Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2016 11:17 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca stared rather pointedly at Marth as he explained to her how rushing into the situation would be detrimental to their cause.  It made sense - she had spent the majority of her time in Adeluna before her ascension when she was not travelling to fulfill contracts - of course she was going to be of the mindset of those people.  “You scholarly type always like to take your time,” she muttered under her breath, though her demeanor would give way to Marth that she truly understood and was not going to argue with him. “When you’re right, you’re right,” she said, defeated, and took another sip of her tea as he gazed out the window.


She shifted her eyes to watch Neldes as she approached Marth, finding her method of getting his attention rather perplexing. She listened carefully to the exchange between the two, returning Marth’s nod with one of her own.  She understood that this was it - this was the signal they had been waiting for.  She did not move right away, but instead finished listening to the discussion between the two, not interjecting in the slightest.  She understood what was needed of her, and she waited to rise from her seat until Marth had done so himself.


She found herself a bit taken aback as Marth grabbed her and pulled her in for a kiss, but found herself wanting to hold it for as long as possible.  She could tell that he was not necessarily worried, but was glad nevertheless that he had given her a brief display of affection.  She returned the kiss gladly, and afterwards stood by Marth’s side as the cart came towards them.  She could sense his unease as the cart grew closer.  For a brief moment, she grasped his hand in her own, squeezing tightly.  She knew it would have no real bearing on his emotional state, but she felt compelled to show him, at least, that she was there by his side.  Dalanesca opened her mouth to say something to Neldes when she spoke, about to warn her that now was most certainly not the time to question Marth - but he spoke up rather harshly himself and Neldes seemed to understand, apologizing.  Dalanesca was glad to see that Marth’s face gave way to the fact that he understood Neldes meant no offense.  




The chest had been opened, and even Dalanesca could sense the power resonating from the shard within.  It did not affect her in the same way that it affected Marth, however with how attuned she was to the balance between darkness and light it most certainly caught her attention.  She eyed the artifact in question.  It looked much the same as the last shard she had encountered with Marth, but it also looked different.  She assumed that this was because it embodied a different aspect of Reaver, but she could not be quite sure - and now was most certainly not the time for her to question Marth about it.  Reaching into the chest, she took hold of the shard, knowing full well that she was the only person in the immediate vicinity that would garner no negative effects from being so close to it.  She held it close, tucking it away in a planned place.  


When Marth demolished the chest, she shot him a look, seeing that he was quite close to breaking.  She, too, was worried that Kavesz had not shown himself yet - but she needed to control the situation at hand more than anything.  Fjándinn shot her a mental message, and she shot one back in a sharp tone.  ”I am well aware of what these do to him - I am much more attuned to his mental state than you are,” she spat, a feeling of annoyance travelling with her words. She turned her attention away from  Fjándinn and back to Marth.  She looked at her soon-to-be husband with narrowed eyes, mentally going over the options on what she could do to.  The safest option would be to transport the entire group back to the Blinded Scales, where she could destroy the shard.  She let her gaze rest on Marth for a moment.  “I’m going to need you to focus,” she said.  Her voice was firm and commanding.  ”Marth, I need you to tell me what you need me to do next.  The Scales?  Is that the safest place to destroy it?” she asked, her eyes never leaving Marth’s - ready to transport the group back at his word.

Author: Marth, Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2016 12:16 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth looked at Dalanesca, picking up on her antsiness instantly. He leaned back in his seat, shaking his head gently with eyes closed, before taking a sip of his coffee cup. He put the cup back down and gazed out the window. “In Adeluna, there is a saying. ‘Don’t just stand there, do something’. Its meaning is obvious, but here in Wyllmochvar, another approach is encouraged,” he said, before looking back at Dalanesca, leaning forward, and raising a finger. “Don’t just do something, stand there!” He leaned back in his seat again, his expression serious. “We reveal our hand now, and you can be certain we’ll regret it. Kavesz has always been an ace at turning a situation - in fact, he’s responsible for my skill at it.” He looked out the window again, how brow furrowed. “As it stands, time is on our side. He has to make a move before we do. And with the kids, surprise is ours to utilize.”

Just then, Neldes poked him in the side, and Marth turned with a perked eyebrow. “Yes?” The young enchantress looked serious. “One of our scryers is picking up on a cart that just left one of Kavesz’s locales. A container within is sealed. Our scryer…” Marth nodded, understanding. He looked at Dalanesca, and gave her a firm nod. Go time. He turned back to Neldes. “He senses nothing. Indiscernible to most, but very telling. The moment we move to sieze it, Kavesz will show himself - I’m sure of it. Have the teams rendezvous. Where should we strike?” Neldes looked at a map, drawing up lines to correspond with her incoming reports. “Here. Two seconds northeast of foxtrot.” She pointed at a location just outside the reach of the main city guard, along the cart’s predicted field of movement. Marth got up from his seat, and without another word, got on the move.

As the group moved into position, Marth grabbed a hold of Dalanesca’s sleeve and pulled her in for a kiss. “Luck,” he said, even though he wasn’t particularly nervous or superstitious. The cart was approaching, and the group was just outside the city limits. Kavesz was nowhere to be seen, but Marth had no doubt he’d turn up quickly enough if the cart containing the Shard of Reaver was attacked. As the cart approached, marth began to flinch a bit. He looked at the cart, intently - and feeling the demonic resonance within. “It’s there, alright,” he said, through gritted teeth. “And this shard is intense,” he continued, which drew a glance from Neldes. “You didn’t tell us you were still attuned to them.” Marth looked at the enchantress with a glare - the discomfort was making him irritable, as was Reaver’s creaming in the back of his head. “I was posessed by pure magic energy for a year and a half, with barely a year to recover. Do the fucking math,” he replied, too sharply. To her credit, Neldes realized the situation, and decided to put her faith in Dalanesca, if not in Marth himself. “Apologies, sir. Shall we proceed?” Marth’s expression softened a bit, and he nodded.

Three minutes later, there was still no Kavesz in sight, and the chest had been opened. It had been implied all along that Dalanesca was probably better off handling the physical shard, as the demon within would be destroyed the instant it tried to possess a deity. Marth was positively fuming. “Where is he!? He should have been here by now!” In his frustration, caused by his desire to see Kavesz punished for his actions and intensified by the powerful demonic presence nearby, Marth kicked the chest that had been transporting the item. His eyes flared red as he kicked, and whether the force that sent the chest flying in splinters was demonic or draconic was hard to say. The students all looked at one another nervously, still in formation. One of them spoke up - Fjándinn, the psion, noticed the changes in Marth’s psyche. He sent a telepathic message to Dalanesca, one that marth would be unable to hear. All due respect, my lady, but sir Marth is getting dangerously close to psychotic. We need to remove that artifact’s influence soon, or I fear what might happen if he snaps. Beyond mere anger, I’m sensing bloodthirst - a lot of bloodthirst - barely half of which is his own. The young psion flinched as Marth threw him an angry glare, but the dracomancer quickly turned away - he was just angry, and Fjándinn was unlucky enough to catch his gaze. Still, it served to emphasize the young psion’s point - Marth was growing increasingly volatile.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2016 12:51 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca nearly winced as Neldes referred to her as ‘my lady,’ but she managed to hide her discomfort from the group.  She was not a fan of titles or formalities, but she was also beginning to learn that they were quite necessary to uphold her authority over her underlings.  While she still preferred for those closest to her to refer to her by her given name, she did not stop those such as this group of mages from referring to her in the proper ways.  When the students seemed satisfied with her, she took a few steps towards Marth, standing proudly by his side as he addressed them.  


She raised an eyebrow at Marth, laughing as he jabbed at her side.  “And here I was, thinking that you were an anomaly,” she said, giving him a quick smile.  She hadn’t much experience with mages of any sort, not personally anyway, and it was nice to see Marth interacting with his own kind of people - it gave her a little more insight about his behavior and mannerisms.  She loved Marth through and through, but every once in awhile she found herself perplexed by some of the things that he did.  


Dalanesca gave Neldes an approving nod as she informed her that the group was prepared.  She allowed Marth to step forward, herself taking a step back - though she gave him a bit of a playful glare as he referred to himself as being her elder. She was never offended by such a comment - she knew that Marth had nothing but respect for her.  She said nothing, allowing him to address Neldes and in turn the group.  After a few more minutes of discussion, the group was sent back to Wyllmochvar, with the help of Clive and the Skylance.  Dalanesca always felt a bit silly using the contraption, but she knew that Marth was quite proud of it.  Were they travelling in Canelux, she would have been able to simply transport the group as a whole - but travelling to Parvpora was a bit of a different story.  She had enough power left in that area to transport herself, and possibly Marth as well - but a group the size that they were travelling in would have been a difficult task.


A cup of steaming tea sat before Dalanesca. She reached forward and took a large gulp of the scalding liquid, relishing in the way it burned her throat as she swallowed.  She set the teacup back down with a clink on its saucer, giving Marth a brief smile.  “Perhaps, after the task at hand is taken into account, they can be offered residence at the Scales in return for their continued service,” she said, obviously contemplating what Marth had said even though he had said it off handedly.  “I think they’ll be rather useful to us,” she added.  A smile crossed her lips, a full blown grin - but it was not due to her looking at the students - it was because she enjoyed seeing Marth in his element, and these were his people.  


After a few moments she took another sip of her tea and spoke to Marth in a very quiet, very serious tone.  “We need to get a move on if we want any chance of this being successful,” she said, giving way to the fact that she was getting rather antsy.

Author: Marth, Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2016 4:34 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth let Dalanesca take over the procedure of convincing the young mages to join their cause. He watched with some glee as Dalanesca awed the students several times over, and complied when told to get Clive to pick them up. That particular course of action had been his general idea, anyway, so he had already telepathically told Clive to stand by at the tower. He didn’t even have to say anything - he just looked up at the sky and made a gesture, and Clive, who was observing the whole thing, immediately teleported the entire party to the Blinded Scales.

“Now. I’d like to get any questions out of the way before I explain what I want you all to do,” he said, standing in a militant at-ease posture, looking over the group. Neldes, Grethe, and the rest of the wizards (they numbered about a score) talked amongst themselves for about a minute, coming to an agreement on what to ask as per the democratic procedure encouraged by the Mages’ Academy. When they came to an agreement, they addressed the pair once again, with Neldes speaking for the group.

“We are satisfied that you are who you say you are,” she began, having understood that at least Marth preferred to be spoken to directly and without excessive formality. “Naturally, as pious mages of Canelux, we are at your command, my lady Dalanesca.” She then addressed Marth directly, with questions. “We would, however, like to know whether you really are a graduate of the academy, what you were before you were Redeemer and Destroyer, and what exactly you plan to do,” she said. “We are satisfied you are not a demon, as you are in service to a lady of the Triune. You need not share these details if you would prefer not to.”

Marth nodded, satisfied with the group’s reply. He decided to speak as concisely as possible, so as to avoid overcomplicating matters while time was still a factor that needed to be considered. “I was, fourteen years ago. Kavesz was my mentor, who taught me command, martial theory, and dracomancy. I moved on to become a CO of the expeditionary forces, and was a captain when I was possessed.” He gauged Neldes’ reaction, and both her and the group seemed happy with what they’d heard, at least for the time being. “What we want you to do is to assist us in keeping an eye on Kavesz’s assets, and join the fight when called upon. He’s a threat to all humanity, tampering with forces he cannot possibly comprehend.”

After a few more minutes of back and forth - establishing a reliable communications line by way of a student specializing in psionics, assigning tasks to various teams in the group (5 teams of 4 students each, with Grethe, Neldes, and the psion as an auxiliary team to handle management. Grethe, it turned out, specialized in healing magic, and it made sense for her to be equidistant from the other teams. As they organized themselves, Marth went over to Dalanesca. “Well, that went smoother than I expected,” he said, grinning. “Look at these guys. Minimal preparation and explanation, and they’re organizing themselves so neatly.” He looked back at Dalanesca. “Now you know where I have it from,” he said, jokingly, poking her side with his elbow.

Shortly thereafter, Neldes approached. “We’re ready, my lady,” she said, clearly awaiting instructions. Marth stepped in, assuming control. “I am the one you address in the field,” he said, “as I am the highest-ranking mortal in this realm.” He looked at Dalanesca, smiling. “And her elder,” he said, good-naturedly. He looked back at Neldes, his tone more serious. “We’re headed back to Wyllmochvar. Your planning is done?” When Neldes nodded in reply, Marth looked at Clive and gave him the go-ahead.

