«rp» Fate's Eye [7/7] ~arc 3~

@3DSMate

————It felt like Jand was waking from a long, long dream.

He sat up inside the massive earth structure he had been sleeping in, a seven-meter radius crater in the forest, with trees facing outwards and preventing things from passing. Earth pillars rose up, covering the sky somewhat from above threats, but because they were placed in the crater, they couldn't be noticed from the surrounding area unless people got close.

Jand stretched, sucking in the morning air. It has been nearly 20 years since he had delved into this forest—observing the forest, the villages that surrounded it, sometimes protecting it from witchfiend threats that often rose in the area every year.

And over this 20 years, he had also been training with his earth magic, developing it to the point his amount of mana and the scale of magic had expanded five times from the start. He could even use a lot of time and effort to create incredibly hardened earth into crystals that could be used to make things like weapons.

He stood up, scanning the area with his Divine Blessing of Earth Detection. His maximum area was 100 meters, where he could catch very basic sounds. About 30 meters close, he would be able to differentiate and identify the sources of the sounds.

———and his slow day would start.

Around afternoon after hunting some witchfiends, he heard unusual sounds in the road that run down towards the merchant town Fleur outside the forest: it was a side road that was used if one wanted to avoid the main road, the Lifaus Highway. Not many people passed this road.

But today, he heard over five.....no, six dragon carriages running down the road, huddled in a group.

Curious, Jand approached the road as the group came close, capturing the small sounds. Conversations between the men, heavy breathings of the earth dragons, rustling of the items that were on the carriages......

And....... sounds of cries of young children inside the carriages.

Slave traffickers....? Jand thought. Though he was away from civilisation, he still knew that this country forbid slavery. Maybe they were to be sent towards the Empire in the South. ————it wasn't like Jand hated humanity either, he made contact with them every once and then.

The group of potential traffickers slowed to a stop over 50 meters away in a clearing.

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@SansWolf

Andrei lifted his face just as his hearing caught sounds of rumblings on the earth he had grown accustomed to hearing—sounds of dragon carriages. But this time, it seemed to be in a large group.

He was resting in a clearing in the forest, which was often used as a resting area in the road that went to the town of Fleur. He often used this road to reach Fleur as it was a quiet road with not much people passing through it. So it was rare seeing such a large group of six large carriages, which was sliding to stops in the clearing.

Andrei's carriage and his dragon, Ludo, were placed so that they were hidden from the group's sights initially. As the men got off their carriages, they finally noticed his presence.

Andrei lifted a hand as a fellow merchant, but did no more. The men did not wave back, and instead turned their backs towards him.

Curious about their conversation, he sent one of his minions, a dead squirrel, towards the carriages, linking its hearing with his.

"————you said that there won't be anyone in this road!"

".....I didn't expect others to take this road. It's so minor."

"What should we do? If they see our merchandise, it can be a problem..."

"Should we kill them? We can take the carriage and hide the bodies in the forest."

"Yeah, that sounds like the best idea......"

Andrei sucks in a breath, then sends a second minion sliding into one of the carriages.

".......so that's what it is."

Inside the carriages huddled twelve children, wearing ragged worn-out clothes, chained together by cuffs. These men.... were slave traffickers.

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You haven't sustained much loss of stamina from the duel of Rujeld, plus, you have more energy store than average. You don't really have to worry about it.
**
Lucian took a step back, then swung up his left rapier with ease, parrying it. It was a small motion, but the strength behind the parry was very powerful. It showed the knight's unusual strength even with his slender body.

Ramadel let the momentum of the parry push him backwards, and he retreated. But as he retreated, the knight's other rapier shot forward immediately, aiming towards the side of his abdomen.

".....!!" Ramadel channeled extra energy through him so that he managed to avoid the attack at the last second. He landed slightly further away, shocked at the sudden movement of the knight.

"......magic?"

"Correct." Lucian smiled, waving his rapiers. The one he had shot forward burst into wind mana, and the orb on its pommel glowed green. "Spirits rest in these rapiers. I can indirectly use magic effects with these weapons." He said, releasing the wind magic. Ramadel pursed his lips——he guessed that the knight's rapiers didn't only use wind magic.

".....come on, can we use normal weapons?"

Lucian shrugged. "Haha. Sorry, this is a part of my strength as a knight." He said——then kicked forward. He lowered the tip of his left rapier to the ground, scratching its surface. Immediately, two earth pillars rose behind Ramadel, blocking his way of retreat. His other rapier burst into wind and shot towards Ramadel with increased speed.

 

How many men are there?

