from the back and forth with the night yesterday, but still usable nonetheless. His shield was rent, so that was what Damen was looking for, a replacement. It wasn't much, but he found a buckler which may do some good for physical combatants ahead... but began to think of some kind of method to sort of fake out upcoming adversaries, really. That, and he needed more training as a chemist to be able to get into using stronger spellcraft. Apothecary, though, couldn't carry shields or full-sized blades into battle like a knight can... that's what has Damen puzzled, but nonetheless, he ultimately decided to stock up on a few potions, and some phoenix downs, on the chance something goes wrong.

Ruby herself would arrive soon herself after saying that Trinado is indeed her mentor, the mistress of summoning to appeal Piero's curiosity; she had what she needed already, potions, antidotes and a couple of phoenix downs to help out as necessary. She will be fighting from a range as well, so she carried an ether on top of it, should her magic prowess run dry. Sure, Ruby chose the combative magic arts sooner than the healing side, but she can use both sides in equilibrium currently as Yin and Yang. She hit training dummies no problem, and they were fried or frozen according to the spell she used, while she's able to mend open wounds with her healing magic, and able to protect her teammates from physical damage... however, the odds of the barrier to actually set isn't always a guarantee, sad as it was.

The siblings had finished gathering what they needed, before they would both mount their chocobo mount, Armos, whom was better armored for the upcoming battle ahead of them. "Armos, make sure you listen to Ruby out there, okay? We don't know what we'll come across, but you keep her at a safe distance while she lays down her support from the appropriate range. Got it?" Damen spoke to their feathered mount, whose feathers would fluff about in agreement, and that had the blond acolyte stroke the top of the creature's head. "To think, Ruby... that we'd have ended up fighting on the same battlefield. Are you nervous for what lays ahead?" Damen turned his head, speaking to his young sister, who didn't deny her situation to him.

"I'll do my best to get all of us through this alive and well with as few injuries as possible. I use both forms of magick, but my current study is combative battle magick, so I will be seeking to harm our foes sooner than healing our own, but I will if things are looking bad for us." Ruby explained; the siblings certainly were getting along quite well, already sort of planning out their methods of warfare, though the ultimate decision will fall unto Lydia when they near the field of battle, really.
 
“Silver Strings told me that a bard’s task isn’t merely to record and repeat the stories and songs of the great heroes. It is also, on occasion, necessary for a bard to create the legends of tomorrow. Sometimes with a bit of…assistance,” Alex explained, joining in on the conversation the mages were having on the impact of support magic versus combative magic.

“Why yes, Thunger God Cid absolutely took down 20 knights single handedly. Enduring on the swaying bridge, the only one standing between victory and defeat at the battle of Mount Germinas. Now, the fact that he had someone on hand to heal his wounds and protect him with mystical barriers is unimportant. Does it take away from his heroic feat? Does it detract from our victory? It continues to inspire our troops and boost our morale, and in the end, that is the most important thing. At least, the most important thing for a bard.”

Once everyone regrouped, Lydalia opened the map she received from General Tengille, “Our target is here in the Beddha Sandwaste. We will go most of the way by chocobo, before stabling them here, and making the rest of the trek on foot.” She pointed towards a pavilion that had been reduced to ruins by sand storms and earthquakes. It ass two miles from the target. “Imos, since you equipped Taka for battle, it should be fine you to take him along. “

The trip on chocobo took less than an hour, and another half hour on foot before they were on the perimeter of the compound. Four monks, two at each entrance, three archers on the wall and a white mage within the building. Deeply entranched.

“We will split into two teams. Damen, Piero, Ruby, Taka and I will create a diversion to lure the monks and white mage out and away from the building. While we have their attention, Imos, Sera, and Alex will sneak in the back entrance. Take what you can carry and set it ablaze, and regroup with us. Does everyone understand your role?” Lydalia got comfirmation, and got in position.

With a fist sized stone, the knight struck a male monk in the temple, attracting his ire. She brought up her shield just in time to catch the first volley of arrows from the archers, moving back to lure their foes to the rest of her group.
 
