#Autgar Bloode

[shroudandsands]

Prompt #21: Shade

“Behind you!” Amesha threw herself underneath the wide arc of the axe as it crunched into the static behind her. An arrow streaked past in the same moment to deliver the killing blow. The re-killing blow? She hated undead.

“You alright?” Came the rushed words of the archer as he yanked her up from the ground. Her wings swirled around the two of them in a blinkered dance as she reoriented. “As well as any, but bough and oasis meant for living- Unable to tell, to feel, blank on senses more than sight-” He pressed her backwards as the axe swung by them once again. She could hear its blunt face crush through whatever had come towards them. “-The Hawk gives direction, gives aim. But she is-” “Still up top, yeah! Going to have to do without!” “The hells does that mean, Autgar?! Do without?!” Gruff words came in close, one arm swung wide to guard them both and urge them backwards with his steps. His axe scraped against the ground as he swung it out again to dissuade the closest of what she could only assume were zombies. The stench of them could make her gag. “It’s just us, Soem! You’ll have to keep them off us while we make our way back out with Ms. Amesha. Ms. Amesha? I’ll call shots for both of us.” His voice was towards her now, but she could already tell his bow was pointed at the horde encroaching on them. “You can do that, right? I’ll aim. You shoot. Soemrnahct keeps us out of the thick of it. You keep him safe. Good plan?” Amesha’s wings encircled the three of them. The static of undeath could almost drown her ability to feel them both within her touch. The flood of it was overwhelming, that sensation of emptiness that came with their shuffling corpses. If they got any further than a few steps away… Her wings rocketed above them, a light like the sun. “Go.”

Soem crashed ahead of them as a maelstrom. Iron-made fist and steel-forged axe swinging in a simultaneous rampage as he carved a path through what seemed to Amesha to be an unending wave of bodies. Whatever magicks that had been triggered were surely far more potent than she or Sawyer had anticipated to create something of this scale. But these two were undaunted. Teeth grit. Weapons white-knuckled. An arrow of light screamed forth through the crowd. “You see that?!” Autgar whooped with adrenaline-infused glee as he nocked another arrow. Her wings soared down to fly in line with his bow; to accompany the next arrow, the next, the next and infuse them all with aether and soul to burn as bright as daylight. “C’mon, just a bit more! Straight ahead, Ms. Amesha, and we’ll be home free! Stay right beside me!” The wings she left soaring high in the air pivoted and pointed towards each target that the arrows marked, their light bright and piercing in touch so that even the static of unlife couldn’t keep her from feeling it. Which made it all the more cathartic to blast them with lances of water that shredded rotted flesh and gusts of wind that blasted old bones to shards with an audible and horrific gale. All the while she was practically stuck to Autgar’s side trying to not get elbowed in the head as he let loose arrow after arrow. The three of them moved in lockstep under the shade of her protection even as the undead began to swarm in from behind them. Overcrowding slowed them, if only a little bit, but it was enough that their rear wasn’t in as much danger as she might’ve thought at first.

Right until she slammed face first into the ground. Her cry was cut short by the air getting knocked from her lungs, her wings careened out of the air, she couldn’t kick hard enough to get the flesh-rotten hand off of her tail. She choked on spit as she felt the grip tighten and begin to gouge under the spikes of her scales, her own fingers unable to find any purchase to claw her way forwards. The sound of a chain whipping through the air spoke silence into the air. She could feel blood and flesh splatter, shards of bone exploding, the grip on her tail released. Then the shockwave of carnage as the axe at the end slammed into the ground like a bomb. For a moment she wasn’t even entirely sure what had happened. Or that she was free to move. It wasn’t until she was able to hear the stunned exclamation from Autgar that she snapped to life. “What the fuck Soem-” Her wings sputtered back to life as she scrambled her way back to her feet and forward blindly- met quickly by Soemrnahct bodily bringing her in close and yanking her off of her feet. She could feel the whip of the chain in his hand and the grunt in his chest as he swung it back around until the axe was in his hand again. “Alright glad that worked- Last swivin’ ship for the surface callin’ in! Let’s go!” Sawyer practically scooped her from Soemrnahct’s arms as soon as they’d hit the surface. Not before she collapsed the entrance to the crypt with a blast from her gunblade but absolutely before she had any other thought in her mind. “Heartlight-” She spoke with relief, then cursed, “-Don’t you do that again. I know you didn’t believe yourself in danger. I know you didn’t feel anything below. But we knew that something like this could happen. We were already here to investigate reports on strange noises in the night, we had no reason to think they were undead but-” She let out a long sigh as she squeezed Amesha so tightly that the raen looked as though she might just pop. Then she let go. She turned to the other two. They nursed cuts and scrapes, wiped off blood, inspected their weapons- anything to avoid interrupting the short moment between the two women. Sawyer cleared her throat. “Thank you. Both of you.” Both of them shook their heads, but Autgar was first to speak up. “It’s nothing, Ms. Reeves. You’ve saved our rear ends more than we earned. We’re just starting to pay back our debt.” He put up a hand to interrupt Amesha speaking up then quickly pivoted to speech. “Not taking any backsass for it. You’ve saved us from a fight more than once and you came and stopped us from hanging our hats up in shame out of it. Besides-” “We got to learn y’ain’t as on top of things as we thought. We didn’t have a clue y’ain’t able to tell where dead thin’s were.” Soemrnahct spoke up, a bit of a laugh in his chest. “Feels a bit better knowin’ there’s a place where we got a leg up. Where we can help, y’know? Maybe that’s our callin’ in this. If you two’re already so well rounded as to get everythin’ else…”

Amesha, despite herself, couldn’t help but smile as she felt the two of them blossom with pride. As they bumped up against one another and drove each other into more and more laughter- Out of the fortune of their timing, the adrenaline wearing off, and the relief of it all. She leaned against her own partner. Who proceeded to thump her in the back of the head as continued recompense for her thoughtlessness.

[berryarmstrong]

A commission of Autgar Bloode catching a meteor during the battle against the Ruby Weapon in Ghimlyt. With his unwavering defense, he takes the brunt of it so no one else has to. Eat your heart out, Sabik (your heart out, Sabik). 

 Thanks to @autgarbloode for commissioning me!

[jancisstuff]

Haunted Hayride and Harvest Festival! 

Thank you, generous hosts!

Such a fun carriage ride with lead chocobos along narrowing escaping witches, spriggans, voidsent, zombies, Odin, and a bumbling pumpkinman!

Also, Goobbue Do!

October 2020

[gregoshorner]

Double or Nothing Casino - Triple Triad (2/2)

Thank you to the Astral Advent and our hosts, Clover Greenwoode and Gigimai Zuzumai! Gregos had fun helping out the Triple Triad Tournament. (2/2). Here are all of the participants (sorry if I missed anyone!).

[friendly-fire-engaged]

Farewell

Martin had never been particularly great with expressing his feelings. Perhaps that was what made writing these letters so difficult. 

