(Bezemouns has not shapechanged while in sight of anyone yet, or used any obvious charms, just FYI)
Bezemouns shifted his blood-spatter Grand Goremaul restlessly in his hands. The fighting had been fierce against the Bleeding Claws, but not overly difficult. The real worry in the Lunar's mind was the presence of so many types of Exalt in one spot. So many ways it could go wrong...
Now it seemed that another group of attackers was on the way. Bezemouns turned to the scantly clad Water Aspect. "Iron Children. What'll we be facing?"
"Their chief is the descendant of a god of the forge and makes the finest weapons and armors with his own hands," She explained, "He is limited by materials though and his obsession with creating drives him to lead his tribe into raids for iron. Not as bad as the Bleeding Claws, who seek sacrifices for their fair folk masters. Yes, but Bjorg Anvulkson and his vassals wield the mightiest weapons and stiffest armors possible to make from ordinary steel. They like one of the city's marching in rank-and-file army but they fight as any warriors of this tundra, en masse as a crushing wave."
Cheren looked among the group. Or rather, Glass did, but no one in present company knew that little tidbit, so he referred to himself as his cover. He looked back to his "master", a chosen of earth who was almost stereotypically calm, here for various reasons related to the kingdom. He had only recently arrived, and was paying more attention to local etiquette than their orders.
"If I may speak for me and my liege," He said tentatively, testing the waters; he was younger and less experienced than his present company, and appeared more like it as Cheren, "We did not come to fight, but will lend our aid if need be, in exchange for goods to send back to our king." If he knew how kingdoms worked, that would be just the right thing to say...
Hey! Read my fanfic: HereA girl in a green cloak comes from the shadows to join the hubbub. Her eyes are as red as the setting sun and her hair is as light as it's most resplendant rays.
"I'm sorry about my father; he has a bit of a memory problem"
"As long as he fights the plunderers, darling" said the witch.
"Yes!" agreed Imhotep "I shall face the smithborn in glorious combat and face their steelwork with mine! Heather-" "Lyra" "-Lyra dearest, be sure to loot their cadavers once they are slain so I may learn from their craft"
The smith's daughter let out a sigh of exasperation "Yes, dad".
"That's my girl. Now go and hide with the others while your father caves in skulls" She gave him a peck on the cheek, "Love you", and was off.
Imhotep gave his recruiter attention once more.
"When do we commence with the fighting?"
edited 8th Sep '11 2:32:56 PM by BioD
Oh look! A shiny!Cheren just gave the young man a look. He wasn't sure how much his master approved- indeed, he hadn't said anything on the subject, though that wasn't unusual- but it was an offer that would further the kingdom. However, he couldn't just...
"I understand the situation. As such, we will postpone such an offer to a later date," He replied, reaching into his messenger's bag for the supply of throwing knives he had on him. He gave his master a look, searching for a nod, a look, a reach to the sword, or other sign of approval.
Hey! Read my fanfic: Here"My beautiful amazon lady!" Deadly Freezing Water suddenly found her hands clasped by white jade gauntlets. Cheren's superior, a Chosen of Pasiap, pure in his blood and in his intentions, his skin as pale as marble, his hairs, from his long beautiful mane to his cliff cut beard, were white as freshly fallen snow though he was obviously a young man. He wore armor, a full suit of plate armor, of white jade.
"Do not despair! I, Sir Grandolf the Unstoppable Fool, will protect you!"
Deadly Freezing Water scowled, "I do not need-"
"I will protect your ladies! I will protect these would-be heroes!" He refered to the other gathered Exalts, "I will protect each and every one of these people as if they were my own adorable squire!" He gestured back at Cheren.
He stepped back and reached for his weapon, a giant daikalbar, a spear of white jade from shaft to tip, and raised it into the air. His anima flared and beneath his feet the ground cracked and crumbled, rose up into the air and glowed a pearly white before disintegrating and raining down around him as sparkling white dust.
"They call me Fool because I insist to protect the innocent against impossible odds! They call me Unstoppable because I insist on living past those odds! The enemy is near but Grandolf is here so do not despair!" He lowered his weapon and raised his other hands into air as if calling, "Audhumla! TO ME!"