Piero peered over the low rise, watching the compound as Lydalia outlined her plan. It was a good one, he knew. Create a diversion, so the guards wouldn't notice the raiders hitting their supplies and setting them on fire. A pound of the enemy's provisions were worth three pounds of your own, and fire was such an important part of strategy that it literally had a chapter in the Art of War. But that didn't mean he had to like the plan. And he especially didn't have to like being one of the diversion. Because that sounded like a way to get hurt. "Yes, Squire Lydalia," he finally said. "I understand."

"Oh, hell yeah!" Sera laughed, smacking her fist into her palm. "I'm all over this one! C'mon, guys!" With that she slipped off, moving at an easy ground-eating stride as she circled around to towards the back wall.

Piero watched her go, then sighed. "Hang on," he murmured, gesturing everyone close. "Let me do something." Closing his eyes and concentrating, he raised two fingers before his face. "Precious light," he intoned, the words eerie and echoing, "be our armor to protect us!" A diamond shield flickered before him. "Protect!" The last word was repeated four more times as he touched each of their foreheads in turn, enveloping them in invisible armor forged of mana. Wiping his brow, feeling slightly dizzy at the demands of casting the spell so many times, he nodded. "Let's go."

They moved forward, creeping out of sight as best they could. Aware that his blind knife would be of limited use until the enemy drew close, he remained behind cover as Lydalia hurled a rock with enough force to stagger her target monk. Arrows thudded into the tree he used for shelter, and he began to wish that his Mistress had trained him in Black Magic first.


Serafina scrambled up the log palisade without slowing, a lifetime of running the rigging on various ships making the wall an easy climb. At the top, she came face to face with a startled sentry. An Archer who had remained at his post when the diversion began. Kudos to him for not abandoning his post, she thought, but... "Shit!"

He went for his bow and Sera vaulted over the pointed logs, flipping over him and twirling her spear into position as she landed. The enemy Archer spun, knocking an arrow, and she lunged forward. The steel point drove into his chest with a spurt of blood, and he had time for a single shriek as the impact knocked him over the top of the wall and to the ground beneath. "We're rumbled!" she called to her comrades. "Hurry up, and hope everyone else is distracted!"
 
Understanding that being noisy and having their attention was of the essence, Taka made it a point to be the biggest attention hog on the field, cawing loudly and running around like a rabid moogle on crack, one should be careful not to mistake it for a panicking runner bird though or they'd soon feel one of his feet kicking halfway into them.

He also did his best to divert the attention of the ordallians away from the rest of his squad, hoping that at least one of them would be able to pick of the archers that way.

-- -- --

Imos too had clibed the barricade, such acrobbatics had served him well in escaping, breaking and even finding shelter after all.

Nearly bumping noses with another sentry of the remaining skeleton crew he wasted no time putting his knife in her throat, turning the shriek into a gurgle before the yell of the other archer startled him.

"crap, well, guess the looting is out of the question now."

he pulled his bow out and lined up. before he loosed the arrow though something caught his eye, a crossbow leaning on one of the weapon stands.

leaping down he ran for it, refusing to let the operation be a total toss up.
 
Hearing the plan, the Cortrova siblings gave their respective nods on the understanding the plan laid ahead of them; they were of the same distraction group, though Damen had the front lines while Ruby had the back lines. It was disappointing that Armos had to be left back, but they knew he'd be well when they returned, though it did raise a yellow flag in Damen's mind, concern that a monk could get through the ranks and endanger the life of his sister. It would mean Damen would have to fight as hard as he could for the battle, really. When the assault began, Damen began by enchanting his iron sword with flame, burning hotly and waiting for the impact against flesh, and rushed at one of the monks. Damen chose not to wield a shield this time, trusting in his ability to outstep his opposition accordingly, but he grabbed the attention of a female monk, whom was swinging her fists away, not to mention trying to get a few kicks in there as well. Each strike that did manage to hit Damen hurt considerably, but one of his training companions was a monk back at the academy, so he could take the hits relatively well.

