[Fire Emblem] Prologue: The First Domino Falls

[Relm Zephyrous]

"Well take me along with you, I'll hardly last if you just leave me behind with these marauders." Sage stated, wondering if he really didn't know where she was from, and then simply realizing that there was no ay to indicate that at all. So she could technically pretend to be some peasant girl from the praries ... wait thats not how its pronounced... ok maybe ... slum? No no this wouldn't do. But until someone asked Sage wouldn't have to deal with her inability to come up with a proper 'in-country' background lie.

Alex set the girl down, although it was a good couple second before her feet actually touched it, while he spoke to her. The man he was addressing to take on was... incredibly intimidating. A true nightmare of living armor. "Not.. sure if I... ... he wasn't even paying attention to her anymore. And was already moving, so it looked like the plan was a go. Sage began to step towards the nameless tyrant, who didn't even seem to be glaring back at all. "Whats wrong with him?"

[McTahr]

Mekre stepped down from Heinlein's horse as gently as he could, not for fear of jostling the hulking pile of armor and man that had mentored him for so long, but for fear of tearing his wounds even wider.

"Thanks again, old friend."

He set digging in his jacket for the medicine. Mekre couldn't help but gag a little at the smell. "I'll never get used to this stuff," he muttered bitterly to himself, "it smells like a burning stable, manure and all."

One last thing stood in the way of their safe escape, and they were ill equipped to face it head on. The enemy officer looked more like a mountain than any sort of man, but man he was, and it was the combination of both that would be his downfall. The mountains themselves could be weathered down in time, and men were lively creatures, there had to be joints in that mass of steel somewhere.

Gustaslav would find them.

(Phase 7: Be inactive,
Phase 8: Vulnerary, switch to Gustaslav)

[DanteFalcon]

The mercenaries were quick if nothing else. The swords seemed to find every tiny hole in his defense and leave minor and annoying wounds. He was impressed with their resolve as every few hits he'd take he'd leave one of them with a rather deep stab wound. Even so he needed to reduce their number before they could wear him down.

So he chose the one in the middle and waited for a break in their attacks to lunge forward, cutting through the mercenary, Spine pushing the body away as they retracted their attack and prepared. He was quite confident in his chances at this point to wipe out the remaining two.

(Attacked the Merc 1 down from him and killed it. Level up for +1 Str, +1 Def, +1 Luck)

[Astral Harmony]

"Good work! Now I think it's time we all got out of here, Soldier."

Kelsha nodded. "I understand. If we're going to make a break for it, now would be our best chance, if not our only chance."

[Kelsha moves Right 5]

Kelsha wanted to do more, but the rest of the enemy force was in two different positions, both of them quite a distance from her. By the time she would have arrived at either point, the battles would have been quite decided, for good or for ill.

Sheathing her sword, Kelsha prepared to make her way out of the main entrance to the palace.

[Krylo]

Breathing deeply Dumas slowly calmed himself as he stood over the body of the last mage, Raelyn having finished the soldier to his left. Glancing about, however, he did not see princess Anachiel.

Turning quickly, Dumas ran to the door of the vault, where Anachiel was beginning to loot the chests just within its confines. "Princess, Anachiel, are you safe?" he asked with all the concern befitting a palace guard for their lord.

[2 w, 2n]

[PhoenixFlame]

Diaz made his way into the vault room as Axis began tearing into his mercenary fellows. They were much faster than the wyvern rider, but ineffective at harming him. Princess Raelyn, noticing the young myrmidon, flew up to him and landed nearby.

"Stay yourself!" She menaced him with her lance, "We have you outnumbered, mercenary!"

Presumably, Diaz decides to fast-talk his way out of this.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Clovis attempted to take a shot at the enemy commander guarding their escape route, but the arrow goes wide. This does not however, prevent banter.

"Wait, they've broken through our cavalry?" The knight muttered to himself, hefting his lance, "Fools! I am Duke Hetzer of Vendalior! You will not pass me!"



Phase 8!

[Overcast]

Diaz saw the Wyvern move with the speed he'd been used to of the flighty dragonkin into his path. This was not typically a good sign when you had just told them to go watch the hallway while you take care of the vault. Still he was in a hurry and wasn't about to let this one get in his way.

He flowed past him and looked back toward the mercenaries, sliding his hand past his throat. He didn't think they could take care of the Wyvern, it had the reach advantage on all of them, and none of the mercenaries had brought a sword good for battling either a lance user, a rider, or a dragon. But he figured if they kept him busy long enough he could slip out the hole the reinforcements should have made here.

Then of course he saw corpse mountain.

A significantly less snowy white than he remembered Pegasus knight rounded on him quickly. Just as the wyvern she had reach on him, though at least her mount wasn't as tough. Still if he fought her then once that would slow him down enough that the wyvern would be more than capable of taking him out, behind him he could see the boys retreating.

The big picture was showing itself to be bad. So he followed in the footsteps of his father, "When all else fails, cheat."

So he put on his best poker face and raised up his hands,

"You've got me. Am I dead then? I'd be rather unhappy if that is the case." He said producing a curious look,

"Do you want to be dead? I can have it arranged."

She said with a cheshire grin, "Oh no, but some people are quite zealous of killing anyone they don't immediately call a friend." He said trying to sound as likable as he could manage,

"I can be zealous from time to time."

He chuckled a little nervously as he tried to direct the conversation elsewhere, "Color me scared. Do you mind if I talk my way out of it then? I know who you are, and I think a contract with you would be a bit more suiting than the one I have now. They seem to have fed me to the dogs here, one of many bits of fodder like these poor bastards." He kicked one of the corpses for emphasis, staring up with hopeful sympathy,

"...You're a very bad mercenary, aren't you?"

He raised his eyebrow and tried to explain himself, "I don't get paid the other half of my contract if I die. A good mercenary tries to live to the next one if he can." She seemed to be on the same page, and didn't seem quite so set on stabbing him,

"Maybe you're half-good, then? Well, I'll take what I can get. We're leaving before the heavy infantry arrive. Consider the way out we're carving a free bonus."

He smiled, "You have a deal princess. Let's seal it in blood."

He spun around and drew his sword, he ran with malice in his eyes at his old comrade raising his sword for the closest one, before he leapt into the air and rolled past him catching the other one off guard and slicing his head clean off of it's shoulders.

[PhoenixFlame]

((Accellerating simply because this is practically done anyway.))

Diaz turns on his not-so-boon companions!

Meanwhile, Duke Hetzer is interrupted by a javelin thrown by Alex. "Gkht! Honorless dogs! If I move to attack them, they might escape! Where are those reinforcements?!"



Phase 9

[Loyal]

Alex smiled as the hit registered and the Duke showed visible pain. He pulled out another javelin, readying his aim. "Not so invincible after all, are you? There's more where that came from!"

He lobbed the second javelin while fire and some dark shroud ("Is that what the girl is doing," he thought) exploded on the Duke's armor.

[Menarker]

Clovis was very pouty and disappointed as he looked at the Duke with a grim frown as if his series of bad luck was all the fault of this general he haven't even met a minute ago. He had a clear shot at the lone adversary and yet his first two shots veers off wildly and only his third bolt actually hit.

"This is something less than a victory for archers everywhere. The others have better NOT say a word about this embarressment to anyone."