Exile of the Fifth Son

GALT

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Galt punch wolf. Galt feel alive! Galt want swing hammer down on wolf. Galt reach for hammer... No hammer...

Where hammer?... Galt no know. Galt fight with fist instead, and rock on ground, nice rock. Galt reach down to ground, pick up rock from ground. Throw rock hard at droll wolf (#4) and run at wolf, scream loud, "GALT KILL PUNY WOLF!" And kick wolf while rock do something.

If Wolf go attack Galt, Galt use magic, grow strong to kick wolf who attack him. Galt Kick wolf hard, and hit hard.
 
Vromdeir aep Cremmidrann
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Vromdeir twitched as he observed his target avoid his throw, at least partially. He didn't have time to ponder on how much more power he should've used to finish off the wolf in one throw. As two of the wolves went after him. And although he switched his stance to a close combat one immediately, he did notice the injured wolf attempting to go after him, which was odd.

Being prepared to move, as soon as the wolves went particularly coordinated, one aiming low and one higher on his body. Vromdeir catapulted upwards with a magically enhanced jump. He tilted his body to be parallel to the ground and increase his chances to dodge the combined attack, while also delivering a palm strike to the wolf right beneath him. He enhanced his strike as well, attempting to slam the wolves into each other and the ground. If successful, Vromdeir would let gravity lead him to the wolves beneath, and drive his other drawn knife into the neck of the upper wolf while his legs grounded the stab and added a bit more leverage into it.
 
Chapter 1: The City of Bells
Plot-progressing post.

@Valkan @LondotheGreat @TubaPope @conman2163 @ItariChan @Jaguar Warrior

The City of Bells
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The City of Bells is the latest addition to the Kingdom of Edfield. It is a former city-state that has volunteered itself to annexation after seeing the stronger neighbouring kingdoms fall to the Kingdom of Edfield. It also forms the last civilised part of the continent, bordering a small mountain-chain that leads into the Hinterlands. These mountains also make sailing into the city's small bay the easiest way to reach the Hinterlands, as there are no roads or easily traversable plots of land connecting the City of Bells to the rest of the Kingdom of Edfield. Only the most adventurous would try to go to the city by foot, trying to navigate through the dangerous and twisting paths. Whilst the waters around the city are mostly safe, there are a few rumours that the sea north of it, along the shores of the Hinterlands, is filled with all sorts of monstrosities. The latter is enough for even the most daring sailors to go no further than the City of Bells, which makes it one of the primary starting points for expeditions into the Hinterlands.


City Outskirts
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[Wolf #1, left front paw heavily wounded.]
[Wolf #2, has a knife sticking out of its stomach, bleeding.]
[Wolf #3, taking a bit of time to get back up (again).]
[Wolf #4, dislocated jaw.]
[Wolf #5 -]
[Wolf #6, getting up from being slammed into the ground.]

Galt, upon realising he was weaponless, rushed back a bit to grab one of the smaller rocks up from the ground and to throw it at the wolf. His reaching to the ground was the signal for the wolves to attack him. Wolf #4 made it just in time to be met with Galt as he was coming back up to throw the rock and had the rock smacked into its maw at point-blank range. An audible crack echoed across the open area as its jaw was suddenly in a rather different position than which it was in before.

Wolf #3 had gotten the time to get up and also rushed at Galt, but Galt went in to attack the wolf using magic. The kick was slightly stronger than a regular kick, but nothing too different from it. The wolf got hit in its flank, but didn't look all that hurt by it. Even so, the force prevented the wolf from being able to bite down into Galt and instead sent it tumbling to the side.

Wolf #2, on the other hand, was able to get around to Galt and was ready to attack him in the back. It was about to leap at Galt when it suddenly found itself hit by a knife that'd been thrown at it by Moira. Despite being wounded from it, the wolf set its furious sight upon Moira and headed directly at her. It was slowed by its wound, but still deadly enough to not want to get closer. (Moira had been allowed to bring the knife.)

