Complete - (Story Event) Against the Wind | Page 2

And there he was again, attempting to sneak into Dormont in order to claim whatever unprotected treasury it had or so that was the plan in the first place, everyone including he knows that Astorea’s military hasn’t fully matured and this is something that even King Theo knows, from a ruler’s perspective, while the region has no fixed form of government, colonization from another country is inevitable, this has been like this within the pages of history, something that the green fox knew all too well.

He was able to gain scores of loot from the Castle Dormont but once security tightens it may never be the same again. Though he wondered if there was a way into the castle through the catacombs, he rather not take his chances confronting the denizens that lurk underneath. He was after all a man of the forest, while acres of trees are as much home to him, he will never get lost but entering caves is an entirely different story for him altogether. Politics and the sort are left to be handled by those who wish to unify and become cogwheels of a system that maintains and allows civilization to grow. However the poor economy in Astorea still had its effects and when the Falderen “Special Ops” reported it back to their King, it gave them every reason to invade or so Stampede had assumed.

Wanna know what’s wrong with this country in the first place? The fact that they focused more on infrastructure and politics instead of creating inventive ways to further increase the rate of their economy. This isn’t how great leaders strive and Stampede spat out his cigar out of disgust thinking how irresponsible King Astor was. Not that he had any interest in managing a country to begin with nor that he’d care.

He shouldn’t have cared about this at all but the fact that war was coming to Astorea changed his opinion. He overheard as he stood there from above, hiding behind a pillar while facing an open window giving him the option to leave the instance at any time he wished. But if war were to come and the farmlands would be the first to get razed, 3 out of his 7 hideouts would have been compromised.

The mood to steal from the castle was gone but it was rare for him to start caring. To him such matters like these are quite the bother, what more if they’re aren’t interested in the first place. He bowed his head wondering what he should do but dare not trust the entire situation altogether. There are far greater powers here at work and if the entire nation of Falderen was getting ready to attack, then it means that King Theo had something up his sleeve.

If Theo has a plan then he could only assume a few things:

A world power that no one but King Theo’s closest knew about, a trump card or a super weapon that can decimate an entire army, making invasions easier. Perhaps even among the people who are here in Dormont… there are spies and traitors and if so, they would send word to King Theo of his daughter’s betrayal. The fact that she hasn’t been restrained and that no one in Falderen had stopped her from doing so was also suspicious.

Or the perspective of a third party using this war as a major distraction but for what? Either way now that he has heard of the dangers coming to Astorea he had to make haste and prepare everything he needs. By the time the war begins….

Stamp would make his move.

"They can babble all they want... they're wasting precious time here" he jumped out.

[EXIT]

(Was supposed to use this opportunity to steal from dormont, but instead was discouraged and left to make preparations without delay)

 

Well, looks like visiting the castle's main hall wasn't a waste of time for him. The fact that the NPCs recruiting the player characters to stop the raid against the player's kingdom was enough to make him completely curious and excited at this event. Not to mention what kind of twist and turns to this story depending on their actions.

But on a serious note, he never expected that the king would be gone mad all because of what he presumed to be paranoia against the player characters. Fighting against an NPC army would be somehow tough if he has poor equipment and level. What was even worst was that reasoning might not be a viable option for this situation. Which means he had to find a way to defend this kingdom and the players. Sure, it was still a game, but he didn't want to drive this world into an unhappy ending.

Just as he tried to plan on what to do, he noticed a familiar cat face through the crowd. If he could remember, she was one of the party members that he teamed up with for the player killer quest. Deciding he would try to put up his shy facade for a while, he pushed himself through the crowd to reach the green-haired Felis and shouted, "Aria! Hey, Aria!"

Waving at her might be a childish way for him to get noticed, but he felt it might be the only way to get her attention to him.

@Aria

 

Avoiding the pout that he almost let take over her face, the childish feline nodded with great speed and energy, raising her hands in the air as if she'd gotten some kind of reward. Well, even if it was minor, she had stirred a little questioning among fellow players, hadn't she? And it got a lot of juicy information, too. In fact, some of it was making the feline flail internally with questions galore. Curiosity did kill the cat, though- so she'd have to take that train a bit later.