In about ten minutes, each team was in position, mingling with people around them. Marth and Dalanesca sat with Neldes, Grethe, and the psion Fjándìnn, in one of the city’s many teahouses. Marth was sipping on a cup of coffee (“Oh, I’ve missed this,”) while the students seemed to prefer iced tea. Telepathic reports from strategic locations in the city were pouring in, as each member of each team was looking for specific markers. Marth looked at Dalanesca while Neldes and Fjándìnn talked to one another, relaying messages back and forth. “Maybe we should consider hiring these guys,” he said in a hushed tone, only half-joking. “Look at these guys,” he said, looking at the students, smiling fondly. It was evident that Marth liked these young mages - they reminded him of his own days as a student, happy times with few worries.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2016 11:59 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca followed closely behind Marth, remaining silent while he addressed the group of students.  She was highly amused by the response that one particular student had when Marth revealed he knew intricate details of the happenings that had taken place with Senator Kavesz, but she contained her amusement and kept a solemn expression.  She knew it would be important, were they to need her true identity to help further their pull with this particular group of students.  

As they entered a different room, far from the prying eyes of any passerby in the more public location they had been in, Dalanesca stayed off to the side, allowing Marth to have center stage.  As far as the students could be concerned presently, she was merely Marth’s companion in whatever effort he was attempting by speaking to them.  She could not help but crack a bit of a smile at his dramaticism as he allowed his mage’s staff to be replaced by the Dragon Lance once more.  When the students seemed ready for a fight, Dalanesca stood her guard, though not in any way the students would be able to notice.  

As Marth gave his explanation to the students, she found herself reminiscing about the time Marth had explained the same to her - though the explanation she had been given had been quite a bit more graphic than that which he was offering to the young mages.  It was, however, interesting to see how easily they understood what he explained.  It had taken her quite a while to adjust to the fact that Marth was not, in fact, possessed, but that he still had the… affliction, if one could refer to it as such, that was Reaver.  

Marth chuckled. “I am the Redeemer and Destroyer. I have my means,” he said, looking at Dalanesca. “As does my mistress,” he said. The whole group looked at Dalanesca wide-eyed. “She’s… No way,” said Neldes. Marth looked at Dalanesca again. “Care to show them, milady?” he asked. “I’m sure they have your likeness in their clubhouse by now,” he explained. Some of the group nodded enthusiastically. Neldes looked awestruck, but terrified more than anything. Despite this, she spoke with some sass. “I’ll verify that it is not some sort of illusion,” she said, her staff at the ready.

Soon, it was her turn to make a revelation.  She stepped forward as Marth addressed her, a small smile on her face.  “If you insist,” she said, and within moments she appeared as herself once more, save the different style of dress.  “It is true, what he says.”  She spoke with a much stiffer tone than usual, but she knew that an air of authority would go a long way in this situation.  “Come, we must step outside for what I am about to show you.”  She motioned for the group to follow her and made her way outside, into a small, secluded courtyard that she had seen during her tour of the campus.  

“Math, instruct Clive to retrieve us,” she said, clearly indicating the entire group.  When he obliged, the group blinked out of sight in Wyllmochvar, reappearing in the Tower of Redemption and Destruction.  “Welcome to the Blinded Scales,” Dalanesca said as she stepped out in front of the group.  “I, of course, am the Justiciar - but I think you have figured that out by now,” she said, with a bit of a wink.  She walked over towards one of the windows, from which she could see both Sanctus and Malum.  “You’re a very lucky lot.  Very few are allowed into my realm without first passing through either the Black or the White city,” she added. 

She allowed the students, including Neldes, their time to check for any illusions.  When they were satisfied that Dalanesca was, in fact, who she claimed to be (though still quite awe-stricken), she spoke once more.  “Master Coralax here thinks that you lot could be a good addition to our cause,” she said.  “I’ll let him explain - but it is truly up to each one of you if you wish to aid us.  Just know that, should you assist us, you will forever be in the good graces of a Triune Goddess.  I hear that’s a pretty good thing to have,” she said.  Truth be told, she was very entertained by the fact that she was able to be a bit eccentric and overdramatic.  It was very unlike her, but it was a bit fun… and she did need to help Marth recruit them.

Author: Marth, Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 9:55 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth nodded, and headed over to the group of mages. “Svijetlo dana,” he greeted, to which they responded with nods and curious expressions. Marth suddenly realized that since he was in Clive’s form, he didn’t look as old as he actually was - and seniority was a big thing for the mages of the college. He cleared his throat. “Is there somewhere we could speak in private?” he asked, in Adelunian this time. The group looked a little perplexed. “Why?” asked Neldes. Marth looked at Grethe, his expression and voice flat. “The demon whose behaviour was peculiar killed his last victim by snapping his neck, immediately after tearing out his achilles.” The girl named Grethe’s eyes widened. “He was there,” she said, and that was that.

Once the group was in a private room - a laboratory for alchemists - Marth took a deep breath. “What I am about to show you might prompt some aggressive responses from you. I urge you to put such base thoughts aside, and observe as academics,” he said, to which the group eagerly nodded. What was this odd fellow about to show them? Marth held his staff forth, and called out. “Re-equip: Dragon Lance,” he said, and the staff was immediately swapped for his iconic weapon. The woman named Grethe let out a yelp. “You’re him. You’re the demon,” she cried out. The group recoiled, some of them looking prepared for violence. Neldes in particular looked aggressive. “This had better have an excellent explanation, demon,” she said. Marth simply smiled.

“I am no demon,” he said, looking at Neldes. “Go ahead and attempt to banish me.” The woman looked skeptical, but did as she was bid, and cast a greater banish spell - which naturally provoked no response from Marth. Neldes took a step back, humming. “He’s not a manifestation,” she said, looking at Marth. “He may be possessed, though.” Marth looked at Neldes, smiling still. “Close. I was once. A demon called Reaver,” he said, to which neles visibly paled. “Violence manifest?” she asked, to which Marth nodded. “Kavesz sent me out to find one of the shards. I found the Marauder shard,” he explained. The group looked both a little afraid and fascinated. “I was exorcised about a year ago,” he continued. “But by then I had gotten acclimatized to demonic magic,” he said further, which propted some ‘aaaah’s of understanding from the group of students. “I am here to tear Kavesz down and destroy a shard I suspect to be in his possession. But since I was forced to assume the role of a demon, I am no longer welcome in the city,” he continued. Neldes narrowed her eyes. “And how do you intend to destroy it?” she asked.

Marth chuckled. “I am the Redeemer and Destroyer. I have my means,” he said, looking at Dalanesca. “As does my mistress,” he said. The whole group looked at Dalanesca wide-eyed. “She’s… No way,” said Neldes. Marth looked at Dalanesca again. “Care to show them, milady?” he asked. “I’m sure they have your likeness in their clubhouse by now,” he explained. Some of the group nodded enthusiastically. Neldes looked awestruck, but terrified more than anything. Despite this, she spoke with some sass. “I’ll verify that it is not some sort of illusion,” she said, her staff at the ready.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 9:15 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

After a bit of eyerolling and laughter at Marth’s reaction to her new appearance, the pair had successfully found themselves in Revaliir once more.  It was odd being with Marth but not being with Marth, and it was certainly going to throw her off for a short while.  She had, of course, concealed a few blades in strategic places within her gown, but she did not rely on the steel as much as she once had thanks to her newfound divine powers.

When the two had been sent off on their own separate tours of the campus, Dalanesca kept her ears alert for any mutterings that she could hear.  Most of the things that the students rambled about had nothing to do with what she was listening for, but a few choice things caught her attention.  A couple of students mentioned something about Kavesz being investigated by their parents for dark magic, and another said that there had been a strange pickup by Kavesz in the night, something about an odd chest.

When she met back up with Marth, Dalanesca opened her mouth to speak to him - but snapped it shut again when a few students near them began to speak, wanting to hear what they had to say.  She fought back the urge to correct the student who made a comment about the gods not abiding demons - something along the lines of ‘You’re wrong, a god is in LOVE with one of those demons,’ but she knew that Marth would most likely not appreciate her blowing their cover.  Instead, she remained silent until the group was done speaking.  

Dalanesca nodded at Marth’s question.  “I think you could be right,” she said.  “And of course, if they aren’t willing to listen to pure vocal reason… we could always… encourage them,” she added, that devious glint returning to her eyes.  It wasn’t quite clear as to whether she meant showing them her true divinity, or physical coercion… Either way, there were options available to the pair if merely speaking to the students didn’t help.  She gave Marth a knowing glance, letting him know that if they were to approach the students, he would need to be the one to do it.  He knew the way that mages thought and spoke, whereas she did not.

Author: Marth, Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 12:06 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

“I didn’t give you the opportunity to hold back,” Marth replied flatly to Dalanesca’s quip, with a hint of a smirk. “Besides,” he said, looking at Dalanesca, his smirk even wider. “I have a view from here, and art can be savoured even from a distance,” he said, before his attention was once again turned to his food.

When Dalanesca emerged from behind the partition, Marth found himself looking at her new features closely. He looked Dalanesca in the eye and smiled, with a hint of playfulness. “Well hello, there, beautiful. You must be the second sexiest woman I have ever seen,” he said, in what was a painfully obvious attempt to be smoother than he really was. He quickly wolfed down the rest of his breakfast, bringing the death toll up to seven slices of bread, two eggs, a whole lot of bacon, and other food items besides. “Alright,” he said, “Off we go to finish the job.”

Marth and Dalanesca headed to the Skylance and teleported into Revaliir once more. Marth was carrying a mage’s staff instead of the Dragon Lance, for obvious reasons - but the two weapons were connected, and Marth could summon his spear if he needed to. But for now, he was carrying a regular mage’s staff.

Marth led Dalanesca to what he knew would be a great point from which to begin their sleuthing operation - the students of the Mage’s Academy were infamous gossips, and entry to campus only required you were once a student. Marth had been, and had the alumni signet to prove it. He showed it at the entrance, and both he and Dalanesca were allowed to tour the campus.

There were many rumours flying about. The most reliable ones came from children of wealthy or influential families, students who overheard their parents do this or that. Two claimed that their parents wanted to investigate Kavesz for practising forbidden magic, and a third said that a tribunal squad would be assembled to carry out the arrest. Almost all the children said that people had been shocked and disgusted at Kavesz’s apparent felony. What was more, one student divulged that Kavesz had been seen visiting one of his warehouses the previous night, and apparently picked up a chest. Where said chest had wound up was impossible to say, but it seemed to be an artifact of some importance.

Once Marth and Dalanesca had met up and was heading out, they could overhear the talk of a few graduates. They spoke Adelunian, and it was clear they were all from Canelux - children of merchants, knights, and nobes, who had been sent to study the craft of magic overseas.

“I, for one, would destroy them both given the chance,” said a woman in her twenties, firmly gripping an elaborate staff. “I am positive the gods wouldn’t abide such demons, even here in Parvpora,” she continued, to which a large number of her peers nodded. They all carried some sort of jewelry in tribute to the Conclave.

While most of the students were getting to a consensus that the woman was right, Marth pulled at Dalanesca’s sleeve. “Hang on,” he said in a low tone, gesturing at the students. “Members of the parish. A club for the few religious students at the Academy,” he said, indicating he wanted to see how the conversation turned out. The group of students, numbering about thirty or so, seemed to have come to an agreement when another young woman spoke up.

“I was there,” she said, to which the group responded with silence and a stare.

“Well?” Said the other woman, clearly the most outgoing in the group. “If you were a witness, surely you have some kind of thought on the event,” she demanded, to which the other student nodded.

“I do,” she confirmed, looking a little insecure. “It was carnage. Pure carnage. They were both vicious, but…” She fell silent, her shyness getting the better of her.

“Well, don’t leave us hanging, Grethe,” said the other one, clearly keen to hear what she had to say. “But what? You think there’s something we’re missing?”

The shyer woman - named Grethe, apparently - spoke up again. “Well, ja,” she said, her brow furrowed in thought. “There was something rather odd about the demon’s behaviour,” she said, to which the group responded with silent anticipation. “He was rather loud about them parting ways. The whole avenue could hear him call the senator a demon summoner,” she said, scratching the back of her head. “But demons are your field, Neldes. You’re the one who wanted to be a demon hunter - what do you think?”

The woman named Neldes thought about it for a moment. “That is odd,” she conceded.