As wolf #5 and #6 approached Vromdeir, #5 went in to attack his legs whilst #6 went in to bite at his upper-arm. Vromdeir attempted to use magic to enhance his jump, but found that it didn't add all that much height to his jump. As a result, he would soon feel the teeth of wolf #6 bite into his legs, as the animal had changed target from arm to leg upon seeing Vromdeir jump upwards. Wolf #5 didn't manage to attack, instead ending up on the opposite side of Vromdeir after passing underneath him. Vromdeir did manage to hit the wolf that'd bitten down into his leg with a palm attack that sent #6 crashing into the ground, although its teeth managed to still leave some nasty marks in Vromdeir's leg and caused him to bleed. Whilst the wolf wasn't all that hurt, it'd take a bit to get up again. Wolf #5, however, had turned around and was instantly ready to jump at Vromdeir again.

Meanwhile, captain Hereward was doing all he could to keep the wolves at bay, but barely managed to do better than to fight it into a stalemate. It was clear that he'd lose even that if someone wasn't able to help him soon.

Temple (downstairs)
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Mila, on the other hand, had been kind enough to hear out the nun. Adriadne didn't seem particularly fazed by the thinly veiled distaste, nor did she seem discouraged by the statement of Mila being a woman of science. On the contrary, the nun almost looked like she took this as a challenge. Her words would soon confirm this to be the case. “Does your science include the study of the psyche?” The nun's tone was challenging. “For the psyche is what concerns me. These spirits, according to the city's traditions, are not just some random beings. They are the spirits of their ancestors, which means some of them have been bound since the city was first founded. Even if you cast aside the ethics, even if you cast aside the fact that this entire city is tempting the gods by its existence, you would still be unable to defend the simple fact that this city has enslaved its own ancestors for all eternity. If there is any shred of common psyche left in the minds of these spirits, there are bound to be cases that resent their fate, or that will try to escape from it.” She was finally reaching the epitome of her argument, sounding more like a schoolgirl that'd just entered a science debate than a nun. “That, miss, is what I've been trying to tell the people here for the longest time. What if these attacks are just a way to reach out by some of these spirits to be released from their bounds? I do not believe that anything with as much as a shred of a normal psyche can withstand an eternity of servitude as a guardian spirit for a city that has changed so much they wouldn't even recognise it as their own any longer.”


Manjusha's House
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Lady Manjusha nodded towards Retili in a slow, but approving manner. “Very well. I'm thankful to find another soul that knows what needs to be done in these dire times.” She led him go without saying much more.

As Retili would try to make his way back to the prince, however, he'd stumble upon Oswald. He was dealing with what seemed to be a group of noblemen, but there was something a bit ominous about them. They looked more... hardened, in a sense, than what you'd expect from the average nobleman. As if their clothing didn't quite match their appearance. Whether Retili wished to investigate whatever shady dealings Oswald was up too or if he'd walk on without acknowledgement of what was happening would be up to him.

Were he to chose to ignore it, he'd be able to find the prince without further issue, after perhaps taking one or two wrong turns in the unfamiliar city.
 
Retili
@Elvario

It was with a simple bow that Retili left Manjusha's presence. He was quite eager to get back to the prince and report his findings. Hopefully if all went well they could have a search party put together quickly. It would be very important to act as fast as possible to minimize further casualties. Thus it was that he found himself cursing the name of his guide as he struggled to find his way back home and found himself becoming more familiar with the city the hard way. It was as he took another another turn down a street in search of familiar sights that he spotted Oswald. He had his back to him, and the nobles didn't seem to spot him either, so he took the opportunity to hide behind the shadow of a low wall. He would try and overhear the goings on without getting spotted.
 
Moira hadn't expected the wolf to charge her right after being injured, so she didn't have a knife drawn. She used her magic and sent a blast of air at it to knock back and away from her. The man fighting the boss wolf looked to be in trouble, but Moira, quite frankly, did not want to fight the terrifying creature. Instead, she drew two knives and threw them both at wolf Galt had knocked down (3), hoping to hit it in its vitals while it was down. "Galt! Go help with the big one!" Then, she drew two more knives. The wolves fighitng Galt were all injured, so she should be able to at least hold them off.
 
Mila Rosencrantz
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"Well, my expertise does not pertain to the matters of the mind, but-" Mila was able to get that one phrase in before Sister Adraidne vehemently continued arguing her case. Although she gave the sister her undivided attention and unwavering eye contact, the notes that Mila took were far scarcer than the ones she had taken during her discussion with Shi Takiru.