When a horizontal kick seemed to aim for Damen's head, the blond acolyte ducked, and swung his sword against the exposed gut of the monk, inflicting a graze against her, but it was enough to light her in flames, but she waved them off. "Winter's chill, strike from above... Blizzard!" Unfortunately for the monk, the combo wasn't over, for a large chunk of ice fell from above upon Ruby's chant for her spell, and upon impact, the monk fell to the ground, her head crushed under the weight of magically-formed ice that Ruby conjured up. It would take a white mage with the Raise spell to cure that sort of damage... And Damen remembered the white mage, who was already chanting out a spell to bring back one of the fallen monks from the battle. Enchanting his sword again, this time with poison, Damen made the rush towards the white mage; sure, the magic supply for them was limited, but it would only make things more difficult than they were if a monk was brought back to the brink to fight back.

Meanwhile, Ruby stuck a fair distance back behind the others, and was already chanting for her next spell, and this time, she was using her magic to cover Lydalia. "May bolts of judgment strike down... Thunder!" Ruby would ensure her spell was directed in a way for the bolt of electricity struck the monk, but missed her ally completely. Already, Ruby's spells were proving to be effective... but it drew in the attention of one of the monks that appeared to be neglected entirely, and Ruby began to get a bit concerned when she saw him running her way. She wasn't much of a runner because of her position as a mage, and Damen went to take care of the white mage that could bring these brawlers back to fighting position and regroup entirely. She held her rod at the ready; it wasn't an effective weapon, as it really only helped her focus on her magic, but she would use it if she had to... though she explained already she wasn't a physical fighter!

Damen had the white mage rushed, forcing them to stop their chant in order to protect themselves with their staff. They were skilled in its use, able to parry the incoming strikes from the apprentice multiple times, but Damen was on the offense, trying to get an opening to come up, going so far as providing a full-body tackle to him to knock him off balance if only just the slightest. Though he did see the rushing monk heading towards his sister; Damen was in a true dilemma here, for he could pull away from the mage to rush back and protect his sister, or keep going to score his opening on the mage. It was quite the conflict... he just hoped that one of the others would come in and help her sooner than he can decide...!
 
Dammit! This wasn’t a position Lydalia wanted to be in. Despite not being well armored, or perhaps because they weren’t well armored, It was hard to strike a blow against the monks. Light on their feet too, as one managed to get past her and sprint towards Ruby. She was still fending off two monks, unable to gain ground under their coordinated assault.

What could she do? Damen was busy with the foes’ white mage, distracting the healer before she could strengthen and support her own troops. If she retreated to protect Ruby, it would leave their white mage without protection. But the black mage couldn’t withstand an assault from the skilled martial artist, either.

A barrage of punch battered her shield, and her concentration. She pushed her shield into her opponent’s space, opening them up to a strike from her blade. “Piero!” She roared, ripping her blade from the monk’s chest, “Help Ruby! You just have to hold on, a little while-” A hard right cross from the monk cut off any further instructions, blood spewing from her lips. She retaliated against the monk, an angry wide strike that connected with the monk’s ribs. It didn’t fell her opponent, but it weakened him greatly. “Go, now!” She barked, noting that the archers were otherwise indisposed. Once the fire team finished their mission they would regroup, and finish the rest of their enemies.



Alex was just behind Imos and Sera, grateful her allies made short work of the remaining archers. She was more of a lover than a fighter, or so she would claim. So, while they were confronting the guards, Alex mad an appraisal of the enemy supplies. Oh, daggers coated with a substance that could steal a man’s voice. Alex grabbed three of those. And fresh boots with good treads, for moving swiftly in rough terrain, two pairs of those went in her bag. Two mythril long swords, a well crafted white staff and a rod with a fire insignia on it were added to the procured supplies. Lastly there was a lance with a recently sharpened tip. “Sera, catch!” Alex called, tossing the weapon up to her ally.