Not for a lack of thoughts; he had plenty of those. Over the past days Martin had filtered his plan through his head over and over again, considering consequences, risks, back-up ideas, exit plans. He was as prepared to face Sandwalker as he could possibly be. Putting farewells in writing, however, added finality to his plans. It meant acknowledging that he might never come home to explain himself. That was what hindered his words.

When he finally mustered the will to write, he started with his teacher. For Autgar, he kept his letter straightforward and simple: 

I'm sorry I didn't have your back at Ghimlyt Dark, but knowing you, I'm sure you were more than capable of handling yourself. With any luck, we'll have conquered both our foes today. If not, thank you for having faith in me when few else did. -Martin

Berrod's letter is more clipped:

You know what I've done and probably can guess at why I did it. I don't regret my decision. What I'm doing here is as much for everyone's sake as it is for mine. Don't you dare accuse me of acting without their interests at heart. You can chew me out all you want when I'm home. If I come home at all, it means I won. -Martin

For Flora, he embarrasses himself writing wishy-washy reassurances:

I'm sorry for leaving the burden of responsibility for her on your shoulders, but I know you'll carry it for the both of us if I'm gone. I'll try not to be long. 

Take care of her, and yourself as well. Remember to eat. -Martin

With their letters signed and sealed, Martin tucks  away for safekeeping, hidden in his locker in the Agent’s Ala Mhigan office. Luck permitting, he'd be back in time to trash the notes before anyone would think to look through it.

This leaves him with one final letter, and for Suhee, he struggles the longest. There is so, so much he has to say to her, none of it fit for a note he might never get to follow up on. A heartsick confession? An apology? How could he look her in the eye when she woke up, knowing the face of her teacher's killer? Knowing he had been an indirect accomplice to her misery?

How much blood stained his hands from his days fighting under Imperial flags? How many girls like Suhee did he rob of teachers and father figures? They all knew what he had done as a Skull, sure, but none of the misdeeds had ever had a personal face attached to them. Not until now.

He owed this to them, Suhee most of all. It was time to right a past mistake.

In the end, he can’t bear the thought of a farewell note. Instead, he leaves her a promise; a short, scrawled note on her bedside table with words he’ll do his best to fulfill:

See you soon. -Martin

[cfs-melkire]

@dynamitecowboy

[berrodarmstrong]

Training. 

@dynamitecowboy @florihilda @friendly-fire-engaged

[gunnarbloodblade]

Gunnar kept his promise and introduced Autgar to Oda -- the monk who utilised the element of water. Their match was to be held at Moondrip, a location that seemed to give the Highlander woman the advantage. The fight was not drawn out. Oda demonstrated an affinity with water aspected aether that Autgar had not yet seen among monks -- moreso, despite the low intensity of her hits, her aether washed over him, and in doing so, washed bits of his own aether away. That aether was then utilised to rapidly heal any damage she sustained. Both she and Gunnar were surprised when Autgar made use of lightning aspected aether without the assistance of crystals -- and despite her attempts at taking him down before he could use it more, Autgar endured and won the battle.

Gunnar seemed pleased enough with the result, and immediately discarded Oda from his service. The cold Highlander went as far as to offer Autgar her life as a reward for his victory -- an offer that was quickly refused. During the discussion afterward, Berrod and Ronsen came up as well, and the pair finally came to an...understanding regarding that situation.

Gunnar left Oda and Autgar to their own devices, and it was immediately clear that the two would have to put some work into getting along. Oda, mostly.

(( @dynamitecowboy ))

[professor-of-somanoutics]

An IC black and white sketch turned ooc colored portait for @dynamitecowboy​ , our resident Monk and Engineer, as a congratulations for his Promotion within our company heading into Stormblood! Here’s to the future of Blue Sky Ventures!

@bsventures

[astraladvent]

Prism: So far...

((A lengthly excerpt from the Prism Arc catch-up event!))

Berrod Armstrong looked around the room. "Ah, this is a good turnout. Thanks for comin'. There's -- a lot to go through, so I'll begin at the beginnin' and we'll work through it from there. Feel free to add any details you noticed or ask relevant questions as I go on. Won't spend too long answerin' questions before I'm done though."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Some time ago, durin' a social gatherin' in Costa Del Sol, it so happened that we came into contact with a queer manner o'crystal. There was a fireworks show on, an' it seemed that the crystal fell outta the sky, skipped on the water an' hit a cliff wall near us. The spot on the cliff wall that it hit got streaked white an' chalky. The crystal itself was...strange. Colourful, bright an' packed with aether. Goin' near it or touchin' it was enough to wash a man in the stuff."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Didn't take long for us to realise how much it enhanced not only our reserves of aether, but the things we could do with it. The white stuff on the cliff wall on the other hand, killed everything it touched. Stilled the aether in it until it ended up just as white an' dead as the rocks. Fortunately, it was contained to those streaks."

 Louma'li Jinjahl looked sheepish. "Also brought out a few...undesirable qualities in a few."

 Milo North: "Ick."

 Berrod Armstrong eyed Lou for a moment and inclined his head slightly.

 Louma'li Jinjahl: "You're really lucky ya didn't end up lickin' it."

 Berrod Armstrong: "At -first-, we decided to let the La Noscean an' Lominsan authorities handle it. We arranged for the crystal -- the Prism, we called it, to be collected by the Yellowjackets an' taken back to the city proper for the Arcanist's guild to keep in their custody." He rubbed his face then, "Really wished it all stayed there, but the Gods had different plans it seemed. They cordoned off the streaked area, but a couple of our people got samples of the dead white rocks. They were harmless if you didn't let it touch flesh."

 N'hara Tia: "Also got samples of some of the sea creatures it killed. Not the prettiest sight."

 Orion Llewelyn stroked the lizard in his lap, attempting to lull the creature to sleep. It was having none of it with all the people around and hissed.

 Soyer Perera entered and remained silent. No greeting and not motions beyond walking and picking a spot.

 Berrod Armstrong made a face at the mention of the dead sea creatures, but nodded to acknowledge it. "Least chalky fish don't stink..."

Berrod Armstrong: "Anyroad, a couple weeks later the Arcanist's guild called us up for our help with a matter involvin' the crystal. Apparently since we were the once who had 'experience'--" He made quotation marks with his fingers then, "--with it, we were the ones they wanted. Turned out they tried to cast some standard protective stuff around it for safe keepin', but the crystals amplified the magic to the point that it got a bit -too- well shielded. We were hired to work with a fella named Hartsald to  break that shield. From the reports it seemed like one hell of a job, but nothin' catastrophic, an' nothin' the team that went couldn't handle."

 Berrod Armstrong turned to offer a tip of his chin to Soyer by way of greeting.

 Soyer Perera nodded but made no sound.