Mila suppressed the urge to bring her fingers up to the bridge of her nose. "So, your theory is that..." Mila's eyes flickered down to her notepad for a split second. "The bells warded off evil spirits because they are the enslaved guardian spirits of the city's ancestors, some of which are- or have become- aware of their own predicament and are now rebelling against their fate?"

She took a deep breath to allow herself to think about how to phrase her question best. "Let's suppose what you've told me is true. How would you expect me to go about proving it? Indeed, it didn't matter if Mila believed her or not. If what Sister Adraidne said was true, then there would be a way to verify it. Then, how would one- I suppose the entire city, in this case- go about remedying the enslavement of their ancestor's spirits?"
 
GALT

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Galt now fight 2 wolf. Easy kill. Galt go for wolf who get up from ground (3), kick dog again into tree. Make mutt stay down. Galt make sure by kick dog again if he get up. No look at other wolf, Galt only eye for this wolf.

Then when that wolf nice and dead, Galt rip up small tree from ground, swing at other wolf if not bite Galt. If tree no move, Galt angry yell, "WHY TREE STAY STILL. MOVE TREE." Then Galt would punch wolf if no tree.
 
Lorraine Vertolia
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Vromdeir certainly peeked her interest. It seems he might be some form of aristocracy, if he mentioned living similarly to her. Being constantly surrounded by others who did whatever whims she had, provided all the food and shelter she needed, despite them potentially dying in the process. To top it off, it seems he was following some exiled prince. Oh boy, what had she walked herself into here. She certainly was not a fan of royalty other than her own perfect-as-she-is self... As much as she wanted to ask Vromdeir if he was an aristocrat or noble of some sorts or not, she held off on it, as they were more or less in the presence of wolves and she was more concerned with seeing this Galt "person" in action.

She ended up wondering about what sort of animal he was so much that she hadn't even realized that some(Especially OOC) amount of time had passed. She expected that her lizard would've come out from somewhere, but surprisingly enough not... She was forced to call him out herself, since she was fairly confident he's be nearby right now, most likely somewhere behind her by now, somewhere southeast, as he was constantly moving in close enough to just see the situation and then slowing down again to let the her and the group she was traveling with gain some distance again. He was most likely successful, but it would really depend on how well the lookout proceeded.

"Lizard! Here boy. Go help out that one, over there." She would call out to her beast and after him arriving to her she'd point at Vromdeir, so that the beast would help him out.

It would move immediately after command to intercept Wolf #5 attempting to grab it with it's large "hands" and get a good, juicy bite into its spine, however if that were to fail, it would attempt to "whip" it's tail at the legs of the overgrown dog.
 
Chapter 1: The City of Bells
Plot-progressing post.

@Valkan @LondotheGreat @TubaPope @conman2163 @ItariChan @Jaguar Warrior

The City of Bells
cpfR25w.jpg

The City of Bells is the latest addition to the Kingdom of Edfield. It is a former city-state that has volunteered itself to annexation after seeing the stronger neighbouring kingdoms fall to the Kingdom of Edfield. It also forms the last civilised part of the continent, bordering a small mountain-chain that leads into the Hinterlands. These mountains also make sailing into the city's small bay the easiest way to reach the Hinterlands, as there are no roads or easily traversable plots of land connecting the City of Bells to the rest of the Kingdom of Edfield. Only the most adventurous would try to go to the city by foot, trying to navigate through the dangerous and twisting paths. Whilst the waters around the city are mostly safe, there are a few rumours that the sea north of it, along the shores of the Hinterlands, is filled with all sorts of monstrosities. The latter is enough for even the most daring sailors to go no further than the City of Bells, which makes it one of the primary starting points for expeditions into the Hinterlands.


City Outskirts
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[Wolf #1, left front paw heavily wounded.]
[Wolf #2, has a knife sticking out of its stomach, bleeding heavily.]
[Wolf #3, broken spine / out of commission.]
[Wolf #4, dislocated jaw.]
[Wolf #5, slowed down by Basilisk venom ]
[Wolf #6, getting up from being slammed into the ground.]
[Hereward, arm bitten off. Bleeding heavily.]
[Galt, bleeding from left ankle. Slowed movement.]
[Basilisk, scales cut up by thousands of cuts.]