Loaded down with what she could carry, Alex set towards destroying the rest of it. Uncorking a flask of oil, she poured out as much as she could, starting from the middle of the storehouse and making her way towards the front entrance. “Get ready to run!” She called to Sera and Imos, concentrating on her cantrip. “Firette!” it took a couple sparks to catch, the orange flame following the trail of oil into the depot.
 
Support Ruby. Right. Well, Lydalia was holding off the monk that that was attacking her, and he'd felt the spell warding her chatter with the monk's attack. So he raised one hand, gesturing at Lydalia as he moved towards Ruby. "Precious light," he called, feeling the power rise, "be our armor to protect us! PROTECT!" The mana surged, erecting a new crystalline barrier of power between the knight and her enemies. Then he staggered, an arrow deflecting off his own shield. There was no pain, but he knew his magical defenses wouldn't last much longer.

"Their mage!" he shouted to Ruby as he drew his blind blade, scanning the area for new threats. "Blast their mage, or we'll have to keep fighting them again and again!"


Sera focused, then threw her spear with a grunt of effort. It transfixed an approaching archer who had the bad manners to be drawing down on Alex as the bard emerged from the tent. Then she danced lightly backwards, ducking and weaving to avoid the sword strokes of the knight who'd chosen to try and murder her. He was good, sadly, and she had her work cut out for her. Particularly unarmed.

“Sera, catch!” Alex called, tossing a lance towards her.

Sera flipped backwards and landed in a crouch, then sprang. She did a handstand on the surprised knight's shoulders and pushed off, driving him to his knees as she spun higher into the air. The lance thudded into her hand and she spun with it, driving the point through the warrior's chain mail and deep into his back. He screamed once, the sound becoming a gurgle as she landed on him a second later and smashed him to the earth once more. This time, he didn't try to rise. "I like this thing!" she exulted.

Flames raced along a tent as Alex shouted for them to get ready to run. "Hey, Imos!" she shouted, looking around. "Shift that cute ass of yours! We gotta get clear!"
 
Taka had heard their chatter, realizing who was in trouble and who was the trouble he looked between Ruby and the enemy mage for a moment before deciding that the former needed him more urgently.

Running over the chocobo fought beak and talon to keep anyone from getting closer.

-- -- -- -- --

Imos had managed to grab the crossbow and noted with satisfaction that it was a lightweight, easy to use specimen of this modern weapon.

he had heard the sound of chaos in the camp around himself and was already on his way back, scaling up to the walkway on the camp walling when he heard Piero shout for someone to take that mage down, forgoing Sera's comment for the moment he lined up the shot with the enemy, intent to put a bolt through that mage's skull, and fired.
 
Damen continued to try and fend off the white mage; doing everything he could to keep her attention away from casting, as he knew that was her priority after her life is spared. The two traded blows; Damen on the offense and his opponent on the defense; a tackle later had her stagger, though during her recovery, he saw Imos, yet she didn't seem to notice; this was the break he needed, and he pulled away. No doubt the mage would begin chanting... only to be silenced without a scream when a crossbow bolt struck her in the back of her throat, and she collapsed. Damen intended to aid Ruby immediately, as she was the mage of the group, but he saw Taka, Imos's Chocobo, rush to her aid, and he knew they would be okay there. So, Damen sought to aid Lydalia, as she appeared to be having a hard time with a monk of her own; two heads were better than one, after all.

Chanting to imbue fire to a weapon once again, instead of his own, he directed it towards the allied knight's sword, which lit up; her next strike would engulf whomever she hits with a direct blow in hot flames. The monk she was fighting may have been injured, yet he seemed to have focused his inner chi to bypass the injury he just received from Lydalia. So, when Damen aimed to attack the martial artist from behind, there was time for his foe to sidestep the strike, yet Damen followed up with a full body tackle, aiming to ram the pommel of his sword into his foe's exposed gut to knock the wind out of him, and leave him for Lydalia's coup de grace.