Andrei knowing he has to be careful to show his abilities would rather not fight these, men and hope to catch them by surprise and scare them.
He jumps down from the carriage and slowly starts walking over to them. His expression cold and shaking his head.
"Now. Now... There's no reason to get violent. *very short pause to let them consider for a second, but cutting then off from any longer thoughts* I can't exactly just let you continue though. I'm a merchant you see, and I despise people like you. Trading people for your own benefit. You disgust me!"
Andrei's expression is still cold, however it changes to a small, knowing and superior smile: "Do know, that if you choose to attack me, I will enjoy every second of it."
As he finishes the sentence he opens his mouth slightly revealing a mouth full of long sharp teeth and a far too long and acute tongue which he slowly runs along his lips.
This last for little more than a second though.
"Do the safe thing, just scurry off like the filth you are." he says smiling showing his mouth that is once again completely normal.


Andrei hopes that he has shocked the merchants enough by

1. Knowing they were gonna kill him.
2. Knowing about their trade.
3. Acting superior
4. Scaring them with his abilities.
   1. Also not giving them time to realise what just happened.
   2. Making them doubt what they just saw, by changing back quickly after.

Not giving them a lot of time to process anything he is saying or doing before adding more to confuse them should help.
He does however know that it might not work because without their trade they have no money. He just hopes they value their life and fear him more than they value money.

 

"If I can't retreat back, then I'll just have to advance forward!!"
Lunging towards him, I bring the sword up for a slash and ready my other hand on my daggers for a thrust.
A sudden 7x burst in speed should allow me to both avoid his strike and suprise him with the hit.
-----
How good is my water magic?

 

Continue to watch the traffickers. It is always good to see what they are doing before making an action.

 

I quietly whisper to Gren “that kid said something about a Whitewhale and gluttony...” before I could wait for him to respond and I walked up to the boy
“Did you say something about a whitewhale?” I ask him

 

".....thank you, Angela." Estelle nodded as she held hands with Angela for a while, then straightened her back and turned towards Carol. ".....Knight Carol. I apologise for involving you in the problems of our camp."

"Please don't worry about it." Carol said, smiling warmly at Angela. "I am relieved a friend figured out the situation between her and her master."

The knight then straightened and faced Estelle. "Lady Estelle Belstain, I have come in representation of King Candidate Lady Alice as her knight for negotiations."

"Alice...... that silver-haired girl, huh...." Estelle seemed to think for a moment.

"Lady Estelle..... do you not like her because of her appearance?" Angela asked, looking a bit sad.

"Hm? No, that is not it. I judge people as they are, so her appearance is a minor concern for me." Estelle said, then looked back at Carol. "So is it correct to perceive that this conversation is one that is done between the representatives of the two King Candidate camps, and the terms spoken is the overall will of their camps?"

Carol nodded. "That is correct."

".....is that so." Estelle closed her eyes——then opened them. At that moment her atmosphere changed altogether, and her new stature gave a kingly impression to others. Carol felt sweat roll down her back——So this is the individual in the whole Kingdom who is the closest to the throne.......

"I dislike the overglorified expressions of nobles..... let us speak straight."

Carol nodded. "Yes..... Lady Alice proposes to form an alliance between the Alice Camp and Estelle Camp on equal terms."

Estelle nodded, as if she had expected those words. "......and?"

Carol reached into her bag, taking out a stack of paper bound together, and handed it to Estelle.

"One of the conditions we can offer is the partial mining rights to the magic stones inside Mathers Land, as stated in the document." Carol explained.

Even Angela understood that this was extremely valuable; magic stones were extremely rare and expensive items, and their mining rights greatly increased an organisation's financial powers.

Estelle, after handing the document to Fourier, sighed lightly. ".....as expected of Margrave Roswaal. She has ensured that her gains are high while proposing a very profitable condition to us......." She looked up, and narrowed her eyes. ".....however.......... I would have to decline the proposal."

________________________________

Kayde shook his head at Rathius. "I understand how you feel. But too much is at stake right now, and we can't afford to....."

James suddenly tensed beside the two of them, just as someone had walked up towards them.

A young man with brown-black hair, one eye red and the other blue. With his light black leather armour and weapons hung on his waist, they could tell he was no ordinary citizen.

"......did you say something about the White Whale?"

".....!!" Kayde took a step back shocked, instinctively placing a hand on the hilt of his sword. Rathius and James both went alert as well.

________________________________

"A-ah......!?"

The merchants—five of them— stepped back from Andrei as he showed them his fangs.

"—a demi-human? What the hell is he?"

"How the hell did he know about the merchandise....??"

"Tch..... what a bother...."

Andrei stepped forward, and the traffickers with their expressions tense retreated back——except for one person.

"Ah? You seem confident about yourself?"