 Berrod Armstrong: "We used the success of that job to curry some favour with the Arcanist's guild, to the point where we managed to get a sample of the crystal for the company for our own to study. Unfortunately, a couple weeks after -that-, we got another missive from the guild. Hartsald had gone missin', an' from the investigation we launched into it, he'd gone barkin' mad before he vanished. He'd been drawin' nonsense on maps, rippin' up books, writin' over an' over again about somethin' called -blàths bloigh-. No language I'd ever heard of. With the help of those of us gifted in understandin' such things, we learned that it means 'blooming essence'. An' so the hunt for Hartsald began."

 Natja Bafsk breezes on in like she was here all along, peering around and filing her nails into even pointier points.

 N'hara Tia brought a hand to the bridge of his nose. Not a fun assignment…

 Milo North: "Baths Bentlow, yeah."

Milo North: "... Blowfly."

Milo North: "... Blarfs."

 Orion Llewelyn: "Spoilers: He was found."

 Natja Bafsk nods her head agreeably at Milo's valiant effort, knowing damn well she can't do anything better.

 Berrod Armstrong: "The hunt led us to the Blac--" He quickly and apologetically eyed Jancis in the distance, "Uh, the Twelveswood, where the search team encountered all sorts of mischievous magics. Weird plants, floaty-stuff. The reports were...wild. Even though that was dealt with, apparently the team came into contact with an anomaly that caused the same whitenin' effect from the cliffs in Costa. I still...don't really understand what I read about what the team there saw, but everyone came outta it okay."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Mostly, anyroad."

 Louma'li Jinjahl: "And one overly animated annoyin' blue...person."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Ah, aye. Jock whatsisballs."

Louma'li Jinjahl couldn't remmeber how many Jock-Jocks it was.

 Zachary Evans mouthed the phrase 'blue person' in absolute confusion.

 Louma'li Jinjahl: "Jock-Jock somethin' Jock, covered in woad an' crazy, aye."

 Milo North: "Somethin' made outta Light."

 Bayan Dataq cracked a small smile. This was getting good. Now there were blue people. He wondered what strange Eorzean people that was.

 Milo North shivers at the memory.

 Berrod Armstrong: "He'd been hired to find Hartsald too -- an' now we know by who. But I'll get to that in time."

 Louma'li Jinjahl had a sneaking suspicion of the 'who' but he'd be happy if fate decided to surprise him. Lou just nodded along with Berrod's assertion that they'd get to it, in time.

 Berrod Armstrong: "Arcanist's guild hadn't made any headway either, an' so as more time went on, the more everyone feared Hartsald was dead. You know how it goes with missin' persons. Anyroad, -another- issue popped up in Mor Dhona that we went to investigate. After what happened in the Shr...er -- -Twelveswood-, we were expectin' to find Hartsald. Instead, we found a Hyuran fella with an axe an' way, -way- too much power. The team went in, accompanied by one Grave Shadow as an observer, the reports said. The Hyur -- Breaker, or Baby or whatever -- was subdued an' separated from a prismatic crystal that he'd been given with the promise of power. It was there that the monk twin ladies some of y'all came to know were sighted for the first time."

 Orion Llewelyn leaned over to Bayan with a hushed voice, "That's where I came in." A thumb was jerked in Berrod's general direction.

 Bayan Dataq nodded. The cast of characters was getting a bit much for him to keep track of, but he was doing his best.

 Jancis Milburga looks thoughtful, "And that odd sludge that came off of him."

 Soyer Perera || It occured to Soyer that it was around this time he had joined the Company too...He had a faint smile at the thought.

 Berrod Armstrong: "Breaker was pretty badly affected by what had happened to him. He wasn't an enemy, not really. Just someone who'd gotten a raw deal. We took care of his recovery an' such,an' in doing so, found out he had a connection to those twins...like -- a thread. Oh--" He consulted his book then, "I shouldn't forget the group out in the ruins of Nym either. After the Hartsald incident, we went to investigate some aetherial spikes there an' did battle with an entire group enhanced with shards of prismatic crystal. It wasn't enough to make 'em -crazy- powerful, so they got taken down smoothly enough. One of 'em was above the rest though...Astrologian gal with a -weapon- made with one of the crystals in it. Our first encounter with a prismatic weapon."

 Milo North: "Someone had fun lickin' crystals."

 Zachary Evans shifted from foot to foot before finally deciding on doing squats. The whole chain of events had given the young man a surge of nervous energy.

 Louma'li Jinjahl: "An' she up an' ran before we could finish kickin' her arse. Seems Shadow got to her though an' finished things."

 Natja Bafsk 's expression slowly takes a turn for the morose, more and more.

 Bayan Dataq 's face gave away he didn't really approve of leaving a mark alive in a hunt, but didn't say anything.

 Zachary Evans: "I'm not exactly sure of -how- comfortable I am working with Shadow again...wherever the Shadows are, things go from worse to catastrophic."

 Sarij Rahzersyn: "Alright, focus folks."

 Zachary Evans: "Sorry, chief."

 Sarij Rahzersyn: "And listen tah what Berrod has tah say, ya can ask shite after."

 Natja Bafsk nods to Sarij Rahzersyn.

 Berrod Armstrong: "It turns out that the Astrologian gal didn't quite get away -- so proven by a box sent to us by a -mysterious benefactor- at the time. It contained the prismatic weapon...broken, though that didn't make the crystal itself any less potent. The box itself was made with...arcane stuff written on it that turned it into a kind of compass that pointed us north, to Coerthas. Again, we decided to investigate, an' the team sent met -- another arcanist? Nah -- a uh, a--" He checked his notes, "Nymian-styled Scholar. He didn't quite have a prismatic weapon, but his -faerie- was made of the stuff. From what I read, his spellwork was...damn powerful."

 Tiergan Vashir blinked at that. "His /faerie/ was made of /crystal/?"

 Berrod Armstrong: "Aye. Bright an' colourful an' glitterin'...an' -potent-."

 Autgar Bloode: "Yes, his fairy was a crystal. He was very strong."

 Orion Llewelyn looked away to take a swig of his drink.

 Tiergan Vashir frowns deeply, brow furrowing.

 Berrod Armstrong: "Was around that time that our study into the crystal itself showed us some of what it was capable of. Like allowin' me to conjure as if it was nothin', for example. Healed a gash on my own arm with a twig an' it didn't even leave a scar." He offered his arm as proof.

Berrod Armstrong: "I should note that the crystal samples in our possession went up to two. The weapon, an' the sample we got from the Arcanist's guild."

 Jancis Milburga furrows her brow at Berrod's arm.

 Tiergan Vashir: "Did.... you have much conjurying ability before or did you go from none to suddenly proficient?"

 Berrod Armstrong: "I tried to learn once. They were nice about tellin' me I would never be able to do it."

 Aulen Mistbreaker was totally not taking a nap or anything as he showed up late.

 Berrod Armstrong: "I don't have a lick of castin' talent, sad to say."

 Orion Llewelyn: "Shame, that."

 Louma'li Jinjahl: "Ya punch things better anyways."

 Zachary Evans: "That's...disturbing. Granting that much power out of the blue is dangerous."

 Autgar Bloode: "You've got plenty of other talents chief."