Noticing word that were far more tempting to her ears, the cat soon meandered towards the the admittedly weak swordsman with fiery hair and the unusual woman that kept him from getting too close to the Princess with his question. He wanted to be on the front line, but he couldn't even get to the front of the group to ask! How adorable!

"I don't know, miss~" Words woven wisely, the tricky kitty wanted to play her game again. She gazed up at the woman a grin, avoiding any note about just how much the giantess towered over her. "There are lot of women that will want to fight, just as there are men! And there's safety in numbers, so even if he's weak he'll be fine, won't he?"

Of course, she knew well her words were childish whimsy. Her callousness came into play not long after he mused in her mind for a bit longer. "In a perfect war, no one knows they're fighting it. But this is not such a war. There will be casualties on either side...And if that's the case, shouldn't we let him get used to the pain? I hear our sort can 'return' after all...And to boot, it' not like he seems against it anyway, doesn't it?"

With a maniacal laughter, the girl glanced to the boy she'd been speaking of this entire time. She studied him momentarily, wanting to better know her subject. "Well, a strawman wouldn't be too bad either. I can make you some armor if you want! It'll be in your head, but it'll feel nice anyway, right?"


@Sean Poteitoku, @Asch (Esther)

 

Upon hearing a second person's voice talking to him, Sean turned around frantically to face the new figure. "I don't want to be a decoy. Also, I don't have the money for armor..." He turned back to the woman who had previously impeded his path. "I have stabbed my sword into living things before... Albeit I almost died then, but I have!" The look on his face started to get angry. "So should I brush up on my techniques, or...?" He thought for a second. "I can be a supporting DPS to somebody, if you guys want."

@Asch @Lady Briar

 

After the Azog battle, he was now aware of how the world reacted to what the players including himself will do around here. However, hearing that the king of Falderen planned to raid this kingdom to kill the player characters was enough to make him disbelieved at this revelation. Since he started playing this game for a while now, he was unaware of the game's story and lore and that he wasn't interested in it. But whatever the case, he didn't want to let anyone to be killed by this crazed king.

Wanting answers, he tried to pass through the crowd to get near to where the princess was, ignoring the player's complaints about his rudeness. "Princess!" Verity shouted to her as he showed a stern look on his face. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I have some questions on my own since I'm still learning about this world. I would tell you why, but I want to get straight to the point. Why is the king wants to kill everyone in here? You said something about a war with your country."

@Asch

 

"Yes?" Just after she was about to talk further with the Dragoon Yladian, another familiar face approached her, calling out to her with his young voice. "Hey there, Jace!" The Felis waved at the Arcane Prodigy, gesturing him to come over so they could all talk together. "Stelluna, this is Jace. Jace, this is Stelluna." Aria introduced them to one another.She wasn't sure if they have met before though, maybe, but better be safe than awkward!

It looked like things were picking up as the princess was clamored with more and more players, all interested in talking to her. "Hmph." At this point, Aria was sure not all of them had any political interest in mind. There would be those perverts who would just want to ogle the braided blonde. Come now, it wasn't that hard to figure out, little Jeanne d'Arc there was statuesque, beautiful, smart, charismatic, and strong. She was like this perfect figure that could only exist in fictions. Oh wait, this was fiction, heh, yeah right, no way someone like that could exist in real life.

...it might be safe to say that the Felis was sliiiightly envious.

@Jace Vale @Stelluna

 

Before the princess could give Mizuki an answer someone else entered the conversation, who seemed to believe that Mizuki didn't belong in the conversation. This had Mizuki bristle, but rather than getting into an argument she just shot the tall man a glare before turning back to the princess, waiting for her to give a reply. The man gave the impression of being important, so maybe refusing to do as he said wasn't the best of ideas... But she wasn't feeling like just caving in after being called a brat out of the blue.

Unfortunately it seemed like the princess didn't have a lot of information about what exactly her father had in store for them. The bright side was that what information she did have available was very useful, since it gave a decent idea of what the situation was like for those who wanted to help defend Astorea against the assailants. Mizuki turned away from the princess before pulling up her map, wanting to look like she was contemplating instead of looking at something NPCs were incapable of seeing. Since the man seemed to have the status to talk to the princess openly he could keep her busy while Mizuki thought about the newly presented information.

