Flowers of War (In Character Thread) (2 Viewers)

[Jade1503]

Jade spotted Altheira, lying on the floor and unconscious. All around them the ceilings were falling apart, debris raining down not them.

'Lady Altheira!'

Jade ran to her side. Checking if she was still alive, Jade lifted the knight onto her shoulders and ran into the dust clouds. With no Imperials hindering them, Jade carried Altheira to safety.

 

[SecretIdentity]

General Latra, being slowed by her heavy armor and bodyguards, was just now marching into the entryway where Litty had also come from. A scowl formed on her face as she saw that the girl had somehow lost her target and was now standing uselessly by her lonesome. She was both bleeding and seemingly in thought, two things the general didn’t expect to see from her. To make matters worse, her elite troops were trapped within the frantic mob of women trying to escape the collapsing ceiling. They could each take on multiple foes at once, maybe even dozens of standard soldiers, but all that training and skill mattered little when large chunks of brick smashed down on top of them, and they had no room to maneuver to safety.

After a thunderous roar, half of the room collapsed at once, demolishing a large chunk of her forces with it and cutting the area off from additional reinforcements. She attempted to shout stern orders at the survivors, but it fell on mostly deaf ears, as even if they could hear during the mass of confusion and screaming, many of them were too rattled to behave coherently. This battle appeared to have turned into a disaster for both sides. Although the imperial forces fulfilled their objective of thwarting the assassination attempt, the situation still left quite the bitter taste in her mouth.

“After them! Blockade all roads leading out of the palace grounds!” She shouted to the elite soldiers who were grouping up amid the carnage. There was only around twenty of them left; a far cry from what had been deployed to this battle.

“Yes ma’am!” They shouted before rushing off to follow the retreating rebels out the main gate. Unfortunately the visibility was turning worse by the second and they could hardly even see who they were chasing any more. Meanwhile, Litty let out an annoyed harumph noise, knowing that she couldn't do much of anything in these conditions. For now she slipped off to avoid getting crushed when the rest of the room would certainly fall.

 

[Jade1503]

With Altheira on her shoulders and her spear in her other hand, Jade continued to run as debris almost crush her to death. Soon, she was finally out of the danger zone but she was lost. Praying that Shi He and the others are all right, Jade carried Altheira out of the inner palace. She needs to find a safe place to find but where?

 

[Mentos]

Leila had heard everything from her hiding place in the nearby forestry. That explosion was definitely the work of someone or something powerful. Whatever it was, it marked the failure of her mission. Her organization never failed to dispatch their target, but this job was beyond the scope of just herself. As she allowed herself to be distracted by the consequences of failure, she heard the sound of someone moving towards her position. In the cover of night, any normal person would have difficulty making out the figure. But Leila's vision was perfectly accustomed to such darkness. She was able to make out the form of that giant spear wielding woman. She was carrying someone whom Leila recognized as a participant of that fight. Unfortunately they weren't alone, behind them were some pursuing Imperials, eager to run them down. In this darkness, they'd be as good as dead. Leila knew this area well. She had already routed out and planned her escape route in the event of completion of her mission. She could leave the two to their deaths, however, they had already proved themselves to be much stronger than the average soldier. Perhaps she would be able to find some use for them. She whispered fiercely to the giant woman:

"Psssst, you! Quit trampling around and follow me before you get yourself killed!"

Reaching into her cloak, she tossed a number of caltrops behind the woman. They were sharp, and tipped with one of Leila's deadly poisons. The Imperials who were pursuing behind would find soon find themselves clutching their wounded feet in agony as the poison slowly killed them. Those who would be lucky enough to avoid them would stop their pursuit and try and help their fallen allies. It would all take enough time for the women to make their escape. Leila gestured to the giant woman and began fleeing in the direction of her getaway.

 

[Jade1503]

Jade was surprised at the appearance of the cloaked woman but could do nothing to defend herself. Fortunately for her and Altheira, the cloaked woman claimed to be an ally and even tossed what looked like darts into the ground behind them before disappearing into another direction.

Seeing no choice, Jade ran after the cloak woman, leaving the shouts of the Imperials behind her.

 

[Mentos]

Zagging and zipping through the trees, Leila made sure to pace herself. The giant woman and her unconscious friend were following her, and in this darkness it would be easy to lose them. As they made their way through the trees, they heard several shrill shrieks from behind them. Their pursuers had fallen victim to Leila's caltrops and were currently undergoing a very lethal and painful dose of poison. Leila took great pride in her poison brewing.

The trio reached their destination after what seemed like half an hour of jogging. A river ran through the forest, and waiting for them was a rowboat, currently seating a woman. Blonde, and wearing what appeared to be the uniform of a servant who exclusively served only the rich. The woman noticed Leila immediately.