 Tiergan Vashir: "So these crystals can turn anyone into a skilled mage."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Nnnh -- well, I knew the -motions-, I just never made anythin' happen, you know? But that crystal changed that."

 Milo North: "Or jus' let you throw enough power at a spell."

 Orion Llewelyn: "An' those of us already skilled t'start with, well..." Orion leaned back.

 Milo North: "That it makes it look like you can do it."

 Soyer Perera frowned at that--he hadn't been told they could do that too.

 Berrod Armstrong: "Go on," He urged Orion.

 Milo North: "Scarier thought is what happens when someone like fuckin' black mage casts one of their clever lil' spells with the power of one of these."

 Natja Bafsk nods to Milo North.

 Orion Llewelyn: "Huh?" He sputtered. "Oh I've got nothin'. Just sayin' I can imagine how it'd be like for those of us with a lick o' talent an' skill."

 Milo North: "Power and the nuance to properly use it."

 Berrod Armstrong nodded, "Aye."

 Tiergan Vashir: "Is that why Mountain's Shadow has an interest then?"

 Martin Adler: "Probably." Martin grunts.

 Autgar Bloode: "Save the questions folks."

 Aulen Mistbreaker spoke up. "Well... back on the beach. A simple spell I used turned a small flame into a massive pyre by just being near the damn thing."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Aye..."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Alright -- back to Breaker an' his ability to trace the twins...much like the box had become a compass that led us north, he led a team of us south into the Sagolii to follow the twins' trail. From what I read, the trip was an interestin' one. They utilised their crystals to their full potential and put up a hell of a fight. It was hard, but our team won out with Breaker's help. Poor bastard ended up abed again, an' we took the twins into our custody. Treated them well, mind you."

 Natja Bafsk smiles, but with a notable twinge of sadness.

 Jancis Milburga: "Had to, those crystals were embedded."

 Berrod Armstrong: "That fight was an' educational one, 'cause we learned about the flawed crystals. Turns out that they were not only different to the samples we had, but they had awful effects on the user. Uh --" He consulted his book again, and began to read directly off of it.

 Orion Llewelyn: "They amplified the user's flaws."

 Milo North: "They got real ugly?"

 Berrod Armstrong: "Our samples achieved perfect resonance with the user's aether. Perfect prisms. The flawed crystals however, sought to compensate for their imperfection by resonating oppressively and affecting the user's aether in a detrimental manner -- usually to the tune of illness or behavioural changes."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Aye, what Orion said."

 Louma'li Jinjahl: "Not ugly enough to not fluster Autgar."

 Autgar Bloode would remember that.

 Orion Llewelyn snorted, "Not that kinda flaw. Made angry people angrier an' that kinda thing."

 Bayan Dataq: "Weaknesses?" he asked softly.

Berrod Armstrong: "After some questionin' -- gentle, mind you, we never treated 'em badly," We learned that -Hartsald- was apparently creating the flawed crystals and temptin' people to power with 'em. First the twins, then he tried to get 'em to bring Breaker on board. S'what was happenin' when we met the lot of 'em in Mor Dhona. What was most interestin' is that they said that we couldn't just go -find- Hartsald. He had to be -summoned-. The ritual to do it was queer as all hells."

 Tiergan Vashir: "Summon. Like some sort of voidsent?" There was audible distaste in his tone.

 Milo North: "You can summon other stuff, too. Kinda."

 Berrod Armstrong: "I would think that if the ritual wasn't...downright stupid."

 Orion Llewelyn wavered a hand before Bayan at his question. "Sorta like that."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Once again a team went out -- to the Cloud Sea up above the Spine. Aether's rich there an' it was far away from people just in case things got hairy...which they did. Still don't really understand what happened, but they called him. He was strange, with bright blue eyes with rings in 'em," He gestured at his own eyes, ever one to talk with his hands, "Talkin' funny too, not nearly the same as he was before. Borin' an' kinda stodgy."

 Bayan Dataq perked up a bit. Sounded like the red haired hyur was describing him. Badly, but still.

 Berrod Armstrong: "Seems like he tried somethin', but the team figured it out and put a stop to it before he finished. Unfortunately, one of the twins got turned into a plant -- or was it eaten by a plant...?" He checked his notes again, "Ah, she got turned into a bush. When they finally managed to put Hartsald down, a big ol' pair of flowers grew. One spat out the twin, the other...Hartsald's body. The -real- Hartsald. Poor bastard had been dead all along, an' somethin' was wearin' his face. Accordin' to what I read, he'd been killed long before, even though he wasn't rottin'."

 Milo North: "So.... Voidsent."

 Soyer Perera frowned a bit deeper. If he were the type to be ungrammatical, he'd say this entire thing was getting curiouser and curiouser.

 Jancis Milburga swears to Nald'thal quietly.

 Soyer Perera: "That doesn't sound like a voidsent."

 Berrod Armstrong shook his head. "Would be simple if it was. Read more like a ghost to me."

 Orion Llewelyn: "Aye, I'm inclined to agree with Berrod."

 Bayan Dataq shook his horned head. This is why he preferred sheep and horses. Less magic and spirits. More things that were simple to skewer with his lance.

N'hara Tia: "This whole fiasco gets worse and worse when you really stop and think about it..."

 Orion Llewelyn: "Like....another soul." He offered up.

 Tiergan Vashir: "A ghost that turns people into plants and grows flowers that hold bodies?"

 Milo North: "A ghost who makes people inta plants? Ashkin ain't that powerful. Or smart."

 Milo North: "Mosta the time they jus' moan about how much it hurts or whatever."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Team came back, though the affected twin hadn't regained consciousness. Reks examined her, an' it turned out there -- wasn't a soul in her body. I dunno how that was possible, or how it worked, but that's what happened. We decided to keep her safe, an' her sister didn't leave her side. Breaker was fully recovered an' decided to go out there an' try to make some headway."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Took a couple weeks, but he came back...different. He'd acquired a bit of prismatic crystal, which somehow -fused- with him while he slept. It...made him strong. Real strong. I dunno if he's immortal now, but I know it's real hard to hurt him. Or was. We had to press him for answers, but even when he finally caved an' tried to give 'em to us, he couldn't speak of it, or even write of it. He'd been hexed, and pretty badly."

 Berrod Armstrong: "The same night he came back to us, somethin' happened to the unconscious twin. Long story short, whatever had been masqueradin' around as Hartsald jumped into her, pulled a switch on us, an' ran off into the night. Was a damn mess, I'm told. Her sister an' Breaker went off to try an' find her."

 Natja Bafsk stares down at her lap, ears drooping backward.

 Berrod Armstrong: "'nother couple weeks went by. Breaker an' Rookmin -- ah aye, that was her name -- kept in contact, wrote to us an' stuff...an' then the contact stopped. Stopped for a worryin' while, with the last place they mentioned bein' Tailfeather up in the Dravanian lands. Of course, we sent a team up to find 'em..." He rubbed the back of his head then, "An' what a time that was."