The group kept talking about it for some time, apparently more keen on exploring each other’s thoughts and debating than they were actually doing anything. Marth looked at Dalanesca, then back to the group. “Think we could recruit them to our cause?” he asked. “They would be useful. They know the city and are children of furnished homes. They’ll expand our reach quite a lot,” he said.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 10:48 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca woke to the sounds of Clive speaking to Marth, but did not move right away.  Her body felt stiff from the previous night’s activities, and she also knew that if she moved in any sort of way that was not strategically planned, Clive was going to get a lovely show put on.  Instead, she lay still on the bed, relishing in the warmth of the blankets as she listened to Marth and Clive converse with one another regarding the elixir that they had decided Marth would use.  She nearly giggled when Marth went Stern with Clive, letting him know that he was not comfortable with Clive seeing Dalanesca while she was unclothed.  “Bye Clive,” she said, with a muffled tone and a bit of laughter as the man exited.  

She rolled over to face Marth after Clive was safely out of the room, her naked form on display for him as her movement had left her completely devoid of blankets.  She glanced at the prayer beads that he uncovered, and her eyes widened a bit. “Poor Clive,” she said, though there was more of a devious look in her eyes than her tone of voice let on.  Although Marth smiled at her as he got out of bed, she frowned - here she was, on display for Marth - and he wanted breakfast. After taking a moment to accept defeat, she rose from the bed as well.  “If you’re abandoning your naked soon-to-be wife in bed to eat because our endeavors have made you so ravenous, perhaps I should hold back a bit more,” she quipped.  Wrapping one of the blankets from the bed around herself, she made her way to the table, watching Marth lovingly as he portioned out his meal.  On the other end of the spectrum, she just grabbed an apple and gnawed on it as she sat at the table. 

Stalking sounded great to her - it would tap back into her old skills again, though this time it wouldn’t be the skills of murder she would be utilizing.  She had been great at gathering information on her targets, and it would be wonderful to be able to exercise that part of her mind.  She chewed on a bit of the apple before speaking.  “Sounds like a plan,” she said eventually.  “I think I’ll alter my appearance, as well,” she said rather thoughtfully.  “I’ve not been spotted yet, but it falls back to that whole ‘better safe than sorry’ nonsense,” she said.  She finished up her apple, and disposed of the core, standing up from the table.  “Why not,” she said, and gave him a smile. 

She tossed the blanket back onto the bed, walking over behind the partition near her bureau.  A few minutes later she walked out, clad in a simple red gown.  A choker adorned her throat with a beautiful ruby set into black stone, complementing the rather plunging neckline that the gown possessed.  Her facial features hadn’t changed much, save her chin may have been a bit more pointed… but it was her hair that was the most striking.  Her usual raven hair was no more, instead replaced by hair the color of cornsilk, still cascading down her back in loose waves. Her eyes had darkened, still blue but no longer the light icy shade that they once held.  She had charcoaled her eyes and painted her lips red.  “Ready when you are,” she said, giving Marth a wink.  Even her voice had changed.  It did not sound nearly as sultry as her voice usually did, having raised an octave or two with the alterations.  

Author: Marth, Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 1:39 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth nodded at Dalanesca. “Clive will probably provide some hairs without trouble,” he said, knowing that Clive had long since resigned to the fact that Marth and Dalanesca often came up with unorthodox ideas.

Marth perked an eyebrow as Dalanesca moved her hands further up his legs, and let out an “oh,” in surprise as she moved beneath his robes. “You know, I was half jo-o-hohoho-kay,” he said, as he felt the sensation of Dalanesca’s… Tender kisses of his tenders. With a firm grip of her neck, Marth urged Dalanesca to go on. After a few minutes, he could contain himself no longer, a fact which did not seem to deter his wife-to-be. When she was done, and emerged from beneath his clothing, Marth looked very much relaxed, with a somewhat sheepish grin on his face. “I don’t think I tell you that I love you quite enough,” he said, following Dalanesca to the bedroom for ‘rest’. On the way back, he grabbed Clive in the halls, giving him instructions for the next day.

Six feet of rope, a pair of handcuffs, an empty ale bottle, a horse whip, a necklace of desecrated prayer beads and about a pint of sweat later, Marth was lying on the bed next to Dalanesca, all but ready to pass out. “You certainly know how to take a man’s mind off his troubles,” he said, trying to catch his breath. He snuggled up closer, and caressed Dalanesca’s breast with one hand while he undid her handcuffs with the other. Once she was liberated from her bonds, Marth embraced her and gave her a kiss. “I love you, Dalanesca,” he said, his wounds, fatigue, and sexual exertion finally catching up to him. In almost no time at all, he had drifted off into blissful sleep.

The next morning, Marth was woken up by Clive shaking his shoulder. “My lady. Master Coralax.” Marth rolled over, instantly awake as usual. Neither he nor Dalanesca was in any decent way covered up, their blanket a mess lying next to one of the bedposts. Only one of Marth’s feet was under it, touching what he realised was Clive’s prayer beads - which had been used for all the wrong purposes the night prior. “Hm? What is it,” he asked, looking at his steward. “The elixir has been prepared, master Coralax, and your breakfast is hot. I took the liberty of repairing and cleaning your armours while you slept,” he said, with a small bow. Marth nodded in thanks. “Excellent work as always, Clive. You’re dismissed for now.” Clive made a motion at the pile of cloth at the end of the bed. “Shall I take your sheets, sir?” Marth looked at Clive with a stern expression, doing his best to prevent his steward from finding his desecrated beads. “Even though I trust you, Clive, I am not all comfortable with you seeing lady Dalanesca, your goddess and my betrothed, in such an unclad state,” he said, rather convincingly. There was a hint of truth to the statement, but Clive was an exception to the general rule by most accounts. Still, the man gave another respectful bow, and left without another word.

When Clive had left the room, Marth let out a sigh of relief. He leant forward, picking the necklace of prayer beads out of the shabby pile that was their duvet. “I just remembered that these are actually his,” he said, looking at Dalanesca. He chuckled a bit at the situation and the awkwardness of it all. “Shall we get some breakfast? You worked up a rather ravenous appetite in me,” he said, grinning at her, before getting out of bed, putting the beads in a locked drawer. He then headed for the table and began arranging his breakfast as per his usual habit - divided by colour and nutritional value.

“We’ll need to do a bit of stalking today,” he said between mouthfuls. “Get an idea about Kavesz’s next move. With any luck, he’ll try to leave the city before the senate issues a warrant for his arrest,” he said, wolfing down an entire piece of toast in one go. “That’ll mean sometime around the end of the workday,” he explained, before downing a pint of black currant juice - a favoured soft drink of Wyllmochvar’s mages. “The politicians will be done debating and voting, and get to work on drafting legal documents and issuing warrants as the evening shift of the city guard rolls in for duty,” he said. “So, you up for a bit of sleuthing?” he asked, with a wide smile on his face.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:13 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca found herself a bit taken off guard by the guttural sound that escaped from Marth.  She half expected to look back at hiim and see not his eyes, but Reaver’s - but when she looked up it seemed that he was just deep in thought and the growl had merely been a sound to express his frustration.  She raised her eyebrows as his palm connected with his forehead, and found it a bit odd.  She had seen him come to a realization after a frustrating round of thought, but as far as she could recall it was the first time she had seen him slap himself.  “Sounds like a plan,” she said, laughing softly at his actions while she agreed with him.  “You’ll just have to get part of Clive,” she said.  She paused, realizing how ridiculous that sounded.  “Just like a hair from his head, or something like that.  I’ll have one of the magister’s procure the potion for you,” she said, with a grin.

Her eyes narrowed and her grin faded as Marth spoke.  “Touching your legs like what?” she asked, her fingertips sliding further up his inner thighs.  “Like this?” she asked, with a dark smirk.  Her hands found what they were looking for, and she looked up at him from her position on the floor.  “Love, I can take your mind off of more than your wounds,” she said rather suggestively, and her face disappeared underneath his robes.

A while later, Dalanesca got to her feet, one hand flattening her hair and the other wiping at the corner of her mouth.  She had a sly grin on her face, and she looked at Marth, still seated in front of her.  She had straightened his robes back out before she stood.  “Let’s get you to bed,” she said, holding out her hand to him.  After a moment, she spoke again.  “So you can sleep off your pain, of course,” she added, though it was clear from the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes that she had other ideas than letting him sleep right away.

Author: Marth, Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 2:49 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth thought about the possibilities for a moment. While he and Dalanesca had been killing people left, right, and centre the whole campaign, he didn’t want to kill another person. Then again, it was probably for the best that he didn’t have to worry about the transformation somehow being weak. Marth growled a little as he was thinking, a clear sign that he had a hard time choosing. The growling stopped abruptly, however, as Marth found a way to circumvent the issue. “Dur,” he said, slapping his own forehead - clearly not happy with the fact that the solution took so long to figure out. “We use the elixir, since it’s more reliable than simple spells - especially in Wyllmochvar,” he started, smiling. “And I’ll transform into Clive. That way, we can be absolutely sure I am not recognized.”

He looked down at Dalanesca with something of a frown. “You know,” he began, “even with blood loss, your touching my legs like that still have an effect,” he continued, with a sly smirk. He was clearly in relatively high spirits, despite having had a rough day. In truth, it was nothing in comparison with the time he was possessed - Reaver relished in inflicting pain on Marth’s body - and not very stressful compared to before he’d met Dalanesca. He put a hand on her head, stroking her silky black hair. “Don’t suppose you’ll be willing to, ah… Take my mind off my wounds while I mend?” he asked.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Sun Oct 9, 2016 10:58 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca felt a wave of relief as Marth told her it was safe for her to turn around, and she did so, glad to see her fiance back to his normal self - even if he did come with bit more scrapes and wounds than usual.  She moved near to him, frowning as she assessed the situation.  Internally, she knew that Marth would be just fine - but seeing him wounded in any situation never made her happy.  While she was glad that Clive was attending to him, she fought back the urge to shove the man out of the way and tend to Marth herself.

She nodded at Marth’s words.  “Yes, I suppose it did work,” she said, her voice wavering slightly. She was still feeling slightly off kilter from having seen Reaver take him over again.  This time, however, she had felt much different watching the carnage that had taken place.  It had most certainly disturbed her, but there had been that part, that small part buried deep within her, that had almost enjoyed watching the scene unfold before her eyes.  “I would probably suggest the rest even if you weren’t going to be a wanted fugitive, as it were,” she said, gesturing to the visible wounds she could see.  She shot Clive a scathing glance as Marth winced, a small part of her feeling rather protective.  Still, she said nothing, instead deciding to carry on with conversation.

“Seeing what Reaver is actually capable of was… interesting,” she said, her voice taking a slightly depeer tone.  “I knew he was capable of violence, and I knew what you told me… and what he tried to do to me,” she added with a small shiver, remembering when he had lashed out at her.  The wound from said encounter had completely healed, and not even a scar remained, but it was something she would not forget for a very long time, if ever.  “But watching it unfold right before my eyes, that was something else altogether.”  She trailed off, her voice sounding now more interested than disturbed.  

When Clive finished bandaging Marth’s fingers, Dalanesca finally asked him to take leave - rather brusquely.  “Clive, out,” she said, pointing towards the door and kneeling near Marth.  “I’ll take care of him.”  Clive obliged, with no offense being taken at Dalanesca’s tone.  After he was gone, she turned back to Marth.  “Armor off,” she said, commandingly.  “I want to make sure you’re okay.”

Marth questioned her about disguises as he rose and removed his armor.  She nodded, kneeling before him and undoing his robes as she answered him.  “I can assist you with a disguise rather easily,” she said, pushing up his sleeve and dabbing at a shallow cut on his forearm with a bit of cloth.  “It’s become rather easy for me, since ascension… a simple spell would do it now,” she said.  “Or, if you’d rather, there’s a potion… a mimic potion, I think it’s called.  We could procure some of that, and that would do the trick - except that will exactly replicate the likeness of someone else, so we would have to decide who that would be,” she said.  Her hands moved to his legs, removing the rest of any clothing obstructing her from checking those areas.  She came across a few scratches just above his knee on the inside of his leg, but they were nothing that required much attention.  

Her hands remained on his inner thighs as she knelt before him, looking up at him.  “Either choice will be rather easy and not time consuming in the slightest.  The potion may be a more viable option - I could always… incapacitate someone and you could take their place,” she suggested, cocking an eyebrow at Marth.  “Or if you’d rather do it more cleanly, we can use the spell.”