"So, did you kill her?" the new woman asked smugly.

"You know I didn't." Leila growled back.

"Who are your friends?"

"Rebels. Or whatevers left of them. We can chat later. Start rowing back to the city." Leila faced the women in question. "Hop in. This river cuts back into the capital city. Once we're there you're free to do what you want. I'll be heading back to my employer. Something tells me after tonight, you'll want to keep a very low profile. Someone like you who sticks out like a sore thumb will have the Reds on her in an instant."

 

[Jade1503]

Jade gently carried Altheira into the boat and sat down next to her rescuer, setting Altheira on her back. When she was sure that Altheira was all right, Jade turned back to their rescuer. She didn't like her tone but she kept her anger.

'Thank you for your timely rescue. I'm Jade of Xir and this is Altheira of Heryt. May I know who you are?'

 

[Mentos]

The boat began rowing down the river. Leila sat next to the woman, now known as Jade, while the servant woman rowed the boat alone. They made excellent progress down the river for only having a single woman rowing. Leila knew the girl was deceptively stronger than she appeared. She looked straight out of a fairy tale. Blonde, buxom and far more beautiful than her profession would suggest. However Leila knew she harbored a terrifying Maea that even she would have trouble dealing with.

"My name is Leila. My comrade here is known as Melody. It seems you and I both had the same goal tonight. I work with the Boatmen. We've become the premiere assassins in this area. We had heard that some big surprise would be going on at the castle tonight. The perfect opportunity to be able to bypass the normal security and get at the Empress. Apparently that surprise was all of you. And even worse, it looks like the Reds knew you'd be coming."

Melody chucked. I certainly was being rather talkative for an assassin, but I wasn't worried about some foreign woman blabbing about everything to the local guards.

"Now that your attack has failed, you'll have to regroup with whatevers left of your friends and get the hell out of here. The Imperials will be cracking down hard on anyone they suspect to be rebels. I have a feeling things are about to get a lot more violent."

The river left the women near the docks of the city. It seems that Leila was more right than she hoped. Already there were countless Reds causing havoc, raiding dwellings and pressing the homeless for information. Leila turned towards Jade.

"Our place of operation is located here. As you can see, that may not be the case for much longer. I'll be meeting with the rest of my chapter while it's still dark out and then getting out of here. You're welcome to come along. We should be able to do something for your friend. Or don't. The choice is yours. I recommend keeping a low profile though. Rip any more throats like you did back at the castle and you'll be sure to have a million of these bitches on you."

 

[Jade1503]

Jade nodded, looking at Altheira. 'A few of our comrades have escaped but because you have help me and Altheira, I'm willing to assist your chapter to find a safe haven. It's the least we can do. Just tell me what to do. I can move extremely fast with my Maea.'

 

[Mentos]

"I've seen what you can do with your Maea. That type of power will only bring us a lot of unwarranted attention. Let's keep it subtle, okay?"

The group tried their best to blend in with the chaos. All around them Imperials were pressing the local citizenry into submission. Homes were being raided, possessions stolen, and anyone foolish enough to resist was killed on the spot. The Imperials were resolute to try and snuff out the local resistance while they could.

After passing through mostly unnoticed, Leila and her party head through a narrow alleyway. For a moment, it looked like they would be able to get to their hideout unhindered, when suddenly a voice called from behind.

"Halt!"

A pair of Imperial soldiers called from behind the group. One woman was lanky, with dark black hair and a hard look. The other was short, with dark red hair, and slight curves. Both were the bottom of the barrel of the Empire's soldiers. Peasants who had been conscripted into the army and now followed the orders of their superiors, lest they suffer the consequences. Like many of the other conscripts in the army, this was the first time these girls had real power, and they loved to exercise it on those less fortunate. Leila could kill both women with ease, but from where they were standing, there would be trouble if they managed to get out a scream and alerted the rest of their unit. Leila and Melody both shared an understanding look, and went to work.

"I-I'm sorry mam...m-my friend here was drunk and passed out...I have to get her home before..." Melody took on the persona of a blushing young maiden. She motioned to Altheira's unconscious form so that the soldiers could see her. Melody was great at impersonations, able to fool almost anyone with her "charming personality." Leila fortunately knew better.

The red-headed soldier got a good look at both Altheira and Melody, a look of lust entering her eyes. "Oh, did she have too much to drink? Don't worry, how about we take care of both of you?"

As the soldiers moved closer to the group, Leila emerged from the shadows. Grabbing the dark haired woman, she slammed her against the wall while covering her mouth. Using her free hand, she unhooked one of her poison needles and drove it through the neck of the soldier. Muffled by Leila's hand, she let out a bloodcurdling moan and violently convulsed before settling still and slumping against the wall, dead. At the same time, Melody grabbed the red-headed woman and pulled her closer to her, in an embrace.