Although Moira's air blast didn't particularly hurt the wolf, it managed to sent it back far enough to buy her some time. Furthermore, the wound it was bleeding from worsened. It was clearly in a bad state by now. This did not stop wolf #2 from trying to further approach Moira, however, as it got back up once more in an attempt to reach Moira. She then attempt to help out and communicate with the Orc, but that attempt didn't go all that well...

Galt only had eyes for the wolf in front of him. It's why he didn't notice Moira attempting to throw knives at wolf #3, nor did he hear her yell for him to help out Hereward. His attempted to kick wolf #3 succeeded, as he managed to knock the wolf into the tree. This, however, made it impossible for Moira to throw her knifes at the wolf and would force her to stop mid-way if she didn't wish to risk hitting the Orc instead. Whilst the wolf was visibly hurt from the kick, it still managed to get up, only to be kicked again. This time, something cracked. Whatever it was, the wolf was struggling to get up, indicating something vital enough had broken for it to be out of put out of commission.

Galt's focus on wolf #3, however, came at a cost. Wolf #4 had managed to get around Galt and had successfully managed to bite down hard and deep into his left ankle. The wound would cause him to bleed and to be slowed down considerably. Whilst Galt managed to easily uproot the little tree, the wolf was clever enough to keeps its fangs lodged into the back of his ankle and move around to stay behind Galt, making it rather difficult to hit.

Meanwhile, Lorraine decided to join in after thoroughly checking out Galt. Or rather, she decided to have one of her pets join in. She would, however, be met with a very unpleasant surprise. Considering the Basilisk had, on multiple occasions, slowed down to let the group gain some distance and had managed to stay hidden from them, it had been well outside of the range of the sound of bells the group was carrying. Whilst its very durable scales had prevented it from suffering any injury, the layers upon layers of cuts that the spirits had been able to make during all the times it'd been hidden in silence had permanently decreased the durability of its scales. Even the average human would probably be able to damage him now.

Even so, the lizard was loyal beyond fault and would rush at wolf #5. It managed to catch the wolf by surprise and bit down into it, although the wolf managed to shake itself loose before too much of the Basilisks venom could be secreted into it.

On the other side of the rock, Hereward, having bravely managed to hold off the wolf thus far, eventually stumbled and fell. The alpha wolf instantly went in on the attack, with Hereward raising an arm to avoid the beast from biting through his neck. Whist the latter worked, he soon realised he was no longer holding up his arm, as it'd been ripped off and was being chewed on by the wolf in front of him. Bleeding heavily and unable to defend himself further, the best he could do was offer a silent prayer before he'd either be killed by the wolf or pass out and die from blood-loss. Only the mages around him might have a small chance of saving him, were they to even care enough to try so.

Temple (downstairs)
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Sister Adraidne looked positively offended when her theory was summarized in half and when she was asked to provide evidence. “It's commonly accepted knowledge that the guardian's spirits are those of the city's ancestors. Even mister Takiru or the counsellor wouldn't doubt that. What I am doing is merely pointing out that an event like this seems inevitable when you're enslaving the spirits of your ancestors for all eternity. I'd personally call it an arch-sin committed by this city, but it doesn't look like such language would make an impression on you.”

She sighed. “How does one prove the mindset of beings that one can't interact with? Isn't simple reasoning enough to come to a logically sound and plausible conclusion? Isn't it stranger to think that these spirits would suddenly lose any shred of a psyche and would suddenly function like some sort of a machine that's driven by specific types of bells? I'm not saying that the bells aren't useful, they clearly do signify something to the ancestors that protects us from them. What I'm saying, however, is that it's not the bells that have changed for the worst, but the mindset of the spirits.”

The final question, however, made her bow down her head. “None of my answers to that would satisfy you, I fear. If it were up to me, we'd find the original ritual site and cleanse it. Free the ancestor spirits, take care of city defence in a natural manner and pray that the spirits will be able to pass on peacefully and that everyone will be forgiven for this sin.”


