Shirley accepted this assignment. She was frustrated on making this particular bomb have more of stopping power without having it sacrificing destructive damage. So of course, fighting some demons would help relieve that. She picked the test bomb up, and placed it in one of her pockets as she set up for her other work.
Valon was the third Knight to accept the assignment. Kaiza and her brood were never his typical target, but the Demon Lord Sharzan hadn't been spotted in years, and until he could be found Valon was content with performing lesser works in anticipation of his magnum opus. After all it wouldn't do to let his skills go rusty and fail during his big performance.
He hummed a merry tune as he walked, casually brushing his embroidered and epaulette-adorned coat out of the way of his still-sheathed sword, pausing to smile at the ladies he passed (no easy feat considering the gender ratio within the Exorcists Organization) while looking around for the others who had accepted the mission.
It was best to memorize their melodies before they were silenced, after all.
edited 3rd Feb '12 9:51:14 PM by Dblade26
Wes looked over at the other two, and at the messenger boy.
The messenger was usually the same, glasses wearing little guy. Apparently, he was a high ranked direct correspondent with the Kings, but he did not get treated very well. For one, he lacked spells and sheaths, but he did seem content to just be bureaucracy rather than fight on the front line.
"Well, it looks like we're going to be working together."
He introduced himself to Valon and Shirley, "I'm Wes, nice to meet you two."
Valon studied the one speaking, looking him over but more importantly listening to the Leitmotif that surrounded him.
It seemed a fairly bland tune for a Knight, seeing as most of them had at least something atypical to their sound.
andante, emotionally dull if reliable...but wait...what's this...there's something more, layered underneath..belicoso e con fuoco. Lovely, but so quiet when I should be hearing it all the time...
Suddenly he realized the object of his study had introduced himself with a familiar sounding name and was just around the right age...
"Did you say Wes? Would that be Wes Rendigan as in the hotshot swordsman that calls himself the Silent Knight?"
Valon had been waiting to meet this one. After eleven years with the Exorcists and practically being raised to hunt demons Wes Rendigan was still said to be nearly his equal with the sword after just three years of the same. It was a rumor Valon was eager to test.
edited 3rd Feb '12 10:51:39 PM by Dblade26
Wes cracked a rather rare smile, "Yes, that would be me. It was a monicker my old friend came up with, he claimed I emote as much as a brick wall."
Wes thought he might have heard of this guy in front of him before, but he did not really pay attention to much except bettering himself as a warrior. So he was a little behind on who was known and who was not.
There it was again.
This was the beginning of her third year as a knight, and, truly, things hardly seemed to change. She had thought that the transition from one company to another would affect her and things in daily life more than the simple issue of who she works for, but that was apparently a wishful thinking. First day, first assignment, it almost felt like the old routine. Demons attack. Demons become hunted. Demons die horrible deaths.
Not that she'd mind, though.
Faris stared at the messenger as he explained the assignment's detail. Nothing too out of the ordinary, to be sure, but she tried her best to appear focused and enthusiastic. Kaiza's brood, she's read about them, but never actually encountered them face to face. When it was with the Gargoyle company, it was all ferals. No broods, no demonlords and such, just beasts preying the countrysides and rural areas. Hunting broodlings would require a tad more commitment, she'd think.
"Broodlings, yes? I hear they're quite dangerous." The brown, baggy monk robe moved slightly, despite Faris still standing, statue-like in her posture. She turned to her side, looking at the others, waiting for their responses to the messenger, and saw that they didn't seem to know each other. Newcomers as well, perhaps? Unlikely. The Silent Knight; that was a name not unheard of. There's something more to this company assembling than she had anticipated if someone with such reputation was present.
Anyhow...
"Faris Eliard. Former knight of the Gargoyles." The woman spoke out, her words accompanied by a sweet smile. "At your service."
edited 4th Feb '12 8:34:39 AM by arreimil
On the foundation of glass a dream is built. And, like glass, it shatters."And nice to you too~" Shirley responded in a happy tone of voice. She didn't feel it was nice however. It was just one of those customs she and other people seemed to do, like saying "okay" when being ask of their status, while in truth, they weren't at all.