 Berrod Armstrong: "There were so many things -- a cave full o'gold dust. Talkin' to dragons...followin' the trail on a whole. The trail led to a white, magical coffin' with the words 'Let sleeping beasts lie' on it. Anybody who tried to tamper with the coffin got...frozen? Stilled -- though it came at a cost to the coffin's aether. With enough people triggerin' it, it eventually ran out, an' broke open."

 Milo North: "W..."

 Orion Llewelyn: "Nothin' like brute forcin' some magic."

 Milo North places his face into his hands, "You opened the magic box sayin' please dun open."

 Jancis Milburga: "And good we did." Her tone is sadder after the mention of gold dust.

 Tiergan Vashir visibly tenses up at this portion of the tale, shoulders locking. He glances back towards Jancis once before his jaw sets and he looks to Berrod again.

 Louma'li Jinjahl: "To be fair, at least we did it an' didn't die. Can't say if someone else woulda lived if they did the same."

 Berrod Armstrong rubbed at his face with one hand. "I'm glad I can just give the facts here now, because at the time it was confusin' as all hells. Breaker, as it turned out, had been jumped into by the Hartsald-wearer. It was a bad combination, because Breaker himself was fused with a prismatic crystal an' powerful as all hells. Not only that, but in tryin' to resist the thing tryin' to ride him, he unleashed -- well, a beast, is the best way to put it. Y'all would be interested to know that one Mountain Shadow showed up, yellin' at the team for openin' the coffin. He looked pretty chewed up. Even lost consciousness, I think."

 Cerina Borlaaq gave a very audible grunt of pure /disgust/ at the mention of Mountain, however, she didn't say anything about it.

 Orion Llewelyn finished off what remained of his drink.

 Berrod Armstrong: "We know now that Rookmin and Breaker had found the other twin -- Sumintra, which is when the...thing...jumped from her to him. Apparently Mountain was on their trail an' used that coffin thing to subdue the thing -- which we opened. Ah well. Anyroad...there was a fight. Details...don't matter. There was a fight that we won. Autgar managed to kill the thing...for good. Breaker was safe, though the twins were missin' still. Both of 'em this time."

 Jancis Milburga glances back at Martin briefly before gazing at Tiergan for awhile, silently echoing Berrod's words.

 Milo North: "Course he put a cryptic phrase on the fuckin box instead of, I dunno, -something explainin' exactly what was inside-."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Mountain got extracted from the area an' we dealt with the fallout as we always do. Got some blessed quiet for a while after that. We needed it."

 Louma'li Jinjahl: "An' he wrote it in ways that only people versed in an arcane science could understand. Coulda gotten better results with a slab o' wood an' some paint."

 Orion Llewelyn: "That's got me wonderin' though. It /was/ quiet for a good bit. Us meetin' here though..."

 Orion Llewelyn: "does that mean somethin's happened?"

Berrod Armstrong: "Quiet couldn't last, I suppose, 'cause who else came marchin' up to our gates a few weeks later but Mountain himself, with the balls to ask us to -leave it all to him-. Didn't need to consult leadership to outright refuse that, no matter how much I'd like to wash my hands o'this stuff." He smiled at Orion then, "I'll get to that in a lil bit."

 Milo North: "Really. Is "There is an awful monster in here, this box is keeping it from killing you. No touch.' So hard? Fuckin' Mountain."

 Orion Llewelyn: "Wait, he came /here?/ What'd he want?"

 Orion Llewelyn: "Oh well, I guess you just said that." he leaned back again, slightly less agitated.

 Sarij Rahzersyn: "To be fair... even if he wrote that people would have opened it."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Aye. We said no an'...he was uh, awfully gracious an' decided that in the event of our refusal, -he- would leave it entirely to -us- instead. Apparently it'd be one or the other, so long as it meant we no longer clashed. So he officially withdrew from the matter, an' shared with us some information, includin' the whereabouts of some missin' people. The scholar, the twins, an' the Astrologian."

 Mholi'to Valrei offered the room a brief wave as he walked over to an open spot to stand. He was quiet for now as to catch up on the current conversation.

 Berrod Armstrong: "Apparently he'd convinced them all to withdraw from the whole ordeal, an' has managed to keep 'em safe in his own way." There was an unconvinced shrug from him, but he went on, "He also handed over his prismatic crystal -- the Scholar's faerie. We have three samples now."

 Cerina Borlaaq: "So it is only a matter of time before he tries to swoop in again." She huffed. "We should have just cut him down when he showed up at our doorstep."

 Orion Llewelyn: "He gave ya his faerie...?" Orion bunched up his brow.

 Berrod Armstrong: "Hmn. Oh -- aye, though it turned back into a chunk o'pretty crystal when it left his side."

 Orion Llewelyn ran a hand along his jaw, pensively, saying nothing further.

 Sarij Rahzersyn: "Kindly keep murder plans to yerself. Mountain is a company owner of a known company and on the level in the terms of the governing bodies."

 Sarij Rahzersyn: "I don't feel like going infront of a judge again."

 Milo North: "I ain't sayin' anything about killin'. I'm thinkin' it real loudly though."

 Cerina Borlaaq: "I did not ask for your assistance, Sarij. But do not make this company bend to him again."

Berrod Armstrong: "Speakin' of which, couple folks from here parleyed with 'im an' made some requests, one o'which he granted." Very carefully did he pull an envelope from between the pages of the book he'd been reading his notes from. The envelope was handed across to Autgar, though in stretching to do so, Berrod held it dangerously close to the candle's flame. "Ah -- shite, whoops. There y'go."

 Bayan Dataq was starting to wonder why everyone was talking about some mountain. And why everyone hated a geographical feature.

 Natja Bafsk peers over at the envelope questioningly.

 Autgar Bloode plucked up the letter and held it infront of him on the table without a word.

 Dylan Skye: "...What is that, Autgar?"

 Orion Llewelyn leaned back forward, eyes shifting toward the envelope as well and then to Autgar.

 Orion Llewelyn: "Aye, what he said."

 Mholi'to Valrei took a few steps closer to Autgar to peek over the man's large shoulders out of curiosity.

 Sarij Rahzersyn: "I am saying.... stay the hells away from 'em and not deal wtih em, so if as ya think he tries tah get his fingers involved wit us... we got solid feet undah us rather than having the Immortal Flames kicking in the door again to arrest folks."

 Autgar Bloode elbowed Oli. "We can talk about it when were all caught up."

 Bayan Dataq 's eyes shot open, and then he looked to Orion for clarification. “What kind of company was this anyroad?"

 Mholi'to Valrei frowned as he was lightly jabbed. "Fine, fine," he grumbled. His curiosity still burned bright, but his eyes were forced back towards Sarij. "Honestly, the best thing to do in my opinion would be whatever the hells we intended to do before he showed up. Regardless of what he's offerin'. He smells like trouble."

 Louma'li Jinjahl looked on skeptically as this was unfolding. He didn't have history with Shadow, but at this rate, he was hating him just out of spite.