It was a man in his mid-thirties with many scars, with dark rough hair and beard. He wore relaxed clothes and light leather armour, on his back a sword.

The man grinned. "Don't underestimate the residents of the underworld, eh?" He spat, then drew his sword.

As he readied for battle, Andrei knew by instinct that the man was highly skilled just from his stance. He was someone who couldn't be underestimated.

The four traffickers readied their respective swords and daggers behind the man, but they didn't seem as confident as the first man.

________________________________

The traffickers seemed to have stopped in the clearing. There was one other carriage, and its seeming owner was being confronted by the armed traffickers.
(basically my reply for SansWolf)

________________________________

Not very good. Minor healing magic, but not much for battle.

".....!!"

Ramadel's maximum makes him seem like he had travelled in an instant. However with crazy reaction speed Lucian changed the direction of his wind magic to the left, attacking Ramadel from the side. The force alone wasn't enough to stop Ramadel(though it slowed him) and the boy thrust his dagger forward. Lucian's wind blast had also pushed the knight back as well, and the thrust barely cut his skin before he lunged backwards and landed a few meters away.

Lucian touched the place where his skin had scraped, then turned to Ramadel with an impressed smile. "...that is your Divine Blessing, isn't it? You're really strong."

Ramadel barely smiled back weakly before he recovered from the aftershock of his sudden energy outburst. He re-readied his weapons.

Lucian readied his two rapiers as well. "Well then.... as a senior and a Royal Knight, I guess I'll have to go serious...."

"O-oi, don't kill him?" Rujeld asked as he stepped back.

"Of course not." Lucian smiled somewhat mischievously. It seemed like he would wait until Ramadel attacked.

 

"I'm sorry. That's trusted information only for our ears."

 

Quickly sheath the sword in favor of the two daggers. Smile. And just straight up rush him.
Keep an eye on his weapon to parry them until I get to a range where my daggers can reach and his rapiers are innefficient.
Adding random 2x speeds should break the tempo enough to hive me a slight advantage. I'll see how much I can capalize on that.

 

"May I ask why?" Ask out of curiosity, seen as the deal seems good to me.

 

"No need to cause a scene" I say quietly with an arrogant grin on my face, "I just want to know, did you say something about a White Whale"

 

Try my best to sneak up on the traffickers, once near one of the traffickers grab one.
It would be best to resolve this fight without violence so gaining a hostage can end this quickly.
(Do I have my warhammer with me?)

 

"Yes, who's asking?" I take good look at the boy.

 

"Hm. Interesting."

Lucian muttered as he stepped back, blocking Ramadel's irregular and quick attacks with his two rapiers. Ramadel felt sweat form upon his brow—Lucian was dealing with his attacks with only his techniques. His rapier touched the edge of Ramadel's dagger just as it approached the knight, and with minimal effort the dagger was pushed away from its trajectory in a flowing motion.

Just as Ramadel understood that Lucian was more skilled in defence than offence, his counterattack came. A quick stab out of nowhere, at a blinding speed sped up by wind magic—— Ramadel could not dodge it fully; the tip of Lucian's rapier ran across Ramadel's abdomen, and a shockwave of wind blew the boy away to the ground.

He had lost.

Lucian, panting slightly, lowered his two rapiers, then sheathed his wind rapier. He walked up and offered a hand to Ramadel.

"Good game," he said. His other rapier, which was used for earth magic, glowed blue on its pommel. A warm blue mana flowed through Ramadel, and healed his light wounds.

 

Estelle crossed her fingers before her. "The rights for mining is indeed a great offer. However, it is not necessary for our Camp's runnings— and I would rather want to prevent making debts to another noble house, even if the Mathers House is backing up Lady Alice. Tying bonds with the Alice Camp will also mean opposition from those who fear Lady Alice's appearance——the offer is not devoid of demerits. This is a matter that can waver the future of the Kingdom— it cannot be accepted lightly."

"........it is as you say, Lady Estelle." Carol said. "I guess things won't go as easy......."

Estelle smiled wryly. "I apologise, Knight Carol. I am glad you understand...... if so, is that all? I am not free all the time as the Head of the Belstain House, so I will be........."

"Please wait." Carol said, a slight anxiousness in her voice. Estelle lifted an eyebrow and stopped.

Carol breathed deeply—then faced Estelle again. "We—the Alice Camp—have another offer we can present to you."

Estelle sat down back into her chair. She narrowed her eyes, then nodded. "Go on."

Carol looked a bit towards the old butler, Siegfried Trias, before looking at Estelle again.

"........we have information on the next appearance of the White Whale."

"..........!!"

The Estelle Camp's reactions varied.