"Shirley, not the word "surely", Lystander, at your service. Or rather, for the duration of the assignment anyway."
It seemed another of her fellow knights recognized the other. She herself was too kept up with either herself, or the Bishops to know things about the other Knights. It was probably the same as well for them, although a Bishop joining the Knights might've been of some tiny conversation a while back when she joined.
"There, there my sweet Pretty"
Elena Manser spent a nice portion of her off duty hours in the stables where her faithful warhorse resided. Pretty was quite a beautiful beast, strong, lithe and fast with a lustrous mane that Elena herself tended to so it wouldn't grow too wild.
The Silver Chevalier was a happy person, content with her place in the world and eager to take pleasure in the simple comfort of life... and being able stroke her friend's neck, lay a kiss on her forehead and watch her eagerly devour a carrot was something that always brought a smile to her face.
"Now, now... I must go now but I have the feeling we'll be seeing each other pretty soon. If I get in trouble you'll always come after me, right Pretty?" The woman said as she hugger her faithful companion... and receiving a single lick on the cheek made the woman giggle and take it as the horse's acknowledgment.
"Take care, Pretty. Try not to give much trouble to the new apprentice. Their instructors are sure to work the poor things incredibly hard already" Elena Manser whispered as she stepped away from the specially built stable, where a good amount of magical devices rested... ready to bring Pretty to Elena wherever on the world the Silver Chevalier might be when on duty.
Some time after that Elena arrived to the gathering place where her fellow Knights should be assembling for the latest assignment. It was a whole new group so Elena was hoping they would all be nice... she had to admit that there were quite a bunch of rather strange and creepy people within the ranks of the Knights. Still, she wasn't one to talk... she guessed her eagerness and cheer when in battle could make her count as one more of the weird knights.
S-Still! There's nothing wrong with liking your job! Sure it might be horrifying and dangerous at times... but it is all for the good of my fellow man. For the peace we can find deeper into human territory! The laughs, the smiles and the hopes of every man, woman and child in the whole realm! If being happy about it makes me weird the so be it!
And thus, the Silver Chevalier walked into the meeting where already a group of knights had gathered. For the moment Elena had no armor on her, nor did she carry her shield and spear. She stood in a casual silver and blue tunic, with comfortable trousers, boots and gloves. She only carried her sword on a scabbard that hung from her belt and the pendant that would allow her to summon Pretty at any moment at the cost of quite some mana. Her long black hair was untied as was her custom, though from time to time she tied it into a nice ponytail.
"Good morning, my fellow swords! You're all those picked to deal with that troublesome girl near the city, right? A pleasure to meet the lot of you. I'm number 017, Elena Manser" the woman knight said before taking a deep though graceful bow with a gentle smile on her face "The Silver Chevalier is at your service"
Valon grinned. If they were serving together there would be a pretty good chance he would get to see Wes' skill for himself.
not to mention improve my chances of hearing that wonderful melody
He studied the Leitmotifs for the others now. The one who had introduced herself as Shirley had something oddly similar to the 1812 overture about her, like her soul was a big bomb going off repeatedly. Faris...there was something lamentoso e barbaro about her..but smooth, something he couldn't quite place. The Silver Chevalier-true to her name-sounded like wind chimes singing a chorus.
Well, I suppose I should introduce myself...how will they react?
He hoped they were positive.
Valon put on his best winning smile, like he'd been taught when introducing himself to a new company, long ago.
"Number 026, Valon Tiyo. Formerly of too many Companies to list, My first was Unicorn, my latest was the Griffin. I'm called the Siren Sword and I look forward to serving with all of you"
edited 4th Feb '12 9:54:03 AM by Dblade26
"A pleasure to meet all of you." And back to a stoic tone, "As you might have heard, Kaiza's Brood has struck further in toward human cities. We are going to pursue them and drive this force away from humanity."
He looked around and noted the new arrivals, more people with known names, perhaps. He said to them, "I look forward to working with you all."
The Blood Crow was sitting in a dark corner of the room. She had been there for the past fifteen minutes, her comrades oblivious to her presence. Finally she decided to speak up.
"Catherine McCeol, formerly Leviathan."
There was an odd edge to her voice, a subtle wrongness. An average person might have missed it, but these were knights, and certainly wouldn't.