Astorea was positioned northwest of Falderen, so if the farmlands were located in the east of the smaller nation that meant that it would be relatively easy for King Theo to attack them... That wasn't good. And the princess believed that the king must have some kind of secret weapon, although from what Mizuki had heard she had no proof other than that the king was showing more confidence than she believed he should considering the fact that only half of those who were supposed to be loyal to him were willing to join him in this invasion. While that was a decent reason to believe that the king might have a plan it wasn't the same as concrete evidence...

"We'll certainly have to protect the farmlands, although as it stands we'd have to spread out to protect the capital as well, since if the capital is lost it'd also cause a lot of trouble for the kingdom as a whole. The most extreme defence would be to take what we can take and move it all into the capital and burn down the fields so the Falderen army can't use it, but that would cause trouble after the invasion... and if they're the one who decide when to engage they could just watch us burn our own lands down and laugh as we starved..." In the real world Russia had a very effective strategy of baiting enemies into their frozen lands where they would die of hunger and cold, but Astorea wasn't the kind of godless wasteland where just being there would already drain your strength. Looking at Seto Mizuki commented somewhat idly as she was still thinking about what to do. "If you want to be in charge you'll have to start getting us organized before some of the others start doing things without coordinating with the rest of us."
@Seto Kurama

 

Lucia could only sigh a little, seeing the Princess struggling and so many people making vows she's almost certain they don't truly mean. Players were different from normal people, there wasn't the same sense of dread or the same stake in anything. If things got too easy it was far too easy to give up and start over, it was far too easy to discredit NPCs as 'not real people' and move on from them without guilt or shame. A lack of food may not be enough to motivate the wanderers which made her sigh internally. "As a people we're certainly strange or bizarre, I can't fault that. As for our objective, it will be difficult to defend farm lands in the east while defending our homes here. We need people capable of laying traps, stalling for time to head out towards those places to defend them, unmanned defenses are best." Lucia mused about the Princess's theories. "As for the king's forces themselves, a small group of gorillas might be best, this is our home, and we know the terrain better then the king's forces does. We who travel all around would have an advantage in hit and run tactics. That should be where the elites go." She exhaled a heavy breath. "The remainder, those who aren't used to things here or are best at defending a seige should stay here and keep the peace and watch, a group to defend and signal everyone when the king finally happens to come across this place." She tried to explain what she found to be the best strategy. @Asch @Alonso Thorlion @Seto Kurama

Though for the pair that were approaching her, she glanced back to them with a some what wry expression newbies, it wasn't that she didn't like or approve of them, but at the same time she didn't exactly know what to offer them. "Naturally there's a role for everyone to play, no matter what you're good at, just believe you're good." She explained, no matter what, whether it was farming, fighting or magic, there was always something someone could do to contribute to the whole. "As for the size thing... Well, Faerin are naturally smaller, try not to judge so much, things are getting a little darker." Lucia offered with a breath of a sigh. @Mint Chip @Savannah Reed

 

OOC:Had to cut top paragraph to fit the 500 word max​

Seto crossed his arms slightly annoyed, he was ready to speak when Alonso approached them which seemed to give some relief, at least one of the other nobles showed up to aid in this crisis. He watched as he told a servant to find the King despite the fact the King wasn't here? Alonso brought his attention to the Princess D'Vangelline, Seto decided to be silent, wishing to hear Alonso thoughts on the matter and respected him for now. It was good to know Alsono was on his side, asking the princess to allow them to gain entry into the conversation withthe King although he was a little puzzled he wanted to escort her.Taking in a deep breath, he exhaled before he decided to speak once more.

---------------------​

"I understand Alsonso, I do but.......as much as I want to join you, one of us must stay and prepare for the worse, Alonso you are just as capable as I aim, I believe you should escort Princess D'Vangelline to King Astor the First while I stay here and formulate defenses and form militia's. I would Leave Amane to this task since she is more of a support than a pure warrior but.....she's nowhere to be found."