Ruby was more than thankful as the chocobo rode in to her aid, forcing the monk to back off a little as beasts were somewhat harder to predict than warriors. This bought the mage time for her next spell... though this was more to aid her savior. "Precious light, be our armor to protect us! Protect!" Much like what Piero was doing for the fight in support, Lydalia had learned supportive spells also, but wasn't advanced in her white mage class as opposed to the chosen black mage she is. The feathered bird would also be protected by a crastaline shield that warded off physical attacks for a while, and because of her proximity to Taka, hers was restored full.

The mage would have to get some distance, though, for the monk that tried to attack her was doing what he could to reach her, though it seemed the large, yellow bird was keeping her protected and diverting their attention away. She was about to chant out a spell, and she had the reserve for it, but she only had about one shot left in her, before she would have to keep out of her foe's reach. She had to focus; she wanted to do everything she could to help. "Vicious flames, scatter and engulf thine enemies... Fire! This spell was aimed in a way to try and strike the monk, while at least minimize the damage Taka should receive, if he couldn't outright avoid it because of the foe's proximity. Much like Damen's fire enchantment spell, flames erupted in the general location that Ruby wanted; the monk would feel the burns, part of his gi actually was set ablaze as a result due to how hot the flames burned in the short span they were active. All in all, the numbers were dwindling down...
 
This was better, this was how it was supposed to go! It had been rough for a moment, and while the strategy of splitting into two groups to assault the depot had its benefits, it really had left them thinly spread. But Damen defeated the white mage before she could heal her allies, and Ruby and Taka together defeated the monk that pursued her. The supply storehouse was in flames and the three tasked with assailing it were rejoining the group. With a renewed sense of confidence, and a blade engulfed in the flames of Damen’s spell, she slashed at the remaining monk, cleaving him in twain. Breathing deep, she surveyed the battlefield. “It seems we have been successful!” she declared, hiding the earlier uncertainty.

“Well, our enemy can no longer count this amount their holdings, that is certain,” Alex agreed, examining her comrades now that there was a peaceful moment. A few minor injuries were sustained by her allies, but nothing she couldn’t handle. “Gather together,” she suggested, motioning for Sera and Imos to stand closer to Lydalia, so her healing magic could reach all of them. “Life’s refreshing breeze, Cure!” The light bruises and small cuts healed over and vanished, as if turning back time. “I managed to grab some stuff, but perhaps it would be better to get far away from here, before I divvy up the goods? No need to be here when reinforcements arrive to investigate.”
 
Sera nodded agreement. "Yeah. Not that I mind a good scrap, of course, but we just had one. Besides," she added, gesturing back at the camp. It was a roaring inferno, sending columns of black smoke (tinged with green and purple where alchemical agents burned) high into the sky. "That's probably gonna attract a lot of attention, more than we really wanna be here to see."

Piero polished his spectacles on a corner of his cape. "High command would probably want us to see it, though." He perched the glasses back on his nose, eyes appearing owlish through the lenses. "It would provide an estimate of the enemy capabilities. What sort of reaction time do they have? How great a response force would be mustered, and what would the force mix be?"

Scanning the surrounding countryside, he pointed towards a steep hill. "There," he suggested. "It would give us a view of the camp, and the boulders would provide cover. We could conceal ourselves and wait to see who investigates, and - as you say - divvy up the goods." He glanced at Lydalia, trying to judge what their leader thought. "And if the reinforcement are small, we could even consider ambushing them."
 
Imos looked his new weapon over with satisfaction, the bolts had more power at impact and didn't drop quite as much as arrows did, a reasonable trade in for the lost firing speed.

the heal wave passed over him, though not doing much more than relaxing him, he had avoided the attention of the enemy and as such remained unharmed, Taka on the other hand was grateful, that monk had gotten in a few good hits before taka caught the martial artist in the throat with a talon.

the two share a glance as Piero lays out his plan to get a look at the response force, this sounded like the kind of spy work they had a pretty good understanding of.

"Taka and i volunteer to take a look, we have experience in laying low and getting away when it gets hot."
 