 Cerina Borlaaq: "That has certainly worked for us in the past when it comes to dealing with him, yes? Because he has not managed to weasel himself into the company, and out of what ever--" she waved her hand in front of her in frustration, "solid ground you are talking about. Figured you would know that better than anyone else."

 Sarij Rahzersyn: "This company is not a wetworks." Sarij replied simply. "Berrod feel free tah continue."

 Cerina Borlaaq scoffed loudly, but decided not to press on.

 Autgar Bloode was scanning over the letter before he returned it to the envelope and rested it on the table infront of him.

 Berrod Armstrong nodded at Autgar, then at Sarij. "I agree that we have to be careful. He's got a legitimate thing going an' -if- he means us ill, which I'll never rule out, he's gonna get us tangled up in a lotta legal shite before the final blow. Either way -- if he says he's out, I agree with Oli there...we press on like he's not around. Granted...it might mean followin' some of his...advice."

 Soyer Perera: "And what's wrong with that?"

 Jancis Milburga nods in agreement. "Coincidence."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Or rather, followin' his methods. He said that he wanted to dissipate the crystals by givin' their aether to the land -- it's why Breaker was put in that coffin, to drain him of the prismatic aether he'd been fused with -- and contain that thing inside him too."

 Soyer Perera: "Provided it doesn't harm anyone or the land itself--we have enough mages here to confirm if the method would actually put it back into the land, right?"

Mholi'to Valrei: "Then make sure that information is verified independently somewhere else. Facts are facts, regardless of who's sayin' it. Are you sure that it's the best method, all things considered?"

 Berrod Armstrong: "So we have three samples. I want us to begin lookin' into ways to gettin' these crystals smelted down into the land, for lack of a better term. Once we find a way to do it safely, that's how we'll handle any o' the prisms we come into contact with goin' forward."

 Berrod Armstrong: "Aye, those things are a menace in man's hands."

 Mholi'to Valrei nodded back. "A broken clock's right twice a day."

[suwanbuwan]

Suwan traveled to the Fringes. He went to support his boss Berrod Armstrong who was running the Levinfist Tournament. Suwan saw a grand gathering when he arrived at the Schism. Pugilists, Monks and various warriors gathered in large numbers to partake in the tournament. Several non adventurers were there as spectators as well.

The crowd listened to Berrod making his tournament announcements. Suddenly the Monk coughed out blood and collapsed in front of everyone. Suwan was unsuccessful in awakening Berrod with his Magicks. Instinctively the youthful looking mage took charge asking the other Astral Advent Agents to help.

Mass confusion and panic took over the large crowd as a sword wielding man fell from the sky and began attacking people. Several other terrorists appeared all around and started attacking everyone. It was complete chaos. Suwan reactively cast a shield around himself and Berrod’s body. He coordinated with Autgar, Balthius and nearby strangers to get the injured and civilians into the Schism temple. Suwan then sealed the entrance with his Magicked Barriers.

Several of the casters and warriors stood guard outside his magicked barrier. In front of the temple entrance the sword wielding terrorist summoned an army of shield wielding maidens. Working together with strangers Suwan directed those capable to protect the innocent and injured. The impromptu group of mages and warriors held the line under Suwan’s tactical command. The group kept the host of attackers out of the temple. Meanwhile inside Balthius watched over Berrod’s body while strangers helped sustain and heal the injured civilians.

A grand battle raged on across the battlefield in front of the Schism temple. Spells and explosions visibly scattering across the scarred Fringes. Several monks, ninjas, warriors, healers and casters working together to fight off and defeat the army of terrorists. As the battle at the temple entrance found a pause, Suwan quickly directed those able to care for Berrod’s body. Working with his new allies Suwan led the injured and civilians out of the temple to the nearest settlement. As Suwan left the Schism, he could still see explosions and battle raging on in the distance. He prayed to the Heavens for everyone’s safety. His focus was now to get the civilians to shelter.

@astraladvent @berrodtherapscallion @balthius-stark

@zac-of-all-blades

[berryarmstrong]

It started as an easy enough evening. Autgar stopped by to see Berrod at the Agency estate for some counsel, and maybe some adventure. The two talked in the yard for a bit, joined by Ravn, who was tending to the lawn. From there they went into the leve lounge to pick up a small job to test themselves against. It turned out to be some tempered Amalj'aa management down in Sagolii, which they both quite looked forward to.

They took chocobos out to the Forgotten Springs and trekked south from there. The entire time Berrod had been antsy, but refused to answer Autgar's prodding as to why. The Amalj'aa camp came into view -- but by then Berrod was sure that they had been followed. The pair turned to see three figures on the dunes -- a Roegadyn and two Highlander Hyur. The latter were dressed in black temple attire, while the Roegadyn was dressed in an inky tantra; their master.

Autgar dismissed Berrod's suggestion that he run away, and was determined to face them head on. Unfortunately, the Roegadyn was strong enough to disable Berrod instantly, and left his subordinates to battle against Autgar. The Highlander fought well with both his impressive fist weapons and his sole chakra; he managed to fend the monks off for a time. He stood defiantly before the Roegadyn master and turned down the invitation to join them. Not only that, but he told the Roegadyn that he wouldn't stand for him dragging his crumpled teacher away.

The Roegadyn decided to make sure that Autgar could not stand at all, and put him down in the same fashion he had done to Berrod. It was a complete and utter defeat -- a hopeless situation that only compounded when his students got up and pushed through their own injuries with the power of their own chakras. Yet...the men were neither killed, nor dragged off. The Roegadyn simply warned Autgar that he was learning under a heathen and a liar, and that his own tutelage had much, much more to offer. The trio left the pair there, collapsed on the sand. When they were gone, the two Highlanders found themselves no longer incapacitated. For everything that had happened, they were both physically fine -- but pride had taken a major blow.

On the way home, Autgar demanded that Berrod stop keeping secrets from him, and Berrod agreed to tell him everything. He called up N'hara, and along with Ulfar, they had a little chat...

[jancisstuff]

Remembrance of the Fallen

Nald’Thal 2020

The area has been cleared of debris with a few large blankets spread out for folks to sit together. Baskets of lilies and cowry shells randomly set about the riverbank. A couple incensorys are up wind, the soft aroma of local herbs notable in the incense adding to the serenity by the riverside.

"I thought only of my failure... and not the promise I made to her that day... to protect those in need of protection, save those that could be saved, and seek justice for those that cannot..." 

“Today I want to make sure that they know that we will remember them, and we wish them a good rest. That we will place their books back onto the shelves, and speak their history so that they are no longer forgotten."

“Hope we meet again someday, somewhere."

“On this sun I mourn their loss, exalt their memories; those we could not save."

"I carry you with me...but I must move forward, for us all...." 

"I did not bring any items. Only memories for the waters to claim if they'd have them.”

“Who I speak of was someone I barely knew yet, I could have easily been on his path of life.”