"I do agree with the Princess however, the farmlands would most likely be a practical first objective for him to capture so well need to either heavily defend or....razed what we have and move the stockpiles If it cannot be defended. It matter little to me, I will protect this nation no matter the cost, even at my own If need be."​

Another person approached them, it wasn't Amane, it was a long black haired woman, she seemed fimilar from some place but he had no clue where. He had thought of ignoring her but she good words compared to the rabble that wanted to meet a princess and ask her trivial things. Her tactics were not bad at all, declaring they would need guirilla warefare to hold back Astorea's enemies as well as hit and run tactics. Before he could ask her to join them, she vanished into the crowd, he shrugged before returning to the other two next to him.​

"I don't know who that black hair woman was but she makes excellent points, we'll need to employ such tactics to win against such overwhelming numbers. I believe we should come up with a plan now, Lady Cessia will be crucial in this as wel with the planning. What do you think Alonso? Will you allow me to take command here and formulate defenses while you and the Princess try to locate the King? I would join you myself but Amane is not here......Of course Astorea comes first above all.....We must do what is right for Astorea."​

@Asch @Alonso Thorlion @Lucia Mierz @Amane Hirota

 

Amidst the faceless tide of players that pined for recognition and attention, there were a certain few individuals who, instead, lurked in the corners of the vast gathering hall in the company of shadows. Ignored by all but the most curious of people present, they silently observed the proceedings with keen eyes and secretive intentions, their minds busily weighing in one mode of action against the other to balance out potential risks and rewards. TerraSphere was an immersive game that bordered on an alternate reality after all, so naturally, whatever actions one would decide to do in this would have lasting consequences and repercussions for those who chose to participate in it.

Of such people, the brown-haired pretty-boy, Yuichi Ichinose, stood among them; his oaken eyes constantly scanning the room for any sign of his quarry who should have been in attendance, or so he was told by his informant. So far there was no sign of Conrad Carlson or any one of his hired thugs, both player and non-player, which left the fighter with no choice but to endure pointless discussions and players’ attempts to throw themselves into the spotlight. It was not to say that he had anything bad to say about them if he had the chance to do so, but Yuichi would find mingling with the masses substantially more bearable if only those who had the power to back it up exercised the Chosen One mentality most VRMMORPG players so often have.

Apart from his own agenda in choosing to enter this gathering of players and non-players, there was something about these events that amused the fighter after having learned of their existence some days ago following the Dark Harvest quest and the insufferable things he had forced himself to do to be rewarded. From that time since, he had learned of how players would often flock to these occasional gatherings for bountiful rewards both common and rare; but what Yuichi found confounding was the fact that, despite knowing that this was all a game, he could see players – or at least whom he assumed to be players – take the events of the game so seriously.

For a cold analyst like him, Yuichi could not fathom the idea and prayed that he was viewing the proceedings in the wrong light. After all, to abandon reality for a virtual existence was something Takeo, Yuichi’s player, could not imagine anyone doing. For him, the idea itself was insanity of the highest order.

He shrugged off his thoughts with a sigh and sought out a more private nook, both to get away from the noise of those who weaved their own plans and observe the meeting from a less conspicuous spot. This was where being Proficient in Rogue came in quite handily as Yuichi became somewhat of a chameleon, blended into the crowd, and relocated to the portion of the hall where he could peacefully hear the exchange of ideas, but not near enough to be seen outright.

 

"He must be here somewhere..."

The blonde Felis found out through her friends' list that the man who could only tame the anxiety as of late, @Yuichi Ichinose , was somewhere in this location. It was a newly-formed habit of her to be in the same location as the 'pretty-boy brawler', since for some reason the only one who could calm the storms in her head and chase away the fear of being 'harassed' once again was him. There was a sense of security every time her oddly-colored pools get a glance of his own chocolate ones, hence she had forced fate to have their paths often meet by stalking him. Perhaps it was brought by the fact that when she was at her rock bottom, it was Yuichi who was there for her.

Hearing from the others as she arrived that there was a gathering of players, Anabelle only hoped that she could find him in the crowd, despite being in a crowd was the least of her favorite things... especially not when there was an opportunity that Conrad Carlson could as well be lurking somewhere and waiting for that moment to have a hold once again of the Felis. Or to make fun of her. The thoughts of crossing paths with the brawny offender brought a shiver down Anabelle's spine. With images of his visage flashing on her mind, fear and agitation burgeoned her chest, causing her knees to tremble and her cat ears to get pulled slightly backward. Her dainty hand immediately grabbed on a nearby post, as she vigorously shook the head full of blonde locks in an attempt to get rid of the image of him and to prevent flashbacks of that miserable day in Druuk Island.