Author: Marth, Posted: Fri Oct 7, 2016 1:06 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Once in the Blinded Scales, Marth had little trouble wresting control back from Reaver. Within seconds, the claws, fangs, and warped eyes were gone, and Marth seated himself in a chair, breathing heavily as he tried to recover from the fatigue. He had a few minor wounds, too, which would need tending. “It’s safe,” he said, as Clive was kneeling next to him, checking his wounds and preparing to work on them. Marth didn’t wave him away, as he was too tired to complain about medical attention.

“Well… That worked better than I feared,” he said, referring of course to the scandal that was sure to erupt. Clive went to work bandaging Marth’s wounds, taking particular care with his fingers - the claws that had sprouted had not retracted cleanly, so Marth’s hands were pretty shot. “I’m going to need a day of R&R here in the Scales, though. I need to plan a clean entry into Wyllmochvar as well - surely my likeness will be all over the city by tomorrow,” he said, wincing as Clive began cleaning his wounds. He didn’t complain, however, just braced himself - it was far from the first time he’d been injured in combat.

“Speaking of which,” he said finally, after Clive was done bandaging Marth’s fingers. “You know a thing or two about disguises, right?” he asked, clearly referring to Dalanesca’s time as an assassin. “Because I don’t know anything about it,” he admitted. He looked at Dalanesca with a half-pleading expression, which through the discomfort caused by his wounds, also became a half-wince.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Wed Oct 5, 2016 11:38 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

From the vantage point she had positioned herself in, Dalanesca could see the situation unfolding in the avenue quite well.  The mercenaries did exactly as she had instructed to, and she was glad that Marth had suggested the establishment in which she had procured them.  Things were going as planned, and (for once) she did not even find herself surprised or scared when Reaver made his appearance.  She did not much enjoy seeing Marth physically change as Reaver manifested, but she accepted it with a stoic attitude as it was necessary for what they needed to accomplish.

She winced slightly as Reaver tore the throat out of an unlucky mercenary, looking away briefly.  It was not the gore and violence that bothered her - it was seeing the man she loved taken down to such a savage level that cut her to the quick.  She looked back at the wrong moment, just as his hand were ripping out his next victim’s entrails.  A wave of nausea overtook her,and she looked away.  She could still his high-pitched cackling, his voice piercing - but she kept reminding herself that it was absolutely necessary.  Directing her attention to the senator for a moment, watching as he finished one of the mercenaries off with a bolt of fire.  

Dalanesca turned her attention back to Marth, and once again reminded herself that he had let Reaver take control - but even this was difficult for her.  As she watched him destroy the tendon of the last survivor’s ankle, she felt something inside her - that twisted little bit that had popped out when she dispatched the aide in the alleyway - enjoy the sight just a bit too much.  When she realized this, however, she made an attempt to shake the feeling off, deciding enough was enough as the man’s neck was snapped.  She blinked out of reality and reappeared in the Two Faced Tower, near the Skylance.  Tinkering with it shortly, she set it up to call Marth back to the realm, and set the Skylance into motion, calling her fiance back to her realm.

When he appeared before her, she turned away without knowing whether he was still taken by Reaver, or if he had become himself again.  “Just tell me when it’s safe to look,” she said, knowing full well there was a chance that Reaver still had control - but also knowing that it had been willing by Marth, and he would be able to regain control quite easily.

Author: Marth, Posted: Mon Oct 3, 2016 2:51 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth witnessed Dalanesca get undressed with a smile. It was not base lust that made him enjoy the sight - he truly loved his fiancée, and to see the artifice melt away and reveal the true Dalanesca was always something he enjoyed. That said, he had always had a preference for petite women, so that didn’t exactly hurt his mood, either. So when Dalanesca invited him to join her in bed, Marth happily accepted, reveling once more in the opportunity to explore every inch of Dalanesca’s flesh.

The next morning, Marth was woken by way of a gentle shake by Dalanesca, and his eyes fluttered open, wide awake in an instant as usual. He sat up, and began to get dressed. Between his armour and the awkwardness of his new robe, Marth spent a few minutes longer than Dalanesca getting ready - but he was done by the time Dalanesca returned with breakfast. “Thanks,” he said simply, giving Dalanesca a peck on the cheek before arranging himself a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast. Before he was even done arranging the food, Dalanesca was dressing up for combat.

“The Hound’s Hellhole two streets down is a melting pot for enforcers and thugs for hire,” he said, cutting open the yolk of his egg and soaking some bread in it. He munched on the piece of bread and some bacon before continuing. “When you’ve gathered a company of ten or so, bring them to Grošvasj Avenue. Kavesz is likely to go to the teahouse there before he does anything else,” he explained, before grabbing another mouthful of food. He had to swallow this bit fast, as Dalanesca approached and gave him a deep kiss. “I love you too,” he answered, smiling.

Marth’s morning was, despite the uncomfortable situation, uneventful. It wasn’t the first time he had waited on the Dragonlord, and the older mage seemed content to just use Marth’s talent for logistics for the time being. Marth was set to memorize Kavesz’s itinerary before the day started, and despite knowing that the day would take a vicious turn, made mental plans to accommodate for all the items on the list; Partly in case something went awry, partly because he wanted to be able to answer any questions that arose, partly out of habit. As expected, once Kavesz had eaten, he wanted to go to his old teahouse for his daily pick-me-up before attending to any actual business.

“So, Marth. How does it feel to be back in Wyllmochvar after all this time?” Kavesz asked, while the two were strolling down the road, en route to the teahouse. Marth looked at his old mentor, thinking about his reply for a while before answering. “It’s difficult to say. Less cathartic than I’d expected,” he began, making a face. “And at the same time, more rewarding than I expected,” he concluded, surprised in spite of himself. It was true. He’d expected some sense of accomplishment just by getting there, but the city seemed so familiar to him that it hadn’t really impacted him. However, he was making progress on his plan to rid the world of Reaver, which he’d been more excited about than he’d been about anything much for a very long time. Kavesz chuckled. “The machinations of fate are not easily deciphered, Marth. It’ll come, I’m sure,” the older mage replied, much to Marth’s surprise. “Gotten superstitious in your old age, sir?” he joked, provoking a “Hah!” from his old mentor. “Get as old as I am, Marth, and you begin to wonder if coincidence really is a thing,” he replied. Marth didn’t quite know how to respond, but luckily, he didn’t have to. His old teacher stopped walking, his brows furrowed.

Standing in front of the pair was a dozen thugs in various states of disrepair. The leader of the group, carrying a big ax and clad in plates of various metals, took a step forward with a toothy grin. “Good morning, messieurs” he said, in a Vilapmolan accent so thick one could barely make out the syllables from the vowels. “There is a certain mademoiselle that has requested you two corrupt bureaucrats put down,” he continued, spawning laughter from his motley crew of questionable characters. They all stepped forward and began surrounding Marth and Kavesz, both of whom appeared totally unphased by the men’s threats. Kavesz cast a sideways glance at marth and smirked, to which marth could only smirk back - Dalanesca had found the perfect victims to his charade. “I am a senator of this great city-state,” Kavesz replied formally. “Tell us who hired you, and you will be allowed to leave Wyllmochvar unmole -”

Kavesz was interrupted by one of the bandits hurling a hand axe directly towards him. The old man backhanded the flying blade of the axe, sending it flying forcefully into a nearby tree. Kavesz stood in place, grinning. “I had hoped you’d do that,” he said, snapping his fingers and sending a fireball crashing into the grunt’s chest. The man screamed in pain as the noxious fire not only set his shirt alight, but unnaturally clinged to his skin like a parasite desperate to get beneath it. He writhed on the ground, causing the other thugs to curse loudly. Marth took a step forward towards one of the smaller bandits, who was wielding a rapier, spear in hand. chuckling. “You’ve fucked up badly this time, friend,” he said, easily riposting the clumsy pirate’s stab. The shabby pirate fell to the floor with his intestines pouring out of his spine, dead in an instant. The remaining ten bandits instantly began to advance, hoping to use sheer numbers to gain victory.

Kavesz got off easy. He got the three biggest, slowest bandits, those wielding the heaviest weapons - presumably because those would be more difficult to swat aside. Marth wound up facing the seven others - some scruffy, some not, most of them armed with cutlasses. Marth made a show of playing it defensively for a while, while Kavesz decided to play with his prey for a while and just hop around, avoiding getting hit. Marth swept the blade of one mercenary aside and sliced his jugular, causing blood to spray all over him. It was more effective a trigger than marth had foreseen - suddenly, Reaver’s persona was banging on his forehead, screaming to be let out. Let me dance! let me sing! I want to join the slaughter-ing! I taste the fight, I taste the blood! Let me show myself to the she-god~! Marth took a step backwards from the shock, causing him to lose focus for a split second and affording him a gracing hit on his chestplate. The sword had no hope of piercing his armour, but the song of metal against dragonscale cut in his ears and split his head, and soon, he had to concede control to Reaver.

Kavesz, too, almost got stunned into getting hit once Marth began laughing his guttural, high-pitched laugh. He flung the Dragon lance aside and took a more crouching stance, his arms out wide. His hands got enveloped in deep purple energy, and black claws sprung from his fingertips. Marth grew fangs, and his eyes turned dark, with red rings around his irises. “HAAAAAAA, HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!” The mercenaries didn’t stand a chance. Reaver swooped down low and spring-tackled one of them with an outstretched hand, digging his claws into the man’s throat before clenching it into a fist, ripping out the man’s windpipe. The next mercenary tried to keep Reaver at bay by slashing with his cutlass, but he simply raised his hand and caught the blade on his vambrace, spinning to grab the man’s arm and yank him forward - right into the path of Reaver’s teeth, which sank into the side of his neck and removed a considerable portion of it. Reaver spat the dying man’s flesh back out, looking at the remaining four adversaries. One started to run, but didn’t get far. Reaver stretched out a hand, causing a bolt of purple electricity to shoot out of his hand. “Hold… Still!” he exclaimed, as the fleeing man collapsed, screaming in agony. Reaver looked at the other three, with a sickeningly wide grin on his blood-soaked face. “Eenie, meenie, miney, mo, who will be the next to go? Doesn’t help to plead or cry, ‘cause either way you’re gonna DIE!” Reaver jumped at the mercenary on his right as he yelled ‘die’, at which point Kavesz had already dispatched his opponents and was looking in horror at the scene unfolding before him. Reaver’s hands literally dug into his enemy’s stomach, ripping it to shreds, before jumping on the next target, swinging wildly at the man’s face, peeling all his skin off - mostly to the bone. The last mercenary was fleeing, but before Reaver could get a hold of him, Kavesz dispatched the terrified man with a well-placed firebolt which blew the back off the man’s head.

Kavesz stood on high alert, watching Reaver carefully. Reaver looked at Kavesz with a childishly disappointed expression. “Aaaaaw, I wanted to play some more,” he said, pursing his lower lip with a frown. “Oh, wait! I left a plaything!” he said, excitedly, skipping happily over to the mercenary he had shot with a pain spike just moments before. “Why hellooooo~, little mortal!” he sang, grabbing a hold of the man’s leg.

“Let go of him,” Kavesz suddenly intervened. He was standing in half-dragon form, terrified despite himself. Reaver looked up at him, annoyed. “Oh, come on. You’re the one that brought me here, you know. Least you could do is be a gracious host,” he replied, casually tearing out the poor man’s achilles in idle boredom. The man screamed. “Oh, shut up, you quivering pussy,” Reaver snapped, reaching over and breaking the man’s neck. Kavesz stood still, unsure of what to say. “What do you mean, I brought you here?” Reaver looked back at Kavesz, unimpressed. “You were the one that sent Coralax to invade my humble desert home,” Reaver replied, grinning. Blood was still trickling from his mouth. “It’s a great pleasure to finally meet my liberator,” Reaver continued. Marth, still spectating, mentally chuckled at Reaver. Thanks for playing ball, he thought, to which Reaver replied I like this game, Coralax. I’d like to keep playing. Kavesz, still not sure how to respond, grunted. “So Marth did find you. Come on, we can’t be seen out here,” he said, to which Reaver could only respond with laughter. “Too late for that,” he said.

It wasn’t until then that Kavesz noted the twoscore people or so that had gathered to watch the carnage in sick curiosity. He looked back at Reaver, who gave Kavesz a mock salute. “I THINK WE SHOULD PART WAYS BEFORE THESE PEOPLE REALIZE YOU’RE A DEMON SUMMONER,” he said, loudly enough for the whole damn street to hear. He cackled with laughter, bowed, and before Kavesz could formulate a reply or retaliate in any way, Reaver was gone, spirited away by the Skylance.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Mon Oct 3, 2016 1:01 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca was glad that he seemed to find her suggestion for a male name acceptable.  She could not help but to smile as he delved into a bit of his past - something she realized he was not very wont to do.  She did not know much about him other than the bits he had told her that were relevant to the hunting down of the shards that they had undertaken, and she was not necessarily one to pry.  It was nice for her to hear a bit of his memories, and how they explained a few of his habits.  She turned towards him as he sat closer to her, facing him.  “That explains a lot,” she said, with a soft laugh.  “I always wondered as to why your name didn’t sound very Wyllmochvarian,” she added.