Some Random Alley
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Oswald's voice could be heard by Retili, who'd gone unnoticed. “So, you've sent the goods out, then?”

“Yes sir, but if you don't mind me asking... the boss seems rather out of it. Did something happen during your conversation?”

“Of course not, your boss is merely a bit tired.”

Another voice spoke up. “I still don't understand how he's just forgiven everything that happened between...”

Oswald interrupted the man. “Forgive and forget, my friend. Forgive and forget. The boss and I would rather not bring that back up, so it's best you remain silent about it.”

”Well then... if you say so.”

With that, the men left and Oswald turned around. He was heading directly in Retili's direction.
 
Retili
@Elvario

"An odd thing to arrange for goods to go anywhere as an exile, isn't it Oswald?" As he spoke Retili stepped out of his hiding place. His look was stony underneath the cloak, a demeaning edge to his voice. His yellow eyes glowed dully. "I hope you aren't consorting to create some sort of trouble for the prince, unintentional or otherwise." He stood where he was, watching the other exile carefully. His interest was now peaked. What had this man done and what had happened between him and the boss of those nobles? Normally he would be entirely uninterested in the affairs of the man, but now his curiosity was peaked.
 
Moira luckily stopped in time before throwing her knife and hitting the orc. What do I do now? The orc really only had 1.5 wolves left to deal with. Vromdeir, who had appeared to be struggling slightly in the beginning now had new reinforcements. Which meant the most logical option was to help with the alpha wolf. The alpha wolf who had no injuries. The alpha wolf whose only other opponent was a severly injured man. Moira sucked in a breath and then turned towards the alpha wolf and the injured Captain Heward. She threw two knives at the large wolf, aiming at his eye and leg. He was a bit far, but she used her magic to keep the knives on course.

Immediately after throwing she ran up to the injured captain, helped him stand, "Are you all right? Do you have something you can use to tie a tourniquet?"
 
GALT

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Galt roar in anger, or pain, Galt no know which. Galt swing tree at wolf, wolf no in Galt sight. Galt roar now in anger, "WOLF NO FIGHT GALT LIKE MAN, FIGHT GALT. BIG WOLF, TELL WOLF FIGHT GALT." Galt yell, lum-ber to big wolf. Once Galt see Big wolf in sight, Galt mighty throw tree, muscle grow in anticipation (Magic used).

Mighty throw tree at big wolf, "GALT WANT FIGHT WOLF, NOT ANKLE BITE WOLF." Galt say, angry shake leg and try beat wolf to big rock in middle.
 
Vromdeir aep Cremmidrann
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Vromdeir narrowed his eyes as he felt several stings pierce through his boots, luckily, the bite wasn't all that deep to hamper him down much. His strike stunned the wolf who bit him, but he still had to keep an eye on the one that passed below him. Then a wounded basilisk dropped in to help him with that issue. He wasn't sure, but he thought he made out Lorraine's voice calling out for something right as it arrived. Vromdeir didn't have the luxury to question sources of help. Not wanting to waste sources of opportunity, and noticing out of the corner of his eye the Captain in trouble, he made one swift motion to the wolf that was recovering from his strike (#6), and attempted to drive his knife onto its neck in a downwards stabbing motion. The Captain was in trouble, they had to end this soon. He just hoped the basilisk still had his back, in case the other wolf tried to go and pester him while he attempted to kill one of its vicious friends.
 
Mila Rosencrantz
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Mila leaned backwards in her chair, staring up at the ceiling of the temple. Originally, she had a fairly set plan to test Mr. Takiru's theory by pleading his case to the counsellor. Now, Sister Adraidne's ideas complicated that plan. Mila didn't like handling things she could not verify, but outside of the unverifiable elements, the sister's words followed logically. Besides, arguing with the sister would not gain anything for either party except for wasted time. Mila doubted that she could change Adraidne's mind on her theories and vice versa.

...What would Percy say here?

"I apologize for my curtness. Regardless of my own opinions, I came here to help, and that is what I intend to do. Let's take everything you've said as the baseline of our knowledge on the issue so far.