"We are meant to cry. Our lives are filled with both sad and happy memories. We are not meant to dwell. In these tears we shed, we do so willingly. For all our lives. What a curious thing that our lives are more than one." 

“Every day, I see the wisdom in his words--when I speak with members of this free company--their zest for their interests, their love of food and song and clothes and hobbies and magic--everything you all have laid your hands to breaths with your love for it.”

[gregoshorner]

Double or Nothing Casino - Triple Triad (1/2)

Thank you to the Astral Advent and our hosts, Clover Greenwoode and Gigimai Zuzumai! Gregos had fun helping out the Triple Triad Tournament. (1/2). Here are all of the participants (sorry if I missed anyone!).

[aethericgeometry]

I am also here to jump in and have a True Black deck reading for my character Autgar Bloode. "What does the future hold for me and most importantly, those near and dear to me?"

The High Priestess crossed by Strength is a situation that will be resolved through the application of thought. Your mind and your intuition are your power here.

The Page of Swords as your Goal is a clean, sharp stroke through the clinging darkness, clearing the way.

The 10 of Wands as your Foundation was a crushing burden that you had been carrying for so long you could not remember a time when it was otherwise.

The Queen of Cups in your Past was a tender and nurturing figure, someone who others gravitate towards because of her almost instinctual understanding of their problems.

The King of Wands in your Future is a glorious and determined figure, striding confidently forward and sweeping the world along in his wake.

You are the 4 of Swords, having spent yourself in pursuit of your goals and needing time to catch a breath. There is no shame in resting.

The 4 of Cups in your Environment is a quiet space, a calm space, somewhere tucked away from all the noise and activity where you can consider who you are and what you want.

The Knight of Swords in your Emotions is the urge to strike, without hesitation or thought. The target is before you and any hesitation may cost you this opportunity.

Judgement is a time of atonement. The wicked shall be cast down for their crimes, and old transgressions shall be addressed. But forgiveness can be just as proper an outcome as punishment.

[sarijrahzersyn]

Time seemed to tick by far too slowly for the Agents as they waited at the abandoned mines for the appointed bell. Men and women slowly trickled in until a large chunk of the Agency stood at the end of the long forgotten valley. Milo North, Berrod Armstrong, Cerina Borlaaq, N’hara Tia, Reks Blanc, Garyn Almos, Tiergan Vashir, Kariun Gallek, Crooked Tarot, Viktor Harlenk, Sergei Harlenk, Su Mindwalker, Erioch Koren, Dylan Skye, Autgar Bloode, Relavel Outtlaw, Avenio Naemig, and Kitakaze Mugenkagami stood before Director Sarij Rahzersyn as he gave what would be his final speech to the Astral Agency.

"This will be the last briefing of the Astral Agents. I think ya all fer coming and fer putting yer necks and yer freedom on the line." The Roegadyn spoke clearly to the group. "Some of ya are new tah the group, some of ya have been around since the beginning, but we are all here at the end of this all."

"The outlook fer the company ain't rosy, I ain't gonna lie to anyone on that. However, we ain't here about to attack an Immortal Flame's base fer that. We are putting an end to Iron Jaw to protect everyone's future even it ain't with Astral Agency. When I say everyone, I don't just mean all of you, myself, or those not with us from the company, I mean every person that Iron Jaw might go for next. We were not the first and if we don't act we won't be the last."

"We have the knowledge and the means tah stop him, to step away from that is cowardice and we might as well be shoving the dagger into the back of the next group he grooms for his use. Even if we fail here, we are doing the right thing as our own choice."

"When this company was first formed, it  was lie to every member recruited. It was a tool for another group's gain. Every job, every mission, every victory and loss was to serve people outside of the company.  We fought and bled for something none of us were knowingly involved with, but when we found out we fought and bled to escape the lie and being a mere tool."

"And we succeeded."

"But Iron Jaw tried to once again turn us into that lie... that tool, but this time our eyes were open and we were not deceived. At the end of this company, I am proud to say we are not a lie and we are not some power craven man's tool. We will end the company in an act that is true to the company's name."

"The Astral eras are ones of hope, peace, and prosperity, where the weak are protected and taught to be strong. Where the bounty of life is shared and friends and family share joy and hope. This mission is not one of revenge. This is the Astral Agency carrying out one final mission to prove all our past failures and umbral dips wrong. We will bring hope, we will bring peace, and we will bring joy."

"We will do this by putting an end to a man would would rob everyone of that joy and peace for his own gain. I ask you all one last time to march under the banner of the Astral Agency and carry out what our name means ONE LAST TIME."

Once he concluded, Sarij Rhazersyn stepped back into the group and handed command to Berrod Armstrong to command the tactics. Berrod explained that Sarij would be running interference to the north so that their attack on Camp Bluefog would not be interrupted by the greater forces from the Ceruleum Processing Plant after the initial assault Tiergan Vashir, Viktor Harlenk and Kariun Gallek would move to support him, hopefully before he was overwhelmed.

The attack would lead with the casters and Garyn taking out the Immortal Flame’s sentry’s with sleeping spells and drugged arrows. Then a second group would engage the response while a final group charged through the preoccupied forces to find Iron Jaw and kill him. He was the only target and the only person supposed to be killed. Berrod knew there was not much else he could plan for ahead of the actual attack so he made it clear everyone needs to be ready to adapt and shift as needed.  The highland would also try his best to shout out directions as he could even through the the linkshell blackout. The Astral Agency member’s grabbed their share of Viktor Harlenk’s emergency potions and began the march to what would be their final battlefield.

The initial skirmish at the gates had to be timed perfectly with Berrod activating the Aetheryte nullifier and linkpearl disruptors. Reks and Dylan worked in tandem to create and spread a harmless mist that knocked out sentries up high, while Su Mindwalker forced a guard to sleep with a mix of barriers and sleep magic. Unfortunately, Garyn’s mark was able to get out a shout before he too was taken down, this time by drugged dart. At the same time Berrod activated both Aetheryte nullifier and linkpearl disruptors. The Aetheryte in Camp Bluefog went dark and the fizzing of pearls sent the camp into chaos. Civilians fled quickly as the soldiers armed themselves and got into position.

The Astral Agency split into four groups. Autgar, Rel, and Dylan took to the western gate where they were met with four soldiers. Crooked and Garyn took to the cliffs to try to get into a higher position to get a view of the battleground. Berrod, Reks, Milo, and Su stayed outside of the eastern gate to provide ranged support and direction. Avenio led the charge disrupting their defenses enough Erioch, Cerina, and Kita to charge through with N’hara following in support and Sergei taking care to make sure the Immortal Flames were removed from combat with little harm to them.

It soon became clear that the Immortal Flames were not very crippled by the lack of linkpearls, someone was marking Agents for archers and soldiers to attack. Iron Jaw with a squadron of archers stood on a ridge. The Flame Marshal was not doing anything other than marking targets while the archers took aim.The agents unfortunately were forced into the courtyard of the camp and range of the archers by the presence of a mage preparing a powerful spell at the Aetheryte.