She dismissed his apology with a wave of her hand, allowing her palm to rest on his knee when he had sat down.  “Unnecessary apology,” she said.  “I don’t know a lot about your past beyond the few things you’ve told me, love,” she said, her smile warm.  “It’s nice to hear a bit more about who the man I love was before I met him,” she added.  As he took her hands into his, she couldn’t pull her gaze away with him - the way he spoke of wanting their child to have everything.  “Our child will not want for anything, Marth,” she said.  She had every intention of making the best life possible for their child when it was brought into the world.  

Her eyes lit up when he suggested the name of Katja, a combination of both names of his parents.  “I love it… it’s perfect,” she said softly.  “Now I just need to ask Angela if she can tell me the sex,” she said, with a laugh.  After a moment, she squeezed Marth’s hands gently.  “All of this talk of baby is so happy,” she said, but her face did not look overly happy.  “We need to look back to things at hand, however,” she said, sighing.  

After a moment of silence, she spoke up again.  “You know, I’m going to feel like I’m betraying you, hiring mercenaries specifically to attack you,” she said.  She stood up and walked towards the bed, undressing as she did so and lazily leaving her clothing in a trail on the floor.  “Now, just in case something goes terribly wrong tomorrow… come here,” she said, now completely undressed and beckoning him towards her with her finger, a devious smile on her lips

The next morning Dalanesca woke quite early, before the sun had even risen.  She gave Marth a gentle kiss on the shoulder, smirking to herself at the disheveled mess of their clothing on the floor.  She gently shook him to rouse him and climbed out of the bed, going about readying herself for the task she had at hand.  After she had dressed, she disappeared for a few minutes, coming back shortly with a tray of eggs, bacon, and toast.  She set it on the table, and grabbed a strip of bacon, munching on it.  “I’ve brought you breakfast,” she called to Marth.  

After finishing the  bit of bacon she was eating, she pulled her harness on, attaching a few blades to it.  “I am heading out,” she said.  “Figure an early start is better,” she said.  It was strange - she was about to go pay some men to go to their untimely death - and she was truly okay with it.  This time, however, her being alright with the situation had nothing to do with the balance of good and evil.  This time, it was out of her love for Marth and her want to assist him in this endeavor.  She gave him a kiss, her lips pressing against his with some force.  It lingered longer than a normal goodbye, though she knew there was little to know doubt she would be seeing him again in a short time.  Finally pulling away from him, she let her eyes rest on his for a few moments.  “I love you,” she said softly, before turning and walking out the door.

It didn’t take her too long to secure a team of mercenaries and inform them of the situation.  Descriptions and tasks were given (which took longer than actually finding them) and money was handed over, and before long they were en route to the area in which Marth had suggested they lie in wait - sure enough, not long after they had taken position she spotted Marth and the senator, exactly how he had explained it would go down.  She pointed them out to the hirelings, and took off to the vantage point she had found, atop the roof of one of the buildings.  She cloaked herself with her power, remaining invisible to any onlookers save Marth, waiting for the mercenaries to make their move.

Author: Marth, Posted: Sat Oct 1, 2016 3:53 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth nodded at Dalanesca’s suggestion. “Mihael is a good, strong Wyllmochvarian name.” He smiled. “I was almost named it, but was instead named after a close friend of my father, one Marth Lindfall from Adeluna, an engineer.” He chuckled at the notion. “They wanted me to be a builder,” he said, as he got a bit stuck in memory lane. “It’s why I so often tinker with magical devices,” he explained, getting up from his seat and moving closer to Dalanesca.

As he approached, his smile was apologetic. “I’m sorry. It’s a weird moment to go down this road now, I know, but…” He shrugged, and sighed. He knelt down in front of her, looking up in her eyes, filled with adoration and excitement. “Since Angela told us, I’ve been unable to help thinking about how much better I want our child to have it,” he explained, cradling Dalanesca’s hands. “As my parents tried to do for me,” he added.

He looked at Dalanesca for a moment, pondering. “With that in mind,” he said, rather suddenly - “I have the perfect name if it’s a girl,” he continued, smiling. “My mother’s name was Katarina, and my father was named Matija.” He held up his hands and clasped them together, mimicking smashing two things together. “Katja. Katja Coralax. What do you think?”

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Sat Oct 1, 2016 1:39 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca immediately went on guard at the change in Marth’s gaze as well as his voice - the sound of Reaver had never bode well for them in the past… but as Reaver spoke she realized that Marth had let him out intentionally, to prove a point.  Relaxing slightly, she rolled her eyes as he spoke, but did not say anything.  He seemed to rapidly change back to himself, though when he quickly kissed her she did a double take and grasped either side of his face, looking into his eyes deeply.  “I hate it when you do that,” she said, in reference to his willful allowance of Reaver to take him over.  She nodded as he mentioned returning to the Scales, and summoning him there.  She knew that he would have to obey her call, and even if Reaver didn’t completely submit upon his arrival, she would be back at full power and able to subdue him after a very short period of time.

When Marth told her that he did not want her with the mercenaries, she let out an exasperated sigh.  “Fine,” she said, at the mention of not wanting her to be compromised - but she knew part of the hidden motive behind why he wouldn’t want her directly in the action.  “I’m pregnant, Marth - I’m not a cripple,” she said, and the annoyance was clear in her voice - but also clear was the fact that she understood his concern.  “I can do that,” she said with a bit of resolve.  As much as she hated to agree with him, he was right.  She would be more useful if she were tucked away somewhere, keeping an eye on things closely without actually being involved.  That way, she would be able to intervene if it was necessary.  She fell quiet, saying no more as the two walked through the door of their room.

Rather than sitting on the bed next to Marth, Dalanesca chose instead to sit at one of the chairs which lined the small table in the room.  She eyed him with a bit of curiosity as she could tell that he was deep in thought about their next move, but she said nothing.  She was still slightly bothered by the fact that she wasn’t going to be directly involved in the action, but she knew that Marth had his reasons and they were more or less valid.  When he smiled and changed the subject to their baby, she could not help but perk up a bit.  “I suppose we could,” she said, smiling back at him.  “Wyllmochvarian is fine with me.  I’ve no real ties to any particular location, so it would only make sense for us to choose something that is meaningful to you,” she said.  “And the baby will, of course, have your surname, since I’ll be taking that on, as well,” she added.  “So, it’s a matter of finding something that is meaningful and flows with Coralax,” she said, softly.  “I’ll admit, I unfortunately do not have much experience in terms of Wyllmochvarian anything,” she said, laughing at herself.  “But I do recall meeting a young man from Wyllmochvar named Mihael once.  Could be an option, if it’s boy,” she said.  “But what if it’s a girl?” she asked, hoping Marth would offer his opinion.

Author: Marth, Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 8:04 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth smirked at Dalanesca, his eyes shifting and his voice going higher. “Don’t you worry, she-god. I want to play as much as possible, so I’ll play nice. Besides, why would I want to avoid fucking it up for the guy who freed me in the first place? You obviously don’t know me very well,” he said, before Marth’s eyes and voice shifted back to normal. Marth then stopped to give her a quick kiss, smiling. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to retain some measure of control. Together, we’ll handle it,” he said, before looking up at the sky. “Should all else fail, go to the Blinded Scales and summon me. You should have that ability,” he said, before addressing the strategy with the mercenaries.

“I don’t want you to be with the mercenaries when they strike,” he said, his brow furrowing as he thought about the situation. “If you can avoid direct contact with them altogether, that’d be best. I don’t want you compromised,” he said, his mind also processing Dalanesca’s well-being - and that of their unborn. “Furthermore, if it gets out of hand, I need you above and removed from the chaos, so you’ll have the oversight to step in as needed,” he finished, as they entered their room.

Marth sat down on the bed, deep in thought. It was plain he was still strategizing, trying to come up with a better way to handle the situation. But as the frustration on his face got more intense, it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen - at least not while he was in his current frame of mind. He looked at Dalanesca, and sighed. “No use thinking too much about it now. The mercenary companies won’t be awake and taking business for another few hours - hungover as they always are - but at least we can do something constructive.” He showed Dalanesca a weak smile. “So. Let’s talk baby. Should we decide on possible names? I know I’d want it to have a Wyllmochvarian name, but I’m open to suggestions.”

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 9:01 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca felt mildly disheartened at the defeat that seemed to be covering Marth’s face.  She could see it in his eyes when something she said had caused things to come together in his mind - though she was unsure as to what it was that she had said.  When he began to think out loud, she realized - bringing up the shards had been enough to spur him down the right track of thought.

She remained quiet as Marth plotted out what they would do next, not even objecting when he brought up letting Reaver out.  She let him finish speaking, and began to head off to the inn with him, starting to speak as they walked.  “This plan sounds like it will work,” she said.  “And I’ve no qualms with hiring the mercenaries,” she added.  “But what I am worried about is getting Reaver back in control once he’s out,” she said.  “We’re not in Canelux, nor are we in the Scales,” she added.  “I’m not nearly as powerful here as back home… and what if I don’t have enough power left to bring you back?” she asked, and the worry was quite apparent in her face.  She was not entirely sure how well Marth would be able to control Reaver once he was let loose.  If he were to reassure her that with her limited power and his willpower they would be able to get him back under control, she would be more than okay with the decision- but a small part of her knew that they would be undertaking this plan whether or not she felt completely comfortable with it.

“Do you want me joining the mercenaries during the attack?” she asked Marth as they entered the inn, heading back up to their room.  She knew they would need to regroup and re-equip themselves, and she needed to grab a few more bits of weaponry than she had brought with her in her stealth mission.  She asked, knowing full well that he would probably tell her no - but also knowing that he would know she probably wouldn’t listen.  

Author: Marth, Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 10:20 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth groaned as Dalanesca began pondering. “I don’t know how we’re going to deal with this. No idea.” He tried to steady his thoughts, but they were all a jumble from the shock. He couldn’t get a single strategic thought straight - until Dalanesca mentioned the shards. Something snapped into place is Marth’s mind, and the gears began to turn.

“The shards…” Marth could feel the thought on the front of his mind, he just couldn’t see it. He furrowed his brow, mumbling. “Shards… shards…” Then a light came on, and Marth got an idea. “Of course.” He sprang up, his resolve renewed. “So he wants to turn a shit situation into an advantage? Two can play that game. Kavesz is looking for shards, or he has them. Either way, he wants to utilize them. And when did he come closest?” He looked at Dalanesca with a grin, then walked over and gave her a quick kiss. “Yours truly,” he said, with a glint in his eye. “I can hear Reaver giggling. He wants to join the game, and I intend to let him.” He took a step back, rubbing his beard. “I let Kavesz meet Reaver - see the effects of the shard firsthand. He can’t detain me, for that would implicate him. And neither can he learn anything useful, because, well…” He chuckled out loud. “Reaver the Marauder will just relish in taunting the guy!” Marth rubbed his hands together, eager to get the plan rolling. “Dalanesca. Take the remainder of our cash and look for a band of mercenaries - one you think the world can do without. Have them attack Kavesz and I in the street. I’ll let Reaver play with them, and Kavesz will think my plot was not to take him down, but to get the shards for myself.” He gestured for Dalanesca to follow him back to the inn. “And he’ll have to change his plans, and he’ll once again be vulnerable to mistakes.”

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 7:19 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca had expected that they would have no time for being lazy the next morning.  She followed Marth’s instructions, dressing quickly after Marth and following he and the soldier that had come to fetch him, concealing herself to the shadows once more.  She waited in the same general area as she had the previous time, choosing against going into the mansion after him.  It had gone off without incident the first time, but there was nothing to say that it would do so again.  Fortunately, she did not have to wait long as she could see Marth emerging from the building soon after she had arrived.

One thing worried her.  Marth’s expression gave way that something had gone awry in the small amount of time he had been in the mansion.  When he took her into the alley and seated her firmly onto a crate, she opened her mouth to protest, but snapped it shut again as he began speaking, sliding himself down against the wall.  Her eyes widened as Marth gave the explanation.  She was glad to hear Marth mention that she was still unknown, which gave them a slight advantage, but this had thrown a wrench into things.  