Angela, who knew of it, nodded as to emphasise Carol's claim. Fourier frowned suspiciously. Fenri whistled lightly. Estelle had her eyes slightly widened, seemingly surprised. And Siegfried———

"———!!!!!"

A deadly aura filled the air, sending shivers down Angela's back. She looked around the room and realised it was the old man emitting the sharp aura. Angela understood that this aura was something that could only be emitted by those who have reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship—— Angela had only felt a similar aura from the «Sword Saint» Alexander, and a little from Carol herself.

And at that moment, Angela truly understood the power of the old man, whom she had only met a few times—he was stronger than any other Royal Knights she had seen. (of course excluding Sword Saint)

And such man was silently vibrating with killing intent after hearing Carol's words.

________________________________

(Yes you do have your warhammer)
@SansWolf
***

But before Jand could interfere, the man facing Andrei rushed forward with his sword—and in an immense speed cut down towards Andrei. He managed to lift his arm just as the sword reached him——his arm was dissected until the blade stopped halfway in Andrei's arm.

No blood flowed from the wound. The man's eyes widened in shock as he saw the phenomenon.

Andrei took a step back, releasing the sword, and repairing his half-severed arm. The man seemed confused—then turned to one of the men standing behind him.

"Tch! You! Go get one of 'em, a hostage!"

Andrei understood that they were trying to use one of the slaves as a hostage against him, and he tried to intercept the man——

Before a massive earth wall appeared before the trafficker, knocking him back greatly and blocking the way towards the carriages.

And a three-meter giant appeared, holding a massive warhammer, from behind the earth wall. The other three traffickers made cries of fear upon seeing the giant, while the man facing Andrei gritted his teeth and made clear his killing intent towards Andrei once more.

 

“My name’s Isaac, what did you say about a White Whale?”

 

The two colour-eyed boy narrowed his eyes threateningly, getting impatient.

Kayde laid his hand over his bracelet that would turn into a shield if activated. "It must be a mistake. Please excuse us." He said, quietly. "As you said, we do not want to cause a scene."

Isaac bit his lip. "And I heard you," He said, raising his voice; "you mentioned the White Whale——what are you....."

"..........Ooh, calm down, Isaac." Gren touched Isaac from the back, appearing without them noticing him approach. "Your powers are unstable, you better not use them here...."

Isaac nodded grimly. "I know."

Gren turned to the three of them. "Haha. I'm sorry that this guy troubled you——" His expression froze as soon as he saw Kayde.

Kayde's eyes widened. "Gren? Gren Walker?"

".....Kayde. It's been some time." Gren said, narrowing his eyes towards the boy. ".....so that's what it is. You guys are the ones who were framed by the Cultists and joined the Alice Camp, right?"

".....how did you know that?" Rathius asked.

"Gren's an information broker, and at the same time a former Royal Knight. He's.... helped me in the past." Kayde explained, though his expression didn't clear. ".....who's he?"

"Him?" Gren patted Isaac's shoulder and laughed. "He's Isaac, my acquaintance from my time as a knight and my customer.... We're looking for «Gluttony» whom I encountered in the Uprising few days ago."

"I-is that so."

Gren narrowed his eyes again, seeming amused. ".....I was actually looking for you, Kayde Ferris. Encountered the Witch Cultists in the Uprising, arrested, taken into the Alice Camp, joined the fight against the Sphinx, and came into contact with «Gluttony» and «Greed» underground...... and you seem to know about the location of «Gluttony» and one of the three great witchfiends, the White Whale......" Gren smiled——and at the same time Kayde felt a chill go down his spine.

Gren Walker knew too much. Even Isaac seemed surprised at Gren's store of information. Kayde was shocked, but not surprised, as he knew Gren was that kind of a man.

But at the same time knew that they would not escape. Gren Walker was too smart for that.

"You see, I have a personal grudge against the Cultists and have pretty good data on them, and Isaac here is looking for the White Whale. Why don't we assist each other.... it's a win-win situation, right?"

 

"A giant? I've always wanted to study the giants." Andrei says calmly, but obviously surprised, for a second loosing interest in the man before him.
Andrei turns to the man in front of him again and says: "Are you sure you want to do what you're thinking?"

 

Intervene worriedly. "Hey, uhm, don't you think this information is a bit too important to be traded, and not just said?" Say, putting my hands on the air with my palms facing forward.
"I mean, we are talking about a possible massacre that could be minimized, right?"

 

"It does seem that way. But I don't like the atmosphere that you're giving. I don't.. trust it."

 

I look up and study his figure for a bit before shaking my head and grabbing his hand to pull myself up.
"Yeah."
"Is this the level I need to get to?"
"How long will this take?..."
"Am I... slacking?.."
Glance over to Affrice before standing up and brushing myself off.