The best way to describe McCeol was dark. Despite her blood red hair, there seemed to be a blackness hovering around her. The effect was enhanced by the black leather duster and hat. What might have been cliche for whatever reason wasn't.
"Do we have a profile on the target. Favored magic, victim commonalities, et cetera?"
Wes nodded, and recited the information his friend had told him. The glasses boy...he had never bothered to learn his name, for some odd reason, so he wound up being just Glasses.
At any rate, Glasses had given him some info on the target. "Well, for starters, the victims are mostly young men, either the sons of influential merchants or nobility. It is not like Kaiza to make something with preferred victims. I do not like this change."
"Demons... having preference?"
"We used to hunt local ferals around Veril. They did seem to choose carefully who to terrorize. It mostly seemed instinctive, them aiming for the old and the children, but they did have preference. Those are the easiest to prey upon anyway, and a human child's meat would be quite a treat to those abominations. But it's never been this specific."
The woman didn't forget to keep up her sweet smile and give slight nods to her fellow knights doing the introductions. Neither did she forget to make note on the detail she was recently informed. Faris had always been known amongst her former fellow knights as a very concise individual. She likes the pleasantries presented by a friendly conversation, but if the information is remarkable enough, she can readily throw them all away.
"Young male, mostly of some nobility, or wealth. That's bandits' behavior. Even the broods of the west aren't so selective who they sacrifice."
"Ser knight, I must say, this is very interesting."
"Do we have an estimate on their number?"
edited 5th Feb '12 5:54:55 AM by arreimil
On the foundation of glass a dream is built. And, like glass, it shatters.Glasses walked over to her and said, "In my report, I see that there are, at most, twenty of the fiends currently in the marked area."
The rather bookish young man then introduced himself, "I-I'm the messenger, recorder...a-and Demonology Expert..." He seemed nervous around girls, "M-My name's Agi."
Wes looked over at the two of them and said, "Yes, it is very strange. I believe we might be seeing an evolution in the brood."
So Agi was the kid's name. Better than calling him Glasses all of the time.
"Heh, that's some good information you got there, young Agi" said the Silver Chevalier in her usual cheery tone as she gave a pat to the young man's back "So, we got their number, who they come from, what they like to eat"
"Now... I think we better head out to the area to see if we can find ourselves some good demons to slay. Though in case we find nothing... Say, young Agi, could you look something up for me? Based on those taken before could you predict who is more likely to be abducted next?"
Agi almost fell forward, stumbled twice, and then "woah...hey...wha?"
He fell forward comically, but managed to keep his papers in his hands, and he just managed to get back up, but then stumbled forward again to reclaim one fallen paper. He looked back at his notes, and smiled, "Well, given that it seems they don't really like young nobles, it would seem their most logical target would be a group of young sons of nobility who are heading out to a little city near the general hunting ground. I understand its for a ball or something, hosted by the Mescard Family."
Meanwhile, listening in on this, Tyler Mescard gulped. He was the elder son of the Mescard Patriarch's brother, his cousins and little brother were very likely there at that ball...he had to find a way to get out there!
Valon had listened quietly to the speculation of the others, trying to get a feel for both the situation and the layout of his new unit.
That Agi had a high, wavering melody about him, tenuous like it was going to fade into silence any minute, but occasionally growing louder before dipping back again. Not a song suited to battle obviously, but his intelligence seemed useful.
"A ball hm? Seems just my style, but won't it be a problem for some of us? No offense meant of course, but your average knight sticks out in high society events way too much to perform delicate covert work there." Valon said, seemingly blissfully unaware of how much his heavily decorated coat and plumed hat stuck out in every other situation.
His smile was sincere and genuine. A demon hunt and an excuse to attend a party. He wasn't sure how things could get much better.
"And don't be rediculous, Crow-girl. A good piece needs both dynamic highs and quiet-filled silences to hold meaning." He winced at the melody-killing contrast in her voice, but his tone was still cheery.
edited 5th Feb '12 5:15:55 PM by Dblade26
"Oh, Agi, that's the name isn't it? Thank you, you're most helpful."