Damen sheathed his sword when he saw the battle had come to an end, which Ruby would head over to regroup with everyone else. She sounded rather tired, and Damen had a somewhat understanding of her situation; mana exhaustion... and Damen was suffering somewhat from it also, as his blade enhancements siphoned his magic essence, regardless of whom he was targeting for its aid. When the time to somewhat recuperate came upon them, Damen really began to think; what would've happened if Taka had been unable to lend his younger sister his aid? Ruby would've been in a world of hurt, if not dead, as monks' fists were believed to be as deadly as a sword with the right aim. Damen was reckless to have charged the mage... but if he hadn't, the monks would've continued to have been healed by their ally, if not under their own powers.

Damen did overhear the plan to head over the hill and behind some boulders to overlook just how tactical a position this location happened to be for Ordallians, really. North of a fort, and south of a town, and... well, Damen wanted to say something on that, as Ordallians can get some of their supplies from the town up north by pretending to pass off as Ivalcians if they didn't wear their own colors, even if it costs them, or they have to take them by force, if they failed to cooperate. "This could merely be a scout's camp, for all we know. What do we know, we could've been watched up in the same hills by a possible stronger force, judging us... Though uncommon, my father had encountered Ordallian ninjas on a couple of missions, back when he was alive. And this is a war we're in; we don't know what we'll be facing with every battlefield we get thrust into. The fights can be simple confrontations, on one side of the scale, but we can be thrust into a battle that our only choice might have to be is to retreat, on the other. I'm not saying... be cowards for the latter, but merely, cautious; if you live, you'll see and fight another day, better prepared as well." Damen spoke up; he normally wasn't the most charismatic, but his words held truth in them, if somewhat obviousness included in there. He had good intentions nonetheless for his allies.

"The point I'm trying to make, is to take a moment, try to consider all possibilities... as well as the locationing on our map and just how beneficial it would be from an enemy's viewpoint. To me, quite honestly, this location doesn't yield any battlefield benefits besides the high grounds for archers, and solid ground that is easy to traverse on for creatures like Chocobos, as well-demonstrated by Taka." Demitri gave a nod as he directed his attention to the chocobo. "Of course... all of this is just how I look at it, and I thought it may be somewhat beneficial for you to hear those words, is all." Maybe his father's intentions did run through him, the thinking process and consider all possibilities, even the most unlikely of cases. Ruby was able to see where her brother was coming from, being his sibling and all, and gently nodded to express her understanding, but had no need to share words.

"Overall, Piero, you do have a point; maybe there is something about this location that would be a place for Ordallians to set up camp that I may simply be overlooking or not considering. If this group was significant to the enemy's cause, in any way, or there was a scouting party which we were lucky were not part of this group and lucky of us to avoid as well, we can potentially get the jump on them when they least suspect it. Suppose we were able to take in the commander of the scout party alive, so our Orders will learn of more potential camp locations the Ordallians may be setting within Ivalician borders that we can burn down before they spread to far out within that our country will surely be lost?" Damen added this possibility to the table for the others to consider; of course, this was only a possibility, as the group they fought may have been all there was with no others. The smoke may draw nearby Ordallians towards the camp, yes, but they may not possess the commander's based knowledge as Damen suggested.
 
Lydalia liked Piero’s plan, quite a bit. While he might have been attracted by the empirical nature of it, she liked that it gave her a chance to show initiative, and be bold. Boldness was good, was what won battles and lead top victories Boldness was…

Boldness was what nearly got Ruby injured, perhaps even killed. She chewed on her lip at that, sudden guilt dissuading her, challenging her conviction. Damen’s words did as well, making her doubt herself. She was so eager to chase glory, she had to be more careful, now. There was a whole troop of people following her, risking their lives on her orders.