Crooked Tarot attempted to try to get to Iron Jaw to disrupt the marking before he could outflank the Agents, but quickly discovered that his highground path was blocked by a barrier and retreated to go support Milo, Berrod, and Su as Reks headed into the courtyard. Milo and Sergei quickly started working on the barrier to get to the archers and clear the path to Iron Jaw.

Garyn, Koh, and Avenio attempted to disable mage, but discovered the second robed individual had erected a powerful barrier to protect them. The Agents were helpless to but watch the spell complete and every member of Astral Agency be marked by Iron Jaw and a fireball explode outward from the spell hunt them down regardless where they stood.

Autgar, Rel, and Dylan were quickly able to disable the four soldiers in their way, one even surrendered before he could be hurt. Their victory was interrupted by fireballs pelting them and forcing them to see cover under the ridge in a tunnel leading to the main camp.

Erioch, Kita, and Cerina were dealing with two final soldiers guarding the base of the ridge leading up to Iron Jaw when they too were pelted with fireballs, but shielding set up by Su, Reks, and N’hara kept them from harm. Though Koh was not so lucky, taking a fireball to the back and being forced to retreat. Those remaining outside of the camp suffered minor injuries from the fireballs as well.

One by one the rest of the soldiers were dealt with, and the barrier was shattered. It left the battlefield consisting of just the Astral Agency and Iron Jaw. However, something loomed high above the battlefield. The Flame Marshal retreated to the top of the ridge and in his steps aether exploded upward until he reached the apex. Iron Jaw raised his sword skyward called out ot the heavens

“IRYNWILF’S GRYMGRINA VERBRACHEN DER MAETI.”

A great, glowing visage of a iron jawed wolf pushed its head through the clouds. Its growl shook the earth as it stared down at every member of the Astral Agency. Something terrible was to come. Sergei Harlenk had heard of Iron Jaw possessing battle turning ability, but never imagined it as such, and the highlander quickly went about gathering the fallen Immortal Flames and putting all his aether into a shield to protect himself and the unconscious and wounded.

The Agents suffered a mix of awe and fear, but quickly made to defend themselves from whatever was to come. Dylan raised stone from the ground on both sides of the tunnel to seal Rel, Autgar and himself inside a protective coffin. N’hara exerted the last of his aether to create a shield around Koh, Cerina, Eiroch, and Avenio. Su and Crooked created barriers around themselves, Milo and Berrod. Garyn attempted to hide. Milo tried to directly attack the wolf, while Kita attempted one last strike on Iron Jaw as Reks ran to the Raen’s aid to shield him as well.

The tsunami of earth aether ripping down from the sky as the wolf howled destroyed the linkpearl disruptors and the aetheryte nullifier. Even the aetheryte, as it reactivated, changed to a brilliant gold as it was flushed with earth aether. The opaque aether concealed the battlefield and when it passed Iron Jaw was no longer on the ridge, but standing in the middle of the camp ready for a final battle, though his eyes revealed the man was quite overloaded in aether

Once the storm had passed and Berrod saw where Iron Jaw stood and called for everyone to take him out before he could do anything. Like locus the Agents descended upon Iron Jaw. Koh, Avenio, and Cerina closed the gap to bury their weapons into the man. Autgar kept his distance but used aether to simulate heavy punches toward the Roegadyn. From up high Garyn fired an aethericly wrapped arrow, and Rek fired high speed water projectiles down at Iron Jaw. Both Su and Eiroch took shots with magic and bullets.

However, instead of bleeding wounds every blast against the Flame Marshal left glowing scars that radiated the same earthen aether that had flooded the battlefield just prior. But the time the Agent’s rally finished against the man, he laughed.

“Funny, here I am robbing all of you of that final blow you crave… not because of some sick pride, but just because of bad luck.”

The man exploded, sending a few limbs across the camp, while the core of his body and his head became coated in earth crystals and he fell to the ground. Dead. Iron Jaw was dead. The Astral Agency had won.

The shift went from combat to mending the wounded and trying to calm down Cerina who had gone ballistic from N’hara’s aetheric boost to her. However, when Iron Jaw fell the foreign aether in the Aetheryte finished being bled out and the crystal regained its bright blue, unfortunately that also meant that Immortal Flames soldiers started to teleport into the camp ready to take down the Agents.

From the north a large squadron of chocobo riders quickly closed in on the camp, led by Flame Marshal Jute. She was a notoriously no nonsense Lalafell officer who would have no qualms putting down the Agents if they resisted. Thankfully, Berrod and Sergei quickly directed everyone to surrender even as Viktor, Sarij, Tiergan, and Kariun’s bloodied bodies were dropped onto the ground. The distraction team was still alive but not in the best shape.

One by one the Astral Agency was cuffed and filed off to Ul’dah and a waiting courtroom. Cerina, Eiroch, and Aveino were given time to have the Xaela calm down from a rage, as if the Flame Mashal recognized it. Eventually, every Agent was carted off to a stuffy courtroom with Judge Burnt Ash.

It was courtroom Milo and Berrod had been before for Balthius’s trial, but this time the entire  Astral Agency present at for the mission was on trial. The judge quickly began the trial, having already received much of the Agent’s defense from documents dropped off by Lurial and Gideon in careful timing shortly before the Astral Agency’s arrest. One by one every man and woman was brought up to the bench of state their name and affiliation with the Astral Agency. Once they answered they were asked to plea innocent or guilty to the characters of with open assault on Immortal Flames soldiers, assassination of Flame Marshal Iron Jaw, and sabotage of Immortal Flame property. Viktor and Sergei Harlenk had slightly different charges or were not charged due to not being at Camp Bluefog and being an officer of the Immortal Flames.

Every member plead guilty, but before sentencing the Judge allowed Berrod to make a case as to why they should not be sentenced to death or gaol for life. The highland approached the bench and made an impassioned speech on how the Agents merely did what was right for Ul’dah, the Immortal Flames, and Eorzea. How had they not acted against Iron Jaw, his greed would have grown and twisted into worse deeds and crippled more companies. He claimed if the court put them to death the court was just as vile as the deeds Iron Jaw had performed out of sight of the Immortal Flames. Once Berrod was done, Judge Burnt Ash gave the Astral Agency’s sentence.

“Permanent dissolution of the Astral Agency company and a fine of five hundred million gil for damages and other crimes against Ul’dah, the Immortal Flames, and Eorzea. First payment will be due in one sennight If payment cannot be made the former Astral Agency members will be arrested and made to work in mines and other labor sources until the fine is paid.”

Berrod maintained a calm demeanor for the moment. Some of the Agents were relieved, some were almost nonchalant, others were in a panic about the sheer amount of gil, but all were free to go. One by one people departed, though Sergei was escorted off for his own tribunal. Eventually, it was just a few and Berrod Armstrong nearly broke down before he too left the courtroom.

Astral Agency.

The company he and so many had been with for so long.

Had ended.

@astralagency @19peopleattheeventholyshit