Next to him the ground exploded and he did not even flinch. The dust cleared quickly and standing there was a bull, actually a cow, with a coat of unblemished white. He hopped impossibly into the air and landed on her back. "For God! For Queen! For Country!" He waved his spear this way and that with every word, emphasizing his word as well as signaling to the mortals to clear a path.
"CHAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!!!!"
Audumla did.
Cheren sighed, giving a small, apologetic smile, before giving out a small whistle. A large tigress, almost regal in her appearance, leaped off a nearby rooftop. Cheren smiled, running towards, then off a nearby wall, landing on the beast in mid-air. "Onward, Kia!" He called, the tiger almost smiling as she followed after the knight and his bull.
Glass, more internally than he usually did while under cover, was thinking about how perfectly he had selected his liege. A single fortune to get him to decide to take up an apprentice, a strategic placement of myself... He was thinking, before snuffing out the thought as a mere candle flame. He had to focus. It was a big fight he was getting into, and although he had no doubt in the skills of his liege, Cheren was more concerned about the numbers they were facing.
Hey! Read my fanfic: Here"YES! Let us follow the man on the mighty cow!" he bellowed with a disturbing lack of sarcasm. Around him flaming tools of war burst into existence through his will. He dashed off behind the mounted Exalted and soon had caughten up to the one on the tiger.
"HELLO! YOUR FELINE FRIEND IS MAGNIFICENT! MAY I FASHION ARMOR FOR HIM LATER!?"
edited 9th Sep '11 2:03:01 PM by BioD
Oh look! A shiny!Cheren gave the man a strange look. Was he serious? He was now asking to fashion armor for Kia? Not that it wasn't a good idea...
"Do as you wish!" He said, trying to get his point across despite the wind almost blowing his words away. "And Kia's a tigress!"
Hey! Read my fanfic: HereNow I'm glad I didn't invest in Hateful Wretched Noise. Being driven into a killing rage when you hear loud sounds doesn't really fit when one of your teammates has NO INDOOR VOICE.
Speaking of which, it's time to intimidate some raiders.
You bandits think to raid this place?! FEAR THE WRATH OF HELL!
[Anima flares into life and Coda begins leaping between raiders, introducing them to a short daiklave, and jumping to the next target.]

((This is for the characters of Team Good Guy))
Somewhere between the edge of Iropa where the elements are harshest and the center where government is instead, where the snow of the Faux Air Pole meets a sheer wall of pine trees from a forgotten source of power, between the disputed outlying territories of Brigolia and Froise, there lies a town called Sword, the most peaceful unassuming town ever named for a weapon.
You're there. The various paths of your journey eventually took you here. Maybe you stopped here for a while, maybe you're passing through right away, the put is you are here right now. Now, on this day, these hours when Sword came under attack. It seems five different barbarian tribes had come. Bleeding Claws, Silver Mane, Iron Children, Sea Furies and Fortune Favored tribes, at least translated from their varied languages. The reason for the simultaneous appearance of all five in fact had nothing to do with an alliance and more of the opposite and some sheer coincidence.
The Bleeding Claws, wyld-mutants, and the Iron Children, lead by a god-blooded descendant of a blacksmith spirit, attacked at the same time by mere chance. The Silver Mane tribe, wolf men descendants of Lunars, are the ancient enemies of the Bleeding Claws and are less interested in sacking the town then they are stabbing their hated foes when their backs are turned. The town paid the Sea Furies, a tribe of amazonian women lead by a Water Aspect chieftess, for protection and they showed up next to last to honor that agreement. Fortunes Favored, lead by an opportunistic group of heroic mortals, just showed up now, attempting to loot the town of their goods while everyone's distracted.
You all, being Exalted, have managed to beat off any attackers that got to you and the townspeople have taken notice and gathered to you as the focal points of their counter attack. Of course this takes place in different parts of town but all of you start to meet up, combining your armies of villagers and even the forces of the Sea Furies, until you all gather in central square. All of you end up gathered right next to each other gathered about the fountain in the very center. Here you are approached by Deadly Freezing Waters, the burly bluehaired chieftess of the Sea Furies bedecked in a fur bikini carrying a steel spear with a White Jade blade.
"So you're the one who helped my little charges, eh?" She grins, "Are you still up for more? The Bleeding Claws are, uh, tied up but the Iron Children are on their way here."