She considerd Piero’s suggestion, and Damen’s counterpoints. Both had their merit, as she worked through the possibilities. “It is awfully convenient,” She agreed, arms crossed over her chest. “But consider this. Either there is someone up there or not. If there is a group up there, watching us as we destroy their supplies, it seems to me that would have intervened, yes? So either they were not enough of them to make a difference, or gathering intel on us was more important that securing the supply depot against the enemy. In either case, it is imperative we catch them and eliminate them. Assuming there was a group up there and this wasn’t an elaborate and unneeded thought exercise.”
 
Piero stared up at the ridge, listening to everyone's suggestions and to Lydalia's concerns. As commander, hers was the most important advice. But the duty of a Calculator Magus - even one who had not completed his training - was to advise the commander. "Though the enemy be stronger in numbers," he mused aloud, reciting one of his lessons, "we may prevent him from fighting. Scheme so as to discover his plans and the likelihood of their success. Rouse him, and learn the principle of his activity or inactivity. Force him to reveal himself, so as to find out his vulnerable spots."

Inspiration struck.

"Commander," he said, addressing Lydalia. "You and Damen are correct. Gathering intelligence would be the primary mission of any group that may already occupy the ridge - that's why I suggested it myself. We must know for certain if anyone is there, before we advance. To do that, we must bait them out. And to do that, we must give them a reason to come forth."

He looked over the burning camp, considering what they had to work with. Then, he smiled. "Sera, Imos, I'm going to sketch out a circle on the ground. Once I do, I need the two of you to drag a dozen corpses onto the circle. Align them to the compass directions - I'll mark where they are - with their heads pointing towards the center. Alex, gather arrows and bring them to me." he looked at Ruby. "Once the corpses are in place, make a show of carving runes into the earth around them - just a few will do."

He looked back at Imos. "Once you are done with the corpses, make a show of arguing with our commander. Declare loudly that you won't be a party to this abomination, then mount up and gallop away. Once you're out of sight of the ridge, double back and keep it under observation from concealment. If you see anyone depart, sneak up to the top and see what you can find."

Folding his arms, he grinned. "We won't actually be doing anything, of course. But Ruby and Alex and I can fake a fairly convincing necromantic ritual. Any observers, gathering intelligence on the actions of the armies of Ivalice, will be bound to investigate. When they do, we attack if possible and withdraw if necessary, giving Imos the opportunity to explore their camp. And if nobody comes down, because nobody is there?" He shrugged. "Then we occupy the ridge, and wait to see who responds."
 
Imos was genuinely speechless at the Scholar's reasoning.

"i take back everything bookworm, you are a lot more hardcore than i thought. if the commander is down with it, i'll follow the instructions to the letter."

Thieves and scoundrels were passionate pranksters, and as such don't normally shy away from anything along the lines of deceit. sure some more sanctive people would not dare do anything to a corpse, but they were not really planning on damaging them.
 
Damen knew his words were a little odd, but considering they were at least taken in account to contemplate over, it did have him relax somewhat. But, hearing Piera lay out a plan to try and get the others to lure in the enemy with a necromatic ritual, well... it was rather dark-sounding, but Ruby seemed intent on playing along; after all, she had talents in combat magic, and she was trying to get into summoning as well. "I can do that; Mistress Julia had given me some summon incantations to practice and runes are something I enjoy making, even if they don't do much. They don't do anything special or grand; they can't even harm anyone if I tried... but they give off a variety of effects that make it all the more convincing, creating summoning glyphs that call mock summons, I'm sure. If it's a necromatic ritual, then it will have to be revolved around shadows and darkness... I'll be able to teach you and Alex the dance steps to help bring more 'life' into it, really!" Ruby already seemed so interested in it, as she was given a role... but Damen wondered where he would fit into all of this. He could, from the side, enchant Ruby's staff with fire to make it seem like what she's summoning is heading her call... and if she's attacked, she has the flames to help get her attackers away if any appeared.