It seems like the easiest way to resolve this issue is to free the spirits. This raises two questions. One: How would we go about doing so? Is there any record of how the spirits were enslaved in the first place, and if so, is it reversible? Two: Would the act of freeing these spirits critically damage the- er, 'infrastructure' in a sense- of the city? If the spirits acting upon the sound of bells is what was truly keeping predators from attacking, does the city have the manpower to pick up the slack after the spirits are freed?"
 
Lorraine Vertolia
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Lorraine simply continued to sit and watch, while seeing her Basilisk was injured was a slight surprise, in her eyes it was nothing to really worry herself about. She had no intention of joining the fray herself, nor letting her surprisingly comfy seat go anywhere either in the current moment, even if the Centipede himself was just about ready to retreat with her if necessary, or if she'd instruct him otherwise. Her little fox was resting on her hips and would not dare go collect berries for her right now, that's for certain, a bit too dangerous for his tastes so to say.

The Basilisk unfortunately could not hold the wolf in place, however it would spit some venom at it, seeing as it was close enough and stay on the lookout for Wolf #1 and the Alpha Wolf, in case they attempted to attack either him or Vromdeir., preparing itself to defend against them.
 
Chapter 1: The City of Bells
Plot-progressing post.

@Valkan @LondotheGreat @TubaPope @conman2163 @ItariChan @Jaguar Warrior

The City of Bells
cpfR25w.jpg

The City of Bells is the latest addition to the Kingdom of Edfield. It is a former city-state that has volunteered itself to annexation after seeing the stronger neighbouring kingdoms fall to the Kingdom of Edfield. It also forms the last civilised part of the continent, bordering a small mountain-chain that leads into the Hinterlands. These mountains also make sailing into the city's small bay the easiest way to reach the Hinterlands, as there are no roads or easily traversable plots of land connecting the City of Bells to the rest of the Kingdom of Edfield. Only the most adventurous would try to go to the city by foot, trying to navigate through the dangerous and twisting paths. Whilst the waters around the city are mostly safe, there are a few rumours that the sea north of it, along the shores of the Hinterlands, is filled with all sorts of monstrosities. The latter is enough for even the most daring sailors to go no further than the City of Bells, which makes it one of the primary starting points for expeditions into the Hinterlands.


City Outskirts
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[Alpha Wolf, right leg bleeding with a knife stuck in it.]
[Wolf #1, left front paw heavily wounded.]
[Wolf #2, has a knife sticking out of its stomach, bleeding heavily.]
[Wolf #3, broken spine / out of commission.]
[Wolf #4, dislocated jaw.]
[Wolf #5, slowed down by Basilisk venom ]
[Wolf #6, dead.]
[Hereward, arm bitten off. Bleeding heavily.]
[Vromdeir, mild bite injury to his left foot.]
[Galt, bleeding from left ankle. Back bitten/clawed open, bleeding.]
[Basilisk, scales cut up by thousands of cuts.]

Moira, showing the most courage of all, overcame her fear and engaged the largest wolf. As she threw two of her knives at it, one of them strayed off course and missed the wolf's eye. The other, however, managed to catch the wolf in its leg. This was just in time as well, as it made the Alpha turn away from the Captain he was about to finish off and towards the new opponent instead. It wasn't interested in dying prey, after all.

Moira's attempt to find her way towards Captain Hereward was soon stopped, as wolf #2, regardless of how injured it was, had managed to drag itself close enough to Moira to try attacking her... well, it seemed to try, but it'd been bleeding all over the place and it wasn't clear whether it would soon drop dead or manage one last lunge. Another issue was the Alpha himself. Whilst it seemed to be forced to spare its injured leg, it looked all the more enraged and furious and ready to lunge itself at Moira. Perhaps the one thing the Alpha was waiting for was for the smaller wolf #2 to drop dead and give him a clearer path towards his target. A sapling that flew past it also provided the briefest moment of distraction.

Meanwhile, Hereward, was fighting to stay conscious and tried to stop the bleeding with the cut-off sleeve of his shirt, the one that hadn't ended up in the wolf's stomach along with his arm. Whilst he was out of immediate danger, in a sense, the risk he'd die from blood-loss was still exceedingly high.