"Get your act together, Anabelle!" she mentally chastised herself, biting the inside of her cheeks as she did so. Taking in deep breaths to calm down, the Felis allowed herself a moment to listen to the conversations around her, particularly that of what the princess just announced. Then again, she was not the type to get into something political, so words just went straight to one ear only to come out at the other. That was the case even if minding the words would have helped in relieving her off memories of Conrad Carlson.

"Focus on your agenda. We're looking for a familiar face here... we need to be cured for today..." Straightening up, her eyes wandered before weaving through the ocean of unfamiliar faces.

 

Mint crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Savannah for a quick second before resuming his steadfast attention on Lucia's words. For the most part Mint had nodded along to what she had been saying but, eventually, he drew at a pause. He looked back and forth between Savannah and Lucia before pointing at the young Faerin with an incredulous expression. "Her?! You sure?!"

And then he shook his head, waving Lucia's outrageous claims away. "Even if she's a bit older than us by fairy standards, I'm pretty sure she'd develop differently. Like dog years, you know? There's no need for anyone that young to fight. Best for the adults to be meat shields if we lose..."

@Savannah Reed @Lucia Mierz

 

Stelluna looked to the voice calling out to her, it was vaguely familiar. Getting an actual look at the speaker, she quickly recognized it as @Aria from the business with hunting that monster. And there was also someone else? Quickly introduced as @Jace Vale, she gave him a curt greeting then went to answering Aria's question. There were a lot of things happening, and she wanted to gather as much information as possible. Conflict was always a goldmine of opportunities, and this war was no exception.

"I am waiting for the tides of war to come. When it reaches us, I'm sure all the nobles and generals would have scraped up some sort of plan. Much less sure the plan will survive past the first few seconds of conflict. Regardless, it is a rare opportunity to battle with Falderan's elite."

 

It seemed the Princess lost her cool, taking her fustration and anger on a young man who accused her on a few questionable subjects, he couldn't say he blamed her for doing it, he's done it himself before, she was only human after all, what were they expecting after all? Relaxing after her little outburst, she turned back to him and Alonso and a few other apologizing, he needed no apologoy, he understood her pain. He did roll his eyes when she told him she couldn't organize there military or lack of, he didn't need her to tell him about it, he was going to do it himself with the help of possibly of Alonso and Amane If she showed up. She didn't add anything either, saying this country was dead in the water without Astor, he disagreed with her, he firmly believed in himself and the other two could rule in his place If he was to fall in battle which was a reality at this point. At this point, it was just pointless to keep talking to the princess, she didn't know anything else, it was clear she was simply a warrior and not a true leader of arms, If she had such intentions of replacing her father, she wold have great difficulty filling that place. If he wasn't a noble, he would envy of Alonso personal invitation to join her unit but he wasn't, he was a Duke and he suggested Alonso go with her due to his warrior like nature, he was a warrior as well but not in the same regard he was.​

Just as the Princess finished her case about her intentions, Lady Cessia confirmed his suspicion when she grabbed everyone's attention and told him and everyone else in the main hall the news the King and his unit was captured during the battle in the mountains. He closed his eyes and sighed, thinks went from bad to worse, what was next to be said? Would their be an aerial force as well? This who mess was becoming far more complicated than he had wanted. Letting his arms loose from there relaxed position, he tapped Alonso's shoulder.

"Alonso I need you to come with me to the war room, we need to discuss this manner in privacy before you depart, I would prefer If you and Amane were there, I am no dictator or tyrant."

turning back around to the Princess, her bodyguard, and Lady Cessia, he called out for Lady Cessia, he hoped she would come as well since she was essentially Astor's secetary, she could provide the information he needed and put the smaller pieces together hile him and other two formulatea plan.

"Lady Cessia I request your presence in the war room when you are not needed here, It is no doubt Important, Astorea itself on the line, I, and the other nobles of importance will require your particular skills"​

@Alonso Thorlion @Amane Hirota @Raid Master (Cessia)