"I'll be honest, I have a bad feeling about this... but as long as we have a plan laid out where it will work, and with as few injuries as possible, I'm going to suggest that we should prepare it so our adversaries only have but one single way of going in and back out. That way, two of our physical attackers will get the upper hand of striking them preemptively under the guise of nightfall... and if Ruby times it right, we can use the darkness her 'chant' provides to our advantage to blind them. That is my input... if there are any faults in it, Lydalia, you're more than welcome to redirect the command in another manner." Damen was only throwing his suggestion out there; while it wasn't anything fancy, it was an effective battlefield strategy; lead enemies in one way, and after closing their only way out, the only thing to do is to slaughter them while they are unable to flee.

"Aside from that, however... I'm going to do my best. What would you need or prefer me to do for the plan to work effectively?" Damen asked with inquiry, steadily waiting for a response from either Lydalia or Piero to give him instructions; he seemed on board with the plan, despite his minor reluctance in the fact it meant the handling in corpses...
 
Alex perked up as Piero explained the plan, nodding along. It was exactly the kind of subterfuge she had engaged in with Silver Strings. She looked over the commander, waiting for her confirmation of the plan.

Lydalia listened carefully to Piero’s suggestion, chewing her lip. Holding down her disgust as he began describing what sounded like a desecration of the enemy troop’s bodies. He assured her that it was merely an act, that they weren’t actually going to go through with any such thing, but it still made her uncomfortable. She was a religious woman, after all, and drew significant strength and courage form her devotion. Even just pretending to engage in such heresy was distressing. Playing party to it, watching it happen, knowing that it was happening. It was almost too much.

She wrung her hands, listening the rest of her unit acknowledge Piero’s plan, and give their approval. It was a good plan, despite the necromancy. No, because of the necromancy. Because such an abomination would demand a response.

Oh, St. Ajora, what has this war made of us? It felt like such a slippery slope. Today it was pretending to commit sacrilege, to gain an upper hand on their foes. What if they actually needed necromancy, to save themselves from their foes in the future? If God turned against Ivalice, more and more people might turn to the dark arts, forever cursing and dooming their the nation.

Lydalia sighed. Perhaps she was indeed being a touch melodramatic. No one else in their little group seemed bothered by the plan, not so long as it was pretend, at least. A different plan might put her people in danger, and they were running out of time as it were. Her beliefs were important to her, but were they risking other’s lives over? With a conflicted sigh, she nodded to Piero.

“Aye it is a good plan. Let’s get to work, we don’t have much time as it is.”
 
"All right, then," Piero declared. "Let's get to work! Go grab some bodies. I'll get the circle sketched out." Without waiting to see if they were getting started, he picked out a likely location - some sort of staging field outside the burning walls - and set to work. The butt of the White Staff scratched along the ground as he paced out a rough circle some 27 feet in diameter. When he was finished, he produced a sextant and a compass from a pouch and sighted the sun before making a mark at the eastern point of the circle. More marks followed, at each of the cardinal points.

By the time he was done with the marks, Sera was dragging the corpse of one of the White Mages over by the legs. "Gods," she breathed, wiping sweat from her forehead, " bodies are heavy. Where do you want this one? And why twelve? You've only got eight marks."

"Put that one to the east, and work clockwise from there," Piero decided, then gestured with his staff. "There. That mark. And the other four go in the center." He grinned owlishly from behind his spectacles. "Verisimilitude."

"Right," she grunted, dragging the corpse around the circle and shoving it into place. "Face up?"

"Face up," he agreed, joining her and rolling the corpse over. Then, carefully, he pried the eyelids open so the dead eyes stared at the sky. "Just eleven more to go, now."

"Fuckin' heavy ass Ordalians," she grumbled, heading for another body. "Would it hurt them to eat better?" Then she stopped, and glanced back. "Verisimilitude? I thought you weren't actually casting a spell?"
 
Imos had gotten to work to Piero's directions but as he heard Sera's doubt he stopped, he did not have a deep understanding of magic, least of all rituals that required such a setup, only knowing to elementize his attacks using his own power.

"you're going to actually cast something?"

his gaze towards the scholar hardened.

"that was not part of the deal, lightening them of their belongings is one thing, taking them off the field, fine by me, but actually defiling their dead bodies is where i draw the line."
 
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