Galt was doing his own thing. His rage had made him blind to reason and the magic that negatively impacted his brain didn't make his judgement any better, which made him almost fully ignore wolf #4. The latter had finally decided to let go of Galt's ankle in exchange for jumping at Galt's back and biting and clawing into it until Galt was bleeding considerably. The wolf's attack also made Galt's efforts to throw the sapling at the Alpha fail, other than perhaps distracting it for a moment. The only positive, right now, was that wolf #4 had ended up on the ground again and without having its teeth lodged into Galt, as Galt had managed to shake it off of his back. It wasn't a second too late either, as by now, Galt was bleeding at a rate that would eventually take him out of commission and wouldn't be able to afford many more injuries if he wished to keep fighting and the magic was starting to seriously strain his muscles.

Vromdeir, deciding to go after the already downed wolf in a simple-old fashioned knife-driving manner, managed to successfully finish off Wolf #6 by planting a knife straight through its neck. The wolfs snarled and clawed at Vromdeir in a final spurt of adrenaline before dying. This would also give Vromdeir the option to go help out Hereward to prevent him from bleeding to death, or to prevent the Alpha from being able to attack Moira.

Vromdeir's success was in large part due to the Basilisk keeping wolf #5 occupied and preventing the wolves from working together against a single opponent, which had thus far been one of their biggest strengths. That said, spitting venom at the wolf was less effective than secreting it into an enemy and most of the venom was splattering and dispersing in the wind. This allowed wolf #5 to lunge at the Basilisk and attempt to bite its neck, although the fact that the wolf was still slowed by the venom from a previous bite meant the Basilisk would have a decent chance at dodging it.

Meanwhile, wolf #1 had made its way ever so slightly closer to Vromdeir and the Basilisk.

Temple (downstairs)
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Sister Adraidne smiled at Mila. “You're forgiven.” Whether the double meaning was intended or not was unclear. As for the first question; “There's a book called History of the City of Bells. It mostly contains stories written like fairy tales, but one of them is a little more accurate than others, especially in its depiction of magic symbols. I think we'd need to find wherever those are if we want to find out where this ritual happened, how it happened and how to reverse it.”

The second question was answered with significantly less enthusiasm. “I'm not sure. There will definitely be an urgent need to build walls and watch-towers and to hire more soldiers. The way I look at it, however, the citizens chose a method of protecting themselves that's now ended up worse than the natural options. Even if they still think their actions are just, they can't escape the negative outcome, which I think we all agree on is getting worse.”


Some Random Alley
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For the briefest moment, Retili would be able to see surprise, shock even, on Oswald's face. However, it vanished in an instant. Instead, the nobleman laughed. “My, a slave worrying about the deals of a nobleman? If your impoverished brain must be satisfied, let me pose you a counter-question. Would it not be stranger for a husband and father to leave his family without trying to arrange some agreements that'll make sure they're taken care off during his absence?” A nasty and disingenuous smile showed on his face. “Surely the prince won't be troubled by me perusing my fatherly duties.”

Whether there was any truth to his words was unclear, although it wasn't something too odd. The City of Bells was new enough to the empire for very profitable trade-agreements to be made by whomever got there first. Still, it'd be a little odd for those to be discussed in these particular circumstances. Oswald gestured towards the feint direction of the counsellor's office. “Why don't we head back to the prince? I'm tired of this damp atmosphere and the constant ringing might be slightly less annoying when we're inside.”
 
Retili
@Elvario

"I would remind you that I am a servant to the prince Lord. We will see what the prince has to say. I would not keep any development from him after all, not even arrangements made for family in the middle of the street. Though I would say it seems odd for you not to have made such arrangements before you left the capitol in the first place." The snark and disbelief in his tone was thinly veiled. Retili turned his back on the man and began his walk back to the counselors office. No doubt the prince would not draw any particular conclusion from Oswald's behavior, but it would add precedent to any suspicious behavior in the future. Perhaps it would be something to investigate if they had time before leaving the city.
 
GALT

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Galt roar angry. No hit wolf. Galt angry. Galt roar pain. Galt find wolf hurt Galt. Galt roar wolf at ground. Galt stomp wolf. Galt keep stomp wolf. No more wolf. Paste. Galt roar paste.