"Kukuku...do you really think I'm that pretty?" Before the woman could scream for help, Melody kissed her. The woman tried to push her away and then began to experience an agony of her own. She gave a terrible muffled scream as her skin began to wither and decay. Finally the soldier became a withered husk, unable to even fit in her clothing any longer. It looks like Melody had given our new guests a preview of what her Maea could do.

Both assassins dropped their victims to the ground. As both soldiers died without any blood shed, Leila had the idea to strip both of them and don their uniforms in an attempt to pass on without any further problems. They dumped the women in a trash heap in one of the abandoned alleys. By the time they would be found, the local insects and animals would make sure they were unidentifiable.

The rest of the party's trip went by smoothly thanks to the stolen uniforms. The group now found themselves in front of a seemingly ordinary, run-down home. Stepping up to the door, Leila knocked on it in a particular pattern. After waiting for a moment, the door open.

 

[Jade1503]

Jade who had been watching Melody and Leila's skills was both impressed and shocked. These Boatmen sure know their stuff. After they had dealt with the Imperials, they found themselves in a run-down house: Jade still carrying Altheira. She waited what will happen next.

 

[SecretIdentity]

“There sure is quite a commotion out there. Guess there really was an assassination attempt against the queen,” a soft faced flowing red headed woman with a large bust said from within the house, peaking out the window at a group of soldiers rushing past.

“Ah fooey. Why don’t they ever tell me these things?” Came a man’s voice and the sound of creaking wood planks beneath his feet as he entered the room. He was lean and toned; multiple scars running along the visible skin of his bare torso between his open blue vest and along his arms. He had straight shoulder length grey hair. His silver eyes were naturally a bit squinty.

“You wouldn’t have participated anyways,” came another woman’s voice with a smart-alecky tone. She had very dark purple hair in a bob cut.

“True,” the man replied. “They’d have had better odds trying to negotiate peace over a tea party. Speaking of which, get the tea ready. You just volunteered yourself.”

The dark haired woman sprang out of her seat and looked like she was going to shout something in protest when she snapped her mouth shut again, storming off into the kitchen. The two other women in the room giggled. They were all secretly rebels. The man, Soro, had served in the Empress’s military in the past, despite being male, so was respected enough upon being discharged to have some trust and freedoms that most men didn’t experience around these parts. Little did they know he had secretly grown to resent how the empire had turned out and wished things to change.

There came a knock on the door. Just as expected. Rebels and the assassins working with them always seemed to arrive here when they needed help. Too bad they didn’t also let him in on important details such as the most important assassination attempt in months! What was with those people?

The red head glanced at Soro to make sure it was okay before opening the door, revealing the battle weary force standing behind it.

“Come on it. Let me in on all the juicy details,” Soro said with a grin.

 

[puca]

Fenria leaned indolently against the room's entryway, her arms crossed, right outside the panic that was still happening inside, seemingly unbothered by her shredded clothing or the dried blood from the numerous new cuts and scrapes that covered her body. The blond barbarian smirked at General Latra as she marched by grimly.

"You know, this is the first time working for you Imperials has been worth it. You're all so pathetic here. I'd been starting to think all that talk about finding strong opponents was a lie. I'm glad to see I was wrong."

General Latra stopped. Angrily, she spun towards Fenria and leaned in, looking up at the Marjoryan, her expression furious. "Of course. This is all a just game to you," she snarled. "You ought to show some respect, barbarian, or you may find yourself on the wrong end of the Empire's might." Latra turned on her heel and marched away angrily.

Fenria laughed. "Don't get ahead of yourself, General. I'm sure you know how mercurial we Marjoryans can be," she called after the general's back.

 

[puca]

Altheira opened her eyes blearily. She was lying on something soft - it felt like a bed. She heard voices, several female and at least one male. It took a moment for the world to come into focus.

She struggled to sit up and winced in pain. She realized her armor had been replaced by swathes of bandages, and she gripped the sheets beneath her tightly. She felt naked without her armor.

Her vision cleared and she looked around. She was in a house of Imperial make, humbly adorned. Seated around a table were a few women she didn't recognize, a grey-haired man, the warrior Jade and another woman Altheira thought she remembered from the battle at the palace.

"Wha... What happened?" Altheira asked. A lot had clearly happened since the battle, but it seemed she'd barely survived her encounter with the young Imperial diviner.

 

[Jade1503]

Jade breathed in a sigh of relief as she stood up, sitting next to Altheira.

'I'm glad you're okay. You got us worried back there.' She gestured to the others behind her. 'We're under the protection of the Boatmen. They rescued us from the Imperials. You should healed up before we find the others.'