She moved from the crate and sat next to him on the ground of the alley, her hand resting comfortingly on his knee.  “Well.  Things get bumpy, I suppose,” she said, with a sigh.  “Were we in Canelux, I would just will him towards the path of light, make him turn himself in,” she said.  “But here… I’m only slightly stronger than the average mage,” she said, with a frown.  “We will get through this, though.  We will figure this out.  It’s just going to take a lot more groundwork from me since Kavesz will have you under his thumb, now,” she said.  She rested her chin on her hand, looking thoughtful for a moment.  “So, how are we going to get past this roadblock?” she asked, turning her head and cocking it slightly so as she could look at him.  Though she was worried about the situation, nothing could get rid of the affectionate look in her gaze when she looked at him.  “Have to get you out of this one way or another - and we’ve still the shards to deal with, too.”  Her words seemed to be more of a reassurance than anything, but she was hoping that Marth, in his strong intelligence, would at least come up with some sort of plan to start her off.

Author: Marth, Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 9:54 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth joined Dalanesca at the table, wolfing down stew and ale in equal measure. It would seem his appetite had grown more voracious of late, as he’d been using magic that demanded much greater physical exertion of him. It took some time before his hunger allowed him a moment to reply, but as always, his reply was concise. “The Dragonlord would never grow desperate. Bold, perhaps, but there’s not an action he’s taken in his life that hasn’t been carefully thought through.” Marth took a few more mouthfuls of stew before continuing. “Whatever he does next is bound to be a carefully calculated balance of subterfuge, authority, and raw power. We cannot hope to best him in all the fields… But we only need to best him at one,” Marth said with a smile. He emptied his glass of ale, poured himself another, then downed half of that as well. “Subterfuge. Of all things strategy, that’s where he’s weakest. Formidable, yes, but he’s accustomed to authority and might getting him where he needs to be. Through subterfuge, we can sap it.” He filled his bowl with stew again, eating some more. “As for his aide’s death, I have no doubt he suspects me. That was part of the plan - let him know his friends are not out of my reach, and hope he reaches out to them himself. I am more inclined to believe his friends will screw up than he himself,” Marth finished, finally finding time to settle his need for sustenance.

Finally wrapping up the meal, Marth didn’t look as tired as a gluttonous middle-aged man normally would. On the contrary, there was a fire burning in him, and his eyes let it show as he looked at Dalanesca. “So, milady,” he said with a smirk. “You had no trouble with killing a man,” he continued, getting up from his seat. “I suppose that means you have some energy left,” he said, going over to her chair, swooping her out of it with a grin. “But a woman like you need to stay in shape,” he pondered jokingly. “I can perhaps help you burn off some energy,” he said, and slung Dalanesca down onto the bed.

The next morning, Marth was summoned once again to Kavesz’s residence. It wasn’t unexpected, and Marth wasn’t particularly nervous. He suited up, bade Dalanesca follow from afar, and accompanied the soldier collecting him to Kavesz’s mansion.

Marth spent no more than ten minutes in the mansion this time around. He walked over to the location where he met Dalanesca the last time around. Only this time, he was deathly pale. He once again grabbed Dalanesca and dragged her into an alley as she revealed herself, not saying a word. Somewhat roughly, he seated her at a crate in the alley, pacing back and forth, frustrated. “I underestimated him,” he said finally, his look betraying the chaos within. He was close to despair. “How could I not see this coming!?” he said loudly, cursing his own stupidity. Finally, he sank down by a wall, trying to calm himself by sitting. It helped, a little. Eventually, Marth just let out an exasperated chuckle. “It was well played. Pressuring the officials I visited yesterday. Expediting the resolution of the investigation into my absence. Hell, I tried to make him lose face by having you kill his aide, and instead I handed him my own head on a silver platter.” He looked up at Dalanesca with a weak smile. “You’re still obscure to him, don’t worry.” He rubbed his forehead, sighing.

“But in one move, he’s ensured I cannot implicate him in anything without doing the same to myself, as well as stripped me of any way to trump his authority,” he said, his tone growing bitter. “He arranged for me to be his new aide, starting tomorrow.”

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 6:24 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca was perfectly content with the two of them enjoying supper in their private room, so she did not argue the point with Marth when he suggested it.  Truth be told, she was quite famished, and the thought of food was wonderful no matter where they were to enjoy it.  Her mouth nearly watered at the thought of the food he ordered, the hearty stew sounding truly appetizing.  The ale did not sound quite as good to her, though, so she piped in as Marth began to pull her away.  “A pitcher of fresh water, too, if you please!” she called, and the barkeep nodded at her in confirmation that he had indeed heard her request as she was whisked away.

When they had entered their room, Dalanesca did not take her eyes off of Marth as he placed himself on the bed, fighting the carnal urge to leap on top of him and have her way with him.  She partially blamed the desire on her earlier activities - the rush of the kill had gotten her blood flowing and of course she was going to be up for anything - but it seemed that she felt this way any time Marth was lying down, regardless of environmental circumstances.  Fortunately, she was able to control this urge and contented herself with sitting down on the bed near him, listening to his thoughts as he spoke them out loud.

“Sounds like a plan,” she responded.  As if on cue, there was a rap on the door, and she jumped to her feet to answer it.  The barkeep stood on the other side of the threshold with their ordered tray of sustenance.  She took the tray from him graciously and gave him a small tip before shutting the door and placing the tray on the table in the room.  

She walked back across the room to where Marth lay on the bed, her hand coming to rest on his leg.  “Come,” she said, beckoning for him to join her at the table.  She walked back over and began to dole out the stew into two crocks, placing one at each chair at the table.  Quickly, she poured some of the ale for him, and a bit of the water for herself.  She sat down, but did not start to eat as she waited for him.  “Will Kavesz resort to desperate measures?” she asked, though she was sure that she already knew the answer.  “I mean, was he expecting this of you?  I understand we need to have our guard up - but I guess I would like to know just what we are dealing with.”  She gave pause for a moment, taking a sip of her water, before speaking once more.  “Is he going to know that we - rather you - had something to do with his aide being murdered?” she asked.  She was well aware that she was still mostly unknown to the senator, though she could be sure that he had eyes and ears everywhere and would at least know of her involvement with Marth - but not of her true identity.

Author: Marth, Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 9:39 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth found himself slightly unnerved at the casual way Dalanesca talked about cold-blooded murder, shifting in his seat with a curious expression. He eventually came to decide that with Dalanesca being a god, there was no point in being squirmish about it. It wasn’t his place to argue, and he was the one who ordered the hit, anyway. Once Dalanesca brought up Marth’s own success, he simply nodded. “I have enough officials in my pocket to set things in motion, yes.”

Marth shook his head when Dalanesca mentioned a table. “This place was built with peace and privacy in mind. We can eat in our room,” he said, smiling at Dalanesca’s show of affection. He motioned at the barkeep, placing an order in Wyllmochvarian. “Bring a two-person serving of your sweet beef stew, will you? And a small barrel of dark ale to wash it down,” he said, before grabbing Dalanesca’s hand and heading upstairs.

Once upstairs, Marth slung himself down on the bed, deep in thought. “This is where we’ll need to keep our wits about us,” Marth said. “Kavesz is bound to act, and we must be able to react in kind. We should take it easy - once my eyes and ears pick something up, we need to be rested enough to spring into action at any time,” he said, pondering what Kavesz’ next move would be. “I suggest we eat, then rest as best we can,” he concluded, looking at Dalanesca to ensure she was on board with their current high alert status.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 1:12 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

When Marth entered the tavern and joined her, Dalanesca’s face lit up.  “There you are,” she said, giving him a smile a shade to warm for someone who had just murdered someone in cold-blood.  She maneuvered her chair a bit closer to him and gave him a quick, albeit very affectionate kiss.  “Just fine,” she said, her smile broadening slightly.  She grabbed her glass, taking a sip of the dark red wine that she had ordered.  Upon Marth’s asking, the scene replayed in her mind, reinvigorating the rush that she had felt while taking the aide’s life - almost wishing that she could relive the entire scenario once more. “The hardest part was tracking him down, since I didn’t want to draw too much attention to myself.  But after that it was just smooth sailing,” she said, her grin unwavering.  

“You speak of corrupt officials - I take it you were able to accomplish what was needed?” she asked, her voice nonchalant.  After a moment’s silence, she spoke again.  “Do we want dinner?  We could move to a table and figure out our next steps while we eat.” She placed her hand on his upper leg, not in a sexual motion but rather in a pass of affection.  She ran a glance around the room, spotting a table that was a bit removed from other people.  “We could take that one, over there,” she said, motioning to it.  The glory of their relationship is that with their closeness and affection, it would be easy for them to be close enough to have a hushed conversation without drawing too much attention to themselves.

Author: Marth, Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:20 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth was immensely reassured when Dalanesca showed no hesitation about the prospect of assassination. If she thought it was okay, who was he, her priest, to argue? He accepted her kiss happily. “I love you, too,” he said, watching as Dalanesca set off to do her bloody work. Might as well go do mine, he thought to himself.

Marth spent the following hours paying visits to some of the senators and judges in Wyllmochvar he knew were dirty. For some of them, all he had to do was bring up old friendships and favours, and they were happy to bend the law to assist him. Others required compensation, but Marth had the coin to pay them for their services. When Marth was done with his little tour, he had three judges and two senators in his pocket, as well as the promised assistance of a couple of officials in other offices of note. Half of them would probably rat him out to Kavesz, but the other half would keep their ears to the ground and dig up first for him. This suited him just fine. The more reckless he seemed to Kavesz, the more Kavesz would be forced to take drastic steps to counter that recklessness. And it wasn’t as if Marth was going to be indicted for corruption - the officials in question qould have to admit to felony crimes in court, which was not going to happen.

So Marth came back to the tavern about half an hour on overtime. He found Dalanesca, grabbed a seat, and ordered a drink. His tastes, at least, remained predictable - gin, gin all the way. The gin served in Wyllmochvar was of high quality, and the one he was served smelled strong of evergreen, with a hint of blueberry to sweeten the pot. Marth downed his drink in one go. “Corrupt officials. I hate them. No respect for their offices,” he said, grumbling. “But, they serve their purpose.” He was being poured another drink as he looked over at Dalanesca. “So how’d it go on your end?” He asked, trying to sound casual. Luckily, it worked, by and large.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 11:41 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca was glad that she had approached Marth in an acceptable manner this time - she recalled, in Egjora, having accidentally snuck up on him, and he had not been overly pleased with that.  Though she did balance him out, he was still quite jumpy - and especially with her powers being dampened, she did not want to take any chances on something worse happening if he were to get startled.  She moved with him willingly as he pulled her into an alleyway, clearly understanding that they needed to be out of sight for whatever it was that Marth was going to want to discuss with her.

Her expression remained emotionless throughout Marth’s explanation.  She did not nod, nor did she speak, as he explained to her what he was going to ask of her.  Instead, her face remained a blank slate.  The only reaction she offered was a double blink as he mentioned assassination.  She had been quite sure that this was what Marth was getting at, but hearing him say it was something all together different.  She still remained silent as he concluded his explanation, moving on to what he would need to do.  

When Marth finished his explanation, concluding with how they would meet at the tavern in four hours, she finally spoke.  “Okay,” she said, and there was absolutely no hesitation to be heard in her voice.  She had no reason to doubt Marth - she knew that he would not ask her to undertake such a task if there was no reason for it.  His explanation of why these people were not good was unnecessary, as it was part of her divine will to be able to sense these things.  Dampened or not, her powers still allowed her to see this.  “I love you,” she said, and kissed him quickly, before walking swiftly away from him and out of the alley, intent on carrying out the task that he asked of her.

-

It did not take her long to track down the senator’s aide.  He was walking not far from where they were, having left the senator’s office in a huff when he had been asked to leave during Marth’s ‘visit.’  With a bit of extra help from her few abilities, she found him in no time, exiting an inn where he had just eaten a light lunch.  She stalked him for a while, until he had  turned down an alley in what she assumed was a shortcut to get back to the senator’s mansion.  

She managed to sneak up behind him, pulling her hood down and letting her hair spill in loose waves around her shoulder.  “I recognize you from earlier today,” she called out to him, donning the same accent she had put on earlier in the day.  Given the statement she had given him during their previous meeting, it would not seem all that unusual to the aide.  “How fortunate fate has been this day, to bring me to you once more,” she said, the sultry tone of her voice lowering even further.  