As if a pat on the back provided by Elena wasn't enough to make the boy fret, Faris decided that it's best to lean over and place her face dangerously near his, and raised her left hand above his head. The otherwise gentle petting she gave, as a sister would to a little brother, appeared somewhat akward, as when she raised her left arm up, the brown robe slid down to reveal the nature of that arm; an entirely mechanical imitation, and one that was fully functional. The engravings on its surface plating made it appear as if it was a mystical artifact, but the true nature of the arm, given how it operated, was something far more advance.
"I never knew the Guild has faces as lovely as yours running messages around. That will take time to get used to."
Suddenly, she stood back, pulling her hand back to her side, formal as ever. Though the smile remained, the aura of coldness began to creep around her. Thoughts laid deep in Faris's mind, and not all of them pleasant.
"Are we expected to leave immediately? I suppose the information is sufficient, the objective being, well... kill on sight? Miss Lystander here seems quite eager, and I can't say that's not the case for me."
A ball. A hunt. It's as if someone has set up a perfect initiation ceremony for her. The side effect of getting to observe her new allies would be of great benefit, she was certain, but a dance with demons, that's a luxury, even to the Kings.
edited 5th Feb '12 7:20:19 PM by arreimil
On the foundation of glass a dream is built. And, like glass, it shatters.Agi turned a very, very bright shade of red when Faris moved in so close to him, and if possible, became even more red in the face when she complimented him. He was just about to faint from all that. He gulped, "Uh...well...umm...uh...thanks?"
All these nice lady knights running around, he felt a great deal safer with them, and possibly a way to get away from that jocky guy that had thought picking on him was a form of "teasing." Wes was a very welcome friend, being someone not many people would want to pick a fight with, and being nice to him as well.
Wes nodded, and said, "One of Agi's papers is the paperwork necessary for us to be formally logged there in false names as the Lord's Bodyguards. All we need to do now is move out there on a Hyperion, and then we hunt. Kill them all on sight, leave no survivors."
edited 5th Feb '12 7:17:27 PM by NickTheSwing
Valon thought it over.
Seems like a nice plan, simple and effective. But...what if there are humanoid demons there? Higher-level humanoid demons would explain the more selective attack patterns if any had taken charge of the stupider broodlings, and ordinary people likely wouldn't notice, considering how easy it is for them to pass as human.
Still, he figured he may as well just go with their overall plan and keep himself on a higher level of alert. No need to scare the newer Knights, especially since most of them seemed to have only been fighting ferals and lesser broodlings before.
"Seems like a plan to me, and at the least, I do hate party crashers."
"Yes." Shirley responded, if the question was pointed at her anyway. It was just a instinct she had with those kind of questions, "X or Y?" She probably picked up the habit from one of her more sly coworkers, you go work with someone like that, and suddenly you're acting just like them.
"Nooooo survivors then. Would be more interesting if we could capture one alive, but oh well." she did a little shrug as she said this.
Wes nodded and said looking down, "While it would be good to capture one alive, it is known in war that capturing enemies is much harder than simply killing them, and may even cost your allies their lives."
Agi smiled, and set his papers down and took out some from them, "And...umm, I have gotten us tickets on one of the fastest Hyperions out there. We'll be able to get there really fast now. Oh, ah yes, and...umm, I was selected to be the Recorder with your group to make sure a report filed to our superiors..."
edited 5th Feb '12 10:21:25 PM by NickTheSwing

Another assignment delivery.
A demonic attack somewhere almost disturbingly closeby to major human cities. Signs indicating the spawned demon was one of Kaiza's brood. It had been three months since it seemed Kaiza had well and fully asserted herself as one of the leaders of the demon horde. Some called her The Mother of a Thousand Young, though the true number was very likely much higher than a mere thousand.
Wes looked up as the assignment came in. There was a call from the messenger boy, the attendant to one of the Kings, for a certain number of Exorcists to assemble and move out.
Wes was, as usual, one of the first people to volunteer to fight. There was a distinct possibility this demon might lead him to vengeance against Kaiza. He did not particularly care what happened after they dealt with Kaiza, but he guessed this little crusade would continue until the threat ended. He had to wonder what direction this whole thing was going.
edited 3rd Feb '12 3:46:23 PM by NickTheSwing