FE:A - Outsiders

Steak sauce time

A1

I'll go with that.

"Hmph. If it's a fight you want, you can have it, Rigori." While you slip your sword off your back, everyone else begins to raise their own weapons. You raise your arm in front of Jin'ka, motioning for him to stand down. Rigori and his men also stop in their tracks, confused. "But this will be between us. A duel. Your victory will chase us out of town, my victory will claim your loyalty to me. I trust, as an honorable Feroxi man, you accept this duel?"

As the men behind him back away, intending to let the two of you battle in peace, Rigori grits his teeth. "Why you... cocky little... I'll 'ave yer 'ead for thinking ya could claim me like this!" He charges towards you, axe raised and veins bulging around his temple.

You quietly raise your sword horizontally in front of your chest, and breathe in deeply. As you watch his eyes, you can see him aiming his weapon for your shoulder. A wide swing comes from behind his back, clearly unrestrained and without the discipline he displayed the night before. You lean in with your left side, offering him a better shot at it, and when he closes in for his swing, you twist towards him. The head of his axe flies down past you while you smash the pommel of your sword into Rigori's jaw. He stumbles, and you swing your arm back, lightly slicing across his bare chest. "That all?"

"Lil'... brat..." He seems calmer now, taking the axe handle in both his hands as he watches your stance. He will not be as easy to disrupt as before, and the thought of a challenge from him excites you. He starts to move forward again. You take the initiative and stab at his chest, to which he responds by backing up and attempting to push your blade away with his.

"Close." You continue to pace forward, repeating your poking and keeping Rigori defensive. After a fourth poke, you dash into him, allowing your sword arm to fall behind you while you reach forwards and plant your gloved fist into his chin. "Too close."

He swings again, and you sidestep to the right, but your gut is struck by the shaft. By controlling your breathing, you quickly recover, and slice his left thigh open. "Grrraaghh! Damn- get yer useless asses over-" While he had been trying to stumble back, away from you, to safety, and to call to the men he had brought with him, you merely pressed your sword against the back of his neck, effectively paralyzing him. "Y-You..."

"Stay quiet and behave. Those men weren't a part of the duel."

"I didn't agree to-!" You silence him by digging the edge into his neck a tad. The men he had brought were already leaving. He murmurs. "Damn, foreign pieces of... Ya should just end me."

"Sorry, I won't let you die while you're useful to me. Let's get a job and have you patched up." As you suggest this, the regal man, whom you had been watching earlier, walks next to the two of you, and then raises a staff. A smooth blue light shines over your bodies, and you feel rejuvenated. "Ah! Thank you, sir. I'd been meaning to speak with you, before I was interrupted."

"Mhm." His deep blue eyes run a path along you, Jin'ka, and Rigori in turn, before circling back to meet your own. His features are soft, effeminate, and accentuated by a circlet, yet he casts a strong and royal presence. "You definitely seem ideal for assisting me. Shall we speak somewhere quieter, where you haven't been spilling as much blood? Assuming you came here for work like the general populace, anyhow."

You follow him, and he takes you to a table in a private room on the second floor. The atmosphere is notably stiffer than the rest of the fort, riding the thin line between professional and awkward all by itself. The chairs are padded with two cushions each, and two bottles of wine sit in the center of the table. The walls are as drab as is standard for the whole fort, but the curtains and carpet almost conceal that fact. On the way, you note the man walks in a way that seems to accentuate his hips, swinging slightly from side to side. Curious, but you decide to ignore it. Rigori refuses to enter the room with the rest of you, and Jin'ka leans against the wall by the door, leaving you and the blonde man to sit alone, across from each other. "So, we're ideal, to serve you? Do tell. Seems a hard thing to judge, to me, but I'll let you explain yourself." You always found it important to establish some level of interdependence, when dealing with any sort of service, even when you lived as a princess, and chose your words carefully for that purpose.

His smirk is incredibly playful, almost teasing you for speaking as you did. A twinkle seems to flash across his eyes. "My name is Skylar, dear. I was hoping you could help track some fellow nobles of mine down. Simple work, in a mercenary's mind, I'm sure, but you see, I already have ideas on where these people are. It's getting to them, and getting them, that I will require your assistance for. I won't be able to indulge you with the details on who exactly we will be gathering, but I can tell you that first on my list is a young easterner who recently crossed into Ferox, from the Ylissean side of the border. Though, there's also a small-time warlord traveling nearby, in the opposite direction, whom I've been meaning to see. I'll leave it to you which one you would like us to pursue first."

"Aalllright, we need to clear some things up first." You glance back towards Jin'ka, but he seems focused on opening the wine he snatched. Returning your gaze to the table, you see Skylar starting to do the same. "You want these people dead when we get to them, or what? And are you coming with us for this? If so, why won't you be leading?"

"Maybe. And yes, I'll be coming. I won't be leading because it's your band of sellswords, not mine. And furthermore, this will allow me to survey your leadership skills and see if I'll want to hire you for more after this." Finally sipping at the glass he poured himself, and then sneering at it, he looks back at you. "Well? We ought to be on the road before noon, so I'd suggest you decide soon."

A. You decide to start by going after the easterner to the southeast.

B. You decide to start by going after the warlord to the west.

C. You walk out and go to find a different job, this one sounds weird. (Choose between previous job options)

D. You make up a plan of action. The tactical side of your mind is alive with ideas. (Write-in within reason.)

My DOUGEY-KUN is back! I started a new CYOA of my own while you were away. You should come participate.

Also, I say A.

『A』