The aide turned quickly to look at her, his eyes narrowing when he saw who it was.  “Nice to see you out of the company of suspected criminals,” he said, the tone of his voice giving way to darker thoughts.  Dalanesca felt a sudden surge of anger at the negative words he spoke about her betrothed, but did not give way to such feelings.  He took a few steps towards her, and she gave him a twisted smile, taking a few steps towards him as well.

“Are you to take me up on the offer of my company?” she asked, the accent never wavering.  The aide gave a bit of a laugh, nodding his head. 

“I suppose I could,” he responded, stopping just inches away from her.  She instinctively readied one of the daggers hidden up her sleeve, ready to strike when the time allowed.  The aide reached his hand out to brush her hair away from her face, and she took this as her opportunity.

“Too late now,” she said, dropping her accent.  The aide’s eyes looked confused, before glossing over completely as she lunged forward with a quick strike to his gut, the blade from her hidden weapon piercing through his stomach and into him.  He let out a gurgled gasp and fell to his knees as the goddess withdrew her blade, quickly stowing it up her sleeve again.  She could feel a surge of adrenaline running through her body, along with something else - something much darker than she could remember feeling at a kill - and it felt great.  

The aide looked at her, before falling sideways onto the pavement, dead within minutes.  Dalanesca looked around to check that there were no witnesses, and looked down at the now-corpse before her.  The wound was too clean to make it look like a simple attack in an alley.  She knelt down next to the body and added a few smaller cuts and punctures from the blade onto his face and forearms, making it look like he had put up much more of a struggle than was actual.

When she was happy with the display left in the alley, she stood, drawing her hood and heading in the direction of the tavern.  Only approximately three hours had passed, so she decided she would find a spot in the tavern and order a glass of wine - it had been a long day, and she most certainly felt as though she deserved it.  She reached the tavern in a matter of minutes, no one even looking up at her when she walked in save the barkeep who took her order when she sat down and delivered it promptly.  She sat at the bar, waiting for Marth to arrive, feeling no remorse for the life that she had just taken and feeling sickeningly pleased at the fact that no one in the establishment was any the wiser.

Author: Marth, Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 2:03 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth eventually spotted a hooded character head briskly towards him. While he could not see the character’s face, the armour - or rather, the curves beneath it - was familiar to him, as was her voice. At the question of productivity, Marth nodded with a small smile. “He didn’t believe a word I said. Which was the plan. With any luck, he’ll send someone to keep track of me,” he said, returning the kiss on the cheek before gently grabbing Dalanesca’s arm and leading her into an alleyway.

Marth’s expression as he explained the next stage of the plan was determined, stoic. “Our next move,” Marth said - clearly not entirely comfortable with it - “Requires you to open your old toolbox, so to speak,” he continued. He began pacing back and forth as he provided his reasoning, which was seemingly more to reassure himself than elucidate Dalanesca. “Kavesz is too strong. Taking him head-on in any way is tantamount to suicide. And we don’t know who else might be involved yet - killing him might just paint an enormous bulls-eye on our backs.” Marth looked positively disgusted at the idea that followed. “So we must drain his authority. Damage his gravitas. If you could…” Marth took a brief pause, but to his credit, did not sugar-coat the matter. “Assassinate his aide, that should do it. Stab wound to the gut. If his students cannot defend themselves from a simple knife-wielding thief in an alley, his ability as a teacher - and possibly his own magic - will be called into question. A serious thing, here in Wyllmochvar,” he said, rubbing his head. “I know it’s a terrible thing to contemplate, milady, but that man is not an innocent in this,” Marth said - but again, it seemed like he was talking more to himself than Dalanesca. Eventually, however, he managed to settle down, taking a seat on the ground in the alley.

“I will have to get dirty too,” Marth continued, clearly not liking this next part of the plan, either. “I must take some of our remaining money and head to magisters and senators in the city I know are corrupt. I have a few in mind, people with reason to hate demons,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I won’t like it one bit, but I’ll do it if it means getting a player like Kavesz swept off the board. Odds are, he’ll have the locations of other shards, too,” he said, getting up again. “We can meet up back at the tavern in four hour’s time,” he said, smiling weakly. “Something tells me we’ll both need some company and comfort once our missions are done,” he concluded.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:32 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca felt her skin prickle as she followed closely behind Marth and the mage, their mental connection allowing her to feel a burst of heat from the anger that had flared up within him.  She could not see his face, but she was certain that the young mage he was with had said something to upset him.  She did not come to action, rather staying back and keeping herself out of sight as she had been doing, keeping herself on slightly higher alert.  The energy that she felt from Marth was not energy from Reaver, but rather whatever draconic force had awakened in him after their last outing.  

As the pair entered the mansion, she slipped in swiftly after them, still shrouded from sight.  She knew Marth would most likely be able to detect her presence as the two had such a strong connection, but she was confident that the young mage would have no idea she was present - she was quite thankful that her abilities hadn’t been completely taken away, only made less powerful.  Having had no talent for magic before her ascension, she would have been up a creek had she not had her divinity.

When Marth entered the room that she assumed was Kavesz’s office, she stayed outside.  She could hear well enough, even with the wall and door muffling their voices.  This part of the plan was not hers to partake in - she was to stand by in case she was needed but there was no action for her to take just yet.  Still invisible to the young mage that had been sent out of the room, she leaned against the opposite wall, waiting.  The young mage muttered something under his breath before taking off down the hall.

Time passed, and then more time passed.  Dalanesca listened on and off to the discussion that was happening within the office.  Eventually, she sat down on the floor - still waiting.  After quite some time, it sounded like the conversation was wrapping up.  Dalanesca quickly hurried off and slipped back outside of the mansion in which Kavesz’s office was.  She found a small courtyard not far whatsoever from the area, where the exit of the mansion was in view, and sat down upon a bench that happened to be free of any people resting.  When she was sure that there was noone around to view the action, she let down her facade and became visible once more.  She sat back, and awaited Marth’s exit. 

She did not have to wait much longer, when she saw her companion’s figure step out of the mansion.  When she was sure he wasn’t being followed by anyone, she pulled her hood up stood up, walking towards him at a quick pace - wearing the hood was a precautionary measure in case the young mage were to appear.  “Productive meeting?” she asked, as she reached him.  She had heard a great deal of what was spoken, but had not paid too close of attention to it.  She stood up on her toes and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, her hand lingering on his arm briefly.  “What’s our next move?”

Author: Marth, Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 12:49 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth never once looked back as he accompanied the young mage to Kavesz’s office - though ‘office’ didn’t quite to the senator’s working quarters justice. It was essentially a mansion, though more or less public domain and plastered with flags and such, denominators of his rank and status. “I see the Dragonlord remains as humble and subtle as ever,” Marth said in a sarcastic, joking tone. The young mage eyed him with some hostility. “He’s a senator of the Republic of Wyllmochvar, sir, and will not stand for your insolence.” This flared some anger in Marth - even at a distance, Dalanesca would be able to sense it. As it happened, even the young mage did, for the pressure that Marth exerted on the atmosphere was unmistakably draconic. He stood still, looking at the young mage with eyes filled with fury, black slits against a molten background. “You listen to me, pup. I have known Kavesz Morlaverli since before you suckled on your mother’s tit. If you presume to tell me who the Dragonlord is one more time, I will make you intimately familiar with the magic school he perfected. Understood!?” The young mage, as well as a number of people in the immediate vicinity, looked at Marth in shock. Clearly, the senator had not deigned to share Marth’s identity and history with his aide, something Marth took as a good sign. Marth proceeded to step inside the mansion, regardless of the young man’s instruction.

Just from looking at the interior, marth could immediately deduce where Kavesz had his office. The Dragonlord had always kept his arsenal and library close, and since no rooms on the first floor seemed fit for such a purpose, Marth headed upstairs, with Kavesz’s aide following suit, protesting - albeit more weakly than before. Marth headed for the wing of the mansion with the better view of the mountains, spotted the library, and noticed that the ideal room was right next to it. He knocked twice on the door, and walked straight in.

“Ah, Marth. I’m sorry for summoning you in this manner, but I heard you survived. I had to see it with my own eyes, I scarce believed it.” The aging mage walked towards Marth with a smile, his long white robes flowing behind him as he approached his pupil for a hug. Marth returned the gesture, playing his part as best he could. The aging man addressed his aide, who by now had zero idea what was going on. “Thank you, Zvar, you may resume your other duties.” The young man - Zvar - seemed ready to object, but eventually sighed, made a bow, and closed the door. Kavesz gestured at the east opposite his own at his office desk. “Please, sit. And do tell me how you lived through that horrible event. We found so many corpses, we assumed you were already dead in the desert.” Marth took his seat, and smiled, as if tired. “Well,” he began, sounding as though he mostly just wanted to lie down and rest. “It is the weirdest thing. All I remember is leaving the desert… And after that… Nothing,” he said, putting on an almost convincing smile. The Dragonlord perked an eyebrow, and continued his questioning.

Two hours later, Marth walked out of Kavesz’s offices, satisfied with his performance. He had confidence that Kavesz believed Marth was hiding something, and he was also confident Kavesz didn’t quite know how much he knew. And so it was that Marth stepped into the sun, blinking, eyeing the area to see if he could find Dalanesca.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 11:49 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca found herself pleased that Marth understood why she asked just how tired he was, and that he seemed to be quite on the same page that she was.  She giggled softly as he grabbed her arm and tugged her along with him.  She assumed they were heading to an inn, and when they approached the villa-esque structure that seemed to be the destination that Marth had in mind, she raised her eyebrows.  It was much nicer than the inns she was used to in Canelux - but Wyllmochvar seemed to be a fairly sophisticated city compared to Adeluna and the areas that she was used to.

She stood back behind Marth as he secured them a room as well as fruit and wine to take with them.  She smiled internally, remembering how she had drunk quite a bit of wine the first night she had met Marth - nothing had come about that evening, but it was the start of something all together incredible for her - that journey had placed her where she now stood, and she was grateful for that.  Her ascension had followed that - and Marth had been there every step of the way with her. 

When they reached the room and Marth poured the two glasses of wine, she gladly took one, taking a small sip.  Her face reddened slightly at his comment of her being the sexiest triune of them all, and she gave him a knowing glance.  “No need to flatter me, Marth… you know I’ll be yours soon regardless,” she said, a sassy tone overtaking her words.  As he approached her to wrap his arms around her, she set down her glass although it was not empty yet, and allowed him to snake his arms about her form.  She pressed her body gently into his as his hands lowered, her lips meeting his kiss with passion and intensity.  When he pulled away and whispered his request into her ear, she gave him one quick wink before making an attempt to get away from him.

She let out a shriek as Marth’s strength pulled her back, pushing her towards the bed.  Of course, even in her weakened state due to Parvporan disbelief, she would have been able to overpower him - but what would be the fun in that? She put on her best show, allowing Marth to overpower her and cuff her to the bed.  She struggled weakly against him as he removed her armor and clothing, internally enjoying every second of it.

The knock on the door the next morning startled her - she had still been asleep when he had slipped out of bed to have a bit of the fruit and wine.  She shot up, staring at him with a small bit of worry on her face.  She remained quiet, but her expression was filled with the question of what the hell?  As he mouthed his explanation to her, she nodded in understanding, and pulled on enough of her belongings so that she would not be completely exposed to the man outside of the door.  Managing to pull on at least her clothing and one of her skirts, she gathered up the rest of her things and began to play along.  “Hmph,” she said, strutting past him, giving a playful yelp and a small jump as he slapped her rear. “You Wyllmochvar men, all the same,” she said, putting on a thick Adelunian accent - much different from her normal way of speaking.  As she walked out of the room, she caught Marth’s thoughts - they were scrambled, but she could tell that he wanted her to watch this man

She sauntered past the mage outside the door as she left, eyeing him up and down suggestively.  “You find me later if you need some company,” she said, the accent carrying on.  She knew Marth would understand that it was all a part of her act, but she still felt odd speaking to anyone other than Marth with that sort of air.  She hurried down the hall, ducking into an empty room when she was sure that no one was looking.  She quickly got the rest of her clothing on, and tied her hair back in a loose strap of leather that she had in her belt pouch.  Listening closely, she could hear Marth and the mage departing.

Enough of her divine magic still worked where she was able to shroud herself with the few shadows in the morning, and follow the two from a way back without being noticed.