Galt do that wolf paste. Galt hurt. Galt move to big wolf. Roar big wolf for anger, "GALT KILL BIG WOLF. COME GALT BIG WOLF." Galt yell, move to big wolf. Swing arms mad Angry.
 
Moira stopped before reaching Captain Heward, her path blocked by wolf #2. The animal was almost dead though, and she stabbed it in the neck to finish it off. After it had died, she retrieved the knife that had been sticking out of its side. The Alpha wolf had his attention on her now, but Galt was starting to charge it. If the wolf ran towards her, she would use her magic to push it back and slow it down, giving Galt a chance to attack it. If it turned its attention to Galt, she would throw another knife at it.
 
Chapter 1: The City of Bells
Plot-progressing post.

@Valkan @LondotheGreat @TubaPope @conman2163 @ItariChan @Jaguar Warrior

The City of Bells
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The City of Bells is the latest addition to the Kingdom of Edfield. It is a former city-state that has volunteered itself to annexation after seeing the stronger neighbouring kingdoms fall to the Kingdom of Edfield. It also forms the last civilised part of the continent, bordering a small mountain-chain that leads into the Hinterlands. These mountains also make sailing into the city's small bay the easiest way to reach the Hinterlands, as there are no roads or easily traversable plots of land connecting the City of Bells to the rest of the Kingdom of Edfield. Only the most adventurous would try to go to the city by foot, trying to navigate through the dangerous and twisting paths. Whilst the waters around the city are mostly safe, there are a few rumours that the sea north of it, along the shores of the Hinterlands, is filled with all sorts of monstrosities. The latter is enough for even the most daring sailors to go no further than the City of Bells, which makes it one of the primary starting points for expeditions into the Hinterlands.


City Outskirts
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[Alpha Wolf, right leg bleeding with a knife stuck in it. Flank mildly bleeding from another knife stuck into it.]
[Wolf #1, left front paw heavily wounded.]
[Wolf #2, dead]
[Wolf #3, broken spine / out of commission.]
[Wolf #4, stomped down / out of commission.]
[Wolf #5, slowed down by Basilisk venom ]
[Wolf #6, dead.]
[Hereward, dead.]
[Vromdeir, mild bite injury to his left foot.]
[Galt, bleeding from left ankle. Back bitten/clawed open, bleeding. Getting woozy from blood-loss.]
[Basilisk, scales cut up by thousands of cuts.]

Galt, in a bloodied rage, managed to successfully stomp wolf #4 out of commission. The wolf was still moving, somewhat at least, and it definitely wasn't paste yet, but it wouldn't be able to counterattack in its current condition. His yelling and arm-swinging successfully managed to get the Alpha's attention, but he would realise that it also increased his bleeding a fair bit. He'd start feeling the first signs of getting woozy form blood loss, which might not be ideal when facing the most dangerous opponent thus far. The Alpha stopped wasting time, as it used its horns to charge at Galt, intending to pierce the Orc on them and ram him into the nearest tree.

Luckily enough, Moira was there to back-up Galt. Wolf #2, being far too injured to counter-attack, was easily disposed off by Moira. She also managed to successfully throw another knife at the Alpha whilst it was focussed on Galt, even managing to get it lodged into its flank, but without magic backing up the throw, it didn't seem all that hurt by it.

Across from them, on the other side of the rock, Hereward was breathing out his last. The blood loss had gotten to him, as he'd been unable to stop it well enough on his own.

Some Random Alley
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As they were heading back towards the counsellors office, Oswald replied to to Retili's words. “The prince's servant. Are you sure?” He didn't give any indication of what he meant with those words, instead passing Retili and ignoring him further. Whilst Oswald entered the same building, he didn't join the others in their investigation, instead heading off to freshen himself up, or so one might assume.

Counsellor's Office
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Upon his return in the counsellor's office, Retili would find the counsellor, Albert and Melia going over a large map of the city. Various areas had been marked with coloured pebbles, in various patterns. It was unclear what they'd been planning out, but it was clear they'd been at it for a while.

At Retili's arrival, however, the prince looked up. “Ah, Retili, welcome back. How did it go with Lady Manjusha?”