Post by SummerCrow on Sept 5, 2016 14:44:37 GMT -6
Lily accepts Hawke's hand. "Thank you for the offer, Storm, but we've got a long road ahead, and I'm more used to riding wyverns."
"Of course," Storm nods.
"Hold tight, princess," Hawke says. He whistles and his wyvern leaps into the air. Storm follows close behind. The three fly low over the city on the way to the gate. Lily takes the time to observe all the early morning activity. Tartarus - all of Carcina - is so lively recently, with the reports of unrest in Valm and Ylisse. Merchants have been coming and going, mercenaries are trying to sell their services... Still, the people are nervous. With good reason...
The town guardsmen are ready to leave as soon as Lily and her pair of escorts land. They all offer salutes as Lily slides off of Hawke's mount. Lily recognizes all of them from earlier. "Recruits?" Lily asks Sherry quietly.
"They're official guardsmen now," Sherry answers. "And we don't have many hands to spare right now. We're already relying on sending town guards instead of proper soldiers..."
"I suppose it can't be helped," Lily says. "Greetings, everyone. I believe we've already had the honor of meeting. Sherry should have already briefed you on our mission. Does anyone have any questions?"
"We're going to Mala, right?" Shep asks. "That's the port town on the border of Valeria, right?"
"Correct," Lily answers.
"What's going on in Mala that requires the attention of the princess herself?" Shep continues.
"Nothing, yet. But we'll be meeting a Feroxi emissary. I want you all to understand the importance of this mission - the outcome of this mission could determine whether Valm and Regna Ferox go to war, and whether Carcina and Valeria become involved."
"That sounds... extremely important. Why are we sending a bunch of green town guardsmen on such an important mission? Er, and a... royal guard and a... Holy Knight?"
"Shep!" the cavalier barks. "Enough questions. We have our orders." Hawke nods at her approvingly.
"It's not a problem," Lily assures Kelly. "I want to be as clear as possible about what I expect from everyone. At worst, we expect to run into a few bandits - nothing you haven't been trained for. On top of that, the representative we're escorting is a renowned warrior with her own retinue - this is primarily a ceremonial mission.
Shep nods. "Thank you for humoring all my questions, princess."
"Not at all. If there's nothing else...? Very well, then, let's be on our way."
After a few hours of marching, the group stops for a quick lunch. Gale attempts to sneak up on them. Thanks to Hawke's vigilance, it almost ends horribly for her - Lily barely stops him from siccing his wyvern on him. She explains that she'll be coming along - unofficially, of course.
For all her tricks and pranks and playing around, Gale turns out to be an excellent guide. The group makes great time, never running into any issues. Gale even occasionally disappears for a few minutes, only to reappear with fresh berries or wild vegetables - a great boost to everyone's morale. Until the third day of the journey, as they're nearing Mala, everything goes well.
As the party passes through a heavily-wooded section of the road, Storm comes crashing down through the treetops in a panic. Hawke is right behind him. "Princess, we have a problem!" Storm says
"What's going on?" Lily asks.
"I don't know," Storm admits. "But there's smoke coming from the town."
"A lot of smoke," Hawke agrees.
"Take me up there!" Lily orders. She clambers up behind Hawke and he shoots into the sky. Lily covers her face as they smash through the branches. As they hover above the trees, Lily gets a clear view. She can barely make out the town in the distance - still several minutes of marching away. There's definitely smoke rising against the clear blue sky, smoke that wasn't there a few moments ago. A few buildings look to be on fire. Several ships sit in the port. Most pressingly, several villagers are fleeing down the road.
"What in Grima's name is the local garrison doing...!?" Lily mutters to herself. There's a fort not far to the south, barely visible, even further than the town itself. The troops stationed there should be able to see the smoke clearly, yet Lily doesn't see any wyverns or cavaliers coming out.
(A) Head straight for the town
(B) Head for the fort
(C) Prioritize helping the civilians
(D) Circle around the town and come in from the seaside
"Of course," Storm nods.
"Hold tight, princess," Hawke says. He whistles and his wyvern leaps into the air. Storm follows close behind. The three fly low over the city on the way to the gate. Lily takes the time to observe all the early morning activity. Tartarus - all of Carcina - is so lively recently, with the reports of unrest in Valm and Ylisse. Merchants have been coming and going, mercenaries are trying to sell their services... Still, the people are nervous. With good reason...
The town guardsmen are ready to leave as soon as Lily and her pair of escorts land. They all offer salutes as Lily slides off of Hawke's mount. Lily recognizes all of them from earlier. "Recruits?" Lily asks Sherry quietly.
"They're official guardsmen now," Sherry answers. "And we don't have many hands to spare right now. We're already relying on sending town guards instead of proper soldiers..."
"I suppose it can't be helped," Lily says. "Greetings, everyone. I believe we've already had the honor of meeting. Sherry should have already briefed you on our mission. Does anyone have any questions?"
"We're going to Mala, right?" Shep asks. "That's the port town on the border of Valeria, right?"
"Correct," Lily answers.
"What's going on in Mala that requires the attention of the princess herself?" Shep continues.
"Nothing, yet. But we'll be meeting a Feroxi emissary. I want you all to understand the importance of this mission - the outcome of this mission could determine whether Valm and Regna Ferox go to war, and whether Carcina and Valeria become involved."
"That sounds... extremely important. Why are we sending a bunch of green town guardsmen on such an important mission? Er, and a... royal guard and a... Holy Knight?"
"Shep!" the cavalier barks. "Enough questions. We have our orders." Hawke nods at her approvingly.
"It's not a problem," Lily assures Kelly. "I want to be as clear as possible about what I expect from everyone. At worst, we expect to run into a few bandits - nothing you haven't been trained for. On top of that, the representative we're escorting is a renowned warrior with her own retinue - this is primarily a ceremonial mission.
Shep nods. "Thank you for humoring all my questions, princess."
"Not at all. If there's nothing else...? Very well, then, let's be on our way."
After a few hours of marching, the group stops for a quick lunch. Gale attempts to sneak up on them. Thanks to Hawke's vigilance, it almost ends horribly for her - Lily barely stops him from siccing his wyvern on him. She explains that she'll be coming along - unofficially, of course.
For all her tricks and pranks and playing around, Gale turns out to be an excellent guide. The group makes great time, never running into any issues. Gale even occasionally disappears for a few minutes, only to reappear with fresh berries or wild vegetables - a great boost to everyone's morale. Until the third day of the journey, as they're nearing Mala, everything goes well.
As the party passes through a heavily-wooded section of the road, Storm comes crashing down through the treetops in a panic. Hawke is right behind him. "Princess, we have a problem!" Storm says
"What's going on?" Lily asks.
"I don't know," Storm admits. "But there's smoke coming from the town."
"A lot of smoke," Hawke agrees.
"Take me up there!" Lily orders. She clambers up behind Hawke and he shoots into the sky. Lily covers her face as they smash through the branches. As they hover above the trees, Lily gets a clear view. She can barely make out the town in the distance - still several minutes of marching away. There's definitely smoke rising against the clear blue sky, smoke that wasn't there a few moments ago. A few buildings look to be on fire. Several ships sit in the port. Most pressingly, several villagers are fleeing down the road.
"What in Grima's name is the local garrison doing...!?" Lily mutters to herself. There's a fort not far to the south, barely visible, even further than the town itself. The troops stationed there should be able to see the smoke clearly, yet Lily doesn't see any wyverns or cavaliers coming out.
(A) Head straight for the town
(B) Head for the fort
(C) Prioritize helping the civilians
(D) Circle around the town and come in from the seaside