Author: Marth, Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 1:44 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth smirked as Dalanesca asked him just how tired he was. “Oh, I am certain i can muster some energy still,” he said, subtly giving Dalanesca’s backside a squeeze. “There’s a large number of good inns nearby, often frequented by officers or wealthy students,” he said, grabbing Dalanesca’s arm and leading the way to one he had visited often while he was still a student. “At least now sex can’t offer us any more surprises,” he joked as they went along, crossing a bridge where three gondoliers were arguing loudly over who had the right of way.

After a few minutes, they came to a large building, which looked something like a villa. Marth led Dalanesca in, and proceeded to rent a room from the tavernkeep - someone Marth was not familiar with. Marth ordered a bottle of wine and a tray of fruit to bring up to the room, deciding he didn’t want to stick around for long enough for the students in the place to start asking him questions.

When the two were finally in their room, Marth shed his weapon and armour. The room was spacious, with a king-sized bed, a bath tub with a tap, a vanity for grooming and a number of other comforts - there was also a bookshelf with a number of Wyllmochvar’s currently best-selling tomes, which ironically enough was mostly romance novels. He went over to the table and poured two glasses of wine. “To you,” he said, raising the glass. “The sexiest of the triune,” he continued with a grin, taking a few healthy sips of the glass.

Once the glass was empty, Marth proceeded to wrap his arms around Dalanesca, smiling. “So… How about that recreational activity,” he said with a smirk, his hands gliding down to Dalanesca’s backside again. He leaned in to give her a kiss, after which he whispered in her ear. “I’d like you to resist a bit,” he said, before going into character.

His hands grasped Dalanesca’s, and he began pushing her towards the bed, procuring from a pouch on his belt a pair of handcuffs. There was a bit of a struggle, but Marth eventually got Dalanesca over to the bed, cuffing her hands to a bedpost, before stripping her of her armour and whatever was beneath. What followed was an hour or so of pretty intense lovemaking, fortunately in the privacy of a sound-proofed room.

The next morning, things went more or less as Marth expected them to. He got up in time to enjoy a bit of wine and fruit left over from the previous night before a knock could be heard on the door. “Marth Coralax. Senator Kavesz Morlaverli requests your presence,” said a gruff voice from the other side of the door. Marth leant over to Dalanesca and gave her a quick kiss. “Play along,” he said, softly. “One moment!” he said, grabbing his trousers, shirt, robes, and belt, and putting them on in something of a hurry. While he did so, he looked at Dalanesca, mouthing three words - one night stand. Waiting for Dalanesca to grab her stuff, he eventually opened the door, to face a young, neatly groomed, black-haired mage in official-looking clothes. “Hang on a second,” he said to the man. He then turned to Dalanesca, looking angry. “Come on, woman, get out of here! We’re done!” He gave her a slap on the ass as she left the room, chuckling. Keep tabs on this guy, he thought to himself as he watched her leave. “Alright, give me a moment to suit up properly,” he said.

A few minutes later, Marth Coralax followed the young mage towards the senatorial quarter, preparing for what he figured would be the most delicate and perhaps perilous part of his plan.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 12:13 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca felt herself growing a bit impatient as she waited for Marth, but she knew that it would be no fault of his own - she would be surprised if he purposely kept her waiting without there being a damn good reason for it.  Rather than becoming upset at the amount of time she was waiting for him, she sat on the bench, making small conversation with the different people that took up a seat beside her at various points throughout the time.  When she had been left alone again, she found that her hand had drifted to lay over her stomach.

Though she was not visibly pregnant yet (truthfully, Angela had told her that she was no more than a day along), the thought was still bouncing around in her mind, and the hand resting over her stomach seemed to be out of pure instinct rather than anything else.  About the same moment, and elderly woman came and sat next to her.  She gave the woman a soft smile, and the newcomer’s eyes drifted down to her hand on her stomach.

“Having a little one?” she asked, the familiar accent of her voice giving way to Dalanesca that the older woman was from Adeluna.  She broadened her smile a bit and nodded to the woman.

“I am,” she said, with a smile. “Have only just found out,” she said, laughing a bit nervously.  The old woman smiled at her and lay her hand on her shoulder.

“Child, I can see that you’re nervous - but you’ve nothing to worry about.  I can tell just from looking at you that you’re fit to be a mother - this little one is going to have a life of love,” she said, and got up.  The old woman walked away just as suddenly as she had appeared, leaving Dalanesca with a sense of calm.

She sat back, watching the traffic in and out of the court house, her mind drifting to the life with Marth that lay ahead of her.  She was in a bit of a dream like state when he arrived, coming out of her reverie as he gave her a quick kiss.  “I’m glad to see you’ve not been incarcerated,” she said, with a raised eyebrow - she had been unaware that there had been a chance of that.  Granted, she would have easily been able to get him out - her powers were weakened, not gone - but she knew that would have completely thrown off their plans.  

“I had no problems with the tasks you gave me,” she said, fishing in her pouch for the remainder of the hanged monies to give to him.  “Here,” she said, pressing them into his hands.  “You’ve changed,” she said, taking in the appearance of his new clothing.  “Ah well,” she said, with a bit of a smile.

“Sleep sounds lovely,” she said.  “I’ve taken in an awful lot of information in the past day or so, and I wouldn’t mind shutting my mind off for a bit,” she added.  “Lead the way to an inn, if you would?  I’m sure you’re more familiar with the territory than I am,” she said, though one of her hands trailed down his arm slightly.  “Though.. Just how tired are you?” she said, with a bit of quirked eyebrow.  She was tired, but being in the same room as Marth and a bed seemed to be rather detrimental to her getting any sleep.  If he was up for it, she had a feeling that the two of them would have a bit of a romp before bed - but if not, she would be completely content curling up beside him if nothing than to be near him.

Author: Marth, Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 8:39 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth wasted little time getting to Wyllmochvar’s army headquarters, situated directly next to the Mage Academy. With the foot traffic in the area, few offered Marth more than a single glance - when he proceeded inside to speak with a court-martial counsellor, a few questions were asked about the unfamiliar insignias on his robes, but Marth managed to persuade the security guards that it was all just a matter of misinformation in case he was killed in combat. When he announced that he had been MIA for over two years, it did not take long until the current incumbent of the attorney general’s office - essentially chief prosecutor of the court-martial - to ask to do the debriefing personally. So it was that a mere forty-five minutes passed since Marth separated from Dalanesca until he got an audience with the man he wanted to see.

Marth knew that identification, admittance of life (he was presumed dead), and the debrief itself could take hours. Indeed, the identification process alone took an hour. The debrief was the most difficult challenge, however - his possession, his capture by the Fellhunter Fraternity, his exorcism, and his subsequent personal quest was a difficult thing to properly explain. Marth did of course leave out his relationship with one of Canelux’s deities; Wyllmochvarian military personnel was prohibited from having religious obligations. Finally, after more than four hours of intensive questioning, Marth got his verdict: He was stripped of his rank and had to deliver his robes in, as they carried insignias he was no longer permitted to wear. He was, however, not indicted with any crimes until the Fellhunter Fraternity had been consulted, and had freedom of the city - he also got to keep the Dragon Lance. Marth was given a new set of robes - purple with gilded edges - until such a time when his rank could be reassumed. And so, clad in new robes, with his old armour and weapon, he left the attorney general’s office after five gruelling hours of debrief, and saw a welcome sight in the hallway, just as the sun was dipping into the horizon.

Marth went over to Dalanesca and gave her a quick kiss. “Well, they didn’t throw me in prison for desertion, which is good. I can’t leave the city, but I planned for that contingency. Now all we have to do is wait. I assume I’ll be summoned to Kavesz’s office sometime in the morning,” he explained, before yawning rather loudly. “I trust you had no problems dealing with your end, so let’s just find a decent inn and bunker in for the night, hm?” Marth looked positively exhausted. Remaining calm without Dalanesca present had proven a bit difficult, and had required a lot of focus. “I could use some rest,” he added.

Author: Dalanesca, Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2016 1:03 PM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Dalanesca could immediately sense that her powers were somewhat diminished as the two appeared in Wyllmochvar.  Upon her ascension, she had been informed that the powers of the divine were quite diluted in Parvpora, mostly due to the fact that most Parvporan citizens did not believe in them.  She had mentally prepared herself for such, but the fact remained that it was still an odd feeling.  

Dalanesca fell into step next to Marth, stopping just behind him at the gate when the guard commanded them to cease further movement.  Marth did not seem worried, so in turn she remained calm as the guard questioned Marth, not paying much mind to her at the current moment.  She could pick up most of what the two were saying, but judged the situation based off of Marth’s body language rather than what was being said.

When she could feel that the subject turned to her, she watched Marth closely to make sure the situation was still under control.  The topic seemed to be whether or not she was armed, and she had a split second where she was worried about whether or not their plans were going to go as expected.  She could see the look of slight confusion crossing the guard’s face, but it seemed that all was well and the two were able to make their way through the city gates.

Holding her hand out, she took the cheque from Marth, tucking into one of the pouches attached at her waist.  She listened closely, taking in each instruction that he gave her.  It was now that she was grateful that she still possessed her skill set from her days as an assassin, as until she tried she was still unsure how powerful her magic would actually be while they were in Wyllmochvar.  The instructions that he gave her seemed simple enough, and she nodded, giving Marth a smile.  “Understood,” she said, smiling as he kissed her cheek.  “Until then, love,” she said, turning to walk towards an area in which she could catch a ride with a gondola.

After two unsuccessful attempts to hail a gondola - thanks in part to her lack of capability to verbally speak Wyllmochvarian - she finally managed to flag one down.  Climbing in, she choppily gave instructions to where she was headed.  It took a few tries, but she was able to explain to the gondolier where she needed to go.

After a short wait and no issues, Dalanesca was able to have the cheque changed for cash and value papers, in the method of which Marth had told her to do so.  It did not take her long to find a message house, and she was able to secure two couriers, sending each of them about three days’ travel away from Wyllmochvar in opposite directions, just as she had been instructed.  She then made her way to the courthouse, entering the reception area.  Aside from a few looks at her out-of-the-ordinary way of dress and non-Wyllmochvarian appearance, she drew no attention - nor did she see Marth.  She sat down on one of the benches scattered throughout the reception area, waiting for him to arrive.

Author: Marth, Posted: Fri Sep 9, 2016 7:37 AM, Post Subject: Reaver, the Conqueror [P,R]

Marth and Dalanesca appeared just outside Wyllmochvar’s walls, prompting surprise by some onlookers and a lazy wave from the guards. Marth immediately went up to the gate, where a guard held out his hand in a ‘halt’ fashion. Marth complied, eyeing the guard, waiting for him to say something.

“Halt. You bear the robes of a republican battlemage, yet you carry armour and insignias of other origins. Explain.” The guard looked buff, about an inch taller than Marth himself, and seemed to be an officer of some kind. Marth calmly replied in a formal tone.

“Afternoon, Sergeant. I am Marth Coralax, formerly captain in the expeditionary forces. I’m here to report for debrief following an unsuccessful mission.” To this, the guard perked an eyebrow. He looked at the other guards, who just shrugged.

“And who is your commanding officer?” The guard captain asked, slightly less sure of himself.

“Senator Kavesz Morlaverli orchestrated my mission. I was supposed to report directly to him, but I’m inclined to take it to the attorney general instead. Is Rochla Dritarvje still in office?”

The guard looked a little puzzled, but beside the armour and extra insignias, Marth did indeed appear to be what he claimed to be. Eventually the guard sighed. “She was elected as supreme justice a year ago. The attorney general’s office is currently occupied by Dimitri Sochav. Has a crime been committed?”

Marth held up a hand, indicating that he wanted the sergeant to stop inquiring. “That’s a matter for judicial authorities, not the city guard. I can go myself, or you can escort me.”

The guard looked at his post, which was somewhat understaffed. Customs had the majority of the manpower there, and so the sergeant wound up resigning to his fate. “You may go ahead. Is your companion armed?” he asked, gesturing to Dalanesca.

“To the teeth,” Marth replied flatly. “Why?” The guard sergeant looked thoroughly perplexed at the reply, but there was no law against carrying weapons in the city. In the end, Marth’s reply simply meant that he knew full well how the law worked - and the city guard was not at liberty to stop people who wasn’t carrying contraband. Soon, Marth and Dalanesca were through the gates.

Marth handed the cheque Martin had written up for him. “Hail a gondola and have them take you to the money changer at the harbour. Withdraw half in cash and the rest in value papers. Make a point of using some of those papers to rent the private use of a courier or two at the messenger’s guild, next to the customs house. Send each of them about three days away from the city. Then meet me at the courthouse. If I’m not in the reception, just wait.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then turned. “See you in a few hours, milady,” he said, walking off to get to work.